Equestrian Knights Ch 13. A Risky Plan
Ch 13. A Risky Plan
"Wake up! Wake up!"Trixie felt herself being roughly jostled awake. She opened her eyes to see Iron Will standing over her, shaking her with his hand."Get up!" he said in a loud whisper. "We gotta hide!"Trixie let out a deep yawn. Upon their escape from Canterlot, they had found a spot deep in the woods on the mountainside to sleep. They hadn't bothered setting up tents or anything, as they had all been too tired. They had simply just collapsed onto the ground and fell asleep, Iron Will saying he would take the first watch and wake one of them when it was their turn.Trixie suddenly became aware of a low buzzing drone in the distance. She looked around to see that most of the others were already awake, trying to wake up Blueblood, Jet Set, and Upper Crust as well.Trixie got up onto her hooves, her head still groggy from having just waking up. When they had fallen asleep, it had been early in the morning. Trixie wondered how long it had been since then. Judging by the sunlight, she guessed it was some time in the afternoon of the same day."What's happening?" asked Blueblood once he and Jet Set and Upper Crust were awake as well."And what's that noise?" Trixie asked."Changelings!" stated Iron Will. He pointed up through the trees.Trixie looked where he was pointing, squinting from the bright sunlight overhead. Where he was pointing, she could make out a black cloud in the sky coming in their direction. As it got closer, she could tell it was a swarm of Changelings. The buzzing drone was the sound of their wings, getting louder as they got closer."Everyone take cover!" Iron Will urged.They all hid behind trees and bushes and anywhere else that could conceal them from the air as the swarm of Changelings flew by overhead. Looking up, they saw the swarm split up and start going in two directions.As soon as the swarms of Changelings were past and it was all clear, the group came out of hiding.Lightning Dust sighed with relief. "That was close!" she said."Where do you think they were going?" asked Flim."It looked like they were heading towards Ponyville and Cloudsdale!" said Iron Will. "Looks like Chrysalis and Sombra finished with Canterlot, and are moving onto the rest of Equestria."Images of Ponyville and Cloudsdale being overtaken by Changlelings like Canterlot had been flashed through Trixie's mind. She shook her head to try and get rid of those thoughts."Oh, this is terrible!" cried Upper Crust. "Isn't there any hope?"Blueblood sighed sadly. "Unfortunately, the only ones who could possibly stop this have been turned into statues."Everyone hung their heads in despair.Just then, something occurred to Trixie. She suddenly saw the whole situation as an opportunity. The greatest opportunity of her life!"Why can't WE?" said Trixie.Everyone looked over at her."Why can't we what?" asked Dumbbell."Why can't WE save the world?" said Trixie.Everyone stared at her like she had lobsters crawling out of her ears. "WHAT!?" they all said at the same time."Think about it!" said Trixie. "If WE save Equestria, then we'll all be big heroes! We'll be famous and respected again!""Um, just one question. How the heck are we supposed to do that!?" said Gilda. "I mean, I know I'm pretty awesome, but we're talking about taking on two of Equestria's most powerful villains ever, AND their entire army!""Simple," said Trixie with a grin. "We use the Elements of Harmony!"They all stared at her."The Elements of Harmony?" said Blueblood with a laugh. "And how are we supposed to do that? Incase you've forgotten, Queen Chrysalis is currently wearing them!""If I could just get close enough, I could grab them off of her with my magic," Trixie explained. "And then all we'd have to do is use them, and poof, problem solved."Everyone looked at each other."You make it sound so easy," said Blueblood sarcastically."You really think its possible?" asked Lightning Dust. Her voice was completely serious."Absolutely," said Trixie confidently."Hold on!" said Blueblood. "Even if we can somehow get to the Elements, how are we going to use them? I thought the Element Bearers were the only ones who could use them.""No, that would just be stupid!" said Trixie. "After all, Princesses Celestia and Luna have used them in the past! I thought you, being a relative of theirs, would know that!"Blueblood gave her a dirty look.Trixie continued. "From what I've heard, the Elements of Harmony can be used by anyone who represents each of their qualities." She pointed to herself proudly. "I'd be Magic, obviously, and um..." she looked around at the rest of them, "...Upper Crust would be Generosity, because she gave Blueblood a pain pill before.""I am rather generous, aren't I?" said Upper Crust smugly.Trixie continued to think out loud. "Um... Jet Set would be Loyalty, because he's loyal to his wife, Gilda would be Honesty, because she tells it like it is, Iron Will would be Kindness, because he's surprisingly nice for a Minotaur.""Thank you," said Iron Will. "At least... I think that was a complement."Trixie scratched her head. "And... Hoops would be Laughter, because he's funny."Hoops frowned. "Aw, can't I be the Element of Courage instead?" he moaned."There is no Element of Courage," said Trixie in annoyance."Well there should be!" stated Hoops."Not like it matters," said Lightning Dust, "cuz if there were, it would totally be mine.""So you see?" said Trixie. "We can do this! If those six goody goodies from Ponyville can save the world, then it should be a snap for us! After all, we're just as good as any of them, am I right!?""Yeah!" everyone said, each of them considering what Trixie was saying."You know, I think this just might work!" said Flam.Everyone began nodding in agreement, except for Blueblood that is."You're kidding me!" Blueblood said.Flam turned to look at him. "Like Trixie said, all we have to do is get near Chrysalis enough for her to grab the Elements, and then once we have them, the rest should be cake!""Oh, please!" Blueblood groaned. "You can't be serious!"They all looked at him. He could see by the looks on their faces that they were all actually seriously considering Trixie's idea."This is a horrible idea!" stated Blueblood. "I mean, what are we gonna do? Just march right into the city and walk right into the castle?""I didn't say it was going to be easy!" said Trixie. "But there has to be a way, we just have to think of it!""Look, I don't like this anymore than you do," said Blueblood, "but there's nothing that any of us can do!""We have to try!" said Trixie. "Don't you want to be a hero?""I WANNA LIVE!" shouted Blueblood. "I'm not gonna throw away my life for a lost cause!"Suddenly, there was a flash of light a few meters away from them, interrupting their conversation. They all turned their heads to see none other than Discord magically appear before them. "HOLD EVERYTHING!" the eternal lord of chaos shouted. He looked like he had something very important to tell them."HOLY CRAP! IT'S DISCORD!" shouted Dumbbell."Discord!? What are you doing here?" Trixie asked.Discord's expression changed to a smile. "Oh, nothing. Just making a quick cameo. Carry on." He waved goodbye to them."WAIT!" shouted Blueblood.Discord stopped himself from disappearing. "What?"Blueblood continued. "You're Discord, lord of chaos! You have the power to do anything! You could fix everything!" Blueblood became hopeful again.Trixie's eyes widened. She wasn't sure what to think. True, she wanted the world to be saved, but if Discord did it, then she wouldn't get the fame and glory she wanted.Discord scratched his beard in thought. "Yes, I could fix everything... but I won't.""WHAT!?!" everyone shouted. "WHY?!""Yeah, I thought you were supposed to be a good guy now!" said Score.Discord crossed his arms. "I am, but it's against the rules," he said in a mater-of-fact tone."RULES!?" shouted Blueblood. "What rules!? Since when do you obey any rules?"Discord sighed. "Look, I can't just go around solving all you ponies' problems for you! If I did that, then this show wouldn't have any plot.""But this show already hardly has any plot!" argued Gilda.Discord shook his head. "Sorry, but the needs of the plot outweigh the needs of the logic. Therefore, I'm afraid I can't interfere in this kind of stuff.""THE WORLD'S IN DANGER AND YOU'RE JUST GONNA SIT AROUND AND DO NOTHING?!" shouted Blueblood."EXCUSE ME?!" said Discord, becoming angry. "I'll have you know that I've taken over controlling the day and the night since Celestia and Luna can't do it anymore!" Then Discord suddenly burst out laughing. "Actually, that's a lie! Celestia and Luna never controlled the day or the night! No one does! The sun and the moon move completely on their own! Those two Princesses have been lying to everyone for thousands of years, and you all fell for it!" Discord continued to laugh.No one was paying attention to this big revelation however. They all still just couldn't believe that Discord wasn't going to help."ALL YOU'D HAVE TO DO IS JUST SNAP YOUR FINGERS AND EVERYTHING WOULD BE RIGHT AGAIN!" Blueblood shouted at the lord of chaos.Discord frowned. "Look, you all caused this mess, now you can fix it! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go pester Picard for a while. Goodbye." And with that, he snapped his fingers and disappeared in another flash of light."Well he was no help at all," groaned Lightning Dust.Blueblood yelled in frustration and bucked a tree behind him in anger, causing a pinecone to fall out of the tree and hit him on the head. He growled in frustration."Well I guess that settles it!" Trixie spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "I'm going to save the world! Who's with me?"Everyone looked at each other."I'm in," said Lightning Dust, stepping forward.Trixie smiled at her."If she's in, I'm in!" said Gilda, stepping up along side her friend. They high fived each other."Any one else?" asked Trixie.The three Pegasus jocks all nodded to each other and then Dumbbell spoke. "If there's really a chance we can fix this and become heroes, then you'll have our wings," he said to Trixie."And our horns," said Flam, gesturing to himself and his brother."And my Axe!" said Iron Will, holding up his can of Axe deodorant.Trixie nodded. "Anyone else?" She looked at Blueblood, Jet Set, and Upper Crust.Jet Set and Upper Crust looked at each other and turned back to Trixie. "You're absolutely certain this will work?" asked Jet Set."Definitely," said Trixie smugly. "Like I said, all we have to do is just get near enough to the Elements of Harmony for me to grab them, and then presto, we save the world, and we're all heroes!"The couple looked at each other again, and then turned back to Trixie. "We're in," said Upper Crust."What!?" exclaimed Blueblood, staring at them in disbelief.They turned to look at Blueblood. "Gilda was right," said Jet Set. "We need to stop agreeing with whatever someone says just because they're rich or famous.""From now on, we're going to have our own opinions!" said Upper Crust. "And we think this plan has a good chance of working!"Gilda grinned at the couple, who it seemed had finally learned to speak their opinions."So what's it gonna be, Blueblood?" said Trixie. "Are you in or out?"Everyone looked at Blueblood, waiting for his answer.Blueblood looked around at all of them for a few moments, a look of uncertainty on his face. "It's suicide!" he finally said. "If we go back there, all we're gonna accomplish is getting captured!""You're just afraid!" said Trixie. "You know, you're supposed to be a prince! Why don't you try acting like one for once, instead of always being just a selfish royal pain!?"Blueblood was shocked. He struggled to come up with a comeback, but could think of nothing to say. He was speechless. His mind instantly flashed back to the Galla with that one Element Bearer Rarity yelling at him, and then to his own family berating him."So last chance! Are you with us, or not?" asked Trixie again.Blueblood shook his head no."Fine," said Trixie. "More glory for the rest of us, coward!" She turned back to the rest of the group. "Alright ponies! Lets go save the world and become heroes!"The group cheered and started walking away through the woods, back up the mountainside towards Canterlot.Blueblood watched them as they left. "FINE!" he shouted at them angrily. "GO GET YOURSELVES KILLED! I'M GOING TO SURVIVE!" He then turned his back to them and started heading off in the opposite direction, further down the mountain.