Chapter 1: A Day in Ponyville
A few miles outside of Ponyville, a tent sat in the middle of a large meadow. Twilight Sparkle sat next to the remains of a campfire, reading a book with a flower on the cover. She looked down from it and admired the beautiful day, the sun was shining and the field was calm and quiet except for a few giggles coming from the tall grass where Pinkie Pie and Spike were playing with some butterflies. The three of them had camped out here last night, a combination group activity and scientific expedition.
“Twilight, come on.” Spike said as he ran back to the tent. “If we’re gonna go camping you can’t spend the whole time reading like you do at home.”
“Yeah, silly filly!” Pinkie added as she jumped next to her. “Camping is supposed to be about eating s’mores, rolling in the meadow, and singing songs.” The hyperactive pony then grabbed one of the marshmallows they’d made s’mores with last night, put it in her mouth, and started rolling in the grass. She tried to start singing, but the gooey treat muffled her voice.
“I’m sorry guys, but we’re not just out here to have fun.” Twilight said as she turned her book around for them to see. On the page was an illustration of a white flower with four pointed petals, with sparkles the author had drawn around it. “Equestrian Star Daisies are very rare and only bloom once a year for less than twenty four hours. When you told me there was a field that was full of them this close to Ponyville, Pinkie, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Their petals are said to sparkle like diamonds and if you pick one it won’t ever wilt as the petals become as solid as actual gemstones.” Spike and Pinkie looked at the picture with different responses.
“We can take a bunch back with us and give them out at a party, and we’ll invite everypony in Ponyville, and they’ll each get a flower for themselves, and…” She cut herself off by eating more marshmallows.
Spike rolled his eyes a bit. “Flowers are boring, and they’re not even real diamonds so you can’t even eat them.” He said with a shrug.
“Well then I suppose you wouldn’t pick a bunch of them as a gift for Rarity?” Twilight teased him a bit.
“Do… do you really think she’d like them?” Spike said with a love-struck look on his face. Twilight and Pinkie giggled a bit at him, but they were suddenly interrupted by a rush of air as something shot overhead at high-speed, leaving a rainbow in its path. “I wonder where Rainbow’s off to?” Spike asked recovering from the surprise.
“I think she’s going to Rarity’s, that’s why they couldn’t come with us.” Twilight commented as she looked back to her book. “Oh, Spike, grab the picnic basket from the tent, the flowers are supposed to bloom in about an hour!” Spike listened and Pinky cheered as they went out toward an area where they planned to watch the flowers from.
Over in Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack and Big Macintosh were walking through the orchard. They’d been working in the fields when they heard some weird noises in the distance. As they neared its source they saw Apple Bloom and her friends looking at some of the trees, an assortment of their weird and random toys scattered on the ground around them. “Um, what exactly are y’all doin’ out here?” Applejack asked, picking up what appeared to be a cross between a slingshot and a hammer.
“Oh, it’s a good thing ya found us, Applejack.” Apple Bloom said, dropping some tool she had been holding. “The three us had a great idea! We’re gona be…” She paused for a second as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle took positions behind her.
“Cutie Mark Crusaders: Applebuckin’ Machine Inventors!” The trio cheered, each striking an action pose. Applejack and Big Macintosh had grown used to the fillies’ antics by now, but they’re newest project seemed sillier than normal.
“You see, we were thinking about new plans and Sweetie Belle pointed out that Rarity uses sewing machines to make her job easier…” Scootaloo began to explain. “So we started work on this!” She pointed her hoof at a large object covered by a sheet. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle pulled off the sheet to reveal something that at first glance seemed like a pile of junk, but closer inspection revealed a series gears and ropes holding a hodgepodge of springs and wooden planks together.
“Well girls, that’s uh… mighty impressive looking gizmo y’all got there. Ain’t it Big Macintosh?” Applejack commented trying to think of something supportive to say. Big Macintosh just kept looking at the machine, a mildly confused look on his face.
“We’ll show you how it works.” Sweetie Belle said as she grabbed a rope that hung from the machine and pulled. The ropes, gears, and springs began moving and making noises like it was about to break apart. It stopped and went silent for a few seconds before a large mallet attached to a board swung out of it and hit one of the trees. The fillies watched excitedly as the tree shook, before a single apple fell from its branches.
“But… but we worked so hard, why won’t it work?” Apple Bloom said, all three of them close to tears.
“Now now girls, Applebuckin’ ain’t somethin ya can build a machine to do.” Applejack said encouragingly. “Heck, Big Macintosh an’ I had to practice fer years to get as good as we are at it, ain’t that right?”
“Eeyup.” The big pony said as he walked up to the tree the machine had hit. With a hard kick with one hoof he shook the rest of the apples free, to the amazement of the three fillies. He smiled a bit at there reactions as he loaded them into a nearby cart.
“Wow!” The three cheered in unison. “Do it again, do it again!”
“We can’t.” Applejack said. “It ain’t harvestin’ time yet. We can’t just go about buckin’ all the trees to show…” She was interrupted by three adorable frowning faces surrounding her. She tried to move away, but there pleading eyes were too much to resist. “Ah fine, I’ll do one just to show y’all how it’s done.” She caved in, enticing three loud cheers.
“Oh, you should do that one over there!” Sweetie Belle said as she pointed at Old Joe, the biggest and oldest tree in the field. “I bet you could clear that whole tree in one buck!”
They all approached the big tree, which was almost five times larger than any of the others. “I don’t think so.” Big Macintosh chimed in. “It usually takes me four or five bucks to clear Old Joe.” He looked up into the trees braches, which stretched up beyond view from this close.
Applejack shot him a look. “Are ya sayin’ I can’t do it? Ya ain’t that much better at buckin’ than me.” She walked up to the tree and got into position. Big Macintosh was about to protest when Apple Bloom bounced up in front of him.
“You can do it, Applejack!” She cheered excitedly.
The orange pony looked back at the tree, studying it closely for the right spot to kick. She dragged her hooves through the dirt a few times, getting the muscles ready, then took a deep breath and kicked with all her might. Old Joe shook through all its braches, each and every apple on them falling to the ground. The three little fillies cheered as Applejack stood looking triumphant, before suddenly cringing, falling down, and rubbing her back left hoof. She’d twisted it a bit in the kick and hit at a bad angle, leaving it sore and a little swollen.
“You okay, Applejack?” Big Macintosh said as he looked at her hoof. “It doesn’t look like you can work on that hoof.” She tried to stand on it, but fell over again. “Just head back to the house, I can finish today’s work on my own.”
Applejack stood up again. “Nah, its fine. I just need to keep my weight off…” She cringed again and hit the ground. “Would you girls mind giving me a lift back to the house?” She asked the fillies gathered around her. Scootaloo dashed off and got her scooter and wagon, as the other two helped her get in. “Yer sure you can handle everything?”
“Eeyup.” Big Macintosh replied as he started loading Old Joe’s apples into the cart.
As they sped back to the house Apple Bloom spoke up. “Hey, do y’all think we could get our cutie marks fer amateur first aid?” She asked, bringing a slightly frightened look to her big sister’s face.
A rainbow streak shot across the sky, the wind it gave off startling everypony it passed. “Oh crud, I’m late! I can’t believe I slept in!” Rainbow Dash berated herself. She had promised Rarity she would be there by eleven o’clock and it was already almost noon. Rarity had told her something about a flight suit she’d made that was supposed to help her fly faster and said she’d give it to her if she helped her and Fluttershy with something. The prospect of flying faster was exciting enough, but she was also curious about the favor she was doing them. When she asked what it was, Rarity said it was a surprise that only she could help them with.
She burst trough the doors of the Carousel Boutique and crashed into a bunch of mannequins. “Hey Rarity, sorry I’m late I was…” She started talking until she noticed there was nopony else in the room. “Um, is anyone here?” She checked the changing areas and the second floor, but all she found was Opalescence taking a nap. Distraught, she went downstairs and straightened up the mess she’d made and to wait for Rarity to return from wherever she’d gone. While adjusting a mirror she’d knocked over, something on the wall behind it caught her eye. “How long has this been here?” She asked herself as she moved the mirror to find a door hidden behind it. She assumed it was just a storage closet or something like that and almost ignored it, but then she felt something. It was like a wave of energy came from the door and ran over her body, an invigorating energy like she felt when flying at high speeds. Although she didn’t know much about magic, she could tell that this was something different, something she couldn’t completely grasp. Her curiosity finally got the better of her and she opened the door, anticipating something without knowing what it was. The door opened to a dimly lit stair well that went down below the boutique like a basement, a bright light shining in from the room below.
She walked down the stairs and peeked around the corner into the mysterious room. It was much larger than the floors above and could only ever fit underground. The floor was made of solid, polished wood with a large black athletics mat that stopped about three feet from each wall and the walls were made of very simple wooden planks. Every few feet on the walls there was a vertical row of three circular holes, the wall on the opposite side of the stairs was covered in mirrors, and in the backmost corner was another door. It all seemed a bit too simple for a room Rarity would have, but sure enough a white unicorn with a purple mane was sitting right in the middle of the room. She was wearing a black headband and a pair of hoofbands, also oddly simple for Rarity, and Rainbow Dash just watched trying to figure out what she was seeing.
Rarity sat perfectly still with her eyes closed as her horn started glowing a soft white color. The light from her horn slowly spread all over her body and, much to Rainbow’s surprise, she slowly lifted off the ground floating in mid air. Rainbow felt the same rush of energy that had lured her down here and could now tell that it was coming from Rarity. A clicking noise came from the wall and a large rubber ball shot from one of the holes in the wall, heading for the back of Rarity’s head. Without even opening her eyes, she moved to the left and dodged the ball, staying airborne. More balls were fired from the other holes and she began dodging them all gracefully, making it seem more like she was dancing. By the time the balls stopped firing, she had returned to her original position and hadn’t been hit by any of them.
“That was AWESOME!!!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she entered the room. The sudden noise broke Rarity’s concentration and she fell to the ground surprised.
“Rain… Rainbow Dash, when did you get here?” Rarity said as she stood up, a hint of embarrassment in her voice. “Is it eleven o’clock already?”
“Um, it’s almost noon.” Rainbow Dash said as she walked up to her. “But that doesn’t matter, what was all that?”
“Well, you see… You know how I said me and Fluttershy needed your help with something?”
“Yeah?”
“Well…” Rarity looked around, still looking a bit embarrassed. “This is our martial arts dojo.” Rainbow’s jaw dropped a bit, her words getting lost in the hundreds of questions that came to mind. “You see, I’ve been trying to find a way to demonstrate how graceful my outfits are, but there is only so much that clothing can show by itself. I’ve been practicing down here to become more graceful by honing my mind and body into a beautifully efficient fashion machine.”
Rainbow Dash finally managed to force a question forward. “But, you were just flying when I came in?”
“Yes, that’s part of my training.” Rarity explained as she brought out a book with her magic. “It’s an old technique I read about that combines martial arts with magic, allowing unicorns to fly. I’ll never fly as fast as you can and I’m still trying to perfect it, but Rainbow can’t you just imagine…” She struck a pose like she was modeling. “People would line up to see me float gracefully through the air as I showcase my newest line of aerial fashion!” Her eyes sparkled as she fantasized about her plans.
Slowly, Rainbow Dash started to piece what she was saying together, until another big question came to mind. “Wait a minute; you said that you and Fluttershy needed my help with something?”
Rarity snapped out of her fantasy and responded. “That’s right. You see, Fluttershy is actually the one who taught me. She’s been practicing martial arts for a few years now.” Rainbow’s jaw hit the floor at that comment, the idea of Fluttershy doing something like this was just way too much to process. “I reacted the same way, darling.” Rarity commented as the door to the dojo opened.
“Rarity, I brought you some more practice targets.” A gentle voice said from the stairwell. Fluttershy walked in with stack of wooden planks on her back. “These are a bit stronger than the last ones, I hope you don’t…” She stopped and dropped the wood when she noticed Rainbow Dash in the room. “Oh… um… hi Rainbow… um… I… oh dear.” She stuttered a bit, hiding part of her face behind her mane.
Twilight Sparkle had laid a blanket out in another part of the meadow away from their tent. This spot was on top of a patch of grass that was completely surrounded by Equestrian Star Daisies, the perfect spot to watch them bloom from. “It should be any minute now.” Twilight said. “Spike, why don’t you hand out the sandwiches?”
“Alright.” Spike said as he opened the picnic basket. “Let’s see we’ve got a daffodil dandelion sandwich for you, Twilight, a peanut butter and gemstone sandwich for me and a… uh…” Spike looked at the last sandwich he took out confused.
“Oh, that’s my gumball, avocado, and cinnamon sandwich.” Pinkie Pie chimed in, taking the bizarre meal from spike. “I was going to put frosting on it too, but Mr. and Mrs. Cake needed it all for a big order today, so I went to make some for myself, but my favorite bowl was dirty and Gummy was using my sponge so I couldn’t clean it, so I had to bring it like this instead.”
Twilight and Spike didn’t know what was more perplexing, Pinkie Pie’s taste in sandwiches or the bizarre reasoning for not adding frosting to it to it. Confusion aside, they enjoyed their lunch as they waited for the flowers to bloom. “Here it comes!” Twilight said excitedly. “Once the sun reaches the highest point in the sky, the daisies will bloom!” The three of them watched as the sun was raised to its peak and the flowers all around them began rustling. The first bud opened up into a fairly normal looking daisy with white petals, but with another smaller bud in the center. As the second bud opened a gleam from inside focused all of their attention. The four brilliant petals pushed the green bud aside and fell into their place, forming a four pointed star in the center of the flower. Soon, all the flowers in the field around them did the same and it became a shining sea of white. Each petal was clear and crystal like, sparkling beautifully in the light of the sun. The three witnesses could only marvel at the sight, it was like being surrounded by stars in the middle of the day. “They’ll stay bloomed all night.” Twilight said to break their silence. “Then at noon tomorrow they’ll close for another year. That’s why we camped out, so we could see them in the moon light as well.”
“Wowie wow wow!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “Its like if you took the sweetest treat ever and turned how it tasted into a flower! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so sparkly cool!”
Suddenly, a loud boom echoed over the meadow as a bright sphere appeared over the horizon. A ball of fire that burned with an intensity that rivaled the sun shot over head and crashed in the distance with an even louder impact. “What was that?” Spike asked as the three stood and looked in the direction of the crash.
“I don’t know.” Twilight answered. “But if I’m remembering correctly, whatever it is just landed in Sweet Apple Acres. Come on, we have to be sure nopony got hurt.” The three took off towards the site with no idea what to expect.
What mysterious object waits at Sweet Apple Acres? What kind of help do Rarity and Fluttershy need from Rainbow Dash? Find out in the next chapter of My Little Pony Z!
Ch. 2: An Explanation and a Confrontation, coming soon…
Chapter 2: An Explanation and a Confrontation
Rainbow Dash just stood there with her jaw hanging open, physically stunned by her friends’ revelation. Rarity waved a hoof in front of her face but she didn’t respond. After waiting a minute for her to snap out of it, she and Fluttershy set up a small table in front of her and made some tea to wait it out. As Fluttershy poured her second cup Rainbow began to stir again. “I think she’s coming back.” Rarity said while putting her cup down.
Rainbow blinked a few times and sat down, staring at the cup that had been set out for her then at her two friends. “So let me get this straight, you two practice martial arts?” They nodded in response. “And Rarity has a secret training dojo?” They nodded again. “And Fluttershy is your teacher?” Their nodding did nothing to help her confusion.
“Perhaps we should start from the beginning.” Rarity said. “And I think you could explain it better, Fluttershy, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh, of course.” Fluttershy began. “You see, Rainbow, it started when I first moved to Ponyville to care for the animals. One of the best ways to treat a sore muscle is through massage, so I bought some books on old massage techniques, meditation, and other ways to relax.” She placed the book Rarity had earlier on the table. It was an old thick book, the kind of thing Twilight would covet, with a strange symbol on the cover that looked like three hoofprints forming a triangle. “This one though I grabbed on accident with the others. It also had some chapters on meditation, but I didn’t read it for a long time after I noticed it was about more than that. Then one night while I was bringing some animals inside, something wandered out of the Everfree forest and tried to attack me. I was so frightened I stiffened up, but a billy goat I’d been caring for came and chased it away.”
Rainbow remembered that incident from a while ago; it had been only a few weeks after she herself moved to Ponyville. Fluttershy spent a few nights at her place afterwards while she had more appropriate fences installed around the cottage. She recalled seeing her reading a book one of those nights, the same one now on the table in front of her. That was so long ago though, had Fluttershy been studying it all this time?
“I started to read the book, remembering a few parts mentioning self defense. It’s about an ancient Equestrian martial art, with different techniques for pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies.” She opened the old book to a page with an illustration of an earth pony splitting a tree in half with a kick and an explanation on the other page of various bucking techniques. She turned to a page that explained applications of meditation and magic, then to another showing two pegasi locked in a midair fight. “About a year ago, Rarity and I were at the spa and she started talking about going to Canterlot for a few weeks to take some martial arts classes to become more graceful, so I told her about the book and my own practice. She was a really quick learner and we had this dojo built so we wouldn’t have to practice outside.”
“Wait a minute.” Rainbow finally spoke up. “If you’ve really been practicing all this stuff, then why are you still so easily scared? Why haven’t I ever seen you use it when we’ve run into monsters in the Everfree forest?” She started looking around the dojo. “Is this some kind of elaborate prank or something?”
“Oh, well you see…” Fluttershy got nervous again, Rainbow Dash was making a good point. “The training mostly helps me to relax; it doesn’t help much with overcoming fear. Knowing how to fight doesn’t automatically make you brave.” Dash just stared at her with a raised eyebrow; it was obvious she didn’t believe a word of it. “Be…besides, violence should only be a last resort, s… so I’ve never really needed to fight.” Dash’s expression didn’t change and that only made Fluttershy more flustered. “And I… I wouldn’t ever want to... to hurt anypony.” The more she spoke, the less Dash believed her.
The two pegasi were so distracted by the conversation, they didn’t notice that Rarity had used her magic to bring the boards Fluttershy had brought closer to them. She lifted the pile of planks and had it float a few feet behind Fluttershy. “Girls, I believe a demonstration would be the best way to settle this little dispute.” She said with a slightly mischievous grin. The boards then flew around Fluttershy and rushed at her from several directions.
What Rainbow Dash saw next would astound her for the rest of her life. Just as the boards began moving, Fluttershy took a deep breath and her face went from nervous to extremely calm. She raised he right hoof and smashed through two boards that were heading towards her head, then with her hind legs she kicked two more smashing them into splinters. When the largest board flew at her, she flapped her wings to rise over it then smash down, breaking it into several pieces. As the final board came from above, she extended her right wing and struck it dead in the center, splitting it in half. The same energy that Rarity had given off earlier now flowed from the yellow pegasus, then she exhaled and it slowly dissipated.
From Rainbow Dash’s perspective, the whole scene seemed to move in slow motion, but it actually only took about three seconds. She just stared at her friend afterwards, her eyes wide with surprise. “Um, Rainbow? Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked after she didn’t move for a few seconds.
“That… was… AWESOME!” Rainbow Dash screamed, frightening Fluttershy. “You were so fast, and you broke all those boards like they were nothing! I mean, I’ve done some amazing stunts, but if I could do stuff like that, oh my gosh that would be incredible!”
“And that brings us to the favor we wanted to ask of you.” Rarity said. “As you can see, Fluttershy and I have been practicing for quite a while now. We know each others techniques and strategies, which has made some of our recent practice matches a bit... difficult.” Rainbow thought for a second about the image of Rarity and Fluttershy fighting, a strange sight in her mind, when she realized what was about to be asked. “Since you are quite the impressive athlete, Rainbow Dash, we were wondering if you would like to be our new sparring partner and train with us.”
“I’m totally in!” Rainbow said with great enthusiasm.
“Excellent.” Rarity responded happily. “Now we think the best way to get you started would be a quick practice match.”
“Alrighty then.”
“And since she’s much better at controlling her strength, you’re going to fight Fluttershy.” Rarity said a she started clearing the dojo floor and moved off to the side.
“Wait, what?” Rainbow suddenly felt confused when she and Fluttershy were the only ones on the athletics mat. The fact that she would actually have to fight her friends had just dawned on her, and Fluttershy of all ponies. If it had been Applejack she could probably do it, even Rarity or one of the others would have been easier, but this was Fluttershy, the last pony she ever thought she’d have to fight
Loading all of Old Joe’s apples took Big Macintosh a bit longer than he thought, the tree’s age and size were only matched by its productivity. The job wasn’t hard, but with sun at its highest Macintosh managed to work up a bit of a sweat. He decided he’d earned a little snack break before he got back to the rest of the days work. Sitting in the shade of the old tree, he took the biggest apple from the cart and took a big bite. He always enjoyed the fruits of his labor, the literal taste of a job well done.
His snack was soon interrupted by a mysterious noise, like someone firing a canon in the distance. Whatever it was, it grew louder and louder like it was heading right for him. He ran into a clearing amongst the trees, looked up in the direction of the noise, and saw what appeared to be a second smaller sun that seemed to grow as it neared him. With a loud boom, the orb tore through the sky above him and landed about sixty yards away from him, sending a cloud of dust that shot over and past him. He rushed in the direction of the impact, guided by a sense of urgency to ensure the safety of the orchard.
He came to the edge of a crater that had decimated about twenty or thirty trees, much less damage than he had feared. There was no fire and besides a few singed treetops and burn marks in the crater no sign that the explosions source had been on fire at all. As the dust settled, a round form in the center of the crater came into view. The fireball was in fact a large metal sphere with what appeared to be a round window on its side made from a heavily tinted glass.
Macintosh took a step towards it, but a sudden sound startled him and he stopped. With a loud hiss a diagonal line appeared on the orb, dividing it in half and releasing some kind of white cloud that quickly cooled down the area around it. The red stallion shivered, not from the cold cloud but from a sense of dread that he could not control. It was like some kind of pressure had flooded over his body, thick with what he could only identify as something to be feared. Just being near it was stressful, his breathing becoming slightly labored, but he had to know what this was. Not just for the safety of the farm, but whatever this was could be a threat to the family.
The sphere opened, more of the cooling cloud rising from the opening. A black silhouette of a tall pony stepped out into the crater. Through the cloud, Macintosh could make out a mane that was spiked forward, a tail that was tied at the base, and a masculine body type. The point of a horn poked out of the mane with dark blue glow around it. A small amount of magic released a wave of air to clear away the cloud, revealing the mysterious unicorn in the crater. His fur was a deep ocean blue and his mane and tail a dark forest green with light green highlights. He wore metal plates on his shoulders and flanks, slightly ornate pieces of armor that were more for intimidation than protection. The fear Macintosh had felt began to fade when he saw the unicorn, knowing what he was dealing with calmed him a bit.
“Who exactly are you?” The farm pony asked, not moving from his spot at the crater’s edge. The unicorn looked up at him and started walking out of the crater. When he reached the edge he looked around, trying to get his bearings. He started walking towards a small raised area in the field, ignoring Macintosh entirely. “Excuse me, I asked you a question.” He said as he followed up the hill, his tone becoming slightly annoyed. The unicorn continued to look around, looking at the midday sun with a scowl and muttering something to himself. “Ya don’t just fall from the sky an’ burn part of somepony’s farm without explainin’ yerself!” Macintosh yelled, the unicorns rudeness getting to him.
“Very well.” The unicorn finally replied with a sigh, his voice carrying an air of sophistication, arrogance, and superiority. “My name is Geo Crusher, right hoof of King Eclipse, ruler of the Martingale Empire. One of my scouts reported seeing an essential piece to the project I’m working on, so I came here to investigate. Your cropland was the most suitable landing area, close to a small populated area but far enough away to avoid too much attention.” As he introduced himself, he held his head up high with pride when mentioning his king, then explained why he destroyed the trees as though it was nothing.
Geo’s tone ground on Macintosh’s nerves “I never heard of no King Eclipse, but around here ya don’t destroy somepony’s lively hood fer no good reason.” He said as he moved closer to the blue unicorn.
“I just told you my reason, you small town farmer.” Geo responded as he took a step towards Macintosh. “I’m going to find what I came for and leave, and then you can get back to your… work.” He chuckled a little, looking at the damage his landing had caused.
“This ain’t no joke.” Macintosh said now right in Geo’s face. “Yer either gonna help fix whatcha did, or yer gonna pay fer the crops we lost.” The two stared into each others eyes for a moment. Macintosh was quite a bit bigger than Geo, but the unicorn stared back with no sign of intimidation. “Ya gonna say anything in yer defe…” He was cut off by the back of a hoof striking his face. The force of the hit was unimaginable, sending the workhorse flying several yards away.
Geo examined the back of his hoof, the pony’s skull having been a bit harder than he’d expected. “Annoying commoners, trying to hold members of the imperial court to their laws.” His horn glowed red for a moment and the light from it moved over his left eye, forming a transparent red film of magic over it. He scanned the horizon around him until a blue dot appeared on the strange magical object. “Southwest and moving in this direction.” He said to himself. “It seems to be accompanied by two ponies, perhaps I’m not the only one trying to ARRGGCH!” He coughed in pain as he felt the air forced from his lungs. His hooves felt the ground disappear from under him as he flew sideways towards a tree, his right side hitting it with a loud thud.
As he slowly stood up, Geo took quick note of the damage. Two hooves had hit him; the one that hit his side knocked the wind out of him, cause some bruising, and slightly cracked one of his ribs. The second hoof had hit the armor on his left flank, no severe damage done to him but he could feel a slight pressure where the armor had been dented. He looked back to where he’d been standing and saw Macintosh lower his back legs from the bucking position. The farmer was looking over his shoulder at him, his right eye black from Geo’s earlier strike, and stared for a second with calm but determined look.
“Well now…” Geo said as he took a more aggressive stance. “That’s quite a kick you have there. You probably think that was an impressive feat hitting me like that, don’t you?”
Macintosh smirked as he responded. “Eeyup.”
“Well it wasn’t!” Geo snapped back. “I wasn’t expecting to meet anypony who could actually fight, let alone one with enough strength for me to notice. You got lucky that I dropped my guard for a moment, but that won’t happen again. Do you really think you can stand up to an elite Martingale warrior like me?”
“Eeyup.”
“Don’t be so arrogant! I’m King Eclipse’s apprentice and most elite soldier, trained in both combat and magic that could destroy your entire farm!” Macintosh’s attitude had struck a cord with Geo, nopony had ever talked to him like this since he reached his current rank. “What do you take me for, some grunt of a soldier who’s nothing but talk?”
“Eeyup.”
“Well you’re wrong!” Geo yelled as he charged the offending earth pony. Macintosh reared onto his front legs and prepared to kick again, but Geo was ready for him this time. He ducked down low and to the right so that Macintosh would have to hit with his right leg. Geo blocked the leg with his own right hoof and lifted Mac up a bit as he swung with his left hoof at his stomach. Before his blow could connect though, Macintosh brought his left hoof down on Geo’s left shoulder and forced him to the ground, then pulled his right leg forward out of Geo’d hoof. With a loud smack, he kicked the unicorn in the head and sent him flying at the same tree from before. However, Geo was expecting a fight now and he spun in the air so he’d hit the tree with his hooves instead of his body, kicking the tree as he made contact, knocking it down, and landing on top of it on all fours.
“If ya quite now, I won’t charge you for that tree when you pay for the rest of em’.” Macintosh said as he turned to face him.
Geo was really angry now. Not because he was loosing the fight, he’d been a warrior most of his life and knew his opponents would always land some of their blows. It wasn’t even Macintosh’s attitude; he was just an ignorant farmer who didn’t realize who he was dealing with. What was getting to him was the information the magic lens on his eye was displaying. It showed him Macintosh’s inner power, his true potential as a fighter, and according to this data that last kick was barely fifty percent of his full strength.
“How dare you hold back against me!.” Geo’s horn erupted with his dark blue magic. “If you’re going to strike me go all out like a true warrior!”
“I ain’t no warrior.” Mac replied calmly. “A kick like that would knock most ponies out cold, had I kicked any harder I may have killed ya.”
Geo stepped off the tree as his magic spread around it. “You under estimate my strength, you could never match my power.” The tree floated up next to him as he grabbed its stump with his magic as well and ripped it out of the ground, roots dirt and all.
“I a’int tryin’ to! All I wanted was fer you to pay fer the damage you caused. Yer the one who started this meaningless fight.”
“And now I’m going to end it!” Geo launched the tree at him, followed by the stump just in case. Macintosh jumped and did a one-eighty spin to dodge the tree, then kicked the stump and shattered it into a cloud of splinters and dirt. As the cloud fell, he saw that Geo now had a huge sphere of magic around his horn. “Buck this!” He yelled as he launched the sphere at a speed to fast for a pony Mac’s size to dodge. The sphere hit with a small explosion that sent Macintosh flying into the air, across the orchard, and through the roof of the barn.
Geo breathed heavily for a bit, more from rage than any kind of exhaustion. As his mission returned to his attention, he took a deep breath to calm down and again scanned the distance for his target. “There you are. I’ll just go grab you and head back home. Somepony’s bound to have noticed that little show, it shouldn’t be to long before somepony competent finds my ship.” A lighter colored magic glowed in his horn and spread over his body, lifting him off the ground. He started flying a few feet off the ground at an impressive speed, weaving between the tree’s of the orchard and nearby forest as he made his way to his target. “My life’s dream will finally come true.” He thought to himself. “I’ll finish my project as soon as I get my hooves on that baby dragon.”
Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie and Spike all came to a stop near the border of the Star Daisy field and the forest. Twilight had felt a wave of unfamiliar magic, as though somepony had released a dangerous amount of energy in a single burst. Spike stopped behind her as she tried to recognize the magic, but then he too felt something. It was the same feeling Big Mac had felt when Geo’s ship opened, like a wave of evil intentions, but it was more focused on him. Pinkie also stopped, but she just stuck out her tongue and stared down at it quizzically. She gasped as though she had come to some form of realization. “Duck!” She yelled as she buried her head beneath her hooves. Spike and Twilight did the same without question, partially because of what they had felt, but mostly because they knew to always trust Pinkie Sense. A blue and green blur shot over their heads and stopped among the Star Daisies. They turned and looked with fear and curiosity at the strangely armored unicorn that had appeared.
What does Geo Crusher want with Spike? Can Twilight and Pinkie protect him? And can Rainbow Dash bring herself to actually fight Fluttershy? Find out in the next chapter of My Little Pony Z!
Ch. 3: Fighting for Friends, coming soon…
