Strong Courage was back on the job, which meant he was slaving away, swinging a pick at a wall of solid rock. He had been pulled out of his cage to work almost immediately after meeting the pony mares, who had infiltrated the minotaurs' base to save the pony slaves. Knowing they were still out there somewhere trying their best to save everyone imprisoned within the mine was just about the only think keeping him going. He had been put through a great deal even before becoming a prisoner of labor, especially given his advanced age. Before being captured and forced into slavery, Strong Courage was one of the two chiefs that ran Willowbrook, the other being his wife, Moon Bright.
In the time since he had become chief he had put his all into fighting back against the minotaur menace that threatened his fellow ponies so. He did everything within his being and gave it all his might, but doing so at an already fragile age wore down his body that much faster. Strong Courage never let it stop him, though and he never back down in the struggle against the minotaurs. Unfortunately, all his bravado and machismo seemed to have been leading up to his capture by the minotaurs, who immediately put him to work. In all that time, he had been forced to go far beyond his regular limits, which was taking an extra hard toll on his physical health.
Many of the other ponies around Strong Courage wondered how he was even still alive, being sixty seven-years old and working in a mine as hard as he was. It was like he had an iron will keeping him on going that wouldn't ever allow him to quit or die no matter how hard he was worked. While they didn't understand how it was possible, everyone of the other ponies were beyond happy that Strong Courage was still with them. Since being captured and thrown in with the rest of the ponies being forced to work in the mine, he had come to mean a lot to them. He already had a strong relationship with several of the other ponies, having been one of the chiefs of the village they came from.
The others had come to appreciate him, especially as a leader since that's the role he basically fell into when he was brought into the mine. He pretty much took the bull by the horns, so to speak, and organized the ponies better, among doing other things for them. Because of all he was trying to do for the other ponies, he sort of became their unofficial leader. He only cared for this role because it allowed him to watch over and help the other ponies. It wasn't made easy for him, though, for he was still a stallion of advanced age being forced to work nearly twenty four-seven in a mine.
He may have been an Earth pony, the species actually built for such rigorously physical labors, but even that could only take Strong Courage so far. He'd been working nearly non-stop for many months. All that forced work, plus all the extra abuse he would take from the guards on occasion, was getting to him. The white furred stallion's body had taken all it could take and much more. Now, it felt like Strong Courage was at the end of his rope and that this would surely be the day he'd be taken from this world.
Strong Courage was panting as heavily as he'd ever done in his life. His heart beat rapidly as tremors went through his body like it might start to fall apart any moment. The large mining pick fell out of Strong Courage's mouth as he fell to the floor. He was certain it was his time and he was prepared for it. The guard closest to him had other feelings on the matter.
"Get up, you lazy dog!" the guard said as he pulled out his whip. "Get back up and start working now!"
The cruel minotaur cracked his whip at the ground just barely missing Strong Courage's head. Pieces of dirt and rock flew up from the ground, some of it getting into the fallen stallion's face. Several other ponies looked to the scene upon hearing the sound of the whip cracking. They weren't allowed to look for long; the other minotaurs on guard forced the ponies back to work almost as soon as they stopped. Still, most of those near to Strong Courage got a small glimpse, which was all they needed to fill their hearts with sorrow.
They wanted nothing more than to give their leader their full, undivided attention and check on him. Unfortunately, they were forced to do nothing but work. This emotional conflict from within effected the work of some of the ponies, which the minotaurs on guard took notice of. They responded with harsh, physical punishment, which, while horrible, was typical for such an environment and situation. Ponies cried out as they suffered the physical tortures their minotaur oppressors forced upon them.
"You hear all that?!" the minotaur with the whip screamed down at Strong Courage. "That's all on you! If you want us to stop hurting your worthless little friends here, you'll get up and start working now! Do it, or I'll-"
"I'm up, I'm up!" Strong Courage barely managed to gasp out as he forced himself back up again.
He nearly fell back down, but he just barely managed to catch himself. The minotaur guard smiled cruelly as he watched the pony force himself to stand and pick up his mining tool.
"That's a good doggie," the guard said. "Maybe next time you'll think before you-"
"Help!" a voice screamed out.
All eyes fell to the main entrance of the cave, even those of the timberwolves acting as guard dogs. What everyone saw none of them, especially the pony slaves, were expecting and it shocked them to their cores. An especially large minotaur stumbled in just barely keeping a hold of the sword and battle ax he was mostly dragging along with him. He was covered in many a different bodily injury, several of which were bleeding badly. What was all the more shocking to the minotaurs there was that they recognized this minotaur as one of the greatest warriors in their ranks.
"Surelious!" several different minotaurs cried out.
Others murmured in conversation to one another while there were those who remained silent, though all of them seemed to be somewhat in a panic. They were shocked, alarmed, and confused, some not even being able to focus on making the ponies work. Many were also unsure how to proceed, so just watched as three minotaurs ran up to Surelious. Two of them acted as braces and led him over to a spot off to the side while the third briefly examined him.
"Surelious, what's happened to you?" the third minotaur asked.
"Help me, Kira," Surelious said as those holding him up gently lowered him to a sit. "They need us before it's too late."
"What do you mean?" Kira asked. "Who needs us? What's going on? What happened?"
"I- In Isarem's chambers," Surelious managed to say. "There were several intruders. They... They managed to sneak into Isarem's quarters and attacked him."
"No, that can't be," Kira replied. "Not Lord Isarem. He is our guide to the light, the chosen one. There's no way he could fall so easily."
"He didn't," Surelious said. "He fought with everything he had, but he still fell. These- These outsiders, they're... they're something else. They managed to make their way through the depths of our sanctuary and do... such unspeakable things... most of them to Lord Isarem."
"I don't believe it," Kira said in a stunned tone. "These trespassers... they must truly be something else."
"They are," Surelious said. "Which is why I'm telling you, we must send all available troops to Isarem's chamber. I just came from there myself. Me and all the troops I had weren't enough to stop them. So, before it's too late, you must send whatever forces you can spare to help!"
"Of course we will," Kira said before turning away. "Attention, all! Lord Isarem is in danger! We must send what forces we can spare to his aid. We're going to send two squads to help!"
Kira briefly turned back to Surelious as he said, "Do not worry, Surelious, we will do what we can for our great and glorious leader!" Kira then turned away and shouted, "Someone get him medical treatment, now!"
Kira then walked away as he prepared to assemble what troops would be leaving to aid Isarem. Meanwhile, Surelious' eyes wandered over to Strong Courage, of all ponies, who was standing nearby with his mining pick in his mouth. He was trying as hard as he could to get himself back to work when heard a light 'psst', making him look to see Surelious staring at him. As he grabbed at his heavily injured and bleeding side with one hand, Surelious used the other to point to Strong Courage's pick. The stallion's eyes lowered to the mining tool in confusion before he looked to see Surelious pointing at some other minotaurs nearby.
Strong Courage looked over to them for a brief moment before looking back to Surelious. He swung his hand as aggressively as he could without anyone else noticing, acting as though he was holding something. Strong Courage stared for a few seconds before he finally caught on to what the heavily injured minotaur was implying and gasped. Was this minotaur really telling him to revolt against those who had imprisoned and tortured Strong Courage and so many other ponies? Was Surelious actually telling him to fight back against his fellow minotaurs?
If that were indeed the case, that would leave the question as to why he were doing so. There were several other questions this raised as well, not the least of which being whether or not Strong Courage would go along with it. Could it be some kind of trick this minotaur was playing? Strong Courage was so conflicted, so confused, so unsure about what to do. That is, until he looked back to Surelious and saw the look in his eyes.
He had absolutely no idea what it could've been, but Strong Courage saw something he had not seen in any minotaur before. For some reason, when he looked into the eyes of the injured minotaur across from him, he saw a genuineness that seemed to come straight from the soul. Somehow it actually seemed like this minotaur not only wanted him to fight back against those that had oppressed him for so long, but that he would help him do it. It actually seemed like if Strong Courage decided to stand against those evil beings, this minotaur would be there by his side. Fear, amazement, disbelief, confusion, uncertainty, and even a tinge of excitement ran through Strong Courage as he wondered what to do next.
He looked back to Surelious, who mouthed a single word to him. "Understand?" The stallion thought about it for another moment before his face hardened and he nodded to Surelious. The minotaur smiled as he nodded back to the Earth pony and even gave him a thumbs up before mouthing, "Spread the word."
Strong Courage did just that, spreading the word to a few ponies who then spread it to others in a chain that went on until the last pony got the word. Many reacted the same way Strong Courage did, some with even more hesitation, but, amazingly, they reached a collective agreement to go ahead with the plan. While many were nervous, even bordering on terrified, they decided the risk would be worth it. One way or another, their pain and suffering would end that day. But before the attack would begin, the ponies kept up appearances as they watched half the minotaurs and timberwolves rush out of the mine to go aid Isarem.
Many a pony was deeply concerned for Strong Courage, even a little more than for themselves, especially after seeing him drop to the ground previously. However, the Earth pony stallion felt somewhat renewed, as if anticipation for this new plan alone had given him the boost he needed to go through with it. While he knew it was very likely he wouldn't live past this coming battle, he felt he couldn't just stand by and let it happen without him either. A lot of the other ponies felt increased anxiety as they also anticipated the impending conflict. They wanted so much to believe they stood a chance and that this coming fight would be worth it, but the shadow of doubt would not leave them.
All the minotaurs staying in the mine with them were born with a desire for battle and spent years training to learn how to use that desire. How could the so few ponies compare to the bigger number of minotaurs, who also had superior fighting skills and were much more physically healthy than them? Strong Courage both saw and felt the doubt within his fellow ponies, though he didn't blame them and knew there was nothing he could do about it. He also knew they were going to go ahead with the plan, too. He felt it deep within him and though he deeply regretted he'd be leading them into battle, all of them knew they had to do it.
With that in mind, Strong Courage turned and looked back to Surelious, who now had two other minotaurs tending to his injuries. He waited for Surelious' signal to start the attack, though he did so impatiently. The large minotaur saw the stress on Strong Courage's face and put on his best face to try and reassure the Earth pony. But then he had to turn away because of the minotaurs looking him over. Surelious' eyes wandered over and watched the minotaurs leaving until the last of them had exited the mine.
He waited a few seconds before he was ready to signal the start of the attack. He stopped himself and flashed a fake smile when he noticed one of the medical minotaurs looking him in the face. Surelious watched the two minotaurs examining him until he thought it was safe to look away and nod to Strong Courage. It was finally time and now the Earth pony was more anxious than ever, though he still nodded his head in agreement.
"Say, could you hold something for me?" Surelious said to one of the minotaurs checking on him.
Immediately following Surelious sank his sword deep into the gut of the minotaur he was talking to. Said minotaur gagged on his pain as he felt life leave his body. Before the other minotaur could react properly, Strong Courage's mining pick came crashing against his head. Death was immediate as the minotaur dropped to the ground while Surelious and Strong Courage stood tall.
"NOW!" Surelious and Strong Courage shouted together.
With that, the minotaurs still in the cave were hit with a shock that they absolutely did not, in anyway shape or form, see coming. All at once, the vast majority of ponies up and working turned to the minotaurs closest to them and went on the attack. Whatever they had to use, shovels, picks, stones, even their own chains, the ponies used anything they could get their hooves on as weapons against the minotaurs. The sounds of pandemonium filled the mine as all-out havoc and mayhem broke out into a vicious brawl. Surelious and Strong Courage exchanged quick glances and then rushed to join in the fight.
Surelious held his sword and battle ax high as he fought against any oncoming adversaries, cutting them down with what seemed like great ease. It looked like he was charging in aimlessly when in fact, Surelious was completely on point with great precision in everything he did. He would run up, jump around, flip all over, anything to reach his next opponent and take them down. In addition to swinging his weapons around in several different ways, Surelious also made use of a variety of kicks, among other physical strikes. He was also easily able to block or dodge the majority of attacks that came his way.
Unfortunately, the same couldn't always be said for the ponies he was fighting alongside. While the initial surprise attack had yielded promising results, the progression of the fight didn't go in the ponies' favor. A great many of them were physically drained from all the work and abuse they had to endure for so long. It was worse for unicorns and pegasi because they wore restraints that kept them from using natural advantages they had like flying and magic. They were able to take down some minotaurs, but not nearly enough.
Instead, it was far more easy for the minotaurs to take down any pony that came there way. They just seemed to be too naturally gifted as fighters for the ponies to overcome. All that Surelious was able to do to the minotaurs he fought, the other minotaurs were able to do even more easily to the ponies. Then there was the extra added hurtle of the timberwolves still in the mine. They were highly dangerous, truly fearsome predators who tried to tear apart any pony they could get a hold of.
No matter what the ponies did, as the fight kept going on, the negatives were far outweighing the positives. Even with Surelious on their side, that advantage could only go so far. As great of a warrior as he was, Surelious was still mortal and had taken a lot of damage getting up to this point. Though he was doing better than what could be expected, he still took his share of hits. He took a club to the back, a stray kick, even ocassionally took tiny shurikens being thrown into his body.
Surelious had his fair share of punishment, but fought through it all and was usually able to put down whoever had hit him. Surelious was even able to pull off an amazing tornado kick on a foe before cutting down another with his sword and ax. He then spotted three timberwolves attacking a group of ponies and quickly acted on it. When he was a few yards behind the snarling beasts, Surelious jumped up into the air. He landed hard, stomping his hooves down on the back of the wolf in the middle before jumping and corkscrewing up and over the trio of mutts.
He landed in front of the three enchanted canines and instantly took his weapons to them.
"Face me, beasts!" Surelious exclaimed.
The timberwolves were more than happy to oblige Surelious and certainly didn't make the fight easy for him. All three came at him like the vicious, brutal, predatory animals all knew them to be. They even managed to swipe him with their claws a few times. While most of them were tame enough that he could shrug them off, one particular swing of a wolf's claws cut Surelious so deep in the side it forced him to scream out in agony. Many ponies thought that would be the end of Surelious, but shockingly he forced himself to press on in his gambit against the three timberwolves.
It was a spectacle for any who managed to catch sight of the struggle between Surelious and the trio of predators. The timberwolves were fantastic creatures, but the minotaur was just as great of a warrior, especially when it came to using his sword and battle ax. He swung them with such expertise and moved so effortlessly around the wolves as if he had been amongst these kinds of beasts his whole life. At one point, when it looked like a timberwolf would make him lunch, he thrust his sword up through its lower jaw until the tip of the blade stuck out of the top of its head. Then he pulled his sword out, taking half the wolf's face with it before finishing it off with a deadly combination of both his sword and ax.
After that, Surelious used his well trained hooves to perfectly execute several spin kicks that took pieces of the other two timberwolves. The raging minotaur then ran at one, smashing his horns into it like an actual bull would. He ripped them out and shook off whatever pieces were still there before stabbing his sword into the timberwolf's side. He saw the other one coming and kicked it in the face before swinging his ax into its upper back. Surelious then spun around, holding his weapons out at his sides, allowing them to slice into the two wolves.
After a few seconds, Surelious stopped spinning and snorted as he dug a hoof into the ground and then charged forth at the timberwolves. He finished them both off with his weapons he wielded so well. The ponies he'd rescued from the timberwolves looked on in awe, having already been stunned to see a minotaur of all creatures helping them. Before Surelious could go to check on them, a stray timberwolf came up from behind and tackled him away, snapping its jaws all the while. Though Surelious was pained greatly by the surprise attack, it still wasn't enough to keep him down.
In fact, whereas most would probably be put out of commission, the sneak attack seemed to motivate him to keep pressing on. Surelious demonstrated this when he forced the timberwolf to roll with him across the ground in a bitter struggle. It went on for a little bit, but eventually Surelious managed to break himself free, as he rolled away from the timberwolf. By the time he managed to get back on his hooves, the howling mad canine was running at him like an out of control freight train. The wolf leaped into the air, fangs bared and front claws outstretched in preparation to rip Surelious apart.
Rather than just stand there and let it happen, Surelious ran under the incoming timberwolf and grabbed a hold of him. Surelious had lost his weapons in the previous scuffle and thus used his bare hands to press the beast over his head. With a mighty scream the courageous minotaur tossed the timberwolf against a stone wall. Several ponies at a higher level pushed a cart full of huge rocks over the side, making them roll on top of the fallen wolf, smashing it to bits. Surelious looked up to the ponies with an approving smile and a thumbs up.
His moment with the ponies was interrupted when he felt three new sharp pains in his back. The ponies gasped as Surelious grunted and groaned while trying to fight back against his pain. He turned to see the minotaur who had thrown the shurikens in into his back standing there and ready to throw a large knife at him. Surelious ran at the bull just as he threw the small blade. Much to the knife thrower's surprise, Surelious easily caught the blade in his hand, still running forward all the while.
Before he could get away, the minotaur was caught by Surelious, who pulled him in close as he sunk the knife into his mid-section. The minotaur gasped out just before Surelious snapped his neck. Suddenly, a roundhouse kick caught Surelious in the face, forcing him to stumble back. The minotaur that kicked him moved in and threw several punches across his face. After several well placed swings, the minotaur followed up his punches with a massive spin kick to Surelious' chest.
Surelious' back crashed against a stone wall as he felt a lot of air leave his body. He was in more pain than ever, but he forced himself to fight through it when his saw his foe running at him. The minotaur had his head lowered in an attempt to impale his horns into Surelious' body. Surelious reacted quickly and kicked his hoof up into his foe's mid-section, instantly making him stumble back. Surelious then kicked him in the chest and face before throwing several great punches of his own.
Surelious then pulled his opponent's own sword from its holster and cut him down with it. Unfortunately, he then suffered a club to the back, followed by another minotaur stabbing a tiny dagger into his side. Surelious forced himself to swing his sword around, taking down the three minotaurs that had surrounded him. Many more minotaurs came at him, most of them holding one or two weapons with an intense desire to fight plastered on their faces. Surelious met them all without an ounce of fear showing, looking more so like he welcomed the challenge.
While that may or may not have been true, one fact was: Surelious was nearing the end of his rope. As great of a fighter as he was, he could only go so far, especially fighting against those who had similar training to him. Though he may have stood defiant against an army, it was still a force of many, whereas he was only one. The fatigue and injuries he had sustained had all mounted up to a point Surelious simply couldn't get past, no matter how hard he tried. He wielded his sword as best as he could and used all the tricks of his trade that were still available to give him any sort of advantage in the fight.
Even then in the most desperate moment of his life, Surelious was still pretty impressive, though it was clear the odds were against him. The ponies he fought alongside were in exactly the same dire situation as their lone minotaur ally was. When the fight first started it had seemed somewhat more even, but as it went on things changed drastically. The ponies lost the initial element of surprise they had and what resources were available to them were either used up quickly or rendered useless. The ponies had heart, but they were physically and mentally tired and hurting slaves fighting against a natural military force they couldn't hope to conquer.
With their superior skills, weapons, and the timberwolves at their side, the minotaurs would no doubt overtake those that tried to rise against them. It seemed like that no matter how hard Surelious and the ponies fought back they would fall to the cultists. These soldiers, these drones, these followers of a dark cause allowed their outrageous beliefs to motivate them in a way that only they could understand. With no fear of death and a faith as blind as could be to go with everything else they had, the minotaurs were certain to be the victors in this fight. That's how it seemed until, all of a sudden, something amazing happened.
Up on the the highest ledge of the mine, a great flash of light appeared that blinded all who saw it. It was accompanied by a noise that sounded like thunder rumbling after the greatest of lightning bolts. The strange phenomenon lasted only a few seconds, but it left quite the impression on all those in that enormous cave, even the timberwolves. Eventually the thunder faded away and the light disappeared, leaving all to look at what they left behind. Just about everyone was shocked to their very core by what came seemingly as a result of the strange event.
While Surelious was shocked, he was also given a renewed sense of hope like no one could imagine, as was Strong Courage. Almost no one in that mine recognized the six ponies standing up above them. What they saw was that, unlike everypony else in the mine, they looked to be in perfect health and physical condition. Beyond that, they even seemed to be calm, cool, collected, confident, and, most surprisingly, kind of cocky. All of them wore smiles on their faces, the likes of which nopony had seen in a long time.
Besides Surelious and Strong Courage, only a lone child in the crowd knew who these newcomers were. Seeing them again filled him with joy beyond all compare. As unexpected and surprising as the new mares were, the object floating in front of the violet alicorn stole the show for most. It looked to be about the size of a large dinosaur egg and was even shaped like one. Also the jewel was glowing red with an intense aura that none in the mine had seen in a long while.
"So, are these the ponies not getting their work benefits?" Twilight Sparkle asked as she looked down smugly.
"Yup, none whatsoever," Pinkie Pie said. "No medical, no dental, not even a lunch break."
"My word, no dental?!" Rarity exclaimed. "My goodness! What's worse, I heard they have to work twenty four hours a day, seven days a week without taking holidays."
"I hear they ain't even gettin' paid," Applejack said.
"What kind of sweat shop you guys running here?!" Rainbow Dash asked as she hovered above her friends.
"Sorry, but it looks like we're going to have to shut your work place down... permanently," Twilight Sparkle said with an intense glower. The rest of the Mane Six allowed equally angry looks to form on their faces as they stared on. "You fowl creatures have abused and mistreated these ponies for a false cause long enough! Your evil deeds are at an end, having gone on for far too long!"
"In other words, y'all should have never gotten started," Applejack said.
Twilight Sparkle lifted the red Alpha Stone closer to herself with her telekinesis. Then the glow of her horn intensified, as did the light around the stone. There was a brilliant flash of light that made everyone look away. When they turned back, the stone was much smaller and now encrusted within a golden necklace around Twilight Sparkle's neck.
"I may have changed the way it looks, but you all still know what this is, don't you?" Twilight asked.
"Looking at you especially, ya dull horns!" Pinkie Pie cried as she pointed out multiple minotaurs.
"That's right, we have the red Alpha Stone!" Twilight Sparkle said as she stood tall. "We, the ponies you have treated so cruelly in the past now hold the most powerful of the four stones! We have that, which was to be the ultimate key in your moronically misguided plans. This should be proof positive how right we've been to rebel against your evil ways! You've been searching for this for Celestia knows how long and it ended up with us!
"Not only that, with it we have single hoofedly destroyed your kaiju lab. We also beat half your army... And we even defeated, as well as permanently crippled, your lord and master, the minotaur called Isarem!"
All of the minotaurs gasped before hushed, uncertain, and even frightened voices started to murmur amongst their masses. The ponies, on the other hoof, felt countless positive feelings they'd developed expand more and more by the second. Seeing the Mane Six stand tall with the stone and hearing of their fantastic accomplishments sparked more warmth, joy, and splendor than they'd felt in years. In fact, it was the best anypony that lived on Pony Tale Island had felt since the minotaurs spread their darkness over the land. The Mane Six all looked on happily, seeing all the shudders they'd sent through the minotaurs and the good vibrations they sent through their fellow ponies.
"So, that leaves you with only two options," Twilight Sparkle went on. "You either let these ponies go and give up your evil ways. Or you can decide to keep following this lost cause... and we make you release them!"
"Yeah!" the rest of the Mane Six said together.
All capable ponies cheered out as loudly as they could. Others either just smiled or were too incapacitated to even do that. Surelious was one of the few who looked on in silent happiness despite all he had gone through. After a few moments everything went quiet. All pony eyes fell on the minotaurs to see what they would do next.
The only problem was that most of the minotaurs seemed unsure about what to do next themselves. Collectively they'd been hit with several figurative bombshells, though they weren't certain that the Mane Six were telling them the whole truth. Still, all of them looked to be stunned from having heard it all. Besides that, it was pretty obvious the object the six mares had was the true red Alpha Stone like they'd boasted. It wouldn't take a genius to figure that one out, but what the minotaurs still couldn't figure out was what to do next.
Finally a heavily breathing minotaur raised his sword high above his head and yelled as loud as he could. That seemed to be a signal to all the other minotaurs that the decision had been made for them. It seemed good enough to them because they all did the same before they resumed their battle with the ponies. Half of them continued on exactly as if there had not been an interruption while the other half attempted to go after the Mane Six. The group of pony mares looked on with anger and annoyance on their faces.
"Some flat heads just never learn, I guess," Rarity said as she shrugged.
"Well, we'll just have to work harder to get the lesson across!" Rainbow Dash said as she slammed her front hooves together. "And school's in session! Am I right, girls?!"
The other pony mares all clamored together in agreement.
"Then let's begin our class today, starting with physical education!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed. "Let's whip these steak donors!"
The Mane Six all rushed down to meet the minotaurs coming at them. Some ponies allowed themselves to slide down the side of the rocky wall on their hooves while others actually ran. Twilight Sparkle led Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy in a triangular flight pattern. The alicorn princess fired several shots at random minotaurs, taking them down instantly. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy charged at minotaurs full speed ahead, smacking their hooves across their faces and knocking them out instantly.
Pinkie Pie kept jumping at minotaurs, either knocking them down with a flying kick or hitting them with one of their own weapons she picked up along the way. Rarity would charge at minotaurs, stabbing her glowing horn at them, igniting an explosion of sparks upon impact and knocking them away. She would also occasionally make use of her martial arts skills in a variety of ways that paid off significantly. Applejack would either kick large rocks at her opponents, out punch them with her superior boxing skills, or easily kick them away through the air with her hind legs. To all who saw them, the Mane Six looked like the greatest fighters there were against the minotaurs they fought.
Though they'd just begun, their efforts against the minotaurs proved more fruitful than anyone could expect. What was more, they all made it look so effortless, though thanks to the red Alpha Stone, it pretty much was. In only a matter of minutes their addition to the fight did more for the pony side than anything done for them before. A great many minotaurs and even a few timberwolves fell at the hooves of the Mane Six, who looked to be almost untouchable. They just plowed through the minotaurs like they were bags of flour and nothing more.
Twilight Sparkle continued to fly high above the scene, shooting various attack spells from her horn at any adversaries she got in her sights. Electric blasts, tiny laser bolts, energy orbs of varying sizes, and beams ranging from small streams to large waves, Twilight Sparkle used them all. In addition to these attack spells, Twilight utilized other magical enchantments as well. Any trick she could think of she executed them flawlessly, for her horn's magic and her body's stamina appeared to be almost never ending. While Twilight Sparkle's wings gave her an extra advantage, what she saw amongst the fighting masses made her more than willing to abandon it.
Out of the crowd of those battling it out, the princess spotted a lone minotaur fighting against his brethren. Instantly Twilight Sparkle knew it was Surelious, who looked to be in almost as bad of shape as when she and the others first saw him before. She also saw that he was surrounded by several other minotaurs coming at him with many different kinds of weapons. Surelious was doing a decent job of fighting them all off, however, putting every ounce of his being into the fight. He swung his sword around and moved swiftly in a variety of ways to attack or avoid his opponents.
While he was impressive, Surelious was still one going against many after already being put through a lot, which started to show in his performance. For every three opponents he managed to fight back, another one managed to hit him in one way or another. The pain that resulted from the blows he took varied depending on where he got hit, how hard he got hit, and what he got hit with. Eventually all that started to mount up again and slowly overtake Surelious despite his best efforts. It almost seemed like the minotaurs gathering around him would finally put him down once and for all.
But that was only until Twilight Sparkle interfered with her various blasts of attack magic. The alicorn fired from above as she flew down to Surelious' side where she started shooting more magical blasts. Occasionally she would also swing or stab her horn at any minotaur that she saw. Sparks flew from every spot on every minotaur Twilight hit with her magical attacks. Surelious stopped only for a moment to look to the courageous pony.
She caught his gaze and gave him a reassuring smile and a wink, to which he responded with a nod of his head. With that, the two stood with their back to each other as they fought off any and all adversaries that came their way. The two of them working together was like a force of power from the gods themselves, for they tore through all who they fought against.
"Looks like we got here just in time!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed in between fighting opponents.
"A couple minutes before wouldn't have hurt either!" Surelious responded as he fought on.
"I know, but what are you going to do?!" Twilight Sparkle asked. "We weren't just talking to boost our reputations. We really did do all that stuff we talked about."
"Of that I have no doubt!" Surelious said. "But most of us down here were hanging on by our last threads before you girls showed up!"
"Fair enough!" Twilight Sparkle said. "It's okay, now! We're here and we're going to put everything we have into helping you all!"
"I've noticed!" Surelious said before he and Twilight shared a chuckle.
Between Twilight Sparkle's incredibly powerful magic and Surelious' natural fighting prowess as a warrior, they almost seemed unstoppable. Surelious looked around him and quickly took notice that the same wasn't so true for their allies. Many a pony was still suffering at the hands of the minotaurs they tried so desperately to fight against. While the Mane Six were doing great against the minotaurs and the timberwolves, the other ponies around weren't so lucky. Surelious knew something had to be done and he knew exactly what it was, too.
"Twilight, use the stone's magic!" Surelious said as he turned to the princess. He then brought up his sword to block another bull's blade before he was shot down by Twilight Sparkle. "Help the other ponies! Set them free! Heal them!
"Give them back what they've been denied for so long!"
Twilight Sparkle followed Surelious' finger as he pointed around at all the ponies. She saw how all of them, apart from her friends, seemed to be struggling. There was no hesitation at all as Twilight nodded her head and focused on harnessing the Alpha Stone's magic into her horn. Surelious fought back any minotaur or timberwolf that tried to come up and attack the alicorn princess. Both parties' efforts paid off, for Twilight Sparkle had focused the gathered magic into a spell she spread into every single pony within the confines of the caves.
The magical energy spread in the form of a circular wave of red light that washed over everything. Only the equines there were the ones to feel the effects of it, though. It was a sensation unlike anything they felt before. But it was okay, because everything they were feeling felt incredibly good for the body, the heart, the mind, and even the soul. Any and all physical ailments they felt before were instantly gone and any confines, such as chains and, in some cases, cages were made non-factors. Everypony was now completely healthy and free to do as they pleased.
Pegasus ponies could fly, unicorns could use their magic, and Earth ponies could make full use of their enhanced physical attributes. Every minotaur felt a shiver of fear run down their spine when they realized how much more the playing fields had been evened. Some were even starting to think about retreating, for while they didn't fear death, they knew it wouldn't be that simple. Every minotaur there knew that after what they put all those ponies though, they wouldn't be satisfied with just ending their lives. More than likely the mass of equines would want to make them suffer as much as possible before axing them off to the great beyond.
Those sentiments were confirmed by the looks on the ponies' faces after they got over their initial surprise at what Twilight's spell did for them. Now it was time to set things right, to put down the minotaurs, to see that they could do no more evil. Now fully prepared to continue the battle, the ponies all charged back into the fray. This time the results were quite different than before; instead of just six powerful ponies to deal with, the minotaurs had to take on a whole army and the strain of such a task showed. The minotaurs were still great warriors, but now they were dealing with hundreds of ponies who had advantages they didn't.
Pegasi flew around, either hitting minotaurs from above, picking them up and lifted them high before dropping them, or just throwing an object down on them. Then there were the unicorns who used all the same kind of magical attacks and spells as Twilight Sparkle and Rarity would use. Also like the two magic wielders of the Mane Six, they would use their horns as stabbing weapons, while also using any non-magic skills that could aid in the fight. Then there were the Earth ponies, all of whom put their extra enhanced physically abilities to great practical use. Their strength made any physical attacks feel like a small wrecking ball had hit whoever they aimed for.
Their speed allowed them to run laps around their opponents, allowing them to easily avoid any opposition or flank their foes. Their extra high jumps were also a large factor, being so great that some might even think they could fly, even without wings.
"Looks like ponies can do a lot more than you thought they could, huh?" Pinkie Pie said, seemingly to no one.
Unicorns blasted away at timberwolves with their attack magic while also using their telekinesis to tear them apart. They would then throw the pieces at whoever they saw fit. The pegasi hit them from above with rocks and other things they could find to drop on the timberwolves. The Earth ponies just tore through them with their fantastic physical prowess. No matter how mighty of creatures the timberwolves were, they couldn't match the ponies, all of whom were now renewed and even enhanced by the red Alpha Stone.
Alone, it would usually take a special kind of pony to take on a timberwolf, let alone a whole pack. Together as a super charged army, however, this massive group of ponies managed to make short work of the mythical creatures in ways most thought impossible to do. Both minotaur and timberwolf alike looked to be no match for the ponies they were once able to dominate so easily. The power of the red Alpha Stone was great, as was the hearts in all those ponies who fought back against those that had done them such great wrongs. It was actually really inspiring to see the tremendous effort the ponies all put in to get back at the evil fiends that were once their forceful masters.
It certainly touched the hearts of Twilight Sparkle and Surelious. They watched it all play out, allowing it to fell them with a warm feeling inside. It actually brought smiles to their face, which they shared with each other. A quick look of regret flashed across Surelious' face when he remembered he was associated with the cult for so long. He was quickly comforted by Twilight's hoof rubbing the side of his face.
Looking to see her supportive smile encouraged Surelious to keep on fighting alongside his new pony allies. With that, the mighty minotaur raised his sword and ran off back into the fight. Twilight Sparkle thought about following Surelious, but lost him in the crowd. Instead, she went off in her own direction and started shooting small shotgun bursts of her attack magic at random minotaurs. Eventually Twilight Sparkle came across a group of about thirteen or so minotaurs, all of whom she was more than happy to fight herself.
The aura of Twilight Sparkle's horn began to glow even brighter as it extended in length. Then the alicorn and the group of minotaurs ran at one another in a collision of epic proportions. Every minotaur swung their weapons like the expert soldiers they were with admirable precision. But none of what they did was enough to match Twilight Sparkle's magically enhanced fighting ability. She swung her horn around and effortlessly took down many of the minotaurs that surrounded her.
Sparks flew every time she struck a foe and their weapons usually burst into pieces whenever they made contact with her horn. Between her horn swinging, her fast punching and kicking hooves, and her great agility, it looked like Twilight Sparkle didn't need any help at all. That didn't stop a lone Earth pony from coming in and beating the tar out of ten more minotaurs that tried to get involved. When Twilight Sparkle took down the last few minotaurs she was fighting, she stopped to watch the Earth pony make short work of the other group of minotaurs. Instantly she recognized the white furred, brown maned stallion.
Strong Courage had been at death's door, but with the aid of the Alpha Stone, he felt like he was twenty five years old again. In fact he felt even better and had a burning mad demeanor to go with it. Now that he had this renewed energy and furious temper, he was ready to take it all on the vile beings who put him in such a fowl mood. Strong Courage certainly lived up to his name, pushing forth with incredible strength, speed, and agility, looking as fearless as could be as he did so. He would buck both his front legs and back legs at his foes in between throwing more traditional punches and kicks.
Sometimes all he needed to do was ram his head or body into those he stood against and he sent them flying away like they were nothing. Twilight Sparkle marveled at the fighting ability of Strong Courage. To her he looked like he could be the god of war because of how great a fighter he was.
Wow, he's incredible, Twilight Sparkle thought to herself. I almost hate to admit it... But he's three times the fighter TJ is.
Strong Courage was down to his last minotaur, whom he bucked right in the face, knocking him out cold. The Earth pony stallion looked down at his fallen adversary for a few moments before turning to see Twilight staring at him in wonder.
"Miss me?" Strong Courage asked with a sly smirk and a raise of his brows.
"More than anything," Twilight Sparkle said as she came up and hugged Strong.
"You mean besides my son, right?" Strong Courage questioned as he raised his brows once more.
"Uh... sure," Twilight Sparkle said as an embarrassed smile crossed her face. "I suppose so."
"Red looks good on you, but violet's definitely more your color," Strong Courage said.
The two ponies smiled at each other for a moment before turning to see how the rest of the fight was progressing. Much to their pleasure, it looked more and more like the tide was turning in the ponies' favor. It was looking more than certain that they would take victory that day. Each passing second saw the ponies' side getting stronger while the minotaurs' resources were depleting.
"Looks like everything's going our way," Twilight Sparkle said.
"It's not over yet," Strong Courage said as a more serious look crossed his face. "We need to keep pressing the fight further until all of these monsters are on the ground. None of them can be allowed to still be standing when this is over!"
"Right!" Twilight Sparkle said. "Then let's go help everypony else make it so!"
The two nodded to each other before running off in different directions. Twilight Sparkle used her levitation magic to pick up several minotaurs, weapons, rocks, and mining carts, all of which she tossed at any potential foes nearby. Strong Courage ran through a bunch of minotaurs like they were bowling pins before snatching a wooden club in his mouth. He then jumped, flipped, and spun around in the air several times, smacking a bunch of different minotaurs with his club each time. After five straight minutes, Strong Courage finally took pause to admire his handy work before spitting out the club.
"We're just gettin' started!" Strong Courage said with a confident smile before taking off to continue fighting.
Meanwhile, a large group of minotaurs were starting to make their way over to where all the children were huddled together. A small group of adult ponies stood between the foals and the two legged bulls, but the children still couldn't help but be concerned. There were more minotaurs than ponies in this scenario and each one of them held a nasty-looking weapon of some kind. Their worries were answered when a strange blur flew across the minotaurs coming towards them. The group of ponies couldn't really tell, but it almost looked like this blur was hurting the minotaurs.
Then when the blur slowed down enough, it was revealed to everyone what it really was. Rainbow Dash flew fearlessly at the minotaurs utilizing a combined effort of her boxing and martial arts skills. In all sorts of angles and formations the rainbow maned pony moved through the group of minotaurs without missing a beat. No matter how hard the two legged bulls tried to fight back or get any sort of advantage, even their combined might didn't seem to be a match for Rainbow Dash.
"Wow, is that really all you guys got?" Rainbow Dash asked when she stopped for a moment.
The disappointed look on her face and the matching tone in her voice actually offended the group of minotaurs. All of them growled in anger as they moved aggressively to try and put Rainbow Dash down. They were met by another terrible assault from the pegasus mare that made them all want to cry out and drop to the ground. She stopped after a few seconds and sighed while shrugging her shoulders.
"Well," Rainbow Dash said, "if that's the best you got, then I guess I'm just gonna have to mess you up."
She then proceeded to beat on the minotaurs as hard as she could. All of them cried out with every punch or kick they had to take.
"Is that all you got?!" Rainbow Dash screamed as she continued to press her attack harder and harder.
Being born with such natural abilities as fighters, it was thought impossible that one pony or even many could take on such a large group of minotaurs at once. Yet there was Rainbow Dash taking them all on like it was nothing. It was clear she didn't need any help whatsoever. That didn't stop several other ponies nearby from taking notice and deciding to get involved. A large number of other ponies came in and assisted Rainbow Dash in her fight with the minotaurs.
Several unicorns started blasting at the minotaur group as they ran in, slamming their glowing horns into the first foe they came up to. Then several pegasi tossed rocks down on the minotaurs from above before flying down to fight them head on. Finally a bunch of Earth ponies came in and started throwing their might around and using the full extent of their physically enhanced bodies. Though Rainbow Dash didn't really need any help, it still made her beam as bright as could be to see all those ponies at her side. She ran with it and fought alongside those ponies against the minotaurs very effectively.
It was all over in a matter of minutes with each minotaur that tried to go after the kids lying on the ground. Rainbow Dash admired the work she and her group had accomplished before looking to each one of those ponies approvingly.
"Nice work, guys," Rainbow Dash said. "I think we should all stick together."
"Lead the way," a unicorn stallion said.
"And we'll follow you," a pegasus mare finished.
The rest all agreed as Rainbow Dash felt her ego grow just a tiny bit bigger.
"Alright, let's do it," Rainbow Dash agreed. She then turned to the ponies that had been watching the foals before. "You guys just keep on looking out for the kids, ya hear?"
"We will," a unicorn mare replied.
"You can count on us, boss," an Earth pony stallion said. "We'll take good care of them."
"Awesome!" Rainbow Dash said before leading her group into battle.
Elsewhere, Pinkie Pie was hoping around, looking as chipper as ever.
"La, le, la, le, la, le, la!" Pinkie Pie sang as she hopped along.
More often than not she would end up bouncing off the heads of minotaurs who were too busy fighting other ponies to notice her. The distraction she provided allowed the other ponies to strike and take down the minotaurs. Pinkie Pie kept on going until she found a minotaur that wasn't fighting ponies, though he looked like he really wanted to.
"Oh, my, lookie what we have here," Pinkie Pie said as she hopped along. "He don't have any playmates. I'll fix that up right quick. Meep, meep."
Pinkie Pie ran up to the minotaur just like a high speed, loony cartoon character. The minotaur turned to face the pink mare who stood stood still for a moment. Then she stuck her tongue out at the bull before laughing in his face, kissing him, blowing raspberries in his face, and then laughing again. The minotaur angrily swung his giant war hammer at Pinkie Pie, but she easily avoided it. The snorting mad bull looked around for where Pinkie Pie may have ran off to, though he didn't have to look long.
"Yoo-hoo!" Pinkie Pie called out. The minotaur turned and looked to the Earth pony as furiously as he could. All Pinkie Pie did in response was sing, "You can't catch me!"
The minotaur ran at Pinkie Pie and tried to swing his hammer down on her again and missed her once more. Pinkie Pie had easily dodged the hammer by jumping away and landing on another minotaur's head.
"You can't catch me!" Pinkie Pie sang out again before sticking her tongue out at the minotaur with the hammer.
He growled furiously before running up and swinging his hammer at Pinkie Pie once more. Like before she got away and this time the minotaur hit his comrade on the head. The minotaur with the hammer ignored his ally's cries of pain and looked for the pink pony who angered him so.
"Yoo-hoo," Pinkie Pie called again. "You still can't catch me. Meep, meep!"
The minotaur swung his hammer low this time and ended up hitting another minotaur, who Pinkie Pie had been standing next to, right in the back. Again the minotaur ignored that he had accidentally attacked one of his companions and kept going after Pinkie Pie. It went on like that for a while with Pinkie Pie jumping on or near a minotaur and making the minotaur with the hammer hit them by accident. All the while Pinkie Pie kept singing and chanting all sorts of things.
"You can't catch me! You can't catch me! You can't catch me! Ha, ha, ha! Nah, nah, nah!
"Missed me, missed me, now ya gotta kiss me!"
Pinkie Pie must've made him hit at least fourteen other minotaurs before she finally skidded to a stop. She gave the tired out minotaur a sideways glance.
"Wow, you really can't hit me, can you?" Pinkie Pie asked. The minotaur just kept looking on hatefully while Pinkie Pie allowed a small smirk to cross her face. "You can't get me, but it looks like you can sure got your buddies there pretty good. And I think they want to tell you how much they appreciate it, too."
Pinkie Pie pointed her hoof and the minotaur looked to see several of his fellow minotaurs glaring as angrily as ever. The minotaur looked on fearfully as he dropped his hammer before offering a apologetic and fearful smile. The minotaurs responded by jumping on top of him and pummeling him into the dirt.
"Yeah, yeah!" Pinkie Pie cheered as she punched out her hooves. "Give him a right and a left! No, your other left! Well then, hit him with his own left or that guy's left! Just do something, yeah!"
When it was over the minotaur that had been holding the hammer was as good as done for. With him out of the way, the others all turned to Pinkie Pie, still looking as angry as could be.
"Uh-oh," Pinkie Pie let out with a blank stare on her face.
But then a mischievous smile crossed her face before she ran at the group of minotaurs. In turn, all the minotaurs ran at her, screaming at the top of their lungs as they raised their weapons high. When Pinkie Pie was about halfway from the group of minotaurs, she jumped high into the air. She ended up landing on top of the minotaur right in the middle of the group, taking him off his hooves. The other minotaurs all turned to Pinkie Pie, who now stood between them.
While seeing her face angered them, it also delighted them to know they had Pinkie Pie surrounded. Still smiling, the pink coated mare looked around her.
"Oh no, I am surrounded," Pinkie Pie said with obvious sarcasm. She then brought her front hooves up to the sides of her face. "Whatever shall I do?"
All the minotaurs screamed out as they ran at Pinkie Pie full speed ahead. The pony mare stood there for a few moments looking as calm as could be, even taking the time to examine a hoof. Finally Pinkie Pie responded to her situation by...simply ducking down and crouching into a ball. None of the minotaurs were able to properly respond before they all ended up crashing into one another and gathering up in a big wreckage of a pile. Pinkie Pie managed to squirm her way out from underneath the pileup and get back to her hooves.
"Oh, so that's why goons don't usually attack all at the same time," Pinkie Pie said as she stared at the pile of fallen minotaurs. "I guess you just can't find good help nowadays."
At the same time Rarity was plowing through the minotaurs that stepped up to her. She flew through the air with the greatest of ease, jumping and spinning around as she kept on the attack. With her mighty repertoire of flying kicks, punches, and horn attacks, she looked to be nearly unbeatable. That idea was tested after a spinning back kick to the last minotaur that stepped up to Rarity. The purple maned unicorn was admiring her success in the battle when the howls of timberwolves caught her attention.
Rarity turned and saw that indeed there were several timberwolves stalking towards her, most of them accompanied by two or more minotaurs. Rarity merely smiled as her horn lit up and an orb of energy formed at its tip. The bright glowing object grew in size becoming as big as three wrecking balls. Then the orb separated into several smaller parts that flew at the minotaurs and timberwolves that surrounded her. All the minotaurs were taken off their hooves and the timberwolves were blasted to pieces.
Rarity wasn't done yet, for she used her telekinesis to pick up the bodies of the minotaurs, the pieces of the wolves, several giant boulders, and a few mine carts. She then sent them all flying at other enemies nearby, taking most minotaurs off their hooves and smashing a few timberwolves apart. The wolves that managed to stay in tact ran off whimpering. Rarity pressed the attack by smacking a few other minotaurs with pieces of the fallen timberwolves with her levitation magic. Many ponies around Rarity cheer and applauded at her dominance while she smiled in appreciation.
"Lots of ponies underestimate us dressmakers," Rarity said in her most cutesy voice. Then a furious frown crossed her face as she screeched out, "Which is why we're so dangerous! Never mistake our quiet and calm nature for weakness!"
Not too far away, Applejack was holding her own as well as her friends had been. She'd been plowing through many a minotaur as if they weren't a problem at all. Her physical prowess gave her too much of an edge to overcome, as did her fighting skills. She started out using a wide variety of attacks, but now she was sticking mostly to bucking out her back legs and kicking away her foes. It was still very effective, for no minotaur managed to do anything to harm her the whole time she was bucking.
That didn't keep Strong Courage and an Earth pony mare from coming in and helping Applejack clear away the rest of the opponents around her. When Applejack saw these two allies come in to aid her, the orange furred southerner stepped up her game and fought even harder than before. With the three Earth ponies working together, it wasn't long before the minotaurs were all out cold. The trio examined their beaten foes before smiling to one another.
"Nice work, everypony," Applejack said.
"You would've done fine even if we didn't come in," Strong Courage said.
"Maybe, but it's nice to get things done faster," Applejack said.
"You can say that again," Strong Courage Said. "Just remind me to stay on your good side."
Applejack laughed a little before looking ahead. Strong Courage and the extra Earth pony mare followed her gaze. They spotted three mining cars ahead of them, all filled with rocks. Ahead were several minotaurs, of the few that were still left. All of them were fighting desperately against the ponies that had them on the ropes.
The three Earth ponies turn to one another with sly smirks on their faces.
"Y'all thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Applejack asked.
"Let's do it!" Strong Courage exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Hey, Rarity!" Applejack called out.
The unicorn mare turned and looked down from the higher ledge she stood on.
"What can I do for you, Applejack, darling?" Rarity asked.
"I need you to move all them ponies up ahead out of our way!" Applejack said as she pointed.
Rarity looked to where he friend was directing her. With a smile and a nod, Rarity activated her horn's magic without ever questioning her friend. All the ponies that were fighting the minotaurs Applejack had targeted were teleported to a safer area. That was Applejack, Strong Courage, and the stray Earth pony mare's cue to line up.
"Thanks, Rare," Applejack called out as she and the other two ran up to the mine carts.
"You're perfectly welcome, AJ," Rarity called before she went back to fighting.
The three Earth ponies ran up to the mine carts and then turned their backs to them.
"Y'all ready?" Applejack asked.
"One, two, three!" Strong Courage counted down.
With that the trio of Earth ponies bucked out their hind legs, kicking the mining carts as hard as they could. The immense force the physically enhanced ponies put into their bucks sent the mining carts rolling forth at the minotaurs that were targeted. The majority of them were looking around in confusion for the ponies they had been fighting. It was during that search that one of them heard and then spotted the mining carts coming their way. The minotaur screamed out to warn his brothers-in-arms while also pointing.
The minotaurs all quickly turned and ran when they saw what was coming their way. It wasn't nearly fast enough, for every single one of them was sent flying through the air via a collision they all had with the carts. Each time one got hit it made the sound of a bowling ball hitting a group of pins. Even after all the originally targeted minotaurs were knocked down, the mine carts kept going. Eventually they were stopped by colliding with several larger rocks sticking out of the ground.
The rocks inside the mine carts were sent flying through the air, smashing into many more minotaurs and through timberwolves, too.
"Yes!" Applejack, Strong Courage, and the pony mare exclaimed together.
As they celebrated together, Fluttershy was stepping backwards with many a minotaur and timberwolf trailing her. She looked on like she was the most scared living thing walking the green Earth. This delighted all the minotaurs to see after having so much trouble with the ponies before. Here was one pony that at least looked like she would be easy pickings. It warmed the very center of their black hearts as was seen by the cruel-looking grins on their faces.
Fluttershy shuddered with terror as she looked up with the most fearful eyes. That is, until she got to a certain point where she just stopped and grinned as big as ever.
"Now!" Fluttershy called out, looking up to her left.
The minotaurs and timberwolves all looked at the yellow furred mare in confusion before looking up where she was looking. They all gasped in horror to see several ponies all pushing down giant boulders and mine carts at them. Fluttershy giggled cutely as she flew up to avoid the coming onslaught. The minotaurs and timberwolves tried to run out of harm's way, but it was too little too late and they were done for. Fluttershy looked down at what her team had accomplished while they applauded and cheered for her since it was her idea.
"Thank you," Fluttershy said shyly as she smiled as cute as ever.
Elsewhere, two of the most unlikeliest of allies bumped into each other once again. The two turned and met each other face-to-face, really for only the second direct time. Surelious held his sword high as he and Strong Courage stood in battle stances. They instantly recognized each other. Both of them held their guard up and looked silently at each other for a few moments.
"Duck!" Surelious called out in alarm.
Strong Courage did as instructed as Surelious thrust his sword forward into the chest of the minotaur that tried to sneak up on the Earth pony. The stallion looked on in surprise before Surelious pulled his sword out of the dead minotaur's abdomen and let him fall to the ground. Strong Courage then turned to Surelious, still looking surprised while the minotaur warrior merely smiled. Strong Courage kept looking before his attention was taking by something else.
"Look out!" Strong Courage said before jumping up high.
Surelious was amazed by the Earth pony's ability to leap clean over his head, turning and watching his path all the while. He saw Strong Courage hit his target, an ax wielding minotaur, with the most impressive of dropkicks. Strong Courage landed safely on the ground while the unconscious minotaur collapsed with a hard thud. Surelious and Strong Courage both looked to each other with respect before both gave a nod of approval. With that, they ran off to continue on in the battle.
It wasn't long before it became clear who was going to win this all-out war. The minotaurs didn't want to admit it to anyone, but it was pretty clear that the ponies had bested them. They were pretty much in denial as they kept on forcing themselves to fight a losing battle. Even when the last of their timberwolves were taken down they tried to keep on fighting... at least at first. After several more minutes when there were only a few minotaurs left and they compared their remaining numbers to that of the many ponies still left, they were finally done.
They tried to retreat, to run, to flee so they could fight another day, but that couldn't be allowed.
"Don't let them get away or they'll just bring more!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed.
It actually ended up being her and the rest of the Mane Six together that led the charge. Strong Courage led several ponies in blocking the minotaurs' path. It didn't seem necessary, for the Mane Six and the ponies that followed them easily caught the fleeing minotaurs. The remaining bulls all looked on fearfully, not even resembling a shell of their once mighty former selves. Twilight Sparkle and the others all just looked on with big smirks, though a stray few wore hate filled frowns.
"This may come as a bit of a shock to you," Twilight Sparkle said.
She unleashed a giant wave of lightning at the fifteen or so remaining minotaurs. After a few seconds, Twilight ceased fire and looked on at the results of her electric charge. The minotaurs all stood in place with burnt black marks all over their bodies while their fur and hair stuck up all over with smoke flowing off them. Occasionally tiny waves of electricity would crackle and move over different parts of their bodies before disappearing again. The looks on their faces spoke a thousand words, though even without them the ponies would still know all they needed to.
"Well, hopefully they still found the little talk you had with them stimulating," Rarity said mischievously.
All the ponies laughed as Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy blew air from their mouths at the electrocuted minotaurs. This caused the last few minotaurs to fall to the ground. The ponies all looked down at the fallen minotaurs for a moment before turning to look at all the rest around them. As they looked on and saw what they had done, the full reality of it all started to become more clearer. For most of them this was the ultimate in redemption and vindication, for they had conquered those who had enslaved them and done them wrong for so long.
Those that would torture the ponies and call themselves their masters had been bested by the very ponies they harmed in the name of their cause. At last the ponies were free and they had used their freedom to fight back against the evil minotaurs. It was accelerating beyond all compare.
"We hit them high," Rarity said.
"We hit them low," Applejack added.
"All one the floor," Pinkie Pie continued.
"Ready to go," Fluttershy chanted further.
"We be fast!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"And they be slow!" the Mane Six all shouted together as they jumped and then embraced one another.
With that every last one of the ponies within that mine stood up proud and cheered as loud as they could. It was absolute pandemonium with many jumping, applauding, some even dancing. Absolutely none of them could contain themselves, nor should they. Everypony was as happy as ever and after all they'd gone through, they had every right to be.
Seeing as how this might be the only chapter I post this month, I wanted to say a Happy Hanuka, a Happy Kwanzaa, and a Merry Christmas to you all. Happy Holidays.