Thunder Tomb
The Past...
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Come in!" Gorgenia responded as her chisel hit a large piece of stone again. As she heard the front door creak open, she put her tool down and turned toward the door. "Just a moment dear, I'm just about done with my work."
"Oh really? You're usually a quick worker though." said the visitor, his voice making Gorgenia hop in place. A smile creased itself on her face as she trotted up to the door, hugging the visitor.
"Lightning! I didn't know you were back in Canterlot!" She exclaimed before ending the hug. "What are you doing here?"
"Got a job for ya." Lightning replied before pointing to the stone block behind her. "New piece? It looks mighty sharp."
"Eh, its nothing much." Gorgenia shrugged, glancing at the statue. It was a statue of a large towering stallion standing in the midst of several stone roses, a picture of true elegance and power. Lightning looked it over with an approving smile, imaging himself as the stallion in the statue. Gorgenia though, just let out a sigh and shook her head. "It doesn't matter, the critics will say the same thing."
"That its not good enough?"
"Yup. That it doesn't compare to...her." Gorgenia grumbled as she began taking off her apron she would wear for her stone masonry. "So Lightning, what is this 'job'?"
"Nothing much. I just need ya to get something." Lightning replied before putting his hoof in his saddlebag, grabbing a piece of paper to show the mare. A second later, she took it in her hooves. "I'm going to have you go with Wild and Solid to get it."
"I see..." She said as she scanned the paper over. A second later, she looked back up at Lightning. "You do know what this is, right?"
"Yeah, I do." Lightning nodded.
"And what's in for me?"
"Oh nothing much." Lightning chuckled before walking up to her latest piece, tapping it with his hoof. "Just the usual pay and...something more perhaps?"
"And what would that be?" Gorgenia snarkly replied, she knew that Lightning wouldn't say something like that for no reason.
"Its a secret." Lightning winked, causing Gorgenia to just glare at him. "Oh come on, when have I ever done anything to make you doubt me?"
"That depends." Gorgenia crossed her hooves, her glare still prominent.
"Now now Gorgenia, you know you can trust me. We've been helping each other for a long time." Lightning responded, walking up and patting her shoulder. "I've helped fund your statues to be displayed for years. Surely you can help me with a job or two."
Gorgenia just sighed at this before looking back at the statue. As she did, she only think of the critics that would soon yell at hard work. She then turned to Lightning, realizing that he would at least compliment her compared to them. "Alright, I'll do it Lightning. Its not like I have anything better to do. But this better be a simple grab and go mission. You know how hard it is to control those two."
"Don't worry, it is." Lightning replied before taking the paper back. "There won't be a single problem. And even if there is, you can easily fix it. You know how to control those two like the back of your hoof."
"I know." Gorgenia giggled before turning around, ready to head to her bedroom to change clothes. As she did, she asked one last question. "Where am I meeting Wild and Solid?"
"I'll show you in a sec. The job will start as soon as I inform Solid."
"I assume you've already talked to Wild?"
"Yup." Lightning said before staring at the paper, a picture of the Alicorn Amulet plastered on the page. "And this is just the beginning."
The Present...
"Cadenza..." Gorgenia hissed under her breath, her blank eyes showing a tinge of color. "How dare she escape her stone prison!" she yelled, magic pouring out of her horn as several blasts of magic flew out and destroyed several buildings. It was here that she saw Wild in the distance, swiftly riding through the sky on one of his puppets. "Oh no you don't Wild! She's mine!"
At the same time, Cadance was rushing through the city, searching for Gorgenia. As she went down several streets, her eyes soon saw the destruction Lightning had wrought. Pony after pony laid down in the street, knocked out and beaten with bruises. The very sight made her want to stop and try to heal everypony, but she knew she couldn't. She had to find Gorgenia. That is, till the ground beneath her began to shake. "Hmm? What the-"
BOOM!
The pink alicorn quickly shielded her body with her wings, causing the sudden flying debris to bounce off her feathery shield. As the rocks began to cease their attack, she opened her wings, only to find a certain bespectacled unicorn staring right in front of her.
"My my, now that's odd." The green unicorn spat, cricking her neck. She patted her clothes as she walked towards Cadance, sweeping off the debris from the attack. "I seem to remember turning you into a statue."
"Are you Gorgenia? I'm guessing by what you just said, you are."
"I am. And you're quick the irksome one." Gorgenia insulted, shining a chesire grin as she did. "Not very royal, are you?"
"I'm the alicorn of love, not royalty." Cadance shot back as she took an offensive stance. "Turn everypony back to normal or else."
Meanwhile...
The others at the castle all started to smile as they saw the next line of writing appear on the wall. A ring of cheers followed as Celestia and Luna just looked at each and nodded. "Thank goodness Cadance found Gorgenia first."
"Indeed sister." Luna replied before looking back at the writing. "Now, let us pray and hope that she wins and saves the elements."
"She'll win." Flash commented as he walked up to them. "Trust me, I've known Cadance all my life. She's even stronger than Shining when she wants to be."
"Let's hope that's true then." Grand added as he slightly gripped his chest. "Its now or never. Please win, Princess Cadenza."
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
These were the sounds of several magic beams flying through the air, all trying to hit their target. As they did, words also filled the streets. "I don't know how you managed to free yourself from my stone imprisonment, but you'll soon find yourself back that way very soon! Count on it!" the unicorn yelled as she shot a volley of beams that Cadance easily dodged, her pegasus instincts quickly kicking in as she took to the air. Seeing this, Gorgenia slammed her hoof into the rooftop, angry at seeing how easily Cadance was evading her attacks. "Stay still, you blasted harpy!"
"I doubt I'm going to do that." Cadance deadpanned before giving her a smirk. She then shot a beam, pushing Gorgenia back as the mare summoned a quick magic shield from the attack. Seeing that they were now in a standstill, Cadance spoke up, "Now why don't we forget about all this nonsense and you turn the others back to normal?"
"And miss the chance to defeat the great Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?! Are you serious?!" Gorgenia exclaimed as her horn began to flare. "That would be a waste of the greatest opportunity of my life!"
"And why are you so eager to fight me? Cadance asked.
"Why wouldn't I be?!" Gorgenia yelled as another attack followed the scream. As several blasts littered the sky, Cadance dodged every single one with ease, causing Gorgenia to fire more and more beams of magic. "Stay still! You need to pay for what you did to me!"
"I never did anything to you!" Cadance yelled back, summoning a barrier around herself, blocking the attacks. "I just found out who you were today!"
"Don't deny it, you disgusting, filthy harpy!" Gorgenia growled. "You ruined my life. I used to create the most beautiful stone statues, but no matter what I did, the ponies of Canterlot would always say they never match your beauty. I tried again and again to make them perfect, but no matter what I did, you always overshadowed them. I wanted to destroy you so much because of that..." Gorgenia's teeth grinded on themselves as her horn began to shine a bigger light than before. As she did, her eyes now shaking at the sight of the princess of love. "I was close to giving up on the thing that made me happy, so ready to admit defeat..." Gorgenia then shined a devilish grin, her blank eyes twitching at the alicorn. "But then Lightning came into my life! He promised me the power to make statues so powerful, it looked like I'd turned real ponies to stone! And now...and now I can make my masterpiece! What better way of making a statue that rivals you in beauty, then you yourself, you disgusting life-destroying alicorn?!"
Cadance closed her eyes for just a second, letting out a small sigh. Her expression changed to one of slight sadness. "Listen, I'm sorry your work went unappreciated...but you can't blame me for this. I never asked ponies to compare things to me."
The apology made Gorgenia want to puke. Her horn flared again as she let out an angry-filled hiss. "It matters not...I will have my revenge! Turn to stone, you accursed harpy!"
Cadance just shook her head. "If that's how you want to do it, so be it." She flexed her wings and shot herself forward, zipping towards Gorgenia.
"Bring it!" Gorgenia exclaimed, smirking. "Stone Cutter Blast!" she fired another magical attack, but Cadance continued to dodge and weave her way around it. As she did, she flapped her wings and ascended back up. Seeing this, Gorgenia yelled again. "You can't run forever, come down here and face me!"
"Why do that when I can just attack you from a safe distance?" Cadance replied as her horn began to shine. A thin yet precise beam of magic flew out, instantly trying to hit the unicorn. Gorgenia quickly summoned a stone shield from the ground, barely blocking the attack. As it did, Cadance landed on a nearby rooftop, speaking down to the unicorn from there. "We both now the second I get within range, you'll use that Forbidden Spell. I'm not going to let you turn me into a statue again."
"Well aren't you tactical." Gorgenia spat as she rolled her eyes. "But if you think that'll work forever, you're sadly mistaken." Her horn glowed as a flash of light soon followed. In the light, she disappeared, only to reappear seconds later, right in front of Cadance. "Surprise!" She screamed as she levitated her glasses away from her eyes. Cadance was forced to close her eyes for fear of being turned back to stone, but that was what Gorgenia was waiting for. "Stone Cutter Blast!"
The blast struck the blind Cadance in the chest, sending her flying off the rooftop and into a nearby water tower. Her body slammed into the wood as a gush of water bombarded out of the tower from the new alicorn-shaped hole.
"Oh my, that can't have been fun." Gorgenia giggled, putting her glasses back over her eyes. "Hope I didn't ruin your makeup, miss love-dove." As her insult rolled off her tongue, Gorgenia's eyes widened as a pink blur shot out of the tower. The unicorn quickly summoned a barrier, only for Cadance to slam the shield, knocking Gorgenia off the rooftop with a cannon of force. "AUGH!"
As Gorgenia fell down to the street, her body skidding on the gravel, Cadance spoke up with a slight hiss. "Unlike you, I don't need ten pounds of makeup to feel beautiful."
"You'll need more than that after I'm done with you." Gorgenia growled as she got up from the blow. Her horn began to glow again, "When I'm done with you, you will nothing but a pile of petrified rubble!"
"Not gonna happen." Cadance said as she landed down on the street, her horn glowing as well. "You will turn my friends back to normal this instance!"
With that, the two shot out a blast of magic, both hitting each other in a brilliant light as the attacks began to fight each other. As the two beams pushed against each other, the light continued to shine, causing them both to stagger at the amount of magic they were using. That is, till Gorgenia's began to overtake Cadance's, causing the princess to grow worried. "It's over!" Gorgenia screamed as she gave one final push, sending enough power into her attack to overpower Cadance. The pink alicorn was sent flying back, smashing through another building. Gorgenia gave a mighty laugh as she teleported over to Cadance, slowly trotting over the alicorn as she removed her glasses. "Time to turn you back into one of my creations."
Cadance's eyes slowly began to open as Gorgenia leaned down, peering into the alicorn's eyes.
"That's it...just one look. That's all you need now."
However, in that second, the alicorn slammed her eyes shut again. "I don't think so!" Her horn suddenly burst into life, unleashing a powerful burst of magical light right into Gorgenia's face.
"AAAUGH!" she screamed as she stepped back and covered her face. "MY EYES!"
This was Cadance's chance. Raising to her shaky hooves, she charged her horn one last time. As another brilliant light began to appear on her horn, she unleashed an all out attack, striking Gorgenia, causing the unicorn's body to go flying down the street. Her body slammed into several buildings as a dust cloud followed her. As she did, the unicorn collapsed. Seeing this, Cadance let out a groan of pain and said, "Did it."
The winner is Mi Amore Cadenza. Gorgenia KO'd
A round of cheering followed as this message appeared in the castle. Praises towards Cadance quickly came out of the mouths of everypony there, along with the clapping of hooves. That is, till a certain sound came from the stage.
SMASH!
Everypony looked towards the stage, only to see six lively, yet confused mares instead of statues. They all blinked for a few seconds as Rarity spoke up first. "Oh my, what happened to us?"
"I can't remember," Fluttershy added as she shook her head.
"Ah got nothing," Applejack tapped her head, not remembering that she had changed for the event. "And where's my hat?"
"Nope, nope, nope," Pinkie shook her head in a bobbing matter. "Can't remember anything here."
"I remember..." Twilight rubbed her chin, trying to think. "I remember being on stage, but-"
"TWILIGHT!" Before the purple unicorn could finish her thought, she found herself being tackled to the ground by a small dragon. "You're alright!" Spike cried as he hugged her, tears in his eyes. "Oh thank goodness!"
"Spike?" Twilight asked as she tilted her head in confusion. "What the-What's the matter? Why are you crying?" Her parents soon followed as they walked on stage and hugged her as well, causing Twilight to question what was going on even more.
"Applejack!" Applebloom hugged her sister as well, getting a chuckle out of her big sister.
"It's okay Applebloom." Applejack replied as she returned the hug, "But why are yah crying?"
"Oh Rarity!" Sweetie cried, doing the same.
"Sweetie? What's wrong?"
"Does anypony mind explaining what's going on?" Rainbow asked as she looked around. "Why is everypony look like they're celebrating because we entered the room or something?!"
"It's a long story," Flash told her as he walked up to the stage. "Let's just say you girls haven't quite been yourselves. That and you'll need to thank Cadance after this."
As everypony laughed at this, Grand Hoof quickly yelled, "How'd you like that Lightning?" he said, knowing Lightning could hear him. "You're all out of hostages. Can't continue with your game now, can you boy?"
Meanwhile...
At the same moment, a cackle of unfocused magic fumed out of Lightning's horn, his eyes glowing more and more from the amulet. He growled as he saw the report of Gorgenia's defeat. "I give you unlimited power and this is how you repay me?! By losing to a useless alicorn?! Blasted Gorgenia, how dare she make me lose face!"
As this statement exited his mouth, a flash of light shined before him. As the light disappeared, Solid Script was now standing before the unicorn. "It appears we have lost the hostages. It seems to reason that Cadance was stronger than you first believed. Wild or I should have gone after her instead. After all, it was foolish on our part to allow the key member of our side to fight so freely, knowing her defeat would mean our loss."
"Shut up." Lightning grumbled before rubbing his eyes in frustration. "Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be out there, punishing these pathetic losers?!"
Script turned his head in confusion. "Is the game not over? With no hostages, why would anypony else fight?"
"Oh you have got to be-the game's not over Script!" Lightning yelled, hitting the arm of his chair in anger. "You honestly think I'll give up just like that?! Don't be absurd..." Lightning growled as a small spark fizzled out of his horn. "I still have an ace up my sleeve."
"An ace?"
"Something I've kept hidden away for such an occasion. Just like this one," Lightning explained as the amulet began to glow again. He glared at Solid with a true death-stare. "Now get back out there. Now."
Script's eyes glowed for a second, before stopping and nodding. "I understand." With another flash of light, he was gone.
"Just you wait," Lightning hissed as he leaned back into his chair. "By this day's end, Equestria will have a new ruler."
Meanwhile...
Cadance wasn't exactly in the best shape after her fight with Gorgenia. Rubbing her forehead from the pain of the earlier scuffle, she stumbled across the street as she got closer to the knocked out Gorgenia. As she trotted over, the alicorn quickly noticed that the unicorn was coming around.
"Errrr..." she moaned as she opened her eyes. "What happened?"
"You lost." Cadance hissed, getting the mare's attention as the alicorn's horn began to shine just in case. "Now release Twilight and her friends."
Gorgenia blinked a few times as she rubbed her eyes. She could no longer see without her glasses and she quickly put her hoof in the clothes and pulled out another pair. Her eyes now focusing as the lens put themselves over her pupils, her expression quickly changed to both confusion and anger. "Princess Cadance?! What is-why are you here?!" she hissed as she tried to climb onto her hooves, only to feel the pain from her earlier battles. "AUGH! What is...why do I feel so...what's going on here?! Why do I feel like I just ran twenty marathons? And where am I?!"
"You don't remember?" Cadance asked, cocking her eyebrow. "You attacked Canterlot and turned several innocent ponies to stone and hurt several others."
"I did what?! What in the world are you-" Gorgenia exclaimed as she tried to get up again, only to fall over again. Her teeth grit as she glared at the alicorn. "What is this?! Is this some lie you made up so you can ruin my life some more?! It is, isn't it! You're gonna tell the guards some bull so you can make my life even worse, aren't you?!"
"I never-" Cadance stopped herself, trying to make sure she wouldn't lose her temper. "Listen, do you remember or don't remember what you did?"
"NO! The last thing I remember is meeting Lightning on the night of the Grand Galloping Gala and he said something about taking hostages and making Equestria his and then...and then...nothing." Gorgenia rubbed the side of her head in confusion. "That's strange. Why can't I remember what happened after that? The next thing I remember is a bright light and everything going fuzzy. Then I woke up here..." Gorgenia looked up and hissed at the alicorn. "And found myself staring at you."
"Mind control?" Cadance wondered. It would explain why three ponies who'd never shown treasonous behavior would so willing do something like this, though it sounded like he didn't have to do much with Gorgenia in terms of brainwashing. "Lightning...how far will you go?"
Back at the castle...
"The Battle of Canterlot?!" Twilight exclaimed as she and her friends had been told what they had missed. All six were irate from this news, though Fluttershy was more frightened compared to anger that now possessed the other five.
"But...why would he do something like this?" Fluttershy asked in an almost whispering tone.
"Because he's a rotten, self-centred psycho!" Rainbow yelled, her eyes twitching after hearing that Soarin had been beaten up by one of Lightning's henchponies. "When I get my hooves on him, I'll-"
"That won't be happening," Celestia interrupted, causing the others to glance over at her. "I allowed this ridiculous game to go on because of these runes. But that has now changed due to you all now being safe from petrification." A loud snort expelled out of her nostrils from this statement, causing Rainbow to slightly backpedal at the ruler's anger. "I'll be dealing with Lightning myself." Celestia glanced at her student. "That is, after Twilight rewrites the runes trapping me and my sister here."
"I'll get right on it princess." Twilight bowed as she asked Spike to get her several papers and pens.
As he did this, Luna spoke up next, "Alright. Once Twilight Sparkle has completed that, we will find Lightning and deal with him ourselves. That includes Solid Script and Wild Smile."
"But how will we find him?"
"What about Springer?" Scootaloo suggested, pointing to Flash's partner. "Can't he just scan the city and find Lightning's aura?"
"Doubt it," Flash shook his head. "Springer could find us no problem because we've been around him so much, but he hasn't been around Lightning enough to memorise his aura. Especially in such a big city that's full of unknown ponies."
"Then we'll just have to find him the old fashioned way," Applejack grumbled as she adjusted her hat. The news of her brother being beat had made her especially angry. "We split up and search every nook and cranny!"
The others cheered at this, and were soon ready to head out the door. As they did, Iron walked up with them. "I'll also head out and start searching. They don't have any hostages now, so things should go a bit smoother."
Unfortunately, their charge into battle was cut short. In that moment, a large bolt of lightning came down and struck the ground right outside of the castle's main door. There, in that flash of light, Lightning once again appeared before them.
"YOU!" Rainbow yelled, flexing her wings and shooting forward.
"Wait Rainbow!" Flash tried to warn her, but it was too late. The blue pegasus flew straight through him and slammed into a nearby pillar. "Its just an illusion."
"Now you tell me." Rainbow groaned as she slumped to the ground, her body shaking from the failed attack.
"HA! I gotta admit, this group is kinda funny." Lightning said with a chuckle. "No wonder you're so keen on them Flash. Then again, they all look like gutter-trash losers, just like yourself! No wonder you like them so much!"
Before Flash could insult him back, Grand stood before all of them and said, "What do you want Lightning? Have you come to surrender?"
"Like that'd happen." Lightning said with a wave of his hoof. "You honestly believe I would surrender to weaklings like you?"
"Then why are you here?"
"Eh, I just decided that I'd let you know that since you killjoys decided to ruin my hostage plan, I'm adding a new element to our game." Lightning's glowed after this statement. "Something...a little more fun. And bigger stakes of course."
"No!" Grand yelled as his hooves smashed the floor below him. "You and your idiotic games have gone on long enough! Nothing you do will force us to go along with your stupid scheme."
"Not even if I unleash the Thunder Tomb?" Lightning asked, making Grand and Celestia's eyes go wide. The others just looked at each other, not understanding what he meant. Before they could ask, everypony saw Grand Hoof's face become pale.
"No...how? WHY?!" Grand yelled at the image. "Why would you do such a thing?!"
"You don't honestly believe I'd destroy my fathers greatest invention, do you?" Lightning barked back, his eyes glowing once more.
"That is going too far Lightning!" Celestia roared, her horn now flaring with magic. "You would dare try to destroy Canterlot?!"
"How could you betray the family like this?" Grand continued. "WHY?!"
"Betray....BETRAY?!" Lightning screamed, his own horn now sparking in rage. His eyes shined a bright blood-red light as he yelled back at Grand. "Don't you dare tell me that I betrayed the family! You're the traitor, you old geezer! You betrayed my father and me!"
"Lightning...." Grand growled. "Stop this madness now!"
"Fat chance. You have an hour and ten minutes until it detonates," Lightning continued. "And you know what'll happen if it does. This can only end three ways you old fart. You either defeat me and stop the Thunder Tomb, give up and relinquish Equestria's rule to me, or let it detonate and kill everypony here. Excluding me and my pals of course. So, what's it gonna be losers?!"
"Option A." Flash immediately barked back. "Once Twilight undoes the runes, we'll all be coming after you and I'll personally kick your flank!"
"Wrong again feather brain!" Lightning spat. "Even if your girlfriend undoes the runes, I've already set the Thunder Tomb to automatically go off the second Celestia, Luna or Grand Hoof leave the castle. Good luck, you pieces of trash!" With that, the image of Lightning disappeared.
As soon as the unicorn's image vanished, Grand clutched his chest. His breathing became abnormal as he let out a whisper. "How...how could he do this?" As those words left his mouth, his eyes went white as he suddenly collapsed onto the ground.
"GRAND!" Flash yelled as he rushed over and picked him up. "Grand! Are you okay? Speak to me!"
"What's wrong? What happened to him?" Twilight asked as they gathered around him. Flash just shook his head, showing he didn't know.
"We need to get him a doctor," Celestia said before pointing to a door. "Take him into that room. There's beds in there that he can lay on until we get a doctor here."
Flash nodded and began to pick the older pony up. As he did, he felt the weight of the elder and he looked at Iron Core. "Iron, help me out here, would ya? You're stronger than me." Iron nodded and bent down, allowing Flash to place Grand on his back. They all quickly rushed him into the other room, where several beds lined the room. Placing the earth pony on the closest one, Velvet, Night and Fluttershy went in search of somepony medically trained.
"You think he's gonna be okay?" Flash asked as Celestia looked him over.
"I don't know. This might be too much for him right now."
As Flash was about to reply, the nearby door opened to reveal Fluttershy, alone. "Um...I couldn't find a doctor, but there's something I think you should see outside."
The yellow pegasus lead them up to a higher level of the castle and out onto a balcony, where they saw what they assumed was Lightning's Thunder Tomb. Floating in the sky were hundreds of spherical glass devices. The were like flying plasma balls, filled with some kind of yellow electricity. They floated side by side, creating a perfect circle that surrounded the whole city.
"Whoa!" The CMC exclaimed as they looked at the orbs. "You think that's the Thunder Tomb?"
"It is." Celestia growling at the sight. "I'd hope to never see this sight ever again."
"Sister?" Luna asked, surprised at her sister's growing anger. "What's going on? Why has this disturbed you so?"
Seeing an explanation was in order, Celestia spoke up. "It seems I have no choice but to explain this." the alicorn let out a sigh before continuing. "It happened not long after Flash was made into Grand's apprentice. Lightning's father, a brilliant scientist named Doom Raizer, designed and built a powerful weapon he called the Thunder Tomb. It was designed as a means of wiping out an area no matter how big or small." Hearing this fact made everypony grimace. "The Thunder Tomb would basically surround the area with those orbs, and then detonate. As you can see, each of the spheres are currently filled with electricity. They are currently storing the energy of a small thunder storm, over ten thousand volts each. If they detonate, anything inside the circle will be struck by the electrical blast."
"But those things are circling the whole city! And there must be hundreds of them!" Rarity exclaimed, pointing to the sky.
"If they go off," Flash shuddered as his next words left his mouth. "Canterlot will be destroyed and anypony in the city..." He stopped, as the image of what the city would look like flowed through his mind. Looking around, he figured everypony else was imagining the same thing.
"I can't believe something like this would exist," Luna gasped, putting her hoof over her mouth. "Nopony should have something like that."
"Those were mine and Grand's thoughts when we discovered what Doom had created." Celestia sighed as the memory flowed through her head. "When we tried to stop him, Doom tried to detonate the Thunder Tomb. Luckily, Grand managed to stop him and deactivate it, arresting his son in the process. He was sent to prison and Lightning was charged with making sure the Thunder Tomb was properly disposed of." Celestia then pointed to the weapon, closing her eyes in regret as she did. "However, it seems he had other ideas."
Hearing this tale, the others just looked at each other. They weren't sure how to respond. That is, till Rainbow nudged Applejack and pointed to one of the orbs. Seeing they had an idea, Flash turned and asked, "What the-what are you two doing?"
"What does it look like?" Rainbow replied as Applejack hopped onto her back. "We're gonna go smash those things before they can go off!"
"Hold on! It can't be that easy!" Twilight quickly intervened, "Let me try a long range spell or-"
"Forget it egghead, let the pros handle this!" With that, Rainbow dashed into the air at blinding speed. As she got closer to the orbs, the crusaders began to cheer them on while Fluttershy and Twilight bit at their hooves in fear. "Aw yeah, let's do this Applejack!"
"You got it pardner! Throw me at that blasted thing!"
"Let's do this!" Rainbow spun in midair and threw Applejack at one of them. As the earth pony flew into the orb, she quickly turned and hit the orb with her back legs, instantly shattering it. At the same time, Rainbow flew through the orb next to it, also shattering it before flying down to catch the earth pony. Seeing this, the others began to cheer, seeing how easily the Thunder Tomb could be broken.
"Excellent!" Luna cheered, "Now we can easily take out the rest!" Her words would soon be proven false, as they now noticed that the shards from the shattered orbs remained where they were. As they continued to float in the air, the glass began to buzz as sparks flew out. Then a pair of tremendous thunderbolts appeared in the sky and flew towards the duo.
"AAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!" The two ponies screamed as they were struck by the lightning.
"RAINBOW!" Fluttershy screamed.
"APPLEJACK!" Applebloom yelled.
After what felt like an eternity, the lightning finally ceased and the two ponies began to drop towards the ground.
"Somepony catch them!" Celestia ordered, only for her student to quickly flare her horn. The barrier around the castle not affecting her, her magic instantly enveloped the two, causing them to gently float to the ground. "Good work my faithful student." Celestia complimented as Rainbow and Applejack were levitated onto Flash's and Iron's backs. "Let's get them inside, quick."
Soon, Applejack and Rainbow were in beds of their own, being looked after by Fluttershy since Velvet and Night had yet to return. The crusaders were also watching them over, all sad at the sight. As they looked them over, the others debated over what happened. It was here that Celestia came to sickening conclusion.
"Body Link Magic." Celestia explained with a grimace. "Its one of the forbidden spells. Lightning must have placed one on each of the Thunder Tomb orbs. If we try to destroy any of the orbs, it will retaliate with a thunderbolt."
"That's not good. That means we'll have to play Lightning's game or we'll get all zapped while trying to stop the tomb."
"Indeed." Celestia nodded. "Lightning seems to be holding all the cards right now."
"So...what do we do?" Pinkie asked, her hair going flat. "Are we out of options?"
"No." Flash shook his head at the thought. "He might hold the cards, but we're not out. If we can beat Lightning, we'll still win this."
"He's right," Luna agreed. "Defeat Lightning and the Thunder Tomb will deactivate. That's the only way we can win this."
"Then, I need to get out of here." Flash said as he turned to Twilight. "Think you can help me get past these runes?"
Twilight nodded. "I'm on it."
"If that's the case, Pinkie and I will try and evacuate the city." Rarity said as she turned to pink party happy friend. "If we can't stop him in time, we can still try to save everypony." Celestia and Luna both nodded at this plan, giving their approval.
"Let's do this," Pinkie added as she and Rarity rushed out the room. As they did, Spike quickly ran behind them, wanting to help Rarity with the evacuation.
"Solid Script and Wild Smile are still out there." Luna yelled after them. "Be careful to not encounter them!"
Meanwhile...
In his hiding place, Lightning bellowed with laughter. "How'd you like that?! Now the entire city is my hostage! AHAHAHAHA!" Looking up at the rune wall he had Script set up, he saw the same results as always. Wild Smile and Solid Script had taken out all of the remaining players, causing Lightning's grin to grow bigger. Now, only ten ponies remained that were capable of fighting.
With nothing happening, Lightning sat back down in his seat, his thoughts and memories racing through his head. One particular memory seemed rather insistent on playing.
The Past...
"GRANDPA! GRANDPA!" A younger Lightning yelled as he ran down the street. As he did, his eyes soon saw a certain earth pony that was heading to the train station.
Spinning around, the younger Grand Hoof smiled. "Hello Lightning," he said as the colt finally reached him. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you with your father?"
"Dad said you were leaving." Lightning replied, hanging his head at the statement. "He said you were gonna be gone...for a long time."
Grand let out a small sigh before walking up and patted his grandson's head. "Just for a little while kiddo. There's a situation that requires my attention."
"But....but I wanna come with you. Can't I come with you?" Lightning cried, trying to show puppy dog eyes.
Grand just shook his head. "I'm sorry my boy, but you can't."
"Why?"
"Because, the job I'm going to do is...well, its gonna be very dangerous." Grand explained as he kneeled down to his eye level. "Its no place for such a small pony."
"Then I'll get bigger." Lightning replied, puffing out his chest. "I'll get bigger than you!"
Grand laughed hearing this. "I'm sure you will, but not anytime soon kiddo."
Lightning pouted hearing this. "But...that's not fair Grandpa. Can't I just..." Lightning tired to find words, only to just say one word. "Grandpa?"
"Yes?"
"Do you think I could be a Royal Knight like you one day?"
Grand Hoof let out a small chuckle. "And why would you want to be a knight like me?"
"Because I want to help protect Equestria from evil doers, just like you!" Lightning exclaimed, his eyes shining at the thought. "I wanna stand by your side!"
Grand smiled hearing this. "With that attitude, you'll make a fine knight one day kiddo."
"Really?"
"Yes," Grand nodded. "But it'll require a lot of hard work. You'll need to grow really strong, and get much bigger."
"I will! I'll become the biggest, strongest pony ever!" Lightning showed a determined expression, hitting his hoof on his chest. "And then you'll make me your apprentice, right?"
"We'll see kiddo, we'll see." Grand said with a smile.
The Present...
"Turns out, I didn't need you to become stronger." Lightning grumbled, his eyes shining a glowing piercing red aura. "I did that on my own. And now I'll do more than be a Royal Knight...I'll command the Royal Knights as their new king."
Back at the castle...
Flash just sat there as he watched Twilight's horn glow as her magic summoned new runes. As she did this, she began to talk to herself, "If I break down the rogue letter sequence data into component blocks and then pinpoint the terms used to make up the rules, I get L, O, S, U. Now, if I convert that into runic grammar, the letters should..."
"You can do this Twilight, I know you can." Flash silently cheered as he sat on the stage away from her, trying to make sure he didn't distract her. As he did, Springer walked up to Flash and put his paw on Flash's shoulder.
"What'll happen when she'd done?" Springer asked Flash. "Do you have a plan to find Lightning?"
"No buddy, I don't." Flash shook his head. "I don't have a clue on where to start looking."
"Is there anyplace he has a sentimental attachment to?"
"Well," Flash rubbed his chin in thought. "We've known each other for a long time, but I never really had the chance to get to know him all that well. He always had a grudge against me for...for being Grand Hoof's apprentice."
"Oh. Guess we'll just have to search for him the old fashioned way then."
"Yup. Guess that's the plan bud."
Meanwhile, in the make shift hospital room, Fluttershy had just finished bandaging Rainbow and Applejack's wounds. "And...There. A little rest and you'll be fine." Turning around, she stopped dead as she saw Iron Core standing over Grand's bed, the elder still unconscious and heavy breathing as he stayed in that state. She still remembered how Iron had frightened her back at the gala, but...the expression he was giving now changed her opinion. It was a face of sadness and confusion as he looked down at the pony he had always admired.
"I don't understand," Iron muttered in a sad tone. "How could this happen? Grand Hoof is the strongest pony imaginable. He once saved an entire village single hoofedly from ten rampaging Tatzlwurms. So...why is he like this? He hasn't been injured."
"There are more ways to hurt somepony than just physical injuries," Fluttershy said quietly as she walked up to stand next to him. As she did, she stared at Grand with eyes of pure sadness. "There are times where you must endure emotional injuries, which can sometimes be far more fatal than physical ones."
"But what emotional injuries could cause this?" Iron asked, anger slightly showing in his tone. "He's Grand Hoof! He's the greatest, most strongest pony I know!"
"I think..." she hesitated for a moment. "I think it's his heart."
"His heart?"
"His own grandson is the one doing this." Fluttershy explained as Iron Core's expression softened from her low, timid tone. "And from what Princess Celestia told us, this isn't the first time a member of his family has betrayed him like this. If his son did something similar to what Lightning is doing now, then it's possible that the pain of what his son did scarred his heart and...this is making it worse." Fluttershy didn't want to say the next words, but could tell Iron was intently listening now. Letting out a small sigh, she reluctantly said, "I suspect seeing Lightning follow this similar path, well...it must have been too much for him. The poor stallion...how sad."
Iron just looked at her with a puzzled expression. "I...I still don't understand. What are you saying?"
"I'm saying...I'm saying his heart is breaking."
As those words sunk in, Grand continued to lay there. As he did, and even though his body was almost completely shut down, Grand Hoof's mind was still working a mile a minute. Again and again, the same dream replayed in his head of a memory from so long ago.
The Past...
"How could you do this?" An angered Lightning asked his grandfather. It was the day after Doom Raizer had been imprisoned for his crimes, which had caused nothing but pain towards Grand. His grandson however, who had even helped with the arrest and confiscating of experiments, was particularly angry over Grand's actions afterward. "What were you thinking?! You can't seriously just let them do that to him! Dad shouldn't go to prison!"
"Your father attempted to destroy Canterlot Lightning!" Grand replied in gravely, pain-filled tone. "His actions left me no choice."
"You had a choice! You could have helped him! You could have got him some help or...something! Not let him get sent off to some cell!" Lightning barked back, his horn almost flaring in anger. The unicorn then gritted his teeth, hissing as he glared at his grandfather. "But you won't do that, will you? All you care about is yourself."
"Lightning, I don't-"
"Shut up! First you make some loser street rat your apprentice and now you've thrown your own son in prison?! Why do you hate your family so much?!"
"I don't hate this family! I did this for the good of the family!" Grand told him, placing his hoof at his chest. "Doom had grown too wild in his experiments. You saw what he did! He created a weapon nopony should have made, and when we confronted him, he threatened to use it on the whole city! I had no choice! I..." Grand closed his eyes for second, remembering the pain he had to go through during that event. "I...I couldn't risk it happening again."
Lightning just growled at this.
"One day you'll understand. Sometimes...sometimes a knight must put the safety of others ahead of everything else, even their own blood. When you're a Royal Knight, you'll understand."
"Yeah right." Lightning spat as he turned around, unwilling to look his grandfather in the eye. "Like I can be a Royal Knight. Not now, especially since you picked this Flash kid to take my rightful place."
"Leave Flash out of this. He is not part of-"
"I should have been your apprentice." Lightning interrupted, grumbling under his breath. "I trained and studied harder than anypony out there so you would pick me....But instead, you pick some street rat because he's friends with the princess's student."
"That wasn't why I-"
"SHUT IT! YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ME OR YOUR FAMILY, SO BE QUIET!" Lightning yelled as he grabbed the nearby door. As he readied himself to close the wooden object behind him, he said one last thing. "One day I'll show you what a big mistake it was, turning your back on our family. Then...then you'll pay."
The Present...
"Lightning...I'm sorry." Grand mumbled in his sleep, a small yet barely visible tear forming under one of his eyes. As he did this, Fluttershy and Iron stood over him, not noticing his almost silent words.
Meanwhile...
Rarity, Pinkie and Spike were rushing through the town, looking for anypony still able bodied enough to help gather the injured. However, despite the search, there was nothing in terms of help.
"Everypony's hurt." Pinkie said as they walked down a street, her hair now down as she saw the pain and suffering around her.
"Lightning's friends really did a number on everypony," Spike commented, cringing at what he just said. "Plus the enchantments that forced most of them to take each other out."
"I still can't believe anypony would do such a thing," Rarity finished, letting out a small sigh. "To think that they would put so many lives in danger, just for their own selfish reasons."
"I can!" a nasty voice yelled out. The trio hopped in place as they heard the voice. What followed was an explosion, sending them flying down the street.
Rarity felt herself smashing into a barrel, shattering it as she did so. A second later, she managed to pull herself out of the splintered wood. She then started to look around for her two friends, only to see Pinkie, who's eyes were literately spinning in a nearby alleyway. Spike was also doing the same thing, though his body was half inside a nearby trash can. "Oh dear...that was dreadful." she groaned as she shook her head while getting onto her hooves. "What hit us?"
"HAHAHA!" the voice called out again, now above them. "Looks like I caught a two-for-one!" The voice then let out a wolf-whistle. "And they're some serious hot catches too!" his tongue stuck out, slobbering at the sight of the two mares. "Very nice...I like it."
Rarity looked up and saw Wild Smile floating above them, his hooves standing on top of his flying puppets. She growled at the sight as she shook her hoof at him. "Why you-you violent horrible stallion! How dare you attack us like that!"
"Yeah!" Pinkie added. "Surprises are only good when they're a fun surprise, like a party or present!"
"Oh, but me and my friends are having a party!" Wild laughed as he jumped onto a nearby rooftop. "And you're the entertainment." With that, he clapped his hooves, causing his puppets to descend down to them. As they did, they began firing a volley of beams.
"RUN!" Pinkie screamed as the three of them hightailed it down the nearby street.
As they did, Wild just let out a laugh. "Hey where you going? Things were just getting fun!" He then turned to the remaining puppets and pointed to another building. "Give me a ride to get over there. Hop to it!"
"Hop to it! Hop to it!" the puppets sang as he hopped onto the wooden weapons.
As he followed them, Rarity asked her friends as they ran down the street, "What do we do? You know he'll hunt us because everypony else is knocked out!"
"I don't know," Spike replied as he tried to keep up on his two stubby legs. "But let's hope we don't run into any-" His sentence was cut off as a magical barrier appeared around them. "Enchantments...darn it."
"Too bad!" Wild said as he arrived, standing on top of a building with a large sign that said: Toy Town. The three's eyes shrunk as they saw the barrier close off the other streets, except the toy store that they were now standing in front of. Seeing their fear, Wild just smirked. "Looks like you're out of luck. The only way you're getting out of this barrier is to beat me, and I doubt you nice looking mares can do that. But...this could be fun."
Seeing the smirk, Rarity just put herself into a fighting stance. "Looks like we don't have a choice. We have to defeat him."
"B-b-b-but...he took out Soarin and a bunch of other ponies!" Spike panicked, slowly backpedalling from Rarity as he pointed to Wild. "How are we gonna beat him?!"
"It doesn't matter." Rarity shook her head and let out a snort. "We have to try."
"Yeah! Let's beat this meanie!" Pinkie agreed, showing an actual glimpse of anger on her face.
"Now you're talking!" Wild said as he clapped his hooves. As this sound happened, five puppets descended in front of Rarity and the others. He let an insane laugh as his puppets began firing beams again.
"Look out!" Spike yelled as they began jumping out of the way. As the beams flew down the street, Wild just kept laughing, watching the trio trying to dodge every blow.
"Those horrid dolls are so annoying." Rarity grumbled as her horn began to flare. A second later, she fired her own magic beam, which struck one of the dolls and encased it in a crystal block.
"What the-what did you just do?!" Wild exclaimed, seeing this.
"A little something Twilight taught me for situations just like this." Rarity replied with a smirk. She then fired four more blasts, striking the other remaining dolls and freezing them in crystal.
"My buddies!" Wild yelled and shook his hoof. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Oh yeah!" Pinkie cheered, confetti somehow flying out of her hooves. "Way to go Rarity!"
"Don't cheer for her!" Wild frantically barked, "You think you can just freeze my pals?! Without my buddies, I'm defenceless!"
"Then give up!" Spike yelled back, "Or we'll come up there and beat you!"
"What?! Are you saying I'm beat?!" Wild screamed back, putting his hoof on chest. He then showed a face of pure fear and despair. "But...but I can't be beat! I'm Wild Smile and I can't lose! I'm....I'm...." Wild's face then changed to a devilish smile. "Gonna beat you!"
From out of nowhere, another powerful blast of magic shot out and struck Rarity. "AAAAUUUUGGGHHHHHH!!!" Rarity screamed as she was sent flying down the street and into the barrier, her body instantly falling unconscious.
"RARITY!" Spike screamed, rushing over to her.
"Where did that come from?" Pinkie asked as she looked around, only to get her answer. Flying around Wild were five new dolls, including a teddy bear and a robot, moving just like how Wild's puppets had once done. Wild then pointed to the toy shop, grinning as he did.
"For me, this is more than just a toy shop." Wild said as he kept pointing at the building he stood on. "It's an armory!"
"You're controlling the toys?" Spike asked as he looked over Rarity.
Wild shook his head. "Nah, they're just tools. What I really control are my little buddies' souls. Destroy one body, and I'll just switch them into another."
"Uh-oh." Pinkie grimaced as she watched the new toys float around Wild. "That's not good."
"So what're you gonna do?" Wild said as he now pointed to Pinkie, licking his lips as he did. "Your friend is down for the count, so that just leaves you. You're all alone against me and my pals."
"I'm here too you know!" Spike yelled as he put himself over Rarity, trying to shield her.
Pinkie on the other hoof, just took an offensive stance. "Let's do this you big meanie!"
Wild Smile vs Rarity and Pinkamena Diane Pie. Rarity KO'd
"Rarity..." Sweetie began to cry, seeing her big sister get hurt.
"It's okay little one, your sister will be fine." Celestia said as she walked over and hugged the little filly. "Do not worry, this will all work out."
"I'm getting out there." They turned to see Iron and Fluttershy enter the room, a scowl on Iron's face. "This has gone on long enough. There shouldn't be anypony else left but his minions."
"Sounds good to me." Flash added as he stared at Iron with a face of filled determination. "Go on ahead, I won't be far behind."
"Tch, leave it to me." Iron slightly chuckled as he tapped his sheathed weapon. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you can at least get one good hit in before I kick Lightning's flank."
Nodding to this, Flash turned back to Twilight, who was still writing down a few runes of her own. As she wrote down the theorem on another piece of paper, her eyes shined with glee. "That's it!" she exclaimed. "I know how to nullify the runes!"
"Seriously?! You can get me out?!" Flash quickly asked.
Twilight nodded and turned back to the door. "I just have to readjust the runes with my own magic. Give me one second..." Her horn glowed as she fired a magic beam out, which hit the barrier and caused the letters to slowly disappeared one by one. Finally, the last letter disappeared and the barrier exploded, transforming into magic particles.
"ALRIGHT!" Everypony but Iron exclaimed.
Twilight turned back to Flash and Iron. "Okay guys, you two and Cadance are our best bet for beating Lightning, so we can't have you getting caught in an enchantment. Split up and scout the city, but when you find Lightning, try and send a signal to tell everypony else."
The two nodded, agreeing with the plan. That is, till Celestia stepped between them. "Hold on my little ponies."
"Yes, your majesty?" Iron quickly replied. "What's wrong?"
"We can't just have you two take on Lightning and that be our only plan." Celestia said in a low tone before pointing to the wall. There, it showed that Pinkie was still fighting Wild Smile. "Rarity and Pinkie were going to try and evacuate the city, only to end up attacked. At this rate, we'll only have Twilight to go out and try to evacuate everypony, and we can't have her get into a fight. After all, even if Pinkie wins, we need a plan C just in case Lightning has something else planned." Celestia then stared at her student for a second before continuing. "Twilight, your brother lost to Gorgenia. However, I suspect the only way she could have won is if she turned him to stone. I need you to go find him and bring him to me, the curse should have worn off just like it unpetrified you."
"Okay." Twilight nodded before asking. "But why my brother princess, why do you need him?"
"Your brother is part of a program I've been having unicorn guards participate in." Twilight hopped in place after hearing this. She had never heard of such of thing from her brother. "The program is designed so a unicorn can sustain a shield that could cover Canterlot. Your brother is versed in shield spells, as you know, which made him the perfect candidate for the project."
"Really? Wow!" Twilight said as she put her hoof over her mouth. She hadn't heard about this. "So...you need him to put up the shield?"
"Not quite. The shield spell is still incomplete." Twilight's ears lowered hearing this, but Celestia's explanation continued. "However, if we can get him back here, myself and Luna can help enhance the spell. We can help him perform the spell inside here, so it won't interfere with the rule Lightning has made for the Thunder Tomb."
"Got it." Twilight nodded at this, quickly turning toward the door. As she did, she quickly noticed that Iron had already ran out the door. Ready to follow, Flash then stepped in front of her with Springer on his back. He was testing the door, sighing in relief that he could now put his hoof outside of the barrier. As he turned to Twilight, he flashed his hoof at her. Seeing this, Twilight slightly backpedalled before asking, "What is it Flash?"
"Hang on Twilight." Flash then turned to his partner and motioned his head. Seeing this, Springer hopped off his back and Flash looked back at Twilight. "Take Springer with you. He can help you find Shining a lot faster since he can sense his aura."
Twilight gasped at this, putting her hoof over her mouth again. "But...are you sure? Aren't you two a team?"
Flash just shook his head. "Don't worry, he understands. We need Shining as soon as possible and he can help you find him better than I can." Flash tapped his Lightbringer. "I'm better at fighting than finding, remember?"
"I...yeah, okay." Twilight agreed, though she didn't really want to. With it, Springer hopped onto her back and let out a hearty bark. "Ready Springer?" the jakhowl nodded and barked again. "Alright, let's do this."
"Sounds good to me." Flash replied as he pointed to rest of Canterlot. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah." Twilight trotted up to door, staring at the ruins of Canterlot before the trio. As she did, she looked at Flash one more time. "You gonna keep your promise?"
"Eh, not sure." Flash chuckled, scratching the back of his neck as he remembered what they agreed on at the last dance at the gala. "I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have to be a little reckless in this fight. You okay with that?"
Twilight just shook her head. "Guess I'll let it go this time. Though you better-"
"Why don't you two go before this city gets blown to the stars?!" interrupted Luna, causing the two to jump in place. "You two can tell each other how much you like each other...after you save Canterlot!"
"Yes your majesty!" they both yelled in unison before quickly sprinting down the street, their faces red with embarrassment. That and Springer was trying to keep himself from falling off of Twilight's back, though this was mainly due to him trying to suppress the fit of giggles now coming out of his mouth from the previous scene.
As they started to disappear into Canterlot, Celestia walked up to Luna and smacked her with her tail. "That wasn't very nice Luna."
"I know sister, but they need to hurry." Luna replied before looking up, her eyes reading the new lines of dialogue that were now appearing on the wall.
Flash Sentry has entered the game.
Twilight Sparkle has entered the game.
Springer has entered the game.
"After all, they're our last hope."
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Seriously, why couldn't Flash go through the barrier before? Also, there wouldn't, by any chance, be an alternate version of Doom Raizer in your Power Rangers story, would there?
8259632 What do you mean alternative?
8259667
Well, Doom is originally from Equestria, right? Is there another him that's native to the EG universe?
8259680 Huh. Don't really know how to answer that one. Maybe.
Lightning has gone too far now. They need to beat him and his friends quickly! Hopefully with Flash and his friends joining the fight they actually stand a chance now.
8259692
That's not gonna be easy. I mean, look at what happened to Rarity, Rainbow and Applejack in this chapter.
8259698
True, but their strongest members like Flash and Twilight haven't fought yet, and they still have Cadance. I never said it would be easy, but now they only need to beat three more bad guys.
8259739
Eh, true. Here's hoping things turn out well.
8259682
How many chapters left of this saga?
8259774 Three!
Okay, I'm seeing in my mind with Pinkie going against Wild Smile, the only thing she will use next chapter is her more dark and crazy side to destroy him. I can see it already, Pinkie wanting to kill Wild Smile instantly.
LIGHTNING BLIZE IS THE SON OF A MAD UNICORN DOOM RAZOR AND NOW HIS USING HIS FATHER'S INVENTION THE THUNDER TOMB FOR SOMTHING BIG AND BAD.
I was surprised that Gorgenia didn't remember what she did while mind controlled since that's mostly not how it works.
Seriously Grand? You named your kid "Doom Raizer"?