//------------------------------// // The Low Road // Story: The New Timeline // by Jongoji245 //------------------------------// In the same deep part of the forest where Hydia's landlocked galleon sat, the said owner, now recovering from her little battle with Sunset Shimmer, was working on a similar poison of her own. "A little rattlesnake tail," - Hydia dipped the snake tail into the mix, turning it blue - "the sweat of a fire bellied toad," - upon pouring it in, the mixture started bubbling red - "and now the quills of a lionfish." The centuries-old witch sneered as the bile became as transparent as water. Scooping it in a vile and capping it with a needle, Hydia began to chuckle at her new potion when she heard a ruckus beyond the captain’s quarters. As usual, her daughters bickered and fought, this time for room on the couch. "Reeka, it’s my turn to lay down!" Said Draggle as she scooted her obese sister off the couch. "No way!" Reeka bumped her skinny sister with her massive posterior "This couch is my baby!" "Mama had this couch for the two of us, but mostly me." Draggle and Reeka pushed and shoved each other constantly when a surge of dark energy destroyed the couch in a flurry of wood, leather and stuffing. They looked up to find their mother glaring at them. "Now everyone loses!" Hydia shrieked as she hobbled down the stairs "I want you to get off your flanks and do some damage to Ponyville!" "But Mama-" Draggle stopped when her mother turned a glare at her, causing her to clear her throat "But Hydia, we couldn't even handle one Unicorn." "Not to mention a kid." Reeka was about to go to the pantry when it got blasted by her mother. The fatter of the two opted to lick the floor when her mother stepped on her snout. "Now I think we understand each other more." Hydia turned to Draggle "No lounging" Back to Reeka or eating until the job gets done! Now, get moving!!!" Back at Ponyville, the citizens both child and adult were plucking weeds as they emerged from the cracks in the pavement. Spike wasn't that quite keen on this. The day was hot, true, but the wind brought a calming sensation to the heat. "You know, days like this I would really like to lie on the balcony and sleep." The dragon pulled out a weed before stuffing it in a bag. Nearby, Rarity and Sweetie Belle were pulling weeds at the Boutique. "Spike, darling" Rarity cooed as she pulled a weed that had a massive root - "weeds like these can do terrible things to a building's complexion. What would the Boutique be if these wretched things were everywhere?" Cosgrove continued to nip around before answering, "Besides, it may be a patch now, tomorrow it could be a jungle where all the wild things could strike. Gotta think of sneak attacks." As the Hipparion continued to clear the pavement, Spike looked at his bag before turning a snide smile. The young dragon lifted the bag and began to swing it around. "Heads up!" Spike flung the bag at Cosgrove, staggering him to his chest. "Spike!!" Twilight brought her "brother" to attention "What? I was just showing the-" Suddenly a yellow and violet blur leaped at him, rolled a few times before pinning the dragon to the ground, staring into Cosgrove's eyes. "That's a sneak attack." Suddenly a large crashing noise is heard somewhere in the town. The inhabitants of the district fled as the culprits, Draggle and Reeka began trashing the town using their dark magic quite efficiently despite not being in use for centuries. "Wow, I never felt this good about destroying things!" Reeka turned to Sugarcube Corner before propelling herself upward, leaving moon craters as she slammed her massive torso on the floor. "Oh, Hydia would be so proud!" - Draggle looked around, wondering what to do next - "Dark is a bit out of our league, but we are making wonderful progress making things dreary." - She then scratched her red head - "But what does it mean by dank?" Berry Punch, like all the others, was fleeing for her life when she was wrapped in an aura and dragged before the witch. Compared to her frightened self, Draggle was rather calm. "Excuse me, but what does it mean to be dank?" - The witch politely asked when she is blasted aside, releasing the Earth Pony from her grip. Rising on her feet, Draggle found the Mane Seven staring daggers at them - "Oh no..." "That's one of the witches I told you earlier." Sunset said to Twilight. "Well whatever you are," Rainbow Dash rose into the air and charged at the witch - "you're toast!" "Rainbow Dash, wait!" Twilight beckoned Draggle lit up her horn before the aura enveloped around her body and exploded in a small pulse. Rainbow was taken back a short distance before she tried again only to be stopped when Applejack held her tail with her teeth. "Fighting these witches ain't gonna be easy as pie!" Said Applejack through her teeth. "She's right," - Twilight crouched into an attack position - "this will take smarts." Twilight teleported behind the witch and casts a spell onto Draggle, binding the witch in one aura before Sunset bound her in another aura. Holding her long enough, Applejack was able to hogtie her. The seven Ponies surrounded her as Draggle struggled to get loose. "That was a bit easy." Fluttershy whispered. "Too easy," Sunset looked around "Last I saw there were two others with her." They heard another crashing noise from Sugarcube Corner. Mr. and Mrs. Cake cornered themselves as Reeka wolfed down their entire inventory. Pound and Pumpkin trotted around the frosting covered floor, cooing in delight. "Honey," - Mrs. Cake eyed her husband - "she's teaching the kids bad manners." Just as the obese witch was about to devour a whole carrot cake, the saloon-style doors slammed at the wall. "Hey!" - the witch turned to an enraged Pinkie Pie - "That cake's for Fluttershy's birthday!" Reeka eyeballed the cake, then back to her before she devoured it completely, pastry and plate. With a dog snarl, Pinkie twirled her hair, lassoed around the witch's neck and pulled her to the open. Reeka landed in front of Rarity, before she gave a rather disgusting smile. "Ewww!!!" - Rarity levitated a handkerchief and wiped Reekas face - "Learn some etiquette!" "Etiquette?" - Reeka scratched her head - "What does she mean?" "You know, like proper table manners and dancing and" - Suddenly Rarity was held hooves by the witch as she was twirled around before being released like a top. Recovering from her dizziness, she found her usually curled mane is now ruffled - "What were they raised in, a barn?" Applejack turned a glare just as an idea popped into Draggles head. "Now I know! Dank means wet!" The skinny witch looked around to find the water tower. Mustering the strength, Draggle managed to tilt the lid, releasing the clear liquid over the streets. The ponies were washed away a good distance before the waters became thin. One one bright side, Reeka appears clean, but the bad part is that the others are now soaking wet. "Seriously?" Rainbow growled before she and the others shook the water off their fur. "Now," - Sunset walked over to the two witches as she lit up her horn - "why are you here?" Just as she finished, Hydia managed to sneak up behind the ground, levitating the vile of poison. "To give you a taste of your own medicine, Pony!" The Grand Witch fired the vile. As it spiraled towards the orange Unicorn, Rarity made the ultimate act of generosity as she jumped in between her friend and the vile. Digging deep into her skin, the poison seeped into her bloodstream. Giving one good look at her pierced skin, Rarity stood up, placed her wrist on her head before fainting as Applejack caught her. Sunset glared at Hydia as the witch levitated her daughters towards her. "Now we have our own pound of flesh." Hydia laughed as they disappeared in smoke, leaving behind Applejack's rope. In the library Rarity slept on Twilight's bed with Spike by her side, praying that she would be okay. Downstairs, Twilight was skimming through every book for any possible cures as fast as she could, her friends doing the same. "No, no, no, no..." - Twilight tossed out each book - "I can't find any anti-venoms." "Can't you make one yourself?" Asked Fluttershy as she held a book in her hooves. "I can't just make an anti-venom willy-nilly, the wrong one can coagulate her blood stream." - Her friends remained silent - "She'll die." Her friends were taken aback by that as Sweetie Belle began to tear up. "No, no!" - Sweetie ran up to Twilight, balancing herself on the older Unicorn's chest as she rose to her height - "Rarity can't go, not now!" "She won't die." - The group of Ponies turned to find Sunset walking up with a finished vile - "Because it isn't a venom. It's a virus." Twilight clapped her hooves together, "Great! Then I can make a counter virus!" - Twilight placed the anti-venom books in one pile before getting a range of possible cures - "So, what is Rarity sick with?" "Has she broken out into spots?" "No." "Have hot and cold flashes?" "...No..." "Projectile sneezing?" Twilight slowly turned her head to her roommate when the silence of the room was disturbed by a massive sneeze that destroyed the second floor as the bed fell to the first floor. Rarity now had a stuffy nose as she moaned before she started wheezing, igniting her horn in a brighter hue with each struggled breath. Upon sneezing, Rarity unleashed a massive blast of energy that made a hole in the wall and the ceiling (which by luck managed to hit a passing goose). The other, less sickly, Ponies hid behind a fort of books as the blasts kept repeating over and over. Twilight managed to dodge the blasts as she ran into the medicine cabinet and back with some pills and a glass of water. "Here, take these!" Rarity tried to grab the items but was still sneezing like mad, forcing Twilight to levitate the cold medicine down her throat before flooding it with water. Gradually her horn lost it's glow as Rarity started to take deeper breaths. The group slowly emerged from the fort when Rarity started to wheeze again. The fashionista grabbed the pillow and held it to her face as she sneezed, filling the room in thousands of feathers. Fluttershy, of course, was slightly aghast at this fact while the others shook off any of the debris off their fur. "Gazuntite!" Pinky squeaked. "malignalitaloptereosis..." - Twilight groaned as she facehoofed herself - "At least we should synthesize an antidote." "Yes, but not here, though." - Sunset levitate the empty bottle - "The venoms in the solution fragmented the virus. We need a more complete specimen." "I'll scout out and find the barge." With Sunset's approval, Cosgrove was about to run out the door. "Wait!" - Spike ran up to the Hipparion - "I want to help!" "Do not do anything stupid," - Twilight warned - "we'll arrive soon to help." With a nod, both of them ran as fast as their legs can. They have just passed the town limit when Spike began to tire. Cosgrove skidded to a halt, noticing a good nine-yard distance between him and the dragon as he panted. "Cosgrove... a little... help...?" Back at the rotten galleon, Hydia watched from the crow's nest as numerous shots of energy rocketed into the sky and exploded. "Heh, heh, looks like the virus is going along perfectly." - Hydia curled a toothy grin as she snorted through her left nostril - "Not the Pony I hoped, but a perfect test subject. Anytime now, they would have to come over and get an antidote from me and when they do, I'll be ready..." The witch was about to break out into laughter when a loud spill and a loud clang were heard in the ship. Quickly Hydia teleported herself over to the source of the problem. "What have you two miscreants done!?" She had a good reason to. Her daughters were fighting again, causing the large cauldron of the virus to spill over the ship. Right now they held a pose with Reeka about to bite on Draggle's leg as the latter strangled her. "Sorry, Ma - Hydia!" Draggle tightened her grip around her sister. "Sorry doesn't help make the virus!" Hissed their mother as she slowly inched her horn. "But... we don't know how to make a virus." Reeka was suddenly tossed a book regarding the virus she just made. "GET TO WORK!!!!" She screamed, scaring away the crows that roosted at the ship. A distance away, Cosgrove carried Spike at a slow walking pace, much to the Dragon's frustration at this time. "C'mon," - Spike struck his heels against the Hipparion’s side - "Can't you go any faster?" "I would..." - Cosgrove turned a glaring eye - "If you cut back on the gems." "Hey," - Spike tilted to the left, his eyebrow raised - "are you calling me fat?" Cosgrove stopped and bucked his passenger off him. Before Spike could get up, the Pony pressed his hoof against his tummy and shook it violently, causing the gems in his tummy to clash with each other. "And they don't need to shoot you..." - As Cosgrove turned around, he noticed Spike about to hop back on - "Nuh uh! You're walking the rest of the way." Giving his belly one last pinch, Spike gave his partner a look before catching up to him. "You’re sure you know where we're going?" Spike poked at Cosgrove's side. The Hipparion rubbed a dew claw on his nose as he figured out the trail. "They... should be just in that patch of trees over there." "They should be..." Spike snorted "For Sunset's sake." Cosgrove's ear flicked to that last remark and snarled. "Excuse me..." - He turned his gaze to Spike, looking furious - "Are you implying that this is somehow her fault?!" "Well, you two did find them, twinkle toes!" Spike inched himself to the Pony. From a distant tree, Owlowiscious watched the two youngsters banter at each other. "I beg to differ, rock biter!" Cosgrove retorts making himself taller. Having been partially enchanted sometime after adoption, Twilight could use Owlowiscious as an extra set of eyes and ears. Displaying what the owl is seeing through a magical screen, the adult Ponies watched them argue while the Crusaders have gone to get Zecora. "Evolutionary offshoot!" Spike continued "Wingless worm!" Cosgrove added back. "Sheesh!" - Rainbow Dash was eying the "tv" as she picked up a loose branch - "And I thought Pinkie was the immature one." "Oh, silly Dashie, you're so silly!" Pinkie hopped around as she swept the fallen leaves. Fluttershy was in the middle of tucking extra blankets over her ailing friend when she asked, "Was it wise to send them out on their own?" "To be honest, no." - Applejack pushed a large branch out the door - "But having them be alone has produced a few miracles. We can bet that either they work together or kill each other." Rarity sneezes again, causing more debris to fall on top of them. "Either way, I don't care which." The farmer finished before more debris fell. Back outside and deep in the Everfree, Cosgrove and Spike continued their walk towards the ship. They haven't talked much since at one point of their banter, Cosgrove mentioned the uncertainty of Spike, a dragon his age, dating Rarity, a pony well over his age. Soon they spotted the crow's nest, prompting them to crouch down and crawl to the hill. "There it is, just as Sunset and I left it, only now there are three healthy witches, two of whom are just meddlesome babies." "Well," - Spike popped his knuckles - "let's get that antidote!" "Whoa, whoa!" - Cosgrove grabbed the dragon's tail with his teeth and pulled him back - "Twilight said no funny business!" "This isn't funny business, it's personal!" Spike kicked it into overdrive as he dashed towards the ship. Cosgrove growled as he fiddled through the combinations of alchemy symbols. "You guys need to arrive and arrive soon." - The Hipparion began to trot down the hill and pick up Spike - "If we're doing this, we gotta do it right." The Crusaders were coming back with Zecora when they bore witness to another blast being shot into the air. "This is more than I was told, for I have not seen such a cold." The three fillies and Zebra walked into a dark library hall partially lit with medicinal candles, revealing Rarity tucked in several layers of blanket, hooked to an IV machine, a vile of vapor rub in front of her snout with Pinkie Pie in ceremonial robes making a long, drawn out chant. One would think that being armed to medicinal teeth that Rarity would be cured. That would be had it not been for the teeny weeny word: "AAAAACHOOOOO!!!" The library was now clear of the canopy, lighting the room in the bright blue sky. "Aw come on!" Rainbow Dash screamed as she and Applejack began picking up debris again. Sunset and Twilight walked down the stairs, minding the large hole in the ceiling. "We'll have to take the fight to them." - Twilight rubbed her head - "You said it wouldn't be easy, would it?" Sunset nodded when they heard Rarity moaning as she sat up on the bed. "Rarity, go back to sleep." Applejack placed a hoof on Rarity. "My dear Applejack" - Rarity sniffled as she pushed aside the orange hoof - "if I am just going to wreck the library, I would do so on those ruffians house." The gang cowers again when Rarity began to wheeze. Fortunately, Zecora placed the tip of her hoof on her nose, stopping the sneeze. "Rarity may be the answer to our pleas if we use her sneeze." Sneaking into the ship, Spike and Cosgrove look around, trying to not make too much noise. Hearing a banter from the corner, the two peaked from the side to find Reeka and Draggle adding more of the necessary ingredients for the virus. The young Hipparion took out a small coin and tossed it. Hearing the chime, the two witches found the sparkling coin. "Hey, that’s mine!" Reeka tried reaching it from her sister's grasp. "I'm the first to find it, so it's mine!" Draggle retorted before her sister head butted her. Once again the two witches were at each other's necks again. As they tossed and turned on the floor, the dragon and Pony crawled up to the cauldron, took out a clean bottle and sampled the whole strain. They gave each other a nod before turning around to find Hydia standing right behind them. "You didn't think I would have known that you would come over to collect and antidote from me?" - The witch wrapped them in her aura before turning to Cosgrove - "Now I can finish what I started, before dealing with your pet." Spike growled when a familiar sound echoed the ship. Reeka and Draggle stopped fighting and looked around before being blasted away by part of the ship as the Mane Six, Sunset, and Zecora stood before them. Rarity was being supported by Fluttershy as she rubbed her nose. "Ha! Guess you were wrong, wart face!" Spike sneered before the aura tightened around his neck. Hydia lifted Spike and Cosgrove before them. "Now if you want these two and your sick friend to survive, you will have Princess Celestia meet our demands." From her reddened face, Rarity found her dragon friend being strangled before she dropped to the floor. After rising up on wobbly legs, the sickly Unicorn slowly walked towards the witch. The others slowly backed away after Hydia dropped her hostages and aimed a concentrated blast of dark energy. "You... will not... huh-uh-urt... mah-my... Spah-spa-Spikey... Wi... Wii... WiikeeeeAAAAAACHHHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" In one massive burst of energy, the ship, and five kilometers of forest, exploded, sending debris over a massive distance, at one direction landing at Ponyville. All that was evident now was a burnt clearing with Rarity standing at the center. Taking a deep sniffle, Rarity began to wobble. "Celestia, bless me." Applejack was able to catch her before she fainted. Cosgrove walked up to his friend. "Were you two at least able to get a bottle of the virus." - Sunset quickly grabbed the bottle after it was tossed to her. "Got you covered." As they began to leave, Spike walked up to him. "Uhm, Cosgrove." - Spike got his attention - "Sorry about what I said before." "And sorry about what I said about you and Rarity." Cosgrove answered. Over the course of a few weeks, repairs are being made to the library, while Rarity still slept in Twilight's bed, having been injected with the antidote. Twilight was busy levitating each book by the Dewey Decimal System. "Well, nothing helps like a good lick of paint, a few arranged books, and it's home." Twilight and the others suddenly turned at Rarity wheezing again. The Crusaders hid behind a book fort, Spike and Cosgrove under the table. Rarity sneezed... normally... To the relief of the others as they gave a nervous laugh, though Fluttershy fainted like a goat. A good distance away, however, Hydia opened her eyes to be surrounded in a green liquid. Encased in a cocoon-like shape along with Reeka and Draggle, she eyeballed around to find a hornless Changeling and a mint green Pegasus hovering in front of them. "Are you sure they would help us?" Lightning Dust looked at Blackarachnia with concern. "Don't worry..." - The Changeling eyed the "Alicorn Amulet" around her neck - "He knows what he's doing." The entity inside the amulet laughed as the view fades to black.