//------------------------------// // All Present for the Welcome Party // Story: Ainz Ooal Gown in Equestria // by zakan //------------------------------// "AAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh…." A chorus of receding screams prevented the commander from finishing counting, leaving her with a shocked face that turned to anger when she saw the satisfaction on the pirates faces. "What?!" Hearing them leave the ship, the pirates sighed in relief. The mares and a baby dragon, screamed for their lives as they went in rapid free fall, well, almost all of them, Pinkie stopped screaming and started laughing as soon as she began to glide spreading her hooves as she fell; Rarity flapping her hooves desperately as she screamed at the top of her lungs, but she changed her behavior when a mirror that came with the load passed by her, stopped it with one of her legs, fixed herself a little; then placed the back of one of her hooves on her forehead while her other hoof rested on her chest and she began to scream like a lady in distress that can be found in any drama or novel; Fluttershy, when she looked down, fear invaded her, and she became a ball covering her face with her wings; when she saw all this Rainbow just rolled her eyes and got ready to put herself to work, but Twilight was faster this time, she wrapped them all in her magic and placed them inside the box, went up to retrieve the flag that the speedster dropped just a moment before, took AJ's rope and began to work circling the box. "What t'a hay is tha' filly doing?" -asked the farmer surprised- The princess accelerated with each movement, when she finished tying the knots it was obvious that she had formed a balloon, she got inside the box, took Spike and squeezed his stomach while pointing the dragon's face towards the opening at the bottom of the makeshift balloon. * Ffooooooooosssssshh * When the balloon finally stopped its fall, the box broke the tips of some pine trees below them. * Crack, crack, crack * When they stabilized and gained a bit of height, Dash jumped out of the box and started to propel it in the right direction. "Yeah!, towards Mount Aris!" As for Tempest, she was very upset, she had ordered her soldiers and assistant to look for clues in the ship that would give them some indication of where they were going, after almost an hour of searching, her assistant finally left the interior of the ship. "What did you find Grubber?" "I found this sweetie down there, this one covered in strawberry frosting, colored sprinkles and what looks like a cherry." -He said while carefully examining the cupcake in his claw- "Oh!, right, I also found this, it looks like it's a map or something." -He said casually as he showed the extended map that Twilight had taken from Capper's house- The map now had annotations made in pink and red, some ridiculous drawings on Mount Aris and a line that extended from Klugetown to the mountain that ended in an x, hearts and a pink pony, obvious work of the element of laughter. As Tempest examined the map on the deck, the guards gathered the crew and the cat on the deck of the pirate ship, the unicorn, standing in front of them to address the Abyssinian. "It says here that they are going to Mount Aris." "What, really?!, hehehe, so, hehehe, it seems that maybe, um hehehe, possibly hehe, I'm really sorry ma'am, hehe, I don't know how to apologize, hehehe." The Abissnian said extremely nervous and making himself look small, while trying to look sincere. "Well then, that makes it clear that they are all traitors." Tempest loaded her horn and unleashed a chain of explosions across the deck and around the ship, returning to her own immediately afterward, moving away from the soon-to-collapse ship. The M6s almost managed to reach Mount Aris with the makeshift balloon, thanks to Twilight and Dash taking turns on their way to propel it, but just less than 10 meters from the coast, the flag got a rip down the center after being weakened by the constant heat, rendering it completely useless. After the dip, the mares and the dragon reached the shore, where they took a few minutes to catch their breath, then they continued towards the city of the hippogriffs, of which almost 30 minutes had already passed in ascent, and at this moment they were almost reaching the top, after this odyssey everyone was tired and the most vocal about it was Rarity. "Why, * huf * had to, * huf * broke, * huf * that coursed, * huf * balloon, * huf * right at the base * huf * of Mount Aris! I can't go on, * huf * the bad guys won!. " -Said the dressmaker between snorts, and then collapsed on the floor- "I'm so sorry! Hiiiiii" *plof* "But we are already arriving." -Dash answered, flying above the others, words that only caused a reaction of anger in the alabaster unicorn- "And you!, could you put that down at once?! It's kind of annoying!" "No, this time it's serious, in fact, we're there already." In front of the group was the entrance to the hippogriff kingdom, this was formed by the imposing giant statues in the shape of hippogriffs found, from their heads and backs a kind of crest emerged and what could be named as their mane, which reached the ground. As they entered the city, a feeling of restlessness invaded them more and more, there was not a soul around them, many houses were destroyed, vegetation and mold grew in every corner and they had crossed in front of collapsed buildings a couple of times, in short, it looked like a ghost town. "A' don't mean t'a sound pessimistic, but… a' don't think… anyone has been 'round here for quite a while." -The farmer said while poking with one of her hooves a moldy wall, which immediately collapsed- * Sigh * "They can't just have disappeared, they must have gone somewhere, we have to separate and search, maybe we will find some clue as to where they went." Twilight proposed, but not to give hope to the others, but rather to herself, they all nodded or gave affirmative answers, the alicorn and Spike went to what looked like the castle, Rarity and Fluttershy went to what looked like the area The city's elite, Pinkie and Dash headed for the lower area, while AJ took the agricultural area. They searched and searched, they continued until they were exhausted, after a little more than an hour, they all went to the central square, they had all returned with the same information, nothing, there was only one left to arrive. "Rainbow Dash, do you happen to know where our dear friend Pinkie is?" -Asked the dressmaker when she saw that the pegasus had arrived alone- "Eeeeerr… mmnnoooo… you see, as soon as we reached the area of ​​the houses we separated to look for each one on their own." -Answered the speedster- "Relax, let's give her a little more time, although I'm sure she must be fine, if she doesn't come back in 15 minutes we'll go look for her." They all agreed with the princess's idea, while they waited, they all shared what they had found. "T'a fields are totally neglected, there 'as been nothing planted there for a' least the last two years." -Said AJ- "All the upper-class residences are in a deplorable state! Not counting the fact that the doors seem to have been knocked down, inside all the ones I checked there were innumerable damage, they didn't even spare the curtains!" -Rarity said flustered, while Fluttershy nodded in confirmation of her words- "The regular area is much worse, many of the houses were collapsed, there are marks of fire in many places!" -Dash said, somewhat annoyed by the dressmaker's attitude- * Shigh * "So the whole city is the same, the castle also has a lot of damage, but it does not seem to have been from battles, it seems more that it was from vandalism, I looked for a good part of the castle, but all I found was destruction, I found absolutely no trace of a fight, not even in the throne room, just nothing, not a single clue." * Shigh * The princess spoke, while she found it more and more difficult to maintain hope, suddenly an unexpected voice almost made everyone's heart jump out their throats. "I did find something!" "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHhhhh" As soon as she had recovered enough, the alicorn tried to reprimand her friend, but stopped short when she registered what she had just said. "Pinkie!, what the?! ... wait, did you just say that you find something?, did you find something?!, did you find something!" Excited, Twilight hugged the pink pony very tightly, using her alicorn strength without restraint, causing the party pony to let out a toy-like squeak, causing the princess to be shocked and let go. *Skwky* "Uuh? ... ooookaaaay, ahem, excuse me, go on." "Oki doki loki, just like I said before Twitwi tried to squeeze me, I found something! Something great and essential for any creature!" The words of the element of laughter gave everyone hope, but for the princess they meant something else, they meant that she still had a chance to save Equestria and all of her ponies from ending up in the hands of the storm king, and also, that she had not yet failed her mentor. "I found a lot of party supplies scattered everywhere! There were hats, streamers and many other things! But the balloons I found were no longer good." They all felt a certain degree of disappointment after hearing Pinkie's words, but for Twilight it was different, she had been accumulating stress since Canterlot was attacked by the storm king's soldiers, but she had kept it under control thanks to having a goal that continue, but her friend's words had just shattered her goal. "Don't you remember that we are trying to save Equestria? We are not in Equestria, we cannot do as we please! we cannot walk around, shouting from the rooftops 'this is what we need'!" The pony usually all smiles, was sad, her lower lip trembled in a pout, while her eyes prepared to release a torrent of tears, this was something she could not just laugh at, her friend seemed to be angry, and apparently It was her fault, seeing the state in which Pinkie was, the dressmaker intervened to calm things down. "Twilight dear, she was just trying to relax the mood." But this only managed to further fuel the flames of anger within the alicorn, who now lashed out at the others. "We also can't trust the first stranger that offer to help us!" He said as he looked into the dressmaker's eyes, then his furious gaze changed focus and settled on the cyan pegasus. "We also can't make sonic rainplosions while they chase us and after all that still hope everything goes well! We're a long way from Equestria!" "Sweetheart, all of us are 'ere to search for help, we're here t'a help y'a, you're not alone." -The farmer intervened firmly- "Well! is not enough!, I are not enough!" "'You're wrong, 'e are together, betwen all us 'e can go out a' seek help together 'til we find it." -retore Applejack- "This is my responsibility!, I'm the last of the princesses!, I'm the one Tempest is looking for! And the only one willing to do whatever it takes to save Equestria!" At this point Applejack could no longer remain calm and responded to her friend with the same tone. "Well a' least we're trying t'a help!" But this only caused the stress that remained within the princess to come out all at once, so when she spoke, she charged her horn to amplify her voice unconsciously. "Well, maybe I'd be better off without the help of friends like you!" As soon as all her frustration was vented, the magic in her horn began to fade, as her agitated breathing calmed down, as she was barely descending from the peak that reached her stress; the alicorn's ears failed to register the sounds of surprise and hurt voiced by her friends, but when she calmed down enough, her eyes finally registered the pain caused by the words that came out of her mouth and she tried to apologize. "Aapplejack… I…" "No twilight, 'e can't talk t'a you r'aht now." They all decided they needed to take time to think and relax their nerves. For the alicorn, this had a different meaning, the attitude of her friends was an indication that she had earned their contempt, this thought solidified when she saw the faces with which they were walking away, AJ was frowning, Dash directed an angry look without saying a single word to her before continuing on, Rarity had a face of indignation and annoyance, she did not even look at her, she passed with her eyes closed, and her chin raised, Fluttershy had her gaze lowered, or her wings dangled slightly, she seemed that she would burst into tears at any moment, and Pinkie Pie was the one that hurt the most to see like that, she walked with her face almost touching the ground, her lips were trembling and there were signs of tears in her eyes, even her mane and tail had lost a bit his usual fluffiness,the only one who stayed behind while seeing both parties go their own way was Spike. The young dragon had known Twilight for much longer than the rest, so he knew when stress caused her mother/sister/friend to say things that she didn't really mean and that she would need someone to comfort her later, when she went out. of the city with her head downcast, he followed her to try to comfort her. "Don't worry Twilight, you'll figure it out, you always do." The princess answered in a low voice, while she sobbed sitting on one of the boulders that overlooked the beach that was opposite the entrance gates of the city. "No Spike, * Sob, sob * this time, * Hic, sob * I ruined everything, * Sob, sob, hic * I have, * Sob, hic, sob * losed the only * Sob, sob * chance, Spike … Spike… Spike? " Not receiving a response from her assistant made the alicorn curious, when she returned to see why he was not responding, she only found terror in the little dragon's eyes. To her horror, her assistant/brother/son was being held in the clutches of one of the storm king's soldiers. She charged her horn to launch a blast at the soldier and just as she was about to fire it, a thick bell-shaped cage closed around her, bouncing off the magic she released causing her a sharp pain. "Ghaaaa, but what? No, nonono, Spike, Spike!" The little dragon breathed fire through its nostrils onto its captor's claw, and when it released it, it ran. "Twilight, Twilight!" When they reached Mount Aris, Tempest began commanding his troops. "Listen to me well, if I don't get that princess in less than an hour, I will start using you as fuel for the ship; now, you will separate into four groups of 15, to cover the four sectors of the city quickly, Do not leave a single corner unchecked! If the princess escapes again, I will throw you all overboard from the highest altitude while we fly over the sea! Now that that is clear, Mov- " "Well, maybe I'd be better off without the help of friends like you!" Twilight's amplified voice echoed across the deck, to which Tempest smiled. "Change of plans, only one of you will come down, we will trace that voice and capture the princess with the claw cage, mhahahahaha, this will be very easy..." After finishing giving her instructions, none of his subordinates moved. "What are you waiting for? Move!" The soldiers rushed to act and as soon as the capture was confirmed, they left immediately for Canterlot. Spike ran with all his might and without stopping, when he caught sight of the rest of the M6s, he wanted to immediately shout what was happening, but was out of breath. "Twah *huf huf* Tormh *huf huf* Twah *huf huf*!" They all looked at him surprised and when he got to where they were he took a couple of deep breaths and at last he was able to deliver his message. "Twilight was captured!" * GHASPH * (collective) "We must help her immediately!" Dash yelled. "A' how do y'a propose tha' we do it?, we ha'e no way to reach them!, t'a balloon broke!" -the farmer shouted furiously for the last words she exchanged with her friend- "Let's be honest my dear, probably only you, of all of us, will be able to reach the mainland." -Said the dressmaker with resignation- "Besides, we have no way to beat those brutes." -Said with a worried voice Fluttershy- Tempers were hot and the discussion would have continued for quite a while had it not been for the voice that interrupted them. "Mmmm right, I'd say even that would be impossible." They all turned in the direction of the new voice and the first to speak was Rarity. "Well, well, look what the kitten brought, himself!" -The bitterness in Rarity's voice was palpable- "Wowowo, calm down, my… 'slip', it happened before I treated all of you, and I really tried to help you, I was driving the storm king soldiers away, with a bit of success I must add, but you guys hung a rainbow-colored target on your flank, so I couldn't divert them anymore." With these words, all eyes left Capper to focus on the polychromatic pony, who just giggled as she scratched the back of his head with a hoof, as the feline came down from the rock he was standing on to approach the mares, continued talking. "And as for how to get to your destination, that won't be a problem, after all, I didn't come alone." From behind the rock on which the Abyssinian has been standing, several individuals jumped, and when they were standing on the ground, they could be recognized. "Captain Celaeno!" -Dash yelled in surprise- "We thought y'a were caught." -Added AJ- "No, that crazy pony tried to shoot us down, but it takes more than a few explosions to shoot down my ship!" The captain said with a superior tone as she adjusted her hat with one hand and her saber with the other. "Wow, and how did you get away?" -Spike asked excitedly- "Simple, we made them believe they had achieved their purpose, then we followed them at low altitude and hid in their blind spot." "So are you going to help us get Twilight back?" "Of course we are in your debt, you helped us get our 'Aarrrgh' back." -It was the first officer who answered Rarity's question- "That's all right? We didn't make friends with anyone else, right?" -Spike said as they looked out to sea for some reason- "Let's get out of here, or we won't be there in time to rescue her." -Said the speedster enthusiastically- With this conviction they all boarded Celeano's battered ship and set out for Canterlot. Since she was captured and during most of the return trip, Princess Twilight was in total isolation, during all this time she was trying to break her cage, but nothing seemed to work, neither the physical attacks, nor the magical ones, but after what It seemed to her a little more than a day of travel, she received her first visit, Commander Tempest walked in slowly, until she was in front of the princess. "Aaarrg!" *FSTsstss* *huf, huf* "mmnngh" *FSTsstss* "AAaaww, hehehe, the princess of friendship… jejeje With ooooout friendships, hehehmhmh and no way out." "Why are you doing this? You are also a pony!, we are similar!." The alicorn was trying to appeal to the commander's pony nature, but what she got was an aggressive reaction. "We are not the same!" *Clannng* Said Tempest furiously approaching her face to the cage with her horn flaring and giving a blow with her hoof to the cage, while she breathed deeply and the magic in her horn was absorbed by the metal, when the unicorn finally calmed down, she continued speaking. "I am much more than you could ever be!... it's time to stop🎵 and learn... the🎵... lesso..." Tempest's face filled with confusion, while Twilight spoke to herself in a low voice. *ghasph* "Again?, why is it happening?" But her voice wasn't low enough to escape the ears of the pony next to her. "What do you mean, again?!" *Shigh* "This isn't the first time I've seen a 'heart song' fail before it starts." "Hmmp!, that proves my point, you can't trust anyone, or anything that doesn't come from yourself, I tried to find a place among mine, but I was rejected, since I was little all the foals and fillies made fun of me, they called me by nicknames that I hated, they all turned their back on me. " "But your family!, your friends!, they can't all have abandoned you!." The princess was beginning to feel empathy for the captain. "HA! My so named friends were the first to abandon me, they simply stopped dealing with me, even after it was their fault that I entered the cave! They threw the ball away and then sent me to retrieve it, so that the Ursa cub would attack me and not them!" * Ghasph * -Twilight was surprised to learn how the unicorn lost her horn- "And my parents, hahaha, they stopped trying as soon as they were said no, they were constantly moving away from me, so I decided to go out myself to find a solution, I took as much bits as I could and left them before they abandoned me too! So no princess, you and I are not alike at all, that's why I'm here now, to make you see reality, so that you know the truth, neither life nor the world are fair." * Clong, clak, clak, clak, clak, clak * When she finished explaining her reasons, Tempest operated a lever and the cage began to rise, at first she could not see anything due to the drastic change in lighting, but when her eyes adjusted to the sun, she saw an image that froze her heart; At the same time she heard the commander shout a heartbreaking phrase. "Open your eyes princess, the world is not all colors and games, this is the truth!" Being on deck, Canterlot could be seen in the distance, but instead of the usual image of city neatness, everything was covered in smoke, making the city look like a doomed place, and they were heading for it, judging by the large number of traces in the sky, a large number of storm king troops were moving in its direction, when finally the image and words were understood, without changing the expression of surprise on her face, tears began to flow from her eyes. *Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap ... toc, toc, toc* *Click * "Yes? Oh, it was you, give me a moment." -said the steward of steel- "You my come in Albedo-sama, Ainz-sama was waiting for you." Inside his study was the Overlord seated behind his luxurious desk. "Welcome, tell me do you have a report for me?" "That's right Ainz-sama, the assigned units in Canterlot have confirmed the presence of the storm king, the presence of the item that he is going to use to achieve his objective has also been confirmed." "Excellent then, the time has come for this world to know us!"