After being dull and quiet for decades, the secret G.U.N. base beneath Station Square was seeing action in its hangar bay. Amongst the derelict vehicles that had little chance of operating again, two teams of three were locked in fierce, ferocious combat. Above the resting hunks of metal, amaranth rays pierced the air and nearly singed orange fur as two flying figures danced above the floor. Tails zipped, ducked, and dodged under every beam while Cozy Glow chased him around, her failed shots burning holes in the walls and floor. The fliers raced past two other combatants, who barely paid them any mind as they stared each other down.
Tirek glared down at his foe with an eager smile, and Knuckles just silently looked up at the centaur with a stoic expression. The former was full of devilish delight: he was nowhere near his strongest, yet effortlessly vanquishing the impudent creature that stood before him would be far easier than he thought. And after he got through this mole, he could get sweet payback on the blue nuisance that had the gall to spit such ludicrous words at him earlier.
"Well?" The echidna was growing impatient, but Tirek vowed to make sure that his desire for defeat would be a big mistake. With a grin, the centaur raised a forehoof and brought it down on the smaller creature as hard as he could. Upon feeling contact, Tirek broke out into victorious laughter. "HAHAHA! Did you really think you could stand a chance against the mighty… huh?!"
To his surprise, Knuckles hadn't been crushed into the floor at all. Instead, the echidna had caught Tirek's huge hoof and was holding it up as if it was a pillar against a roof. With gritted teeth, Knuckles seized the limb and used his strength to hurl it- and the rest of the startled Tirek- to the floor. The centaur crashed to the ground with a groan, allowing Knuckles to hop onto his body and repeatedly pound him in the face. After five consecutive hits, Tirek lashed out with a fist and nailed the echidna off him. Knuckles slid along the floor, slightly dazed from the blow. The only thing that snapped him back to his senses was the charging of hooves and the roar of the nearing centaur. Planting his palms on the floor, Knuckles vaulted away from the incoming fist that dented the metal surface beneath him and slid to a halt. Cracking his knuckles and rolling his shoulders, Knuckles charged at Tirek with a roar of his own.
A storm of green and blue symbolized the final of the clashes. Her eyes frozen in a mix of concentration and irritation, Queen Chrysalis fired magic bolt after magic bolt at a swift blur that literally ran circles around her, occasionally smacking her from time to time. With a frustrated growl, the alpha changeling fired her next shot right in the blur's path, forcing it to deviate and come to a stop. Sonic immediately jumped over the following shot, balling up with a whining noise and shooting for the queen. Thinking fast, Chrysalis sidestepped the strike and Sonic bounced off the floor, immediately running away from another series of blasts. The hedgehog sped all around while the angered queen continued to shoot at him to no avail.
"Why! Won't! You! Stay! Still!"
"Hey, what part of 'Sonic' did you not understand?"
Sonic spun right through the changeling's legs, toppling her. The hedgehog then shot off an old truck and came careening down in her direction. Noticing his approach, Chrysalis unfurled her insectoid wings and buzzed away just as the blue hedgehog slammed down. Sonic looked both surprised and unamused at this trick. "You can fly. Of course, you can fly, why do so many things in the other world fly?!" The emerald barrage began again, this time with Sonic on the defensive as he ran away from the blasts with the cackling Chrysalis hot on his heels.
An amaranth beam struck the window of a jeep as Cozy Glow continued to chase Tails across the hangar. "Wahahaha! Run or fly all ya want, fox! None of it's gonna help you in the end!"
"Really? It's been working well for as long as I can remember!" Tails shot back, suddenly spinning in midair and barreling right for the alicorn. Before Cozy could comprehend this change, Tails slammed into her and brought them both down to the ground. The fox immediately placed himself atop the alicorn, pinning her to the floor. "Now stay down if you know what's good for you! And don't make me put you in timeout, either!"
"Nope!" Cozy snapped, disappearing in a flash of light and reappearing right above Tails. With a yelp, the fox darted away from another beam and took to the air again, this time flying for Cozy again and nailing her with fists, feet, and tails alike. Cozy teleported away again and was forced to turn from chaser to chasee as Tails kept after her. Down below, Knuckles was locked in a no-holds-barred brawl with Tirek, who stood over him like a goliath.
The centaur slammed a fist down; one that Knuckles dodged before hopping onto the muscular limb. Tirek then swiped at him with his other end, but the red echidna just jumped onto that one instead. Alternating limbs to avoid retaliatory strikes, as well as maintaining a tight grip to avoid falling off whenever Tirek angrily shook them- Knuckles reached Tirek's shoulders and swung off a horn. Before Tirek could figure out where he had gone, Knuckles landed a hard smash right on the centaur's head, staggering him. The echidna leaped off while Tirek growled in pain, clutching his cranium.
"How's it feel to get pummeled by someone smaller than you?!" Knuckles taunted. "Quite a sting to the ego, huh?"
"SILENCE!" Tirek roared, firing a ray of destructive energy from his horns. Gasping, Knuckles quickly threw himself aside just as the beam passed him. After it settled, the echidna looked back and saw the beam's great power: it was strong enough to cleave a tank in half like a hot knife through butter. "Huh… didn't expect that…" He braced himself as the centaur charged for the red brawler again.
Sonic sped all across the hangar, bounding off vehicles and running across the walls with Chrysalis right behind him. Smaller vehicles exploded when the emerald rays struck them, and others narrowly missed Sonic by inches. The hedgehog had to occasionally glance over his shoulder to see if the changeling was still there, but the constant green lasers she was shooting at him were enough of a reminder. Even as he ran right up a wall and along the ceiling, the barrage didn't let up. He needed a new strategy; and fast.
He decided to just stop halfway across the ceiling, with gravity taking a hold of him immediately. Sonic landed atop the surprised Chrysalis, riding her like the horse she resembled. This plan turned sour the second he landed, with Chrysalis flying wildly and unpredictably in all directions and the hedgehog holding on for dear life.
"This was a horrible plan!" he yelled over Chrysalis' yelling. "A very, very horrible plan!"
"Got off me, you ignorant fool!" Chrysalis snarled, finally managing to throw the hedgehog to the floor. The moment he hit the metal surface, Sonic broke into another run as the emerald assault began again. "Wherever you are, Rainbow…" he said sarcastically as he dodged bolt after bolt. "I really hope you're having as good a time as I am!"
…
A world away, that saying couldn't have been better.
Twilight Sparkle hopped away from a muscular fist that pounded the dirt beneath it, retaliating with a magic blast. Powering through, Zavok charged against the beam and seized the alicorn in his grip, who simply teleported out and fired again. This time, the beam missed as Zavok sharply jolted back, grabbing a nearby rock and hurling it at the princess. As he moved in to follow through, a maniacally-laughing monster chased after a screaming yellow pegasus and tossed aside everything he came across.
"Where ya goin', little birdie?! I just wanna have a fun time… AND TURN YA INTO THE WORLD'S WEIRDEST TAXIDERMY MOUNT! AHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Please stay away from me!" Fluttershy screamed, darting this way and that to avoid the Zeti's lanky arms. She tried hiding behind a souvenir stand, but Zazz effortlessly trashed it and forced the frightened pegasus to flee again. "That's right, run, little birdie, RUN! HAHAHA!" Fluttershy's frightened screams drew the attention of a worried Rainbow Dash, who was brought back to her own problems when a walking stick bonked her on the head.
"The first rule of battle," spoke Master Zik. "Never take your eyes off your opponent!" The small Zeti then leaped for the cyan pegasus, who nimbly weaved away from his series of attacks. She ducked beneath a stick swipe and dodged a downward strike, a look of annoyance and irritation in her magenta eyes. "Excellent. Your footwork and reflexes are impeccable…"
"Will you just shut up already?!" Rainbow snapped. The only response she got was another whack to the forehead. "But your behavior is unacceptable," Zik finished. "Did no one teach you to respect your elders?"
"Oh, I respect them, all right!" Rainbow shouted back, jumping over the Zeti and hitting him from behind with a back kick. "Just not when they're being such jerks and keeping me from my friends!" Zik slid to a halt, gripping his stick tightly. "Each individual must learn to overcome obstacles without assistance. Such feats build character, should they succeed. Now… again!"
Rainbow was starting to have enough of this geezer's talk of her as if she was some kind of bratty kid. With an angry huff, she charged at him again. Not too far away, Applejack was running full force towards the big, yellow beast and spun around, kicking him square in the gut. But much to the earth pony's surprise, the massive glob of fat just rippled like a lake upon impact and the Zeti burst out into a guffaw.
"Ha ha! That tickles! And I get hungry when I'm tickled!" Zomom swung his arms at Applejack, who rolled out of the way just in time. She then proceeded to dart about with nervous grunts, avoiding the Zeti's attempts to grab at her. She tried kicking him again after avoiding a grab at her tail, but this second attack had the same effect as the first.
The earth pony gulped. "This ain't good." A shadow then fell over her, causing Applejack to yelp and run away just as Zomom belly-flopped on the ground. "Huh? Hey! Come back here! I hate fast food!" The Zeti scrambled to his feet and stomped after her, his steps shaking the ground. He stampeded past a row of houses, where a pink pony was jumping around a Zeti who didn't make a move against her.
"C'mon, you wanna play tag?!" Pinkie cheered, tapping him on the head. "Tag! You're it, you're it, you're it!" Zor just sighed. "Why must you be so positive? Don't you know how small and insignificant we all are in the great cosmic scheme of things? Well… mostly you?"
"The only thing small here is that heart of yours!" Pinkie replied. Zor just stared blankly at her. "What heart?" The pink pony's smile briefly dropped before she rolled her eyes and zipped up to the Zeti. "What you need, mister, is a ticket to Smileyville!" She placed her hooves on Zor's mouth and spread his lips apart into a smile… only for the Zeti to look like he was giving her a creepy grin.
"Ow."
"Yeesh," Pinkie grimaced at the sight. "Well, that wasn't helpful. Maybe if I-oof!" Zor clasped a palm on Pinkie's forehead and gave her a light shove, making her fall flat on her back. "Hey! That wasn't very nice!"
"Don't you get it? I don't do nice," Zor sighed again. "I don't do laughing. I don't do smiles. Okay… I guess we're gonna have to fight. Maybe then you'll see things the way they really are…"
"Aw, come on! We don't have to fight! That only leads to sadness and despair!"
"It does? Okay," Zor then threw a meek punch at Pinkie's head, one that whiffed through the pony's mane as she ducked. She then bounced away from the next one and proceeded to hop all around Zor, who stared at his fist and sighed again. "Could you please make this easier for us both and just stand still? I've had that problem before…"
"Nope!" Pinkie peeped, popping the "p". "Nothing good ever comes from that!"
"All the more reason to…"
Not too far away from them, Rarity hopped away from a leg that smacked into the dirt and turned her eyes to a ferocious-looking pair. Zeena swung her other leg at the unicorn, growling at another miss when Rarity stepped to the side. The unicorn countered with a quick magic bolt to the face, which caused the female Zeti to stagger back with a surprised yelp. "Be careful! You almost singed off an eyebrow!"
"Says the creature who almost ruined my mane!" Rarity snapped back. "And what would you know about personal appearance? You're not even wearing anything!" At these words, Zeena froze in shock before sputtering, her face a mix of pain and rage. "Wha… but you… You are SO DEAD!" With a seemingly-feral cry, she lunged at the unicorn and pursued her when Rarity jumped away. "When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna use every one of your furs to make a new sweater!"
Rarity just chuckled and threw the Zeti a taunting glare. "White would not look good on you, darling!"
"GRRRRRR!" Zeena's snarl of rage was replaced by Zavok's shout of determination as he smashed a fist into the ground. A purple ray of light struck against his face, and the bulky Zeti swung in that direction, snagging Twilight Sparkle by the torso. The princess cried out before Zavok slammed her against the side of a building, knocking away Spike with a hard fist and sending the dragon tumbling to the ground. "Look upon your allies, princess," he spat. "And know despair." It was hard for Twilight to see anything else. Each of Zavok's friends was close to getting the upper hand on her friends, and some of them were struggling to fight back. "Before you die, I will make you watch as they plead for their very lives. And once we are finished with them, we will tear this town to the ground and you will see all that you love be crushed under our feet. Then, and only then, shall I grant you the sweet release of death."
Twilight just glared at Zavok's eyes with hope and determination. "You underestimate us." she spat before her horn glowed with magic, catching Zavok's attention. Before the Zeti could react, Twilight blasted him in the face with a strong blast that was powerful enough to push him back. Infuriated and insulted at the audacity of this lower lifeform, Zavok roared and charged at the princess, who spread her wings in preparation.
Zazz was tearing apart everything in his path to get to Fluttershy, who was desperately scrambling to get away from the Zeti. She took to the sky and narrowly missed Zazz's swiping arms, staying away from the beast's wrath. Fuming, Zazz leaped to snag the pegasus, only for a frightened Fluttershy to veer away. Zazz fell flat on his face; a sight that Fluttershy couldn't resist giggling at.
"Huh?!" Zazz was back on his feet in seconds and spun to Fluttershy, a manic look on his face and pure insanity in his eyes. "You think this is FUNNY to you?!" The sheer anger in his voice was enough to reduce Fluttershy back to her earlier panic. "N-n-no! I-"
"AAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHH!" Zazz jumped at the pegasus and flailed at her like a cat trying to snatch a flying bird. Fluttershy had to scoop up her tail to keep it from being grabbed while Zazz hopelessly hopped and swiped at her. Soon, the Zeti grabbed his face in his hands, let out a cry of anger, and jerked his head around the place before spotting a wall. With insane laughter, the Zeti bolted for the wall and used his claws to scale its surface, locking his eyes on the frightened pegasus. "GONNA CLIP YOUR WINGS, LITTLE BIRDIE! AHAHAHAHAHA!" Like a wild beast, Zazz pounced at Fluttershy with outstretched arms. The pegasus screamed and darted away, turning Zazz's anticipation into fear as he plummeted to the ground and collapsed in a heap.
"Whew!" Fluttershy sighed… until she heard another enraged scream from down below. "NYAAAAAAGH! I HATE CUTE THINGS!" Zazz screeched at the top of his lungs, yanking rocks from the ground and hurling them at Fluttershy as hard as he could. Gasping, the pegasus weaved and flew away from the projectiles as Zazz continued his high-pitched rant. "I HATE 'EM! HATE 'EM! HATE! HATE! HAAAAATE! GRRAAAAAAAAH!"
Meanwhile, Applejack continued her escape from the hungry Zomom, who was huffing and puffing frantically just like how the pony was starting to lose her own breath. "How can… something that big… move so fast?" she gasped. She looked over her shoulder, expecting to see the blob gaining on her. Instead, Zomom had bounded into the air and was now sailing over her, landing just ahead of the pony with a loud thud. Applejack skid to a stop, craning her neck to peer up to his face.
"Looks like dinner is served!" Zomom bellowed, licking his lips as he advanced towards the earth pony. Applejack gulped and nervously backed away… before spotting a nearby table filled with cakes and pies. An idea formed in her head and she darted towards the table, seizing a pie with one hoof. "Ya hungry, big fella? Well, eat up!" She chucked the pie at Zomom's face… and the Zeti eagerly swallowed it in one gulp. "Mmm, custard!" he exclaimed before noticing the table behind Applejack. "Oh, boy! A smorgasbord!" Like a gluttonous boy in a candy store, the Zeti barreled for the table and Applejack had to roll away before she got trampled. Diving headfirst into the desserts, Zomom began to chomp and gobble away… much to the pony's disgust of his lack of table manners.
"Hoo-wee… glad he's outta the way," Applejack sighed, turning to the rest of her occupied friends. "Okay, who looks like they need my help the-"
BUUUUUURRRRRRRRP!
Applejack whipped her around at the burp that sounded like it broke the barrier… and her eyes went wide in a mix of shock and horror. "What in tarnation?!" Right by the table, a disappointed Zomom looked down at his stomach… the entire table behind him completely empty. "Aww… all that scrumptious dessert, and I'm still hungry!" His red eyes turned to Applejack, whose ears dropped. "Time for the second helping!"
"GYAH!" Applejack took off running with the colossal creature in pursuit. As the two raced away from the scene, Rainbow Dash touched down and whipped her head around… and found Zik balanced atop his stick, juggling apples between his hands with amusement.
"These are laughable compared to the fruits of my garden," he spoke calmly. "But they'll do. A true master is able to adapt to his environment!" Without warning, he hurled the apples at Rainbow Dash, who barely had time to protect herself before the fruits exploded against her fur. Soaking wet from their juices, the pegasus raised her wings to block the projectiles despite some of them breaking through her defenses. When the barrage ceased, she shook her body wildly and glared daggers at the Zeti. "Hey! Quit pelting me and get serious already!"
Zik made some "tsk" noises and shook his head in disapproval. "Why must the young always be so impatient? No matter…" Rainbow's eyes went wide when she saw his next move: gathering blue energy in his hands. "We'll move onto the more advanced techniques." At lightning speed, Zik fired orbs of blue light from his palms, forcing the pegasus to zip away as quickly as she could. Propelling herself off the ground, she dove toward Zik at high speed, knocking him off his staff and pinning him to the ground.
"HA! How do you like that, old-timer!" she barked victoriously. "Whatcha gonna do against somepony with wings, huh?!"
Zik had a calm, knowing smile. "The real question is: what do I do against someone without them?" Rainbow tilted her head to the side in confusion and opened her mouth, but before she could ask what he meant, the old sage jabbed an arm and poked at Rainbow's wing with one finger.
"AAAAAAH!" Pain flared through Rainbow's wing as if the appendage had been set alight. Then, just as quickly, all feeling in the wing shut down. Before the pegasus could comprehend this, Zik struck at her other wing and earned another pained cry. Both wings suddenly fell limp, dangling at Rainbow's sides. She looked at each one in shock before Zik kicked her in the chin, knocking the pony off him. He bounded to his feet while Rainbow slowly rose… but when she tried to spread open her wings, nothing happened.
She forced her muscles to make her wings move, but they didn't respond to even the strongest of her mental urgings. She couldn't flap or open them, much to her horror. "M-my wings!" she cried in shock. "W-what did you do to my wings?!"
"Oh?" Zik replied. "Did your masters not teach you about pressure points, young one? A grave error on their part. Now, let us resume our lesson…" The old master pounced at Rainbow Dash, now forced to stay grounded as she avoided him. Any attacks she tried to make at him were swiftly blocked or countered, placing the pegasus at a disadvantage. Now, Rainbow knew what it was like to be Sonic for a change… and she forced her mind to think up of something. What would he do in this situation?
…
Back at the situation the hedgehog was currently dealing with, his current tactics were lacking. Chrysalis was anticipating him and cutting him off, predicting his location. The good news was that she was off at times. The bad news… she wasn't off entirely.
"Guh!" Sonic hit the wall, clutching the singed fur on his chest where Chrysalis' laser had struck him. Scrambling to his feet and leaping away from the following blast, he landed a soaring kick to the changeling's head and bounded away when the queen swung a hoof at him. He took off across the hangar, magic lasers firing after him. Above the pursuit, Tails flew past Cozy Glow quick enough to make the alicorn spin in midair. The fox then seized Cozy in his tails and threw him downward, causing Cozy to smash against the floor. The little alicorn managed to warp away before a balled-up Tails crashed down onto that position. Uncurling, the fox looked around for any sign of the alicorn until a sudden cry alerted him. Thinking fast, the fox spun his tails around in a helicopter-like motion, creating a gust of wind that blew Cozy off-course. With his opponent at a disadvantage, Tails took off to continue the chase, evading amaranth beams fired his way from the struggling-to-recover pony.
Knuckles charged down the hangar at full speed, rolling away from tossed jeeps and tumbling Humvees. At the far end of the hangar, Tirek lifted a jeep from the ground and hurled it at the echidna, using his magic to levitate another and toss it in Knuckles' direction. When the Humvee rolled towards him, Knuckles simply hopped on top and bounded off before it could roll over again, flying for the centaur. Telekinetically picking up another Humvee, Tirek held it between himself and the airborne Knuckles, using it as a shield. This effort proved useless as the echidna smashed right through the vehicle, plowing Tirek across the head. Stunned, Tirek managed to raise his right hoof to stomp Knuckles into the floor, but the echidna somersaulted away. Pushing himself off the floor, he landed two consecutive kicks on both of Tirek's right legs, staggering the centaur and having him roar in pain. That roar was silenced when Knuckles' fist connected with Tirek's jaw in a rising uppercut, toppling the centaur.
Tirek crashed to the ground, prompting Knuckles to move in for the finisher. But Tirek was unwilling to be bested so easily, and he used his magic to freeze Knuckles in place. With the echidna pinned, Tirek rolled his shoulders with a snort, dragging one hoof along the ground. Then, like a raging bull, he charged for the echidna. Struggling to fight against the telekinetic forces holding him in place, Knuckles managed to hold out his arms to catch Tirek by the head. When the two connected, Knuckles slid along the floor and pushed against Tirek, drawing back a fist and plowing the centaur on the head. Tirek roared in anger and slammed down a fist. Jumping over that, Knuckles landed another rising uppercut before flip-kicking Tirek's chin.
Grabbing onto his face, Knuckles vaulted himself onto Tirek's head and grabbed him by the horns, steering him to the right. The irritated centaur pounded himself on the head to rid himself of the red nuisance, but Knuckles managed to jump off while holding onto a horn, taking Tirek down with him. The two crashed to the floor with Knuckles landing perfectly… but when he turned to face Tirek again, the angry centaur unleashed a devastating blast of magic that pushed Knuckles to the wall. Smashing against the metal surface, the echidna slid down with a pained groan.
"Sheesh, Knuckles!" Sonic spoke up. "When I said 'knock yourself out', I didn't mean literally!" The echidna just shot him a look. "Don't you have a cockroach to crush? I can take whatever that big lug throws at me!" Sonic opened his mouth to retort, but he felt something snag him by the shoulders and lift him into the air. Without hesitation, he elbowed Chrysalis in the face and landed on his feet, glaring at his opponent. The changeling just hissed, hovering above the hedgehog.
"I believe the time has come," she snarled. "Now, little hedgehog… you will know how it feels to die by the hooves of your new friends!" A green shimmer flashed across her body… and when it vanished, the visage of Twilight Sparkle remained. A bright violet beam shot out from Chrysalis' horn, forcing Sonic to take off running. He raced around in a circle, the beam following him and burning a circle on the floor. Nearing a smashed jeep, Sonic jumped off it and balled up, zeroing in on Chrysalis. The fake alicorn only vanished in a blink of purple light and reappeared behind Sonic, hitting him with another beam. Sonic bounced along the floor, rolling to a stop in the middle of the hangar.
Tails hit the floor alongside him, the laughing voice of Cozy Glow taunting him from above. Knuckles slid in last, grasping an aching shoulder. Sonic forced himself to his feet with heavy breaths. "Guys, this isn't working…" he moaned. "We're gonna have to think of something else." All three heroes wearily stood, facing down the smirking false alicorn with the glowing horn, the centaur who eagerly cracked his knuckles, and the giggling smaller alicorn with an impish grin. "Let's blow these losers into next week!" Cozy shouted, her horn buzzing with amaranth light. Tirek laughed as his horns crackled with destructive energy, and the fake Twilight let out an amused chuckle.
"My pleasure." The Legion of Doom's horns neared their charging limit… and as one, they directed all their energy towards Team Sonic.
…
"If you're gonna make me get my hands dirty, then I'm gonna have some fun with it!" Zeena growled, smacking away Rarity with a backhand like an abusive parent. "And that fun is in watching you break to my will like the horse you are!" Rarity tumbled across the ground, leaving herself wide open for the female Zeti. Zeena lunged at the unicorn, but Rarity summoned forth a diamond barrier that the Zeti banged off of. She staggered back and gathered her senses… gasping in horror when she looked at her hand.
"You… you ungrateful jerk! You made me chip a nail!"
"Hmph!" came Rarity's annoyed response. "I may not prefer violent means to resolve conflicts, but when it comes to selfish, egotistical, spoiled brats such as yourself, I'm proud to make an exception! When I'm through with you, you're going to need a spa day, a pedicure, and moisturizer!"
"Rrrgh!" Zeena hissed, breaking into a run for the unicorn who was through holding back. Hopping away from a swipe, Rarity lunged out with a kick that struck Zeena in the side, hopping away from a retaliating kick. She zapped Zeena from the other side and darted away before the Zeti could grab her. "You little-!"
"Ah, ah, ah!" Rarity taunted, zapping her right in the face before she could continue. "Language, darling!" She charged forward and headbutted Zeena back, the Zeti using a handspring to recover. "You know what they say…" she growled, wiping her mouth and readjusting her hair. "Actions speak louder than words!" She reached out with an arm, producing a coil of green energy from it. Rarity's eyes widened in shock, watching as Zeena extended it towards a fountain and used it to break off a figurehead. With a cry, she threw the figurehead in Rarity's direction. Yelping, Rarity called forth a diamond barrier to block it, the figurehead smashing to bits on contact.
"I'm also not fond of destruction of public property!" Rarity added, switching from defense to offense and firing another magic beam at Zeena. Cartwheeling away, Zeena produced another coil and used that to snag Rarity, pulling the startled, helpless unicorn in close. Bringing her new prisoner close to her face, Zeena bared her teeth at the squirming Rarity.
"I never really liked the selfless types," she spat. "Kind, caring, hopeful, people who will do anything for others… saving their skins even it if means giving up their own… making friends with anyone and everyone they come across… it makes. Me. Sick." With that, she spun around and flung Rarity against the side of a building hard enough to crack it. "Before I break you… I'm gonna show you why you need to rely only on yourself. The one being who really matters." The unicorn, released from the coil, slumped to the ground in near unconsciousness.
Nearby, Zor was still trying to "slap some sense" into the energetic Pinkie Pie, who blasted cake batter into his face with her party cannon. Zor barely reacted to the goo before nonchalantly wiping it off. "Booooriiiiing."
"It would actually be less boring if you fought back, you know!" Pinkie piped up. "Makes things more fun, ya know?"
"Why bother?" Zor sighed. "Regardless of the outcome, we're all doomed anyway. You may win this. I may win this. But there's only one who really wins anything. And that's-"
"Whoa there, turn down the dark a bit!" Pinkie interrupted, covering Zor's mouth with a hoof. "Why whine about what's coming and just enjoy the time you have! That's what I do!"
"The only thing I enjoy is suffering," Zor sighed, lightly shoving Pinkie away. "Others' suffering, my suffering, it doesn't matter. As long as I get it." The pink pony stared at him in concern. "Wow. You sigh a lot." She then turned her head away and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Psst, hey, mister author guy? Could you make him a little more on the joyful side, please?"
"Joyful? Me? You wish," Zor sighed before turning his head to the sky. "Oh, great deity who forever holds me in their grasp. I already know the outcome of this event, so I request that you continue to pull my strings and bring about that dreary defeat that awaits me. Or better yet, may you grant me the sweet, cold embrace I long for and set me free from this-"
"Aaaaand that's enough broody talk! Back to fighting!" Pinkie shouted, hopping on top of Zor's head and cutting off his speech. "Man, you ruin everything with that happiness of yours. I'd say that I hope whoever's doing this would erase you from existence or something… but I don't believe in hope. Not anymore."
Pinkie Pie gasped in shock. "You poor, unfortunate soul…"
"GONNA TEAR YOU APART!" screeched a frantic Zazz as he tore through stands and tables while chasing after a frightened Fluttershy. "SKIN YOU ALIVE! CHEW ON YOUR BONES! RRAAAAAAGH!" The Zeti was struggling to understand why this puny little critter was slipping through his fingers. Something like this should have been easy to eviscerate! The very thought of why it wasn't dead yet was driving him crazy… well, crazier than usual, that is. He tossed aside a table and lunged at Fluttershy, but the pegasus flew away and he ended up eating dirt. Unable to take anymore, Zazz leaped to his feet in a roaring, screaming fit. His eyes- close to the brink of being bloodshot- darted all over the place, looking for something that would give him the advantage. It wasn't long before he saw it: a bundle of rope lying near a house.
"Heh heh heh!" he cackled before running over to the rope, picking it up and twirling it in one hand. The oblivious, airborne Fluttershy was nervously looking around for any sign of her assailant… but she noticed the incoming rope far too late.
"AH!" With a panicked yelp, her wings were bound against her body and she fell hard. Before she could even moan in pain, Fluttershy felt herself being dragged through the dirt, prompting another terrified scream from her mouth. "WAHAHAHA! Now I gotcha! I am gonna ENJOY this! HAHAHA!"
"NO!" Fluttershy screamed at the top of her lungs. "HELP! SOMEPONY HELP! HEL-" From an upside-down position, Fluttershy felt herself being spun around so that she was staring directly into the wild, untamed green eyes that contrasted her calm, clear cyan orbs. Two rows of sharp, unhinged teeth revealed themselves as a devilish cackle slipped past them. "Heh heh heh… what should I do first? Pluck off each feather one by one? Rip out your hair? Maybe gouge out an awfully-big eye or two! Ooooh, I'm gettin' goosebumps just thinkin' about it!"
"FLUTTERSHY!" Twilight yelped, wrenching her eyes off Zavok in horror at the pegasus' predicament. The alicorn started to break out into a run… only for a large hand to seize her and slam her to the ground. Groaning, Twilight started to stand and light up her horn… but a hard stomp right on her horn caused a scream of pain to erupt from Twilight's throat. The alicorn scrambled to break free, but she knew the only way she could escape is if her horn was broken. Looming above her like the towering giant she was, Zavok tightly held Spike in one arm, the little dragon writhing in agony. With a fearless look in his eye, he opened his mouth and inhaled deeply…
…only for Zavok to tighten his hold on him, cutting off his breath. With the little dragon slowly choking in his grip, Zavok turned to the helpless princess beneath his feet with an evil sneer. "Hear them scream, Twilight Sparkle."
"Twilight!" Applejack cried in shock, the earth pony turning towards them. But before she could make a move, two large arms scooped her up, her hat falling to the ground. An eager Zomom licked his lips before holding the squirming Applejack to his mouth. "Dinnertime at last!" he called before forcefully stuffing the pony inside… but her legs attached themselves to the corners of his mouth, keeping them pried open. Straining to hold the Zeti back, the panicked Applejack's eyes shot around the town, her legs quaking from the forces that pushed against her.
"Whuh? 'Ey! Ooo geh i' mah ellee aigh ow!" Zomom protested before struggling to close his jaws. Straining groans of protest came from Applejack, who gave all her strength to hold back the maw. Both a horrified Rarity and a shocked Pinkie Pie began to realize what was happening and turned to help their friends… only for a green energy coil to trap the unicorn in place and a hand to snag the pink pony's tail.
"If I can't break you…" Zeena snarled in Rarity's ear. "...maybe they will!"
"If this doesn't show you how horrible and cruel the world really is…" Zor sadly spoke to Pinkie, whose words were caught in her throat. "Then maybe nothing will. Honestly, I'm this close to giving up."
"NOOOO!" Rainbow screamed, wheeling away from Master Zik and charging toward her friends as fast as her legs could go. She didn't get very far, as Zik landed right in front of her and sidestepped to cut her off. "OUTTA MY WAY! I GOTTA HELP THEM!"
"Disobeying the very first lesson I taught you?" Zik chastised the pegasus. "That crosses a line even for me. Even my patience can only go so far… and you've made it run out. It is time to put you in your place, child!" The old sage lunged for the tear-stricken Rainbow, placing two fingers on the side of her neck.
"TWI-" Zik twisted his fingers before Rainbow could utter another sound, making her freeze in place. The master retreated, closed his eyes, and struck a tranquil pose… and Rainbow collapsed, her eyes locked open. Her legs went limp and her wings remained disabled, her entire nervous system shut down.
"No…" whispered a distraught Twilight. Above her, Zavok only chuckled. "Now, do you see? You and your pitiful excuses for lifeforms were nothing compared to the Deadly Six. Your arrogance and your false beliefs have led you to your undoing. And now… for the encore." The red Zeti turned his gaze to the pink one. "ZAZZ! FINISH HER!"
"I've been waitin' to hear you say that all day!" cackled the Zeti, turning to the captive Fluttershy and giggling. "Now… What should I rip off first?" The yellow pegasus let out a meek whimper, shivering against the ropes… but she wasn't the only one terrified. Nor were the rest of her friends…
Hiding behind baskets, walls, rocks, and anywhere else they could think of, tiny colored beings shivered and cowered. Tiny voices of fear and terror left their mouthless bodies, each of them scared for their lives. Once the Zeti were done with the ponies, it wasn't long before they turned their attention to the townsfolk… and the Wisps. Some of them had been to the creatures' home of the Lost Hex. They'd seen them in action; knew how terrifying they were. The Wisps were absolutely frightened to their core; unwilling to make any move against the Deadly Six.
All of them but one. A single White Wisp with a blue curly strand on his head looked at the ground in thought… before narrowing his single eye in bravery.
…
KABOOM! The violet, amaranth, and black-sparked vermilion beams collided on a single point, instantly vaporizing that area in a cloud of smoke. All three villains donned sinister smiles, staring at the smoke. "All too easy," remarked the fake Twilight Sparkle. "I fail to understand why the blue one bested you before, Tirek. Perhaps he had the speed to counter your strength."
"That doesn't matter anymore," the centaur stated. "We destroyed these three fools, so now we move to our real target."
"Agreed. Those idiots didn't even make a dent in my changeling army. We assemble them, march on Equestria, and finally put those putrid ponies in their place. At long last, we will finish what we started."
"Hahahaha!" Cozy Glow laughed devilishly. "Man, look at us! We blew 'em up so hard, there's nothing left of them! Are we good or what?!" The false princess chuckled under her breath. "Indeed we… wait…" She turned her eyes to the now-dissipating smoke cloud… where the now-charred spot was completely empty. That didn't look right…
"Chrysalis!" Tirek suddenly shouted. "Up there!"
The fake alicorn whipped her head above the ground, and her feelings of satisfaction disappeared like a teleporting unicorn. There, the three creatures impossibly stood… or rather, hovered. Tails was holding the heroes in a link, with Sonic beneath the fox and Knuckles dangling at the bottom. The echidna tauntingly waved at the villains and Tails shot them a wink before Sonic's voice filled their ears.
"Y'know, you guys call yourself a legion. A team," he spoke boldly. "But if there's one thing I know about teams, there's always one defining feature that makes everyone in it powerful. And from what I've seen, you guys don't have it!"
"Oh, yeah?!" Cozy shot back. "What is it, friendship?! I've heard enough of that from Twilight! The three of us are friends, and there's nothing you can say to make us think otherwise!"
"I'm not talking about friendship," Sonic explained proudly. "I'm talking about something even stronger than that. When you're in a team, you need the one thing that makes it different from everything else!" Before he could go on, Tails swung himself upward to build momentum, and Knuckles released himself from the trio. He dove right into Tirek and knocked the centaur down just as Tails punted Sonic at Chrysalis. The changeling managed to morph into Rarity, but the blue ball struck her before she could materialize a gemstone barrier. Tails balled up as well and zeroed in on the stunned Cozy Glow, knocking her out of the air. As all three villains rose to their feet, Team Sonic stood in a heroic pose.
"Teamwork!"
The heroes took off with Sonic taking the lead, with Tails on his left and Knuckles on his right. Gathering themselves, the Legion of Doom fired their magic beams at them again. Seconds before the explosion, blue, yellow, and red blurs rocketed into the air. Knuckles rose above the smoke, the spinning hedgehog and fox in his arms. With a loud battle cry, Knuckles smacked each of them forward at high speed, where they slammed into the Legion with powerful force. Staggered from the blow, Chrysalis reverted to her normal form but failed to see Knuckles crash down on top of her.
Tirek bellowed and charged at the team, who nodded at each other. Tails and Knuckles grabbed Sonic and launched him forward, where the hedgehog smacked into Tirek's torso with the speed of a thrown baseball. With a breathless gasp, the centaur collapsed atop a tank. Without missing a beat, Sonic ran circles around Cozy Glow before spinning up, the alicorn looking around in all directions to keep track of the hedgehog. Within seconds, Sonic moved so fast to pick up air currents around him, gathering them into a blue tornado that tossed the yelling Cozy about like a ragdoll. The wind carrying her to the top, Cozy was launched out of the twister and landed flat on her face, extremely dizzy from the whirlwind.
"Get up!" Chrysalis barked at her weakened allies. "Get up, you imbeciles! On your feet! How can we destroy them when you fools can't even handle yourselves?!" The frustrated changeling queen turned her head back to the heroes, who were looking at each courageously. Sonic and Tails jumped up, allowing the latter to grab onto the hedgehog's feet. Knuckles latched onto Tails' ankles and spun in place, picking up momentum while the confused villains looked in.
"What are they doing?" Tirek asked. "Throwing each other at us again?"
"I've had enough of this tomfoolery!" Chrysalis snarled, emerald light gathering in her horn. "Blast them! NOW!" Cozy and Tirek moved to follow her lead… only for Knuckles to release Tails with a mighty yell. The airborne fox let out a cry of his own, kicking forth the balled-up Sonic like a soccer ball.
"BLAST AWAY!"
A blue typhoon flooded the hangar, its source bombarding the Legion of Doom from all directions and zooming through the air at near-light speeds. The barrage lasted for two seconds, but it felt like two long minutes in the Legion's case. Tirek and Cozy Glow collapsed into unconsciousness, but Chrysalis forced herself to remain on her feet through the blows. Only when it finally ceased did she collapse on her knees. Sonic landed perfectly in front of her beaten form, brushing off his hands before crossing them and letting out a whistle.
"That. Was. Tight."
Behind him, Knuckles and Tails high-fived each other while Omochao hovered up to them. "Wow, you guys! Congratulations! I almost thought you didn't have that one!"
"Almost?" Knuckles scoffed. "I'll admit, they had us by the skin of our teeth."
"But our bravery, courage, and overall trust in each other ultimately won the day!" Tails finished for his friend. "And we know just the guy to thank for that!"
"Aw, you guys," Sonic sighed happily. "It was nothing, really. When was the last time we pulled out that old move, anyway? When Metal had his little identity crisis?" His friends shared a knowing smile before Sonic knelt down to Chrysalis's bruised body. "You have your little bug swarm, sure, and you have this whiny little kid and the wannabe Zeti. But there's something you don't do with them. My friends and I believe in each other. Trust one another, just like Twi and hers. But you treat your soldiers just like Eggman treats his robots; like weapons with no better purpose. And those two? They're just tools, too, so you can get what you want quicker and easier. Twilight's right; without proper friendship and teamwork, any team is doomed to fall apart."
"You… you… you…" Chrysalis hissed under her breath. First that black hedgehog in her own caves that criticized the efficiency of her soldiers, and now this blue hedgehog who copied Twilight Sparkle's words down to the letter. The mockery both had made of them was too much to bear… the queen of the changelings would not stand such intolerance anymore! A flash of green light crossed her body…
"YOU DARE CRITICIZE ME?!" Twilight's voice howled before a strong blast of purple magic sent Sonic clean through the doors on the other side of the hangar, blowing a hole through them and sending the hedgehog into the abandoned subway tunnels. Before Tails or Knuckles could make a move, the false princess shot through the hole like a thread through the eye of the needle, leaving them alone with her so-called "allies". A nervous Tails turned to Knuckles. "Should we help him?"
"I think Sonic can take care of Miss Face-Change all by himself," the echidna replied. "The guy never gets tired, and I bet he's still ready to go after what we just went through. The real question is; what do we do with these two?" Tirek stirred nearby, but Knuckles slammed a foot down on his head while Tails picked up the unconscious Cozy Glow by the tail.
"Hey, Omochao… know any active G.U.N. bases nearby?"
"Accessing my database now. Why do you ask?"
Tails just looked at the unmoving alicorn. "I think what these guys need is a little maximum security…"
…
Yacker looked upon his fellow Wisps, hope rising in his tiny body. His kind's fear was an understandable one: it felt like only yesterday when Dr. Eggman invaded their planet and kidnapped them to harness their hyper-go-on for his mind control ray. Then, after a number of them had chosen to settle on the targeted planet, grateful to the one that had freed them, they encountered a far more sinister threat: the Deadly Six. They were possibly the only ones that shook Sonic the Hedgehog to his core, using one of the doctor's machines to drain the planet of life and Sonic's friends among them. Had it not been for the Wisps, Sonic might have failed in his quest to stop them.
Sonic had saved the Wisps, and they, in a way, saved him back by lending their powers to him once again. If what the horned purple being- Twilight Sparkle, she had said- had told them was true, then she and the others had a reason to be trusted: they knew their blue hero. And thus, any friend of Sonic's was a friend of the Wisps.
Yacker finished his explanation to the Wisps, rousing a number of them from their fear-induced state. Others, such as the shivering Green Wisp he had seen with the yellow horse, weren't as convinced. The Deadly Six were scary; so scary that they could eat the Wisps whole. And one of them looked like it could do exactly like that. What could they do against those monsters?
Yacker agreed that the Zeti were tough, big, and scary. But there were only six of them and dozens of Wisps in this whole town! They were small, but they were powerful! Powers that they passed on to those they trust! They trusted Sonic, and Sonic trusted those creatures who were suffering at the hands of the Zeti. And that meant that the Wisps should trust them, too!
The Green Wisp slowly agreed. He had seen how kind and gentle the yellow one was to him and the other Wisps. How, despite not understanding a single word they said, she cared for them and loved them. A Cyan Wisp encouraged by Yacker's speech was quick to agree. The blue one who was just as fast as Sonic reminded him of the hedgehog in so many ways! No doubt she was just as tough and brave as him! One by one, each of the gathered Wisps began to rise into the air, each of them adding their own opinions into the mix. Turning to the Cyan Wisp, Yacker said that he should help the blue one. The others would be rallied and soon join the Wisps in beating those creeps! With a brave nod, the Cyan Wisp flew out of cover and floated into the town.
"Maybe I should pull her teeth out!" giggled Zazz savagely. "O-or tickle her to death with her own feather! No, no, that ain't good enough…"
"Will you CHOOSE one and get on with it?!" roared an impatient Zavok, startling the pink Zeti. "Yeah, yeah, I'm working on it! You can't rush bloodthirsty creativity! I'm just wondering which one'll make her scream the loudest!" In the ropes that restrained her, Fluttershy whimpered like a scared puppy as a tear trickled from her eye.
"Ay'ee ooo shu' eee uhr lige eee!" Zomom suggested, the still-struggling Applejack beginning to weaken in his mouth. Drool was covering her legs, and it took every ounce of her willpower not to shake the disgusting liquid off. Zazz looked over at the trapped pegasus… and then a wicked gleam appeared in his eye. "I know… heh heh heh…" With a vicious sneer, he lifted the pegasus close to his face and opened his mouth, slowly moving the pony's terrified face towards his gaping maw.
Her body drenched with terror, Fluttershy whimpered meekly and squirmed, trying to jerk herself away from the deadly jaws. But she was utterly helpless as the Zeti's rancid breath reached her nostrils, and his dagger-like teeth came closer and closer. The poor little pony was so stricken she couldn't even scream anymore… and she squeezed her eyes shut with one last terrified squeal.
She braced for the snapping teeth to close down on her… but she instead heard something smack Zazz in the back of the head. His jaws slammed down atop a single strand of her pink hair, making the pegasus jolt in panic. "Hey! Who did that?!" the Zeti growled, spinning over his shoulder to look. To his confusion, nothing was there, but Fluttershy caught a glimpse of something small and bright zipping past her. It shot past Master Zik, who lifted a brow at it. "Eh?"
It was moving too quick for anyone to notice it, or identify it if it was spotted. Even the pinned Twilight, a mix of panic and newfound confusion, was at a loss as to what the bright blur was. It was too tiny to be a shooting star, too frantic and zigzagging to be a bolt of stray magic. It wasn't long before a majority of the ponies and the Zeti caught a glimpse of the light streak, which looped in the air and dove downward… phasing right into Rainbow Dash's motionless body.
Instantly, astounding energy surged through the pegasus' veins in the blink of an eye, supercharging all her biological systems and jumpstarting her nerves like a lightning bolt striking metal. With a quick intake of air in a startled gasp as if she had been snapped awake from a deep sleep, Rainbow's eyes shot open… which had now turned from their normal magenta into a bright cyan hue to match her shining coat. Her wings snapped open and she sprang to her feet, completely revitalized.
Her mind was racing at a million miles an hour, and her heartbeat felt just as fast. All at once, Rainbow was wondering what had just happened to her, why she was feeling so alive, why she was moving after that old prune just paralyzed her, and how super-duper-extreme-ultra-awesomazing she felt right now. She felt like she could fly around the world at top speed ten times over, or even transcend the speed of light rather than sound. Speaking of which, she felt like light itself. A bright cyan glow washed over her body, blanketing the cyan pegasus with a shining light pattern that streaked through every vein and nerve it could find. Rainbow was so confused and amazed at her new state that she couldn't even form the words to describe it. The only pony who probably knew those words would be Twilight, but Rainbow wasn't sure she could even pronounce five of them.
The gazillion questions racing through her mind were reduced to a still silence when she laid eyes on the surprised Zeti before her. "What a surprise…" he whispered before dropping into a ready stance. "But I shall not be fooled by this trick of the mind! As the youngsters say, prepare to get schooled!"
Normally, Rainbow Dash would respond with a quirky quip aimed at damaging her enemy's morale. But instead, she narrowed her glowing cyan eyes at Master Zik and crouched low, dragging a forehoof through the ground that left sparks of cyan lightning behind it. All other Zeti stood in shock (or in Zor's case, mild boredom) while the ponies looked on in amazement.
"Rainbow…?" Applejack whispered… right before Zomom's mouth closed on her. The big Zeti moved to swallow, but the current contents in his maw began poking and jabbing at his face from the inside out with angry muffling. Rainbow paid any of her friends no mind, as there was only one thing that mattered now: getting payback on this old grape!
Master Zik broke into a swift run, his arms behind his back as he quickly closed the distance before leaping into the air, his stick held above his head. "Heee-yaaaaaah!" He came down and cracked the stick over his target… only to hit nothing but solid ground. "Eh?" Light flared up to Zik's right, making him look in that direction to see Rainbow Dash was now standing off to the side. Narrowing his eyes, Zik leaped at her with a spinning kick. "Wa-chaaa!" Before his foot could connect, there was a cyan flash of light and Rainbow reappeared farther away in the opposite direction. With a hum of irritation, Zik threw a blue energy ball her way with another cry, but Rainbow zipped away from that as well. The projectile blasted against a wall, leaving a scorch mark in its wake. With a serious expression on her face and her cyan eyes burning bright, Rainbow glared at Zik as the cyan energy inside her charged up.
"My turn."
Before anyone could blink, the pegasus vanished in a bright cyan light and zipped past Zik, striking him down. Zik hit the ground tumbling and immediately rebounded, but the cyan flash hit him again before he could land on his feet. The old master grunted and fought to regain his balance, but the cyan blur flashed in and out of view. Within one second, cyan colors streaked past him at lightspeed, hitting Zik from everywhere at once and landing multiple blows in just a few seconds. For all his knowledge, wisdom, and experience, the old Zeti found it difficult to match the pegasus' newfound speed and was left dazed. Rainbow zipped towards him from the front, landing a hard flip kick that sent him into the air. Without missing a beat, Rainbow launched into the sky, leaving a cyan-colored trail and shockwave in her wake.
In awe, her friends watched her rise into the air like a firework, the Zeti in disbelief. At the climax of her ascent, Rainbow slowed in midair just as Zik reached her. Then, with a powerful blow with her hind legs, Rainbow sent the old master crashing into the ground, kicking up dust. With her annoying adversary dealt with, Rainbow turned her glowing cyan orbs towards the others… and anger flooded her being at the sight of them.
Twilight pinned to the ground with Zavok looking to break her horn at a moment's notice, a choking Spike desperately clawing at the Zeti's beefy arm. Fluttershy wrapped in a rope and completely at the berserk Zazz's mercy. Rarity held prisoner by Zeena's energy coils. Applejack stuffed in Zomom's mouth, both of them fighting either to get out or swallow her down. Pinkie Pie held by the tail by Zor, who- despite his stature and appearance- looked ready to tear it off her flank.
The sight of her helpless friends made Rainbow grit her teeth and instinctively reach into the energy she felt coursing through her body. With a loud scream of effort, Rainbow squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated deeply, allowing her form to be consumed with blinding cyan light. Small cyan cubes surrounded her and streaks of cyan light absorbed into her as she felt her physical form fade into something resembling pure energy. While her friends and foes down below squinted and covered their eyes from the bright light, Rainbow felt herself near her limit… until something deep inside her made its way to the surface and broke through.
LASER!
A bright cyan blur shot down towards the ground at impossible speeds, cutting through the air like a fish through water. Small cyan cubes appeared in Rainbow's slipstream before dissipating, two bright eyes at the forefront of the beam. Before anyone could react, she struck Zavok in the head and ricocheted away at a ninety-degree angle, causing the Zeti to release his prisoners. Twilight instead bounded to her feet while Spike let in a long inhale of relief, clutching his throat and coughing.
Zazz was about to comprehend that his leader was hit before he himself received a cyan flash to the face. With a tiny yelp, he collapsed onto his back and dropped the bundle of ropes holding Fluttershy, allowing the yellow pegasus to squirm free and wiggle her way out. Bouncing off walls and roofs, Rainbow then hit Zomom in the back of the head, forcing him to spit out a saliva-soaked Applejack that landed on the ground with a wet splat. In quick succession, she hit Zeena in the side and ricocheted off Zor's head, making them both fall and release their captive ponies. With an offended look, Pinkie hugged her tail close to her body while Rarity stretched out her legs.
"Uuuuugh!" Applejack gagged, shaking herself like a wet dog and twitching a leg away from her, flicking off some drool. "Ew, ew, ew! Nasty!"
The cyan laser beam streaked for the ground where Rainbow Dash touched down perfectly, cyan light spreading out from her body. She rose to meet Twilight, feeling the energy within her fading away. The cyan light surrounding her dimmed and her eyes reverted to their normal magenta… and a Cyan Wisp phased from her chest with a delighted noise, leaving both ponies speechless.
"That… was… AMAZING!" Rainbow screamed joyously. "That was the most intense adrenaline I've ever felt in my life! I'm not entirely sure what just happened to me, but it felt so good! No, great! No, awesome! No, outstanding! No-" Before she could continue, the pegasus' words caught in her throat when Twilight Sparkle wrapped her forehooves and wings around the cyan flyer.
"Rainbow… I'm so happy you're alright…" she whispered. "All of you…"
With a light chuckle, Rainbow furled her own wings around the princess. "Hey… it was nothing. None of us go down that easy."
"Grrrrrr…." Both ponies broke away and spun to face the enraged red ravager that rose to his feet like a wild centaur. Zavok focused his furious eyes on the ponies, boulder-like fists clenched at his sides. "You… you putrid little wretches! I will not suffer for this humiliation! I faced it at the hands of that pesky hedgehog, Sonic, and my strength will not be ridiculed by frail beings that are even lesser than him! Now, you will… what?!" The Zeti took a startled step back, his eyes trained on the rooftops above. Rainbow and Twilight turned to look, now noticing the rest of the ponies and Zeti were curious about it.
To their wonder and amazement, the sky was filled with floating Wisps, with more rising from the rooftops. All of them, a variety of colors and shapes, stared at the Deadly Six with fearless eyes while others gave friendly waves to the ponies. Fluttershy looked on at the creatures with happiness in her heart, the others just as astounded. The Zeti, on the other hoof, weren't as delighted to see them.
"Ugh!" Zeena cringed. "Those disgusting things again? They were literally everywhere back home!"
"Why do they have to be so colorful?" whined Zor.
"Hmm…" pondered Zik. "A slight complication, but all challenges are meant to be overcome!"
"Ooooh…" whispered Zomom happily. "Delicious side courses! I wonder what flavor they are…"
"Aww, you have gotta be kiddin' me!" Zazz whined. "I hate those freaks! They're so cute… just like you!" He lunged at Fluttershy and nabbed her between his hands, trapping the frightened pegasus again. "Once I'm through with you, I'm gonna grind every one of those things to dust!"
At the front of the pack, a valiant Yacker turned to his fellow Wisps and said something to them; something that sounded noble and brave. In the end, he raised an arm with something that sounded like a rallying call. The other Wisps responded with this same call, a roar amongst the masses. Turning back to the Deadly Six, Yacker pointed his arm at the Zeti and dove towards them, the rainbow wave of aliens swarming down into the town.
Zavok's face went pale. "Oh no…"
The Wisps hit them like a swarm, flying and zipping around with colorful streaks and coloring the air like a rainbow. The Zeti all broke away and scrambled in a frenzy, crying out and swatting at the Wisps as if they were angry hornets. Zeena batted them away with cries of anger and disgust, waving at the Wisps frantically. "Back! BACK! Get away from me! You're messing up my hair! AAAAGH!"
Zik whacked at the Wisps with his staff only for a number of them to knock it out of his hand. A Blue Wisp flew right at him and collided with his chest, knocking the frail Zeti down. "Rgh! Troublesome annoyances!" He flinched, holding an arm in front of his face to shield himself. Zomom flailed wildly at the Wisps, yelping in panic before he ran around in a circle. "AAAAH! Get 'em off me, get 'em off me, GET 'EM OFF MEEEEE!"
Zor barely put up a fight and was spreading his arms, turning his head to the sky and closing his eyes. "Yes! Take me, disgustingly-cute things, and finally give me what I deserve!" He stayed like this for a few moments… before opening his eyes and realizing none of the Wisps were attacking him. Instead, they all zipped past him in colorful blurs, chittering and vocalizing as they did so. With a sigh of defeat, Zor lowered his hands and sunk his head. "Aww… what's a Zeti gotta do to be rid of it all?"
"GRRAAAAAAH!" Zavok roared, swiping and batting at the Wisps that besieged him in colored blurs. "GET OFF! AWAY WITH YOU! LEAVE ME BE! ARRRGH!" Rainbow and Twilight stood amongst the spectacle, watching colors of all kinds fly through the air in amazing fashion. It was like seeing a living, breathing rainbow all around them. Wherever the rest of their friends were, they were positive that they were just as delighted at the wonderful show they were witnessing. The two ponies shared an astounded look before two alien voices broke them out of their joy. Yacker and the Cyan Wisp appeared before them, each of them making "follow me" gestures and waves. Quickly understanding what they wanted, the still-smiling ponies spread their wings and took to the air, joining the colored mass with delighted whoops.
"WOOOHOOO!"
Back down on the ground, Zazz darted away from the Wisps with twitchy movements, keeping the squirming Fluttershy in his grip. The Zeti took off and sought shelter in an alleyway, away from the rainbow swarm. After making sure he was finally alone, he turned to the quivering pony in his grip with a devilish giggle. "Now it's just you and me, little birdie… and I am gonna have me some FUN!"
Fluttershy's eyes widened in terror and she let out a cry of panic… until a distant call from the alley's entrance drew her attention. There floated a spaceship-shaped Green Wisp who narrowed its single blue eye at the pink Zeti. "Grrr… whadda YOU want?!" he snarled.
"Limey…?" Fluttershy whispered under her breath. The Green Wisp shot forward in an emerald trail, barreling right for the captive Fluttershy. For a second, the pegasus was scared that the little guy was going to hurt himself… but instead of smashing into Zazz's hands, the Green Wisp phased right into Fluttershy's chest, earning a squeak of surprise from the pegasus. But surprise quickly began to fade as something serene began to wash over Fluttershy. All traces of fear evaporated from her body, replaced by a calm, tranquil sensation. A green aura surrounded the pegasus' soft yellow fur and her cyan irises gently transitioned into a bright green color that shined with radiant light.
Fluttershy felt as light as a single feather on her wings, almost as if she could lift off the ground at any moment. To her wonder and amazement, that was exactly what happened next as she levitated out of Zazz's grip effortlessly. Stupefied, the pink Zeti glanced at the floating pegasus in shock before his face seethed with rage. "GET DOWN HERE!" he howled, flinging himself at the wall and scaling it quickly. "I AIN'T DONE WITH YOU YET!" Normally, Fluttershy would've slammed back into panic mode… but the serenity she felt inside her remained. She didn't feel scared at all now. She didn't feel like the timid pony she had always been.
She allowed herself to rise, closing her eyes with a gentle smile. She felt… safe.
HOVER!
In an instant, green light clouded Fluttershy's body from view, replacing it with a hovercraft-like shape with gentle-looking eyes. Higher and higher she rose, soaring past the rooftops to join the many pastel-like streams in the sky. Green rings trailed behind her as she ascended, leaving the wild Zazz behind her. The Zeti made a desperate leap for Fluttershy, only to spectacularly miss and fall comedically to the ground. Whatever he might have screamed in response, Fluttershy didn't bother to hear it.
She couldn't hear it, for that matter. All she heard and felt was the soothing, gentle sensation that Limey had given her. She felt weightless as she slowly moved through the Wisps, who treated her like she was one of them. If she still had them, Fluttershy believed she wouldn't have to flap her wings to fly. It was like any doubt, worry, or fear she had ever experienced had inexplicably vanished from her soul, leaving only her joy, kindness, and delight for all life behind.
Alien as they were, the Wisps were like any other animal Fluttershy had cared for. She showed kindness to them, and they showed kindness in return by granting her this. They had made her part of them, in a way. And for that, Fluttershy was grateful. She hovered close to a rooftop, sensing her energy running low. With another flash of green light, she reverted to normal and perched atop the roof, the Green Wisp emerging from her body. With a thankful smile, Fluttershy nuzzled the little alien before both of them flew off. Down below, a frustrated Zazz threw a rock that missed them by a mile, shrieking in frustration before sprinting away in a frenzy.
After a painstakingly-long process, Applejack managed to get every icky bit of drool and saliva off her coat and mane, but she still felt grossed out. The smell still stuck to her, and that was going to need an hour-long (or hour and a half-long) bath to get rid of. Even the very thought of the stench was enough to make her gag. She reached out to her discarded hat and placed it atop her mane… but then felt two very strong arms constrict around her body! The earth pony yelped before her vision was filled with the mad face of the behemoth Zomom.
"Now you've made me hungry and angry!" he growled. "I'm hangry! And you wouldn't like me when I'm hangry!"
"Nnnngh!" Applejack growled as she wiggled and squirmed in the creature's tight grip. "Lemme go, you ugly brute!"
"Nuh-uh! I'm gonna squeeze you 'til you pop like a berry! Maybe then, you'll be an easier meal!" The Zeti tightened his hold on the earth pony like a predatory snake, slowly crushing Applejack between his arms. There was little she could do against the overpowering force except wait for all her bones to snap… but a small Orange Wisp shot into view just over Zomom's head and barreled for the earth pony like a missile. It vanished into Applejack's body in a heartbeat, dispersing some weird energy throughout the instant it hit. In the blink of an eye, Applejack felt…powerful. Strong. Strong enough to sprout wings and soar high into the sky like a pegasus.
"Huh?! What the-?!" Zomom gasped as the earth pony in his arms began to tremble with orange light. Applejack's sap green eyes morphed into an orange hue and her form vanished in bright light, a low rumbling noise coming from the energy within her. Within seconds, the pony was gone and the energy was all that remained.
ROCKET!
With explosive power, Applejack launched into the sky with a smoky trail mixed with orange light, leaving the fat Zeti's hands slightly burned from the exhaust-like substance. Yowling in alarm and pain, Zomom shook his hands wildly before stuffing one into his mouth to cool it. High above him and rising, Applejack roared past the swarm of Wisps and blasted towards the clouds. She was seconds within reach of them… when the energy depleted entirely and the Orange Wisp popped out of her reverted state. Her now-green eyes went wide in realization milliseconds before she plummeted to the ground with flailing limbs.
"Aaaaaah! Rainbow! Fluttershy! Twilight! A little help, anypony?!" she yelped as the ground raced to meet her. Assistance immediately came, but not in the form she was expecting. Now, a triangle-shaped Yellow Wisp flew in her direction, absorbing itself into her falling body and flooding her with a different kind of energy. Now, Applejack's mind was flooded with down-to-earth and energetic thoughts. Her green eyes shot open just in time for them to turn a bright yellow, a cone-like aura surrounding her.
DRILL!
Applejack slammed into the ground hard, but dove right through it and tunneled deep beneath the surface. Spotting the newly-formed hole, Zomom fumed and balled his fists. "HEY! Get back here, lunch!" He spin his body around with outstretched arms and leaped, burrowing into the ground to give chase. Meters ahead of the Zeti, a spinning yellow drill-like shape chiseled through the dirt and rock beneath Hope Hollow, forming an underground tunnel in its path. The spiral tip rotated at high velocities, powerful enough to reduce the largest boulder to pebbles. It turned in a variety of directions to evade the burrowing Zeti, from zigzag patterns to a loop-de-loop. At the end of the loop, the drill turned upward and tunneled for the surface, the alien energy within starting to near its end…
Applejack exploded from the ground just as she reverted to normal, hitting the ground with all four hooves. Her yellow eyes faded back to green as the Yellow Wisp ejected from her, the alien giving out a thankful call. Zomom then burst from the earth with a roar, prompting Applejack to stand firm. The Zeti started to stomp towards the earth pony… only to double over breathlessly and clutch his belly.
"Oof… huff… ugh… gimme… a… minute… and then… I'm gonna… get you…" he gasped. Applejack couldn't help but smirk amusedly at the breathless Zeti and hope that his lack of exercise would be his downfall… but knowing these things, probably not. "Take your time!" she called, turning an eye to the two Wisps that had helped her. "After all, you need it!" She winked at the aliens with a coy smile, and they winked back… or blinked, in the Yellow Wisp's case.
"Wheee!" giggled Pinkie Pie, bouncing in joy. "Look at all the living colors! Is that spirit-lifting or what?!" Behind her, Zor just shrugged with another sigh. "The only color I like is black… which is what you're gonna be seeing soon. It's what we'll all see eventually." At the Zeti's words, Pinkie's smile fell and was replaced with a disapproving scowl. "You know what?! I'm tired of hearing all these negative words from you, Mister Gloomy! And I'm gonna make you see things differently even if I have to force you to!"
"Oooh, force," Zor sarcastically commented. "How original. Are you doing this just because the one who toys with us wants you to? Because you should just give up… it's what I would do."
"One," Pinkie replied, a spiked Wisp with colors matching her coat floated up to her. "It's mostly because I want to! And two…" The pony closed her eyes and allowed the Pink Wisp to dive headfirst through her chest, flooding her with kind-yet-fierce feelings. Her fluffy mane stood on edge before materializing into sharp ends… and her eyes shot open to reveal that they had turned just as pink as her body.
"Why would you give up if you never even tried?!" The pony broke into a high-speed sprint before tucking into a roll, the energy within her reaching its breaking point.
SPIKES!
In a pink flash, Pinkie Pie was gone, replaced with a rolling, spinning hot-pink wheel of radiant spines that tore up anything in its path. Zor made no move as it approached and closed his eyes, allowing the bright spiny orb to run him down like a rolling boulder. When the ball veered to the right to seek out new targets, Zor lay in a mangled heap amongst ripped dirt. There he rested, an unsatisfied expression on his face before another sigh escaped his mouth.
"Curse you, fate. Or whatever you call this, that which deprives me of will."
Meanwhile, Rarity hopped and darted away from the thrashing Zeena, who looked ready to tear the unicorn apart like an angry child taking its rage out on a doll. "If I have to look at you for one more second, I swear I'm gonna lose it!" she growled, swiping an arm at the white unicorn. "You and the rest of these disgusting things are ruining my mood!"
"Considering how your mood is arrogant and snobby," Rarity snapped back. "I'd say it's an improvement!" She quickly brought up her diamond shield to block a table Zeena threw at her with an energy coil, which splintered on impact. "SHUT UP! Your stupid gem-things aren't going to help you for long!"
Rarity just threw the female Zeti a challenging look, noticing a square-shaped Blue Wisp with three eyes flying up beside her. "Do you know what a fashionista like myself says whenever a current design is flawed, darling?"
"What?!" Zeena snapped in annoyance. "That it should be thrown away like the garbage it is?! Because that's exactly what you are!"
"Nope," Rarity calmly replied, the Blue Wisp shooting into her form and bringing up a gleaming blue aura around the unicorn, cube-like shapes surrounding it. Her moderate azure eyes dimmed to resemble a dark blue color and the magic shimmering around her horn began to take on pixel-like elements.
"Each design can always be improved upon!"
Rarity felt like she could solve any problem she came across now, a number of possibilities and decisions flowing through her mind. She acted on one such decision, projecting her magic outward on the surrounding area. In quick succession, large sapphire-forged cubes lined up in a giant square, trapping Zeena with Rarity in a small area. Glancing around in alarm at the new obstacles, the female Zeti shot back at Rarity with fury in her eyes. With clenched fists, she broke into a sprint and launched herself into the air. Rarity only responded with a smirk, her horn glowing a bright blue.
In an instant, a diamond cube-like barrier surrounded her form; a shield that Zeena faceplanted against like a fly on a windshield. The female Zeti slid off and collapsed to the ground with a pained moan, the unicorn dropping her defense with a teasing giggle. "Nice try, darling."
"DON'T YOU CALL ME THAT!" Zeena snarled, leaping to her feet and lunging at the unicorn again… only for her face to hit a solid diamond. Clutching her face in pain, Zeena cracked open an eye and saw herself in a new predicament. "WHAT?!" The Zeti was trapped in a giant diamond cube, imprisoning her within its radiance and beauty. "You- YOU LITTLE TWERP! LEMME OUT! I'M GONNA-!"
Rarity simply projected a smaller cube in front of her before gracefully hopping onto it and summoning another. Jumping on top of that, she created several more before hopping up them like a staircase before she found herself directly above Zeena's prison. The Zeti pounded at the walls, glaring daggers at the unicorn. With a wink, Rarity dropped the square barrier surrounding Zeena and leaped off her assembled staircase, blue squares of energy merging into her body before she vanished in blue light.
CUBE!
With a forceful thud, Rarity slammed down onto a startled Zeena as a giant blue cube with only visible eyes and ears on one side. After the dust cleared, the cube vanished and Rarity took a step back with a flick of her mane, the Blue Wisp floating away. A bruised arm with chipped pink nails grasped the edge of the square-shaped hole, and a pair of eyes seething with rage never trailed away from the smug unicorn.
"Oh, very well," she said before galloping to meet the screaming Zeti.
Twilight Sparkle was amazed at what she was seeing. She remembered the destruction Pinkie had accidentally brought to Applejack's farm when she and her friends first met the Wisps. Now, everypony and the Wisps were working together to unleash colorful new abilities and get an advantage over the Zeti. Her body flooding with cyan light, Rainbow Dash zipped around town and smacked into any Zeti she could find, staggering them. Pinkie Pie used her sharp mane to jab Zeena away from Rarity before turning into another pink spiked ball and chasing down a panicked Zazz.
"YAAAAAAAAH!" He shrieked, running around in a circle as the sharp orb tore up the dirt behind him. Twilight let out an amused chuckle at that before turning her gaze skyward. Fluttershy hovered over the group, surrounded by a green aura and surrounded by a cloud of Wisps. Imbued with yellow light, Applejack slammed a hoof into the ground and kicked up a chunk of earth before launching that at Zomom. The Zeti simply caught the chunk in his mouth before biting down, crushing it to bits.
"Mmm, crunchy!"
"Then, how about something with a little extra kick to it?!" Applejack replied, swapping the Yellow Wisp for an Orange Wisp and charging up with rocket-like acceleration. She barreled for the Zeti at full speed, ramming into his gut hard enough to send him wobbling back. Landing at his feet, Applejack thrust out her hind legs and connected with his jaw with a mighty bang. The Zeti continued to stumble backward and flailed his arms wildly while Zeena landed an elbow against Rarity's face and bounded away. The unicorn donned a cross expression before whirling in the direction the Zeti had vanished. "Come back here and settle this like a la-!" She then felt her horn poke something rather rotund, but before she could question it…
"YEEEEEOOOOOOOOW!" Zomom howled in pain and jolted into the sky, clutching his rear end in agony. The white unicorn stood in stunned silence before the realization struck her, to which she awkwardly looked at her horn with a sheepish face. "Oh dear… um… I am dreadfully sorry about that."
The hot pink wheel of spinning spikes shot past Applejack with a high-pitched whir, and the earth pony swore she heard her friend's trademark giggling from within. Applejack moved to look past the orb's direction when a flash of cyan light appeared in her view. "Heads up, cowgirl!" Rainbow called before zipping away at near-lightspeed. Catching on quick, Applejack launched into the air with explosive force right before a furious Zazz, a mad Zomom, and an annoyed Zik all came down with a big crash. The three Zeti took off running just as the two ponies landed expertly on a rooftop. With a synchronized nod, they shot away in opposite directions just as the Zeti reached the building. Zomom rampaged after Applejack while Zazz took off after Rainbow, and Zik was about to make his move until a big spiked ball slammed into him.
Snagging a rock off the ground, Zomom hurled it at Applejack and struck the earth pony in midair. The Orange Wisp forced from her form, the honest pony fell to the ground until she hit a solid surface. But instead of the hard ground, the pony found herself atop a diamond cube that was projected into the air. Applejack gave an appreciative nod to Rarity, who smiled back before lowering the cube to the ground and allowing the earth pony to hop off.
Meanwhile, a yelling Zazz flung a volley of pink energy balls at Rainbow Dash, who zipped away from each one and made constant silly faces at the Zeti. Unfortunately, her pause to laugh at the Zeti caused her to be hit dead-on with one such orb, knocking the Cyan Wisp out of her. Rainbow barely had time to open her wings… until her hovering fellow pegasus caught her with her forelimbs. Shooting Fluttershy a thankful wink, Rainbow launched back into the sky and dive-bombed for Zazz, colliding with him like a missile. The pegasus landed blow after blow on Zazz, the Zeti swiping at her like a mosquito. Eventually, the angered Zeti snatched Rainbow by the neck and threw her away, with the pegasus recovering in midair and spreading her wings. She prepared to launch towards the pink Zeti again until something fast and purple shot by her, firing streams of magic at an unseen force.
"Whoa!" Rainbow yelped, veering away before Zavok charged through, using an arm to absorb the blows. Spike flew after him, blasting green fireballs at the red monster. Seeking a more thrilling opportunity, Rainbow snickered and flew after them. By that point, Zavok had snagged Twilight and had pinned her against the side of a building with one arm, holding Spike at bay with his other.
"I've had it up to here with your childish-!" The creature didn't get to finish before Rainbow landed a kick to the back of his head, with Rainbow shooting away when he whirled to look. Now hovering over his shoulder, the cyan pegasus blew a raspberry at the Zeti before flying away with a cheeky laugh. Releasing the alicorn, Zavok angrily spun to confront the newcomer only to see colored blurs race in and out of his vision. For every punch he threw at it, Rainbow zipped around and bopped him on the head.
"Over here! No, over here! Ha ha! Missed me, muscle-brain!"
"SILENCE!" Zavok roared, throwing another punch that wasn't even close. Upon the following strike, he growled in fury. "You're as much of an irritant as the hedgehog-!" Twilight's horn glowed with lavender light, taking aim at Zavok's bulky form… but the instant she fired, something smacked her in the head and forced her beam to blow off the edge of a roof. The alicorn whirled to look, noticing a calm-looking Zik staring her down.
"You have the eyes of a student," he noted as he attacked with his staff. "One who is willing to learn and filled with respect, unlike the other." He blasted a series of blue orbs at Twilight, who teleported away from some and shot at others before they could hit. "Hmm…" Zik noted with an impressed hum. "Remarkable technique. Who was your master?"
"Somepony who respected me as much as I did her," was the princess' only reply. She charged at Zik who braced for contact, only for Twilight to vanish in purple light and reappear directly behind him. Anticipating such a tactic, Zik whacked her in the face with his staff before aiming for her legs with a sweeping kick. Taking to the air to avoid this, Twilight zapped the Zeti with a small blast before flying away, prompting the Zeti to jump and leap off various objects while Spike chased him down.
Nearby, Rarity moved another cube projection to intercept flying chairs and rocks, Zeena frantically tossing anything she saw at the unicorn. After throwing a stool that splintered on contact, Zeena spun her head around in search of anything else… when Rarity shoved the cube forward and knocked the Zeti flat on her back. Closeby, Zor stood still as Wisps swarmed his head and pounded on him. While their hits did little to deter the Zeti, Zor just sighed before slumping to the ground in defeat.
"Hi-yah! Take this! And that!" Rainbow cried, smacking her hooves into Zavok's face with a cocky smile. "I can do this all day, centaur-wannabe!" The Zeti's only reply was another series of punches before grabbing Rainbow out of the air and clenching his fist inward, slowly crushing the pegasus. "I have been bested by one swift creature…" he growled as his grip tightened. "I will not lose to another!" Rainbow squirmed and wriggled around desperately but was unable to gain any ground… until she suddenly fell to the ground.
"What?!" Zavok realized his body now had a transparent green glow, making it look like he was see-through. Before he or Rainbow could comprehend this, he returned to his normal shade of red and a Wisp resembling a ghost flew away. Flashing the Wisp a thankful look, Rainbow shot into the air and left a stunned Zavok behind. That Wisp flew close to Fluttershy, who stood on another roof while pondering her next course of action. When she caught wind of the jade-colored Wisp that looked somewhat different than the others, she jolted back in surprise before giving it a kind smile.
"AHA!" Zomom roared from down below, cornering Applejack by a wall. "I'm gonna chew you EXTRA hard before swallowing!"
"I-I leave a bad aftertaste!" the earth pony stammered. "Honest! And that's kinda my thing!" Fluttershy turned to the Jade Wisp and nodded to it, the small alien flying into her body and flooding her with a jade aura. Her cyan eyes glowed jade before she launched off the roof, transforming in midair.
GHOST!
Applejack scrunched up against the wall with a nervous gulp, Zomom towering over her. Licking his lips, Zomom lunged at the earth pony… who briefly turned incorporeal when something reached out from the wall, yanking her in. Zomom crashed against the wall facefirst, slumping to the ground. Emerging from the other side, both ponies turned to normal and the Jade Wisp evicted itself from Fluttershy. "Whew… nice save," Applejack sighed. "But give me a heads up next time."
"Aww… how come all of my meals always get away?" Zomom whined as he stood. "This is why I always like food that isn't moving!"
"What's that? Hungry, you say?" A chipper voice called out from behind him. Curious, Zomom turned around to see a smiling pink pony looking at him with bright eyes. Catching sight of her mane, Zomom gasped in ecstasy. "Oooh! Cotton candy!" He reached for Pinkie Pie, who just hopped behind a well-concealed party cannon. "Well, eat this!"
BLAM! The party cannon sprayed gooey cake batter all over Zomom's face, causing the Zeti to rear back and clasp his hands over his face in pain. "AAAAAAAH! FROSTING IN MY EYES! IT BURNS! IT BUUURRNS!" The yellow Zeti then proceed to run around in a blind panic, screaming as he did so while Pinkie just giggled to herself. "Give 'em what they want, I always say!"
With a loud roar, Zavok hurled Rainbow against a wall, the pegasus cringing on impact before sliding to the ground. With a pained groan, Rainbow shook her head and climbed to her feet… until she saw a shadow loom over her. The pegasus jerked her eyes up to see a grinning Zazz stand above her, claws outstretched. "Maybe killin' you will be way easier than tearin' apart the meek one!" he snarled. "It's beatdown ti-AGH!" A yellow screaming mass stampeded over the pink Zeti before he could make a move, trampling him beneath its mass. Rainbow barely paid the mangled monster any mind, save for a pitiful look before flying away. Elsewhere, Zeena sprinted for Rarity only for her to get run down by the blinded Zomom as well, and the white unicorn cringed at the sight.
"Oh, my… I think you're going to need extra makeup after that."
Zor looked around aimlessly to see who should share in his misery next. He was just about to choose when the ground beneath his feet startled to quake, and he turned to see Zomom running right towards him. "Oh no…" came his sarcastic utter before he was flattened into the ground by his fellow Zeti. He lay in a crumpled heap in the dirt… but, unfortunately for him, barely conscious.
"It's your fault I am denied my fate, almighty one…" he moaned.
"MY EYES! MY EYES!" Zomom screamed as he continued his blinded rampage throughout Hope Hollow, his screams catching Zavok's attention. The angered red Zeti spun to the rest of his comrades just as Master Zik was knocked down by a laughing Rainbow. "What is it you people say?" she shot at him. "Oh, right! The student has become the master!"
"There is… no honor… in beating an old man…" Zik gasped.
"Well, there's no dignity in kicking somepony when they're down, either!" the pegasus shot back. "Later, pruney!" She flew off to rejoin her friends, who were in the midst of gathering among their nigh-defeated foes: a sight that infuriated Zavok farther than ever before. "You… you… you ungrateful, incompetent FOOLS!" he bellowed at his comrades. "It is humiliating enough that you lose to one single hedgehog, but to lose against SIX HIDEOUS CREATURES SUCH AS THESE AND THEIR PET WORM?! You are a DISGRACE to our kind! You are over a hundred years old, yet you are bested by beings who look barely past their adolescence!"
As the Zeti continued to berate his brethren, he and the ponies remained unaware of something watching him from an alleyway. Something that several Wisps caught sight of and retreated in fear. Something with a fanged mouth, no eyes, and horn-like tentacles on its head. The being let out a menacing growl at the sight of the Zeti. These were no friends of it thanks to their malicious nature, and it needed to be put in its place. To do that, it needed a willing host… and fortunately, one stood to address the Zeti on a rooftop.
"Now, do you see, Zavok?!" Twilight called from her perch. "You and your allies rely on brute force alone to solve your problems, whereas we have learned of more possibilities! Your cronies want nothing but the destruction of all who oppose them, but we have a bond greater than theirs!" As she spoke, she remained oblivious to a small purple figure that rose into view… which caught the attention of everyone down below. "You may have your natural powers, but we have a gift that surpasses all others: the magic of fr-AH!"
The Purple Wisp struck Twilight in the blink of an eye, knocking her from her perch. To the ponies' horror, the princess dropped to the ground, seemingly lifeless and sprawled out like a doll… before erupting with pained screams! Everypony gasped in horror and jolted back while Zavok sneered at the sight. His fellow Zeti began moving towards the alicorn, but Zavok halted them with an arm.
"No!" He snapped before marching up to the princess. "I will put her out of her misery myself. After all… what better way to crush spirits than to crush a leader?"
"Twilight…?" Spike whispered in shock, the princess's eyes squeezed shut while she writhed in agony. Eerie alien energy coursed through her like lightning, overwhelming her by the second. As for Twilight, she felt like she was being torn from the inside out. Something she could only describe as malignant and chaotic infected every muscle and nerve, making it hurt to even move. Her body was in a living Tartarus while her mind was under attack. Her brain constantly flared up with bursts of pain, something fighting its way inside. It was so intense she barely heard Zavok's taunting voice… but only when the pain ceased did she hear it.
"Not the screams I was expecting to hear from you… but they are satisfactory. But you will be pleased to know that very soon, you will no longer feel pain… or anything else. Goodbye, princess…" Zavok raised both fists over his head and brought them down with a roar…
…but they suddenly stopped inches from Twilight's head.
Zavok grunted and strained against an unseen force, willing his arms to move. They remained still, much to his shock and to the other Zeti's horror. "Wh… what? Why… why can't I… move?" His answer came when Twilight Sparkle slowly placed one hoof on the ground, followed by three more. The alicorn gently rose to a full stand, her horn glowing a dark violet. Beneath the skin of her face, dark purple veins spread beneath her closed eyes… which snapped open in a flash.
Normally, Twilight's eyes were a moderate violet shade that sparkled and glinted with friendliness. But these eyes were anything but: now, her eyes were a complete dark purple that coated even the whites, and her black pupils swirled with dark colors. Her horn glowing with ominous energy mixed with her alicorn magic, Twilight silently turned her eyes to Zavok's left wrist… which twisted painfully with a quick snap, earning a roar of pain from the Zeti and shocked expressions from her friends.
The other hand twisted just as violently, prompting another howl from Zavok. Her horn crackling with pure energy, Twilight emotionlessly turned to the pained Zeti before her face contorted in a furious sneer… and a beam of purple-violet light blasted Zavok point-blank, pushing him a great distance away. Digging his feet in the ground, Zavok raised his arms to absorb the blast, which burned at his skin. Grunting and groaning as he slowly advanced- only to be pushed back every two steps- the Zeti's resistance went unnoticed by Twilight, who slowly walked towards the Zeti as her beam didn't falter.
"Kill… KILL YOU!" Zavok screamed over the magical torrent that assailed him. Twilight gave no response to his threat, ignoring all stunned his eyes drawn her way. Only when she was mere inches away from Zavok did her assault finally cease, leaving the Zeti a breathless, smoking heap at her feet. She stared at him with unblinking eyes as his breaths came in quiet gasps, the Zeti slowly looking her in the eyes.
"You… you cannot-GRAAAAAAAAAAGH!" The Zeti was cut off when Twilight blasted him directly with another powerful blast, her face locked in an expression of wild, untamed rage. Again she ceased, leaving the Zeti wheezing for breath. He opened his mouth to speak… and another laser consumed him with another scream of pain.
"TWILIGHT!" Spike screamed at the top of his lungs. "TWILIGHT, STOP!"
"YOU'RE GONNA-!" Rainbow's cry was drowned out by Zavok's screams, the Zeti desperately raising an arm and clenching a fist. Ramming it against Twilight's side, the alicorn was knocked away from the Zeti and skidded to a halt without so much as a tumble. Zavok slowly crawled to his feet, coughing weakly. "You… you insignificant… ngh…" He had to struggle to stay on his feet as he stared at the alicorn with hate in his eyes. "You… mean nothing to… to…" He couldn't speak any further than that… because an unseen force latched onto his throat, cutting off his words… as well as his breath. Zavok's hands scrambled at his neck, choking at the invisible hand that clenched it.
"That DOES it!" screamed Zazz as he lunged at Twilight. "I'M GONNA SNAP THAT HORN LIKE A-!" Twilight spun in the Zeti's direction, suspending him in midair. Just as Zazz realized what was happening, he was forcefully slammed into the ground repeatedly as Twilight's dark eyes followed his body. After his face met the dirt fifteen times, Zazz was telekinetically flung right through a house, smashing the wall and earning a terrified scream from the residents within.
By now, most of her friends were too horrified to speak, their bodies frozen in place as they witnessed what their leader was doing to their adversaries. Zik lunged at Twilight, who barely turned to look at him before the old master froze where he stood. His walking stick was ripped from his grip and hovered in the air before it snapped in two, the shattered halves dropping to the ground. The alicorn spun to look Zik in the eye… and he was sent flying back, crashing through a souvenir stand.
"At long last," Zor spoke as he approached the alicorn. "A soul just as dark and empty as me. It's all I could ever want. Come, dark horse, and strike me down with all the-" He didn't get the chance to finish before the ground burst beneath his feet and swallowed the Zeti whole, trapping him up to the neck. Twilight ominously approached him before placing a hoof atop his head, glaring at him with malicious eyes.
"I suppose this will do," he sighed. "Perhaps there are fates worse than death, after all…"
Zomom stomped towards the alicorn and raised a foot high. "Gonna squash you like a pancake!" he roared, bringing his foot down on top of her. Twilight just warped away and reappeared above the Zeti, her horn aglow again. From below, various market stalls and rocks levitated from the ground and hovered close to the princess, who flung them at Zomom at high speed. The yellow Zeti cried out as he was pelted with the objects, and a boulder smacked into his gut and knocked him down.
Zeena latched onto the princess with an energy coil and yanked hard, pulling the princess down. As soon as she fell, the female Zeti sprinted up to the princess with a vicious snarl, seizing the unicorn's horn and pulling on it as hard as she could. In response, Twilight bared her teeth and sent an electrical current through her horn… which, in turn, electrified Zeena as she screamed in pain. A quick blast of magic sent the female Zeti tumbling to the ground, her body smoking.
Twilight Sparkle then turned her eyes to her frozen friends, each of them looking at her with absolute fear in their eyes. Her horn aglow, the princess slowly advanced towards them with an emotionless expression… when Zazz, Zomom, and Zik all tackled her to the ground. Pinned beneath the three creatures, Twilight struggled and strained against them, her eyes glowing darker and violet light coursing around her body.
"Enough of this!" Zavok growled, rolling an arm and adjusting his head. "This time, we end her for good!" He approached the princess, who sneered in anger at his approach. Still writhing beneath the other Zeti, Twilight felt something primal rise from within her: something she couldn't hold back much longer. Turning her head to the sky, Twilight's body faded into darkness as she let out a nerve-racking scream that shook the air.
FRENZY!
In an explosion of violet light, the three Zeti were blasted off Twilight, who now didn't resemble the Princess of Friendship at all. In her place stood a savage violet construct of demonic likeliness with blank white eyes. It let out a monstrous roar that shook the other ponies to their core, revealing two rows of jagged purple teeth. A dark and sinister aura surrounded it, emanating a violent and sadistic rage. It locked its eyes on a stunned Zavok… before lunging like a feral beast.
Zavok cried out in pain when the beast locked its jaws around his neck, fighting against it as he collapsed to the ground. Ramming his fist into the entity over and over, Zavok managed to release it and bash it aside. The thing only replied with another savage howl, lunging at the Zeti again and chomping down on his arm. Growling in pain, Zeti smashed that arm into the ground frantically before punting the beast away. Crashing through a table, the beast scrambled back up and chomped down on a leg, wood splintering in its maw. It began to lunge at Zavok again… only for a series of mechanized clanking sounds to draw its attention.
Zeena was pressing two fingers to her temple, a squad of Egg Pawns decked out in theme park-like outfits behind her. The one brandishing a welcome sign stood at the front of the pack… and upon Zeena's command, they sprinted for the beast. With a savage growl, the beast thundered towards them and dove in with open jaws. It was a rather gruesome sight, as the entity tore apart the machines and ripped arms from their sockets. It closed its jaws on a robot's upper half, separating it from its lower half when it pulled away. Rainbow instinctively covered Fluttershy's face with one wing, unable to look away at the violent scene.
To Zeena's horror, all of the minions that fell to her electromagnetic manipulation were now ripped apart, a leg sticking out of the creature's maw. The thing promptly swallowed it before it spasmed and grew, mutating to a larger size before letting out another deep growl. It charged toward Zeena, who started backing away in a panic. "NO! STAY AWAY FROM ME! YOU STAY AWAY!"
The creature did not deter, slamming its jaws on Zeena and shaking her like a dog and a chew toy. It then threw Zeena against the side of a building, where she nearly blacked out. Zazz threw himself on top of the purple berserker, who roared to match his wild screams and bucked in all directions. The Zeti bounded at the thing before it bucked forward, throwing him off. Before the Zeti could respond, The creature seized him in its mouth and bit down hard, violently thrashing Zazz before slamming him to the ground. It then pounced on Zor, who allowed the creature to take him. As it did before, the monster thrashed him about before tossing him like he was nothing, turning its attention towards new targets.
Zik lunged in from above, but the monster easily caught him in its mouth and violently hurled him at Zor, taking them both out. Zavok and Zomom charged at it lastly, both of them tackling the thing to the ground as it snarled and roared in protest. As it struggled, it slowly grew again to a much larger size, making it difficult for both Zeti to restrain the beast. Upon reaching full size, the monster roared ruthlessly at the Zeti, rage filling its form. Zavok and Zomom let out roars of their own as they pounded on the creature, which bit down on Zomom's fist and forced the yellow Zeti to withdraw. It turned on Zavok next… who simply held its jaws open with both arms, growling in the effort at the violent violet monstrosity.
"RRRAAAAAAAAH!" Zavok bellowed, wrenching the monster's jaws to a point where they were near-breaking. With his immense strength, he wrestled the beast to the ground and punched at it relentlessly, slowly wearing the beast down despite its attempts to resist. Seizing the creature by its end, Zavok hurled the beast onto its back and slammed it down again, releasing a pained snarl from its maw. Stomping down on its head, Zavok raised an arm and opened his palm, calling pyrokinetic energy into it. With another roar, he prepared to throw down a fireball…
…until Rainbow Dash plowed him across the face with a stubborn cry, knocking the Zeti away from her transformed friend. Zavok fell flat on his face near his fellow Zeti, and the rest of the ponies nervously gathered around the downed beast. Suppressing his fear to the best of his ability, Spike slowly approached the stunned creature, nearing one of its eyes.
"Twilight…?" He whispered. "A… are you there?"
The creature's white eye snapped open with a low growl, causing the dragon to yelp in fright and stagger back. Slowly, it rose like a waking predator, opening its maw with a low growl. Rainbow rushed in front of it, panic on her face. "Twilight, it's us!" she called out. "It's your friends! You gotta-!"
RROOOOOAAAAAAAR! The creature's only response was a deafening bellow right in Rainbow's face, blowing back the pegasus' fur and mane. It then lunged at the pegasus, who screamed as she leaped back to avoid getting chomped. The beast whirled around and roared at all the ponies around it, frightening them off with panicked screams. Turning its attention to Spike, the beast looked at the dragon with wild eyes… and lunged with open jaws.
"AAAAAAAAAAH!" Spike braced himself for his doom… but felt nothing. Gently turning back to the beast and cracking open an eye, Spike noticed that the creature had paused in its tracks. Everypony else had seen it the creature's hesitation, as well as it slowly shrinking down in size with a low moan. Before their astonished eyes, the creature faded in violet light and vanished in a cloud of darkness.
And when it vanished, the unconscious form of Twilight Sparkle rested on the ground. The ponies nervously approached their unmoving friend, with Fluttershy gently extending a hoof. She nudged the princess one before jerking her hoof back… but there came no response.
"I… is she-AH!" Rainbow yelped as the Purple Wisp ejected from Twilight's form, the host's eyes shooting open with relief. The small vicious-looking alien spurted sounds of negativity at the ponies, darting up to each of them while violently vocalizing. Rainbow was quick to notice that even the other Wisps were wary of it and keeping their distance… all except one.
Yacker slowly approached while assuring a Cyan Wisp that things would be alright. He made a greeting sound at the Purple Wisp, who spun away from Fluttershy before zipping up to the White Wisp. Circling around Yacker, the two of them began to engage in conversation while Twilight Sparkle woozily rose to her feet. "Wh… what… happened…?"
Nopony could bring themselves to speak, as they all just stared at Twilight with fear in their eyes. The confused alicorn shook her head of wooziness and took in deep breaths. "Ah… sweet Celestia… m-my head…"
"Twilight…?" Rainbow finally uttered. "A…are you feeling alright…?"
"Um… I think so?" the princess uncertainly replied. "Wh-why? Wh-what happened?"
"Darling…" Rarity uttered in horror before gesturing behind her. Twilight turned to look, seeing Yacker trying to calm down a frantic fanged Purple Wisp. Twilight was quick to notice the other Wisps' eyes of fear… but this one had no such eyes, instead possessing a fanged mouth. It spoke maliciously and menacingly, but Yacker remained calm during whatever it was he was doing. He seemed to be mimicking spikes and gesturing to the ponies, clasping his arms together in unity. Intrigued, the Purple Wisp slowed down and seemed to ask the other Wisp something.
"You absorbed that thing just like the rest of us…" Rarity continued. "And… and it turned you into a mindless, ravenous monster." Twilight's eyes widened at the words before Fluttershy stepped forth. "And even before you turned… you…" she sniffled for a moment. "You just wouldn't stop…"
"Stop what?" Twilight sounded afraid to know the answer.
"You were… hurting the Deadly Six," Rainbow whispered sadly. "Like… hurting hurting them. W-we tried to stop you, but… you looked ready to do the same to us." Her magenta eyes turned to that freaky-looking Wisp that Yacker was talking to. "I don't know what that Wisp is, but… it's not like the others. It's… different. Freaky different."
"Yeah…" Applejack added. "When we absorbed those colorful little critters, we felt energized. Completely alive thanks to all that hyper-whatzit those things are full of. But when that one went into you… you were in pain, Twilight."
The alicorn turned her violet eyes to the ground, distraught as to what she was hearing. They were right, she felt like a complete wreck when that thing flew into her. The complete opposite of what her friends were describing. She could still feel her sense of self slipping away like water going down a drain… and then there was only blackness. Her mind was just… gone while her body succumbed to the same state of that Wisp. If she was right, then… that Wisp was mad. Tirek-level mad.
But at what? The Zeti? What could they have done to them? Or… Eggman, maybe? Both of them hated Sonic, didn't they? There was something Twilight felt like she was missing… but what?
"I…" she whispered, realizing her friends were waiting for a response. "I-I don't exactly know… what was happening to me. What… whatever that Wisp made me do… I felt like… like I was kicked out of my own body. I-I'd never do that to any creature, even… even if I thought they were beyond saving." She turned her eyes to each of them, who looked in sorrowfully. "You need to understand: that… that wasn't me at all!"
"We know," Fluttershy whispered, turning her eyes to the Purple Wisp. "It was all that Wisp… it's hurting. Even I'm having trouble trying to understand it. It's like it's wild and completely untamed… oh, poor thing… what happened to it?"
The Wisp didn't know the answer to that question itself. For once, its aggression ceased, its gaze turning from the ponies to Yacker. As it had told the white alien, it wasn't sure how it had gotten here. The last thing it knew, strange machines captured it back on its homeworld and somehow drained it of its hyper-go-on energy, reducing it to… to this feral monstrosity. It was then disposed of with other violet and purple Wisps, all of them lost and mutated. And then… then came a bright light, like a rip space… and most of the mutated Wisps woke up here, in this strange place. They had scattered mindlessly, aimlessly wandering until this one found this town. Spotting a dangerous threat, it utilized a host to attack… but the results were unexpected.
There was something already present within the host. Something… bizarre. That something merged with the corrupted hyper-go-on within the Nega-Wisp and allowed it to completely infect the host, resulting in capabilities it never thought of. But if Yacker was telling the truth, these beings were friends with another called "Sonic". The name was unfamiliar to the Nega-Wisp: a fact that shocked the others present.
According to Yacker, all Nega-Wisps were restored to their true forms, the mad doctor's damage undone. So why was this one still broken? Neither of the Wisps had an answer, even Yacker. But for now, the Purple Wisp did not desire an answer just yet.
The danger it sensed was still present… and it needed to be eliminated. It turned to the Deadly Six and hissed at them menacingly, giving the Mane Six a reason to trust it. "Whatever that is, I think it likes those creeps just as much as we do," Rarity summarized.
"Yeah," Rainbow replied, turning a stern eye to the Zeti. "Like how much a windigo loves laughter!" She spread her wings open as the rest of her friends gathered around, staring at the struggling-to-stand Zavok. "You… you will… regret this, you… miserable eyesores…" he growled, his brethren slowly rising with weak moans.
"We… we lost… to CUTIES?!" Zazz screeched, pounding the dirt with one fist. "No! No no no NO NOOOOO! IT'S NOT FAIR! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENIN'! THIS WASN'T HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO GO!"
"Oh, but it was," Zor sighed in defeat. "It is how it must always end. Forever are ones filled with malice and vileness such as us destined to fall at the hands of those filled with disgusting joy and happiness. I agree, it's not fair… just like everything else."
"It seems your warning… proved to be correct," Zik spoke to Twilight with irritated eyes. "We have misjudged such adversaries before, growing overconfident in ourselves and lowering our guards. It is as the old saying goes: even a master has a lot to learn."
"Oooohhh…" moaned Zomom. "I hate stomach aches. And I hate them even more if I get them on an empty one."
"You… you… you cretins ruined my hair!" Zeena shrieked in fury, grasping at her tattered emerald locks in horror. "It's gonna take me weeks to get back in top shape! And when I do, you are going to get it!" Rarity just tossed back her mane with a huff. "You are welcome to try!"
"How… how could we…" Zavok collapsed when his arm gave out, yet fought to keep himself standing. "We, centuries-old warriors and conquerors… how could we lose to such… putrid… wretched… pests such as yourself?"
Twilight Sparkle stepped forward, a hopeful gleam in her eyes. "Because the six of you lack the one thing that defines everything. We have been in your place before, believing ourselves helpless and powerless against the world. You claim to work together and fight as one, but all you truly do is just hurl each other at a problem and hope for the best."
"Heh heh heh!" Spike chuckled, pounding his palm with a fist. "I love this next part! Hey, hornhead! This is for calling me a worm!"
Zavok just growled at the ponies and the dragon, but Twilight continued her speech before he could get a word in. "But all of us have endured challenges and hardships, rising above them to meet others just like it. Because unlike you, we have learned a great many things about unity and harmony. And we will continue to learn for the rest of our lives. As I've demonstrated, my kind possesses magic of great power. But there is one kind that rests within every heart and soul in this realm; a kind that is only unlocked through great trial, trust, and reliability."
Each of the five ponies surrounding her began to slowly rise into the air, their bodies aglow with light matching the color of their fur. Spike hovered up to join them, Twilight following suit without breaking her gaze from the Zeti. "Huh?!" Zazz stammered in confusion. "What the-?! What's goin' on?!"
Twilight's eyes then exploded with bright light, nearly blinding the Zeti down below. With a regal tone and a proud stance, she explained just what kind of magic allowed herself and her allies the persistence to triumph above all and the strength to stay together forever.
"The magic of friendship!"
Colored streams of light ascended from each of the ponies, comprised of every color of the rainbow. The streams gathered together at a singular point that glowed a bright white, the accumulating magic swirling in perfect union. The witnessing Wisps let out what sounded like "ooooh" noises in awe… until Yacker jolted in what appeared to be realization. Waving his arms, he chattered to several Wisps in the crowd that gathered around him: the Purple, Cyan, Green, Orange, Blue, Pink, and Yellow Wisps that assisted the Mane Six in their battle. On Yacker's cue, they flew higher into the sky and began to circle around.
UNLIMITED COLORS!
LASER!
DRILL!
SPIKES!
ROCKET!
CUBE!
HOVER!
FRENZY!
FINAL COLOR BLASTER!
"Hey!" Rainbow cried out. "I think our new friends wanna help!" Twilight looked on at the Wisps in admiration. "Well, let's not disappoint them!" she called back… before the ponies' combined magic shot into the air as a brightly-colored rainbow. The magical energy connected with the Wisps' combined hyper-go-on, mixing the two energies together into a single, massive beam filled to the brim with colors. Flying alongside the rainbow, the Wisps flew into a spiral as the rainbow arced upward… and shot back down.
"No-!" Zavok uttered before he and the other Zeti were consumed by the enormous rainbow laser. Any scream or other sound they made was drowned out by the intense waves of energy, and only their silhouettes could be visible from within. Soon, all of Hope Hollow was bathed in colorful light, a rainbow shockwave expanded outwards from the town. All was bright and radiant… until the colors faded.
The ponies trotted up to the vanquished Zeti, their new alien friends floating by their side. Twilight approached them, her horn shimmering with violet magic. "And now to put you somewhere you won't hurt anypony ever again," she announced, gathering each of the six beasts… and vanished in the blink of an eye.
A second later, she poofed back into view, the Zeti nowhere to be seen. At her presence, the ponies and Spike erupted into celebratory cheers. "Whee! Celebration time!" Pinkie hollered while Rainbow struck a pose. "Take that, evildoers! The ol' rainbow laser never fails!"
"That was incredible!" Applejack shouted in amazement. "Our magic and the Wisps' hyper-stuff was an amazing combination! Did Sonic really do all that when he met them?"
"Maybe not the laser-zipping and cube-placing, but he did have the spikes covered!" the pegasus replied cheerfully. "Plus, wait'll he hears about we kicked those bull-brains' butts! Uh… where exactly did you send them, Twi?"
"Oh, only the deepest pits of Tartarus," the alicorn shrugged off. "Nothing they can't break out of."
"Good!" Fluttershy scolded. "After what they did and said to us, I hope they stay there for a long, long time!" The yellow pegasus quickly realized everyone was staring at her in surprise, and she shrunk back down. "Heh heh… sorry."
"I-i-i-is it over?" somepony croaked from behind a door. "I-is it safe to come out now?" Twilight answered that with a smile. "It sure is!" Soon enough, nervous ponies slowly started emerging from their homes, their eyes darting around for any sign of trouble. "Sorry about the mess, but… it's nothing all of you can't put back together again, right?"
"Those horrid creatures have done quite a number on our fair town," sighed Mayor Sunny as he neared the Mane Six. "It would have been much worse if you haven't arrived to aid us once again. The ponies of Hope Hollow, myself included, are grateful for the help you- SWEET CELESTIA, WHAT HAPPENED TO MISTER WELCOME?!"
Everypony noticed the mayor's shocked eyes rested on the robot's torn remnants, the welcome sign now resting in a severed, sparking arm. "The… the monsters got to him," Twilight spoke up. "We're so sorry about him." Mayor Sunny just sighed sadly. "The new and improved Hope Hollow won't be the same without him… or any of his other friends…"
"And speaking of friends..." Twilight added, turning her eyes to the sky. "We have some new ones to thank for putting those bullies in their place!" In the skies above Hope Hollow, the Wisps swarmed about with happy noises, some of them flying around and leaving colored trails behind them. When they finished, the amazed ponies saw that the colored aliens had sky-drawn each of their cutie marks against the clear, blue sky. Rainbow looked at the image of her cutie mark with pride. "Heh. Alright, I'll say it. I like those little guys. They got color and style."
"I'm sure you'll find another way to get tourists," Fluttershy assured the mayor… right before something glinted in the wrecked robot's direction. "Huh?" The little pegasus flew over to the wreckage and sifted through it with gentle nudges of her hooves, moving aside pieces of metal and steel to reveal… an encapsulated green crystal. It looked lodged out of place, so it wasn't difficult for Fluttershy to extract it and look it over.
"What the… what is that?" Rainbow muttered, flying over to have a look. "Don't those robots usually have animals inside 'em?" With a sad expression, Fluttershy nodded before focusing her attention on the crystal. "Yes… but when Sonic and Tails set so many of them free, Eggman had to think of another way. Tails told me about these back on his ship. I think he called them… Chaos Drives?"
"Chaos Drive?" Twilight repeated in realization. "Like, chaos energy?"
"Umm… I guess," the timid pegasus answered. "Why do you… oh…"
"You wish to use that with that portal," Rarity deduced. "An excellent idea! Besides, we have no idea how to gather raw chaos energy from the other world!"
"Well, they did say that Shadow guy was full of the stuff," Applejack added, prompting an eye roll from Rarity. "Did you not see his attitude? He wouldn't agree to aid us even if he was forced to!" Twilight used her magic to pick up the Chaos Drive, tilting it to examine the crystal from different angles. "It's safe to say this is our best bet for the portal," Twilight finished. "We should head back to the castle and find a way to install this."
"Way ahead of you!" Rainbow shouted. "Race you guys there!" Spreading her wings, she took off into the sky before anypony could respond and soared high above the ground. As soon as she reached an acceptable altitude, the pegasus shot forward at high speed and streaked through the sky. Things were finally taking a turn for the better: with this chaos crystal and some well-added magic, everypony could finally get the portal working again! And then it would be time to kick that Combined creep's flank, get the Emeralds and the Elements, and finally get things back to-
The air in front of Rainbow suddenly cracked open, the pegasus moving too fast to register the change. By the time she did, it was already too late… Rainbow Dash could only cry out in alarm before flying headfirst into the breach. The instant she passed through the hole in space-time, her surroundings changed from lush, open plains to a mysterious dark abyss. Within it, the pegasus could see… well, a lot of places. Some she recognized, like the Everfree Forest and the Dragon Lands. Others were less familiar, such as ancient ocean temples and casinos with lights everywhere. The astonished pegasus was in the middle of looking at some kind of orb that appeared to have Eggman's face on it… when the world snapped back into place and she hit the ground hard.
"OOF!" Instead of a lush field of grass, Rainbow felt herself smack into something hard and solid before tumbling to a stop. The pegasus slowly rose to her hooves and shook herself off, noticing bits of gravel slide off her coat. "Ugh… rough la-"
HOOOOOONK!
"GYAH!" Rainbow darted away from something with bright lights heading her way, only to quickly find herself in the path of another. A screeching sound erupted from it as the pegasus shot away, and others followed as Rainbow frantically searched for an escape route. But her plans to flee were halted when she noticed her new surroundings…
She was in a city of some kind with skyscrapers that dwarfed other buildings in height. Unfamiliar machines, especially ones on four wheels, surrounded her on all sides… and Rainbow noticed some strange creatures watching her from the sidewalk.
"What is this, Halloween?!" one of them cried from a wheeled machine.
The creatures weren't of any kind Rainbow knew of. They had what looked like manes on their head, yes… but they stood on two legs and had little to no fur on their bodies, with clothing making up for that. The pegasus struggled to recall what they were; Sonic and his friends were familiar with them, right? So, what were they called again…?
Humans! That was it! So, that meant she had landed in Sonic's world. Rainbow was about to question where she had exactly ended up… until her question answered itself when a high-pitched siren rang through the streets. Two more wheeled machines pulled up and screeched to a halt, these ones decked with flashing red-blue lights and the words "Station Square Police" on the sides. Out of them came two pairs of uniformed humans that stared at the pegasus in confusion.
"What the heck is that thing?" one of them asked.
"I have no idea…" answered his partner. "Looks like some kind of baby horse."
"A baby horse with wings?" spoke the third. "That can't be right! It's probably an animatronic or something! Right?" At those words, Rainbow recoiled with an insulted expression. She opened her mouth to give these guys a piece of her mind, but the fourth human beat her to it.
"Well, whatever it is, we better get it outta here," He approached the pegasus and knelt down to meet her, prompting the first human to don a nervous expression. "Hey, whoa, wait a minute! Shouldn't we call for backup? Animal control, maybe?"
"Will you relax? I got this!" The fourth human spoke confidently before reaching out to Rainbow. "Come here, little guy…" Panicked instinct kicked in for Rainbow once she saw the pair of hands threaten to swallow her, and she jerked forward to sink her teeth into an arm. With a pained cry, the human retreated and clutched the spot.
"Ow! It bit me! D-Does this thing have rabies?" The first human started to move in, brandishing some kind of stick from his being. "Why you little-!"
"Let me handle this," spoke the second human, blocking his partner's path with an arm. "I've got three kitty-cats at home." He then proceeded to make what Rainbow believed to be smooching sounds- ew- and beckon her forward with one finger. Unimpressed at this attempt, the pegasus glared daggers at him and put on her best scowl. The second human paused in shock while the third human went wide-eyed.
"You see that? That thing's got an attitude!"
"Okay, enough of this! Jason, get behind it!" All four of the humans soon circled around Rainbow, leaving her with nowhere to run. Now, the pegasus was starting to get annoyed by these guys. She needed to find a way back to Equestria as soon as she could and get back to fixing this mess, not screwing around with the locals.
And whatever they were planning, it was the worst idea Rainbow could think of when it came to capturing a pegasus.
"Okay, when I say the word," spoke their leader. "We're all gonna jump it at once. Everyone ready? And… now!" The humans all lunged at Rainbow… and at the same time, the pegasus dashed away from the street and zipped up to a roof. Upon perching, she turned her eyes down to the street to watch the remainder of the scene. Each of the humans was proclaiming victory as they struggled to hold down something that wasn't actually there anymore. It was almost amusing.
"I think I got it by the tail, sir!"
"I got a leg!"
"Slippery little fella, aren't ya?!"
"Alright, let's pull the little sucker out! On three: one, two, three- whoaaaa!" The humans all yanked on their arms and legs before collapsing in a heap in the middle of the street. Rainbow stifled a chuckle at their mishap and stuck out her tongue, launching off her perch and leaving the humans to ponder how it had gotten away. The pegasus flew high enough to look out over the city, her magenta eyes peeled for anything useful to her. But much to her disappointment, there were no signs of any rift… although that same energy could occasionally be seen sweeping through a few city blocks.
Wait, what was that? Off to the right?
Rainbow turned in midair to see violet laser blasts light up the street, sending various objects up in smoke and leaving scorch marks on the pavement. Not too far away from those blasts was a blue streak of light racing through the streets and zigzagging in frantic patterns. It took a hard left and sped right underneath Rainbow, its flying pursuer giving chase. It looked like Twilight… but even Rainbow knew better. The princess didn't follow her here, as far as she knew.
"Changeling…" she muttered before blasting off with a colored blur, flying in hot pursuit of the two streaks below.
…
Violet blasts of magic sent everything flying on both sides of the street. A car was flipped onto its side and a fire hydrant shot water into the air, but none of the rays landed a hit on their intended target. Sonic darted this way and that to avoid the beams, glancing over his back to check on his chaser. "Nice try, look-alike!" he taunted while vaulting over another car and sliding beneath a truck. "You may have the appearance down, but not the skill! Twi's pretty much a magic master!"
"You have taunted the use of my powers for the last time, hedgehog!" Chrysalis snarled in the voice of Twilight Sparkle, blasting more magic rays that failed to hit their mark. The hedgehog took a quick left turn that Chrysalis nearly overshot, and the fake alicorn had to bank hard to avoid hitting the corner of a building. She despised this creature and its blasted speed… perhaps if she tried blasting his legs off, then the nuisance would be quelled. The hedgehog was now running for a T-intersection, prompting Chrysalis to try and cut off his routes with more blasts that blocked both turns. To her surprise, Sonic didn't make a move for either of those paths, instead running up the side of a building and launching off.
Sonic smacked into Chrysalis' airborne form and slammed her to the ground. The hedgehog landed beside her in a heroic pose, a cheeky smirk on his face. "Ha! Face it, face-taker! I'm just too fast for you!" He expected a seething face of rage from the changeling queen or another spout of irritated banter. But what came from her mouth was an amused chuckle, followed by a glint in the violet eyes Chrysalis had stolen.
"Oh, is that right? Too fast? I have ways to compensate for that, you pitiful creature." The fake Twilight rose to her hooves with a knowing grin. "If it's speed you want…" A green flash of light shrouded Chrysalis' false form of Twilight Sparkle… and a half-second later, a visage of Rainbow Dash stood in its place. "...it's speed you'll get!"
An alarmed Sonic was then slammed by the fake pegasus, tumbling along the street before slamming into a parked taxi. Rubbing his head from the impact, Sonic glanced up with a groan, one of dissatisfaction rather than pain, at Chrysalis' new form. "Are you serious? I literally just fought the real deal not too long ago and now I have to do it again?" The false flier looked perplexed at the hedgehog's words before chuckling in Rainbow's voice. "Not your first time? Then I suppose the second round will go to me!" Both speedsters took off down a stretch of road, zipping back and forth between vehicles and past onlooking bystanders. The blue and rainbow blurs collided on both the road and on skyscraper walls, chasing each other down across city blocks and through narrow alleys.
Sonic spiraled up a skyscraper while Chrysalis ascended in pursuit, meeting the hedgehog at the top by tackling him off the roof. Sonic replied by spinning up into his ball form with the fake pegasus in tow, resembling a blue orb swirling with color. At the height of his charge, he released and sent Chrysalis sailing downward. Fighting to regain her composure, Chrysalis spread her wings to catch herself from hitting the concrete… only for Sonic to slam on top of her and embed her into the asphalt anyway. Bounding back up, Sonic spun for Chrysalis again, but the fake pegasus swatted him away with a hoof and gave chase down another street. Hitting the road running, Sonic shot down the street as a blue streak of light while the false Rainbow Dash zoomed meters above the road.
Weaving around more cars, Sonic shot up the length of another building off to the left, the fake pegasus rising to meet him. Near the edge of the roof, Chrysalis gained on the hedgehog and wrapped her forelegs around him. Sonic responded by slamming the back of his head into Chrysalis', the two of them trading a series of high-speed punches and other blows. Seizing the fake pegasus by the tail, Sonic spun in a circle before flinging Chrysalis off into the distance. The Blue Blur regained his momentum by sprinting down another building and back onto the street like a car merging onto the freeway. High above the streets, the copycat Rainbow Dash shook her head with a growl before blasting off with a colored shockwave, zeroing in on the sapphire streak of light like a heat-seeking missile.
Blasting down the road with his legs a blur beneath him, Sonic tore his eyes off the street to snag a look at the false Rainbow gaining on him. As he thought, she was still on him, so he needed to figure out a plan. His first thought was of Station Square: he was certain by now that the real Rainbow Dash was just as fast as him- their unhealthy competition was proof of that- so there was no way he could outrun Chrysalis right now. On the plus side, he knew the area better than she did; this was his home turf they were brawling on, after all. He could make some quick turns, lose the changeling in the side streets, and ambush her from an alley, speeding down a corner before she even knew what happened…
"AGH!" A startled cry from the fake Rainbow caused Sonic to hit the brakes, the hedgehog coming to a screeching halt in the middle of the road. Chrysalis was no longer in sight… something had knocked her out of the air. And that something came from a nearby alley, where Chrysalis was struggling against what sounded like an unknown attacker. Narrowing his eyes, Sonic sprinted for the alley's entrance and slid into view with balled fists… and dropped his guard at what he saw.
"Get off me, you lousy little-!"
"C'mere! I ain't done with ya!"
Two Rainbow Dashes were tussling about in the alley like wild dogs fighting over scraps, each of them tugging at the other's mane or trying to pin the other down. Sonic stood stunned at the scene, watching literal feathers fly until two pairs of magenta eyes spotted him. Almost simultaneously, both pegasi broke away and pointed at the other with one hoof.
"You have got to be kidding me…" Sonic moaned. Immediately after he spoke, the Rainbow on the left stepped forward with wide eyes. "Sonic! It's me! Rainbow Dash! You gotta help me!"
"No!" the one on the right yelled, pushing the other one back. "I'm the real Rainbow Dash! Don't listen to that faker!"
"Who are you calling faker, faker?!" the one on the left snapped with bared teeth. "Everypony knows I'm the real deal!" The Rainbow on the right responded with an angry growl. "Shut up, changeling! Or I'll knock all your teeth out!"
"You're the changeling!"
"Why I oughta-!"
"STOP!" Sonic shouted, pausing the pegasi where they stood with an annoyed expression. "Alright, there's only one way to settle this." He crossed his arms and stared each of the blue ponies in the eyes. "I'm gonna ask you two some questions. Whoever gets three right is the real Rainbow Dash. Got it?"
The only response he got from the pegasi was the two of them glaring daggers at each other. "Umm… okay. Ahem! First question: how'd we first meet?" The Rainbow on the right was the first to answer that. "Canterlot! When Eggman showed up!"
"I knew that too!" the one on the left added frantically. Sonic shot that one a look. "Then your mouth's gotta be quicker than your wings. Next question: what do you enjoy the most?"
"Winning!" shouted the Rainbow on the left. The Rainbow on the right responded a split-second later. "My friends!" Sonic placed a hand on his chin and tapped his foot in thought, alternating his gaze between the two. "Hmm… What was your reaction to me breaking the sound barrier?"
"Amazed because of new competition!" barked the one on the left.
"Horrified because of how fast you were!" shouted the one on the right.
Sonic felt like he was getting somewhere… but he needed to make sure of his final decision. "I told you the secret of how I fight Eggman's forces. What was it?"
"Be quicker and unpredictable!" shouted the Rainbow on the left.
"Just have fun and live in the moment!" the one on the right shouted. Immediately after she spoke, the Rainbow on the left pumped a hoof proudly. "HA! That's three questions right! Now, pound this copycat, So-"
"Not so fast!" Sonic interrupted with a raised hand. "I still have one more question for both of you! And this one's very important, so you better give this your all!"
"Pfft! Bring it!" The Rainbow on the left replied while the one on the right gave the hedgehog a trustful nod. With that settled, Sonic looked at the ponies sternly and delivered his final question. "Although we appeared to hit it off when we first met, you secretly hated me. You kept it bottled up for a while until we came to blows, which led us to the Crystal Empire. When the dust settled, everyone learned you hated me… so why did you?"
"Oh, that's easy!" The Rainbow on the left scoffed boastfully. "Wasn't it obvious, Sonic? I realized you were getting too fast for my tastes! I wanted to get rid of you so that I could stay as the fastest thing in Equestria! Boom! Nailed it!"
Sonic just turned to the Rainbow on the right… who was hesitating. The hedgehog impatiently tapped his foot and crossed his arms. "Well?" The blue pegasus had to take a deep breath and turned to Sonic with pity in her eyes. "I… I hated you because you weren't just faster than me. You were more popular than me. And if anypony started loving you like the creatures here in your world… then I'd lose everypony I loved. My friends, my family, all of them would leave me for you. And that… scared me."
Sonic stared at the Rainbow on the right in suspicion and silence, contemplating her words for what felt like agonizing hours for the pegasi. He stepped back, thinking to himself… before turning back to the pegasi. "Alright… I've made my decision."
The Rainbow on the left sneered victoriously at the one on the right. "Gotcha, you changeling creep…" Sonic returned those words with a smirk of his own, glancing at the Rainbow on the right. "Couldn't have said it better myself." That Rainbow's magenta eyes went wide in horror and she started to retreat from the hedgehog. "Wait, Sonic, no-!"
The hedgehog lunged forward with a blast of wind, forcing that Rainbow to brace for contact. Instead of feeling a hard force slam into her, she heard her own voice cry out from elsewhere. She peeked open a magenta eye… and saw that Sonic had rushed for the other Rainbow Dash and was now pinning her against a brick wall. Struggling in the hedgehog's grip, the bewildered pegasus flickered and shimmered until a green light swept over her, revealing the black, twisted form of Queen Chrysalis.
"H… how…?" she croaked in confusion. Sonic just looked back at Rainbow Dash, flashing her a wink. "It was easy, really. You were playing a mind game with me, queenie… so I decided to play one of my own. I made you let your guard down and show your true colors behind all those fake ones. I may not be Tails, but I'm quick in the mind as much as I am in the body."
He shot Chrysalis a taunting look. "One word, bug-brain. Misdirection."
"But… but…" Chrysalis stammered in shock. "I had you right where I wanted you!"
"No, I had you right where I wanted you," Sonic replied. "Rainbow's been with me long enough to trust me, and that means I trust her, too. We both needed to make this believable for you, even if one of us wasn't in on it. Face it, Chrysalis. You may have the ability to change your body… but you'll never be able to match the mind it belongs to."
"No… no! NO!" The changeling queen struggled and writhed in the hedgehog's arms, desperately squirming for a chance to break free. "Curse you, Sonic! If it wasn;t for your interference, my revenge would have played out perfectly! Why must you stick your nose into businesses it has no place in?!"
"Because it's what I do. Duh." A quick knee to the gut deprived Chrysalis of her remaining breath, knocking her out cold in an instant. Sonic backed away from the wall, allowing the defeated queen to collapse in front of a stunned Rainbow. "Whoa… Sonic… that was amazing! H-How did you-?!"
"Hey, when it comes to my friends…" the hedgehog answered proudly. "I become the amazing. Even to you, Colors." He rubbed the pegasus' mane as if he was petting a dog before reaching to his communicator and tapping it. "Yo, Tails. When you're done dropping off Miss Whiny Wings and the Red Rage Monster, I've got another troublemaker for you and Knux to take care of."
"Copy that! We just arrived at a G.U.N. checkpoint with those two and they'll take it from here."
"No kidding! I didn't think the big guy could be so heavy!"
"We'll meet you back at the castle, Sonic. Tails out."
The communicator switched off and Sonic turned to Rainbow, who was now hovering at eye level. "Well, now that the bug queen and her two minions have been put in their place, what brings you to Station Square, Dash? The skyline? The fancy hotels?"
"Ha! Hardly!" she laughed. "I may have been getting ahead of myself and I may have flown right through a rift. My friends and I were at this town called Hope Hollow, and… oh, lemme tell ya, it was way more colorful than it normally is! But then, these bad guys calling themselves the Deadly Six ended up crashing the party."
"Whoa, Zavok and his goons?" Sonic echoed in alarm. "Leave it to them to ruin a good day. And they do not like to mess around. Since you're still in one piece, I take it you beat those punks?"
"They almost beat us," Rainbow clarified. "Not gonna lie. But then your little alien buddies stepped in to give us a hand!" At the pegasus' words, Sonic lit up. "The Wisps?! Did they share their powers with you?! How'd it feel?"
"Awesome! This cyan one shot into me, and then I was zipping all over the place! Thanks to them, we sent those monsters packing and Twilight sent them all to Tartarus."
"I'm gonna assume that's where your world's bad guys go to think about what they've done. Congrats!"
"Oh, and that's not all!" Rainbow continued. "Fluttershy found this thing called a Chaos Drive! We could use that in our portal!" Sonic pumped a fist victoriously. "Sweet! Then what are we waiting for?! Let's get back and-"
CRACK-A-BOOOOM! Suddenly, the skies above the city trembled like an earthquake and forced both blue heroes to wince from the breaking sensation. They shot their gaze upwards among the shattering… where a giant rift had appeared in the open air. Beyond it lay another city neither of them recognized with elements of Station Square's city blocks. The other city was filled with metropolitan buildings, multicolored people gathered around in panic, and moving vehicles that abruptly came to a halt by force or other means. One such building had a horse-like figurine on its roof, and pieces of debris were already raining down on Station Square.
"Uuuh, this looks bad!" Rainbow stammered at the sight. "What do we do now?!" Sonic just shot her a prepared look. "I think it's time we juice this joint! Follow me if you wanna escape from the city!" He blasted out of the alley at high speed, and Rainbow quickly followed him onto the streets as the humongous rift loomed overhead…
…
Elsewhere, a wooden airship hovered through the skies, a propeller turning steadily at its stern. A visage of a golden bird stood at its bow, its silent gaze staring out at the horizon the ship sailed toward. Aboard its main deck, green anthropomorphic parrots decked out in swashbuckling gear carried crates of cargo, ascended up riggings to peer outwards, and snoozed in hammocks attached to wooden poles. One such bird set down a barrel and wiped his brow, leaning against a stack of crates. He was close to closing his eyes until he felt something tap him on the shoulder.
"Huh?" The parrot turned around to look… and the last thing he saw before blacking out was a gloved fist decking him in the face. He hit the ground completely unconscious, his tongue hanging out of his beak and his eyes wide open. "Haw haw!" laughed a burly voice as the parrot's motionless body was dragged behind the crates. "Didja see how that featherbrain dropped?!"
"Ssshhhhh!" another voice hissed. "Quiet down, unless you want to wake up the whole ship! Where's the cargo hold?"
"This way," said a third hushed voice. "Follow my lead and be quick about it. These guys may look incompetent, but even they wouldn't hesitate to report us! Now move!" Three large crates with feet sticking out from them scuttled out from the stack and across the deck, dropping at the slightest hint of a green parrot turning their eyes in their direction. One parrot noticed a commotion and turned to see the three crates lying in the middle of the deck. He stared at them for a while… before shrugging and returning to slurping down a worm he had found in the floorboards.
"Ugh, gross!" came a disgusted voice from the middle crate.
"Less yapping, more moving!" snapped the leader, hurriedly scampering across the deck. The oblivious birds remained unaware of the moving boxes, others being too lazy to notice. It wasn't long before the three crates found a hatch near the stern of the ship. Dropping over the hatch, the one in the lead crate hastily pried it open and ushered the others inside, descending down a staircase.
At the bottom, the figure stood and tossed the crate off of him… revealing an emerald-green hawk with white gloves, red-black shoes, a green airboard holstered on his back, and yellow goggles resting on his forehead. His golden beak curled into a smirk as his azure eyes scanned the loot before him. "Jackpot."
The second figure stood and discarded its cover, revealing a purple swallow with a white kerchief on her head, red sneakers, white trousers with purple flames, a purple airboard on her back, and golden sunglasses that lifted to uncover cobalt blue eyes. "Whoa… just how much loot is here?" she whispered, glancing over all the gold and treasure she could find.
The third figure chucked his crate away, revealing a muscular gray albatross that wore tan gloves, a brown necklace, a gray-yellow airboard on his back, and black boots. His blue eyes didn't know where to start when he laid them on the packed treasury. "Ooooh, shiny…"
The hawk turned to his fellow avians. "Alright, Rogues. Let's get as much as we can and get out before those birdbrains know we're here! I'm looking at you, Storm!"
"Aw, come on, boss!" whined the big bird as he scooped heaps of gold and gems into a sack. "I wasn't that bad… was I, Wave?" The swallow barely gave him a glance as she looked over a well-cut diamond. "That depends if you think boasting over taking out a pirate was bad…"
"Well, for pirates, these chumps are amateurs," the hawk snapped as he swiped an ancient-looking medallion and stuffed it in his bag. "No security measures, no booby traps, no guards… Well, guards who take their job seriously. I gotta say, I'm almost disappointed."
"Then I guess me and my crew need to lighten you up!"
All three birds froze in their spots before whirling around to the stairs… where a light-gray parrot with raspberry eyes, a crystal peg leg, and a tricorn hat stood with her arms crossed and several parrot pirates at her back with drawn swords. One of them was holding a spoon as an alternative, which did little for intimidation. The one that the hawk assumed was the captain looked over the trio with a stern look in her eye.
"I-It wasn't me, boss!" stammered the albatross. "I swear!"
"You're not like the usual rabble from Ornithia… unless you grew up in the slums," the captain muttered. "I'm gonna give you punks one chance to get off my ship, or we're gonna throw you out."
"'We'? HA!" The hawk laughed, tossing his loot bag aside. "Those sorry excuses for pirates couldn't tell the difference between port and starboard!"
"Now that's just uncalled for," A brown cat wearing a red coat stepped out from the birds, a sly smirk on his face as he drew two cutlasses from behind his back. "I happen to know some associates of this fine captain, and they don't take well to insults." A tiny dark-gray hedgehog scurried out from beneath the cat's legs, wearing a little eyepatch over his left eye. "Yeah! And they'd mess you up good if they were here!"
"But I suppose…" A dark rose unicorn with a scar over her eye and a broken horn stepped forth, staring down the trio of birds with a challenging look. "...that we'll have to do."
"Your call, thief," the captain spoke as she drew her own sword. "The easy way or the hard way. And Captain Celaeno has gone through lots of hard ways…"
"Heh!" The hawk snickered in reply. "Do you have any idea who you're dealing with, featherbrain? The Babylon Rogues don't back down from anything when they're this close to a big score!"
"That mean what I think it means, Jet?" the swallow asked, a knowing look thrown his way. Without even glancing at her, the hawk extended a hand… and the albatross grabbed a cutlass from the wall, tossing it to his leader. Snagging the weapon in his hand, the hawk pointed it at the captain with a confident-yet-arrogant grin. "What's one more 'hard way'?"
