Unforeseen Consequences - Eris to the rescue!

>You let out a heavy sigh.
“My friend, I will accept your apology if we get out of this alive.”
>The cult leader looked especially vicious with that wide grin planted across her face… and the fact that she was reverting back to her hideous real form.
>“You don’t think that they will let us go, right?” Thorax said as he nervously looked at every direction.
“Based on raisin’s face over there, I think we’re pretty much screwed.”
>“Send a group to recapture the camp ponies and a second one to take care of our fallen brothers and sisters” The mare said as her fur and eyes started to fall from her body “The rest will be in charge of brewing another love poison and…” She looked at you with those empty sockets she called eyes “To deal with our guests…”
>“Anon?” Thorax was becoming more nervous by the minute “You have a plan to escape from this, right?”
“Who do you think I am? Of course I have a plan! Just follow my lead”
>While the cultists were busy sending a hunting party and bringing their hideout back to shape, you and Thorax started to slowly back away from here
“I-I appreciate the hospitality, b-but really there’s no need for that! M-Me and Thorax have very important stuff to do and we need to…”
>After you took another step back, you felt like you had just touched a wall… which turned out to be a super buff stallion blocking your escape
“Go… now… Hello there! I’m sorry, mate but I didn’t notice you were there… uh… If you excuse me, I’m just going to walk around you and… ouch!”
>The buff stallion pushed you so hard that it made you fall on your back, when you angry
“Hey! Who do you think… aw, dang.”
>That guy wasn’t alone, a whole lot of cultists were standing behind you… and they had spears, swords and other pointy-sharpy things.
“W-well, if you insist, we can stick around for a couple more minutes”
>“That wasn’t your most brilliant plan” Thorax whispered into your ear “Now what do we do?”
>You climbed on Thorax’s back and whispered into his ear-horn-whatever.

>You climbed on Thorax’s back and whispered into his ear-horn-whatever.
“Of course it wasn’t brilliant! Listen, I’m pretty sure that whatever the cultists were using to block our coms went down with the altar. We just have to continue buying Cherrywood’s time.”
>“Oh, right!” Thorax giggled “I had forgotten about that part!”
>“You should have run when you had the chance” The cult leader shook her head and chuckled “Because now that your little theatre has fallen apart, there’s nothing that will save you from the power of the one and true king.”
>Having a small surge of bravery, you took a step forward and said.
“Oh, yeah?! And how do you plan to do that?! With your little love poison? Pffft! Don’t make laugh! If Chrysalis herself wasn’t able to get me to join her side, then there’s nothing that you can do to make me bow to that Sombra guy!”
>“Is that so?” As her physique deteriorated more and more, the cult leader let out another laugh “You would be surprised what a mundane tuff of cloud, and a simple bright rainbow’s glow stirred with a Pegasus feather infused with King Sombra’s magic can do to ponies”
>You felt as if you had been showered with a bunch of ice at that moment. You took a couple of steps back as you started to hyperventilate.

>“Oh, no! Anon!” Thorax quickly grabbed you “Please talk to me!”
>“What’s the matter? Did my little recipe really scare you that much?” The cult leader let out an evil laugh “Looks like all of that bravery was nothing but a façade. Sad, really, it seems like I had gotten my expectations a little too high”
>You grabbed Thorax’s face as your hyperventilation continued to get worse.
“Thorax… Thorax! What she said… that thing is bad… Chrysalis… Man, we gotta get outta here! We gotta… OUCH!”
>Thorax brought you back to reality with a swift slap to the face, “I’m sorry, Anon, but this is not the time to have a panic attack!”
>You rubbed your check and shook your head before getting back on your four hooves.
“Right… didn’t have to slap me that hard though.”
>Thorax let out a nervous chuckle and whispered “S-Sorry, I was panicking too… uhhm… so how are we going to buy your marefriend more time now?”
“We’re gonna give these cultist jerks the fight of their lives. That’s what we’re gonna do. I take the front, you take the back and shoot on my signal”
>The cult leader let out a sigh “Your stupidity is truly something else. We already went through this, even with your changeling friend, you have no chance to win against our numbers”
>You adopted a defensive stance and you started to charge your horn with magic.
“Hey, Lady! I have a question, before we kick your ugly flank, could you at least tell me your name? I don’t like beating bad guys and laughing at them without knowing who they are.”

>The cult leader raised an eyebrow and gave you a triumphant smile “Why not? It’s not like that information would change the outcome of this battle. My name is Hope, remember it well, because that is the name of your future Queen.”
“Hope, eh? Well then, I seriously hope that you are ready to get your raisin flank kicked by a colt!”
>“Ugh! He may lack the brain, but he’s as annoying as the mother” Hope rolled her eyes and shook her head before turning her back on you and saying to her followers with a calm voice “Get him, and please, hurt the colt a lot”
>When the cultists began their charge, you started to shoot magical blasts at them as much as you possibly could.
>Most of the time, you would miss by long shot, but when you actually managed to land a shot on someone, the impact was more than enough to send more than a couple cultists flying a few yards away.
>Thorax opted for transforming into a rather large wingless dragon, beating and throwing every cultists that he could, sometimes he used one of them as a baseball bat to beat the others up.
>Gotta give it to Thorax, he sucks at acting, but when he fights, he surely knows how to pack a punch.
>Despite your best efforts, the battle didn’t last long. You and Thorax were completely exhausted while the cultists continued to throw more of them at you.
>Once you were completely surrounded, Hope let out a mocking laugh and said “That was an impressive performance, useless, but impressive nonetheless.”
>Thorax transformed back to his real form and said while panting from the exhaustion “Anon… I don’t think that we can fight any more of those guys… I will them hold off while you escape”

>You wiped some sweat from your forehead as you charged as much magic as you could
“I’m sorry, man… but… but I can’t do that… we’re friend… we fight together… and we go down together…”
>Thorax dropped his head and let out a chuckle “You really are… a very stubborn pony… I have to admit… it sometimes drives me nuts… but you’re still my best friend.”
“And you can be… a real wimp sometimes… I’m still thankful to have you as my dear friend… you ready?”
>Thorax nodded as he adopted an attack position “Do you need to ask? Let’s do this!”
>With the certainty that you were going to get the flank-kicking of your lives, you and Thorax then made the final charge, and of course, the cultists didn’t hesitate to do theirs.
>But the big moment of sacrifice disappeared when a pink explosion of confetti send everyone flying.
>A familiar figure was revealed when the pink smoke dissipated “Now what do we have here? A dork and a bug-moose fighting a bunch of hooded freaks” It was none other than your big sis, Eris “And they say I’m the one who does crazy stuff”
>Okay, now you could actually drop to your knees and catch your breath.
>When you could talk, you looked up to Eris and said.
“Sis, that was a cool entrance and all that but tell me, what took you so darn long?”
>Eris was comfortably floating in mid-air, polishing her talons like she didn’t have a single care in the world “Oh, a couple things, really. Going to the spa, trying some new make-up, getting free stuff from naïve stallions, taking your scared friends to Candy-Candy’s place. Y’know, the usual”

“Alright, that’s a problem less to worry about, now we only need to…Wait! What about Cherrywood?! You didn’t forget about her, right?”
>Eris didn’t say anything, she just continued to polish her talons as a third arm grew from her and pointed behind you.
>When you turned to the dark forest, a cultist landed in front of you, the guy was knocked out.
“What the…?”
>”AAAIEEEEEH!” The rest of the hunt group that Hope rushed past you, they didn’t even notice the sexy draconequus standing in front of them. It was like… those guys were being chased.
>Luckily for you, the persecutors were following them very closely. It was a very angry manticore and the even angrier bat filly who was riding him… oh, and Pearl was with them too.
>“I’m almost afraid to ask, but…” Thorax whispered into your ear “Should we be worried about that?”
“What? Pffft! Nah, there’s nothing to fear. Cherrywood ain’t angry at us”
>Thorax stared at you with a baffled face before shaking his head “I’m not talking about her!”
“Oh! You mean Wind Rider?”
>Thorax tilted his head “Are you seriously telling me that manticore has a naaaaaaaaaaaah!”
>Your poor friend let out a little yelp and covered his head when Wind Rider landed in front of you with enough force to make the ground shake a little.
“Of course he has a name! This guy has been friend with my mom since she was a filly! Hey, there fur ball, did you and the girls have fun?”
>Wind Rider let out a little growl and nodded before jumping in-between you and the cultists and adopting a menacing pose.
“What about you Pearl? Are you still bored?”

>“Are you kidding me?! That was the most awesome thing ever!” Pearl said before jumping off from Wind Rider’s back “Not only I was captured by some super evil bad guys, I also got to ride a real Manticore and chase them down! HAH! I knew that I would have fun if I stuck with you and Bellemare!”
>“I know, right?! I can’t believe Annony’s plan actually worked!” Cherrywood quickly flew away from Wind Rider and hugged you “Gotta admit, it was a bit scary when I saw a bunch of those weirdos chasing everypony but then, Eris came! And then, I found the fake princess! And then…!”
>As much as you liked her fluffy affection, you had to gently push Cherrywood away from you.
“I know how frickin’ awesome it must have felt to ride that grumpy fur ball, but remember what you told me, only a dummy celebrates before all the bad guys are defeated.”
>“What are you even talking…?” Her ears dropped when she saw Hope “Oh, right… we still haven’t beaten the ghoul”
>At first, Hope was in a similar state of shock as her followers, but she then shook her head and yelled with her thunderous voice “WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!”
>“Eww” Eris raised an eyebrow and slightly cringed when she noticed the corpse-like look of Hope “I have two words for you: humectant cream.”
>“SILENCE!” Hope barked back as shot a glare at you “You! You played me like a fool! All of that bravery and recklessness from before was just an act to buy time!”
>You arrogantly shrugged as you gave Hope a super-smug grin.
“C’mon, Hope, What did I tell you about doing your homework? Had you done a little research on me, then you would’ve known that I never fight solo… and that my plans are never what they seem”
>“That’s good to hear” Hope let out a sigh before making an evil grin and drinking another vial of goo that she produced from her cloak “Because we’re not what we seem either!”
“What? That doesn’t even make any sense!”

>“Oh, trust me, it will… it will…” As Hope regenerated her purple fur, pale blue mane and cyan eyes, she picked up the crimson curved blade and raised it over her head “MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS! THIS IS A BLESSED NIGHT! FOR YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE A TASTE OF THE TRUE KING’S POWER!”
>The thing started to emanate a black and green aura that quickly spread through the entire place and enveloped every single cultist in the process.
>Black crystals started to come out from the cultists as their bodies started to swell out of control. Soon, the cultists looked less like ponies and more like actual monsters.
>Pearl looked to you and shrugged “Well… I have to give it to these guys, I didn’t see this one coming”
>Wind Rider let out a mighty roar and prepared himself to charge against the cultists.
>Eris on the other hoof, simply threw away her talon-polisher, rolled her eyes and then extended her paw like if it was a fire-hose to pull Wind Rider back to her.
>“Ah, Ah, Ah! Where are your manners?” Eris said with a sultry smile as she wrapped her paw around Wind Rider’s neck “Ladies go first, my furry friend.”
>Wind Rider growled and struggled against Eris’ grip, but it was all for naught, she had basically enveloped his entire body with hers.

>The mutant cultists took this opportunity to attack all at once, but they were quickly repelled by a semi-transparent Technicolor barrier that suddenly materialized out of thin air.
>Of course, that didn’t stop them from trying to break the thing with brute force.
>“These freaks think they can actually break my magic, that’s cute.” Eris giggled and scratched Wind Rider’s chin “I’m sorry big guy, but those dudes are a bit too much for you to handle, so follow mamma Eris’ advice. Sit back with the kids and let the professionals to take care of this.”
>Hope narrowed her eyes and growled “You think that you can win a fight against us?!” She then raised the curved crimson blade above her head and infused herself with its power “Don’t make laugh! Your chaos magic may be strong but it is nothing in comparison to the power of King Sombra!”
>Eris tilted her head back as she looked at Hope with contempt “What are you talking about? Fight? Me? After coming fresh from the chaos spa?” She then laughed “Sister, I don’t know what idea you got in that ugly head of yours, but I’m soo not here to fight a bunch of second-rate thugs. They don’t pay me enough for that! Thinking about it, I don’t think I’m getting a single bit out of this…”
“WHAT?!”
>You raised an eyebrow and looked at Eris with a baffled face, then you walked to her… or at least as close as Wind Rider allowed you to.
“Eris, please tell me that this just one of your jokes!”
>“I’m seriously not joking” Eris calmly shrugged “My part was to send those cute scared ponies to Candy-Candy’s place and to hold those guys from slicing my favorite dork apart. That’s it. I ain’t gonna fight nopony”
“But, but! What about Wind Rider? Why did you bring him here then?”

>Eris waved her paw dismissively “Oh, him? That wasn’t my idea. They told me to bring your furry friend to help with the distraction”
>You felt your ears dropping as well as your morale.
“So… who’s gonna beat the cultists then?”
>Eris let out a sigh and rolled her eyes “Didn’t you hear what I said to the big guy? The PROFESSIONALS will take care of those freaks, and I’m many things, but professional? Eww no, that’s not chaotic at all.”
>“And who are these professionals that you speak of?!” Hope yelled with a thunderous voice that made everyone but Eris flinch “Tell me now!”
>“I don’t think I need to tell you” Eris gave Hope a huge smirk and pointed upwards “Because they are already here”
>At that moment, the clouds that covered the entire sky disappeared, giving way to a red full-moon.
“A lunar eclipse? What in the hay?”
>“Oh, curses. You were talking about them” Hope let out a heavy sigh as she dropped her head and hid the crimson curved blade in her cloak, making her followers’ mutations to disappear in an instant “Everypony, it’s time to retreat.”
>Half of the cultists immediately galloped towards the forest, but before they could reach the outskirts of their hideout, a golden laser fell from the sky, creating a giant wall of fire that effectively cut off that escape.

>The other half that went on a different direction quickly dropped that route when a horde of nightmarish creatures emerged from the dark forest.
>“THIS IS SO COOOOOOOOL!” Cherrywood said as she contemplated in awe the aberrations that were flying everywhere.
>Eris was wearing 3D glasses and munching popcorn while sitting on a very comfy-looking chair “Yup and we have VIP seats for the whole thing. Enjoy it, my dude, dudettes and dork”
>She munched more popcorn before stirring her talon to make everyone be in her same position and attire… except that you didn’t get 3D glasses like everyone else…
>Who cares, your goggles were way better anyway… stupid Eris…
>Oh look! She gave you a chocolate bar! That’s so cool from her!
>That said, you were curious about those creatures, so after taking a munch of your chocolate bar, you reached for one of the creatures that was flying close to your seat.
>Only for it to phase through your hoof. It was an illusion, a very powerful one, just like that laser… and you only knew two ponies capable of such feat.
>“What a lovely party you have here, Hope. Dancing and you even had some tea. It’s a shame we got so late, but hey! The show we prepared for you will more than make up for our delay, don’t you think?”
>Your mom Celestia landed in front of you with enough force to cause a small quake, her usual flowy mane and tail were now big flames that melted the snow surrounding her.