CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Corey dashed around the dying fire, a huge grin on his face and a feathery ceremonial cape around his shoulders. It was very late, and he'd eaten so much food it was getting a little hard to walk around.

But right now, he had to find Laney.

Last he'd seen her, she was hanging around with the zebra foals they'd saved. The kids had really taken a liking to Grojband, especially the petite green unicorn, who – it turned out – was really good with children. Corey had been confused, since it wasn't like the Lanes he knew to be all that compassionate, but it was cool.

"Lanes!" he called. She was dancing with Zema, Zula, Zaran, just like he'd thought, and they looked like they were having a really good time. "Can we talk for a little bit?"

The green mare looked up, then started toward Corey, glancing back to reassure the foals. "What's up, Core?" she asked, pausing to readjust her hairclip.

Corey suddenly felt his insides go numb for some strange reason. "Uh, well, I just wanted us to talk for a little, about what we're gonna do when we get home," he said, trying to stay nonchalant. It was something he'd been wondering, anyway.

"I guess it depends on what's happened already when we get home, like, if any time had passed or anything," Laney said. "But Kin would know all that stuff, not me."

Corey blinked. "Well, where's Kin?"

"Somewhere," Laney said, shrugging. She craned her neck to look past the softly smoking embers. "I think Kon is playing the bongos. What's this really about, Core?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all. Hey, are you feeling tired yet? 'Cause I am." Corey faked a yawn. "I think I'm gonna hit the straw." He hitched up his cape and turned toward Zamale's hut. "You coming?"

Laney blushed very obviously under her green fur. "Uh, yeah, sure, why not?" she mumbled.

If Corey was being totally honest, it was kind of cute.

The two started back to the hut, and as they walked, Corey kept an eye peeled for their friends from Ponyville. He knew Twilight was probably still watching the zebras' ceremony preparations, and Fluttershy had left the party early, but it had been at least ten minutes since he'd last seen the overly conspicuous Rainbow Dash. Rarity hadn't been stalking him for a while, either, and as relieving as that was, it seemed a little suspicious. Thinking about it almost drowned out the awkwardness he was experiencing with the mare by his side.

They brushed past a (possibly) drunk old zebra and squeezed into the clearing where Zamale's hut was. No one was there, which confused Corey. Flutters should at least be here, he thought, then said aloud, "Where is everyone?"

"Probably still out partying. Relax, Core." Laney lifted the door-curtain and went into the hut, leaving the orange unicorn to investigate. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was up.

The grass around the campfire was tamped down, with hoofprints overlapping as if someone, most likely Twilight, had been pacing. A few blue feathers indicated Rainbow Dash, and a bit of Rarity's magical residue lingered by the place where the saddlebags had been stored.

Had been being the key phrase. Corey did a double take when he found the most important evidence of all: every last saddlebag was gone, even the ones Grojband had carried to the zebra camp. They were on their own.

He opened his mouth to call Laney's name, but she beat him to it. "Core, look at this!" the unicorn shouted as she ran out of the hut, a piece of parchment clutched between her teeth. She spat it out in front of him and blew a stray strand of hair from her eyes. Something's got her riled up, Corey thought as he carefully levitated the bit of paper and began to read.

Corey, Laney, Kin, and Kon,

We're sorry we didn't get the chance to say goodbye in person, but we received urgent word from Ponyville and had to return right away. As such, we couldn't stay for your return ceremony. Again, we're very sorry, but we know you're in good hooves with the zebra tribe, and we'll all miss you very much.

Your friends,

Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity.

It took a minute for Corey to process what he had just read. "I knew it," he breathed. "They're gone."

"What do you mean, you knew?" Laney shrieked.

"Look." Corey aimed a foreleg at the missing saddlebags. "They took all the stuff with them. They really aren't coming back."

"Well, that's not very fair of them!" Laney huffed. "It's not like they wanted us or anything, but the least they could do is to make sure we get home safely."

"They are right, though," Corey pointed out. "The zebras know what they're doing. And Twilight and the others got us this far! We're gonna be fine."

"That doesn't change the fact that we got ditched." Laney flopped down onto the ground and dragged her hoof into the dusty dirt.

"There is one thing…it isn't like them to leave us, especially not Twilight. Remember how freaked out she was this afternoon when we came back with the foals? Remember how Rainbow Dash told us that they were the Elements of mother-freaking Friendship? It isn't who they are. They must have had a really good reason if they had to go."

"So what do you suggest, then?" the green unicorn asked, looking up. If she had eyeliner on, it would definitely be running.

Corey's small smile widened into a devious grin. "We're gonna help them."

"What? Core, not to be rude or anything, but are you CRAZY?" Laney stood and kicked at the fire. "We're giving up our chance to go home for the ponies who left us behind?"

"They're our friends," Corey said, sticking the scroll into his beanie, shrugging off his cape, and getting to his own hooves. "We owe them. And hey, we haven't had enough crazy plans in this adventure yet!"

Laney rolled her eyes. "Of course."

While Laney went to get Kin and Kon from the party, Corey scoped out the hut a little more. He knew that Twilight had gotten another letter from her dragon, Spike; maybe she'd left behind some clues as to the nature of their leaving, or their plan for going home, but there was nothing in the hut. He tried to use his magic to sense the spells she'd done, but it had all been little magic, like levitation, and it was hard to get a lock on what exactly had moved.

He could, however, find a sort-of path where the six must have sneaked off, both through magical aura and crushed-down grass. By the time Laney, Kin and Kon returned, Corey had tied up a few of Zamale's supplies in a blanket and was studying the parchment one more time.

"We've been briefed on the mission, Sir, and are prepared to move out," Kin said, saluting.

"Awesome," Corey said, hoofbumping his friend. "And you agree with my reasoning?"

"It's nothing we wouldn't do for you, old buddy," said Kon.

Laney rolled her eyes again, but Corey pretended not to notice. "In that case, we'd better get this show on the road. We're headed back to Ponyville!"

It was harder than they thought to follow the hoofprints and wheel tracks over the desert. Wind had blown sand over them until there were only the faintest impressions left on the ground, so Corey was mainly following by magical aura, a feat that was just as hard with his limited magical skills. Luckily, Twilight's magic was very easy to distinguish, and they were getting along pretty well. I just have to follow this for a little bit longer, and we'll be all right.

"How long have we been running?" Laney yelled over the thumping of their hooves on the sand.

"Half an hour-ish?" Kin yelled back. "We've still got a long way to go."

"Oh god," the green unicorn said, stumbling. "'Cause I feel kind of sick…"

"Whoa!" Corey stopped. "You okay, fella?"

"Yeah," Laney gasped, holding a hoof to her temple. "It feels like what happened at that party in Ponyville."

"There must be one of those crazy magic things going on," Corey said. "You think Twilight did it?"

"Maybe," Laney choked.

Kin frowned. "She must be really sensitive to magic. I wonder why."

"I'm going to try to replicate Twilight's spell," Corey said. "She mentioned one time that you can copy magic by reading the aura."

Kin nodded. "What should we do?"

"Keep an eye on Lanes," Corey said. "She doesn't look so good."

Kon hefted Laney onto his back while Corey activated his horn. The magic looked really complicated, and it was a teleportation, which Twilight had said was very hard for a beginning magic student. But Corey was determined to help the purple unicorn and her friends, so he started to perform the spell.

"Grab hold!" he yelled to Kin and Kon as his horn started to light up, its bright blue aura swirling around Grojband. He didn't want to lose anyone; he wasn't sure if magical transport was any different than mechanical teleportation. Once he was sure the twins and Laney were all connected, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let the magic out.

And just like that, they were somewhere else.

Corey blinked and coughed a bit of ash out of his mouth. His head felt fuzzy, and the fur on his face was standing up like nobody's business. He carefully got to his feet and looked around.

There was Las Pegasus, the Golden Gate less than a hundred yards away. The Pegasus-exclusive part of the city floated above the unicorn and Earth pony houses, and a large waterfall fell from the clouds and down a cliff that Corey hadn't noticed before.

I guess I was too preoccupied with the trip to the zebra camp to notice all this cool geography, he thought. Heck, I didn't even see the cloud city before.

Or the cliff. Corey suddenly saw how close they were to the edge of the rock wall. He didn't want to get too close, but he could tell that the steep drop ended in water. We definitely don't want to fall down there. Man! How did I not see this last time we were here?

Kin, Kon, and Laney were all as charred as Corey, but he was a lot more alert than they were, and was able to pull them farther from the cliff than they already were. This must be where Twilight and the others landed, he thought, turning toward the Golden Gate. I wonder where they are now.

"That was a lot faster than running would have been," Corey panted. He charged up his horn again and tried to sense Twilight's aura. "And we're that much closer to the others. They can't have too huge of a head start now!" He turned back to his friends, but stopped cold when he saw who was with them.

A pink unicorn with a purple-streaked mane had Laney trapped between her forelegs; the little green mare was too weak to struggle. Next to them, a pair of small unicorns, one teal, one orange, were holding Kin down by his forelegs. Kon was trapped in a magical cage – not that he was going to escape anytime soon; he was knocked out cold with an egg-sized bump forming on his forehead. An orange Earth mare stood next to the cage.

Corey immediately took on a defensive stance, ready to fight. Not that magic would help him – he felt very drained – but his hooves could still kick really hard.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the otherworlders who travel with Twilight Sparkle," a haughty voice echoed from Corey's right. Corey whipped his head around, eye wide as he peered into the dark to find its source. The voice laughed, and then a torch appeared out of thin air, illuminating the darkness and, by extension, the speaker.

She was a light blue unicorn, her mane and tail silvery in the torchlight. Her eyes flashed evilly as she lowered the torch and stuck it into the ground; she magically removed her dark cloak and draped it over Corey's head. "Oh, my young human. You have no idea who you are dealing with."

"I know you're a threat to my friends," Corey growled, shaking the thick material onto the ground. "And they were willing to leave us behind to fight you. I can feel it."

"Hmmm. More knowledgeable than Trixie expcted." The unicorn – Trixie – examined a hoof as she drew nearer to the trapped members of Grojband. "Well, I expect I can get these ones to come quietly, but you…"

"I'm not going down without a fight!" Corey said hotly.

"Excellent." Trixie activated her horn. "Trixie is going to enjoy this."

Corey dodged as she sent a glowing beam of pink energy at his head. It whizzed over him, but was quickly followed by a barrage of feathery darts. As one flew past Corey's face, he saw that they were quills, their sharpened tips gleaming. Not even Twilight can just create stuff out of thin air! Corey thought. I'll have to be really creative if I'm gonna get out of this one.

He whipped one quill away with his tail and snatched another in his teeth, trying to stay calm. I just need to knock her out. That'll keep her from using magic long enough for us to get away. Ducking a new round of quill darts, Corey inched closer to the sky-blue mare, looking for a break in her defenses.

Unluckily, she saw him moving and sent a rope straight for his forelegs. Corey tripped, the impact knocking the quill from his mouth and onto the ground. Trixie laughed. "You see? There is no way that a loser like you can beat the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

The rope snapped out in Corey's magical aura, hitting Trixie squarely between the eyes. She reeled, but didn't fall; instead, her horn glowed more brightly, and a boulder appeared above Corey's head. He just managed to roll out of the way before it dropped.

This isn't going anywhere, Corey thought. He glanced up at Trixie, who was tugging the boulder out of the ground with her magic, and fired a weak blue energy bolt at her head. It missed, just barely, and the mare hefted her boulder. "So you're going to keep fighting? Impressive. Trixie has time to play for a little bit longer."

She advanced toward him, the boulder trailing menacingly behind her, when Laney stirred and moaned. Corey's head immediately snapped in her direction; Trixie's eyes followed. Crap, Corey thought. What's she gonna do to Lanes?

The boulder floated over toward the little green mare, still in the grasp of the pink unicorn. "Trina," Trixie said, "let her go."

Corey's mouth fell open. I forgot about Trina! We were about to go home without her! But he's working for the bad guy? How did that even happen?

"If you don't surrender and come quietly, Corey Riffin, your friend dies." Trixie gloated. "And I will take extreme pleasure in letting the boulder fall."

Corey gulped. Lanes wouldn't want me to give up. Grojband never quits. I just have to knock Trixie out…but then the rock will land on Laney's head…oh God, what do I do?

"Core…" Laney shifted, and in that moment, Corey made up his mind. He charged.

Trixie's reaction was faster than he expected, but she didn't drop the boulder just yet. In midair, Corey's mouth was zipped shut, his legs hog-tied with the rope, and his entire body stuffed into a burlap sack. His head was the only thing that poked out, but he couldn't move a muscle. The unicorn dropped like a stone, landing at Trixie's hooves.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie has thought of something more fun than your little friend being crushed," Trixie said. Her already wide smile threatened to meet in the back of her head. "She's going to fall instead."

The boulder moved a few inches forward as Laney stirred again. Corey saw that it wouldn't hit her, but she was really close to the edge of the cliff. Corey's panic spiraled. If Trixie slams down the boulder hard enough, Laney might fall!

"Trina, Mina, Snips, Snails, take the other two to the transport. Trixie and Corey will be there shortly, after we finish attending to this business." Trixie flicked a hoof in their direction, and her minions – Corey could see the resemblance to Trina and Mina now – dragged Kin and Kon around the side of the city wall. It was just she and him now, and Laney. Who still lay motionless on the ground twenty feet away. And Corey couldn't move to help her.

He tried to twitch, but the ropes around his hooves and the neck of the bag tightened. "Don't even try," Trixie said in his ear. "Trixie isn't letting you get free anytime soon." She took a step forward, then let the boulder drop a few inches.

Corey frantically tried to think of something to calm him down. Thrash, bash, burn and crash…okay, not helping. Stuck in Peaceville Zoo…nope. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. How about…?

Trixie let the rock slip a few more centimeters. "Aren't you going to beg for mercy? Try and get Trixie to save your precious friend?"

Going Down...

"You're going down," Corey muttered. He was mad and sad and confused, knowing that Trixie was going to hurt Laney, unsure what Trina and Mina were doing and sorry that he'd forgotten about them and Nick…he was so full of wild emotions, only one thing would help him to relax and organize his brain: singing.

Trixie blinked. "What was that?"

"You're going down," he sang, a little bit louder. "I'll close your page, you're going down…back to the stone age..."

Trixie laughed. "That isn't going to help Laney now, is it?" The boulder jerked down again. It was getting closer to breaking the shelf Laney lay on, closer to making her fall off a freaking cliff…

"Sit right down and let me dial you up," Corey continued, gaining confidence. "A big kick for your sorry butt."

"This is getting ridiculous."

"I'll do a blitzkrieg on your wires…" Deep breaths. You can do this, Corey Riffin.

"Stop that!"

Corey's horn crackled. "Transmit you back to das techno fires, you're going down…"

Trixie scored a line in the dirt, her eyes flashing in anger.

"You're going down…" Almost there…

"One more time, and you will be sorry," the blue mare snarled, stamping her hoof so hard it made a crack in the ground.

Corey could practically feel his bonds loosening. It's like my singing is helping me gain control of my magic! Gotta keep going, for Laney and all the others. This is my last chance. He stretched out a leg, directing all his feelings at Trixie, hoping against hope that he could finish the song before she let go. "You're going down…I'm filled with rage! You're going down…your foot and my face will engage…you're going –"

Trixie dropped the boulder.

And the cliff cracked, and Laney fell.

HI EVERYONE! We're so happy to be back!

And we're really sorry about the three-week hiatus. Along with our schedules getting very complicated, our creative energy just kind of fell flat, and we'd rather give you good chapters every few weeks than crappy chapters once a week.

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