Twilight awoke to the sound of the morning horn, and got up regretfully once again for the morning routine. She put a new black and white stripped outfit, and brushed her teeth with generic mint toothpaste. She took a cold shower for five minutes;they didn't get hot water in the containment camp, and they had a time limit too. She ate plain oatmeal for breakfast next to all the other ponies that got captured during the first initial battle. Then she went outside and spent an hour enjoying the breeze before walking back to her tent to take a nap. She wanted all the rest she could get before it was time for her to break rocks the rest of the day.
As Twilight was walking back to her tent she saw Gilda, who happened to be a guard here. Twilight avoided giving her a stare for fear of punishment. Gilda started walking towards twilight, and Twilight noticed so she sped up. Gilda sped up as well. Twilight made it to her tent and went inside, but Gilda grabbed her shoulder.
Twilight spun around and yelled,"Why did you grab me? I didn't do anything wrong!"
Her sudden outburst caught the ponies in the tent off guard and they got wide eyed.Most of the ponies threw in a gasp, and some covered their mouths with their hoofs.
One of the ponies who knew Twilight said,"Twilight, no..."
Twilight knew what she had done and regret it instantly. She put her head down and closed her eyes, ready to accept her fate.
Gilda just said,"Come on, let's go."
Gilda grabbed Twilight and took her out of the tent when that same pony begged,"Let her go, please Gilda."
Twilight turned her head around and spoke,"Lyra, it's fine. Goodbye."
Lyra just turned around and walked away. Gilda dragged Twilight towards the edge of the camp. When they got next to the fence Gilda let go of Twilight.
Twilight yelled out,"Hey what's the big...." Her voice was muffled by Gilda's claw.
"Shut up twerp. Don't draw attention to us. It looks suspicious enough already."
Gilda uncovered Twilight's mouth and Twilight asked,"What are we doing here Gilda? I demand an answer."
"I am here to set you loose," Gilda replied.
Twilight gasped,"Wait what!? Why?"
Gilda looked at Twilight and said,"Well the more obvious reason would be your close friends aren't here. While I visited Ponyville I learned that your friendship with those ponies is what I was missing in my life. I left after Pinkie Pie's prank Party and became friends with three other griffons. We became inseparable, and the day I joined the Returners was the last day of our friendship. They didn't approve of it at all, said Equestria was the greatest place ever. They just stopped talking to me altogether. I saw how miserable you were here without your friends and decided to let you go to find them."
Twilight said,"Wow thanks Gilda. I am so sorry. You should come with me. We can find them together."
Gilda laughed and said,"I wish I could but my allegiance is with the Returners."
Twilight looked confused,"Why the Returners? If you don't mind me asking, of course."
Gilda laughed again and said,"They just make sense. I can't indulge you on the details because that would be trial for treason and like I said, my allegiance is with the Returners. However I will buy you as much time as I can to escape. Now I am going to lift up the bottom of this fence, and I need you to slide under it as quickly as possible."
Gilda lifted up the bottom of the fence and Twilight tucked in her wings in and slipped under it. Gilda let go of the fence and started to walk away.
Twilight called out to Gilda,"Thank you Gilda, so much."
Gilda turned around and said,"Save it twerp. Go find your friends before my friends find you." She turned back around and walked away.
Twilight ran into the woods nearest to her in order to be hidden from the containment camp. She didn't take flight for fear of being caught by the watch towers in the camp. In her mind she only was worried about finding her friends, and figuring out where she was. The Returners could wait.
It had been about ten minutes since she had escaped and in the distance she heard sirens. Twilight stopped to pinpoint where they were coming from. Her fears were confirmed when she came to the conclusion that they were in the direction she had just come from. She ran faster than ever in an attempt to get further away. She came to a clearing and on the other side of it were two paths. She observed the left one first and saw that it showed almost no signs of being used. She chose the left path not knowing what the right looked like.
As she walked down the left path it became skinnier and skinnier. The trees were growing closer together and Twilight saw a dead end up ahead. She turned around regretfully and went back down the left path. Oh my gosh, what if they are in the clearing searching for me? I don't know how I am going to handle this. I have to find my friends and if I get caught again I know that won't happen. Oh no, Twilight thought. She had reached the end of the left path and her worst fears were confirmed. Six guard were searching the edges of the clearing. Twilight knew she had to go out there, and she was going to count to three then make a break for it.
Twilight counted,"One...two," she took a deep breath,"Three."
She ran towards the right path as fast as she could, but it wasn't quick enough because the one of the guards tackled her to the ground. The other guards came over and held her in place.
One guard spoke up,"Watch out for her horn. She is a magic user."
Another guard said,"Look she can fly too. Make sure you hold her down."
A guard clad in blue armor rolled his eyes and said,"Do you guys know anything at all? I mean seriously, this is Twilight Sparkle. An Alicorn Princess, and more importantly an Element of Harmony user. Keep her under tight security because we need her."
Twilight got mad and said,"Why do you need me? You better tell me!"
The blue armored guard laughed and said,"You can't make me tell you, but I will tell you because it's only right you should know. You are the only one that can activate the Element of Magic correctly. We need you to do that for us. It's quite simple actually."
Twilight said,"Who says I am going to use the Element for you. You can't make me."
The blue armored guard laughed again and said,"You are absolutely right. No one will make you if you don't want to. We will just infuse your DNA with one of our six leaders so they are able to use the Element, just like you."
Twilight got wide eyed and said,"WHAT! What about my friends and the other Elements?"
"Same thing applies to them. We will take their DNA and infuse it with the remaining five leaders. That way they can use the respective Element they were infused with. Then they can activate the Elements and complete the plan."
Twilight asked,"What plan? What do you mean?"
The blue guard sighed and said,"I haven't got all day, and even if I did I wouldn't tell you anymore information. Alright, it's time to get you back to the containment camp. Let's go boys."
They formed a circle around Twilight and marched towards the camp. Twilight was trying to think of a way out of the predicament she was in, and it seemed like magic was the only option she had. She held her breath and cast a teleportation spell. It worked and she was out of the guard circle. She wasted no time in galloping towards the right path. The guards were caught by surprise and a few shouted profanities. The blue armored one took flight and caught up to twilight. Instead of tackling her, he grabbed her horn with his mouth and yanked her to the ground.
He got up close to Twilight and said sternly,"If you ever attempt to escape again, I will personally see to it that you never breath again. Do you understand Twilight Sparkle, or must I explain it to you in detail?
Twilight cried and weakly choked out,"Yes I understand."
He pushed Twilight towards the other guards and they formed another circle around her. I shouldn't have chosen the left path. I am so stupid. I will never get another chance to save my friends. They are probably already captured. I can't believe I failed Equestria. No, It's not over yet. I can do it. I just need time,Twilight thought.
They were reaching the edge of the clearing when somepony yelled out,"Let Twilight go or you'll be sorry."
The guards looked around but couldn't see anypony in sight. The blue armored one just motioned for the guards to keep going forward.
The same pony yelled,"I gave you one chance, but I guess we will do this my way."
A blue pony flew into the center of the clearing and hovered a few feet above the ground. Twilight smiled from ear to ear when she recognized the pony.
The blue armored guard shouted out,"Rainbow Dash!"
Rainbow smiled and said,"The one and only."
The blue armored guard shouted out again,"Get her! She can use the Element of Loyalty. I'll hold down Twilight."
The other two guards that could fly did just that. They sped towards Rainbow Dash, and Rainbow laughed.
She flew off and yelled,"If you want me to use the Element of Loyalty then prove your worth by catching me."
The two guards weren't even close to matching Rainbow Dash's speed. They had very little endurance too, because they stopped to catch their breaths several times. The blue armored guard eventually got mad and called for the two guards to return. Rainbow Dash stopped in the center of the clearing again and just laughed as they flew back towards Twilight.
The blue armored guard walked towards Rainbow Dash and said,"A wise man once said if you want something done right, you got to do it yourself. I have learned from experience that he was absolutely right. You are going to regret the day you decided to be a hero. Prepare yourself Rainbow Dash, for I, Sinister Shadows, will capture you."
He took off at an incredibly fast speed towards Rainbow Dash. She took flight and decided to throw him off by taking a sharp right. To her surprise, and much to her dismay, he wasn't slowed down by this. It was like he knew what Rainbow Dash was going to do. He was extremely fast and was catching up to Rainbow Dash. They eventually were flying side by side and Rainbow Dash looked worried.
Sinister Shadows said,"I don't know what all the hype was about. You aren't even that fast. This will be easier than I previously thought."
He bashed into the side of Rainbow Dash, and she hit the ground very hard. It knocked the wind out of her. Sinister Shadows flew out of the sky and landed next to Rainbow Dash. Twilight could only watch as her friend was kicked until she was bloody and bruised. When the beating was over Sinister picked up Rainbow Dash and laughed.
He said,"I am definitely getting promoted for this. What do you think Rainbow Dash? Do I deserve a promotion?"
Rainbow Dash coughed and said weakly,"You know that speed isn't everything when it comes to flying. It also takes another important Quality."
Shadows said,"What do you mean?"
Rainbow Dash smiled and said,"I mean endurance."
Rainbow Dash flew straight up off of Sinister Shadows and flew back down as fast as she could without creating a sonic rainboom. She landed right on his back and he collapsed. Even though he had armor, that had hurt a lot. It had hurt Rainbow Dash too, because iron armor isn't exactly soft. He tried to get up, but Rainbow Dash kicked his face and he stayed down. The other guards let go of Twilight and ran to help Shadows. Twilight used her magic to throw them far away out of the forest. Then she used her magic to turn Sinister into stone, with the exception of his head.
Twilight said,"Tell us all you know about the Returners."
He sounded his signature laugh one last time before he said,"No, just finish me off. I have no need to live. I have failed to capture you, and besides, someone else can do that. There are people out there that are much more powerful than me. If it really gets out of control then the leaders will take it upon themselves to find you. You two have bested me, and I admit defeat."
Twilight said,"Alright if you say so. Sinister Shadows, it is time for you to end."
She turned his head to stone, and the whole time he had a smile on his face. When she was finished she turned to Rainbow Dash and smiled.
"Well Rainbow Dash, let's go. We have to find the others. Do you happen to know where any of them are?"
Rainbow Dash shook her head and said,"No, we need to find them soon. Bad stuff is going on."
Twilight asked,"Like what? Please fill me in on all you know."
Rainbow Dash said,"Okay, so the Returners have established a huge base in Canterlot. I tried going there to see if I could rescue Princess Luna or Celestia, but it is heavily guarded on the ground and in the skies. I left to look for anypony that I knew but it seems like they were all captured during the first battle. The Returners only captured ponies during the first battle if they got in the way. I knew they would be after me because I could use an Element of harmony so I hid inside a cloud for a long time. I came out of hiding and disguised myself so they wouldn't attack me on sight. I learned quickly that Returners occupied all the major cities and a few towns. They enforced rules and if anypony were to break them they would be sent to a containment camp. I came across this camp just earlier and saw Gilda. I had to sneak into the camp and put on a prisoner uniform. I trotted over to Gilda and told her off. She stopped me and said she had set you free and that you ran into this forest. I apologized and flew off, taking off my prisoner uniform on the way."
She took a deep breath and exhaled.
Twilight asked,"Is that all you know about the Returners?"
Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight and said,"Yeah they aren't very open about their plans. Do you know anything at all?"
Twilight told Rainbow Dash about what the Returners planned on doing with her and her friends. Rainbow Dash was furious but confused.
"Well, what do they plan on doing once they can use the Elements of Harmony?"
Twilight said,"I don't know the answer to that, but I think it is in our best interest that we find out soon."
Rainbow Dash nodded her head in agreement and said,"Alright, let's go find our friends and save Equestria."
Twilight said,"Well hold on. We need a plan first. We will get ourselves captured if we do this blind. Got any ideas?"
Rainbow smiled and said,"Well first we need to disguise ourselves so we can actually look for them."
Twilight nodded and asked,"Where would we find a good disguise?"
Rainbow Dash said,"Well from my travels around Equestria I have learned the Returners only occupy major cities and some towns. We just need to get to a town that has no Returners."
Twilight sighed and asked,"How will we know which ones are unoccupied?"
Rainbow Dash said,"Zecora has set up a little town in the Everfree Forest. It is one hundred percent Returner free. We need to go there."
Twilight said,"Alright, now we can fly off."
They took off and looked around for something they recognized. There was a decent sized town, but it had Returners in it. They kept on flying and soon saw something they knew very well. It was Ponyville, but Returners were heavily guarding the area.
Rainbow looked at Twilight and said,"They are guarding this place heavily because we lived here. It's very hard to get in and out of town nowadays."
Twilight nodded her head,"Yeah, I understand that. At least that means we are close to the Everfree forest."
Rainbow Dash said,"Yeah, let's get going then. We don't have a lot of time to waste."
They reached the Everfree Forest and landed at the entrance. They looked at the dark forest and they both smiled nostalgically.
Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash,"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go in."
Rainbow Dash said,"Alright, but be careful and stay alert. This place is still dangerous."
They walked into the forest and looked for any signs of the town. They walked past some poison joke and Twilight asked if Rainbow wanted any of it. Rainbow chuckled and shook her head. They decided to increase their speed a little because of the size of the forest. A Timberwolf ran out in front of them and Rainbow just smashed into it. It broke very easily. They started walking again when out of nowhere five Timberwolves surrounded the both of them.
Rainbow Dash laughed and said,"Alright Twilight, It's time we show these Timberwolves who not to mess with."
Twilight smiled and her horn started glowing. Rainbow smashed into two of the Timberwolves in quick succession. Twilight finished off the other three by using her magic to throw rocks with a great force.
Twilight cheered,"Yeah, good job Rainbow Dash. Give me a hi-hoof."
The two ponies bathed in victory but it was cut short when the broken Timberwolves started shaking violently.
Twilight gasped and said,"King Timberwolves."
Rainbow Dash got wide eyed and said,"Oh no
The King Timberwolves were formed, and they both roared ferociously. Rainbow flew into one of them and bounced back. They had an extremely tough exterior, and it was going to be harder than it seemed. Twilight used her magic and tried to turn them into stone, but it didn't work and Twilight became tired from the strain. The King Timberwolves roared again and they started walking towards Twilight. Rainbow Dash flew in front of them and one of the King Timberwolves went after her. Twilight tried to make the King Timberwolf levitate. It worked and she threw it up towards the sky. It came crashing down into a bunch of pieces. Twilight was sweating from the strain she put into breaking the King Timberwolf. It proved to much for her, and she passed out. Rainbow Dash was left alone to fight the other King Timberwolf. She flew around it in circles so fast that it created a small tornado. The King Timberwolf was lifted up far into the air. Rainbow Dash stopped flying and the tornado dissipated. The King Timberwolf hit the ground and broke into hundreds of little pieces. One piece the size of Rainbow Dash managed to hit the blue pegasus. She was knocked out by the impact of the piece.
When Rainbow Dash awoke she was in a bed. She got up and her memory slowly returned. The events of earlier were fresh in her mind and she looked around for Twilight. Rainbow found her lying on another bed. Rainbow Dash woke Twilight up, and Twilight got up regretfully. She was tired and was very hurt, so she wasn't in a great mood. Rainbow motioned for Twilight to follow her and she did. They went through a doorway and were greeted by a hotel lobby. The hotel clerk waved them over
When they got over to the clerk he spoke,"Zecora wants to see you two."
Twilight said,"Okay thanks."
As they walked away the clerk spoke again,"Win Equestria back for us, please."
Rainbow turned around and said,"Oh we will. Don't you worry."
Twilight said,"We don't have the option to lose."
They walked out of the hotel and into a small town. It had a shop, the hotel they just came out of, a few houses, and Zecora's house was in the center of town. They went inside Zecora's house and Zecora was busy making something in her cauldron.
Twilight asked,"Hey Zecora, how did we get here?"
Zecora said,"I saw two you passed out on my daily stroll, so I took you both to hotel foal."
Rainbow Dash asked,"So, why did you need us?"
Zecora spoke,"I wanted to help you fight back, so I made disguise and now the Returners are sure to cut you some slack."
Twilight smiled and said, Thanks Zecora, but where are the disguises at?"
Zecora motioned for Twilight and Rainbow to follow her. Zecora led them to the shop towards the edge of the small town. Zecora opened the door and the cashier went in a door at the back. He came back out with a suit of iron armor and laid it down in front of Rainbow Dash. He went back into that room and came out with another suit of iron armor. He laid it out in front of Twilight.
Rainbow asked,"Are these our disguises?"
The cashier explained,"That armor is custom made. It conceals your mane and your tail. Twilight I made yours with compartments that hide your wings, so nopony knows you're an alicorn. If you want to fly just use your magic to open them up. Now put them on, and go save Equestria."
Rainbow Dash put her armor on first and said,"I'm ready. Let's go Twilight."
Twilight put her armor on and then thanked the cashier and Zecora. Zecora just waved them along while smiling. Rainbow and Twilight left the shop and traveled out of the Everfree Forest. They took flight towards their next destination: Ponyville.