--PANTHEON--
Chapter Three: The Rescuers
Twilight flinched and instinctively reached out for her magic, raising a shield of amethyst energy in front of her. Immediately the burning energy fell back, leaving Twilight with only the cool feel of her own magic around her.
Pinkie Pie straightened up and frowned, blinking in confusion. "Twilight," she asked hurtfully, "what's wrong?"
" I don't know what happened, Pinkie," Twilight said firmly from behind her shield, "I don't know what happened to you, what caused you to be like this, but you have to stop!"
Pinkie blinked uncomprehendingly, "Stop?"
"Yes!" Twilight pleaded, "You have to stop this party. You've been keeping ponies here for months at a time against their will...."
"But Twilight," Pinkie cocked her head and whined, "they want to be here. Everypony loves my party, don't they?" Pinkie looked around at the crowd of ponies, the smiles gone from their faces. Very seriously, every pony nodded their head in agreement.
Twilight ignored the crowd and pressed forward. "But they aren't. If you'd just look closer you'd see that they're under a spell, your spell." Twilight's voice dropped, becoming calmer and softer, "I know you're not doing this on purpose, you'd never force somepony to party if they didn't want to. But you've been blinded by... whatever it is that turned you into an alicorn. Pinkie," Twilight pleaded, stretching out a hoof, "it's time to stop this party. What do you say?"
Pinkie stared at Twilight with sad eyes. All around her the sounds of cheer and joy had been silenced. There was no laughter, no music, not even a single cough from the crowd. All looked at Twilight, their eyes mirroring Pinkie's own. The pink alicorn leaned forward, her sober face looking strange on the normally perky pony's head. Twilight remained silent as Pinkie took a few steps forward and glared into Twilight's eyes.
"No."
With a touch of Pinkie's horn, the shield protecting Twilight crumbled under a vicious magical assault. The purple unicorn fell back in panic, bracing herself and readying her magic. "Pinkie, listen to me...."
"No!" Pinkie cut her off, rage suddenly rising in the pink alicorn's voice. Her hair began to spark wildly, radiating waves of magic around Pinkie Pie. "No!" She repeated, raising her wings in the air. "I can't believe you Twilight! Here I am, throwing you a party after you've finally come back, and this is how you repay me?" Pinkie slammed her hooves to the ground, throwing off Twilight's concentration. "I thought we were friends!"
"Pinkie," Twilight said firmly, holding her ground. "what you're doing is wrong."
"Inviting everypony to my party? Spreading joy? Making them laugh? What's wrong with that?" Pinkie growled at the purple unicorn, "I'm just trying to make everypony HAPPY!"
The final word reverberated around the room and nearly knocked Twilight off of her hooves. The purple unicorn gritted her teeth and fought against the tears that were starting to form at the corner of her eyes. "But this isn't the right way to do it!" Twilight shouted, "You're practically kidnapping them!"
"No, I'm freeing them." Pinkie scowled and started to pace. "You've been outside, you've seen what it's like out there."
"Then help me fix it."
"You can't!" Pinkie shot back and resumed pacing. "It's pointless! Nopony has enough power to raise the sun anymore, and there's no way we're joining up again."
Twilight's ears perked up. "What are you talking about?"
"You know what?" Pinkie stopped pacing and pointed a hoof straight at Twilight, "You sound just like Applejack. Applejack!" She spat out the name with unbridled fury. "She said the exact same thing back then. 'Pinkie, yah can't keep all these ponies here. It's wrong. You're forcing them to party.' Well so what if I am?" Pinkie marched up to Twilight and glared at her, the spark gone from her eyes. "So what if I'm forcing them to be here? At least they're happy here, one big party."
"Pinkie...." twilight whispered, but Pinkie raised her head and looked away.
"Look around Twilight," Pinkie said, raising a hoof to the partygoers, "what do you see?"
Twilight looked around at the crowd fearfully. Every stallion, mare, and foal had the same furious look that Pinkie had on her face. Every single mad eye was focused solely on Twilight Sparkle. Twilight turned around and saw standing directly behind her was an equally furious Lyra and Bon Bon.
"These ponies are my friends now." Pinkie said, eyes closed, "They'd do anything for me, but I'm not like that. I'm not like them." Pinkie shook her head. "No, I just want them to smile..." Pinkie suddenly whipped around, her eyes blazing white with power. The raw, burning, energy that radiated from her briefly blinded Twilight and forced her back into Lyra.
"AND YOU'RE BEING A PARTY POOPER!" Pinkie yelled, her voice magnified and distorted, "I HATE PARTY POOPERS!"
Twilight froze in fear her legs quaking uncontrollably. Her hooves refused to budge. Her breath came in short gasps. Her heart hammered in her chest like it was going to burst through her rib cage just to get away. Her mind raced but there was no coherent thought, only burning.
Burning.
There was a rustle in the crowd next to her.
It's burning.
A pony yelped as it was pushed away.
I'm going to die.
"Word of advice," a strange voice whispered, "run."
Run?
Run.
Run!
With her life on the line, Twilight focused all of her magical energy in a concentrated burst. Pinkie Pie immediately threw up a shield, but the force of the blast pushed her back several feet. Twilight leapt into the air and spun around, knocking over a dazed mint unicorn in the process. With the crowd temporarily dealt with, she rushed forward, pushing aside ponies as she did.
"Get her!" Pinkie screamed from behind her, "GET HER!"
A grey pony jumped in front of Twilight as she ran, hooves raised. Without thinking, Twilight lowered her head and barreled through the pony. A hoof reached around her leg and pulled her down suddenly. Twilight stumbled but raised her horn at the attacker. She didn't even notice what the pony looked like before she blasted her attacker in the face. But before Twilight could rise to her feet, two ponies leapt on top of her and pinned her down. The unicorn grunted in annoyance and lifted the two ponies off of her with magic.
The attackers blended together in a mass of color and fury as Twilight found herself constantly hammered by ponies. She found herself being forced in every direction by the partygoers. She ducked, jumped, ran, and blasted her way through her opposition, but it didn't take long to realize that she was getting nowhere fast, if at all.
Eventually she found herself facing the door swinging open on its hinges. Relieved, Twilight pushed some pony aside and made a run for it. However a sudden surge of magic wrapped around her, causing her to stop in her tracks. The ponies suddenly surrounded her in a web of multi-colored fur. Twilight blinked and peered through the crowd, only to find that the door had completely vanished. Swearing under her breath, Twilight jumped into the party.
After blasting Berry Punch for the second time this fight, Twilight found herself panting atop a buffet table piled with sweets. She looked around and found herself surrounded by multicolored ponies climbing up the mountain of dessert towards the purple unicorn. Twilight gritted her teeth, squeezed her eyes shut, and concentrated.
A burst of magic enveloped her as she teleported away from her attackers. But with her magic drained by repeated use, Twilight quickly lost concentration and the spell slipped away. With a pop she reappeared atop a very surprised-looking Colgate. Twilight blinked rapidly and kicked out at the blue unicorn, sending her back to the floor. Twilight shook her head and finally refocused for long enough to spy the wall just feet in front of her.
Pinkie can do whatever she wants to the room, Twilight thought through agonizing pain, but she can't do anything to the walls... I hope.
With that Twilight lurched to her feet and ran over to the wall. Pressing her flank against it, Twilight began to run around the room. More ponies descended around her, but Twilight's desperation propelled her forward, even as Vinyl Scratch jumped in front of her. With a blast of magic, the DJ was blown backwards into an annoyingly familiar cauldron.
After fighting her way through hordes of ponies, Twilight finally came across what she was looking for: the door out. Putting on an extra burst of speed, Twilight sprinted along the wall and towards the door. Just then a large pink blur descended right in front of Twilight. Spreading her wings wide, Pinkie snarled, "The party isn't over until I say... hay!"
Pinkie was suddenly caught off guard as Twilight winked out of existence. She quickly spun around and watched as Twilight rematerialized and threw herself through the door and out of the party. "I DON'T THINK SO!" Pinkie screamed furiously, an aura of pink energy surrounding her. Nearby, the party decorations started to quiver and float towards their powerful master.
Twilight panted as she collapsed in the storefront of Sugarcube Corner. She looked up and saw out the windows that the sky was as dark and cold as she had left it. "I have never been so happy to see that again." Twilight muttered and clamored to her feet.
Suddenly the door behind her burst open. Twilight spun around, adrenaline racing through her veins, and saw what had chased her out of the party. Crashing through the door was a massive construct of pink balloons, presents, and streamers. It's arms dragged along the floor, balloon fingers squeaking against the wood. It was armored with a bright pink bow that shone in the light, gleaming like polished metal. Perched atop its head was a plastic crown, its points filed down into points. As the creature passed the threshold, the pink party golem rose up to its full height, crown scraping the high roof of the store. A group of ponies followed it out, eyes blazing with anger.
Twilight's hooves gave out from under her as she stared up at the beast. She whimpered slightly as she reached for her magic but found nothing left to draw upon. The construct's great hands rose and slowly reached for the quivering purple unicorn. With nothing left to do, Twilight squeezed her eyes shut and started to pray for a-
"Fire!"
Twilight's eyes shot open as a flurry of pies crashed through the windows and impacted the party golem in the chest. The construct staggered backwards as did the ponies surrounding it, both clearly shocked by the sudden attack. Flecks of crust and filling splattered onto Twilight's face, bringing her back to full consciousness. Running on pure instinct, Twilight spun around and, not paying attention to the forms outside, jumped through the broken window.
She dimly noticed the ponies that rolled out of the way as she fell heavily to the ground. Twilight groaned in pain and exhaustion but forced herself back to her feet and staggered forward. Immediately she encountered a hoof raised to stop her.
"Get her in the cart!" A young voice said from nearby. Twilight felt herself be pulled to the side and into a wagon of some sort. Two more ponies leapt in beside her and the wagon started speeding off with a whirring sound. After everything that had happened to her, after exhausting her magic, after wearing out her body by escaping Pinkie's perilous party, there was only one thing left to do:
Twilight slipped into a well-deserved sleep.
- - - -
Twilight groaned, her consciousness returning with annoying persistence. She rolled over and slowly opened her eyes. She found herself lying in a smallish bed; it was uncomfortable, but in her current state she didn't mind. The room was lit by a single candle glowing on a nearby table. Sitting next to her bed were three figures, though she couldn't make out any distinct features.
"Is she going to be all right?" One pony asked in a high-pitched whine.
"Yeah, she was just exhausted is all." Another replied in a very familiar drawl.
"Wait, she's opening her eyes."
Twilight groaned again and shook her head. She raised her head from the pillow and peered through the fog in her eyes at her saviors. "Applebloom...?" Twilight muttered, recognizing the bow perched atop the middle pony's head.
"See, what'd I tell yah?" Applebloom said triumphantly. The little yellow filly's face soon came into focus, followed by the other two members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Sweetie Belle anxiously stared at Twilight, nervously clapping her hooves together. Scootaloo, on the other hand, was just as exuberant as Applebloom.
"You... saved me?" Twilight muttered, propping her head up with her hoof.
"You betcha!" Applebloom smiled. "Shame we didn't get our cutie marks this time."
"I don't think we were meant to be Cutie Mark Crusader Rescue Rangers," Scootaloo shook her head sadly, "but there's always next time."
"Ooh..." Sweetie Belle said nervously, "Applejack's going to be mad."
"Now hold on," Applebloom turned to Sweetie Belle, "I'm sure she'll overlook everything once we tell her we found Twilight AND that we saved her from Pinkie Pie."
"But we were supposed to stay on the farm..."
"She'll. Overlook. Everything." Applebloom insisted, poking Sweetie Belle with each word.
"Where is Applejack?" Twilight asked, peering around the room. The more she looked, the more she realized that she had been brought to a cellar somewhere.
"She's up at the front lines," Scootaloo explained, "but Big Macintosh sent out a letter as soon as we showed-"
"Wait." Twilight said, shaking her hoof, "What front lines?"
"Twilight," Sweetie Belle stared at Twilight sadly, "we're at war. Applejack's been leading the army, keeping them from reaching Ponyville."
Twilight looked between the three fillies in shock. She had seen signs battle adorning Ponyville before rushing into the party of doom, but she never really believed it was possible, let alone that Applejack was leading it. She blinked and exhaled sharply. "With who?"
The three fillies immediately looked away. Sweetie Belle started picking at the floor with her hoof. Applebloom looked off at the candle thoughtfully, as though searching for the right words. it was Scootaloo that broke the silence, still staring at the floor. "Twilight, a lot has changed."
"Who?" Twilight merely repeated.
Scootaloo closed her eyes and said sorrowfully, "Rainbow Dash."