> The Unfortunate Secret Story of Us > by Commander Rainstorm > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The morning was calm and quiet. Barely visible stars swirled around in a still dance, fading slowly in the morning light. The only thing to interrupt the perfect calm was the twitches and screams coming from a open window at the top of Canterlot Castle. Inside was a certain white princess with a flowing and bedraggled pink, green, and purple mane. Celestia twitched. With a final start, she leapt out of bed, eyes red, wings outstretched, and a wide battle stance. She looked around warily, and sighed. "Just another nightmare..." Celestia muttered. She glanced around the room. Sheets were strewn around her, lamps knocked off, balancing cautiously on the nightstand. She sighed, quickly getting to work tidying up the place. With the last lamp upright, Celestia finally had time to tidy herself up. One look in the mirror told her that she would be there awhile. Her mane was waving all directions, looking like a swaying afro. Celestia sighed again. Dutifully picking up a comb, she managed to get her hair in an acceptable shape, before she heard crying. Dismissing it as one of the maid's children, she kept combing. More crying. This maid better hurry, or else I'll come in there. She shuddered, remembering the "cat incident". Looking down at herself, she could still see scratches from it. Celestia suddered again. Okay, maybe I won't come down. The crying was escalating. Finally throwing the comb down in despair, she followed the sound. It led her surprisingly to the Canterlot Garden, quite an unusual place for a child at 2:00 in the morning. Deep inside the well-kept woods, a group of animals huddled around the source of the crying in a circle. Celestia's horn glowed yellow, performing an ancient animal communication spell. "Everything alright here?", Celestia asked. The animals shook their heads, parting a path for her. What she found was not one, but three fillies, all pegasi. One was a certain cyan filly with a rainbow mane. The next was a pale orange color, complete with a orange version of a rainbow mane. The last was a white coated filly, with a blue version of a rainbow, instead of orange. Celestia gasped. "My nightmare..." She shook her head, pushing the thought to the back of her mind. She encased the fillies in her magic, flying back to Canterlot Castle. On the main balcony, Luna was lowering the moon. Celestia landed. "Is it time?" Luna simply nodded, incasing the fillies in her magic without a second thought. Celestia's horn glowed, raising the sun with ease. As soon as she was finished, she heard a tinkle of magic, followed by her vision being obscured by a rainbow dash, a blue dash, and an orange dash. "Wah.. Whats happening to me!", Celestia cried out in despair. It stopped slowly, revealing a laughing Luna, rolling on the ground and a certain three fillies looking up at her with puppy dog eyes. "This is going to be a long one..." > In which the Sonic trio head out to Ponyville > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thirteen years later Three blurs rush by, one orange, one blue, one rainbow. The crowd has had their breaths gone since the beginning of this "Sonic trio"'s performance. Cones of air are building up around the three mysterious ponies, when they are suddenly broken. Colors fly everywhere, and the crowd goes wild. But they are not done yet. The blue and orange ponies surround the rainbow one, circling. They go faster, tighting together, creating a bigger, stronger air cone. The audience goes even more wild, knowing this was a one-of-a-kind thing. With a sudden burst, the cone shatters, creating a huge, strong wave of color, orange on one side, blue on the other, and a rainbow in the middle. As the three ponies land, confetti is thrown with an assortment of roses. Regally, princess Celestia come out from her observation deck. In a loud voice that immediately quiets the crowd, she says, "I hereby present the young flyers cup to the Sonic trio, Rainstorm, Solarflare, and Rainbow Dash!" The crowd screams their approval. "Meet me at the shop." Celestia murmers at the side of her mouth. They simply nodded, with knowing smiles. -----***----- "You have been faring well I see." Celestia inquires, sipping her tea. Currently, they were in a donut shop,owned by famous Joe. Every since Celestia found them that fateful day, they had been enjoying donuts with the yellow-brown stallion for years. It was a place they could relax together, without the media mobbing them constantly, thanks to Joe. They all nod. "We just need a break. Don't get me wrong, flying is awesome, but its plain tiring!" Rainbow exclaims. The other nod their agreement. Celestia nods as well. "I understand. I have a place for you to go. Ponyville. I can send you there with my student, Twilight Sparkle, if you want." The Sonic trio just stared at her in disbelief. "Don't worry, its first class." Celestia says quickly. Rainstorm smiles. "It's not that, it's just that we don't usually get a first class invitation from the princess to Ponyville, or any other place." "Let alone with her student!" Solarflare chimes in. "Well, an aunts got to help in some way!" Celestia retorts. They all chuckled, enjoying each other's company. "Now go pack your stuff. The pegasi are scheduled for leave tomorrow."says Celesta. Nodding, Rainstorm, Rainbow Dash, and Solarflare toke to the wing, flying to their respective rooms. Smiling, Celestia shakes her head, taking another sip of her tea. "Someday..." -----***----- The next day, the three arrive outside the Canterlot Castle, hurrying greatly. After finally stopping, the trio collapse in a big pile of suitcase, hair, and fur. Above, two violet colored eyes appear, and proceed to stare down at them. "Well?" The purple unicorn mare says. Disentangling herself from the mess, Rainbow stands up. "Hi, nice to meet you. The names Rainbow Dash. These here are my sisters, Rainstorm and Solarflare." Behind her, Rainstorm and Solarflare salute. Turning back to the unicorn, Rainbow says" Your Twilight Sparkle, right?" "Yes, and let me set a few rules before we go. No horsing around, no laughing hysterically, no flying, and most of all, no fake niceness from now on. Also, my assistant is a dragon, so no gawking at him." behind Twilight, a purple baby dragon with green spikes waves, mouthing something along the lines of " don't mind her.". "Got it? Good. ",Twilight says, turning to board the chariot. Looking back at Rainstorm and Solarflare, Rainbow Dash shrugs. Shaking their heads, they to, board the chariot. > In which the Sonic Trio and Twilight arrive at Ponyville > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Come on Twi! Can I just fly for a little?! Even stretch my wings? Look, Ponyville is RIGHT THERE!" "No Rainbow Dash, the rules! And don't call me Twi!" "But Twilight, the purple baby dragon says I can!" "Well, he's not me is he?" "But he is your assistant. Besides, he said that your friends call you that." "YOU ARE NOT MY FRIEND!" The arguing had been going on the whole ride. The pegasi pulling the chariot had massive headaches, and thanked Celestia when the two arguing ponies disembarked, followed by two pegasi keeping their heads low, and a purple baby dragon shaking his head. They argued for a minute or two more, before they were interrupted. "ENOUGH!" The two arguing ponies turned to look at the sound of the voice. Spike nodded his thanks to Rainstorm and Solarflare for helping get their attention. "Listen you two! We can not go around all day arguing. Twilight, you are here for a reason, and Sonic trio, please excuse her. She's a little bit... confused right now." Spike said, glaring at Twilight. "But Spike, Nightmare Moon is real!" "Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's just go talk to the people organizing the Summer Sun Celebration. I believe Princess Celestia sent you here to make friends, so it's got to be a nice place. Go talk to some people for once, ya know? Instead of buried in your books?" Excanging glances, Rainstorm, Solarflare, and Rainbow Dash followed, uncertain of their fate, or Twilight's. A pink pony bounced up to them, taking nice long leaps in seconds, covering a lot of ground. "That's not phisically possible! On her tipie toes too! Spike, that is not normal!" "Your not normal Twilight." Spike muttered darkly under his breath, "Now go talk to her!" Pushed forward by Spike, Twilight cleared her throat and said,"Ummm... Hi there. What's your name?" The pink earth pony ( or un-earthly, according to Twilight) just sucked in a big breath, gasped, and disappeared in a pink flash. "Darn, that girl is fast!" Solarflare noted. "Darn, these ponies are crazy." Twilight said darkly, turning to her cheak list. "Now Spike, I think we should start checking how preparations are going. First on the list, the treats and snacks for the celebration. We have a whole list to get through Spike! What are you doing complaining! This is great!" "Not again..." Spike groaned, dragging himself on the ground in restiance to Twilight. > In which the Sonic Trio and Twilight encounter an Unfortunate Problem > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Ugg, my hoof. How can a cowgirl shake so hard?" "Come Twi. It wasn't that bad." "Speak for yourself, Solarflare." The four ponies had met some ponies, including Applejack, the food caterer in these parts (who made mean a pie), and Rarity, the decorations director (who Spike had fallen head over heels for) . Unfortunately, there was no pegasus to clear the sky, but Rainstorm, Rainbow Dash, and Solarflare had taken care of that. Twilight had poofy hair when the Sonic Trio was done with their 2 second sky clearing. They had barely managed to spare their wings from Twilight's constant studies. So basically, the three had gotten closer in all of this. It just felt right, you know? "Twilight, can we go out for a quick flight?" Rainbow asked. "Yeah, I agree." Said Rainstorm, spreading her wings for emphasis. "Alright, but just for a little. Be back by two so we can make the final preparations, then go to the Summer Sun Celebration!" "Awesome!" The Sonic Trio cheered, ready for their vacation to really start. Flying out (Twilight yelling in disapproval), they took to the skies, wings finally getting the attention they wanted. Soaring along the tops of the clouds, hooves barely touching the surface, they landed on a fair sized cloud. "Ahh... what a day." Rainbow noted happily. A shadow fell on them. Rainstorm looked up, wondering what cloud would be up at this height. "I kno- oh no! Guys, looks like we got some problems... "Rainstorm said, pointing a hoof towards the sky. Zooming back to Twilight's temporary house, ignoring Twilight's protests, they merely said, "Look outside." Sensing the urgency in the voice, Twilight teleported herself to the window, and promptly gasped. " Uh oh..." Above, the Sun was blocked by a eerily familiar circular object, the only light coming from the outer rays of the Sun. It looked like a gigantic ring of glowing gold. The Sun had been covered with the Moon. > In Which the Sonic Trio and Twilight set out to find Celestia > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The door split with a resounding CRAK! "Rainbow Dash, you know the door was unlocked." "Of course I knew that. It was for the awesomeness Twi." Twilight facehoofed. "Let's just go inside, ok?" Twilight said through her hoof. Nodding and pointedly ignoring Twilight, Rainbow Dash trotted inside, followed by the eight other ponies accompanying her. Suddenly, a voice that was threaded with misery and anger rolled over everyone within the Everfree Forest,"What have you done to yourself Celestia!" ~~~ Three hours earlier... ~~~ "Oh no!" Twilight was pacing back and forth in a obvious indentation about 1 foot deep in the floor. "Ok, seriously Twi. This is not that bad. You have to admit your over reacting. I mean, the isn't that much to worry about." "What do you mean there isn't much to worry about Rainbow Dash! The Sun! What are we going to do! This is horrible! Why isn't the Sun moving?! Is Celestia gone? Oh no! What if she is! How did the Moon even get there! This is terrible! What are we going to d-" Rainbow put a hoof in front of her mouth."Please stop there Twilight. For the sake of Solarflare and Rainstorm." Finally noticing her friends sprawled on the couch snoring loudly, Twilight blushed. "Uh... I suppose my ranting is a little bit boring?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Ok, maybe a lot." Nodding in approval, Dash turned towards her sisters. "Hey Rain, wake up." Rainbow shook her sister awake, using old nicknames they had invented for each other in their fillyhood. "Just another minute Dash..." Shaking her head, Rainbow moved on to her other sister. "Flare, wake up." "Ugg... Do I have to?" "Yes, now get up!" Groaning and grunting in annoyance, Solarflare managed to get back on her hooves. Rainstorm did the same, with the same outcome. "So Twilight, got any idea on how we can find out what happened? You know, without boring us to death?" Twilight glared at Rainbow Dash. "Well, I think we should find out where Celestia is first, then maybe we can get hints from her." "Yeah, I agree." Rainstorm spoke up. "It's only right that Celestia knows what's going on. I think we all that this has to with her sister." Looking at everypony in the room for their agreement, Twilight nodded. "Alright then. It's settled. We go to find Celestia!" A great cheer rose from the house. "But before,we should go tell the people in charge of the Summer Sun Festival that it will be canceled." Walking out in great cheer, they trotted out to tell the ponies in charge. > In which the Sonic Trio and the Mane 6 go into the Everfree > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A purple flash appeared in Sweet Apple Acres. Once the light faded, a lavender unicorn stood there, panting. "Ugg. Maybe I should have just walked. Teleporting is so tiring." Another flash. This time it was three pegasi, all glaring a Twilight. "Well, you sure gave us warning!" Said the pegasus with a prismatic mane. "Sorry Rainbow. I wanted to spare you from Applejack's hoofshake." "Who's sparing who from what now?" A orange earth pony with a cowboy (or cowgirl, in our case) hat asked. "Applejack! Did you here everything I said! Well it was a joke! He he he..." "It's ok Sugarcube. I admit, mah hoofshakes are pretty hard. So what are y'all here to tell me?" "Well, since the Moon is covering the Sun, the Summer Sun Celebration will be canceled. We are going to find Celestia." "Ah figured. And I'm coming with you." "You sure Applejack? We think it has to do with the Everfree Forest." "As long as it has to do with mah friends, I coming." "Alright. Let's go see Rarity. Hope you don't mind teleportation Applejack." "What now!?" Another purple flash, followed closely by a rainbow, blue, and orange blur. They arrived at a nicely decorated town hall, with a bedraggled white unicorn weaving streamers through the banners. "Oh Rarity, have you been up all night?"Twilight said, sighing. "Ummm... Yes?" Rarity said nervously. "Well stop there Sugarcube. The celebration is canceled."Applejack said, finally recovering form the shock of teleportation. "Oh. And where are you going?" "To Celestia so we can find what is with the Sun." Rainbow said causally. "Then I absolutely must come with you." "Alright." Twilight said, "As long as you can teleport. Let's go find a mare named Fluttershy." "Oh, she is in the gardens with her birds. They sound absolutely ravishing..." Trotting outside, the six ponies managed to see a yellow pegasus, conducting a assortment of birds singing. "Hello there Fluttershy." Twilight called out. "Umm..." The yellow pegasus pawed at the ground. "Your birds are very nice. They sound great!" Twilight said, a big smile on her face. "And very fast." Rainbow said, as a bird landed on her. " Oh, let me get him for you." Fluttershy said, embarrassed. "It's ok. I have experience." Dash said, gently petting the blue bird as it closed its eyes in pleasure. "Really?" Fluttershy said, excited." When? How? I want to hear all about it!" "Well, we are going to find Celestia, so I'll tell you later." "Then I will come with you! I must hear it as soon as possible!" "Alright, let's go to the mare named Pinkie Pie." Twilight said, looking at Rainbow appreciatively. Once again they set off, this time on foot because of Twilight's loss of strength. Finally arriving after much encouragement for Twilight, a familiar pink earth pony stood outside the bakery. "Oh no..." Twilight groaned. "Hello there! Come inside, I have party for you! We will have so much fun, really! What are you doing?" Twilight sighed."Listen, we can't come in Pinkie Pie. We are going to-" "Find Celestia so you can find out what happened to the Sun, then somehow move the Moon away from the Sun?" "How.. how did you know?" "Oh, just a hunch. Come on, let's go save Celestia!" Pinkie Pie said, bounding away towards the Everfree. The seven other ponies followed, all with their hearts set on helping the princess. "Let's go!" > In which the Mane 6 and the Sonic Trio encounter their first obstacle > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dirt caked the eight ponie's hooves as the mud squisshed along with it, a sort of natural symphony. "My horn.." the lavender unicorn groaned, on the verge of collapsing. "You ok there Twi'?" a orange earth pony asked. "Yeah, lets just get going Applejack." Twilight said faintly. "I don't think so." said a cyan pegasus with a prismatic mane,"You're about to drop dead Twilight. Let's just stop here." Urging a protesting Twilight,they sat down on a cliff. "Ahh... that feels nice." a pale orange pegasus sighed with appreciation. "I know Solarflare. And a nice view too."said a white pegasus mare. "I don't like it Rainstorm..." a yellow pegasus said, hiding behind a white unicorn. "Oh come on Fluttershy.," said a pink earth pony that had appeared out of no where. " Look at the trees! They look like lollipops. Giant green lollipops. The color of Gummy! Gummys really cool. You know, this one time..." As the pink earth pony ranted on, Fluttershy seemed to shrink visibly. The white unicorn that Fluttershy was hiding behind tutted. "Oh Pinkie Pie, please stop. Look at poor Fluttersh- oh my, look at that!" A purple iridescent cloud of haze was zooming rapidly towards the cliff they were resting at. "Everypony run!" Rainbow screamed. But it was too late. The haze disappeared into the cracks of the cliff. Applejack sighed in relief."Whew. Just a trick of the light proba-" Suddenly, the whole cliff tumbled, pegasi hovering, though the earth-bound ponies not so fortunate. "Come on guys, let's go help them!" Rainbow said. Splitting into pairs (Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, Solarflare and Rainstorm) they managed to save Pinkie Pie, and Rarity the white unicorn. Applejack managed to grab onto a cliff-side plant with her mouth, but as soon as she saw Twilight about to fall, she slide down. "Hold on Surgarcube. I'm coming!" Grabbing hold of Twilight's hoof, Twilight panicked, saying"Applejack, what am I going to do?" Applejack who had her eyes closed in determination, suddenly opened them and looked down. "Let go." "What!? Are you crazy?!" "No I an't. Let go." Sighing and closing her eyes in preparation to die, Twilight let go. Screaming, she was caught by Fluttershy and Rainbow. Sighing in relief, Twilight looked up and smiled. Applejack was hopping down the cliff using a sort of natural set of steps. "Mental note: Applejack is honest." > In which we get a History Lesson > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Sir, they are coming." In the shadows, two, red eyes opened up. "Nightmare Moon. Do your best to stop them. This is no laughing matter, it is the fate of you and I." Nodding, Nightmare Moon bowed quickly and flew out. Turning to the open window, eyes tracking the rapidly shrinking figure of Nightmare Moon, the stallion sighed. "Celestia, what happened to you? You used to believe in me. But now..." His pupils narrowed to slits,"now I will have to kill your precious Elements." -----***----- Nightmare Moon's eyes were half closed due to the wing buffering her eyes. She sighed. If only she had possessed a darker colored pony that blended into the night sky. Unfortunately, this was the only strong pony available that would not collapse when possessed. Also, she was an alicorn, but then again all ponies turned in to an alicorn when Nightmare Moon takes over their body. But the biggest problem with this body was her coat. It was snow white, and stood out like a needle. Fortunately, the sky was cloudy, and her coat blended into it. Her mane was made out of pastel colors, which was absorbed by the clouds. Still, there were many problems with the body. Nightmare Moon sighed again. Oh how she missed Luna. Her coat and mane blended in perfectly, and was quick and agile, just the right size. Too bad her own sister banished her to the Moon! The power was so strong, that even she had just barely let go of the body in time to stay in Equestria. But with a stroke of luck, she had met the Master, and together, they sought to get rid of Celestia for good. And maybe they had. For Nightmare Moon had inhabited Celestia. > In which the Mane 6 and the Sonic trio finally make Plans > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Ok, so where exactly is Celestia? We have a hunch she is in the Everfree, because the Canterlot Guards said she went there. But where in the Everfree? You know, they call it that for a reason." Rainbow noted, saying the unspoken question everypony had. The girls were currently sitting in a clearing, surprisingly well lit considering the Sun's current situation. They had decided to sit down and talk about it, rather than wandering around aimlessly. "Well..." Twilight paused for a moment, putting a hoof tip to her chin in thoughtfulness, "I remember that the princess grew up in an old castle. It's in the Everfree, and if the Princess would go on a vacation," Rainbow snorted,"that would be the place." "Is that the castle?" Solarflare said, pointing a hoof towards a huge strong structure in the distance, ivy everywhere. "Yep, that's the one." Twilight confirmed. "But why would they leave a perfect castle there?" Rarity asked, quite horrified at the thought. "Nopony knows. As soon as Celestia became ruler, she ordered another castle to be built. Nopony even bothered to ask. Also, Solarflare, Rainstorm, and Rainbow, can you see how far away the castle is?" They saluted, dashing up into the sky. "Well Twi, this looks like it will take a while, on hoof at least. Any ideas?" Dash reported. "No, not right now. It looks like we'll have to go on hoof girls." With even more questions than answers, the girls set out, not even knowing themselves what they were looking for. -----***----- Nightmare Moon landed on the balcony, almost crashing in her urgency. "Sir, they are approaching rapidly! You must get out! I will confront them, go!" "No Nightmare Moon." The stallion replied calmly."I have a plan for you. You're going to let go of Celestia's body. I'll take care of it from there." > In which the Mane 6 and the Sonic Trio encounter their Second Problem > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Well, this is going considerately well." Twilight said, visibly relaxing. The group had been hiking towards the castle, and had encountered quite a few problems concerning water, bubbles, and embarrassment. They preferred not to talk about it. But these minor problems would never compare or prepare them for the upcoming problem... Up ahead they heard a roar. A oddly familiar roar to Twilight. As the the beast came out of the shadows, Twilight realized what, exactly, had roared. "I think I just jinked it. Right mister... Man... Manticore?" She said, shrinking as the Manticore towered above her. Suddenly, the three Sonic sisters glared menacingly at the Manticore, that made even the great beast cower in fear. "Nopony" Rainbow said icily "hurts" Solarflare glared at the manticore, "my" Rainstorm's wings were flared out, "FRIENDS!" They shouted in unison. They took off, blurs, shattering into Sonic Rainbooms, charging at the manticore head on. "STOP!" The three sisters back-pedaled, crashing into a tree. Every eye turned to the source of the voice. They were all surprised to see Fluttershy. Walking calmly up to the manticore, she nuzzled his paw. Purring, the great beast turned it over. There lay a thorn, which Fluttershy ohhhhed at in sympathy. "This will only hurt for a while." Fluttershy said reassuringly. The other ponies jaws were currently on the floor. With a dramatic flourish, Fluttershy pulled out the thorn. The manticore roared, ponies closing their eyes in horror, almost afraid to open them. When they did, they found Fluttershy, the manticore licking her mane. When the beast finally let go and went into the forest, her mane was sticking up, like a wave of water. Twilight smiled. "Fluttershy. Eternally kind." > In which we all ask "What just happened?!" > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia stood up, wings outstretched, stance wide. "You! How dare you even confront me!" She snarled. "Oh dear Celestia, so good to see you." The stallion purred, sickly sweet. "And you!" Celestia said, turning to Nightmare Moon's shadow cloud,"You corrupted my sister, then let go of her at the last second! And worse yet, you possessed me! And work with him!" "Now, now, settle down dear." The stallion said,"Or I will have to make you." "What!?" The stallion's horn pulsed with energy, the glowed an ominous shade of red... > In which the Mane 6 and the Sonic Trio enter the Castle > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Equestrian legends spoke of the the Everfree being haunted. One look at the solitary castle clinging to the bone-grey cliffs, and the 8 travelers had very little doubt left that those ghost stories were true. "Well, looks like we're getting closer." Twilight noted, suppressing a shudder. "But we still have a while to go." Rainbow said, gesturing a hoof towards the looming trees ahead. "It looks denser than the rest of the forest. Why?" Rainstorm wondered out loud. "I don't know," replied Solarflare,"but it's go to be dark in there." Preparing for the worst, they trotted in. A loud squishing noise interrupted the eerie silence. "Uh... Y'all, hold up. I think I stepped in something." Applejack said nervously. "Yes dear. But you simply must hurry," Rarity said hurriedly, "beaca- AAHHHHHHHHH!" Everypony joined in on the scream, for in front of them, was a tree. A tree with fangs. There was a pink blur, then suddenly, Pinkie Pie stood in front of the said tree. But Pinkie was not terrified. In fact, she was making faces, and giggling. "Bu... But Pinkie Pie! It's a tree with fangs!"Twilight said, horrified."Get away! Quickly!" "Oh silly, you don't understand! When I was a little filly and the Sun was going down..." "Tell me she isn't!" Twilight grumbled. "The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown..." "She is!" Rarity said, sighing. "I'd hide under my pillow, From what I thought I saw! But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way To deal with fears at all..." "Then what is?" Rainbow asked. "She said Pinkie you gotta stand up tall Learn to face your fears You'll see that they can't hurt you Just laugh and make them disappear." Pinkie put her face in front of a tree. "Ha. Ha. Ha!" The face on the tree disappeared. Everyone gasped. Pinkie Pie continued, "So giggle at the ghostly, Guffaw at the grossly, Crack up at the creepy, Whoop it up with the weepy, Chortle at the kooky, Snortle at the spooky, And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone and if he thinks that he can scare you then he's got another thing coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna... Hahahahaha... Heh... LAUGH!" Everypony ended up on the floor, cracking up. They had made every tree-face thing disappear from laughing so hard. They continued out of the dense area, still laughing. That is, until Twilight suddenly stopped. "Uh oh..." Ahead lay a raging river, the cause of this mayhem a purple serpent, moaning and splashing around in the river. "What is it my fair serpent?" Rarity asked. "Oh it is just terrible! This tacky little cloud of purple smoke came and whoosh," The serpent made a gesture of severing the edge of his recently cut mustache,"and took off my poor, beautiful mustache!" "Uh, sir, I don't think that it such a big proble-" Twilight began, but was cut off by Rarity. "Nonsense Twilight! This is horrible! Look at his fabulous hair!" "I know! I know!" The sea snake said, smoothing his hair. "And your gorgeous scales..." Rarity said, trailing off. "It's so true!" The creature wiped an eye. "All ruined because of your mustache!" The white unicorn finished. "I know! I know! I look horrible!" The serpent shouted, weeping. Rarity narrowed her eyes. "I can not have this crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!" She stepped up to the sea snake, and took off one of his scales. "Ow! What did you do that for!" Rarity ignored the serpent, and dramatically cut off her tail. Everypony gasped. Using her magic, she attached her tail to the place where the serpent's mustache had been. "Oh! Lovely! Thank you!" The snake said, caressing his new mustache. "But Rare, your tail!" Applejack exclaimed. Rarity looked back to her rump. "Oh, it's fine. Short tails are in this season any way." Twilight smiled, then turned her attention to the river. "Look! Now we can cross!" She cantered over, but was soon raised by the sea serpent. "Allow me!" He said, bowing before diving underwater. He created "stepping-stones", which the ponies crossed with, bouncing from "stone" to "stone". They arrived at a bridge, one that spanned over a giant chasm. The bridge was broken, but at Twilight's view, it seemed perfectly fine. "Let's go!" She exclaimed, for across the bridge lay the castle. Twilight cantered over, and slipped, not noticing the bridge was broken. Her hooves scrabbled for purchase, but found none. As she was about to fall, a mouth caught her tail. "Leave the falling to us." Rainbow advised. Nodding to her sisters, they dove downward, grabbing hold of the dangling ropes. They tied one rope to it's post, and was about to tie the other when they heard voices. "Sonic Trio...Sonic Trio..." "Who's there!" Rainbow said. "We're not afraid of you!" Rainstorm and Solarflare added. Three ponies in midnight purple materialized from thin air. "We understand you three are fastest fliers in Equestria." The lead mare began. "Yep. That's us! But do you mind telling the Wonderbolts that? Because, we've been trying to get into their group for like, forever..." Rainbow trailed off. "No Rainbow. Because we want you three as our lead team, for the Shadowbolts. The fastest fliers in the Everfree, and soon to be Equestria! We understand that you are the fastest, strongest, most famed ponies in the world! So, do you take our offer?" The sisters exchanged looks, then nodded at Dash. "You have a deal! Just as soon as we tie this rope.." "No!" The mare shouted. "It's them or us." "Rainbow!" Twilight shouted. "You know what you-" A glare from the leader silenced her, somehow controlling fog to block their view of Rainbow and her sisters. Rainbow looked at her sisters once again. A invisible conversation seemed to pass through them. Dash turned back to the Shadowbolts. "You." She said. The mare grinned. "Thank you, I mean. For the offer. But my friends come first." She turned away, tying the rope, and soared towards her friends, clearing the fog that the mare had created, her sisters following right behind her. "See?" Rainbow said proudly, chest puffed out. "We'd never..." Solarflare began, "even think about..." Rainstorm said, "leaving our friends hanging!" Dash finished. Twilight smiled. "Pinkie: a friend that's always gonna cheer you up! Rarity: generous everyday. Sonic Trio: Loyal forever." Twilight muttered. "Now girls, let's head into the castle!"she said, this time a little louder. Trotting over the bridge, heads held high, they thought everything would be alright now that they have passed all obstacles in their way. Nopony could explain how wrong they were. > In which the Mane 6 and the Sonic Trio meet a Bumbling Idiot > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A group of bats awakened as the 8 travelers trotted into the castle. Everypony gasped. The castle, though plain outside, was decorated beautifully on the inside. Gold and silver fanned out on the walls, meeting on the roof to create a dome. Blue and green tiles checkered the floor in an complicated pattern. Accents of bronze completed the look, the ivy making the the place look even more mythical. Murals done by famous artists covered the ceiling, one half a perfect replica of the blue sky, the other of the night. "Oh my! Look at the choice of colors! And the patterns! The murals are absolutely amazing! Who would leave such a castle?" Rarity swooned. "Uh... Rarity, I think we have more of problem than abandoning a castle..." Rainbow said, pointing a hoof towards the staircase. On it, a black unicorn stood, mane red and grey, with different shades of brown. He was impossibly huge, almost as big as Celestia herself. Muscles rippled underneath his coat, eyes red. "I am Shade, ruler of the Shadows." Everypony cringed, recalling the tales their mother told them as fillies. Shade was once the most powerful unicorn ever, though his power corrupted him. Celestia banished him to the shadows, though he ruled them instead. They were told that he had killed a hydra with his bare hooves. Of course, they thought they were just filly tales. Seeing this, though, they seemed to be wrong. "I have been expecting you, famed travelers." Shade continued, walking forward. "You have been quite popu-" BANG! Shade's face hit the floor, tripping over a stair. The sound echoed around the room, as the floor shoke from the impact. The ponies were quiet, not knowing how to react. Suddenly, Rainbow, Solarflare, and Rainstorm burst out laughing, rolling on the floor and banging on it, clutching their stomachs. "Ho.. How dare you laugh at the great Shade!" He said, stuttering. "So much for..He he heh.. Ruler of the.. Phump! Ruler of the Shadows! You can't even... Ha ha ha! You can't even see through them!" Rainbow said, cracking up. "Ugg. Well, welcome Nightmare Moon, ruler of the Moon. Who is, apparently, better than me." Shade said, walking away and almost tripping again. The Sonic Trio stood up, preparing for battle and still stifling giggles. Twilight rolled her eyes, tuning her attention to the doorway, stance wide. Then she remembered. She was here for Celestia. Why was she confronting the pony named Nightmare Moon? "Because I am Celestia dear Twilight." Said Nightmare Moon, standing in the doorway, "And I am here to get rid of you." > In which the Mane 6 and the Sonic Trio look for the Elements > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "But... Celestia! What happened! We are still here for you! You can still go back!" Twilight cried with anguish. "Oh Twilight. If only you understood." Celestia sighed. With wings outstretched, Celestia's mane stood up and somehow stretched impossibly long. Her mane came crashing down on Twilight. The seven other travelers gasped, but were silenced when they saw a pink-purple glint inside the writhing mass of a mane. As the ethereal mane cleared, there stood Twilight, horn glowing with magic. But she was not scared. She was angry. "CELESTIA, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO YOURSELF!" Twilight screamed, close to the volume of the Royal Canterlot Voice. She stepped up to Nightmare Moon, pushing her muzzle against the Alicorn's. Celestia shrunk. "Listen here missy. I don't care who did this to you. I know this is not Nightmare Moon controlling you right now. This is all a big illusion and mind control spell. But you are the strongest pony in history, and a simple spell such as this controls you?! No, you bent purposely to their will. You aren't even fighting!" Twilight snarled. "Why?" Suddenly, Celestia's pupils turned back to normal, not the slits they saw previously. The scared look they saw before vanished, replaced by a grim appearance. "Twilight, I have escaped the spell's grasp for a while. You must gather the Elements of Harmony that I taught you about." Twilight gasped "Use them against me. The Elements are right by yo-" Celestia's voice cracked, her pupils returning to slits. "Girls, follow me." Twilight said. "What are we doing?" Rainbow asked. "We are following Celestia's instructions." Twilight cantered up the set of stairs, followed by the seven other travelers. "Cuse' me Twi, but what in Tarnation was Celestia talkin' about!?" Applejack asked. "Well Applejack, the Elements of Harmony are jewels that hold the power of Friendship. Each crystal stands for a trait needed for Friendship. When used and united, they have the power to do anything." "Then how do we find these Elements?" Rainstorm asked. "They say they are in this castle. Apparently, they are united with a spark. Oh! There they are!" Twilight pointed a hoof to a contraption. It had six sections, five below and branching outwards like flower petals, one section on the top, empty. "Where is the sixth one?" Rarity asked. "Apparently, when the spark is created, it will appear. Girls, help me get them down." With lots of instructions, they finally placed all the oddly stone elements before Twilight. "Let me try this..." Twilight's horn fluttered to life, sparks springing off of it due to the amount of magic being taken. Her horn glowed brighter and brighter, and soon the other ponies had to cover their eyes. "ENOUGH!!!!!!!" The Canterlot Voice resonated through the castle, bits of rotten wood crumbling down from the sheer physical power of the sound. It was enough to startle Twilight out of her concentration. Her horn stopped, magic draining out. There Nightmare Moon stood, looking even more outrage than before. She smashed her hooves into the floor, making the Elements jump up, and fall to the ground... Time seemed to slow down. Twilight's mouth was open, while the Sonic Trio dashed to the stones. But it was too late. The Elements smashed down, years of rotting away in the castle making it all to easy to destroy. There was no way to get Celestia back to normal now. > In which the Mane 6 and the Sonic Trio get another Problem > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nightmare Moon stared for a while, surprised at what she did herself. Twilight fell to her knees, desperately gathering the pieces, though her hooves only made the wreck worse. "Oh poor dear." Rarity said sympathetically. "Uh Rarity, it's not the time to feel bad. I got a plan. Distract Nightmare Moon." Rainbow said simply, gesturing to her sisters before taking off. Her sisters shrugged, then followed. "Well. We got to get her attention, then lead her away." Applejack said, a little dumb-founded as Nightmare Moon laughed a rather cheesy evil laugh. "Ah ha! Here's one way! Hey you! You have got to work on your evil laugh. Make it sound evil, you know. And maybe real." Pinkie suggested. "Why you!" Nightmare Moon darted after Pinkie, who squealed, then ran for her life. Pinkie was everywhere, on the ceiling, on the walls, and mostly in Nightmare Moon's face. Giving up, Nightmare Moon stalked to Twilight, horn glowing. "Now we really got to find a insult." Rarity said. "Twilight! Look out!" Applejack cried, but to no avail. Twilight seemed to be in her own world, staring blankly at the broken Elements, lost in her thoughts. At that moment. a lone bat that had stayed to see what the commotion was about, chattered. Fluttershy who had stayed quiet the whole time, hid behind her mane. "Oh, I don't think you should say thinks like that to her..." Rarity's ears perked up."A insult! Use it!" "I don't want to be mean..." "Fluttershy, this is the life and death of Twilight! If you don't do it, she'll DIE." she said, gesturing at Nightmare Moon, her horn glowing like a star. The last words seemed to fuel Fluttershy. "Hey meanie! Why do you wear armor? Do you have problems or something!? Does it give you comfort? Because you look like a idiot. And you mane! You would look better if a cement block hit you! Not like it already looks like that..." Nightmare Moon hissed. "Ummmm.... Not really?" Fluttershy said meekly now. Nightmare Moon roared. "RUN!!" Applejack screamed, scared for the well-being of Fluttershy. And she did. Fluttershy ran for her life, for Twilight, and for Celestia. Her speeds rivaled even the Sonic Trio's. As she ran underneath the domed ceiling, she looked up and saw Rainbow giving her a nod. Fluttershy got out of there as fast as her sore legs and wings let her. Nightmare Moon ran where Fluttershy had just been, and gasped, trying to flee. But she was too late. As the metal cage made out of wire and steel dropped down on her, she screamed. The others cheered. Applejack hoisted Twilight onto her back, then turned to the others. "Let's help her out of her uhhhh..." Applejack looked at Twilight, not sure of how to describe it. "Coma. Let's help her out of her coma, and we can try to find the Elements again. Like Celestia said, they are ponies, too, and we got to find those. And also.." Applejack gave a sideways glance at Rainbow,"we have got some stories to tell." > Note! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ok guys, a little heads up. Sorry, three chapters will be out tommorow. I got a little sick. I was feeling better, but now I can't. Sorry guys! Hope you can forgive me! I will try to make them really long. Sorry, I haven't been able to keep up. Again, hope you guys can forgive me! (Man, I say sorry to much, don't I?) > In which Rainbow tells the first part of her Tale > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Well, it was weird." Rainbow began,"I felt a magical tug, yet, it seemed to not be magical, more a way of life. When I looked outside to see what it was, well, I saw a- no the- entity. The entity of Nature." The travelers gasped. The entity of Nature, of all of them! The single most important one keeping the Earth, controlling the Elements of Fire, Water, Wind and Earth. Everypony knew that there were beings that were created by him, the one who created us all. These beings kept order to Earth, taking different forms for disguise. Nopony knew what to call them, so they were given the title of Entitys. There was the Entity of Space, Time, and of course, Nature. Ponies say you can see through their disguises of you have a pure heart. Rainbow, it looked like, had one. "Dash, you sure? How do you know?" Twilight asked, questioning. "I'm sure. I don't know how to explain it, it's like being hit by lightining, except instead of singed feathers and fur, you get a electric feeling of honor and pride coursing through your body. Then, I smelled nature. All the scents you scent when you step out of the door, all rolled into one, though not so its bad."Rainbow said, rather uncertainly, as if she wasn't sure herself. "And then, it hit me." ----*****----- What if we ask her! It's Twilight's only hope. We've got to try. Rainbow thought. "Rarity, I don't think it's time to feel bad. I have a plan. Distract Nightmare Moon for me." Rainbow said, half listening. Gesturing to her sisters to follow, she took off, not bothering to see if they followed. > In which Rainbow tells her Tale > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I am... Not sure that I understand your offer." The nature Entity said, rather un-certain. Oh a whim, Rainbow had landed right next to the Entity like it was nothing. Really, on the insides, she was hyperventilating. It was like becoming apart of the Wonderbolts, but WAY more intense. She barely had the courage to speak to Nature itself. But, once she had talked to Nature, she (Dash thought it was a she) turned out to be a lot like Luna; formal, but very funny and a pony-lover. Though it was a bit irregular speaking to a floating cloud of iridescence, sparkling and changing colors depending on the weather, Rainbow soon found it was like talking to Luna. Her sisters added thing here and there too. "If you assist us, we will... Uh..." She turned to her sisters for help. "We will convince ponies to help the environment more?" Rainstorm offered, not sure herself. "And... Uh... we will make it our lifetime goal?" Solarflare added, uncertain too. "Ok! Deal done! Oh, you do not know how long I've waited for ponies to realize how important nature is! Thank you SOOOO much!" The simmering cloud of lime green encased the three pegasi in her, making them feel safe and warm. "So, what do you need?" The Entity asked, crisp and business-like once again. "Well, we need a cage-" the word did not get halfway out of Rainbow's mouth when a cage of wire and metal appeared in front of her, enough size inside for a manticore. "Done!" The Nature essence said proudly. "Uh, ok. Now we need ro-" A rope made out of silver substance appeared in front of Dash. "Whoa. How do you do that?" Rainstorm asked, in awe. "Oh, since it's made out of Earth material, I can get it no problem. Simple, really." The Entity said, proud beyond words. "Well, thanks. You really helped us, and our friends." Solarflare thanked. "Speaking of friends, we better get back-" Rainbow began. "Oh nonsense! It's time to hand out presents! I owe you, big time!" The god of Nature said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But the time-" Rainbow tried to talk again, but was cut off. "Really? Time matters? Oh, silly! Do you not know who I am? Hey, Timey, stop time now please. Bubble 8.5 hooves wide." The Entity said to the sky. Time slowed around the four ponies (or rather, three ponies and a Entity), a bubble appearing, keeping the creatures inside perfectly fine. The wind stopped, trees freezing in their arch. Outside, a lone bat stopped chattering, and all was still. "Ok, now for the gifts!" Nature itself said cheerily. "Whoa. This. Is. AWESOME!!!" Rainbow exclaimed punching a hoof into the air. "Timey?" Rainstorm and Solarflare said at the exact same time. "Yeah, that's Time Entity. Space is.." The Entity giggled, "Spacey, and I'm Leafy. Anyway, a present for Rainbow Dash. Hummmm...." The cloud shaped itself into a pony, a hoof-tip to its chin on thought. "Oh! This!" A silvery white cloth materialized, looking like air itself. It seemed to ripple, air currents appearing out of no where. It turned to Solarflare. "How about... This!" A single clip descended, looking like a fire, but harmless. Orange and red flickered, matching Solarflare's mane. "And of course, Rainstorm." A blue-turquoise feather appeared, shimmering in the dim light, like the inside of a clam. "What do these do, exactly?" Rainbow asked, wrapping the cloth around her neck. "Well, yours creates air currents to help you, and also parts air to help you too. You can talk to air animals. A key in flying." As Dash admired her gift, Nature turned to Solarflare. "Yours is a little different. You can create and destroy fire, and also you can fly through it. You can communicate with fire animals." Flare patted the clip in her mane appreciatively as the God of Earth turned to Rainstorm. "Yours can create and destroy water, and allows you to talk to sea creatures." Turning away, the Entity gestured to all three of them. "Basically, Rainbow Dash controls air, Solarflare, Fire, and Rainstorm, water. Also, there's gifts for your friends to. I think they will help you." Leafy's ethereal eyes glittered knowingly, then she disappeared. "Well, let's go. We have no time to waste." Rainbow said as she took off again, this time flying faster than usual, gifts in tow. -----*****----- "Oh, what is my gift?" Rarity asked, excited. "Well, you got this.." Rainbow pulled a purple brooch out. "And mine?" Applejack said, eager. Dash handed her a green harness, a lot like Big Mac's. "Oh, and Pinkie Pie, you got this.." Rainbow tossed a blue headband to her. "Wha.. what did I.." "Fluttershy, you got a..." Pulling a pink butterfly bracelet out, Dash handed it to her. "What did I get?" A voice asked. Rainbow turned to the source. "Twilight, your awake!" The travelers crowded around the unicorn, asking if she was ok. "I'm fine. But seriously, what did I get?" Twilight asked again. With a flourish, Rainbow delicately placed a pink six-pointed star jewel in Twilight's hoof. "Rarity's is supposed to help her with dressmaking," Solarflare and Rainstorm read off a list,"Applejack's is a physical improvement, Pinkie's is supposed to help her always have fun parties, Fluttershy's lets her communicate with animals, and Twilight's makes get magic incredibly powerful." The ponies each looked at their gifts appreciatively, humming happily to themselves. With a lighter trot, they headed back to Ponyville, the bat in tow. > In which our Travelers find a Oddly Bat-Winged Creature > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "So what, exactly, are the Elements?" Applejack asked, confused beyond words. They had finally arrived back at Ponyville to think of a way to get the Elements back, the bat (the name Black Knight bestowed upon it) tagging along. They decided it would be Spike's pet, beacause he could not reach the higher shelves. And, according to Fluttershy, he very smart. With the help of him (who already seemed to know the library like it was on the back of his wing), they managed to locate the book on the Elements. Unfortunatly, it had very advanced vocabulary, and did not hold much information. "Well, from what I can understand, it's six jewels that have the power of Friendship. There seems to be pony forms of them too, if the jewel Elements are destroyed. Unfortunately, we need to find these ponies." Twilight explained. "But Celestia said that they are right by you! Or, at least, that's what I thought she said. She never got to finish." Rainbow said, her sisters nodding by her in agreement. "But the only ponies by me were-" Twilight gasped,"you!" A spark in her eyes were all the other ponies saw before Twilight was out the door. "Come on! Let's go!" ------*****------ The door split with a resounding CRAK! "Rainbow Dash, you know the door was unlocked." "Of course I knew that. It was for the awesomeness Twi." Twilight facehoofed. "Let's just go inside, ok?" Twilight said through her hoof. Nodding and pointedly ignoring Twilight, Rainbow Dash trotted inside, followed by the eight other ponies accompanying her. "Hello? Anypony here?" Rarity called. All they heard was the echo, bouncing around the room. But unfortunately, there was somepony there. A EVIL somepony. They were to late to realize this as giant bat wings unfurled, casting huge shadows on the wall. The figure's shadow soared over them, and seemed to land in front of the eight explorers. The thing was, they couldn't actually see the creature there. It was only shadows. The ponies shrinked back in fear, only Rainbow standing up, cloth proudly wrapped around her neck like a bandana. Scilence claimed the scene, Rainbow and the frigure seemingly staring each other down. Soon, her sisters joined in, glaring at where the creature's eyes would be. Wind whipped around them, moisture and heat joining in. This time, the shadow shrinked, a faint, rasp whisper finding the ponie's ears, "They have been blessed by her! We are too late now!" And promptly flew off. The three sisters smirked, but this was not good. Though they had scared off a enemy, it seemed that he had gone to alert his master. And no matter what they had learned about their gifts (Flare's clip was firmly clasped into her mane, Dash's tied around her neck, Rainstorm's tied with a string, tightly tucked in her mane, Rarity's decorating her saddlebags, etc.) and their enemies, well, let's just say, they would see how wrong they were. > In which our Explorers head to who Knows Where > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A perigrine falcon swooped low, eyes and ears that saw and heard everything. It dived down, and landed on a white pegasus's back. "Anything Storm?" Rainstorm asked. The bird shook its head. "Where in Tarnation did you get that bird anyway?" Applejack asked. Rainstorm smiled at her sisters. "It's a long story." She said. "Any by all means dear, we have time." Rarity said, walking slower to hear better. "Well, it was an accident mostly. One morning, we were taking our usual flight, but I found a little chick. We took it under our wing. I got it, but Dash didn't want a pet. I think she's going to want one soon though." Rainstorm said, exchanging looks with Solarflare, grinning. "Yes, it certainly great to have a animal companion." Fluttershy said, perking up a the mention of pets, "I could get one for you Rainbow. In fact, there's this one turtl-" "No thanks Fluttershy, I fly alone." Dash said, cutting her off,"Except for my sisters." They did not talk again while they were walking. Really, they didn't know where they were going. It was instinct they were following, as if a rope was tugging them there. But the whole time, they had never even got a clue as to what was happening around them. After Twilight dashed out of the library, they had been walking for hours. Following this hidden trail. They had even been getting to know each other, even Fluttershy. "Everypony, wait. What's that?" Twilight asked, holding a hoof up to signal them to pause. Ahead, a looming figure stood, regal, yet old. They were headed to the Dragon Lands. -----*****----- A whooshing sound signaled the arrival of a winged pony. He collapsed in a heap of fatigue, though tried to get up multiple times. Another bat-winged pony, this one a mare, rushed up to help him."Oh my! What happened Shadow Wing?" "Breeze, it's urgent. The master... He's in trouble. The ponies have been blessed by.... her." And with that, he collapsed. Another whooshing sound split the air. Breeze had taken off, and was flying to the top of the regal, yet old structure. Sound familiar? But this was no coincidence. Because just as our travelers were walking towards the Dragon Lands, the enemy was there waiting for them. > In which a Certain Shady Stallion gets Busted > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Through all this excitement, there was one particular stallion who busy doing his own thing. The clicking of keys being pressed echoed through the hollow room. "Must... Get.. the Nether Star..." A certain black stallion said, In a daze. While his other villainous protégés were out taking care of rather pressing matters, Shade discovered a game called "Minecraft". Deciding to give it try, he soon found it quite... Well, addicting. "Shade! Turn on the bath!" A familiar voice shouted. "Nightmare Moon! Your a cloud; you don't take baths!" Shade replied, still in a daze, and not realizing the consequences if Nightmare Moon found out what he was doing. Really, he wasn't really sure who he was talking too. It was too late once he realized. "Not anymore! Remember I- Wait! Why you..." Nightmare Moon fumed, stompping into the room in the familiar shape of a alicorn. Suddenly, Shade comprehended what he was doing, and who was at the door. Quickly closing his laptop, he grabbed a nearby notepad and pencil. "What are you doing?" Asked an already suspicious Nightmare Moon. "I'm.. Uh... Planning our latest scheme!" Shade said quickly. "Let me see that!" Encasing the pad in her hoof, she peered at it with "her" eyes. "Shade, this is just doodles!" "Uhh... On the next page!" Nightmare Moon flipped the notepad. "Dr.. Dragons?" Glancing up at Shade, she noticed the laptop behind him. Dashing towards the computer, she opened it before Shade could stop her. "What is this... Thing called Minecraft?" Nightmare Moon said quizzically. "It's a game! About survival!" Shade said, excited at the mention of it. "In.. Cubes?" "Yes!" "I will never understand young ponies... Nor will I ever play this ridiculous game!" Five Minutes Later "I WILL beat this Wither! NOPONY CAN STOP ME!" Nightmare Moon screamed at the laptop. Shade was right next to her, tapping furiously. "Here! Another diamond sword!" "Thank you fellow survivor!" This continued for a while, then finally "Master", who was outside, had enough. "What in Faust's Name are you two DOING!" The pony screamed, or at least, the shadow they could see of it. Quickly, the two close their laptops, grabbing a notepad and two pencils. "Were scheming!" Shade said quickly. Nightmare Moon nudged him. "Ugg. You two seriously think I believe that? Go actually scheme." The Master said, and walked away. As soon as he was out of ear-shot, Nightmare Moon opened her laptop. "We got plenty of time to plan later. Just... Another go at the Wither?" And so, our villains got absolutely no where, in real life, nor Minecraft. > In which there is a Pleasant Surprise > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Earlier "Go, go, GO!", Twilight shouted, running away the second she finished her sentence. A huge midnight dragon swooped down from above, spewing flames all the while. I guess it wasn't exactly smart for the eight girls to come rampaging into a random cave, especially considering where they were. It was nightfall, and the peaceful twinkle of the stars could trick you into forgetting where you were. That just proved how dangerous the Dragon Lands were; even Luna's light made you think twice. Currently, they were hiding out in a small cave, the dragon outside. "We're never going to outrun this guy!" Rainbow Dash called. "I hate ta say it Sugarcube, but she's got a point." Applejack agreed. "Then what do we do?" Twilight replied hopelessly. "Ooohhhhh..... Can't you use your super-duper magical powers to fly the mean dragon away?" Pinkie Pie asked, bouncing past Rarity. "Dear, she's still only a unicorn. She can't use her- ahh.... "super-duper magical powers" with out dropping dead afterwards." Rarity pointed out. "Though she's got her jewel! Twilight can surely lift the dragon with her jewel!" Rainstorm said, gesturing towards the pink-purple jewel in Twilight's new crown. "Hey! Pinkie Pie, your a genius!" Solarflare said, high-fiving her. "Heh..... I get that a lot." She replied, giggling. Twilight took a deep breath. "Alright..... Here goes nothing!"