The Statue Maker

Intro Theme: Take Me Higher

It was evening in Sweet Apple Acres, the sun glowed a dark orange as it set over the Horizon. Cory placed the last few baskets of Apples on the back of his cart. It had certainly been a long days of work. Tonight was going to just be him and Twilight, he had gotten reservations at one of their favorite restaurants, and couldn't wait to see the look on her face when he told her.

He had shield his eyes and look away from the sun, it was so bright. Was Celestia in a good mood, perhaps? Cory turned from the sun and his wandering gaze caught sight of AppleJacks brown Stetson. Squinting to get a better view, it was indeed her. "But that's strange, she's usually still working. Heh, well at least I won't have to force her this time to call it a day" he said. The closer he got to her; he noticed that her body was shaking a tad. Was she talking to herself? No, it sounded more like sobs to him.

"AppleJack?"

She turned around and faced Cory, shock glimmered in her green eyes, ""S-sugarcube? W-watcha doin' out here? Ain't it about suppertime?"

"You alright?" he asked her.

She rubbed her eyes, doing her best to get the tears out of her eyes. "I dunno what you're talkin' bout, I'm peachy."

"You look like you've been crying."

Her chest puffed out at those words. "C'mon, how long you known me? Crying? Over what, a sunset? That rightly don't make sense."

"Care to talk about it?" he asked. He knew something was up. Her ears flopped down slightly as she walked further away from him.

Cory was getting a bit impatient, "Something is bugging you that you can't tell them about. But I'm not family. Heck, I'm not even a pony. So why don't you, just tonight, just between us, let a little bit of it out? Maybe I can show you the way, but we'll never know unless I get the chance."

He held her stare with an iron grip. Her eyes are started to waver, watering up, "Consarnit, you're not s'pposed ta see me like this."

Before Cory could say another word, AppleJack hugged him tightly as her body shook with sobs, "I gotta be strong for her. All the time. Every day. But... it's hard sometimes, y'know? And what if it ain't enough? She's got Big Mac, but he's ain't one for words. He'll always protect her body, but who can help with the rest? I can't always be there, not at school, where the other fillies set on her like wolves. She came home crying think she still looks up to me? A sis that can't even save her when she needs it?"

Cory felt like crying himself, " I'm sure she will AppleJack, but look.. I know you, and I know you would do anything for Apple Bloom. You do everything in your power to be the best sister, the best protector you can be. And there is no doubt in my mind she knows this, too."

AppleJack nodded, wiping a hoof across her face. The tears have stopped. "Oh, what would she say if she saw me now?"

He smiled and replied, "Whys your face so dirty?"

She threw her head back and chuckled. "I think you're right on that account, partner. Now, don't you have a dinner with Twilight tonight?" she asked, placing her hat back on.

"Yeah, but before I go, promise me you'll be ok?"

"Ah guess I will be for the time bein." she said, wiping the dirt off his shirt.

"Well I wish you the best, see you tomorrow!" he waved. AppleJack waved back as she carried her cart of Apples back into her barn.

It wasn't long when he made his way all the way back to the library, where Twilight was presumably absorbed into another book. He snuck up from behind her and placed his hands over her eyes. She gasped and bucked him away with all her might. For a small Pony, she was fairly strong, strong enough the knock him into a shelf. Twilight turned around with her horn glowing Dark Purple. Her eyes widened with shock as her ran next to Cory, helping him up and dusting off his clothes. She hugged him tightly, "I'm so sorry! I thought you were some pony trying to rob the library or something!"

Cory rubbed the the back of his sore neck, "Its fine, it was a dumb move on my part, I guess. On the brighter side, I got good news."

"And that would be?" asked the Purple Mare.

"Reservations to the Fleur de Feast!" he announced proudly.

Twilights eyes lit up, "Are you serious!? That's the most upper-class eatery in all of PonyVille! How could you afford it?"

"Lots of cake selling with Pinkie Pie"

Twilight was very excited, she jumped around him a few times yelling, "Yes yes yes yes yes!" he placed his hand on top of her head and sat her back down. "What should I wear?" she chirped, dashing over to her wardrobe and pulling out a simple yellow gown with a pink Bandana on the front. It was the same one Rarity made for her when she had to rush a few designs. She quickly dressed into it, "How do I look?" she eagerly asked.

"Like a million bucks, I mean bits." He said, giving her a thumbs blushed a little as the two of them set out the door.

When they arrived at the Restaurant, they were greeted with Derpy who was dressed up in a waitress outfit, "Cory!" she shouted, hugging the human, "Are you on date with Twilight?" she asked, winking at the two of them. Cory laughed, "Were just here to get some dinner Derpy, I think I have a reservation for two."

Derpy scanned the list for a few moments, "Ohh, here it is! Um, follow me!"

She sat them down at their table, the drinks were already poured out for them, "And heres the Muffins for your, uh, Appetizer" the Gray Pegasus placed a basket with a white table cloth on their table. Cory reached into the basket only to find it empty. "Ummm, Derpy, the baskets empty" as soon as he told her, she burped up a few bread crumbs, "Ooopsie, my bad." she said, "I'll bring more! Bad Derpy Bad Derpy..."

Twilight rolled her eyes and giggled. Cory sipped from his drink before asking," So how's Celestia doing?"

Twilight corrected the lopsided table cloth, "She seems to be better already. Alicorns have amazing healing abilities"

"Must be nice" he said, toying with the Centerpiece.

Derpy retuned with a basket of Muffins and two soup bowls, and a boiling hot kettle. "Alright, now who wants the soup?"

"I'll have a bowl" said Cory, lifting up her bowl. The ladle she used melted in the extremely hot liquid, so she grabbed the handles of it to pour it. And of course, she missed. The liquid landed right on Cory's crotch, making him howl in pain, "SON OF A BEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHH" he yelled, rolling on the ground in pain. Derpy scratched her head a bit and frowned, she grabbed a glass of iced lemonade to pour onto the burned area to make it cooler, only to miss and have it hit his eyes, "Oops, Sorry Cory…"

"Derpy! I'm gonna! I'm gonna!" he yelled, wiping the drink from his eyes. He stood up, taking in a deep breathe, 'Derpy, I'm gonna kill y-" he stopped right there as soon as he saw the tears welling up in her eyes, "I was just tryin to give you dinner." she sobbed.

He felt all the nager drain from his body, "Its fine Derpy, I guess you were just tyin to help. But let me serve the soup, alright?"

As she opened her mouth to speak, wild cackling echoed throughout the populace of Ponyville. As Cory looked around for the source of it, he caught sight of what appeared to be a bipedal monster. It had an elongated snout, three antennae's on its head, and a gnarled body, "Ahahahahahaha!" it laughed, "Listen, Ponyville, the end of your land is near. Soon, I Alien Hipporit, will be the first to obtain my rule over this land. Under one condition, and that is if he who inherited the power of Ultraman Tiga stands up, and admits defeat."

The other ponies cowered in fear from Hipporit as he glared at them, looking for any signs of a confession. Both Derpy and Twilight huddled close to Cory, burying their faces into his shirt. Cory gave the strange beast a solid glare, "Hipporit, you know nothing about Tiga. Ultraman would never let you have your way without a fight. As long as the light on his chest shines, he will fight for as long as he can. And no being can change that."

Hipporito chuckled, "We'll see about that. Hear me now Ultraman, meet me in the mountains by the middle of the day tomorrow, for if you don't these Ponies will suffer!" He cackled as he slowly vanished into thin air, leaving the whole town populace shaken. Derpy timidly flew back to the kitchen as Cory and Twilight decided it'd be safer to go back to the library for their supper.

As soon as they arrived, Twilight began flipping through pages of her book, desperate for answers as to who that being was. "Aha, Alien Hipporit. Oh my, it says that he has the ability to turn any being into stone statue, and he has many other capabilities. Teleportation, and a variety of beam weapons." Cory plopped down into a chair as he kicked off his shoes and let out a deep sigh, "Heh, great.. These guys just keep getting weirder and weirder. First we deal with Golza, and then we go to a guy who looks like he's from Yo Gabba Gabba…"

Twilight eagerly read through the pages of the book, "I think its best that we go ahead and confront it; I've been working on a few spells that could help us out in dealing with all sorts of monsters."

"If its anything like trying to teleport them somewhere else, forget it" Cory chuckled. He remembered the time when Twilight tried to teleport away Bemstar, in which resulted in Bemstars arm being placed on top of his head. It was funny now that he looked back at it, and it sure made the fight a hell of lot easier.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Positive, tomorrow I'll gather every pony , that way we'll have multiple ways of attack. I think its time that we show these guys that Ponies aren't as defenseless as we seem". Cory rolled his eyes to the somewhat corny statement, after a few minutes he slowly dozed off into a dreamless sleep.

He was awoken bright and early by Pinkie Pie tickling his nose with a feather, "A, Achoo! Pinkie? What the heck?" he murmured. He saw that Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy and AJ were already there for Twilights little meeting. Since he was still drowsy, he couldn't make out what exactly Twilight was talking about. But he did hear AppleJack.

"I dunno Twi, if this guy is as strong as your book says he is, then Ah don't think goin after him is really that good of an idea. Its best we leave em to those Giants, and Ultraman."

"But we can't just sit around and act defenseless!" stomped the purple Unicorn, "Who knows, maybe we can take this guy down if we really try!"

Rarity let out a deep sigh, "Twilight, as much I'd love to support this, the last time we tried dealing with a monster such as that large bird one, Pinkie Pie and Cory were nearly killed."

While they conversed, Cory managed to slip away from the library, "So, to the mountains south of Ponyville he said. That'll be a long, I better hurry."

It was a couple hours of walking before he finally met that mountain range. It reminded him a lot about the ones he'd see in Appalachia, but these ones were not covered in trees, nothing but dirt and bits of stone, "Heh, what a wasteland." It wasn't long after that the ledge he was walking on gave out beeath him. Thanks to the abilities he received from being an Ultra, he managed to jump in time to land back on the firm stone up ahead. Maniacal laughter caught his attention as it began to echo throughout the mountains. Before him materialized the gnarled alien that he saw the night before, "So, you have finally come at last Ultraman Tiga, heheheh."

Cory yanked out his Spark Lens, raising the Gold and Silver relic over his head. As his thumb touched the switch, the three antennae on Hipporits head flashed a bright light, making the youth double over and fall from the cliff. His back make contact with a rock that he slid off of, finally making contact with the rocky ground, his Spark Lens came tumbling after. It landed a good several feet away from him, "Ahh, you gotta be kidding me!" he groaned. He was amazed that he wasn't dead from the fall, but it didn't mean a few of his ribs weren't broke. Hipporit nodded in satisfaction at the sight of the seemingly dead human, "Now surely his friends, the wielder of the elements, will come looking for him. Have I got a surprise for them when they do!"

"Still got the scent Pinkie?" asked Twilight. The Mane six set out to look for Cory in fear that he would try to confront the Alien himself. Pinkie Pie eagerly sniffed the ground as they walked through the mountains, "Yep! I still got it! I think he's right up ahead!" she chirped. As she began sniffing, that same wicked laughter could be heard, a laughter Twilight remembered all too well from the night before. Hipporit appeared right before them, hands placed onto his hips, "So, these are the wielders of the elements? Ha, even I expected more than just a few measly horses."

"What was that!?" shouted RainbowDash, her wings splayed out in anger.

"Don't get too hasty now, little Pegasus. Getting angry won't make the Jade process any easier!" he laughed, placing both hands on his stomach.

Fluttershy trembled behind Twilight, "Jade process?"

"Jade process, it's simple. Tiga, along with all of you Equestrians shall be turned into nothing more than statues of jade."

Rainbow gritted her teeth, "Oh no you won't, Ultraman will-"

"Ha! I've already taken care of him, Hmhmhmhm."

Suddenly, a bright light shined from behind Hipporit, bright enough that even the Alien himself flinched as he faced it. Growing to about the Aliens size was Ultraman Tiga, the rest of the light on his body was absorbed into his Color Timer. He quickly jumped into the air and landed a drop kick to the head of the long nosed Alien. He shrieked as he plummeted into the ground, rolling away from Tiga as Ultraman landed into his fighting stance. He knelt close to his little Ponies, casting his hand over them to make sure they were out of Hipporits sight.

Twilight nuzzled one of Ultraman's fingertips, "Tiga, thank Celestia you're here!" she said, a smile spreading across her face.

Ultraman nodded to her, lightly petting the top of her head with his finger. His attention was yet again back at the Alien before him, Hipporit shrieked in rage, "Ultraman Tiga, you come to fight the one who holds your inevitable death! Now die with the rest of these worthless beings! " Right after that, he fired a dark Blue ray from the Gem on his abdomen, but luckily Ultraman blocked the attack with a light barrier, saving both him and his friends. He waited till they galloped a safe distance away from him before he got to his feet, but Hipporit played dirty. His elongated mouth fired a flaming missile at him that grazed the Ultras shoulder. Tiga jumped towards Hipproit and landed a swift chop to the side of the Aliens head, grabbing hold of the antennae. Using all of his upper body strength, he tossed Hipporit over his head, body slamming him right after his foe made contact with the ground. Hipporit punched off Tiga as he stood back up, but quickly received a powerful back kick to his gut, invoking another shriek of pain from Hipporit.

AppleJack tossed her Stetson into the air, "Weeeehooo! That's how yah do it Tiga! Give it to em!"

"Rip its nose off! Yeah that's right!" cheered Raindow Dash, punching the air with her hooves.

Pinkie bounced on all fours, "Give em a lefty! Now wait, a Righty! Oo I can't decide!"

Tiga fired a bolt of sea blue energy at the head of Hipporit, a shower of sparks erupting from the Aliens now injured cranium. Hipporit grabbed the wounded area, and noticed the Ultra advancing towards him to finish him off. The three appendages on his head flashed bright, the flash somehow sent a surge of agony though Tigas body as he fell forward, trying to recover from the shock. When he was down, Hipporit took the advantage to land a few bashings on Tiga, slapping him around with his hands. Tiga retaliated with a punch of his own, and then kicked back the Seijin.

Tiga thrusted his arms forward, bringing the apart as he gathered energy for his Zepellion ray, light energy churned with power as it gathered into his sky blue color timer. He fired the attack at Hipporit, but he soon, vanished. The attack struck a nearby mountain, sending dirt and other types of debris flying in all directions. Tiga eagerly looked around, remaining in his fighting stance. Where did that gnarled Alien go?

"He, disappeared?" asked Rarity.

"Heh, couldn't take the heat" said Rainbow, "Nice job Tiga!"

Ultraman looked around for a bit, though Hipporit was not in sight, he could still sense the presence of the Seijin. Moments later, what appeared to be half of a glass cylinder appeared in front of them. It slowly moved in their direction, "What is that!?" cried Fluttershy, her body trembling as she ran away from the glass object, the others ran with her. Soon, the other half of it appeared, and the two pieces combined together, trapping the Ponies inside. They screamed and hollered inside the Cylinder, all of them desperate to escape.

"No!" shouted Twilight, her horn glowed as she tried to teleport them out of the cylinder, "I can't use my magic, this thing must thwart it!"

AppleJack furiously bucked at the glass, "We ain't given up just yet Sugar Cube!"

RainbowDash rammed her body into the side of the glass repeatedly, "Hey! Let us out or so help me!"

Ultraman rushed to save his friends; but from overhead another one of those cylinders encased him. Tiga desperately tried to push away the glass pieces, but eventually tried punching at his glass imprisonment. Unfortunately, all was in vain. Hipporit appeared in front of both of the glass chambers, laughing hysterically, "Ahahahahaha! What's wrong Tiga? Can't you save your little friends? Don't worry though, you'll be joining them soon!" he laughed, the light on his antennae flashing a few times as a strange liquid poured down the inner sides of the glass.

"Tiga! Please, help us!" they cried. Rarity passed out as Pinkie Pies poofy Mane straightened out as she fell to her side, giving Tiga one last tear filled glance.

The liquid began to pour in Tiga's chamber too as the movements of the other Ponies began to slow down. Twilight raised a hoof towards Ultraman as her breathing began to slow, her other friends were passed out by now, "Tiga... P-Please…" she said weakly, taking in her last breathe. Tiga placed both of his hands on the glass, "My friends.." said his host, his hands slowly slid down the wet glass. Hipporit laughed as Tiga slowly became nothing more than a Jade statue.

"Ahahahahaha! With the wielder of the elements gone, and Tiga turnedinto a chunk of jade, nothing can possibly stand in my way now! Ahahahahaha!"

Ending Theme: Brave Love Tiga

Next Chapter: Chapter 18: Rematch Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 34 Minutes