The Discordian's Daughter

by Pumpkin Patch

Part 2, Chapter 10

"Lookin' good. Keep up the good work," Rainbow Dash whispered to her fellow Pegasi as they hovered above the front of the parade.

She had to keep her voice down so as not to distract the spectators below from the festivities, but her enthusiasm shone through her face. She was pleased with the work her assistants had done to keep the skies clear of clouds for the Canterlot Garden Gallop.

Each of them gave their salute to Rainbow Dash as she turned away from them and flew towards the back of the street. She kept her eyes peeled along the way for stay clouds or anything else peculiar. Her eyes picked up nothing, but her ears did.

About halfway up the parade route, there was a bloodcurdling scream, followed by another and another. The screaming cascaded. It started just off to the right of the street, but quickly spread into the parade itself. Several members of the closest marching section stopped playing their instruments and the music rapidly dissolved.

Rainbow Dash looked down at the commotion. The Gallop was in chaos. Ponies were spreading out in all directions, trampling over each other in the name of escape. Some of the floats tipped over and collapsed from the weight of the panicking herd. Those who had wings used them. Before Rainbow Dash could ask what they were trying to get away from, the answer revealed itself, in the form of multiple green tentacle-like strands of hair floating up from the epicenter of the pandemonium.

Soon, the head that hair was attached to reared itself. The hot white eyes glowed even through the sunlight. The mouth opened wide bearing its unnaturally-jagged teeth. It roared as loud as a lion and as screechy as a bat.

Indiscriminately, Despise wrapped anypony that came near in her living hair. She hurled citizen after citizen at whatever target she felt like hitting. Some were crashing into the parade floats, some into the nearby buildings, and some were simply tossed straight upwards into the air. The monster was ripping ponies from the ground like she was pulling weeds from a garden.

Then, Despise suddenly stopped and her ears perked up. She had heard a voice. She turned around and put her back to the parade route to see its origin. In the far distance, there was a mother with her colt. The small family had obviously not been attending the Canterlot Garden Gallop and just now stopped by to see the cause of the commotion.

As soon as the flood of escaping ponies cleared his vision, the little colt had a clear view of Despise, complete with her living hair that floated as if it were underwater. “Look, ma!” he shouted, “It’s the Mane-iac!”

The monstrous pony he referred to likely had no knowledge of what a “mane-iac” was, but there was one thing it did know: The little colt wasn’t screaming.

He soon was. Despise bellowed out another one of her ear-piercing roars and chased the pony family down the street.

As soon as Rainbow Dash had spotted Despise, she had joined her fellow Pegusi in fleeing by air. However, she didn't head in the same direction as them. She flew straight to the head of the parade, hoping to warn her assistants. This posed a problem as she had to constantly dodge and swerve around in the escapees. She had two or three close calls before one pony crashed straight into her from below. The impact knocked Rainbow Dash back, but she managed to keep airborne.

She recovered to see the pony that she ran into was, at least, a familiar one. "Oh! I'm sorry!" squealed a terrified Fluttershy.

"No time for apologies!" said Rainbow Dash as she resumed her flightpath. She gently tapped Fluttershy on the shoulder as she passed her in an unspoken “come on.”

"Did-did you see that?" said Fluttershy fearfully as she flew alongside her friend.

"Yeah, and I don't believe it!" answered Rainbow Dash. "What is she— that thing doing out here?"

Fluttershy didn't reply. They were now in range of the other Pegasi parade volunteers. The crowd below them had only started to join the pandemonium. They rushed to Rainbow Dash "What's going on?" one of them asked urgently.

"Bad news!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "We need to help everypony escape!"

"Escape from what?" asked another volunteer.

Rainbow Dash turned around and pointed with her hoof. "That!"

There in the distance where Rainbow Dash was pointing, she and the others could see the Despise mowing down everypony around her, before finally taking off down one of the adjacent streets.

The weather-watching volunteers collectively gasped then immediately dove down towards the panicked mess below and did their best to organize it, corralling the ponies like, well, ponies.

"What're we going to do?" ask Fluttershy as soon as she and Rainbow were alone in the sky.

"Uh...let's group with the others!" Rainbow Dash decided hastily. "Where's Applejack?"

"Well, I didn't see her before I ran into you," said Fluttershy, "but, um, I was sort of preoccupied with fleeing for my life."

"Where's her float?" said Rainbow Dash while her eyes she scanned the street. They quickly located the conspicuously large barrel not far from her position. One of the wheels of the Fruit House float had broken off and the oversized cider keg was leaning at an angle. Rainbow Dash quickly looked it over from a few angles before deciding that she didn't have time for a thorough search.

"Uh, Applejack?" she called out.

There was still some liquid left in the oversized barrel, and it stirred slightly. Soon Applejack's head emerged from the cider. She was shivering as if the liquid was freezing cold "Is-is it gone?"

"No! We gotta stop! Now! It’s attacking the city!" urged Rainbow Dash as she scooped her friend out of her sugary pool and placed her on solid ground.

"You're sticky." Rainbow Dash remarked.

"Shaddup," said Applejack.

"Where's the rest of your family?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"They high-tailed it outta here like everypony else," explained Applejack. "I thought I'd stay behind an' face that thing, but, uh, I forgot how scary it was. I got cold hooves and ducked back in under the cider."

"I don't blame you," said Fluttershy as she caught up with them.

"Have ya'll seen Rarity?" asked Applejack.

"Um, no," said Rainbow Dash, "I was hoping you would—"

Their conversation was cut off by the cry of unseen pony. It was painful just to listen to it, a whale of complete agony.

"Come on," said Rainbow Dash to Fluttershy, nodding her head in the direction of the voice. They scoured the remnants of the parade, which now looked more like a wasteland. It was littered with broken wagon wheels, damaged marching band instruments and endless puddles of discarded confections. Still, now that the pedestrians had made their exit, it was as quiet as a ghost town and following the unknown pony's cries was easy. Up ahead of the crew was an overturned float. The noise was coming from the other side, its source obscured by the massive underside of the wagon.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy joined Applejack on-hoof as they approached the felled display. The three of them crept around the side of the float, hoping not to further upset the suffering pony. Fluttershy was the first to peer around the deserted attraction and get a look at their potential rescuee. The only thing she managed to say was "Um, Rarity?"

Rarity was wallowing in a bed of flowers while clenching a few in her hooves like a frightened filly squeezing a teddy bear. "It's ruined! It was sooooo beautiful..." she wailed between her sobbs.

When Rainbow Dash and Applejack came into view of their allegedly helpless victim, they joined Fluttershy in a collective groan. The two Pegusi turned their heads towards Applejack in an unspoken request for her to do the honors. The still-sticky country pony casually walked up to Rarity and gave her a lovingly violent slap to the face. "Snap out of it!" she commanded.

The slap was effective and Rarity quickly rose to her hooves. "Uh...er, thank you, Applejack," she said trying her hardest to regain her composure.

"You seen Twilight anywhere, Rarity?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Not since she wished me luck before my float went out," Rarity explained, "She and Spike may still be at the starting point of the parade. That is, if she isn't running for her life, of course."

"I guess we'll start heading that way," said Rainbow Dash, "Maybe she'll have a plan."

"Um," Fluttershy interjected, "but where is Pinkie Pi—"

"Right here!" screamed Pinkie Pie, who was suddenly standing right behind Fluttershy. The startled Pegasus nearly launched herself into the air on reflex.

Pinkie Pie went over to Applejack and sniffed her. “Ooo! Cider!”

She leaned in towards Applejack’s shoulder and stuck her tongue out. The tasty pony pushed Pinkie's face back with her hoof. "Don't. Even. Think about it."

"Alright," said Rainbow Dash, "We're all together. Let's find Twilight and fast!"

The two Pegasi took to the air and soared as fast as they could over what remained of the Canterlot Garden Gallop. Their on-hoof friends struggled to keep up as the hurdled over the debris, though Pinkie Pie's habit of bouncing put her in a slight lead. Fortunately, the race was cut off prematurely. Twilight Sparkle was already heading towards her friends with Spike riding on her back. The group was reunited halfway.

"Thank Celestia you're all okay!" said Twilight.

"What're we going to do, Twilight?" asked Rainbow Dash urgently.

"I don't know," Twilight reluctantly replied. "The Greenhouse clearly can't contain Despise and it looks like my collar doesn't work either."

"Wouldn't be too sure of that," Applejack rebutted, "I got a good look at 'er before I, uh—"

"Ran away screaming in mortal terror?" interjected Pinkie Pie.

"Yeah, that," Applejack continued, "She didn't have the collar on at all."

"Hmmm," grunted Twilight contemplatively. She closed her eyes and her horn illuminated. A light shot out from the side of the tip and spun around the horn like the beacon of a lighthouse. After a few rotations, it disappeared and Twilight quickly opened her eyes. "I found it!" she exclaimed, "It's lying on the ground a few streets down!"

"You must to teach me that locating spell sometime, Twilight," said Rarity, "I still can't find my curlers."

"Uh, wouldn't that mean that Willow escaped on her own and didn't become Despise until after she got here?" speculated Pinkie Pie.

The rest of the ponies looked at each other in silence, then in simultaneous realization they all lowered their heads. The silence only lasted a moment, however, before Rainbow Dash shook her head and raised it back up. "We can't worry about that right now," she declared firmly, "We need to stop Despise!"

"And how are we going to do that?" questioned Applejack, "She’s nearly invincible!"

Spike suddenly slid off of Twilight's back and onto the ground and spoke up. “Maybe these could help!"

Spike had been carrying a small satchel over his shoulder. He opened it up and showed the ponies a set of five syringes containing a familiar blue liquid.

"Are those what I think they are?" exclaimed Rarity.

"Yup. Fresh antaxium!” the always-helpful dragon declared. “When we last talked to Willow with the Princesses, she looked really desperate. I had the feeling she would try something stupid so I grabbed a few of these from the hospital on the way out."
"Great thinking, Spike!" said Twilight patting her dragon friend's head. She then turned and face the others. "Okay everypony, in this case I have a plan. There’s five syringes. You five each take one and try your best to stick her with it. Spike and I will hunt down the collar."

"Right!" affirmed Rainbow Dash. She, and the others each took a syringe and split off from Twilight and Spike, heading nearly opposite directions. The plan had commenced.

Comments

[ChaosDX1]

“Look, ma!” he shouted, “It’s the Mane-iac!”

And there it is.

Also I think the end of this chapter is the smartest thing I've ever seen Spike do ever.