Just Us Little Ponies

by GrassAndClouds2

Canterlot Station

Greengrass dove back inside the office just as the pony's horn flashed and blasted a bowling-ball sized glob of energy at him.

The energy smashed into the office wall and exploded, sending concrete flying and blasting open a hole wide enough to fit a pony's barrel through. Greengrass peaked through the hole and noted with dismay that the new pony's horn was already starting to glow again. "Look," he called. "I'm sure we could talk this out. If you want money--"

The enemy pony growled something inarticulate and cast another energy mortar at them.

"What's going on?" yelled Twilight as the mortar pounded through the office wall. "Who's that?"

"An assassin!" called Greengrass, trying to crouch under the barrel-high remains of the wall.

"Assassin?" squealed the mage. "What? For who? Why?"

"Excellent questions. Let's investigate them later. Can you teleport us out of here?"

Twilight yelped as a blast of energy sailed through the hole and almost hit her in the head, skimming the very back of her mane before blasting into the wall behind them and causing a shower of concrete dust to fall from the ceiling. "If you can get this ring off!" She dashed over to Greengrass and lowered her horn. "Hurry!"

Greengrass pushed his hoof against it, but it sparked and would not move one inch. "It seems to be stuck," he said. "Did you--"

"What?!" Twilight brought a futile hoof up to her own ring, which continued to spark. "How can it be stuck?! Stupid broken--aah!"

Greengrass watched her dive under another energy blast. Okay, so an ostensible Shadowbolt lured her here, gave her a ring to disable her magic, probably cleared out the tunnels with that fake notice, and vanished. I think it's safe to say that he's not really a Shadowbolt, unless they've gotten into the abduction business, and he's not coming back. We're on our own. "In that case, Miss Sparkle, get behind cover and get ready to run." He tilted an ear and heard footsteps stomping slowly towards the office. "As soon as he enters the room, gallop out of here. I'll follow."

Sparkle made a small 'meep' sound, then ducked behind some rubble and murmured, "Okay, okay, staying calm... run, right..." She took a deep breath as the stomping footsteps came even closer. "Thanks, Duke, for helping me."

"Oh, anypony would do the same." Specifically, anypony who knows how vengeful your father is to ponies who fail his daughter. "Get ready--"

The approaching figure stepped through the hole in the office wall, large boots slamming into the ground with audible clangs. Shadows played over his face and coat in a constantly shifting pattern that Greengrass recognized as the result of a standard concealment spell; it rendered the pony's face, coat, mane, and cutie mark completely indistinct, even though the Duke was only a few inches away. Greengrass did observe that the pony's horn was short and unusually angular, looking more like a square pyramid with a flat top than the usual cone. But even more importantly, Greengrass could see the enemy's build, and what he saw dismayed him--the shadowy figure was as big as a carriage, and most of that was corded muscle. Still, he was looking at Twilight, not Greengrass, and that was a weakness the Duke could exploit. He took a breath, rose from his prone position, brought to mind everything he had learned from his pugilist lessons, and punched the figure in the face on his blind side.

It had absolutely no effect.

"Ow!" Greengrass looked down at his hoof, which burned with pain as if he'd punched a brick wall. "I--"

The figure grabbed Greengrass, lifted him over his head, and threw him out of the office onto the track bed.

Stars burst across Greengrass's vision as his head knocked against a rail, but he managed to get up in time to see the figure move further into the office. Okay, think. He could easily have killed me, but he didn't, so he wants me alive. He's probably going to chase me towards--

A scream sounded from the office, and then Twilight went sailing out, hitting Greengrass in the barrel. He fell down with a cry but quickly forced himself back up. "Miss Sparkle, run!"

"Right behind you!"

As if to punctuate the statement, mortars began blasting right behind them.

Greengrass dashed down the tracks, Twilight on his heels, and looked around for an escape. All the doors had been sealed, and there were no railroad employees anywhere in sight. No witnesses, and no way out. Whoever planned this thing knows what they're doing.

A crane suddenly lit up ahead of them, and Greengrass saw a silhouette of another pony in the cab. The crane's claw rotated around and grabbed a big metal box that was open on one side, then began to turn towards them. As Twilight screamed, Greengrass thought, The big pony is going to drive us towards the crane, which which will get us into the box, then pick us up and ship us out of here. He opened his mouth to tell Twilight, then closed it--he couldn't see any way out of it, and panicking her wouldn't help anything. Maybe we can get ahead of the crane, out of its range. But--

An energy blast like a mortar sailed over their heads and blasted the path in front of them. Greengrass and Twilight skidded to a halt.

The hulking figure behind them slowed to a trot, his horn glowing again as if he might just blast them anyway. He growled something inarticulate, and the crane began to whirr above their heads.

"Well," said Greengrass. "I do have to say, this is an excellent abduction attempt."

"What?" asked Twilight.

"I mean, normally you get a few thugs with saps and blackjacks, but this one took effort. I'm impressed."

Twilight stared at him like he was crazy. "I just wanted to see Mom," she said. "This isn't fair!" She turned back to the huge pony who had chased them towards the crane. "You hear me? This isn't fair!"

Greengrass saw the box descending towards them. Once they were in it, he knew, there would be no chance of escape. But he could see no way to escape without being mortared. He shut his eyes.

Then he heard a door break down, and the familiar voice of Raindrops cry out, "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

***

The Elements had charged into the train station at full tilt, almost running over the civil police who were checking everypony's identification by the doors.

"Excuse me, mares! You need to stop and identify yourselves!" called out one officer as they approached.

"Knights of the Realm! Let us through!" yelled Raindrops.

"You need to stop--"

"KNIGHTS OF THE REALM!" Raindrops was bearing down on the officer, running at her absolute fastest. "Lives to save! Get out of our way!"

The guards looked at each other, then quickly parted.

Raindrops sprinted into the terminal and leapt into the air, flying above the startled passengers and staff on the ground. The waiting area for foals was dead ahead, but she could already visualize herself entering it and finding no sign of Snails. She put on a burst of speed and flew through the door--

And saw Snails, sitting on a brightly colored chair and looking at an ant on his hoof with a glum expression.

"SNAILS!" cried Raindrops, sweeping him up into a gigantic hug. "Thank the Stars you're okay!"

"Waagh!" Snails blinked at Raindrops in confusion, even as he released the ant onto a windowsill and returned the hug. "Is something wrong?"

"Are you okay, ma'am?" asked a transit guard, trotting over from his post.

Now seeing that Snails was safe, Raindrops felt slightly silly, but her relief was more than enough to drown out that emotion. "I'm fine. Just fine. Thanks." She hugged Snails close. "I'm glad you're okay."

Cheerilee, who had come up behind Raindrops, poked her on the shoulder. "We should find Twilight," she said.

"In a minute." Raindrops put Snails on her back. "Are you feeling a little better now?"

"Mmm."

No, then. Damn it... "Why don't we get you some candy or something?"

"I tried, but they're closed," said Snails. "Most of the places here are closed."

"What? Why?" asked Carrot Top. "Because of the escapees?"

"I dunno."

Cheerilee frowned. "That's odd, isn't it?"

"I dunno," repeated Snails.

Raindrops saw Cheerilee begin to travel down her own line of thought, so, as the magenta pony left the room--probably to look for Twilight, Raindrops guessed--she turned her own attention back to her brother. "So, what did you do while your big sister was off saving the day?"

"Thought."

"About what?"

"Stuff."

Raindrops' smile became slightly strained. "What stuff?"

"Snails stuff." The foal sighed. "I dunno. I was trying to think of things that I'm good at. But I couldn't think of any."

Arrgh! How can I break him out of this? Raindrops thought for a moment, then said, "You know, I felt the same way at your age."

"But you're awesome! You're good at lots of stuff!" Snails waved his hooves. "You're the best in the world at lots of stuff, even!"

"Like what?" Raindrops asked. "I'm an okay weathermare, but I'm not as fast as Rainbow Dash and I'm not as good a sculpture as Flitter. I'm strong, but Cheerilee always beats me when we spar. I'm pretty honest, but sometimes I tell a fib--like when I told Mom I was just holding those romance books for a friend."

"But... but you're awesome!"

"You're right! I am! I don't need to be the best in the world at anything to be awesome." She tickled her brother with a wingtip, and he managed a faint smile. "I'm a pretty good weathermare, and a pretty strong pony, and a pretty honest pony, and a pretty neat pony all around. And I'm still awesome. Can't you see that, even if you aren't the smartest or the strongest or the best magician right now, you're also awesome?"

Snails paused. "Well... I guess..."

"And that isn't even--"

"Raindrops!" The mare turned to see Carrot Top waving at her. "Cheerilee found something important. Come on!"

"Carrot Top, I'm having a moment," Raindrops growled.

"This is about Twilight." Carrot Top hesitated. "She might be in big trouble."

Raindrops growled to herself, but looking back, saw that Snails' smile had already started to fade. "Come on, little bro," she said at last. "Let's go see what homework Cheerilee has for me."

Snails giggled softly as Raindrops moved out.

They followed Carrot Top to a closed ice cream stand by a stairwell leading down to the freight tunnels. The store was closed, and the proprietor looked annoyed. "I don't know what to tell you," he said. "That's what happened."

Cheerilee turned to the others. "The shops are closed because most of them store their supplies down in the freight area, and today they can't go there because somepony put up a sign saying the Shadowbolts were closing the freight lines until all the escaped prisoners are recaptured."

"What's wrong with that?" asked Raindrops.

"It makes no sense to shut down the freight lines but not the passenger lines. Isn't an escapee more likely to sneak into a coach car then to hide in a freight pallet? They'd be a lot more noticeable mixed in with the freight, right? Something's wrong here. And also..." she turned to the ice cream stallion. "The two ponies you said you saw going downstairs earlier. One of them had a purple coat?"

"Yeah, a purple-coated mare with a star-shaped cutie mark. Looked real happy. The other pony was a stallion who looked kind of cop-like--uniform and all that."

Cheerilee turned to her friends. "Somepony lured Twilight into the tunnels and cleared everypony else out of them. We've got to get her."

Raindrops felt Snails tighten his grip on her back slightly. "But--"

"Raindrops. This is Twilight. She's your friend," said Carrot Top. "We have to save her."

"I don't want Twilight to get hurt 'cause of me," murmured Snails. "She's a good pony."

Raindrops fought off a jolt of anger. "...Snails, could you wait in the daycare back there just a few minutes more? I will get you soon, for real this time, promise. She let Snails off and waited for him to walk back towards the direction of the daycare, then turned to Cheerilee and Carrot Top. "Let's go beat the tar out of whoever's attacking Twilight. And possibly Twilight, for getting into this."

Cheerilee cracked a smile, and then the three ran.

They heard the explosions by the time they had reached the bottom of the stairs but after traveling through several hallways in pursuit of the sound, they found a door that seemed to have been magically sealed. Cheerilee and Raindrops reared back and kicked it, the door went flying off its hinges, and they saw the train bed before them. They saw Twilight and Greengrass, and the lowering crane, and the pony with the glowing horn standing in front of them.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" screamed Raindrops, charging in.

The bulky pony turned and blasted what looked like an energy mortar round out of his horn. It sailed into the air, above Raindrops and to her left. She began to charge forwards--

"SCATTER!" yelled Cheerilee, knocking Raindrops to the side.

A moment later, the mortar hit a large pile of boxes and crates that had been stacked by the door. The box that was hit burst into rubble, and the rest collapsed in front of the door... and on the knights that had entered. Raindrops felt the rubble crash on top of her back half, tried to move, and found that she was stuck. "Damn it!"

Cheerilee had managed to roll free of the collapsing boxes. "Raindrops, Carrot Top! Are you okay?"

Carrot Top made a muffled sound from somewhere behind Raindrops. "I'm okay, but I'm behind the rubble! I can't get through!"

Raindrops shook her head, twisting to free herself but only sliding out another half an inch. "I'll get the door unblocked and let Carrot Top in. Deal with the mortar guy!"

Cheerilee nodded and ran towards the unicorn, whose horn was already charging to fire another mortar. "Hey, big guy. Why don't you try a pony that can fight back!"

The pony growled and lowered his horn.

***

Cheerilee flung herself flat and the mortar blasted over her head, tearing into the rail and sending chunks of metal flying through the air. The beast-like pony began to charge again, but Cheerilee didn't wait. She turned her dive into a roll, slipped behind the big pony, and kicked the back of his leg with a blow intended to snap the bone.

It had no effect.

The pony turned and swung a heavy hoof at Cheerilee, who dodged it and retaliated with a series of strikes at the pony's face. All the blows seemed to glance off, as if the pony were too bulky to be hurt, or just immune to pain. She gulped as she skipped back a step to dodge another blow. This one could be tough...

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Twilight and Greengrass fleeing the tracks. The crane overhead was rotating and lowering down, as if trying to smash them into the track bed, but Cheerilee didn't have time to focus on them. The big pony was charging his horn for another attack. Cheerilee ducked low, the pony aimed low, and Cheerilee sprang over it at the last moment, leaping onto the stallion's back. She wrapped her hooves around his neck and began to squeeze.

The pony reared back and flung himself over, knocking Cheerilee against the ground and almost crushing her beneath his mass. When Cheerilee got up, she felt a few drops of blood on her head. Gritting her teeth, she dropped into a combat stance she had learned during a stint in Saddle Arabia. Okay. Now I'm mad.

The stallion swung at her, and Cheerilee was able to dodge the blows--he was strong, but not as fast as her, and his limbs were heavy enough that he couldn't match her reaction time. Still, judging from the divots he was creating in the metal rails when his hooves struck the ground, he'd only need to land one solid hit to lay her out. And while she was confident she could avoid him for a while, she was running out of ideas as to how to damage him.

But she wasn't going to lose, not when so many ponies she cared about (plus Greengrass) needed her. So she laughed, and she dodged another blow, and she tried once again to incapacitate the beast.

***

Greengrass sprinted into a dark corner behind several rows of stacked boxes."I don't think the crane operator can see us here, Miss Sparkle. The boxes will protect us from him."

"That's good," managed Twilight. "What about the unicorn? Will the boxes protect us from him?"

A mortar screamed over their heads and gouged a huge hole into the concrete wall

"Ah, yes," said Greengrass. "About that..."

Twilight shut her eyes and began to chant, 'No more running, no more hiding.' Greengrass did his best to tune her out and think. Cheerilee is having trouble against the mortar pony, so I can't just wait here for her to save us. The other two Elements are buried under or behind rubble, and I can't get to them with the crane operator trying to smash me with that box. We have to take out the crane, but Twilight's not much use without magic. That leaves... me.

The thought that his safety was once again dependent on his ability to fight his way past armed and crazy terrorists gave Greengrass pause. Yes, he thought, he had survived the Sun Cultists a few months ago and even saved Notary--barely--but that was due to his setting up an intricate plan that nopony had seen through, and even then he had still needed Baron Max, his father Greenmeadow, and an old diamond dog named Wolfgang or something to bail him out and save his life. Now he had no plan, no support, and he doubted Max would show up with the cavalry again. He knew a rigged game when he saw one, and this was as rigged as it got. It might be smart to just slip away and try to find an exit that hadn't been blocked off.

He looked at Twilight and saw that she had opened her eyes and was looking determined. "Any ideas for how we can help the Elements?" she asked. Something in the tone of her voice told the Duke that she wouldn't be abandoning them; that particular weakness of her seemed to have vanished. And while he knew he could just abandon her...

Her dad would kill me, he told himself, and decided that was his reason for not leaving.

"Alright," he said, knowing that if he left Twilight alone she would likely do something stupid. The crane pony isn't targeting the other Elements, and the mortar pony is distracted. She's safer on the other side of the track as long as somepony distracts the crane pony and keeps him focused here. "Once I distract the crane, can you go to that pile of rubble and start digging the Elements out, please?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes. I can do that."

"Splendid. This shouldn't take more than a few moments." He flashed a smile, then darted around the boxes and back into the crane operator's field of view.

Even as the crane swung around, Greengrass took a long look at the cab and the surrounding boxes. The crane was an old, rusty machine, built before the latest round of magically-reinforced metals from Fisher Metallurgy, and poorly maintained to boot. A sufficiently heavy weight could probably damage it. And there were massive boxes stacked all around, freight shipments that hadn't been moved yet...

Greengrass ran as quickly as he could, staying ahead of the descending box and flinging himself to the side just before it slammed into the ground. He barely avoided being cut in half, but the crate began to rise again almost immediately, so he just picked himself up, turned around, and kept going. He needed to keep the operator completely focused on Greengrass to the exclusion of all else. That meant he couldn't rush this. He had to play it out and draw him in, even if it meant risking losing his head.

Across the track, Twilight ran up to Raindrops. "Need help?" she asked.

"Get this junk off me!" Raindrops tugged frantically, but couldn't extricate her back half from the pile of rubble. "NOW!"

"Right, right, working on it!"

Meanwhile, Greengrass ran in five loose loops back and forth in front of the crane, turning around as if confused whenever he had to dive for cover. He noticed the crane motions becoming sharper and more impulsive, the box beginning to bang into the track and the surrounding freight more, as if the operator were getting mad. Once the motions of the crane were almost violently impulsive, Greengrass drifted near one of the tallest sets of freight near the crane and slipped around it, as if trying to hide. The crane wheeled around, the box swinging in a big arc and coming back towards him. Greengrass tensed, then dodged at the last moment. Now!

The box smashed into the freight and toppled several pallets down onto the crane, crushing it like an overripe tomato. As the frame crumpled, the operator jumped out--and then the crane's arm itself collapsed, falling into the track, and toppling the box towards Cheerilee and her opponent.

"Hah!" Cheerilee gracefully leapt away, and as the bulky pony moved to follow, the empty box slammed on top of him. It landed open-end down (more's the pity, thought Greengrass,) but at least it trapped the beast. A few thumps sounded from within the box. And then, after another few moments, everything was quiet.

Greengrass wiped the sweat from his brow as if he had just finished a mildly challenging workout. "Well!" he said. "That was certainly invigorating. Thank you for the assist, Dame Cheerilee."

Cheerilee, sweating hard, raised an eyebrow. "Assist?"

"Well, I think I clearly had things under control, but your aide is still very much appreciated!"

"Really." Cheerilee rolled her eyes. "Look, just tell me where Twilight is, Greengrass. I'm not in the mood for your games."

"Oh, but isn't life a game?"

"Greengrass. Where is Twilight?"

"Right behind you."

Twilight, who had gotten across the track and was almost done digging Raindrops out, waved a hoof. "Is it over?"

"I think so," said Greengrass, trotting over to Cheerilee. He looked at the crushed cab. "There's no exits from this room, so we just need to collect whoever was in the crane, and--"

A loud roar sounded from under the empty box, and then a moment later, it began to lift off the ground. Greengrass stared as he saw the massive pony within hoisting the box--the box so heavy it had been formerly lifted by an industrial crane--over his head. "Um."

"Seriously?" asked Cheerilee.

"AAAAARGH!" The pony leaned back, muscles bulging, and then threw the box at Greengrass.

The Duke froze, paralyzed by the sheer absurdity of the sight. He told himself to move, but as he saw what looked like half a train car flying at him, he couldn't. His body would not obey him. So this is how I die--

Cheerilee tackled him down, and the box sailed over his head. "Move!" she snapped. "Make yourself useful and go dig out the other knights! NOW!"

"Forget us!" yelled Raindrops, bursting free of the rubble even as Greengrass rolled to one side to avoid the next mortar from the incredibly strong enemy. "I"m out, and Twilight will get Carrot in a minute! Grab the crane operator! Don't let that pony get away!"

Even as Cheerilee began to fight the enemy unicorn again, Greengrass quickly looked around. He saw a light above the tracks where there hadn't been one before, from the control booth. "He fled to the the control booth," called Greengrass. "But... wait. There's no exit from there, and no weapons. Why..."

With a loud clunk, the switches at the end of the track began to move.

What?! thought Greengrass. Why would they move the tracks? Unless... what, are they going to try directing trains to run us over? Nopony could be that crazy. They--

At the far end of the track, he saw a large tunnel door slide open, and the distant headlight of a now-moving train approaching them.

Greengrass gulped. Okay. Maybe they are that crazy.

***

"Excuse me, have you seen the Elements of Harmony?"

The ice cream stand owner looked at the earth pony in front of him. "Yeah, why?"

"I need to find them. I'm Baron Max, of the Night Court. I was supposed to meet them here."

"They went down those stairs." The proprietor jabbed a hoof at the passage to the freight level. "Those three, and then a little colt followed them a few minutes later. Any idea why everypony's going down there all of a sudden?"

Max gulped. Why did they go down there? Are they chasing those abductors? But they don't have backup... and those guys took over twenty captives. The Elements could be in trouble! And an innocent colt too!

Without responding to the ice cream stand owner, he pushed past him and raced down the stairs.

***

Twilight pulled Raindrops out of the rubble just in time for the weathermare see the train engine rushing towards Cheerilee and her opponent. "Lee! Dodge!"

Cheerilee sprang left and the opponent managed to lumber right just before the engine car blasted through the space where they had been. It rolled down the track and onto a large turntable near the end of the room... but the turntable suddenly rotated so quickly that the engine was rushing back towards them. "The operator's controlling the turntables!" she called.

"This is insane!" screamed Raindrops. "He's going to hit his own partner!"

"Somehow, I'm not sure that would stop him," called Greengrass.

Cheerilee managed to shove the big pony away for a moment, then threw herself away from the train as it screeched past again. "Twilight, how's Carrot Top?"

"I'm okay!" came Carrot Top's muffled voice from behind the rubble. "Still trying to dig my way in!"

"I'll get you out," said Twilight. Meanwhile, the train engine had reached the turntable at the other end of the room and was swinging back to run at them again.

Raindrops turned back towards the rubble. "I'll help--"

"No time!" Cheerilee ducked a punch from her enemy. "Twilight, dig through to Carrot Top and get the door unblocked! Raindrops, Duke, get to the control tower! Stop that train!"

Raindrops hesitated, but seeing Cheerilee only barely dodge being run over, nodded and flew up into the air. "Hey, crane guy! I'm coming for--wagh!" A blast of energy sizzled out of the control booth window and almost knocked her out of the sky. "Damn it!"

"Stay low, Dame Raindrops!" yelled Greengrass, who was beginning to run along one side of the tracks. He was eying the approaching trains with trepidation. The path next to the track had become largely impassable due to the rubble caused by stray mortar shots; running along the track was the only option for him. "Fly under his sight, and--"

"Shut up!" yelled Raindrops, dropping lower anyway. She twisted to one side and dodged the train, which was now crossing the room every few moments. She noted as it passed that there were no conductors in it and that the levers of the engine were enveloped in a greenish magical glow. "You only care because if we die, Corona will burn your stupid garden!"

"I don't see why--"

"Just stop him!" yelled Cheerilee. She cursed as the unicorn scored a glancing blow off her shoulder and was sent stumbling backwards.The engine almost flattened her, but she caught her balance at the very last moment, and though she teetered in the train's path for a moment, she managed to just barely dodge it. "Hurry!"

Raindrops grit her teeth and charged forwards, keeping up with Greengrass as they moved down the track. The train engine rushed at them in almost random patterns, swinging about on turntables so it was always chasing them down the track they were on, but they managed to avoid it and neared the stairs leading up to the control booth. "Come on..." muttered Raindrops through gritted teeth. "Come on--"

"GO RAINDROPS!"

Raindrops turned, startled, to see Snails, who had squeezed through the small hole between the rubble and the top of the doorframe that Twilight had cleared. It was still too small for an adult like Carrot Top to get through, but it seemed that the little colt had managed it. His horn was glowing and he was waving a hoof. "GO RAINDROPS! YOU'RE AWESOME!"

"Snails!" screamed Raindrops. "Get upstairs!" Damn it! He's using magic--he's probably going to throw rocks at the mortar pony or something. "Twilight--" She won't be able to get him out of here with the opening that small; he'll fight and won't fit through it. "Get a bigger opening and then GET SNAILS OUT OF HERE!"

"Sorry!" called Carrot Top. "He jumped on my back from behind and climbed through before I could stop him!"

Snails didn't even seem to notice the conversation. "Beat them up! Kick their butts!"

Raindrops was so distracted that she almost didn't notice the train bearing down on her. Throwing herself aside at the last second, even feeling the train sliding past the feathers of her left wing, she cursed and then blasted up at the control booth. If this pony hurts one hair on Snails' mane, I'll throw him out of the booth!

She burst through the left door of the booth just as Greengrass burst through the right. The unicorn before them was lean and wiry, his face and coat magically obscured like his partner's had been but his horn--very long, extremely sharp--was clearly visible. He looked from Greengrass to Raindrops. "Ah--"

"There are two of us, and you're out of machines," said Greengrass, in an almost pleasant tone. "This is the part where you concede the game."

"I've still got a train on the board," the operator growled. "Back off or I'll run over your pink friend down there."

Down below, the train engine was screeching towards Cheerilee. She dodged a blow from the mortar pony and sprang back far enough that he began charging his horn to fire another blast at her. She waited, then jumped in at just the right moment and struck the side of his horn. The shot went to her right, striking not her, but the ground in front of the train. With a screeching sound, the engine ran over the broken track and derailed, screeching against the ground and almost flattening Cheerilee as it skidded into the sides of the track bed and sent dozens of huge crates crashing into splinters.

The pony paused. "Damn," he growled. His voice was low and brusque.

Greengrass reached for him--but the pony's horn flashed, shooting a blast of magical energy at the Duke. Greengrass yelped as he was knocked back into the wall. Raindrops sprang at the unicorn, dodged under the next attack, and decked the pony hard in the chin. The unicorn staggered backwards and leapt at Raindrops, who beat him down to the ground, but when Raindrops went to follow up with a blast to the gut, the unicorn rolled to the side and fled. He raced down the stairs, passed the now-stationary trains, and ran back towards the now-resumed battle between his ally and Cheerilee, as well as Twilight, Carrot Top...

And Snails.

Raindrops cried out and gave chase, but she was slower and the unicorn quickly outdistanced her. His horn glowed, and magic quickly enveloped Snails. "Hey!" screamed Snails. "Put me down! Raindrops, HELP!"

"NO!" yelled Raindrops. "Somepony, stop him!"

The unicorn scooped Snails onto his back and, holding him fast, ran at the pile of rubble.

"Help! Raindrops! Miss Cheerilee! Mr. Greengrass! Help me!" yelled Snails. But Cheerilee couldn't get away from the big pony, Greengrass was still sizzling from the blast, Raindrops was too slow, and when Twilight ran up to help, the pony knocked her aside. "Help!"

"Hey!" An earth pony managed to push through the larger hole Twilight had cleared before Snails' capture. It was--Raindrops realized with an incredulous stare--not Carrot Top but Baron Max. "What's going on?"

"Help! He's ponynapping me!" screamed Snails. "Somepony help me!"

"Outta my way!" growled the charging pony.

Max reacted instantly--by springing off the top of the rubble, landing in front of it, raising his hooves and punching the charging pony in the face. The charging pony staggered backwards, almost dropping Snails.

Raindrops almost cheered. Yeah!

The running unicorn shook himself off, then blasted Max at point-blank range with a beam of energy. This did knock Max back, and Raindrops could smell the stallion's burned coat from across the tracks, but as the abducter ran past, Max hauled himself up and seized his hooves. "Stop!"

Raindrops smiled grimly and kept going. Little more... almost got him...

The abductor kicked Max in the head and managed to wriggle free of his grip, but Max hauled himself back to his hooves and tackled the pony before he could take off. Snails fell off the pony's back with a thump, and then the two were wrestling. Raindrops flew above their heads and began to dive down. "Here's some payback--"

The enemy blasted a sphere of magical energy, shocking Max and sending Raindrops crashing to the track. The enemy got up, dragging his back right leg slightly, and appeared to be considering another attack... but Greengrass was getting closer, and Raindrops could even hear shouts from down the hallways and the trampling of ponies covered in heavy armor. The pony gave one quick look around, then ran at the pile of rubble, blasted through the top, ran past Carrot Top, and was gone.

"Hah!" The weathermare turned to see Cheerilee finally land a solid blow on her opponent, striking him at the base of his horn and causing him to stumble backwards and howl in pain. "Your friend left! You're all alone! So give up now and tell us where all the missing ponies are!"

The pony only growled in response, but he glanced around and seemed to notice that his ally had vanished. His horn glowed again, and he pointed it straight down. Cheerilee managed to leap back just as he blasted the ground under his own heavy boots, using the explosion to catapult himself down the tunnel. He landed past the rail doors, crashing into the ground but getting up without apparent injury, and then blasted the ceiling when Cheerilee moved to chase him. The door slammed shut, and Cheerilee was forced to stop in front of the massive door. His hoofsteps sounded down the tunnel for a few moments, but soon faded.

They were both gone, Raindrops realized. The Elements were safe. and so--Raindrops saw with relief-- was Snails. Her brother was sitting up next to Max, shaken, yes, but seemingly unhurt. "Snails! Are you okay?"

"I bumped my horn." Snails pressed a hoof to the base of his horn, rubbing it. "But it's not bad. I'm okay."

"Yay," said Max, lying flat on the train tracks.

Raindrops couldn't help but smile in relief that Snails was going to be alright, though this was tempered by a blast of anger at the ponies who had attacked them. "Okay. We can work with that."

Carrot Top climbed through the hole in the rubble. "What happened?" she asked. "Who was that?"

The ponies all looked at each other, and then Greengrass spoke. "I think I speak for all of us when I say... that we have absolutely no idea."

Author's Note:

So now we see how Max fights--he just absorbs a bunch of blows and hangs on and keeps going until the other guy runs out of gas, or in this case, drops his hostage. It's not so much fighting as enduring, but for a mountain-themed pony, I think it's fitting.

Comments

[DreadedCandiru2]

Well, we seem to be heading for a situation in which this guy finally gets his shot at redemption. If so, he'll be just another Mr Vice Guy in a setting where one is a principal character.

[Talon and Thorn]

So now we see how Max fights--he just absorbs a bunch of blows and hangs on and keeps going until the other guy runs out of gas, or in this case, drops his hostage. It's not so much fighting as enduring, but for a mountain-themed pony, I think it's fitting.

Well you've got to love a character who keeps throwing himself at his opponents fists until they get all bruised and bloody.

[GrassAndClouds2]

4300187 : Max doesn't have the martial arts training of Raindrops or Cheerilee. But he's got enough tenacity that he can still hold his own pretty well when it comes down to fisticuffs. :-D

[djthomp]

So what are the rules regarding the magic-blocking rings? It makes sense that the unicorn it was on wouldn't be able to remove it, but was there something stopping Greengrass or someone else from pulling it off in the middle of the fight? Also, all chapter long I was yelling "Hit the mortar pony in the horn!", just seems like an obvious strategy that wasn't used until the very end of the fight.

Pretty good fight other than those two questions, I especially liked Greengrass' plan to deal with the crane.

[Fizzy Orange]

Ya know I just realized...did the bad guy REALLY expect Greengrass to go all the way down to the platform himself for his package or is he a lucky bonus here? And if so I think his interference should have been a bit more disruptive. Also I question the necessity for a concealment spell that only obcure identifying features on a pony the size of a brick outhouse. Seems like the kind of thing that would make a guy stand out in a crowd. Also you should just have him wear clothes to hide his cutie mark. It's been established that those are hard to conceal with magic.

Raindrops constant talk of ice cream feels really repetitive, maybe you should vary the treats a bit. And that moment there? that'S the sort of things they could have done on the way to the train station, they probably had plenty of time to say those EXACT same lines. Timing is off here.

I like that Greengrass is afraid of Night Light. Still he feels a bit too protagonistic here. Also Twilight faced off against Antithesis, she shouldn't be quite the panicky damsel in distress here that Greengrass expects. She should also ask Raindrops to try for her horn ring again.

... Isn't that guy a unicorn? I think he should be moving the box, at least partially, with his telekinesis. He's impossibly strong for a UNICORN.

Oh Snails, you silly colt

That's one complicaed train station to have all these tunnels. Impressive. I find it hard to believe the controller could be so good at multi tasking though. Controlling multiple trains AND blasting at Raindrops? Your unicorns are a bit too... DnD Wizard-esque in this scene. I mean it makes for an impressive set piece, don't get me wrong, but it's a bit insane. Also I don't think a unicorn could survive one of Raindrops' hit like that

Shouldn't Carrot Top still be on the other side of the rubble and blocking his way?

Rocket Jumping Unicorns!

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Greengrass, don't worry. Night Light tries anything and I'll kill him!

I'll kill him anyways, though...

Nice action, kinda hoping Twilight gets decked hard.

[TheGreatEater]

4627008

Where's all the L!Verse Twilight hate coming from? It seems a little over the top. Sure Night Light needs a good thrashing, but L!Twilight, unlike her cannon Counterpart doesn't deserve half this amount of hate. I mean she's had only two fics where she's been horrible, Elements of Insanity and Boast Busted. But in the others, she's had lots of maturity, and has (unlike her M!Verse counterpart) actively worked to be better.

[TheGreatEater]

4627008
Again, I really want to know where the L!Verse Twilight hate is coming from?

[Lord King Cocoon]

4299610
Don't get too excited. I doubt it will lead to a full redemption.

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4306879
He tried, and specifically pointed out that it was stuck. Plus, the sparks coming off of it was a deterrent.

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4341437

Ya know I just realized...did the bad guy REALLY expect Greengrass to go all the way down to the platform himself for his package or is he a lucky bonus here?

These bad guys are smart. So I don't think it was a coincidence. I think they did their homework and knew exactly how Greengrass would've reacted.

Also I question the necessity for a concealment spell that only obcure identifying features on a pony the size of a brick outhouse. Seems like the kind of thing that would make a guy stand out in a crowd.

Think of it like this. Does the spell conceal the pony, or affect how other ponies perceive them? It could act similarly to the perception filter in Doctor Who. And as for that pony's physique, how do we know that it's not the result of a spell? After all, the other pony had an extra long horn, most likely to enhance his magic. So the bulldozer pony could've had a spell that enhances his muscles. I mean seriously, he makes Bulk Biceps look like Featherweight. I highly doubt that's natural.

I like that Greengrass is afraid of Night Light. Still he feels a bit too protagonistic here.

Don't worry. I'm sure the protagonistic feeling is only temporary. The fact of the matter is that technically, he is a protagonist in this. Protagonist doesn't automatically mean good guy. Suicide Squad proves this.

Also Twilight faced off against Antithesis, she shouldn't be quite the panicky damsel in distress here that Greengrass expects.

When she faced off against Antithesis, she also had a second Twilight and two Trixies by her side. Not to mention that she didn't have a magic inhibitor back then. And she has changed since her time on the run. Also, she didn't seem that much like a damsel in distress. It's just that Greengrass was constantly taking charge of the situation. And her only real panicky moment was when she learned that they were assassins trying to kill her. And that was more shock than panic.

She should also ask Raindrops to try for her horn ring again.

Asking again implies she asked a first time.

... Isn't that guy a unicorn? I think he should be moving the box, at least partially, with his telekinesis. He's impossibly strong for a UNICORN.

Exactly. He had his strength enhance (I presume), while the other one had his magic enhanced (I presume).

Oh Snails, you silly colt

That's one complicaed train station to have all these tunnels. Impressive. I find it hard to believe the controller could be so good at multi tasking though. Controlling multiple trains AND blasting at Raindrops? Your unicorns are a bit too... DnD Wizard-esque in this scene. I mean it makes for an impressive set piece, don't get me wrong, but it's a bit insane.

Well, if I'm right and they've been enhanced...

Don't get me wrong. I'm not criticizing you, I'm just making counterpoints. And considering I'm responding to a 5 year old post... it's an autistically induced OCD. I have something to say, and I'm gonna say it.

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7945007
Wow, where's all this M!Verse Twilight hate coming from?