The Origins (#1)

by LightningStar626

Chapter 14: Battle, Fight, Friendship!

Chapter 14: Battle, Fight, Friendship!

"WHAT THE?!"

~Devil's eyes blazed as he gazed up upon his immense vessel as it began to drift away and roll into the big blue sky and white fluffy clouds with Adagio in it. As everybody else came in range, Adagio waved her hand lazily, and the blimp's propellers began rotating faster.~

"Little change of plans, girls~ Now, If you want to stop me, you'll have to come and get me!" Adagio sang.

~Devil saw this as a challenging threat. So, like an acrobat, he hurried up towards the escaping blimp, clung onto the hanging gangway, and looked at his betrayer with wrath. But before he could take one more reach further, Adagio lashed out with one hand, sending out a blast of Equestrian energy that threw Devil off the platform and into the crowd of minions. Lightning saw this as her turn now. As she swooped down towards the blimp with her teammates following close behind, the assembled minions trained their weapons onto them. Twilight wasted no time, and she conjured up her magic. The weapons flew out of their hands to hover overhead. Then, they quickly disassembled in the air, and spare parts and arrows rained down on the minions. Once they were distracted, similarly to Devil, Lightning became a raccoon and jumped and clambered up the steel gangway at once. Karly teleported up there too. Twilight watched in astonishment.~

"What the…?- You girls have powers?"

"We know- Less talking, more helping!" said Sunset.

~And suddenly, the fiery girl sprung into action and leapt to grab the blimp too. She ended up grasping Lightning's leg. Rainbow then grabbed Sunset's lower half, then Applejack took hold of Rainbow, Rarity took Applejack, Fluttershy took Rarity, Twilight took Fluttershy, then finally Pinke came at the end of the chain. Like an anchor, the nine girls weighed down the blimp and urged it from going any further. Adagio was angry that they were ruining her getaway, so she raced off to the blimp controls to increase the propeller's power. That's what gave Lightning an opening and she clambered inside the blimp. Followed by everyone else, quickly, as the doors closed.~

Steven gasped at the girls' sudden actions. "Girls! GIRLS!"

~But the rush of wind above, the movement in the air, the blimp's lights glowing bravely in the mist, the rumble of the engine, the smells of gas and coal, were exciting enough to not stop. As he watched Pinkie's leg hop inside the doors close behind it, Steven Secret prayed for their safety and the save of this world. And so began the battle on the blimp.~

---

~Lightning Star and the other girls squinted into the darkness of the blimp. The balloon was certainly ascending, because they felt a thick freezing cloud pass inside. Scraps and sparkles brushed past them, then everything obscured, all at once. They felt a shiver. Then, after a moment or two, Karly and Fluttershy shrieked, because there was a rending, red ripple that came from behind them, and everyone was jerked forwards to the floor. Then, a terrific blow hurled the nine girls against the side of the blimp. Rarity pulled out a large diamond to hold them in, because the blimp was jolting so violently. Nobody had time to scream, even, before Lightning reached out and cuffed the thing that was hurting them away. The thing was revealed to be Adagio, and she fell with a shriek that soon turned to rage.~

"Adagio! Stop this now!" Sunset said, angrily. "We're not gonna let you get away with this!"

"Not this time, Sunset Shimmer! Starting today, this world's under new management. This is a hostile takeover. I already beat that idiot Devil. What's to stop me doing so to you?"

"We are stronger than we were before. And this time, we've brought new friends."

"We're taking you down," Lightning said.

"And I wouldn't recommend resisting." Karly said.

Adagio laughed. "Is this supposed to scare me? I could take all of you on my own. But, as it happened, I brought a few reinforcements of my own. Minions?"

~At Adagio's words, a swarm of minions surrounded them, led by a couple of familiar guys.~

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Lars and Leos chroused. "But, we're baaack!"

"What? You! You said you were through working with Devil! W-what do you think you're doing?!" Karly cried.

Lars replied with a taunting laugh. "Getting revenge, of course. What, you didn't think we'd just hop, skip and jump outta town without getting payback from the girls that did this to me!" he pointed at his scar.

"You lied to us!" cried Applejack.

"I'm not a liar, I'm a master strategist!"

"This was all part of our masterful plan!" Suddenly, a green light illuminated in their eyes. The Rainbooms gasped. The minions were under Adagio's spell!

Lars laughed maniacally. "Yep! And with this, the age of Devil will be OVER! Then it'll totally be the age of Adagio! Soon, she will have the power, she will be supreme, all will be her kingdom! Hell, she may even promote us to leading minions! So, consider ourselves outsmarted!"

"Consider this!"

~All of a sudden, Lightning threw a hard punch straight at Lars' face. The minion drew back, clutching his cheek, and then flinched at the pain. But, when Lightning went to go for another hit, Lars ducked like an eagle before grabbing her around the wrist and throwing her overhead. The others were shocked. Being under Adagio's spell must have made him stronger, and more flexible. This wasn't good. Nonetheless, Lightning kept fighting him. But then, with no warning at all, a volley of arrows flew out of the dark. Three of them missed Twilight, Rainbow and Pinkie by a hair. Only when they slipped clumsily across the metal board flooring was when they noticed what was happening, because more arrows were flying at them. The first to recover her wits was Sunset Shimmer, who shouted orders to fight or flight. Fluttershy picked fright however, and ran for cover. Rarity, on the other hand, nodded at the order and conjured up her diamond shields. White particles glowed all around her. Suddenly, there came a blow that sent her sprawling. Applejack defended her, because the minions- Adagio's minions- were coming at them, attacking. The minions were wrestling, biting and scratching at Applejack, who was darting at so many people, it was hard to see even herself. The Rainbooms tried to fight back: stinging, lashing and tearing magic everywhere. Adagio Dazzle, meanwhile, was watching over everything. Listening to the screaming, snarling, crunching, tearing sounds and smashing blows of her enemies. Lightning and Karly were separated from the seven. They were beginning to grow tired.~

One of them leapt on Rainbow Dash. "Hey!" She kicked him hard.

Twilight was panting from the fighting. "Sunset, we can't keep at this! There are too many of them!"

~She was right. After they defeated a few, more just kept coming. But the fiery girl had no more than a second to think that, for there was a mighty snarl, and something suddenly hurtled at her and the other six girls and knocked them down, crushing all the breath out of them. Their hands were hauled upwards and held in place as Lars the minion came forth and grasped each of the geodes around their necks. With a snarl, he ripped them straight off. Sunset was too dizzy and breathless to say a word. Suddenly, they was dropped and he waved the seven geodes that were divided in his hands.~

"We have your geodes, madam!" he cried.

Adagio turned to him. "Finally!"

~They were given to the siren at once. As the seven geodes combined in her hands, a red pulse wave travelled into her skin and through her veins. She never felt so alive.~

"No…!" The Mane 6 chorused breathlessly.

"Adagio, no! You don't know what those can do!" Sunset shouted.

"Well, I'm about to find out!"

~To everyone's terrified eyes, she transformed yet again. Her eyes glowed a searing electrical red as her face rippled, barely containing power. The Rainbooms stumbled as Adagio levitated high overhead, Equestrian energy radiating off of her body in brilliant arcs of light.~

"Oh yes! This is more like it! Nothing can stop me now!"

~She eyed the Rainbooms before her hands came together. Black magic pulsed through her veins and a black void-like beam of brilliance suddenly shot out from her hands. it was heading straight down for the seven! At that moment, the Mane 7 knew this would be it. They all bundled together into a hug and braced for impact, but, just before the beam could end them once and for all, a glint of blue, brown and white arced over their heads, and a strong wall of white ice blocked the beam. Black sparks exploded from behind the wall around the girls before finally, it faded away, shattering the ice into a million pieces and turning it to mist. They were unscratched. Adagio blinked in confusion at the sudden prevention, before Lightning Star emerged from the mist and lunged at the overpowered siren with her fist raised. The seven Rainbooms opened their eyes just in time to see. Lightning's mighty blow struck Adagio perfectly, sending shockwaves right down from her face to her spine, and backwards. She recovered quickly. Glaring back at Lightning, she came at her, only for the raccoon girl to fly away immediately. Initially, Adagio gave chase. As Karly went ahead and checked on the Rainbooms, the defeated minions were recovering again too, moving their stiff limbs and standing up. They shouted at the girls, then fired their crossbows. They were right in the open, and arrows came passing over their heads instantly. Karly saw this before the Rainbooms did and knocked them over, making them less of a target. Then, she conjured up two portals. A flurry of arrows phased into one of them, before coming back out of the other, raining them down straight back at the minions. The Rainbooms rolled over to see better, only to instead see Lightning and Adagio up high in the blimp fighting. Explosions boomed everywhere. Adagio flapped her wings swiftly, sending multiple sound ripples at the raccoon girl, but she twirled up high and dodged every single one. She then called for Karly. The shy spy quickly conjured up two portals for her. Shifting into a lizard while still in mid-air, Lightning blasted fire into one of the portals, and the flames came out of the other one straight at Adagio. She countered it with a soundwave. Lightning came charging at her as a raccoon again and swung her tail. The siren was knocked back mercifully, only to fire back with another soundwave. The spy girl countered it with ice after transforming into her penguin form quickly. Adagio fired two more waves, and Lightning blocked them with two more ice bolts. She turned back to the raccoon before she hit the ground. That was when Adagio finally struck her with a black electrical bolt. The magic shot through her like a bullet and she screamed in agony. Adagio grinned and fired another but this time, Lightning shielded it with an ice wall. She went for a weak fist blow, but Adagio struck first. Lightning was bowled backwards to the edge of the blimp, where she suddenly heard the ripping of a balloon. Then, there came another jerk, so sudden that it threw everyone to the floor again, and the blimp began to sink with frightening speed, spinning all the while. That was when Lightning realised she had accidentally torn the blimp's balloon, and like an aeroplane, the cold air drew in fast, making an ear-bleeding whistle. Then came another series of jerks and crashes, as the blimp was being tossed rapidly from side to side as if they were bouncing between rocks.~

As Lightning fell to the floor, panted rapidly, Adagio spoke. "My word, you're pathetic. If it only took one hit to take you down, you're going to have to do alot more better. Your fighting is good, but if you can't take a hit, I think hiding could be more along the lines of your speed. You are simply just not up to the task."

Lightning wiped her mouth dry and shouted: "Wrong! I'm not afraid of you! And I'm certainly not giving up so easily! This has got far enough- and this ends now. I may not have even begun to comprehend the power within me, but I know enough to finish this madness. Then, I'll get all the answers I need. I am confident! I am energetic! And…I'm- "

"Courageous…" Sunset finished. "That's it! Lightning! You have an element!"

"You showed courage towards those who need it, an' defended them with honour!" Applejack said.

"Since the beginning of our journey…" Rainbow awed.

"You defended us!" Rarity claimed.

"You see us as friends!" Pinkie Pie said.

"You know what friendship is all about!" Fluttershy added.

"And that's what connected us…" Twilight said.

"Together!"

~At that, Lightning and the Mane 7 felt their entire bodies being lifted up in the air. Lightning drifted through a strange blue force, her body weightless and insubstantial, and as she floated inside the magical blueness, a tingle travelled absently up from her spine to her neck to the sides of her head and back.~

"Hey!? What's going on?!"

Sunset turned towards Karly. "And Karly," she went on. "You have determination. You may be afraid to show confrontation, but you are not afraid to show dedication. Much like Lightning, you understand what's important to us, and to yourself. Your friendship is strong, and never gets you down. Let us show you what it's mainly about."

She was then lifted by a strange force too. "Huh? Wh-what's happening?!"

~Lightning and Karly exchanged glances, they were not ready for what was about to happen to them. They felt their skin tingle. They were amazed that they could feel elated and uncomfortable at the same time, but they didn't not have a second to dwell on it. With a healthy glow of compassion, Lightning suddenly half-shifted, not to a raccoon, penguin, or lizard, but, instead, to a pony. With ears, a tail at the end of her hair, and pegasus wings! As the glow brightened up, Lightning compressed her unused feathers and spread them for the first time. Then, the same thing happened to Karly as she watched Lightning's formation with awe. No wings, unfortunately, but she still had strong, sharp pony ears and a tail. The Mane 7 joined them soon after.~

Sunset smirked. "This is the magic of…"

"FRIENDSHIP!" The Mane 7 shouted altogether.

~As the word left their mouths, the tear in the blimp grew wider, and a glowing light of magic exploded, eclipsing everyone's faces. Bolts of blue and white carved through the balloon, destroying the blimp around them. Radiant beams of magical energy radiated outwards, piercing the veil, growing brighter and brighter until their visions were filled with light. Far below, Steven, Aria, Sonata, Devil, his children, and his minions squinted up into the sky, searching around the boundless blue expanse for any sign of the girls and Adagio. Suddenly, a hush fell over the crowd as a massive ray unfolded overhead, and a searingly bright light burst forth and pierced the clouds. The first person to appear was Lars the minion, and more. Floating down to the solid castle ground roof in a white light, his eyes tinted with green.~

As they vanished, he groaned and Devil walked up to him. "What the…? Oh, you clumsy fool!"

"It's his fault…" he droned, pointing at his workers.

~Steven looked up again, and saw what, to him, was utterly peculiar. The girls, all nine, holding hands together and floating down with the ears, tails and wings of a mythical beast. At first he was pretty aghast to see Karly and Lightning looking like that, but something stayed his brain and he believed it would be fine. (As long as it wasn't permanent). As the nine slowly made it to on the floor, their hearts were clattering in their chests in relief. They began looking for Adagio, in hopes she was alright, but they couldn't find her. That was until they saw Aria and Sonata dragging the unconscious Adagio away from the castle, in the distance, never to return again. The girls looked down in the wreckage and all that they retrieved from the Dazzlings was a half-smashed pure red jewel, hanging from a thread. Lightning picked it up to examine it before, shrugging her shoulders and, tossing it aside. They all laughed it off and Steven came forth.~

"Girls! You did it!" he cheered.

"Thanks to Lightning and Karly!" Sunset said.

"YE-AH! We saved the world once again!" Rainbow cheered. "Now that's what I call…"

"The Magic of Friendship!"

"Really, now?"

~Seems as if the battle was not over yet. Suddenly, Devil and his minions ganged up on Steven and surrounded the roof.~

Karly let out a gasp. "Uncle!"

"Thanks for getting rid of my pest! Now I can do things my way!" Devil began to monologue. "Hmmph! I think the first thing I should mention is that you just infiltrated and destroyed a ninety-five million pounds blimp! You shall pay dearly for it, both figuratively and literally! Then, once you do, I'm going to beat you. Then, you will all be mine to experiment on. Once that's done, I'll inherit all your powers. Then, your worlds will be mine to RULE! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

~But before he could move, there was a sudden sound like an angry hornet and the next instant, Devil laid on the ground, his chest burning and glowing from a magical laser that struck him. Lightning whirled to the Rainbooms, her face shocked, but the seven had not moved and their magic was still intact. The mystery was solved seconds later when they all heard panting and turned to Karly, her hands glowing bright pink.~

"You don't deserve to rule anything!" she snapped.

"Karly!" Steven gasped. "Thank you."

"Heh. You're welcome, Uncle."

Devil got up and groaned. "Oww… That really hurt, Katie."

~But he couldn't retaliate, as a loud quaking came from underneath everyone's feet. Karly's friendship power might have been a bit too strong, so when Devil crashed down, his castle made a few cracks down below, and grew increasingly fast. The crumbling grew louder, and the exit was on the other side to where everyone was standing.~

"We need to go." Steven said.

~Without any words of second thought, the nine girls and Steven leapt across over the cracks as they were beginning to further tear apart, revealing the next floor underneath. The minions then made to escape, but just a few made it before the exit was too far to reach for everyone else. Devil shook his fist at them.~

"This isn't over! Must get...magic…"