Author's Note: Well its Christmas and I want to give you guys something really special, this chapter.
Chapter 9: Well, You're Not Wrong
Ponies are running around, yelling and grabbing guns while the monitors are beeping wildly. Dr. Whooves gets up, groaning and puts his hoof on his earpiece. "Derpy whats happening!"
"Number Three engine is down and is on fire. The line looks in tact but we can't make repairs while we're in the air. Somepony's gotta get outside and p-patch that engine." Derpy told him.
"Dash, you copy that?" Whooves said in his earpiece.
"I'm on it." Dash replied as she and Applejack run through a dim, debris-filled hall. "Find engine three. I'll meet you there." she said to Applejack. Applejack then peels off as Rainbow Dash approaches a tech room where the Iron Dash suit stands waiting, lit from above in all its glory.
"Spike, initiate defensive lock down in the contingent center. Then get to the armory." Whooves said to in his earpiece. "Rarity!"
Rarity's leg is trapped under a very large pipe. "We're okay!" she said to him.
She looks over to Fluttershy, who is breathing heavy on the floor and her face intense. "Right?" Rarity asked getting nervous.
Pinkie and her soldiers landed and are making their way across the deck and over to an air vent. Pinkie then signals them to kick in the vent and they do. The grating is kicked in and the soldiers jump down with Pinkie joining them. "Keep that engine down." Pinkie said to three of the soldiers. "Detention, wait for camera to go dark." she said to two of the soldiers. "Stay close." she said to the last one.
Fluttershy is struggling to suppress her rage, but her face is growing, changing slowly. Rarity is trying her best to set herself free again. "Doctor? Fluttershy, you gotta fight it. This is just what Trixie wants. We're gonna be okay. Listen to me." Rarity told her. "We're gonna be okay. Right? I swear on my life I will get you out of this, you will walk away, and never ever-"
"Your life?" Fluttershy said with her voice changing. Fluttershy begins to transform, her eyes glowing green, her face features deforming, her skin turning greenish grey. She throws herself away from Rarity trying to fight it.
"Fluttershy." Rarity said afraid.
Rarity squirms her way out of under the pipes and starts to run, but stops to give one last look at Fluttershy. The transformation completes and she is no longer the shy pony we all know. She gets unsteadily to her feet, and turns to see Rarity.
Rarity turns and runs up the catwalk stairs as the Flutterhulk chases her. She swings over a catwalk, and rolls under a turbine, as the Flutterhulk tears down the stairs. Rarity jumps through small places as the Flutterhulk chases after her. "ROAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"
Trixie hears the Flutterhulk roaring and smiles.
Doctor Whooves is running to the bridge. "Bring the carrier to a one-eight-zero heading south. Take us to the water." Whooves demanded.
"We're flying blind. Navigation recalibrated after the engine failure." one of the agents said.
"Is the sun coming up?" Whooves asked.
"Yes, sir." the agent replied.
"Then put us on the left. Get us over water. One more turbine goes down then we drop." Whooves said.
Applejack has just arrived at the damaged engine. "Dash! Dash, I'm here." Applejack shouted.
Iron Dash arrives flying close to the engine. "Good. Let's see what we got." Iron Dash said. Her suit then begins to scan through the different levels of machinery. "I gotta get this super conducting cooling system back online before I can access the rotors, work on dislodging the debris." she said to herself. "I need you to get to that engine control panel and tell me which relays are in overload position." she said to Applejack. Applejack jumps and swings herself over to the control panel and opens it up while Iron Dash works on the engine. "What's it look like in there?" she said through Applejacks earpiece.
"It seems to run on some form of electricity." Applejack said.
"Well, you're not wrong." Iron Dash said.
Rarity sneaking under an engine. She hears the footsteps and pulls out her gun, holding it ready and she moves out from the pips and walks.
"ROOOAAAARRR!" the Flutterhulk roared.
Rarity fires her gun at a pipe over her head and gas shoots out as she runs along a narrow passage as fast as she can, but the Flutterhulk crashed through behind her coming up on her fast and violently, slaps her aside against a wall. She steps towards her. Rarity is groaning unable to get up. The raises a hoof, about to strike, when she is tackled through a wall by Twilight. The two ponies roll into a docking area causing personnel to run out of the room. They both get up and the two circle one another.
The Flutterhulk strikes throwing wild punches as Twilight ducks and weaves. Flutterhulk brings down a hoof and Twilight holds it above her with her magic. "We're not your enemies, Fluttershy! Try to think!" Twilight said.
Flutterhulk then punches Twilight across the room and through a container.
"Kay, the relays are intact." Applejack said as she pushes the engine control panel back in. "What's our next move?"
"Even if I clear the rotors, this thing won't re-engage without a jump. I'm gonna have to get in there and push." Iron Dash said.
"Well, if that thing gets up to speed, you'll get shredded!" Applejack said.
"Then stay in the control unit and reverse polarity long enough to disengage maglev and that should-"
"Speak English!" Applejack said through her earpiece interrupting her.
"...See that red lever? It'll slow the rotors down long enough for me to get out. Stand by it, wait for my word." Rainbow Dash said through her earpiece. Applejack then jumps over to the lever.
Twilight flies in some stacked containers and slides across the floor on one knee and one leg out. She wipes a little blood from her nose. "ROOOAAAARRR!" the Flutterhulk roared. Twilight looks up, grins, makes her horn glow and she raises her hoof. Mjolnir then comes flying through the docking area and Twilight catches it just as the Flutterhulk charges at her and Twilight hits her on the jaw sending her into a chariot.
The Flutterhulk get up and rips the door off the chariot and flings it at Twilight. But she ducks, causing the wing to hit a jeep. Twilight throws Mjolnir and the Flutterhulk catches the hammer but is pulled backwards. She tries to lift the hammer, but it's too heavy for her. Twilight kicks her away, picks up the hammer and wraps her hoofs around the Flutterhulk's neck. She tries swinging Twilight off.
The two ponies then crash through the floor of the Wishbone lab. Twilight was laying on the ground but when she looks up the Flutterhulk grabs her by the throat.
Doctor Whooves is at the controls. "We need full evac on the lower hangar bed." Whooves said.
Derpy nods and walks up and signals some agents. A small device then rolls over to their feet. "Huh?" Derpy said looking at it.
The device explodes sending agents flying. In the smoke, Trixie's soldiers enter the bridge and Hooves starts knocking most of them out. But one was about to shoot at him, but was stopped when Derpy shoots him in the head.
"We've got perimeter breach. Hostiles are in TIME gear. Call out to every junction." the intercom announced.
Doctor Whooves, Derpy, and other agents are shooting toward Trixie's soldiers. "We've got the Flutterhulk and Twilight on Research Level Four. Levels Two and Three are gone." the intercom announced.
"Sir, the Flutterhulk will tear this place apart!" Derpy said.
"Get her attention." Hooves said.
Derpy then gets down and puts her hoof on her ear. "Escort chariot, proceed to Wishbone and...engage hostile. Don't get too close." she said.
"Copy." a young TIME pilot said as a chariot flies slowly towards the lab where Flutterhulk and Twilight are fighting, seemingly evenly matched. "Target acquired. Target engaged." He fires his guns toward Flutterhulk but the bullets bounce off of her. She roared running at the window and crashes through it, jumping at the chariot. "Target angry. Target angry."
She clings herself to the chariot and tears at it as it swerves in the air. The pilot tries to eject himself but the Flutterhulk grabs him and throws him off to the side. The pilot's parachute opens and the chariot explodes, sending Flutterhulk plummeting down to the ground.
Iron Dash saws off pieces of debris with a laser and jumps on them, knocking them off the rotors. While a pair of Trixie's soldiers engage, one throws a grenade. Applejack jumps into the air and slaps it away landing back on the carrier and fights them off, standing close to the lever. She ends up throwing one of the soldiers off the carrier. However she is forced over the edge by a gunman and falls almost dropping off the carrier, hanging on by a wire with her teeth. She tries to climb up but the soldier keeps firing at her.
Whooves is still shooting at the enemies. "They are not getting through here so what the-"
Pinkie fires arrows from above and they explode. She fires another which hits the control panel. Hooves sees her and begins to shoot, while the arrow, having hit a plug, hacks the carrier systems, causing a second engine to malfunction.
"Engine One is now in shutdown." the intercom announced. The carrier tilts dangerously making everypony in the bridge begin rolling.
"Sir, we've lost all power in Engine One." an agent said.
Rarity is sitting in the carnage of the Flutterhulk's rampage, shaking. "It's Pinkie, she took out our systems. She's headed for the detention lab. Does anybody copy?" Whooves asked. Rarity slowly lifts a hoof to her earpiece.
"This is Agent Rarity. I copy." she said staggering to her feet. Ready.
Iron Dash is trying to push the rotor.
"Dash, we're losing altitude." Whooves said.
"Yep, noticed." Iron Dash said.
Iron Dash flies in between the rotors and begins to push, slowly picking up speed as sparks fly.
Twilight runs into the room where Trixie's is and sees the door slide up and she runs over to Trixie, only to go straight through her. Trixie reappears behind her and closes the door, locking Twilight inside. "Are you ever not going to fall for that?"
Pinkie Pie is walking along a passage catwalk. When Rarity appears behind her and she quickly turns and shoots a bow, which flies by her. She pushes his hoof. Pinkie charges her but Rarity kicks her, then rolls underneath some pipes popping up on the other side of the catwalk, kicking Pinkie in the knee. She shoots another arrow, which Rarity dodges by dropping across to the next passage. Pinkie follows her and they fight along that catwalk. Pinkie tries hitting Rarity with the bow and Rarity pulls on the string. They fight some more, headbutting and punching. Soon they both pull out daggers.
Twilight hits the cage with her hammer, the cage cracks but it begins to shake off the bolts and shudders.
"Heh the ponies think us immortal. Shall we test that?" Trixie asked.
"Move away, please?" Spike ordered her carrying an unfeasibly large gun. Trixie does what she's asked and steps back from the panel. "Do you like this?" Spike asked pointing at the gun. "We started working on the prototype after you sent the Ursa. Even I don't know what it does. Do you wanna find out?"
Spike prepares to fire the weapon when Trixie disappears and reappearing behind him and thrusting the point of her horn through Spike's chest. Making him drops to the floor.
"NO!" Twilight shouted.
Trixie then returns to the panel, opening the chute and pressing the button which sends the cell, and Twilight, falling from the carrier.
The cell keeps falling, flipping all over the place. Twilight was trying desperately to break free from the cell, swinging Mjolnir at the glass sides as she plummets, twisting and turning, through the air. She then braces herself against a wall and launches across the space, crashing through the glass and just before the cell slams into the ground.
Rarity and Pinkie are still fighting. Rarity grabs Pinkie's hoof and thrusts it back. Pinkie groans as she throws the dagger to his free hoof. Rarity grabs that hoof too but Pinkie hoists her against a wall. Pinkie then grabs Rarity's hair and pulls, exposing her neck to her dagger. Rarity sinks her teeth into her hoof and Pinkie let go, trying to force her down when she spins, throwing Pinkie into the railing. She falls to the ground, groaning, then looks up. "Rarity!" Pinkie said surprised.
Rarity then sends Pinkie a left hook.
Trixie smiles at what she has accomplished and turns to leave.
"You're going to lose." Spike said. That made Trixie stop.
"Am I?" Trixie asked.
"It's in your nature." Spike replied.
"Your heroes are scattered, your floating fortress falls from the sky. Where is my disadvantage?" Trixie asked.
"You lack conviction." Spike said.
"I don't think I-"
Spike fires the weapon, which shoots a blast of fire sending Trixie flying through a wall.
"So that's what it does." Spike said.
The carrier is still falling. Iron Dash is attempting to kick-start the engine by manually moving the huge rotors. She pushes the blades, flying faster and faster until they start spinning on their own and the ship levels off. "Cap hit the lever!" Iron Dash said to Applejack.
"I need a minute here!" Applejack said still hanging from the side of the ship by a power cord.
"Lever! Now!" Iron Dash said. Soon Applejack was able to haul herself up.
Iron Dash is then pushed back up against one of the rotors, now spinning too fast for her to escape.
"Uh-oh." she said in her mask.
Iron Dash is sucked into the blades and is spun wildly around before Applejack manages to pull the lever and she is able to fly out. She manages to right herself and flies back to the ship, taking out the gunman shooting at Applejack.
Spike is slumped on the floor with the gun in his lap. Whooves enters and kneels down by him. "I'm sorry boss. She rabbited." Spike said dying.
"Just stay awake. Eyes on me." Whooves said.
"Oh I'm clocking out here." Spike said.
"Not an option." Dr. Whooves said.
"It's okay, boss. This was never gonna work...if they didn't have something...to-"
His stops breathing and Hooves stands to let the medical team through. He then leans against the railing.
"Agent Spike is down." Whooves said to his earpiece.
"A medical team is on its way to your location." a medical pony said.
"They're here...They called it." Whooves said.
Meanwhile
A chariot takes off. Inside it is Trixie, who is smiling at what she did.
Author's Note: Now that Trixie has escaped and destroyed most of TIME's headquarters what will they do next? Find out next time.