//------------------------------// // Chapter 30 - Rescue Plan Acknowledged! To the Flying Ship! // Story: Luffy in Equestria // by SparkStone //------------------------------// Two stallions sit in the leaking cage along with hundreds of frustrated prisoners. Shining Armor looks to his subordinate, Rusher, who was silent. The captain looks up and sighs. "It's been a ride, hasn't it?" He speaks with ease. "Rusher." His face scrunches up before he looks to Shining. Looking down at his hooves that are chained to the ground, he says, "Captain… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" "It's alright soldier." Shining assures him. "Luckily, no one was killed in the skirmish." "No…" Rusher replies with grief. "If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't have been caught." "Rusher…" Shining says slowly. Rusher's tears roll off his face as he says, "I never thought it'd end like this… to end because of me…" He sobs in the corner where Shining couldn't reach. He too was pulled back by the chains on the floor, restricting his ability to comfort Rusher. He simply stands there as he looks up and says, "Rusher?" "… Yeah…?" "What did you want to do… once the war was over?" Rusher lowers his head and says, "I honestly didn't think it would end at all. The griffons has contraptions I never seen before. It looked like the war was going to last forever." "All because of that blasted Straw Hat Luffy." Shining curses under his breath. "But… No matter who started the fight… I'll still keep fighting for Equestria." "Captain…" "I still have a princess I want to see… and I still want my little sister to keep having a safe place to live in…" He says with watery eyes. "I haven't seen Twily for years… I know we'll make it out of here, because if I don't see Twilight one more time, I'd start to think…" Rusher sits there as he sees the intense weight carried by his captain. There are still others who are waiting for him. He too feels the same way. Twilight and her group flees from the griffon attack. Applejack carries Robin, allowing her to use her powers on the griffons while moving. "Trienta Fleur" Many hands sprouted from the bodies of the griffons. They paused in the moment of confusion before Robin executed the next move. "Strangle" The hands then choked them into submission, halting their advance. Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Robin were able to successfully escape. Once they were in the clear, they made their way to the Sunny. "Hey, wasn't Chopper with you two?" Applejack asked. With saddened faces, Twilight informs her what happened. "He was kidnapped by the griffons. There were just too many of them." "What?" Fluttershy spoke. "N-No… That can't be…" Applejack tilted her head down and said, "Usopp, Pinkie, and Rainbow were taken too…" "What!?" Twilight yelped, causing them to stop running. "All of them at a time?!" "They surprised us, we didn't have time to do anything. Me and Fluttershy were the only ones who made it out." She said solemnly. "That's awful…" the purple mare whimpered. "It's obvious that they're trying to capture all of us." Robin thought. "They probably think that by going on an airship, we wouldn't be able to escape unless we were pegasus. However…" "However… What?" Applejack continued. "However… There must be something up there that makes them feel so confident that we wouldn't be able to escape from it." "Well, standing around here won't get us anywhere." Twilight sighed. "We have to get back to the Sunny right now! And see if the others are alright!" They all nodded in agreement and pressed on. Back at the Sunny, the group watched as Gilda sketched a map of the ship. As the pen dug into the paper, she explained the map as well as the situation. "First off, if you're caught, you'll probably be sent here." Gilda pointed to the brig of the ship. "The cages down here are made of sea stone, so if you get locked up in there, you're not getting out. It is also imbedded with a special anti magic material, known as dry stone. In other words, no magic, no devil fruit, no way out." "I see…" Nami nodded. "We haven’t seen the others yet…" Sanji sighed. "They may have been taken inside." "What if nopony is up there?" Rarity wondered. "We shouldn't just assume our friends would be caught. We need to know who's up there." "Our crew is reliable." Brook stated. "Can't we just break the ship?" Luffy asked. "That'd be easier, but it'll crush whoever's inside of it and the town too. They might be in the city or in the ship, so we can't destroy it now." Zoro claimed. "That'd be easier?" Gilda said with slight shock. "Hey!" Twilight called. The crew looked to the shore and saw the others arrive. Luffy leaned over and said, "Hey Twilight! Where are the others?" The group had disappointing expressions. Robin said, "We need to talk about our current situation." Up on the flying ship, in the brig, Usopp was checking on the tired Chopper while Rainbow was bashing the cage door. Pinkie was banging a tin cup between the bars, much to the griffon guards annoyance. "Let us out you jerks!" Rainbow shouted. The endless clanging on the unbreakable cage was just torture for the guards. Pinkie was an aid to that pain. In the corner, Usopp placed Chopper on his lap and asked… "Oi! Chopper! What's wrong?" "This cage is made of sea prism stone." He told him. "I'm losing my strength every time I touch the floor." "Sea prism stone?" Rainbow repeated. "It's a special stone that has the same effects as the ocean water." Usopp informed her. "Because of that, devil fruit users can't handle it." "Not even Luffy huh?" Rainbow said softly. She glared at the guards and said, "When we get out of here, you're gonna get it!" "Shut up! Geez!" The griffon retorted. Pinkie groaned as she lied on the floor and said, "This is so boring! I wish there was something to do." "If only I had more space I can bust out of this cage with a Sonic Rainboom!" Rainbow complained. "They took our stuff, so we can't do anything about it too." Chopper quoted. "Looks like we'll have to wait for the others to help us out." Usopp thought. Rainbow sweated at the idea of Applejack having to rescue her. If that happens, she'll never hear the end of it. As troubling the moment was for them, she wasn't going to let that happen. She continued to bang the cage yelling, "LET US OUT!" Luffy was opening his mouth with much surprise. the others were quite worried with the information so far. "They got taken!?" Luffy yelled. "Those bastards!" "Oh! How awful~!" Rarity swooned. Everyone stared at her with raised eyebrows. "What? I'm serious." "Looks like we have no choice." Nami said. She stood up and planned out the next motive. "Alright then! It looks like we'll have to rescue our friends! But at the same time, we'll be defending the ship!" "But how will we even reach them?" Applejack questioned. "Gilda, Fluttershy! You two are the only ones who can fly! You'll be bringing Luffy and Zoro up to the ship. Sanji, can you get up there on your own?" "It won't be a problem." Sanji assured her as he threw off the cigarette. "Yosh! We'll stay here and protect the Sunny then!" Franky suggested. "We have a few other problems." Rarity reminded them. "Once you get them out, how will you all leave together? Rainbow can fly down, but everyone else could be too much for you all to carry." "She has a point." Brook agreed. "Hmm…" Nami hummed as she held her chin. Looking out to the harbor of Sealos and the direction the airship was heading, she had an idea. "Let's lead them out to sea." "The sea?" they all said in unison. Nami smiled as she explained. "If we can lead it over water, we can let them fall onto the Sunny, where we'll be ready to catch them." "And how will you catch us?" Zoro questioned. "I can make a tarp for all of us to hold out." Rarity offered. "It shouldn't be too hard." "Looks like that's everything!" Nami nodded. "Alright! Let's get moving!" "Alright!" Luffy cheered as he jumped onto the back of Fluttershy. "Let's go Fluttershy!" "WHAT!!!" She cried. "You're with me Zoro." Gilda told him. "Got it." He complied. "Let's get going!" Sanji grinned. As the Rescue team flew off, Franky got behind the steering wheel and lead the defense team out to open waters. "For some reason, there's no wind-" Nami paused as a sudden gust came out of nowhere, leading the Sunny forward. She looked up in confusion to the sudden change in the sky. "How did…?" In the throne room of Canterlot, Celestia and Luna smiled as their horns shined with their focus on the vision of the Straw Hats. Celestia softly said… "Good luck everyone." As Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Fluttershy, and Gilda raced to the airship, the griffons begin their counter attack. Zoro took out his swords while Sanji spun in the air until his hind legs were on fire. "We got company!" Zoro said. "Alright then!" Luffy said as he pulled back his arm. "Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" With the attack making a good pounding to the griffons, Luffy grinned. However, he suddenly slipped off and fell before Fluttershy noticed and quickly grabbed him. "Luffy!" She screamed. "Senhachiju Pound Ho!" (1080 Caliber Phoenix!) Zoro unleashed a massive slash upon the squad of griffons, only to nearly fall himself. "Zoro!" Gilda called. "Damn it!" Sanji cursed. "Those two can't find up here like this." "Ugh…" Zoro grunted. "Let's get on the ship. It'll be easier for us that way." "Easier said than done!" Gilda remarked. "There a griffons everywhere!" "Damn it!" Luffy growled as Fluttershy placed him on her back safely. "I can't stay on while punching!" "I'm sorry, but your attacks are too strong for me to hold on." Fluttershy apologized. "If we were more stable, it wouldn't be a problem." "Hmm…" Luffy held his chin in thought before coming up with an idea. He then raised his hind legs then wrapped them around Fluttershy's torso. She jumped in surprise as Luffy said, "Okay! Now…" "Gomu Gomu no Gatling Gun!" A fury of hooves pounded the griffons away. Gilda then proceeded with Zoro covering her by cutting nearby foes that dared to attempt to capture the two. Sanji headed straight for the gathering of griffons and readied a devastating attack. " Poêle à Frire: Spectre!" Burning off the foes from the front, Sanji clears the way for Gilda to land. Fluttershy follows after them to reach the front of the ship. Upon landing, Luffy lets go of Fluttershy and gets off with Zoro. "We made it!" Luffy pointed out. "Now, let's get back our friends!" Griffons equipped with rifles came into view from the towers. They got into position and aimed at the intruders. Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Gilda were prepared for the firing. Once the shots were given, the four evaded the attack. Fluttershy didn't move however as she was so scared, she froze in place. Gilda saw this, and jumped to her aid. "Move!" Gilda shoved and stood before Fluttershy, taking the shots. The yellow pegasus's eyes shrunk as well as the others. Gilda quivered in place as blood drips onto the floor. No later, she falls down with a puddle forming from the wounds that were taken for Fluttershy. The four called out to her. "GILDA!!!"