When Friends are Said and Dun

by xenos29

Chapter 5

“Twilight! Twilight, wake up!” shouted Spike.

Twilight’s eyes shot open, and the previous night’s pains returned instantly. Spike was in front of her again, shouting at her to wake up while everypony was rushing to get out the door.

Twilight shook her head several times and tried her hardest to think clearly. A new wave of dread washed over Twilight as she woke up and asked, “What’s happening, Spike?”

“It’s Blight!” cried Spike hysterically. “He got out! He’s attacking Ponyville!”

“Come on, you guys!” shouted Rainbow Dash, who quickly disappeared out the front door. Twilight picked up Spike and sprinted out of the library. Her friends were in the middle of the street, trying to fight the vines which already ran rampant. It was an absolute nightmare. Ponies ran around in panic, trying desperately to escape the vines that covered their homes and carts. The town sirens blared and the mayor’s strained voice could be heard over the town’s public address system, telling everypony to evacuate the town via the train station. In the distance, Twilight could make out town hall, and a large column of vines standing next to it.

Twilight joined her friends, “Where’s Princess Celestia?” shouted Twilight over the noise.

“We don’t know,” Applejack shouted back. “Princess Cadance woke us up and told us the town was under attack. We haven’t seen any of 'em since!”

Twilight raised her horn and cast a protective bubble around her friends and the crowd of ponies around them. All the vines unfortunate enough to be caught in the shield were neatly cut off from the retreating main mass, and the ponies they held were finally free.

“We need to get out of here! Applejack, Rarity, go find your families! The rest of you, start herding the townspeople towards the train station! Check every house! Make sure nopony gets left behind!”

“So where in the Sam hill are you going?” cried Applejack.

Twilight pointed to town hall. “I’m betting that’s where the princesses and my brother are. I’m going to help them however I can, and figure out how to stop Blight from spreading all across Equestria. Meet me there once everypony’s safe!”

“You got it, Twilight.” answered Rainbow, turning to the crowd behind her. “Come on everypony, we’re getting out of here!” With Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy bringing up the rear, Rainbow lead the group down the road and out of sight. Applejack and Rarity meanwhile ran off in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

“Are you ready, Spike?” asked Twilight as she focused her gaze on the town hall. She concentrated for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, they teleported to the roof of a building overlooking the Ponyville’s central plaza. There, they saw yet another battle taking place. On one side was Cadance, who was helping a few ponies to their feet and ushering them in the direction of the trains. Twilight looked to the right and saw Shining Armor, who was standing on the hall’s second story balcony. He was using his magic to form a shield around the princesses, who were hovering high off the ground, using their magic to burn away a large column of vines that had formed next to the hall. Alpenglow was there as well. He stood on the balcony with Shining Armor, hacking away at the vines climbing up the walls.

“Twilight, watch out!” shouted Spike.

Something wrapped around Twilight's front leg, and with a jolt she found herself being dragged off the roof. She instantly focused her mind on Cadance, and with mere seconds to spare, teleported before she and Spike hit the ground, appearing just inches away from Cadance, who jumped back in surprise.

“Cadance, what’s happening? What are you all still doing here?” asked Twilight.

Cadance sent the last straggler towards the trains and explained, “We’re buying time for everypony to evacuate Ponyville. I just sent the mayor and her staff on their way. It should be just us left. Where are your friends?”

“I told them to go help the townspeople. They should be here soon.” She waved Cadance forward. “Quick, the princesses need our help!”

The two ran to the other side of the hall, where the princesses were still battling the column. For a moment, it looked like the princesses were winning. The column quickly shrank under the magical barrage, but just as it seemed on the verge of collapsing, a cluster of vines would shoot out towards the princesses and distract them just long enough for the column to rebuild itself. The battle looked to be a grueling stalemate, until Cadance and Twilight joined in.

Magic resistant or not, even the vines couldn’t ignore the combined power of the four princesses. Twilight watched with relief as vines crumbled, burned, or were simply torn apart under their spells. The column split apart and crashed to the ground, leaving an ugly stump of clumped vines sticking out of the ground. Inside the stump, Twilight could make out the battered remains of a seed.

As Shining Armor and Alpenglow made their way down from the balcony, the princesses floated down to Twilight and Cadance.

“Wow, Twilight. That was…amazing,” exclaimed Spike. “I remember when there was no way you could have done something like that.”

“Thanks, Spike But we did it together,” said Twilight, trying to catch her breath.

“Good work, everypony,” said Luna. “Now, we all must leave Ponyville before Blight recovers. This column was the central hub for the vines attacking the town. Destroying it has given us enough time to evacuate.”

Across the plaza, Twilight saw her friends, who ran to her.

“Did you guys just take that thing down? Awesome!” Rainbow shouted triumphantly.

“Is everypony alright?” asked Twilight.

Applejack nodded, “Yep, everypony in town is on a train and on their way to Canterlot. We did some mighty fine work here today, y’all.”

“It’s not over though, is it?” asked Fluttershy.

Before Twilight could answer, a raspy laugh crept over the ponies, freezing them in place. They turned to face the stump and shrunk back as they saw that same pair of sallow eyes emerge from the tangle of vines. Unlike last time, the eyes had a mouth, a splintery face, and a neck that merged seamlessly with the vine from which it grew. As the face slithered closer and closer to the ponies, its eyes locked with Twilight’s.

“Not even close,” said Blight.