Friendship is Failure #27- Love is a Danger Zone

by DakariKingMykan

Act 4: Love and Danger

ACT FOUR

A housekeeping pony knocked at Strings’ door.

“Mr. Strings?” she called “I’ve come to collect your tray. We need it, you know.”

There was no response, and this housekeeper would not dare skip a single cart, no matter who the guest was.

“Mr. Strings?” she called in again.

In a quick instant, the door opened slightly, only there was nobody there, as if it was opened by magic, and Strings, being a Pegasus, couldn’t do magic.

The pony entered the room to find no one was there at all. There was the tray, the bed was unmade, but no Strings. He wasn’t anywhere, even the bathroom door was wide open revealing no one to be there.

“What’s going on here?” the pony wondered. She figured Strings had probably stepped out, but then she looked over at the door wondering how it opened with no one in the room.

Meanwhile, Cadance and Twilight were walking through town rather than flying. It was nice to walk on such a pretty day and amongst all the happy ponies.

“Hey, Twilight!” called Pinkie as she came bouncing her way.

“So, how did it go?”

Twilight was about to answer, when Pinkie cut her off, “Wait, you should come to Sugar Cube Corners, and we’ll talk there with Sun Rae. She just stepped in for a muffin and cocoa, and asked me about you two and Strings, and well… come on… let’s go.”

Unable to take much more of her fast talking, the princesses agreed to go with her.

Cupcake and Carrot Cake were always delighted when Twilight came to the café, but even more honored when higher royalty like Princess Cadance graced them with their presence.

Mr. Cake poured Cadance a second helping of tea, even when she didn’t ask for any, and Mrs. Cake gave her another muffin, also without being asked.

“Uh… thank you very much.”

The Cake’s acted humble and bowed while backing away.

“It’s our service to pleasure you, your majesty.” said Mr. Cake.

“If you need anything else, just holler.” added Mrs. Cake.

Cadance chuckled nervously, and then felt relieved they were gone. It was nice of them to offer her seconds, but she didn’t like being spoiled.

“Gee, Twilight, how come no pony treats you like that?” asked Pinkie, which made Twilight sulk for a moment.

It was Sun Rae who got everyone to focus on the important matter at hoof.

“Are you saying you won’t help Strings?” she complained.

Twilight shook her head, “No, that’s not what we said. We said we’re going to keep tabs on him, but for the moment there’s not much else we can do.”

Sun could not believe this. “No! He must move on. He must let go.”

Cadance calmed her before she would raise her voice loud enough to cause a scene.

“I’ve told you this before, Sun… it’s his choice, not yours. No one can make him forget or move on. It’s his decision to make.”

Sun’s hoof began to tremble with stress and disbelief. “No, I can’t believe that!” she thought. “There’s got to be a way… There’s got be a way to make him mine!”

Pinkie waved her hoof in front of Sun’s face. “Helloooo… Are you in there?” she called softly.

Twilight and Cadance didn’t like this, and they could practically sense Sun’s stress, and it was obviously becoming unhealthier than Strings’, which worried them both.

Suddenly, a mare burst into the café crying out, “Help! Some pony, please help me! Ponies have been attacked! They’re lying in the streets!”

Twilight and Co raised their heads in shock. The two princesses and Pinkie Pie dashed for the door, cautioning all the patrons to stay where they were.

They arrived on the scene in almost a flash, even Pinkie did with her own specialty of being in any place.

The guards had arrived on the scene ready to control the crowds and keep them all back, and for good reason…!

The trio could not believe what they were seeing-- so many pony couples were lying in the streets, pale, shivering with chills, their faces were all expressionless, and their eyes were glossy and faded.

“What in the world of Equestria…!” cried Twilight.

She moved in closer, when one of the guards was about to usher her back, only to just recognize her, “Oh, Princess Twilight…” and then he saw Cadance too and bowed to her. “Forgive me, I’m glad you’re both here.”

“We’re like to examine these ponies.” requested Twilight.

“We were hoping you would.” replied the guard.

Pinkie then appeared, dressed as a doctor, declaring, “Have no fear! Pinkie’s here. I’m not really a doctor, but I can help.”

Cadance and Twilight were both flabbergasted, and Twilight told Pinkie, “You can help us better by keeping the crowds under control.

Pinkie let out a disappointed sigh, but then she zipped out, and back in again-- this time dressed as a police officer.

She then hollered to the crowds, “Alright, every pony back, back… and stay back. Give the ladies some room here.”

The princesses rolled their eyes, and then proceeded to examine one of the fallen bodies.

The stallion was very much alive, but far too sickly to speak.

“They look like they’ve been drained of their life force.” said Twilight.

“No, it’s worse,” said Cadance. “They’ve had their love and light energy stolen. I’ve read about this, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it.”

She went on explaining, “Your body has a balance of emotions, feelings, as well as both positive and negative energy that help make up your life force.

If balance is, somehow, disrupted, it can lead to serious effects on your body.”

Twilight couldn’t stand the sight of these sick ponies. The way they all seemed so cold, pale, bitter-looking, and sickly.

“Someone or something did this to them.” said Cadance. “They’re so cold and miserable.”

“Are they going to be alright?” Twilight asked. “They won’t… they won’t…?” she couldn’t blurt out what she wanted to say, and she didn’t have to.

“I don’t know…” replied Cadance. “Let me try something.”

She closed her eyes, and her horn glowed brightly as she began to cast a small flow of sparkles onto the stallion.

It seemed to work a little-- he regained a tiny bit of his colors back, his eyes became clearer, and his temperature went down a little.

The positive energy from Cadance’s love magic seemed to restore him, meaning his energy and body would return to normal after a while, as would all the other victims.

The stallion still had hardly much of a voice in his, still, weakened state.

“Hey,” Twilight said very softly. “Can you speak?

What happened? Who or what did this to do?”

The poor pony’s voice could barely be heard, especially over the chattering crowds, forcing Twilight to put her head to his mouth.

“…Mon…ster.”

“What?”

“…Mon… ster… took… en…ergy… dan… ger… ous…!”

Twilight looked up at Cadance with a deep, concerned look.

Just as the paramedic wagons arrived on the scene to help treat the invalids, Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense began to go crazy-- her entire body was shaking. “Oo-oo-hoo-ooh! Something big is coming! Something bad!!”

Before anyone could question her, the sound of a shrill scream could be heard from far down the street.

“That’s Rarity!” cried Twilight.

Both she and Cadance teleported off.

“Hey! Wait for me!!” Pinkie shouted, ditching her costume, and galloping towards Rarity’s store.

At Rarity’s store, three mares were shopping for wedding attire, when suddenly, the doors to the shop were blown wide open by strong magic, in came a dark and monstrous looking pony-like creature.

He had a dark navy-blue coat, and a black mane, evil demon-like wings, and his horn was curved in a zigzag, much like a lightning bolt. He was about the same size as Princess Cadance, and he was dressed most unusually-- a black leather jacket with spiked shoulders and cuffs. Strong armored plantings around his hind leg, and a stomach guard.

His cutiemark was a picture of a burning, flaming black heart zooming like a comet.

He had Rarity and her three customers trapped in a corner glaring at them while snickering, as if to do something very nasty.

“Who are you?!” Rarity asked fearfully.

The evil pony snickered and hissed, “…Give me your love energy!”

The mares all trembled fearfully as the stranger approached them!

Suddenly, he was shrouded in a magical field, binding him in place.

“What?!” he growled.

Rarity looked up and saw at the door, “Twilight! Princess Cadance!”

The two mares had combined their powers together to hold the stranger in place.

The stranger only laughed, and his dark horn gave off a huge burst of energy, shattering the barrier, releasing him from its lockdown, much to everyone’s shock.

“How did he break free?” wondered Cadance.

The stranger glared at her especially, and he let out a mighty roar, making the whole place shake, the force of which made all the ponies fall to the ground, while Twilight and Cadance were forced out the door by a strong shockwave of power.

They barely managed to straighten themselves out by hovering off the ground.

“That’s strong magic!” cried Twilight.

The stranger stood out the door looking furiously at the two, but more so at Cadance herself.

“You…!” he thundered.

The ladies already could sense the kind of trouble about to happen.

The stranger spread his wings out and charged straight at Cadance to tackle her.

Twilight and her sister-in-law soared up high into the air.

The stranger soared up after them just as Rarity poked her head through the broken doorway, and just as Pinkie came along, out of breath.

“What’s… happening?” she panted.

Rarity was still far too shaking to give a direct response, but Pinkie looked up and could see things for herself.

The stranger glared the princesses down, and crunched his front hooves together, looking ready for a fight.

“Who are you, and what do you want?!” Twilight demanded.

The stranger did not answer, instead he fired a powerful blast at the duo, forcing them to split off in opposite directions.

“Okay! We tried to be peaceful…!” snapped Twilight. She powered up her horn and fired a massive blast, which the stranger dodged easily.

Twilight and Cadance both zapped about, but the stranger kept swerving and dodging their every shot.

“My turn…!” The Stranger laughed, and he powered up his own magic, and unleashed burst of dark energy stronger than the two ponies combined, making a big explosion in the sky that blew them both about hard.

Twilight fell into a cloud, while Cadance tumbled around and around in midair, until she was stopped when the stranger grabbed her from behind, choking her by the neck.

He looked her dead, furious in the eyes and hissed, “…If I cannot have the love I desire, then there will be no love left for anyone!”

Cadance couldn’t scream or try to escape as she felt herself losing consciousness from the chokehold.

“Give me your love energy!” the stranger demanded “Feed my power!”

“No!!” Twilight thundered as she charged forth and kicked the stranger hard, sending him crashing to the ground.

Cadance coughed and hacked while trying to catch her breath.

“Are you okay?” cried Twilight.

Her sister-in-law nodded weakly.

All the ponies in the streets ran in panic at the sight of wicked creature as he got back up onto his hooves.

“I’ll show you!” he thundered.

“Freeze!” shouted a voice.

The stranger turned around and saw an army of guards standing ready with their lances and glowing horns.

The stranger merely snuffed, and gave a huge flap of his wings, sending a billowing gust that blew all the guards down like falling trees.

“Now try this!” he shouted as the spikes on his jacket cuffs launched like tiny missiles, striking all around the guards making sparks and explosions fly everywhere.

The spikes magically reappeared on the cuffs-- in a limitless quantity.

Suddenly, the stranger was pelted from behind by rocks by Pinkie Pie.

“Hey, you big bully…” she bellowed “You get out of here and leave my friends alone! You hear me!”

“Pinkie, what are you doing?!” shrieked Rarity.

Pinkie foolishly threw another big rock straight for the stranger’s face, which he easily avoided by speeding forth and catching Pinkie by her neck.

“Pinkie!!” Rarity screamed.

“Oh, no!” shouted Twilight. She left Cadance where she was and rushed over with her horn glowing.

“No!” the stranger bellowed as he spun round and held Pinkie in front of him like a huge shield “You wouldn’t want to hurt your friend now, would you?”

Twilight stopped dead where she was.

“That’s what I thought-- always succumbing to submission to protect those you love.

How sickening!”

While he was laughing, he suddenly heard shouting…!

“What?!” he bellowed as he turned around just in time…

WHAMM! Rarity, unable to bear seeing her friend suffer, let out a huge roar as she charged forth like a mad pony and headbutt him hard in the side, making him yowl and drop Pinkie down.

Rarity suddenly felt dizzy from bonking her head so hard.

The stranger quickly got up, and he was mad!

He ensnared Rarity in a magical stream. “You’ll pay for that!”

“RARITY!!” Pinkie and Twilight shouted, and they watched in horror as he began to drain her love energy and life force-- rendering her sickly and pale as the other invalids.

The two friends rushed over to try and help, but the stranger blasted them away hard, injuring them both. “Wait for your turns!” he bellowed.

Rarity was getting worse as her energy was absorbed from her body and into the stranger’s horn.

“Yes!” the creature bellowed, but suddenly he gasped, and clutched his head feeling very strange. “Oh, no!” he groaned. “This can’t be…! Not now…!”

He dropped Rarity hard on the ground, but Pinkie and Twilight kept gazing at the struggling creature.

“What’s happening to him?” wondered Twilight.

Pinkie had no idea, but saw this as the perfect chance, “Let’s get him while he’s down!”

Cadance, having already recovered enough of her strength, stood tall and firm in front of them. “I’ll take him!”

The stranger glared at her.

Cadance charged forth to tackle him, but he dodged-- exactly as Cadacne wanted-- and she buck-kicked him hard in the gut sending him high up into the air.

She quickly soared up after him.

“Take this!” the stranger yelled and unleased a barrage of magical blasts.

Cadance cast a small wall of magic in front of her, plowing through most of the shots…

…the rest headed for the ground like meteors, forcing Twilight to cast walls on the rooftops to avoid collateral damages.

POW!!

Cadance rammed the evil creature again, and then ensnared him in her own magical bind.
“Got’cha now!” she boasted.

Even with his struggle worsening and his strength decreasing, the stranger still managed to break free, and he shot Cadance with a strong blast sending her crashing down!

“Hang on, Princess!” Pinkie hollered as she leapt, miraculously, high up, and caught the falling pony in her limbs.

The stranger flew off shouting, “WE’LL MEET AGAIN, PRINCESS CADANCE…!!

…YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE LAST OF DANGER ZONE!”

Then he vanished in a dark wave and was gone, leaving Cadance furious.

“Yeah, that’s right! Run away, you chicken!!” Pinkie screamed, forgetting that Cadance was right next to her.

Cadance picked her ear with her hoof, “I don’t think he heard you.” she grumbled.

Pinkie felt sheepish.

“Rarity!” cried Twilight.

The friends turned and saw her clutching Rarity’s pale, shivering body in her limbs. She needed medical attention and fast!

Meanwhile, Danger Zone felt himself limping and struggling through endless blackness as he felt his strength fading away.

Finally, he just collapsed.

Strings opened his eyes to find himself on the floor of his hotel room with his bed covers draped over him.

His head was spinning, and he couldn’t understand it in the least.

“What am I doing here?” he wondered softly as he rubbed his head.

“What happened to me?”

Comments

[LoserkidUwU]

“It’s our service to pleasure you, your majesty.” said Mr. Cake.

This line is omega levels of scuffed,
it should look something like this: " It's our pleasure to serve you, your majesty." or "It's our pleasure to be of service to you, your majesty."

[DakariKingMykan]

11799634

No... there's no error this time. I was making him speak goofily.