A Glimmer of Hope: Reborn

The group didn’t have time to react to Rainbow Dash’s and Tempest’s disappearance as the hand that swatted the pair took hold of the edge of the hole, hoisting its owner out of the ground. What they were greeted to was a massive horn coming out of the ground, followed by wrinkled, brown skin with what appeared to be a single eyebrow. The species was then easily identified by its next feature, a massive, bloodshot, red iris eye.

“A cyclops???” their own mythical creature, Ivy, exclaimed. She had read about stories of these monstrosities in Greek mythology and seen movies with them in it, but to experience the sheer terror of looking at one in the flesh, made her freeze up.

“IVY!!!’ Twilight cried, using her magic to heave the lamia away as the cyclops burst out of its hole. As sand and rock was launched at them the group reconvened at a safer distance, now glad that they were fighting this thing in the open as opposed to that cave.

“What in Tartarus is that thing?” Applejack looked between her friends and the beast. “We’ve faced some ugly looking baddies but that one takes the cake.”

“It’s a cyclops,” Matt answered, scrounging around in his bag for things that may help them against this foe. He was happy he set traps, they could help them immobilize the beast. “It was a myth from Earth, known for their brutality and eating men alive. I don’t know if there are really any weaknesses other than blinding its one eye and maybe causing it to trip, but I sure as hell don’t want to get close to that thing.”

“Twilight and I can try to hurt it with our magic,” Starlight suggested, knowing they were the only magic users left that had the power to do so… wishing they had Tempest with them. “What are we going to do about Rainbow Dash and Tempest?”

The group fell silent for their fallen friends, but Pinkie was the one to break them out of it. “I doubt they’d be taken out this early in the adventure! Come on guys! They’re the strongest ponies I know, they’ll find a way out of that hole. Right now we have to worry about that big ugly meanie before we can go to find them.”

With her pep talk helping the group focus on the task at hand, they decided to proceed.

“What I can do is build upon my already set traps. I doubt the poison gas ones will be useful considering that thing is at least 20 feet tall. I can link the spike traps with maybe a rope one to try and trip the bastard, but it will take a while.”

“Twilight and I will distract him then,” Starlight decided, the alicorn agreeing with her.

“Ooh, ooh, I’ll help too!” Pinkie exclaimed, pulling out a pie.

“No offense Pinkie, but I don’t think a pie is gonna be a distraction,” Fluttershy spoke up, terrified of the ordeal they were in. This wasn’t like any of her animal friends, the creature smelt and had an aura of death, there would be no way to talk to it.

“Then how about a cannon of pies!” Pinkie pulled out her signature party canon, loaded with the delicious pasties.

“You’ve been carrying a cannon this whole time?!?” Matt yelled at the pink pony. Sometimes he forgot that he was in a world of magical talking ponies. “Nevermind, we can use that to launch some of the scrap I’ve collected at it.”

“We’re not gonna scratch up my cannon with your junk,” Pinkie stood protectively in front of Mr. Boomer. “Besides, it was only built to really launch confetti and pies. When we were blasted out of it during the final fight with the Stormking, it couldn’t fire cakes anymore.” She looked sadly at it.

“Fine, just buy us some time,” Matt growled, looking to the rest. “Can you girls help me set up the trap?”

They all nodded except for Ivy, who was looking at the cyclops, reaching to her back for her bow. “I’m going with Twilight, Starlight and Pinkie, his eye is the perfect target for one of my poison joke arrows.”

“Are you sure you can face it? You did freeze last time,” Twilight worried about the lamina. “I can only carry you for a short while.”

Ivy looked to the princess for a moment and nodded. “This is just like Matt’s and my first test in this new world. If Nick was able to take out all the villains on his own, I can help you take this monster down.” She tugged at the rope attached to Pinkie’s cannon, finding that using her snake body could help move it around the sands. “Pinkie, hop on my back. Your job will be to get the cyclops to face towards me with your cannon. Twilight, Starlight, think you can keep him far enough from us?”

The mares looked to each other and nodded. “Alright everyone! Let’s do this!!”

“Their plan appears solid,” Chrysalis commented after the group had dispersed, curious about the two newcomers, which apparently were more related to Nick than appeared. “But one thing they don’t know is that the cyclops is very similar to my throne. It doesn’t absorb magic, but it reflects it, meaning any magic your marefriend and Starlight use will be used against them.

“Then we have to help them,” Nick growled, ready to charge into battle as well.

“We’re dead Nick,” Rainbow answered, somehow calm during all of this. “I doubt we’d be able to do anything, you sure weren’t any help during our own struggles.”

The words wounded the wolf, although he knew she was right. At the beginning of his death, he had tried to reach out to Luna and Twilight, simply trying to move objects or entering their dreams, but he was left just watching their torment.

“Things are different now though,” Nick replied, deciding he wasn’t going to give up, just like he had learned in his final moments. Light his paw on fire, and showing the group. “I have my powers back, although they’re not as strong as they previously were, I will try my damndest to help them out. If you all don’t want to then just sit here.”

Tempest was quickly seeing what Twilight saw in this wolf, the determination, confidence and sense of justice. She got up and joined him. “I’ll help you out. My magic is a bit wild anyway, perhaps it could give us the edge we need, after all, nopony said that we had to directly affect the big thug.”

Nick looked at the mare and nodded. “Thank you for taking care of Twilight, Tempest,” he smiled at her. “I’m glad she found a friend to support her when I couldn’t. And if we get through this, I would enjoy getting to know you better as well.”

“The feeling’s mutual Nick, but right now, we need to protect the mare we both care about.”

They both took off, the feeling of sand under their feet just like if there were there with the others. They looked to their target, which they were currently behind and as they closed the distance were shocked to see that it turned around and looked directly at them.