//------------------------------// // Fire Action Rescue Ponies Are Go! // Story: Cauldron Club // by Biplane //------------------------------// Her hooves banged the bubble as the crowd gathered round. This did nothing, but make a small hollow sound. The others kept pounding, but Zecora she frowned. She'd claim her prize through smarts, not knocking around. Precious, perfect Trixie was inside, she thought, hoof to her chin. Now, how to get past this bubble, and in? Perhaps she could tunnel, and get dirt on her skin, But she wanted to look nice for Trixie, within. That left out tunneling, which was too bad. It might have worked poor… but more likely, rad. Z imagined Trixie, scantily clad. Well... Trixie always was, but it still made her glad. Zecora picked up a rock, and a rock she threw. It hit the bubble and bounced off askew. The rock hit the mayor, and turned her eye blue, And that’s how the riot ensued. . . . Twilight looked up from her research and out the window. She saw that the crowd had upgraded from “zombies” to “rioters.” Twilight shrugged. Time for that later. Now was the time for SCIENCE. With the steadiness that came with years of experience, Twilight mixed and stirred, heated and cooled, reacted and decanted, and just generally chemistry’d. There was so much science going on, you do not even know. There was science to the left, and there was science to the right. It was like some kind of science party. Which… come to think of it… was one type of party Pinkie Pie had not thrown, to Twilight’s knowledge. But, after a fevered hour of activity: the potion! At last! Twilight held it aloft! “EUREKA!” she said, allowing herself a hearty science laugh. ...Then it slipped out of her hoof and nearly smashed on the floor. She caught it just in time with her telekinesis. She shook her head, glad that no one had been around to see that (and hoping Trixie was still sleeping). “Still, though,” she said, much more subdued. “Eureka.” Okay, Twilight. Step one: get a potion. Check! Step two: administer potion. Twilight looked out her window at the murderous riot of Trixie-philes. Twilight looked out her other window to see a multi-story Spike continuing to breathe fire in the face of a chaos god. She looked back out the first window. Riot. And back to the second window. Dragon monster. Angry mob. Discord on fire. Anarchy. Clash of the titans. Step two: administer potion. Twilight scratched her head. And, prized student of sun goddess Celestia herself, most gifted unicorn of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, Element of Magic, sister of the Captain of the Royal Guard, and defender of the realm Twilight Sparkle spake her plan: “Hhhhhhuh. Hmm.” INSPIRING. . . . “Whoa!” said Sweetie Belle, as Rainbow Dash wrapped her legs protectively around the tiny filly, curled her wings close to her body, and blasted out through the smashed window at top speed, unfurling her wings out in the open air. When Pinkie Pie had arrived, she had set up a makeshift fall mat out of hundreds of balloons. Balloons of unknown origin. Because Pinkie Pie. Rainbow hovered down and gently dropped Sweetie Belle onto the balloons. She clambered off them, to Cheerilee, Pinkie, and Bon-Bon, who had set up a makeshift aid station. “Got one for ya, yer highness!” Applejack called down to Celestia, and helped Carrot Top to the window, where Celestia picked the pony up with her telekinesis, and brought her down to the balloons. Big Mac came up behind Applejack, with Apple Bloom on his back. As they approached the window… the building began to make groaning and splintering noises. “Oh no!” said Applejack. “The roof’s comin’ down! Out! Out! Out!” and all three jumped just as the roof crushed the room behind them into fiery splinters. “Scootaloo!” Rainbow Dash shouted, shooting up to the window, but unable to get any further. “Squirt! Scootaloo! SCOOTALOO!” Between the balloons and Celestia’s telekinesis, Apple Bloom, Applejack, and Big Mac made it to the ground safely. Apple Bloom hugged Sweetie Belle, and the two of them looked up at the building silently, tears in their eyes. “Oh no… oh…” said Cheerilee, unable to believe it. “RIP THE BEAMS, RIP THE BEAMS, TAKE OFF THE ROOF!” Applejack shouted at Celestia, which Celestia prepared to do. But before she could... CRASH! At the other end of the building from the room where Carrot Top and the Crusaders had huddled, the window exploded outward in a gray blur, and with a… less elegant flaring of her wings than Rainbow, Derpy steadied herself in mid-air, carrying a little orange filly in her forehooves. Seeing everypony staring at her, Derpy blushed as the two touched down (more softly than usual for Derpy). “Sorry we’re so late, we got a little turned around in there.” “When did you even- I thought you were out-” Bon-Bon sputtered. She could have sworn the gray pegasus had been standing right next to her a second ago... “Scootaloo!” Rainbow said, flying over to them. “H-hey, Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said, waving. She was embarrassed, but a little bit too scared and relieved and tired to act cool in front of her idol and “big sister.” “I guess we kinda-” She was interrupted by Rainbow Dash wrapping her hooves around her tight and hugging her. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, Squirt,” Rainbow said. Her voice was thick… was she… crying? No, no, couldn’t be… she was far too cool for that. “And you!” Rainbow said, separating herself from Scootaloo and pointing her hoof at Derpy, who looked confused. “What were you doing in there?! None of us knew you were in there! You didn’t have a fire shield! What if we’d saved everypony and left you in there without knowing?!” “I know… I know… I’m sorry,” Derpy said, one eye downcast and the other more down-and-to-the-sidecast. But Rainbow wasn’t angry, and nearly tackled Derpy with a big hug. Hiding her face so nopony could see that she had tears in her eyes, and whispering so nopony could hear her say, “Thank you.” Derpy’s face went from sad to confused to joy, and her heart made the transition too. Feeling something around her leg, she looked down to see Scootaloo hugging her leg. “Thank you, Miss Hooves,” said Scootaloo. Derpy's face lit up like Celestia's sun. And as the now very relieved ponies gathered around to offer congratulations to the new hero (and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle tackled their fellow Crusader, laughing with relief), Pinkie Pie leaned over to Celestia. “That pony has definitely earned a party.” Celestia nodded, “Yes. Yes she has.” Then, after a moment’s thought, “I am prepared to offer you full access to my party resources.” Pinkie Pie’s face remained serious. Not turning to look at Celestia, she said, “You do realize what you’re getting into, don’t you?” Celestia smiled. “Yes, yes I do.” I would like to state for the record that I do not believe this to be the case.