While Icicle may have believed she had won, what no pony in Baltimare realised then was that Goggles’ friends had heard every single word that was spoken between Icicle and Goggles via his Recording Box. And no pony was happy to say the least, especially a certain Princess of the Night as she listened to the repeated recording.
“…nothing we can do, Icicle holds all the cards now. Let’s face it Jinx, sooner or later the Queen always gets what she wants.”
At that point Luna couldn’t bear to listen to any more, in fact she became so upset at this point that she almost crushed the Recording Box with her magic out of pure frustration. Luckily Twilight managed to take it off her before she could do anything rash.
“We… I appreciate you bringing this to my attention Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, trying desperately to calm down and not even bothering to use the royal we in these dire circumstances. “I only wish that my sister was here to share in this information.”
Twilight could easily understand why Luna would be this upset over Goggles, after all she did become close friends ever since Nightmare Night, which made Twilight all the more glad that she quickly responded to the letter she had Spike send an hour ago.
“I guess it was bad timing that Princess Celestia had to leave for Saddle Arabia two days ago huh?” Twilight said, remembering why Celestia didn’t respond the same as Luna did.
“Indeed,” Luna sighed. “But we can’t dwell on that now, just how many have arrived?”
Twilight smiled at that.
“As many as Goggles had ever made since coming here,” she answered.
What Twilight was referring to, was the amount of friends Goggles had made since he had arrived in Ponyville, and judging from the amount of Ponies and Diamond Dogs standing just outside of Town hall, it was quite a few. As it turns out, as soon as Trixie began recording everything Goggles had been hearing since his capture, Applejack and her friends began making preparations for his rescue, the first step being to gather everyone who would be willing to help, meanwhile Twilight and Spike tried to inform Princess Celestia of the evidence in hopes of making the task easier, however as it turns out, she had already left for Saddle Arabia for a royal summit. Luckily Luna was still in Canterlot and was more than willing to help. However while it was fantastic to see so many ponies who share the same concern for Goggles, the atmosphere was less than happy.
“Oh, when I get my hooves on that Queen, I’ll wring her royal neck!” Rainbow Dash snapped, stamping her hooves in the air as she hovered above the crowd.
“Well, get in line!” Rarity growled, her magic pulsating so vigorously from her horn that she looked like she was going to explode. “The way she treated that poor Gizmonk is just sickening!”
That was just a few of the angry statements that was spread around when the recording was heard, by now the Diamond Dogs have taken to chewing rocks just to calm themselves down and Fluttershy was crying her eyes out at the sheer cruelty Goggles had been going through. After several minutes of chatter, it took Luna using the Royal Canterlot Voice just to get everyone’s attention as she stood in front of the crowd with Twilight.
“Citizens of Ponyville!” She called. “I understand your concern, in fact I deeply share your anger towards the situation. As you all know, Queen Icicle has framed Goggles the Gizmonk for a crime he didn’t commit merely over her own bigotry. But I tell you all right now, that she is not going to get away with it!”
“Well then let’s quit running our collective mouths and go get him!” Silver Lining called out from the crowd, earning a loud cheer from every pony else in response.
“Yeah, Goggles doesn’t deserve any of this!” Spike added.
At that point, the crowd started riling up again, only to be once again silenced by Luna’s booming voice.
“Enough!” she cried. “Now, I know you’re all angry with what’s going on, and you all know darn well that I’m just as ticked off too. But we can’t just go barging into Baltimare Prison and expect them to bring us one of the prisoners just because we demand it. Even a Princess has limited authority when it comes to foreign prisoners.”
“Then what do you suggest we do!?!” Rainbow Dash snapped. “We got proof that Goggles didn’t do anything wrong and that he was framed! It should be quick and easy!”
“And what about that Polaris Star!?!” Silver Lining added. “If Queen Icicle’s power truly comes from greed and that cursed stone then she shouldn’t even be ruling her nation in the first place!”
The crowd murmured at that, most of them agreeing with Silver Lining and Rainbow Dash’s statements, however Luna only sighed.
“It’s not that simple,” she admitted. “We may have proof, but we’d have to bring it upon an international court for it to make any difference. It may not be an ideal solution, but at least it would buy Goggles some time…”
However Luna’s suggestion for diplomacy wasn’t met with a positive response, in fact almost everyone hated the very idea of just delaying Goggles’ fate. As Luna tried her best to calm every pony down, Twilight suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder, turning her head she saw Fluttershy hovering beside her, her face etched with nervousness.
“Hey Twilight,” she said quietly. “Have you seen Trixie and Applejack? I can’t seem to find them anywhere.”
“Weren’t they in the crowd with the others?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.
Fluttershy shook her head at that.
“I haven’t seen Trixie since Princess Luna arrived,” she explained. “And I lost track of Applejack about 20 minutes ago.”
At those words Twilight grew concerned, Trixie was one thing but it wasn’t like Applejack to disappear during a crisis, especially when it involved someone she cared about. Suddenly her eyes widened with realisation.
“Oh no,” she gasped.
#
Meanwhile, back at Sweet Apple Acres, Trixie was in the middle of packing the essential she needed. While she appreciated Luna coming to help Goggles, she knew that she would try to go for the diplomatic approach, and Trixie wasn’t someone who has that kind of patience, even if the evidence was solid. After giving the Recording Box to Princess Luna, Trixie began making preparations of her own. As soon as every pony else was meeting outside Town hall, Trixie quickly snuck back to Goggles’ lab and began gathering anything that she might need to break him out of Baltimare Prison, Goggles’ Laser-cutter, Smoke bombs, spare battery packs, the Bo-staff Rainbow Dash gave Goggles for his birthday, anything that might have been hanging around the lab. Finally she came across the last item she needed, she didn’t waste any time to take them when Rover brought them back, and it only made sense to return them to Goggles since they were his most precious possession, without any hesitation, she placed the Gizmonk’s goggles in her saddlebag. However before she could turn to leave, she found someone blocking the barn doorway.
“Ah thought you might be here,” Applejack said as she leaned up against the doorframe in a suave manner. “Not thinking of doing something reckless are ya?”
Trixie growled at that, granted she knew it was risky, or be more precise, absolutely life-threatening, but he felt like she has a better chance than any-pony to save Goggles given the fact that she was also once influenced by a power-inducing artefact. And if her experience with the Alicorn Amulet has taught her anything, then it’s that if Goggles didn’t get help soon then it wouldn’t matter if he was a prisoner or not because Icicle wouldn’t have any trouble getting rid of him before Luna or even Celestia had any say in the matter.
“Don’t try to stop me, Applejack!” she said, powering up her horn and readying herself to fight her way past the Earth Pony in necessary. “You can all waste your time with all your brainstorms if you want, but I’m gonna take some action!”
However much to Trixie’s astonishment, Applejack merely smiled.
“Ah’m not trying to stop ya Trixie,” she said, much to the Unicorn’s surprise.
“Huh?” Trixie said confusingly, letting her magic drop.
“For once ah agree with ya,” Applejack continued, her face turning serious. “Don’t get me wrong, ah love my friends but this is a family matter, and I ain’t gonna waste time while my family is rotting away inside a prison cell.”
At those words, Applejack stood up straight and picked up something from behind the second barn door, to Trixie’s amazement, it was Applejack’s own saddlebag, all packed up and ready to go.
“So what’s the plan?” Applejack asked, adjusting her hat with pride.
Those were words that made Trixie’s heart melt, someone was actually willing to help her. At this point Trixie wanted a cry, however she knew that there was no time for sentiment at the moment, so wiping her eyes of any tears, she once again put on a look of confidence.
“We’ll think of one on the train ride over,” she said, receiving a nod from Applejack in response. “Let’s go.”
However before either of them could move another step, both mares were met with another voice.
“Alright! Let’s get to it!” it said.
Upon hearing that, both Applejack and Trixie turned to face the doors, much to their surprise and slight dismay, it was none other than Applejack’s little sister and her three friends.
“What the hay are you four doing here?” Applejack asked, hoping that the answer that the Cutie Mark Crusaders would give her isn’t what she was thinking.
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes at the question.
“Well first off, ah live here,” she said, annoyed that her sister would ask such a dumb question. “Second, after she snuck off, we kinda figured that Trixie would do something like this, so we followed her.”
“And we want in,” Sweetie Belle said confidently.
“Yeah we want to save Goggles too,” Scootaloo added.
“There is no way that we’re gonna let some stuck-up pony frame Goggles just because he’s different,” Silver Spoon chirped in angrily. “And that’s RICH, coming from me!”
Both Trixie and Applejack knew where the girls were coming from, and could easily understand why they would feel so strongly about coming along, after all out of everyone in Ponyville, it was the really the Cutie Mark Crusaders that became Goggles’ first real friends. However as the older sister, Applejack began to feel her usual overprotective self when it came to Apple Bloom’s wellbeing.
“Uh-uh,” she said shaking her head. “YOU’RE staying here.”
Needless to say this shocked all four fillies as the two older mares walked past them, exiting the barn.
“What?” Apple Bloom gasped. “Why!?!”
“We’re going into dangerous turf here girls,” Applejack said sternly, turning back towards the Crusaders. “We can’t risk y’all being hurt.”
“But we…” Sweetie Belle began, only to be cut off by a strong burst of magic knocking all four fillies back and slamming the barn door shut, sealing them inside.
“Hey!” Apple Bloom’s voice shouted from the other side as Trixie’s magic faded from her horn. “Let us out of here!”
Needless to say, the whole event caused Applejack to be just as surprised as she turned to face the annoyed face of Trixie.
“That was a little harsh don’t ya think?” she said, understanding Trixie’s actions but still wishing she could have been a bit more gentle about it.
“We don’t have time for family drama, okay!?!” Trixie replied, rolling her eyes and suddenly throwing a hoof over Applejack’s shoulder. “Now, just shut up and hold on.”
At first Applejack didn’t know where Trixie was going with her actions, however she soon found her answer when the Unicorn’s horn began to pulsate with her pink aura and both of them disappeared from Sweet Apple Acres, only to reappear on a moving baggage car on a train a few seconds later. After the initial shock and dizziness, Applejack managed to get a better look at her new surroundings.
“What in tarnation!?!” she exclaimed, earning a groan from Trixie in response.
“What? You never seen a teleportation spell before?” Trixie responded, with a smug grin, happy with her accomplishment. “Not bad for my first try though right? Looks like we caught the next train out of town just in time.”
But Applejack was still a little dumbfounded by what she had just experienced, still she tried her best to understand the situation.
“Since when do you know Teleportation Magic?” she asked, scratching her head.
Trixie became sheepish upon hearing that.
“Oh well, Goggles brought a lot of books on magic back from the library for his studies in the lab,” he explained with a nervous smile. “And I may have… skimmed over a few of them on my days off.”
At those words Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle, to see Trixie openly look embarrassed was a rare sight, but more to the point, she was just glad that Trixie had found a way to get out of town without being noticed, which was all the better since Twilight and the others have probably noticed that they were gone by now.
“Well whatever the case, ah think that little trick of yours managed to get us out of town before someone comes looking for us,” she said.
“And a good thing too,” Trixie said with a nod of agreement. “The last thing we need right now is a bunch of ponies saying how stupid we’re being.”
“I know, right?” Pinkie Pie added with a nod and a smile.
Wait a minute…
“PINKIE!?!” Applejack and Trixie squealed simultaneously, only just noticing the pink Earth Pony sitting on the train with them.
“What in tarnation are you doing here!?!” Applejack demanded, not really grasping the randomness of her appearance.
However Pinkie Pie only laughed in response.
“Oh don’t worry, I didn’t tell any pony where you girls were going,” she reassured them. “But there’s something exciting about going on a covert rescue operation so Pinkie Pie wants in!”
Applejack didn’t really know how to respond to that, granted she was grateful for the offer from her dear friend but given the fact that it’s Pinkie Pie, she knew things were going to be even weirder than they needed to be. Trixie however had something else on her mind.
“Is that really what I sound like when I do the whole third-pony thing?” she whispered, trying desperately to make sure that Pinkie Pie didn’t hear her.
At those words Applejack rolled her eyes.
“No, she’s actually downplaying it compared to what you usually do,” she answered in the same volume.
Trixie growled at that. But thankfully, Pinkie didn’t seem to notice their whispers and resumed speaking.
“Besides you guys may be the brains and brawns but I just so happen to have brought the raw power,” she continued, much to Trixie and Applejack’s obvious horror.
“Uh… what do you mean by that?” Applejack asked nervously.
As if on cue, Applejack’s question was then answered by a slight tap on her shoulder, instantly reactive, she turned to see who it was.
“Hi AJ,” said the raspy voice of a familiar looking Diamond Dog.
“Rover!?!” Applejack gasped.
Then once again, as if on cue, two more faces poked out from behind Rover’s back.
“Hello,” they both said simultaneously.
“Fido and Spot too!?!” Trixie exclaimed, sharing in Applejack’s surprise.
Upon seeing the three Diamond Dogs, both Trixie and Applejack’s jaws dropped, after which they both turned to Pinkie Pie in hopes of getting some sort of explanation.
“The Diamond Dogs have a score to settle with Tod and his goons,” she explained, before putting on a serious face and letting her mane go flat. “So I figured they could use the excitement.”
Seeing the look Pinkie pie was using, everyone took a step back in slight fear, it was as though Pinkamena had come back to haunt their nightmares.
“You know, you can be pretty scary when y’all get serious Pinkie,” Applejack pointed out nervously.
At those words, Pinkie put her usual smile back on and her mane re-inflated to its usual puffy state, making everyone sigh with relief.
“Yeah, I get that a lot,” she said casually, making it seem as though she was completely aware of the reality of it.
As Applejack looked around her to see all those willing to help her and Trixie free Goggles, she couldn’t help but smile.
“Maybe this is a good thing,” she admitted. “We could use all the help we can get.”
Trixie may have been the more sceptical of these two, especially since she had originally planned to go alone, but even she had to admit that having help would be more benficial.
“Fine,” she sighed in defeat, before straightening herself up. “But the Dogs need to sit at the back on the car, I can smell their breath from here.”
Needless to say all three Diamond Dogs were offended by that remark.
“You know, we ARE standing right here!” Rover growled as Fido checked his breath out of pure curiosity.
After Fido passed out under the influence of his own breath, all that was left to do was to wait until the train arrived at Baltimare Prison, an event in which all six individuals were anxiously counting down the minutes to.
#
Meanwhile, back at Sweet Apple Acres, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were still trying to push their way out of the barn, but still to no avail. Finally after what felt like an hour of trying, all four fillies slumped to the floor with exhaustion.
“Now what are we gonna do?” Apple Bloom complained.
“Well, we can’t just sit here doing nothing,” Sweetie Belle retorted, rising to her hoofs with a determined look on her face. “Goggles is OUR friend too.”
“But it’s not like I can just use my scooter to catch a train this time,” Scootaloo pointed out. “Besides I was barely able to make it to the train when it was going to the Crystal Empire, even then Rainbow Dash had to convince the driver to slow down after flying ahead. The only way we’re gonna get to Baltimare in time is if we’re traveling in something with speed.”
“There has to be a way!” Apple Bloom pouted. “There has to be!”
Silver Spoon would have added her own say into the matter, however there was something that caught the corner of her eye, something shiny poking out of a large sheet and sitting in the far corner of Goggles’ lab.
“Hey girls look!” she said, instantly running towards the sheet, catching the curiosity of her friends. “Help me out with this will you?”
Seeing nothing better to do in this situation, the other Crusaders all shrugged and made their way towards Silver Spoon, with one hard yank, they all pulled the sheet off to reveal the massive invention underneath.
“What the hay?” Scootaloo exclaimed.
What was beneath the sheet surprised the four fillies greatly, it was a large cylinder shaped vessel with what looked like a four-bladed propeller on the front on it, along with two flat pieces of metal sticking out on either side and another sticking upward on the back, it was supported from the bottom by two large rubber wheels and had what appeared to be a small compartment in the centre of it that could supposedly be filled by either two fully grown stallions or at least six fillies of the Crusader’s age. Needless to say, the very sight of this contraption was quite interesting.
“What is that thing?” Sweetie Belle enquired, curiously poking the wheels with her hoof.
“Ah think it’s that project Goggles has been working on these last few months,” Apple Bloom theorised, walking around the invention so she could absorb every detail of it. “He said that it was almost ready a short while ago.”
“Yeah but WHAT is it?” Scootaloo asked, wanting so desperately to put a name to this incredible assembly of parts.
“I think it’s some kind of vehicle,” Silver Spoon suggested. “And check out the wings...”
Suddenly her eyes widened with realisation, if this thing had wings then there could be only one purpose this contraption could have.
“Girls,” she gasped, stepping back to view the whole machine. “I think Goggles designed this thing to fly!”
Needless to say, Silver Spoon’s statement made everyone else gasp with awe, even though Scootaloo seemed a bit sceptical at first.
“Fly!?!” she exclaimed. “This thing? Don’t be so ridiculous, it looks way too heavy to even get off the ground.”
While Apple Bloom would have normally agreed with her friend in the matter, she had seen so many of the wonderful things Goggles had created over the months he spent in this lab, and it stands to reason that if it were possible then her little Gizmonk friend would most definitely find a way to make it happen. Suddenly an idea popped into her head, and if her hunch was right then Goggles should have left something that could be of some help, as she had hoped, he did in fact leave some notes and schematics just inside the seating compartment.
“Oh yeah?” Apple Bloom said with a smirk as she laid out the schematics for everyone to see. “Well ah think these instructions suggest otherwise.”
At those words, all the Crusaders leaned in to get a better look at what Goggles wrote upon the paper, they may not have been able to understand the complicated mathematics that went into it, but there were some parts the four fillies could understand easily. Not only did the schematics say what this contraption was made of and how Goggles made it, but they also gave certain details how it should be operated, as well as the name Goggles gave it.
“The Powerful, Lightweight, Air-Navigational Engine,” Apple Bloom read aloud. “AKA the P.L.A.N.E.”
“Cool name,” Scootaloo admitted, Goggles always did have a knack for giving his gizmos interesting names.
Suddenly Apple Bloom’s eyes widened with shock, from what she could make out on the schematics, Goggles had also but an energy-blaster right in the centre of the propeller, supposedly to be used for areal demolition or defensive purposes. That was when all four fillies looked at each other with realisation, from what they could tell from each other’s smile, they knew that they all shared the same idea. They needed a way to save their friend, and now it would seem that he had just given them a way to do it.
“What do you say girls?” Silver Spoon asked confidently. “You ready for a rescue mission?”
At those words, all four fillies put their hooves in the centre of their huddle and cheered.
“Cutie Mark Crusaders, FLYING RESCUE!!!”