My Little Creeperby bengerChaptersPrologue: FractureChapter 1: The Funeral Chapter 2: The MassacreChapter 3: The Road to CanterlotChapter 4: Its Only a ModelChapter 5: ReunionPrologue: FractureMy Little Creeper By Benger This was supposed to be a one shot, but then I got a great idea, what if it wasn’t? This is an updated version of chapter one, meant to bring the quality of writing up to par with the rest fo the fic Chapter 1: The Tragedy As far as Fluttershy was concerned, today was a perfect day. She woke up early, fed all the animals that lived alongside her and then ate a bowl of oats. Even angel hadn’t been too hard to appease. She was now out on her morning walk. She was near the edge of the Everfree forest, enjoying the calm, looking for any animals that might need her attention. As she was lazily walking along a slightly overgrown path a sound caught her attention. “Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss” It startled Fluttershy, making her jump. The hissing didn’t sound like it was made by an animal, it sounded more like the hissing coming from a tea pot right before it is ready. After getting over her fear, and a few minutes of franticly searching for the source of the odd noise, Fluttershy gave up and continued on her walk. The rest of the walk was uneventful. She spent a little of her time tending to porcupines that hurt each other while hugging, and helped a bird get untangled from some vines. She even saw a loris that was really slow. Fluttershy had almost forgotten about the weird noise as she was walking back to her cabin until she heard it again “Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss” The hissing was just as before. It sounded slightly metallic and like something that couldn’t be made by any animal she had ever seen. Fluttershy jumped back from the noise and began searching for the source. Unlike her first encounter, she found the culprit. There was a square green head peaking our from behind a tree that she did not recognize. “Hello little guy, there is no reason to be scared” Fluttershy said, while walking slowly toward the animal. The hissing got louder. “I’m not going to hurt you; my name is Fluttershy, what is yours?” The animal came into view and Fluttershy finally got a good look at the whole creature. It was about 2 ponies tall, but very skinny and covered in different blotches of green, it had four hooves ponies but they were very close together sprouting out of its square body. The creature looked at Fluttershy with its two black beady eyes but even though it was hissing, did not seem to be making noise out of its frowning mouth. “Twilight told me what you are, you a creeper!” Fluttersy said aloud. “She told me that you are mean and I should never approach you” The creature did not respond “But I think you just need a friend.” She continued Fluttershy slowly walked toward the creeper and as its hissing got louder and she thought to herself I tamed a manticore and told off a dragon, I bet I can handle a creeper Fluttershy then said to the creeper “You are kind of cute, I know, I will name you squishy!” She finally got close enough to touch it and the creeper didn’t seem to respond, although it’s hissing was deafening. Fluttershy, trying to be brave like her friends, wrapped her forehooves around the angled body in a hug. The creature’s body really was squishy. The creeper exploded in a blast that could be heard throughout Ponyville. Angel bunny found bits and pieces of Fluttershy’s body later that day Author's Notes The "My Little Creeper" image is by sonderjen (sonderjen.deviantart.com) and is used with his permission Chapter 1: The Funeral Chapter 1: The Funeral My Little Creeper By Benger This was supposed to be a one shot, but then I got a great idea, what if it wasn’t? This fic is essentially a dark comedy, but this chapter is to a certain extent an exception. The events are necessary for the overall plot, but I could not find a way to make them humorous. How can the reality of a dead Fluttershy be funny? Also, please comment, I would like to improve my writing, and comments are very useful Chapter 1: The Funeral Dear Princess Celestia Yesterday a terrible sadness befell all of Ponyville. One of the Creepers that you warned me about came out of the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy, believing in the kindness of everything tried to befriend the horrible beast. It promptly exploded. Angel came running into town, dragging what was left of Fluttershy’s mane. He was covered in blood, it was horrific. First we thought he did it, Applejack actually tied him up. It took a really long time to figure out that he was trying to tell us, bunnies can’t really pantomime with their arms strapped to their sides. I just can’t believe that she’s gone. How can Fluttershy be gone? They kept expecting me to know what to do, Sweetie Belle actually asked me to bring her back! I CAN’T DO THAT! How can I know what to do? How can anypony know what to do what to do! How could this happen to Fluttershy? Tears were streaming down Twilight Sparkle’s face. “I guess the one advantage I had in Canterlot was that I didn’t have to watch my friends die” she muttered, then burst into another fit of sobbing. Twilight wanted to write this must be the downside of friendship, but she knew she shouldn’t. Twilight couldn't continue writing, at least not like this. Twilight downed the last of her whisky then looked up at the clock and realized the funeral started in 10 minutes. Twilight hastily finished and signed the letter. “Spike, we need to leave now” she yelled “the funeral’s in 10 minutes!” The baby dragon came running down the stairs and went straight for the door, trying to hide his face. “Wait, can you send this first?” Twilight said. The letter disappeared in a cloud of green smoke as the two ran out the door. ~~~~ The Ponyville Cemetery was packed. The sounds of crying permeated the air. Just about everypony who lived in Ponyville was in attendance. As Twilight and Spike approached the cemetery and passed through the gate, the crowds made a path for them. After walking though the unfamiliar cemetery and seeing the pain that Ponyville was in, Twilight arrived at the place that would soon be Fluttershy’s grave. Twilight’s four remaining friends were there, all obviously in states of shock. Pinkie, who would not let go of Dash, had reverted back to Pinkamina, while Dash’s mane seemed to have dulled; Applejack as trying to console Apple Bloom, while most surprisingly of all, Rarity looked like she needed a bath. Twilight couldn’t stand the sight. Soon a large group of animals could be seen over the hill. The group was led by Angel bunny, and while mostly woodland animals such as bunnies and birds, the group also consisted of some more dangerous beasts. Fluttershy’s coffin, which was quite small because she was mostly vaporized in the blast, was carried by a pair of manticores. A dragon was flying overhead; at the rear of the procession was an Ursa Minor. Normally the presence of dangerous animals such as full grown dragons would not be tolerated with Ponyville, but this was a special occasion. The path that had been created for Twilight grew as Fluttersy’s critter friends brought her casket to the hole that had been dug. As the manticores lowered the remains, Angel got up on a podium and began pantomiming. After a few seconds everypony realized that they had no clue what Angel bunny was trying to say. Seeing this, the bunny stomped off in anger. Nopony had really planned the funeral; they were all in shock. After a few minutes of nothing, Mayor Mare took to podium. She droned on about sacrifice, perseverance and other gibberish, but nopony really paid attention. Afterwards many different ponies spoke, each one ending by bursting into tears. Rainbow Dash described their time in flight school; Rarity sobbed over their spa days. Applejack simply burst out crying. Pinkie just mumbled over and over again “it’s worse than cupcakes”. Finally it was Twilight's turn. As she approached the podium she had no clue what to say, but suddenly she saw something weird on the horizon. After staring off in the distance for a few second she finally knew what it was. Hundreds or maybe thousands of the green monstrosities were amassing just at the peak of the ridge just outside of the cemetery. As she looked around, Twilight realized that they had surrounded the whole cemetery. Fluttershy’s death wasn’t a freak accident; it was the first in a pony genocide. The gravity of the situation finally hit Twilight. And then they charged. Author's Notes The "My Little Creeper" image is by sonderjen (sonderjen.deviantart.com) and is used with his permission Chapter 2: The MassacreMy Little Creeper By Benger This was supposed to be a one shot, but then I got a great idea, what if it wasn’t? This fic is essentially a dark comedy, so take it lightly! It doesn’t take itself seriously, so why should you? Chapter 2: The Massacre Twilight Sparkle could not process what she was seeing. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of creepers streaming towards the cemetery, and just about all of Ponyville was in it. As she stared at the horde, it had anything but a calming effect. Twilight stood their looking at it, realizing she had no clue what to do until suddenly she heard Fluttershy’s voice in the back of her head. For a fleeting second Twilight wondered if she was going insane. But regardless, Fluttershy’s voice told her to do one thing: panic, and that’s exactly what she did. “EVERYPONY FOR THEMSELVES!” Twilight screamed at the top of her lungs. Considering the situation, that was probably the single worst thing Twilight could have done. At the split second before her outburst, she was at the podium and all eyes were on her; nopony had noticed the impending doom coming their way. If Twilight had taken a second to analyze the situation she would have realized the cemetery is surrounded by a gate. If she had thought about the gate Twilight would have remembered that the letter Celestia sent about the creepers said they only explode when they are close to something they can kill. This would have brought Twilight to the realization that if all the entrances and exits were closed, and if everypony gathered in the center of the cemetery, they would be safe. By the time this thought occurred to her, it was too far late. At first the ponies of Ponyville were confused, what were they running from? What’s the danger? Eventually a few caught on and shouted: “CREEPERS!” Finally understanding the danger, mass panic ensued. The situation became complete chaos. After running around like caged animals for far longer than necessary, the ponies headed for the gates and ran out of the cemetery; basically meeting the creepers head on. There was a loud hissing which was then drowned out by sickening screams and booms as the explosions commenced. Limbs were ripped off some ponies while others were entirely disintegrated in the creeper’s suicidal detonations. The force of the explosions set hooves and tails rocketing across the cemetery. Not knowing what to do in the carnage, all those who were near the podium huddled together in fear. At first everypony was silent; not knowing what to say. Nopony wanted to watch the slaughter of their friends. Eventually Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Twilight, can you get us out?” Dazed, and distraught from her mistake, Twilight did not understand what Dash wanted. “How?” she responded. “Uh, with your teleporting magic maybe?” Dash said. “Um, no, well I have only ever teleported Spike along with me.” Twilight took a breath then continued. “I, I don’t, I can’t teleport this many ponies, maybe I might be able to take two, I just don’t know” “Then save ‘urself and Spike” Applejack interjected “Friends don’t leave friends to die!” Twilight shot back Dash looked at Twilight sternly “So all of us should die when we could save a few!? ” Twilight was shocked; this was a facet of friendship her research hadn’t covered yet. She didn’t now know how to respond. Twilight didn’t want to lose her friends and didn’t feel like it was right to leave them to die either, but after some thought she eventually relented. “Fine, but who do I take! How can I choose? “ This brought back memories of the fiasco with the Grand Galloping Gala tickets. The ponies all stopped talking, stunned yet again. “Well, ya take the fillies” Big Mac said, finally adding his two cents to the conversation. “They are small, you can probably take all three” Rarity added Twilight looked over at Apple Bloom, Sweetie Bell, and Scootaloo; the three were pale and shaking from fear. Twilight knew Big Mac and Rarity were right. She began to say her goodbyes, knowing that she would never see any of her friends again. Suddenly Pinke interrupted Twilight. “Stop saying goodbye! We don’t need to say goodbye!” “What?” the dumbfounded group said in unison “The booms and the screaming, it stopped!” Pinkie exclaimed The whole group had been so involved in their debate that nopony realized that the sounds of death and destruction had ended. They slowly looked out across the landscape to see what had happened. The cemetery looked like the moon. The whole area was pitted with craters where the creepers had ignited. While there were no physical remnants of the green invaders other than a course dark gray dust, the ground as soaked in pony blood and unrecognizable parts of ponies were strewn everywhere. Even worse, the explosions had uprooted coffins and now long dead ponies covered the ground. Finally Apple Boom spoke up. “Ah don’t get it, are we dead?” Scootaloo poked Apple Bloom. “You don’t feel dead” she responded “I don’t feel dead nether” Sweetie Bell added “Ah’m pretty sure were not dead, but ah don’t exactly understand why.” Applejack told her sister. After a long pause Rarity finally chimed in “Well isn’t it obvious?” A short “Huh?” came from the ponies “Fluttershy’s fame saved us” Rarity continued “Did nopony else notice all the different models and designers and celebrities and paparazzi here? If it wasn’t so sad, it would have been glamorous!” Rarity smiled as she spoke “This is actually such a great turn of events; I would have absolutely hated to see pictures of me looking like this in the tabloids. I couldn’t even put on makeup; every time I even though about beauty supplies it reminded me of poor Fluttershy and I would burst into tears.” “But Rarity, what does that have to do with us not being dead?” Twilight asked “Oh yes, well, you see there must have been sooooooo many ponies that all the creepers exploded before they could get to us” Rarity responded “as I said, it’s all quite obvious”. “I get it!” Pinkie announced “so it like if you took some matter, and then antimatter and then made them go boom and then there would be none left! But there was a teensy weensy bit more matter, it would be left over, and that’s us!” Tired and confused, nopony was able to comprehend Pinkie’s randomness in their current emotional state. The lack of a response irked Pinkie. They’re just standing there, Pinkie thought. Staring at me. It’s like their brains broke. Hay! I remember when my brain broke; I got all mean and grouchy and I had a party with Madam le flour and Mr Turnip and Rocky! I wonder if the creepers got them, probably not, Mr. Turnip is a smart Turnip. That’s it! They just need a party. I wonder if they want vanilla or chocolate cupcakes, or ooooo, strawberry, I love strawberry cupcakes! And what kind of streamers? And Balloons! I wonder if Fl… Pinkies inner monologue was cut short by a loud belching. A puff of green fire escaped from Spike’s mouth and materialized into a scroll. Twilight quickly grabbed it with her telekinesis. She unrolled the scroll and read it allowed: Dear My Most Faithful Student Twilight Sparkle, I pray that this letter gets to you. As you have probably already seen, Equestria is under attack. These creepers who were first seen last week in the Everfree forest have increased in numbers exponentially. This morning the creepers began attacking everything. Other than Canterlot and Cloudsdale, just about every city and town is destroyed. I received word a few hours ago that both Manehattan and Fillydelphia have been reduced to rubble. I have been unable to receive any response from Hoofington and Fort Stalliongrad will probably fall within the hour. I fear that not many ponies are left. Because of the high cliffs and walls, Canterlot is reasonably safe from the onslaught, so all ponies should come here. It is where pony kind will be making its last stand. Please hurry and get here as soon as possible. Even without kindness; the remaining Elements of Harmony will be an invaluable asset. And don’t despair, if we can defeat the creepers I may be able to reclaim what is lost. Just remember to be strong; it’s what Fluttershy would have wanted. Hopefully I will see you soon. Your Loving Mentor, Princess Celestia Author’s Notes I’m sure some of you are wondering why just about every named pony in the series survived the massacre. I agree with you, it’s unlikely, but there is a good reason: emotion. It will be very difficult for the remaining mane cast to get over Fluttershy’s death. I wanted to lessen the impact on them as much as possible so that they can actually come out of their shells a little. This will be a very long and boring fic if they spend the whole time mourning dead ponies. Also, comments help me improve my writing, so please, comment away! The "My Little Creeper" image is by sonderjen (sonderjen.deviantart.com/) and is used with his permission Chapter 3: The Road to CanterlotMy Little Creeper By Benger This was supposed to be a one shot, but then I got a great idea, what if it wasn’t? This fic is essentially a dark comedy, so take it lightly! It doesn’t take itself seriously, so why should you? Chapter 3: The Road to Canterlot Per the Princess’s request, the twelve remaining residents of Ponyville began their journey to Canterlot. Rainbow Dash lead the pack, flying overhead to scout the path for creepers. She was followed by the remaining Elements of Harmony, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Big Mac who were all walking silently. At the rear of the group there was a lone manticore with a sleeping bunny on its back. After a few hours of walking, the group’s nerves began to settle and they became more talkative. “Ah’ rekin we won’t make it to Canterlot by nightfall” Applejack said aloud While the capitol city could be seen off in the distance, it was already late in the day. “We may make it to the cliffs by nightfall, but we’ll need to leave scaling them until morning” Twilight said with authority “Can’t you just get the princess to send us a chariot? I can’t wait that long to take a bath, I’m absolutely filthy” Rarity complained “Twilight already tried” Spike interjected, obviously unhappy to be upsetting the object of his affections. “It wouldn’t go through, it came right back up. I’ve never had that happen before” It was apparent to everypony that Spike was embarrassed at his inability to perform “It’s all right Spike” Twilight said, trying to reassure her number one assistant, “There is probably some magic blocking the transmission. Extra spells cast by Celestia and Luna to protect Canterlot” Twilight’s words seemed to calm the young dragon. The conversation continued, moving from topic to topic, and it eventually came back to their journey. “Ah’ normally don’t have a problem with sleeping outdoors and such, but I don’t fell comfortable out in the open with these creepers on the loose” Applejack announced. A general consensus came from the group “I was thinking about that” Twilight began “There are many caves in the cliff face; I would suggest that we find a suitable one and spend the night in it.” This peaked the three filly’s interests “So we get to explore a cave?” Scootaloo asked anxiously “Yell I guess, but were going to choose a small one an-” Twilights response was cut off by synchronized screaming “CUITE MARK CRUSADERS CAVE EXPLORERS! YAY!” “Sweetie belle, the correct term is spelunkers” Rarity instructed her sister “CUITE MARK CRUSADERS CAVE SPELUNKERS! YAY!” Rarity immediately regretted her comment “Can I join you?” Pinkie asked the three crusaders “Exploring is so much fun. I especially like when you’re exploring and searching, like a search party! Can it be a search party? Except we don’t have anything to search for. You can’t search without anything to search for, can you? We could search for rocks. Or dirt. Or moss. But that would be too easy. Maybe we can just have a normal party!” Eventually everypony tuned Pinkie Pie out. ~~~~ The group arrived at the cliffs just as sundown began. They found a suitable cave. It was large, but not very deep and it didn’t leave much room for spelunking, to the chagrin of the crusaders. After the ponies ate their fill of grass, the entrance was covered up and the group settled down for the night. “So somepony will need to be constantly keeping watch. I know that we all are tired, but were so close together, it would only take a single creeper to, well, you know.” Twilight said to the group “Well I think that we need to be far more worried of the monsters inside this cave” Rarity said while gesturing toward the manicore. “Ah’ have to agree” Applejack added Angel looked angry; he didn’t seem to like the prospect of kicking out his friend “Fluffy is not a monster!” Sweetie belle said defiantly to her elder sister “He is cuddly and nice” “Fluffy? When did you name him?” Rarity responded “When we were walking, he likes it!” Sweetie retorted. The manticore nodded in agreement “Awww, it’s a cute name. I like it” Pinkie said. “Although it’s a little clique. I know! we should –“ ”Pinkie, we are all way too tired for a party” Dash cut her off Pinky laid down, defeated. After a moment of silence, Twilight revived the conversation. “He seems nice enough; I think we can trust him. Fluffy is the manticore Fluttershy befriended on our way to defeat nightmare moon” Nopony else knew of the past history with Fluffy, but the mention of Fluttershy’s name and the pain it brought up overwhelmed any concern. Eventually Twilight put out the fire and everypony went off to sleep. Finally having a moment to themselves, everypony in the group began thinking of everything they lost during the day. Faint sounds of crying echoed across the cavern. ~~~~ Big Mac was the only member of the group who was awake. He had recently been woken up by his younger sister Applejack for watch and sat at the entrance to the cave, peering through the bush that covered it. Watch was a boring job and it was generally uneventful. Big Mac just hoped it would be over soon. A little more than half way through his shift, Big Mac saw something that defied belief. Suddenly a Creeper just appear, as if it popped into existence. The creeper seemed unfazed and began searching for prey. Seeing another one of the monster brought traumatizing memories of the day earlier. In his surprise, Big Mac made a slight gasp. It wasn’t loud, but it was enough to get the Creepers attention. Seeing the creeper approach the cave, Big Mac froze. Luckily, the gasp also awoke the resident beast. Fluffy’s sensitive hearing easily caught Big Mac’s gasp. First he just twitched a little, annoyed at the rude awakening, and then he sensed something was not right. He stood up, accidentally waking up Angel who was snuggling against him. The manticore roared wakening everypony up. Before any member of the group could complain, Fluffy then jumped straight over the confused ponies and bounded out of the cave’s entrance, tackling the creeper head on. The living explosive was sent flying backwards and crashed into a tree, flashing red, but then recovering. It wasn’t ready to give in. The creeper charged Fluffy, hissing almost as loud as the manticore could roar, but Fluffy nimbly moved out of the way. The creeper, unable to stop, ran straight into the cliff face and exploded. Adrenalin pumping from the ordeal they just witnessed, the group was unable to go back to sleep. The sun was going to rise in just a couple of hours, so the group prepared to climb their way to Canterlot. Author’s Notes In comparison to the previous chapters, this one is lighter on comedy, lighter on dark / grim imagery, and a lot heaver on dialogue. I actually dreaded writing it, but am extremely impressed with the outcome. It might actually be the best thing I have ever written. If you have played Minecraft, you may have some issues with the creeper battle mostly that the creeper acted very un-creeper-like. It’s just that some green thing slowly hopping toward you is not very fun to read about in a fight, so I made the creeper faster and more aggressive. The "My Little Creeper" image is by sonderjen (sonderjen.deviantart.com/) and is used with his permission I do not own My little Pony, any of the characters, or Minecraft. please support the official release. Chapter 4: Its Only a ModelMy Little Creeper By Benger This was supposed to be a one shot, but then I got a great idea, what if it wasn’t? This fic is essentially a dark comedy, so take it lightly! It doesn’t take itself seriously, so why should you? Chapter 4: Its Only a Model The sun was cresting over the far hills as the group approached the carved path. They stood there in awe, their eyes tracing the back and forth winding of the staircase up the cliff. It mostly followed a natural fault line in the rock, and had obviously seen better times. One by one they began climbing the steep stairs, immediately finding them worn down and slippery from overuse while simultaneously cracked and loose from disrepair. It only took minutes for the first pony the slip; luckily Twilight’s fall backwards was interrupted by Applejack. “Woh Twilight, if you had fallen the other way, well, I don’t need to say it” Applejack grunted under the weight of two ponies Once back on her hooves, Twilight looked over the cliff’s edge, imagining the possible result of her fall “Thanks Applejack, I guess I need to be more careful. Maybe we should slow down” Applejack gave Twilight a critical look. “We’re behind as it is, Ah’ don’t think we can slow down” Rarity, who was behind Applejack took this time to add her opinion “I for one agree with Twilight, somepony is going to actually fall and break something, and of course it doesn’t really help that these stairs are so slippery, or that they seem to be built like somepony made them too tall” Twilight’s face immediately brightened and her heavy breathing stopped “That’s because they’re made for Alicorns” she said. “Legend says that ages ago Celestia and Luna made their home where Canterlot stands today. Before the ponies of Equestria knew them as princesses, they lived at the top of this cliff, secluded from the world. They carved this very staircase for themselves. Over the years ponies began to notice our Princess’s control of Equestria, and for generations they climbed these steps to make pilgrimages, asking for favors and giving gifts to the sisters. Eventually the ponies built a castle in tribute of their Princesses, and city a city sprang up around it. By then this staircase could no longer support Canterlot, so under a royal mandate, hundreds of thousands of carts full of dirt were dumped on the other side of the mountain, creating a gentle sloping path, wide enough that carts could travel it and this staircase fell into disuse.” Twilight exhaled, dizzy from her monologue “So let me get this straight Twi, there’s an easier way up?” Applejack questioned Twilight was surprised by the question and it took her a second to respond “well, the other path is on the other side of the mountain, it would take us a day to get there, and it takes twice as long to climb” Evreypony seemed to deflate from the response. After a little more grumbling, Rainbow Dash flew back around and heckled the group to get a move on. Not wanting to spend another night outdoors, they agreed to continue on. ~~~~ Twilight found an unexpected site when they climbed over the lip of the cliff around mid-morning. Instead of just the gleaming castle city surrounded by pristine walls that she remembered, there was a massive tent city engulfing Canterlot. Eager to find the princess, Twilight urged the group forward, through the tent city. The ponies in residence had recently become refugees. They lived in tents made from any material they could get their hands on; sticks, blankets anything that could provide even a minimal degree of shelter. While some basic necessities seemed to be provided, the ponies generally looked miserable. Food was evidently scarce; many ponies were begging for a slice of bread or just a blade of grass. From the conversations going about they gleaned the reason for the horrid conditions, Canterlot couldn’t support nearly this many ponies “Please” a light green mare pleaded “My children are starving, there must be something left in the stores” “I’m sorry, but the rations for today have all been allocated” the guard stated, seemingly pained at his response Rarity, overhearing the exchange, pulled a scarf out of her saddlebags. “Take this, it should sell for a nice amount, it is a Rarity Original. Hopefully you can feed you foals with the money. The mare graciously said thanked Rarity, and ran off to buy some food ~~~~ As they approached the city gates, a tri of guards blocked their path. The middle guard began speaking in an authoritative voice “By the order of royal princess’s court, refugees must remain outside of the city until proper housing and care can be arranged. Make your way towards the tents and find a suitable spot to build a shel-“ Getting a look at the whole party, the guard halted speaking and his jaw dropped After a few seconds of silence, Dash furrowed her brow in annoyance “Well, Get on with it!” All three guards were shaking, dumbstruck with fear. Finally one managed to eek a few words out. “Mam,” He squeaked to Twilight “There seems to be a maticore behind you” Even before Fluffy saved the group’s lives they had grown accustom to his presence, and Twilight didn’t immediately understand the concern. “Yes, we also have five mares, one stallion, three fillies, and one bunny in our party” “Ahem” coughed Spike Twilights faced reddened “and one baby dragon“ “But you have a manticore” the guard repeated before Twilight’s last statement could sink in. “And a dragon?!” Twilight, skeptical of the guard’s repeated questioning, gave him a curious look before responding. “Well, I wouldn’t say we have him, he kind of just followed us, and Spike, he’s my assistant” The guard looked up at the beast, making eye contact before quickly looking back down at the ground. “Two of the deadliest beasts in Equestria, one responsible for at least the deaths of 25 ponies a year and the other capable of destroying whole cities and you brought them both to Canterlot” Finally understanding the issue, Twilight was unable to hide her opinions on the situation. “Well, Fluffy is a friendly manticore, and Spike is a baby dragon” she said trying to suppress a giggle. “And I’m quite friendly too” Spike added Suddenly, the heads of three fillies popped out of the manticore’s mane. “Ya, Fluffy is a nice Manticore” Apple bloom announced “He even let us ride him up when he flew up the cliff” Scootaloo added “I didn’t even know he could fly!” Sweetie belle said, not wanting to be left out of the conversation The manticore nodded in approval while the guards looked back and forth at the fillies in disbelief. “And he protected us from the green meanies!” Pinke yelled while jumping impossibly high in the air. “He was all RAWR and then jump and SLAM and then the Greene when wosh and then turned around and went zoom but Fluffy went all dodge and then the Greene when SMACK and exploded!” Still skeptical of the group’s story, and thoroughly confused by Pinkie’s “pinkieness” the guards slowly reached for their swords and - FWOMP!!! Fluffy shrugged off Angel and the crusaders. He then leaped over the rest of the group head on into the three guards, pinning them down and knocking the swords out of their mouths. He proceeded to open his mouth in an impressive roar while they were screaming in terror. After a few seconds of squirming, the guards seemed to accept their fate. The rest of the group started walking by when Rainbow dash tapped Fluffy on the shoulder while trying to stifle a chuckle. “Ok, that’s enough, I’m sure they get the idea big guy” The Manticore reluctantly relinquished his prey. ~~~~ Considering that Fluffy had just assaulted three of Celestia’s finest, walking into the city that acted as her majesty’s guard’s garrison town was probably not the brightest plan. Twilight was leading the group through the winding, but familiar streets an dallies of the market district before the guards sprung their trap Twilight was buying a new book that she absolutely needed when Applejack tapped her on the shoulder. “Twi, Ah’ think there are some guards who wanna to speak to us” Twilight spun around, only to be greeted by the single largest group of guards she had ever seen. Unicorn guards surrounded the group in a semicircle with the survivors of Ponyville’s back to a wall while at least a dozen Pegasi were flying overhead. The Unicorns had already cast a containment spell, making it impossible for the group to escape “Hello officers” Twilight said meekly “what seems to be the problem?” The group huddled together, waiting for a response A guard with stripes on his armor stepped into the semicircle and telekinetically pulled out a scroll “Stop right their criminal scum! Nopony breaks the law on my watch! You are all charged with two counts of bringing deadly animals into a populated area, two counts of public endangerment, one count of disturbing the peace, three counts of assault and battery with a deadly animal, three counts of assaulting officers of the law, one count of evading arrest, one count of disregarding a direct order from law enforcement, and the pink one is charged with one count of first degree insanity. Will you surrender or pay with your blood?” Author’s Notes This fic is shaping up to be longer then i intended, this chapter, and the next one was originally supposed to be included in the events of chapter three. Also, please remember to comment! The "My Little Creeper" image is by sonderjen (sonderjen.deviantart.com/) and is used with his permission I do not own My little Pony, any of the characters, or Minecraft. Please support the official releases. Chapter 5: ReunionMy Little Creeper By Benger This was supposed to be a one shot, but then I got a great idea, what if it wasn’t? This fic is essentially a dark comedy, so take it lightly! It doesn’t take itself seriously, so why should you? Chapter 5: Reunion A light blue aura enveloped a diamond encrusted hair bush, slowly guiding it through a flowing motley pastel mane. The polished surface, reflected by the vanity mirror, caused Celestia to grimace as she was reminded of how garish it truly was. Her eyes only lingered on the implement for a second before she returned to her sorry appearance. While the princess tended to be a prime example of livelihood and health, her current state could be better described as weak and sickly. Celestia’s abnormally pail cheeks contrasted against the blue tinged puffiness surrounding her eyes and the dark streaks extending down from them. She found momentary enjoyment from the uselessness of the creams and lotions her staff provided, but soon was overtaken again with anguish. Over the past four days Celestia watched her dear Equestria crumble to just a handful of fortified bunkers in a sea of destruction. The wave of death reduced the large population centers such as Manehattan and Fillydelphia to nothing before she was aware of the enemy. The creepers then focused on smaller towns; Trottingham, Hoofington, and Ponyville were obliterated not long after. “Ponyville” she whispered to herself. Celestia drew on all of her strength to keep from crying again. Twilight had been in Ponyville. I could have warned her, she could have escaped Celestia thought to herself. No, I will not go down this path again. Ponyville was destroyed 3 days earlier; and Twilight was still missing. The trek to Canterlot took less than a day; considering Twilight had not surfaced yet, she was almost surely dead. “I must be strong, so my ponies can be strong” Celestia chanted quietly, banishing the thoughts of Twilight Sparkle’s demise. Back in control, she began to weave magic together. Extending from her horn, a shining white film covered her body, only to evaporate seconds later; leaving behind a physically rejuvenated princess. ~~~~ Celestia quickly exited her private chambers; she was already running late. Apparently somepony brought both a dragon and manticore into Canterlot; and the Head Constable wanted to use them as an example to the ever more unruly refugees. Celestia preferred using her power as an angel of mercy, but she understood that at times, justice is required to keep ponies in line. The offenders had been convicted and sentenced earlier that day by the military court that used to reside in Stalliongrad; Celestia was only necessary for the royal appeal that was held as a sacred right. A crier announced her arrival as Celestia entered the throne room, where the sentencing would be held. She noted how the throne room was mostly unchanged; the majority of her royal advisors and multiple lawyers were present. Celestia’s eyes were drawn to six ponies, standing a ways from the throne. Chained together in just about every way possible, they didn’t look nearly as menacing as the guards that flanked them. Their faces and cutie marks were covered, as was tradition; felons had to request permission to see the Princess. Celestia sat in her throne and grasped her gavel grasped firmly in telekinesis. She looked over at the Head Constable. He was one of those ponies that didn’t seem to age; he had looked old and worn before he took the post decades ago. He wore dull gray armor that complemented his bluish gray coat and his white mane. He’s a rigid stallion Celestia thought but dependable none the less. Celestia’s thoughts were banished as the charges were read aloud. “These six ponies have come to beseech Princess Celestia” the crier began. “Each once has been convicted of at least fourteen separate counts in the court of law. They have each been sentenced to the front line in the impending battle” The prosecuting lawyer smirked in pride over the conviction and sentencing. The Princess leaned over to speak to the Head Constable. “That sentence is quite harsh; it’s practically certain death.” The gruff guards pony was tired of this back and forth and simply did not respond Celestia brought her attention back to the crier just as he finished reading the crimes “And the pink one has also been convicted of one count of first degree criminal insanity and two counts of escaping legal incarceration.” The crier took a breath before he continued. “Princess Celestia, do you wish to hear these felons’ bid for clemency?” The crier asked with grace. Celestia did not want to see the faces or know the names of those she was surly going to send to certain death. It only makes my job harder she said to herself; even so, Celestia found herself unable to reject seeing the case. I’m never able to deny an appeal, am i? She thought . Reluctantly, Celestia put on the most convincing poker face she could muster. “I will hear the appeal”. A guards pony stood behind each of the offenders; the burlap sacks covering their faces and cutie marks were removed in unison. Celestia stood up as her eyes widened, her pupils dilated, and her jaw fell. The one pony Celestia never expected to be seeing now, or ever again for that matter, was standing right before her. Celestia stood frozen as thousands of thoughts vied for her attention until one finally bubbled to the surface. “My Twilight is alive” she said in a hushed whisper as drops began falling from her eyes. The magical facade hiding Celestia’s appearance fractured; all the emotions she had worked so hard to keep bottled in the pit of her stomach exploded outwards. The Sun Princess’s face contorted from countless sensations, shedding the last of her illusion as she galloped full speed towards her lost pupil. ~~~~ Seconds after seeing light for the first time in days, Twilight found herself in an embrace that shared many qualities with a tackle. Twilight blinked a few more times trying to get used to the light, but the pony hugging her began bawling before Twilight could see. “Twilight, Twilight” The Princess said in-between sobs “You, you’re alive! I can’t believe-” Celestia was cut off by a labored sob followed by a deep breath. “I was so scared, I thought I lost you!” Celestia took another breath, trying to regain some semblance of composure, before bursting out with another round of sobs “Don’t ever do that again! Twilight, promise me you will never scare me like that again!” Twilight couldn’t help but reciprocate her mentor’s embrace, burying her now teary face in Celestia’s mane. “I promise” she said softly. Celestia and Twilight tightened their embrace. ~~~~ Intermission ~~~~ The two ponies sat crying in the throne room for many minutes. Once their sobs subsided and they release their hug, they found the room mostly empty. “Where did everypony go?” Twilight asked aloud while wiping tears from her face. “They left, said somethin’ about givn royalty privacy or sumthin” AJ responded “we kinda couldn’t leave with the whole bein chained to Twilight an’ all.” Celestia looked over the plethora of chains that connected the six ponies. “I know it is a little overkill; they did it because Pinkie kept escaping. I told them that if Pinkie wanted to get out, she would get out; they didn’t listen.” Twilight said. Without a word a light glow emanated from Celestia’s horn; the chains took on the same hue the princess’ horn before exploding into millions of glittery pieces that dissolved before they hit the floor. “I hope that is better” The princess said with a smile. Rainbow Dash immediately launched off the floor, doing flips and summersaults in the air. “Awwww Ya! You do not know how much I missed flying!” she yelled “Do a barrel roll Dashie!” Pinkie Pie shouted; stomping her hooves as Rainbow complied. After watching the impromptu performance, Celestia turned back to her student. “I’m deeply sorry for how you have been treated, you must me tired.” Celestia then turned to the rest of the group “you must all be tired” she said so they could hear. Rarity was the first to respond. “Well yes, this is by far the longest I have ever gone without a bath, but I am far more worried about my darling sister Sweetie Bell. When we were arrested she was separated from me.” “Same with Applebloom” Applejack added “And I think they took that orange one too” Rainbow Dash yelled mid corkscrew. Celestia didn’t respond verbally, instead her horn lit up with a faint white glow. The Head Constable returned no more than 10 second later. “You called m’lady” “Yes, I have been told that my student and her party-” Rainbow quickly covered Pinkie’s mouth in an attempt to avoid an outburst “-had three fillies with them, where are they now?” The old pony rolled his eyes and started speaking in a monotone voice. “As is procedure, the fillies were taken to foal services and have been placed in foster care. It will take two-” The Head Constable’s explanation was cut off by an infuriated Applejack “You placed ma’h lil sister in what?! Me and Big Mac here are all she has left and you put her in FOSTER CARE!” Big Mac quickly stomped on Applejacks tail in an attempt to contain her. “I think what Applejack is trying is say is you should bring the three fillies here as quickly as possible” Twilight said to the Constable “Oh, and also can you bring Spike, the baby dragon?” Instead of responding to Twilight, the Head Constable turned to the Princess “Are you pardoning them? I can’t release the fillies, or the” he gulped “dragon into their custody otherwise”. “Yes, they are pardoned of all crimes” Celestia responded dismissively “Bring the fillies and Spike here as soon as possible” The Head constable bowed and began to head out as Pinkie escaped Rainbow’s grasp. “Don’t forget Fluffy!” she yelled to the Constable. “or Angel!” she added Celestia turned to the pink party pony. “Who are Angel and Fluffy?” “Oh, well Angel was Fluttershy’s bunny, and Fluffy is the Manticore.” Pinkie Pie said “Twilight” Celestia said sternly “You actually brought a manticore into the city! What were you thinking? I assumed this was a case of mistaken identity, but Twilight your guilty?” Twilight was taken aback by her mentor’s candor “But Fluffy is tame, he saved us! He wouldn’t hurt a parasite, let alone a pony.” The rest of the group nodded in agreement “That thing is a threat to everypony!” The Head Constable interjected “It took 20 guards to subdue him and five of them are now in the hospital” “That’s because you attacked him” Twilight shot back “If the guards hadn’t drawn swords in the first place, he wouldn’t have hurt anypony!” Celestia felt the shouting match was getting them nowhere. “Twilight are you absolutely certain Fluffy can be trusted?” she asked calmly “Yes” Twilight responded “OK I trust you, but he will be released under your care” Celestia told her student. Twilight responded with a nervous look. Understanding his orders, the Head Constable left. Once he was gone Celestia addressed Twilight and her group. “Hopefully, the rest will arrive shortly.” Celestia said. “As for me, I need to be in a meeting about tactics and strategy about ten minutes ago.” The second she mentioned the ongoing massacre, Twilight could see Celestia’s demeanor harden. “I’m going to leave you in the trusty hand of the palace staff, they will find you accommodations. After you have all rested up you, I would like to invite you to dinner in my private dining hall. Is that acceptable?” They all nodded in unison. “I will see you then” Celestia said as she exited the throne room, reapplying her illusion spell. ~~~~ “I still cannot believe they put me in a zoo, do you know how boring lizards are?” Spike questioned Twilight for what must have been the eleventy billionth time. Twilight shook her head; what’s wrong with you Twilight, eleventy billion isn’t a number, Pinkie must be rubbing off. The last few hours were supposed to be relaxing; Twilight was supposed to take a warm, soothing bath, and then a long nap. She should feel rejuvenated; Celesta did tell her to pamper herself. But instead, she spent the time listening to her loving, adoring, admiring and absolutely aggravating baby dragon. “I’ll tell you how boring lizards are” Spike said louder than was necessary. “Very! They do nothing, I would know, I tried talking to them. No response. They just blink!” Spike stopped talking. His face emptied of emotion, his eyes widened, blinking every few seconds in emulator of his recent cage-mates. “Do you know what it is like to get blinked at?” Spike asked Twilight, ending his impression. Twilight rolled her eyes. She was not surprised with Spike’s unhappiness with his recent imprisonment at the royal zoo. “And don’t think that being locked up with Gummy made it any easier! Pinkie’s alligator is no better that the rest of those scaily dimwits.” Don’t remind me Twilight thought. Somehow when the Head Constable returned with Spike, Fluffy, Angel and the three crusaders, he brought Gummy clamped on his tail. Pinkie was unable to add any insight to Gummy’s presence. “Umm... Wasn’t he always with us?” she responded to Twilights questioning. Under Rainbow Dash’s advice, Twilight abandoned the inquiry. “It’s just Pinkie being Pinkie” Twilgiht said to herself. Twilights thoughts wandered back to recent time off. Even with Spike’s constant complaining and Pinkie’s inconsistencies, Twilight did manage feel better. The room was most defiantly nicer than the cold chains and dark dungeons. And the bed, Twilight loved that bed. The pillows are probably filled with Pegasus down she reminisced. Twilight could almost hear the bed calling to her; it was nice to sleep in her old room again. As if on cue, Spike broke the daydream. “And I don’t even get it, how could they mistake me for a lizard!” Maybe he’ll stop this once Rarity arrives. Twilight sighed as the two entered Celestia’s private dining hall. ~~~~ In comparison to the scale of the palace’s other rooms, the dining hall was absolutely claustrophobic. It didn’t have the gargantuan heights, the wide open spaces, nor the flashy decorations that were commonplace throughout the castle. Instead the walls were bear, lined with a dark oak trim that matched the long table inhabiting the majority of the room. Even with the more down to earth appearance, the room still came off a regal. Twilight reminisced on many nights spent studying in the room with her mentor, bringing a warm smile to her face. Fluffy and Angel were already seated, deep in a pantomimic conversation when Spike and Twilight arrived, but it wasn’t long before everypony else began filling in. First Applejack and Big Mac arrived with Applebloom trailing close behind. The trio was followed by Sweetie Belle and Rarity, who had managed to return her mane and coat to their former sheen. A positively ecstatic orange filly hopped in, followed by an amused Rainbow Dash. It seems she is taking good care of Scootaloo Twilight smiled. The last members of the group to arrive were Pinkie Pie and Gummy. By the time Princess Celestia walked in, everypony was already seated, talking and laughing. Ponies dressed in Tuxedos brought food out only moments after the princess took her seat. “I hope you don’t mind” The head chef said “We won’t be having the normal six course meal that the palace normally serves”. The main course was placed in front of everypony, a delectable salad for the ponies, steamed carrots for Angel, hay fries and gems for Spike, and imitation meat for both Gummy and Fluffy. “Because of the food shortages Canterlot is facing, unnecessary food has been donated. I hope the meal is satisfactory” “yesh, ish is delishishs” Rainbow Dash said before swallowing her first bite. The chef bowed and walked out. ~~~~ While entertaining, the meal was uneventful. The spotlight was passed around as everypony helped tell the story of their recent adventures. After a filling meal and a healthy round of desserts, the table was cleared and Spike was sent to put the three fillies to sleep. “There is no reason those four should have to hear this.” Celestia pulled out a worn map and spread it over the table. “This is a map of Canterlot and the surrounding area.” The Princess began. “As you are all aware, we are situated on a cliff. There is only one way for the creepers to come up here en-mass, and the trader’s ramp is being demolished as we speak.” Celestia paused so that her words could sink in. “As a fortress, Canterlot is impenetrable.” The Princesses brave face turned sour. “But we will not last a week.” “Canterlot can only store enough food for 6 days; and that is with proper rationing” Celestia continued. “Quite simply, the spells keeping the creeper horde at bay will fail in another 36 hours. If they cannot be destroyed, our fortifications will not matter. With them populating the lands on the valley floor, we will be completely cut off from food.” Celestia took a breath before continuing. “This task looks slightly easier now that Fluffy has shown they can be killed, although the story of their spontaneous spawning is worrisome.” Celestia surveyed her audience; they were hanging on her every word. “You have all done more than I could possibly ask for Equestria and suffered so much more than is right. But I beseech you, and ask you to do more.” Celestia looked at the six ponies; each one different and special. No pony hesitated. Just as I thought. Celestia smiled. Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but Celestia cut her off. “No Twilight, I am not asking you to use the Elements of Harmony” Celestia said with a chuckle. “Besides, it would be useless. No, you are all very special in your own right; I am asking you to use your talents to aid us.” Celestia addressed the Mantocore before questions could be asked. “Fluffy, you have already shown you can best a Creeper, I assign you to the palace guard.” At the mention of his name, the manticore’s ears perked up. “You will be our last line of defense, guarding the foals, fillies, and colts unable to fight for themselves” Fluffy nodded in acceptance of his role. “Applejack” Celestia said, catching the farm pony by surprise. “I assign you to the Bucking Brigade” “The what?” Applejack stammered Celestia smiled and said “Just trust me, it is right up your alley” before turning to face Applejack’s brother “Big Mac, we have been looking for some good stallions to be lieutenants to guide the maneuvers on the valley floor, are you up to the job?” The red stallion responded with an exaggerated nod of his head and a concise “Eeyup” Celestia paused and took a second to look at the four remaining mares. “Rainbow Dash, I am sure you will be happy. The Wonderbolts have been put in charge of a small areal strike force, and are looking for fast, capable flyers.” Celestia said with a sly look. “Interested?” Dash’s eyes bulged as she strained to suppress a fan-filly squeal. “Rarity” The fashionesta’s poise and posture visibly straightened as she was addressed. “How would you like to lend your expertise with gems to the light cannon teams?” Rarity’s eyes sparkled with delight. It was well known that many of Equestria’s largest gems were used in the weapons, channeling the magic from a unicorn’s horn into a blinding light. “Pinkie Pie” Celestia seemed to tense up as she said the name. “Your… unique way of looking at the world leads you to many… creative innovation. I think you could be useful at R&D. Just don’t blow anything up.” Surprisingly, the pink pony just nodded. Celestia turned to face her student “And Twilight Sparkle, did you know that nopony alive today is suitably versed in the art of war? It’s not surprising considering there hasn’t been a proper one in far longer then I care to remember. In fact, when I reviewed the Canterlot University records, I was surprised to find that the only pony to even minor in large scale combat tactics in the last two millennia was a one Miss. Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight want to defend her decision. She wanted to tell Celestia that it was a minor interest; one of 27 minors and 14 majors she graduated with. But the princess never gave her a chance. “Twilight, this actually makes you the single most qualified pony in all of Equestria to lead us into battle. Effective immediately, I am promoting you to General of the Equestrian army.” Twilight felt like a little filly again, she just managed to stammer out a “wha, what?” as a response. Princess Celestia just smiled at her student’s confusing before changing her tone, addressing the whole table. “Your assignments have already been notified that you will join them. I suggest you all get to bed; wakeup in the equestrian army is 6:00 AM.” Celestia frowned as the group began leaving. How can I send these ponies to war? She asked herself ~~~~ As her friends were leaving, the Princess motioned to Twilight to stay. Twilight immediately broke down. “I, I don’t know if I can do this, General? I don’t know how to be a General! And…” The Princess quieted Twilight, “Don’t worry” The Princess began, “I will be with you every step of the way.” Celestia nuzzled Twilight. Twilight nodded, not very sure of herself, but feeling better. “I would not chose you if I didn’t have the utmost confidence” Celestia said softly. “But there is more I need to tell you.” Twilight responded by looking up at Celestia, A look that the Princess recognized from the pony’s entrance exam. “Have you heard of battle Magic?” Celestia asked. Twilight nodded “I have come across a few references, but as far as I could ever tell, it was lost long ago.” Celestia smirked. “Not completely lost” ~~~~ Twilight looked out over the balcony. She was honestly impressed with the work they had accomplished in one day. She watched the Pegasi flying overhead and the archers scurrying across the ramparts. “I just hope we are ready” She said aloud “I think we are” Celestia responded. Twilight tried to smile. She was standing with her beloved mentor on the highest point in Canter. She could see across the plains where ponies were working, each a gear or cog in Equestria’s war machine. My war machine she thought. She was not sure how she felt about that. Twilight was wearing silver armor that looked as if it reflected the moon; Celestia had given it to her the night of their dinner. “I want you to wear this” Celestia told her. “Long ago, when Luna and I were fillies, she wore this into battle. It’s not normal armor. See the etching?” Twilight nodded “Those markings will help you tap into your own powers; you can use the whole piece as an implement of your magic. No longer will you be restricted to just your horn.” At first the explanation was unnerving, but there was no question, the armor really did work. Twilight focused her gaze out on the horizon. She could just barely make out a rainbow barreling toward Canterlot. She knew what I meant. It was the areal force signaling the approach of the enemy. “Now is the time, in the lull before battle, when the general customarily speaks to her troops.” Celestia said in Twilights ear. “Do I have too?” Twilight pleaded Celestia gave her a stern but loving look. Twilight gulped. She ignited her horn, amplifying her voice, as she began to speak. “Um, hi” She giggled nervously. Her voice boomed across the city. “I’m uh, General Twilight Sparkle and uh” Twilight looked around. She needed something to say, something that would inspire them. “Tell them how you got here” Celestia whispered “I had a friend” Twilight began. “A best friend” she looked over at Celestia, who smiled back. “One of the best friends a pony could have ever had.” Twilight took a difficult breath. “Six days ago something happened. She approached a creature did not know, tried to befriend it in an act of kindness and became a victim, the first victim.” Twilight’s confidence was returning. “She died because she was kind to something that can never understand kindness.” As she paused, Twilight realized that the only sound for miles was her voice. “Fluttershy may be gone, but she is not forgotten. She is not forgotten because we are still here. These monsters have taken so much; friends families, livelihoods. They destroyed whole towns and cities in their wake. Young or old, Mare or stallion, filly or colt; the things don’t care, they live to destroy and honestly, they have taken more then we I can bare. If they are stopped now, if we are able to stop them now, maybe our great-grandchildren will see an Equestria not obviously ravaged by war. Twilight took a breath, her speech was becoming depressing. If we don’t fight, if we don’t win, not even our great grandchildren will get that chance. We are standing our ground for our future; because we have something to live for. Because without us to remember, nopony will know that we ever existed.” Twilight paused to dry her watering eyes. “We are here for Equestria, for Canterlot, for those who have fallen and cannot stand beside us, and for those who have not yet had the chance“ Twilight could hear cheering welling up all around her. “We are here for hope!” “For the past!” “For the future!” At this point Twilight did not know what to say, so she said the first thing that came to her mind. “For Fluttershy!” Suddenly a wall of sound hit her, a single thought of thousands of voices all repeating her words back at her; coming in every pitch from every direction. Yet the words were perfectly clear. “FOR FLUTTERSHY!” As the cacophony subsided, cheering could be heard throughout the capital city Twilight’s horn relinquished its glow. “For Fluttershy” Twilight whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek. Author’s Notes Sorry this took a while, writing this chapter was hard. I originally planed on having pinkie break the group out of jail (that did not work well). It took a while to figure out how I wanted to continue it. Also, I know then ending is kinda cheesy, don’t complain. The "My Little Creeper" image is by sonderjen (sonderjen.deviantart.com/) and is used with his permission I do not own My little Pony, any of the characters, or Minecraft. Please support the official releases.
Prologue: FractureMy Little Creeper By Benger This was supposed to be a one shot, but then I got a great idea, what if it wasn’t? This is an updated version of chapter one, meant to bring the quality of writing up to par with the rest fo the fic Chapter 1: The Tragedy As far as Fluttershy was concerned, today was a perfect day. She woke up early, fed all the animals that lived alongside her and then ate a bowl of oats. Even angel hadn’t been too hard to appease. She was now out on her morning walk. She was near the edge of the Everfree forest, enjoying the calm, looking for any animals that might need her attention. As she was lazily walking along a slightly overgrown path a sound caught her attention. “Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss” It startled Fluttershy, making her jump. The hissing didn’t sound like it was made by an animal, it sounded more like the hissing coming from a tea pot right before it is ready. After getting over her fear, and a few minutes of franticly searching for the source of the odd noise, Fluttershy gave up and continued on her walk. The rest of the walk was uneventful. She spent a little of her time tending to porcupines that hurt each other while hugging, and helped a bird get untangled from some vines. She even saw a loris that was really slow. Fluttershy had almost forgotten about the weird noise as she was walking back to her cabin until she heard it again “Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss” The hissing was just as before. It sounded slightly metallic and like something that couldn’t be made by any animal she had ever seen. Fluttershy jumped back from the noise and began searching for the source. Unlike her first encounter, she found the culprit. There was a square green head peaking our from behind a tree that she did not recognize. “Hello little guy, there is no reason to be scared” Fluttershy said, while walking slowly toward the animal. The hissing got louder. “I’m not going to hurt you; my name is Fluttershy, what is yours?” The animal came into view and Fluttershy finally got a good look at the whole creature. It was about 2 ponies tall, but very skinny and covered in different blotches of green, it had four hooves ponies but they were very close together sprouting out of its square body. The creature looked at Fluttershy with its two black beady eyes but even though it was hissing, did not seem to be making noise out of its frowning mouth. “Twilight told me what you are, you a creeper!” Fluttersy said aloud. “She told me that you are mean and I should never approach you” The creature did not respond “But I think you just need a friend.” She continued Fluttershy slowly walked toward the creeper and as its hissing got louder and she thought to herself I tamed a manticore and told off a dragon, I bet I can handle a creeper Fluttershy then said to the creeper “You are kind of cute, I know, I will name you squishy!” She finally got close enough to touch it and the creeper didn’t seem to respond, although it’s hissing was deafening. Fluttershy, trying to be brave like her friends, wrapped her forehooves around the angled body in a hug. The creature’s body really was squishy. The creeper exploded in a blast that could be heard throughout Ponyville. Angel bunny found bits and pieces of Fluttershy’s body later that day Author's Notes The "My Little Creeper" image is by sonderjen (sonderjen.deviantart.com) and is used with his permission
Chapter 1: The Funeral Chapter 1: The Funeral My Little Creeper By Benger This was supposed to be a one shot, but then I got a great idea, what if it wasn’t? This fic is essentially a dark comedy, but this chapter is to a certain extent an exception. The events are necessary for the overall plot, but I could not find a way to make them humorous. How can the reality of a dead Fluttershy be funny? Also, please comment, I would like to improve my writing, and comments are very useful Chapter 1: The Funeral Dear Princess Celestia Yesterday a terrible sadness befell all of Ponyville. One of the Creepers that you warned me about came out of the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy, believing in the kindness of everything tried to befriend the horrible beast. It promptly exploded. Angel came running into town, dragging what was left of Fluttershy’s mane. He was covered in blood, it was horrific. First we thought he did it, Applejack actually tied him up. It took a really long time to figure out that he was trying to tell us, bunnies can’t really pantomime with their arms strapped to their sides. I just can’t believe that she’s gone. How can Fluttershy be gone? They kept expecting me to know what to do, Sweetie Belle actually asked me to bring her back! I CAN’T DO THAT! How can I know what to do? How can anypony know what to do what to do! How could this happen to Fluttershy? Tears were streaming down Twilight Sparkle’s face. “I guess the one advantage I had in Canterlot was that I didn’t have to watch my friends die” she muttered, then burst into another fit of sobbing. Twilight wanted to write this must be the downside of friendship, but she knew she shouldn’t. Twilight couldn't continue writing, at least not like this. Twilight downed the last of her whisky then looked up at the clock and realized the funeral started in 10 minutes. Twilight hastily finished and signed the letter. “Spike, we need to leave now” she yelled “the funeral’s in 10 minutes!” The baby dragon came running down the stairs and went straight for the door, trying to hide his face. “Wait, can you send this first?” Twilight said. The letter disappeared in a cloud of green smoke as the two ran out the door. ~~~~ The Ponyville Cemetery was packed. The sounds of crying permeated the air. Just about everypony who lived in Ponyville was in attendance. As Twilight and Spike approached the cemetery and passed through the gate, the crowds made a path for them. After walking though the unfamiliar cemetery and seeing the pain that Ponyville was in, Twilight arrived at the place that would soon be Fluttershy’s grave. Twilight’s four remaining friends were there, all obviously in states of shock. Pinkie, who would not let go of Dash, had reverted back to Pinkamina, while Dash’s mane seemed to have dulled; Applejack as trying to console Apple Bloom, while most surprisingly of all, Rarity looked like she needed a bath. Twilight couldn’t stand the sight. Soon a large group of animals could be seen over the hill. The group was led by Angel bunny, and while mostly woodland animals such as bunnies and birds, the group also consisted of some more dangerous beasts. Fluttershy’s coffin, which was quite small because she was mostly vaporized in the blast, was carried by a pair of manticores. A dragon was flying overhead; at the rear of the procession was an Ursa Minor. Normally the presence of dangerous animals such as full grown dragons would not be tolerated with Ponyville, but this was a special occasion. The path that had been created for Twilight grew as Fluttersy’s critter friends brought her casket to the hole that had been dug. As the manticores lowered the remains, Angel got up on a podium and began pantomiming. After a few seconds everypony realized that they had no clue what Angel bunny was trying to say. Seeing this, the bunny stomped off in anger. Nopony had really planned the funeral; they were all in shock. After a few minutes of nothing, Mayor Mare took to podium. She droned on about sacrifice, perseverance and other gibberish, but nopony really paid attention. Afterwards many different ponies spoke, each one ending by bursting into tears. Rainbow Dash described their time in flight school; Rarity sobbed over their spa days. Applejack simply burst out crying. Pinkie just mumbled over and over again “it’s worse than cupcakes”. Finally it was Twilight's turn. As she approached the podium she had no clue what to say, but suddenly she saw something weird on the horizon. After staring off in the distance for a few second she finally knew what it was. Hundreds or maybe thousands of the green monstrosities were amassing just at the peak of the ridge just outside of the cemetery. As she looked around, Twilight realized that they had surrounded the whole cemetery. Fluttershy’s death wasn’t a freak accident; it was the first in a pony genocide. The gravity of the situation finally hit Twilight. And then they charged. Author's Notes The "My Little Creeper" image is by sonderjen (sonderjen.deviantart.com) and is used with his permission
Chapter 2: The MassacreMy Little Creeper By Benger This was supposed to be a one shot, but then I got a great idea, what if it wasn’t? This fic is essentially a dark comedy, so take it lightly! It doesn’t take itself seriously, so why should you? Chapter 2: The Massacre Twilight Sparkle could not process what she was seeing. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of creepers streaming towards the cemetery, and just about all of Ponyville was in it. As she stared at the horde, it had anything but a calming effect. Twilight stood their looking at it, realizing she had no clue what to do until suddenly she heard Fluttershy’s voice in the back of her head. For a fleeting second Twilight wondered if she was going insane. But regardless, Fluttershy’s voice told her to do one thing: panic, and that’s exactly what she did. “EVERYPONY FOR THEMSELVES!” Twilight screamed at the top of her lungs. Considering the situation, that was probably the single worst thing Twilight could have done. At the split second before her outburst, she was at the podium and all eyes were on her; nopony had noticed the impending doom coming their way. If Twilight had taken a second to analyze the situation she would have realized the cemetery is surrounded by a gate. If she had thought about the gate Twilight would have remembered that the letter Celestia sent about the creepers said they only explode when they are close to something they can kill. This would have brought Twilight to the realization that if all the entrances and exits were closed, and if everypony gathered in the center of the cemetery, they would be safe. By the time this thought occurred to her, it was too far late. At first the ponies of Ponyville were confused, what were they running from? What’s the danger? Eventually a few caught on and shouted: “CREEPERS!” Finally understanding the danger, mass panic ensued. The situation became complete chaos. After running around like caged animals for far longer than necessary, the ponies headed for the gates and ran out of the cemetery; basically meeting the creepers head on. There was a loud hissing which was then drowned out by sickening screams and booms as the explosions commenced. Limbs were ripped off some ponies while others were entirely disintegrated in the creeper’s suicidal detonations. The force of the explosions set hooves and tails rocketing across the cemetery. Not knowing what to do in the carnage, all those who were near the podium huddled together in fear. At first everypony was silent; not knowing what to say. Nopony wanted to watch the slaughter of their friends. Eventually Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Twilight, can you get us out?” Dazed, and distraught from her mistake, Twilight did not understand what Dash wanted. “How?” she responded. “Uh, with your teleporting magic maybe?” Dash said. “Um, no, well I have only ever teleported Spike along with me.” Twilight took a breath then continued. “I, I don’t, I can’t teleport this many ponies, maybe I might be able to take two, I just don’t know” “Then save ‘urself and Spike” Applejack interjected “Friends don’t leave friends to die!” Twilight shot back Dash looked at Twilight sternly “So all of us should die when we could save a few!? ” Twilight was shocked; this was a facet of friendship her research hadn’t covered yet. She didn’t now know how to respond. Twilight didn’t want to lose her friends and didn’t feel like it was right to leave them to die either, but after some thought she eventually relented. “Fine, but who do I take! How can I choose? “ This brought back memories of the fiasco with the Grand Galloping Gala tickets. The ponies all stopped talking, stunned yet again. “Well, ya take the fillies” Big Mac said, finally adding his two cents to the conversation. “They are small, you can probably take all three” Rarity added Twilight looked over at Apple Bloom, Sweetie Bell, and Scootaloo; the three were pale and shaking from fear. Twilight knew Big Mac and Rarity were right. She began to say her goodbyes, knowing that she would never see any of her friends again. Suddenly Pinke interrupted Twilight. “Stop saying goodbye! We don’t need to say goodbye!” “What?” the dumbfounded group said in unison “The booms and the screaming, it stopped!” Pinkie exclaimed The whole group had been so involved in their debate that nopony realized that the sounds of death and destruction had ended. They slowly looked out across the landscape to see what had happened. The cemetery looked like the moon. The whole area was pitted with craters where the creepers had ignited. While there were no physical remnants of the green invaders other than a course dark gray dust, the ground as soaked in pony blood and unrecognizable parts of ponies were strewn everywhere. Even worse, the explosions had uprooted coffins and now long dead ponies covered the ground. Finally Apple Boom spoke up. “Ah don’t get it, are we dead?” Scootaloo poked Apple Bloom. “You don’t feel dead” she responded “I don’t feel dead nether” Sweetie Bell added “Ah’m pretty sure were not dead, but ah don’t exactly understand why.” Applejack told her sister. After a long pause Rarity finally chimed in “Well isn’t it obvious?” A short “Huh?” came from the ponies “Fluttershy’s fame saved us” Rarity continued “Did nopony else notice all the different models and designers and celebrities and paparazzi here? If it wasn’t so sad, it would have been glamorous!” Rarity smiled as she spoke “This is actually such a great turn of events; I would have absolutely hated to see pictures of me looking like this in the tabloids. I couldn’t even put on makeup; every time I even though about beauty supplies it reminded me of poor Fluttershy and I would burst into tears.” “But Rarity, what does that have to do with us not being dead?” Twilight asked “Oh yes, well, you see there must have been sooooooo many ponies that all the creepers exploded before they could get to us” Rarity responded “as I said, it’s all quite obvious”. “I get it!” Pinkie announced “so it like if you took some matter, and then antimatter and then made them go boom and then there would be none left! But there was a teensy weensy bit more matter, it would be left over, and that’s us!” Tired and confused, nopony was able to comprehend Pinkie’s randomness in their current emotional state. The lack of a response irked Pinkie. They’re just standing there, Pinkie thought. Staring at me. It’s like their brains broke. Hay! I remember when my brain broke; I got all mean and grouchy and I had a party with Madam le flour and Mr Turnip and Rocky! I wonder if the creepers got them, probably not, Mr. Turnip is a smart Turnip. That’s it! They just need a party. I wonder if they want vanilla or chocolate cupcakes, or ooooo, strawberry, I love strawberry cupcakes! And what kind of streamers? And Balloons! I wonder if Fl… Pinkies inner monologue was cut short by a loud belching. A puff of green fire escaped from Spike’s mouth and materialized into a scroll. Twilight quickly grabbed it with her telekinesis. She unrolled the scroll and read it allowed: Dear My Most Faithful Student Twilight Sparkle, I pray that this letter gets to you. As you have probably already seen, Equestria is under attack. These creepers who were first seen last week in the Everfree forest have increased in numbers exponentially. This morning the creepers began attacking everything. Other than Canterlot and Cloudsdale, just about every city and town is destroyed. I received word a few hours ago that both Manehattan and Fillydelphia have been reduced to rubble. I have been unable to receive any response from Hoofington and Fort Stalliongrad will probably fall within the hour. I fear that not many ponies are left. Because of the high cliffs and walls, Canterlot is reasonably safe from the onslaught, so all ponies should come here. It is where pony kind will be making its last stand. Please hurry and get here as soon as possible. Even without kindness; the remaining Elements of Harmony will be an invaluable asset. And don’t despair, if we can defeat the creepers I may be able to reclaim what is lost. Just remember to be strong; it’s what Fluttershy would have wanted. Hopefully I will see you soon. Your Loving Mentor, Princess Celestia Author’s Notes I’m sure some of you are wondering why just about every named pony in the series survived the massacre. I agree with you, it’s unlikely, but there is a good reason: emotion. It will be very difficult for the remaining mane cast to get over Fluttershy’s death. I wanted to lessen the impact on them as much as possible so that they can actually come out of their shells a little. This will be a very long and boring fic if they spend the whole time mourning dead ponies. Also, comments help me improve my writing, so please, comment away! The "My Little Creeper" image is by sonderjen (sonderjen.deviantart.com/) and is used with his permission
Chapter 3: The Road to CanterlotMy Little Creeper By Benger This was supposed to be a one shot, but then I got a great idea, what if it wasn’t? This fic is essentially a dark comedy, so take it lightly! It doesn’t take itself seriously, so why should you? Chapter 3: The Road to Canterlot Per the Princess’s request, the twelve remaining residents of Ponyville began their journey to Canterlot. Rainbow Dash lead the pack, flying overhead to scout the path for creepers. She was followed by the remaining Elements of Harmony, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Big Mac who were all walking silently. At the rear of the group there was a lone manticore with a sleeping bunny on its back. After a few hours of walking, the group’s nerves began to settle and they became more talkative. “Ah’ rekin we won’t make it to Canterlot by nightfall” Applejack said aloud While the capitol city could be seen off in the distance, it was already late in the day. “We may make it to the cliffs by nightfall, but we’ll need to leave scaling them until morning” Twilight said with authority “Can’t you just get the princess to send us a chariot? I can’t wait that long to take a bath, I’m absolutely filthy” Rarity complained “Twilight already tried” Spike interjected, obviously unhappy to be upsetting the object of his affections. “It wouldn’t go through, it came right back up. I’ve never had that happen before” It was apparent to everypony that Spike was embarrassed at his inability to perform “It’s all right Spike” Twilight said, trying to reassure her number one assistant, “There is probably some magic blocking the transmission. Extra spells cast by Celestia and Luna to protect Canterlot” Twilight’s words seemed to calm the young dragon. The conversation continued, moving from topic to topic, and it eventually came back to their journey. “Ah’ normally don’t have a problem with sleeping outdoors and such, but I don’t fell comfortable out in the open with these creepers on the loose” Applejack announced. A general consensus came from the group “I was thinking about that” Twilight began “There are many caves in the cliff face; I would suggest that we find a suitable one and spend the night in it.” This peaked the three filly’s interests “So we get to explore a cave?” Scootaloo asked anxiously “Yell I guess, but were going to choose a small one an-” Twilights response was cut off by synchronized screaming “CUITE MARK CRUSADERS CAVE EXPLORERS! YAY!” “Sweetie belle, the correct term is spelunkers” Rarity instructed her sister “CUITE MARK CRUSADERS CAVE SPELUNKERS! YAY!” Rarity immediately regretted her comment “Can I join you?” Pinkie asked the three crusaders “Exploring is so much fun. I especially like when you’re exploring and searching, like a search party! Can it be a search party? Except we don’t have anything to search for. You can’t search without anything to search for, can you? We could search for rocks. Or dirt. Or moss. But that would be too easy. Maybe we can just have a normal party!” Eventually everypony tuned Pinkie Pie out. ~~~~ The group arrived at the cliffs just as sundown began. They found a suitable cave. It was large, but not very deep and it didn’t leave much room for spelunking, to the chagrin of the crusaders. After the ponies ate their fill of grass, the entrance was covered up and the group settled down for the night. “So somepony will need to be constantly keeping watch. I know that we all are tired, but were so close together, it would only take a single creeper to, well, you know.” Twilight said to the group “Well I think that we need to be far more worried of the monsters inside this cave” Rarity said while gesturing toward the manicore. “Ah’ have to agree” Applejack added Angel looked angry; he didn’t seem to like the prospect of kicking out his friend “Fluffy is not a monster!” Sweetie belle said defiantly to her elder sister “He is cuddly and nice” “Fluffy? When did you name him?” Rarity responded “When we were walking, he likes it!” Sweetie retorted. The manticore nodded in agreement “Awww, it’s a cute name. I like it” Pinkie said. “Although it’s a little clique. I know! we should –“ ”Pinkie, we are all way too tired for a party” Dash cut her off Pinky laid down, defeated. After a moment of silence, Twilight revived the conversation. “He seems nice enough; I think we can trust him. Fluffy is the manticore Fluttershy befriended on our way to defeat nightmare moon” Nopony else knew of the past history with Fluffy, but the mention of Fluttershy’s name and the pain it brought up overwhelmed any concern. Eventually Twilight put out the fire and everypony went off to sleep. Finally having a moment to themselves, everypony in the group began thinking of everything they lost during the day. Faint sounds of crying echoed across the cavern. ~~~~ Big Mac was the only member of the group who was awake. He had recently been woken up by his younger sister Applejack for watch and sat at the entrance to the cave, peering through the bush that covered it. Watch was a boring job and it was generally uneventful. Big Mac just hoped it would be over soon. A little more than half way through his shift, Big Mac saw something that defied belief. Suddenly a Creeper just appear, as if it popped into existence. The creeper seemed unfazed and began searching for prey. Seeing another one of the monster brought traumatizing memories of the day earlier. In his surprise, Big Mac made a slight gasp. It wasn’t loud, but it was enough to get the Creepers attention. Seeing the creeper approach the cave, Big Mac froze. Luckily, the gasp also awoke the resident beast. Fluffy’s sensitive hearing easily caught Big Mac’s gasp. First he just twitched a little, annoyed at the rude awakening, and then he sensed something was not right. He stood up, accidentally waking up Angel who was snuggling against him. The manticore roared wakening everypony up. Before any member of the group could complain, Fluffy then jumped straight over the confused ponies and bounded out of the cave’s entrance, tackling the creeper head on. The living explosive was sent flying backwards and crashed into a tree, flashing red, but then recovering. It wasn’t ready to give in. The creeper charged Fluffy, hissing almost as loud as the manticore could roar, but Fluffy nimbly moved out of the way. The creeper, unable to stop, ran straight into the cliff face and exploded. Adrenalin pumping from the ordeal they just witnessed, the group was unable to go back to sleep. The sun was going to rise in just a couple of hours, so the group prepared to climb their way to Canterlot. Author’s Notes In comparison to the previous chapters, this one is lighter on comedy, lighter on dark / grim imagery, and a lot heaver on dialogue. I actually dreaded writing it, but am extremely impressed with the outcome. It might actually be the best thing I have ever written. If you have played Minecraft, you may have some issues with the creeper battle mostly that the creeper acted very un-creeper-like. It’s just that some green thing slowly hopping toward you is not very fun to read about in a fight, so I made the creeper faster and more aggressive. The "My Little Creeper" image is by sonderjen (sonderjen.deviantart.com/) and is used with his permission I do not own My little Pony, any of the characters, or Minecraft. please support the official release.
Chapter 4: Its Only a ModelMy Little Creeper By Benger This was supposed to be a one shot, but then I got a great idea, what if it wasn’t? This fic is essentially a dark comedy, so take it lightly! It doesn’t take itself seriously, so why should you? Chapter 4: Its Only a Model The sun was cresting over the far hills as the group approached the carved path. They stood there in awe, their eyes tracing the back and forth winding of the staircase up the cliff. It mostly followed a natural fault line in the rock, and had obviously seen better times. One by one they began climbing the steep stairs, immediately finding them worn down and slippery from overuse while simultaneously cracked and loose from disrepair. It only took minutes for the first pony the slip; luckily Twilight’s fall backwards was interrupted by Applejack. “Woh Twilight, if you had fallen the other way, well, I don’t need to say it” Applejack grunted under the weight of two ponies Once back on her hooves, Twilight looked over the cliff’s edge, imagining the possible result of her fall “Thanks Applejack, I guess I need to be more careful. Maybe we should slow down” Applejack gave Twilight a critical look. “We’re behind as it is, Ah’ don’t think we can slow down” Rarity, who was behind Applejack took this time to add her opinion “I for one agree with Twilight, somepony is going to actually fall and break something, and of course it doesn’t really help that these stairs are so slippery, or that they seem to be built like somepony made them too tall” Twilight’s face immediately brightened and her heavy breathing stopped “That’s because they’re made for Alicorns” she said. “Legend says that ages ago Celestia and Luna made their home where Canterlot stands today. Before the ponies of Equestria knew them as princesses, they lived at the top of this cliff, secluded from the world. They carved this very staircase for themselves. Over the years ponies began to notice our Princess’s control of Equestria, and for generations they climbed these steps to make pilgrimages, asking for favors and giving gifts to the sisters. Eventually the ponies built a castle in tribute of their Princesses, and city a city sprang up around it. By then this staircase could no longer support Canterlot, so under a royal mandate, hundreds of thousands of carts full of dirt were dumped on the other side of the mountain, creating a gentle sloping path, wide enough that carts could travel it and this staircase fell into disuse.” Twilight exhaled, dizzy from her monologue “So let me get this straight Twi, there’s an easier way up?” Applejack questioned Twilight was surprised by the question and it took her a second to respond “well, the other path is on the other side of the mountain, it would take us a day to get there, and it takes twice as long to climb” Evreypony seemed to deflate from the response. After a little more grumbling, Rainbow Dash flew back around and heckled the group to get a move on. Not wanting to spend another night outdoors, they agreed to continue on. ~~~~ Twilight found an unexpected site when they climbed over the lip of the cliff around mid-morning. Instead of just the gleaming castle city surrounded by pristine walls that she remembered, there was a massive tent city engulfing Canterlot. Eager to find the princess, Twilight urged the group forward, through the tent city. The ponies in residence had recently become refugees. They lived in tents made from any material they could get their hands on; sticks, blankets anything that could provide even a minimal degree of shelter. While some basic necessities seemed to be provided, the ponies generally looked miserable. Food was evidently scarce; many ponies were begging for a slice of bread or just a blade of grass. From the conversations going about they gleaned the reason for the horrid conditions, Canterlot couldn’t support nearly this many ponies “Please” a light green mare pleaded “My children are starving, there must be something left in the stores” “I’m sorry, but the rations for today have all been allocated” the guard stated, seemingly pained at his response Rarity, overhearing the exchange, pulled a scarf out of her saddlebags. “Take this, it should sell for a nice amount, it is a Rarity Original. Hopefully you can feed you foals with the money. The mare graciously said thanked Rarity, and ran off to buy some food ~~~~ As they approached the city gates, a tri of guards blocked their path. The middle guard began speaking in an authoritative voice “By the order of royal princess’s court, refugees must remain outside of the city until proper housing and care can be arranged. Make your way towards the tents and find a suitable spot to build a shel-“ Getting a look at the whole party, the guard halted speaking and his jaw dropped After a few seconds of silence, Dash furrowed her brow in annoyance “Well, Get on with it!” All three guards were shaking, dumbstruck with fear. Finally one managed to eek a few words out. “Mam,” He squeaked to Twilight “There seems to be a maticore behind you” Even before Fluffy saved the group’s lives they had grown accustom to his presence, and Twilight didn’t immediately understand the concern. “Yes, we also have five mares, one stallion, three fillies, and one bunny in our party” “Ahem” coughed Spike Twilights faced reddened “and one baby dragon“ “But you have a manticore” the guard repeated before Twilight’s last statement could sink in. “And a dragon?!” Twilight, skeptical of the guard’s repeated questioning, gave him a curious look before responding. “Well, I wouldn’t say we have him, he kind of just followed us, and Spike, he’s my assistant” The guard looked up at the beast, making eye contact before quickly looking back down at the ground. “Two of the deadliest beasts in Equestria, one responsible for at least the deaths of 25 ponies a year and the other capable of destroying whole cities and you brought them both to Canterlot” Finally understanding the issue, Twilight was unable to hide her opinions on the situation. “Well, Fluffy is a friendly manticore, and Spike is a baby dragon” she said trying to suppress a giggle. “And I’m quite friendly too” Spike added Suddenly, the heads of three fillies popped out of the manticore’s mane. “Ya, Fluffy is a nice Manticore” Apple bloom announced “He even let us ride him up when he flew up the cliff” Scootaloo added “I didn’t even know he could fly!” Sweetie belle said, not wanting to be left out of the conversation The manticore nodded in approval while the guards looked back and forth at the fillies in disbelief. “And he protected us from the green meanies!” Pinke yelled while jumping impossibly high in the air. “He was all RAWR and then jump and SLAM and then the Greene when wosh and then turned around and went zoom but Fluffy went all dodge and then the Greene when SMACK and exploded!” Still skeptical of the group’s story, and thoroughly confused by Pinkie’s “pinkieness” the guards slowly reached for their swords and - FWOMP!!! Fluffy shrugged off Angel and the crusaders. He then leaped over the rest of the group head on into the three guards, pinning them down and knocking the swords out of their mouths. He proceeded to open his mouth in an impressive roar while they were screaming in terror. After a few seconds of squirming, the guards seemed to accept their fate. The rest of the group started walking by when Rainbow dash tapped Fluffy on the shoulder while trying to stifle a chuckle. “Ok, that’s enough, I’m sure they get the idea big guy” The Manticore reluctantly relinquished his prey. ~~~~ Considering that Fluffy had just assaulted three of Celestia’s finest, walking into the city that acted as her majesty’s guard’s garrison town was probably not the brightest plan. Twilight was leading the group through the winding, but familiar streets an dallies of the market district before the guards sprung their trap Twilight was buying a new book that she absolutely needed when Applejack tapped her on the shoulder. “Twi, Ah’ think there are some guards who wanna to speak to us” Twilight spun around, only to be greeted by the single largest group of guards she had ever seen. Unicorn guards surrounded the group in a semicircle with the survivors of Ponyville’s back to a wall while at least a dozen Pegasi were flying overhead. The Unicorns had already cast a containment spell, making it impossible for the group to escape “Hello officers” Twilight said meekly “what seems to be the problem?” The group huddled together, waiting for a response A guard with stripes on his armor stepped into the semicircle and telekinetically pulled out a scroll “Stop right their criminal scum! Nopony breaks the law on my watch! You are all charged with two counts of bringing deadly animals into a populated area, two counts of public endangerment, one count of disturbing the peace, three counts of assault and battery with a deadly animal, three counts of assaulting officers of the law, one count of evading arrest, one count of disregarding a direct order from law enforcement, and the pink one is charged with one count of first degree insanity. Will you surrender or pay with your blood?” Author’s Notes This fic is shaping up to be longer then i intended, this chapter, and the next one was originally supposed to be included in the events of chapter three. Also, please remember to comment! The "My Little Creeper" image is by sonderjen (sonderjen.deviantart.com/) and is used with his permission I do not own My little Pony, any of the characters, or Minecraft. Please support the official releases.
Chapter 5: ReunionMy Little Creeper By Benger This was supposed to be a one shot, but then I got a great idea, what if it wasn’t? This fic is essentially a dark comedy, so take it lightly! It doesn’t take itself seriously, so why should you? Chapter 5: Reunion A light blue aura enveloped a diamond encrusted hair bush, slowly guiding it through a flowing motley pastel mane. The polished surface, reflected by the vanity mirror, caused Celestia to grimace as she was reminded of how garish it truly was. Her eyes only lingered on the implement for a second before she returned to her sorry appearance. While the princess tended to be a prime example of livelihood and health, her current state could be better described as weak and sickly. Celestia’s abnormally pail cheeks contrasted against the blue tinged puffiness surrounding her eyes and the dark streaks extending down from them. She found momentary enjoyment from the uselessness of the creams and lotions her staff provided, but soon was overtaken again with anguish. Over the past four days Celestia watched her dear Equestria crumble to just a handful of fortified bunkers in a sea of destruction. The wave of death reduced the large population centers such as Manehattan and Fillydelphia to nothing before she was aware of the enemy. The creepers then focused on smaller towns; Trottingham, Hoofington, and Ponyville were obliterated not long after. “Ponyville” she whispered to herself. Celestia drew on all of her strength to keep from crying again. Twilight had been in Ponyville. I could have warned her, she could have escaped Celestia thought to herself. No, I will not go down this path again. Ponyville was destroyed 3 days earlier; and Twilight was still missing. The trek to Canterlot took less than a day; considering Twilight had not surfaced yet, she was almost surely dead. “I must be strong, so my ponies can be strong” Celestia chanted quietly, banishing the thoughts of Twilight Sparkle’s demise. Back in control, she began to weave magic together. Extending from her horn, a shining white film covered her body, only to evaporate seconds later; leaving behind a physically rejuvenated princess. ~~~~ Celestia quickly exited her private chambers; she was already running late. Apparently somepony brought both a dragon and manticore into Canterlot; and the Head Constable wanted to use them as an example to the ever more unruly refugees. Celestia preferred using her power as an angel of mercy, but she understood that at times, justice is required to keep ponies in line. The offenders had been convicted and sentenced earlier that day by the military court that used to reside in Stalliongrad; Celestia was only necessary for the royal appeal that was held as a sacred right. A crier announced her arrival as Celestia entered the throne room, where the sentencing would be held. She noted how the throne room was mostly unchanged; the majority of her royal advisors and multiple lawyers were present. Celestia’s eyes were drawn to six ponies, standing a ways from the throne. Chained together in just about every way possible, they didn’t look nearly as menacing as the guards that flanked them. Their faces and cutie marks were covered, as was tradition; felons had to request permission to see the Princess. Celestia sat in her throne and grasped her gavel grasped firmly in telekinesis. She looked over at the Head Constable. He was one of those ponies that didn’t seem to age; he had looked old and worn before he took the post decades ago. He wore dull gray armor that complemented his bluish gray coat and his white mane. He’s a rigid stallion Celestia thought but dependable none the less. Celestia’s thoughts were banished as the charges were read aloud. “These six ponies have come to beseech Princess Celestia” the crier began. “Each once has been convicted of at least fourteen separate counts in the court of law. They have each been sentenced to the front line in the impending battle” The prosecuting lawyer smirked in pride over the conviction and sentencing. The Princess leaned over to speak to the Head Constable. “That sentence is quite harsh; it’s practically certain death.” The gruff guards pony was tired of this back and forth and simply did not respond Celestia brought her attention back to the crier just as he finished reading the crimes “And the pink one has also been convicted of one count of first degree criminal insanity and two counts of escaping legal incarceration.” The crier took a breath before he continued. “Princess Celestia, do you wish to hear these felons’ bid for clemency?” The crier asked with grace. Celestia did not want to see the faces or know the names of those she was surly going to send to certain death. It only makes my job harder she said to herself; even so, Celestia found herself unable to reject seeing the case. I’m never able to deny an appeal, am i? She thought . Reluctantly, Celestia put on the most convincing poker face she could muster. “I will hear the appeal”. A guards pony stood behind each of the offenders; the burlap sacks covering their faces and cutie marks were removed in unison. Celestia stood up as her eyes widened, her pupils dilated, and her jaw fell. The one pony Celestia never expected to be seeing now, or ever again for that matter, was standing right before her. Celestia stood frozen as thousands of thoughts vied for her attention until one finally bubbled to the surface. “My Twilight is alive” she said in a hushed whisper as drops began falling from her eyes. The magical facade hiding Celestia’s appearance fractured; all the emotions she had worked so hard to keep bottled in the pit of her stomach exploded outwards. The Sun Princess’s face contorted from countless sensations, shedding the last of her illusion as she galloped full speed towards her lost pupil. ~~~~ Seconds after seeing light for the first time in days, Twilight found herself in an embrace that shared many qualities with a tackle. Twilight blinked a few more times trying to get used to the light, but the pony hugging her began bawling before Twilight could see. “Twilight, Twilight” The Princess said in-between sobs “You, you’re alive! I can’t believe-” Celestia was cut off by a labored sob followed by a deep breath. “I was so scared, I thought I lost you!” Celestia took another breath, trying to regain some semblance of composure, before bursting out with another round of sobs “Don’t ever do that again! Twilight, promise me you will never scare me like that again!” Twilight couldn’t help but reciprocate her mentor’s embrace, burying her now teary face in Celestia’s mane. “I promise” she said softly. Celestia and Twilight tightened their embrace. ~~~~ Intermission ~~~~ The two ponies sat crying in the throne room for many minutes. Once their sobs subsided and they release their hug, they found the room mostly empty. “Where did everypony go?” Twilight asked aloud while wiping tears from her face. “They left, said somethin’ about givn royalty privacy or sumthin” AJ responded “we kinda couldn’t leave with the whole bein chained to Twilight an’ all.” Celestia looked over the plethora of chains that connected the six ponies. “I know it is a little overkill; they did it because Pinkie kept escaping. I told them that if Pinkie wanted to get out, she would get out; they didn’t listen.” Twilight said. Without a word a light glow emanated from Celestia’s horn; the chains took on the same hue the princess’ horn before exploding into millions of glittery pieces that dissolved before they hit the floor. “I hope that is better” The princess said with a smile. Rainbow Dash immediately launched off the floor, doing flips and summersaults in the air. “Awwww Ya! You do not know how much I missed flying!” she yelled “Do a barrel roll Dashie!” Pinkie Pie shouted; stomping her hooves as Rainbow complied. After watching the impromptu performance, Celestia turned back to her student. “I’m deeply sorry for how you have been treated, you must me tired.” Celestia then turned to the rest of the group “you must all be tired” she said so they could hear. Rarity was the first to respond. “Well yes, this is by far the longest I have ever gone without a bath, but I am far more worried about my darling sister Sweetie Bell. When we were arrested she was separated from me.” “Same with Applebloom” Applejack added “And I think they took that orange one too” Rainbow Dash yelled mid corkscrew. Celestia didn’t respond verbally, instead her horn lit up with a faint white glow. The Head Constable returned no more than 10 second later. “You called m’lady” “Yes, I have been told that my student and her party-” Rainbow quickly covered Pinkie’s mouth in an attempt to avoid an outburst “-had three fillies with them, where are they now?” The old pony rolled his eyes and started speaking in a monotone voice. “As is procedure, the fillies were taken to foal services and have been placed in foster care. It will take two-” The Head Constable’s explanation was cut off by an infuriated Applejack “You placed ma’h lil sister in what?! Me and Big Mac here are all she has left and you put her in FOSTER CARE!” Big Mac quickly stomped on Applejacks tail in an attempt to contain her. “I think what Applejack is trying is say is you should bring the three fillies here as quickly as possible” Twilight said to the Constable “Oh, and also can you bring Spike, the baby dragon?” Instead of responding to Twilight, the Head Constable turned to the Princess “Are you pardoning them? I can’t release the fillies, or the” he gulped “dragon into their custody otherwise”. “Yes, they are pardoned of all crimes” Celestia responded dismissively “Bring the fillies and Spike here as soon as possible” The Head constable bowed and began to head out as Pinkie escaped Rainbow’s grasp. “Don’t forget Fluffy!” she yelled to the Constable. “or Angel!” she added Celestia turned to the pink party pony. “Who are Angel and Fluffy?” “Oh, well Angel was Fluttershy’s bunny, and Fluffy is the Manticore.” Pinkie Pie said “Twilight” Celestia said sternly “You actually brought a manticore into the city! What were you thinking? I assumed this was a case of mistaken identity, but Twilight your guilty?” Twilight was taken aback by her mentor’s candor “But Fluffy is tame, he saved us! He wouldn’t hurt a parasite, let alone a pony.” The rest of the group nodded in agreement “That thing is a threat to everypony!” The Head Constable interjected “It took 20 guards to subdue him and five of them are now in the hospital” “That’s because you attacked him” Twilight shot back “If the guards hadn’t drawn swords in the first place, he wouldn’t have hurt anypony!” Celestia felt the shouting match was getting them nowhere. “Twilight are you absolutely certain Fluffy can be trusted?” she asked calmly “Yes” Twilight responded “OK I trust you, but he will be released under your care” Celestia told her student. Twilight responded with a nervous look. Understanding his orders, the Head Constable left. Once he was gone Celestia addressed Twilight and her group. “Hopefully, the rest will arrive shortly.” Celestia said. “As for me, I need to be in a meeting about tactics and strategy about ten minutes ago.” The second she mentioned the ongoing massacre, Twilight could see Celestia’s demeanor harden. “I’m going to leave you in the trusty hand of the palace staff, they will find you accommodations. After you have all rested up you, I would like to invite you to dinner in my private dining hall. Is that acceptable?” They all nodded in unison. “I will see you then” Celestia said as she exited the throne room, reapplying her illusion spell. ~~~~ “I still cannot believe they put me in a zoo, do you know how boring lizards are?” Spike questioned Twilight for what must have been the eleventy billionth time. Twilight shook her head; what’s wrong with you Twilight, eleventy billion isn’t a number, Pinkie must be rubbing off. The last few hours were supposed to be relaxing; Twilight was supposed to take a warm, soothing bath, and then a long nap. She should feel rejuvenated; Celesta did tell her to pamper herself. But instead, she spent the time listening to her loving, adoring, admiring and absolutely aggravating baby dragon. “I’ll tell you how boring lizards are” Spike said louder than was necessary. “Very! They do nothing, I would know, I tried talking to them. No response. They just blink!” Spike stopped talking. His face emptied of emotion, his eyes widened, blinking every few seconds in emulator of his recent cage-mates. “Do you know what it is like to get blinked at?” Spike asked Twilight, ending his impression. Twilight rolled her eyes. She was not surprised with Spike’s unhappiness with his recent imprisonment at the royal zoo. “And don’t think that being locked up with Gummy made it any easier! Pinkie’s alligator is no better that the rest of those scaily dimwits.” Don’t remind me Twilight thought. Somehow when the Head Constable returned with Spike, Fluffy, Angel and the three crusaders, he brought Gummy clamped on his tail. Pinkie was unable to add any insight to Gummy’s presence. “Umm... Wasn’t he always with us?” she responded to Twilights questioning. Under Rainbow Dash’s advice, Twilight abandoned the inquiry. “It’s just Pinkie being Pinkie” Twilgiht said to herself. Twilights thoughts wandered back to recent time off. Even with Spike’s constant complaining and Pinkie’s inconsistencies, Twilight did manage feel better. The room was most defiantly nicer than the cold chains and dark dungeons. And the bed, Twilight loved that bed. The pillows are probably filled with Pegasus down she reminisced. Twilight could almost hear the bed calling to her; it was nice to sleep in her old room again. As if on cue, Spike broke the daydream. “And I don’t even get it, how could they mistake me for a lizard!” Maybe he’ll stop this once Rarity arrives. Twilight sighed as the two entered Celestia’s private dining hall. ~~~~ In comparison to the scale of the palace’s other rooms, the dining hall was absolutely claustrophobic. It didn’t have the gargantuan heights, the wide open spaces, nor the flashy decorations that were commonplace throughout the castle. Instead the walls were bear, lined with a dark oak trim that matched the long table inhabiting the majority of the room. Even with the more down to earth appearance, the room still came off a regal. Twilight reminisced on many nights spent studying in the room with her mentor, bringing a warm smile to her face. Fluffy and Angel were already seated, deep in a pantomimic conversation when Spike and Twilight arrived, but it wasn’t long before everypony else began filling in. First Applejack and Big Mac arrived with Applebloom trailing close behind. The trio was followed by Sweetie Belle and Rarity, who had managed to return her mane and coat to their former sheen. A positively ecstatic orange filly hopped in, followed by an amused Rainbow Dash. It seems she is taking good care of Scootaloo Twilight smiled. The last members of the group to arrive were Pinkie Pie and Gummy. By the time Princess Celestia walked in, everypony was already seated, talking and laughing. Ponies dressed in Tuxedos brought food out only moments after the princess took her seat. “I hope you don’t mind” The head chef said “We won’t be having the normal six course meal that the palace normally serves”. The main course was placed in front of everypony, a delectable salad for the ponies, steamed carrots for Angel, hay fries and gems for Spike, and imitation meat for both Gummy and Fluffy. “Because of the food shortages Canterlot is facing, unnecessary food has been donated. I hope the meal is satisfactory” “yesh, ish is delishishs” Rainbow Dash said before swallowing her first bite. The chef bowed and walked out. ~~~~ While entertaining, the meal was uneventful. The spotlight was passed around as everypony helped tell the story of their recent adventures. After a filling meal and a healthy round of desserts, the table was cleared and Spike was sent to put the three fillies to sleep. “There is no reason those four should have to hear this.” Celestia pulled out a worn map and spread it over the table. “This is a map of Canterlot and the surrounding area.” The Princess began. “As you are all aware, we are situated on a cliff. There is only one way for the creepers to come up here en-mass, and the trader’s ramp is being demolished as we speak.” Celestia paused so that her words could sink in. “As a fortress, Canterlot is impenetrable.” The Princesses brave face turned sour. “But we will not last a week.” “Canterlot can only store enough food for 6 days; and that is with proper rationing” Celestia continued. “Quite simply, the spells keeping the creeper horde at bay will fail in another 36 hours. If they cannot be destroyed, our fortifications will not matter. With them populating the lands on the valley floor, we will be completely cut off from food.” Celestia took a breath before continuing. “This task looks slightly easier now that Fluffy has shown they can be killed, although the story of their spontaneous spawning is worrisome.” Celestia surveyed her audience; they were hanging on her every word. “You have all done more than I could possibly ask for Equestria and suffered so much more than is right. But I beseech you, and ask you to do more.” Celestia looked at the six ponies; each one different and special. No pony hesitated. Just as I thought. Celestia smiled. Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but Celestia cut her off. “No Twilight, I am not asking you to use the Elements of Harmony” Celestia said with a chuckle. “Besides, it would be useless. No, you are all very special in your own right; I am asking you to use your talents to aid us.” Celestia addressed the Mantocore before questions could be asked. “Fluffy, you have already shown you can best a Creeper, I assign you to the palace guard.” At the mention of his name, the manticore’s ears perked up. “You will be our last line of defense, guarding the foals, fillies, and colts unable to fight for themselves” Fluffy nodded in acceptance of his role. “Applejack” Celestia said, catching the farm pony by surprise. “I assign you to the Bucking Brigade” “The what?” Applejack stammered Celestia smiled and said “Just trust me, it is right up your alley” before turning to face Applejack’s brother “Big Mac, we have been looking for some good stallions to be lieutenants to guide the maneuvers on the valley floor, are you up to the job?” The red stallion responded with an exaggerated nod of his head and a concise “Eeyup” Celestia paused and took a second to look at the four remaining mares. “Rainbow Dash, I am sure you will be happy. The Wonderbolts have been put in charge of a small areal strike force, and are looking for fast, capable flyers.” Celestia said with a sly look. “Interested?” Dash’s eyes bulged as she strained to suppress a fan-filly squeal. “Rarity” The fashionesta’s poise and posture visibly straightened as she was addressed. “How would you like to lend your expertise with gems to the light cannon teams?” Rarity’s eyes sparkled with delight. It was well known that many of Equestria’s largest gems were used in the weapons, channeling the magic from a unicorn’s horn into a blinding light. “Pinkie Pie” Celestia seemed to tense up as she said the name. “Your… unique way of looking at the world leads you to many… creative innovation. I think you could be useful at R&D. Just don’t blow anything up.” Surprisingly, the pink pony just nodded. Celestia turned to face her student “And Twilight Sparkle, did you know that nopony alive today is suitably versed in the art of war? It’s not surprising considering there hasn’t been a proper one in far longer then I care to remember. In fact, when I reviewed the Canterlot University records, I was surprised to find that the only pony to even minor in large scale combat tactics in the last two millennia was a one Miss. Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight want to defend her decision. She wanted to tell Celestia that it was a minor interest; one of 27 minors and 14 majors she graduated with. But the princess never gave her a chance. “Twilight, this actually makes you the single most qualified pony in all of Equestria to lead us into battle. Effective immediately, I am promoting you to General of the Equestrian army.” Twilight felt like a little filly again, she just managed to stammer out a “wha, what?” as a response. Princess Celestia just smiled at her student’s confusing before changing her tone, addressing the whole table. “Your assignments have already been notified that you will join them. I suggest you all get to bed; wakeup in the equestrian army is 6:00 AM.” Celestia frowned as the group began leaving. How can I send these ponies to war? She asked herself ~~~~ As her friends were leaving, the Princess motioned to Twilight to stay. Twilight immediately broke down. “I, I don’t know if I can do this, General? I don’t know how to be a General! And…” The Princess quieted Twilight, “Don’t worry” The Princess began, “I will be with you every step of the way.” Celestia nuzzled Twilight. Twilight nodded, not very sure of herself, but feeling better. “I would not chose you if I didn’t have the utmost confidence” Celestia said softly. “But there is more I need to tell you.” Twilight responded by looking up at Celestia, A look that the Princess recognized from the pony’s entrance exam. “Have you heard of battle Magic?” Celestia asked. Twilight nodded “I have come across a few references, but as far as I could ever tell, it was lost long ago.” Celestia smirked. “Not completely lost” ~~~~ Twilight looked out over the balcony. She was honestly impressed with the work they had accomplished in one day. She watched the Pegasi flying overhead and the archers scurrying across the ramparts. “I just hope we are ready” She said aloud “I think we are” Celestia responded. Twilight tried to smile. She was standing with her beloved mentor on the highest point in Canter. She could see across the plains where ponies were working, each a gear or cog in Equestria’s war machine. My war machine she thought. She was not sure how she felt about that. Twilight was wearing silver armor that looked as if it reflected the moon; Celestia had given it to her the night of their dinner. “I want you to wear this” Celestia told her. “Long ago, when Luna and I were fillies, she wore this into battle. It’s not normal armor. See the etching?” Twilight nodded “Those markings will help you tap into your own powers; you can use the whole piece as an implement of your magic. No longer will you be restricted to just your horn.” At first the explanation was unnerving, but there was no question, the armor really did work. Twilight focused her gaze out on the horizon. She could just barely make out a rainbow barreling toward Canterlot. She knew what I meant. It was the areal force signaling the approach of the enemy. “Now is the time, in the lull before battle, when the general customarily speaks to her troops.” Celestia said in Twilights ear. “Do I have too?” Twilight pleaded Celestia gave her a stern but loving look. Twilight gulped. She ignited her horn, amplifying her voice, as she began to speak. “Um, hi” She giggled nervously. Her voice boomed across the city. “I’m uh, General Twilight Sparkle and uh” Twilight looked around. She needed something to say, something that would inspire them. “Tell them how you got here” Celestia whispered “I had a friend” Twilight began. “A best friend” she looked over at Celestia, who smiled back. “One of the best friends a pony could have ever had.” Twilight took a difficult breath. “Six days ago something happened. She approached a creature did not know, tried to befriend it in an act of kindness and became a victim, the first victim.” Twilight’s confidence was returning. “She died because she was kind to something that can never understand kindness.” As she paused, Twilight realized that the only sound for miles was her voice. “Fluttershy may be gone, but she is not forgotten. She is not forgotten because we are still here. These monsters have taken so much; friends families, livelihoods. They destroyed whole towns and cities in their wake. Young or old, Mare or stallion, filly or colt; the things don’t care, they live to destroy and honestly, they have taken more then we I can bare. If they are stopped now, if we are able to stop them now, maybe our great-grandchildren will see an Equestria not obviously ravaged by war. Twilight took a breath, her speech was becoming depressing. If we don’t fight, if we don’t win, not even our great grandchildren will get that chance. We are standing our ground for our future; because we have something to live for. Because without us to remember, nopony will know that we ever existed.” Twilight paused to dry her watering eyes. “We are here for Equestria, for Canterlot, for those who have fallen and cannot stand beside us, and for those who have not yet had the chance“ Twilight could hear cheering welling up all around her. “We are here for hope!” “For the past!” “For the future!” At this point Twilight did not know what to say, so she said the first thing that came to her mind. “For Fluttershy!” Suddenly a wall of sound hit her, a single thought of thousands of voices all repeating her words back at her; coming in every pitch from every direction. Yet the words were perfectly clear. “FOR FLUTTERSHY!” As the cacophony subsided, cheering could be heard throughout the capital city Twilight’s horn relinquished its glow. “For Fluttershy” Twilight whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek. Author’s Notes Sorry this took a while, writing this chapter was hard. I originally planed on having pinkie break the group out of jail (that did not work well). It took a while to figure out how I wanted to continue it. Also, I know then ending is kinda cheesy, don’t complain. The "My Little Creeper" image is by sonderjen (sonderjen.deviantart.com/) and is used with his permission I do not own My little Pony, any of the characters, or Minecraft. Please support the official releases.
