Friendship Never Fails

by cyberpeajay

Chapter 2: Disturbing Discovery

Twilight was just standing there staring at the book blankly. Spike walked downstairs rubbing his eyes. "Are you still going on about that book?" Spike questioned but didn't get a response. "You really should stop obsessing over that thing, remember what happened the last time you obsessed over a book?"

"And it happened!" Twilight blurted as she spun around with a yell. Spike retreated a bit. Twilight sighed, "Sorry Spike, I just had a horrible dream."

"So you're worried about those Elements of Disharmony?" Spiked asked.

"How did you know?" Twilight said.

"Oh come on Twilight, every pony knows you talk in your sleep." Spike said. Twilight's ears just drooped and she had a worried expression on her face. "Oops, maybe I shouldn't have told you that." Spike said. "But anyway, how long have the Elements of Disharmony existed? About a bijillion years and nothing bad happened."

"That's not the point Spike. If any pony does find those elements, which eventually some pony will, Equestria as we know it could be doomed." Twilight said and trotted over to the other side of the library carrying the book still.

"Couldn't the Elements of Harmony just destroy the disharmonic elements?" Said Spike.

"Yes they could, at least, that's what I read what did happen." Said Twilight turning to Spike once again. "I am an element of harmony. So are my five closest friends." Said Twilight looking out the door.

"So..."

"So I think I know what has to be done." Replied Twilight.

"Alrighty, I'll ink a letter to the Princess telling her what's going on." Spike said reaching for the quill and parchment.

"No!" Twilight yelled and grabbed the quill and parchment from Spike. "Don't tell the Princess."

Spike stood there dumbfounded. "Uh. Can I ask why?"

"Because, no offense to her or her guards but, she would send the guards to do the job and would probably mess this whole thing up." Twilight closed her eyes and stood tall. "Nope, I'd rather this go unscathed and bring the Elements of Disharmony to the princess personally myself!" She opened her eyes and lowered her head. "I just hope the others understand."

*****

Twilight was running to Sweet Apple Acres as fast as her legs could take her. She had her saddlebag intact and had the little leather book inside. She was getting tired and could feel the burn. She wasn't used to sprinting long distances, but when the opportunity called for it she could push herself.

She arrived at Applejack's barn house and knocked on the door. Applebloom answered it with a grin on her face. "Howdy Twilight!" She welcomed enthusiastically. "Here fer Applejack?"

"Yes. I need to speak with her right away." Twilight replied.

Applebloom motioned her to come inside. "Ah'll tell Applejack yer here." Applebloom left the room and Twilight was left sitting in the lobby. About a minute later Applejack came walking in.

"Hey there Twi. What brings you around to these here parts?" She asked.

Twilight stood up, "Well um. It's kinda important and uh... Well..." She thought to herself how absurd this will sound in speaking words.

"Spit it out girl." Applejack teasingly said playfully.

"Well, um... You know how we represent the Elements of Harmony?"

"Yeah... What about it?" Applejack's expression changed to a more serious look.

"What if I told you there were Elements of Disharmony?" Twilight said anticipating her friends response.

"Wha?" Applejack stepped back a bit. "Ah never heard of those before. Are you just yankin' mah chain Twilight?"

"No. Why would I run all the way here and say a slanderous lie?" Twilight said seriously.

"Ah guess that's true." Responded Applejack. "Well if there's Elements of Disharmony, how come ah never heard've them before?"

"Because only a couple books tell their tale. I'm not sure any pony else knows about this, I found two books in my library. A book that tells of what they are and what they do, and a book which I believe, to be the original copy and a few hundred years old!" Twilight levitated the small faded purple leather book out of her saddlebag and plopped it down in front of Applejack. Twilight spoke the last phrase in the book. "To this very day the Elements of Disharmony were never retrieved. But if they were to fall in the wrong hooves, the consequences could be catastrophic." Twilight closed the book and floated it back in her saddlebag buttoning it shut. "The pages get ripped out after that, and that's where the copy of this book ended too."

Applejack just stood there then looked up at Twilight. "So?"

"...So?" Twilight said. "So?! So that means we need to go out and find these Elements of Disharmony and secure them, or even destroy them!" Twilight said frantically.

"Comon' Twi, yer just overeactin' to a fairy tale." Applejack said and was starting to get ready for her day of cider and juice making. "Now if you'll excuse me, ah gotta get tah work." She started trotting past Twilight. Twilight sat there looking depressed. Applejack noticed and sighed. "Look Twilight, ah honestly don't know why yer telling me thi, but-"

"Because we represent the Elements of Harmony! It is our job to prevent things like this from ever happening!" Twilight said back in a quiet screaming tone. "It's eating me up inside! I just gotta know if what I read was real! Believe me, I'm skeptical too, but I have to know!" She sat there with watery eyes.

Applejack just pawed at the floor for a few seconds before responding. "Oh pony feathers... Fine." She said not looking at Twilight. "When do you want to check this out?"

Twilight perked up from Applejack's agreeing. "Hmmm... An hour?" She said.

"Whathidga?" Applejack shook her face. "Today?! Why today? Why not a day where ah'm not busy?"

"Because every second I go pondering about the Elements of Disharmony is a second of anguish! Not to mention the nightmare I had last night was scream-worthy. I have to get this clear from my conscience." Twilight explained.

"Well you do look pretty bad." Applejack said. Twilight looked up and beamed a scowl at Applejack. "Looks like you had a rough night is all I meant!"

Twilight smiled at her friend, "Thanks for understanding Applejack. So I'll see you at my place soon!" Twilight said bolting out the door back to town.

"Well, guess I should tell Applebloom it will only be her and Big Mac doin' all the work fer today. Poor filly." Applejack said to herself as she went to find her little sister.

*****

Twilight had relayed her story to her other four friends and it all went pretty much the same way it did with Applejack. However Pinkie Pie was easy to convince because she just pretty much goes along with anything.

All six were at Twilight's library and were gathered around her. "So what exactly are we going to do?" Asked a hovering Rainbow Dash.

"Yes run through it all again.. But in a condensed version please." Said Rarity.

Twilight cleared her throat, "We need to find the Elements of Disharmony and either bring them back to Canterlot for the princess to decide what to do with them, or destroy them ourselves before any pony else will eventually find them."

"Where exactly are these here elements Twi?" Asked Applejack. "You never told me where they were."

"Actually I don't think I told any of you. Sorry." Twilight said looking down, then looking back up towards her friends nervously. Her ears drooped a bit. "They're in um... The ancient castle of the royal Pony sisters..." Said Twilight as she got quieter as she spoke.

"How do yah know it's in there Twilight?" Applejack asked.

"In the book, it said the Elements of Harmony were placed in a guarded chamber, while the Elements of Disharmony were placed in a hidden area around there." Twilight explained.

Fluttershy covered her eyes and cowered. "We have to go back there?!" She said loud, yet quietly at the same time. The other four gasped and talked amongst themselves.

"Well it's not like we have Nightmare Moon to worry about this time." Said Applejack which seemed to calm every pony down a bit. "we'll be in, have a look around, then back out."

"You mean we have to go in there just so Twilight sees it was all a fairy tale?" Rainbow complained. Twilight looked sternly at her. "I mean, heh, ummm... Ah that's exactly what I meant." She said then she flew out the door.

Every pony began walking outside. "Spike, we'll be gone for probably a few hours. You'll be alright?" Twilight said looking back at Spike.

"Go on Twilight. I'll probably just nap anyway." He saw that Twilight was still looking at him. "Oh and finishing my chores!" Spike nodded with a big fake grin. Twilight just turned and walked outside closing the door behind her. Spike just stretched then headed back upstairs. "Early nap but I don't care."

*****

Four mares walked contently through the Everfree forest. Pinkie was bouncing with her happy eyes closed and Rainbow Dash was flying above them. It was an uneasy silence between them with the odd cracking of twigs and kicking of rocks.

"Hey Dashie enjoy that nap yesterday?" Asked Pinkie.

Rainbow Dash opened her half closed eyes as she was alert again. "Huh? Oh yesterday... Uh sure I guess." Rainbow replied thinking it was a strange random question right out of the blue that broke the silence. 'She's just being Pinkie Pie' Rainbow reminded herself.

"I really need a change of scenery. This icky forest always gives me this unclean feeling." Rarity complained.

The others just rolled their eyes and kept going. "So I didn't really break other pony's plans today did I?" Asked Twilight hoping they weren't busy today.

Applejack was the first the respond. "Well Twi, I was supposed to make apple cider and juice today with mah little sis and older brother, but I can't until we get back. As long as this is important to you, ah can hold off on a day of labor." Applejack said trying not to sound harsh.

"I was going to look for baby blue sapphires today with Sweetie Belle, but I suppose that can be put off for another day. She's with her orange friend with the purple mane today anyway. Ruffian that one is." Rarity said.

"Well I was going to practice some new tricks." Said Rainbow Dash looking down on Twilight. "But then we came here. Tomorrow in the early morning, and I mean EARLY morning we need to make yet another rain storm for Ponyville. Honestly, why all the rain?" Rainbow asked to herself.

"Well I uh, was going to see my old teacher today. She was such a nice lady." Fluttershy said softly. "I was also going to replace a cup I smashed last night." Every pony stopped and looked at Fluttershy in bewilderment.

"Wow Fluttershy, you sure have a temper when you get angry!" Rainbow said excitedly.

"Um.. It fell." Said Fluttershy hiding behind her mane.

"I was going to create this super insane cool looking chocolate cake today, then eat it!" Said Pinkie. "It's too bad I can't now, but when I told the Cakes I was going on an adventure with you Mrs. Cake offered to pack my saddlebag for me! Such considerate pony's!" She said as she kept bouncing.

Twilight and Rarity just looked at each other and giggled a little to Pinkie's answer. But Twilight quickly looked serious again. "Gee, I didn't know you all had plans." Said Twilight looking down as she walked.

"No worries hun." Said Applejack. "One day off the farm might actually be good fer me."

Rarity spoke next, "Besides, this brings back decent memories of how our friendship came to be!" She said a little chipper than normal.

*****

"Hey Twilight, ah just realized, why didn't you bring our elements with us?" Applejack said.

"Because we're not facing any real threat from the Elements of Disharmony." Replied Twilight. "They're physically encased in the stone." She reassured herself. But then a daunting thought struck her. 'What if those ripped out pages contained the information on how to release the Elements of Disharmony?' Her stomach churned at this sudden realization of the dreaded 'What if' factor. She decided not to tell any of her friends this thought. 'We'll just have to destroy them' she thought to herself.

Twilight felt a sensation at the tip of her nose, then on top of her head and body. It was water, and pretty soon it started raining.

"Dang it! Lousy automatic weather in the Everfree Forest." Complained Rainbow as she slowly flew a little lower.

Rarity was the most concerned over this. "No not rain!" She said. "My lustrous mane will tangle!"

"Big deal." Replied Applejack, "Why do ya have to be all Hoity Toity in the forest anyway?"

"You know what would be nice? If it was raining chocolate milk!" Pinkie said while still hopping around, her hooves making squishing sounds every time she landed due to the dampening forest floor.

"I like the rain." Said Fluttershy, "It's so peaceful." But suddenly jumped and hid behind a bush when a flash of lightning ripped through the sky.

"Yeah... It's amazing..." Said Rainbow Dash in a not-so-impressed tone. She tugged Fluttershy out of the bush then started walking with the others.

The lightning grew more intense as flashes of light became more frequent. It was now thoroughly raining which caused the six ponies to get soaked in a short amount of time. "Well, what's the point?" Rarity said to herself. The clouds in the sky were now a dark purple which blotted out the evening sunshine and stretched out as far as they could possibly see. It was now dark in the forest from the storm and the rain was not letting up. "Rainbow, be a dear and clear those clouds please." Rarity asked nicely.

A big crash of lightning through the sky made every one of them jump since it was the loudest one yet. "Yeah, I don't think so." Rainbow replied.

Twilight stopped the group by extending a hoof out sideways. She could see something moving around in the distance through the flashes of light. Every pony was silent as they could see it too. A loud rawr could be heard and soon enough it was in plain sight standing before them in a clearing. A Manticore.

Every pony looked at Fluttershy and she just closed her eyes in contentedness and waltzed over to the beast. "You hurt again little guy?" She asked. The Manticore just screamed right in Fluttershy's face which caused her hair to be spiked backwards. She screamed and ran back to the group just missing the swipe of the creatures claw swinging at her.

"Something tells me he isn't very happy." Said Twilight.

"You think?" Rainbow retorted.

All them ran off to the side as the Manticore charged right at them. Twilight used her magical abilities and teleported all six high into a neighboring tree. She was exhausted from having to do that spell with that many ponies at the same time. "There. We should be safe up here." She said between breaths.

The Manticore looked up at them growling. "Now what do we do? We're sittin' ducks up in this here tree!" Applejack said looking at Twilight.

"Ooo that looks neato!" Said Pinkie pointing down towards the beast. All of them looked to see the Manticore unfurling its wings and begin to ascend towards their location.

Rainbow floated down towards it and began kicking towards the creature. It would just dodge the attacks by moving its head slightly left and right and eventually took a big bite in the air which Rainbow nearly avoided. She flew a safe distance and yelled to the others, "I think it's hungry you guys!" The Manticore moved its attention back towards the other five in the tree. and began flying towards them.

"Please stop! Please!" Fluttershy pleaded with both hooves together looking at the Manticore. It flew full speed towards Fluttershy who moved out of the way so fast it could challenge Rainbow Dash's speed. The creature smashed head first into the tree which dazed it. The impact to the tree made it crack. Twilight looked at Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie. She sighed and conjured the rest of her energy to teleport them back down to the ground. Just as they landed back, the tree made a loud crack and finally toppled over.

The rain and lightning were even more apparent than earlier and made visibility even worse. All the ponies ran to hide under some shrubs. "Do ya'll think he saw us?" Asked Applejack.

"I don't think so. Maybe we can ride it out here Twilight." Said Rarity. She looked to her left and just saw Pinkie Pie, but no Twilight. "Um, where is she?" The three of them looked out and saw Twilight laying in the clearing, clearly worn out. The Manticore was right behind her and ready to swing.

"Oh no. Twi!" Applejack yelled. She ran out and stopped as the Manticore raised its claw to slash at a defenseless Twilight when a yellow pegasus flew in front of it.

Fluttershy was stern and was yelling at the creature. "Hey! Remember us?! Remember me?! We helped you in your time of agony and this is how you repay us?! By trying to eat us for supper?!" The Manticore lowered its paw slowly with a look of awareness. Fluttershy then applied 'the stare' to the creature which caused it to cower a little. "You're going to turn around, walk away, and not look back! Got it?" She continued staring. "GOT IT?!" She screamed and was right in his face. It gulped and nodded then turned away slowly walking in the opposite direction.

As soon as it was out of sight the rest of them came out towards Fluttershy and were all cheering and congratulating her for her bravery. Rainbow flew down and gave Fluttershy a noogie. Twilight slowly stood up and bopped herself on the side of her head with her hoof a couple times to regain focus. "Whoa, what'd I miss?" She asked.

"Oh um, Fluttershy just used her physco stare and made it go away." Applejack said.

"The Manticore was right there and was going to get you because you weren't awake but Fluttershy flew in and saved the day with that awesomely terrific bestest stare in the world and saved you!" Pinkie Pie spoke extremely fast then grinned.

Twilight looked over at Fluttershy who was now blushing from all the attention she was getting. "Talk about timing." Twilight said and friendly nuzzled Fluttershy. "Thanks. You didn't just save my life, but all of ours."

"You saved ours too by teleporting us away." Said Fluttershy, "So we're even." She said trying to muster up a joke and lighten the mood a bit more. They all shared a laugh and eventually began walking again.

*****

The rain and lightning were still not letting up and the clouds were moving faster than before. A fierce wind was blowing causing the trees to sway violently.

Twilight squinted her eyes and could make out something familiar... The ruins! "Hey look girls! We made it!" She said galloping towards the place but stopped because the path was broken off. Broken off by a broken bridge to be exact.

"Oh man you gotta be kidding me!" Rainbow said and walked over to the edge.

"So just fly over there and re-tie it like before." Said Applejack.

"There's a reason I haven't been flying since the Manticore. The wind has picked up." Said Rainbow turning towards Applejack. "If I fly over to tie it up, I'll just be tossed around and won't get anywhere." She said motioning towards the bridge.

"Well I have an idea." Said Twilight. "I could just use my magic to tie the rope at the end there."

Rarity interjected. "No no no Twilight, I won't see to it. You've done enough already and you clearly don't have the energy to do this." She said. Twilight looked coarsely at Rarity then realized she was right. Twilight was drained and needed to rebuild her strength. Rarity smiled and walked in front of them and focused her energy into the tying the bridge together. It was a pretty easy accomplishment and she managed to tie it up in no time. "Well then. Shall we?"

They all thanked Rarity and made their way across the bridge. Rainbow was getting excited due to the thrill of this adventure so far and therefore lead all of them by going first. They bridge swayed and rocked as they were all gingerly walking across. All of a sudden as every pony was near the middle Rainbow noticed the rope was sliding backwards slowly. She looked up in panic and saw the rope that Rarity had tied was loosening and was going to give out any moment now. She gasped and ran to the end which caused the rope to eventually fall. She made it to the land and quickly grabbed the rope in her mouth and was yanking backwards as hard as she could. Her neck muscles have never worked this hard before, but she was holding the bridge up.

The five still on the bridge were screaming and were running towards the land where Rainbow was. The grip was loosening in her teeth as she tried to hold up her friends weight on the bridge. Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie all made it when the rope fell out of Rainbow's mouth causing the entire bridge to fall backwards and hang by one end.

They all looked at each other and noticed something. "Where's Applejack?!" Pinkie blurted.

"Oh no!" Twilight panicked and ran towards the edge to peer downward and saw Applejack hanging onto the cliff side. "I see her!"

All of them ran over to the edge and saw exactly what Twilight saw.

"Hang on Applejack!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Rarity, can you levitate Applejack from the cliff side up to here?" Asked Twilight.

"No I'm afraid I can't. My magic isn't nearly powerful enough to lift a full grown pony." She said with a look of shame.

"I can't because I don't have the energy." Said Twilight with a hoof rubbing her horn. "Guess we'll have to do this manually." And spun around looking back to Applejack who was struggling to hang on. Twilight spun back to them. "Alright here's the plan; Rainbow will be lowered down to Applejack who will grab ahold of her, we all hang onto each other in a line and pull Rainbow up along with Applejack. Understand every pony?" They all nodded.

"Wait, why do I have to be the one lowered to pick up Applejack?" Asked Rainbow.

"Because you have wings, and even though this storm will toss you around if you fly, you have a better chance if anything goes wrong. Also..." Twilight sighed knowing this would boost Rainbow's ego even higher. "Also, you're stronger than the rest of us. I'm sure you could hold onto AJ longer than any other one of us..."

Rainbow pumped out her chest and smiled. "Yeah you're right!" She said.

"Um. A little help please!" Applejack yelled.

They wasted no more time and got to business. Rainbow stood at the ledge looking down at Applejack. Twilight grabbed onto Rainbow's hind legs. Rarity grabbed Twilight's, Fluttershy held Rarity's and Pinkie held Fluttershy's. Rainbow motioned she was ready and was slowly being lowered down towards Applejack. Rainbow saw that right past Applejack was nothingness. The canal was pitch black which caused Rainbow's eyes to widen. She shook her head and remained focused on helping Applejack. Her front legs were extended downwards and when she was low enough told them all to stop.

"Grab on." She said to Applejack. She knew the plan and grabbed Rainbow's front hooves with her own. "Alright I got her! Back'er up!" Slowly she could feel them being pulled upwards. She helped the others by flapping her wings lightly and soon enough had her hind hooves touching grass, then her knees and body then eventually her whole self. When she was close enough, Applejack pulled herself onto the surface panting. They were safe.

When they all caught their breath Rainbow stormed over to Rarity. "What was that?! Can't you tie a knot properly?! We could have all been doomed!" She was screaming. Rarity was just looking shamefully at the ground not moving. "Well? What's the matter with you?!"

Rainbow turned away and bumped into Applejack. Applejack just shook her head. "Don't worry about it gals, the fact of the matter is that we are all safe and sound."

They all looked at each other and realized AJ was right. "We are all savin' each others hides tonight huh?... Thanks for not giving up on me." Applejack turned towards her friends with teary eyes. "Also, I think we all owe Rainbow Dash a big thank you for pretty much saving all our lives back there with the bridge."

"Awe hey it was nothing." Rainbow gave with a wave of her hoof.

"Oh now she's being modest?" Twilight teased. They laughed again and started onwards into the ruins, knowing their bond with each other grew even stronger than it already was earlier.

*****

Twilight stood ahead of the pack into the room looking at the bare statue that once held the Elements of Harmony. This flooded back a bunch of memories to all six of them and all smiled at one another, remembering it was their friendship that defeated Nightmare Moon in this very spot a few years ago.

"Well we're here. So now what?" Asked Rainbow Dash.

"Last time we were here there was no separate room for the Elements of Disharmony. So they must be hidden. Maybe there's a secret latch or button." Twilight said looking around.

All the friends were standing in one spot just glancing around the room for anything that stuck out from the ordinary. "Either they're hidden, or they don't even exist." Said Rainbow again. "Probably the latter though."

"Stop being so skeptical Rainbow!" Twilight said with a tad bit of annoyance. "Maybe we can all look around. Press bricks, pulls vines, just try to find it."

"Well, I hope we all didn't come here for nothing." Said Rarity.

"We'll see..." Said Applejack while all of them scattered around looking for a secret.

"Um, what if we can't find the bad elements like you want?" Said Fluttershy.

"Then at least I'll have peace of mind. But I want to search every nook and cranny first to be satisfied." Twilight responded. Fluttershy just nodded very slightly and resumed pressing against the wall in various places.

"Wow, I've been doing this for only a minute and I'm already bored." Said Rainbow.

"Walking in all the mud, and having wind blowing and rain whipping my face had better been worth it. I look simply dreadful." Said Rarity.

Applejack just rolled her eyes. "Come on ya'll, it's not the end of the world if we have to get dirty."

Pinkie Pie interjected, "I love this! It's like a scavenger hunt!" Pinkie Pie was zooming along the stone floor slamming her hooves on the ground looking for a secret button.

It was well into an hour and there was a break in the clouds. They all looked up and saw the atmosphere color was darkening. "I gotta get to Ponyville for my weather duties by morning Twilight. I need to sleep so I'm outta here." Said Rainbow.

"How will you get back to Ponyville?" Pinkie said surprisingly calm.

Rainbow Dash just flapped her wings as if to point out the obvious. "I can get back to town in a few minutes by just flying over the forest." She spread open her wings ready to fly off.

"Dash, just keep looking. I'm sure we'll find something." Twilight pleaded.

"Yes, aren't you the element of loyalty Rainbow? Aren't you loyal to your friends?" Said Rarity sounding rather peckish.

"I'm also loyal to the ponies in Ponyville, besides, I've been loyal enough today." Retorted Rainbow.

"Ah didn't know there was a maximum loyalty limit." Applejack sneered.

"Whatever! I'll come back tomorrow if you're still here!" Rainbow said rather enraged and took off towards the sky.

"But Rainbow Dash wait!" Yelled Pinkie Pie.

"No!" She yelled while looking back at Pinkie. When she wasn't looking she missed the hole in the ceiling and smashed into the solid stone. Rainbow fell to the ground and landed with a thud having her eyes rolling around in circles. She groaned and slowly got up swaying around. Fluttershy gasped and came over to help her. Rainbow shook her head and regained her balance, not seeming worse for wear. "I'm okay, just a little dazed heh."

But then the ceiling above was cracking in the spot Rainbow Dash smashed her head into. Fluttershy and Rainbow shrieked and ran away to a safe distance from the cracking. The six were just watching the ceiling crack apart in the one spot and then it just stopped. They all blew a sigh of relief when all of a sudden a very loud cracking sound echoed throughout the ruins and that part of the ceiling just fell straight to the floor beneath it. A giant dust cloud appeared when the ceiling hit the floor which caused all of them to cough.

After they were done coughing Rarity was in Rainbows face, "I've been rained on, have bark pieces in my coat, grass stains on my belly and now I'm covered in a blanket of dust!" She said as she clearly was the dirtiest of them all.

"Forget about that! Look!" Said Twilight pointing toward the rubble with a hoof. They all looked in awe as they saw a big gaping hole where the ceiling smashed. Apparently the stone ceiling crashed into the floor hard enough to reveal a secret tunnel that ran just under the ruins. Twilight grinned in excitement then ran up and hugged Rainbow Dash. "You found it Rainbow!" She said and ran over to the hole in the floor then turned back around to her friends. "You found a secret passage Dash!" Before thinking Twilight just hopped in the hole.

Rainbow Dash looked a little shocked then gave a heroic pose. The rest of them didn't even notice and trotted over to the hole. The drop was only about eight feet down to the passage floor and saw Twilight looking up at them. "Come on girls! It's safe in here!" Twilight said still excited.

"I don't care anymore." Rarity said as she hopped in with little pieces of stone falling into her mane.

The rest smirked as they seemed to be a little excited and hopped in the cave. It wasn't that big, maybe only about five feet tall, three feet wide and the floor of it was still dirt. However the walls and ceiling of the tunnel were built from stone.

"So, we had to smash our way into the tunnel?" Asked Applejack.

"I guess. Perhaps they wanted to seal away the Elements of Disharmony." Twilight assumed.

"How do we even know those elements are in here? Maybe it's just a tunnel for other purposes." Applejack said.

The cave was dark and colder than the surface. They couldn't see very far ahead. The only light source they had at the time was the moon light shining in through the hole above them. Beyond that was pitch black. Fluttershy trembled but didn't say anything. A spider was walking next to her on the wall and she just ran and hid behind Pinkie Pie.

"I thought you loved every creature Fluttershy?" Said Rainbow Dash looking back at her friend.

"N-Not spiders. They're... Scary." She responded.

Twilight illuminated her horn for light and asked Rarity to do the same. There was a purplish and bluish glow to the tunnel now that seemed to extend surprisingly only a short distance. They walked slowly down the tunnel and were met by a set of stairs. They were all silent and walked carefully downwards towards the end of the tunnel. There were torches on the wall that were obviously not lit. The tunnel got taller and wider, and at the end saw a giant stone door that must have been fifteen feet tall and twenty feet wide. They were all stunned by this huge door that had markings, designs and carvings in it. Twilight walked closer and read right in the middle of the door: 'ELEMENTS OF DISHARMONY'

She gasped and then turned to her friends. "Hah! They are real!" She said pointing to her friends, mostly Rainbow Dash. "You all thought they were made up and I was reading a children's fairy tale, but I was right!"

"You're right Twi," Applejack spoke. "I thought you were just spoutin' a bunch of hooey, but I reckon there really are Elements of Disharmony."

"Yeah yeah. What AJ said." Said Rainbow Dash.

Twilight turned towards the door again and saw three gear looking mechanisms on the door. "hmmm. Is this a lock?" She looked closer. "Sure looks like one."

"It's a mighty big lock. Looks like whatever's inside, is supposed to stay inside." Applejack said.

"I have to know." Said Twilight.

"Don't be stubborn! You know they exist now lets go! I need a shower!" Said Rarity in a higher pitched annoyed tone.

"Well we can't just leave now." Said Twilight. "With that gaping hole in the floor there, any pony or any creature could stumble upon this."

Rarity just slumped down a bit.

"Okay well there's no sense in just sitting here, open that baby up!" Said Rainbow.

"Right." Agreed Twilight and her horn began illuminating a bright white at the tip. She clenched her eyes and teeth as she was giving a ton of energy from her horn. She groaned as her horn grew brighter. With the energy she expelled earlier it was incredible she could do this right now. The mechanisms on the door made a clack noise but weren't turning.

"I bet these mechanisms haven't budged for over a thousand years." Said Applejack.

Rarity stepped up and illuminated her horn too. She wasn't nearly as powerful as Twilight but she did help a little bit by applying some pressure to the giant mechanisms. Rainbow and Fluttershy looked at each other and shrugged then flew up and were manually pushing the mechanisms by hoof.

"Come on Pinkie!" Applejack said and ran up to the door pushing the bottom part of the mechanism trying to turn it. A loud sound of something breaking burst out from the door and every one of them stopped pushing and Twilight collapsed to the floor disabling her magic along with Rarity.

The mechanisms were rotating by themselves now and the door was very slowly swinging open. Twilight stood up and opened her eyes extremely wide. It felt like an eternity for the giant door to finally open up all the way but it was finally finished. It revealed a large square room that had nothing carved into the stone walls. Just sheer flatness. However it also had a stone floor unlike the rest of the tunnel.

They all slowly walked in the room side by side looking around cautiously. "I... can't believe it." Said Twilight as she walked up to six stone ponies that were all standing in different poses frozen. "This is exactly how the book described it." She explained. "I guess the book should be put in the non-fiction section when I get home."

There were five normal sized stone ponies in the room, but one giant unicorn posed in a fighting stance in the middle of them.

Twilight took in this sight as no pony has laid eyes on these in over a thousand years. She lit the torches on the wall so she could give her horn a rest. This lit up the room with a comfortable amount of light. After a few moments of savoring this indescribable feeling, Twilight turned towards her friends with fierce eyes and a wicked smile. "Girls, these are far too heavy to retrieve, so we'll have to destroy them!"

All her friends felt their heart jump for a second as they thought they would never hear Twilight say that. "Uh, are you sure Twilight?" Asked Fluttershy timidly.

"Yeah I mean, couldn't we just lock this door again?" Said Rainbow.

"No, and I already explained why earlier." Answered Twilight.

"Ah don't know sugar cube, there's a reason why these were hidden and never destroyed." Said Applejack.

"Just... Trust me on this. We must rid Equestria of these elements!" Twilight said.

After a long pause Rarity broke the silence. "I trust you Twilight. You seem to know far more about this kind of stuff than any other one of us." Rarity stepped forwards.

"She does bring up a good point." Said Applejack who trotted up next to them.

Rainbow just shrugged and flew beside them. Pinkie did the same except she bounced over towards them. Fluttershy didn't want to be alone so she flew beside the group. "I'm glad you understand." Twilight said. "Alright lets clear my conscience!" Said Twilight and without warning bucked the giant unicorn statue. It hardly shook.

"Let me show you how it's done." Said Rainbow and bucked the statue herself. It shook a little bit more but it didn't break.

"Now Rainbow, once again ah hafta show you up." Said Applejack and walked over to the statue. "This is how you do it." With one hard crack of her hind legs she smashed the bottom of the statue apart which fell to the ground missing all of them. "That is how it's done." She crossed her front hoof over another one in victory.

Suddenly a bright giant light flashed out from the statue! It was such an immense light they all had to shield their eyes and turn away. This lasted about fifteen seconds and then the normal light levels returned from the flickering torches. "What in Equestria was-" was all Twilight could say before becoming speechless. The rest turned around and also couldn't say a single word. They were frozen in fear.

They were face to face with another five ponies and towering over them was a giant black unicorn. The new ponies all wore smiles and devilish expressions. One of them spoke up.

"Thanks so much for releasing us. You have no idea what it's like to be encased in stone." He said in a rather raspy voice.

Twilight and company still couldn't move, couldn't even blink from sheer awe. The giant black unicorn stepped forward and spoke in a rather commanding tone. It's voice was so deep and booming that it could challenge the royal Canterlot voice. The echo within the room amplified its voice even more. "We thank you for releasing us from our bonds! Us, the Ponytact's who are dubbed 'Elements of Disharmony' shall now live on with that title!" Twilight remembered reading about the Ponytact's in her book. Everything in the book was spot on.

Just then another bright flash caused them all to shield their eyes again. When they opened them they were in even more shock. Standing in front of them was... Them! There were now two Twilight's, two Rarity's, two Pinkie Pie's, two Applejack's, two Rainbow Dash's, and two Fluttershy's. The Ponytact's copied their identities. However they still wore devilish expressions, while the original six all had drooped ears and were completely pale.

"You.... You...." Was all Rainbow could say.

"Copied your looks." Said the Twilight Sparkle copy, sounding exactly like her. "But not only that, also your memories and knowledge."

"My my my." Said the copy of Pinkie Pie. "Don't you ever get tired of sugary snacks? Perhaps I'll eat... A vegetable!"

The original Pinkie gasped, "You wouldn't!"

Original Twilight had a weird expression on her face. "So what, the disharmonic element of Pinkie will make her eat vegetables? That's your master plan?"

Copied Twilight spoke up again. "Oh We'll do much more than that. Trust me, I have some ideas."

This just made all the originals slump down. "Oh this is going to be soooo much fun." Said copied Rainbow Dash.

The copies trotted out of the room and turned around back towards the originals. The copied Twilight lit up her horn and instantly the opening to the tunnel from the door had a purplish aura of energy like a barrier extend from the floor to the ceiling and wall to wall. "Consider yourselves getting off lucky!" And the door was slammed shut.

The six friends could hear the mechanisms clicking and soon enough stop. They were locked in the room. Twilight ran up next to the door and tried to use her magic but nothing happened with it. After a while of trying with nothing happening Twilight turned around to her friends with a look of worry. "That purple barrier is a magic neutralizer! I can't get through it!" They were trapped, and their copies were out and about doing Celestia knows what.

Comments

[Literature]

Ooooh this is good. ME GUSTA.

[bahatumay]

Scumbag Rarity: Ties knots all the time for sewing; can't tie a knot to save friend's life
Also, "Perhaps I'll eat... A vegetable!" The horror! THE HORROR!!