//------------------------------// // Part I // Story: Collapse // by MegaHyperDash //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle stood outside her library, enjoying the wonderful day. The sky was clear, the sun was shining, the air was fresh and a cool breeze was blowing, what else could a pony ask for? Well, for one thing, something to DO. Twilight was bored out of her MIND. Rainbow Dash was practicing her 'triple rainboom', Rarity was working on a top secret dress, Applejack was building a shed to keep her farming equipment in, Pinkie Pie was working at Sugarcube Corner, and Fluttershy was... doing something with animals, probably.  Twilight, however? Not a single thing to do! The books were organized, her 'princess homework' was completed, she couldn't think of anything at all that needed to be done.  Twilight decided to just sit outside, thinking and listening. She had thought of about five possible new spells and had just finished writing them down when all five of her friends came up to her, all happy. "What are you all doing here? And why is everyone so happy?" Twilight asked.  "It's your birthday! How could you forget that, silly?" Pinkie Pie squealed, and Twilight noticed the cake she was holding in her hoof. "Oh, how forgetful of me! I've been too wrapped up in doing nothing that I forgot my birthday!"  At this point, all six of them went inside Twilight's library. They partied there all night and slept there until morning. That was when they got a message from Princess Celestia. --- Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle, This is an urgent message. I regret to inform you that there is great danger right around the corner. In about three minutes, an evil unicorn scientist called Doctor Whooves will be in Ponyville!  Doctor Whooves is a terrible threat! He wields a 'fourth-dimensional transport spell'. This spell will send the victim to a random point in time! The danger of this spell is that sending something back in time can greatly alter history! You six must defeat this evil unicorn!  From Princess Celestia --- "What are we going to do?" Twilight wondered. "Is this 'Doctor Whooves' just going to bust into the library and initiate a battle? I don't know what to expect! I can't perform calculations to figure out the best course of action!" "Ah, action, finally!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "I've been waiting for something like this to happen so I can show off my awesome moves!" "This is serious, Rainbow. According to the Princess, Doctor Whooves is terrible dangerous! He'll zap you forward or back in time!" "Okay, fine. But I have a plan! Twilight, you know magic. You'll stand the greatest chance against him! And I, being the awesome flier I am, will distract him so that you can beat him!" Rainbow Dash struck a pose in mid-air to punctuate her genius plan. "I think that's a great idea," chimed in Fluttershy. "Just make sure you be careful." "There's nothing to worry about-" Rainbow Dash was cut off by the sound of a pony bucking open the door. "It's him!" Pinkie yelled. She bounced under a table to protect herself. "Alright everypony, stick to the plan, and we'll be fine," Twilight said. Doctor Whooves cleared his throat. "Oh great, he's got a monologue..." Rainbow Dash sighed. "I am Doctor Whooves, greatest scientist in all of Equestria-- no, the Universe!" He laughed to himself. "I've recently developed this amazing and wondrous spell, have you heard of it? It'll send you off in some direction in time, and frankly, I couldn't care which. Oh yes, you six will be my test subjects, as I haven't yet tested it on a live pony." At this, the Doctor lapsed into an evil laugh. "Take this!" The Doctor let loose a white beam from his horn. It hit the wall and nothing happened. Rainbow Dash sprung into the air, flying circles around the Doctor. Twilight teleported herself across the room nearer to where the Doctor was. Fluttershy watched with worry, hiding behind Pinkie Pie under the table. Rarity was with them, and Applejack had to restrain herself so she wouldn't disrupt the plan. It was going well. Twilight had weakened the Doctor. Rainbow Dash was tiring out, however. She finally fell to the ground, giving the Doctor a golden opportunity to test his spell. "Aha! I've got you!" The Doctor laughed. He fired his fourth-dimensional transport spell directly at Rainbow Dash. However, Twilight dived in front of Rainbow and took the spell herself!  "What?" The Doctor was stunned. "Well, I guess anypony's fine. Haha!" "No!" cried all of the Mane Five simultaneously. Pinkie Pie started to cry. "H- how could you?" Rainbow Dash fumed, kicking the Doctor in the face. He started bleeding. Rainbow collapsed onto the floor, exhausted and shocked. Applejack dragged her to a safe location, but none of the remaining ponies could work up the courage to finish off the Doctor. Just then, Princess Celestia herself teleported into the library.  "I knew this would happen. I planned it. I wanted to test your friendships with eachother." Princess Celestia turned and cast a spell at the Doctor that made him vanish. The threat was gone, but so was Twilight... Princess Celestia said goodbye and farewell, and teleported back to Canterlot. The Mane Five were now alone. "Rainbow, your plan was awful. You should've known that you were gonna get exhausted!" Applejack exclaimed. "Hey, what did you do to help? NOTHING. I worked my tail off out there, and you just sat around! In fact, none of you helped me or Twilight one bit!" Rainbow Dash retorted. Fluttershy started to cry. "Well... it's all my fault. I didn't do a single thing. I just hid under this table like a scaredy-pony." Fluttershy cried. "Hey, instead of complaining about things we can't change, let's... move on and forget this all ever happened! I'm sure I'd be happier that way!" Pinkie Pie put in. "You're damn right, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash paused for a moment, and all that could be heard was Rarity pacing.  "Rarity, calm down. You're panicking more than Granny Smith in the Running of the Timberwolves." Applejack suggested, but Rarity didn't hear. "Ugh, you guys are ridiculous! I can't believe you'd just hang me out to dry." And with that, Rainbow Dash stormed off.