//------------------------------// // Magic Dance [35] // Story: Stories in Stone, Lost Empire // by TDR //------------------------------// Stories In Stone Lost Empire By TDR Magic Dance [Whitetail woods. 1330 hours] Applebloom stares at the tree before her, the large structure reminded her of the library back in Ponyville, though unlike Golden Oaks this one seemed to have been grown into the shape of a house rather than made into a house later on. She glanced back the other way as the tail end of the guards leading the others off to the edge of the woods went out of sight. The other group had not been happy about leaving her, but with a score of Elk surrounding them there was little that they could do about it. Particularly since the ones escorting the others out seemed more inclined to kill them than lead them to safety. Likely if they did anything aside from what they were told, the Elk wouldn't hesitate to remove them for good. Applebloom sighs looking back at the tree, the Elk around her were not threatening or forcing her onward, but they also didn't seem inclined to stand around her forever before making her walk. Right now she was a curiosity, but that could get old fast. The earth pony grumbles to herself approaching the door to the tree home as one of the Elk opens it to allow her inside. Crossing the threshold into the tree was a odd change. The outside looked like war camp, sparse decoration and a lost of camouflage to mask the homes. Inside the tree reminded Applebloom of her own home back at the farm. Little nicknacks and paintings covered every spot on the walls. Small figures, dolls, bits of art, curiosity's. a number of small flowering plants, and some curious fossils in stone. A few well woven blankets hung over sections of the outer wall likely trapping the heat that permeated the structure. The temperature wasn't unpleasant, but it felt as if Granny had left the fireplace going a bit too long into the spring season. She glanced back as the door shuts softly behind her. None of the Elk guards had accompanied her inside. She looked back into the depths of the homey interior, taking a step forward her hoof tapping into the soft tan carpet laid out over the floor. [“Head towards the end of the hall and take a right into the last door please.”] a voice calls. Applebloom's ears perk up at the scratchy tone. Who ever this was sounded just like Grannysmith too. Following the instructions she pushed open the last door to a small room with a little fire pit in the center a cooking pot sitting over it with nothing in it. The tang of the hot metal and dried herbs giving her pause as she looks around the room. A stone chimney poked out of the ceiling to catch the smoke, a variety of small odds and ends dotted this room too as well as a large collection of books. A ring of benches covered in blankets and cushions ran around the fire pit and seated on one of them was a positively ancient looking dark green Elk mare. The elder mare lifts her head looking up from where she was poking the fire with a stick and smiles nodding lightly to Applebloom. [“Ahh there you are. I was getting worried that Dances in Flame was going to be difficult. I trust you are not harmed?”] [“Ah been better, but mai friends and cousin are still out there.”} Applebloom states. [“They should be fine. Flame has an ego, but even he won't go against my word directly. So long as your friends do nothing he will leave them at the edge of the forest. You can rejoin them later. I simply have a few questions for you. Your Elk is impeccable by the way. Far too skilled for some one to just stumble upon being able to speak it. So I would like to know who trained you and why you are here?”] [“Ain't got no training, didn't even know ah could speak Elk until ah was told ah was talking Elk. An here I thought learning Fancy would be annoying.”] Applebloom snorts sinking down onto a bench across from the elder Elk. [“You do not seem to be lying, but what you are saying is impossible. While the occasional half breed will pop having the vocal capacity to speak our tongue they cannot do so without training. The Elken language is just as, if not more, nuanced and versed as Pony.”] [“ Ah ain't lying... Who are you any way?”] Applebloom demands, trying to be respectful to the old female before her, but it wasn't easy. [“Ahh yes. I did forget that. I am Elder Lololog. I lead this gathering of Elk. Well more accurately I advice them and they lead themselves. You however are a bit of a worry Miss Applebloom. Why have you come to our land?” ] Applebloom flinched a little. It seemed Pip had been right that they were listening in if they knew her name. She thought a moment about that. So far as she knew the Elk Elder was being straight with her and the forest green doe reminded her a great deal of Granny Smith. She doubted the Elder would go back on what she said. Maybe she would have a better idea of what to do as well. Applebloom didn't think she could just bleed all over the seed and have another Yggdrasil sprout up. Maybe there was another way. Of course certain things she should leave out, she always wanted to be mysterious like Zecora.. [“ Dreams of fire and blood, the advice of some one who can feel the future, and this.” ] Applebloom states pulling the necklace out from behind her neck where she had tucked it into her mane. The little glass babble tinkling lightly as the seed rolls around in it. The Elk stares a moment at the seed tilting her head a little. [ “While I am not sure of what that stone is, nor what you mean by feel the future, Fire and blood I know quite well. I recall that from my fawn hood and the years of nightmares that followed. There are scant few of us left who do remember that night however, but none will forget what was done to us by ponies.”] the Elder frowns. [“And do you recall why it was done?”] Applebloom asks some what curious. [“The exact reason no. I was but a fawn then. What I was told was that our Elder at the time had killed some one important to one of the leaders of the Nightmare. Dogwood had sought to show he was not afraid of ponies and that he wanted no part of their war. At the time we had thought he had merely cast out any with equine blood flowing through them. We later found he had them killed by crusafiction, nailing their bodies to the trees along the territories southern edge. Fawns, bucks, does,... it didn't matter. If his group thought there was even a drop of blood that was not Elk flowing within them they were removed. It was a witch hunt pure and simple. Any one who disagreed with him or didn't pay a tax, vanished as well. Those at the time new there was a madness taking the Elder, but none would stand up to him for fear of being the next one killed.”] Applebloom sat staring at the Elk as she spoke watching the old woman gather herbs and drop them into the heated cook pot with a little water, the steam starting to rise out of the pot was aromic, but not laced with anything Applebloom was worried about, she recognized the combination of herbs being dropped in. It was a mixture used to create aromatic steam to help a pony with a cold breath properly. There was however a small corded vine she didn't recognize being tossed in , but it didn't change the scent and the Elk didn't seem worried. [“When Blackhoof came, his vengeance was swift and terrible we were nearly destroyed from without , we were already rotting from the inside, death seemed certain either way. But Blackhoof held off wiping us from the world. He destroyed most of the young bucks and does swayed by Dogwood's ideals, and all of them that were part of his council. Dogwood himself was stolen from our village personally by Blackhoof and drug into the night screaming. I was told our best trackers and hunters lost the trail of the Servant of Nightmare the moment he stepped into the darkness with the screaming Elder. My father and my uncle could track a salmon swimming upstream and then the bear that ate it after two days of rain and they found no trace of either until it was all over.”] [“He was fixed to a tree at the edge of the crater and made to watch as every thing he had built was ripped down around him. The price for his madness.”] Applebloom states in a voice not quite her own. One that sounded much younger and echoed softly. The elder stares at her her eyes wide though she continues dropping a bit more water into the pot. [“The tree is still there. Chared and dead. Nothing grows around that tree, not the heartiest weed, no animals near it, no bird roots in it's branches. It is a place of death that nature itself as shunned.”] the Elder continues. [“ His greed and madness made it that way. He claimed the spirits guided him when they did not and thus he is shunned until he is forgiven, which neither the spirits nor my uncle would ever do.”]Applebloom monotones again with words not quite her own. The elder sucks in a breath as Applebloom whips her head starting to feel a little funny. [“ Your uncle? Blackhoof!?!”] The Elder visibly pales looking even more like Granny Smith. [“What else was in that mixture.... this ain't something for a cold......”] Applebloom demands her eyes widening as she realizes there's another voice talking with her. The young mare looks slightly to her left and into the face of a a young elk she knew very well. One that had haunted her dreams and that she had seen captured before her. As she hid in the bushes. The elk was a bit wispy but there was no mistaking the paintbrush and easel cutie mark she bore. [“What?”] Applebloom states looking down at herself, seeing an exact copy of the elk fawn sitting next to her rather than her own body. She recognized this body too, it was the fawn she had protected as a Timber Wolf and guided to the pony caravan. The one with the gnarled tree cutie mark. [“This is highly unusual. The mixture I used is an old one. It allows visions of who one was in a past life..... I was curious as to why you had dreams of that, let alone how you claim you have no knowledge of how you can speak Elk so well. I was not expecting twins. Mossflower's twins to be exact. The whole village knew of them... twins are considered a bad omen among Elk and Dogwood used that to start the first of the hunts. Your past selves were likely the reason Blackhoof nearly destroyed us, brought about from a tryst with one of our own. But that you seem to be both of the fawns........”] [“A soul is judged by its life lead. Cut as short as mine was I could only follow my sisters. By the time of her death hundreds of years later I could not split from it.”] The Elk next to Applebloom states using Applebloom's voice. Both Applebloom and the Elder stared at the image of her twin next to her. [“So..Ah'm tha reincarnation of tha Elk's ah've been seeing in mai dreams?”] Applebloom asks [“What tha heck is in this smoke that ah ken talk to maiself?”] [“As I said there is nothing in this that should allow speaking with the dead. All it supposed to do is gather around a individual and take the shape of who they were in their last life. Where I not seeking a particular soul I would not have even have bothered with this.”] [“What do you mean yer seeking a soul?”] Applebloom asks. The elk elder looks a bit perturbed by this though the dead stare of the clone floating next to the angry looking mare made her relent. [“A long time ago I was forced to banish my grandchild due to little more than how he was. The tribe feared his supposed madness. I kept tabs on him and he settled in a place where a town of yours now stands in the shade of the great mountain.”] [“Sounds like Ponyville, though I don't remember ever seeing an Elk around there and I been in tha town mai whole life.”] [“This was several hundred years ago, the area was still forest for the most part. He found a glorious tree with a sickness and he cured it and made the tree his home, removing the rot that had been inside it and building his home there. “] Elder Logalog sighs [“ His crime was little more than having more skill with the wilds than any other elk. Many of the old ones feared he was the returned soul of Dogwood as they thought he too had supposed great power with the spirits and the wilds. I knew he was not the return of Dogwood I let him breath the mist and saw he had no past life to have come from. He was a new soul. But I was not yet the elder only an apprentice and I was told by my teacher to have him away. I should have fought more for his innocence, but I caved to the pressure and he died where he settled, a unknown save for a few local ponies who built a town around his former home.”] [“You want to ask his forgiveness...”] [“Yes. But I am old. I will likely be able to ask for his forgiveness personally soon enough.”] [“What was his name?”] Applebloom asks. [“Golden Oak.”] [“Golden Oak?.... That's the name of the library in Ponyville. Princess Celestia herself planted tha seed that it grew from.”] [“As I said a glorious tree.”] The Elder smiles as she looked at Applebloom. [“It has been some time since I shared the story. Not many here even know it. It is interesting that you have a talent of making someone open up with what they hold tight.”] [“Pffft ah wish. Ain't got no talent yet. Nineteen and still a blank flank.”] [“You are speaking of the marks ponies and zebras have? You are part Elk it seems, Elk do not gain pony marks. Though the two your soul holds did have their marks. There is much about you that has me curious. I would much like you to stay for a time so I might talk with you more but I think our time is growing short. Would you be a dear and take that middle picture off the wall there?”] [“Huh?”] Applebloom looks over to where the Elk had lifted her hoof pointing towards a birch framed painting of what looked like the crater ,though it wasn't dead and burned as it was when she saw it, but lush ,full of life with a massive tree dominating the middle of it. Applebloom rises picking the painting from the wall and bringing it back to the Elk who happily takes it looking down at the image. [“This is how it used to look, It was painted by one of the other survivors from memory and I've kept it since his passing. It was a beautiful place on the outside and I know every brush stroke of this painting by heart. Still it would be a pity for this to be damaged.”] The Elder chuckles. [“Damaged? By what?”] Applebloom asks just as the wall where the painting had been exploded . ============================================== [ Whitetail Woods 1330 hours] Pipsqueak's eyes darted around the group. These elks were clearly of a different squad. The others had white, orange, or red arrow fletching and these had a blue fletching that he had become personally acquainted with. They also carried themselves differently. The group that caught them had marched them through the wasteland of the crater and up along a path to the outside of the village, but only three or four of the nine Elk squad was ever seen while they traveled. This group had all nine of the members moving around them with brandished weapons and menacing glares. The first group had been doing their duty as they were ordered, this group was trying to abuse the power they had over the captives by putting on a show of force. They were not stupid, three of them were hanging back a bit more and had their gulliee suits parted enough to have the flame extinguishing powder readily at hoof. They knew about Scootaloo clearly and the mare had kept her wings put out the entire time to keep them from getting shot by the last group. They were more cautious around Daring Doo likely from the way she got into the forest earlier. The leader of this little group was also very pushy when he thought they weren't moving fast enough, and he always pushed on Pip, in one of the spots where he was wounded. While the wounds were mostly healed the sharp shove of cloven hooves on the bandaged spots still hurt. That and the leader had replaced one of his curved daggers with Pip's sword just made him more annoyed. He was quite certain the Elk had no intention of giving that back when they were released at the edge of the forest. Scootaloo and Sweetiebelle were not happy and were not quiet about their opinion of leaving Applebloom behind. Pip took note that at least three of the Elk seemed to be listening into the conversation between the two. One of them even cracked a small smile when the pair inevitably started to bicker. Nine to four... maybe. Given how unpredictable Sweetiebelle was sometimes she might just sit back and cheer the others on. Scootaloo and Doo kept glancing his way as if expecting him to do something. So far the only thing Pip had been doing was walking along with a more pronounced limp favoring the leg that had took the arrow. Though after a bit of a walk Pip suddenly sat down with a wince causing the others to stop suddenly as well as he rubbed his leg. “Ah man I'm beat. You can't go marching a injured pony double time after shooting him.” Pip groans as the lead elf shouts something at him. “Oh for Ma's sake calm down , I know you can bucking understand me so just nod or shake your head cause that yodeling talk you use is annoying.” The elk glares drawing one of his kukuri pointing it at Pip and yelling something again around it. “Maybe you can't understand it, or you're just stupid, probably the latter. Not like that matters I noticed a few things while you were trotting us away from our friend.” Pip stretches his leg out again with a wince looking at the bandaged wound. “ One is that your tribe uses differing arrows. I saw three different colors being used as fletching all by Elk that only hung around each other. Like Guard squads. I assume it's a 'who got the kill' identifier sort of thing. Two I am rather personally familiar with those blue feathered arrows you have. “ Pip shifts a little flicking his ears and causing Scootaloo and Doo to tense up a bit. “And three, you buckers aren't hiding on the other side of the river this time.” Pip grins wide the effect of it far too close to how his Da smiled for the Elk not to take a small step back. Before his back step had even touched the ground Pip was moving. The elk lashed out with his blade as Pip rushed him, the brown pony slipping under the swing and rising up onto his back legs bringing a hoof up under the Elk's jaw slamming it against the blade handle clenched in his mouth, likely shattering more than a few of his teeth. The Elk reared back his front hooves lifted off the ground from the force of the blow, his head snapping back as his Kukuri was flung free of his mouth. Pip spun on his rear hooves bending forward to place a fore hoof on the ground continuing his spin out from under the lifted elk. He plants his other fore leg and lashed back with both his rear hooves full force into the elk's side. The rearing beast was hit hard by the force of the kick, the power of the blow enough to fling him tumbling across the ground. The armor and belts on the Elk's side had been ripped open from the blow as one of Pip's hooves had landed in the circular handle of his sword yanking it free even as he kicked the Elk away. Pip rolls forward away from his kick as an arrow stabs into the ground where he was standing. His hoof jerks a little kicking the sword into the air, his tail flicking through the hole and catching the ring, snapping it forward to soar through the air slicing through one of the bands between an Elk's antlers sending the notched arrow tumbling free. The elk flinched ducking from the flung sword only for Pip's hooves to slam down into his head driving him the rest of the way into the dirt as the small pony ran up the Elk's head and back using him as a springboard to tackle another Elk behind the first. The brown earth ponies weight drove the other Elk stumbling back to crash into a tree where Pip's sword had imbedded at the end of the throw. Pip reaches up grabbing his blade's handle in his teeth yanking it free of the wood and smacking the metal ring against the side of the elk he had tackled knocking him out. The young earth pony rides the Elk down to the ground with a thud glancing back with a smile as he looked over what the others had done. Doo had clobbered a Elk was hoof fighting him as the pair rolled around on the ground. Scootaloo had taken out one Elk, set another on fire, who was running around comically, and was currently choking out her third. Sweetiebelle had grabbed two in her magic and had smashed them together like a filly playing with dolls and trying to make them kiss, braining both of them at once. She was currently trying to pelt the burning Elk with the bags of fire extinguisher as he ran around with no luck. Pip hops off the one he tackled darting forward and slapping the burning Elk across the face with the flat of his blade knocking him to the ground with a crash giving Sweetiebelle a chance to finally blast him with the powder putting out the flame and knocking him senseless as the heavy bags impacted his already traumatized head. Scootaloo dropped the one she was choking, the Elk collapsing as Daring Doo managed a few hard punches to stop the last ones struggling. “ Every pony alright?” Pip asks moving over to start yanking their gear off one of the Elks making sure to take some of the Elk's rope to start tying them up with. “Yeah I'm good. “ Scootaloo grins. “Not happy to be shown up by a couple of kids, but I'm injured and I can re write it later so I'm fine. “ Doo grumbles. “Lets go get Applebloom back.” Sweetiebelle shouts, being more serious than Pip had seen her before. “Help me tie them up and we'll go.” Pip nods. ========================================== [White tail Woods 1400 hours.] “OH YEAH!!” Screams a voice as the wall exploded inward. The Elk elder simply sat there with her painting a long suffering look on her face as the debris rained around them knocking the pot over into the fire and sending up a thick cloud of the herbal smoke that filled the room before rushing out of the newly made hole. “I told you that was too much explosive.” Daring Doo snaps tumbling into the room her head whipping left and right. “Where did you even get any explosives?” “Sent away.” states a tall black unicorn with a glimmering silver mane striding in after Daring Doo. The unicorn looked very familiar to Applebloom but she couldn't place it. The voice was definitely Sweetiebelle's though. [“What?”] Applebloom asks looking over at the Elk who seemed to consider the pair entering her room. [“Seems your unicorn friend was some one in a past life, though the pegasus was not, same as me, a new soul.”] The elder explains to Applebloom. A moment later a blur of glowing green fire and a Elk crash into the room behind the pair. A yellow coated mare with long red hair streaked with blue stands up atop the unconscious Elk looking at the other two. Applebloom couldn't help but notice one of the mare's wings was flickering in and out of existence along with the green fire. “Doo trust me when I say this, never ask where or why Sweetiebelle has something, it's better that way.” Scootaloo's voice says. “We need to leave now.” A black pegasus strides into the room. His hair a deep blue streaked with silver and almost glowing amber eyes. He was short, though not as short as Pipsqueak. The pegasus strides over to the Elk Elder dipping his head a little . “ Sorry about the wall Ma'am, but we are taking back our friend.” The elder chuckles at that looking over at Applebloom and her duplicate that was fading away with the fresh air. [“So polite. There's a reason all this is happening like this filly. Why not go see what that is?”] Applebloom blinks lightly nodding and rising to her hooves. She whips her head a little the after images of the strangers over her friends fading a little with the influx of fresh air. [“Alright, which way's the Yggdrasil stump?”] Applebloom asks. [“Head south east, you cannot miss the crater.”] the Elder chuckles as the group rushes out of the hole in the wall galloping away as more Elk shouted outside and started to give chase. ======================================================================== [Crystal Empire 1330 Crystal Palace.] “Get that squad to fall back the clones have over run that area, I'll send some back up in to help with the retreat, but they cannot get cut off no matter what the clones will simply pick them apart.” Luna shouts sending a Crystal pony bowing and running off to relay the message. The alicorn Queen looks over the glowing map of the city before her on the ground. The entire city was surrounded with red dots that were moving in closer. Every where save the north side which was strangely unprotected by the monsters. Was Tirek trying to get the clones to push them towards something? The fight was mostly fodder and she had already heard from Both Breezy and Dusty that the number of clones was much smaller than had attacked the Griffon nation. Where were the rest? Was there a trap or something she wasn't seeing in the north? The few scouts she risked flying that way showed nothing. No army no trap, nothing. There wasn't any sort of spell hiding them, to hide that many troops would make even the most masked spell noticeable, and she couldn't think of anything that could hide that many nor a purpose for hiding when rushing in would have a better chance of taking the Empire. Luna briefly wondered if this was some plan that Jer'rahd might come up with and that the monster was using his mind to pull one over on her. The possibility couldn't be discounted that something worse was coming. At least that was her thought process until Rainbow Dash zipped up with a relay of what happened with Applejack and her brother. “THEY DID WHAT!?!” Luna roared after Dash gave her the short version of what Mac told her, her teeth grinding as she tried to contain her anger. Of all the stupid reckless things that could have been done, the stupid farm pony went out on her own with her brother and fought Tirek on their own. What's worse according to Big Mac they had won!! Tirek was not dead but he was injured enough and the second train tunnel that Luna had not even known about was sealed trapping many of the clones on the other side or forcing them to come through the main tunnel. Applejack's plan had bought them time , and stopped a pincer attack that no one would have seen coming. The Night Goddess slaps her face with her hoof grumbling to herself. “There is now no longer any doubt in my mind that Applejack is related to Jer'rahd, either that or she's been hanging around him too much.... Dash make sure you leave a note that when Applejack wakes up I would like to have....... No.... I would like to speak with Fluttershy, and she can speak with her wife.” Luna grumbles. “Damn Princess.... that's cold.” Dash mutters. “They could have been killed, are you not concerned with that?” Luna sighs.” Your husband was out there too.” “Oh I am, but I can't really say much about Mac. I'm out there as well with a little foal growing in me. I'm there cause it has to be done and no pony can do what I do. Every time I take down one that's some other pony that doesn't have to do it, or another victim these things don't get to take. I can't find fault in them wanting to do the same.” “I suppose you are right Rainbow Dash......” “That said Luna. Mac's sleeping on the floor for the next few months.” Rainbow snorts. “Well that is your choice, though is not your home made of clouds isn't the bed made of the same......... What?” Luna whips her head around looking off towards the north. “ What was that?” “What's what...? Ow... What the buck?” Dash grumbles pulling the Element of Loyalty from her armor holding it out as the pendant glows. “What is this?” Luna asks. ======================================================== [Crystal Empire 1330 Ore drive, West of Ruby Street.] Fluttershy screams, the sound little more than a tiny squeak as the mare's lifted up by her wings to meet face to face with a black and red horned monstrosity. “To think it would be this easy to find a Bearer.” The red and black monster flicks her chest with his free hand thumping the amulet and knocking the wind out of the frail pegasus. “You are lucky one of the stupid ones didn't find you, or they would have just eaten you. Still that may have been better considering why Tirek want's you lot alive.” The clone smirks poking the mare and making her swing by her wings from his other hand as he chuckles listening to the mares whimpering. He bounces his hand a little letting her fall to being held up by one wing and watching her flap around in pain like a trapped butterfly. “Still he never said you needed to be intact, just alive... Scream for me, make this trip here worth my time Fluttershy.” the clone hisses. “LET MOMMA GO!” shouts a voice. “What?” the clone blinks looking down. “No... no. RUN GET BACK TO THE SHELTER!!!” Fluttershy screams as three foals run towards the giant creature screaming at the top of their lungs, whacking the clones hoof with mop and broom handles, and in Butterscotch's case trying to stab him with a butter knife he had found. Tirek's clone looks down at the two fillies and the colt attacking his hoof with a bit of curiosity that turns into annoyance. “Seriously?” The monster yanks his hoof up, slamming it back down hard on the ground. The foals all managed to be out of the way of the stomp, but the impact of the ground and the wind from the impact sent the young ponies tumbling. The peach maned, and lime green unicorn yelps as she tumbles across the ground, though her yellow and cream maned brother managed to catch her though the earth pony colt and unicorn still bounced back a bit further. The red maned and blue haired pegasus Apple Blossom however got caught in the draft and flung back as her wings were snagged by the wind, it and sent her crashing into the side of a building where she started bawling and whimpering clutching one of her wings that was bent at an odd angle. The unicorn Dandelion started bawling as well as she looked over how scraped up the tumble had made her. Only Butterscotch was silent though his eyes were tearing up as he looked for his butter knife. “Pathetic.” the clone mutters. “ I should just put this pitiful trio out of ….” “How DARE you.....” snarls a voice as a loud wet ripping sound fills the air. “Ehh?” The clone looks over to his hand seeing nothing there but a single yellow wing, one torn free of it's previous owner and dripping blood, though there was no sign of the pegasus. “What?” the clone stammers looking around to see where the Element Bearer had gotten to before his gaze turned upward in time for four yellow hooves to smash into his face driving the massive monster to the ground with a crash from insane force of the blow. The creature started to turn to water before his head even hit the crystal road below him, the road cracking and splintering as the yellow mare lands passing through the wash of water like it was in a popped balloon. ===================================== [?] In an old cave in an unknown place a pile of bones stirred. There was a faint flicker of light and the bones were suddenly gone as the cave collapsed in on itself becoming nothing. ================================ [Crystal Empire 1330 Ore drive, West of Ruby Street.] “Butterscotch get your sister and run down that ally there, Dashie's friend Mrs Spitfire is over there have her get you back to the shelter.” Fluttershy stammers. “ Dandelion.. Dandy dear... look at mommy.. no not her wing look at mommy's face. I know you have boo boos but your brother and sister need you to be brave go with them and find Mrs Spitfire okay....” The colt and unicorn filly look on clearly upset though they back away running over to their bawling sister. “Feed?!!” Fluttershy winces looking down the road as a group of easily ten or twenty of the monsters appear then start rushing towards her. “GO NOW!” Fluttershy yells watching the foals scurry away carrying their injured sister. The yellow pegasus mare sighs looking back at the charging horde of clones thundering down the street. She felt weak. Her whole back hurt where her wing was, her hooves hurt where she hit and she was starting to see gray around the corners of her eyes as the blood loss brought her closer to blacking out. At least she might be able to buy some time for the foals if these monsters fought over her body. <” How fatalist.”> “Wha who said that?” <” I could ask you the same, but I know who you are. I felt the pull. An energy a stirring of rage and primal nature that I've never felt before and when I arrive all that is here is a wounded pegasus....... and her foals..... hmmm..... interesting. And you have three of the gifts of the wild as well. The gaze, the wild words, and the wraith..... but you are too kind to unleash that latter often.”> ” Who are you? What do you want.... am .. am I dead already?” <” Hmm , no … not dead yet any way. I think not today either. You have done me a service whether you meant to or not. You gave me an escape when there was none before and I took it.”> “That doesn't answer my question.” <”It answered the one about your death. Or lack of it happening.”> “But....” <”Oh hush dear. You know, you are the only one who I have never seen. All the others came to visit or at least see what I was supposed to be. But not you. Pity. Cerberus spoke highly of you before he was killed.”> <” Cerberus!? Then you must be...”> <” The mother of the wild. The savagery of the storm. The mournful howl of the wolf. The power of the howling wind. The cold death of the snow and ice...”> “The Ferry Mare.” <” I never called myself that, you ponies called me that and it just stuck... agrh never mind My power was never Kindness, at best it should be considered love, maybe compassion as some times a mother wolf will raise the young of a lamb she has eaten and make it her own. That's how the vorpal bunnies came to be you know. A wolf raised a heard of bunnies and taught them how to eat meat and hunt... they got really good at it too.”> “Umm miss....” <”Oh right the Tirek things. I need to yell at Munificence about that pool of his. Nothing but trouble. Oh by the way dear. “> Fluttershy could feel the voice grinning as the Tirek clones were almost upon her. <”Call me Grace.”> ======================================== The rushing clones drew up short slamming into one a few paces from the pony. They all stood there baffled looking down at the thing in the road before them. Even as stupid as they were they knew something was wrong here. Two of their number had been cut down in an eye blink, dying so fast that the walls of the buildings around the street dripped red with blood rather than water for three or for heartbeats before running down the crystal in rivulets like rain the stains of the blood still in the crystal. The wounded mare they were after was standing idly before them her long pink hair falling over her face, her side soaked in blood, though there was no longer a visible wound. From where the stump had been now sprouted a new pegasus wing, though it was solid white with stripes of black running through it rather than the butter yellow of the rest of her. The striped wing flexed and shifted seeming to move of it's own accord as the mare had yet to budge from her spot. The new wing finally settled down and folded across the mares back as she raised her head a little, shadow hiding her face from any one but the clones before her. There was nothing but a skull under the pink hair, to eye sockets with such blackness in them they seemed to draw in the light from around them. >”It Is NoT nIcE tO mEsS wItH mOtHeR nAtUrE.”< the skeletal visage grinned. A bolt of lightning lept from the ground ripping into a number of the clones as it danced among them turning the clones to steam before they could even become a liquid. Grass and tree roots broke up from the road wrapping around the others crushing limbs and tearing the clones apart, then soaking up the spilled water. Grace-shy flaps her wings launching herself into the air sending dust devils the size of tornadoes swirling through the streets on either side of her. The two small whirling storms crash together with a blast of lighting and seem to devour one another becoming a swirling mass of hail, rain and wind that grew to the size of a city block. The mini hurricane drew in Parasprites, clones and any thing else it could grab smashing them all together in lumps and raining what was left down onto the city. The winds and lightning were unfelt by the defenders, but the strangely warm rain falling from the sky flowed over their rejuvenating tired forms and healing wounds as the storm grows larger. Flutter-Grace turns her head to the north west her bone brow furrowing a little. “ThEy ArE tOo FaR.” Her gaze drops to the city below her as she grins looking at the fighting going on and the swarms of parasprites eating everything. “ yOu ArE nOt.” “WaKe.” she breathes out heavily, and the city itself stirs. ================================================= [Crystal Empire 1335 Crystal Palace.] “What the hay is going on!?” Cadence shouts looking up at the sky as bits and pieces of the Crystal Empire start pulling away from the walls drug into the growing storm, Heavier bits of crystal fall around them shattering on the ground. “Why the buck are you asking me for? I've been locked away for thousands of years I didn't even get to see this place again to a couple years ago.” Chrysalis snaps back tossing up a shield to keep the door over the armory from getting buried. ”Wait are those?” Gossamer wings stretch out of the confines of their shells as thousands of sleeping Crystal Dragonflies were all woken at once from their slumber at natures call. The multicolored swarm takes to the air all at once with a great buzzing of wings and flick of tails. Their compound eyes look over the Empire in shock and horror. Though it was at this point that they all decided at once to do what newly woken Dragonflies always did, and this time there was more than enough so that none of them need return to their slumber immediately. Food was very plentiful this season. ========================================= Flutter-ace looked down at the swarms of Crystal dragon flies tearing through the swarms of parasprites like sharks through schools of fish. The ravenous bugs were no match for their natural predators and creatures with much larger and more savage appetites to feed. “Isn't nature fascinating?” Fluttershy muttered. > “Indeed.”< Grace nodded. ============================================= [Crystal Empire several leagues outside the city.] The figure jerks awake scrambling up the blue scaled back and staring out to the glimmering Spires of the Crystal Empire in the distance. >”SHE IS THERE! FLY FASTER WHELP!!”< Troph bellows. “GAH CLAWS!! So help me if you were not in bosses' body I would drop you right now....” Bleu snarls. “Spike the ass is awake!” “I do not relish being you with that thing on your back.” Ice mutters from nearby. “Good timing.” Spike comments turning to glance back over his shoulder. The ground behind him was dark with the shadow cast by the wings of dragons following the pair. “BREAK OFF AND ATTACK ANYTHING THAT LOOKS LIKE HOW WE DESCRIBED IT. NO COLLARTERAL DAMAGE OR FRIENDLY FIRE IS ALLOWED.” “OR YOU'LL BE ANSWERING TO ME!” Bleu bellows turning into a barrel roll in the air and dropping down towards the city followed by nearly the entire Dragon nation. ================================================= [Just north of the Crystal Empire. 1400 hours] Tirek growls holding himself up against a tree at the top of a hill as his wounds knit. The blows from that accursed pony were taking longer to heal than they should, but they were healing, all save his horn. She would pay for that. The fools had buried him under a ton of rocks and then run off some where. After climbing out he found all the clones he brought with him were dead and the tunnel collapsed. This was not going as expected. None of the stolen memories had any idea about what Applejack had done. The memories of both Sparkle and Jer'rahd lead him to believe she would never break a promise to use the dragon magic like her brother did, and neither recognized the armor that came from the amulet. Still he had thousands of clones waiting to get through the gate and the Empire would be little more than rubble by the time the para sprites stopped multiplying. Tirek stared out at the city and frowned. Those were not Parasprites flying over the city, but a host of Crystal Dragon Flies. The creatures should have been in the swamps to the north east this time of year how where there so many still in the city? Memories of several biologists he had claimed came up about the statues that Crystal Dragonflies became when hibernating that stayed in the city to be protected. At last census there were thousands of them in stone. Of course one of the Parasprites natural predators were the Crystal Dragon flies. Tirek cursed shaking his head of the thoughts. A small set back, the invaders still had numbers...... why was there a thunderstorm growing over the city? Localized hurricane a meteorologist in his brain corrects though offered no answers as to how. Tirek growls as it still didn't matter though a roar changed that. Looking up Tirek's eyes widened as what could only be described as a flock of dragons flew over head towards the city diving down and blasting their breath weapons over certain areas and dropping down to attack others. Return blasts from his forces knocked a number out of the sky or turned them to ash where they flew but the waves of the great beasts continued to fly in. How in the world was this possible? The dragons had never come to the aid of any one before let alone ponies.... Spike..... Tirek cursed. Some how that damn drake had managed to rouse the dragons to fight. Judging by the care the creatures were showing in what they attacked they were actually here to help as opposed to an invading force. This had thrown all his calculations completely out of sync. Still no plan ever survived contact with the enemy so this was just another minor set back. He made a note to himself to change the purple dragon god into pony or something to steal his power as he had done with the griffons. All this meant was that he had to get more involved in the fight than he had wanted to. The power of twenty three gods, countless unicorns, the strongest spell caster on Equss and the most tactical war mind ever, not to mention the centuries of tactics and strategies Celestia had seen. He might not have the goddess's power, but he had her knowledge. The four books he had eaten however were a disappointment. There was barely any energy from them at all, and while their memories were vast, their minds were fractured and barely usable with any speed. Still he had spells now that had never been seen in ages and some that the Books themselves had created. It would be easy to cause a sink hole to drop the entire city into a pit, or call the stars from the sky to crush it. Tirek chuckled selecting a spell before stopping dead and looking to the southern horizon. What was this? There was something pulling him, egging him to go that way. The feeling was immense and fraught with anger and worry. He didn't know the exact location.... no wait... he did know. He had left some clones there to deal with it if something happened as well. One of his smarter clones was spying on the area. Tirek cursed, hating to risk this but the feeling would not go away. The monster cast a quick spell in a puddle of water left by his fallen clone the image of himself with both horns stared back. “Ahh there you are. I have been trying to contact you but the crystal in Cloudsdale doesn't seem to be working.” The clone states. “Cloudsdale is destroyed, what is happening?” Tirek demands. “There is a small group of ponies making their way towards the Yggdrasil. They managed to get past the Elk and are making their way there now. There is also a feeling that we need to be there running through me and several of the others. I believe it is from the zebra mare we first took.” “Zecora......” Tirek growls.” Or should I say Sunshine..... a power to always be where you are needed most..... or where will have the most benefit for you.... why would it be sending me back to my prison stood....wait.” “Sir?” “Take the forces that I left you and attack the ponies Do NOT let them reach the tree. I will be there shortly.” “There you are.” states a voice. “Shit.” Tirek dives out of the way as a bolt of black light strikes his message mirror vaporizing the puddle and much of the ground where he had been standing. Tirek lifts his gaze with a growl staring up at the flying form of a black alicorn. The mares wings and legs were dotted with holes and her flesh was covered with carapace like armor. Her mane flowed in a host of colors ranging from the darkest night to the orange and purples of dawn. Her cutie mark was a radiant yellow sun with the crescent moon shadowed in the center. Far above her in the sky a shadow slowly started to cover the sun as the moon eclipsed it turning the afternoon to a shadowy night. Tirek could feel the power the mare was drawing on from the Celestia bodies. And it was not a good feeling. “Luna....” the monster snorts “Tirek “ the mare snarls. “Bye!” Tirek states. “What?” Luna questions as the massive monster suddenly vanishes with a pop of teleportation. Luna growls her horn glowing as she tried to track the teleport, though she only got a vague direction before the energy was masked. Looking back at the city she could feel numerous other teleports happening though blasts of magic still lanced skyward at the dragons. They were not all leaving , but a number of them were. All of them heading the same way. Luna closes her eyes darting through the dream scape before finding what she wanted, the day dream of a evil creature trying to save itself. Tirek was headed for Whitetail Woods and was bringing many of his clones with him. The Celestial Queen snarls letting the moon move past the sun again before winging her way back towards the city. They needed to move now. ================================================ [Crystal Empire 1500 hours] The battle was still raging but with the aid of the dragons the tide had turned and the remaining clones were being destroyed as quickly as they could pour through the train tunnel. There were still too many scattered about the city to make a move on the heavily defended tunnel. Twilight's spell was being taxed far more than it should be allowing these thousands of monsters through it, but to the unicorns credit it was holding quiet well. The fact that the plants and trees were fighting against them now made even holding their position tenacious, but so far they were doing it quite well. Princess Luna had begun the rush to rearm and get the ships in the air in an effort to get to WhiteTail Woods after Tirek. With most of the Storm Cloud already loaded that left Regent Breezy Mist to do little but double check everything, something that he was being prevented from doing by one annoying pony. “Forget it colt, there's not supposed to be any ponies coming aboard.” Breezy growls at the earth pony trying to shove a massive crate up the gangplank. It was taking a good bit of effort to stop the young stallion. His dark brown coat hid some muscle in that lean frame. Not that he was holding up well against some one who was Guard trained, but the effort was noticeable. “I call shenanigans. You're a pony and you're flying this thing!” The pony shouts from around the crate shoving back against the pegasus's push. Breezy sighs, if he wasn't waiting for the Demon of Dullahan Mk II to finish loading troops and supplies he'd have dropped this kid off the Storm Cloud's gangplank and launched without him. The colt was getting annoying and was dead set on getting on the ship. “That's cause I'm married to the griffon who's flying the other ship. I do what I want.” Breezy snorts fanning his wings and shoving the box back down the gangplank. “And my mare friend is out there where you're going and might need my help!” the earth pony growls. “A lot of ponies mare friends are out there needing help, and not every pony is trying to get on my ship with a metric shit ton of junk!” “This isn't junk it's a state of the art sound system you noob!” “Listen you little butt...” “It's Button! B.U.T.T.O.N. Say it with me feather duster, Button Mash, it's not like that stupid butt joke didn't get old when I was in freaking middle school, now get out of my way cause I'm going.....!” Button growls shoving harder against the crate. “YO, Mash!” The pegasus and the earth pony look away from the crate a moment to a white unicorn mare with electric blue hair and a pair of lavender tinted sunglasses, trotted towards them, a odd box about the size of a pony floating along with her. “Boss lady what are you doing here?” Button asks stepping away from the crate and letting it and Breezy shoot back down the gangplank to crash against the ground at the end of it. “Heard you were chasing after Belle. Brave of yah dude, a bit stupid, but hey bravery and stupidity go hoof and hoof.” Vinyl Scratch looks at the crate that had popped open upon impact and the gear within shaking her head. “ A T600? Seriously those suckers got no base kick at all.” “Yeah, but it was all I could get my hooves on. My sets still in Canterlot and they don't have much here. I figure it would be something if she needed it.” “Spoken like a true roadie. But that thing's not gonna be loud enough tah be heard by any one if it's needed. Plus I doubt the ship has a aux cord long enough.” Vinyl chuckles. “Tri crystal battery pack lifted from the school.” “NIIICE, but that gives yah ten at full power. Maybe. Still I figured you would be planning something like this after the dragon ladies stories. So I brought this.” Vinyl smirks hefting the pony sized case between them. There were several handles and clasps and two bright blue buttons on the top under glass domes, the white box was emblazoned with Vinyl's cutie mark done in neon blue. Button's eyes widen.” Boss lady this is the MK 4..... it's not been tested yet....” “Well the sounds been tested and that works, we just never pushed it though. Tavi yanked the fuse box to the studio after one of the walls collapsed.” “Yeah I remember that... it was only on seven. We had to put a limiter on it.” “Yep tied to a big red button.” “You're giving this to me?” “Heck no. I want this bad boy back. You just get to test it. It might work , or explode, or worst case, not do anything cool at all.” Vinyl chuckles. “But why?” Vinyl's smile left her face for the first time since Button had known the mare. “I ain't a fighter. Buck, I can hold my own in a ballroom blitz, but even fancy flank Tavi can womp me with that weird ballet kungfu stuff she does. Thing is, this bastard.....” The white unicorn sighs. “There's a lot of folks I can't jam with any more cause of him. I'm just a musician, I got nothing I can do tah fight back. Prolly choke on my own panic if he showed up in front of me. You? You were ready to rush off to help out yer mare friend with nothing more than a beat up T600. Braver than I am and who knows yah might just be able tah do something.” Vinyl dips her head a little her hoof coming up to her face as she pulls free the glasses, her red eyes visible a moment as she pushes the shades onto Button's face. The earth pony colt blinks touching the glasses with a hoof before looking back up at Vinyl who already had on another set of shades. “Give um Tartarus colt.” Vinyl chuckles. “ Yah make it back I might even help yah set up that DJ Mash ID you wanted.” “Regent Breezy what is the hold up?” A voice booms down from the edge of the ship. Looking up the pegasus shrugs as Princess Luna stared down at the trio. “I've got no idea what either of them just said, but the colt wants on cause of the young Miss Reignolds being his mare friend.” Luna blinks looking down at the white unicorn and the brown earth pony. She knew Button Mash as one of Pip's friends but she didn't realize he was dating Sweetiebelle. Was this something Sunshine had seen or was the colt just stubbornly trying to get to his mare friend to be the hero? To his credit he seemed unmoved by her arrival, though perhaps he was being held in place by that large box with the white unicorn's symbol on it. It was odd that he stared at her from behind those glasses and a X-pony hat on as if daring her to tell him no. “Why should I let you go Mash? This is not a joy ride we are going after the monster that is trying to destroy us all. One that eats ponies.” Luna states. “Dullahan.” Button says clearly, if a little loudly, the colt was quivering under her glare, though his voice was steady. Luna's eyes widen at that. She should have guessed Bleu would regal her students with the tales of how a musician had saved everyone from an invasion by helping to hold a keep with little more than a song. She doubted Button was at Platinum's level, but the colt had a point she couldn't deny, she had even set aside a few Changelings with musical talent just in case. “Fine. Regent, let him on board. Do not get in any ones way Button, you are to stay on the ship no matter what. Now let us get moving, I want this ship in the air an hour ago Regent” Luna bellows.