//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 Sweetie Belle's Backstory // Story: From the Ashes of Hope // by Zelda Spectrum //------------------------------// The day they arrived, was the end of our happiness. Equestria became our Hell. Chapter 2 ********* It started out as just a regular day for us; I could not wait to see Scootaloo and Apple Bloom again to try and find our cutie marks. After breakfast with my older sister Rarity, I tried to help her clean up, but she insisted she do it herself. Anyways, we met up at our clubhouse in Sweet Apple Acres to plan for what kind of crusading we were going to do. “Ah’ve got an idea,” Apple Bloom said, “What if we tried ta’ get our cutie marks in bakin’? Ah’m sure Pinkie Pie could give us a few pointers.” “That sounds like a good idea,” I said, “and who better to learn it from than Pinkie Pie?” “Or how ‘bout animal training?” Apple Bloom asked, trying to think of things they had not tried. “I don’t know, I can’t get anywhere near Opalescence without getting a swipe from her claw”. I stated. “Don’t worry, we’ll see if we can work with Winona. Whadda’ you think Scootaloo?” Scootaloo was staring at the floor with a blank expression. “Scootaloo!” “Huh, oh yeah we should try those first.” Scootaloo was obviously distracted by something, but we didn’t know what it was. At first I took it to be from lack of sleep, but as the day went on, I got more and more curious. ========================================= Well, the crusading did not go as well as we had hoped. At Sugar Cube Corner we burned everything we tried to make. Scootaloo kept getting distracted, causing either the food to get burned or make a big mess. We tried taking Winona to the park to teach her some new tricks, but we may have been doing something wrong. We tried giving her commands, motioning her, and even demonstrating the command, but all she did was just wag her tail and bark happily at us. Around lunchtime, we decided to have a picnic in the park. Rarity had made us a lunch before I left, so we sat down and started to enjoy the sandwiches she made. After a while, I noticed Scootaloo was getting distracted again; this time I was curious. “Hey Scootaloo,” I said, “are you feeling okay? You haven’t even touched your Daisy Sandwich.” “Huh?” she snapped back to reality, “Oh, well, I guess I’m not that hungry.” Just as I was about to ask her what was troubling her, Winona started growling and barking at the sky. “Winona, what is it girl?” She wasn’t the only one who was acting up. All the animals in the park started to run or fly in the opposite direction Winona was barking. ********* Dark holes started to open up in the sky sending strange objects down towards the earth. When they landed, we finally managed to see what had landed, but we couldn’t believe what we saw. What popped up were these strange black creatures with yellow markings, each with a different shaped body. When they landed, they started to attack and destroy everything around them. Horrified at what we saw, we ran back to town as fast as our hooves could carry us. However, when we got there, we saw that Ponyville was being attacked by the same creatures. Ponies were running for their lives as the creatures destroyed anything they looked at. “Let’s find Twilight,” Scootaloo shouted to us, “she should know what is going on and how to stop it!” We took off towards the library to find it covered by a barrier. We saw Spike take a peek out of the windows and then disappear from it. Seconds later, Twilight came out the door and opened a small portion of the barrier. “Girls, quickly, come inside!” she told us. We wasted no time getting into the library, after which Twilight closed the barrier and the door. Inside were Twilight’s friends along with anypony who made it in. This included the Apple Family, Cheerlee, Angel Bunny, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. “What’s going on?” I asked in fear, “What is happening to Ponyville?” “I’m afraid we are unable to answer that question.” Luna said. “Indeed,” Celestia remarked, “I have never seen creatures like these before. I would assume they came from Tartarus, but I cannot be certain. They caught us off guard at Canterlot and we were unable to repel them. Shining Armor and his soldiers have evacuated the citizens and are fighting these creatures, but I am not sure how long they will hold.” “However, not all hope is lost; I brought the Elements with us.” Celestia ignited her horn and the Elements of Harmony floated out of a saddlebag she was carrying and onto Twilight and her friends. “I need you to wield the Elements once again and stop this new threat.” “Princess Celestia,” Twilight started, “We would be more than happy to-” “Wait a minute, where is Scootaloo?!” As soon as I said that, a ring flew out of nowhere and landed perfectly on Twilight’s horn. Everyone looked around the room trying to find out where it came from. Soon after, rings landed on Celestia, Luna, and Rarity. Outside, we heard the barrier dispelling itself; Twilight tried to fuel it back up, but the ring on her horn prevented her from summoning even a spark of magic. A bright red light suddenly shot up into the sky. We looked out the window to see what the source of the light was. It was a flare! Apple Bloom the noticed that the window leading to the balcony was open. “The window is open! They might’ve gotten Scootaloo!” Before we could move to the window, however, the creatures outside began to swarm into the library. Twilight and her friends got ready to fight when another creature entered the library. This creature had to be at least as tall as Celestia. It had the shape of a unicorn with flowing golden-pink hair. Its body was covered with runes and it had a golden-pink aura around its body. It had no face and wings made out of runes and energy. ********* “Well, well, well,” it said, “so these are the Elements of Harmony. It’s a shame to finally meet you when you’re so helpless.” “I’ll show you how helpless we are!” Rainbow retorted as she charged at the creature. A bolt of energy shot from the creature and hit Rainbow Dash, sending her back. She struggled to get back on all fours while pain shot through her rib cage where she had been shot. “Big Macintosh,” Twilight yelled, “take everypony down to the basement now!” Big Mac did as he was told and lead everypony, except Apple Bloom and I, down to the basement and locked the door behind him. “Who are you,” Luna asked the creature, “and what business to you have wrecking havoc on our kingdom?” “Me? Oh, I have no name. I am everything and I am nothing. As for my motivation, I have none; I have come just to take my rightful place as ruler of this world.” “Equestria has no place for one vile such as you!” Celestia said, “Leave now, or we will have to use force!” The Nameless chuckled wickedly. “Oh, you are in no position to threaten me. As long as you have those Anti-Magic rings on your horns, you can’t use your magic against me. Isn’t that right…Scootaloo.” “That’s right. Without their powers, the princesses are practically harmless.” I couldn’t believe what I was seeing; I didn’t want to believe it at all! Scootaloo was siding with the Nameless!? She stood beside it with a slingshot beside her. “By the way, I must congratulate you on your work.” The Nameless said to Scootaloo, “I was beginning to think you would fail.” “It was way too easy,” she replied, “they were just sitting ducks and so easy to fool.” Why Scootaloo? Why would you do this? How long have you planned this? Since when have you ever been good with a slingshot? I thought we were friends! All these thoughts filled my head as I tried to comprehend what was happening through my tears. “Oh, and I assume you’ve set up all those explosives in this place.” “You doubt me? Of course I did.” “Then would you care to do the honors?” The Nameless tossed a pad with a button on it down at Scootaloo’s hooves. “With pleasure.” “But Scootaloo,” I said between sobs, “we’re your friends!” Scootaloo turned her back to us before speaking again. “Not anymore.” With that she mashed the button with her hind leg. There was a deafening explosion, and then my world went black. =========================================== ********* When I awoke, Apple Bloom was laying beside me still unconscious. All that was left of the library was some burnt books, debris from the explosion, and some singed wood. The door that leads to the basement had been blown apart. Apple Bloom woke up shortly after. We were in shock at the scene of the library. However what we saw in the middle of the room broke our hearts. In the middle of the room were the Elements of Harmony, or at least what was left of them. The Elements were either split in half, or had the jewels inside shattered. Right beside the Element of Honesty, was a cowboy hat that was burnt on the edges. Apple Bloom sat beside the hat and cried. I ran outside to see what happened to Ponyville. The town was in ruins and the sky was stuck in an eclipse. I saw the outside of the library was still in one piece; aside from all the broken windows and slowly decaying leaves. Somehow, the explosion seemed to have left the outside of the library intact while only scarring the interior. We were captured soon after by the creatures that attacked Ponyville earlier. They didn’t kill us, they enslaved us instead; along with every living pony in Equestria. We later found out that Big Macintosh and the others were not dead either, but they were enslaved along with us. I don’t know what happened to Scootaloo or how we are still alive; but you call this living? We are slaves to these demons, forced to work to feed their benefits. Whether it is working in the or factories, we must work without rest or be flogged by them. A few months after we were captured, I found that some of Twilight’s spell books had been spared from the attack. Since that day, I have poured myself into studying magic, probably the same way Twilight did as a filly. Apple Bloom and I have done what we can to keep the ponies happy. Apple Bloom’s quickly developing strength helped out in jobs we were given, and she helped the ponies with team work. I would use my magic to make our jobs easier and avoid the creatures whip. I would also sing to the other ponies to raise their spirits, which eventually lead to my cutie mark; a wand with a treble clef on the top. Apple Bloom had received hers too; it was a steel hammer. Even though we had discovered our special talents, it was hardly anything worth celebrating. Eight years have passed, and nothing has changed. Apple Bloom and I have been thinking of a plan to overthrow the Nameless and her empire. Everypony thinks the wielders of the Elements are dead, but Apple Bloom and I have not given up hope. I have a feeling that they are still alive and they are out there somewhere and they will bring back the Equestria we know and love. End of Chapter 2 If one of the links are not working, or you have any suggestions for music, please let me know.