CRISIS: Equestria

by GanonFLCL

CRISIS: Equestria - Chapter Twelve

CRISIS: Equestria

Chapter Twelve: Infected

“This is so stupid,” Rainbow groaned, her face scrunched up against the inside of a magical bubble. “Yeah, let's go through the big ol’ active volcano. Great idea. And now look at the mess we’re in. I’m gonna go right ahead and say it: I told you so.”

She and the others were encased in a tightly wrapped ball of magic. Twilight was, for the most part, holding well with her barrier magic, though her face was noticeably strained. Tick Tock, assisted by a sweating Rarity, was weaving her temperature aura into the multi-hued bubble, strengthening the field between the squirming ponies and the boiling lava, which was partially obscured and colored a peculiar pinkish-green by the fluctuating shield.

They could not keep this up for long.

“I think ‘mess’ is puttin' it mildly, sugarcube,” Applejack muttered, shifting her position. “Whoever that is back there better watch where they're puttin’ them hooves! Don’t think I don’t feel ya.”

“Speak for yourself, Applejack,” Rarity said. “Pinkie Pie, your derriere is right in my face. Kindly move.”

“Psh, don’t act like you don’t like it,” Pinkie said, shaking her rear back and forth in Rarity’s face. “♫My milkshake brings all the mares to the yard.”

Rainbow gave a loud groan, embarrassed just by being in Pinkie’s vicinity. “Pinks, never say those words in that order ever again,” she said. “Ever.”

“Yes, well, if we can ignore the mild discomfort and all the distractions for a moment?” Twilight said, her voice cracking from the strain. “We need to think of a way out of this little... problem. Anypony have any ideas?”

“It’s not easy ta think what with all the heat, sugarcube,” Applejack said.

“The positions aren’t making it easy to concentrate either,” Lockwood said, giving a content sigh. “Mmm... I know that most stallions would dream of being where I am now.”

“I think that’s my flank you’re touching,” Flathoof interjected.

Lockwood coughed and tried to yank his hoof away from where it was. “Oh! Uh... you working out there, buddy? You’ve got some... tone.”

Rainbow snickered. “Awww, you guys are cute together.”

The volcano lurched, causing the little pony-filled bubble to bounce along the waves of magma and roll into the wall, causing everypony to grunt when they were jostled around. The bubble blinked and changed colors for a brief second, then returned to normal as it floated back into the center of the lava pool.

“If we can get back on topic?” Twilight asked, shaking her head and putting more magic into her horn, causing it to glow brighter. Her breaths came in shorter bursts than before. “We’re running out of time here.”

“Well what do you expect, huh? We’re not exactly able to do much,” Rainbow said.

“Our only chance out of here is up there - the top,” Tick Tock said, pointing—or rather, attempting to point—at the open hole far above them. “As for getting up there, well, I’m fresh out of ideas. We'd need some sort of bloody miracle.”

“You know what's worse than all this stuffiness and heat?” Pinkie asked, shaking in place and causing the bubble to rotate around. “I’m getting seasick. Well, lava-sick. ‘cause we’re in lava, not... oh whatever, you get the idea. Is anypony else feeling all gurgly inside right now?”

Fluttershy hiccuped and put a hoof to her mouth. “Um... d-don’t move the bubble so much... please, Pinkie?”

“Oh, darling, are you feeling ill?” Rarity cooed, attempting to put her hoof on Fluttershy’s back to soothe her. This proved impossible as the two were on opposite ends of the bubble, so all Rarity accomplished was poking Applejack in the face.

“Rarity, d’ya mind?” Applejack grunted and shifted her face out of the way of Rarity’s prodding hoof, causing the bubble to rotate again.

“Oh... please... s-stop making it move...” Fluttershy mumbled.

Pinkie giggled. “♫Rock the boat, don’t rock the boat baby. Rock the boat, don’t tip the... boat... over...” When the bubble rotated around again, she put a hoof to her mouth, her face turning green. “Hurk... okay... bad idea. No more singing from me...”

“Pinks, I swear, if you lose it all over the inside of this bubble...” Rainbow said.

“It wasn’t me this time, Dashie. The bubble’s moving itself more than ever!”

The lava began to sink, rise, and shift like a rough, stormy ocean of oranges, reds, and yellows.

Tick Tock watched all this, her eyes narrowed and her mouth moving quietly, as though she were talking to herself. Her face brightened as if she’d come to a sudden realization.

“My word!” she said, putting both hooves on the side of the bubble. “Dash, it would seem your worries were proper accurate: the volcano is ready to erupt, and soon. Very soon, in fact.”

“Oh, wonderful!” Rainbow said, not trying to hide her sarcasm. She sighed and pressed her face against the bubble. “Sometimes I hate being right, y’know? This whole thing is straight out of Daring Do and the Mystery of the Dragon’s Eye, only without the promise of treasure. Three percent, my flank!”

“On the contrary, this is quite a boon,” Tick Tock said, a certain pep in her voice. She pointed up at the hole in the top again. “If Sparkle puts the proper amount of force required into her shield so that it can endure the blast, the eruption would quite literally fire us out of the top, like a cannon.”

“Cool! Like a little pony-fueled and pony-filled cannonball!” Pinkie cheered. “Ooh, that gives me great idea for my next party! I wonder if I can rig my Party Cannon to fire ponies? Hmm...”

“You’re kidding. That’d work?” Rainbow asked, arching a skeptical eyebrow. “I dunno, that seems pretty... uh... contrived? Is that the word I’m looking for, Twi?”

“Yes, that would be appropriate,” Twilight said. “Truth be told though, it could work.”

“Sure sounds like a long shot,” Applejack said.

“That’s because it is. It could work, but the variables are preposterous. We’d have to be pretty precise with all the measurements for both angles and timing, otherwise we’ll end up way off course. Who knows where we’d end up?”

Applejack hummed, then gave a stern nod. “Well, what choice do we have? We’ll all be safe, right? No chance o’ us, y’know, gettin’ blown ta bits or nothin’, right?”

“Not if we have enough power in the barrier, no.” Tick Tock shifted slightly, looking out and around the cavern interior again. “I think Sparkle has more than enough force to handle it. She might need to give it a little extra kick though.”

“How much longer until the eruption?” Twilight asked, shifting again and taking a deep breath. “And exactly how much more power would the shield need to handle it? I’m running out of juice here, Tick Tock...”

Tick Tock hummed. “Judging by the level of fluctuations, maybe ten to fifteen minutes. We wouldn't need much more power than this, though. This is a small volcano. It shouldn’t have enough force, even with a pressure build up.”

“Guess we just hope for the best then,” Flathoof said, giving a quiet sigh. “I hate leaving things like this to chance.”

“Well, it could be worse,” Lockwood said.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I don’t see how it could be worse.”

Lockwood laughed. “It could be raining!”

Everypony groaned, minus Pinkie.

“Ha ha!” she snorted. “Good one!”

Minutes passed, and the lava steadily began to rise and churn at a faster, more consistent rate. Tick Tock looked on, her eyes wide and bright. She swiveled her head back and forth between the lava pool beneath them and the crater above, apparently doing the calculations needed.

Rainbow wasn’t sure if she trusted Tick Tock’s judgement, and wished that Twilight were in a better position to do it herself. “Are you sure you’ve got this right this time, Tick Tock? I don’t want another ‘margin of error’ excuse.”

“Well, you’re just going to have to trust me, Dash,” Tock Tock said. “Unless anypony else here has experience with ballistic physics? No? Nopony?”

“Yeah yeah, whatever,” Rainbow snorted.

The volcano gave a great shake, causing the bubble to twirl around and sink slightly into the magma, which was beginning to recede.

“Right! Here we go!” Tick Tock shouted. “Sparkle! Rarity! Time to crank up the bloody juice. Ready, everypony?”

“As we’ll ever be...” Applejack gulped and tugged on her hat. “May Celestia watch over us...”

“One...”

“Oh boy oh boy oh boy!” Pinkie cheered, grabbing onto the nearest pony in her excitement, which happened to be Flathoof. “You ready for some fun! We’re gonna ride this sucker!”

“Two...”

Rainbow took a deep breath, keeping her eyes locked on the hole above them. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this...”

“Three!”

***

Almost full three days had passed, and yet Starlight Shadow and her sisters still had not seen hide nor hair of their quarry. Starlight couldn’t decide what was worse: that Havocwing wouldn’t shut up about how long they were taking to catch up to Twilight Sparkle and company, or that perhaps Havocwing may have been right last night about an alternate route.

The Chronomancer would surely not lead them through the Redblade Mountains, would she? That route was exceedingly dangerous, something that perhaps the Chronomancer herself may not have considered a negative, but father had insisted that Twilight and her friends were, in comparison, much less of a risk-taking group.

Worse, what would be the sense in taking that route? Hope’s Point was certainly further by taking the safer route, by a rather decent margin as well, but nopony in their right mind would risk that much danger to take a shortcut. Unless, of course, they were some manner of time limit. Was that an issue here they had not been informed of? No, it couldn’t be. Father wouldn’t neglect information to them unless he was certain that it would have no impact on the outcome.

“Ugh, another day completely wasted,” Havocwing said, grumbling and exaggeratingly slogging her hooves through the sand. “I’m so bored! Are we almost there, boss? Killing worthless bugs and shuffling through the desert with nothing challenging to fight is driving me nuts.”

Starlight sighed and rolled her eyes. “I shall repeat myself for the thirtieth time today, Havoc: yes, we are nearly there. The checkpoint lies only another two miles south. We will arrive there well before nightfall, and ascertain whether our quarry has made passage through.”

“But—"

“Please, ‘avocving, could you perhaps relax?” Curaçao said, trotting forward and patting Havocwing on the shoulder. “We will catch zem soon enough, oui? Zen we can get to work. Zey cannot be much furzer. Besides, our goal is not to fight zem, remember?”

Havocwing groaned and took to the air, circling around. “Yeah yeah, I remember. Still wish that wasn’t the case. I wanna see what a good old-fashioned firestorm will do to a pony.”

“Probably the same thing it does to everything else,” Grayscale said as she drifted by.

“Patience, Havoc,” Starlight said, giving the red pegasus another terse glare. “If you continue your unabated—"

She stopped in her tracks, snapping her head to glare to the west. The fierce, white glow from her eyes made everypony else step back in either fear or wonder. She stood there, seething, for a good few moments before anypony said anything.

“Whoa... uh, boss? You okay?” Havocwing asked. She reached out a hoof for half a second, then apparently reconsidered and pulled it away.

Red Velvet bounced with excitement, circling around the others. “Ooh, ooh! I know that look!” she said, pointing a hoof at Starlight’s angry glare. “I get that look when I smell blood. Oh boy! Do ya smell blood boss? Huh? Do ya, do ya, do ya? I could really go for some right now. Some toasted pegasus wings with a stuffed unicorn horn, dripping with blood gravy! Aww... now I’m hungry again.”

“Idiot, she’s not a blood-starved maniac like you,” Havocwing said, sneering and elbowing Velvet out of the way.

“Ma capitaine, is somezing zee matter? Are you... euh... okay?” Curaçao asked.

“Yeah, boss, are you, like, okay?” Insipid asked, zipping up along side Curaçao. “Oooh, your eyes are pretty, boss. How do you make your eyes do that? Hey Curie, can you make your eyes do that?”

Starlight squeezed her eyes shut, and shook her head. When she reopened them, the glow was gone, but the anger was not. “Twilight Sparkle...”

Havocwing raised an eyebrow, and shrugged in Curaçao's direction. “Twilight Sparkle?”

Curaçao stepped forward again. “Ma capitaine, is zere un problème? You said somezing about Twilight Sparkle? Is she ‘ere?”

“Ooh! Are they close?!” Havocwing exclaimed, shoving Curaçao aside. “Tell me they’re close!”

Starlight shook her head. “To the west, the Redblade Mountains. I can detect... an extraordinary, intense magic. Powerful, unlike anything I have sensed since father...”

“Since dad... what?” Havocwing asked.

Starlight coughed into her hoof. “Pay it no heed. Nopony could even theoretically exert that much magic, excepting of course myself and father, and possibly that simpleton, Twilight Sparkle. It seems that their guide has directed them along that route after all.” She sighed. “Havocwing was correct...”

“Ha! In your face, loser!” Havocwing whooped, prodding Curaçao in the side. “How does it feel to be bucking wrong, huh?”

Curaçao flicked her mane. “Alas! Mais oui, you were right, little ‘avocving. You must be proud.”

“Aww...” Insipid frowned and pawed at Curaçao’s tail. “Curie, you’re totally not a loser. Don’t let that dumb meanie get you down. You’re, like, tray awesome and junk?”

Curaçao rolled her eyes. “Merci, Insipid, zat means so much coming from you.”

Insipid gave a giddy squeal in reply.

Curaçao turned back to Havocwing, a coy smirk on her face. “Alzough, as I recall, it was not ma idée in zee first place. It was zee capitaine’s, non? Oh! Are you telling moi zen zat you did not like zee capitaine’s idée?”

Havocwing’s eyes darted back and forth between Starlight and Curaçao. “Uh... we... we had this discussion, right? I’m an idiot? Eh heh?”

“The truth, she speaks it,” Grayscale said, patting Havocwing on the shoulder.

Curaçao turned back to Starlight. “Ma capitaine, does zis mean zat zey ‘ave given us zee slip? Papa will not be pleased...”

Starlight continued to glare west, not having taken her eyes away once. “No... they have certainly journeyed along that route, but they have not yet eluded us. I sense that Twilight Sparkle’s magical signature is traveling southeast of its point of origination, with an extraordinary haste that I cannot discern the cause of. A most outlandish circumstance...”

Grayscale gave an exaggerated yawn. “So I guess we’re going in that direction then?”

“Affirmative, Grayscale.”

“Whatever you want to do boss, I guess.”

“Oh boy! This sounds like fun!” Velvet said with a cackle. “Who says we make this a race? First one to the twerps gets first dibs!”

“Oh you are on, sister!” Havocwing yelled. “We go when Starlight says to move out, okay?”

“Ooh! Prizes! I love prizes!” Insipid bounced in between Velvet and Havocwing, getting into a running stance. “You guys are, like, gonna totally eat my dust and junk?”

“Just... uh... stay upwind, okay?” Havocwing said, inching away and holding her nose.

Starlight stomped a hoof. “We march southwest, sisters! Forward!”

***

Above the Redblade Mountains, a single shining light disrupted the smokey black skies. Twilight’s voice barely carried above the din of screeching winds, the panicked wails of her friends, and enthusiastic cheering.

“Well, at least we don’t need that temperature spell to keep us cool anymore!”

Pinkie attempted, unsuccessfully, to throw her hooves in the air. All she managed to do was smack Lockwood in the face. After putting a hoof to her mouth, she just shrugged and resumed cheering.

“Wheeee! Hee hee, this is great you guys! Feel that wind in your manes!” she yelled. “Oh man, I wish we could put our hooves up—sorry Mister Lockwood—whoo hoo!”

The bubble crashed through clouds of thick black smoke, sailing higher and higher still until it then pierced through the red-orange layers of churning magicks above the smoke. When they cleared through that, they could see the sky above them. The real sky, unobscured by the Beacon’s magicks.

It was nighttime.

Everypony let out an awestruck breath, even Flathoof and Lockwood, but especially Twilight. The sky was a perfect, untainted black, dotted with bright, white stars. There were two moons, one large and silver, the other small and red. Twilight cursed the fact that her magical bubble tumbled and tossed through the air, as she couldn’t get a solid look at the new constellations. The sea of orange below added a unique, magical look to the night sky that few ponies had ever seen.

A moment passed, and the bubble tumbled downwards, back through the layers of magic. There was no smoke beneath them on the other side, allowing a clear look at the arid Wasteland for miles around. Twilight could even just barely catch a glimpse of the massive wall surrounding New Pandemonium City from this altitude, and more clearly the Gate jutting from one section.

The bubble continued to tumble, and Twilight’s eyes widened as she caught sight of the ground far, far below them approaching at a dangerous rate.

“Oh dear. Not good! We’re coming in too fast!” she shouted.

“What’s the big deal?!” Rainbow asked. “This shield of yours can take it, Twi!”

“Yeah, the bubble might survive the drop, but that’s not the problem! Think of it like dropping a box of eggs!”

Rainbow’s face paled. “Oh... oh geez.”

“I don’t wanna be eggs, though!” Pinkie wailed, grabbing on tightly to the nearest pony she could, which was Rarity this time. “I mean, I like eggs because we use them in cakes and stuff, but that doesn’t mean I wanna be an egg!”

“Okay, I’ve got a plan!” Rainbow shouted, turning her head to look at the others. “I’ll push the bubble from the other side! That should slow it down, right?!”

“That might work!” Twilight shouted back.

“Can ya do it by yerself?!” Applejack asked.

“Fluttershy and Lockwood can help!” Rainbow shouted. “Right?! Normally I wouldn’t ask, but right now every little bit makes a difference!”

“W-well... I... I g-guess...” Fluttershy mumbled.

“I’m all for it, Miss Dash!” Lockwood said, grabbing hold of his fedora.

He accidentally brushed his hoof along Rarity’s hind leg in the process. “Heavens, Mister Lockwood, mind your hooves!” she shouted.

Rainbow pushed against the side of the bubble to try to get out, but found it still as solid as before. “So, uh... how do we get out of this thing?!”

“I’ve adjusted the shield to let you out!” Twilight shouted “Just think about being on the other side with all your might! You’ll pass right through it!”

Rainbow nodded and closed her eyes, then pushed against the edge of the bubble. She fell through the magical field like it wasn’t even there, and briefly bounced against the slick opposite side which was still definitely solid. She flew off of the rear end of the bubble as it continued to fall faster than she was, so she dove down to catch up until she was just underneath it.

“Well that worked!” Rainbow shouted, giving a cocksure grin. She beckoned for her assistants to come out and join her. “C’mon you guys, let’s do this!”

Fluttershy and Lockwood followed her example, and Rainbow caught them each as they tumbled out of the bubble. They flanked her on either side, then all three placed their hooves on the outside of the bubble, their backs to the rapidly approaching ground, and began to beat their wings. Lockwood’s fedora flew off his head and soared away into the distance, much to his disdain.

The ground drew closer, but at a much slower rate. Soon enough, the descent of the magical bubble slowed to a crawl, just in time for everypony to see that they were mere yards away. The three pegasi placed the bubble carefully on the ground and spread out, allowing Twilight, Rarity, and Tick Tock to at last relax their magic. The group of ponies inside tumbled about as they fell from the now-vanished bubble, landing in assorted piles.

“Phew!” Applejack huffed, standing tall and shaking her head. She adjusted her hat to make sure it hadn’t suffered the same fate as Lockwood’s. “That sure was a close call, I tell ya what. Good thinkin’, Dash.”

“Yeah well, I’m not Equestria’s top flier for nothin’ y’know. Anything airborne, and I’m an expert on it,” Rainbow said, trotting over and helping Pinkie up.

“Way to go Dashie!” Pinkie cheered, crushing the pegasus in a hug. “You sure got us out of a jam! Mmmm... jam. Hey, I’m hungry. Anypony got any of those yummy berries to eat? Or eggs?”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Pinks, seriously?”

”What? I’m in the mood for eggs all of a sudden. Or chocolate lava cake.”

Rainbow narrowed her eyes and sighed, patting Pinkie on the back.

“Aw dang it...” Lockwood patted his head, his mouth turned in a colossal frown. “That was my good fedora, too...”

Rarity patted the stallion on the shoulder. “Oh darling, it looked tacky on you anyway.”

Lockwood made a visible frown, which made Rarity chuckle.

“Oh don’t fret, darling. You look much more charming without it, I can assure you of that. I’m sure somepony,” she said, shooting a quick aside glance to Fluttershy and back, “would rather you showed off that well-groomed mane of yours, hmm?”

Lockwood blinked and ran a hoof through his mane. “My mane? It’s nothing special.”

“Au contraire! Why, it’s a rather dashing color.” She turned to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, darling, don’t you think Mister Lockwood does just a marvelous job at grooming his mane?”

“M-me?” Fluttershy blushed and hid her face behind her bangs. “Oh... um, yes? It’s... nice.”

Once things had calmed down and everypony confirmed that they were safe and healthy, the group took a much-needed break. Tick Tock, the only pony present not taking advantage of the break, took out her map and began to scrutinize it with vigor.

Twilight noticed that the other unicorn looked rather troubled, and trotted over. “Everything okay, Tick Tock?”

“Hmmm...” Tick Tock shook her head and tapped her hoof on the map a couple of times before folding it up and putting it away. “No, Sparkle, everything is decidedly not okay. No matter, just a minor change of plans. I’ll take care of it.”

“Change of plans? Now what’s the matter?” Twilight asked, giving a pronounced groan. “If it’s not one thing, it’s another. I’m actually getting tired of running into all these problems.”

“In my line of work, Sparkle, setbacks are the norm, and complaining about them never bloody well gets you anywhere. If you want to get anywhere in my world, you’d do well to take things as they go.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “So you expected this to happen? Is that what you’re telling me?”

“I hardly expected these exact circumstances, no, but I’m not going to let that ruin my attempt to get you all home.” Tick Tock turned to Twilight and gave her a stern, but not-unfriendly look, her mouth remaining firm and straight. “Chronomancers have a bit of a motto when it comes to these sorts of things: keep a stiff upper lip. It’s a term of endearment, and basically means ‘don’t get emotional’. You can ask Time Turner about it when I get you home.”

Twilight returned Tick Tock’s look with a terse nod. “Okay, Tick Tock. I trust you to get us back, but... I also expect to know what’s wrong when things come up. I don’t like just being told ‘I’ll take care of it’, like I’m some sort of foal. We deserve to know what’s going on.”

“I hadn’t planned on hiding this from anypony, Sparkle, don’t you worry.”

Tick Tock strode past Twilight and called for the attention of the others. “Well everypony, I’ve got some good news and some bad news,” she said. “The first bit of good news is, we all survived that little adventure.”

“‘Little adventure’? Is that what that was?” Rarity asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Yeah, we all survived that death trap you led us into,” Rainbow said, stepping forward and pointing her hoof at Tick Tock. “Boy, I am sure am glad we listened to you about—"

Tick Tock cut her off. “More good news is that we managed to land far enough south that we technically made some proper fantastic time. Bloody good luck, that.”

Twilight smiled. “Oh, well that is good news. I was worried this might—" She paused, and raised an eyebrow. “Wait, ‘technically’? I don’t like the sound of that...”

“Well, the problem is that we landed too far east, on the wrong side of the Redblade Mountains.” Tick Tock sighed and wiped her brow. “In other words, it’s as if we basically just wasted our time taking that route, in a manner of speaking.”

“Oh, that’s just fantastic,” Flathoof said, stomping a hoof. “We all nearly get killed thanks to your brilliant idea, and we have nothing to show for it. Miss Tock, I’ve said it before, but I am really doubting your ability to guide anypony through anything.”

Tick Tock rolled her eyes. “However, as I said, we have technically saved some time. We landed within a day’s walk of the Goldridge Pass, which is the entrance to the longer, safer route you all originally wanted to take. So, truth be told, assuming we had wanted to take that route in the first place, we’ve actually saved two days on our trip by landing where we are now.”

“So basically we’re back at square one, but we gained an extra two days? Well, that’s not bad,” Twilight mused, tapping her chin. She did the math in her head briefly, then nodded in understanding. “The way you described it, even if this new development is still the slower route, those two days will make it worthwhile.”

“But then, there’s the bad news,” Tick Tock said, rubbing her neck.

Pinkie raised her hoof, as if expecting to be called on. “Well, how bad is it?” she asked.

Tick Tock and Twilight shared glances. “Well, to be perfectly frank, it’s bad.”

Pinkie groaned. “I hate bad news! Wait!” she shouted, holding a hoof up to stop Tick Tock from talking. “I have an idea. Maybe, if you tell us the bad news in a good way, it won’t sound so bad.”

“The bad news... in a good way?” Tick Tock shook her head. “Look, there’s really no way to tell you this in a good way. It’s very bad news. We landed too far south, by about three miles. Maybe if we’d had a little more weight we wouldn’t have been launched as far. Maybe.”

“So... where are we then that makes this so bad?” Rainbow asked.

“We’ve landed in the largest region of gargantuan nesting grounds on this side of the Redblade Mountains. Bloody bad luck.”

Applejack blinked. “Garga-what?”

“Gorgonzola?” Pinkie asked, tapping a hoof to her chin.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “She didn’t say ‘gorgonzola’, she said ‘gargleblasters’.”

“What? No way, she said something about garbanzos,” Pinkie said, crossing her hooves over her chest.

Rainbow shot her hooves in the air. “Like the beans? What? I’m telling you, it was gobbledygook!”

Pinkie gave a sagely nod. “Nice... nice. Okay, you win, Dashie. This time.”

Rainbow Dash pumped her hoof.

“Gargantuans,” Tick Tock repeated. “We bloody well had this conversation before everything went sour at the Gate. Don’t tell me you all forgot?”

Twilight shook her head. “I remember what you and Lockwood said about them, but to be honest it wasn’t a very clear picture.”

“Simply put, gargantuans are the fiercest—rather, only—predators in the whole northern continent. Let’s just say that we’re lucky we haven’t seen any yet.” Tick Tock’s eyes darted around, and she was noticeably keeping still. “I’m actually kind of concerned that we haven’t, to tell the truth. All the commotion from our landing should’ve attracted some attention.”

“I’ve heard some stories about them from ponies that have ventured out here,” Lockwood added, tapping his chin. “Really terrible things. Very violent, very dangerous.”

“Who do you know that has any kind of knowledge like that?” Flathoof asked.

Lockwood didn’t meet Flathoof’s gaze. “Well... somepony that’s probably in Hope’s Point at the moment. Anyway, I lack any firsthoof knowledge. Miss Tock? Perhaps you could enlighten us a little more? You seem to act as though you’ve dealt with the things before.”

“I certainly have, and I’d love to explain, but we’re pressed for time,” Tick Tock said, shaking her head. “I’ve given you all proper time to rest, but now we need to get moving, and fast. But, we also need to try to keep from drawing any attention to ourselves. Well, any more attention. We’re only a few hours away from the region’s edge, and then we’ll be mostly home-free.” She started walking east, gesturing with her hoof for them to follow. “Come on, everypony, we need to get moving. We can rest more properly when we’re out of danger. The checkpoint’s not too far from the edge of this region.”

Rarity grumbled and let out an exasperated sigh. “Ugh... really, darling, this is most uncalled for. I ache all over from using all that magic. Is there really no time for a longer break?”

“No, there isn’t,” Tick Tock said, not turning back. “If we’re lucky, we won’t encounter anything, but our landing has probably already alerted some of them that there’s prey in the region. Just because you don’t see any right now doesn’t mean they’re not coming from far off. So we need to get moving. Now.”

“This sounds serious,” Twilight said, trotting ahead to catch up to Tick Tock. “If you’re concerned about it, it must be dangerous.” She turned back to the others and gestured for them to follow suit. “Come on then, everypony, you heard her. We’d better get moving.”

Rainbow shook her head and took to the air. “I swear, when we get out of all of this...”

The party began moving east at a brisk pace, though they were exhausted and found the pace difficult to maintain. It was clear none of them had it in them to run too fast, but they seemed to have little choice in the matter.

Twilight and Tick Tock kept referring to the latter’s map to check on their progress. Tick Tock’s concern with getting out of the area worried everypony else, Twilight especially. She hadn’t seen the other unicorn look this nervous since they’d met, even when she was falling into an active volcano.

A fierce rumble from the ground alerted them. The earth ahead burst apart in a spray of sand and rock. The group screeched to a halt as a creature unlike anything they’d seen before—Tick Tock excluded—scrambled out of the ground.

Jaws dropped and panic set in. Twilight could now see why Tick Tock was so worried.

She had seen plenty of insects before, but this beast was such a strange amalgamation of so many different bugs that she couldn’t really tell what it was. Its body resembled a giant tarantula, larger than Flathoof, the biggest pony present, by a factor of three-to-one. Its entire body and all eight legs were covered in gray, armored exoskeleton and bristly, reddish-brown fur. A thick scorpion-like stinger curved up from the rear of its abdomen, swaying back and forth and pointing at the ponies in front of it at random. It stared at Twilight and her friends with six large, unblinking red eyes.

The creature swung one of its great, mantis-like claws down at Applejack, who happened to be the nearest target.

“Whoa nelly!” Applejack leapt to the side, letting the claw collide with the dirt.

The creature did not relent, and moved at Applejack again, swinging across like a scythe. Applejack staggered back, out of the thing’s reach.

“Shite!” Tick Tock shouted, immediately circling around and blasting the creature in the back.

That seemed to draw its attention, and it started stomping towards her and away from Applejack.

“Everypony, whatever you do, do not let that tail get near you!”

“Frankly, I’m more worried ‘bout gettin’ sliced ta bits!” Applejack shouted, rushing forward and kicking the creature in the side.

The creature staggered slightly, but shook it off and swung a claw at Applejack again.

“Take this you ruffian!” Rarity called.

She fired off a tiny spark of magic at the creature’s face. It fizzled and burned fur, but did nothing to its armored hide. It did, however, attract its attention.

“Oh dear...” Rarity muttered as the thing raised a claw to strike at her.

“Hey ugly, think fast!”

Rainbow rushed at it from the side, delivering a swift kick to its midsection, then bounced away and grabbed her hoof. The creature shifted away in discomfort, then turned to Rainbow and advanced on her instead.

“Ow! What the hay is this thing made out of?!”

“Don’t bother with any of that rubbish!” Tick Tock yelled, firing a spark at the thing’s face before it could reach Rainbow. It gave a loud hiss and turned to face Tick Tock again. “That exoskeleton can shrug off anything you throw at it! We need to use magic, powerful magic. Sparkle!”

Twilight nodded, lighting up her horn. “Keep it distracted, I’m going to need to be precise if this is going to work.”

“Oh my... please d-don’t be too rough on it,” Fluttershy said, putting a hoof to her mouth.

Lockwood, who stood beside her, gave her a look of confusion. “Rough? My dear, that thing is trying to kill us. We’re merely defending ourselves.”

“Oh... b-but it’s just an animal.”

“This bleedin’ thing is not an animal!” Tick Tock shouted, dodging to the side to avoid another swipe. “It’s a monster, plain and simple!”

“Oh... p-please, don’t—" Fluttershy shook her head and turned back to Twilight. “I know we’re its prey, but that’s... that’s no reason to be cruel to it. It’s just doing what comes naturally. Please, Twilight... don’t hurt it...”

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, not taking her eyes off her target. “I won’t hurt it, I’m just going to convince it that we’re not worth the trouble. A little enchainment magic should do the trick!”

She aimed her horn forward and fired a bolt of magic, catching the beast in its front leg. The magic trail remained in the air and fell limp, like a rope, until she jerked her head back. The magic went taut and lassoed itself around the creature’s other legs until all the legs were wrapped up, at which point the magic manifested as a set of bright chains.

The creature tripped, and one of its claws smashed against the rocky ground while trying to break its fall. It screeched with a high-pitched whine, seemingly in great pain. Its claw was mangled from landing in such an awkward position, and a green goo could be seen from where it had snapped.

Fluttershy gasped. “Oh no... T-Twilight, not so—"

“It’s down, time to bring the pain!” Rainbow hollered. “Trying to eat us, chump? Eat this!”

She charged and aimed for an exposed section of its armor, kicking the beast again as it was stumbling to get back up. The kick knocked the insect off balance, and it screeched again. It struggled to rise once more, stymied by Twilight’s magic.

Fluttershy stepped forward and reached a hoof out. “P-please, Rainbow, d-don’t—"

The thing screeched and burst its legs out of Twilight’s magical chain before swinging its other claw at Rainbow. The pegasus sailed off out of its reach, making it sputter in a rage.

While it was distracted, Applejack charged forward and bucked one of its legs. Everypony present could hear the snap. The kick had likely been enough to shatter a tree.

The gargantuan stumbled and fell, screeching in agony. Its leg certainly looked broken and was bleeding the same sickly green ooze as its right claw.

“Yeah! Nice one AJ!” Rainbow made to charge back in again, but stopped in mid-air when a voice called out.

“Waaait!” Fluttershy shouted, swooping forward and barring Rainbow’s path. “Please! That’s enough! You’re hurting it!”

With everypony frozen in surprise, she glided over to the thing and pat it gently on its armored head.

“Fluttershy! Are you off your bleedin’ trolley?!” Tick Tock shouted, galloping forward to intercept. “Get away from—"

The creature gurgled, and Fluttershy’s grin spread across her face. “There there, little guy,” she cooed. “Don’t worry, my friends aren’t going to hurt you anymore. Isn’t that right girls?” she added, shooting a glare at Applejack and Rainbow in particular.

The two of them both exchanged nervous glances. “Well shoot, we were only defendin’ ourselves,” Applejack said, rubbing the back of her neck. “It was tryin’ ta eat us...”

“I didn’t think you could do that with all animals,” Rainbow said, placing her hooves together and avoiding Fluttershy’s eyes. “I mean... this thing didn’t look as, uh, ‘cuddly’ as a manticore.”

“Rainbow Dash, really... all creatures are my friends. This creature was only looking for food. It’s not a monster.”

Tick Tock stomped a hoof. “Yes it is. Fluttershy, you need to slowly move away from—"

“As for you, Twilight?” Fluttershy’s glare transferred over to the unicorn. “Your magic can fix this helpless thing’s injuries, right?”

Twilight flustered and scuffed a hoof through the dirt. “Y-yes, I suppose I could try.”

“See?” Fluttershy said, patting the gargantuan’s head again. “My friends are going to make up for all of what they did to you. Poor thing...”

Tick Tock took another deep breath and lit up her horn. “Yes yes, that’s very nice, now get away from it. I don’t want you getting hurt when I draw its attention.”

Fluttershy turned her glare to Tick Tock. “And you! Stop calling him a monster, this poor animal is hurt.”

“Relax, Tick Tock,” Twilight said placing a calming hoof on the other unicorn’s shoulder. “Fluttershy’s got a gift with animals, apparently even creatures in this world. I’m as surprised as you are, but she’s got this handled.”

Fluttershy smiled wide and gave Twilight an approving glance. “I’m glad you understand, Twilight. There was no need for violence here.”

Tick Tock shrugged Twilight’s hoof off her shoulder and stomped forward. “Listen, you deluded twit, that thing is not an animal. Get away from it! Now!”

Twilight snorted. “Tick Tock! Really? There’s no need for that kind of talk.”

“What’s got yer saddle so sore, huh?” Applejack asked, stepped forward and poking Tick Tock in the chest. “Ain’t nopony talks ta Fluttershy that way ‘round us, y’hear?”

Tick Tock shot both Twilight and Applejack a fierce glare. “I am trying to protect your idealistic friend here. Keep out of it!”

Twilight’s mouth curled in a scowl. “Tick Tock, can’t you see she’s got it handled? You’re acting like kind of a jerk. What’s the big deal?”

Fluttershy huffed, stepping towards Tick Tock. “What is your problem with this creature, anyway?”

“Uh-oh...” Pinkie muttered. “Pinchy knee!”

Tick Tock’s eyes widened. “Fluttershy, don’t turn your back—"

Fluttershy stomped her hoof. “Listen! You’re being—"

Her eyes widened for only an instant before they snapped shut. She didn’t even get a chance to yelp in shock or surprise before she fell to the dirt in a crumbled heap. The thick stinger from the creature’s tail jutted from her back for a brief moment before crumbling to dust.

Everypony shouted in unison, but Fluttershy laid still.

“That’s it! You’re going down!” Rainbow lurched forward to attack the creature again, but the creature merely slumped to the earth, its eyes dulled, black, completely lifeless. Rainbow poked it. “What the... hey, what gives? It just died on me. I didn’t even touch it!”

“No time to worry about that!” Twilight shouted.

She and the others rushed in and gathered around Fluttershy. The pegasus lay limp on the ground, completely motionless, eyes closed. The large wound on her back, just below the base of her neck, had a sickly green tint.

Twilight put a hoof to her mouth. “Oh no... no no no no no...”

Rarity reached her hooves to Fluttershy’s side and shook. “Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Wake up, darling!” She shook harder. “Wake up!”

“C’mon sugarcube, this ain’t no time ta play possum,” Applejack said, removing her hat.

“C’mon, Fluttershy, get up...” Rainbow said as she latched onto Pinkie’s shoulder.

Rarity put her hoof to her mouth and shook her head. “Oh dear. No... please... please no...”

“Everypony relax,” Tick Tock said, stepping through their circle to kneel at Fluttershy’s side. “She’s alive. Look, see? She’s still breathing.”

True enough, Fluttershy’s chest was just barely puffing in and out. They all breathed a sigh of relief, but looked at each other with worry. Fluttershy’s breaths were short, labored, and erratic.

Rarity sniffed and wiped a hoof under her eye. “Oh Fluttershy... thank goodness...”

Tick Tock lit up her horn, creating a green glow around Fluttershy’s wound.

“Is she going to be okay, Tick Tock?” Lockwood asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

A moment passed, and Tick Tock drew away, shaking her head. Her horn remaining glowing, but it and the glow around Fluttershy’s wound shifted to a dull pink. She sighed and turned to face the others.

“This is bad. Very, very bad. The gargantuan venom is already spreading.”

“Is she going to be okay?” Rarity asked, stepping forward. “Tell me!”

Tick Tock remained silent for a moment, then averted her gaze from Rarity’s. “No point in sugar-coating it. Even an adolescent gargantuan’s venom is fatal to ponies. She’s dying.”

Rarity fainted, and Lockwood stepped forward to catch the falling unicorn, fanning her with his hoof. She woke up seconds later, and immediately started bawling.

“Is there anything we can do?” Twilight asked. “Please... please tell me we can do something.”

“Luckily, it’s not instantaneous,” Tick Tock said. “I can keep the venom from spreading too much, but it’s not an effective method. It’ll just delay the effect, buy her a few hours.”

“How long does she have?” Rainbow asked.

Tick Tock remained silent, keeping her eyes closed in thought.

“How long?!” Rainbow asked again.

Tick Tock nodded. “If we’re lucky, I’d say about twenty-four hours. I’ve seen average ponies last about that long, so I can’t say we’d have much more, if even that. Fluttershy’s frailer physiology complicates my calculations.”

“What do we need to do?” Twilight asked. “Is there a cure?”

Tick Tock pointed northeast, in the direction they’d been traveling in the first place. “The Goldridge Pass checkpoint. I know the caretaker has antivenom, I’ve seen his stores myself. We’re less than a day’s run from there, so we’re going to need to move quickly.”

“Well then what’re we waitin’ around flappin’ our gums?!” Applejack asked, stomping a hoof.

“We need to get moving, yes,” Tick Tock added. “But, we need to be careful. We can’t just waltz about and hope for the best. Gargantuan venom also carries a very powerful pheromone and will attract the attention of any and all nearby adolescent gargantuans. Possibly adults, too. They tend not to leave the nesting grounds to even chase after prey, so if we can get out of this region we should be fine.”

“Rarity. Lockwood,” Twilight said, turning to the pair. “You two can carry Fluttershy together the easiest while allowing our effective distractions to move unhindered. Keep close to the rest of us.”

Rarity shook her head. “Move her? Twilight, we can’t move her so suddenly, and certainly not so brusquely! We’d risk hurting her even more!”

“Rarity, listen, we need to move quickly,” Twilight explained, as carefully as she could. She could see that Rarity was in hysterics, and didn’t want to agitate her any more than she already was.

“I understand that, Twilight, but she’s likely in pain. We need to be concerned about making sure she’s comfortable if we’re to move her. I know time is of the essence, but—"

Lockwood interjected, placing a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “Rarity, Twilight’s right, we really should—"

“I will not risk her well-being just to make things go faster!”

Twilight’s horn flashed, and Rarity felt the sting of magic upon her cheek. “Rarity!” Twilight shouted. “Get a hold of yourself! If we don’t get moving now, more of those things are coming, and then what? We’d be putting ourselves and Fluttershy at risk! I understand you don’t want to risk hurting her en route, but we don’t have a choice!”

Rarity flustered for a moment, then sighed. “Yes... yes you’re right, Twilight. I apologize. I’m just... terribly frightened.” She cleared her throat in an apparent attempt to regain her composure, then turned to Lockwood. “Mister Lockwood? Can I trust you to help me with her? She is my dearest friend... and if I lose her—"

“You can count on me,” Lockwood said with a bow. “She’ll be in safe hooves with you and I, I assure you.”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to the others while Rarity and Lockwood lifted Fluttershy onto their backs. “Pinkie, Flathoof, and Tick Tock will lead ahead, and I’ll bring up the rear with Rainbow and Applejack. If any of those things pop up, the rest of you keep moving. The three of us will distract them and keep them busy, to keep them away from you. Just. Keep. Moving. We’ll catch up.”

Flathoof nodded. “I’ll keep us moving at the fastest pace we can afford.” He turned to Pinkie and Tick Tock. “You ladies ready?”

“Yes sir, Officer Flathoof, sir!” Pinkie said with a brisk salute. “You can count on us! C’mon everypony! Time to hustle! Hup two hup two! Gotta get Fluttershy to safety!”

“Well then, let’s move out!” Applejack shouted.

***

Applejack dove to the ground as one of the beasts swung a claw at her head, narrowly avoiding losing it. She’d felt the bladed edge sweep past her ear. Too close.

“A little help down here would be nice!”

“Yeah yeah, I've got you!”

Rainbow swooped in low and grabbed the stinger of another creature that was moving in on Applejack from behind. She tugged the appendage in an attempt to knock it off balance, but the creature was too heavy and its many legs kept it firmly grounded.

It took a haphazard swing in her direction.

She yelped and released her grip on its tail, snapping it hard into the thing’s face and making it stumble around in a daze.

“Rainbow! Be careful of the tails!” Twilight called.

She fired a bolt of magic to launch one of the monsters flying, then projected a barrier to deflect the claw of another that had come from behind. The bubble popped and knocked the creature off-balance. She lassoed another as she’d done before, swinging it into this one to knock them both off their feet.

“We ain’t got time fer this!” Applejack shouted as she bounded out of the fray to Twilight’s side. “We gotta catch back up ta the others, Twi.”

“Agreed,” Twilight said. She turned away from Applejack and moved towards the oncoming set of returning creatures. “You two go on, I’ll keep this batch busy.”

“Twi, we should really stick—"

“Just go!”

Applejack made to argue, but decided against it. She grunted and nodded, then turned to Rainbow as she started galloping off. “C’mon, Dash! We’re moseyin’ on outta here!”

Rainbow swept low, swooping up alongside Applejack and matching the earth pony’s pace. “Right with you, AJ!”

The pair sped along to catch up with the rest of their friends. En route, they noticed more adolescent gargantuans bursting forth and giving chase than they’d really expected. Their pace quickened when they caught sight of their friends ahead being accosted by a group of the creatures.

Applejack and Rainbow burst into the battle, knocking the few attacking creatures aside and providing an opening.

"Move move move!” Applejack shouted, charging ahead to lead the others on before any of the gargantuans got up

Tick Tock sped up to match Applejack’s pace. “Where’s Twilight?”

“She’s right behind us,” answered Rainbow from overhead.

“I certainly hope so.” Tick Tock pointed ahead to where the ground was slowly changing from dry, cracked earth back to smooth sand. “We’re almost the edge of the territory, everypony! Just keep up the pace, and we’ll be—"

Pinkie hiccuped.

Tick Tock shot a look back at Pinkie. As the earth pony was running at a full gallop, she was unable to stymie another barrage of hiccups. “Oh... great. Another earthquake?”

“Well maybe this’ll be a good thing, and it’ll scare off some of these bugs?” Rainbow said.

“That’s ‘bout all we can hope fer at this point.” Applejack sped up. “C’mon, everypony, pick it up back there!”

“We’re trying, Applejack!” Rarity shouted, speeding up to stay even with Lockwood.

The ground rumbled and lurched about, shaking with much more intensity than Applejack remembered from the earlier quake. The bugs behind were completely undaunted, and continued their pursuit.

The ground in front exploded, spitting chunks of rock and dirt everywhere. Again, the group grinded to a halt, this time under a barrier from Tick Tock, who even with Rarity’s assistance, visibly struggled to live up to the expectations of the absent Twilight.

This time, something much bigger ripped its way out from the earth.

“Whoa nelly...” Applejack muttered, glancing upwards as the encroaching shadow engulfed her.

“Okay... scratch that. Earthquake: not good,” Rainbow said while latching onto Pinkie.

Tick Tock sighed. “I hate being right sometimes...”

The adult gargantuan screeched at the party of ponies below it, causing them to back away and shield their ears. The noise was so loud that the glass on Rainbow’s goggles broke. The creature towered above them, standing several dozen ponies tall and even more wide and long. Applejack was daunted by the sheer size of the thing: it made the Ursa Minor look small in comparison, easily big enough to crush any of their homes under a single leg. Its armored hide was black rather than gray, and its large, twin-pronged stinger was red rather than black.

It reared up a massive claw the size of several train cars.

Tick Tock squeezed her eyes shut and flared her horn, half-blinding the group in her attempt to protect them.

The claw sliced down.

A small pop resounded from the center of their group, accompanied by another bright flash. The claw struck the magic shield, bouncing back.

Applejack blinked up at the new shield that had appeared, one that was distinctly purple, not green. She turned to the group’s center, where sure enough, they’d been joined by-

“Twilight! Just in time, sugarcube.”

“I see we have a situation here,” Twilight said, taking a deep breath. Her eyes were half-lidded and her mane was drenched with sweat. “Wow... that thing hits hard...”

The creature struck at the barrier once more. Twilight gasped as the blow rebounded off her magic, and the shield’s color began to flicker.

Twilight’s breaths came in slow puffs. “I don’t know if I can hold it much longer,” she said.

“What’re we gonna do, Twi?” Applejack asked.

“Well, hopefully once we establish a strong-enough shield, we can worry about moving. I don’t know if I’ve got enough in me though.”

Rarity stepped forward, enshrouding Twilight’s horn with her own blue glow. “I’ve got your back, darling.”

“I don’t have much left in me either,” Tick Tock said, lighting up her own horn, “but I’ll do what I can.”

The monster delivered another slam to the shield. Tick Tock flinched and stumbled, her horn’s light flickering out. With another resounding strike, the shield flickered. Rarity and Twilight together stood firm, but their faces were contorted with strain.

“Okay... okay I think we’ve got it,” Twilight said, taking a deep breath. “Is everypony ready to- ah!”

Some adolescent gargantuans joined in the assault. The color and shine of Twilight’s shield dwindled with every strike.

“Change of plans. When I drop the shield... the rest of you are going to run... as fast as you can. Understood? No... looking back.”

“We ain’t gonna abandon ya, Twi,” Applejack said, stepping up alongside Twilight. “Rainbow ‘n’ me can distract it, an’ then—"

The adult reared its claw back again, and prepared to strike once more.

“Aw horseapples...”

“Too late!” Rainbow shouted.

Applejack watched in horror as the claw came rushing downwards. Twilight squeezed her eyes shut in preparation for the strike. Everypony else held their breath.

“Hey ugly! Eat heat!”

There was a loud screech of pain.

Twilight blinked her eyes open. “What?”

She and everypony else looked out of her fading shield to see the monster swerve to its left, apparently distracted by something in the air.

To Applejack’s surprise, she spotted a red pegasus, a mare if it was the owner of the voice from before, gliding about in a strafing maneuver and launching fireballs, each of them-

“Wait, fireballs?” Applejack muttered. “Is that pegasus up there shootin’ fire?”

“It certainly seems so.” Tick Tock shook her head. “I thought I’d seen everything.”

Each burst of flame exploded with a loud blast as they struck the gargantuan’s thick, armored hide.

The thing took a heavy swing upwards at her, which she dodged with a dexterous twirl. Once out of its way, she fired a volley of blasts at its claw, causing the monstrous thing to screech and jerk its claw away from her.

“Well... at least the big one... is occupied...” Twilight said. “But... the little ones are still- ah!”

She grimaced, and with a heavy groan the bubble around her party died out at last. Though the adult was distracted by the surprise assault, the young ones were unimpeded and moved in on what was now likely easy prey.

“Shoot... so much fer a darin’ rescue,” Applejack muttered as she settled in to defend herself. She turned to Rarity. “Rarity, y’all keep Lockwood ‘n’ Fluttershy close ta the center—"

One of the bugs rushed towards Applejack, swinging its claw when she wasn’t looking. She raised a hoof in front of her face to defend herself out of sheer panic.

Luckily, this kept the blood spatter from hitting her face. The insect squealed in agony and stumbled away.

Applejack stared at the creature’s missing claw, which had landed yards away. “What in tarnation?” she muttered.

She turned her head to her side, and nearly leapt when she spotted the pink earth pony standing beside her. She even had to do a double-take to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her, and turned to look into the rest of her group. Sure enough, there was Pinkie Pie just behind her, standing back-to-back with Rainbow. She shook her head and looked back to the other earth pony who bore an uncanny resemblance. She didn’t know why she’d made the mix-up, since this other mare was wearing a silver jumpsuit, had a different cutie mark, and styled her mane and tail differently.

“Are y’all the one that did that?” she asked.

The earth pony nodded and gave a gleeful chuckle. “Yup! Oh hey, you and your pals here might wanna step back. Things are gonna get messy.”

The pink pony leapt away, up and above another of the bugs before landing on its head and punching it in the face, drawing blood.

Applejack was stunned. This pony was strong enough to punch clean through that creature’s armor? How did she do that? Applejack hadn’t seen the pony do anything special to allow it.

She turned to her right and saw another of the gargantuans barreling towards her. A quick glance to her left told her that the pink pony from before was already occupied with more of the things, so Applejack settled in and prepared herself for a fight.

A blast of lightning tore through the air and collided with the creature’s midsection, blowing a hole in its armor and knocking the monster flying.

A black unicorn, who wore a silver jumpsuit much like the earth pony, landed in front of her. Landed, of course, meaning she actually landed on her face, not on her hooves.

“Ow...” the unicorn muttered as she shook herself off and stood upright. “Okay, like, I totally need to get some powers that make me more... uh, not clumsy.” She turned and waved at Applejack. “Oh! Hi there! Uh, like, stay where it’s safe and junk? We’ve got these buggy things totally taken care of, okay?”

“Uh... sure, right,” Applejack said with a nod. “Thanks.”

“You are so totally welcome!”

“Who the hay are these guys?” Rainbow asked, pointing at a big, bluish-gray pegasus that was circling above them.

“I don’t rightly know. Ta be frank, Dash, they’re helpin’ us out of a mighty big pickle, so I don’t really care neither.”

“I hear that.”

The large pegasus above them dove towards the ground, landing on and smashing one of the creatures, hooves-first. Her hooves were protected by what looked like silver metal boots adorned with colorful gems. She too wore a silver jumpsuit.

The bug she’d landed on splattered into large, gory bits that coated the face and body of the pink pony, who had been moving in to attack the same target herself.

Said pink pony’s face contorted in anger. “Tch... kill stealer. Go find your own target.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize this one had your name on it,” the gray one said with a shrug. She sprung off the crushed bug and soared into the sky.

The pink one glared upwards at the other mare’s retreating form. “Just keep to your own side, before I carve my name into you!”

Twilight, who had gotten a chance to catch her breath, stared at the red pegasus that still flew circles around the adult, launching fireballs into the weak, sensitive joints to make the thing angrier and angrier.

“Applejack’s right, who they are isn’t important, they’re helping us.” She shook her head. “What I want to know is, is that pegasus using... magic?”

“That seems appropriate to me,” Tick Tock said. “It definitely feels like magic. I also detected some minor magic signatures from the other pegasus, and the earth pony.”

“As did I,” Twilight said, nodding her head. “Curious.”

“Who cares what it is?” Rainbow said. “Whatever it is, it works.” She pointed her hoof at the red pegasus. “Ha! Check that one out. Chucking fire... so awesome.”

The adolescent gargantuans that had surrounded Twilight’s group soon dwindled down to nothing more than messy corpses. The earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn that had cleared them all out now turned their attention to the adult that the other pegasus was still dealing with.

“Uh... attack pattern Gamma!” the unicorn shouted.

“Attack pattern wh—" the earth pony started to say.

The gray one flicked her wings towards the earth pony. She then swept down, picked the earth pony up and tossed her, apparently without approval, up onto the creature’s back.

The earth pony bounced a few times before managing to latch on, somehow. “Hey! Watch it!” she shouted, shaking her hooves towards the gray pegasus.

The gray pegasus shrugged. “Oh sorry, was that not Gamma?”

She swooped around behind the gargantuan and delivered several kicks to the creature’s legs, hard enough that Applejack and the others could hear the armor crack.

The creature wobbled off-balance, forcing the pink pony to move on with her assault with a bit of awkward-looking climbing. She moved towards its eyes, then attacked one in such a way—Applejack couldn’t see how—that made the beast screech loudly and stumble back.

This was more than enough of a distraction for the red pegasus to have an opening, and she flung a large fireball right at the creature’s mouth.

The pink pony yelped again and dove off to avoid being struck, and the ball of fire struck where she’d been, exploding like a bomb and blowing off large chunks of exoskeleton and flesh. They lost sight of the pink pony through the fire and smoke.

The beast slumped forward into the dirt with a loud crash, sending dust and earth blooming out in a weak cloud.

With the gargantuan defeated, the two pegasi, the unicorn, and the earth pony gathered in front of Applejack, Twilight, and the other ponies they’d rescued.

Twilight stepped forward. “Thank—"

At which point the four other mares immediately began arguing.

“Did you go blind or something, you feather-brain?!” the earth pony shouted, poking the red pegasus in the nose. “Watch where you’re aiming! I know you’re just mad I’m winning, but cheating? Grow up.”

She wheeled around and poked the gray pegasus in the chest once, then readjusted her aim to poke the mare’s nose instead. “And you! Whatever happened to carrying ponies, y’know, like a normal pegasus? Keep your stupid tricks to yourself.”

She then wheeled around and poked the unicorn, who stumbled back onto her rear. “And what the hell was that ‘attack pattern Gamma’ crap? We don’t have any attack patterns, and even if we did, who in their right mind would give you authority to make that kind of call, huh?”

The gray pegasus shrugged. “My aim was perfect, and you landed precisely on the center of the target’s back. I thought I was doing you a favor. Is it my fault you didn’t react in time? No. But if you want to blame me, fine. Whatever helps you sleep at night. I don’t really care.”

The red one poked the earth pony right back. “Pfh, yeah, and it’s not my fault you decided to stand in the most vulnerable spot. Maybe next time you’ll leave the big ones to me, yeah? Instead of being a little kill-stealer? I heard you down there, you buckin’ hypocrite. The big one was mine! I got here first, that was my prize!”

The earth pony rolled her eyes. “Right, because you were doing so well by yourself up there. Last time I checked it was my hoofwork that made the thing even vulnerable to your little ‘fireworks’ display. If you weren’t such a show-off, maybe you’d have killed the thing yourself.”

“Whatever, moron. You’re just mad I got the kill after all my hard work. I think that puts me at... what? Eighty-five?” The red mare’s mouth curled in a cocky smirk. “Guess I just took the lead, then. Suck it, Red.”

“Like hell it does! That still only counts as one! I’m not the moron, you’re the moron here. Just a weak little moron with nothing to show but a bunch of pyrotechnics. And you suck at math, too! You wanna let me prove it? I’ll cut you into little steaks! See how many you can count!”

“Oh bring it on, freak show,” the pegasus snickered, igniting her hooves.

Now that Applejack could see it up close, she really couldn’t believe it. The red pegasus had made fire. With her hooves. She was holding fire. “Man, these guys sure are rough,” she whispered to Twilight. “I’m beginnin’ ta wonder if we should be careful.”

“Let’s see where this goes,” Twilight whispered back. “I wouldn’t want to offend them. They seem to be having some sort of competition and are arguing over rules and prizes. You know how you and Rainbow get.”

“I ain’t never threatened ta cut Rainbow up inta lil’ bits.”

Rainbow chuckled. “Yeah, but it’s not like you never threaten other kinds of bodily harm, AJ.”

“Ooh! Ooh! Fight!” The black unicorn started bouncing in place and giggling. “Can we take bets? I, like, so wanna take bets. Who’s your bet on, Gray? Huh? My bet’s on Havoc.”

The earth pony shot the unicorn a fierce glare.

The unicorn gulped. “Er... maybe my bet’s on Red?”

Now, the pegasus shot her a glare.

The unicorn threw her hooves in the air. “Like, what-ever! I didn’t wanna bet anyway if you guys are gonna make this lame and junk? Pfh. Cha.”

“Girls girls girls, there’s no need to be at each other’s throats. Here, I’ll settle this,” the gray one interjected. She pointed at the earth pony, but looked at the other pegasus. “You think she’s a moron, yes? And you,” she said, pointing at the pegasus but looking at the earth pony, “think she’s the moron?”

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” the red pegasus said with a nod.

“Well the way I see it, you’re both right. You’re both morons. Congratulations. Don’t you just love being right?”

The red pegasus wheeled around and aimed her enflamed hoof at the gray one. “Why I oughta—"

“Enough, all of you,” came another voice.

Everypony, Twilight’s party included, turned their heads northeast, towards the source of the voice. A violet unicorn was approaching, followed by a blue earth pony. The unicorn trotted up to the four others, who each immediately saluted. The unicorn cantered in a line before them, then snorted and turned to Twilight and the others.

“Forgive my associates. Sometimes they can seem... obnoxious. I trust they did not make any trouble for you?”

“Oh, don’t mention it,” Twilight said with a smile and a nod. “I think I speak for my friends when I say that frankly, we’re just glad to be alive.”

The unicorn waved her hoof in dismissal. “No need for gratitude, but if you insist, your praise is accepted,” she said, giving Twilight a terse, scrutinous look.

Her gaze drifted over the others in the group. It made Applejack feel slightly uncomfortable, as if the mare was looking for something or attempting to read her mind.

“It would appear that introductions are in order,” the unicorn said after a moment of silence.

Both the red pegasus and the blue earth pony took steps forward, as if to interject, but the unicorn shot them both a coarse look. They both nodded and backed off, though they did share glances with one another.

Twilight nodded. “Ah, yes, I agree. Uh... well since you’re the ones who saved us, I suppose we should give you the honor of going first?”

The other unicorn nodded in agreement. “My name is Starlight Shadow,” she said, putting one hoof over her chest and bowing. She turned to the others in her group and tilted her head just slightly towards Twilight. The others all nodded at once.

The blue earth pony stepped forward first and gave an elaborate, flourished bow. “Enchantée! Je m’appelle Curaçao. To meet you is a pleasure.”

The red pegasus came up next. She snorted and rubbed her nose. “Havocwing.”

“Name’s Grayscale Force,” the gray pegasus said before covering her mouth with a hoof to stifle a yawn.

“I’m Red Velvet!” the pink earth pony said, giving a wide, oddly bright smile.

The black unicorn giggled and waved. “And I’m Insipid! It’s, like, so cool to meet everypony and junk?”

“Right. Well, I’m Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight said, gesturing towards herself. She then waved a hoof over the others, and introduced them all one at a time, coming to an awkward pause when she reached Fluttershy. “Oh dear... yes, and... Fluttershy.”

Rarity coughed and turned to the newcomers. “While I would hate to appear rude to our saviors,” she said before turning back to Twilight, “don’t you think we have more pressing matters to attend to, Twilight?”

Twilight nodded and gave Starlight Shadow’s group an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, ladies, but we’re in a bit of a hurry. I’d hate to have you save us like that and not give proper thanks, but we’ve got a pretty strict time limit.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow and nodded when she saw Fluttershy’s limp form. “Ah, I was curious as to why your introduction spiel suddenly veered off-course. She has become stricken with gargantuan venom?”

“Yes,” Tick Tock said, “and we really must be moving. Thank you all for your time and for the rescue, but if we don’t get her medical attention soon, we may likely lose her. I apologize if we seem ungrateful, but Goldridge Pass is still a ways off.”

“Goldridge Pass? Why, we were mobilizing in that direction ourselves until I detected the evidence of combat here, were we not?” Starlight asked with a bright smile to her companions. She turned back to Twilight and the others. “I would be most discouraged to bid you all farewell without engaging in further conversation.

“Ah, though I believe a solution has presented itself!” She tapped her hooves together. “We shall escort you. Seeing as there remains a possibility of attracting more unwanted attention, our capabilities should prove enough to grant you safe passage.”

Twilight hummed, and nodded. “Well... that does seem reasonable. What do you girls think?”

“Is that a serious question, Twi?” Rainbow asked. “Let’s take them up on it! You don’t say ‘no’ when somepony offers to help you cross dangerous terrain.”

“Looks like the horseshoe’s on the other hoof, there, Dash,” Applejack said, giving Rainbow a good-natured poke in the side. “I’m all fer gettin’ across safe, if y’all are, Twi.”

Twilight smiled and turned back to Starlight. “Alright, I suppose if you’re heading the same way, there’s no harm in traveling together. Thank you again. We can talk a little on the way and get properly introduced then, I suppose.”

“Then we have an accord.” Starlight turned to her companions. “Sisters! We are to provide escort for Twilight Sparkle and her companions. Please be courteous to our new friends, and be polite. Is that clear?”

“Sir, yes sir!” the five of the shouted in unison.

Starlight held up a hoof as they began to follow. “Curaçao. Havocwing. Hold. I desire a conversation with the two of you. The rest of you,” she added, turning her head to face Grayscale, Velvet, and Insipid, “continue forward.”

Twilight turned to her friends and gestured for them to follow her. “Come on girls, let’s get moving.”

“Well, things are finally lookin’ up,” Applejack said as she trotted up to Twilight. She turned to Starlight and her friends as she passed. “Thank ya kindly, Miss Shadow.”

“The pleasure is ours, Twilight Sparkle and friends,” Starlight said with a bow. “We will rendezvous shortly.”

***

As everypony else got some distance away and Starlight was sure nopony would hear her, she turned to the two remaining members of her team. Her eyes shifted between them, attempting to read their opinions on the matter without asking. Havocwing, of course, was an easy read; the anger in her eyes could ignite an inferno. Curaçao was, as always, unreadable.

“Well, sisters?” she asked at last. “It would appear as if the situation has diverted from what our information led us to believe.”

Havocwing stomped her hooves in the dirt. “Yeah, what gives, boss?” she asked, darting forward and gesturing in the direction the others had left. “They didn’t even recognize us! They acted like nothing happened! Of all the—"

“Cease your agitation, Havoc,” Starlight said, brushing Havocwing aside. “I am just as perplexed as you are, perhaps more so. Something strikes me as peculiar about this. Father was concise in saying that these six are responsible for our... accident, so naturally our expectation was that they held knowledge of it.”

Curaçao tapped her chin. “C’est problématique. ‘ow can zis be? Per’aps zen, zee ‘accident’ really was zat. Un accident.”

“Psh, either that or they’re faking it,” Havocwing said, snorting smoke from her nose. “Pisses me off!”

Starlight hummed in thought. “An interesting conundrum: either the accident was legitimate, or these inferior ponies are merely shrouding their influence. However, regardless of the situation, it still stands that they retain responsibility for our amnesiac status. Father asserted as much.”

“What are we going to do, boss?” Havocwing asked, shuffling her hooves. “I don’t think we really prepared for this. They were supposed to recognize us, and we act all amnesiac, which we are, and they feel really guilty and—"

“Havoc, is there a particular reason you feel the need to exposit upon my original plan?”

Havocwing shrugged. “Uh... just refreshing it in my head, I guess? Trying to think of something we can do?”

“Ah, per’aps then it would be wise to pretend we are in zee same boat, non? Zat we do not know zem?” Curaçao said. She let out a long sigh. “Zat may be très difficile. Zut! we ‘ave to trust zat zee ozers do not ruin zee illusion. I don’t suppose Grayscale would do anyzing rash. But Velvet, and ma copine? Zey are not so... patient, nor are zey very bright. Not to mention ‘avocving.”

“Hey! I can be just as much of a buckin’ lying sneak as you,” Havocwing said, poking Curaçao in the nose. “I ain’t gonna be the one to ruin this... this whatever we’re doing.”

She turned to Starlight again. “I still say we just kill ‘em. They’re too nice-nice to do what dad wants, anyway... whatever it is dad wants. You saw them. ‘Fluttershy this’ and ‘antivenom that’.” She ground her hooves into the sand. “Buckin’ Fluttershy. Something about that one makes me so mad.”

Starlight rolled her eyes. “Curaçao’s scheme appears the most practical. We shall feign ignorance for the time being. It was merely a... coincidence that we arrived and offered salvation. That is the farce we shall maintain, understood?”

Havocwing snorted smoke into the air. “Hmph. Still doesn’t sit right with me, saving their skins like that. Should’ve just killed them while we had a chance.”

“And antagonize father? I think not.” Starlight shook her head. “Remember, murder is our last resort. We shall maintain our farce and acquire the advantage of our status as ‘saviors’, and manipulate them as such. Remember your assigned targets.”

“Roger that, boss...” Havocwing sighed.

Curaçao saluted. “Oui, ma capitaine.”

Starlight nodded and turned northeast. “Now then, let us rendezvous as promised. We would not desire our new friends getting suspicious now, would we?”

Comments

[-Pinkamena_Pie-]

Nooooo, this is gonna kill me now, knowing something they don't... ;-;

[Pseudonym1]

This is going to be my favorite part of the story, I can already tell. The antagonists and the protagonists working together? Simply my favorite thing in any story.

[So_Many_Wonders]

“Sure sounds like a long shot,” Applejack said.

You'll be shot quite the distance