Crystal Clear - Part 2
~Previously~
After the humans that Shining Armor rescued opened the treasure chest, they found various crystal accessories containing magic within them. Cadence granted the humans these treasures as a precaution to the current threat against them. Later, while the humans reunite, Shining Armor confirms with Twilight Sparkle and her friends that they're not the only humans in Equestria, leading him to suspect that there may be another method to getting to Equestria. As for Lightning Dust, she's now on her way to the Crystal Empire to fulfill her mission and hopes to thrash Rainbow Dash while she's at it...
"WHOO WEE! Feels good to have the crew back together!"
Jeremy outstretched his arms, his back turned to everyone once they arrived to their assigned rooms, but for now, they're all gathered in a single room so they could kick back and mingle. The room was fitted with six single-beds, each with soft sheets and mattresses that gave off that crystal clear shine in the light. Above their heads is a crystal chandelier and see-through crystal windows. On the center of the floor is a rectangular blue carpet that leads all the way to door. The rounded walls of the room are made of pure crystal as well, shiny and sleek to the touch.
"Tell me about it. We've been worried about you guys the whole time!" Mia said, sitting on one of the beds and caressing the sheets. "Wow, this bed is Soooooooooooooft! So good!"
"I know, right? Man, I wanna live here!" Kitsu laid on another bed, snuggling his face against the pillow.
"How do they make this stuff!? The beds look like crystal, but they're soft as clouds!" Eva said, touching the mattress of the bed, then bouncing on it a little.
"Looking good there, Eva!" Avu said, walking next to her and showing a devious grin.
"What are you plotting!?" Eva backed away, folding her arms.
"Oh, me? I'm not plotting a thing! I'll be frank, I have no time to go around trolling anyone or anypony, ya know. But I betcha I could." Avu said, his mouth forming a cat's grin.
"No, please don't do that." Jeremy scolded Avu, then turned to Alice. "By the way, how did you guys get saved anyway?" Jeremy asked.
"Well... to make a long story short, Shining saved us!" Alice answered. "He got us a doctor to treat our injuries, used his magic to repair our clothes... he's really cool and nice!"
"Shining? Like... the movie?" Jeremy asked, confused.
"No, silly! I mean the pony, Shining Armor! The white pony with the blue mane, remember?" Alice corrected Jeremy, hanging her body over the railing of the bed.
"Sounds like you guys had it worse than us." Jeremy surmised after hearing their story.
"Tell me about it... unlike us, you all got a change of clothes." Megan noted, looking at Jeremy's clothes.
"Well..."
Jeremy looked at his crew, trailing off. Megan was still wearing his white button-up shirt and black tie with a blue vest over it. His blue jeans and matching sneakers were all undamaged, and his glasses looked as good as new. As for Mr. Martin, he wore a simple black blazer, black pants, and white shirt with black loafers.
Chris still wore a blue plaid waistcoat with a black button up shirt underneath and black pants and brown loafers. Alice wore a black button-up blouse and a black lace gothic lolita skirt with pink streaks, black and pink striped stockings, and matching boots.
Mason is wearing a black and red Basketball Jersey with the number 30 on it, a white T-shirt underneath, and black shorts with red tennis shoes. Avu is wearing a black polo shirt with orange horizontal pinstripes on the collar, blue jeans with a chain on the side and white and blue sneakers. And Ruby is still wearing her a maroon blouse and dark green skirt, black stockings, and a silver moon pendant around her neck.
"Apparently we have to wear these... kind of a but-thou-must moment." Jeremy looked at his own clothes after looking at everyone else's clothes before making his comment.
"Is that right...? It's a wonder. I thought you would've strangled somepony by now." Avu asked, giving a smirk.
"You're seriously talking like that!?" Jeremy asked.
"So give it to us straight. Did Jeremy go nuts?" Megan asked Mina.
"HEY!" Jeremy shouted.
"Yep. I'm not surprised either..." Mina answered immediately, leaning her back against the wall next to the window.
"He even chewed me out just because I wanted to party with Pinkie Pie, dude." Kitsu added, giggling along with the others.
"Jeremy, what did I tell you about keeping your cool?" Mr. Martin said, scolding Jeremy.
"You really expect me to keep my cool? I haven't had any coffee for days and I've been worried sick about Ruby, and on top of it all, we get attacked by some damn shadow ponies. You REALLY expected me to keep my cool here!?" Jeremy seethed.
"Attacked by shadow ponies?" Mr. Martin asked.
"Yeah, apparently they're called 'Shadowbolts', and they want one of us to become the new Nightmare Moon." Trisha explained.
"Wait, does that include us?" Alice asked, worriedly.
"Well that explains why Princess Cadence gave us these." Avu took a crystal bracelet out of his pocket and showed it to Jeremy, explaining what he received.
"An accessory?" Trisha asked.
"Actually, It's from that treasure box over there. It's full of these things." Avu pointed at the huge, red treasure chest by the wall in between the beds. "The princess claims they're pretty limited, and they can only be used for speed and defense, for they are powered by bonds and friendship."
"Friendship is magic...!" Trisha's eyes widened upon the sudden realization. "Maybe princess Luna knew! She knew about these! Why else would she say such a cryptic message?!"
"Yeah, that seems like the thing here..." Avu said. "They're called Equine Crystals. We're supposed to use them only whenever we get ourselves in a tight spot. Problem is, we never got to figure out just how to use'em, so we don't even know if they still work. But Princess Cadence DID say to wait till you guys got here, so you guys put some on."
"You actually believe in that...?" Jeremy asked skeptically.
"What choice do we have here?" Mina asked, scowling at Jeremy. "We have to follow this world's logic after all."
"Ugh, good point, I guess..." Jeremy groaned, looking at his crew members wearing the crystal accessories. He even just noticed that Ruby was wearing crystal stud earrings. He reluctantly went into the treasure chest, took out a few necklaces and bracelets, and put them into his brown shoulder bag. "There's no way I'm wearing these things..."
Trisha wore a bracelet on each wrist while three necklaces went into her red and black shoulder bag. Mia wore all four of her crystal necklaces, but placed them under her shirt. Kitsu wore at least three earrings, a bracelet, and a kept necklace in his dark-green backpack. Mina wore one bracelet and one necklace, then placed six accessories into her white backpack. Eva of course, wore a bracelet and three necklaces, putting them under her shirt.
"I wonder what the ponies could be talking about?" Mia asked, fixing her shirt.
"Who cares! They need to hurry the hell up. We're reunited, now we need to get home. If they can't send us home, we'll just build a boat and sail home. Easy peasy." Jeremy griped.
"That has to be the most RETARDED thing you've said since we first met!" Megan chided Jeremy.
"What? All I suggested is that we build a boat!" Jeremy argued.
"Have you FORGOTTEN that we're in another world?!" Megan continued to chide Jeremy.
"But that's just IT! They might not be able to just magically send us back, so we'll need to do it ourselves! Equestria might be just a damn island out in the pacific! We don't know for sure, but this place is a lot like ours, civilization and all! Who says that we might not be near Westford Island already?" Jeremy explained.
"Then by that logic, we have magic too." Megan started with some sarcasm before finishing his rant, "What you're saying makes absolutely no sense. We haven't even seen the ocean yet, and we don't know how big Equestria really is! It could take us weeks to find any shore to build a boat, and in addition, those equine creatures don't even know about Westford Island! For all we know, we could end up at a completely different civilization! If this place has talking ponies, who knows what else is out there!?" As Megan ranted, Ruby clinched the end of her dress.
"Then how are we supposed to get the hell out of here then?" Jeremy asked.
"We could just... you know, ask Twilight. But I think we're forgetting one crucial thing." Trisha suggested, then reminded.
"We were brought here by Nightmare Moon. Right?" Avu answered.
"Huh... already getting to work on trying to learn everything about everything, huh?" Mina asked, annoyed.
"Oh, come now. It's my duty as a member of this gracious crew! Plus I wouldn't want my grumpy ol' boss here to think I'm slacking off." Avu replied to Mina, then turned his attention to Jeremy, lightly elbowing him in the arm. "Ain't that right, boss?"
"Well, yeah, but we don't have time to be doing ANY sort of journalism duties. And even when we do go back, no one's gonna believe us when we have a headline as dumb as 'A WORLD OF TALKING PONIES!'. I mean, come on, guys." Jeremy griped, rolling his eyes.
"Then we'll just need to prove it. I'm sure we need to have something to prove our case when we get home." Mr. Martin said.
"How's that? We're gonna need a camera, and we didn't find one when we went through the back half of the plane." Mina asked.
"No, the video camera I have is a personal item, so it should be on the front section of the plane." Mr. Martin answered. "We're gonna need to go to that snowy area outside to get to it."
"A camcorder, huh?" Avu asked, looking at Mr. Martin suspiciously.
"It's a pastime to record my students' embarrassing moments. For the sake of memories." Mr. Martin said as he formed a square with his fingers and looking through it.
"Umm... well, we all have smart phones... If we really wanted to, we could just take pictures and video and upload them to our blog when we come back." Alice suggested.
"Ugh... my phone's broken though." Chris griped, taking the broken phone out of his pocket to show the shattered screen. Unknown to him, a feather fell out of his pocket.
"Oh, what's that?" Mia asked as she picked up the opal colored feather of the ground. "This feather is pretty big..."
"Oh, I almost forgot about that feather... I got it when I was trying to save the others and before I ran into that Armor guy. I was told it belongs to a Pegasus. So that alone was evidence to who cut our plane in half." Chris explained.
"The same color as Lightning Dust... so she DID cut our plane in half..." Jeremy said, clinching his fist.
"Who the heck is Lightning Dust?" Chris asked.
Jeremy and the others take the time to explain who Lightning Dust is, identifying her as the one who launched an attack on them at Canterlot and that she's only in it for revenge against a couple of ponies for ruining her dreams.
"Geez... she's a meanie... and a baby!" Alice said, frowning.
"To be honest, we already suspected Lightning Dust as the culprit, but we weren't too sure until now. We were thinking Lightning Dust was involved with another." Trisha said.
"Alright guys! Our plan is now simple! We kick Lightning Dust's ass, then we find a way home!" Jeremy declared.
"Umm..." Ruby sheepishly attempted to speak, her mouth curving sadly.
"What's up, Ruby?" Jeremy kindly asked.
"Why do we need to leave so soon...?" Ruby asked, her voice quivering in nervousness.
"W-well, this ain't our home. We got families to see and school to attend... you know, that stuff. We can't stay here forever." Jeremy grimaced as he answered.
"He's right... I don't wanna lose my chance to graduate because of this whole ordeal." Mina agreed.
"B-but... I... well, I just... became friends with Cadence and Shining Armor... and I don't... I don't wanna leave them so soon..." Ruby said, meekly.
"Oh uhh... you know... well... umm... you don't... quite know those... erm... ponies that well. And besides, us being here and them going out of their way to protect us... well, I'm sure that'll be a burden to'em..." Jeremy tried to explain, trying to sugarcoat his words.
"I'm not a burden to them! They agreed to be my friends!" Ruby shouted.
"Well... uhh... okay, but still, they're only protecting us. They're not our friends." Jeremy argued, this time sounding a bit more honest and firm.
"Jeremy!" Alice yelled at him.
"What!? I'm only statin' facts! They're merely protecting us and that's it! Why would they want to be friends with us!?" Jeremy snapped at Alice, yelling at her.
"They've done nothing but be kind to us and help us! They even saved our lives, and helped us to adjust to our situation! How can you just be like that?!" Alice argued back, slamming her fists into the railing of the bed.
"Let me ask: don't you wanna go back home to your boyfriend!?" Jeremy asked sharply.
"Yeah, of course! I wanna make up with him more than anything! But you can't just think like that about the ponies! They've been too kind to us already!"
"YES I CAN! There's no evidence to support it anyway! And besides, just how long do we have to stay in this world, in constant fear of danger!? I didn't ask for this crap! I didn't ask to be in this damn world where oh, 'friendship is magic' or something retarded as that!!" Jeremy's voice grew louder.
"It's dangerous in our world too, you fool. In this world, just replace guns and robbers with crazy magic using ponies, and you'll still be in the same situation." Megan explained. "I agree we do need to go home, but you're in a hurry. Can't you just wait for them to do their job? This isn't our world, and we can't order them around. That's just not how things work!"
"I don't want Ruby to get hurt! Is that so much to freakin' ask!? I want Ruby to be safe! I promised I'll protect her far more than her pathetic parents ever did!" Jeremy screamed, which shocked everyone in the room, especially Ruby.
Ruby held her mouth, and the tears slowly formed in her eyes... "...hate y..." she said under her breath, her eyes closed shut.
"What?" Jeremy turned to Ruby, glaring at her without realizing it.
"I HATE YOU!!!!" Ruby let out a heart wrenching scream and ran away in tears, which made Jeremy nearly loose his footing due to the shock. His eyes widened at her words and he nearly forgot to breathe. But he regains his composure and storms out of the room, going after her.
"Ruby, wait!!! I'm sorry!! I didn't mean that about your parents! I'm sorry!!!!" Jeremy shouted desperately, hoping his voice would get through to her as he ran through the corridor, his and her footsteps echoing throughout.
"That idiot...! How could he say that to her??" Alice thought to herself, hopping out of the bed and going after Jeremy as well.
I know...
I know that Big Bro does his very best... but when he's immersed in his work for that club... his face is scary...
He looks as if he's just doing chores... I don't like that...
After he and I changed our clothes, we went to go visit mommy and daddy. It was just a few days before we had to go, but Aunt Nora told him to visit Mommy and Daddy...
When we left home, Big Bro had an expression that looked... dull. He held onto my hand with his left and a bouquet of flowers in the other. He smiled at me, but I knew he didn't mean it... He never liked visiting my Mommy and Daddy. I could tell that he hated them.
We walked down the busy sidewalk, getting to the train station. Mommy and Daddy lived in a very far away place now, so it took a little while to get there.
When we're on the subway train, Big Bro would always hold me close so no strangers would touch me. He's always overprotective when we're on the trains. When we got off the train, we walked the rest of the way to where Mommy and Daddy are supposed to be.
The whole time, Big Bro never spoke. He never said anything. He never did the first time... But that's how I can tell that he doesn't like Mommy and Daddy...
But why does he have to compete with Mommy and Daddy to take care of me? I like Big Bro. I want to play and have lots of fun, make lots of friends. I like Big Bro's friends too, but he doesn't feel the same way.
We arrive at a field filled with smooth, large stones with names engraved on them. Mommy and Daddy have their names engraved on stones too. Big Bro and I would go to these stones, and he would slump to his knees, like the energy in him just faded instantly.
"Here I am again. And look who I have with me. The daughter you abandoned. It's been almost a year since the government dropped her off at our place..." Jeremy started speaking to Mommy and Daddy. His voice was shaky, like he was holding something back. "I'm just here to let you know that your kid's taking a nice little trip to Italy... I'm letting ya know, so you don't worry; so you'll know that your precious daughter is in good hands." Jeremy continued speaking to Mommy and Daddy.
I'm sure they're listening very well...
But... Mommy and Daddy never abandoned me. I'm sure of it...
Ruby ran all the way outside, gaining the attention of the palace guards. At this point, it was a full blown commotion, which would only get worse from here...
"RUBY, LOOK OUUUUUUUUUUT!!!!!" Jeremy screamed, after seeing a dark ball of mist land in front of Ruby, the force blowing her back a little.
"Wha...?" Ruby quickly came to, only to see a dark, winged pony wearing a black and purple suit... "EEEK!!!" Ruby quickly became startled the moment her eyes met with the dark pony's.
"You will make a suitable candidate for our mother. Come with us." The dark winged pony slowly inched closer to the frightened girl.
"Eh...?" Ruby desperately crawled back, trying to get away from the pony despite her fears and tears.
"UUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!" Jeremy ran up to the Shadowbolt, screaming, just in time to punch the mare in the face. Before he could run to Ruby to pick her up, he suddenly feels a familiar pressing feeling against his face, forcibly knocking him to the ground. At this point, the Crystal Ponies all began running for their lives.
"JEREMY!!" Ruby cried out after seeing him get kicked in the face by a pony wearing the same suit, but her color was different from the dark ponies who appeared one after another. The moment she screamed, she was already picked up by a Shadowbolt stallion with his forelegs. "HEEEEEEEEEEELP!!!!"
Fueled by rage, Jeremy attempted to free himself from Lightning Dust's hoof by grabbing her back leg and forcing it off, but she would pin him down on his back by standing his arms and legs using all four of her hooves.
"Not so fast, human! You really wanna get away from me after our second meeting!? Come to think of it, you hit me in the face, huh...?" Lightning Dust asked, her eyes narrowing dangerously, all while smiling.
"Get off me or I'll kill you!!!" Jeremy seethed.
"Is that right? Hey, why don't you try it?!" Lightning's face was inching closer to Jeremy's, her eyes widening in excitement. "There's nothing between us but air and opportunity, and guess what!?" Lightning Dust said before bringing her face closer, her lips nearly touching his. She suddenly inhaled deeply, then smiled again. "I just sucked up AAAALLLLL THE AIR! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
Suddenly, Rainbow Dash comes flying down of the crystal palace, being the first pony to arrive before the rest of the join her.
"Heya, Dashie!!! YOU MISS ME!?" Lightning Dust asked, nonchalantly, smiling with glee as Rainbow flew at her.
"Not this time!" Rainbow flew at Lightning, only for her to dodge her attack just in time.
"Whoa, slow down there! No need to be reckless!" Lightning Dust said sarcastically.
"Why did you attack Wonderbolts!?" Rainbow angrily asked.
"You know about that, huh? Too bad you got it twisted, Dashie! I wanted to show off just how much better I've become! Oh, and you can forget about the guards coming. They have their hands full with my new buddies!" Lightning Dust said, showing that she was right; there are even more Shadowbolts than before, each fighting the guards.
"We're stopping you this time, Lightning Dust!" Twilight declared.
"Oh, shut your trap you nerd, this is between me and this soon-to-be has-been!" Lightning Dust shot a glare at Twilight while pointing at Rainbow Dash. Four other Shadowbolts appeared in front of Twilight and her friends, their wings charged and ready to unleash their blades of wind.
"Well this is fantastic..." Rarity sarcastically said, as she and her friends backed into each other.
"We have to protect the humans!" Twilight declared.
"Ya ain't gotta tell me twice!" Applejack agreed.
"Come on, Fluttershy, we gotta do this!" Pinkie said to Fluttershy, who was hiding in fear behind her.
"O-Okay... I'll do my best..."
"Oh yeah! Unshrink my party cannon!" Pinkie reminded Twilight, who quickly complied, transforming it back into the large cannon it was before. "Thanks!" Pinkie, after thanking Twilight, readies her now full-sized cannon and aims it at the Shadowbolt holding Ruby. "Eat this!"
The cannon fired a series of cupcakes at full speed at the Shadowbolts, hitting them all in the eyes, stunning them.
"Now! Let's Show them the power of friendship!" Twilight shouted, beckoning Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow, and Pinkie to use the Elements of Harmony! As the gem on Twilight's tiara glowed, so did the necklaces of her friends. Shining with an awesome power, light of harmony pierced the bodies of the Shadowbolts, instantly causing their bodies to shatter into a cloud of lingering mist.
"Alright!" Twilight shouted.
"We're not done yet!!" Applejack pointed out to the Shadowbolt that just dropped Ruby being blinded by the light of harmony.
"RUBY!!!!" Jeremy called out, running as fast as he could to catch her, but...
"Gotcha!" Alice caught her instead, sighing in relief. Alice then ran back to the doors of the crystal palace where the other humans were and set Ruby down and pushed her to Mr. Martin's side.
"That was SWEET!" Avu said in amazement.
"Hehe, I wonder..." Alice said, sticking out her tongue. "No seriously. I wonder! That was close!"
"Alright, enough chit-chat! We gotta go! NOW!" Mr. Martin ordered, running back into
Before Alice could follow Mr. Martin and the others, she soon feels herself grabbed around the waist and being dragged away from the humans.
"ALICE, NOOO!!!!" Mia screamed, seeing Alice being taken away by the Shadowbolt at full speed.
Alice struggled to free herself and struggle to keep herself pinned to the ground, involuntarily closing her eyes. It's then she began to think...
"Those crystals... resonate with your will to live for your and protect the friends you love and care about!"
"This has to work... I believe...!" Alice thought to herself as she concentrated as hard as she could. Eventually, the bracelet on her wrist began to glow brighter and brighter... and then her body began to glow. At that moment, she suddenly felt an increased burst of wind after moving her feet forward to push herself back, slamming into a wall at full speed! When Alice opened her eyes, she was in a pile of rubble, on top of the unconscious Shadowbolt.
"It... It worked!!!" Alice said to herself. She then looked at the bracelet on her wrist, watching it fall off her arm and turn to dust. "Aww, guess she was right about that too..."
"How... HOW!? HOW DID SHE USE MAGIC!?" Twilight noticed what Alice did, and was understandably shocked. "Humans aren't supposed to use magic!"
"That was magic!?" Rarity asked, astonished.
"That definitely had to be magic... it look like it came from that bracelet too!" Twilight said, recalling the light that shone brightly.
"Ugh... looks like the humans became more of a pain in the flank than I thought..." Lightning Dust said, grinding her teeth.
"Looks like the crystals worked!" Shining Armor could be seen in the distance, having five other guards with him, earning a glare from Lightning Dust.
"I thought the Shadowbolts were supposed to be taking care of you!" Lightning Dust seethed at the sight of the guards and Shining Armor.
"I'll admit, you might have gotten us by surprise, but you forgot about me." Shining Armor said, glaring at Lightning Dust. "I simply teleported to aid my comrades while you were here showing off. So why don't you turn yourself in before things get worse?"
"Ugh... great. JUST GREAT! I just wanted to fight Rainbow Dash one-on-one, kick her sorry flank and show her hide to Spitfire next time I see her! But I guess that won't be happening unless I do something about you eyesores." Lightning Dust began complaining at the increasing number of ponies surrounding her.
"Don't forget me!" Cadence appeared in front of Lightning Dust.
"Alright, that's it! You'll all regret getting so close to me! But hey! Lemmie put on a little show for you guys!" Lightning Dust glanced at everypony, giving a cocky smirk. "Uuaaaaaah..." Lightning suddenly outstretched her opal wings as far as possible... and then flexed them out... "HAH!!!"
*Shatter*
Her wings became pitch black with white speckles that resembled the stars. The opal color that once was became nothing more than a shattered pieces of glass.
"I bet you all wanna stop me, but look at these awesome wings! Can't you see how COOL they are!? I EARNED THESE WINGS! YOU'RE ALL JUST JEALOUS OF ME!!!" Lightning Dust began to ramble about her newfound wings.
"What's happening to you...?" Rainbow asked, looking at Lightning's wings.
"Better to show than to tell, right!?" Lightning Dust then disappeared, leaving behind a puff of star mist behind.
"Ooooo, a disappearing act!" Pinkie said.
Twilight looks ahead though to see that Lightning Dust has just reappeared right in front of her brother! "SHINING ARMOR, LOOK OUT!!"
"What the-" Shining Armor didn't have any time to react or cast a spell. Before he knew it, he felt the hoof of Lightning Dust quickly pressing into his face from the side, sending him crashing through several crystal houses.
She then proceeded to punch each of the guards with her forehoof, sending each of them flying at super speed with each punch.
Twilight runs off from the group to check on her brother. Her horn starts to glow, attempting to teleport to him but before her spell could be completed, she sees the back hoof of Lightning Dust so close to her face. Her eyes widen in a panic, hoping to finish the teleport, but she too is sent flying back crashing through the area, destroying more crystal property.
"UUUOOOOAAAHHHH!!!" Rainbow roared, as she charged at Lightning Dust at full speed, who sped away again at near light speed.
Rainbow turned around to see Lightning Dust already in the air, already about to perform a somersault kick on Fluttershy, who started to succumb to her fear by flying back into the crystal tower.
"FLUTTERSHYYYY!!!!!!" Rainbow flew as fast as she could, but it was too late!
*BAM!!*
Fluttershy was kicked on the back of her head, sending her flying to the ground at full speed! "You idiot! You don't run away when I'm trying to show off!!!" Lightning Dust screamed.
"Ah gotcha, Fluttershy!!" Applejack shouted, as she ran to catch Fluttershy before she made impact to the ground, but... "Agh!!!" The force at which Fluttershy fell caused Applejack to hurt her back upon catching her.
Lightning Dust, then flew up to Princess Cadence at full speed, bracing herself, as her horn glowed with a pink light, quickly forming a barrier around the Crystal Heart to ensure that it doesn't suffer any damage. "What the...?!" Cadence's eyes widened when Lightning Dust just disappeared...
This time... appearing in front of the humans, who were outside the Crystal Palace, attempting to escape by running away from the scene.
"NO YOU DON'T!" Lightning shouted, as she took out a pointed black and red shaded horn from her and threw it at full speed like a bullet.
*Whoosh!*
"AAAAUGH!!!" Avu... the horn impaled him right above sternum! "Ugh..." The moment the horn made impact, he felt himself hit the crystal ground.
"AVU, NOOO!!!" Eva screamed, as she ran up to Avu. She turned him over to see his shirt already becoming soaked with red... Eva reached out to the... thing, that's in his chest, but... "AGH! What the...!" She tried to touch it again, but... "OW!!! UGH! WHAT IS THIS!? A STAKE!?" She tried again, despite her hand feeling a shock each time, noticing that a red string of lightning flowed around it.
"Guh... *cough* ah... damn it..." Avu's voice was barely audible, but he gave it his best to speak nonetheless. "Man... this kinda sucks... *cough*"
"Don't talk! We'll save you, so DON'T TALK! SAVE YOUR STRENGTH!!!" Eva said, attempting to pull the... thing, that appeared to be a stake out of his chest, feeling an intense burning sensation on her hands. The moment she got a good grip and began to pull...
"GUAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!" Avu howled in pain the second she tried to pull the 'stake' out...
"Wh-What?!" Eva backed off the second she figured out that pulling the 'stake' is actually causing him pain...
While the humans were concerned with Avu, Lightning Dust wasted no time, biting into the back of Ruby's collar...
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ruby screamed, as she was flung into the air, only for another Shadowbolt to catch her with it's forehooves. She struggles, but she's no match for the Shadowbolt's strength, for it would fly away from the Crystal Empire at full speed...
Jeremy could hear the screams of his little cousin, as he could only watch her get taken away... "No...! Agh... NO!!!" His voice began to rise as he tried to move his body, but a sharp pain would strike at his elbows and shins due to the hooves that stood on him.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Jeremy knew there was no way to save Ruby at this point. Fueled with rage, he uses all his might to ignore the pain on his limbs and stand. He turns over to his front and finds his black flat cap not too far from him.
As for Rainbow, tried to fly after Ruby, but Lightning Dust would fly right in front of her... "Nope! This is between you and me!"
"That's it! I've had enough!" Rainbow seethed, her eyes glaring back at Lightning Dust's. The element of Loyalty around Rainbow's neck shone with power, eventually surrounding her body. "You may be able to fly faster because of those wings, but they're NOT YOUR WINGS!!"
Rainbow suddenly vanished! "Oh boy, we're really doing this, huh? lame speech, then attack?" Lightning Dust stuck her forehoof out to her left, feeling an impact of energy pressing against it. She looked left to see Rainbow Dash, just as she thought, but once more, she disappeared! "Hey, if that's how you wanna play, fine by me!" Lightning Dust declared, jumping out of the way of Rainbow's charge.
Lightning then flew straight into the air, flying into Rainbow head on!
*Clash! Clang! BAM!*
The two were flying into each other at super speed, each impact making a loud sound, as if two swords were clashing as they zipped through the air!
"Come on! WE CAN DO THIS ALL DAY, DASHIE!" Lightning shouted, flying straight at Rainbow. Suddenly, the cyan pegasus disappeared from Lightning Dust's sight! "Where are you!?"
"EAT THIS!!!" Rainbow shouted. Lightning Dust turns her head skyward, seeing a flash of light aimed straight at her.
"Whoa, that was close!" Lightning commented, nearly being hit by the bolt of lightning. Soon, a series of lightning bolts come from above, aimed at her wings, each bolt barely dodged. "Tch... Let's see how she likes this!"
Lightning Dust then smiled deviously, deciding to change her flight course, and headed straight for the white unicorn and pink earth pony on the ground... "Let's see how she'll react to striking her own friends down!"
"NO YOU DON'T!" Rainbow shouted, going full speed to kick a storm cloud in the sky, sending a special bolt of lighting headed straight for Lightning Dust's wing, homing in on her. *CRASH!*
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHGH!!!" Lightning Dust could feel the hot pain coursing through her left wing, which caused her to crash at the Crystal Plaza.
When Lightning Dust quickly got back on her hooves... *WHAM!* She suddenly feels a blunt object striking her head.... then she felt that bluntness again to the left of her face... and again from the right... and again on the back of her neck, all in quick succession.
"Agh, UGH, ARGH, AH!!!" Lightning Dust screamed with each strike, as she noticed the one striking her was non other than Jeremy, who was fuming with anger as he frantically and swiftly struck her with a crystal beam picked up from the rubble nearby. She immediately stood on her hind legs, and grabbed the crystal beam Jeremy was using with her forehooves...!
"WHAT THE SHIT!?" Jeremy was shocked to see that not only Lightning Dust's face was starting to crack, she stood on two legs and got a hold of the beam he used. He could feel that her strength was starting to overwhelm him as she pulled the pole out of his hand. He would try to strengthen his grip, but the pole was already gone before he'd even thought about it...
"HAH!" Lightning Dust shouted, smashing Jeremy upside the head with the crystal beam so hard, the beam broke at the middle. Before she could stab him with the now broken beam, she finds herself sliding on the ground upon feeling an impact on her side.
"We're not finished yet!" Rainbow shouted, charging at Lightning Dust again, but...!
"Yes you are." A Shadowbolt suddenly appeared in front of Rainbow Dash, emitting a wall of Star mist between Lightning Dust and Rainbow, forcing the cyan pegasus to abruptly put the brakes on her attack. "Commander. The plan is complete. We have a captive already. I request that this petty revenge is ceased at once."
"What? Come ON! Are you KIDDING ME, NUMBER FIVE!? And don't get it twisted, you jerk! My revenge is every important as your plans for Nightmare Moon! Now, let me fight!!" Lightning Dust ranted.
"Cease this at once, or mother will simply... replace you. Surely you wish to live out your dream as promised. But now, we must go and prepare for the revival. Come."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!! Fine!" Lightning stomped the ground in a tantrum, then turned to Rainbow, "But Dashie! You only won because I held back! I wanted to toy with you just to embarrass you and make your friends deaf by your screams! Next time we meet, you'll be WINGLESS when I'm done with you!" Lightning Dust seethed, as she disappeared into mist and vanished with the Shadowbolt.
"COME BACK HERE!" Rainbow tried to fly into the mist but the two Shadowbolts were already gone...
Rainbow, with a desire to go after Lightning Dust, turned around to see Jeremy limping towards the outside of the Crystal Empire, noticing that a steady stream of red ran down his face.
"I... I have... to get her back...!" Jeremy felt immense pain in his elbows and shins, but he clinched his teeth, running towards the edge of the border.
"What the heck are you doing!?" Rainbow called out to him.
"I'm going to save Ruby!!!" Jeremy screamed. He forcibly closes an eye due to the blood slowly getting in it.
"Not with those injuries! Don't you need to be treated first!?" Rainbow shouted.
"I don't give a damn! I PROMISED I'LL PROTECT HER! My god, I'll do just that! Leave me alone and go to your friends!"
"Same to you, you idiot! One of your friends just got hurt real bad! Don't you care!?" Rainbow's voice became more fierce...
"Agh, RUBY COMES FIRST! They can wait!!!" Jeremy yelled without turning around. As he walked, he felt a hoof tap him on the shoulder... "I said leav- GUH!" He suddenly felt a hoof pressed against his face, knocking him to the ground. "Oh... you picked the wrong guy to mess with!" Jeremy quickly got on his feet to return the favor, his clinched fist making contact with Rainbow's muzzle as hard as possible, with what little strength he had left.
By this point, Jeremy and Rainbow began exchanging blows... With each punch, Jeremy could feel his energy leaving his body. With each impact, Rainbow felt her energy drain away. The pain in their faces weren't enough, for they simply kept up the attack until both of them punched each other out, forcing them to fall on their backs and looking up at the sky...
...
"Ha... ha... ha... I... I couldn't... protect..." Jeremy panted as he laid, stretched out on the ground, his face stinging with pain.
"Shut up... you think... you're the...only one with... somepony to protect...?" Rainbow replied, panting, exhausted from their fight.
"How barbaric... Well I hope you two are proud of yourselves." Jeremy and Rainbow heard Rarity's voice. Rarity's white face and purple mane hovered over Rainbow's line of sight, blocking the sky from view. "I wanted to stop you two from going through with such senseless violence, but this human said to let you fight."
"Yeah... That, and according to Rarity, Rainbow probably wanted to stop you because if you go out to the Frozen North, the Wendigos would've turned you into a Popsicle, Jeremy. Apparently they're attracted to hatred and fighting, and knowing you, you have a lot of anger built up." Alice sat next to Jeremy, speaking to him.
"Ha...! I tried to warn him... I know...!" Rainbow panted giving an arrogant smug.
"Same goes for you too, Rainbow. My word, it doesn't take a genius to see that you're just as angry as he was! You would've went after Lightning Dust if you never seen him, right?" Rarity explained.
"Ugh..." Rainbow griped. "She hurt you guys..."
"What happened to the others...?" Jeremy asked.
"Avu... he... he got impaled with... something. I think it's a stake..." Alice hesitantly explained.
"Ah, goddamn it all... seriously... damn it all to hell..." Jeremy had no strength to get up. He clinched his fist and began beating on the ground. "Damn it... damn it... damn it..."
"What about Twilight? And Fluttershy, and Applejack, and Shining Armor, and the princess...?"
"They're fine too. I have to say, this all happened so fast, I couldn't really keep up with any of it!" Rarity explained. "That Lightning Dust sure seems to have it out for you, even wanting to bring us down!"
"Not to mention... she's... become faster... with those... wings...!" Rainbow complained, trying to get up.
"Don't even think about trying to get up! The guards will help you two to the clinic, so you both sit tight! Goodness, to think you'd engage in combat with a human..." Rarity said, putting a hoof to her face.
"It's... better to settle it with... your hooves... than with words... sometimes..." Rainbow explained, still panting.
"Ugh... you know, I agree for once... except... I don't have hooves... just fists..." Jeremy said, barely forming a smile.
"I agree too! It's how Jeremy and I used to settle our differences when we were kids!" Alice happily said.
"Wha- Oh, are you... I'm sure you're just telling a joke! I'm sure one with a unique sense of fashion such as yourself..." Rarity trailed off, looking at Alice's unique clothes, then continued, "Wouldn't engage in something so... savage, right??" Rarity asked.
"Oh come on! Just because I'm a girl and a little fashionable, doesn't mean I'm incapable of fighting. If I have to punch someone, I will!" Alice rose her fist, making an 'I can do it too!' gesture.
"Ah, perhaps you might have a point. I do practicion in a bit of Hoof-fu myself, but not for..." Rarity went on, then glanced at Jeremy and Rainbow and winced in disgust, "...this."
"Hahaha! Well, I did say when I was a kid! I don't know about nowadays though!" Alice replied, wryly smiling.
"Hey... shut up, or I'll kick you, or something." Jeremy threatened, which only made Alice giggle. She knew it was an empty threat, made in jest.
"Yeah, yeah." Alice said, then motioned some crystal ponies to come over and help.
An hour later, Jeremy and Rainbow wake up to the feeling of a soft bed and sheets, and the sight of a crystal ceiling. Jeremy turns his head left and sees a crystal pony wearing a white lab coat and glasses, standing at the counter with a pile of books in front of her, currently reading one of them, as if she were desperate.
"Must be the doctor or something... Wonder what the heck she's looking for?" Jeremy thought to himself. "Hey, where's my hat?" Jeremy asked.
"Your hat is on the counter over there, but it's way too stained with blood. If I were you, I wouldn't wear that thing anymore." The doctor answered. Jeremy's eyes glanced to the small counter next to his bed where the books were. It was there, he had seen his flat cap.
"Look, that hat is my granddad's hat. He let me have it, so no, I'm not getting rid of it." Jeremy said in a solemn tone.
"Just be sure to clean it off, whatever. I already had trouble getting it off your head since it was stuck. Anyway, could you not bother me? I'm trying to figure something out." The doctor asked in an annoyed tone, never tuning her head away from the book.
"You sure like that hat, huh?"
Jeremy turned to his right and saw Rainbow in a separate bed next to his. Seeing her already awake and kicking back, he scowls at her briefly at how relaxed she looks, but even then, he couldn't really find the energy to get angry. The pressure coming from the bandages on his head didn't help. He sighed as he looked back at the ceiling. "Damn... You have one hell of a punch... then again, you had an advantage with those hooves."
"Hey, if you had used those keys of yours, you'd have scarred my face!" Rainbow retorted.
"And you could've kicked my ass quick if you flowed like a butterfly and stung like a bee." Jeremy replied with a scowl. "So why'd you hold back?"
"Didn't we discuss this outside a while ago? You weren't gonna listen, so..." Rainbow trailed off, looking nonchalant about it.
"So that justifies punching an injured person? My god, you're heinous." Jeremy said with a slight chuckle.
"Who cares! You still put up a good fight!" Rainbow chided.
"Whatever..." Jeremy then turned his back to her, and groaned. "Ugh... maybe this is my fault..."
"What's that supposed to mean??" Rainbow sat up and looked at him like he said something crazy.
"Ruby got taken and my friends got attacked, and it's all my fault..." Jeremy trailed off, palming his face as he sat up in his bed. He sighed, then continued explaining. "She... she doesn't like it when anyone disses her parents, with that old 'abandonment' shtick. She firmly believes her parents never abandoned her for some stupid reason."
"Oh, she lost her parents, huh...?" Rainbow looked solemn for a moment.
"Yeah... and with the will they wrote, the government suddenly told my mom to come bring the kid to our place." Jeremy said, slowly curling up under the sheets.
"So why would you say that her parents abandoned her?" Rainbow asked, in a stern tone.
"It's just... I thought about her parents, how they just died so suddenly and outta nowhere, and one thing lead to another. This might sound a little nutty, but I'd think she saw them as parental surrogates. They must've treated her with kindness and alla that junk. But that kid... she saved me..." Jeremy said, curling up into a ball even tighter.
"Saved you? What, from monsters or something?" Rainbow was confused.
"No, my world doesn't have monsters, Skittles." Jeremy turned over and scowled at Rainbow.
"Hey!" She frowned at hearing that nickname again.
"I mean, she saved me from my err... slump... at the time. That's the nicest way to put it. Yeah." Jeremy awkwardly explained.
"Huh... well, I guess that explains why you seem to not care what happens to your friends?" Rainbow asked in a stern tone.
"...Part of it I guess, I dunno. But you got the idea... A lotta shit happened." Jeremy said, turning on his back to look at the ceiling.
"I see... I'm not gonna apologize for chewing you out all those times though."
"Did I ask for an apology?" Jeremy glanced at Rainbow, sounding annoyed as he spoke.
"No, but you need to care for your friends as much as you care for that kid! It just... makes me so mad to see how little you care for your 'crew'!" Rainbow quoted the word he used.
"Yeah, you're right. I learned my lesson when I heard what happened to Avu... So I'll only say this once!" Jeremy sat up and looked straight into Rainbow's eyes seriously, took a deep breath and... "I'm sorry. You're the first person... err, pony, to ever seriously see through my twisted priorities, and see what I was doing was wrong. And I'll thank you too. I think I have a more solid focus on what my friends wanted to say. Sure, It's true, I wanted to get the hell out of Equestria in a big hurry. And truth be told, I STILL want to leave this place. But I need to learn to not be in such a damn rush with everything. And I also need to trust you guys more too."
"Hmph. I gueeeeeeeeeeeess I can accept your apology, but I dunno... You'll have to apologize to your friend that got hurt, got it? Show your loyalty!" Rainbow said in a commandeering tone.
"Don't push it. I don't care whether you accept my apology or not." Jeremy smirked, giving her a shrug.
"Then why apologize!?" Rainbow angrily asked.
"Well... maybe because I kinda respect ya now." Jeremy admitted easily.
"You should've respected me from day one, big guy!" Rainbow pointed a hoof at him in declaration.
"Ugh, instead of calling me 'big guy', call me Jeremy. I mean, sure, maybe I've told you my name, and you might've overheard it a bunch, but it's about time you started using it. Seeing Mason and Mr. Martin again kinda reminded me that I'm not a 'big guy'."
"You're right! I should call you 'little guy' instead! Hahaha!!" Rainbow started laughing.
"Ugh..." Jeremy simply rolled his eyes.
"So... Jeremy, huh? How about I call you Chocolate instead?" Rainbow, hearing his name, looked at his skin color... and then slapped on her own nickname for him.
"What!?" Jeremy's eye twitched upon hearing the nickname.
"You slap on a stupid nickname for me, so I get to do the same for you! So CHOCOLATE IT IS!" Rainbow boasted.
"ARGH! Don't get cocky just because I respect you a little!!" Jeremy scolded.
"Hahaha, whatcha gonna do, Chocolate!? Fight me again!?" Rainbow continued her teasing.
"Whatever, I'm outta here!" Jeremy got out of his bed and stormed out of the room.
"Hehehehe! Hahahaha!!!" Rainbow cracked up at Jeremy's reaction, kicking around on the bed.
Jeremy then comes back into the room briefly to ask the pony doctor, "Oh, by the way, where are my human friends?"
"They're in the next room. And please, keep it down in here, I'm trying to work." The doctor answered, her eyes still glued to the book.
"What, ol' Chocolate can't find his way around the palace!? Hahahahahahahaha!" Rainbow chimed in, laughing the entire time.
Jeremy simply flips the bird at her and storms off. Little did he know, this only made Rainbow laugh even harder.
"What's THAT supposed to mean anyway? Hahahahaha! All he did was stick up a finger!"
Jeremy left the room and went to the next thanks to the doctor's quick directions. Upon entering the next room, he saw his friends looking crestfallen. He then saw the reason why.
In the room just like the one he was in previously, Avu was encased in a crystal capsule, sound asleep. His shirt had been taken off and the bandages wrapped around his upper body didn't cover the red and black shaded 'stake' in the center. Even now, it continued to emit a dangerous amount of energy, little by little...
"What happened...?" Jeremy asked.
"Lightning Dust got him... I don't know why she did this, but this..." Eva said, tearing up.
"I mean... why the crystal?" Jeremy specified his question.
"I hear it's so he'll stabilize. The ponies are currently trying to figure out exactly what Lightning Dust stabbed him with." Trisha explained, looking just as crestfallen as everyone else.
"Ugh... With Avu like this and Ruby gone, we can't go home yet..." Jeremy clinched his fist.
"Are you still in a hurry, foolish leader?" Megan asked nonchalantly.
"Nah... if being in such a damn hurry caused all of this, then it ain't worth it anymore. Besides, it kinda pains me the most to see Avu like this, since I owe him quite a bit too." Jeremy said.
"Owe him? Why's that?" Trisha asked.
"Because if it weren't for him, you wouldn't even be in the crew, Trish. If it weren't for him, I would've remained blind to a lot of truths out there, ya know?" Jeremy explained, walking up to the crystal Avu was in and lightly knocking on it.
"In other words, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be in this world. I could look at it like that." Trisha said.
"Wha-" Jeremy turned around, shooting a glare at Trisha, but she cut him off before he could go into his usual rant.
"But... I'm glad. I owe him too then. I would've never found the club room to meet you guys. And well, it's as you said, I wouldn't be a part of the crew if it weren't for him. But I've been doing some thinking... and well... I don't really have a position."
"What are you going on about?" Jeremy asked, giving an inquisitive look.
"When you said that Avu's the reason I'm here, I suddenly started thinking again that things wouldn't be all that different whether I was here or not. But I've been wanting to change that... I thought it'd be okay to stop playing hero when I moved back to Westford Island, but I can see that's not really doing me anything. I feel kinda bored, to be honest." Trisha said, grimacing.
"So what are you trying to say?" Jeremy asked.
"I'm saying... I want to be more involved. I want to get us home, safe and sound. All of us, together. I know I'm just 'the new girl' to you, but Jeremy, please. Even if it means I'll have to play hero sometimes. In that short amount of time... all of you became such good friends to me. Friends even Sam and Mariya can be proud of. So I want to help you save Ruby. I want to help Avu. I want to help Twilight and the other ponies too, even if I become a nuisance because of it. I want to do something that'll help us somehow! But I... I just don't know where to start."
"Okay, well, let me give it to you straight. Every single crew member in here has a talent they specialize in 'cept me. All I can do is bake a fucking cupcake, and that's because Ruby always demanded me to make confectioneries. Kid has a freakin' sweet tooth, I tell ya." Jeremy griped, then continued. "But what I'm saying is to look around: Martin's got good understanding skills since he's a teacher. Eva's good at making great food. Kitsu's great at making people laugh. Megan's techno-savvy, so he's good with that. Mason's tall and strong, plus he's fast since he plays basketball. Chris is good at flirting with the ladies and somehow good at playing violin or whatever. Mia's great at calming people down, hence why she's our voice of reason. Mina's brutally honest and doesn't hesitate to give it to you straight. Avu's got the skills of a seasoned snooper. Alice is great at making clothes, and you're good at giving that extra helping hand that everyone needs. You just need to do it and stop hesitating."
"Well, you're good at something too!" Trisha replied.
"Don't kid yourself, Trish. It's my fault Ruby got kidnapped and Avu got stabbed. Hell, if I recall right, my impatience cause a lot of trouble for you guys."
"Well, we wouldn't be together if it weren't for you, remember? You're the one who decided to annoy us and bring us into this foolish crew." Megan said.
"Yeah, I remember how he pestered me to being your adviser. But hey, I'm kinda glad he did. Becoming friends with my own students is part of being a teacher too." Mr. Martin added.
"Huh... eh... well, whatever ya'll say." Jeremy said, feeling bashful, then turned to Avu, pressing an arm against the crystal, then leaning forward. "I'm sorry this happened, man. But we're gonna we're gonna work with the ponies to find a way to save you. And we'll rescue Ruby too. And then we'll survive!"
"I guess I'm seeing what Rainbow Dash meant all along, going on about loyalty being loyal to my crew...
It's trust, isn't it?"
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2129436
Seeing that kinda makes me realize I've been using that quote alot... >.>
But it's most definitely relevant, since it ties into the show's theme, albeit, a bit blatantly... <.<