//------------------------------// // Chapter 44 - Pony Outpost! You're still alive! // Story: Luffy in Equestria // by SparkStone //------------------------------// Twilight slowly awakens with a headache upon her. She gets up slowly and out of bed to find herself in some tent. Recollecting her thoughts, she tries to remember what happened. "H-How'd I get here? Uh… I was with everyone on the island when Magnus came… Then he took… Gilda…" Twilight held her head, cringing at the fact before continuing. "Then we all started running because Luffy told us to. And after that, he…" Eyes now small, she now recalls what has happened, brushing her hoof on the floor, she sighs. "That's right… Luffy…" "Hey! Have you seen my hat?" his voice was heard from beyond the door. Twilight looked up with a glint of hope. She went to the door and slowly pushed it open. As everything came into view, she saw Luffy questioning a royal soldier. "For the last time, I have not seen a straw hat anywhere!" "Where is it?! Where'd it go!?" He wondered. "Luffy!" Twilight squealed in joy as she raced to embrace him. Luffy looked to her and smiled as they were reunited once more. "Twilight! You're here too!?" Luffy grinned. "I thought you were gone! I guess Magnus must have taken me to you." Twilight thought. Before Luffy could talk about it anymore, he quickly had something else in mind. "Oh yeah! Hey Twilight! Have you seen my hat?" "Your hat?" Twilight repeated. "It's with Fluttershy last time I checked." "Oh, okay then." Luffy sighed in relief. "Well, if they have it, then it'll be alright." "I see you two are wide and awake." a green stallion spoke. "Good to see that. Especially since you've stopped the ruckus you made this morning." "Um, excuse me, but who are you?" Twilight asked. "I'm General Grass Walker. I'm the one overseeing this outpost's operation." "I see. I'm Twilight and this is Luffy." "Nice to know your names." Grass grinned. "So, this is your outpost?" "That's right." Grass Walker nodded. "We have an important mission that we've been preparing for a while." "What kind of mission is it?" Luffy wondered. "We can't disclose that information, even if we did save you. Sorry." He told them. "So you were the ones who took us in." Twilight realized before she bowed. "Thank you. That means a lot." "Don't mention it. Now, you can stay with us for a while, but you'll have to leave once we begin." "Do you have any food?" Luffy asked. "I'm really hungry." "Yeah, after that scuffle, it really left us drained." Twilight agreed. "The mess hall is over there." Grass informed them. "We have a lot of good grub, so eat to your heart's content!" "Oh boy!" Luffy cheered. "Come on Twi! Let's go!" Luffy was staring at the many salads and fruits there were. Sadly, no meat was in sight. He groaned loudly as Twilight stared at him. "Luffy, remember. Ponies don't eat… You know… I actually think we should get you checked since you've been eating a lot of it." "Oh well." Luffy sighed. "It's not so bad. It's still tasty." The two got a large platter and sat down. As they ate, they had some other ponies come over to sit by with them. "Hey there! So you're the mare that fell from heaven!" He flirted rather confidently. "We haven't had a new pretty face for a long time!" "It's nice to have another lovely mare other than Lieutenant Flare Blitz." Another commented. "Why, thank you." Twilight said with a nervous smile. "It's nice of you to say that." "Hey, do you guys have any meat?" Luffy wondered. Twilight shoved her hoof up to Luffy's mouth to stop him from talking. The stallions stared at him for a moment before having an idea of what he meant. "Oh! Are you trying to get some food for the prisoner?" "Huh?" Twilight spoke. "Prisoner? You have griffons locked up?" "Just one. She fell around our area sometime before you showed up. We locked her up, but we're not sure what to do with her. She served the Griffon King you see, but now she has a bounty on her head for some reason." Twilight looked to Luffy with concern. Tugging his foreleg, she asked, "Luffy, you don't think they're talking about Gilda, do you?" "Gilda…?" Luffy muttered, staring into space for a moment. After thinking about it, he jumped and understood what Twilight meant. "Gilda's here!?" Twilight turned to the stallions again and asked, "Can you show me where the griffon is?" "Sure, but make sure you keep a good distance. She's dangerous." The three Royal Soldiers lead Twilight and Luffy to the cage outside. Kept in steel bars, they went up closer to see the griffon. It didn't take much time to find out who it was. "Prisoner, you have guests." The stallion told her. "What guests? More ponies to come and gawk at me?" Gilda sneered. "GILDA!" Luffy and Twilight shouted in joy. The griffon's head rose and turned with amazement. There they were, standing before her. She ran to the wall of bars as they met up. "Luffy! Twilight! What are you doing here?" Gilda asked happily. "We were launched by Magnus too. Luckily, we all landed at the same location!" "It's great! Last time I was sent off like that, I couldn't find any of my friends!" Luffy laughed. "Wonderful. Unfortunately, the ponies here won't let me leave." Gilda complained. "They think I'm a spy or something." "I think I can convince them to let you go." Twilight thought. "There's no reason for them to suspect you, and if we confirm it, we can get you out of there!" "I don't think so, Straw Hat Luffy." an orange mare with a red mane spoke loudly. The royal soldiers bowed before her presence as she walked towards them. staring at them intensely, the three are paused in confusion. "Huh? How do you know my name?" Luffy wondered. "Even without your Straw Hat, I can spot your face very easily. The newspapers of you are everywhere, from Equestria to the Griffon Kingdom." She stated as she places an example on the floor. "I hate how many call you a hero back at home when you're the reason you caused this war." "Hold on!" Twilight stopped her. "He had no choice but to fight! Luffy was being cornered by griffons and-" "Silence!" She shouted. Twilight held back her speech as the pegasus continued. "Just because the Princess let you off the hook doesn't mean I will. Seeing how you and the griffon are friends, you'll be more than happy to join her." Luffy glared at her as she turned to the soldiers and gave the order. "Men! Arrest Straw Hat Luffy this instant!" "Y-Yes Lieutenant Flare Blitz!" They responded. As they attempt to do so, Luffy was about to fight. Twilight however restrained the both of them with her magic. "Stop!" She yelled. "There's no need for this! Please! Luffy has been fighting to end the war too! We're on the same side!" "She has a point." A stallion said as he entered the conversation. His golden mane complimented his white coat along with his golden shield. His clam demeanor was surprising seeing how big of an old war scar he has on his face. "Flare Blitz, he can be useful in our battalion." "Don't be crazy Captain Gold Shield!" She scolded. "I'll never let that menace get away scot free! I'll see to it that he is punished for his crimes against Equestria!" "Being blind in rage won't help you Flare." Gold Shield stated. He looked to Luffy and smiled. "You're really doing your best to end this war she claims?" "Yeah, that's right." Luffy nodded. "My friend wants to join the Wonder ponies and can't do it unless I can get rid of her bounty." "Wonderbolts." Twilight corrected. "It's Wonderbolts." "Rainbow Dash, correct?" Gold guessed. "I saw that mare in a few competitions. She certainly has gotten her name spread out." "Well, thanks to you, she won't ever be a Wonderbolt!" Flare scolded. "Calm yourself." Gold demanded. Flare was about to argue, but held back the desire. Gold sighs and looks to Luffy. "I think you two need to calm down. But seeing how big of an ego you two carry, then there's only one solution." Luffy and Flare face off in the open space. On the edge of the camp was enough room for their scuffle as well as their peers to watch. Gilda happened to be moved so she can watch Luffy as well. Flare's squad were on standby with her captain. Twilight is at the moment, complaining to Gold Shield. "How could you think THIS was a good idea!?" "Two big egos like this are better clashed than let seething." He answered. "Don't worry. Either Flare will face humility and leave Straw Hat alone, or she'll burn him and toss him in the cage with your griffon friend." "What is wrong with you!?" "Did I mention I'm eccentric?" Luffy kicked his hoof to the floor as Flare was flapping her wings, ready for action. "You're going down Straw Hat!" Flare declared. "Bring it on!" Luffy shouted. As they rushed at each other, a explosion of dust shot out and blew around. Everyone covered their eyes as the two caused chaos on the field. Twilight paid attention to Flare as she was practically on fire, flying through free and easy. "There's no way he'll reach her now!" A soldier pointed out. "She's too high up to get a hit, not to mention she's on fire!" Luffy then pulled back his hoof and threw it out. "Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" Luffy's hoof reach out with some quick Haki imbued to it. It managed to pound Flare hard on the side, getting her to fly lower. Everyone shrieked as Luffy retracted his foreleg. "H-H-His hoof stretched! It stretched out!" They screamed. "Interesting…!" Gold grinned widely. Flare regained control in flying and eyed Luffy carefully. This is no ordinary troublemaker. Even he has skills that make even more problems! She thought to herself. Flying at steady burning speed, she dived and slammed to the ground. Doing so released lots of fire. "Burn Boom!" The ground was set ablaze, making Luffy jump up in pain. "OW! OW! HOT! HOT! HOT!" Luffy shouted. "Luffy!" Twilight and Gilda called out. Taking the chance, Flare flew at Luffy again. As close as she was to reach Luffy with a head butt, Luffy was able to not only evade it, but grab onto her. She was shocked, but wasn't scared. It didn't take long before Luffy realized an error in his plans. He let's go of her and shouted in pain once more. "AAH! HOT! HOT! HOT!" Luffy cried. "It's no use…!" Twilight spoke. "Luffy can't grab on if she keeps up the fire. And with the battlefield full of it, Luffy can't even stand around either!" Managing to find a spot where there was no fire, Luffy kept his eyes on Flare while thinking of a way out of this. Finally, an idea came through. Continuing the attack, he then threw an array of punches. "Gomu Gomu no Gatling Gun!" Both hooves were augmented with Haki, allowing him to hit hard and lessen the heat when they reached to Flare. Although many were dodged by Flare, she received quite a number as they were able to hit every part of her at least once. She glared at him and dived down once more to engulf the ground in fire once more. "Try and stop this Straw Hat!" "Burn Boom!" Luffy jumped in time before the fiery wave can touch him. He sucked in lots of air, plumping his body like a massive ball. "Gomu Gomu no Fusen!" (Gum Gum Balloon!) Flare, Twilight as well as everyone else were bewildered. Gilda and Gold however got an idea of what he was about to do. He blew to the ground, ridding it of fire. Only sparks and embers remained, allowing Luffy to stand freely once more. Flare was shocked, seeing as no one has ever cleared her attack that fast without water. Gold laughed aloud as he commended Luffy. "Impressive Straw Hat Luffy! Yes, you were obviously born to fight!" He said happily with hooves kicking the floor. "But how well do you do against teamwork?" "I thought this was a one on one!" Twilight shouted. "I'm eccentric." He replied. "Don't worry your little head about it. We're merely increasing her abilities." "We?" "Light em' up boys." Giving the order, Flare's squadron lit their horns. Flare's fire grew even more violent than before. Luffy, Twilight, and Gilda were shocked while her comrades cheered loudly. "Yeah! Go get him Flare!" "Show that colt who's boss!" "Burn him up!" Flare simply flew in just one circle, causing dozens of embers to rain, singeing Luffy. Twilight looked to Gold and questioned him. "What kind of spell was that!?" "It's a Synch spell." He answered. "Using whatever magic potential and giving it to an ally, you can increase their skills and talents." Twilight was in awe and fear as Luffy stood tall against the burning pegasus. Getting Gilda out won't be easy after all.