//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Capture and Escape // Story: Scales the Draconic Oddball // by Kowlickkid //------------------------------// Server startup initiated Location: Unknown Status: Unconcious. Unharmed except for massive headache Memory boot... Data received Celestia and Luna attack... Unconcious... Captured... Location: Canterlot and/or dungeon... Server boot... Hearing... Engaged Touch... Engaged Taste and smell... Engaged Sight... Error. Error. Eyes not open Command code OPEN EYES My eyes abruptly flew open and I sat up immediately, fully awake. I took in my surroundings. I was lying on a cushy bed, and my back was not happy about it. I twisted to both sides, earning a few satisfying pops. To my left was a small table with a glass of water and a bowl of... something. I took a sniff at it and snorted. Whatever it was, it would probably taste like a glob of... I don't know what. A glob of something unpleasant that somehow passes for food. 'I wouldn't eat that if I was starving in the desert. At least the water looks alright.' And it did. It was clear, fresh, and had no particles floating in it. My slim forked tongue darted out, wrapped itself around the glass and tipped the contents into my mouth. 'Refreshing.' I wiped my mouth and observed my surroundings. I was definitely in a cage, and a weird one at that. It had the table, the bed and the chair. Nothing else. Just a black floor and a black ceiling. Oh, and to prevent my escape, there was a series of yellow bars of what I presumed to be was magic. I tentatively tossed a scale at one of them. Immediately, the yellow turned to blue and electricity coursed through the scale till it was sent flying back. 'So, the glowing yellow bars of magic will hurt me if I touch them. Go figure.' A door outside my cage(Duh) suddenly flew open and in came the two princesses, followed closely by the mane 6. Knowing that they hadn't seen me yet, I got a sudden inspiration and turned invisible. When the group arrived, immediately they all gasped. I chuckled and slipped out of camoflauge, sitting on the chair backwards, my arms resting on the backrest. The faces of the ponies were all of annoyance, except Celestia's, who wore a smug grin. "Is there something wrong? Why are you not attacking us?" she said. I grunted and picked up the glass with my tongue. Then I tossed it to a glowing bar, where it shattered. The ponies all stepped back to avoid the glass shards. "I'm not stupid, Celly. And I'm civilized enough to not attack everything in sight, despite the fact that you gave me this vicious headache with that stunt of yours." The look on a few ponies faces demonstrated that they didn't expect me to talk. Twilight outbursted. "How could you dare to call Princess Celestia by that name?! You don't even know her!" I didn't move. "Well, Twilight. I figure that I just want to call her that, and so I do. That is how I dare. And by the way... What in tarnation are you trying to feed me?!" I picked up the bowl of tannish gruel. "I mean seriously! This stuff is absolutely repulsive!" I chucked the bowl towards them, and it hit a bar and exploded, scattering it's contents all over Luna. "Pardon me there, Woona. I got a little caught up in the moment." Rainbow Dash flew up to the edge of the cage and scowled at me. "Just WHO do you think you are?! You call the princesses weird names and you spill... whatever it is all over one of them! And how do you know who we are?!" I slithered closer to the bars and grinned maniacally. "Rainbow Dash, you should control your temper. As for my name, simply call me Scales. And I know a lot about all of you. More than you would guess." "Oh yeah!? Prove it!" I chuckled. "My my my, such an eager little pony. Very well. You, Rainbow Dash, are the fastest pegasus to fly the skies yet. You are the only one to succesfully break the sound barrier with an added chromatic effect, which you have called the Sonic Rainboom. You are also the Harmonic Element of Loyalty. But for all of these faults, you have a light temper problem, as well as an over-inflated ego. Did I say enough?" Dash stared at me, flabbergasted. Applejack spoke up. "Alright there, pardner. If ya know so much about us, try givin' me a little spin." "Alright. You, Applejack, are an earth pony who lives and works at Sweet Apple Acres, a farm boasting of the finest apples in Equestria. You have two siblings, Big Macintosh and Applebloom, one older and one younger. You have a grandmother named Granny Smith and a host of other relatives dispersed across the country, growing apples in their orchards. You are the Harmonic Element of Honesty, able to detect lies in most creatures easily. You are strong and friendly, but you, like Dash, have a shorter than ordinary temper and a certain degree of pride, though to a lesser extent. You are also quite hard-headed, not walking away from a fight easily. Is that enough?" She looked at me with stunned surprise. "How dost thou know so much about our lives, worm?" demanded Luna, who had by now cleaned up the sticky mess of the porridge stuff. "Frankly, I don't really feel like telling. Too bad for you, Woona. And you, Twily." Twilight's ears dropped, and she put on a puppy-dog face up to Celestia, pouting like I had just taken away her lollypop. She didn't take any notice. Her horn was already lit up and she had a dangerous scowl on her face. "You will tell us what we want to know, beast." Her horn started to let off sparks. I shook my head. "So be it. Prepare for unbearable pain, lizard." I was about to reply with a witty comment, but she never let me finish, instead choosing to fire a yellow bolt at me. I screamed. It truly was unbearable. My vocal chords vibrated in protest to the totally uncool treatment. A long roar forced it's way out of my throat before she finally stopped. Fluttershy let out a shriek and dashed behind Pinkie-Pie, who was, along with the other ponies, marvelling at the sight. I fell to the floor, gasping and covered in magic burn-marks. "Are you ready to spill your guts, or do I have to spill them for you?" threatened Celestia. From some darkened corner of my twisted mind, an evil chuckle escaped. "Dear Celly, that was quite rude of you. I wouldn't have thought that you were such a torturer. But enough of this. I feel as though it is time for me to make my exit." Luna answered me this time. "THOU CANNOT ESCAPE THIS CASTLE, NOR EVEN THIS CAGE! THE MAGIC SPELLS PREVENT THAT!", she exclaimed with fury, using the Royal Canterlot Voice. I rose to my feet. "So that was the RCV. Most impressive. However, I think you will find that I can and will make it out of here." The scale on my chest opened up, and the artifact I had made with Lena landed in my palm and adhered to it. I showed it to them. It was a large medallion-coin, and it showed a carving of amber of a face looking straight ahead. The right side was of a dragon, and the left side was of a pony. It was divided down the middle, and the image had it's mouth open. The eyes that adorned it were sparkling green emeralds, and the mouth was a piece of amethyst. Rarity's eyes gleamed. "Where did you ever get such a marvelous thing? It looks just beautiful! I must admit, the sculpture is a bit off-putting, but it looks like with a bit of work it would be fabulous! Might I fix it up for you?" I shook my head. "Well, why not?" she asked, mildly annoyed. "This amulet wasn't made for beauty, but for a purpose." With one of my sharpened claws, I slowly rotated the image 180°, where it automatically flipped over, leaving the original image, but mirrored. A clear magical aura, looking very much like water, spread over my hand, then my arm, and then went over my whole body, healing the magical burns and leaving me with relief. I cracked my neck and sighed satisfyingly. Celestia immediately tried to hit me with another beam. I grinned and the backs of my hands fused their scales together as I crossed my arms and quickly uncrossed them, intersecting at the point where the spell was and sending it straight to the wall. "Not gonna work this time princess," I taunted. "This amulet renders me unaffected by most spells, and reduces most damage in more powerful ones." The ponies looked at me slack-jawed, probably not believing me, but shocked to see Celestia's spell repelled so easily. I grinned and stepped through the bars, the yellow energy fizzling as it struck my clear coating. "H-how did y-you do th-th-that?" stammered Twilight. "I had a little help from a friend. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go." I spotted a large window in the wall and darted towards it, swinging my fist at it and succesfully shattering the glass. "FOOL! YOU HAVE NO WINGS AND WE ARE HUNDREDS OF FEET IN THE AIR!", thundered Luna. I quickly extended my wings. "Um, duh, they fold. I can't believe you thought I was a wingless dragon. Then again, you did call me worm and lizard. Aw, what the heck? I'm rambling here. Adios, pandilla de inútiles," I said as I vaulted out the window. I adjusted my wings and soared downwards, heading for the ground at a great speed. I finally came to a halt by crashing down into the ground in the gardens. "Stop, dragon!", shouted a voice to my right. Twilight Sparkle was assaulting me, closely followed by the rest of the mane 6. She let loose a purple energy bolt straight at me. Using my amulet's force to my advantage, I easily caught the spell and held it between my two hands. She gasped. "Magic-proofed, remember?" I threw the orb back at her, and it exploded in front of her, sending up a wall of dust so thick she couldn't see through it. When she finished coughing and the other 7 had caught up to her, I was gone. "Where did that yeller-bellied varmint get to?", demanded Applejack. "Congratulations! You all just earned an achievement. Worst observers ever." They all looked back and there I was, floating casually in the air in a reclining pose. "Now, what say we get this insane chase on just like in the cartoons? Does any background pony have a saxophone they can play a goofy tune with?" Almost immediately, a brown pony with a silver mane and a yellow saxophone as his cutie-mark came right out of the bushes. "I can do that!" he said. "Perfect. Now, music, maestro. Catch ya later, equines." I dropped to the ground and ran towards the maze, the brown pony playing a tune that just fit the mood perfectly and drove me over the insanity line. "After him!" said Celestia. All the ponies started running(or in the case of RD, flying) towards me, but I accelerated to keep them at bay. When Twilight appeared in front of me, I hastily jumped into a bush. "Pinkie!" she shouted. Immediately, the party pony put on a sinister grin, jumped behind Twilight and rotated her tail, sending a stream of lasers towards the bush. It was being destroyed. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you peppering that particular bush?" Pinkie looked over her shoulder to see me leaning nonchalantly out of a different bush, picking my teeth with a twig. She immediately swiveled and started peppering the bush I was in now. "I'll get you now, dragon!" "I say, that bush isn't a dragon. You may need to get your eyes examined, dear Pinkamena. On the other hand, if you want a dragon, I suggest trying the flowerbed for some dragon-snaps." She looked behind herself again and dropped her jaw as she saw me standing in the middle of yet another bush, a monocle in my eye. "Come come now, it's rather rude to stare." By this time, the others were watching and were equally astonished to see what I was doing. Pinkie gritted her teeth and started shooting Twilight's horn at my bush and any other bush in target range, yelling out: "Where are you, pest!? I'll get you now!" She was distracted to hear a familiar voice come from Luna's direction. "Hey Luna, when was the last time you washed your mane?" Everyone whirled in astonishment to see my head poking out of Luna's starry hair. "I mean, space is supposed to be big, but a guy could get lost in here!" I jumped out of her mane and ran towards the nearest tree. "Hold it right there, Scales!" said Rainbow Dash, taking off after me. She was too slow, though. I jumped up in the tree and she soon followed me. My head and shoulders appeared out of another tree. I quickly said "Mibs!" and darted back in. Coming out of a different tree, I again said it. "Mibs!" This repeated various times, with me going faster and waiting less time before changing trees. "Mibs! Mibs! Mibs! Mibs! Mibs! Mibs! Mibs!" The ponies looked at me in shock. "Oh, h-he's acting like Pinkie-Pie," whispered Fluttershy. "Indeed, Fluttershy," affirmed Luna. "Oh no! Now there's TWO of them!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash. "Two Pinkie-Pies you say?", I said, popping out of a tree with a confused look. I disappeared and revealed myself right in front of Luna, staring into her eyes from 4.3 millimeters away. "THE FUN HAS BEEN DOUBLED!!!!" Two red circles appeared under Luna's eyes before I ran off into the maze. The brown pony was still playing his sax, and this was the part where it would be awesome. [/hr] Somewhere distant, beyond the reach of the universe, in another reality inaccessible to all but the inhabitants of that area, a host of beings were in a circular room, seated and discussing things with their neighbors. Suddenly, one of them, a blue figure with red eyes, fell from his chair and cradled his head, moaning in agony. A pure white one rushed to his side and tried to help him up. "Are you okay, Physics?" it asked in a clearly feminine voice. The other replied with a deeper masculine voice. "Oh, I don't know what I'm going to do, Order. Pinkie-Pie alone was bad enough, but now there's another one!" All the other figures nodded their head solemnly. Physics was not easy to break, but once it was done enough, he was severely damaged. [/hr] Back to Our Story I ran between the hedges, trying to stay away from the ponies for as long as possible. My eyes had a lunatic gleam in them as I cackled and ran around the maze. I stopped in a section with a lot of topiary, and, eyeing an empty pedestal, I climbed onto it, arranged myself into a pose and turned my body green with leaf images all over. 'The perfect disguise.' Rainbow Dash came storming around the corner and entered the area. "I know he went in here somewhere." She looked around with a steely gaze. I tried my best to contain my laughter. She was walking not 3 feet away from me and still didn't see me. At the other entrance, Applejack suddenly appeared and Dash immediately tackled her. "Ah-ha! I gotcha, Scales!" "Calm down, sugarcube. I admit I'm not lookin' ma best, but don't confuse me with that creep," retorted the earth pony. "Sorry, AJ. I was just so close behind him! I almost had him, and I woulda pummeled him into submission!" I held in a chuckle. Even after seeing two whole seasons of her, and listening and seeing her in person, I still had a bit of trouble admitting she was female. 'I mean come on! The raspy voice, the attitude, heck, even her figure isn't all that feminine.' The two friends went out to search for me. However, I couldn't quite go yet, for whistling his way along came the gardener with a pair of shears. He observed me intently. "Seems like that one could use a bit of a trim." He picked up the shears and started to move them towards me. I broke my pose. "OI! Watch where you poke those things!" I scampered off, still disguised as a piece of vegetation. He blinked a few times. "Ah told the doctor I couldn't take that medication but noooooooooo..." [/hr] I rushed through the maze before pausing and putting my sensitive ears to work. I heard somepony bounding my way. I grimaced. "Pinkie-Pie." Then my face brightened, and my lips curled into a devious smile. [/hr] Pinkie's POV 'Gee, I wonder where Scales is. I hope I can throw a party for him. It would be so much fun. I wonder if he likes cupcakes? I like cupcakes. I like the word. How come they call them cupcakes? They are like mini-cakes, but they don't have a cup. They should call them small-cakes, or something like that, but they're not really cupcakes.' I bounded along the garden with a happy smile on my face. I was looking for Scales, and maybe I could throw him a PARTY! I looked to my left and I looked to my right. "Oh hi there me-who-is-right-there-and-is-copying-everything-I-do-like-it-is-a-mirror. Do you like parties?" The other Pinkie-Pie said the exact same words as me, and I nodded when she asked me if I liked parties. She nodded too. "Hold on a minute! I'm Pinkie-Pie, but you're Pinkie-Pie too. There can't be two Pinkie-Pies, can there? But hold on. I know that you're there and that you're Pinkie-Pie, but how do I know that I'm here and that I'm Pinkie-Pie? Oh, listen to me, I'm rambling on and being silly. There can't be two Pinkie-Pies so that must mean you're a *gasp* IMPOSTOR! But wait, how do I know I'm not the impostor. I know! PINKIE-PIE IMITATION CONTEST!" I did a special little Pinkie-Pie dance and looked over at the other Pinkie. She was doing the same thing! I rubbed my chin and she did the same, but mirrored. I know! I brought out my party cannon and let it blast. She had one too! Confetti fell down from where the cannonballs collided. My hair straightened out and hers did too. "Maybe you are me. Maybe there are two Pinkies and I'm not that special anymore." I felt miserable. "Don't worry Pinkie!", said the other. My face brightened a bit. "I'm not really you." Her hair was poofy and she was smiled. "Say Pinkie..." "Yeah?" "Have you ever seen stars in a hoof?" "Hmmm... Let me think... I've seen stars in the night sky, but I've never seen stars in a..." *DONG!* "hooooof." I fell down backwards, my tongue lolling out. "Hey look! Stars!" [/hr] Scales' POV 'Glad that's over. She was getting a bit annoying. But it was fun. I just hope she doesn't get me for this. Yuh-oh, here comes Celly and Woona.' I took off in a streak as the two alicorns waltzed up to Pinkie. The last thing I heard was: "Oh, hello princesses. Hey Celestia, have you ever seen stars in a hoof?" *DONG!* I snickered as I moved along. I heard someone else come along in a big hurry. Judging by the soft footfalls, it was Fluttershy. My quick-thinking brain came up with something. I quickly disguised myself as a buffalo and lit a small fire in front of me. Fluttershy came softly around the corner as I gazed into the burning embers. "Oh, um, excuse me sir, but, um, have you, by any chance, well, seen a dragon around here?" I nodded. "Well, um, could you tell me where he went. I mean if that's okay with you," she added hastily. I nodded and pointed my arm, now disguised as a buffalo hoof, to the right. "Him went thataway," I said in a real cheesy indian accent. "Thank you, mister Buffalo." Fluttershy quickly bounded in the direction I pointed. I smiled. 'So cute and naÏve and innocent.' I quickly shimmered back to my old self and dashed in a different direction. [/hr] They finally had me cornered against a stone wall. I could probably fly away, but they would get me pretty easily. I had been airborne for only four or five days, after all. Celestia, without a word, took 6 objects out of a bag and passed them to the mane 6. With horror in my heart, I realized that they were the elements of harmony. 'Well, time for me to skedaddle. I've been here for 6 and a half hours, and I need to get going.' I tried to move my feet, but they were stuck to the ground. I quickly shot a look at my amulet. 'Shoot! Power's out!' I took it off my palm and calmly dropped it back into my neck pocket. Twilight shot a smug smirk at me. A low rumble came to my throat. I crossed my arms and put my lips into a scowl. "I suppose I should congratulate you. Too bad it took ya 6 and a half hours. Still, ya caught me. Congrats." It was obvious that they had stopped listening. The elements started to glow, and beams shot out in my direction, striking me one at a time before all 6 joined together and I blacked out. And chapter 8 is officially done. I had fun writing this chapter. A lot of fun. And as for what you're thinking? "Celestia the torturer, it's unheard of!" Well yeah, I sorta did that. Too bad. Anyways, you can guess what just happened to Scales. Thanks for readin', and keep your stick on the ice. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIT!!!!" Pinkie? What are you doing here? "I'm buying pizza. What do you think I'm doing? I'm breaking the fourth wall and now I'm going to make you see stars!" Well... Cliché? "I'LL GIVE YOU A CLICHÉ!" *BANG* Pinkie... The frying pan hurts. Uh, Pinkie? Pinkie? What are you doing with the chainsaw? Pinkie? PINKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!!!