Chapter 12: Things Go Too Far
The powwow was amazing! Deer danced, played music, ate, and welcomed their guests. The ponies got introduced to the chief, Chief Lighthoof. He was a large buck, with antlers 5 feet wide. He was called what he was because he made very little sound when he walked. He greeted the ponies heartily, wished them luck on their journey, and went off to the party.
Twilight was still skeptical, and thought that they shouldn't stay, much less for a party. But here she was, sitting on a tree platform, and thinking, looking off to the western sky. She was soon broken away from her thought by a voice calling her.
"Hey, Twilight!" it said. Twilight turned, and the voice revealed itself to be Crystal.
"What do you want?" Twilight said, mildly bitterly.
"You've secluded yourself...again!" Crystal said quickly.
"Yeah. I do that from time to time," Twilight said.
"You should, like, join us!" Crystal insisted. "It's fun!"
"I would if it were under better circumstances, Crystal," Twilight explained. "But I think something's wrong. Something's bugging me, and it seems to be centered around the western sky."
"Oh, well. When you become less of a worry-puss, join the party!" Crystal said. "I've still got plenty of ecstasy if you want it!"
"It's fine, Crystal. Really."
Crystal blushed, and turned around to leave. She soon stumbled off of the platform, and onto another platform lower in the tree. Fortunately for her, something soft caught her fall. It also felt warm.
"Crystal, get off me!" Hand Grenade said irritably.
"Oh, sorry!" Crystal quickly apologized, and got up. Hand Grenade got up and brushed himself off.
"So, how'd it go with Twilight?" Lemon Blossom, who was right there the whole time, asked.
"Oh, it went ok," Crystal replied. "She's still being a stick in the mud, but she's ok. And seems to be much more attractive now than before!"
"Uh. How did she get the ecstasy, anyway?" Hand Grenade whispered to Lemon.
"I don't know how she gets any of the stuff she has! There're no real drug dealers in Ponyville, aside from a few marijuana dealers," was her response. "There's just no demand!"
"Sure there is!" Hand Grenade corrected. "Crystal!"
"Tru-" Lemon said, getting interrupted by a loud bang in the distance.
"What was that!?" Crystal panicked.
"I knew it!" Twilight cried from atop the balcony above them. Soon enough, she had teleported down a balcony to where Hand Grenade and Lemon were.
"Knew what!? And why didn't'cha tell us!?" Hand Grenade questioned, mildly irritated.
"I did tell you! I knew that something was going to happen! I just didn't know what! I tried to say something, but you all just wanted to party!" Twilight ranted.
"Oh..." Hand Grenade remembered what she had said.
"Anyway, that's not important right now!" Twilight continued. "We have to find the others!"
Just then, the platform above them exploded, sending burning wood and embers everywhere. A burning wooden plank hit Crystal square on the forehead, knocking her down. Luckily, she was mostly unharmed, save for a bruise on her head.
"Oh, no! We're trapped!" Twilight panicked. And she was right; the platform they were on had been lit by the one above them exploding.
"Whadda we do!?" Lemon cried, scared.
Hand Grenade looked around for a way to get out. He looked to the left: nothing. He looked to the right: nothing. He looked up: he found an impossible amount of nothing. He finally looked to the edge of the platform. It wasn't burning over there, so he thought he may as well try it out. Without thinking, he walked over and looked off the edge. It was at least a 30 foot drop to the forest floor.
"I'll take my chances," he said to himself, and backed up. He then charged off of the platform, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.
"HAND GRENADE!" Lemon cried.
THUMP!
"No!"
"Hey, Lemon! I'm ok!" Hand Grenade called up to her. "Jump down! It's safe, I promise!"
"What about the fire?" Lemon asked. "Won't it spread to the underbrush down there?"
"Not as likely as you may think! Heat rises, and the fire started up there!" was his reply. "Now come on down!"
Lemon was thinking it over, when Twilight said "Eh, the hay with it! It's worth it if it saves my life!" and she jumped, leaving Lemon and Crystal alone. They looked at each other and nodded. Then, they backed up a few paces, Lemon closed her eyes, and the two charged right off of the platform.
"AAAAAHH!" Lemon screamed as she fell. She dared to open her eyes, and saw that the ground was coming fast. She panicked on the inside, and it was noticeable to everypony else, for Hand Grenade called out "Don't panic, Lemon! It'll be ok!" But, for Lemon, the world just went black, as she passed out from shock whilst falling. Soon following was a loud thump.
"I got her," Twilight said, taking Lemon in her magic and hoisting her onto her back. "Let's go! We have to find the others!"
The group set off to what they guessed would be the east (it was hard to tell because of the smoke). It seemed like they weren't getting anywhere.
"Crystal, can I trust you to fly up and see which direction we're going, and possibly the others?" Twilight asked.
"Uh, I don't know... I took a lot of ecstasy!" Crystal responded. "I can't be sure what I'm seeing!"
"We'll take our chances!" Twilight said. "Go!"
Crystal took up to the skies, flying through a wall of fire, and above the treetops. She could see the sun, but just barely. What also caught her eye was a pink blur fighting something that looked exactly like a Dämon. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes, and took another look. Her eyes were not deceiving her: she saw a Dämon. A stream of confetti flying at the Dämon also affirmed that the pink blur was Pinkie Pie.
Crystal flew down, through the burning treetops, and met back up with Twilight and Hand Grenade.
"Which way does Celestia's sun set?" she asked.
"To the west..." Twilight answered.
"Then east is that way" and Crystal pointed east. "Also, Pinkie Pie is that way, and she's fighting a Dämon!"
"A Dämon!?" Hand Grenade asked, surprised. "How!?"
"They probably tracked us after we left!" Twilight said. "Magic can be tracked, and teleportation uses a lot of magic."
"Whatever! We don't have time for a lesson, Twilight! We have to get out of here!"
"Right!" Twilight got back on the subject. "Let's go!"
Suddenly, they were ambushed by a band of Dämons. There were ten: two unicorns, three pegasi, and 5 regular ones. They all had battle armor on: a leather bazuband of sorts on each foreleg, leather shin guards on the rear legs, leather flank protection, and iron stahlhelms on their heads, accommodating species. They all were carrying round shields with a triangle design of sorts in the middle, and swords that looked kind of like scibitars, only not. They also had pistols hanging in holsters from their sides.
"Shießen sie!" said a unicorn Dämon, who seemed to be the leader. Immediately after, the Dämons drew their pistols, and had started shooting at them. It seemed like there was a wall of bullets flying right towards them.
"Eveypony, move!" Twilight cried. But Hand Grenade was to intrigued by the sound of gunpowder being discharged to move. Fortunately for him, the Dämons can't aim to save their lives, and he got off with only a small gash on his foreleg. Crystal, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky: she ended up with a bullet to the shoulder.
"YAAAH!" she cried in pain.
"Wieder!" the Dämon said, and they opened fire again. This time, they all missed completely.
"Cover me!" Twilight instructed.
"Can't you!?" Crystal yelled.
"It's kinda hard when you're trying to protect an unconscious body!"
"Oh... Right!"
Crystal started diverting the Dämons' attention to herself. Even with the judgment of a drunk, the Dämons missed her completely. This still didn't take them out, though, and that was what they needed.
"Anypony have something to get past these guys?" Twilight asked.
"Uh, I think I have a few bombs (go figure), Hand Grenade said. "And Crystal, you have any coke?"
"Uh, I think so," she responded, dodging bullets like a snail. "Why? You want some?"
"No, but I do know what you're like on it!" Hand Grenade said. Crystal got what he meant almost instantaneously. She was known to get very, very hostile when on cocaine. One time, she ended up sending Lemon Blossom to the emergency room with a broken leg and five broken ribs. She then started secluding herself when she needed to fulfill her addiction. She made the exception every once in a while, however, when she needed to defend herself or her friends (hence why she kept taking it at the castle).
Crystal dodged a few more bullets, moved out of the way of the Dämons' fire, and took out her cocaine, a fine white-yellow powder. She brought it up to her nose, plugged one nostril, and inhaled, bringing it in to her body. She felt the effects almost immediately. She started twitching.
"Uh, Crystal? You ok?" Twilight asked her, worried.
"She's fine," Hand Grenade informed her. "She can take enough to kill three fully grown dragons and still be fine. I would know. I've seen her do it!"
Crystal continued twitching for about a minute until she stopped. She then stood still for a few seconds, long enough to get everypony's attention, even the Dämons. They stopped firing to see what was going on.
This was a mistake.
Crystal leaped from where she was, flying right towards the Dämons. She had bloodlust in her eyes. She took a flying Dämon and threw him at another flying Dämon, sending them both flying into the last flying Dämon, who then flew into a grounded one, who accidentally fired his gun at one of the unicorns, who fired a bolt of magic at the other four regular Dämons. The only one left standing was the leader, the other unicorn.
"Tut mir nicht weh!" he said, practically crying.
"Let's just leave him," Hand Grenade suggested. "Let him tell his comrades what happened. If that doesn't scare the bejeezies outta them, I don't know what will!"
They went with that plan, and walked past him, leaving him alone to cry to himself about what he had just seen.
