Time is Forever

by MysteryMelt

The Enemies of Harmony (Pilot Part 2 - 2)

The Enemies of Harmony

Pilot Part 2 of 2

“Once your enemies stand united, so does your fate."
~ Star Swirl the Bearded

---

Once again the ponies of Ponyville were made to suffer.

The town had been ravaged. Lightning crackled from a maelstrom of black clouds above and everypony ran and hid as their homes were being wrecked, ruined and decimated.

Injured ponies lay unconscious across the town square and everypony else was unable to see if the others were still alive. Some helped their friends to the hospital; others ran to find shelter and to hide within their frail cottages which were occasionally blown to pieces by stray bolts of magic. Many other buildings leaned on the verge of collapse, perilously beyond repair. Most were left to cradle themselves as they sobbed. They rocked in the darkness from side-to-side without escape or respite. Ponyville was utterly devastated around them all.

The billowing smoke could be seen for miles. Neighbouring towns witnessed the smoke from beyond and took it as a warning to pray for their loved ones in Ponyville.

Dark Plague smiled with gratification.

The girl’s glanced down on the tall cliffside. They stood in awe as all their old foes and frenamies had united against them. The enemies of harmony stood united, they had all been recruited by none than Dark Plague who was strangely distant. She refused to attack, refused to even fight. Perhaps she was merely a coward. The mysterious Dark Plague teleported away without a word. She held her head in pain as if she had a headache. Was there something wrong with her? Dark Plague quickly disappeared into the whit of black clouds that swirled above.

“Ya won’t get away with this!” Applejack shouted and gritted her teeth She charged like a head down like a bull towards Dark Plague and with one fair swoop she nearly grabbed the pony. Her assault was to no avail... Applejack charged straight off the cliff and tumbled right off the edge when Dark Plague teleported away. She slid down the steep cliff and splayed her hooves forward to take the brunt of the friction and soften the fall.

“Let’s go,” Pinkie Pie said seriously and was the next to slide down the cliff. Pinkie Pie was closely followed by the others, all except for Fluttershy with her injured hoof simply fluttered gently down in Ponyville.

“Split up and stop as many as you can,” Twilight commanded and looked all around frantically. Ponyville was being destroyed by the enemies of harmony and now they had to stop them. They had to face their enemies one last time. The bad news was they had to stop them all at the same time. The only good news in this bleak scene was that they were only attacking the town of Ponyville. But once they’ve levelled the town, one can only wonder where they would strike next...

Canterlot: golden and glamorous. The walls of the city surrounded by a battery of battlements; a wall also separated the royal castle from the main city below. At each section of the city was set a series of ivory spires the tops of which were like golden flames.

Rainbow Dash flew down into the castle and landed with a stumble on a balcony She galloped through into the furnished royal chambers without delay. It was brightly lit, but the castle was utterly empty. Her ears rang from the silence, she bit her lower lip and kept glancing behind her back.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Celestia?!” She shouted but nopony replied, neither princess sat in the throne. “She’s gone...” Rainbow Dash’s voice croaked as she spoke to herself. Instead of Celestia sat in the throne was the quaint blue chest which contained the Elements of Harmony. A trap? Rainbow Dash thought, she approched slowly and found a small note attached to the little chest. It simply reads:

It was nice to know they had the support of the princess... Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. Why was Princess Celestia never here when they used the Elements? She thought and quickly besieged the Elements of Harmony and placed all the jewels on herself, four snapped around her ankles, one around her neck, and the crown she placed on her head. She could bear the weight. She flapped her wings without delay until a faint chuckle subdued her by making her freeze on the pot. It was the same laugh she heard in the thunderclouds, before she was struck by lightning.

“Rainbow Dash...” it whispered.

“Discord! Where are you?” Rainbow Dash said and stood in a defensive position.

“I’m not afraid of you anymore,” she said without a hint of fear. She analysed the four corners of the room but the royal chambers were empty. Only the voice of anarchy filled the hall.

“Neheheha, it seems you’ve got yourself into trouble yet again. My, my, my...” Smoke filled the royal palace which dimmed all eyesight. With a large display of magical colours and disco lights Discord hovered out of the smoke. He did a twirl before bowing infront Rainbow Dash, when he looked back up he had a smug grin.

“You should see the look on your face. Ha.” Discord burst into mischievous laughter. It’s at this moment Discord decided to lighten up. He clicked his fingers and a beach deck chair with a striped umbrella magically appeared in the hall. He sighed, sat with a pair of sunglasses on and decided to lecture the pony.

“Dark Plague released you as well?” Rainbow Dash questioned. Was Discord working for her as well. What made Dark Plague so special?

“Ha, 'Dark Plague'. She gave herself that name you know? She's really called the Greymare, the only artificial life in Equestria. Dark Plague enjoyed my... entertainment and chose to release me. I do say it is a blast to watch you all,” he said when his brilliant crimson and light yellow eyes brimmed into an impish scowl. Of course all this was all just a game to him. He clicked his fingers again and without delay all the doors in the royal castle slammed and sealed shut one after the other…

It's a trap! Rainbow Dash was cornered. Discord waved one of his maladroit fingers and tuts thrice. She knew the spirit of chaos, she knew his tricks and wasn’t going to fall for them again. He was going to try and get her to be disloyal to her friends; by stopping her from leaving with the Elements.

“Ah, but I see you already have your precious Elements; ooohh how we laughed and cried over the many adventures we had with them. How many years has it been since we last met?" Discord snapped his finger and a giant fob watch appeared, it ticked around until it stopped on 'VII'. Discord winced at the device.

"Seven years, has it really been that long? The amount of times I've been placed in stone only to be released and redeemed time and time again, urg, the horror! Time is too slow for my liking, I should speed it up sometime, how does forty-eight frames per second sound?" Discord said and sipped some milk from a coconut etched with a wicked pumpkin smile.

“Stop stalling, Discord!” Rainbow Dash shouted and backed away until her back met with the wall. She looked for a way out of the trap.

“I just want to have some fun, is all. Have I ever really harmed anypony?" Discord said with puppy-dog eyes. "That's why I'm up here, and not down there in Ponyville with all the rest." He pointed down. "I just wanted you to know that I won’t be sticking around to see the fireworks this time. Oh no... I've suffered from too many defeats with you over the years that I've almost strained my beard.” Discord spoke and placed the coconut down. Then he made a pyramid shape with his maladroit fingers and tapped them together lightly.

“When you dash around and save the day, I’ll be gone from here; out of your way.”

Discord recited an arrivederci and sat back into the deck-chair. Does this means he isn’t in league with Dark Plague and the others?

Rainbow Dash couldn’t care what happened to the draconequus, he had his own ulterior motive: to cause utter anarchy. She had to get out of here and fast. She had to be loyal to her friends, they were depending on her to recharge the Elements so Ponyville won’t be utterly destroyed.

In a rash move, she found her escape. She closed her eyes, flapped her wings at full pelt and held her hoof out in front of her face. She headed straight for one of the stained glass windows...

The window shattered with a clash, colourful but equally sharp glass shards flew out into the open air before they descended below. Flying straight through the stained glass window, the pegasus hissed in pain as glass shards penetrated her body. One such shard had stabbed her directly under her eye, drawing blood around her eye. Slight blood trickled from her deadening wound, it was painful but not unbearable. For a brief moment she lost the wind under her wings as she bursts through.

“Whoa,” she said in panic and quickly extended her wings to catch the wind again. She brushed her face off of any glass and zoomed off away from the castle with all six Elements on her, leaving the chuckling Discord behind. The devious Discord always has a plan somewhere, so why did he just let her go? Discord never made any sense, perhaps he was just toying with he and not causing trouble just so he can escape later. For now she had given him the slip. She had done it. It was still up to her, she had to continue onwards. She gained the wind under her wings once more and threw a glance over to the south. The smoke that curled up from Ponyville could be seen for miles around.

Ponyville was burning.

Ponyville was once a small beautiful and fruitful land beloved by its inhabitants. Now it was a battlefield for the enemies of harmony and the six best friends that tried to defeat them...

Rarity ran headstrong through the haze. Her charge shortened when she embarrassingly tripped over a stone and fell down into a makeshift hole.

“Ewww. Why did it have to be dirt?” Rarity brushed herself off. It was increasingly obvious that this was the work of the Diamond Dogs leaders. Amidst the chaos, they had used their expertise and hurriedly dug a series of tunnels mixed with stone. But why? What was underneath Ponyville? Rarity decided to follow the tunnels, she took utmost care not to trot in any muddy puddles or brush up against the dirty tunnel walls.

“Hurry, hurry, we must finds it,” Spot said and could be heard snickering in the tunnels below. Rarity never thought she would have to face such beasts again. When ponynapped by these creatures she remembered being kept as a slave to dig and carry gemstones about their crafty tunnels. They were unintelligent enough, perhaps she could outsmart them again. Although surely they wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice?

Her entrance was both flawless and silent. The Diamond Dogs had discovered a crystal cavern beneath Ponyville. The Dogs hadn’t noticed her, even with their acute hearing. Preoccupied, they dug at the far end of the cavern wall. Nopony knew why these creatures dug for such gems, perhaps they ate them as dragons did, or perhaps they were too unintelligent to know their true purpose. All along the cavern wall were many loose crystals which glittered. Rarity – blinded by their beauty – immediately fell in love with them as they reflected in the whites of her eyes. But something else caught the white unicorns’ eye...

Fluttershy had been captured and tied to a minecart. Those monsters had captured Fluttershy. She had already been injured from Dark Plague’s attack. Now her wound had reopened as the tight iron shackles around her hooves. Rarity thought her pain must simply be unbearable. Fluttershy panted irregularly while she pulled the mine cart with her head hung low.

Rarity looked at her friend and then back at the gorgeous... beautiful... gemsto— No! In that instance she made the decision that Fluttershy was more important than a load of inanimate gems. Using the element of generosity Rarity decided to give the Dogs what they want. She hastily casted a weak magic spell to loosen all the crystals. The crystal silently popped out of the wall behind the dogs, and Rarity levitated several of them behind them. As soon as they stepped back...

“Ow, ow, owwie,” the Diamond Dogs groaned and waved their arms. Several of the crystals had spiked their back paws. Another crystal relentlessly struck them upon the noggin’. They tried to fling them away while at the same time they held their heads in pain. While hidden behind a large boulder, Rarity flung the crystals out of the cavern and up the tunnel passage. The Diamond Dogs in their greed chased after them, in their unintelligence failed to realise they had just left their prisoner unattended.

“Ha, take that you ruffians!” Rarity shouted triumphantly out of earshot of the pursuing dogs.

As the Diamond Dogs ran off with a snarl and signalled for the other guards to follow them out. They whimpered loudly as they chased after the gemstones through the tunnels. In their panic to chase their stolen goods, Fido kicked over one of the wooden beams which held up the makeshift cave in vengeance. The piece of wood leaned and fell to hit the next like a lane of dominoes. It triggered a chain reaction across the entire tunnel.

The ground shook violently underhoof. The whole cave rumbled and it collapsed around them. Huge piles of dirt descend from above, the wooden beams snapped under the pressure to send splinters in all directions. Rarity ran across the cavern and avoided the boulders of rock which crashed down from above. She lost her balance several times as she rushed to her friends’ aid.

“Oh Rarity you saved... me?” Fluttershy spoke softly; she nearly believed Rarity was going to choose the gorgeous gemstones over herself.

“Of course I did, you’re my best friend. No amount of gems can come close to our friendship. Now stand back!” the chain snapped with a magical explosion that echoed endlessly across the dirt-filled tunnels. Rarity unclipped her friend from the burnt iron shackles. Then the two friends made a mad dash toward the escape of the grimy tunnels. Were they going to make it? Explosions of dust threw up into their faces making it impossible to run. Even with the painful dust in the corners of their eyes they kept going. Their scalps pricked with the sweat of fear, it always came when they had to run. Run for their lives. They gasped for breath as the cave walls enclosed on all sides. It wasn't that much further—

Their lungs filled by the cool night air just as they dived on the ground. The cave collapsed behind them and exploded dust thirty feet into the air. The cavern had enclosed and sealed the crystals away in a wisp of smoke and rubble.

Twilight ran across the burning streets and old alleyways. Her ears continued to pick up on the panicked screams and sounds of destruction. It’s only then she encountered a blue-coloured unicorn pony. She wore a pointed hat dotted with gold n’ silver stars and a cape to match...

“Trixie? What are you doing here?” Twilight said flabbergasted by the sudden encounter.

“Ah Twilight, you’ve remembered my face as I suspected you would. Trixie has come to amaze ponies with my splendorous magic. I assure you, this is no jest, I have improved much since we last met, such is the way of the great and powerful Trixie!” Trixie snapped with a confident grin. She held her head up high because she was above the simple commoners.

Twilight rolled her eyes.

Trixie’s horn soon flashed aquamarine and absorbed arcane energies. When enough energy built she flicked her horn forward. An orb of magic zoomed forward at Twilight, she dived out of the way and landed into the dirt. The magic orb zapped overhead and exploded into fireworks and firecrackers. The magic completely destroyed a nearby market stall, the wood torn asunder.

“You are ignorant to challenge my magical ability,” Trixie said snidely.

Twilight got up on all four hooves, and grunted in disgust. Trixie was really trying to harm her. Was this the day she took takes Trixie seriously? She wasted no time and retaliated by casting a seemingly harmless anthropomorphic spell. The felt the magic flow through her and used it to make a simple rope nearby come alive. The rope acted independently but adhered to her every command as it silently and tightly coiled itself around Trixie. She didn’t want to harm Trixie.

Trixie struggled enough to break the rope off her...

“You will have to try better than that to stop the great and all powerful Trixie," she said and discarded the rope as the two rivals encircled each other.

“Why are you doing this Trixie, I thought we had a truce?” Twilight said with a hint of confusion.

“Try object humiliation,” Trixie snarled in reply. Was the Ursa Minor incident something Trixie had yet to forgive and forget?

It’s at that moment Twilight saw that Trixie’s eyes were green. Certainly not their natural colour. Could she be a changeling in disguise? Even if she was a changeling they wouldn't be an egomaniac like her.

“No. Trixie will salvage her career. For this day, will be known as the day I vanquished Twilight Sparkle. I will be the greatest equine that ev—”

Heat consumed their faces. A sudden explosion blasted through a nearby cottage and swept both ponies off her hooves. Trixie became engulthed in fire which burnt her fur; her hat was flown from her head revealing her white mane and horn. Her body swirled through the air and her unresponsive limbs crunched as she collided with the ground face first. The cottage which exploded now creaked above her; it loomed above her ready to crush her motionless body.

Half of Twilight's face was burnt, her fur black and bruised by the tearing explosion. In a torrent of pain she pointed her horn down to cast a spell, as her horn glowed bright the spell continued to grow in power. She used her magic hold the entire house up. Splinters and slabs of wood fell around Twilight. She gritted her teeth, sweat dropping from her brow.

“Get out... of the... way...” Twilight groaned behind her gritting teeth. Indubiously concentrating. Trixie lifted up her aching head her eyes see Twilight fighting to save her life. With a loud yelp Trixie dived out of the way just as Twilight’s magic failed and the house fell collapsing into a heap between them. Ruined furniture and other debris spat out from the house and spilt out from the wreckage amongst other parts. Now it was only a heap of wooden rubble and destruction filled with pointed and jagged wooden planks.

On one side, all Trixie could see were a series of blurs, her eyes had gone from brilliant green back to their usual violet colour. It was like waking from a dream, made evident by her sudden realisation of the chaos around her. Trixie stopped still, the shock from the collapsing house must have snapped her into reality.

“Where am I? What is—” She said and glanced down at her shaking hooves and wondered how much pain she could’ve caused; she placed them down and propped herself up.

“T-this... d-doesn't count towards anything... I was possessed. You haven’t seen t-the last of Trixie,” she said while spinning around in a daze. Her defeat had done nothing to quell her gloating. Her hooves wobbled as she gradually recalled all that had happened in the past few hours. Covered and in scratches and scars and paralyzed in pain, her head throbbed. She picked up her hat of silver and gold stars and planted it firmly on her head with a slight twist. With one final quick flick of her horn, she summoned a smokescreen and fled in desperation and possibly... regret.

On the other side of the wrecked cottage Twilight coughed as she inhaled the black smoke that layered Ponyville with dread. Worn from using so much magic. She had just saved Trixie life and that's the thanks she got? Then again if the cottage hadn’t exploded she would’ve had to fight. She whimpered under her breath, it was over now. She limped forward and glanced skyward. Whether it be day or night, she couldn't tell as the smoke had layered the town in a haze so strong the sky itself could no longer be seen. As she glanced skyward the rain slowed, the last few gentle droplets splashed her face.

She muttered into the air with great concern...

“Where are you Rainbow Dash?”

“C’mon you... and you, get some!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she threw a series of colourful cupcakes through the air at a pack of Timberwolves on the prowl. She was stood defending Sugarcube Corner, or at least she was trying. With an arm of hoarded cupcakes she flung them at the Timberwolves in aid of trying to stop them. It was such a waste of perfectly baked cupcakes: the cup of flour, the teaspoon of vanilla... all the ingredients only served to anger the wolves as the treats exploded on their bark-like skin. They were unharmed.

But it’s too no wonder how these creatures remained in the Everfree Forest unseen for all these years. Their skin blends in with the trees, their eyebrows which looked like leaves lower as the beasts all scowled. With hungry grins their yellowish eyes gleamed in the dark haze. Slowly the wolves turned to face her and growled as they were completely covered in sponge and icing...

“Uh oh. Mr and Mrs. Cake, I’m out of ammo. We need more cupcaaaakes!” Pinkie shouted and hoped those hiding inside would help. She bashed on the door to Sugarcube Corner but to no avail. The Timberwolves darted upon their paws, ready to feed. Pinkie Pie screamed and flung herself down the streets. The haze of ash across the entire town inpeded her eyesight, but Pinkie Pie had little concern in the direction she ran when galloping for her life. Her hooves shook when backed into a shadowed alley where a lamp-post above flickered with broken light. The wolves had cleverly hounded her right down into an alley. She turned and slowly stepped backwards, the darkness did nothing to quell her fear. The Timberwolves slowly and tauntingly padded around the corner with drool that dangled from their mouths. Their bark-like skin creaked as the flickering flames fell upon it. Pinkie backed away until her back met with the wall. She was about to be eaten alive.

Pinkie Pie twitched, then shook and wobbled like jelly. Her pinkie sense was tingling.

“Ah... twitchy tail, twitchy tail! Twitcha-twitch!” Pinkie gasped loudly, what does twitchy tail mean again?

Her ears flopped down, her eyes widened. She looked up at the thunderous roaring sky and thought: was this it? All those many things she never got to do, she never even got to see Pound and Pumpkin cake grow up. Pinkie Pie hastily braced herself to be eaten and covered her face with her pink hoof.

The Timberwolves dived forward with their mouths gaped open. Then a hefty chunk of rubble broke off from a nearby cottage above. The rubble landed directly on top of Timberwolves and crushed them in a tremendous puff of smoke and eruption of noise.

Pinkie Pie coughed then opened her eyes with a chirpy smile.

“Ooohh, that’s right, twitchy tail means stuff’s going to start falling. Just a twitch here and there and it should come all truie-dewie!” Pinkie Pie innocent giggled and bounced out of the alleyway. She had survived another encounter because her pinkie sense never failed.

With a trusty lasso within her mouth, Applejack charged through the streets of Ponyville. Her eyes sparkled as she chased after a group of Timberwolves which in turn, hungrily chased an innocent filly.

“Hey!” Applejack shouted and spat the lasso by her side with a smirk. “Why don’t y'all pick on somepony yer own size?” The wolves ears all pricked upward as they turn in attention towards the earth pony. Applejack stood bravely against the group of ten Timberwolves. She had rounded up hundreds of animals before; surely these wolves were no different.

“Granny Smith might be scared of ya’. But am’ not." Applejack suddenly grabbed the lasso in her mouth and swung it around. The Timberwolves rushed toward her, their open mouths revealed their sharp teeth. They jumped forwards towards Applejack. She fearlessly slid out of the way and into the dirt. She had avoided the wolves. She quickly picked herself up, swung the lasso ‘round and flung it out. It skillfully wrapped around the beasts. Then it was a simple case of tugging on the rope hard enough to drag both the lasso and the beasts together.

“Yee-haw— uh oh,” Applejack said. She was too soon to celebrate as the Timberwolves were hardly fazed and gnarled at the lasso. Applejack knew if they escaped, Ponyville would be put in peril again. Applejack quickly stomped her hooves and raged like a bull and charges towards the group and rolled them like a ball through Ponyville until they descend down a steep hill. They rolled right out of Ponyville like a wrecking ball with a final defeated yelp.

“An’ don’t come back,” She cheered—

“Goooo Applejack!” a gleeful pony said and jumped up from nowhere.

“Cricket’s an’ jam, Pinkie Pie! Where’d you come from?” Applejack said as she jumped off her hooves, fur on edge.

“I came from my mother and father, who came from their mother and father, oh... who came from their mother and father!” Pinkie Pie went on indefinitely.

“That’s not what ah meant...” Applejack rolled her eyes.

“Roll-up... roll-up everypony for your doom!” Flam said in a sales pony tone of voice. He twitched his moustache and ran a spare hoof through his moderate red hair. The brothers were snakes whom tricked and conned money from the heartfelt ponies of Equestria. They were the epitome of satire. Flim and Flam rode on the top of the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, leisurely hung on by one hoof each. The brothers were nearly identical except for their bacon hair and the fact one had a moustache.

Their iron monster, clad in crimson armour, had a pointed plow attached to the front, forged from a single piece of corrugated iron as opposed to weaker versions where the blade and shank may only be wielded together. Once used to harvest in farms the plow now protected the vehicle from frontal attacks.

Ponies hid anywhere they could when the vehicle rolled past, taking upmost care not to fall into the brothers line of sight.

“Come and take a sneak-peak at some of our delectable cider bombs young fillies’ nonpareil,” Flim said, his eyes flashed greener than usual. Their automated contraption modified to create sordid cider bombs with each one encased in a plastic wrap. Six golden funnels modified to fit on the side of the machine shot out the bombs.

As their vehicle gently strolled through into a large open field covered in muddy puddles from the torrents of rain, Flim noticed a pony that had ran them out of Ponyville before: Applejack. She was stood joint in the distance with Pinkie Pie. Flim grinned deviously and lined up one of the trumpet extensions of the machine. He pointed it towards the nearby Applejack. The machine fired with a bang.

“Uff,” Applejack groaned in pain. She was unexpectedly knocked off her hooves as the bomb exploded on her. She tumbled across the ground and her limbs flailed. She splashed into a muddy puddle. Applejack held her hooves out to either side, they dripped with mud, covered in the rancid smelling sticky cider. The bombs themselves were harmless other than their velocity, though that didn't stop them from destroying the homes that everypony had worked so hard to establish.

“Well gosh darn it, that does it!” Applejack uttered, her words gritted from betwixt her teeth. She picked up her hat out of the mud and planted it firmly upon her head with a determined face. She never thought she’d have to face these crooks again. She turned to face her old rivals just as a familiar voice pierced the air.

“Pinkie Pie, Applejack, we need to work together,” Rarity quickly called alongside with Fluttershy who cowered by her side. Relieved to see her friends alive the four friends charged toward each other across the field. Rarity took extra care to avoid the mud puddles that covered the field as she ran. The ponies were in near touching distance until a huge explosion erupted between them, it made every pony screech to a halt.

“Let’s show these ponies the true power of the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.” The Flim Flam brothers said in unity. The four friends stood defensively ready for a fight. The vehicle slowly and threateningly turned in their direction, like a creature circling to face its prey.

Flim and Flam pointed their hooves forward in sync, the machine fired.

Each shot sounded akin to cannon fire as the assortment of bombs fired towards the four friends. They ducked, dodged and dived out of the way of the barrage of bombs. Each cider bomb exploded into soggy musk upon impact much to the dismay of everypony, especially Rarity. The four friends dived behind some barrels for cover in a dark alleyway...

“Good grief what is that infernal stench,” Rarity rambled and then realised it was Applejack who was still completely covered in sticky cider. “Oh... sorry.”

“Well y’all, what now? We ain’ safe ‘ere,” Applejack said, everypony knew hiding behind them wouldn’t provide much more shelter for long. "Flim and Flam are obviously back to their old business of running ponies and families out of Ponyville," Applejack said with a peak over a barrel. Why are they drawing ponies out of Ponyville? Applejack thought.

Pinkie Pie's eye gleamed with an idea when she noticed a discarded old skateboard that lay in the midst of the alleyway.

“I know, I know!” Pinkie Pie said and gleamed with ideas, she craftily glanced over the brownish barrels with her eyebrows down. She glanced side to side, before she sneakily planned something. The ponies then gathered together slyly as Pinkie whispered to them her most insane plan yet.

“Go!” Pinkie Pie shouted and as the four friends dived from behind the barrels. A bomb shot straight through the barrels and shattered them into splinters, the hoop rivets of the barrels spin across the ground.

“Hey, o'er here ya big luggin's,” Applejack said in her most tentative tone of voice. She ran across the open field as another round of bombs were shot, each one exploded on the ground. Applejack stylishly out manoeuvres them she dashed from left to right as the bombs continued to fall.

Suddenly, Flam pulled out a bazooka wired into their vehicle. "Introducing... The Flim Flam Brothers Super Cider Shooter Slider 6000," he and before aiming it right at them.

“Well ain't that a mouthful,” Applejack replied and rolled her eyes.

Flam shot the bazooka which exploded with white smoke as bombs were shot from it. The device then slid back open to reload.

With the brothers distracted, Fluttershy silently flew over to the vehicle and descended gracefully from above. Scorching hot steam erupted from the top of the chimney connected to the machine.

“May I borrow this please?” Fluttershy quietly asked with a gentle smile. She shyly grabbed a nozzle and pulled it from the machine.

“Absolutely not!” Flim shouted in distaste. He wasn’t going to let these ponies defeat them again. The twin brothers climbed up to the top of their machine and tried to grab Fluttershy who hovers above.

“Oops. Too slow,” Fluttershy teased and flew out of reach.

Meanwhile the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 spun out of control. The wheels violently screeched across the grass and caused white plumes of smoke to rise up.

Then another sound of wheels ensued. Pinkie Pie, who had borrowed the striped skateboard she saw, rolled across the battlefield. A yellow helmet upon her head she was laid on her stomach with a determined face. She adroitly swerved through the steady barrage of bombs, she darted left and then right! The bomb exploded around her. She had timed it perfectly and she swivelled around to lay her back as the skateboard skillfully rolled to a halt underneath the vehicle.

“Right then! Just rearrange this, and pull this out, yes!” Pinkie Pie grumbled to herself she was quite the engineer and she gradually dismantled the vehicle removing the more important parts of the machine.

As Pinkie Pie discarded the metal shrapnel over her right shoulder. Rarity stood in defensive position. She was the last part of the plan and if she failed, they all failed. Her horn glowed with magical arcane energies that gathered around her horn.

“C’mon Rarity... you can do this...” she said to herself. She stood still and waited for a bomb to hurtle through the air. Aimed at her. Rarity took a deep breath, she was not a specially gifted unicorn like Twilight’s but nevertheless she conjured everything she had. The bomb came right in front of her face and then it came to a levitated halt. She had cast enough energy and grabbed the bomb in midair.

“Phew,” Rarity exhaled. She watched the liquid inside the bomb pulsating. The vehicle spun out of a control in the distance, she had to aim it precisely right. She fired... The bomb hurtled through the air, wedged inside one of the funnel extensions and blocked the nozzle.

All four of the friends leapt away from the machine as the cider bomb wedged in the funnel exploded inside the machine. Sordid liquid got caught in the machines mechanical guts. Sparks of electricity jolted through the machine as it wheezed faster and faster. The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy spitted and spat violently, the wheels of the machine then all collapsed to one side.

"Everypony get down!" Applejack shouted as she hit the deck. The machine was going to blow. Flim and Flam turned to look at each other worried.

“Well, we should take this opportunity... to ruuuun,” Flam suggested with a flair of panic as the two brothers dived from the machine.

A fiery explosion spread heat, everything on the machine burnt, the blast wave sent metal shrapnel that flung in all directions that pierced the flesh of its victims. Then everything went orange. The fire could be felt against their fur even from a distance away. Then, the deafening explosion rang in every ponies’ ears with painful noise. The smoldered smoking parts of the vehicle landed close by like small comets, they bounced steadily across the grass. The blast shook several residents’ homes. Now the smouldering fireball lit up the sky. Flames as high as two-hundred feet plumed into the air.

The golden Elements of Harmony were still dim and grey, their power had been lost. Each element encrusted with a different gemstones carefully attuned to the element type of its wielder. Rainbow Dash flew through the sky with all six artefacts placed upon her body. She felt strange when carrying the most powerful magic known to ponies all for herself. She couldn’t use them all. She was only her own. Rainbow Dash was on route to Ponyville, or what was left of it. A fair rainbow streamed behind her. She flew low underneath the storm clouds this time and even lower than the trees. She took heed not to make the same mistake. The rain had stopped in her absence but her goggles were still affixed firmly upon her eyes that glinted with anticipation. Nothing could stop her now as she followed the smoke trails back home. She descended down toward the town.

“Hey Dash,” a hoarse voice said and rang in her ears. A voice that was strongly arrogant. Rainbow Dash stopped in midair with a jolt and looked slowly over her shoulder to see Gilda the Griffon. The air went deathly still and silent as they encountered each other again.

“Gilda? What are you doing here?” Rainbow Dash said anxiously. Within a moment she put as much distance between her and her ex-friend as possible.

“Tsh, destroying loserville of course,” Gilda snidely replied, “so just stay outta our way.” Gilda pointed her sharp golden finger upon her ex-friends chest. The griffon felt like she owned the skies and she didn’t concern herself with the ponies she had hurt. Her thirst for vengeance was unquenchable.

“Knock it off Gilda! We were once friends.”

“Not anymore,” Gilda threatened, her anger was one of her more ambitious traits.

Rainbow Dash winced, it was just as she feared; any shred of their friendship that remained had being torn apart.

“You’re boring me to death already, so let’s liven up the skies,” Gilda said, reared-up and spread her massive wings outward. A lightning bolt struck behind the griffon making her seem more terrifying than ever.

Without a single word of regret she charged towards and bashed into Rainbow Dash. The griffons shoulder crunched into the ponies abdomen. Rainbow Dash plummeted through the air, her world spun around until she found the wind under wings and hovered. Now she had the higher ground. Could she fight a griffon nearly twice her own size? Perhaps it’s not the physical size she was really worried about, but the emotional conflict of fighting her ex-friend. How could they have been so many moments — which warmed their hearts as friends — for them to end up like this? All those moments of happiness now fleet from her heart. She couldn’t, no... she didn’t want to fight. Perhaps she had no choice.

A surge of lightning shot at the very moment the two rivals flew at eachother, one with hatred and the other with regret. They collided into each other and gripped to each others fur before they spiralled through the air. They flew skyward and into the black clouds. Gilda threw a punch but in their close proximity it was no use. So the griffon played dirty and heartlessly kicked Dash in the abdomen. The two figures separated. The kick had winded Dash and now. She shook off the pain and charged with a scream toward her enemy. The pegasus was quick, she could easily dodge the griffons blows. In mid-flight Dash turned before kicking Gilda right in the face with her back hooves. This time it was Gilda’s time to spiral through the air.

“I didn’t want to have to do that.”

“Liar!” Gilda shouted, turned and then disappeared into the black storm clouds.

Surrounded on all sides by the storm, Rainbow Dash watched carefully the clouds which pulsated with thunder. At any moment and from anywhere Gilda emerge. Griffons had perfect low-light vision, so she could see in the dark clouds. Rainbow Dash was now at a disadvantage.

“Just like you lied to me about our friendship—”

With a thunderous explosion Gilda flew into Rainbow Dash and crashed into her, crunching their bones with the blow from the massive griffon. The griffon disappeared into the clouds again...

“Just like you chose that lame-o ‘stinky pie’ over me—”

Another blow from the beyond clouds. This one much more merciless. Her skin had bruised and she was now covered in scuffs and scratches. With this blow, the Elements of Harmony slipped from her body, they slipped from her hooves and her head. They descend one by one and disappeared into the black clouds below.

Gilda growled like a feral beast and exploded out of a set of clouds. Her sharpened claws honed to kill. She swiped the claws at her ex-friend. Dashie’s ear perked up and she quickly ducked underneath the griffon swipe. She wanted to explain the truth: that she treated all her friends equally but she knew Gilda was too delusional in her rage. So instead Dash turned to fly downward through the canopy of clouds to try and catch the Element's that descended below.

“Almost... got... them...” The wind bashed against Rainbow Dash's face and fur. She stretched far. She had nearly reached the Elements until a golden claw grasped her tail and pulled her back through air. Rainbow Dash can only watch the magical artefacts fell even lower.

They came to a rest on a safe grey cloud. Here she breathed heavily and took a briefs moment respite. She stood nearly ready to collapse. Gilda looked unharmed but both of them panted heavily as the standoff continued. They saw the hate that burnt in their eyes. One question remained, could either one slay the other?

Rainbow Dash snapped the goggles from her face and threw them to one side. Gilda roared loudly and stood up on her hind legs lifting herself upward. A huge lightning bolt erupted behind her as she does. She smashed her front paws down but Dash rolled to one side. All the more time Dash was here the Elements were falling further and Ponyville remained in dire peril. It had to be now.

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes. She remembered all she learned from flight camp...

Then she grabbed Gilda ‘round the stomach to make the griffon choke. Dash then flew them both higher and higher. They exploded up beyond the canopy of thunderous clouds. Gilda struggled, but she had the perfect grip upon her ex-friend.

They flew beyond the sky. Until they were straddling the stratosphere and arrived into the boundless space above.

The air was empty and silence consumed all. The temperature plummeted to freezing. Rainbow Dash let go of Gilda and they floated weightlessly away. Her eyes pried open. Equestria in all its might was laid out before her. A truly beautiful sight especially since the sun was setting; its bathing light glistened upon the world. It was peaceful. Much different to actual flight, for even in flight you still felt the weight of your limbs. The air was cold and thin, thin enough to become unconscious, but she held. There was just enough air to hover, and just enough to barely breath. The cold embrace of space filled her lungs with each breath, it chilled her innards. When her mind adapted to the orientation and lack of gravity, Dash adjusted herself and revolved to face upright...

“Well... that was... pointless,” Gilda said, her voice was muffled. The stratosphere was less dense and made sounds propagate less, mainly from the lack of particles and water vapour in the air.

“You’re so consumed with looking cool that you forgot one thing Gilda. You should have learnt this in junior speeders flight camp: Griffons can’t fly this high up,” Rainbow Dash said and pointed a hoof upward.

Gilda’s eyes suddenly widened as she tried to flap her enormous wings, but to no avail. She descended in the air, back to Equestria. The air was too thin for the massive girth of her wings. The larger the wingspan, the more air needed to fly.

“No! Dash, help me...” Gilda slowly descended, she desperately tried to catch the air under wing and desperately begged for help, but there was none. Rainbow Dash turned away, she wasn’t going to help. The more Gilda descended the more gravity pulled her down, until she was caught in its grip. Surely the uncontrollability and speed of the fall would kill her.

The arrogance faded in Gilda and for the first time she felt true fear. She felt it burning in her chest even in the cold embrace of space. It was in that one moment she realised the folly of her actions.

Then she lost control...

“Ahhhhhhh!” Her scream was loud. Unable to get her wings to hover on the thin air she spiralled downward. Her limbs flailed violently as did her wings. She disappeared into the canopy of the black thunderous clouds. The clouds erupted in a flurry of dangerous lightning and thunderous explosions. Gilda’s skeleton appeared as a silhouette in the blackness of the clouds. She was getting fatefully shocked with thousands of life threatening volts...

Rainbow Dash couldn’t look. Her smile slowly died and despair ached in her heart. That was the end of Gilda the Griffon. All those heartfelt feelings, the pranks, the flight camp were now all just old memories. But even after everything the griffon had gone.

She still felt sad... she still forgave her.

“The Elements!” Rainbow Dash shouted with a gasp as she suddenly remembered them! She hastily turned downwards; she dived down to chase the artefacts. Her hooves out in front of her, she pushed the limits of speed and acceleration. Surely they must have reached the ground by now and they could be smashed to pieces or utterly destroyed. She burst through the storm clouds and spotted the Elements of Harmony, they were still falling! The jet stream of wind blew against her face; her eyes squinted to protect themselves. Got them! She grabbed all six Element's in one fell swoop and swivelled around on her back as she does. She cradled the Elements as their importance came first, but instead of flying, she was now falling backwards. She gritted her teeth for impact.

An explosive shockwave erupted outwards and the ground shuddered as she crashed straight into the ground. With a flash of light, a rainbow nuke exploded outward into a mushroom cloud. The dazzling display of colour and power erupted. It wasn't unbearably hot, the rainbow was mildly warm, like a soft embrace. That did nothing for the surrounding were a however which was now littered with a giant smouldering crater.

“Uargh...” Rainbow Dash groaned and emerged from the smoking crater, grateful to be alive. Covered in bruises, scuffs and scrapes, she rolled out of the crater. Her loyalty knew no bounds. The Elements of Harmony were safe.

Dark Plague's eyes narrowed, encircled by a row of angry voices stood in a clearing on the outskirts of Ponyville.

"You all wanted revenge... didn't you?" Dark Plague said and looked in fear, threatened by their angry voices.

“No, you’re wrong. We never wanted to harm anypony and we never did until you came along. You manipulated us, possessed us and coaxed us into committing crimes,” Flim fretted. The explosion of the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy had covered both the brothers in bruises.

“Any damage we caused was against out own actions. We still follow Celestia’s own law. You promised we could make Ponyville into the biggest apple orchard in Equestria,” Flam said with a hoof stomp. The twins too had been possessed however nopony had noticed as the brothers already have green eyes.

“How dare you make the great and powerful Trixie do something against her will. To think I was nearly bested by a group of those hideous Timberwolves you released,” Trixie said.

“This is what you wants not what we wants. We wants crystals, not this. Cruel pony hurts us. Cruel pony lies to us,” Spot said with an angry glare. He was stood alongside the other Diamond Dog leaders, Rover and Spot. Suddenly Spot lashed out at the unicorn and scratched her right across the nose. Dark Plague snarled and moved her head away... when she looked up again clear red blood trickled down her nose.

“See... she bleeds as we do. If we stand together we can beats her.” Spot stepped forward.

“You really shouldn’t have done that...” Dark Plague said and scrunched up her nose from the pain. Twilight and her friends had defeated everyone she had amassed. She had failed... but only because they could not fulfil their duties.

“You’re all useless!” Dark Plague shouted and silenced all the protests. Her horn glowed with green arcane energies. She flicked her horn upward. The six that surrounded her suddenly levitated into the air simultaneously, each one of them glowed with a green aura. The magic left them floating in the air weightlessly.

"Arrrghh," Dark Plague screamed as she struggled to maintain them all in the air. Several drops of sweat slivered down her forehead.

"Put us down... you monster!" Flam retorted.

“What were any of you... b-before I came along? You have hurt ponies, yes, but this was n-never about revenge nor was it about harming anypony. This whole charade was about unearthing the ultimate darkness which lies beneath Ponyville... and you all failed.” Her green magic curled like a slippery snake and wrapped around each of their necks.
Dark Plague then let them go, to relieve herself of the struggle.

Each of their bodies fell got caught on the taut lasso's of magic. Their bodies grew tense, strangled by the green magic pulled taut around their frail necks. Their choked and gasped for breath. The Flim Flam brother’s flailed their hooves, the Diamond Dogs snarled as flem rose up in their mouths, Trixie held her neck trying desperately to pry the magic free. Their breath left their lungs until their muffled protests quietened. Their eyes were bloodshot with red as oxygen and blood was cut from their upper bodies.

Murderous intent in her eyes. Dark Plague glared as she watched every groan of pain and watched every sign of life fade from their bodies... she watched them carefully until they struggled no more.

For a brief moment they hang by their necks. Their bodies motionlessly swung...

Dark Plague’s head pounded. She felt... compassion? Until now she had only felt anger. Turmoiled with inner conflict she held her throbbing head. This wasn’t the first time this had happened. Her entire demeanour changed in that instant and she looked up to see the abstract of her anger through the horror of her own eyes.

Their bodies surrounded her, hung by their necks.

She quickly cancelled her own magic with a quick shake of her horn and immediately released them. As each victim fell to the ground they rolled on the floor motionlessly. None of them got back up, not Trixie, nor the Diamond Dogs, nor even Flim & Flam. Am I a murderer? She thought.

Then, they gasped for breath. Each one greedily guzzled the fresh equestrian air then only to choke once more from the suddenly inhalation. With no strength to raise their legs, they crawled along the floor. Their necks marked with choke bruises and their bodies bruised and bloodied. Nevertheless the mental scars were far worse than the physical. It took several moments for them all to recover from their asphyxiation.

"No... it is you who has failed," Rover said between the guzzles of breath.

“I... I...” Dark Plague stammered. Her heart ached with pain and hate billowed for herself and her own master.

“W-who are you working for?” Trixie snapped. “If it’s not any of us, and it’s not Discord, then it could only be... that grey fur... that green gleam in your eyes.”

She staggered forward. “I... can assure you all. I work for a ‘him’, not a ‘her’. Now, all of you... to the four corners of Equestria.” The magic lingered into a copious green mist. Each victim glowed with green magic once more. This magic was warmer and more delicate as opposed to the magic that nearly killed them before. After a few moments to build strength the teleportation spell unleashed itself. Green magic disposed of the enemies of harmony. With a quick flash their bodies vanish, all of them teleported athwart the furthest reaches of Equestria.

Ponyville had survived another vicious attack, the streets were no longer a battlefield... however the town had lost its luster. Things once beautiful now crumbled. Blocked by rubble, many of the streets were now inaccessible. Many cottages destroyed completely and those left to stand now creaked and crumbled.

Those injured were now under the care of Nurse Redheart in the hospital on the outskirts of town, which has now become a temporary shelter for those whom have lost their homes.

"Ohh... what would Nurse Sweetheart do if she were still here?" Nurse Redheart mumbled as she darted across the hospital, she tended to numerous injured ponies. Everypony hoping to be protected within the hospital walls. Each group of ponies inside the hospital cradled their families and their friends as they were all tallied for attendance.

The centre of Ponyville was now deserted. In front of the library Twilight and her friends gathered. After all their various ordeals, their bodies riddled with cuts and their eyebrows furrowed in pain. But despite their worst fears, they were all still alive.

“All the injured have safely made it to Nurse Redheart,” sweat covered Pinkie’s brow as she reported in with an army salute.

“And the Elements?” Twilight asked with worry.

“Right here,” Rainbow Dash replied and brushed through the others with all six Elements intact. She proceeded to dish out the artefacts. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. The Elements made her feel safe. Perhaps now she could relax...

“How quaint. My own personal send-off,” a voice said piercing the air. Everypony drew their attention skyward. Dark Plague levitated down to join them. Her mane was messy, pale and sickly from the preceded battles. The cut across her nose from the Diamond Dog had done nothing to heighten her facial appearance.

With her arrival. Everypony stood defensively and glanced anxiously amongst each other. The Elements of Harmony were tightly held with their hooves.

“You have made yourselves more than a match for the enemies of harmony. But I cannot let you stop me!” Dark Plague shouted with a menacing grin, her scarred nose scrunched up once more. She didn’t hesitate for a moment, she used her horn with a simple flick. The surrounding area exploded into flairs of green magic, each bolt of magic struck at the ground around all six fillies. The magic built until – with a flair of light and eruption of sound – the lightning struck all six fillies simultaneously and flung them off their hooves. Their bodies cascaded across the ground. The Elements scattered, they clanged against the grass and bounced slightly before coming to a rest in the mud, separated from their counterparts.

“Without the Elements of Harmony you are useless. You are nothing without them!” Dark Plagues hissed as the lightning subsided. But she was in pain, her hooves visibility tensed. She tried desperately to not let the pain show. But her demeanour gave it away.

"It's all about the Elements with you. At first I wondered what you had against us using them... but now I understand," Twilight said. As everypony laid vulnerable on the ground she stood up, with wobbly hooves, and faced Dark Plague. "Not only are you made from our badness. But you have a connection with us also... each time we use the Elements of Harmony you feel that, don't you? It hurts you."

Dark Plague hissed.

"That's why you leaded us away from Ponyville to destroy it. That is why you never once struck us down when you had the chance. Because we're connected to the Elements... you share our pain," Twilight said.

Dark Plague could not deny it, Twilight was right. "You want pain, Twilight? I’ll show you pain," Dark Plague said as flick of green magic then enfolded around Twilight. It grabbed her and immobilised her. The magic entered her body through her eyes and nose.

“A-a-ahhhh!” Twilight growled in agony. Her head falls low, her teeth gritted from the pain, her body grows tense. The magic flowed inside her and burnt as it did. It flared up from her body like thin waves of flame. It was i if her very life force was being drained from the inside. Everypony propped themselves up only to be greeted by the frightening screams of Twilight.

Dark Plague also shared in Twilight’s pain. Both ponies grovelled in excruciating sharp pain.

“Make any move and Twilight Sparkle d-dies!” Dark Plague addressed the other friends, she tried to keep the agony from her voice, tried to keep weakness from showing.... but show it did. Dark Plague was having trouble containing this amount of magic and pain at the same time. The sheer amount brought sweat to the unicorns brow.

“Let her go you big meany," Pinkie Pie said, she edged her way forward in hopes of freeing Twilight.

“Are you willing to risk it? Are you willing to risk your friend’s life?” Dark Plague’s horn maliciously glowed even brighter. Deep inside Dark Plague knew if she killed Twilight, part of her would die as well. But she would never show them that, even if it meant harming herself, she still had five others keeping her alive. Murderous intent gleamed in her emerald eyes and showed the others that she wasn't bluffing, one flick from her horn could do it...

“She’s killing her!” Rarity shouted in distress, the fillies watched distressed as magic flowing inside Twilight caused her harm. They wished they could gallop forward to save her, but they can only stand. They hoped it would Dark Plague who buckled under the pain first. But they were powerless to do anything without risking Twilight's life.

Twilight remained standing but with her head hung low. Her mind filled with thoughts of failure, failure to stop Dark Plague, failure, to impress Princess Celestia, to the find the answers. What really mattered was the protection of Ponyville, she could die knowing she helped save her home, one last time.

Then Twilight's melancholy faded. This can’t be the end. Happy memories of herself and her friends, Princess Celestia and Spike filled her with renewed hope. If she could just withstand the pain a little more...

"Let her go, Greymare!" Rainbow Dash called out above all over noise.

Dark Plague's ears pricked up, her eyes softened. "How do you know that name?" she said vulnerably. Her magic weakened as she turned her head to face Rainbow Dash, distracted and haunted by her true name.

Suddenly a beam of Twilight's magic surpassed that of Dark Plague’s with a flash and a spark. Dark Plague somersaulted through the air and into the dirt with a crash. “G-guess I’m... not as strong as I thought,” Dark Plague said with a whimper.

But Dark Plague's green magic was still inside Twilight. “N-no...!” Twilight gritted her voice from betwixt her teeth. She wasn’t going to let it end like this. Twilight raised her head. The green magic could be seen flowing like snakes through her arteries and her skull — lit up like neon — could be seen underneath her fur and skin. Twilight remembered: she was the element of magic. She was stronger than this. Her magic grabbed the Elements of Harmony from the mud and levitated them to each of her friends who caught them. The element of magic levitated upon Twilight’s head and filled her with warm magic. The green magic released itself from Twilight’s body, her head was thrown backwards, her body shook with a shudder as the magic snaked out of her eyes and nose.

She was not uninjured from the ordeal either, her fur was singed, a burst blood vessel colours her left eye completely red. She could still feel a burning sensation inside her very veins.

"Discord told me you're really the Greymare," Rainbow Dash said as everypony surrounded Dark Plague.

Dark Plague stewed in the mud she looked up at them with a hint of jealousy. "I gave myself the name Dark Plague... it was my chance of being normal in Equestria, because let's face it... I'm not."

"But you can... you just have to choose to be," Twilight said as she limped forward.

“This is your last chance, Dark Plague. It doesn’t have to be like this. You're all of us put together, right? But what is stopping you from just walking away? Why do all this?"

"All I ever wanted... was a purpose," Dark Plague said in the mud.

Twilight looked at Dark Plague's flank... it was empty, the same as she saw in the ruined castle in the Everfree Forest. Twilight’s eyes softened when she said, "I understand now."

The thought had occurred to Twilight that Dark Plague could infact be Queen Chrysalis, only younger and more inexperienced. However they were two major flaws in her theory. First, Dark Plague had to be a changeling, and second, it was only possible if she added time travel to the equation. Her theory had yet to be proven wrong...

"I understand," Twilight repeated, "your master is just using you for your powers. So just stop, just think: 'what do you want?'”

I'm just being used? Dark Plague thought and staggered backwards. Was she alone in the magnitude of her spite? She had been using others to do her bidding but yet she was the one being used all along. She wasn’t big, or strong, she was just been used. She stood up out of the mud and looked at the surrounding ponies. She was them. Even some their flaws broke through into her personality: Applejack and her willingness to uphold her self-pride. Twilight Sparkle’s sense of failure, she had a sense of insanity from Pinkie Pie. The sense of perfection at any cost came from Rarity, Dark Plague even avoided the mud. The sense of fear from Fluttershy came through when Dark Plague felt fear from the pain. Lastly, she had the foolishness of Rainbow Dash, just like when Rainbow flew into a thunderstorm unprotected, Dark Plague was foolish enough to act before she thought things through.

Yet their eyes were so kind, unlike hers. They stared at her with concern rather than disgust or fear. They cared so much for their little town, and so much more for each other.

"You'll... just let me go? After all I've done?" Dark Plague said, now she questioned her own purpose. Inner conflict billowed inside her once again.

"You can't be serious. She ponynapped Applejack, attacked Fluttershy and destroyed Ponyville," Rainbow Dash complained.

"You might dislike her. Yet everypony has the will to be good inside of them," Twilight replied. Only a truly forgiving pony would let such a treacherous one walk free. Twilight pitied this unicorn, even now, and that's because she understood.

“Dark Plague... or the Greymare... is a vessel filled with the will of another. I don't believe she's really like this. Imagine if you were a filly and you had only been filled with taught destruction... you would be the same. She's a blank flank and she follows her master blindly because she wants to find her cutie mark, all she wants to do is to have a purpose. To fit in. But Dark Plague... you can fit in, you can make your own purpose other than that of destruction and hatred."

Dark Plague ignored them, instead she stood frozen. She thinks independently, possibly for the first time since her inception. All she has known in her short life was violence. All she has known was to follow orders. Infact she knew little about Equestria in its entirety. Now she could actually find her cutie mark. She could be free.

"I want freedo— AARGH!" Dark Plague abruptly growled in pain. A magical halo appeared around her head and shocked her head with bolts of lightning. For a brief second she felt true happiness. But now she held her temples in pain and her ears rang with a high pitched sound.

"I don't want this anymore!" Dark Plague screamed into the air. "I will not be used any longer!" Dark Plague screamed into the air. Dark Plague struggled as her absent master tightened his grip upon her.

"You can fight it. Just let go..." Twilight said. She looked around, but could see no sign of anypony trying to control her. Instead, Twilight had one last attempt are trying to save the unicorn: "I know it feels like you're not real, that you're just an extension of us. But you have thoughts and feelings and... compassion. You don't have to be this, Dark Plague. You make your own purpose in life because you have free will, because you breathe and laugh and learn and because... you're alive!"

"ARRGH!" The shadow pony reeled in agony on the ground. She smashed her hooves against her head and held her temples as she screamed like a banshee. Her head felt like it would explode. As the pain subsided Dark Plague was winning her inner battle...

But then a grin crept its way upon her lips. Her nose scrunched up and hate harrowed inside her again. She made her final choice—

“I cannot join you... he won't allow it," Dark Plague whispered harshly. She harrowed in pain. She was unable to comprehend what true freedom was. "What purpose could I possibly have in a world such as this? I do not belong. Tell me... what other purposes are there?"

“We all have a purpose... and today we've learned that your friends will be there for you in your times of need...” Twilight said.

“They’ll help you if you’re hurt," Fluttershy said, her bandage finally fell from her wound, her element of kindness recharged itself.

“They’ll be there to catch you when you fall," Rainbow Dash said and remembered never to fly in a thunderstorm again. She was loyal to her friends through all adversity. Her lightning shaped element of loyalty shone brightly.

“To help find ye when you’re lost,” Applejack said and winked to those who saved her from the temple of the moon. Her element of honesty lit up orange.

“To show you that there’s no more value than friendship,” Rarity said and smiled over to Fluttershy. Rarity's element of generosity beamed with new energy.

“And to give you hope in times of hopelessness,” Pinkie Pie finished and remembered how she came up with a plan to defeat Flim and Flam. Her element of laughter exploded with a blue aura.

Finally – after all the others – the element of magic shone brighter than ever around Twilight's neck. The Elements of Harmony glowed as one and powered back to life, they lifted the six bearers into the air. Twilight’s eyes dilated to white as she filled with magical energies. Her friends levitated around her until they all shone together, engulfed in a warm white light.

Dark Plague winced at them, they had a purpose. Was that something she could have? No that it mattered anymore... She feared the fabled Elements of Harmony. She watched them as they glowed with a white aura. She couldn't believe they were the true wielders... she thought they didn't deserve that honour, but she was the reason they can use them. Now... they were going to be used against her. Dark Plague hated the irony of it all. The Elements of Harmony were not a force of destruction, but they could still easily turn her to stone or worse, banish her on the moon for a thousand years. She stood in a defensive position. She knew what came next: her destruction via the inevitable rainbow—

"Know this Twilight Sparkle. Although you may have helped me today and although it goes against my masters wishes telling you this,” she said and paused briefly. All went silent for a few moments.

“The gate will open... for you.”

The rainbow of light launched out of the Elements, aimed by Twilight. Twilight knew The Elements of Harmony were not a force of evil or destruction, so instead she was going to try and save Dark Plague... she was going to try and give Dark Plague freedom.

The rainbow twisted towards Dark Plague and wrapped itself around her until the outside world was a fleeting memory. She glanced skyward. Every second her anger grew, it burnt with an unnatural passion inside of her. She was a lonely but equally spiteful puppet who had failed to complete her plan. The rainbow gathered into a swirling tornado and consumed her at the centre. Blinded by the colours of the rainbow, the tornado enclosed around her. The walls got smaller and smaller until her body burst. It didn't hurt, rather, it was warm... was this Twilight? What she helping her?

Just when the last drop of happiness had faded from Dark Plague... everything went white.

The magic exploded with a loud pop of confetti and with a flash of intense light. When the brightness faded a gentle calm breath blew through the air. Its warmth parted the black clouds over Ponyville and disposed of the copious haze across the battlefield. This allowed the light to shine across the town. The battles had come to a close. It was over...

Each bearer of the Elements of Harmony came to gentle rest as their hooves met with the ground once more. All of them smiled at each other warmly. The magic faded from their bodies and the gemstones around their necks glowed softer. The Elements of Harmony had not only stopped the sin but their warm light had healed everypony as well. Their scuffs and bruises faded and their wounds closed. As always the Elements of Harmony made them feel rejuvenated.

“Ohhh! Look confetti!” Pinkie Pie cheered and happily bounced up and down around her friends. The confetti from the rainbow fell all around them as they celebrated their victory. Everypony shared a brief sense of a relief.

“I’m mighty glad yer okay, Twi’” Applejack said with a toothy smile upon her lips. She nuzzled her friend. A warm summer breeze brushed through their manes as the best friends came together to stand as one in front of the library.

Ponyville was saved. Dark Plague was gone.

Back to where it all started. The Canterlot royal chambers. The furnished halls were no longer empty but beamed with the happy faces of ponies. They chatted and conversed among themselves, ready for a celebration of harmony. Hosted by none other than Celestia herelf. The princess sat in the prominent throne, lost in thought. Surrounded by friends her deep loneliness no longer consumed her heart. Celestia had found the answer to her question: ‘What have I ever done, to justify my life’? She had her friends, she had her sister but most of all, harmony justified her life and she was the keeper of harmony. She vowed to protect the balance of Equestria until her dying breath. Satisfied with such an answer Celestia smiled, for without her the kingdom would've fallen into disarray and disharmony. Still, that didn’t explain why she was so cold to Twilight and why she is never there whenever the Elements of Harmony are used. Nopony had noticed yet that something was amiss with Princess Celestia...

In a alternate rear room in the royal palace furnished with red royal curtains and surrounded with tall stone pillars which curled at the top. Hooves echoed and merry voices chatted as everypony prepared for the celebration. Most of the six best friends had already been fitted into their shining gowns. Friendly faces gathered at Canterlot to wish them well, as well as some me not-so-friendly faces who came out of spite.

“Rarity.” Royal lips spoke. It was the voice of Vladimir Blueblood. With his perfectly trimmed golden mane and tail. The white stallion flicked his fringe back out of his eyes and gave an awkward smile to the darling Rarity whom he addressed with a bow. Perhaps Prince Blueblood had learnt some chivalry after all.

“Prince Blueblood...” Rarity replied and tried to remain regal.

“We meet again…” he replied.

“Quite right—”

“Like this isn’t awkward,” Rainbow Dash interrupted, she rolled her eyes. Her loud voice cut short the conversation of the awkward heart-throbbed lovers.

Then at that moment Rainbow Dash noticed the Wonderbolts at the far side of the royal room. They were conversing in the corner near the food table. There she saw Soarin’ greedily eating pies, he was stood with a much younger Wonderbolt. As usual all of the Wonderbolts are wearing their uniforms which protect their bodies from lightning strikes. Were they here for the celebration, or were they here to see her? Rainbow Dash permed her mane checked her stunning dress was shining and strutted towards them, as cool as a cucumber.

“Hey Soarin’, where's Spitfire?” Rainbow Dash said as she nodded to greet both the Wonderbolts. Soarin' had his goggles hanging around his neck.

"Training the new recruits of course," Soarin' replied, "and speaking of new recruits." Soarin' was stood next to a Wonderbolt Rainbow Dash had never seen before. He had a light-blue coloured mane which looked like cold fire; it was also spiked up and choppy. He wore a large unique helmet with orange tinted goggles on them which can be slid up or down. He was certainly the youngest Wonderbolt she had ever seen. His fur colour and cutie mark covered by his Wonderbolt uniform. As the younger Wonderbolt turned to Rainbow Dash, he nervously lifted up his goggles, his eyes were a deep grey.

“The n-names Comet... I-I just joined the Wonderbolts,” Comet said, introducing himself. His voice was young. He was incredibly nervous, even more so than Fluttershy which was incredibly awkward for Wonderbolts were usually filled with confidence.

“Comet may be young, but he flew through all the Wonderbolt training in style, with help from me of course. Oh and great work out there today.” Soarin' nudged Rainbow Dash with his hoof, he had essence of blueberry pie all around his lips.

Rainbow Dash wasn't really listening as she found herself staring into the younger Wonderbolts eyes.

“Hehe,” Soarin’ chuckled faintly.

“Hey! What’s so funny?” Comet protested.

“She has a crush on you,” Soarin’ said bluntly and nudged Comet with his hoof.

“W-what? I do not!” Rainbow Dash protested and snapped out of her stare.

“It’s cool. I knew anyway,” Comet said with a nervous twitch.

As Rainbow Dash continued to harass the Wonderbolts with stories of her daring deeds, Twilight was stood by a small vanity table. By the purple unicorns side stood Amethyst Star, an active pink coated unicorn with purple colourised eyes to match. Amethyst Star let her scarlet magic surge. She used a magical spell to light up the encrusted diamonds on the gown.

“Thanks Amethyst Star,” Twilight said with a smile, she looked more radiant than ever. Amethyst Star’s occupation was to make diamonds shine. Each time there’s a celebration or grand galloping gala, she would be here. She shined the diamonds on the dresses.

“No problem,” she replied, “If you need anything else, I’m always here.” She bid adieu and left Twilight to comb her mane into the nearby mirror on the vanity table.

Within the royal chambers everypony from the community were in attendance. They turn to face the centre aisle covered with the red royal carpet. The guards of the Solar Empire with their spears stand in austere attention, they never even blinked. All eyes faced forward as the doors swung open. Twilight and her five best friends entered the royal palace. Their thoughts changed to those of happiness. Unable to control their joy they found new reason to smile. They gently trotted down the aisle with their best friends in tow, all in their most beautiful shining gowns. They fit well up there with their magnificence of their gowns. Stood at either side of the prominent throne were both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. The regal princess Celestia nods at Twilight in appreciation and Luna winked cheekily.

Stood at the back of the crowd behind everypony else was Spike. He jumped up and down and tried to get a view behind the crowd. But he couldn’t see anything. He was holding a quill and paper and was ready to jot down the note of the lesson learnt by Twilight. Alas during the battle in Ponyville poor Spike stayed hidden inside the library the entire time. He kept his head down from the trouble which raged. Now, he already knew he wasn’t going to be needed today.

“Urg,” Spike grunted to himself. He couldn’t even see Twilight and her friends behind every pony, he was too tiny. He waved his arms but to no avail. He gave up.

“Well I don’t need this anymore,” Spike said and threw the quill and paper over his shoulder, they clattered against the stone. He then goes to approach a random yellow pony standing in the crowd to grab her attention...

“Hey! If you manage to see Twilight Sparkle, tell her I’ll be in the Library,” Spike snapped and trundled off to return home. The yellow pony said nothing in reply and turned around silently...

It was her...

Unbeknown to Spike, it was the yellow coloured pony with the fairy-like wings. The one from the ruined castle in the Everfree Forest. She was also stood behind the crowd as a ghost and the feather in her mane blew in the gentle wind amidst the back of the royal chamber. Nopony had recognized or even noticed her behind the excited masses of the crowd. Even if she could speak her voice would be a quiet whisper in the thunderous chorus of shouts from the crowd. Whilst they all cheered happily for the six friends this yellow pony had great sadness in her unclear eyes. Overcome with grief even in a moment of happiness she stared at Twilight in particular. She remembered precious memories and tried to forget the memories which were yet to come. Somehow she knew that this was only the beginning, perhaps the beginning of the end. The end of all things in Equestria. But who was this pony? What was her name? With a sigh of great sadness she turned to face away from the crowd and leisurely walked away; unseen. Before she faded away into thin air...

Sometimes when you are sad enough, your soul becomes a ghost for you...

Twilight had a lot to think about, a lot to consider: her warm smile slowly died. With all this excitement she had forgotten that soon she would have to leave Ponyville. Twilight realised that ‘coming events’ Celestia told her about were not Dark Plague, no, something much worse was on the horizon and Twilight’s time to leave Ponyville was not just yet. Dark Plague was stopped, but the darkness Celestia spoke of still sleeps beneath Ponyville. Now was not the time to tell everypony she had to leave Ponyville for it would ruin the celebrations for sure. Twilight decided it would be her little secret.

Then were was ‘Time is Forever’ and the spell inside its pages she overheard the princesses talking about. Neither princesses would remember the book due the enchantment they put on it, but Twilight remembered it. The enchantment didn’t effect her because she only overheard the princesses conversation, they didn’t know she heard them. Could the spell really be a time spell? Where did Luna hide the book? What was it’s purpose? Twilight thought as she brushed her mane.

Now she wondered and worried about what Dark Plague had said: 'The gate will open... for you'. Just what does that mean? What gate? What evil ‘master’ would create a pony simply to hate others? It was logically impossible, somepony must be incredibly strong to have created artificial life like that. But now Dark Plague was gone... and all her questions remain unanswered.

Twilight never had the chance to get the name of Dark Plague's master... but if she ever found him, she vowed to make him suffer.

Discord was still out there, after his encounter with Rainbow Dash he escaped from Canterlot like a coward and there was no way to accurately find him. But if everypony knew him he would come back with an even more devious plan to break up their friendship. But how did he escape from stone, especially if everypony was still connected to the Elements? How did the Elements of Harmony lose their power?

“Argh! Too many questions,” Twilight complained to herself and rubbed her forehead in annoyance. All the questions wished around in her head without any hope to be answered. Twilight came the conclusion that she would need more time to find the answers she wanted. She cleared her thought, made her mind go blank and focussed on happier times. The celebration of harmony. While the battles were won and the enemies of harmony were defeated; there was still much more work to be done.

The trumpets rang loud and proud upon the lips of the royal guards. After a momentary pause the cheering of the crowd roared ever onwards. Princess Celestia then turned to address her subjects and raised her hoof for silence with a wavered smile.

“Once again it is thanks again to Twilight Sparkle and her friends that we are safe once more. They have bested the enemies of Ponyville, ceased a great darkness from spreading and stopped Dark Plague, all with togetherness.” Celestia turned to Twilight personally and said, “because togetherness is a valuable lesson indeed.”

Everypony cheered in the crowd again. Then Celestia gave the nod to two armoured guards stood near a window covered with a red linen curtain. The guards dragged the regal red curtain from its perch to reveal a brand new stained glass window. Rainbow Dash blushed soon after, the new window was in the place of the one she smashed to escape Discord.

This new window depicted Twilight and her friends using the Elements of Harmony to stop Dark Plague. She surrounded with a rainbow and smiled, it was a smile of contentedness, not one of evil...

“Let this glorious window be an epitaph to Dark Plague, and wherever she may be now, may she be free. Although you saved Ponyville, they are still many more enemies of harmony out there. Discord regrettably escaped our grasp.”

Twilight turned to address the crowd herself and replied, “don’t worry Princess Celestia, our purpose is with our friends and with them beside me... we can do anything.”

The crowd cheered in jubilation knowing they were safe once more with Twilight, her five best friends and the Elements of Harmony.

To be continued...

---

My Little Pony: Time is Forever™ will return...

'A journey of one brave pony… to find where she belongs.'

Notes:
With each new story element that comes up, it should feel somehow official, as if these new iterations are the definitive iterations. But don’t ever believe that somepony or character is dead or gone forever. They will return infrequently.
Bringing together all of the minor antagonists was one of the first ideas for this fic. The reason I used most of the villains from the show in this one chapter is because they are new villains on the way...
All the OC’s should be considered supporting-actors and temporary characters because of the lesser number of episodes that they appear in.
Trixie will return...
Discord will return...