Diseased

by Mysterious Stranger

Chapter 7: Confrontation

Night Mist, Twilight Sparkle, and Applejack were all huddled together behind a large rock about halfway up the volcano. Any pony coming up the incline would spot them easily, but the rock hid them from anypony coming down.

"Alright, Night Mist, repeat the plan back to me," Twilight instructed.

"Frazzle Spark will use his pressurization spell to make the volcano erupt. If Aurora and company pass by us on the way down, you'll freeze him with an ice spell. Applejack will use her lasso to restrain Sharp Wing and I'll pin him down," Night Mist rattled off as he glanced up at the sky.

Somewhere in the clouds, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Princess Luna would be using telescopes and radio to provide updates on Aurora's position.

"All teams in position?" Twilight asked through the headset she wore.

Through his own headset, Night Mist heard many different voices confirm they were ready.

"All right, take it away, Frazzle Spark," Twilight instructed.

Night Mist nearly lost his balance as the ground beneath his hooves lurched and began to rumble. In his mind's eye, Night Mist could easily imagine Frazzle Spark grinning as he worked his magic.

"Aurora is talking," reported Rainbow Dash through the headsets, "I don't think he suspects it's a pony made eruption. Now they're all following him down the volcano. He's taking the path team three is on."

"That's us, ain't it?" asked Applejack.

"Yes it is. Remember, wait until they pass us before we make our move," Twilight confirmed.

Within minutes, Night Mist saw Aurora pass the rock, closely followed by Star Bright, Rarity, and then Sharp Wing. With flawless symmetry, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, and Night Mist made their move. Applejack's lasso tightened around Sharp Wing's forelegs, bringing him to the ground. Twilight fired a blue light out of her horn at Aurora as Night Mist moved in on Sharp Wing.

Then everything began to fall apart. Aurora detected the sound of Twilight's spell and countered it with a green beam of energy, locking them in a magic struggle as the beams fought each other.

"Kill the orange and gray one!" Aurora said frantically.

Night Mist jumped aside to avoid Sharp Wing's sword. Sharp Wing then proceeded to cut through the ropes that tied up his forelegs so he could jump up and take at stab at his friend.

"I don't suppose I can break the spell on you by reminding you of our friendship?" Night Mist asked nervously as he sidestepped the thrust.

Sharp Wing only snarled.

"Yeah, figures that would be too easy."

Suddenly Night Mist found himself floating as Bright Star levitated him up in the air. Right before Sharp Wing could hop up to finish him off, Applejack kicked the pegasus in the head, sending him tumbling.

"Sorry 'bout that, Sharp Wing!" she called as she tripped Rarity, who had been trying to skewer her.

From his height advantage, Night Mist watched his friend hit the ground, and then painfully get up again.

"Ow, what the hay just happened?" Sharp Wing complained as he rubbed his head.

Sharp Wing's eyes had returned to blue. Who needed reminders of friendship when you had concussive force? Sharp Wing glanced around, evidently trying to figure out what was going on.

"Alright, I know Applejack and Rarity don't always get along, but is there a reason this mare is levitating you?" he asked Night Mist.

"She's being mind controlled by the wizard over there, make her let me go would you?" requested Night Mist.

Bright Star slammed him into the ground and floated him up again. It seemed mind control stifled creativity when it came to killing.

"You want me to hit a girl?"

"Just do it please."

Sharp Wing shrugged and hit Bright Star above the eye with the hilt of his sword. Both she and Night Mist dropped like a sack of rocks.

"I'll ask how I got here later. So what now?"

Night Mist wearily stood up and glanced at Applejack. She had Rarity hog-tied, all good there. But Twilight was still up against Aurora by herself.

"Why don't you take out the wizard?" Night Mist suggested.

Sharp Wing cautiously approached the fight between Twilight and Aurora. Aurora noticed him and tried to back away while mantaining his magical beam of energy.

"Four on one, Aurora, and more on the way. Might as well give up," said Twilight Sparkle with effort.

"I know Bright Star is innocent! She would never take bits from the royal treasury!" Aurora said frantically.

Night Mist approached the magic deadlock from the left side.

"Mister Aurora, would I be correct in saying that Bright Star is your girlfriend?"

"Fiancee, we were to be married after I came back to Canterlot. But she would never steal! I know she wouldn't!"

"So you returned from a trip and discovered she had been arrested while you were gone, correct?"

"Yes, they all said she did it! But I know she wouldn't! Princess Celestia must have cast a spell on her to make say she did! You've got to believe me!"

Twilight's magic beam pressed Aurora's further back, closer to his horn.

"I believe you love Bright Star very much. So much it would be very difficult for you to believe anything bad about her," Night Mist said gently.

"You don't know her the way I do!" Aurora cried as Twilight Sparkle's magic beam came dangerously close to touching his horn.

With a final surge of effort Twilight's magic broke through and encased the horn in a chunk of ice. At that moment Sharp Wing moved and slashed wildly with his sword. Steel met on ice, and the ice shattered. An audible pause seized everyone present. Aurora's horn was gone. Chunks of ice encasing pieces of brown bone littered the ground.

"My, my, my horn," stammered Aurora in disbelief.

It was Applejack who broke the trance everypony was in by the sight.

"Um, we got lava incomin'," she pointed out.

Night Mist spun around and saw that she was right. The glowing liquid was rapidly flowing down the volcano.

"You overdid it, Fraz!" Night Mist yelled into the headset.

"My cutie mark talent is making explosions, not stopping them!" Frazzle Spark said defensively.

"Don't you know any spells to stop the lava?!"

"I'm not a wizard! Ask Twilight!"

"Don't have the energy," Twilight wheezed, still exhausted from her battle with the veteran wizard.

"We're on our way! Hold on!" Rainbow Dash said through the channel.

"Sharp Wing! Get Rarity out of here! Everpony else run for it!" ordered Night Mist.

Sharp Wing sheathed his swords so he could use his wings and rushed towards Rarity.

"I got her!" announced Rainbow Dash as she zipped into view and grabbed Rarity.

Sharp Wing made for Applejack.

"Ah can run! Get Twi, she's too tired!" Applejack insisted.

Sharp Wing snatched up Twilight and flew away with effort after Rainbow Dash, who had Rarity.

"What about Bright Star?!" demanded Aurora.

"Night Mist and I will carry her, we're earth ponies. You run," decided Applejack.

Night Mist dashed over to Bright Star and helped Applejack pick her up and lay her unconscious form over their backs. Then the three ponies took off down the mountain as the lava gained on them. Fluttershy and Princess Luna were the next to arrive on the scene. Without hesitation Princess Luna carried away Bright Star, allowing Applejack and Night Mist to run faster.

"I can't carry all of you!" exclaimed Fluttershy as she flew after them.

"Applejack's the lightest. Get her next," commanded Night Mist.

Fluttershy did so, with visible strain. Night Mist caught up with Aurora, making sure to keep his distance so that the hornless unicorn wouldn't try to trip him. For several frantic minutes the two ponies galloped in silence. Just when Night Mist felt like his legs were about to give out, one of the wizards from the castle came up into view from below. A flash of magic filled Night Mist's vision, and suddenly he was back in the throne room at Canterlot Castle.

Princess Celestia was seated on her throne, all traces of her former sickness gone. Her mane flowed with magic once again, and she would have looked as regal as ever if it weren't for the absence of crown. Night Mist looked around. All of the wizards had returned, as had the living Elements of Harmony, Princess Luna, and Bright Star, who was still unconscious.

"Glad you made it back, detective," smiled Princess Celestia.

Then she turned her attention to Aurora and all pleasantries vanished from her face.

"Twilight gave me the gist of what happened out there, but I should probably hear your side before I have you executed for treason," she said coldly.

"She's not a criminal," Aurora said numbly.

"Perhaps we should be the one to give the sentence," Princess Luna offered gently.

"Very well," sighed Princess Celestia.

"Aurora, you have been charged with making an attempt on the life of Princess Celestia, our sister, and also placing a mind control spell on two ponies against their will. Not that anypony would ever willingly be placed under a mind control spell. How do you plead?" Princess Luna began royally.

"Princess Celestia made Star Bright say she was guilty when she wasn't. She deserved to die," Aurora said harshly.

"Is that a guilty or a not guilty?" asked Princess Luna, ignoring the jab against her sister.

"guilty, I suppose, but she deserved it."

****************************************************

"You know, I don't think Princess Luna acting as judge made the trial any less biased," observed Sharp Wing as advanced his pieces towards Frazzle Spark's main fortress.

The three friends had arrived back in Ponyville a few hours ago and had decided to finish their game.

"All she did was banish him, that's still a lighter sentence than execution," pointed out Frazzle Spark.

"And many ponies saw that Bright Star wasn't under a spell until Princess Celestia put one on her in the throne room," added Night Mist.

"Yeah I know, Aurora totally deserved it. I was just saying. I still can't believe he didn't notice that Princess Celestia placed a spell on Bright Star instead of removing one. Was he blind?" questioned Sharp Wing.

"In a sense, yes, he was. His version of his fiancee was so dominant in his mind he rejected all evidence that pointed to her being a criminal. I guess you could say he was blinded by love," answered Night Mist.

"That's just sad. He wasn't trying to take over Equestria or anything. He was just in denial." said Frazzle Spark solemnly.

"Very sad, and it gets sadder," agreed Night Mist. "I spoke to Princess Celestia afterwards, and she said Bright Star had stolen from the royal treasury because she wanted to buy a gift for her finance when he came home. Apparently bits were tight."

"Speaking of Princess Celestia, how did you know it was the crown that was making her sick, and not her shoes or crest-thing?" asked Sharp Wing.

"Educated guess. Aurora had issues with Princess Celestia's rule because of his own denial. You have to admit, it would be ironic for Princess Celestia to die because of the main symbol of her authority. But I wasn't one hundred percent sure until I had Twilight Sparkle check it for me."

"You owe me ninety seven bits by the way," Frazzle Spark said bluntly.

"Ninety seven bits?! for what?!" sputtered Night Mist.

"All that coffee you had me buy. Canterlot coffee is expensive, especially when you get thirty cups."

All of a sudden the one hundred bits Princess Celestia had forced on Night Mist didn't seem like such a outrageous sum. Night Mist used his teeth to draw three bits out of the satchel he had received from her and gave the rest to Frazzle Spark.

"Three bits," he said sullenly as gazed at the remainder on top of his hoof.

"I saved your reputation when I got you out of Princess Celestia's bedroom undetected and I helped defeat Aurora," Sharp Wing reminded his friend.

Night Mist reluctantly gave Sharp Wing a bit.

"I helped too," Frazzle Spark pointed out.

"You nearly killed me," Night Mist snapped.

"So did Sharp Wing," Frazzle Spark argued.

"I was being mind-controlled, that doesn't count. Besides, you're richer than Night Mist and I combined," Sharp Wing shot back.

"Not my fault you didn't choose the life of an entrepreneur." Frazzle Spark said with a shrug.

Night Mist forked over a bit to Frazzle Spark.

"Are we square now?" he asked.

"We're square," Frazzle Spark confirmed.

"Saved Princess Celestia's life and all you have to show for it is a bit!" laughed Sharp Wing.

"I wouldn't say that, the entire thing will also help my reputation as a detective," Night Mist said optimistically.

"And from now on, whenever you hear Princess Celestia's name you'll remember watching her sleep all night long," quipped Frazzle Spark.

"Oh, if you give me your last bit I won't tell all of Ponyville about that," grinned Sharp Wing.

"Have I ever told you two you're merciless?" sighed Night Mist.

"You have. And yet you still hang out with us," smiled Frazzle Spark.

Night Mist couldn't help but smile too.

"Well, I guess for revenge I'm just going to have to settle for annihilating your forces."

-FIN

Comments

[Fiorella]

Yes! New chapter!
But... now its all over...
Good fic, very good fic.

[Barbecue Sauce]

Pretty short story overall, but I liked it.

Planning any crazy sequel adventures for them?

[derpyhuman]

That was good.

[Brony Tom]

It's very fast, even for the climactic scene. Also, That eruption needed a bit of clarification... I kept getting this picture in my head of a giant explosion of magma and ash, which would seem to contradict the lava flow type that you were going for. I mean, honestly, it was like the lava just appeared suddenly. In general, I thought this chapter could use some more description. As it currently stands (and I guess this kind of applies to my opinion of the story as a whole) I don't think it has enough depth to it; what I mean by that is that the world/setting isn't made rich enough to draw us in. Not every story needs this, of course, but I think yours would benefit from having it.

Your characters, while I think they could be improved upon, are memorable and fairly well-defined, particularly through their actions. The story line was sound, in my opinion, and I especially liked that the villain really wasn't a Big Bad, but a less evil, just-out-for-revenge kind of guy. I think that dynamic alone did/could have added lots of depth to the story. (though, I do have to wonder how Aurora acquired access to such powers as he had, as I don't believe the story explained that...)

That said, I did enjoy reading this, and I would like to congratulate you on finishing this story. By that simple act, you are already ahead of many, many authors (myself included) who have yet to get that far. It's been a fun and productive read, so if you publish anything else in the near future, I'll have a look at it.

[Mysterious Stranger]

@AAAAAAB:

Night Mist, Sharp Wing, and Frazzle Spark will be back in a longer story, although its more of a stand alone thing than a sequel. And there won't be month long gaps between updates.

[Mysterious Stranger]

@Brony Tom: Once again your advice is very helpful. I've been extra careful with descriptions, pacing, and other things in my upcoming story because you've helped make me aware of my weaknesses. Quite frankly, I like the one I'm working more than this one, and I hope you (and anyone else reading this) will too when it's finished.

[kaylalee]

i am from Egypt, i was dating a girl for over 3 months, everything was going fine till we went for picnic, there she met with her ex, through t out the week we spent there, i never new he was seeing her ex, when we came back her behavior change totally, i began to see strange changes in her, she began to find fault in every means to split up from me in other to get back with her ex, so one very morning we had a conflict and she told me that she is no longer interested in our relationship any more, that she is tired, she packed and left me after 3 weeks i saw her with her ex, i became so angry, i broke down in tears, i felt like killing myself because all what we had was like a dream, i loved her so much and needed her back into my life so i went into serious searched in the net for relationship advise there i mistakenly came across some testimony about a spell caster [e-mail] how has helped many people get back there lover so i contacted him and to my surprise prophet harry casted a spell and the next 3 days, my lover came knocking on my door telling me that she is sorry for what she did, that she wants me back and that she wants to be with me and no other person but me, in my whole entire life i have never seen such like this spell, i never new spell can bring back my lover in 3 days, if i knew i would have done it long time ago before going through this heart break, big thanks to prophet harry
kaylalee

[JFalk]

Interesting mystery - the solution was simple but very fair.