Twilight, Spidey & Friends: Series 1, Ep. 2: In Your Hooves Part II

"I don't get it? How come it's still going on?" The adolescent Dragon continued to spectate the ongoing memory of the stallion's encounter with Queen Chrysalis, whose silenced proclamation was still being seen. Once Flurry Heart was calmed to a peaceful rest, then softly placed onto the Map in the center of the chamber, Sunburst, stroking his disheveled goatee, examined the projection closely, then offered, "I'm guessing it hasn't reached its entirety yet. Spider Bite must've casted the spell to show his memory of the whole event, making sure nothing was left unseen or unchecked."

"…which has now come, at last," the Changeling's voice revitalized into focus, "Finally free, I will now take this chance to liberate my children, and fly off with vengeance to strike down all Equestria, and the world!"

"Chrysalis, do not try anything, or I will use this!" Spike and Thorax cringed at the determined exclamation from the injured pony, as he raised the crystal back to the level of his vision, threatening to touch it again. "That's Queen Chrysalis to you, pest!"

"Don't think for a second that I won't!"

"We won't," muttered the punctured, insect pony, in reply. They then observed the towering, sickly black monarch make a mad effort to furrow rapidly, and deeply into the earth, using the lime glow of her magic to energize her hooves into a blurred, pounding motion. Seeing how he had very little time to act, they watched as Spidey leapt with great speeds, at an inconceivable distance, somersaulting off of the balcony between himself and Chrysalis, and quickly reaching out with his unburnt hoof for the satchel's loop. The three spectators were only able to maintain comprehension of the sudden action that took place, due to the pony's enhanced reflexes previously demonstrated to them. As the strap made a forceful snap, and the bag sailed across the wide hall, Sunburst, Spike and Thorax noticed the surrounding assailants finally respond to such an impromptu deed, as Spider Bite landed onto his hind quarters. He then raised the stone the third time, speaking before he made contact with it, "This is so going to hurt me more than you."

A great, blinding light engulfed the entire projection, shortly followed by a piercing, irritating siren of the high-pitched variety. The debilitating flash and sound slowly, gradually faded from what appeared to be blinking motions of the eyes, before the yelping grimace of the stallion was heard. "Yep. Definitely me, more than you."

His incessant groans and growls soon followed, as he examined his surroundings. To the dismay of Thorax, they saw the dazed, grounded Changelings sprawled on the floors and steps, and against the walls. The focus then shifted towards the newly made burrow where Chrysalis had stood previously.

"Talk about…your last…ditch efforts."

"All those injuries, and so much pain," observed the orange, white-patched Unicorn, "He still cracks a joke, when nopony else is even there to hear it?"

"Not sure if he was right about that hurting him more, though. But at least a very different kind of hurt." Then, in response to Thorax's comments, they heard him grunt, as he limply made his way past the lying insect ponies, and towards the satchel at the bottom of the steps. "For the first time, ever, I stand corrected."

"Guess he just likes to keep a smile going on," uttered Spike, folding his arms in contemplation, "Kind of like Pinkie."

"But, at the same time, nothing like her, at all," he heard his Changeling friend add with concern, "Like Chrysalis said, he's got a very strong, powerful, caring energy. Like Fluttershy, in that sense. But…but it's different. It's just so…so…bittersweet."

"Must be contributed to his outlandish origins, in some way or another," offered Sunburst.
The trio then noted the precarious movements of the stallion cease, as he turned his head left and right to find something else. Seeing a massive pillar lying nearby, he shuffled to that instead, went around it, then offered a firm shove with a pant and grunt. Once it rolled onto the damaged floor from where the insect Queen escaped, he huffed in satisfaction, then cautiously made his way downward to reach for Twilight's satchel.

"Wow," lowly remarked the Dragon, "He went the extra mile to make sure others didn't escape too. Like Rainbow, sort of. But I guess after Twilight and the others added the shield to the floor when Chrysalis got away, that was redundant."

"Still," the Unicorn countered, "it shows how far he's willing to go in helping others, even if he is completely unfamiliar with them. And has very little to gain from it, too. Also resembling Rarity, in that regard."

"But why," both Thorax and Spike inquired with unsteady apprehension, then the small Dragon continued, "Why go through all this trouble without telling us the reason he does so much good helping others, and doing what's right?"

"Yeah," agreed the insect pony, "I mean, sure, what happened to my kind was terrible, but I guess he felt he had no choice. I shouldn't blame him for that. He also gave those who didn't want a part of this, like me, a chance. And he delivered on that promise to use the emerald, after giving a fair, honest warning, just like AJ would. He also did it knowing that he would cause as much pain on himself as to them, if not more. At least, from what I can tell, he was considerate enough to believe that it wouldn't be too bad for the Changelings. Also, why wouldn't he even let us know his real na-"

"Shh!" The hoarse summon for silence from Sunburst caught both Dragon and Changeling by surprise. Seeing his determined attention by returning his squinted, bespectacled gaze onto the projection, they found his ears to be shifting and twitching most attentively.

"What's wrong, Sunburst," asked Spike in whisper, afraid to disrupt the stallion's concentration.

"I thought I heard something said from among the Changelings," he evenly, though rapidly replied. Just then, however, as the masked Unicorn made his exit out of the ruins, and facing the onlookers from beyond the barricade, the memory flickered into nothing.

"Can't you bring it back?"

"No," Sunburst answered Thorax's question, "The memory can only be restored by the original beholder of the projected experience. But I believe I can recreate it with my own memory of viewing it."

His horn ignited into a firm, yellow glow, then sent another field to float over the Map, only matching his own aura, instead of Spider Bite's scarlet. Once the image was made clear, they distinctively heard the seemingly distant remarks and comments of Spike and Thorax, as they heard a voice from below the web-head's left side, muttering with a vehement hiss, somewhat incoherently. "…because she knows about it…and its value. She'll come back for it, as she said, when you're all busy…she'll find it, and free us all of your very existence with it."

"How come a lot of it sounded so fuzzy," asked the Dragon, just as that memory faded.

"Must be the delirium Spider Bite was experiencing at the time, especially before he succumbed to unconsciousness from what Starlight told me. He probably doesn't even remember ever hearing any words during his exhaustive efforts before getting outside. Just gibberish."

"If he couldn't remember it, then how come we managed to get that from his memory?"

"Like I said," the Unicorn began to answer the punctured pony, "his very state of being, including his mind, became so exhausted that I imagine his memory might have actually drawn a few blanks, here and there, that were only clarified at the last possible moment. On the other hoof, he might have, indeed, recalled something during those final moments, and decided to include them in his display, as well. For all of us to witness for ourselves. The mind has always been such a vast, complex mystery."

"Just what exactly was 'it' that the Changeling was talking about," Thorax questioned, "And what was 'come back and find it' supposed to mean?"

"Uh, oh," uttered Spike in realization.

"There's definitely no way, whatsoever, of getting in there to dislodge the Elements from that thing," huffed Starlight, as the four Alicorns and three Unicorns sent another surge of arcane energy onto the repeatedly damaged barricade around the giant.

"All we can do, for now, is keep it from escaping," Twilight spoke in kind, "We need everypony in on this."

"Right," the farm pony said, while tilting her Studson forward, "Then Ah recon Pinkie and m'self go get the others over here. Ah'm pertty sure they must've put out that fire by now."

"I hope so," responded Pinkie, "Or else we still have two super big problems to deal with before finding Queen Chrysalis."

"Applejack, Pinkie," nodded the lavender Princess, "Find Rainbow and Fluttershy at least, and bring them. We need to make sure we're together to give everything we've got, if it ever comes to that. The rest of us will try to hold this thing off as best as we can."

"Just be careful," Celestia added with concern, "There's no way of knowing for sure how far the damage will go."

"But make as much haste as possible," joined Luna, also, "For I fear this method may not last as long as any of us would hope." As if to support the dark blue Princess' claim, they heard the smash, crack and clang from the colossus' direction. Seeing the floor barrier shatter to several pieces, then kicked away from its contact to the ground beneath, they watched the giant perform a feat none had anticipated. With a loud rumble, the ground shook, as it seemed to disassemble itself into several boulders, which then bored mercilessly into the soil that flew up and outward, as it continued its deep submergence. The quakes greatly increased, throwing many of the ponies off balance, and prompting the Alicorns to take to the air once again with increased apprehension. The four hovering ponies aided those that have fallen, only to swiftly move them away from the massive blast of dirt and rocks, which was immediately followed by the rise and reassembly of the bellowing creature that escaped. ROAR!

"Go! Find your friends! We'll do our best to hold our ground!" The towering, white Regent had no need to say any more, as the two Earth Ponies madly galloped into the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, and the magic wielders readied themselves into a fighting stance.

"There! Down to the right a ways! The Tree's just inside!" The three Pegasi hovered directly over the edge of the gorge, and the hooded Unicorn stood beneath them after swinging off the final branch. Looking down to where Rainbow Dash had pointed, they saw, in the distance, the entrance to the great cavern, almost directly under the Palace of the Sisters. "Stairs are to your right, also, chum!"

"Who needs stairs," smirked Spidey, as he somersaulted downward, then began his hasty descent, first crawling onto the wall, then galloping on the vertical drop.

"Right," huffed the colorful Pegasus. The three winged ponies were in direct pursuit of him, making a swift dive towards their common destination. As they neared the massive crevice, deep within the stone wall before them, all four noticed a great glow of lime green emanating against the walls inside.

"Looks like your hunch was accurate," Captain Sentry lowly stated, knowing fully well the light's source. "Let's just hope we're not outmatched."

"She did take on Celestia, last time," nodded Fluttershy, with a shaking whisper of her own, "We definitely need to be extra careful."

"Heh. No arguments from me."

"Yeah, ditto." After Dash's and Bite's respective replies, the four ponies entered with extreme caution, favoring as many shadows that were available. With the three Pegasi slowly hovering against the walls, and the web-slinging Unicorn warily taking to the ceiling above, they made their advance. Watching the glowing spectacle begin to make comprehensible form, all stared in utter horror at the sickly sight that illuminated the cavern. The glow was shining from the Tree of Harmony itself, letting off massive blasts of lime flames and shockwaves that caused heat to smother the air inside, and the walls of the cave to tremor greatly. In front of the horrid spectacle was the punctured, black monarch, hovering with the buzz of her accelerating wings, who eyed the four entering ponies with a sneer. "You came much sooner than I expected. Though I was hoping for the entire company."

"Sorry about that," quipped Spidey from above, "This was all just so sudden. Everypony's been booked with so many things, that they couldn't cancel or postpone. So we just thought we make due and give you our very own welcoming escort."

"Yeah, an escort to the cell closest to the rest of your Changeling pals," hoarsely added Rainbow. Before she could proceed, however, she felt a soft tug from her tail, halting her before a great stalactite fell directly in front of her. She turned to see a relieved expression from the yellow Pegasus close by. They both faced forward again, to see the arachnid stallion drop down while casting twin lines onto the fallen pillar. Once he gracefully landed with a flip, he arched his front hooves forward, throwing the tethered stalactite over him, and unto Chrysalis. However, she fired a single shot from her deformed horn, obliterating it into rubble. At that, the colorful Pegasus and Captain Sentry dove directly onto the Changeling Queen, the former going high, the latter aiming low. What they failed to anticipate, though, was the sporadic shockwaves that emanated from the consumed Tree, sending them both backward, near the opening.

"I think not, little ponies," Chrysalis replied, as Fluttershy quickly rushed to the side of her fallen comrades, "You see, as long as I can channel the craft of my bewitchment through this tree, nothing can possibly come near me. I don't even need my precious emerald to aid me. Those Elements you so deeply value have done more than enhanced my skills to such a degree that I can remain here, while still being connected to their power. I am practically invincible. And if you stay, you will be crushed."

"Look, I get it," the Unicorn spoke firmly, still standing before her, and slowly drawing closer, "You're ticked. You want to free your subjects, kids, or whatever, and take out all your anger on those who treated you all like scum. Maybe you're right to be mad to some extent, but this isn't the answer. Sure, it gives you something to do, but haven't you even thought about the consequences of your actions?"

"The only consequence I can think of," she answered with a snide, "Is that this world will be rid of your kind forever!"

"And your kind, also!" His blunt counter was sharply given, much to the unease of the winged ponies, now in silent observance. "Even if you manage to dig yourself out of this mess, you'll crawl out to find the world you live in, the Changelings you so, deeply value, because of your senseless payback, will all fall apart! Everything that your kind needs to live and thrive, a chance to really be happy, everything that matters to you most, will be gone for good! Is that what you really want?!"

Another blast from the burning plant of virtue prompted Spider Bite to lower himself, being firmly anchored onto the cavern floor. The ponies behind then witnessed several levitated boulders, stalagmites and stalactites simultaneously thrown into his direction, to which he responded with quick, and flexible evasive maneuvers, sending a batch of adhesive onto a few, and threw them forward or aside, so as to prevent them from landing atop of the others. Those that returned to their insect of origin were incinerated instantaneously, as he made it back onto the ceiling.

"What I want," she hissed irritably, as all of this occurred, "is for you to spend your final moments with you dear ones. Send your love elsewhere, where it can never try to foil my efforts."

"No," he firmly replied from his crawling position above, "I'm not leaving here without you."

"You will fail regardless. But that has always been your strongest trait, hasn't it?"

"Well, at least I'd know you had sompony with you at the very end."

"Ahhhhhhh!" BWAM!

The heat was felt even more, rising significantly, as an even more green flames massive shockwave caused cracks to formulate throughout the entire chamber. Fluttershy then saw an orange hoof placed onto her shoulder, and noticed a pink one that was on Rainbow's own. She fully withdrew her attention from the fray in front of her, and faced Applejack, who aided her in lifting both the colorful mare and orange stallion from off the floor. "Should've known y'all would try somethin' this reckless! Not you, though, Fluttershy!"

The shouts over the violent sounds from within were heard by the yellow Pegasus from the farm pony, as Rainbow shouted back, "About time you showed up! What about the rest of the girls?"

"They're still dealing with the super, giant, rock monster that's about to demolish Ponyville," speedily answered Pinkie Pie in kind, "We came here after Mary Jane told us your plan to find Chrysalis, and stop her before she gets the chance to do anything else mean!"

"Just a good thing we got here when we did! Now come on! We sure need all the help we can get!"

"But what about-" An ominous quake cut Fluttershy from asking her concern about their fourth member, and the roof of the cave began to succumb to the shakes. Loud booms, cracks, bams, and pows began to surround the five ponies, to which Sentry responded with a firm shove against the yellow Pegasus and rosy Earth Pony towards the exit. The remaining two mares quickly followed suit, only to find the heavy debris forming a wall between the Captain and the four friends. "Get back to the others, and get those Elements! She's powerless when she loses her connection to them!"

As the cave enclosed itself completely from the mounds of rubble before the mares, AJ sharply shook her head in frustration, nearly throwing down her Studson in the process. "Dag nab it!"

She then puffed and snorted, before turning to make a full gallop out of the gorge, prompting the others to do so as well. "Come on, y'all! We're already burnin' daylight, as it is!"

The cavern's sole entrance became completely sealed, entombing those who remained. Flash Sentry dove back, away from the looming boulders and debris that seemed to never cease. Aware of the dangers in using his wings within such a hazardous environment, the Pegasus Captain opted to remain floor bound, and evade as many lethal obstacles that came downward, with his naturally acute awareness to his surroundings. He managed to dodge and maneuver from a great many calamities with great speed and proficiency. However, the situation proved to be more than dire for the orange stallion, for the spontaneity of the cave-in overtook him, with one great stone causing him to stumble and roll, as it hit next to his hind leg. He looked up to see more crumbling stones and stalactites quickly approaching him. With very little time to rise, Sentry's response was to continue rolling away from the oncoming barrage, then cover his head with his forelegs.

When he only felt the slight sensation of dust and pebbles touching his hide, the Crystal Captain raised his unshielded head to see a massive web, swaying up and down by the great weight it suddenly caught. He noticed that although he had reached near the end of his impending demise, the stallion Pegasus gathered that he had no time to evade it any further. Turning back to face the source of his aid he gazed upward, and saw a beige hoof offered to him. He took it with a firm grunt, then turned to assess any damage done to his limbs saying, "Thanks, for that. I owe you one."

"Just buy me a root beer float, and we'll call it even. I'm guessing sugar rush is the main source of buzz around here. But no complaints from me. What about salt licks?"

"Does he ever cease his blathering?" The hissing displeasure of the question caused the two stallions to return their focus onto the whizzing hover of the Changeling Monarch, her position so blurrily shifting from one side of the chamber to the next. The scarlet-hooded pony casually followed her projection with sharp movements of the cranium himself, as he answered, "Kind of second nature to me. Can't help myself, sometimes. But sorry about the interruption. Please, continue."

"What are you doing," asked the Captain, but Spidey silently offered a quick hoof in response, beckoning his comrade to watch carefully.

"As I was saying," Chrysalis vehemently spoke, "Your tendency for failure is precisely what has aided me. It was you, pest, who helped me in attaining what I know those Princesses so desperately wanted hidden. If it weren't for your meddling presence, I never would have known the existence of that case, which you so gracefully provided for me."

"You're talking about the case in Princess Twilight's satchel, right," the arachnid Unicorn surmised, "How exactly did I help you get it? I mean, it's not like I trotted on over, picked up your meal, and served it to you on a silver platter. I never knew you were having dinner with us to begin with, much less took your order, until after I saw you carrying it. And besides, you don't have it anymore remember? Or did that last blast from your gem hit you pretty hard?"

"The energy that my crystal rejected from you so distastefully was that unlike anything of this world. One that can overpower nearly any spell of protection or concealment. Given the proper volume of intensity, of course. That second assault you sent unto that satchel, and my children, the full force from which I had barely, painfully eluded, was hopefully enough to crack that internal, magic lock for me, once I retrieve it. I sensed the breach spell on the bag greatly weakened from that first one. Enough for me to break that spell with ease."

"You've been doing all of this damage," concluded the Pegasus, "Causing this great unravelling of the world, and making yourself invincible, or you so thought, all to regain that jewel case?"

"Okay, good. I thought I was tuning her out again and misheard her at first. But thanks for letting me know I didn't this time. Why the super villain monologues again?"

"What more can you hope to gain from that," asked Captain Sentry, ignoring the web-head's ramblings, "when you'll be destroyed yourself, along with everything and everypony else?"

"Ladies and their jewels. What else is new?"

"That, my little pony," snidely chuckled the black, towering deformity, "Is for me to find out, and you both to never tell."

"Yeah, right. Just how exactly do you plan to-" Spider Bite's enquiry was shortly answered by the flashing limelight that engulfed the Queen, causing her to vanish without a trace, as she screeched a maniacal laugh. "Right. Duh."

Both stallions then looked beyond Chrysalis' previous location, and noticed the heat and shockwaves begin to deteriorate. They saw the consumed Tree slowly diminish its infernal intensity, reduced to the point of no flames or burnt marks to be found. It was nearly as though the twisted disturbance that caused it had never come to be. The harmonious plant then emanated a soft, blue glow from its crystalline demeanor, as though it were striving to heal itself, but has yet to reach completion.

"Well," sighed the Unicorn with annoyance, "Guess that means the Elements are easy to get back now."

"Why didn't you use your energy on her, like last time," the Pegasus asked firmly, "You could've stopped her from escaping then and there."

"Well, excuse me, I was going to," he huffed back in exasperation, "I was kind of hoping to get more info out of her first. But it turns out she was already a step ahead of me."

"Yes, and now we do have information. Information that we can't even take with us, and share with the others."

"Yeah, and that's where both you and Chrysalis were wrong."

"You can teleport us out, also," Sentry inquired with a quirked brow, "I thought you're still a novice."

"Well, yeah, I am. This is only my first day of Magic One-Oh-One, you know. As far as teleporting goes, the extent of my knowledge is practically null. I mean, I know how to get out of a quick jam with a little help from my spider sense. I think. But that's pretty much as far as I've gone right now."

"So, how exactly do you think we should get out then?"

"Easy. Well, okay, not that easy. We're going to have to do it the old-fashioned way. Sort of."

"Why do you always talk like that?"

"Part of my charm. No dissing the nonsensical talk." The Pegasus Captain then observed Spidey turn back to face the massive rubble that was once the exit. He then leapt onto the ceiling, crawling slightly closer towards it. Casting twin lines from the bands on his pasterns, he jumped down and back with a firm pull, shifting the rocks and boulders attached with a mild grunt. Slowly, the obstacle began to diminish in its integrity, as the massive pieces of stalactites and stalagmites rolled downward from the top of the treacherous slope. It did not succeed in clearing the debris entirely, but enough to allow a few gleams of sunlight to penetrate. Upon seeing this, the orange stallion took full advantage of the beige Unicorn's efforts, flew up to the top, from which the wall-crawler removed the roof's fragments, and gave a great buck with his hind legs.

The light was allowed to fully engulf the Pegasus with its radiance, to which he responded with the squint of his blue eyes, then a leap into the air with wings outstretched. Spider Bite followed suit, spinning a line forward, and jumped out of the newly made opening. Seeing his most recent comrade crawling up the wall of the gorge outside, Captain Sentry turned back towards the Everfree, and flew off in an orange and blue blur, shouting, "We need to warn the Princesses, now!"

"That's the plan, Eugene!" He heard a sharp f'dissh from behind, shortly after the befuddling remark. Seeing another line of adhesive reach a branch in front of his flight path, he heard the web-head beside him say, "Sorry, Captain. Tried to avoid that for the longest time. Couldn't resist this once."

"I'm guessing you knew somepony else called Flash."

"School bully. You're nothing like him, though. At least, I hope you weren't."

"I should hope not, either." The sincere reply prompted a slight pause between the two stallions, as the orange Pegasus flew with haste, and the beige Unicorn swung and jumped off the low branches beside him.

"So," continued Spidey, "Laurel Ray, huh?"

"Not what you think."

"Right. Okay." To reciprocate the web-heads revisit to yesterday's exchange, Flash Sentry asked in turn, "Your uncle?"

"Closest thing I had, I guess, to a dad." Then with a huff of amusement, he added, "Contagious, I tell you."

She has been finding it most difficult to continually make an improvised attempt in delaying the pounding brute any further. Such an effort on her part proved to be quite the challenge. As monumental as the gigantic stone creature, itself. As soon as the monster reached the settlement of Ponyville, with the Alicorns taking to the air once again to find a way of breaching its outer shell of rock, Rarity levitated several inanimate items at her disposal, looking for ways of using them efficiently. She attempted to gather and assemble another strand of multiple materials, as before, but once it began to wrap around the behemoth's legs, it tore in more places than she could quickly reinforce.

This prompted her to find ways of accumulating steel wares from the kitchens of demolished homes, and form a makeshift shackle of sorts. Asking for assistance from Shining and Starlight, she was able to strengthen the braces with a magical field, before encompassing them onto the giant's feet, as it stood still to roar at the irritant efforts from the flying regents. The shift of its focus onto its struggling limbs prompted the white Unicorn mare to heave a great sigh. She wiped a bit of perspiration from her forehead, after seeing it had been a successful endeavor this time.

"Look!" She heard the Starlight's exclamation, prompting her to look up with concerned puzzlement. What Rarity saw was the glow of the goliath's eyes shifting colors less rampantly, and shining with reduced intensity. During this spectacle, all noted the trepid movements from the creature itself, nearly as though it were becoming too weak to stand. "Now, what do you suppose could have caused that?"

"The Elements' bond with Chrysalis' spell has been broken somehow," she heard Cadence's sharp reply hovering over her, "But the animation is now being sustained by the stones' basic energy, themselves. It's slower now, but still destructive."

"What do you think happened to do that," her husband evenly asked, though with anxiety.

"Must've been the Cap'n's and Spidey's work, Ah recon!" They all turned to the source of the sudden reply from behind, seeing Applejack and Pinkie Pie returning with their Pegasi friends. With a huff and pant, the orange Earth Pony continued, "We barely managed to get out of that there cave the Tree of Harmony's in, before comin' here."

"Chrysalis was there, keeping herself connected to the Elements and the Tree," joined Rainbow Dash in kind.

"Spider Bite and Captain Sentry got themselves stuck in there by the giant shockwaving, burning and quaking that was caused by the Tree, and now the whole cave is blocked!"

"Maybe the two found a way to stop her," Fluttershy shakily followed Pinkie's added discourse, "Or…something else terrible has happened."

Just then, the giant seemed to regain its rapturous demeanor, as it stood tall with a bone-chilling growl.

"Then there's no time to lose," exclaimed Luna, "We must take this chance to dislodge the Elements from inside, at once!"

"It should be weak enough for us to make a precise shot, now" Twilight stated, "As soon as they're removed, my friends and I will work on keeping the falling boulders from causing any more damage."

"Then let's get going, already," urgently shouted the colorful Pegasus. The ponies then returned to action, right away, with the Princesses of Night and Day preparing their magic, along with the other horn wielders that were battle-ready. Rarity took to the side with Fluttershy and the rest, observing the braces she had made earlier slowly begin to break. The sounds of clank and clang growing in volume with every tug the monster made against them, its protective reinforcement slowly deteriorated. However, the stone giant's attention drawn to breaking free of its bonds was all the Alicorns and remaining Unicorns needed to join their arcane energies, and breach the head that was nearly impenetrable. Rays of energy from various colors came together, forming a great sphere of light that was directly sent onto the creature. Pooooom!

The blast sent a great cloud of dust, scattering rocks and pebbles throughout the near vicinity, causing all momentarily to shield their eyes. Upon regaining their focus on the monster crippling before them, they all witnessed the glow of the stones that were protruding from inside. Celestia, Luna and Cadence levitated the Elements from their resting places, as Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and the rest summoned their united energy for their part. Shining and Starlight blasted whatever falling rocks that came their way, seeing the six Friends keeping the majority of the dismembered segments in one general area.

"Are we late to the party?" The white Unicorn stallion shifted his focus to witness the two ponies, once considered trapped and perhaps lost, now returning with as much haste as possible. They looked up to see the wonder that was the pure embodiment of Harmony, as shown radiantly by the six mares, which encompassed the remains of the giant.

"Wow," gasped the web-head, "That's some next-level stuff."

"What happened," Shining asked, "We thought you were trapped inside."

"Only for a while, sir," the orange Pegasus replied, "But right now, there's no time to explain. We need to get back to the pala-" The Captain was cut short by the sudden exclamation heard from Rarity. "Fluttershy!"

All returned their attention to what was happening with the collapsing stones, eyeing the Pegasus in question particularly. She was struck down by a smaller rock from the debris, though substantial enough to render her stunned. The shared energy of the mares' Friendship seemed to have weakened, for the magic surrounding most of the massive boulders began to flicker, causing the load to drop suddenly.

"We're losing it," growled Rainbow. The five Elemental ponies remained stationary, so as to maintain their united, magical grip as best as they could. Even Pinkie was unable to offer any sudden movements to aid her fallen companion, who was now lying underneath the slipping weight.

"This…isn't…super-duper…at all!" Once the Prince and Starlight Glimmer joined the remaining Alicorns again, offering any support they could, the arachnid and Pegasus stallions ran directly under the looming burden that shadowed the yellow mare. Seeing that even combined efforts were insufficient in keeping the rocks from succumbing to gravity, the duo quickly lifted the delirious Fluttershy onto the Captain's back. He took a sharp, but wary dash out from under the fragmented behemoth, turning only to find the boulders now beginning to fall atop the beige Unicorn, instead.

Spider Bite was seen standing on his hind hooves, with his front pair raised upward to catch the magically wavering objects that threatened to crush him. "Okay…this is really heavy."

"Can't hold it no longer!" On cue with AJ's grunt, the great weight began to lower more aggressively now, prompting the web-slinger to crouch down low, then roll onto his back, pressing against the dismal threat with all his might from every hoof he had. Flash Sentry, Shining and Starlight all watched in utter dismay, as the immense pile of rubble sharply reached the ground, at last. Poom!