For the Sake of Progress

by Lucaro

Chapter 9: The Source of the Poison

Applejack ran through the hallways, the crystallized ponies in pursuit. Fluttershy, Twilight, and three other police ponies followed behind her. They had split up into three groups, but the majority of the crystal ponies had followed Applejack’s group regardless.

They were trapped inside the house until it stopped raining. Anyone exposed to the contaminant in the rainwater would become a servant of Sombra. What kind of mind-control sorcery had he infused in the crystal contaminant?A crystal cluster exploded in front of her, and Twilight shielded all of them. Twilight yelled over the shattering crystal. “These ponies can be saved, even the shattered ones! Once we break Sombra’s hold on them, they will be able to recover.”

Fluttershy screamed. “But where is he!?”

Twilight replied. “He’s the source of the poison, so he’s obviously going to be at the chemical plant where all this started. We have to get there!”

A door in the hallway in front of her was smashed open, and crystal ponies shambled out, blocking their path. Applejack skidded on the ground and ran down another hallway. “Oh my, Celestia help me!”

Fluttershy squeaked. “Is that a garage over there?” she said, pointing to an annex building connected to the mansion with a glass promenade.

“That’s right!” Twilight yelled. “I’m sure Mr. Rich has a car!”

“That’s our ticket out of here!” Applejack yelled, and the police ponies agreed.

They took a turn down the hallway and into the connecting promenade. They reached the door, but it was locked. “It needs a passcode!” Applejack shouted.

There was the sound of glass shattering behind them, and the crystal ponies that had been caught in the rain outside were pouring in through the breach. Twilight blasted the passcode keypad with a bolt of electricity, and the door opened. They rushed in and saw that Mr. Rich had a whole car collection in the annex. They ran past flashy sports cars, antiques, and saw a big yellow SUV that would fit them all.

The door from which they had come flew off its hinges, the crystal ponies now running towards them. “Ack!” one of the police ponies cried out. “They can run now!?”

They all filed into the car, and closed the doors behind them. Applejack was in the driver’s seat and she looked around for the ignition. “Twilight! Where does the key go?”

“It’s a keyless ignition you farm hick!” one of the police stallions yelled. He reached forward and hit a button and the car’s engine roared to life. “Now go!”

Applejack had only driven a tractor before, but she knew what to do. Applejack floored the gas pedal, ripping through the garage doors. They raced down the driveway, seeing all the crystal ponies were pouring out of the mansion and running towards them. “Drive faster!” Fluttershy squeaked.

Applejack floored it, the engine humming at the exertion. They rocketed forward, and the end of the driveway came into view. The gate was closed.

They all screamed, busting through the iron gates. The car bounced and went airborne for a moment, before hitting the ground, jolting everyone in the car. They raced away from the mansion, adrenaline pumping through her veins.

Twilight was sitting in the passenger seat, looking like she just had a heart attack. “We have to go to the chemical plant and stop Sombra! Once the magic breaks, hopefully everything will return to normal.”

“Twi, I don’t think anything will ever be the same after this.” Applejack said, worried.

“These are a special strain of enchanted crystals. They are invasive, aggressive, parasitic, but they need a constant dose of the contaminant to survive. Once the contamination’s source is destroyed, the crystals will stop working and just fall off.” Twilight said.

“Even if they’re brain dead?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight shook her head. “They weren’t brain dead in the first place, that’s what it looked like from a medical perspective. We had failed to see the subtle magic involved. The ponies were merely sleeping, waiting to answer the call of Sombra.”

“That still doesn’t explain how he got so powerful so quickly.” Applejack said.

Twilight nodded. “The Rich Chemical Plant has been open for quite a while now. He was probably putting a low dose of the contaminant in then, to draw power from all of us without us noticing, but when he was ready, he increased the concentration of the contaminant and exposed himself.”

One of the police stallions in the back muttered. “Clever.”

Fluttershy pointed up ahead. “Look! It’s the chemical plant!”

Ahead of them, the massive factory building came into view. Tall smokestacks reached into the sky, and piles of empty waste barrels lay on their side. It had stopped raining thankfully, but where were all the workers?

Fluttershy pointed at the top of the plant, beside one of the smoke stacks. A dark cone of energy with a giant levitating red crystal were hovering there. “That must be where Sombra must be storing all his power! If we can break that….”

Applejack screamed, a crystal pony had jumped on the hood, and was smashing the windshield. Twilight blasted it with her magic, and they all filed out of the car. “Here it is,” a police stallion said. “Sombra’s dark heart of power. It’s strange that he would leave it undefended.”

There was a low roar from inside the building, and the ground began to shake. “You just had to say it!” Twilight screamed at the stallion.

Author's Note:

The next chapter will be the last.

I will revise the entire story then, but hopefully I won't have to make any major changes.