Re:Harmony

by starcross7

42 - From the Gaping Maw

Chapter 42 - From the Gaping Maw

Halfway in their galloping rush down the darkened entrance tunnel, Twilight and her group encountered the Unicorn Hunters, Ingrid and Bella, who had been resting beside a pile of wood as if the events in the cavern had not taken place. Applejack and her friends stood on guard as the two gray sisters trotted up to meet them.

"Seems as if you're not around when we needed you," said Applejack, "not that we needed you."

"When we saw you fight," said Ingrid, "we figured that we'd probably get out of the way lest you chop your heads off."

"If that's the case, then you should get out of the way, now."

"I don't think we can."

Advancing from shadows were twelve battle-damaged Roboponies, each with their back-mounted gatling guns poised at the gang and their animal friends.

"Ingrid," growled Applejack. "You sold us out."

"Oh no, we haven't," said Ingrid. "We took the liberty of hacking about a dozen or so Roboponies to our cause thanks to the confusion you caused in the Forest. They're really no different from our autoturrets you and the Beastmaster deprived us of. So we welcomed ourselves to a few of these metal strays. Now, about those Elements."

"This ain't the time."

"Applejack, what did you do?" Twilight asked.

"Your dear rebel friend made a deal that we help her rescue her friends," said Ingrid.

"Help?" said Applejack. "You didn't do nothin'!"

"We helped escort you here. Is that help enough? Even I know that Apples will always see through any deals they made, even if they aren't in their favor. Oh, and don't worry. We'll take good care of the unicorn Twilight."

"Just not in that way," Bella interjected with a wink.

"I'll make sure she isn't alone. We'll bring along that Pegasus-Alicorn you have over there so that she won't be homesick."

"That's it!" cried Applejack, and she summoned her magical katana into her mouth. "The deal's off! Get outta the way before things get ugly."

"Do we really want to repeat what happened at Sweet Apple Acres? Sister, prep the detonator."

"Got it, sis," said Bellamena.

"What about me?" Pinkie asked. "What should I do, sis?"

"Sister, she called you sis. Aren't you going to say something?"

"Pink, this ain't the time, either," said Applejack.

"There's always time for family, AJ. Come meet my sisters, Inkie and Blinkie."

Everypony blinked. They weren't sure if she was being random as usual or being serious. And if it was the latter, there was that possibility that she was betraying her friends for the Unicorn Hunters.

"As convenient as claiming her to be my sister is," said Ingrid, "we're not related."

"Of course we are!" Pinkie Pie grabbed a canteen from Applejack's saddlebags and poured water on herself. She zipped to stand between the Unicorn Hunters with a wet and straight mane. Aside from the color, the resemblance was uncanny.

"Told you we're related," said Pinkie before her mane puffed up. Ingrid jumped back and took aim with her assault rifle at the pink pony.

"Stop stalling and give us the Elements!" she cried.

"Inkie, it's me. Your long lost little sister."

"I only have one sister, you pretender."

"I was born in Rock Prison from Sue Pie."

"Shut-up! You're nothing but a bastard child!"

"But I lived with Granny Pie until she died."

"That's bull! Bellamena, blow her brains out!"

"Sister," said Bella, "I think she might be our little sister. Mother might have gotten pregnant before she was imprisoned."

"Don't you dare disobey your older sister!" Ingrid fired a warning shot by Pinkie's hooves, and Twilight and the rest of her group stood ready to rescue their pink friend who foolishly threw herself into this situation.

"Inkie, you gotta stand up tall," Pinkie sang. "Learn to face you fears..."

"...You'll see that they can't hurt you..." Bella sang.

"...Just laugh to make them disappear..."

"Sister, she really is our little sister! Sis?"

Ingrid clenched her teeth while her hooves shook the rifle she aimed at Pinkie Pie. She was so close to shooting her, but not once did Pinkie Pie flinch. The pink pony stared back Ingrid's soul with a composed and earnest expression. Pinkie's non-verbal communication won out against Ingrid, who then turned around and threw her assault rifle onto the ground before placing herself on her haunches.

"Give the unicorn the key to the black ring," said Ingrid.

For this order, Bella obeyed without hesitation, and she flung a black crystalline key towards Twilight, who caught it with her hooves. One quick press and twist, that magic-inhibitor snapped off, and the unicorn fired a quick blast of magic at the opposite direction. Smiles drew across her face and Applejack's.

"You still owe me the Elements, Rebel Applejack," said Ingrid. "Go find the other three, and we will come and get them from you. I'll give you a head start."

Ingrid, and by extension Bella, had given Twilight and her group the right to pass them and their stoic Roboponies. The last to leave was Pinkie Pie, and she trotted over to Ingrid's trembling side.

"Thanks," said Pinkie. "I know Granny Pie told me to stay away from you two, but--"

"Just go before we change our minds," said Ingrid.

Bella motioned to Pinkie Pie to leave now. Neither wanted to part without saying goodbye, but it was likely that they would see each other once again.

---

The cavern entrance's emergency lights had been spinning wildly in their posts ever since their exit, and a small fleet of airships loomed above them. Heaven and earth only knew how long they ran down the dirt road with dread running down their backs.

"Why didn't you tell us you were related to the Unicorn Hunters?" Twilight asked a bouncing Pinkie Pie.

"Oh, silly," said the pink one. "You save these kind of things at the last minute for dramatic effect. Besides, none of you have ever asked. I hope you're not mad."

"As long as you're on our side, we won't be," said Applejack. "You're the Bearer of the Element of Pleasure, and we you need you to complete our collection."

"Okie dokie lokie! I'll hold onto my Element then. Gosh, I wonder what the other three are going to be like? Maybe the next bearer is going to be a pretty princess. Ooh! How about a pirate?"

They finally made it out of the Everfree Forest, just like their original intent, but the danger they had been trying to flee from had found them once more. This time, the numbers were greater. Forming a wide arc in the clearing just outside the forest were phalanxes of Roboponies and Clone Soldiers nestled between borders of tanks and mass-produced Draftmechs with several armed airships and helicopters hovering over them. Leading this soulless military force stood a familiar blue mare with a crimson cape on her back and a black amulet around her neck. Winds gently brushed her cloak, and yet overall it twitched like an agitated creature.

"Trixie figured that Twilight's beloved friend would go and rescue her in the pits of Tartarus," said Trixie. "And you've now acquired the third Element and its bearer. Admirable. Now let's see if you can use their power to fend off against an entire army."

"Even with my magic restored and Fluttershy added to our group, this is too many," Twilight said to her friends.

"And I really don't want to ask the Unicorn Hunters for help again," said Applejack.

"This is a job of Pinkamena D. Pie," said Pinkie Pie as she stepped forth. "Spike, do you still have that remote on you?"

"Actually, I do," replied the baby dragon. From his own natural pockets formed by the folds of his scales, he handed Pinkie the remote that he used to control certain functions of the Cavern of Treasures. The pink pony held it close to her snout, cleared her throat for almost a tense minute, and then mustered these words from her lips:

"Ha. Ha. Ha."

Again, the ponies became dumbfounded by Pinkie's random antics.

"Pinkie Pie," said Twilight. "Why would laughing--"

Behind them, a loud explosion rocked the forest that sent many flocks of birds fleeing from the trees.

"What was that?" asked Applejack.

"I planted a bomb back at the Cavern," replied Pinkie. "In case of escape emergencies."

"But we already escaped the caves!" cried Twilight. "And I didn't see you plant a bomb."

"Neither did I," said Sunny.

"Tisk, tisk," said Pinkie. "Pinkie has the Pinkie Gear, and what I'm talking about is a different kind of escape. Wait for it."

From behind, the sound buzzing noises grew louder until it became almost deafening. The entire clearing suddenly swarmed with the devilishly grinning black parasprites. There were no crops for them to destroy, and while the forest provided fruit, these mutated creatures showed no interest them. Instead, they began devouring the metal bodies of the Roboponies and Draftmechs along with the Clone Soldiers' guns, tanks, helicopters, and airships. The more they ate, the more the black parasprites multiplied exponentially through self-regurgitation and replication. Unlike normal parasprites, the black ones coughed up three of their parthenogenic offspring instead of the usual two.

"Amusing," said Trixie. "These mutant parasprites are mere pests before the Great and Powerful Trixie. Trixie does not need an army to stop the likes of you."

The blue unicorn's horn glowed crimson red, and her shadowy cloak began expanding and taking a life of its own. The cloak now dwarfed her body tenfold, and soon it grew a cancer of violent eyes and drooling fangs.

"You eat Trixie's army, and in return Trixie eats you," said the hostile unicorn. "Now, who wants to be devoured first?"

Her formless and monstrous living cloak opened its many jaws and lunged its shadowy mass towards Twilight and the gang. Even caught by surprise, they were prepared to fight against anyway they would, but they couldn't. From the sudden appearance of a flamegate burped out from Spike's mouth, the jaws of a green dragon chomped on the demon cloak and flung it and its wearer towards a pair of half-eaten Draftmechs. Emerald Verde, whom everypony mistook as dead, appeared before the ponies once more, and even though he still had his injuries, he appeared livelier than ever.

"Go now!" he cried to his former captors. Immediately he charged at the growing monstrous form of Trixie's cloak to wrestle against its expanding crimson tendrils and gnashing teeth. Whatever reasoning he had for saving them, nopony could stop and think, and they were glad he provided a distraction for a cruel unicorn. With Gaea's forces trying to fend off the mutant parasprites, bullets flew in every direction and explosions blew holes the ground. The ponies followed Twilight's lead to breach the rear phalanx. Here they beheld a calmer battle and a fleet of grounded but functional airships.

They did not stop and choose which one they should hijack. Rather, Pinkie Pie chose for them. She activated her Pinkie Gear to run into one of the airships to throw out from the windows the soldiers stationed inside. Even with an airship secured, there were still soldiers galloping out of the other airships to combat the rebel ponies and their animal friends. Along with a few helicopters hovering nearby, taking off would be difficult without teamwork.

"They'll shoot us down before we could take off," said Applejack.

"Then we'll have to take them down before they can," said Twilight. "Pinkie Pie, can you stay on the ground and stop those soldiers from firing at us?"

"Will do!" Pinkie Pie saluted. She zipped away with her Pinkie Gear blazing, bowling over and knocking down any Clone Soldiers heading towards her and her friends.

"Sunny, Fluttershy; I know you don't have experience in air combat, but can you find a way to take out those helicopters and create a mist to cover our escape?"

"If that is what you desire, we will do it," said Sunny as she unfurled her newly acquired wings of snow- white.

"I don't know," said Fluttershy. "I got lucky when I formed that cloud when I attacked you, Twilight."

"You'll do fine, Fluttershy. I'm new at this too, so I'm sure we can learn to use the Atmos Arts on the fly. Let's rise!"

"Sunny, wait!"

The two pegasii flew off, and Twilight motioned to Applejack, Spike, and their animal companions to follow her inside the cold metal interior of Gaea's airship.

"I need the rest of you to manage the guns and shoot down anything that tries to stop us from the outside," she said to them. "I'm going to get this thing in the air."

"You know how to fly an airship, Sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"I read a lot of old training manuals."

"Good enough for me. C'mon y'all, and let's shoot us up some Gaean clones and some tin cans!"

Spike and the animal companions cheered, and then separated to commandeer the various turrets at the sides and the rear of the airship, though Winona, Owlowiscious, Gummy, and Angel Bunny had to work in pairs for their efforts to equal that of two ponies. Twilight immediately settled into the cockpit and began the launching sequence after moving a few levers and pressing a few buttons based on what she remembered from the old manuals she found washed up on the Great Chasm's underground shores. As luck would have it, the overall airship design had not changed, and the entire craft slowly propelled itself off the ground.

From the cockpit windows, Twilight saw her plan and her faith in her friends come into fruition. The airship's turrets were shooting down advancing soldiers and their tanks. Pinkie Pie was stealing guns and knocking down Roboponies like dominoes with a shooting kick. Fluttershy and Sunny provided aerial support by forming clouds that rained hard hail on the forces below. They crashed two helicopters from afar before beginning to form the mist cover around the airship.

Even though the airship was now high up in the air, Pinkie Pie managed to jump in through the opened rear hatch by launching off a ramp formed by natural rocks. Applejack, Spike, and the animals provided coverage fire until the escape mist was too thick for them and the enemy. Eventually, Fluttershy and Sunny were the last the rejoin the group, and the rear airship hatch could now close for the relatively safe flight ahead.

Feeling relaxed for the first time in a while, the purple unicorn set the controls on autopilot and slouched on the pilot's seat. Her companions rushed into the cockpit to celebrate, and once more Sunny licked the unicorn's cheek before hugging her. Pinkie Pie had announced that she had found a stash of food on the galley, and everypony immediately went over to continue their celebration. The pink pony had somehow found a boombox and put on some rocking tunes for everypony to dance to.

"I'll catch up," Twilight told them. However, Fluttershy remained nearby to stare out at the parting clouds of the sky. Perhaps she was feeling nostalgic about the heavens she would have lived in if certain events played out differently during her birth. Whatever she and Twilight could see or couldn't, it was a beautiful view.

"Don't worry about me," said Twilight. "I just want to enjoy the view while I rest up."

"I'm worried about my animal friends," said Fluttershy.

"Oh. If you want to go back..."

"They'll be okay. I hope I taught them well to not kill anypony when they have to defend themselves."

"Fluttershy, once we get the rest of the Elements, we'll stop the war and I'll make sure that your forest and your animal friends will be protected."

"Thanks Twilight. Um, can I open the window?"

"We should be at a safe altitude, so yes, you can."

"Thanks."

Gently, the pegasus opened one of the port windows at the side of the cockpit area, and at the same time Twilight could not help but notice that pink jewel in Fluttershy's golden necklace glowing. Thousands of specks of pink light flowed forth from the jewel like fireflies, and they all headed out to the sunsetting skies.

"You are free," Fluttershy said. "Free from the pain of this world."

"Are those the souls of Verde's victims?" Twilight asked.

Fluttershy nodded. It wasn't a definite answer for Twilight, but both she and the pegasus knew that the dead have finally found their rest.

Comments

[ALIENwolve]

I'm struggling to put into words what is happening to this story.

Things just... happen. There is no how, just the what.

It is as though you're writing a plot synopsis with dialogue.

It's like "Okay, then Fluttershy gets this mask and shoots lasers out of her eyes and beats the bad guy and then Celestia gets up and goes 'I have wings nao' and everything is cool."

[RainLight]

Does twilight actually catch a break now?:P

Further nice chapter

[GMZ_Casper]

Heh, well, Pinkie is being awesome again...! I swear, that party pony seems to do a very good job with making me smile. And, I have to give that dragon something, he earned a lot of respect points back with this action.

C&Cs:
We'll bring along that Peagsus-Alicorn you have over there so that she won't be homesick.
> Correction: ‘Pegasus’.
Pinkie pie grabbed a canteen from Applejack's saddlebags and poured water on herself.
> Capitalize ‘pie’.

[starcross7]

2825160
Fix'd

Also added some dialogue as to why Pinkie Pie didn't reveal that she was related to the Unicorn Hunters until now.

[Exia01]

Wait, Trixies cloak is Pride from FMA:B?
Ohh..... that's not good.

...NEXT CHAPTER!

[Screw]

This is a perfect chapter.

Chapter 42. 42 is the answer of life.

[djthomp]

Maybe the next bearer is going to be a pretty princess. Ooh! How about a pirate?"

Pretty Princess Rainbow Dash, Pirate Queen Rarity confirmed.

[weeping_pegasi82]

2823156 This is exactly how I'm feeling, I really want to continue reading this story but...

[The Ohvist]

4606891 *snicker*

[Fawkes]

5208748rs1img.memecdn.com/when-we-try-not-to-laugh-in-class_c_3861615.jpg

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

4606891 you're slightly off.

[djthomp]

6712687 That's cause it was a joke.

[Childish Endeavors]

You missed an excellent chance to make a Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy reference in this chapter.