Chapter XXIII: Chase
For a moment, time froze for everypony at the street. After the split second of shocked silence passed, screaming echoed up and down the street as ponies ran from the metallic alien; some recognizing it as a robot from popular fictional stories. A few ponies paused in their panicked run to watch the metallic machine grab the purple filly from the party a week or so ago that was supposed to be an alien. Some were beginning to think that this new incident was the filly's fault; that is, until their suspicion came to a screeching halt when they saw the metal alien punch the side of the filly's head, the wet crack noise that nopony wanted to hear. The ponies could only stare in abject horror at the sight, until the screams of rage from two ponies grabbed the crowd’s attention, as well as drawing the attention of the alien towards the source.
"You buckin monster!" Rainbow screamed as she flew at the robot as fast as she could, only for it to nimbly jump aside.
Twilight on the other hoof was about to fire a more powerful spell at the Xartik hunter when it held Aether's limp body up as a shield. This caused her to cancel out the spell as she thought, That monster is willing to use Aether as a shield‽ However, before either mare could make another move, the robot quickly took off in a mad dash, heading down an alleyway as it jumped over a shocked pony in the process.
"Come back here you buckin coward! I'm going to buck your head to the moon!" Rainbow yelled as she chased after the machine. Twilight was about to do the same, but a familiar voice stopped her.
"Twilight! What in tarnation is going on?" Applejack shouted, running down the street with Pinkie Pie and Rarity in tow.
Twilight's eyes darted toward the alleyway for a moment till they turned their gaze onto her friends, focusing on Pinkie in particular. Hesitating in guilt, knowing that Pinkie wouldn’t react well to what she will hear, Twilight took a deep, steadying breath. "It's a long story, but right now, there's an alien, which I think is a robot based on how it looks like similar to the last one, in Ponyville. The robot... has Aether, and she's hurt..."
Rarity and Applejack were about to let out some kind of response when they were stopped by the sound of a balloon deflating. Everypony turned their heads to Pinkie, only to see that her mane and tail had become completely flat, with her pupils having shrunk to pinpricks. Applejack was about to say something when Pinkie jumped into the air, screaming in a demonic voice, "No one hurts my Aether!!!" before dashing off so quickly that she left behind a cloud of dust that sent the trio into a short coughing fit.
"Oh my, I never seen Pinkie so angry before," Rarity commented, waving away the dust with a hoof.
"Even when she thought I broke a Pinkie Promise, she wasn't as mad as she is now. I might be feelin' sorry for the alien if I didn't know it harmed Aether," Applejack added.
"No time for talking girls, we need to rescue Aether!" Twilight declared. "Even with Pinkie this mad, that robot isn't going to be easy to beat, and it's even willing to use Aether as a shield!"
This caused the other two mares to gasp as Applejack said, "Why that no good buckin alien! We better find it quick! Where did that alien run off to Twilight?"
"It ran down that alleyway, Rainbow's chasing after it," Twilight answered To which Applejack nodded to, dashing down the alley. Rarity was about to do the same, but Twilight stopped her when she held a hoof in front of her. "Rarity, you need to go to the library and send a letter to the princesses. We don't know what this robot can do, but with Aether out cold, we might need the princesses help to stop it. I'll go follow the others and try to get Aether away from the thing." Giving a nod of acknowledgement to Twilight, Rarity took off as she headed to the library, while Twilight took to the air, hoping to catch up to Rainbow and Pinkie.
"Stop running you coward!" Rainbow screamed, as she made yet another attempt to ram the robot, only for it to simply dodge the charge by side stepping once again. It was frustrating for the mare, for beyond all her awesome skills, she couldn't lay a hoof on this thing. All the while, the hunter was getting closer and closer to the edge of town, since it just continued heading in the same direction from the moment it fled. That it is until a cannon mysteriously appeared in front of the robot, with a very irate flat-maned and unhinged Pinkie behind it.
"You let go of Aether now you meanie!" Pinkie cried as she aimed the cannon at the robot's head, causing it to back away in surprise. However, the robot’s grasp remained firmly on Aether’s head despite Pinkie’s demand. With an upside down smile, Pinkie fired her cannon at the robot, the barrel spitting out some kind of glob at the hunter; which the machine casually ducked under. The glob zipped past Rainbow, splattering against a nearby wall.
"Hey, watch whe—whoa!" Rainbow yelled as the hunter leaped into the air, landing on a rooftop. It took a step to resume its flight when it saw that Pinkie has somehow gotten onto its arm, valiantly trying to pry its fingers off to free Aether. The robot first tried to shake Pinkie off, then pull her off, ducking as Rainbow charged at it again. It was at this point that Pinkie pulled out a sledgehammer from her mane and swung at the hunter's head as hard as she could, only for steel mallet to bounce off its shielding. It finally had enough as its body charged with electricity, shocking Pinkie enough that she fell off it, allowing it to flee once more.
The two ponies continued to try to stop the robot, Rainbow trying her best to tackle it, while Pinkie fired or threw various objects at the mechanical monstrosity, even somehow setting up traps that only delayed it for a moment. Regardless, the robot either dodged whatever the two threw at it, or its shield protected it from harm. Nothing seemed like it was going to stop the robot, until a lavender barrier sprung to life in front of it, causing it to come to a halt. It was at that moment a lasso shot from the ground, its noose getting around the machine’s free arm before tightening.
"Got ya, ya varmint!" Applejack shouted from the street, her teeth gripping onto the rope, only for the hunter to turn its head to her direction in a bird like manner. She tried in vain to pull at the robot, only for her hooves to slide over the ground. Instead, the hunter grabbed onto the rope, to which Applejack moaned out, "Whoa nelly..." With the whine of servos, Applejack was yanked into the air, the robot swinging her around like a flail before slamming into Rainbow Dash. The two ponies cart wheeled through the air before slamming to the ground. However, after ripping the rope off its arm, when the robot tried to move, it found its feet stuck to the ground. Looking down, it observed that some kind of sticky material had covered its feet completely, trapping it.
"You let go of Aether now or else!" Pinkie cried, as she along with Twilight, who flew down to land on the roof, slowly walked towards the robot. Pinkie's eyes were full of fury, and she dragged her sledgehammer menacingly across the roof. The hunter just looked at them, before opening its left claw's talons wide, holding Aether out while placing two of the talons right on her neck. "No!" Pinkie cried out, as both she and Twilight came to a stop. "Don't hurt her!" It was at this time that any of the Elements were able to get a good look at Aether since she was captured, and to their horror, they saw that the right side of her head was covered in blood.
Eyeing the two, the hunter lifted one of its legs with as much strength as it possessed, taking a few mere seconds to pull it out of the sticky gunk it was trapped in, doing the same with the other leg afterwards. While it was doing that, Rainbow and Applejack was able to get onto the roof, Applejack getting some help from Rainbow. Only to be shocked as well at how the robot was ready to take Aether's life at a moment's notice.
"Twilight, why don't you use your magic to grab onto it?" Rainbow croaked out, keeping her eyes on the hunter.
"I tried, but my magic can't get a grip on it for some reason," Twilight answered, sweat drops coming down her forehead as she tried to think up of a way to save Aether. Applejack was about to ask her own question when the robot jumped off the roof, landing in an empty street since the residents of Ponyville heard the screams from earlier and took it as their cue to hide, a few grumbling at how often these disasters happened. As the Elements moved to follow after the robot, it turned towards them once more, its two talons against Aether's neck, pressing hard enough that they could see specks of blood starting to appear. This caused the Elements to take a step back, until they heard a familiar voice calling out in anger.
"How dare you hurt a filly like that!" Fluttershy screamed, coming down in front of the hunter as she stared into its eyes. While the rest of the Elements knew that Fluttershy was giving the robot her Stare, it ultimately had no effect on the soulless machine. It just swung a claw at her, causing her to duck in fright. This caused the friends to gape in shock while Twilight covered Fluttershy with a shield. There was an extended pause as they tried to figure out a way to rescue Aether while keeping the robot from harming her further. That was until they saw Aether engulfed in a golden aura that forced the hunter's talons away from her neck. This caused the hunter to turn its attention to its hostage, creating a distraction for a dark blue figure to crash onto its back.
"Thou shall release that filly, thy heinous metal monstrosity!" Luna declared as she bashed the robot's head with one of her hooves. Unlike the blows from the elements, Luna was not only fast enough to hit the agile robot, but her attacks were strong enough to cause the hunter to stagger back, thanks in part of the magical might that she possessed. Meanwhile the glow around Aether strengthen in brightness as it grew larger, slowly becoming a spherical shield that forced the robot's talons open. This allowed the golden aura to carry Aether over to Pinkie while Luna proceeded to pummel the robot, the aura depositing the filly in Pinkie's forelegs. Immediately, Pinkie started to cry at the sight of her injured foster child, while Fluttershy rushed to Aether's aid.
The loss of its hostage appeared to anger the hunter, as jolts of electricity came off its upper torso as it finally swiped a claw at Luna, only for her to block it with a hoof. Even with the electricity coursing into her body from the contact, she only gave off a smirk as she gave the robot an uppercut, which proved to be the final blow that broke the hunter's shield. The blow knocked its head back causing it to struggle to remain balanced. Before the alien construct could steady its stance, two hooves slammed into its chest tossing it into the air like a toy. As the hunter twisted in the air a golden beam of concentrated magical energy fell from the sky, punching a hole through the machine’s armored and out its back. The robot’s delicate internals instantly vaporized from the heat shredding its chassis, the hot plasma blowing the construct apart.
Flying down from the sky, Celestia landed among the Elements as Luna came to their side. Upon seeing the state Aether was in, Luna’s face took on a look of worry along with a twinge of guilt mixed in. "We must get Aether medical aid." Pinkie only could nod as Celestia lit her horn up with her magic, causing the group to disappear in a golden flash as she cast her teleport spell.
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Have a girl find out her child is in danger? You better run hard.
I admit I am rather a little bit disappointed. I was hoping the corps that Aether was training would show up and get their crowning moment of awesome in dispatching the robot. Looks like they'll be stuck with being the story's buttmonkeys for a little while longer still.
(Wonder if enough of the robot was left for a scientist to examine and reverse engineer, given the head wasn't specifically stated as being caught in the explosion of the rest of the body. Then again, Aether does have her data pad thingie...)
I really hope ur not gonna use the amnesia angle.
Oooooooh my, what a fight! I hope Aether will be alright D:
Nice job on this man!
Yikes!!!!!
with all that jumping in dimension I bet someone notice that and a hunter missing i hope there prepare and I hope it was worth it celestia!!!
Possibly featured
i.imgur.com/TMwlryi.jpg
In theory, did Twilight remember that maybe the robot DON'T UNDERSTAND EQUESTRIAN? When Aether appeared she/he also did not understand anything.
Aether: Can I have one of those guns now?
But to be honest, Aether needs a sniper on her team for situations like this.
6427462
Does it matter that the robot did not understand? It had hostile intentions.
Give pinkie the rage of a broken pinkie promise and mix it with some motherly instinct and you have one of the most dangerous ponies ever.
6427498 Maybe, but the robot could be intelligent enough to know (Or discover soon enough) that he cannot run eternally and he is trapped in that dimension. And Aether is only something that going to slow him.
6414185
6414695
-pation.
6427518
For all we know with the shard in it's chest it could port out at any time. I think the only reason it did not is because it needs to charge up to do that and probably drop it's personal shield to do so.
I'm guessing it was sent specifically to capture Aether (because Aether was the last of her species and would make a fine collectable, or would be if she wasn't a pony) and that's why it didn't end up killing other ponies. Just opening up the e-mail and reading the message would be enough to set events in motion.
I'm definitely getting the impression the robot was in full control of the situation and had plans right up to the point where Aether was removed from it.
Uh oh, dimensional breach. Not good, not good! Celestia, Luna, better prepare for incoming shitstorm! Uh oh, uh oh, it will go really, really bad if hunter had video camera that could record everything and send to its owner. If the team of dimensional guards won't be ready in time, Equestria's doomed.
i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr289/axlthehedgehog_2008/responses/tumblr_inline_nckr3dG1ei1qm8np9.gif
stayclassy
6427536 Exist a error in your theory and that is that Aether is now a pony, whatever his race was before. Now don't exist. How the robot can see that the little pony is Aether? and not for example Twilight or RD?
6427644
Rainbow and Twilight weren't incapacitated. I'm sure if it had to use Aether as a living shield and Aether died, it would move onto another pony.
6427536 I think you are half right, in that when it came. It didn't find its true target ( Aether's former race) instead it found different creatures and attempted to get rid of them. The reason it held onto aether's body was cause of tactical advantage in trying to escape. I don't think it knew aether was the actual target it wanted otherwise I don't believe it would of hurt aether so much if she was really meant to be captured.
6427664 Maybe... Or it could be because Aether was more small that the robot just take her.
Did anyone else have a vivid image of Rock'em Sock'em Robots when they read that?
First time I've read a story where psycho pie wasn't evil.
Something happened.
Pinkie was too verwroght to turn Huner into Sushi, meaning Luna had to take out its shield, and Celestia hit it with serious magic. right on the chest cavity where Hunter placed Maralus core. A Maralus core which responde extreley violently to the slightest magic.
Frankly, at this moment in time, Im suprised that Ponyville, the Everfree, Canterlot and surroundings still exist.
total conversion of the mass of a Core is bad enough. About ten megatons worth, but with it having a sub reality dimentional effect, theres a theoretical chance of a full on autocatlytic Big Red Button Genesis event occuring.
Im pretty sure I have it listed under weapon systems never to be developed except when Gods play chess.
You know, I wonder if Equestria Girls universe will come into play. It's just as vulnerable to dimensional invasion as Equestria is, and it's closely linked to Equestria. Could/Should they work together against this foe? Will we see an invasion begin not in Equestria, but Equestrian Girls universe?
6427702 Nah, I thought the old Mortal Kombat "Whoopsy!"
TFW this is all celestia and twidumb fault
Congrats on getting featured!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wonder...after all of that...did all the supplies and dangerous weapons that Aether have brought is left behind? for all those innocent unknowing ponies to just wander up and fiddle with?
*Reads the part when it starts to hurt Aether*
You're gonna face the righteous fury of the Emperor bitch! *Grabs out Chainsword while revving it up*
*The reads the part when Luna beats the shit out of it*
Awwww... I wanted to kill it... Fine *Puts Chainsword away* but, nice one Luna... Being badass, also, great chapter! Loved it to DEATH! Cause it was that good.
Dude, NEVER post a chapter without having it proofread again!
This was hatriot redneck level grammar.
6427882 right?
, great chapter Silvak I can't wait for the next chapter. On a side note Luna is a Boss 
6428205
Umm, it wasn't nearly as bad as you seem to suggest.
6427930 ou forgot RD...
6428746 I totally get what your saying, I'm not saying to throw a chair or gut someone like our dear little pony here. Cadence and Shining know who she is and that's why I would be a little iritated that she would say that to me.
6428211
Luna is best pony. mlpforums.com/uploads/monthly_03_2014/post-25038-0-90462000-1395179353.png
Silvak, im curious, what's your native language? You get some weird syntax errors sometimes.
I really like your story, btw, and none of them are so off you lose me. Just wondering.
I was expecting Pinkie to break the fourth wall, Shout "Deus ex Machina" in a deep voice, and trip the robot for it to fall on it's DoofenshmirtzTM self-destruct button.
In other words...
Any way good chapter look forward to the next
6428896 You forget: Aether has managed to talk the CMC out of doing several crusades that would have gotten them killed. I think she can handle Twilight and Rainbow.
Aether suffering major injuries all because Celestia gave Twicorn a Malarus Core. Since she'll too incapacitated to beat Celestia up, Aether better give her the biggest shitstorm rant of her life.
In early Modern English, "thou" is the singular nominative second-person pronoun (or the informal/intimate/disrespectful version of the nominative second-person pronoun depending on context and time period). It is roughly equivalent to "you" today, although at the time "you" was either strictly plural or used in a formal/respectful sense. Thou is used correctly here.
"Thy" is a singular genitive second-person adjective (or informal/intimate/disrespectful just like "thou"). "Thy" is used when the noun it modifies begins with a consonant sound ("thine" is used for vowel sounds, including most words beginning with 'h' as it was generally a silent letter; "thine heart" would correctly be pronounced like "thine art"). It is roughly equivalent to "your" today, and again at the time "your" was the plural/formal/respectful form. Thy is used incorrectly here, and should instead be thou. The problem is made clear when the two words are replaced with their counterparts of today:
This is clearly wrong. But it is a mistake a lot of authors make, since early Modern English is not something we are exposed to often: mostly just Shakespeare and the King James Bible.
6429946 Someone else who understands early Modern English? Blessings upon thee, friend! I'm a pope, I can do that!
6430048
It doesn't help that Shakespeare switched between formal and informal forms pretty much at random. Sometimes in the span of a single sentence.
6429427
Meanwhile, some eldritch horror that currently vaguely resembles a pony twitches slightly.
"Did somepony in another universe call my name?"
Definetly noticing the quality suffering significantly over the last few chapters, mainly in how well it reads rather than grammar. It may be better to delay the chapters a day so your editor can get to them, if that would solve the time constraints part.
6428397
it's the difference between enjoyable and cringeworthy.
Don't encourage sloppiness if it's already been proven that one can deliver quality.
6430405 Agreed. I didn't even bother to read the chapter, because the sudden drop in quality would have ruined it for me. I'm saving it for when it gets edited.
Yeah... just what I expected. Rest In Pieces Robot!!!
YAY BEST PRINCESS!!!
Yeah, Chrysalis wouldn't have stood a chance against both Celestia and Luna at the same time. Nice team work by the Royal Sisters.
The robot got what it deserved and more. Hopefully Aether will be okay.
6429791 Indeed! Although I think that Celestia's reaction seeing the cache of weapons that Aether brought back might be enough.
6433999 Shh, maybe this time,
Æther can keep them.