Marble Pie's Bizarre Adventure Act 4-1

>Be Daring Do, keeping your head down as you come to.
>Feisty kicked you in your better eye before they all dragged you away, and you keep it closed, inspecting the bad carpet with your nonmagical one.
>They've got you in a hotel room, tied to a chair and sitting up on your haunches.
>It's murder on your back, but you don't complain.
>Everything's still in hoof anyway, they brought the saddlebags with them.
>Over on the bed is Quibble, not looking at you.
>Classic psychological warfare, they spooked him enough not to run away.
>He could still be useful as a shield whenever opportunity comes knocking, though.
>Slightly further out in your field of vision, you can make out grey hooves.
>Not too helpful.
>Well, if they're going to hurt you, might as well get it over with.
>You raise your head up.
>The light from the window's still very bright, maybe midday.
>That makes sense, it wasn't a bad knock.
>And the mare's... Marble.
>Monotone stands over the room's desk, blinking slowly at the artifacts you've been carrying.
>The fibula you lifted off them, Giorno's amulet, and the 12's racloir.
>Hopefully they'll just mistake that for a sharktooth or something and toss it.
>"We have questions for you."
>Marble says, softly.
>Well, obviously.
>No, actually, that's important to notice.
>You mask your scrutiny, and stare back at her patiently as you think.
>You might expect them to just grab their artifact and leave, or the whole bag, but they made some kind of bargain with Giorno.
>They must have, unless there's somepony else with a Stand like his.
>And of course, what's he going to want besides his share?
>"Why are you really collecting these things? Where are you taking them?"
>Which means they're trapped here for the next however long until they can come back to him.
>His Stand's ability won't allow them to show up on the farm before they left, or to bring the amulet back to Las Pegasus before he lost it.

>Finally, it feels like there's an opening in this impossible situation.
>You breathe, searching her eyes.
"I'm taking them to the lowest point in Equestria so I can destroy them."
>She looks calm, controlled.
>There was a raw anger to her the last time you were this close to her, but now she's more confident.
>Somepony finally got off of the farm for a minute, apparently.
>When nopony says anything, you continue.
"They're too dangerous to keep around. There's a prophecy that when they come together at the highest point in the land, bad things are going to happen. It's my job to nip things like that in the bud."
>Feisty's voice comes from a little ways behind you.
>"Bad things like what?"
>You roll your neck and shrug your shoulders.
"Not my business to figure it out."
>Marble becomes curious.
>"Why not just destroy one of the arrows you had?"
>You turn your attention back to her, sharply.
>How-
>Ah, your manuscript.
>You'd realized that you left it behind, but the fact they had been reading it makes you squirm.
>It was still a draft.
"Have you tried breaking one of those things?"
>You nod to the desk.
"They're indestructible, and trying to get more than one to affect you is a bad idea. The only way to beat a prophecy like this is to bring them all together and smash them into itty-bitty pieces."
>Besides, as she's well aware, the arrows are only part of the equation.
>The amulet, the racloir and the fibula complete the set.
>Ancient magical items almost always come in sixes, it's a tried and true law of the trade.
>"And what happens if nopony brings them together at all."
>Monotone asks, still inspecting them expressionlessly.
>You snort.
"Then ponies will keep using them on each other. Your farm's nice and all, but trust me when I say none of those other items have a good history. Nopony else has managed to notice this problem and take care of it in the last thousand years, so I have to before someone evil or stupid figures it out first."
>So much of the rewarding part of your job is just that, in the end.
>Trying to figure out the way to stop this or that horrible thing from happening, or dealing with it when it finally does.
>A million fuses set a million years in advance, begging to be snuffed out in sequential order.
>"That's not true. Giorno's necklace was his only gift from his mother."
>Marble says to you, looking halfway reproachful.
>You want to burst out laughing.
"I know he's a charming colt, Marble, but he's still a gang leader."
>You lean forward and try to put enough emphasis on those two words to snap her out of it.
"Do you really want an organization like Furia that breaks ponies' bones and extorts them for money to have control over time itself? That's not even the worst of them! The arrows are legitimate war-weapons, strong enough to take down one of the Princesses if the wrong pony got their hooves on them!"
>And you don't want to get started on the racloir.
>A sense of guilt comes over you as you remember that it's in this room.
"I promise I wouldn't be doing this if it weren't very, very important. I know that you and your sisters don't have much reason to trust me, but I have to do this or a lot of ponies are going to get hurt."
>Marble sizes you up, and Feisty climbs off of the bed, stepping around you to stand near her.
>"Where are the arrows?"
>You keep your trap shut, but she continues.
>"They've got to be around here, so where are they?"
>You consider bluffing her, but it would be pointless - of course you hid the arrows in Vanhoover.
>You wanted to keep them somewhere boring and relatively hard to access, where anypony stealing them would make the news immediately.
>And since you checked the papers in Las Pegasus a few days from now, you know nothing important and flashy happened here.
>You keep silent as Feisty glares and leans closer to you.
>You know more than they want you to, but not enough to be in a position of strength.
>"What are you stalling for?"
>Marble asks, sounding almost concerned for you.
>Your face twists.
"I can't tell you something like that. If you took those arrows, you'd be making yourselves targets."
>Unless you really misjudged her, and she wants to unite them for herself.
>It's always the quiet ones...
>She shakes her head slightly.
>"You know what I mean. You have backup plans, you'd have to have them. Which means you're doing something right now, probably with your Stand. What is it?"
>Feisty, who didn't get the memo, gets suddenly furious and comes closer to you, wrenching your head upward to look in your squeezed-shut eye.
>You grunt in pain, and her hoof presses on your cheek, trying to open it further.
>You curse internally, and shut it tighter.
>"Don't bother."
>Marble says, waving her touchy-feely sister off.
>You take a breath, and then you see a small cloud of her Stand-insects flow out of her hair.
>They come at you dreamily, like they're floating down a river.
>Heading straight for your bad eye.
>Oh no.
>No, no!
>You kick back off of the ground and wriggle your wings, trying to slip them out of the ropes.
>You've broken them doing this before, but one comes on its own, and you flap it furiously as you topple and hit the ground, moving yourself away.
>You feel like a wild bird with a disease, but you make it over towards Quibble.
>He stares at you, wide-eyed, backing away further onto his bed.
>Another kick against the footboard and you weave past Feisty's approaching kick, ramming towards Monotone's back hooves.
>She blinks a meter to the left, and you hit the desk instead.
>Exactly as planned.
>You headbutt it again as the artifacts rattle, and one of them falls off of the edge.
>The fibula!
>You open your mouth to catch it.
>Before you can do that, it's back on the table and Monotone's standing on your stomach.
>Your mouth keeps open now, gasping for air.
>She's as heavy as any bodyguard.
>Marble's insects swarm to your eye, finally, as you wave it back and forth.
>Meanwhile ｢Paperback Writer｣'s swiveling in all directions, communicating as best as it can.
>｢Sleuth｣ touches it, briefly.
>And then it's back in your head, and you're all the way in this nasty room.
>Monotone steps off of you as Marble comes closer, and as you wheeze you make a coughing attempt at a laugh.
"Too late."

>Be Marble.
>A.K.'s laying on the ground, still tied to her chair as ｢Opposite of Thieves｣ faithfully refastens the ropes.
>She was using her ability, just like you suspected, which means it was a part of her plan.
>But it's nonoffensive, all it can do is check on things or attract attention from people with their own abilities.
>And if she were just making sure that something would work out, then clearly she wouldn't need to keep the Stand out for long.
>Even if she couldn't confirm it for certain, the hope that it would still go off correctly would be enough, and she'd be able to continue on with a Plan C, and D, and so on.
>So, in other words, she was signalling a Stand user somewhere in Vanhoover.
"Was it somepony that you already had a deal with, like Quibble was?"
>She doesn't answer, and you go on thinking.
"No, it might not be. You've been doing this one step at a time, taking on ponies as you met them. There was no way to know when exactly you'd wind up here, especially with ｢Pinball Wizard｣ involved."
>Of course, she might have somepony set up to guard the arrows, but then why not have them bring them to her?
>Why not use them for some other part of her plan, if she wanted to destroy them as fast as possible?
>No...
"It was probably somepony like us or Giorno, who'd want to follow your eye back to the source and take back what you took from them."
>She grimaces, and then Lime's hoof connects with her, and she squeaks.
>You had to make your sisters agree not to just break all her bones, but they're running out of patience.
>Maud's clouded with a mixture of hatred and anger, barely containing herself for your sake.
>"Okay!"
>Yearling says, as much mouthing the words as actually speaking them.
>She finds her voice as your sisters take a step back and you come closer.
>"Yes, I called in backup. They'll be here soon, and when they arrive they're going to annihilate all of us and take the artifacts, which can't happen. I checked the papers before I met Giorno, and there wasn't any mass carnage reported in Vanhoover."
>She takes a couple breathes, eyes flicking between you and your sisters.
>"They're not going to be happy just taking their item back, they're going to take the rest and try to finish the prophecy. Only I know how they're going to attack, and you don't have enough time to force it out of me before they show up. Your only chance is to let me out and give me the items so they follow me out of Vanhoover."
>Limestone rolls her eyes.
>She's not lying, as far as you can tell.
>If she were bluffing you and nothing happened, she wouldn't have a next plan.
>Right now she's trying to negotiate with you.
>Her eyes lock with yours, and they're as smug as you remember.
>｢Opposite of Thieves｣ lifts her chair back up off the ground and returns it to normal sitting position.
>"I know you three have been able to follow me up to now, but you're not going to be able to face them head-on. The Short Term 12 are dirty fighters with lots of practice in everything that they do, and now that they know for sure that I'm here, you're not going to be able to keep me under wraps."
>You slam a hoof into her face, and the chair hits the carpet again with a satisfying thud.
>Her snoot's bleeding, and she looks dazed.
"We're not playing by your rules. If you're really being honest, you'll have to tell us how to escape. Otherwise we'll stay here, even if the whole building gets destroyed."
>Four against twelve isn't great odds, but you'll have the element of surprise if you can use Yearling as bait.
>She looks at you, almost uncomprehending.
>"That could destroy everything! If we create some kind of paradox the world might end early anyway!"
>You stare her down.
>Your sisters can't keep up this chase, and Pa can't afford it.
>You can't just take the brooch and run, she'll be back.
>Maybe one of these other ponies will be back, too.
>You have to get rid of all the threats you can, in one swoop!
>Her face turns angry under your stare.
>"You understand that they're going to leave you with broken bones if you're lucky?"
>Lime frowns.
>"We're not going anywhere, so you'd better quit trying to scare us if you know what's good for you."
>"I'm not just saying all of this! Do you think your mother wants to get news that you died in some far away city getting mauled by magical cultists?!"
>Lime hits her again, but it's less satisfying.
>As Yearling coughs, she keeps on.
>"I honestly don't want any of you to die! I tried to give you reasons to turn around, even when I didn't have to, so please just believe me!"
>She closes her eyes, shouting the words.
>Probably trying to get somepony in another room to hear her.
>You ignore her, turning to your sisters.
>Lime's next to you, but Maud has to displace herself, appearing at the right point of the triangle.
>You speak softly.
"We've still got a week and three days. We have to get out of Vanhoover, but we still have to get these arrows if we can."
>If the 12 are here chasing Yearling, they probably know this is where she hid those arrows.
>They might even have them already.
>But if she hid them in different places, they might have only one, or none of them at all.
>Lime's terse.
>"They know who she is, not us. If we just knock her out and leave with the brooch and Giorno's necklace, they'll never know to follow us."
>You want to believe that, but...
"What if the farm gets stormed someday, like her but ten times worse?"
>What if the four of you could've stopped it, here and now?
>"We can regroup with Giorno and plan for that another day."
>Maud says, very reasonably for the residual anger she feels.
>Of course she'd be all for scrapping if the rest of her sisters weren't here.
"But if they have any of these arrows, they might be able to make somepony even more powerful than Giorno, or us, or anypony!"
>You don't want to keep the farm waiting any longer than you have to, but you can't just leave this hanging!
>You can tell by Lime's face that she doesn't agree with you.
>"I've never heard of them before. If we just hide their item somewhere while we escape they'll be too busy to come after us."
>"Unless she tells somepony."
>Maud nods to your captive adventurer.
>A dark look comes over Lime's face.
>Oh no.
>No, no.
"Now, we shouldn't be... hasty."
>You wave your front hooves in the air in front of her, like you could clear the bad blood from the air.
>"Why not?"
>Limestone asks, and the look in her eyes gives you pause.
>You look away from her, and back toward Yearling.
>She's sitting still, contemplating the ceiling.
>Not a very nice pony, by any means, but not exactly a threat at this moment.
>You knew that to save the farm, you might have to put yourself and your sisters in danger, and even fight other ponies...
>But... this much be enough, surely?
>She's not a bad pony, normally.
>It would... it would be bad for her to be gone.
>Maud inches closer to you.
>"She's dangerous. We can't leave her here, even if we knew that we could trust her not to say anything to them. She can always come back and try this again, with more backup than we can handle."
>Her face is grim, and there's no part of her that enjoys this.
>Limestone radiates dissatisfaction.
>You can see broken bones in their eyes.
>You try to think of something you can appeal to, to stop them.
>After all of this, you can't leave here with blood on their hooves, or - or yours!
>If she'd just fallen off of a cliff or something, you wouldn't have batted an eyelash.
>But, even when you went after her on the outskirts of the farm, you hadn't...
>"It's not pretty, but it's what we have to do."
>Limestone says, her voice a little lower.
>Your stomach tightens as you realize she's trying to comfort you about it.
>"If she's being honest, there's not much time."
>Maud says, and both of them look towards her.
"But... if we just left her here, then whoever's coming after her would try to get rid of her! We could just-"
>Limestone shakes her head.
>"We can't trust that she doesn't have backup somewhere."
"We didn't hurt Quibble!"
>You say, voice rising a little.
>He's still sitting quietly on the bed for now.
>"He's not dangerous, or well-connected."
>Maud says.
>By now all three of you know that, but...
"Then... then why don't we get the arrows ourselves and destroy them?"
>Both of them cock their eyebrows at you, bewildered and then almost parental.
>This is the way they looked every time you said something really stupid as a filly.
>The look reserved only for the youngest sisters of the world.
>You feel like you're ten years younger, now.
>But inside of that look, especially in Maud, there's a note of hesitation!
>You seize on it!
"Pa never took the family brooch out from where he keeps it, ever, but she still knew where it was! If she has some way of finding it, then somepony else could find it too! We wouldn't be able to keep the farm one hundred percent safe!"
>If there's some kind of prophecy, then that means it's possible for other ponies to read it!
>It might be the next generations of your family that have to deal with this, just because you weren't able to tie up this loose end.
>That's enough reason to stop this!
"All six objects are in this city. Vanhoover's not very big, we could get all of them and destroy them immediately. If she's being honest about what she wants them for, she'll tell us where they are anyway, and then we can just leave the brooch for the farm!"
>Yearling barks out a laugh.
>All three of you turn toward her, but she's still looking at the ceiling.
>Her voice is soft, but firm.
>"You wouldn't be able to get away from underneath of them. Even if I told you where the arrows are, they'd just find you and beat the information out of you before you could get all of them."
"Hmph."
>She shouldn't underestimate you!
>But her eyes meet yours, and there's a bemusement in them.
>"Even if you really did bring them together and destroyed them without a hitch, they'd just come after you for revenge anyway. I can survive that, but for three fillies who live on a farm in the middle of nowhere? Pssh."
>She rolls her eyes, and relaxes her neck again, looking back up at the ceiling.
>Maud jumps, and then she's standing beside the chair.
>"Where are the arrows."
>Yearling snorts.
>"You won't be able to get it out of me in time. They can take all of us."
>Maud's gaze lingers on her, and then she turns and nods to you.
>No, to Limestone - she moves immediately.
>"H-hey, don't-"
>And then she's on the bed, holding Quibble in a leg-lock.
>He whimpers.
>Yearling has to crane her neck a little to see it around you.
>And then her eyes widen.
>Maud lets her stew for a moment as Lime pulls one of his legs further and further out of alignment.
>It's like some kind of gruesome lever.
>Then Maud leans in, and her voice is quieter, cold.
>"Tell us where they are."
>Quibble groans, although he knows better.
>"You might... want to tell them...!"
>He says, voice cracking and breathless.
>Yearling looks from him to your sisters to you.
>You don't back down, which is what you guess she's hoping for.
>Killing ponies isn't alright to you, not just like that.
>But the next best thing doesn't leave as much of a mark on your heart.
>Besides, ｢Opposite of Thieves｣ can patch him up okay.
>She sees your quiet, unmoving eyes, and then sags in her chair.
>"Alright. Fine. But I'll need a map to mark them, and there's no guarantee that they'll still be where I left them."
>She sounds snappy, almost, but when you and Maud set up a table and a foldable tourist map in front of her, she nods at three locations without any clear reluctance.
>One at the docks, one in the city square, and one along the outskirts of the city.
>They’re spread out almost as far as possible, in a messy triangle.
>You’re closest to the outside of the city, so it would be easiest to get the third one, and then reposition and grab the other two in a straight line...
>”And why should we believe this?”
>Limestone asks, having let go of Quibble.
>Yearling looks at her with utter disdain.
>”You don’t, if you don’t want to. I could give you three more places, if you want to double your chances!”
>Maud holds a hoof up to LImestone before she can leap off of the bed.
>”Based on how she bargained so far, she wouldn’t give the ponies who are coming here different information than she gave us. Either she’s going to lie to anypony who asks or she’s going to be honest. There’s no way to tell.”
>You think for a moment as the room goes silent.
“No… if we had the wrong information we’d be going on a wild goose chase across the city, and we’d be more likely to get hurt running into these ponies without any warning. She has to be telling the truth.”
>Maud isn’t sure, and Limestone doesn’t care.
>Yearling just looks at you, appraising.
>You feel a crawling sensation in your stomach that she’d be complimenting you if she thought she could get away with it.
>Fortunately, when she opens her mouth, she’s angled her head back toward your sisters.
>”So, are you going to untie me, or are you going to make sure I give them the same information when they get here? Because if you don’t leave in the next minute, you’ll be sorry.”
>Maud blinks, and looks over to Limestone.
>You wish there were some way to keep her trustworthy as a free agent, but you know there isn’t.
>She’ll play by whatever rules get set down, so long as the pony inventing them has more power.
>But the second she seizes an advantage...
>You can’t risk that, not for Pa’s sake.
>Maud flickers over to you for a moment, whispering in your ear.
>And you nod, sullen, and step forward.


>Be Daring Do.
>You weren’t lying when you told them how little time is left, but they don’t seem any more willing to help you out.
>The map’s in front of you, and you remember giving those directions, which means that ｢Sleuth｣ will be able to piece the locations out.
>In other words, if they don’t let you go, they’ll be preempted or killed anyway.
>Feisty’s approaching now, and Marble edges in beside her, standing slightly out of the way.
>Monotone zips to the door and quietly leaves the room, like she doesn’t want to see what they’re about to do.
>It’s like watching a surgery, almost - and as soon as you think that, a long scalpel of glass slides out of the end of Feisty’s frog.
>Oh, joy.
>You’ve almost got these knots licked, if you can just buy yourself the rest of the minute you should be able to get free!
“So much for finding a better way than murdering me!”
>You spit, still wondering why no one’s reported a commotion.
>All around the glass gather Marble’s magical bugs, clinging to the surface.
>Marble steps a little closer and speaks softly.
>”Limestone’s trained in first aid. She can make a wound that doesn’t pierce your vital organs. Then I’ll use my ｢Opposite of Thieves｣ to keep it there. You won’t be able to leave my side, no matter what happens, or let anything bad happen to me, or you’ll bleed out internally.”
>She looks almost apologetic, and you stare back at her in horror.
“You think a farmpony with some first aid knowledge can pull off a cut like that?!”
>Feisty sneers.
>You’re going to die here, right now, with your other enemies a block away.
>And they’ll shrug, and wonder what could have gone wrong, but they’ll move on with no big problem.
>The scalpel shortens a little, drawing back into her hoof like a viper coiling.
>Your wings struggle against the strangling ropes, snapping a couple.
“Come on, I have a vested interest in making sure none of you die! It could contradict everything that ｢Pinball Wizard｣’s done! Until we make it out of the city we can ---”
>Grrk!
>The makeshift blade lunges forward, and you kick backwards at the same time.
>It stops short of you, just enough.
>She snarls at you and swings again as you bump into the desk of artifacts.  .
>But now, you’re in control.
>｢Paperback Writer｣’s already in her left eye, and it rolls backward as she starts moving.
>The cut comes, but she’s actively trying not to kill you.
>Her body adjusts badly, before she can comprehend that she’s lost her depth perception.
>At the same time you flare your wings, pushing the rope out.
>The blade only cuts through one, but it’s enough.
>Marble’s already gotten ahold of the chair with her power, but it’s not enough now.
>You pull both wings free as the next swing comes, and then the glass breaks in the far window, and Feisty falters.
>The slip up is enough.
>You flip ｢Paperback Writer｣ back down in its socket and see a line of red handprints traveling down the wall towards you.
>The rest of your body, on the other hand, twists for the door as the ropes finally come free.
>You kick backwards out of the chair and let it fall, hitting the desk as hard as you can.
>It smarts, and you regain the sisters’ attention just as ｢M｣ patterns itself to the wall in front of the desk.
>But thankfully the three artifacts have clattered onto the floor.
>It pauses for a second to memorize their scent, but you clutch them to yourself and flap your wings as hard as you can.
>You’ve got both sisters in the way of the window, but it’s a straight shot to the door.
>Unfortunately you’re not actually pointed at either of them right now.
>And you’ve got unfinished business.
>You roll your Stand backwards again and Feisty only nicks you with the glass, a cut along your barrel that shouldn’t much help.
>While you’re still in mid-air, Marble tries to cover you in a swarm of her Stand, and the pull against your body feels like fighting gravity itself.
>But that’s only to your advantage.
>Flying straight forward for the bed, this bungee-cord tightness grips your body just as you grab Quibble.
>You’re not leaving him like this, not when it’s partly your fault he’s here!
>You thought these mares were harmless enough, but they’d wind up using him as a hostage or getting him killed!
>His eyes widen as you get closer, but he’s in no position to argue with you.
>Behind you, the desk has turned red and crumbled in on itself.
>The hands are moving across the ground now, heading in your direction.
>Normally, you wouldn’t be able to pick up Quibble and get through the door without a little stretching.
>But Marble’s pull is strong enough to help your momentum!
>Both sisters have never encountered ｢M｣ before, which takes them out of the picture.
>They’ll both be making sure to avoid the red handprints, if they’re smart.
>｢Opposite of Thieves｣ tugs you backwards as you grip Quibble and ignore his terrified expression.
>You move with it, only flapping your wings once you’re in a clear line of sight to the door.
>You’re on your way!
>And then, a sudden pressure -
>Marble’s next to you in the air!
>She leapt over the handprints on the floor as they reach the bed, and then her hoof connects with you!
>You sprawl in the air, thudding to the ground with the full weight of two ponies.
>Then, on the far side of the room, ka-boom!
>You focus from Feisty’s point of view as you scramble up.
>But there’s still something pulling against you.
>One of the 12 is stepping into the room from a hole she blasted in the wall, wearing a ridiculous amount of clothing.
>Just like you expected, you’re high up - at least the third floor.
>But while Feisty turns for the new intruder, Marble hasn’t even turned around!
>Her Stand is scuttling and swarming in between you and Quibble, tugging at the artifacts.
>You’re both so close to the door!
>There’s no way you’re letting the 12 get their hooves on these!
>The handprints are moving closer, and you let go of Quibble.
>You kick out a hoof as you let go of the Fibula, and Marble has to choose between blocking you and catching it.
>She picks what she has to, and your kick is focused enough to send her sprawling herself.
>She hits the carpet on the far side of the line of red handprints, and you turn on your hooves with your next breath.
>Time to go, time to go!
>Quibble’s standing there gawking - it’s only been a quarter of a minute since you sprang into action, probably.
>You resist Marble’s Stand as best as you can - just get out of range!
>If the building being demolished up here hasn’t already destroyed everything, then there must be something you’re not getting.
>You’re most likely on the outskirts, which makes the first arrow the closest one...
>Quibble gets swept up in your path as you jolt for the door, open it in a smooth motion and fly through.
>There’s nopony in the hallway outside, thankfully, but it curves out of sight in both directions.
>Monotone’s around here somewhere, and she might be able to block you from making a clean escape.
>Winging it, you rush in the direction you’re already facing.
>You can’t hope to get out of this building using an elevator, but if you can make it to a window, you can jump out and glide your way to safety.
>Quibble’s just going to have to hold on.
>Oh yeah, he’s saying something.
>”-going to let you get out of here!”
>His voice is higher than normal, like he’s perpetually surprised.
”Hush.”
>You say to him as the rows of numbered doors pass by you.
>530, 532, 534 - good, you were right, you’re high above ground.
>You doubt all 12 have come this way, but the rest are probably heading up the stairs right now.
>Florina’s probably at ground level, which is another reason not to jump out of the room’s window and hope for the best.
>｢Paperback Writer｣ flickers into your consciousness again, but you can’t check anything important right now.
>Feisty’s still in the room, that’s what matters.
>Marble wouldn’t leave her sister, which means she can’t contact her other sister.
>”You don’t get it, you have to stop and think! They have backup plans, they knew you might do someth-”
>You put a hoof in his mouth as you see the elevators around the corner.
>That’s good and bad.
>You shuffle him further along, keeping utterly still.
>There’s no activity coming from any of the rooms, which does strike you as odd...
>And as you round the corner completely, you see Monotone.
>She pauses mid-step and draws back a couple inches, blinking at you.
“Close your eyes.”
>You say, jabbing Quibble in the side.
>Then you recall ｢Paperback Writer｣ and transfer it to her at the same time she appears in front of you, kicking for your throat.
>You flap backwards - you’ve managed to tuck away the racloir and the amulet, thankfully - and then shut your own eyes.
>Measuring the distances from her perspective, you kick off of the nearest door and swoop above her.
>There’s a flash of something else behind you, as Monotone’s eyes flicker up and follow you.
>You hope that ｢M｣ hasn’t caught up with you just yet.
>And then she appears next to you anyway - and she pounds you in the side, sending you flying.
>There’s a window in her view now, though!
>On the opposite end of the elevators - and you’re closer to it than you’d hoped!
>But then Monotone appears between them and you.
>You remember fighting her only a few days ago, and that’s not how her power’s supposed to work!
>Has she really developed it so much in this short time?
>Or did Marble abandon her sister to come after you?
>”You might as well open your eyes. You won’t be leaving.”
>And then something appears behind you, smacking you upside the head.
>You come unstuck from Quibble - and then you see her.
>Frowning like a method actor, but unmistakable besides that.
>You remember her, vaguely, but you can’t place her in these circumstances.
>Best not to engage.
>You sidestep in Monotone’s vision, gripping onto Quibble and running right for her.
>A little-known side-effect of ｢Paperback Writer｣ is psychological - you can’t manage to attack a point you’re looking at, any more than you could kick yourself in the face.
>But you let the eye roll back in Monotone’s head as you rush ahead, and keep yours closed.
>A moment later you snap them open, and she missed!
>She lunged ahead too little, and she was too far away!
>Then it’s just a matter of breaking through the glass!
>You head for it headfirst, teeth gritted and your jaw as tight as you can make it.
>There’s the moment of the crash - !
>And the window gives a little under you, bending outward like it’s made of gelatin.
>For a moment you press against it, wondering if something is happening in slow motion from the stress of the situation.
>But then it snaps back, and the both of you are on your backs on floor.
>Quibble’s eyes are open now, and his breathing picks up.
>The newcomer’s standing over both of you.
>She stares down at you in particular, her eyes half hidden by the mop of pink hair just like Marble’s.
>Even though it’s useless to think about right now, you finally place her.
>She’s one of Rainbow Dash’s friends - or a perfect lookalike except for the hair.
>”You hurt my family, and now you’re trying to get away with it.”
>Her voice is cold and lifeless, but purposefully.
>There’s a weary hatred that Monotone couldn’t manage.
>”You’re not making it out of this building.”

Stand: ｢M｣
User: Florina?
Ability: ???

Stand: ｢???｣
User: [spoiler]Pinkie Pie[/spoiler]
Ability: ???

Marble Pie’s Bizarre Adventure, Act 4: Short Term 12 [spoiler]- Episode 1: In Hotel Homes, Part 1[/spoiler]

10 Days to the Collapse of the Pie Family Rock Farm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75_HfHJEY2I