Chapter 13: A New Plan
Morale was low at the campsite in White Tail Woods that night; nopony was in the mood to joke around the fire. The worst thing about the whole situation was the fact that they knew that five of their friends were prisoners to Dark Spark. Applejack was angrily bucking an apple tree that had lost all of its apples on the first buck and was now dangerously close to falling over. Pinkie's usually bouncy and messy hair had all deflated and was now hanging straightened over her shoulder. Rarity had retired to her tent which was now almost flooded from tears. Scotty had stood angrily digging at the ground with his hoof and now stood in a hole that he had dug that was larger than him. Fii lay on the ground and stared blankly into the fire. They were at a loose end, they had no leads on where Dark Spark had taken the others and whether or not they saved Celestia, without their friends they wouldn't be able to wield the elements against Shadow. Then a shrill scream split the night which made them all start and turn, they knew that voice. "That's Fluttershy!" Exclaimed Applejack as she ran towards the sound. She had almost reached the edge of the clearing when Scotty slammed into her, knocking her to the ground. "We can't go out there; if we do we'll only get ourselves caught." Applejack struggled against him for a moment before relenting and nodding her agreement. Scotty looked about him at the other ponies. "Fii, can you track them and find out where they're headed while we take them camp down." Fii nodded and took a step back into the shadows disappearing from sight.
When Fii returned about ten minutes later the little group were pulling on their saddlebags, she trotted over to Scotty. "Like you thought, Dark Spark's taking them to the chill but the Wonderbolts aren't with them, looks like White Stripe has taken them to Canterlot." "Shadow's got Nightmare Moon in his saddlebag; he's probably going to use her magic to change the Wonderbolts into the Shadowbolts." Scotty said grimacing. He turned to the others. "We're going north; Dark Spark's taking our friends to the chill, a prison under the northern ice cap." Fii tapped him on the shoulder. "Actually Scotty, I'm not going with you." "What?" Scotty exclaimed. "I'm not going with you." Fii said then sighed at Scotty's confused expression. "Look, the way I see it if you're going to the chill you're going to rescue Celestia as well and princess or not, you still won't have a chance of breaking through the defences at Canterlot, you'll need an army, an army that I can gather." Scotty considered this but the way his ears drooped back over his head she could already predict his answer. "Ok, you're right; we'll need an army of huge proportion to even have a chance at taking Canterlot; it'll take us about two weeks to reach the chill so if you are able to gather the main part of an army at Neighagra Falls for three weeks from now we'll meet you there." Fii nodded and turned hoisting her own saddlebags which Scotty had already packed for her onto her back. "Be safe Scotty." She told him as she pulled him into a tight hug crushing the wind from him. The red pegasus nodded and she stepped back and tapped her hoof firmly on the ground three times, firing up her flight boots. She flashed the group a quick reassuring grin and rose up and out of the clearing, disappearing into the night. Scotty stood until he could no longer hear the light whine of her flight boots before turning to face the others. "We'll keep close on Dark Spark's trail, maybe only half a day behind him, but if we see them, even if we could reach out and touch our friends we do not attack unless I say so. Is that perfectly clear?" He didn't move until everypony reluctantly nodded their agreement at which point he turned to face north. "Ok then, let's go save our friends!"
Chapter 14: Sparky
Twilight struggled walking with the shackles on at first but after Ratty showed her a spell she could subtly use to lighten the load she managed well enough. Dark Spark drove the group hard, pushing until late at night and starting again at sunrise. Jocky and Ratty seemed oddly at ease however and when she had enquired as to why Jocky told her that when the team had served in Saddle Arabia he had been a prisoner of war for almost a year and that Ratty had gotten himself captured in order to rescue him. "Compared with how them ponies oot there handle ye," Jocky had said grimacing at the memory. "This colt winnae be able tae break us in a million years." That had earned him an extremely brutal blow across his face from one of his guards which had welled up into a huge blue and black bruise that forced him to completely close his right eye. Fluttershy wasn't coping so well with the situation having become completely silent and introverted since their capture. Rainbow Dash was putting on a brave face that may have fooled the agents and her captors but it wasn't fooling Twilight; beneath that brave exterior her friend was completely terrified. Then there was her captor himself; Dark Spark had only spoken to the group to taunt them and had otherwise said nothing for the last thirteen days. At least until that night. The group were sat huddled close together to keep themselves warm against the frozen northern wind when Dark Spark approached them. "Come to gloat, my old friend?" Ratty spat seeming like he was about to choke on the word friend. Twilight tensed; expecting Dark Spark to strike Ratty but instead the green unicorn regarded him with a sadness in his eyes which, it seemed to Twilight, were slightly lighter than usual. "No Ratty, actually I've come to help." "Uh huh, now tell me the one about the pony who talked to oatmeal." Muttered the agent turning away from Dark Spark who stepped closer to him. "Damn you Ratty, I'm only able to keep him out for a few minutes so you can either forget your stubborn pride for a moment and listen to my advice or you can ignore me." Ratty's ears pricked up and he turned his head back to Dark Spark "Well Sparky I'm listening." "I personally have no doubt that Scotty will be coming for you and that you will be marching on Canterlot before long. So I'm going to tell you that that will be impossible." "Why is that?" Asked Ratty. "Shadow has placed a crystal at the city centre that shields the entire place from assault so unless you have somepony on the inside that can destroy the crystal then you are locked out of Canterlot. Oh and White Stripe has arrested your teammate Crimson." Ratty strained against his chains and kicked at the ground in rage. "If he has done anything to my sister he will be eating through a straw for the rest of his miserable life." "If he still has a life." Pointed out Sparky who then winced suddenly. "Dark Spark's biting back." He grimaced and he turned to leave. "Sparky," Ratty called out, Sparky turned back to him. "Thank you. You may have just saved hundreds if not thousands of lives." Sparky nodded and walked away. The group looked at one another in silent anticipation before Jocky broke the silence. "We'd better get some sleep, we'll be at the prison by the end of tomorrow."
Chapter 15: Break-in
Wrapped in winter clothes so that it was impossible to see any part of his body beneath them Scotty looked out over the glacier beneath which lay the greatest prison in Equestria. There were no clues to it even existing besides some twenty zebras patrolling the nearby cliff that contained the hidden entrance. Turning away into the whirling snowstorm he crept back down the hill to join the others. The three other ponies were all similarly wrapped with only minor differences setting them apart; Pinkie Pie's nose was sticking through her scarf, Rarity had chosen to wear a stylish purple scarf and Applejack had placed her hat back on top of her winter gear. They turned to him as he approached. "Ok they're all down there now." "So what's the plan?" Asked Rarity. "I think I can cut through the ice to sneak in but I won't be able to sneak all four of us in only myself and one other." "Then Applejack should go." Suggested Rarity. "Now hold on just an apple-bucking minute!" Exclaimed Applejack. "Why exactly are y'all suggestin' that I go down there and do this?" "Because Applejack you are the only one out of the three of us who can fight well enough for this." Applejack opened her mouth to object and then closed it and nodded. "Ok, yeah that's right I suppose." Scotty nodded and turned to the other two. "Wait here and stay out of sight and remember to head to Neighagra falls if anything goes wrong." The pair nodded and shrunk back into the snow. Applejack turned to Scotty who faced her. "This way." He said walking off toward the glacier. Eventually he stopped over a chunk of flat ice and clipped an ESS necklace around his neck. He pointed it towards the ice and said. "Cut." With that a blue beam shot from the gem and began to cut through the ice. Eventually a hole slightly larger than a pony dropped down into the darkness below. Applejack went first, lowering herself down on a rope onto a flat rock surface, Scotty followed her down gliding gently to the ground next to her as she stared in awe at the sight before them. A huge open expanse of a cavern stood before them with a massive complex in the centre of it with spotlights darting around it. Zebras patrolled in groups around it and stood upon walls that were well over the height of ten ponies. Scotty didn't miss a beat; telling Applejack to stick close to his tail he darted out and ran flat out towards the facility with her close behind. They flattened themselves against the colossal walls of the building as spotlights swept the area they had been mere seconds before. Motioning for Applejack to cover him Scotty turned to the wall and whispered "Cut." A pony sized chunk of wall dropped and slowly lowered to the floor. The pair stepped through into a courtyard that rivalled the royal courtyard in Canterlot for size. Scotty and Applejack stepped cautiously out into the yards and suddenly floodlights snapped on blindingly and an alarm began to blare. A booming voice said "Intruder, identify yourself!" Applejack shook her head several times and regained her vision and gaped at what she saw. "Oh…" "Ponyfeathers!" Scotty finished as he looked at the small army of zebras and griffins that had quickly surrounded them and at the dark green unicorn grinning down menacingly from a gantry above them.
Chapter 16: Chaos Beneath The Ice
Scotty and Applejack turned so that they were back to back and facing out towards the enemy and waited. Scotty began counting under his breath so that only Applejack could hear him; when he reached ten the pair broke their formation and charged towards the nearest group of zebras. Applejack reached her group and slid beneath their legs coming to her feet behind them and launching into a kick that would have felled an apple tree sending them sprawling. A shadow passed overhead and she looked up to see Scotty gliding with a griffin clutching onto his thigh. The griffin dug his claws into Scotty and the Pegasus yelped and kicked out; throwing the griffin into a pile of his comrades who all promptly landed on the floor. "STRRRIIIKKKEEE!" Scotty yelled grinning as he caught a second pursuer with a two hoofed kick. Applejack smiled and launched at another group of zebras; kicking left and right, up and down until all her foes lay scattered about her. She looked up, her eyes searching the air for Scotty when she saw a group of zebras aiming crossbows at her from a gantry. She froze; terrified and found herself unable to move. A red blur shot past her, hovering barely three inches from the ground – Scotty. He darted to the gantry supports, firing a blue beam from his necklace that cut through them all in the blink of an eye and caused the gantry to collapse scattering the archers across the floor. Scotty landed next to Applejack. "You alright?" He asked, his face concerned but she nodded and he made ready to take off once again. As he left the ground a shadow moved and slammed into him, throwing him across the floor. He got to his feet and turned to face this new foe as Dark Spark slammed a forehoof into his face and sent him stumbling. Applejack ran towards them but was cut off by a group of zebras and griffins who launched attacks at her all at once. She parried and struck out but it soon became clear that she would not be able to reach Scotty. The agent slid across the ground once more, his lip cut and his nose pouring blood. Dark Spark charged at him again but this time Scotty was ready. Flapping his wings he spun into a backflip, catching Dark Spark in the throat with one of his hind legs. The unicorn flipped backwards and landed heavily, struggling for air. Scotty recovered and was on him in a flash, hitting him again and again. Dark Spark hooked his legs under Scotty and threw him off. The unicorn sat up and spat blood before running for Scotty who turned to face him and stood his ground. Right before Dark Spark reached him Scotty barked "Stun!" A blue bolt of energy crackled across the gap between them and hit Dark Spark throwing him back. He landed crumpled in a corner with small sparks of energy darting around his dazed body. Scotty turned to see Applejack kick a griffin in the face so hard that his companions all turned and fled. Having made sure Applejack was alright before he returned his attention to Dark Spark. He walked over to the crumpled and broken pony and stood over him. "You're beaten Dark Spark. Now stand your troops down!" He stared into the unicorn's eyes which it seemed to him were slightly brighter gold than usual. "Scotty, please… ""Sparky…?" Sparky nodded slowly and Scotty ran over to him but Sparky shook his head. "No, don't, get out of here. Go and get your friends." He nodded slowly to Scotty. "I'll see you in Canterlot." Scotty reluctantly stepped away and called to Applejack to follow him. He cut through the wall with his necklace and grabbed a zebra guard, pinning him up against the wall. "The new prisoners where are they?" "Third level!" The guard cried in fear. "And the Princess?" "Level eight!" The zebra told him before Scotty released him. Scotty turned to Applejack. "Level eight will be better guarded, you get the others." She nodded and hurried off. Scotty didn't run for the staircase but simply straightened up and fired a cutting beam straight up. He flew up through seven floors passing Applejack fighting off a couple of guards on the third floor. His hooves touched down on floor eight and he grabbed the nearest guard and broke his neck silently. He charged the next two and knocked them out quickly. He turned to the only door on that level, it read "Maximum Security." Taking a set of keys from the first guard he unlocked the door. In the middle of the room, chained so that she was suspended off the floor was Princess Celestia, alive. She looked up. "Scotty?" she asked her voice croaky. "Yeah, it's me." He said stepping closer to her and unlocking the chains. She stood and stretched her legs. Suddenly a huge booming crack split the silence and shook the ground. "What was that?" Asked Scotty running to a window in the corridor outside. Dark Spark's dragon was slowly smashing through the icy roof of the cavern. Scotty cursed before apologising to Celestia. "That thing will collapse the whole cavern, time to go." He cut through the wall and leapt out with Celestia just behind him.
Chapter 17: Cave In
Scotty landed heavily between Jocky and Ratty and was quickly pulled into a crushing embrace by Twilight. When she eventually allowed him to breathe again Jocky looked him up and down. He had a blackened right eye but besides that he was probably in better shape than Scotty was himself. "Wow lad you look like cr… your majesty." He quickly stopped himself spotting Celestia for the first time and bowing low. She chuckled and embraced Twilight quietly. Scotty turned back to Jocky. "Yeah, I know, I had a run in with Dark Spark." At the mention of Dark Spark's name Jocky and Ratty gave each other a quick glance and Scotty remembered Sparky pleading to him for mercy. "He talk to you guys too?" Ratty nodded his face pained, missing his friend Scotty realised. He placed his hoof on his friend's shoulder. "We'll get him back Rats." "I know it's just…" "What?" "Did we do this?" "What do you mean?" "In Canterlot, when we fought those zebras. We told him we needed to hold the line." "Yeah and then we told him to fall back. He chose not to." Ratty shook his head. "Ratty, he chose not to." "Ah hate to interrupt y'all but could we do this later!" Applejack interrupted. "We really gotta go." Scotty nodded and looked around the cavern and then the group he was with. Four capable fliers and another four who couldn't fly, he took a breath. "Ok, Rainbow grab Fluttershy. Jocky take Applejack, Princess can you carry Twilight? And Ratty you're with me." The pairs gathered together and the fliers picked up their respective ponies as chunks of rock began to fall from the cavern ceiling. "We really could have used Pinkie Pie and her pinkie sense right now." Said Rainbow as she lifted into the air with Fluttershy in her hooves. The others followed suit. Scotty with Ratty on his back flew in between huge chunks of rock. The dust that was being thrown up was blinding the team, making it nigh impossible to see the rocks tumbling towards them. Rainbow Dash broke the dust cloud first, tumbling out into a roll across the ground. Jocky and Applejack were next, landing tangled in a tree. Scotty and Ratty followed them, crashing into a large snow bank. Last to exit the blinding dust cloud were Princess Celestia and Twilight. A blinding sunburst fired off and Celestia landed perfectly next to Rarity and Pinkie who ran to Twilight and hugged her. All of the girls ran together and gave each other a group hug. The others stood and watched, smiling. Princess Celestia turned to Scotty. "So, I'm guessing that you have a plan?" Scotty nodded. "Agent Fii is gathering an army at Neighagra Falls for an attack on Canterlot." Celestia smiled grimly. "So, we need to go and meet this army of yours."