Six Two Six Two

by lunabrony

12 - It All Comes Down To This - Part 2

Author's Note:

This chapters begins to wrap up plotlines and reveals answers to many questions. If you don't want to know what's going on just yet you've been warned. Some of you are not going to like my choice of villain. Sorry about that...

Rarity had been wandering the Everfree Forest for what felt like hours. Stitch was carefully seated on her back, and she shifted accordingly. She was not used to having things on her back other than the occasional decorative imported saddle at fancy parties. She certainly wasn't the type who usually cared around everyday saddlebags.

"Do be careful, Stitch. Blue and white are only acceptable decorum around Indepenprance Day, and we're horridly out of season," she was saying, ducking under an overhanging branch. She sighed in exasperation. "Oh, this is beginning to get ridiculous. I know that brute came through here somewhere, but I also know that's the third time I've passed that rock. But I won't rest until I've reaped vengeance for my little sister!"

Rarity walked forward a bit more, until at last Stitch launched himself onto her head and grasped her ears. He had seen something, and his attentiveness was rather painful.

"Ih! Ih!" A heavy claw pointed forward. Rarity grimaced.

"When was the last time you had a manicure, darling? You need to-"

Stitch glared at her. "Naga!"

"Quite right. Now is not the time. But don't think I'm going to forget about this. Whatever are you pointing at?" She peered forward, barely able to see a dull flickering in the distance. Rarity readied herself instinctively to call a warning to whoever it was, but Stitch shushed her. Rarity crept forward, each step taken with caution so as not to accidentally set off a broken twig or ancient curse or whatever other horrible ancient things lay in the forest.

Stopping near the edge of a clearing, the unicorn peered out. Stitch's ears folded backwards and the alien let out a low growl.

Their target, a hulking winged creature of fangs and claws and muscle had crudely drawn a large five pointed star on the ground in the middle of the clearing. On the tip of several of the points was a frozen unicorn. Twilight, Sweetie Belle, and two others Rarity didn't recognize. Only one of the points was empty. Nearby each of the points, regardless of being inhabited or not, was a glowing white candle.

"He must have gathered his prizes while we were wandering around in this filth," Rarity observed.

"Celestia?" Stitch asked, gesturing to the empty space.

"Presumably back at the castle," Rarity offered. "He'd never be able to steal the princess, the only ponies ever supposedly able to steal Celestia were a small group of ponies. No idea how they managed that. But even that's just an Old Mare's Tale. And if it's true, I highly doubt Celestia would ever be stolen again. But regardless, this beast would never be able to get anywhere near the castle. Even before he was spotted, he'd be smelled a mile away. I doubt if this heathen has ever taken a bath in its entire life."

"What are we looking at?" Pinkie asked, peering around a tree. "Ooooh, pretty!"

"It's not pretty!" Rarity said. "It's... wait a minute! Where... how..."

"I'm here now!" Pinkie said.

"But you were there!"

"And now I'm here! Jeez, Rarity. It's not that difficult to figure out."

Rarity's eye had started twitching again. "Never mind all that. What are you doing here?

"We came to help you!" Pinkie said. "We saw what happened to... at your..." Her smile faded, something that very rarely happened and meant she was super serious. "I'm sorry."

"We?" Rarity asked. Not out of disgust, but total shock.

The rest of the team had slowly approached from behind Pinkie, and shared her sentiments.

"We're all sorry," Rainbow Dash said. "But we're going to do whatever we can to fix this. That's a promise."

"Family means nobody gets left behind!" Pinkie chimed.

"Or forgotten," Stitch added.

Dash gave Rarity a hug, and Pinkie joined in. Then Fluttershy, and Stitch. Rarity felt her eyes tearing up. "Thank you," she said. "But we still don't know what to do, or even what this thing is!"

"Sure we do!" Pinkie said, holding up a small circular purple object.

"What is that thing?" Rarity asked.

"It's Twilight's Ponydex! It'll tell us just what this thing is, and what we can do about it!"

"Well I certainly hope it works," Rarity remarked. "Turn it on, quickly, and let's see what we're up against!"

Pinkie flipped the device open, and pushed a switch with her nose. Twilight's voice emitted from the device.

"Welcome to Twilight's Pony Encyclopedia. Patent Pending, All Rights Reserved. As this device is only a prototype, please enter password."

Everyone looked at Pinkie expectantly.

"What? I don't have it!" Pinkie said.

Dash grabbed it from her. "Well the password is obviously something awesome, so... um..." She looked down at the rather small buttons on the device. "Rarity, would you mind?"

"Not at all." Rarity took the device then, and a dull glow enveloped her horn. "Let's try... Twilight."

"Incorrect. Please try again."

"Try Rainbow!" Dash said.

"...Why would her personal password be Rainbow?" Rarity asked. "The point of passwords is to be something very close and personal to one's own heart," she said. "Oh!" Her horn glowed, and another password was entered.

S-P-I-K-E

"Incorrect. Please try again."

Fluttershy, who had remained quiet, gave a soft sigh. "Why wouldn't she tell us what the password is? We're her friends. Don't we deserve to know?" She asked.

Rarity gasped. "Say that again!"

"We deserve to know?"

"No, before that!"

"Why wouldn't she tell-"

"No, the middle part!"

"We're her friends?"

"Wahaha!" The unicorn exclaimed. "That's it!" And yet another password was entered.

F-R-I-E-N-D-S-H-I-P

"Correct. Welcome to the Ponydex. Please scan target," Twilight's voice said.

"Awww..." Pinkie said. "Remind me to throw her a super special welcome back party when we get through all this."

"If we get through all this..." Fluttershy squeaked.

"Of course we will!" Rainbow said. "We get through anything! Right, Stitch?"

"Ih!" The alien agreed, snatching the device from the air in front of Rarity and pointing it at the creature they'd all come to defeat.

"Nothing's happening," Pinkie whispered.

"We must be out of range," Rarity said. "We need to get closer, but we need someone who's very quiet, very reserved, very..." She glanced at Fluttershy.

"Oh, no, I couldn't..." Fluttershy said.

"You gotta!" Rainbow said. "We need to know what we're up against! Just sneak up there, scan it, and get back here. Easy."

"...Alright... if you say so..."

Flutters reluctantly took the device, and began creeping forward. "He won't see me... he won't see me... he won't see me..."

Behind her, Pinkie whispered to Rarity. "I thought she was good with the little critters."

"Yes, darling, but this isn't a critter. Or little."

"Can't she just give it the stare?"

"You know she doesn't work like that."

Fluttershy managed to hide behind a large rock, about ten feet or so from the preoccupied beast. Holding up the scanner, she hit the large red button.

"SCANNING."

"Match found. Gargoyle. Creature of Darkness. Gargoyles have not been seen in Equestria in centuries, leading many scholars to believe they're extinct. Possessive of a powerful ability of petrification when threatened, eye contact must first be initiated. Gargoyles are to be considered extremely dangerous. Historical records say they are immune to all physical and magical attacks, with their only true weakness being sunlight."

"Well that explains a lot," Rarity said. Stitch tapped on her shoulder.

"So this thing can't survive in sunlight, and wants it to be night forever so it can keep attacking?"

"It seems that way," Rarity agreed. Stitch tapped her shoulder more aggressively.

"So how do we get the sunlight back?"

"We're going to have to find a way to undo the Ritual of the Moon, only I have no idea... WHAT IS IT, STITCH?"

"If you heard from here..." Stitch began.

Rainbow Dash suddenly looked alarmed. "If we're all the way out here, and we heard that thing..."

Fluttershy was still huddled behind the rock. "Doesn't see me... doesn't see me... doesn't see me..."

She cracked open her eyes, to find herself staring inches away at the gargoyle's clawed feet. "HE SEE'S ME! HE SEE'S ME! HE SEE'S ME!" She started running.

"FLUTTERSHY, GET OUT OF THERE!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"And keep your eyes on the ground! Don't look at it!" Rarity added.

Fluttershy made a terrified bolt for the forest, but quickly felt herself being picked up off the ground. She immediately closed her eyes as tightly as she could.

"Hang on, Fluttershy, we're coming!" Rainbow Dash yelled, and flew as fast as she could out towards the clearing, keeping her gaze away from the creatures head.

"What do we do?!" Pinkie asked, running out to help alongside Rarity.

"I have no idea," Rarity said. "But this has to end now. If this monster turns one more unicorn to stone, we might never see the sun again."

It was at that moment a new figure arrived on the edge of the clearing, one who had been lost in the Forest for quite some time and only just now managed to find her way out again.

"Hey, ugly! Trixie demands you leave her friends alone!" Trixie charged up her horn and fired a warning blast at the gargoyle, which bounced off its stony skin like oil on water. A deep gutteral laugh rumbled from its throat, and it turned towards Trixie, dropping poor Fluttershy on her head as it focused on something it wanted quite a bit more.

"So, no pressure?" Pinkie asked.

"None whatsoever," Rarity said grimly.

"That's good," Pinkie said. "Because if there was pressure, I'd say that gargoyle totally looks like it wants to destroy Trixie."

Trixie continued firing off various spells of various elements, but none of them seemed to do any good.

"Run, you idiot!" Rainbow yelled.

"Don't worry, Rainbow Crash! Trixie has this under control! Make your escape now, while you can!"

Rarity facehooved. "It's like she never learns."

As the angered gargoyle rounded on Trixie, and all began to seem lost, an enormous glowing bolt flew out of the darkness, hitting the monster square in the back. The gargoyle howled with pain and rage, and whirled around to see what the hell had actually managed to hurt it.

:"A new challenger has entered the ring!" Pinkie exclaimed.

The rest of the group gathered together while the gargoyle focused its attention on the newcomer, who stepped forward into the clearing in a glow of dazzling blue.

Trixie paled. "Is... that..."

"Princess Luna!" Fluttershy said.

Another glowing star-like bolt shot from the horn of the younger sister, which smashed into the gargoyle's chest and sent it staggering backwards.

"Are those..."

"They appear to be sun spells of some kind," Rarity observed.

"Oh, this is gonna be good," Pinkie said.

Comments

[milestails16]

I think I just got goosebumps at the last part.

[dragenfire68]

gargoyles cannot stone there victims, plus they are not inherently evil. other then that good story. almost forced me to skip to see what it was.

[Shadowshame]

F-R-I-E-N-D-S-H-I-P