Friendship is Magic Redux

by paiohelohelo

Ch. 14- Edit: Escape

“President Everstar!” Lyra shouted as she ran into Ponyville’s impromptu war room. “Madam President, I found something!”

Celestia was busy discussing important matters with some of the other civilian and military personnel when she turned around to greet Lyra. “Dr. Heartstrings, what is it?”

“Madam President, I was going over all of my artifacts and documents, and I figured something out… you see, I’ve always wondered why the Equestrians who had fled during The Civil War never returned through The Eye, even when they had an Alicorn Amulet, so I did a little digging…”

Celestia nodded. “Yes, and what did you find, Doctor?”

“Well, the last stone inscriptions of the exiles seem to make reference to a certain cult that developed in Equestria right at the very end of The Civil War, a cult centered around the then last Alicorn monarch… the allusions don’t really go into all that much detail, but they talk about certain rituals involving the Queen’s faithful, fanatical Pegasi army becoming entombed with the ruler in the event of her death, and that such a retinue would serve to protect her in the afterlife, holding at bay any encroaching forces from the colonies outside of Equestria…”

Celestia felt a chill run down her spine. “An army?”

“Yes, throughout human history such acts have often been repeated by everyone from the ancient Babylonians to the Chinese emperors… however, the Equestrian exiles speak of this army in very frightening terms, almost as if they greatly feared the evil spirits of the Queen’s loyal dead, whom they referred to as ‘The Shadows of Lightning’… it was almost as if they truly believed that the very land, upon receiving this unholy contingent, would have become cursed itself… thus, The Eye became taboo for them to cross through, even as they found themselves in desperate need of Equestria’s advanced technology.”

Celestia began to piece together what Lyra was implying. “My God…”

Lyra nodded grimly. “Given what we know about that advanced technology, Madam President, you can see where I’m going with this… imagine that an entire army of Equestrian warriors had somehow transformed themselves into artificial lifeforms, right along with their last Queen, whom they seemed to view as the divine bearer of The Elements of Harmony… everything about them, their very souls if you will, were placed in mechanical bodies that would be designed to mimic their functions in life, except that they would be specifically made to battle the foreign hordes that might besiege Equestria long after their deaths… however, bear in mind that they all would’ve been dying of The Pony Plague when they were ‘interred’, so to speak, and the outcome, unfortunately, would’ve been an entire army of nigh indestructible, at least by our standards, Equestrian automatons uploaded with the diseased, insanely irrational, and highly aggressive personalities of those they were supposed to copy.”

Everyone else in the room stared at Lyra with horror. They began to imagine all the horrible sorts of things now plaguing Canterlot and its current residents.

Celestia breathed sharply, trying to take in everything Lyra had just explained; she looked around the war room, and upon noticing that someone was missing, she immediately started for the door.

“Madam President?” Lyra asked.

“Come with me, Dr. Heartstrings,” Celestia ordered as Lyra began to follow her, “you need to tell everything that you just told me to General Spinelli… this changes everything…”

***********************************************************************************************

“Come on!” Applejack motioned to the five behind her. “This way!”

The six of them were cautiously making their way down the halls of a deserted part of The Main Castle. Applejack was using her sharply honed sniper skills to help them all evade detection as they made their way towards their destination.

“Are you sure about this, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked as they crept along as fast as they could without drawing attention to themselves.

“Yes… most of Dr. Heartstring’s recovered artifacts are still at Archaeology in The West Castle, but according to Pinkie Pie, records indicate that she left a small cache of ancient objects right here in The Main Castle… if the inventory checklist is correct, then that would include a very small amount of Equestrian weaponry, which won’t be nearly enough to defend The Castle against The Shadowbolts but might help us on our way to Harmonics.”

“Alright, then, we better git there as soon as we can, y’all,” Applejack replied as she took out her keycard to open the next door. “There’s no tellin’ how long The Barrier will last under that barrage,”

She swiped her keycard to open the door, only to find Iron Will standing right in front of them, along with three soldiers armed with M4s. The girls all gasped in shock as Applejack and Rainbow Dash drew their pistols on them.

“Going somewhere?” Iron Will asked as his men pointed their weapons at the six of them. “Drop your weapons, lieutenants.”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash glanced at each other, and then slowly placed their guns on the floor. The general smiled.

“Shit,” Rainbow Dash cursed.

“Here I am trying to save all of your ungrateful little asses, and what should happen? My eggo suddenly informs me that the locator tag I placed on Lieutenant Smith’s own device a while back-“ he nodded to Applejack, who seethed with rage, “-is moving from the dungeon, where I ordered her to lock up Miss Sparkle, and going all over this Castle, almost as if she was giving a grand tour of the place.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be somewhere else, yelling really loudly at somebody?” Twilight’s eyes narrowed at the general.

Iron Will smirked. “The situation, Sparkle, hopeless as it may be, isn’t changing anytime soon, so I thought I might take a little break and see what my favorite little troublemaker was up to, if she was still going to keep causing me migraines… little did I know that you had brainwashed these little civilians to come along with you, as well as two of my uniforms who now stand as mutinous traitors in my eyes, and will be dealt with accordingly…”

“Well, beggin’ the General’s pardon, but…” Applejack responded as she stared hard at him, “…y’all can go fuck yourself. Hard,”

“Agreed, sir,” Rainbow Dash added, glaring as well.

The general laughed heartily in response; Twilight was really starting to wonder how unhinged he was becoming from this siege. “You know, Applejack, I honestly can’t believe that you were dumb enough to fall for Twilight Sparkle’s manipulation. Ha, ha, ha, let me guess, you really think that you’re all best buddies now, don’t you? I wonder if she knows that the only reason you even began buddying up to her in the first place was because I specifically ordered you to…”

Applejack turned to Twilight with widened eyes as the truth finally came out. Twilight looked back at her, a hurt, surprised look on her face.

“Oh? The plot thickens now, doesn’t it?” Iron Will caught the exchange between the two. “Why, yes, Miss Sparkle, honest Applejack here was assigned by me to watch you, to spy on you, and to report back to me your every doing. In the event that you became too great a pain in my ass, like, for example: right now, she was to give me everything I needed to neutralize you, as a threat, by any means possible.”

Twilight just locked eyes with Applejack, forcing her to shut her own eyes and grit her teeth.

“Well, Miss Sparkle, I’ll deal with you and your little friends once this is all over, believe me…” he turned to Applejack, “Lieutenant Smith, how does it feel to know that, in one fell swoop, you lost your new best buddy and totally failed as a competent soldier under my command? Please, do tell me… how do you like them apples?”

“Well,” Pinkie Pie spoke up as she reached into her pocket, “how do you like- EPIC GLITTER TIME?!?!?!”

She threw a handful of little metallic flakes at the general and the soldiers. They all screamed and immediately reached for their eyes. Seeing their chance, Applejack and Rainbow Dash both grabbed two of the carbines and yanked them up in the air with one hand, the other hand punching out the soldiers holding them. Rarity crouched down low and swept her leg hard against those of the third soldier; his body jerked high into the air and he came back down, his head cracking hard against the floor, knocking him out as well. Twilight ran forward, grabbing his carbine and then aiming it at him.

“ARGHHHH,” Iron Will screamed, “YOU LITTLE BITCH!!!”

He raised his gun blindly, and Applejack and Rainbow Dash drew a bead on him with their stolen carbines. However, before they could fire, Fluttershy walked up to Iron Will’s side and quickly squeezed a pressure point on his gun hand. He screamed in pain and dropped his weapon, which Fluttershy caught in her other hand as her tiny, petite fingers bent his big, muscular arm all the way behind his back, making him scream even louder. With one smooth motion, Fluttershy flipped the handgun over in her other hand and then proceeded to pistol whip Iron Will in the back of the head. He fell down to the floor, unconscious, joining his men.

“Hiii- yah!” she squeaked gently as he went down.

When the situation was under control, the other five just stared at Fluttershy in incredulity.

“…Wow,” was all Twilight could think to say.

“Damn, girl,” Rainbow Dash breathed.

“Now where’d ya learn ta do that, sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

Fluttershy, blushing, shrugged her shoulders as she handed Rainbow Dash Iron Will’s pistol. “Um, after college I spent a lot of time meditating at The Shaolin Monastery…” she looked down at Iron Will’s still form. “…Sorry,”

Rainbow Dash smiled widely, patting her on the back in appreciation. “No need for apologies, Doc, ha ha, yeah!”

Rarity, still breathing hard, frowned and turned to Pinkie Pie. “Darling, where did you get all that glitter from?”

“Oh, I always keep plenty of glitter in my pockets!” Pinkie smiled as she dusted off her sparkly hands. “In case of glitter emergencies,”

Rarity nodded quite seriously. “You know, dear, that’s actually not a bad idea…”

Applejack shuffled her feet in guilt. “Twilight, about what the general said, I… I’m so sorry, and… you gotta believe me, sugarcube, I felt jus’ awful treatin’ ya the way that I did, and I… oh, Twi,” she looked down in deep shame, “I’m so, so sorry… you must hate me…”

Twilight looked at her as she got to think for the first time since the flurry of action had died down. Eventually, she put her hand on Applejack’s shoulder, smiling gently.

“Applejack, you’re a good person… believe me, I know it. Please, don’t make me repeat myself, because I already told you, I trust you… with all my heart.”

Applejack grabbed Twilight and hugged her tightly, sniffing.

“That’s real fucking beautiful and all, guys, but we still kinda got a job to do,” Rainbow Dash reminded them as she pointed her carbine down the hall beyond the door littered with big, strapping, unconscious army men.

“Alright, let’s find a closet or somethin’ ta lock these guys up in,” Applejack wiped her eyes and then motioned for the others to help her start dragging the soldiers out of the way.

*****************************************************************************************

The ragtag group of six ran quickly down the aisles of a dark warehouse beneath The Main Castle.

“It’s here!” Pinkie Pie checked her EGO in front of a large shelf filled with dull grey metal containers. “Right here!”

“Allow me,” Rarity equipped herself with a Unicorn Interface and waved her hand. All the boxes on the shelf became enveloped in a blue glow and started to move, on their own, into a neat pile on the floor. Twilight gasped in awe when she saw this.

“What is that?”

“Why, it’s my horn, darling,” Rarity smiled as she worked. “Aren’t you a Unicorn, as well? Haven’t you ever used one before?”

Twilight thought back to The Eye Run. “Um, not like that.”

“It’s easy; dear, come, put on your horn,” Rarity beckoned and Twilight stood next to her. She pressed her EGO and her “horn” popped out.

“Now, all you have to do is will something to move, and with enough practice, your horn can become quite powerful, you know,” Rarity instructed.

Twilight nodded as she raised her horn at a box, willing it to move. To her delight, the entwined energy glove hummed and glowed a bright purple, and a corresponding purple glow similar to Rarity’s appeared around the object. She focused her concentration and the box began to move itself over from the shelf to the floor. Twilight laughed, lowering her hand, and the box’s glow faded.

“My eggo… he’s just so… great,” she exclaimed with renewed passion, clapping her hands together with glee.

Rarity smiled as she finished moving all the boxes on the shelf down. “If we get out of this alive, darling, I’ll show you how to make organizing your entire wardrobe all at once a literal snap,”

“Ok, let’s see what we got here,” Applejack opened two of the larger boxes.

Inside were what looked like golden astronaut suits. Many were in terrible condition, but there were at least six that looked serviceable. Rarity plucked one out and began to examine it.

“Ooooh, I like very much,” she turned it this way and that.

“That must be the Equestrian armor, the PALADINs,” Twilight read the boxes' data on her EGO.

“The what now?” Rainbow Dash asked as she inspected a suit as well.

“Initiative scientists called it PALADIN, for Powered Advanced Laminar Ablative Defensors of Impact Neutralization,” Twilight explained, still reading her EGO. “Judging from the battle data collected earlier today, I believe that they’re made from a completely different material then the Shadowbolts, and that they’ve even been reinforced with a miniature version of The Barrier within each cell of the armor in order to protect living humans inside. Now, theoretically, that should protect us from even direct blows from an enemy’s weapon, although too much damage will start to transmit through the suit; as more damage is accumulated, the suit’s Barrier will eventually shut down, leaving only the hard material as protection. When that’s penetrated, then the suit will be fully compromised. In addition, the armor will also exponentially increase our speed, agility, strength and stamina as long as it remains uncompromised… fascinating,”

They all began to put the suits on; eventually, however, the tiny, young females found them to be too large and bulky for their bodies.

“Yeah… I don’t think this will work,” Rainbow Dash flopped her arms.

“Wait, I think we need synchronize our eggos first,” Twilight pressed hers and the others did so as well. The micro- plating of their suits suddenly began to shift around them, becoming much more form- fitting, and even began to change colors as well: Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie changed from a uniform gold to purple, orange, blue, white, yellow and pink, respectively.

“Christ, we look like the fucking Power Rangers,” Rainbow Dash groaned.

“We can change this, right?” Applejack, always the sniper, frowned.

Twilight fiddled with her EGO, shaking her head. “It seems to be a normal part of the synchronization,”

“I think we look just splendid, darlings,” Rarity ran her hands over her snow white armor. “I wouldn’t change a thing!”

“It’s… nice,” Fluttershy added quite vaguely.

“I love it!” Pinkie Pie squealed as she admired her incredibly pink body.

“Yeah?” Dash snorted at her. “Remind me not to stand next to you when they start shooting at us… I look bad enough already as it is,”

“Let’s see what else we got,” Applejack began opening thinner boxes. Inside, packed in foam, were long, silver, plastic- wrapped metal objects that resembled rifles. Under them were smaller, handheld examples similar to pistols. Applejack plucked one of the longer ones up and pulled the shrinkwrap off, whistling as she admired its sleek, shiny design.

“Light Rifles,” Twilight explained, reading from her EGO again. “They utilize coherent bolts of photons as projectiles,”

“Now this here is what I’m talkin’ ‘bout!” the soldier grinned.

“Here, lemme turn it on for ya!” Pinkie fiddled with her EGO and suddenly all the weapons in the case as well as the one Applejack was holding started to hum with energy, small lights along the guns glowing brighter.

“These are the same weapons that the Shadowbolts are using,” Twilight continued as she read her own EGO. “They should be able to penetrate their metallic surfaces with ease, if I’m reading their energy outputs correctly. Since native Equestrian weapons run off of The Elements of Harmony, your ammunition is essentially unlimited, although I must warn you that excessive firing will cause your gun to overheat and shut down temporarily. So, to operate the weapon, it’s really quite simple-”

Applejack shouldered her Light Rifle and aimed it at an empty box far away. She squeezed the trigger once and it released a rapid succession of brilliant blue bolts that impacted against the box, flinging it high into the air. She kept on releasing bursts of energy, hitting the box dead on each time so that it seemed to hover in mid- air as she pummeled it mercilessly. She stopped firing and it fell to the floor, smoking.

“I don’t need instructions on how ta use a gun, sugarcube,” She smiled at Twilight, who grinned and shook her head.

“Nice shooting, Tex,” Rainbow Dash smirked, picking up another Light Rifle for herself.

“Thank ya kindly, pardner,” Applejack reached for a set of pistols and placed one on either hip. They attached with a magnetic force and she smiled again.

“Yee- hah!” she exclaimed joyfully.

Rarity opened a small box and picked up what was inside. It was a silver D- shaped handle, and she examined it with curiosity.

“Oh, do be careful with that one, Rarity!” Twilight warned. “It’s called a Light Foil, and it can be quite dangerous!”

Rarity turned it over in her hand, examining it closely. She held it away from her, and pressed a small button on the handle. Suddenly, a thin, curving, segmented metal protrusion shot out; when it fully extended, a bright blue blade of solid energy erupted along its front, forming an edge. Rarity waved it around, admiring its pretty glow.

“Oooh… I rather do like this,” she smiled. “It’s simply fabulous, darling!”

“Yes... an elegant weapon, for a more civilized age…” Rainbow Dash joked.

“Oh, hush,” Rarity scoffed at her insult, “I’ll have you know that I’m a master La Taille fencer,”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened, and she nodded in newfound respect.

“La Taille?” Twilight asked quizzically.

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes at her. “You really need to get out more. La Taille is only the newest, coolest martial arts ever invented! It’s like gymnastics, parkour and fencing all mixed together!” She jumped off from the wall and pretended to stab at an opponent. “Super- duper deadly!!!”

“Most importantly, it’s an excellent way to help keep one’s core tight and fit,” Rarity added.

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Geez, Rarity, ya really think a sword’s gonna be any help out there?”

Rarity just grinned and stuck her chin out as she closed up the Light Foil and stowed it away on her armor. “A lady never goes into battle unprepared, Applejack.”

“What are these?” Rainbow Dash pulled out a large, metal backpack- like device.

“Um… are you by any chance a Pegasus?” Twilight looked up from her EGO.

“Sure am!” Rainbow Dash answered proudly.

“Well, then you’re going to love that,” Twilight smiled. “It’s called a Wingpack. It’s only operable by Alicorns and Pegasi... I think you can guess the function from its name,”

Rainbow Dash made a choking sound. “I can fly? You’re saying that I can fly without a plane?!”

Twilight nodded and Rainbow Dash quickly put on the Wingpack. When it attached to her back, the color changed to match her suit. Expansive, feathery blue metal wings popped out, and Dash found that she could, using her mind, move them with ease. She gave them a little flap, fired their thrusters, and then raised both hands to her face, yelping like a little girl.

“SO!! AWESOME!!!”

“Is anyone else here Pegasi?” Twilight asked.

“Um… I am,” Fluttershy raised her hand nervously.

“Here,” Dash threw her another Wingpack, “we might need another TOTALLY BITCHIN’ flying person on this mission,”

“But… I don’t think…”

“Step it up, Bruce Lee,” Dash was still preoccupied with her newfound wings.

Fluttershy sighed. “Ok…” she put on the device and it turned canary yellow.

“Here, take this, too,” Applejack threw her a Light Rifle. She caught it, whining slightly as she felt its weight. Twilight and Rarity picked up Light Rifles as well.

“Oh, dear…” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Here, Fluttershy,” Twilight handed her a small metal box, “These are some Equestrian medical supplies… I don’t know if they still work, but we might need them.”

Fluttershy nodded as she took the box, seriously wondering why she had to carry so much stuff.

“Check it out, girls!” Pinkie Pie lifted a large, silver particle cannon up onto her shoulder, and then broke into a bad Austrian accent, “Say hello to my PARTY CANNON!”

“Pinkie Pie, be careful with that!” Twilight scolded.

“Aw, Twilight, come on, I’m not a child-“ Pinkie was responding when she accidentally pulled the cannon’s trigger. The barrel started to glow, and everybody screamed and ducked for cover. Luckily, Pinkie pulled her finger off of the trigger before the weapon had a chance to fire. She giggled nervously. “Oops! Sorry,”

“PINKIE!!!” they others all shouted at her.

“Sorry,” she continued to giggle, “That probably won’t happen again… ooh, ooh! Let’s get some of these ones-”

“Pinkie!” Twilight scolded.

“What? You said you wanted big guns, Twilight,” she replied with a grin, loading some very large boxes onto a cart next to her. “So I’m bringing some BIG, HONKING GUNS!!!”

Twilight sighed, heavily. “Ok, if everybody’s suited up and well- armed,” she looked directly at Pinkie Pie, “then we should really get back to The Sonic Rainboom now.”

***************************************************************************************

The ragtag team of six, decked out to the nines, made their way back to Rainbow Dash’s plane in the hangar. They were met by a group of five bright yellow and blue robots that looked like large, round balloons floating in the air. When they saw these, Applejack and Rainbow Dash raised their rifles and prepared to fire.

“Hold on, girls!” Pinkie Pie stopped them. “It’s just my Pinkiebots! I called them here!”

One of the Pinkiebots floated down to its master. It’s bottom opened up, and a mechanical appendage offered her a package of Chips Ahoy.

“Pink- ie- Pie! Pink- ie- Pie!” it spoke to her. “Time- to- eat! Time- to- eat!”

“Not now, silly filly!” Pinkie giggled. “Later,”

She pointed to The Rainboom, and they all started to board.

“Pinkie Pie, what the hell-?” Rainbow Dash began to ask.

“Trust me,” Pinkie winked at her, “We’ll need them.”

“Ok… if there isn’t any further craziness scheduled, then let’s all get onboard,” Twilight directed the others.

The team of six boarded the plane, Twilight remembering with apprehension the last time she was on here; she had been with her mother...

Twilight sighed, trying to steady her nerves. Come on, Twilight Sparkle, you can do this… she told herself, you know that she wouldn’t… she DOESN’T want you to fail this. Everyone’s depending on you…

“Alright, ladies, take your seats,” Rainbow Dash ordered. “Fluttershy, get up here in case I need a co- pilot.”

Fluttershy whined again, this time quite loudly, as she joined Rainbow Dash in the cockpit.

The girls all started to take their seats near the cockpit and buckled themselves in. They each put on a skullcap to cover their hair, and then activated brightly colored helmets that slid automatically over their heads to protect them. Rainbow Dash brought the engines to life, and Pinkie Pie started to fiddle with her EGO.

“Opening bay doors… initiating Barrier reconfiguration protocols…” Pinkie informed them as she worked; Twilight noticed that she sounded much clearer than the last time they had on helmets during The Eye run.

The hangar bay doors began to groan and slowly started to open up. Beyond them, all six of The Sonic Rainboom’s occupants looked nervously towards a sea of bubbling, rippling energy, the walls of The Barrier still under heavy fire. Loud, thumping explosions reverberated throughout the entire hangar, and flashes of light pierced their eyes.

“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear…” Fluttershy kept whispering nervously.

“Ladies, this is your captain speaking,” Rainbow Dash grinned with suicidal abandon as her hand started to push the throttle forward, bringing the engines to roaring life. “Let’s do this.”

Comments

[Aki_Iokua]

Had a hard time reading this chapter. All the awesomeness kept blinding me.

[SoralTheSol]

I see a courtmarshal in Iron Will's future.

[Stoneificaunt]

I can picture the Equestrian weapons somewhat representing Forerunner style weapons.

[paiohelohelo]

2387793 THANK YOU ^-^

[paiohelohelo]

2387893 oh, I could see more possibly in store for General Meanie- Weenie in The Redux Series... but that's just me, personally... ;)

[paiohelohelo]

2388028 SUPPRESSOR- FIRING ACTION OVERLOAD

[TheColorGreen]

2387793
My thoughts exactly.