//------------------------------//
// Volcano 
// Story: Elements Change the Dark Hearts 
// by Nightmare_0mega 
//------------------------------//

Entirely unable to be of any help behind the magical glass barrier before her, Applejack simply watched slack-jawed at the display of violence only ever heard of outside the boarders of Equestria. Her eyes stayed fixated, not to her friend Elvis, whom Pinkie mutely pleaded pathetically for his safe return, but on Monsoon's quick and impossible form. Ever since the strange and extreme cyborg arrived, she couldn't help but feel responsible for what's been going on. Especially when considering his freak-out over the revelation she had bestowed upon him mere seconds after he prompted her with a simple analogy. She tipped her hat forward in a frown, hiding her honest eyes from the world, ashamed of being unable to entirely feel sorry for proving him wrong, wondering if it was actual honesty or petty pride that pushed her to it. Was this outcome truly her fault though? Would he have went off and done something similar, or worse, if they took him in and helped him adjust over time with smaller, easier to handle examples of their world and the concept of harmony?

Applejack then looked to Elvis, finding a fire in his eyes she hadn't seen since he fought Discord, as he moved with deliberation and determination against his slippery, segmented opponent. She looked to him and thought of his endeavors, and how he adjusted to life in Equestria over time, with his ups and downs. She thought of how Pinkie herself was with him nearly every step of the way, even at the lowest of points, even when it almost crushed her fragile spirit. The farm pony then couldn't help but think about the stories of Bael from Fluttershy and how he had been adjusting with her help. Further still, she considered the vampire Dumah, whom only recently joined their community, with Rarity at his side as she assisted and guided him into a life that had once seemed alien to him. Sure, the last example was very recent, but it was no less effective or clear.

"Darn it," she cussed under her breath, as she realized her biggest mistake, "Ah need to fix this somehow..." She immediately remembered Rarity was there with her, equally worried about the situation. She turned to her friend, and quickly approached her, snapping her out of her own stupor. "Rare, ah need yer help. Ah need to get outside, and fast."

"Wha-what are we supposed to do, darling?" she answered, "As long as we're in here, we're safe from them, and as long as this barrier is here, we can't get outside."

"Can'chya just teleport me outside or somethin'? Ah mean, didn't Twah teach you that a little while ago?"

"Well, yes, she did teach me that spell, but I've only ever been able to do it on myself. It is probably an entirely different method to teleport someone else around, and I'm not sure how much magic it would require to cast. I'm not exactly the strongest in that regard, or the most adept at magic in general. That, and I have no idea if I could get you outside in the first place. That barrier may very well be teleport proof. After all, Twilight didn't teleport back in after she was kicked out, remember?

"Well, maybe she was wantin' to find a way to stop Trixie before she could get back in?"

"Maybe... Still, I'm not entirely willing to go out there myself to test it. I think I only have enough magic for one cast unfortunately, and if I go out there, I'll be HIDEOUSLY outnumbered and trapped. I just hope Twilight and Fluttershy are safe, wherever they are."

"Ok, Rares. Ah understand," she said, dejectedly.

"If only there were somepony else that would be strong enough to get you outside the barrier..."

Applejack sat there for a moment, considering the situation carefully, before it finally dawned on her. "TRIXIE!"

"TRIXIE?!" Rarity asked, perplexed and abhorred, "You want HER to help?!"

"Ah know, ah know. Ah'm not a big fan of her either, especially with what she'd done lately, but we don't have any other choice. With that amulet of her's, she IS the most powerful unicorn around right now. If Twahlight were here, I'd rightly take her over that bossy showboat, but right now, we really don't have a choice." She turned and began moving towards the harshly parked chariot where Trixie still hid behind. "If you wanna help me with this, yer more than welcome to, but ah'd understand if ya didn't."

Rarity stared at her rough-and-tumble friend for a moment, before she sighed in resignation. "Alright, fine. But, if she starts making more tacky demands, I'm leaving."

"Deal."


-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-


"Are you that much of a huevón that you can't dodge me normally? You have to resort to your little trick?" Elvis tightened his fists and tensed his body, getting ready for another round against his increasingly dangerous foe. Said foe had recombined a short distance away from Elvis, twirling his twin sais again in preparation.

"What? You can't handle the storm? Do you need an umbrella?" Monsoon smirked.

"More that I need a bucket, pendejo," he sneered, as he charged towards him, fists at the ready.

Monsoon rolled his eyes out from under his helm, and lazily separated just before Elvis managed to throw a punch, shifting a short distance away from him. "Is this all you have, fatman?"

Elvis smiled. "Not even close," he said as he quickly got in a crane stance, before pushing himself off the ground, suddenly shooting himself forward like a bullet, headfirst, directly at Monsoon. Warning bells immediately went off in Monsoon's head as he saw his large opponent get closer at a blistering speed. At the last second, he separated again to avoid the attack completely, which was entirely too close for comfort. Before he could recombine, Elvis flipped forward, mid flight, landed against the surface of the magic and glass barrier, and launched back off of it at equal speeds. Unable to realize the boomerang effect going on, Monsoon was struck directly in the back, causing his body to scatter violently.

Elvis then flipped forward, and touched ground once again, as he quickly turned around and saw the disembodied head come flying towards him. Smirking, Elvis took the unique opportunity to tense himself up once again, pulling his punch down and back, before springing up in a spiraling uppercut, launching the mid-air head high into the air with a heavy smack. As he landed back on the ground from the uppercut, Elvis looked back up to see the effect of his attack. Despite the damage he thought he caused, the head was quickly joined by the originally scattered pieces of Monsoon's body which quickly recombined. Elvis clicked his tongue, as he got back into a defensive stance.

Monsoon, having a new advantage, flung his sais down at Elvis, hoping to skewer him from above, but the fat man caught both of them quickly. Then, using his own strength and the sudden jerk back of the sais, Elvis launched himself upwards to Monsoon, quickly tilted himself backwards, and simply let the speed and trajectory allow his feet to collide with Monsoon's face once again. Upon the impact, Monsoon lost all magnetism, and crumbled away. Throwing away the sais off to the sides, he then grabbed Monsoon's head before it managed to sail away from the previous impact. Elvis then violently spiked Monsoon's head back to the ground before he reached peak height and began to fall on his own accord. As he descended, aiming for Monsoon's head, he started going into a dive to gain momentum before setting up for a mid air elbow drop.

"THE PEOPLE'S ELBOW, CABRON!" he screamed, laughing like a madman, hoping to finish off his opponent for good.

However, the head Elvis aimed for erupted with purple energies once again as it swiftly skidded backwards and away from the target point. Just as it did, not a split second later, Elvis landed with deafening CRUNCH as the earth cracked, buckled, and shattered below him, forming a crater three times the size of the Deva himself. Heavy amounts of dust kicked up, obstructing everyone's vision for a moment or two. As the dust began to settle, Monsoon slowly recombined once more, feeling a little more woozy from the assault, realizing he once again underestimated his foe.

"Un momento, señor," Elvis said from the bottom of the pit, slowly getting back up and shaking the stars from his eyes. Walking up and out of the crater, he shook off the dirt and debris before he cracked his neck and knuckles. "Ok, now I'm good to go."

"Very impressive," Monsoon said with genuine satisfaction, "I have to admit, I have never fought someone as surprising as you. You posses skills I'd assume someone of your... stature should NEVER be able to pull off. And yet, here you are, proving me wrong. It's just so..." he sighed, before sneering under his helm with intense fury. "... UNNATURAL! What in the hell are you?!"

"You REALLY don't want to know, puta." 

Then, it happened. Everything he went through, every defilement of his perception of reality that piled on top of each other within the back of his mind, finally broke though. He twitched slightly to the feeling, before splitting an ear to ear grin and started to laugh. It was harsh, forced, and deranged. Just like Jack... He questioned and scrutinized Elvis just as much as he did his former executioner, and he came no closer to an answer that fit with his rules. Just like Jack... The truth of the matter ate away at the back of his thoughts, forcing him to question himself. Are some simply outside the natural order, or am I missing something critical?

Monsoon then reached to the pouch in his side, unlocked the clip, and reached inside, before pulling out one of his red phosphorous grenades. His smile grew darker. "Honestly, I can't for the life of me figure it out. But," he started, chuckling darkly, "what I DO know, is that I MUST DESTROY!"

"Que la mierda?"

Monsoon quickly pulled the pin and threw the device directly at Elvis' feet, which detonated instantly and created a blast of thick heavy smoke. He then jumped away the moment everyone's vision was thoroughly obscured, disappearing from sight. Everyone caught in the smoke couldn't help but cough heavily from the noxious and thick chemicals.

"Changelings: SCATTER!" barked their queen, as all of the drones and their copies took flight and retreated in several directions away from the smokescreen. 

However, Elvis was left inside its epicenter, coughing briefly, before he covered his face with one hand, and squinted with mildly irritated eyes. Before he could get his bearings, Monsoon suddenly appeared from the smoke, and leaped at the incapacitated Deva. He struck abruptly, swinging his sais at Elvis's shoulders, causing the big man to flinch from the impact, before jumping back into cover. Elvis quickly gathered himself from the injury and desperately tried to scan his obscured surroundings. Once again, Monsoon appeared from the haze, ran right up behind his foe, and stabbed at his back, before immediately kicking him at the wound, and retreating after the assault. Elvis swung back too little too late as his foe was long gone. He growled in fury, eyes desperately scanning the thick toxic cloud around him, trying to get a read on his now invisible foe. Suddenly, a thought cast a light in the murk for him, as he opted to close his eyes, remained still, and focused.

Within a moment, the patience was met with the faint, swift sounds of feet hitting the ground, before leaping into the air. Elvis then turned to his left side in response, throwing a right hook, which collided with Monsoon's sais, whom blocked the defending attack. As he followed through the attack, Elvis launched Monsoon back into the fog, out of sight, and became still again, keeping his ears open and eyes closed. Sure enough, the sound of quick feet approaching from behind were made clearer now, causing Elvis to spin around once more with a hammer fist. Monsoon blocked the incoming attack, before backflipping out of sight. Elvis smiled, as he concocted a way to put his slippery little foe off of attacking like this in the future. As Monsoon tried for yet another surprise attack, Elvis spun in the direction of the incoming strike, hoisting his arms up in defense, and breathed in hard.

The enchanted obsidian sais clashed against Elvis' gold bangles, as the two fighters stared at each other face to face in close proximity, where Monsoon could see his foe was holding his breath fairly deeply. However, he realized too little too late the purpose, as it was revealed to him in haste with no warnings. Elvis then exhaled forcefully, but what came out was not pastry induced bad breath, but fire enough to rival a kiln.

Warnings went off inside Monsoon and his vision as everything in front of him erupted in fire. What came next, though, shocked the both of them. As soon as the fire touched the smoke screen from the red phosphorous grenade, the area it covered erupted in a heavy explosion, which sent Monsoon flying backward from the sheer force of the blast. He fell from the peak height of the trajectory, before tumbling against the ground and rolling to a stop, merely a short length away from the enchanted glass barrier that encased the town.

Battered and dazed, Monsoon slowly got back up, and shook the stars from his eyes and dusted himself off. "Thank Desperado for my pain inhibitors." He looked to the new cloud of dark smoke left over from the extreme blast created, and chuckled. "Well, that settles that, no one could-" He stopped sharply, as his sensors could still pick up a heat signature at the center of the cloud.

"That, *cough, cough*, is the last time I pull THAT trick in a strange smelling fog," Elvis said within the clearing smoke, lightly singed but no worse for wear.

"No."

"What's the matter, puta? Can't take the heat?"

"NO."

"Then, you best-"

"NO!" The furious cyborg then forcefully activated another of his electrolyte packs, overcharging the energy he could contain, and immediately triggered his magnetic power. Monsoon then concentrated hard, and felt for the ground beneath them both for metal with his power. It didn't take him long to figure out that the town at least had plumbing coming to it, and grabbed a hold of the metal piping through his magnetism. With one swift upward motion, he ripped up the metal around Elvis, and quickly wound it around him like a snare.

"QUE CARAJO?!"

Monsoon then began to squeeze his foe with all of the might he could muster, wickedly grinning in pure malice under his helm. His fingers curled tighter as the piping constricted Elvis' body, whom tried hard to struggle and escape the bindings. "I DARE YOU!" Monsoon screamed, "I DARE YOU TO ESCAPE! BUT YOU CAN'T! NO MAN CAN ESCAPE NATURE'S FORCE! NO MAN CAN ESCAPE THE FRUIT OF THE EARTH! MY METAL WILL BE YOUR CASKET!"

The metal pipes wound tighter as Elvis tried in vain to force his way out with his basic strength, but realized it simply couldn't happen. Despite his already unbelievable prowess, there was a reason why he took the form he had. It wasn't just for style, but it was a limiter. As long as he was in a mortal world, the form he took would keep him from "resetting" back home if slain. As much as he would have hated to do that, he honestly would have hated leaving this world on such a colossal let-down even more. Besides, he had promised to go on a hike and picnic with his closest friend in this brightly colored world, and he'd be damned if he let that die without a fight.

"Rosa... I'm so sorry. I have to do this... Please don't hate me." Elvis said solemnly to himself. Purple flames grew and flickered from his body as he reached deep inside his very soul and began to glow a brilliant orange and red. An intense heat emitted from him while the metal surrounding him faintly warped and bent away from his large, illuminated frame. Monsoon gritted his teeth and stared, mesmerized at the sight, before shielding his vision from a blinding white light. Within seconds, he pulled his hands away, and gazed at the result.

A titan of a creature stood before Monsoon, easily two or three times as large as Elvis was. It was a grotesque thing, not entirely dissimilar to Elvis' basic bipedal structure, with a hard purple shell-like surface for its skin, lined with red etchings seemingly outlining the muscles. Its feet were clawed with only two massive digits on each foot. Its kneecaps were covered by enlarged, strange looking skulls. Each hand was replaced with spherical, crab claw like appendages that were lined with teeth as if they were mouths. Just above them were enlarged bangles, now warped to a bronze color and etched with purple swirls, and a single line of spikes trailing up the outer arm. Its rotund middle gave the vague reflection of a large face, not helped by the mouth like crease kept partially open with what seemed to be rows of massive, sharp teeth in a permanent smile, where as its pecs mimicked closed eyes. Its head was an elongated oval, with three pairs of eyes stacked on top of each other, and two sets of horns: Two spiral horns jutting from the sides of its head, with two smaller curved horns poking from the top. Behind it were a pair of bat like wings that didn't seem fit to carry the large creature, which flapped idly and lazily. The only thing that resembled normalcy was the necklace of large beads that once sat around Elvis' shoulders.

"What in hell?" Monsoon muttered, utterly flabbergasted, oblivious to the irony of his statement.

Suddenly the creature's pectoral muscles pushed themselves up, and revealed large yellow eyes that sported nothing more than a thin red spiral in each eye. Upon this, the teeth lined crease at the stomach opened up wide, tilting the top half of the absurd monster back slightly, and gave an earth quaking roar from the giant mouth which caused everyone but Monsoon to cover their ears. 

Monsoon got into a defensive stance, his mind reeling, trying to understand what he was looking at with little success. The only reaction he could muster was an involuntary rush against the monster, hoping to strike it down out of pure fear. However, the moment he got close enough, the thing quickly heaved its arms up above its head and slammed its claws down, creating a shock-wave of pure force that knocked the cyborg back. Monsoon landed unceremoniously with a few humiliating bounces against the ground. Then, the creature spoke.

"TIME TO PLAAAAY, PENDEJO!" There was little room for doubt. The voice was Elvis, but what a change it underwent. It was much deeper, much more guttural, and seemed to reverb with more than a couple extra voices harmonizing with Elvis's own. This was the Deva's normal. His terrifying, true form.

Monsoon scrambled back to his feet, his artificial breath accelerating and getting deeper as he internally panicked. Whatever breaking point he reached, however hard he snapped not too long ago, was now paltry compared to this. Within seconds, instead of becoming a gibbering mass on the ground, breaking down like a normal human would, his new insanity came full circle, and just made him more focused. He would kill this thing before the day is done.

He activated another electrolyte pack and overcharged his body, immediately switching on his magnetic powers, and rushed his opponent again. The Demonic Elvis quickly heaved his right claw back and attempted to punch Monsoon, but the cyborg separated at the last second before impact, flowed around the grotesque titan, and reformed behind him. Sensing danger, before Monsoon could try to back-stab him again, Elvis whirled around and swung his claw like a wrecking ball. Monsoon back flipped in the nick of time, narrowly avoiding the sudden counter attack. However, as soon as Monsoon got some distance, Elvis opened both of his claws, then his stomach mouth, and formed a ball of fire and rock before shooting it directly at the cyborg. The impact was as heavy as it was perfect, as pieces of Monsoon flew everywhere, scattering about the torn-up battle ground. Elvis began running forward, but as Monsoon's head came to a rest, purple energies emitted from it and soon the cyborg recombined once again. Elvis paused for a moment as Monsoon skated backward, gaining enough distance away from the beast. Honestly curious at what he was planning, Elvis waited for Monsoon to make a move. He didn't have to wait for long as Monsoon heaved his leg backward and did a sweeping kick, his leg segmenting and stretching out to reach the demon. Unable to move fast enough, Elvis simply stood to tank the hit, bracing for impact. The kick flinched the beast from the impact but it wasn't enough to do any real damage to Elvis alone.

"I'm sterner stuff than THAT, cabron!" With that, Elvis got into a crane stance before ducking down and suddenly rolling forward like a giant speeding bowling ball. Monsoon was a little quicker on the uptake this time around, and easily dodged the giant rolling death, whom came to a screeching halt a short distance behind Monsoon. He quickly rose back to his feet, and rushed at the cyborg. Monsoon then shifted backwards, placing more distance between him and his foe, before splitting apart once again. This time, however, the pieces whirled around Monsoon's head like a tornado of heavy metal, before he shot forward at the demon for maximum impact. Elvis raised his arms in sudden defense, blocking the incoming attack in its entirety. Monsoon collided like boulders flung at top speeds against a wall, before bouncing off and skidding to a halt mid-air behind Elvis. The demon turned around as the fragmented cyborg doubled back for another multi-hit ram. The effect was the same.

Monsoon then floated his spinning, sectioned self a decent distance away after the attack. His pieces then began to swirl around him faster and faster, as if he were chunks of fruit in a high speed blender. Elvis turned to his fragmented aggressor once again and started to march toward him unhindered... but not for too long. Suddenly, singular pieces of Monsoon shot from the mass vortex like bullets, the first colliding with the center of Elvis' torso. Upon realizing what he was doing, Elvis stopped, and got into a defending stance. More pieces shot off in rapid succession as Elvis batted them off to the side, missing a few that ended up striking him in the left tricep and the right shin. Upon ending the attack, Monsoon reformed behind Elvis, but the Deva caught on as he spun backward on the spot, breathed in with the mouths of his claws, and unleashed a torrent of flames. Monsoon wasn't entirely vulnerable to such a heat, but the situation wasn't completely safe for him either, and chose to back away as quickly as possible lest he be hindered enough for a followup attack.

As the two continued their fight, a flash of light went off a fair distance away from the battle as Applejack appeared from it, finally outside the barrier. While the two monsters had no room to notice, Chrysalis and her brood in the sky did. She screeched and sent her kin down to capture the Element of Honesty as swiftly as possible. Applejack quickly noticed the incoming attack, and took off like a bullet, intent on reaching Monsoon and Elvis in an attempt to stop the conflict. She shifted to the right, narrowly avoiding a diving changeling that collided with the ground harshly, then stopped abruptly to avoid one that dove just in front of her. Taking off again, she kept weaving to attempt to avoid being pegged by the incoming shape-shifters. Finding that the overhead assault wasn't enough, they swarmed and landed a distance away from the approaching element, trying to create a defending wall, hoping to catch her that way. She screeched to a halt, only for a moment, and considered her options quickly before she charged once again, realizing there was no way around it. Prompted by the bold move, the changelings responded by charging at her themselves. Within mere moments, just before she collided with the army, she leaped up and preformed a flying drop kick with her hind hooves, sending the leader of the group crashing into a handful of his followers, giving her room to move. She began swatting and kicking, fighting her way through the hoard that desperately tried to take her down.

"MONSOON!" She called out as loud as she could, smacking another changeling in the face while still trying to push forward through the crowd. Despite the fact neither of them could hear her, she kept going, determined to get their attention before something happened. "MONSOON! STOP!"

It wasn't Monsoon that heard her, but Elvis, whom was in the middle of parrying an attack. Upon deflecting Monsoon's sai once again, he jumped back, and gazed behind his foe.

"What are you doing, caballo?" he said, puzzled by his friend's actions, failing to question her appearance. 

Monsoon backed off, expecting a follow-up attack, but stopped upon realizing he was no longer the prime focus. Before he could capitalize on this, he heard his name being called.

"MONSOON!" Applejack called again, galloping hard towards them, swiftly closing the distance between her and them, just before being tackled to the ground by a changeling. Within moments, more of the insectoid ponies dog-piled on top of her, pinning her to the ground from the sheer weight of the group.

The cyborg turned his head around slowly to the source of his name being called and saw Applejack's pitiful position. He cracked a smile, and faced her completely. "Well, isn't this a surprise?" he said with a mocking grin, "Decided to get a front row seat? Wanting to prove me wrong again, Jack?"

Applejack stayed her tongue for a moment, choosing her words carefully, but stared back at the manic cyborg with intent set in stone. "Back at the orchard, when we first met... What ah did was wrong, Monsoon. Ah've always been the honest type, but ah shouldn't have forced my thoughts on you."

"So, you came to apologize?" he asked, curious but also a little disgusted, "And what makes you think I'd accept it? What's keeping me from walking up to you, and piercing that thick skull of yours?"

Applejack became silent again for a moment, but continued honestly, "Ah don't expect you to accept anythin', but just hear me out and make up yer own mind. That's all ah ask."

Monsoon was about to respond, but Chrysalis landed beside her and the pile of changelings on top, and interrupted the conversation. "Don't listen to this pony, dear friend. She speaks nothing but half-truths most of the time, and only EVER uses true honesty for her own benifit." She smiled at Monsoon, before continuing with, "We'll take her away so you can get back to getting rid of this... obstacle."

Monsoon stood there for a moment, pondering what's been said. As Chrysalis was about to give the order, Monsoon raised his hand in objection. "Before she goes... wouldn't it be customary to give the condemned a final request?" He smiled wickedly, almost mockingly, before saying, "I'd like to hear what kind of lies she has to tell me anyway." Applejack's face scrunched to the blatant defamation of character, but she sighed. Arguing would only make the situation worse at the moment, after all. 

"I'd rather not," Chrysalis said with a hint of venom in her voice, "This one, like the other five elements, can be rather dangerous, even when on their own. I will NOT run the risk again." Monsoon frowned. He hated being undermined, and he hated it more when it was in an obvious and shallow attempt at silence.

Just as he changelings got off and began to seize Applejack, metal piping erupted from the ground, knocking away the changelings and coiled around the farm pony. She squeaked in surprise, as Chrysalis fumed for a moment.

"What is-" Chrysalis screeched in an upstart, before calming down and starting again. "Friend, we had her under control. We do not need your help in this-"

"SILENCE!" Monsoon shouted, staring at Applejack. He slowly approached the captive pony in his magnetic grip. "Speak now, or die," he growled, addressing Applejack.

The farm pony sat helpless and stuck in the metal binds, but was more than happy to speak. "Ah know ah did you wrong, but this ain't the way to go about things," she started, "Do ya even know WHO yer dealin' with? That is the Changelin' Queen. A natural born liar and deceiver. She ain't got a honest bone in that leech of a body she has. Her whole RACE is about changin' shape to fool us ponies into thinkin' they're our loved ones. Ah don't know WHAT she told ya, but I'd bet my farm, my LIFE, that it was all a big lie just to get you to follow her."

Monsoon stood there, stoic in the face of these claims. Chrysalis slowly approached Monsoon. "Dear friend, don't listen to her. This is just flanderization of our real nature. You know this. I've told you myself, even."

"And I'VE told you that I find it hard to believe," he spat back.

"Monsoon," Applejack said, calmer this time, "What I said the last time we met was true. Everything. Even when I told you that if we can shape the weather, we can find a way to accomplish true peace for everyone. Herbivore or otherwise. We CAN change a life of takin' to be a life of givin'. Remember?" Monsoon growled, but Applejack pointed her free hoof behind Monsoon, at Elvis. Monsoon turned, and looked at the grotesque being, whom stood in silence the whole time. "Elvis there is our friend. Our friend. He's been fightin' for us this whole time, and we'd do the same for him... but..." She then looked directly at Elvis, whom returned the gaze. "Elvis... don't fight him anymore... please?"

"But, caballo?" he asked.

"Please, Elvis. Enough has happened today... and, honestly watchin' ya do this, being THIS vicious... it's breaking all of our hearts. Especially Pinkie's." Elvis then looked towards the glass dome, where Pinkie sat with Rarity and Rainbow Dash, eyes on the brink of shedding tears. Elvis sighed deeply, as he dropped his guard completely.

Monsoon watched, intrigued to an extent, but wasn't willing to take hold of the idea. Applejack then spoke again. "Monsoon... you don't need to do this. Ah promise, as much as I promise that Elvis will NOT attack you, that we WILL get you home."

"A promise she will never keep, friend," Chrysalis said. "They are so quick to make these promises, but they won't keep them. They'll find a way out, one way or another."

Monsoon stood in relative silence for a few moments, before he spun around quickly and launched his fist from his body and smacked Elvis in the head, whom flinched from the attack, but did nothing else. The fist returned to Monsoon and reconnected with him, as the cyborg sneered at the lack of response. "Why won't you fight back?" He asked, addressing Elvis.

"Because," Elvis started, "she's right. Believe whateeeever you want, but she's right about this place, and me."