Note: To all those who were wondering, you can find the wikia page by googling "A Mending Soul MLP wikia." It should be the first result. Additionally, I put a poll up on my profile. I would appreciate it of you took just 10 seconds out of your time to vote! Anyway, here is the newest chapter... Enjoy!
Dimension: My Little Pony
Planet: Equestria Earth
Specific Location: Canterlot
Time: Thirteen days after the Paradox took over Equestria
It was midnight. The train slowly chugged up to Canterlot station. Steam blasted from the sides in massive jets as the locomotive finally came to a stop beside the platform. Twilight glanced outside and bit her bottom lip. Phasetroopers armed with high-powered rifles. Laser tracers swept the skies, denoting that deadly weapons were active all over the city.
"This… is going to be difficult," she sighed.
"How in the hay are we supposed to get through to the main sewer system without being spotted?" exclaimed Rainbow Dash.
There was a pause. Suddenly… "Urban camouflage anypony?"
Everyone glanced at Pinkie Pie, who had just spoken. She was grinning wildly and was holding up a chest full of her special skin-tight suits.
"At least Rarity isn't here," muttered Applejack as she grabbed one, "She would have had a fit."
The group pulled on the suits and trotted outside. The Phasetroopers on the roof looked directly at them, but then looked away. Had it worked? Probably not. Had it passed them off as uninteresting lunatics wearing spandex? Probably. Either way, the Phasetroopers saw no use in killing or apprehending them, so the suits had done some good. Twilight beckoned to the group and they crept through the sleeping city. Once and a while a Canterlot guard or one of Luna's Night Guard soldiers would pass by, but no pony seemed to pay any attention to them. In several minutes, they had made it to the town square. Twilight pulled out the map Flaming Star had drawn up and looked at it.
"This is where we start" she whispered. She then trotted up to a manhole and pulled off the iron cap. A metal ladder led down into the inky blackness. Taking a deep breath, Twilight used her magic to illuminate her surroundings and began to climb down. She was followed by Trixie, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. In a minute, they were all together at the bottom.
"What does the map say next, Twi?" whispered Applejack.
"Ummm… this way," said Twilight. She projected her magic forward to illuminate the passageway before her. It was dark and damp, and the masonry arching overhead was covered with moss, but other than that it was just silent, "Follow me."
The group went trotting for about ten minutes before Twilight stopped and looked around.
"I… I don't know…" she muttered.
"What? What did you say?" said Rainbow Dash.
"I said I don't know. We are there… but I can't tell where the secret entrance is," mumbled Twilight, looking about frantically.
"Psshh… What did you expect? A sign that says 'secret entrance'?" snorted Rainbow Dash.
"Trixie the Great and Powerful will handle this," said Trixie regally. Closing her eyes, she called upon the magic of the Alicorn Amulet and released a blast of pure light. The entire damp passageway of the sewer was illuminated like it was high noon in the middle of summer. Squinting their eyes against the bright light, the ponies looked about.
"I don't see anything," sighed Twilight as the claws of icy fear gripped at her.
"Yeah… this could be a problem," said Rainbow Dash, shading her eyes with a hoof.
"Mayhap we should start breaking down the walls?" suggested Applejack.
"Hey guys! I don't know if this solves anything, but I found a secret passageway behind this wall," called out Pinkie Pie from behind them. The group turned around and stared. Pinkie was standing next to a small passageway. Apparently a door painted in a pattern that matched the masonry of the walls had been inserted in the same spot. It was a clever disguise, but Pinkie's pinkie sense had somehow seen through the deception.
Sighing with relief, Twilight smiled as she trotted over to where Pinkie stood. "Yes. That solves the problem in its entirety."
"Okie dokie lokie!" called Pinkie. She immediately began to prance through the door.
Twilight turned to Applejack. "You stay here and watch the door," she said.
Applejack nodded. Twilight then turned back to her friends. Trixie winked and turned out her magically-induced lighting. Twilight nodded in thanks and then said, "Let's go."
The group (now with the exception of Applejack) trotted through the passageway. It twisted and turned sharply a couple of times, and then eventually ended with a stairwell. The group galloped up it and found themselves behind a fake wall. Twilight glanced meaningfully at the group behind her and then pushed the wall open. It swung slowly on hidden hinges and revealed a large hall. At the end of the hall was the first hallway of the Royal Treasury. There were no guards. Celestia had kept up her end of the mission. There was not even a Phasetrooper.
Taking a deep breath, Twilight motioned for her friends to follow her, and the group trotted after her. As they reached the base of the massive triple-portcullises, Twilight turned to Trixie and said, "This is where you come in. Do you think you will be able to help me lift these things?"
Trixie nodded her head slowly as she looked the portcullises up and down. "Heavy things. About 5000 kilograms each. Trixie thinks, if we do it together, with the help of the Alicorn Amulet, we should be able to do it. Trixie the Great and Powerful is ready. Are you?"
Twilight nodded her head. She then closed her eyes as she started up her magical horn. The three portcullises began to glow with a faint purple aura. Sweat began to trickle down Twilight's face as she continued to strain. Trixie then nodded her own head and closed her eyes as well. Her horn began to glow light blue. Suddenly the aura circling her horn began to crackle with red sparks as the power of the Alicorn Amulet infused its power with hers. The portcullises began to shimmer with red, purple, and light blue light as all that magic fed into it. Slowly the metal gates began to creak as they were lifted from their heavy-set trenches in the ground. Second by second, minute by minute, the portcullises rose through the air. It seemed like an eternity, but eventually the massive gates locked in place in the ceiling. Twilight and Trixie let go of their powers and collapsed on the ground from exhaustion.
"Trixie the Great and Powerful is unbeatable!" gasped out Trixie.
"Well done Trixie," gasped Twilight as she struggled to stand on all fours.
"That… was… AWESOME!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash in hushed tones.
"It was okay," said Pinkie nonchalantly, "I've seen better. Follow me ponies!"
Pinkie then skipped off through the first hallway as Rainbow Dash helped Trixie and Twilight up. They then caught up with Pinkie who was standing at the border of the second hallway. It looked totally empty, and at the end of the hall was a giant double-door gate. Two levers high in the air were positioned above the gate.
"It looks empty," commented Rainbow Dash.
"That's what they WANT you to think" whispered Pinkie dramtically, "It is all a ploy by the government to hide the fact that THEY ARE BUILDING NUCLEAR WEAPONS!"
There was a long pause.
"Just messin' with you ponies," chuckled Pinkie Pie. "Follow me!"
She trotted down the hallway as if her life was not even close to being in danger. Once and a while her muzzle would twitch, tail would swipe through the air, or her ears would flop. When that would happen, Pinkie would stop and sidestep and invisible object. It was slow going, but the group made it across with stellar timing.
"Well done Pinkie!" exclaimed Twilight silently. Pinkie Pie just winked. Twilight then looked up at the levers; she then glanced at Rainbow Dash and nodded her head. Rainbow nodded back.
The two ponies spread their wings and flapped upwards. They reached the levers, and then they pulled the two simultaneously. The massive gate before them opened with a rumbling noise.
Trixie hopped up and down, unable to contain herself. "Oooooh! So much gold!" she squealed in hushed tones.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Trixie," said Twilight, "You aren't taking more than a bagful for your troubles."
"Rainbow Dash and the Great Trixie went through Stallion Empire hell to get here, Twilight," exclaimed Trixie indignantly, "Trixie deserve at least TWO bagfulls."
"I was there, Trixie," commented Rainbow Dash, "And I've decided that I'm not taking anything for myself. It would be wrong."
"Well, the Great Trixie is no stranger to 'wrong'" commented Trixie dryly. She conjured up a sack and she tossed it over her back. She then trotted into the royal treasury with the rest of her team right behind.
The room was circular and was colossal. It was even bigger than the Hall of Thrones. It was illuminated by many large torches set in wall rings everywhere. The entire room was piled high with bits, gold bars, jewels, and strange artifacts made of unusual metals, crystals, and woods.
Trixie let out a little "sqee!" of excitement and began to shovel bits into her bag. She then emptied it and began to fill it with jewels. Then she emptied it again and began to try to stuff a strange blackwood box covered in archaic runes into it. At this point she was stopped by Rainbow Dash.
"Remember what I said, Trixie," she said reproachfully. Trixie sighed and resigned to filling her sack with a mixture of gold and jewels.
Twilight filled seven bags of bits, and then turned to Rainbow Dash who was keeping a lookout behind them. "I think we're good, Rainbow Dash," said Twilight, "We should get going."
Rainbow Dash nodded her head and motioned for Trixie and Pinkie Pie to leave the room. Twilight tossed them the sacks via magic, and then magiked the massive gates shut as she exited with them.
"Take us out, Pinkie Pie," whispered Twilight.
Pinkie winked. "Okie dokie lokie!" She then began to trot nonchalantly through the trap-full hallway.
"Be careful Pinkie Pie!" whispered Rainbow Dash, who was worried by the unserious way Pinkie traversed the deadly hall.
Pinkie just pranced through it until she was a meter or so from the border. "What?" she said, "This is as easy as one, two, three…"
Suddenly Pinkie crumpled to the floor as her back right leg bent at an unusual way. The poor pink pony let out a rending scream of pain that echoed through the halls of the treasury. Shouts immediately began to ring from down the hall.
Head spinning with how bad things had suddenly turned in an instant, Twilight rushed to Pinkie's side. The party pony had passed out.
"Her hoof is caught in some kind of invisible beartrap!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she inspected the bloodied hoof of Pinkie Pie.
"Trixie can uncloak the thing!" said Trixie harshly. She put her horn near Pinkie's hoof and released an Alicorn Amulet-infused magic blast. A terrible iron beartrap shimmered into view. It had Pinkie's back leg in its iron teeth.
"How could Celestia even HAVE these here?" wailed Twilight as the shouts from down the hall got louder.
"No time to argue, we must act!" snapped Trixie. Using her magic once more, she opened up the teeth of the beartrap and dragged Pinkie from its jaws. Slinging Pinkie over Rainbow Dash's back, Trixie then hissed, "We need to get out of here… NOW."
Twilight nodded her head, and they dashed for the secret exit. They were less than a dozen meters away when suddenly Phasetroopers dropped from the ceiling above and barred their path.
"Breaking and entering… punishable by five years in prison. Stealing… punishable by ten years in prison. Stealing from royalty… punishable possibly by death. Stealing the Ashanti box of cutie mark enhancements… punishable by death," stated one of the Phasetroopers coldly.
"Ashanti… what…?" asked Rainbow Dash. She then glanced at Trixie. Her hat had fallen off in the mad dash for the fake wall. Balanced perfectly on her head was a small black box that was glowing an eerie green.
"TRIXIE!" yelled Twilight. Trixie grinned sheepishly.
"Punishment obvious. No additional evidence required. Execution immediate," said the other Phasetrooper. They both raised their guns. The group turned to run, but found their path blocked by more Phasetroopers. They were beyond dead.
Twilight closed her eyes and bowed her head. She had failed. As she waited for the end, she thought of all the times she had spent with Flaming Star. She couldn't help but smile a little as she remembered talking, laughing, arguing, and playing with him. She loved him. But it was all over now.
Suddenly a wall beside the Phasetroopers before her exploded. Masonry rained everywhere and dust filled the air. Twilight immediately began to search for the perpetrators of the distraction, but Trixie just grabbed her hoof and yelled, "They're distracted! Let's go!"
Rainbow Dash (with Pinkie Pie on her back), Twilight, and Trixie rushed through the fake wall. They slammed it shut and dashed off. The Phasetroopers were not fooled by the distraction though. They immediately began to blow down the fake wall to give pursuit when a voice echoed from behind them. "Oh, I am so sorry… did I interrupt something?"
The Phasetroopers turned around. It was Princess Celestia.
"Princess Celestia," said one of the Phasetroopers, "There has been a break-in at the Royal Treasury."
"I can see that," said Celestia dryly, "I was practicing a special explosive energy spell when I heard a scream. I 'accidentally' released my spell and blew a hole in this wall. My deepest apologies."
"Do you wish us to pursue the enemies?" asked another Phasetrooper.
Celestia took her time. She stroked her chin and hummed to herself… then she said, "No. We must form a committee to decide whether or not to chase the criminals down. After we have formed a committee, we can form a sub-committee for each committee member so that each vote can be validated. If a unanimous vote is in the positive, then we will proceed with pursuing and execting the robbers."
The Phasetroopers just stared at her.
Celestia tried her best not to burst out laughing. Rolling her eyes dramatically, she said, "You soldiers will never understand the burden of leadership. Soldiers, attend me! You never know what terrible thugs could be waiting to mug me. I need you all at my side."
The Phasetroopers looked at her, and then at the fake wall, and then back at her. They then looked at their leader. That Phasetrooper stood there, staring intensely at Celestia for a moment. Then he nodded and said, "Do as she says. Let us go."
Celestia stifled a sigh of relief. Then she straightened up and said, "Yes. Do as I say. Now follow me."
Dimension: My Little Pony
Planet: Equestria Earth
Specific Location: Canterlot
Time: Thirteen days after the Paradox took over Equestria
"Keep running!" gasped Twilight.
"I was running before you said that!" said Rainbow Dash, breathing hard. The group continued to run full-pelt down the sewers.
"What in tarnation did you lot meet up there?" yelled Applejack.
"Phasetroopers," replied Twilight grimly, "But we have the bits, and that is all we needed. They don't seem to be pursuing, so we must have lost them."
"What do you think that explosion up there was?" asked Rainbow Dash, keeping pace with Twilight.
"Trixie doesn't know. It must have been an accident. However, we are capitalizing on it," said Trixie briskly.
In half the time it took to get to the secret passageway entrance, the group exited the sewers. Bundling each other through the manhole opening, the group lay, breathing hard, on the cobbled sidewalk.
"That was a close one," sighed Trixie.
"It still IS a close one," said Rainbow Dash, her face pained. Pinkie Pie was lying on the ground. He head was lolling to one side, and blood was pooling around her wounded hoof.
"Agreed," said Twilight quickly helping Rainbow Dash to put Pinkie back onto her back, "This is what we need to do now. The train we have tickets for is leaving any minute now. It stops at two places: Ponyville and Appaloosa. We get on and pass the bits over to Applejack. She goes on to Appaloosa to meet with the arms-dealing griffon. The rest of us stop off a Ponyville and take Pinkie to the doctor. We can say it was a rogue Chimera in the Everfree forest."
"Okay," sighed Rainbow Dash, "But I swear I am going to be a Mary Sue for the rest of my freaking life after this."
"I think all of us are going to do that," replied Twilight, doing her best not to simply break down crying.
"Not me," commented Trixie airily, "Trixie the Great and Powerful thrives off this."
"I hope you realize that you are slowly killing off any moralities and principles you've ever gotten from Equestria," murmured Rainbow Dash. Trixie just ignored her.
"Well? What in tarnation are we a-waitin' for! Let's go!" exclaimed Applejack.
The group galloped off to the train station just in time to catch the train. They hopped on and quickly bundled Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie into the lavatory. Twilight gave the conductor their tickets, and then prayed to God that no one would need the lavatory for the trip. They could not risk having any random pony walking in on Rainbow Dash attending to Pinkie's mangled hoof. However, as the train began to slowly move out of the station and away from Canterlot, Twilight felt her worries slip away. They had not been caught, and none of them had been killed. Soon they would be home and this would all be nothing but an unpleasant memory. In fact, she could not wait to tell Flaming Star about this adventure.