Chapter 39-Hollyhoof Undead- Take 6
Hollyhoof Undead- Take 6:
In the dark of the world around them, Twilight finds her head spinning around like a pinball as she tries to reorient herself to the crazy situation that she once more finds herself in. Her throat filled with dust and debris, Twilight coughs up a storm as she faintly ignites her horn, a light purple glow spreading over the group’s surroundings. With a raspy, strained voice Twilight calls out to her friends in hopes of hearing them safe and sound. “Is every…” The mare hacks out a large hoofful of dust from her lungs. “…is everypony alright?”
Much to the unicorn’s elation, she begins to hear signs of life emanating from the darkness and dust surrounding her. Straining against the blackness Twilight increases the strength of her light, illuminating the small dark room around them as well as the stony walls of beautiful effigies that surround them. With their bodies currently out of harm’s way, the five ponies, with the exception of a head-to-hoof bound Applejack, quickly rise to their hooves, taking stock of their situation.
”Wowie, Twilight, this place is so cool!” Pinkie shouts as she resumes her normal bouncing. “I mean, it’s pretty scary but still pretty cool too! Where are we, some ultra-old amusement park?”
However, Twilight does not respond to Pinkie’s inane comments; in fact, judging from her wide-eyed, vacant stare she doesn’t seem to be responding to much of anything, her mind trapped in the levels of deep thought that only intellectuals seem to enjoy.
“Uh, Twilight?” Pinkie taps the librarian’s head rapidly as she quickly dons a pair of headphones with a built-in microphone. “Equestria to Twilight here, Equestria to Twilight, do you copy? Over?”
That simple reference seems to do the trick as Twilight is brought back to the present by Pinkie’s unorthodox performance, the librarian blinking rapidly in an effort to process the pink pony’s mannerisms. “Oh right!” Twilight shakes her head as if trying to throw out a nasty thought. “Sorry about that, Pinkie, I was just…… Just….”
The lavender mare looks over cautiously to Rarity, watching as the fashionista carefully strengthens Applejack’s magical bindings with the strongest bands of her Quicksilver. Twilight’s eyes narrow in suspicion as she stares at the back of the ivory mare, her face equally nervous and fearful as she looks closely over Rarity’s injuries, as if her demeanor is revealing of something that was so obvious to her before. “..…Distracted.”
Tearing her gaze away from Rarity for now, the librarian looks over her group, reassessing her friends’ situations and states, content to find that - despite some heavy breathing and some scrapes and bruises - they appear to be fine. “And in case you couldn’t tell, yes, we are safe, for now. With any luck it will take quite a while before our friends above our heads find out we’re hiding in a tomb.”
Everyone snaps to attention at this statement as Fluttershy’s wings flutter in a panic. “Wait? WE’RE WHERE!?” Fluttershy screams out, only to find her muzzle zipped shut with a magical zipper.
“SHhhhhhhhh!” Twilight shushes with all her might as the six mares listen tensely for any sign that they have been discovered. Seconds pass in silent tension before Twilight breathes a sigh of relief, unzipping Fluttershy’s mouth. With a slight gesture Twilight looks over to Trixie, who quickly understands the librarian’s intention and ignites her horn.
Closing her eyes in concentration the showmare builds her charge to the point that it crackles with magical power, until it bursts soundlessly around them. Trixie exhales as she turns back to the curiously watching group. “Silencing spell, now nopony outside the spell’s radius can hear us. Now then, perhaps Twilight can tell us why in Celestia’s name she has decide to bury the Great and Powerful Trixie alive!”
“Thank you, Trixie,” Twilight says, ignoring the showmare’s drama as she gestures to her surroundings. “And yes, Fluttershy, we’re in a tomb, or more accurately we’re in a burial vault or catacomb, since the casket is buried in an open-air space underground.”
Looking around nervously the showmare begins to apply one of her most well-known of coping techniques, sarcasm. “Oh! It’s a only a tomb! Silly Trixie to assume that we were somewhere dangerous and frightening when we were only hiding in a place where there are thousands of undead waiting to tear us limb from limb! A burial vault.” Trixie repeats as it was a novelty. “What a wonderful place to hide from a stallion who can reanimate corpses!”
This earns the showmare a quick slap upside the head. “Quiet, Trixie, It was the closest place for us to get away from Noteworthy. Using our combined powers I was able to kick up a storm of dust while me and Rarity used Quicksilver’s drill to dig us into this underground tomb. Noteworthy uses his power to reanimate the dead out from underground, so luckily this tomb is unoccupied. It's not the ideal place for shelter…..”
Trixie chortles.
“….. but it’s hidden and safe from attack, as well as the last place they would expect to look for us.” Twilight smiles triumphantly as she taps her horn. “And as a plus, we’re unicorns, so hopefully he thinks that we’ve just teleported away, and that gives us enough time here to come up with a plan to counter-attack.”
“Well, that does make sense,” Fluttershy comments as she looks around at her new surroundings with an air of cautious skepticism. “But um, why is Applejack here? I mean, it’s not like I would want to not have our friends with us but…… um she’s sort of, well….. um, how do I put this…..”
“Capable of killing us at any moment?” Trixie comments.
“Um yes, that, I mean, she still has those ugly awful mouths on her. So what if……”
“Don’t worry about Applejack, darling.” Rarity trots up, placing a comforting hoof on her friend as she gestures over to Applejack’s silvery bonds. “As you can see by my amazing needlework, I made Applejack a nice little straitjacket so that she wouldn’t feel inclined to kill us.”
Looking at the orange mare the group is surprised to see that Applejack’s tacky bonds have been replaced by an elegant but full-body straightjacket that covers every one of Caramel’s offensive maws. Yet more surprising is the fact that the orange mare seems to be enjoying her new accommodations, given her previous condition. “Urgh, yeah gals. Doncha worry bout me, I’m tied up as tight as a hog at a rodeo.”
“Southernisms, Applejack,” Twilight reminds the orange mare with a death glare. “And now that we’ve fielded the random questions, perhaps we can get down to the main point of thinking up a plan, because in case you failed to notice, I’ve got nothing.”
Pinkie Pie, responding in her normal over-exaggerated fashion, gasps heavily and rushes up to the lavender mare. “YOU. DON’T. HAVE. A. PLAN!? But you always have a plan, Twilight! That’s like the third best thing about you! Right next you being a smarty pants, and your cute tushie!”
“Well I’m sorry, Pinkie, but I can’t think of anything that can get us past all their defenses and….” The purple mare does a double take. “Wait what was the second thing that you said?”
“You being a smarty pants?
‘No, Pinkie, not that. The other thing.”
“Your love of books?”
“That wasn’t one of the things that you said was one of my good points.”
“But your love of books is totally one of the best things about you, Twilight!”
“And I’m not saying it’s not, but…..”
“GASP! Could it be that you don’t think that you loving books is one of the best things about you, Twilight?”
“Of course not, I love books!” Twilight shouts defiantly. “I just really want to know what you said about my….”
“Because if you did then I just have to say, silly filly, that love comes in all shapes and sizes so if you would love to spend a nice candlelit night of passion curled up with a good book then there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that!”
“… Night of passion?”
“And even if there was, you would still be my bestest of bestest friends in the whole world and I would support you all the way!”
“…………. just help me think up a plan, Pinkie.”
“Okie dokie Lokie!” Pinkie salutes sharply.
As Twilight’s body remains stationary, her eyes closed and her pulse steady, her mind is running in overdrive, her thoughts racing a mile a second. Her imagination works in high gear as she mentally calculates every possibility and every outcome in record time. Her thoughts and purpose all focused towards a single goal: defeating the two enemies that have dared to harm the ponies that they all care about for their own selfish reasons. Suddenly, with a flash of inspiration the mare reaches her conclusion, her eyes opening slowly to sparkle in the ambient light of her horn. Everypony leans in on their tip-hooves as the lavender mare licks her lips, slowly opens her mouth, and with a measure of absolute certainty declares to the world…….
“I’ve still got nothing.”
“What?!” the mares shout at the top of their lungs in disbelief.
“I’m sorry girls, but there’s just no way of reaching the two ponies that are controlling the two Stands.” The lavender unicorn hangs her head in defeat as she paws the ground. “They have the ability to create an infinite supply of soldiers while we’re only six mares strong. The fact is that they’ve had the advantage all along. I thought that we could push our way through their defenses before they knew what hit them but they just keep replenishing their numbers.”
The group, not used to seeing the normally-optimistic mare so down in the dumps, look at each other with confusion, their minds struggling to process the mare’s logic. “Surely you’re exaggerating, darling.” Rarity places her hoof on her friend's shoulder. “I mean, I was able to get that cretin myself, surely we can defeat them if we all come together.”
Throwing off the mare’s hoof a little too forcefully, Twilight groans. “That’s because they let you get close, Rarity. Caramel didn’t think that you were a threat, so he let you close up on him, but that won’t happen again. Now that they know the potential of our Stands they won’t let us get anywhere near them. They’ll just keep mobbing us with their numbers until we collapse from exhaustion.”
“B-but that’s not fair!” Fluttershy protests. “Dash got by them so we can….”
“That’s because it was a trap, Fluttershy. They lured Dash in so that Caramel could put Dash under his control, and by now she’s probably under his complete control, biting ponies.” The mare looks around at her friends, frustration dominating her expression. “That’s the problem: any ground we cover, any attack we make, could be easily countered by them. They’re anticipating our every move. If we try to get close we’re beaten back, if we try and attack from outside their range their Stands and bodies can take the blows for them, and if we push forward we fall into a planned trap of theirs. I just can’t think of a way to get around them.”
“I’m….” The purple unicorn lowers her head as tears begin to drip down her muzzle. “I just don’t see a way out of this…. I’m so sorry that I’ve wasted your time.”
The mood of the room immediately hits rock bottom, each and every pony biting their tongue, each one not knowing what to say in the face of overbearing pessimism. Seconds quickly turn to minutes as our brave and resolved group of heroes lay about like rocks, their will to resist drained as they become painfully aware of the odds stacked against them.
With her spirits at an all-time low, even Pinkie sighs as she watches Twilight’s tears pitter patter against the dusty ground. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help, Twilight. If only we could make a surprise for those nasty guys too. Then we could surprise their surprise, that’d sure be a big surprise.”
A sudden spark of inspiration fills the young unicorn’s eyes she looks back to her friends, her vision slightly clouded by tears of joy rather than tears of distress. “P-Pinkie….. what did you just say?”
The pink pony perks up at having being addressed by name. “Well I was just thinking that we can’t get to those meanie mc meanie pants because they would always surprise us if we tried anything. But if we surprised their surprise then they’d be too surprised to surprise us? To be honest, I was just adlibbing most of……”
The unicorn’s sudden embrace cuts off the pink mare’s further words as Pinke feels her strong body compressed like a vice by the strength of her lavender friend. “PINKIE, you’re a genius! A surprise is exactly what we need!” Twilight laughs as she squeezes Pinkie Pie like a bath toy.
“T-Twilight, I love hugs too, but URGH I think I can’t breathe!”
“Oh sorry, Pinkie, I was just a little excited.” The purple unicorn drops the pink earth pony to the ground. “Is that better?”
“…. Well…..” Pinkie blushes slightly as she taps her hooves together. “Well I'm really glad I can breathe again, because otherwise I couldn’t talk and that would would be really really awful!”
“Really,” Rarity states with a deadpan expression.
“…… but I still sort of miss the hugging cause friend hugs always make me happy and….”
“Alright that’s enough!” a flustered Trixie shouts as she trots up to Twilight. “Entertain your fillyfriend on your own time, Sparkle! Just tell Trixie your plan so we can get out of this hole in the ground!”
“WHAT?” Twilight fumbles with the showmare’s sudden accusation as she feels her heart race in equal measures embarrassment and surprise at Trixie’s claim. “That was a friend hug, Pinkie and I aren’t….. You know what, forget it. You’re right, Trixie, we’ve had enough filler for one segment, it’s time to bring this chapter to a close. ”
“Um Twilight? I hate to be a party pooper and all but breaking the fourth wall is kind of my thing so it’d be real great if..…”
“This nightmare’s got to end sometime, so it might as well end with us. It’s like Pinkie was saying,” Twilight wraps her hoof around the party pony. “We can’t get by those zombie ponies with brute force, so we just have to give them a surprise that they won’t ever forget!”
The rest of the group, sensing on an instinctual level the sudden and dramatic change in the unicorn’s disposition, all huddle up (including a bound and now-gagged Applejack who creeps towards the group on her tiphooves) as they prepare themselves for another one of Twilight’s plans that are sure to save the day.
“It’s going to be to be a trap that they won’t ever forget, something that they’ll never see coming. And best of all, we’re going to pull it off by working together.” Twilight states with pride, her normal enthusiasm returning as the light of hope gives her words and ideas strength and merit.
“And as a matter of fact…” Twilight grins as she looks over to the bound Applejack. “I actually think that Applejack’s current condition will be the key to bringing them down. Now here’s the plan….”
…………..
The broken battlefield at the top of the hill, once filled with the loud cries of battle, is now as quiet as a graveyard, devoid of any living ponies save the contorted infected and the two insidious ponies responsible for the destruction of the town before them. As quiet as the dead, the infected and corpses ramble about as they search every square inch of the hill, their eyes peeled for any sign of their masters’ enemies.
“I'll admit one thing,” Caramel spits a bloody lougie to the ground. “Those minxes are good at hiding!” Kicking another of his captive infected to the ground in frustration, Caramel continues to tear across the hillside looking for signs of the escaped mares.
“Patience, Caramel,” Noteworthy reminds the impatient stallion, nose deep in a black bound tome. “They can’t escape us for long. They may possess the ability to hide for now, but it only delays the inevitable. Eventually they will be found, and against our endless numbers they will be quickly overwhelmed.”
“But Ize can’t help it!” Caramel shouts as he punches one of Noteworthy’s undead to pieces with a single blow. “Those minxes took that Apple-minx away from me! She’s mine! They had no right ta take that pretty minx away from me!” Caramel growls. “At least not before Ah made her pay fer getting in mah way!”
“And as I said before, Caramel,” Noteworthy growls menacingly. “Our task is kill them, not to make them our slaves. If you had bothered to pay any attention to the mission then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Manifesting his Stand, Noteworthy gestures to the undead who are combing through the surroundings of the hill, this time at a much more rapid pace. “Now pay attention and double the search for those missing ponies. After all, it’s not like they’re going to…..”
KA-BOOM!
One of the crypts explodes in a detonation of dark green mist as the two stallions brace against the sudden shockwave cresting over the hill. A dark green smokescreen hangs ominously in the air as the two stallions nervously and cautiously prepare for any attack that could possibly come. Carmel readies his stand, Noteworthy puts his book away as the green mist slowly dissipates, covering the ground. Second by second the visibility increases, until five shadow-cloaked figures slowly emerge from the fading green cloud, as the ninjas of old once did. With dumbfounded surprise every set of eyes on the hill, both living and dead, stare at the five mares, who stand in defiance of everything thrown at them so far.
“….Pop out of thin air,” Noteworthy finishes.
The two stallions, though far off in the distance from the mares, ready themselves for a fight as they prepare to sic their respective armies on them. Yet before they can even issue a command the five mares do the unthinkable. With almost machinelike unison they turn their backs and gallop away at full pace, making for the outskirts of Ponyville in a desperate attempt to escape. As the zombies automatically close in around them, their rotten teeth and broken hooves poised to strike, Fluttershy’s piercing gaze flashes in the darkness. Against the sudden force of Fluttershy’s Stare, the undead directly before them stunned by her Stand while the five ponies gallop wordlessly past the hordes, making a break for town.
“That yellow minx’s stare, it’s keeping youzes pathetic zombies from attacking!” Caramel yells as he gestures to the five mares passing through the gaps in Noteworthy’s ranks. “They’re gonna get away!”
“Well then, after them, you dolt! We can’t let them escape. Attack from the yellow one’s blind spots!” Noteworthy screams as his Stand waves its bony hooves, causing more of his undead soldiers to rip themselves out of the ground around the retreating party.
Acting in unison Caramel extends his fore hoof, a dark maw appearing on it as he yells out over the din of the combat. “Get em!” he yells at the top of his lungs, his legions of the infected coursing in from all sides towards the retreating mares hot on their heals.
Yet even as the mares retreat something nags the light brown mobster, as if suddenly remembering something he wanted not too long ago. “Hey, there’s is only five of them minxes….” Caramel states almost to himself as he watches as the Stardust Crusaders begin to run out of sight. “So where’s…..” The brown earth pony cranes his neck across the battlefield as he peels his eyes for... “That orange minx!”
Caramel taps Noteworthy’s shoulder as he points off in the distance. Sure enough, only a few mere hooves away from where the five mares had appeared with a dramatic flash, Applejack lies prone on the ground in front of a large vacant hole.
“Look, there she is just lying on the ground!” Caramel grins at the fact that at least something is going right for him tonight as he trots casually over towards his prize. “They must have left her behind once they realized they can’t remove my Stand’s maws!” Caramel shouts over the noise of the distant chase as he quickly runs up to the prone farm mare.
Brushing back his slick mane, Caramel makes an effort at appearing presentable as he leans down and whispers into the mare's ear with alcohol-tainted breath. “Hi, ya minx, so youze decided ta stick around! Smart choice, now youze can have some real fun, just you and me!”
“Caramel!” Noteworthy shouts as he rushes up to the stallion. “That’s not part of our orders! We’re supposed to kill them, not make them our pets!”
“Tch, forget youze, Ize do what ize wants!” Caramel states, earning him a slap upside the head from the hooves of the ever-patient and watchful Noteworthy.
With keen, observant eyes Noteworthy watches as the five mares take off on hoof, narrowly avoiding the attacking infected as, despite their efforts to escape, the group begins to find itself surrounded by greater numbers. “Anyhow, it looks as though our decision to pursue them was the correct one,” the blue unicorn states as he watches the five remaining ponies barely dodging the attacks of the legions that surround them. “True, we must keep our distance or risk an in-fight with them, but if they go out of earshot we won’t be able command our armies as effectively and accurately assess our foe’s situations.”
“Yeah yeah, ize hear youze,” Caramel states as he watches the five mares once again become surrounded by Noteworthy’s hordes of the undead, his own infected barely held back by the yellow pegasus’ piercing Stare. “Now it’s only a matter of time till they crack under the pressure er fall down dead from exhaustion. Alls we have ta do is sit here an wait, an we win! Can’t git much better than that!”
Caramel turns back to the prone orange mare lying face first on the ground as he flashes her a broken, twisted smile. “An the fact that they were willing ta abandon their friend here shows that thems are pretty desperate. At this rate they’ll all be part of my special little club in a matter of minutes!’ Caramel rubs his hooves greedily.
“That’s no excuse for you behavior, Caramel!” Noteworthy interjects. “Like I said, these ponies, especially that orange mare who craves her own demise, deserve a peaceful purifying death. You have no right to deny her the salvation she deserves, you….”
“In case yawl couldn’t tell,” Applejack interrupts, “mah friends didn’t leave me behind.” Applejack’s remarks come with no small amount of confidence, quickly earning her the attention of the two bickering stallions. “Ah chose ta stay cause Ah'm the bait!”
“Bait?” Noteworthy asks skeptically, “bait for what?”
“Bait for the beautiful ponies standing directly behind you, perhaps?”
The hair on the coats of the two stallions stands on end as their heads jerk sharply in the direction of the voice. Their eyes widen in surprise, their faces contort into anger, and their bodies stand in rapt attention as they look to see that the four ponies that they had thought were so far away from them, the Stardust Crusaders, are standing battle-ready not ten feet away from where they are. Rarity plants her hooves firmly on solid ground, Twilight and Trixie ignite their horns, and Pinkie, well, Pinkie was being Pinkie. Each of the mares, however, merely stands there in place, as if awaiting the stallions’ next move or perhaps savoring the utter surprise covering the stallions’ faces.
“Those minxes!” Caramel readies himself for a fight as he looks around for any infected ponies he might use as a shield. “How did they get so close ta us? Did they teleport or somethin?”
“My zombies’ constant attacks shouldn’t have given them a chance to teleport!” Noteworthy states as he manifests his bony Stand to defend. “And the magic and concentration required to teleport that many ponies that amount of distance is not feasible!” The blue unicorn looks off in the distance. “Besides, they were right there a second ago….”
Looking off in the distance the blue unicorn stallion hopes beyond hope to see the ponies he has been tasked with ending are being torn to shreds by his massive hordes of the undead. He hopes that the trap that he has blundered into thanks to his ignorant partner is a simple hallucination, that the five battle-ready ponies in front of him are simply an illusion. However to his utter shock, Noteworthy watches as the five mares off in the distance explode into a cloud of smoke, leaving behind only a single pony. With unmatched bravery, Fluttershy continues to stare down the crowd surrounding her, moving her head a full three hundred and sixty degrees around as she frantically tries to keep the hordes from approaching her from all sides.
“The yellow one used her power to keep my zombies from attacking?” Noteworthy’s thoughts begins to race, his tactical mind slowly comprehending what the mares were trying to achieve as he turns back to face the real Stardust Crusaders. “Of course, it was a diversion! You lured us in with fakes!”
Twilight can’t help but grin as she savors the dumbfounded look on the demented priest’s face. “You catch on quick.” Twilight points to a single well-worn hole in the ground. “If you’ll recall, this is the exact spot where we disappeared into thin air. We used Rarity’s Stand to dig this hole and then I covered up the entrance with a thin layer of dirt!”
‘So youze dug a hole ta escape. So what?”
“So what!?” Twilight shouts in disbelief to the stallion’s ignorance. “I develop a tailored plan that taps into each of our special talents to defeat an entire army, and you say so what?! Do you have any idea how difficult it so make five completely functioning Illusionary clones that are pre-programed to follow a lead pony is!? And Trixie did that with her eyes closed, literally!”
Turning her head off in the distance the purple mare calls back to her yellow friend who by now is almost out of sight “Oh by the way, you did a great job, Fluttershy! You can come back now!!” Wiping the sweat from her brow in relief Futtershy takes to the air as she flutters back towards her friends, the earthbound Zombies swatting at air in a vain attempt to attack her.
“You may also thank the Great and Powerful Trixie for that trick!” Trixie puffs out her chest. “True, Fluttershy might have used her Stand’s power to keep the zombies from attacking them, but it was Trixie’s magnificent Stand, Magic Mare, that made functional illusionary copies of all the hayseeds here. Of course, when it came to fooling a pair of foalish naysayers such as yourselves, was there really any doubt?”
“Um, I really did my best as well,” Fluttershy shyly states as she lands gracefully with the rest of the group. “I tried my best to keep the zombies from attacking so that you couldn’t tell our fakes were… well, um fake.”
“And it was a good job, Fluttershy!” Pinkie joins in on congratulating her friend. “If those fakes had been faked out or touched in any way then our little surprise would have been completely ruined! And there’s nothing more worthy of a frowny face than a spoiled surprise.”
Realizing with even his limited intelligence that whatever the five mares have planned for him is not good in the slightest, Caramel takes advantage of the group’s distraction and tries to backpedal away from the group… only to find his hooves planted firmly into the ground as a strong orange hoof presses down on his shoulders.
“Hey, what are youze doin, ya minx?” Caramel shuffles his hooves a bit more as he fails to move an inch, Applejack’s stern hoof clutching tighter into his shoulder. “UR! Seriously, youze are starting to get on mine nerves! Ize am commanding youze ta let go now!”
The stallion pulls harder as he finds his body is unable to pry itself from the iron maiden’s grip; however, as the stallion turns his head to confront his former slave on why and how she is managing to defy him, he sees a sight that stuns even him. The orange farmer, formally covered in his flesh-controlling maws, now finds her body plated in layer upon layer of silver tarnished armor, each plate moving in harmony with her, its strength boosting her physical power far beyond its peak. As the frightened stallion gazes upon the beautiful exoskeleton, he comes to the terrible realization that the tables have turned, and now he is the captive in this situation.
Rarity chuckles, drawing the attention of the two villains “You thought that we lured you here for no reason? You may still be out of Twilight’s range, but in case you’ve forgotten you are still well within the range of my Stand, Quicksilver.” Rarity fluffs her mane. “In addition to being readily fashionable, Applejack’s fine suit of armor is completely soundproof, blocking out any more of your dreadful commands, all while boosting her own strength! Now that’s what I call a functional accessory!”
Realizing the extent of the trap that he has willingly walked into, Noteworthy tries to rapidly retreat only to find that he too is held fast against the ground. Looking down he finds a familiar silver Stand, namely Rarity’s Quicksilver, is binding his legs, its metal tendrils slithering up his limbs and holding him in place.
“Amazing isn’t it?” Rarity asks rhetorically. “I call it my ‘Lake of Moonlight’.”
Noteworthy’s stand swings it’s bony hoof at the tendrils like a scythe in a desperate attempt to free his master. However the ground around Noteworthy only ripples in response to his attacks as more tendrils pop out of the ground binding the priest’s hooves to the earth.
“You see,” Twilight continues, “Rarity’s Stand is in its true form a liquid, it can flow and move according it its user’s wishes within Rarity’s range.” Lowering her hoof to te ground in front of her Twilight taps the ground producing a clanging metallic sound in place of the soft soundlessness of dry earth. “You see the surface you’re now standing on is our trap. It’s a thin but strong sheet of metal poured across the ground that allows the user to freeze the movements of their enemies.”
“But how?” Noteworthy flails against his new restraints as they snake their way up his body. “Your Stand isn’t invisible, so we should have seen its reflective coating a mile away! How could your clunky Stand possibly sneak up on us?” As the blue unicorn flails, small flakes of green peel off of Rarity’s Stand, causing the stallion to momentarily cease moving, staring down as more of the light green shavings fall away from the silvery surface of Quicksilver.
“What the….” Cautiously the blue unicorn lowers his nose to the ground, sniffing cautiously. “Is this… wet paint?”
“He he.” Pinkie grins as she waves around a large green spray can. “And it was my job to decorate it! I gave it a little forest green, some light greys cause its night, I even painted some cool-looking tombstones!” Grinning ear to ear Pinkie holsters her artist’s tool in a newly-acquired holster. “And I for one think that it’s my best work ever!”
“See, that little smokescreen that Trixie’s magnificent doubles appeared in was not a simple smokescreen,” Trixie booms. “It was a thick cloud of the pink one’s spray paint; since the paint was already falling to the ground all the fashionable hayseed had to do was spread the sheet of metal across the ground while the paint fell on top of it!”
Twilight points to Applejack, her excitement bubbling within her as she continues on explaining her plan. “Of course, you’d have noticed that your zombies were turning green from the cloud, or perhaps you might have noticed if you had been paying closer attention. But just to make sure that everything would go smoothly Applejack made sure to keep you distracted while she lured you in closer.”
Noteworthy looks down at his silver-encased hooves, a cold sweat breaking out over his body as he tries vainly to free themselves from the metal hoof-cuffs. As more and more of the thin layer of paint comes off of the large metal Stand, Noteworthy’s eyes grow wide as he realizes the immense area covered by Rarity’s empowered Stand. “She took the liquid metal of the Stand, and spread it across the ground! And we stepped right into it! They lured us closer so that we would get stuck in it, now we’re glued to the ground like flypaper!”
“By the way, Trixie,” Twilight states as an afterthought, “you can go ahead and remove the optical illusion now.”
‘Really? So soon?” Trixie asks jokingly. “Being the master of illusions, Trixie can keep this up all night. But if you insist.” A pulse of light echoes from Trixie’s horn as a slight magical aura falls off Rarity and Twilight’s bodies, and with dramatic flair the two ponies open their eyes to reveal an infinite expanse of light where their pupils should be.
“M-Mindlink…” Caramel shudders in fear. “Iz didn’t know cause their eyes looked all normal an like! So that’s how she boosted the ugly-maned one’s power like that!”
“And it’s all thanks to Trixie’s magic,” Twilight grins at her successful ruse.
“After all, if you had seen both our eyes glowing you might have suspected our plan,” Rarity states.
“But the hardest part was speaking out of turn like that. It almost took all of our concentration not to….”
“…Finish each other’s sentences. Even I was slightly averse to mind-linking like this again,” Rarity states with a sigh. “But I suppose that a lady has to make sacrifices sometimes for the greater good.”
Her plan in full effect and her enemies trapped like rats on a sinking ship, Twilight takes a proud step forward. “It was an impressive plan no doubt, and we all played a part in it. Trixie used her Stand Magic Mare to create illusionary doubles that lured you closer towards our trap.” The showmare tips her hat giving credit to her great performance.
“Fluttershy used her Stare to keep the zombies and infected ponies away from our illusionary clones, keeping them intact and preventing you from discovering our ruse.” The yellow mare blushes slightly as she tries once again to hide behind her mane.
“Pinkie Pie painted Rarity’s Stand insuring that it would go undetected by your senses as you were lured into our trap.” Pinkie laughs along with the scene, her expression almost as giddy as Twilight’s.
“All while Rarity and I poured our combined powers into making the trap that even now holds you in our clutches.” The two unicorn mares stamp their hooves in pride as the loud metallic sound of the plate of metal beneath their hooves reminds the two stallions the impressive trap that they walked blindly into.
“And Applejack…” Twilight can’t help but laugh at the mention of her friend’s role. “Applejack’s role is the most. Important. Of all.”
With her newfound armor encasing her, Applejack breaths steadily as she slowly and ominously cracks her hooves and rolls her neck. With almost giddy anticipation Applejack gives Caramel a grin almost as large as Pinkie’s smile on free cupcake day at Sugarcube Corner, staring right into Caramel’s pinprick eyes. “An that job, sugarcube… well Ah guess that even a feller like yawl can figure out what mah special job is, sides from makin sure that you would walk headlong inta our little trap like a raccoon towards a garbage pile.” Applejack cracks her hoof one last time as she stares hatefully into Caramel’s eyes. “…..Now can’t youze?”
“Um…. Ize…. Uh….” Caramel gulps nervously as Applejack pulls back her hoof for what is sure to be the most intense beating of his short, miserable life. “Youze weren’t takin that whole harem thing seriously were youze? That…. That was just a joke!”
Applejack does not seem amused. Caramel gulps again. “Um that task wouldn’t happen ta be poundin me inta a bloody pulp while shoutin ‘Ooooooverdrive’, now would it?”
Applejack nods. “Raging Earth…….”
Caramel, for the last time in his miserable, life gulps heavily. “Um…… I surrender?”
“OOOOOOOOOOOOVVVEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRDDDRRRIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVEEEEE!!!”
To make a long story short, the beating that Applejack gave the incompetent Stand user of ‘The Monster Within’ was as magnificent as it was brutal. It was a beating that pounded his frame into the ground like a pancake. Unloading all of her suppressed rage and righteous anger with a barrage of punches that shook the earth Applejack actually succeeded in burying the offending stallion six feet under in a crater about the size of a small house. And needless to say, Caramel Cider did not enjoy it as much as Applejack did, the brown-coated stallion now black and blue all over his body, his arms and legs permanently bent in directions a professional contortionist couldn’t mimic.
“Tha…… that’s not very…. Impressive….” The stallion groans in pain just as he passes out on the ground.
As the vile stallion Caramel fades into unconsciousness, his nightmarish effect slowly fades away like a bad dream. Like ash from a fireplace the carnivorous maws turn to dust and fall off of the bodies of the infected ponies that surround the hill, much to their great surprise and joy.
“W-We’re free!” A nearby mare shouts at the top of her lungs.
“We’re all free!” A stallion responds in jubilation.
Applejack, looking around at the previously-subdued captives, can’t help but smile as Rarity’s metal armor peels off her body, revealing for the first time that night her pristine orange coat, free of Caramel’s controlling sores. Giving a soft chuckle the mare rubs her fur, never before so thankful for a clean pelt. “Give me a break. It may be clean now but it’s gonna take weeks o washin before mah coat feels clean again.”
“Well then partner…” Applejack turns towards the necrophiliac blue unicorn behind her. “…That’s one desperado down, an only one more ta go. Ah hope yawl have a good dental plan cause Ah haven’t forgotten what ya did ta mah parents!”
However, despite the malice radiating off the orange mare’s coat as she stomps towards him, or the murderous glint in her eyes, the blue unicorn is deathly calm as he remains fastened to the ground. As the mare approaches, the blue unicorn’s face contorts into at first a bemused expression, then an amused one, just before breaking out into dark laughter. “Fool.”
Suddenly with the force of an explosion a swarm of the undead rip themselves out of the ground, dirt and debris flying everywhere as Applejack shields her eyes from the stray projectiles. The other ponies can’t help but stare as more and more of the undead horrors rise out from beneath the metal sheet placed over the ground, ripping through the metal with a gruesome metallic groan.
And in the center of it all is Noteworthy, laughing in glee as he rides the wave of undead surging from beneath him while his metal shackles are torn from his hooves. The undead make a platform of rotting flesh and brittle, sharpened bones around the blue unicorn as the Mane 6 back up in terror, Noteworthy looking down on them from above.
“The…. the undead!” Twilight gasps as she watches the thin metal sheet that she and Rarity painstakingly constructed being ripped to pieces by the dead rising out of the ground. “They’re ripping a half-inch sheet of metal to pieces! Just how strong is his Stand?”
“I concede tha you may have defeated that fool Caramel.” Noteworthy remarks as he lounges on top of the mounds of rotting flesh beneath him, “But it will take far more than a surprise attack to divert me from my righteous mission!”
The five mares leap forward to stop the blue unicorn’s Stand from reanimating more of his undead followers, only for their advance to be halted as a wave of the undead tears through their shallow graves directly in their paths. Rising out of the ground like daisies, the hordes of zombies multiply while the blue unicorn lounges on his undead throne. “Sinners,” Noteworthy spits out, “When will you finally accept your blessing and surrender to the peace of death? As long as we stand on this hallowed ground my Stand is undefeatable, your deaths certain.”
Twilight clenches her teeth as she prepares for another fight, only for a prismatic sparkle in the corner of her eye to cause her to smile. “Noteworthy, was it?” Twilight points her hoof at the stallion in front of her with a deadly-sharp grin on her muzzle. “Your next line is going to be… ’Submit to the salvation of your deaths!!’”
“Submit to the salvation of your deaths!!” Noteworthy shouts, only to audibly gasp a second later. “W-W-What!? How did you….. forget it! You’re petty one-liner makes no difference.” The dark priest growls, “You may have brought down that idiot Caramel with petty tricks, but I won’t be fooled so easily. Now that I know your scheme I’ll never let you get close enough to hit me! And eventually you’ll be overwhelmed by my vast numbers!”
Raising his hoof dramatically, the blue unicorn priest prepares to strike his final blow. “Now die! Hollyhoof Un…..”
WHAM!!
With the subtly of a steamroller (and the physical force of one) a bolt from the heavens falls down, smiting the priest like an act of God. The shockwave knocks the mares flat against the ground as a tall mushroom cloud containing every color of the rainbow spreads out from the point of impact. Noteworthy’s throne of bones shatters to pieces as the rainbow cloud crests over the hill, a result of the deafening explosion. As the dust falls from the sky like rain the five mares rise shakily to their hooves, almost unable to process the speed and suddenness with which Noteworthy was defeated. They stare with gaping mouths as a prismatic-maned figure blows away the clouds with the slightest flutter from her wings.
Emerging from the dust surrounding the crater, Rainbow Dash stands admiring her hoof, as if such an awesome display of power were as natural to her as breathing. “Yeah, fillies, it’s not your imagination, it’s me! And my sense of timing IS just that awesome, it’s not an act.”
Managing enough force of will to close her mouth, Twilight can’t help but whistle as she looks down at the still-twitching body of Noteworthy. “Wow, Rainbow, clearly you’ve never heard of the word ‘overkill’,” Twilight admits grudgingly. “Well, better late than never I suppose. Though when I saw you about to hit Noteworthy at full speed, I kind of thought you’d try and hit him without killing us. ”
“Okay, little miss perfect, maybe next time YOU can bring down a supervillain in a single punch!” Dash brushes back her mane as she strokes her ego. “I mean, beating a guy that took out an entire town in a single blow, yeah that’s one-hundred-percent Dash. I didn’t need any lame plan, I just WHOOSHED in and POW! Game over.”
“…… enlightening, Dash.” Twilight looks over to the remains of the undead as they collapse powerlessly to the ground. “Well at least the last Stand user was defeated, even if it was totally sloppy and went against my carefully orchestrated plan.”
However, despite Twilight’s protests there is nopony at this moment that could care less about procedure than the prismatic mare currently flaunting her superiority over everypony in existence. “Yeah, just gonna keep being awesome over here.”
Fluttershy giggles for a moment at Dash’s normal display of confidence as she looks at the battlefield around them. The infected ponies, now free from the commands of Caramel, are slowly helping the injured and enjoying the simple freedom to move that they had taken for granted their entire lives. The undead that previously ravaged the countryside now lay powerlessly on the ground, their earthly remains once more at rest. And most importantly, all of her friends are all safe and healthy despite the immense danger that they just went through. It is just as this thought passes through the pegasus’ mind that she realizes something that she has only now noticed.
“Twilight….” Fluttershy addresses her friend with wide eyes. “Do you know what this means?”
Not missing a beat, Dash responds, “That I’m awesome?”
“No… I mean yes, Dash, that was very impressive too. But, um, I was thinking of something completely different.”
“Really? Like what?” Dash asks.
“Ah think that Ah know what yer talkin bout, Shy, and Ah gotta say that it is pretty amazin!”
“Soooooooooo this thing that you’re talking about isn’t about me being awesome?”
“Um hum it is super-duper, ultimately exciting! In fact, I think it calls for some loooooooouuuuud shouting!”
“Um hello there! Earth to everypony! What is everypony talking about?”
“Well, darlings, I say if we’re all thinking of doing the same thing, I think that we should do it at the same time!”
“Um, Rarity, what are you talking about?”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie agrees. Shall we do it together on three?”
“Um I’d really like it if everypony would stop ignoring me!”
“All together then! Three…..”
“GUYS!”
“Two…..”
“Stop ignoring me!”
“One…..
“Will somepony PLEASE tell me what’s going on!”
And with that, the Stardust Crusaders (Sans Dash), ponies that had endured a night of almost heart stopping terror, fierce combat, and facing down some of most evil ponies they have had the misfortune of meeting, can finally hold their heads high that their nightmare is over. Despite the odds against them, despite the evils that they have faced, they have survived, and better than that, they saved their town in the process. Letting all their pent up fear and anger, hatred and pain fall by the wayside the six brave ponies raise their hooves to the open night sky, shouting to the very heavens the reason for their jubilation in one voice.
“WE WON!!!”
“We won?” Dash asks skeptically as the fact of their victory suddenly brings a genuine smile to her face. “I mean of course we won, those zombie knockoffs never had a chance against us! Let alone me!”
And with that every single pony breaks out into laughter as they roll around in the grass, like free ponies with the entire world ahead of them. And without a word between them they share an intimate moment that will carry with them their entire lives, and from that day on that starlit night on Cemetery Hill will hold a place in their hearts, as a place where they fought and lived together. Needless to say, all of them can’t help but giggle like a bunch of madmares as they laugh along with their lifelong friends.
“Hey guys!” Everypony looks over to Pinkie Pie. “You know what this calls for, right?”
“Let Trixie guess…. A party?”
Crossing her hooves with a frustrated and perplexed expression, the pink party mare stares over at the showmare. “How’d you guess? GASP! Do you have Pinkie Powers too?”
And with that the entire group once again breaks out into laughter as they roll about on the hill, gazing at the stars above them.
Twilight, in response to Pinkie being Pinkie, gives a slight giggle only to cut herself off a second later. “EHEM, a party sounds great Pinkie! And I hate to be a wet blanket, but….”
Everypony groans loudly their exasperation clearly evident to the bookworm.
“Twilight….” Pinkie chuckles, “Everypony here knows that you LOVE being a wet blanket! That’s, like, the fifth best thing about Twilight Sparkle! Right next to your cute tushie and your sarcastic attitude!”
Shooting everypony in her close group of friends a death glare, Twilight gives Pinkie an especially stern look as she snorts steam from her nose. “…..one of these days I’m going to have to take a look at that list.”
“Anyways, like I was saying, we should probably get these guys…..” Twilight points to the two severely-beaten villains, their shallow breathing the only sign that they are still alive. “…..down to the station before they can cause anymore trouble.”
“Gggggggguuuuuuaaaahhhhhh,” Trixie moans like a pony told to wake up in the next five minutes. “Does Trixie have to? She just found a nice spot on the hill to relax on.”
“I’m serious, Trixie, they’re out cold now but if we don’t get a Stand collar on them before they come to they could still cause some real trouble.” And with that purely logical argument in play the purple unicorn turns her head slowly to gaze at the battered building off in the distance. Even from miles away Twilight can tell the police station has seen better days, and despite the lack of zombies clawing at its walls the moonlight above still paints the picture of a fortress under siege. “Plus…. I want to check up on my brother and the rest of the guards we left behind to protect the Corpse.”
Everypony looks up at this as they realize with a pained expression that tonight’s battle did not just involve them. As the mares looks down towards Ponyville they realize that hundreds of innocent ponies have most likely been injured or, Celestia forbid, killed in tonight’s struggle, and they try to keep themselves from thinking about the grim reality that they now find themselves in.
“Um, Twilight?” Fluttershy rises to her hooves, shuffling awkwardly. “ I know that there was a lot of fighting tonight and that you're worried about if your brother is…… anyways, I just think that you should go check up on your brother if that’s what you really think is the right thing to do.”
The purple unicorn, pulling her vision away from the buildings, shakes her head, dismissing the yellow mare’s concerns. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy, I’m not worried,” Twilight admits with a certain grin. “My big brother is Captain of the Royal Guard, and he’s the most reliable pony I know! I just want to make sure that he remembers to clean up after his own mess for once.”
The entire group shares a brief laugh at this, their spirits coming back to an all-time high. Even the nippy night air, noticeable now that their lives aren’t in danger, cannot dampen their spirits as they look to the east, anticipating the dawn’s warm embrace.
“Well Ah suppose that that makes sense,” Applejack states frankly as she punches the blue showmare in the shoulder. “You heard the mare, go get em, Trixie.”
“ME?!” Trixie asks as she gets up off the ground to face Twilight. “Why does Trixie have to come with you? Can’t somepony else come with you to drop off our guests?”
“Well for starters, you’re an actual government agent that can give an official report. Last time I checked, I wasn’t. And second, you should probably escort me back.” Twilight paws the ground. “Remember, until the charges are officially cleared by Celestia I’m still technically under arrest. So it would make more sense if you escorted me back, to prove that I am still complying with the authorities.”
“Well, Trixie does love to make her reports thorough,” Trixie states as she looks at the police stallion off in the distance. “Very well, Twibright, let us get this misunderstanding resolved, and drop off this criminal scum while we are at it. Trixie herself will escort you on this mission of grave importance.”
And with that, five of Twilight’s closest friends stand by to see their friend off, each of them offering their best to a pony whom they simply could not live without.
“Good luck, Twily! I’ll get the balloons for our celebration party!”
“Yawl take care now! An don’t be getting us into any more trouble now, Twi!”
“Be careful, Twilight! I’d feel just awful if anything bad happened to you now!”
“Don’t worry! They’re not going to do anything to a pony as awesome as Twilight!”
“Do take care, darling! Once you get this awful mess wrapped up, the spa’s on me!”
Twilight smiles. “Don’t worry, everypony, it may just be me but I have a feeling that everything is going to be fine.”
“Let’s get a move on, Twibright!” Trixie grunts as she hefts the Caramel onto her back. “In case you have failed to realize, these two ponies are VERY heavy.”
With an affirmative nod, Twilight responds by picking up Noteworthy’s still-groaning form and placing it on her back as she builds the charge in her horn to a boiling point. Her horn grows brighter and brighter with a brilliant lavender light as Trixie trots up next to her in preparation for the jump. Her friends stand off to the side, only able to wave off silently as their friend vanishes into thin air, once again plunging into the depths of a darkness so great that they cannot begin to comprehend its purpose.
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Damn, and there's Dash channeling her inner 'one punch man'. Anyway, great chapter as usual. You've successfully closed out the arc and given us a final fight fitting for the jojo universe. great job as usual, keep goin and stay golden^^
Groovy
6520613 Don't jump the gun on that assessment. the final chapters will be posted next week and let me tell you it's going to be a fight of gruesome and epic proportions. It definitely puts this one to shame.
LateBronyWriter
6525639 Wow you're really responding to an ancient comment! But yeah ripple is an awesome combat technique that I really would have loved seeing more of. It was a martial techniques that had a ton of applications and made the battles more realistic and personally Joseph is my favorite Joestar, so i'm a fan of part two as well.
However I never really got the chance to incorporate it because of all the Stands that and I couldn't really find a way to incorporate ripple in with the stands doing their jobs. I originally though of giving special members of the Solar Guard Ripple Powers that they gain over training but abandoned it because I wanted to focus on their own racial powers. In a way unicorn Magic, Earth pony strength and Endurance and Pegasus Flight took the place of Ripple, giving each pony additional powers that backed up their stand and were more flexible in their own right. Sorry for not including the ripple though, I know many JBA fans wanted to see that here.
LateBronyWriter
P.S. Awesome Steely Dan video. My only regret is that I couldn't include more JBA quotes.
6528519 its cool man. keep up the good work
6528783 Will do! I'm just surprised how avid of a reader you are. 14 chapters in one day? I only hope you weren't bored by my long writing style. Hopefully the finale coming up this Saturday Sunday and Monday would be a bit more to your liking.
LateBronyWriter
6528934 this is a very good story i like what you do with your characters and there stands are very creative.
i'm very interested on what you'll do with this story
here is a picture i found,a gift for making a grate story
derpicdn.net/img/2015/6/16/917915/large.jpeg
6518634
WRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYY