//------------------------------// // Stronger Than the Sum of Its Parts // Story: Not All Is Set In Stone // by Tails_155 //------------------------------// -------------------- The sun peeks through the cracks of the cellar door. The group empties their packs. "Only bring what we need. Keep your luggage light, we don't know what we'll find. Lily, you staying here to care for the foals?" "Yes." "Dinky, you and Shady stay here with her, then." "Can do!" "Yes, sir." "Shady, I've told you... I have no clue how many times, not to call me sir... just seems so weird." Shady Daze chuckles and blushes. "Sorry, habit. I call Miss Cheerilee 'ma'am' and my parents 'sir' and 'ma'am.' Don't know why, always have. You're kind of my boss, after all." "Whatever." Featherweight chuckles and rolls his eyes. "Anyway, just help her out if she needs help." Spike opens the cellar door, and standing outside are three hungry crystalline wolves, which jump for the door. Spike yelps and slams the door. "Get back!" Everypony stands back. Feathereweight turns to everypony. "Get anything you can, block the door." The door thuds and pounds from wolves stomping and scraping on the doors. "Hide the foals. Protect them. Be ready. I don't know what's going to happen!" Rumble stands at the top of the stairs. Spike standing beside him, nervous, but ready for anything. A muffled, raspy female voice can be heard. "Hey! You! Get away from there!" The sounds of the wolves fade as the weight leaves the door. Apple Bloom stares at the wolves, who approach. As they near the trio, Apple Bloom's tiara glows, and the wolves all stop what they're doing and stare, wagging tails like puppies. Scootaloo just stares in awestruck amusement. "Never gets old." The trio knocks and Sweetie Belle speaks. "It's us, we're back." Dinky pounces at her and gives her a hug. "Are you okay? Where have you been?" "We should be asking you the same thing. We're trying to fix things. I-I think we have it under control. Just... stay here. Don't come up unless you're told it's okay." "O-okay." Dinky turns back inside. Before she can shut the cellar, Rumble, Spike, Featherweight and Pipsqueak come up. "We've been taking care of our group, and we found a few others, but there may be others out there. Just make sure everypony is safe if you can." Featherweight nods, hugging Scootaloo tightly. "Don't worry. We're hoping Twilight and her friends will be able to help us." "Twilight?! How?" Spike smiles, his body filling with an electrifying eagerness. "We don't quite know, yet. We're just doing what we--just... things will hopefully be back to normal, soon." Sweetie Belle gives a hopeful, but uncertain nod. Pipsqueak gives Sweetie Belle a hug, as well. "Now, get back in the cellar for a while. Wait for someone to come get you." They part ways, the cellar closes once more, and the trio sets off. They head for the library. After a few moments, they're spooked as Spike speaks. "Guys, I-I" "Ahh! Oh, Spike... what are you doing here?" "I want to help. I want to help Twilight if I can." "Just be careful." "You don't know how many times I've heard that, this week." The group, now four strong, makes their way the rest of the way to the library. Once inside, the ponies head toward Twilight, and the three talismans begin to glow. The feather fires a pale green, the pendant, a puce, and the tiara a blue beam toward the crystallized unicorn. The gemstone shell breaks off of Twilight who stands, bewildered. "What just happened?" She asks. "A few days ago a crystal monster attacked and-" Sweetie Belle is cut off by Twilight. "Oh dear, the gemstone monsters have broken free? I have a book about this, we need to hurry! Spike find the book on-" "Twilight, Twilight!" Twilight stops scanning the shelves and turns to the girls. "We already have what we need. We have to find your friends so you can get the Elements of Harmony!" "Oh! You girls rescued me?" The trio nods. Spike gobbles up the amethyst fragments that fell to the ground. "These taste much better than the other ones did." "These little gems we have are what saved you. But there's no time to talk about this, w-we gotta hurry. Who knows how long... or if you'll turn back." Apple Bloom urges Twilight. "Right." "Guys... could... could we go help Rainbow Dash next?" Scootaloo asks, her ears drooping. The other two look at each other, both wanting to save their families first. They frown, then turn to Scootaloo. Apple Bloom finally says "O-of course Scootaloo... We'll get Rainbow Dash back next..." Scootaloo manages a weak smile and the growing group run off. Flashes of light fly at them, but dissipate before they even come close to hitting the group. The enormous grey-rainbow alicorn dives down from the sky. "Just how did you break free? I couldn't have missed you. I checked everywhere in this town after all the princesses came here. A blast flies at the crew. Twilight prepares a barrier, but before the blast even reaches her barrier, it dissipates. "What? What happened?" The alicorn growls and fires bolt after bolt, each fading or bursting before coming within five yards of the group. The crystal monster shouts "Get them! What are you doing?" Various forms of various crystals follow the trio, Twilight and her pet dragon, but every time they see Apple Bloom, who was kinder to their kind than their master ever was, they always split off, stopping, often confused. They reach Lucky Buck's house, and Scootaloo runs inside, the others following close behind. "Rainbow Dash! --Mom! Y-you'll be okay in just a second!" Scootaloo shouts. "Come on, come on, come on!" She rushes the other two. They stand around Rainbow Dash, and the same effect. The beams converge toward Rainbow Dash and free her from her shell. Spike cleans up once again, Twilight bops him on the head. "Spike!" "What? There's nothing else to do with them." Scootaloo pounces Rainbow Dash "What... what's going on? Last thing I remember was I was hit by light and suddenly I couldn't move my hooves." "Rainbow Dash! I-I missed you so much! We have to hurry though." Scootaloo forces herself to break the embrace. "What happened? Why are the princesses here, and what happened to them?" The trio stands around the princesses. Their gems glow, but flicker and fade without success. Twilight speaks up. "Perhaps the Elements of Harmony will help. We'll just have to come back. Let's go." [dialogue markers precede unmarked dialogue now that there are so many characters] "Elements of Harmony? What's going on?" "We need to get the Elements of Harmony. The girls had to save us from being encased in crystal. Equestria is under attack by an ancient being." Twilight fills Rainbow Dash in as they formulate their plan. Rainbow Dash takes to the sky and shouts, "Well let's go get 'em!" She tries to fly out the window. "Wait!" Twilight uses her magic to grab Rainbow Dash's tail. "Why?" "We need to save the others, first. We need all of the Elements of Harmony, and everypony's been turned to crystal!" "Well let's go then!" "Yeah, let's go!" They make their way to Rarity's Shop, close by, Scootaloo never leaving Rainbow Dash's side. They repeat the process on the diamond unicorn. "Sweetie Belle, I just had the most awful experience, you wouldn't believe it! Wait, where'd all of you come from? What happened? Sweetie Belle! You took my gem! I needed that for my ensemble! Give it back!" "Wait! We need it!" Twilight Sparkle and Sweetie Belle speak in unison. "I don't see how you need it more than I do, it is perfect with this outfit! Look at it! What did you do? Why is... is that a picture of us?" "It's been enchanted. We need it to save the others, Equestria is in danger!" Sweetie Belle insists. "That's right! It's absolutely imperative that we get the Elements of Harmony, immediately!" Twilight vouches. "Come on! Let's go!" Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash are halfway out the door. They rush off to Sweet Apple Acres, Rarity, complaining, in tow. Applejack is freed from her citrine case. "Huh? Wha? What's goin' on? What're y'all doin' here?" "We have to get the Elements of Harmony, Equestria is in danger!" Twilight insists. "This is getting kind of repetitive." Scootaloo turns to Sweetie Belle, who chuckles. Apple Bloom hugs her sister. "Well, let's get goin'! Hey, sugarcube. That's a mighty fine crown ya got there! Where'd ya get it?" "No time." Twilight calls out. The crowd continues, dodging blast after blast as the alicorn comes back for another attack. "I don't know how you're doing what you're doing, but you will not win. I will not be brought back into the bowels of this planet!" Another beam flies at them and dies out before hitting them, the monster overhead roars in anger. "Why, my minions, why have you abandoned me? We're finally free!" At Fluttershy's cottage, Fluttershy breaks free in the same fashion, topaz falling around her. She gasps. "My animals! What happened? Everything is such a mess! Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!" "Don't worry, they'll be fine, but we have to get the Elements of Harmony! Let's go!" Pinkie Pie breaks free and pink diamond crumbles to her feet. "That was awesome! Did you see that? The crystals all around me, they were all like, 'CRSSSSH!' And then they fell and it was like crystal confetti! Speaking of confetti, isn't that a funny-" Everyone: "Pinkie!" The troupe makes their way back to Canterlot, where everyone they pass is crystallized. Twilight and the others look in horror, Pinkie tries to imitate the faces on the various statues as they make their way down the streets to the castle. They reach the Elements of Harmony and put them on. The various trinkets across the nine ponies glow various colors, and a bright glowing orb expands around the group, wide as the walls of the Canterlot Throne Room. "I think we should be protected from the attacks without being huddled together. Let's get back to Ponyville!" The group makes their way to Ponyville once more, the sky has darkened, as the sun rests on the horizon. Every pony they pass breaks from their crystal cage, shaking off the fragments, befuddled. The monster now runs through the streets and eventually paths, then once more, streets, attacking its own minions in a rage. The group reaches Ponyville just as another beam is fired at Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo winces and ducks under her hooves. "No, no, no, no, no!" Twilight nudges Scootaloo. "Wait! Look, she's okay! The Elements are protecting us!" She shouts to Beryline "Stop right there!" "What? What do you want! Why won't you stay gone! You ponies trapped me underneath the earth millennia ago!" "Celestia and Luna placed you underground because of precisely this! You kept imprisoning everypony in statues! We just wanted peace, but you let your greed for power overcome you." "This was my father's land, and y-you invaded, they were my rightful subjects! I was the rightful heir! My father crystallized you because you were in his land!" "But you didn't believe in diplomacy, you only attacked the others!" "Well, I will show you once and for all!" "Let's get 'em, girls!" The six begin their spell, alongside the CMCs, firing two rainbow beams, spiraling at the creature. Both of them bounce off, colliding with a café and a shop, breaking a window and a door, freeing a couple of ponies, each, from their crystalline prisons. "Your pathetic attack isn't going to do anything to me!" The monster laughs and fires blasts at the ponies. They all die out as they approach. "Looks like we're at a stalemate, then." The monster fires a beam at he running, freed ponies who are once more entombed. "How dare you! You're awful!" "To you, maybe. My minions love me!" There is a loud crash, followed by part of a building crumbling, narrowly missing a crystallized pony. Dozens of crystalline creatures jump at the monster, only to be knocked to the ground, shattering a couple. "What? What is this? You think insubordination will save you? I will end you all!" "We need to free Celestia and the other princesses! They'll be able to help us!" Twilight whispers. "Let's go!" The Crusaders all cheer softly.