Chapter 8.
Escape to the mountains.
(Author's note: well, here's another chapter. Wooo!.)
The group laid still, huddled together in the inky, oppresive blackness, while screams, and clanking were heard in the distance. After a few minutes through this, a time that felt like hours, the sound died away, and a small whimpering could be heard.
"Help...help me...help..." The whimpering continued, as Celestia and Discord grew more tense. Twilight sparkle strained to see what was going on. Flutter shy looked like she was about to cry.
"Ohh, someone's in trouble..." said Flutter shy quietly. She strained to get up, whimpering and straining, shaking her hooves, and she was about to burst free and follow the voice, when Celestia grabbed her and pushed her down.
"Celestia!" said Twilight Sparkle out of suprise. Why was she preventing her from getting to the voice? The whimpering was heard louder, and louder, the cries grew more urgent by the second.
"Please...help me...I can't see... " Screw ball began to shake too.
"Daddy, what's going on? There's a filly out there.." she whimpered.
"No..." he muttered. The filly flailed some more, and the other, helpless filly came closer. Soon, the entire group was trying to go towards the voice. The little helpless voice then came into view, and they all saw the outline of a tiny, limping filly. Celestia became even more worried, and so did Discord, twisting around and creating a barrier. But the others were blind to their worry, and the only thought on their mind was getting to the voice.
"Don't go towards it!" yelled Celestia franticly, pushing them away even though they were pushing her away as far as they could, putting in all their might.
"Can you help me? I can't see... can you help me? are you there? I'm so afraid..." she began to cry, sobbing softly, and Twilight Sparkle could almost feel her heart falling apart in sympathy for the poor filly. After more pushing and shoving, Discord was shoved away, and Celestia made a wild grab for the ponies, and so did Discord, shoving them down. Though Screw Ball burst away from them, and flew fast to the filly, her hooves out spread, ready to give her a hug.
Time seemed to slow down, in those few seconds that Screw Ball flew to the tiny horse. Discord twisted his body aroud, making ponies fly everywhere. He reached in vain towards his daughter, Screw Ball, as she finnaly made contact with the filly.
Almost instantly, the filly burst apart, and turned into black, bright fire, part machine and part terrible fire. It reared it's head, A giant horse, wearing it's mane in a style of long ago. It reared it's head, and fire came out of it's nose, almost scorching Discord, who moved his head back quickly in suprise, as the fire spread around him, and Screw Ball was lifted onto a small cage, one of which were dangling from it's sides, and she slipped around inside. The other cages were either empty, held bones of the ponies that met with the Trojan Horse before, and a few statues.
"Screw Ball!" Yelled Discord, and he was about to fly towards the Trojan, when Celestia and the others grabbed him, as they made their escape. They ran and ran, faster into the mountains. They ran and ran, hearing the mechanical clacking of the Trojan Horse, and the screams of Screw Ball, as she cried for help.
"Help! Come on! help me!" she cried in her fear. Also, along with all these noises, the voice of the fake filly from before blared in their ears.
"Why? Why won't you help us? Why? WHYYYYY!" the voice screamed, unsettling them. After running for what seemed like hours, the voices and screaming died away. They found themselves in a small cave, under a waterfall, all panting heavily. They stayed that way, shocked, the water from the cave slowly dripping on their heads. Flim was the first to speak.
"That was a shocking experience-" he then waited for a second, as if he expected a reply from his tiny comment. He then looked around in shock at the group.
"Princess... Discord... Twilight sparkle... Rarity... Fluttershy... Rainbow Dash... Apple jack... Pinkie pie... Trixie... Flam?" he asked an empty space. He grew even more panicked.
"Flam? Flam? FLAAAAAM!" He screamed, and began to flail about. Trixie immediately shoved her hoof in his mouth as he screamed even more. He tugged at her hooves, becoming more and more insane by the second. The group hoped that the Trojan would have not heard the scream, but it was too late. The sound of mechanical clanking grew closer and closer. The black mass passed above, as a cage dangled before them, clinking from a chain on the Trojan's body. Inside was Flam, looking like he was about to have a mental break down. Flim reached out to him in vain, and he was carried away before their eyes, before Flim could reach him.
"FLAAAAAAAAAM!" he yelled. And, for some reason, the Trojan just faded away. Flim than collapsed to the floor, kicking and flailing for a few minitues, until he just layed in a damp corner, whimpering, and chattering in the cold. A few drops from the wall fell on his hat, as it flopped into his face. Trixie trotted over to him and patted his head.
"You'll get through this," She gave him a hug, and walked to the main group.
"When did Flam get kidnapped?" she asked. Celestia shrugged, while Pinkie Pie thought for a few seconds.
"Maybe he was kidnapped when we were running away? He seemed kind of slow." she looked at flim in his corner, watching the water drip on him.
"Wait, if Order has frozen everything, why is the water still moving?" Twilight Sparkle looked at Flim too.
"I think our spell was a little too strong. I think it makes the area a few feet around us unfreezes and returns to it's place in time before it was frozen. that's why this cave is so wet!" Celestia nodded.
"Excellent observation, Twilight Sparkle. Though it's something to expect from my top dstudent." They then noticed that Discord looked like he was going to lose it too.
"I can't believe that they would take Screw Ball like that..." He said sadly. "Only my brother would do something like that...and even though she's his niece, I doubt he'll treat her well." then he turned angry. "I'm going to kill the bastard!" He yelled at the cave's roof, as if it had kidnapped Screw Ball and Flam. He seemed to about to attack something or someone in blind anger, but stopped himself, taking deep breaths.
"I know he just wants me to get angry...chase after him...and not concentrate on helping you ponies find the elements." Celestia nodded at this.
"Wise desicion, Discord. And I have to feel sorry for the two also. But they will probably stay alive, while Order waits for us to go after them. But we will have to continue on our quest." Trixie's eyes widened at this.
"But look at how this put Flim! We can't just go on like nothing happened!" Celestia sighed.
"I know you worry about their well-being, but that is an impossibility right now. His stronghold-his castle, is too strongly guarded for us to do anything without the Elements of Harmony. And right now, we need to concentrate on finding the first Element, Honesty." Apple Jack nodded.
"'ah would love ta' find ma' element quickly, Celestia."
"Good, good, Apple jack." Celestia replied. She looked around at the damp cave.
"We should rest for now. It will be dangerous venturing outwards now, I bet my mane that the Trojan is still close, watching us, waiting us to come out of our cave to find them. I know how this works, I have seen it before." She looked around at her team of ponies.
"But for now, we rest." They all agreed on this, and plodded around the cave, trying to find a place to rest inside of it, someplace that was not as damp as the rest of the cave. As they all settled down uneasily to sleep, With Twilight, Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie pie, Rarity in one Corner, with Celestia and Discord on the other side, and with Trixie in Flim in Flim's wet little corner. Flim was still shuffling his hooves and muttering quickly.
"Me and Flam were always together, never apart, he was always there, sat in same desk at school, did everything together. Flam and me, Flam and me, Flam and me, Flam and me, Flam and me, Flam and me, Flam and me, Flam-" he kept going on and on, being seperated from his twin seemed to really scar him. Trixie put a hoof over his mouth.
"Shhhhhhh.." Said Trixie. "Calm down, you need to sleep." He nodded, and set his head down.
"Thank you, Trixie." The two then fell asleep, side by side, and the rest of the group followed suit.
XXX
Twilight Sparkle was resting peacefully, when the sun's rays first appeared. She looked outside, admiring the celestial body. She then realized something. She turned to Celestia and shook her awake.
"Celestia! Celestia!" she cried. Celestia started up.
"What, what is it Twilight?" she asked. Twilight began to gesture franticly outside towards the sun.
"How is that happening! I thought you rose the sun in the day!" Celestia's eye's widened when she realized what was going on.
"Order must have somehow seized control of the sun...He wouldn't abandon the daily order of things... We should not worry, he probably does it more precisely than anyone before who controlled the sun...It's the way of his Order..." Twilight sighed.
"Well, at least there is a bright side to his take over..." The two sat and talked for a few minutes, then decided to wake the others. They wandered outside, where they found their cave was on the side of a steep ravine. They grazed through the frozen grass, then sat down inside of the cave, and made their plans. None of the ponies looked too good, their manes were in disarray, And Flim's and Trixie's uniforms were ruffled and dirty.
"We should keep moving I know the peak of Mt. horsehead is the highest mountain in this region," Suggested Discord. Celestia nodded.
"We should make our way there right away. Let's go." The team then set out, climbing up the mountains, going up dangerous ravines, watching their steps carefully. After hours of this, they finally reached the base of Mt. Horsehead.
They made their way up the mountain, and after hours of climbing, falling, and walking they reached the top.
"Oh my Celestia..." exclaimed Twilight sparkle. Before them stood an enormous building of sorts, a giant temple or something, made out of a dark black marble that rose high up into the sky, like the opening of a giant cathedral.
"I think I know where we're going next..." said Apple Jack.
(whew! it be done!
poor Flim Flam. ;-; and Screw Ball. ;-;
Be sure to review and crap. DO EET RIGHT NAO!)