There will come a time when evil will rise, but never a time when good will fail.
It has been several years since Twilights Coronation. Minor events have occured that required her attention and that of her friends. Now she is happily ruling the kingdom with the aid of Luna and Celestia. Her friends have achieved their destinies in their own places, but never far from each others hearts.
But one dream, one mistake, one love, will change it all.
As an unknown evil arises, will Twilight and the Elements of Harmony have the loyalty to protect each others back? To be honest in the face of lie and treachery? Will they have the kindess to see the truth? Willing to sacrifice themselves for the future? Can they overcome the pain they will endure?
And the Biggest question: Can the Magic of Friendship truly defeat anything?
Set a few decades after the main story of MLP: FiM, this adventure will take the Mane 6 to some of the most exotic lands and most devious places pony-kind will ever see. They will face creatures worse than anything they have ever imagined.
And no one will escape with anything less than a broken heart.
It was a wonderful night. A white pony stepped onto her balcony. Her sister truly had a way with creating peacefulness and tranquility with her talent. The stars twinkled in the sky brightly. The birds had finished their chatter. The squirrels had finished their hunt for nuts. The animals were at peace.
Below the balcony, one could see all of Canterlot. The news of the day had come and gone. The stores closed their doors to finish taking stock of inventory. Many had gone home to embrace the very things they lived for. They too were at peace.
The night was so still. So perfect. And yet...
There was too much pain in her heart. Luna was on the moon, trapped. It had been 500 years ago, on this night, that Princess Celestia had banished her sister, her own flesh and blood, to the moon. The prophecy was half complete. Soon the stars would align and bring back her sister. But even then, things would not be correct. Luna would be 1000 years behind in culture. She would be so backward in society.
The tears flowed freely from Celestia's eyes. While others went home to a family, all she had was her small room in a still unbuilt Canterlot Castle. She had no pony else. Except...him.
"NO! I must not bring him up!" She promised herself allowed. He was the very reason she was in so much pain. As a ruler, she did all she could to stop him. Just like she tried to stop Nightmare Moon.
"No...He was different." She assured herself. He had brought it upon himself. He chose to seek out the dark paths. He promised me we would rule Equestria fairly after Discord. He-she sobbed-promised to be with me. Forever. And now, she had done away with him too. Banished for all eternity. She began to weep even louder. The guards would not hear. They had wife and children to provide for. A family as well. She slowly walked to her cabinet. The cabinet of the royal princess, ruler of Equestria, Master of the sun, was rather cheap. 2 large double doors and 2 drawers inside. Yes, truly the work befitting a princess. She could have had her pick of any. But she chose this for a reason.
She pulled the latch behind the niche where her crown sat. A compartment opened revealing the box. She took it with her magic and set it down on her bed. It was a simple box but she held it with the same care one would give to a skunk that may let out its gasses. Inside were the objects she needed.
The elements of harmony. Crafted together through research and sacrifice. These were now the bond that held the power to release her. One day, she would find the perfect bearers. They would finally let her retire. But for now, they were a reminder of her mistakes. Of her weakness.
She put them away before she could feel the remorse coursing through her veins. They were too much.
She slipped them away and prepared her night gown. Tonight she would sleep under a beautiful, albeit sad, moon. She had many other duties the following morning. Many laws to create.
The moon had turned blood red. The very ground beneath her was crumbling. The sounds of pain and suffering echoed throughout all the land. The ponies laid out, slaughtered like sheep. The royal guard destroyed. The only one standing was her and her love.
No. This...This can't be!
Celestia. Dear, poor, Celestia. Did you not see this coming? The day of my return will be oh so wonderful! The streets will run red with the blood you have paid to keep me locked away. Now you will learn the true meaning of betrayal. Be ready princess of the Morn, for soon you will not wake up to a peaceful world. No. You will only see a living hell. The very same place YOU SENT ME!
I...I will stop you!
Celestia lowered her horn, only to have the ground beneath her crumble to dust. As she fell she could hear the voice again.
"AHH!" Cried a startled black pony. Her mane was like the colors of the night 500 years ago. On her mane was whole constellations and many left undiscovered. Princess Luna quickly put away the bowl of water.
"Sister! I did not know you were awake..." She explained.
"Luna. Now is not-" She noticed the bowl of water "Seriously?" Luna simply blushed "I read it in a book. I wanted to see if it was true." She explained solemnly. "I will leave you to get dressed. I will be off to bed soon." She turned to leave.
"Wait." Luna turned to Celestia. "Something is wrong. Very wrong. Send a letter for Princess Twilight. Have her assemble her friends. And bring me the Elements." Her tone was serious and grave. Luna knew better than to argue.
As Celestia saw her sister off, she went to her cabinet. She remembered it all too well. It had aged in the last 500 years but she could not bear to part with it. She opened the small compartment again. Inside was the not the elements but rather a scroll written in blood...except there was nothing there.
The scroll dropped to the floor. It wasn't possible. I put a powerful barrier on that seal. She looked at it again only to scream in fright.
"Run my love, Run" was now written in blood.
Celestia could no longer bear it. She had to face this nightmare head on. She looked out from her balcony. She knew the day she had feared for millennia had finally arrived.
But she knew she could not do it. She was old and hardly in any shape to battle an evil force. What Celestia needed was a force strong enough to counter the evil that was approaching. As she looked out from her balcony, she saw what she expected. Busy ponies going here and there. Scurrying about. Completely unaware that their very existence was at stake.
Princess Twilight Sparkle was not having a good day. First it was the random pony that woke her up last night. Then it was the several tax laws that she had failed to look over. Now her court was backed up on duties. Not to mention the flood in Manehatten. Even breakfast failed her. The chef was sick so they hired some random mail mare to bring some muffins. Her stomach had not quite digested it well. Now she was listening to some noble who had declared that he was starting a new town near Appleloosa.
The throne room where she was now seated in was rather lavish. She had decided to repaint it a few years ago to reflect night and day. It had worked out well. The stained glass mirrors created a wide array of colors on the ground.
There were many that were added since her rule. She had a mural of all her closest friends.
Rarity was now one of the biggest designers in all of Canterlot. She was even bigger than Fancy Pants. People loved her new idea of socks. Twilight had even bought a few herself.
Fluttershy now owned an animal nursery. No one ever understood how she was able to start one in a small cottage but she made it work.
Rainbow dash had achieved her dream of being with the Wonderbolts. Twilight saw her the most. Since she was a special guest at all the shows (not to mention that the royalty technically owned them) she could talk to Rainbow any time she wanted.
Applejack had now taken full responsibility of Sweet Apple acres. Granny Smith had passed away a few years ago. The news had hurt her and all her friends. Big Mac was indisposed due to his back injury finally catching up with him. Applebloom was off to college now that the Apples could afford it.
Pinkie Pie was enjoying her work at Sugar Cube corner. She continued to bake many goods and set up parties. However, she seemed to be a lot more responsible. She was slowing down too. As is with age, she did not hop to her locations anymore. She merely skipped.
How I long to see them-
"Your majesty? There I have all the paper work complete." He said. With his magic, a massive pile of papers floated in.
"Mr. Fine Dine I cannot allow you to do this." Twilight responded. "The Apploosans have those lands occupied and the buffalos own the other parts." This was now Mr. Fine's 3rd attempt at getting this land he so wistfully desired.
"But your majesty-"
"Enough." She raised her hoof. "The land you wish to acquire would put an end to the truce between the Apploosans and the buffalo. I will not risk a town or a truce between 2 societies be destroyed. Guards please show Mr. Fine the way out."
"But....b-but-"
"URGENT NEWS FOR YOUR MAJESTY COMING THROUGH!" Burst in a screaming pony. The door smacked Mr. Fine in the face who was promptly was knocked out.
Oh great. Now the noble would sue. These ponies-
"Your majesty, Princess Celestia has called for you. She wishes you to collect the other Bearers of Harmony. Bring the Elements themselves along." Relayed the guard to Twilight. Twilight was suddenly frantic.
"What does she want?! Maybe she wants to test me! See if I've been a good ruler! What if....I DONT PASS!" She quickly realized that everyone was watching her. She quickly regained her royal manner.
"I will speak to them and get them to the princess ASAP." She finally declared. "Spike take a message...Oh." She quietly cried in her broken heart. The dragon she loved was now leader of a pack of dragons. They were peaceful and he was now a fully grown dragon.
Twilight sighed. She would have to get them by hand.
"LET’S GO LET’S GO!" Yelled the coach "I wanna see those wings flapping like there is no tomorrow! Because if I don’t like it, there might be none for you!" She continued to yell over the roar of the other Wonderbolts zooming by. Rainbow Dash looked at them and smiled. She had come so far. She was now training new Wonderbolts. She performed for her best friends.
The Wonderbolts Academy was massive. The pillars had a roman-esque design that made it look classical, yet modern. The main building was even bigger now than it was when Rainbow Dash went there when she was younger. Now, it was housing over 600 Pegasi and still more to enter.
Rainbow Dash had made the Sonic Rainboom her own personal technique (it was her ticket into the Wonderbolts AND it marveled the kids and inspired them to become Wonderbolts.) She had many other techniques but thanks to her multi- color mane, she preferred the Sonic Rainboom. It was also one of the few reminders she had of her childhood. She had really grown. She had a sleeker body. Her mane was still a mess and so she was her tail but that didn't stop her from looking beautiful. Her legs were longer as well as her wing span. She could easily cover a good few miles in a few wing flaps.
She was also mentally more mature. She started to take her responsibilities seriously. She rose every morning to assign different tasks for her weather control team in Ponyville. Then when all was tasked, she took off to teach her lesson at the Wonderbolts Academy for Young Fliers. When she finished her work for the day, she would return home to either re-read Daring Doo stories or create new ones (Daring Doo had ended years ago).
Sometimes she had to do shows for royalty or nobility, but nothing excited more than giving a show for orphanages while she could really have any fan base she wanted, she always appealed to the children. And so she revolved her career around it. She went around performing for fillies for free. It reminded her so much of herself when she was young. The only other fan base that could rival for her attention was her friends. Every show, she sent out free tickets to them. Unfortunately, they were either busy with their own lives or had other commitments. But she always saw Twilight. And thus, the two became very close. They often spoke after shows about how things were going.
From what Rainbow knew of Twilight's job, she was often busy but she did attend galas and parties so if Rainbow signed up for entertainment, she would be there in a heartbeat.
It all brought a tear to her eye. She missed them all so much to the point that she would trade her status and wealth just to be young and free with them again. Less responsibility, more naps, and good times. Now it was all work and responsibility.
She sighed. She was an adult now. She had a job and she would do it to the best of her abilities.
"Alright! Way to go guys!" Called Rainbow from below. The other fliers came in hot and made perfect stops in front of Rainbow.
"Sky high! Good job!" Rainbow commented "Just one problem. Next time, when spiraling out of a cloud, make sure to not go too high. We want to still be able to see you come out. Speeding straight up eliminates the "wow" factor."
"Yes ma'am!" She replied.
Rainbow turned to the other cadets. She gave each one a praising then a chastising. She finally let them off. Rainbow preferred to let them train really hard then take a short break. When they got back, they were gonna do some speed training. That’s when the fun started.
"I see you know hard to work 'em hard, eh Rainbow?" said an orange pony as she came in for a landing.
"Scoots! I thought I sent you to do some tasks." Said Rainbow.
Scootaloo just sighed. "You know me Dashie. I like to work fast as possible." She smiled.
Rainbow just smirked. She had practically trained Scoots herself. Born unable to properly fly, she often received the most trouble in flight school. She transferred to Ponyville. Her parents had abandoned her. She was an orphan. Perhaps that was why she always preferred to perform for orphans.
Scoots decided to move in with Dash. Together they trained and work hard to get where they were. Now it was paying off. Rainbow returned the smile. "That’s Captain Rainbow Dash to ya, squirt!" She gently nudged her. Scootaloo had also grown considerably. Her wings received correctional surgery that eventually allowed her to fly normally. After that, she trained long and hard to be on the weather patrol. Now she was almost as tall as Dash but her mane was well combed.
Scoots stomach rumbled. "Well, I got a few minutes before those storm clouds roll in and before you have to train. Wanna grab a bite?" She winked, "Captain?"
Rainbow gave her best serious face before caving in. Together, they went into the mess hall
Twilight's flying had improved over time. Being an Alicorn wasn't easy. She had to learn flying and was sent to a flying camp...for fillies. Fortunately, being a princess has its perks and she was able to strike a deal and learn from Dash herself.
While she was not half as gifted as the rainbow streak, she learned enough to be able to fly fast and efficiently.
As she scanned the skies for the Wonderbolts Academy for Young Fliers, she nearly missed the Cloud Coliseum. It was truly a massive structure. It had many ornate columns and statues. It was made from a cloud material that was so hard to break, it could be compared to a brick wall and make said wall cry.
Normally it was closed to the public, but then again, one did not turn down a princess. Twilight wished to reminiscence about the good old days.
The Coliseum was empty. She was lead by a guard as he gave a tour. However, she declined to continue after the tour was going underground (or as "under" as you can get in a cloud building.) The guard praised her as she took out a coin purse and tossed a few bits his way.
As she sat down in the VIP section, she could not remember as clearly as earlier. She decided to sit elsewhere.
Twilight scanned the rows to look for the seat she had once sat in so many years ago. The smallest things often had the most memories. Once she found it, she let her mind flow freely, blocking out all outside distractions until it was only her and blissful memories.
Her multi-colored wings spread color throughout the coliseum. Many were blinded by its beauty (and the fact she was directly in front of the sun.)
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash struggled to complete her routine. Her moment of truth. A Sonic Rainboom.
Well, here goes nothing.
Then it began. As Rainbow flew high into the sky, Rarity continued to glowed and bask in the sunlight. The wings, made from morning dew, began to melt in the intensity of the sun. She hardly noticed as her friend flew up above her, ready to perform the most legendary move in all of Pegasus history.
Rarity! Your wings! They are breaking!
Thank you Twilight they are quite-
There was a scream. The wings combusted and the Element of Generosity fell from the great heights of Pegasopollis.
Rainbow continued to push the sound barrier. She was coming close. Her ears started to pop. She was getting close. Soon she would break the sound bearer causing a legendary move that would impress the Wonderbolts and bring her one step closer to her dream.
Then she heard it.
She turned around to see Rarity, crying, make-up ruined, and screaming for help.
Rarity! I've got you!
She poured on the speed. There was another few thousand feet to go. Rainbow had to recover her fast otherwise they would both go into an unstoppable crashing force hurtling toward Earth.
As she looked closer, she noticed someone else.
The Wonderbolts had tried to help Rarity! Except now Rarity AND the Wonderbolts needed Rainbows help too.
She suddenly felt something else. She felt her friend's life threatened. She might fail to save the very things important to her. She suddenly realized, loyalty meant nothing if you cannot protect the ones you love.
She pushed her limits. Her mind was working overtime. Her muscles tightened. Veins popped out of her wings and hooves as she sped up. She closed her eyes to the intensity
Then it all happened at once. Merely inches from the ground, something snapped. All sound seemed to evaporate. In its wake, a sonic boom occurred. But not just any sonic boom. As Dash opened her eyes she, she saw herself holding Rarity and the other Wonderbolts as a rainbow followed her back to the skies.
Princess Celestia later crowned her the winner and gave her the first place prize: a day with her idols, the Wonderbolts. Twilight remembered seeing Rainbow's face as she met the Wonderbolts (conscious this time). The look on her face as she screamed "OMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSH" was hard to forget. The laughs they shared, Rarity learning her lesson, the other Pegasi apologizing for bullying her. It was so hard to forget, but so painful to remember.
She felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. When did she have time to reflect on these things? She was always so studious. Sure, it got her to where she was now, but sometimes she would think to herself "What if I spent more time experiencing friendship than reading about it?”
Twilight realized a lot would have been different. Through her combination of both experience and study, she had come out stronger. But the guilt remained. Now her friends were scattered, often not seeing them for years at a time. The last Wonderbolts show was 4 months ago. Twilight had to file taxes etc. etc. She did not make it. But she wondered to herself nonetheless.
What if I had gone?
She shook her head. This was not the time to think. Twilight was on a mission to reconnect the pieces of her friendship. The memories would be strong, yes, but it would never replace the part of her heart that yearned for a friend. She took off from the Coliseum to continue her quest for the Element of Loyalty.
"PHew! That is nasty! All we had was some pizza and soda! Where is that smell comin' from?" Questioned Rainbow Scootaloo just shrugged.
"Shouldn't world class athletes be eating fruits and stuff? Why do you have pizza and junk food?" Countered the orange Pegasus.
Rainbow explained that "certain athletes" improved their flight by eating junk food so they had something to burn when flying. Scootaloo just took it as it was without really questioning it.
They were trotting around the campus. While Scootaloo often visited her surrogate sister, she never really got the grand tour of the Academy.
"Over here is where we hold our trophies." Rainbow proudly gestured. The gold coming from all the awards shown so brightly it was a shock no pony was blinded.
"This is us beating Manehatten in the Pony-lympics last year." She point out a massive case with numerous awards. Scootaloo prepared herself. Even though she loved Rainbow Dash, even she couldn't always stand what was to come.
"So tell me, who is in this picture?" Rainbow said. "And this? And this? And-"
Scoots just shook her head. "You may be more responsible and less inflated Dashie but you still are boisterous about your winnings."
"Well when you are the Number 1 flier in Equestria, you tend to get overconfident." Scootaloo knew the trap. If she acknowledged the "overconfident" part, she would admit Rainbow was the best flier.
Instead she smiled. And with two words, she started what would later on be heralded as a "massive waste of time and resources" by the board of directives at the academy.
"Ah there it is!" Twilight thought openly. She finally saw the Academy in the distance. It was an interesting building. It was massive in size, yet sleek and well designed. It was a work of art. Something that Pegasi were not necessarily known for. Yet, a masterpiece of architecture was right in front of her.
The golden lines and banner of the Wonderbolts was an amazing sight. It had been ramped up in the past few years. On the banner now was a shield with four designations.
On the right upper corner, there was a picture of clouds. This represented the home of the Pegasus. The lower right corner was a symbol of wings. The symbol of the Pegasi.
The Upper left corner was a picture of mathematic equations and such. A few years ago, Twilight suggested that Pegasi learn math to help make better decisions on weather. It proved to be a wonderful asset and idea.
The final symbol was the Wonderbolts crest itself. It had a lightning bolt going down the center and wings sprouting from it. All these things she absorbed...or would have had not a fast moving cerulean pony and her orange companion knocked her for a loop.
She turned around to give the youngsters a fair warning before dropping her jaw.
Legends of Harmony Season 1 Chapter 3 By AlphaOmega
It was another beautiful day at Sweet Apple Acres. The sun showed brightly through the trees and reflected off the zap apples. The whole plantation was massive. Over 300 apple trees. Grass as far and green as the eye could see. The other animals roamed the pasture freely. Maintaining it was a job for twenty plus ponies. Fortunately, the job fell on one in particular. Ponyville's best helper. As for the zap apples...
She had one day to get as much as she could. At least Applebloom could help. She had returned from college last week after her semester ended. She had gotten straight A's just like Big Mac wanted. She was, after all, going to have to run the business aspect of the farm.
Applejack opened the door from the back of the Apple Family Mansion. A few years ago, a wealthy investor had, well, invested 10 million bits into the Apples. They bought a new barn and house. They still preferred to work as a family and they kept it that way. Nothing replaces hard labor than the love from the people who started it. Family members from all lands from Manehatten to Las Pegasus came here to work for extra money.
Right now, her cousin from Appleloosa was visiting and had brought some help. Although, Braeburn and his folk were more acclimated to warmer weather and the colder months were coming. They would have to leave right after the Zap Apples were harvested.
"Weather just ain't our type." Explained Brae. Applejack took his word for it after he decided to go into what exactly happened to the lower half of a stallion from Appleloosa was exposed too long to cold weather.
Another wonderful day, thought Applejack. How boring.
In recent months, she had continued to grow bored. She began to even neglect a few trees and rather sleep half the day away. When she reflected on it, she sobbed sometimes.
How many times had she caught Rainbow Dash sleeping on a tree? Oh how they used to argue over it! The tussles, the competition. Now it was all work. Every morning at 7:30 to 4:00 in the afternoon. Except Saturday and Sunday. That was reserved for selling apples.
The Apple family was by no means poor. The 10 million bit investment had increased tenfold and the investor bought out of the company for 35 million bits. The Apples donated several million to local charities and the hired help. They still had plenty left over. Some went to luxuries like carriages and drivers...for the hired help. Applejack honored integrity, honest work. She worked her own hooves when others would yell at the help. She refused to sit by while others slaved under a hot sun.
In the end, it paid off. She made invaluable connections to Apples all over Equestria and her farm thrived. Her farm...
She smiled quietly, not showing it to her companion. About 15 years ago, she would have said "our".
She was working outside in the orchard. The sun was hiding in clouds, but that did not deter Applejack from doing her job. She quickly began apple bucking trees.
Nearby, the other members of the Apple clan worked on the surrounding trees. Applebloom had finally gotten her cutie mark. It was a symbol of an iron staff, meaning she was meant to be a leader. She was the last one to receive hers from her filly group, The Cutie Mark Crusaders. Applebloom had helped Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo get their cutie marks, and upon them receiving theirs, she received her a few days later. She then decided to go to college a few years later, the first of the Apple family to go in a long time. But thanks to the money from the investor (in a few years) she would get her chance.
Big Mac was getting older. He wasn't really into mares and decided against having a loving wife. He worked the fields beside Applejack all his life. However, his complications grew. His back pains would return and hit harder each time. He was currently hunched over most of the time. He continued to resist Applejack's growing concerns about his back and having him just supervise and sell the apples. What did she expect? Here was the very pony who had taught her how to apple buck. He was practically her idol. Applejack just gave up all together on the idea of getting him to retire.
These were the good ol' days. But this particular memory was still fresh in her mind.
Granny Smith was getting older by the year. She could barely walk now and even a hip replacement did not help. She had 2 heart attacks in the last 3 years. Fortunately, her heart was strong due to years of hard work. Her mane was a lot whiter and so was her tail. Her face sagged more than ever now. But she always kept the confident attitude that kept the Apple business running for years. That and the zap apple recipe.
It was getting late in the day. The sun was still nowhere to be seen. Applejack had been working 6 hours straight after lunch. The sweat on her forehead was starting to sting her eyes as it rushed down quickly along her face. Fortunately, her good friend RD had assured her there would be rain today.
Applejack continued where she left off when suddenly, she heard a cry of pain. She ran out to see the commotion only to gasp at the sight before her.
All she saw in front of her was her grandmother, Granny Smith, on the floor. Applejack stood there for a moment before coming to her senses. She called out loudly to see if she was okay.
No response. She called again. Only to hear the same empty air.
Applejack quickly ran to her aide. She was unconscious and from the looks of it, had been beaten. From the trees nearby, several apples were gone and smashed.
She looked at the helpless body of her grandmother. She opened her mouth only to close it again. She tried once more but nothing escaped her mouth. The world became hazy as her vision blurred. She could barely register or notice the ponies escaping or Applebloom checking on the commotion.
"Applejack? Applejack!!" She screamed. She screamed for Big Mac. She yelled questions. She shook Applejack to get her to come to her senses.
None of it reached Applejack's mind. Her shock had frozen her to the core.
Applebloom quickly called the medics. They came quick and fast. She then sent out messages to all Apples. They all gathered around her as she explained what she saw.
Applejack's friends took notice very quickly. Rainbow had heard it first. She was napping in one of the nearby trees. Suddenly, she could see medi-pegasi flying all over the place. She quickly tried to find Applejack, only to be pushed back by the Pegasi.
Rainbow then contacted her friends. She relayed what had happened and what she knew to the other Elements. They made haste to get to the hospital ASAP.
On the way to Canterlot, she just cried as her closest, possibly only, friends tried to console her broken heart.
"She...sh-she was...just-th-there. I saw some rustling in the bushes but ah couldn't give chase...I was too shocked. I couldn't do anything." She started to pound the table next to her
"It's alright, Applejack. Miracles can happen." Said the Element of Kindness. The rest resounded the same thing. They knew their sympathies meant everything to Applejack, but at the same time, they had almost no effect. Applejack was currently in denial phase. On top, Granny Smith was the closest thing she had a guardian. Sure she had her parents, but they were often gone. Even Big Macintosh was busy doing the family business.
No. Granny Smith was always there for her. She had helped her with her learning disability. She paid for her speech therapy. She had all the knowledge to pass down like a father, and all the love and tender care a mother could provide. Now she was so close to death. A fine line was all that stood between Granny Smith and the next world.
The pain was almost palpable. Applejack blamed herself for being careless, for not chasing the robbers. She begged to any higher power she could to spare her Granny.
Her friends did all they could. Fluttershy was there 24/7 by Applejack's side. Pinkie kept their spirits up (although, one does not often have a "party" at a hospital). Rainbow Dash made sure sunlight was always coming through the window of Granny Smith on the second floor of the hospital. Rarity cleaned around the hospital room to make sure everything was presentable and sanitary. But Twilight, being a princess, was able to contribute much more. She set Applejack's family up with top doctors and asked Celestia for funds to help out the Apple family. The princess agreed.
With Celestia's help, they were able to set up Granny with 24 hour care. She received the best medication they could find. She looked like she would pull through.
Applejack just bit back a sob. She didn't even realize she was crying. Her tears created little smudges on the ground.
"It was nothing Applebloom." She smiled back to her younger sibling. "Ah was just thinkin' bought the time when...ya know...things were...oh hay I don’t even know if it was better or worse than what we got now." She began to frown again.
"It is better." Applebloom said. "Sometimes we just need to let things take their course. Besides, she would be stirring in her grave if she saw us miss the zap apple harvest." Applebloom began to walk off. But AJ could hear her from a mile away. The unmistakable pain that she had felt when it happened.
She could hear Applebloom's heart. It beat fast and the faster it moved, the more the memories poured in. The veins leading to her brain swelling with the memories. Finally, the dam had cracked. Water was spewing out. And the only thing holding them back was eyelids.
Applejack would only watch in fascination. Applebloom hadn't taken the news as hard as everyone. She started to become an anchor of the family at the time. She showed little emotion, not as a sign of apathy, but an ability she was destined to earn. In the face of overwhelming emotions, a leader had to be the rock that prevented the whole building from collapsing. In a sense, she was this rock. She continued to plow through with her work and was eventually given the opportunity to go to college. She was accepted into Canterlot University.
Even while she was away, she constantly came back to check and make sure the family was still in one piece. She continued to encourage them like a true leader...A true Apple. Applejack got the wheelbarrow.
"I'll make you proud Granny. I'll keep the family afloat. I'll always remember what you taught me." She nodded to Applebloom and raised her head to let the sun burn away her tears. It was harvestin' time.
Rarity on the other hand was extremely overjoyed. She had put on her finest dress.
It really was a difficult make. It was hoof-made with love and care. It had the finest jewels. It was woven to compliment her eyes. Its sleek form guaranteed that she could move fast if she needed to and if she needed to look like a princess, she would look nothing short of one.
Everything was perfect. Pearl was lounging on the bed. Normally, she was irritated and pouty. Sometimes she was helpful. She was almost never peaceful.
She sighed. Just like her mother.
The Carousel Boutique was now one of the most influential and famous retailers in all of Equestria. Fancy Pants made sure of that. He had promoted her all over the world and had eventually created a brand for her. She made enough money to make some aesthetic adjustments to shop.
There were now several mannequins that she could now work with. She installed a massive chandelier. She lined the walls with fabulous and new dresses and suits. She installed many famous artworks and antiques. She had a portrait of her 5 friends and her as well as a dual picture of her and Spike before he left.
It was called Carousel Boutique for a reason: You could stand in the center and just spin around to see all the creations. The very ambiance of the store exploded with the simple message: "Here lives a pony with fashion of the highest sense."
The bell chimed.
"Are you ready for our night out and about Miss Rarity?" Called a silky, smooth elegant voice.
"I am ready Mr. Fancy Pants. Just let me get my jewelry." She rushed upstairs (but not running; so un-lady like). She had almost forgotten her most prized possession.
She burst into her room and began tearing up the place looking for her precious jewelry. Her room was rather big so the sound echoed all over the room and out the door downstairs. The ceiling was somewhat domed, which didn’t help with the ruckus she was making. Her bed was neatly done; the sheets were perfectly aligned, the pillows fluffed to perfection, and the bed itself was perfectly aligned.
...Or it WAS, if she hadn't torn it up to looking for her precious keepsake. Now the bed was a mess, pillows un-fluffed and all. The sheets were all over the place. Rarity was sure she put the darn thing somewhere on her bed! Then she remembered: she put it back because she would... (She looked around)...do exactly what she just did to find it.
"I guess I know myself better than I do." She grumbled.
She went over to the massive closet. The ornate patterns were set in gold and fancy diamonds. Rarity had received it as a gift from Princess Luna after Rarity had woven her a dress that was made from a light black fabric that went well with the color of the dark mare. Even after a few years, it was still a sight to behold.
She reached in the back....Ah. There it was.
She pulled the lever and a secret panel turned revealing a small niche with a heart shaped ruby. The sun shined through the window, hitting the jewel. Dazzling colors of red appeared everywhere. But that wasn't the most spectacular part. Rarity always considered it smart to learn more than her share of magic. So she asked Twilight to enchant the ruby. As the sun hit it, all the memories of Spike appeared on the walls. All of their adventures together all over Equestria showed up on the walls.
On one side was the time Spike had charged into the tunnels to save her from the Diamond Dogs. In another, he had grown to the size of a full dragon and had stolen everything in sight. Even Rarity's heart.
She was so enraptured by the memories she did not realize she was crying.
'How many times do we wish we could fix our mistakes' Rarity thought. It was nearly a decade since she had seen him. Not that he would want to. Not after...the incident.
"Hey Rarity! I got us a reservation at that swanky place you like in Canterlot. "
Rarity and Spike were taking a walk in the park. The sky was perfect, not a cloud in sight. The sun warmed Rarity's skin and reflected of Spike's new polished scales. Rarity had insisted she treat out Spike for his help a few days ago. It was nothing romantic. Sure, they had shared some pasta (with jewels) and shared a smoothie (with jewels), but the dragon hadn't made a move yet all day. Perhaps he was nervous?
Rarity couldn't blame him. She was pretty nervous too.
While she had had a few colt friends in the past, this was a little different. She had known Spike almost like a little brother (not that there was anything wrong with Sweetie Belle). He was so kind and willing. She rarely got a colt friend who was as nice and willing as he was.
"That’s wonderful Spike! You always know how to treat a lady... “Her voice trailed off.
"What's wrong Rarity?" Spike asked.
"Spike...I know...you know..." Rarity was at a loss for words.
"C’mon Rare. We are just going out as two good friends. Nothing wrong with that. No lovey-dovey stuff. Just like you wanted right?"
"Spike. I really should not..." Rarity stumbled on her words.
"...I know." Said Spike. Spike had known it for a while too. They were great friends, really almost best. But he was a dragon and she was a pony. While he loved her, he knew that she couldn't always return the same emotions. Not to mention, she was almost like a sister! Yet none of these hurdles dissuaded him to attempt the impossible. He told himself time and time again it could happen. He dreamed, literally and figuratively, of the day they could live together.
All the while, a small part of his mind, the only rational part when he saw her and he went into love insanity, reminded him of his future and the impossibility of it having her in it.
"I-I’m s-so-....." She didn’t finish. She simply ran away. Away from the pain. Hot tears streamed down her face, making their way down to her chin before falling on the hard, unforgiving ground.
A few weeks later, Spike had left Ponyville to try and become a real dragon. He was now the head of his own clan of dragons. Rarity had only heard the news but never gone to another dragon migration to see him. She was too burdened with work...and closer to the truth, guilt.
She made sure the memory was forgotten. She refused to have it engraved into the memories on the ruby. It was too painful to see that memory again. And yet her mind and heart never let her forget. It haunted her everytime she put on the necklace.
But, the brighter memories helped to push away the dark guilt of her heart. Time helped create new memories, clouding her pain of rejecting Spike. Yet she knew it was a rejection that hurt her more than it hurt Spike.
...But that was the past. She was a new mare. She had time and experience to help her. While she could never right her mistake, she knew she could heal it. She would see him again. She would apologize and beg to go with him on his new adventures. If only she had more time that one day...
She stopped herself. She was thinking about it again. Today was a day to spend with Fancy Pants.
Speaking of Fancy, she suddenly remembered her guest. She quickly grabbed the jewel and put it on. She cleaned her room as best as she could. Sweetie Bell could clean when she got home from work.
She clopped down the stairs in her wonderful dress. Fancy looked up from the couch.
"Ready Miss Rarity?" Fancy asked. "If you need more time please take it. I do have considerable influence on the owner of the restauraunt. He won't mind our "fashionable" tardiness." Fancy just smiled. Rarity looked stunning in that dress. It was the perfect for the occasion.
The dinner was set. The ring was perfect. He was wearing his finest suit (hoof-made by Rarity herself). The night refreshing and the moon beautiful. And the final piece of the cake of perfection: an elegant Rarity, clad in a beautiful dress with pearls and diamonds woven into the dress. Fancy would not have wanted this any other way.
It was a slow day. Not many animals were coming in injured. It wasn't that she had so many animals around. It certainly not that she was annoyed with them. She didn't care that they didn't pay her for healing their injuries. No. It was much worse.
Fluttershy's clinic was near the edge of the Everfree forest. She was now one of the largest medical facilities in all of Equestria...for animals. From all over Equestria, they came to receive the world class service of Dr. Fluttershy. Due to her natural talent, she had beaten most other competition. Of course, beating out the rivals meant that they went out of business. Despite Angel's attempts (if you call had gestures a form of speaking) she had re-hired the competition. Now they all worked for Fluttershy.
Some were very good but lacked the hospitality. Some had a good heart but couldn't perform CPR. Fluttershy taught them quick. She taught how to act with kindness and how to help animals feel better. Her fame quickly spread throughout all of Equestria. Eventually, to try and get funds (it's a business, not a charity; despite what Fluttershy wanted) to keep the clinic running. She eventually came out with her on book. It sold out in the first days and a few weeks after. In medical schools, it was used as a basis for proper care. It was the core manual for veterinarians.
Being the best clinic had its difficulties too. Since she was the head, she was often on duty and rarely saw her friends. It meant she couldn't go off picking flowers or enjoying the outdoors as much. Sometimes she just wished she hadn't started a clinic. But she steeled her mind. This was her destiny, and nothing would stop her from completing her mission. But for today, the mission was slow. There was one case of a cat falling from a tree and landing head first. That required stitches. But that was the most exciting of them all. Nothing else.
Fluttershy was worried, however. Animals were often brought in because they were sick. And when she said often, she meant at least thirty visitors throughout the day. If they weren't sick, they might be...
She waved the idea away. Nah. It wasn't that. She had kept a close eye on the Everfree to make sure that all animals were behaving. And she was pretty sure Discord was just messing around if he was the cause behind this...but then again...
"Discord." She turned to her companion. The Lord of Chaos was currently cleaning up around the house. He had re-arranged certain parts but most were intact. The floor was the ceiling, Fluffy had wings, and some animals had mysteriously changed color.
"Discord, you know better." Fluttershy chided.
He merely shrugged. "Don't worry kind Fluttershy. It is only temporary...except for Fluffy (Fluttershy gasped). He might be permanent...but not worries! I can change him back later."
Fluttershy sighed. "For sure?"
"Mmmmmmayy....MMMMaaaaaaabbBBBBBy." Discord found it funny to keep Fluttershy unsure. Her complete innocence compared to the King of Disharmony should have corrupted her into a complete jerk, but instead, he was the one defeated. The little pony was so kind hearted. Discord had learned many things in his time. One of them was the ability to read souls. This one's soul was pure and innocent....and contagious. Celestia thought it was even good enough to reform chaos, which it did (slightly).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Please please! Mares! Please come in and join me and Fluttershy for Tea." Discord announced.
"We're watching you Discord! You try anything and we'll have you in stone faster that Rainbow can run from Equestria to Cloudsdale!" Twilight warned. Rainbow dash looked hurt as she realized that she was slower than turning someone to stone. "Oh for Pete’s sake Dash, it was an expression."
"Still...."
"My little ponies please do not worry. Fluttershy has redeemed me with..."
Dramatic pause. (At least in Discords mind)
"THE MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP!"
Silence. Even the crickets that were currently in Fluttershy's care didn't chirp. Discord frowned. "I'm trying to reform okay? At least show some enthusiasm."
Fluttershy quickly flew over and assured him. "Don't worry Discord. They are just... (loss for words)...Looking at the new style of the house!"
The "style" was indeed something to look at. The walls were painted different colors. The table was long and could fit several more ponies than 6. Teapots, brooms, and other household objects were waltzing around and spraying this on that. But, shockingly, overall it was clean. The floors reflected Rarity's dress. The silverware and table were prepped for tea time. Even some of the penguins (Long story) had put on a bowtie and were playing harps. The birds chirped loudly, but in a beautiful, Discord-way.
"Don't you just love it?" Discord interrupted the silence. "It took me forever to get this place perfectly disharmonized." "I don’t think that’s a word..." Twilight said aggravated at the improper grammar. The rest of the mane 6 decided to let it go, mostly because Fluttershy seemed to want to let it go. They took their respective seats at the table. A walking plate and several teacups along with a tray of colorful confections. Once everyone was seated, Discord changed into some butler clothing and proceeded to pour tea for the group. Everything was moving quite civilized until Rainbow blew a gasket.
"Oh c'mon! How can you all just sit there like that?!" She burst out in anger. "Discord is serving us tea! Chaotic Tea! Who knows if this house is rigged to explode!?" She turned to Fluttershy. "How could you let him serve us tea?! You can't trust him!"
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight interrupted as she comforted a now crying Fluttershy. "Have some respect! Fluttershy is trying her hardest and Discord has not pulled one prank since we got here. Now look what you've done!" Fluttershy had run out the door while Discord just stared at the door. His only friend had just run out due to the selfish feelings of the Element of Loyalty.
"I didn’t mean...” Rainbow started. Discord interrupted. "Oh just wonderful! You are making my job of separating you all much easier!" He said with a confident smile. However, the rest of his draconequs body disagreed. His hands were rubbing against each other more out of anxiety than happiness. His feet shuffled at the shame he felt for not going after Fluttershy. Finally, his eyes shot daggers at Rainbow dash. All of this, however, was oblivious to Discord's heart. "I’ll go after her." Applejack said. "And YOU (she grabbed Rainbow Dash) are coming with me!" Rainbow went without much enthusiasm. She knew her words had hurt Fluttershy badly. She had to go apologize. She just hoped she hadn't hurt Fluttershy's trust and love of Rainbow Dash.
Ahh. Good times. Discord sighed. These days he was a bit of celebrity among the animals. They treated him with respect because he often helped them if they might have taken a serious injury that requires a lot more than some bandages. He often did surgery as well. He even delivered Fluffy when Angel was pregnant. Sometimes he wondered if it was worth it to give up so much chaotic power just to have one friend in the world.
He realized he wouldn't want it any other way.
As he continued to work around the cottage, Fluttershy was busy looking at some memoirs of past adventures. She saw her picture taken during the Young Fliers competition. There was even one from when she had visited Appleloosa. Finally, at the long end of it, she saw her friends all gathered together for Twilight's coronation. It was such a happy time. There were less worries and life moved at an even pace. Now that all her friends were busy fulfilling their destinies, they didn't see each other often. Sure she could see them anytime she wanted, but she was still shy as ever.
KNOCK KNOCK
"Mr. Discord? Please see who is at the door. I have to make a quick letter to Twilight. It's about the...disappearances." Discord didn't need to open the door. The pink pony just burst in and fired her cannon.
"Oh I would some cupcakes. One dozen of them." The pony said.
"Alright! Anything you particularly want in them?" Pinkie asked.
"Oh yes! Please put lots of vegetables and greens in them. But make it sweet!"
Pinkie just thought about the strange request. While she was often an eccentric pony, she did think her actions through...sometimes. She often had a few weird customers, thus she decided it would be fun to try and guess what kind of event they were gearing up for. When she thought she had it she asked.
"Are you having a party?" Pinkie questioned.
"Nah. But trust me there will be plenty of leftovers if you want some." The pony just licked his lips. He himself was pretty interesting. He had a sleek black and red coat with a very interesting horn. It was somewhat lopsided, kind of like when Twilight and her friends had run into poison joke.
Something seemed suspicious. Her pinkie senses weren't tingling, but she could just tell something wasn't right about the pony in front of her. She shrugged it off. It was an order and she had a duty. She gave the pony a receipt and proceeded to create his order. She moved to the back to get some flour. She diced up some vegetable. The sound of the chopping quickly dispersed from her mind as she fell into her "trance". She had grown so accustomed to working alone; she often receded into her mind to think on her life.
Pinkie Pie was pretty busy these days. She was working almost every day! It was certainly different then when she had a part-time job living in the guest quarters of the Cake residence. Speaking of the Cakes, they had packed up and moved out a few years ago. After the foals had gotten older, the couple decided they would move the main business to Neigh Jersey. It had a nicer climate and had a more diverse crowd for the Cakes to immerse themselves in society. Not to mention the business. They were still cake bakers but wanted to expand all over Equestria.
Meanwhile, Pinkie had saved up money working for the Cakes and just renting an apartment. Sugar Cube corner was pretty popular in the relatively small town of Ponyville. She quickly made enough money to actually buyout the store from the Cakes when they put it up for auction. It was worth it. Now she owned one of her favorite places, doing something to help ponies everywhere when it came to having a good time. What better way to fulfill her destiny?
She had done little to change the shop. It was still as colorful as ever with the walls and columns looking like they were edible. Pinkie did add some streamers to make it look a little more festive but decided she wanted to keep it the way she had remembered almost her whole life. She could almost picture her friends and her having a blast here. They would eat cupcakes and have parties and everyone had a huge smile on...
Her smile wavered a bit. They were all gone now, doing their part in the destiny of the world. Rainbow was a Wonderbolts now. Applejack's business was booming. Twilight had many responsibilities now as a Ruler of Equestria. Despite herself, Fluttershy was now running a now well known care center for animals. She was always good with them. Rarity was the only one Pinkie saw often. After all, they both lived in Ponyville. She would bring Rarity some cakes and confectionaries from time to time. Rarity would make Pinkie some dresses to wear for any galas or weddings that Pinkie had to cater for. She had now finished dicing up the veggies and was blending it with the cake batter. As she stirred, she thought over the memories of her life. She remembered when AJ had tried to help make cupcakes. The results were less that satisfactory, but it was those moments with friends that Pinkie wanted to remember. She remembered one particular memory well about their friendship.
"Hey there pipsqueak." Rainbow Dash told Scootaloo. "I heard you were looking for me and my cutie mark crusader story."
"You have no idea!" Scootaloo told her as she sat down, exhausted. Pinkie had gathered them for a little party that day.
She wanted to try out some new recipes and decided the best people to try it were her very best friends. They all listened intently as Rainbow told her "epic" story about how she received her cutie mark. Naturally, the others sighed good-heartedly as Rainbow added some cocky remarks. She "won by a landslide" and that the crowd "went nuts with excitement". Then she got to the part about her Sonic Rainboom.
"I had done it. I realized that the only thing I loved more than flying, was winning! On that day, my cutie mark appeared and I've been flying ever since." She smiled as her #1 fan just stared at her with big eyes. However, Pinkie Pie was much more excited.
"Hey Rainbow! When I was working on the rock farm, I saw a blast of rainbow that taught me how to smile!" Pinkie suddenly burst forth.
"Oh my gosh! When I was feelin' home sick, I saw a rainbow pointing to home!" Applejack joined in.
"When the great rock burst open, a rainbow also flew by too!" Rarity exclaimed.
Twilight just shook her head in pure disbelief. "This is uncanny! I was about to fail my test when the rainbow burst for my true power. Could it be....?”
"It has to be true darling," Rarity cut in on her train of thought. "We really have been BFFs forever." Pinkie Pie was so happy. She loved seeing her friends having a good time. She always was the closest to each one. She wanted a party for everyone, to get everyone to smile and spread the joy. Naturally, seeing her friends realize that they were all meant to meet each other gave her a happiness she would never forget.
Pinkie couldn't help but cry tears of joy. She missed them so much. They had all come such a long way from when they had each gone their separate ways. She missed the parties and the laughs they shared. Rainbow Dash's pranks, Fluttershy's kindness. Rarity's glamour, even AJ's hard work style. But most of all, she missed Twilight. The experiments they used to do together. The times they shared. All were now just a distant memory.
Legends of Harmony Season 1 Chapter 5 By AlphaOmega
"Goodness me that is an interesting way to begin your day." Rarity said. She and the other mane 6 were currently at Canterlot castle. They had each gotten there at different times, but nonetheless, they made it. Twilight explained that there was a great emergency and that they were needed immediately. Gathering them wasn't a pain, but Twilight was willing to endure it so long as it meant she could see her friends again.
Now, every pony was talking to each other like they had just met yesterday. Pinkie Pie was trying to convince Applejack to come over and back cupcakes again and help throw a party. Rainbow Dash grabbed AJ's arm and tried to get her to hoof-wrestle her to see who had gotten stronger over the years. Twilight hadn't seen Rarity in a very long time. She rarely had time to go and visit her friends on account that she was now a ruler of Equestria. However, Rarity never lost her generosity, and Twilight made sure she got a good reception when she came to the castle.
"I know right? It did seem odd that the princess requested us all here. Strange, however, that she isn't here." Twilight noticed.
Rainbow Dash flew over. "Well duh! She's probably busy getting my medal ready for when I save Equestria from a new disaster! Or perhaps it's an award for "Best Pony Athlete of the year!" Typical RD response.
"Please, like you would win it," Applejack cut in "We all know who the Iron Pony is." Applejack was usually a modest person but never when it came to Rainbow. They constantly competed to the point that even the Princess herself had to intervene. However, it was out of care for the one another.
"Well look at you Ms. Golden Apples. You really haven't changed since you became one of the richest ponies in Equestria. I would have thought you were too rich now to do the dirty work." Rainbow jabbed.
"Look here now-" Rarity began before Fluttershy and Pinkie walked over.
"Girls, come on now. We have not seen each other in a while. Let us not spend it fighting but-"
"LET'S PARTY!" Pinkie declared as she fired the party cannon.
Applejack was the first one there. She was on a trip to Canterlot to check the stocks at the exchange. The train ride was rather boring and annoying, mostly because little fillies were running around. Applejack didn't mind it at all. After all, she helped raise Applebloom and was pretty much a big sister to the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Truth be told, she almost missed it.
She couldn't remember her childhood well. But she knew one thing. She never wanted to ruin a filly’s joy while they were young. All she knew most of her life was hard work. To see others happy even when she wasn't was enough joy for her. As she sat there reading the papers and checking the news, another pony came up and sat next to her.
"Do you mind if I take this spot? I prefer isle seats." The new pony said.
Applejack looked up from her paper and almost did a double-take. He was definitely a sight to see. His skin was fairly dark. His eyes were blood red. His legs looked pretty regular except for one leg. It wasn't deformed or had a weird mark. The strange thing was that it had NO cutie mark. Most adult ponies had one. Yet here was a colt without a single mark.
She stared dazed at the opposite pony. "I'll take that as a yes?" the strange pony spoke up. Applejack tried to look away but was too tantalized by his sight. "Ye-yeah sure." She said as she tried to wave away her dazed look. As she looked for something else to focus on, she noticed his only luggage was a very large cake. Unable to control herself, she began to ask a question but was interrupted by the pony she was about to question.
"Find something strange?" He asked.
Applejack just blushed. "I'm really sorry for staring sir. I have just never met a pony like you."
He laughed well heartedly. "Oh give it time my dear. Soon there will be so many of me I'll be just another regular old pony."
The two didn't speak so much on the ride. From what she could tell (she was good with body language) he seemed to be a little agitated sitting next to her. She felt the same way. Just something wasn't right. His horn did not glow like a unicorn when used but rather it was lopsided and when he did use it his magic was weak. It was almost as if-
"Looks like we're here. Thank you for the company." He gestured to Applejack before leaving the train. Applejack was still in shock such a pony species existed. As she unloaded her luggage, she realized that the pony had left behind a box. She resisted the urge to open it. It was an invasion of privacy. It was also dishonest. She was snooping into other people's business! This was beneath her and she knew better.
As she opened the box, she noticed a small letter on the back. It read, "For my one and only Celestia. Happy Birthday. Signed...." She couldn't make out the words. They were odd and didn’t seem like a language that existed. She shrugged it off. It was probably just another one of Celestia's admirers. However, it seemed odd that it was addressed to her.
After all, Twilight was the one in charge now.
She regained her composure and put the small box in her bag. She would deliver it to the princess herself. It was the right thing to do.
As she was walking out of the train, she noticed that there was a long line running nearly from her train to the front of office the office. At the front, a pony dressed in elegant fashion was arguing with the office man.
"How dare you treat me like this? I am a lady, sir, and I will not tolerate such vulgar language. I merely asked if you would be willing to give me a train ride back for free! I paid for 2-way but some pony stole my ticket!" The ruckus she was creating was gathering the attention of multiple ponies. A pink haired pony came over to try and solve the problem. In the meantime, a pony with a butterfly cutie mark was speaking to some cops to try and ask them to help calm down the pony.
"Well I'll be." Applejack walked over to the crowd. "FREE BITS OVER HERE!" She yelled. As they turned around, Applejack threw her purse full of bits in the opposite direction. Naturally, the crowd dispersed and attempted to grab the sack of gold. The cops went over to the growing pile of ponies to get them off each other. Applejack trotted over to the only ponies to not run after money. The purple mane pony was now hugging the pink pony with pink hair as the light yellow pony with them circled excitedly nearby.
"Hello every pony. Miss me?" Applejack said. Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy gasped...then proceeded to nearly run her over in a stampede.
"Omigosh Applejack! How are you darling! It has simply been to long sing I last saw you!" Rarity greeted.
"Hey Applejack! How's the farm?" Pinkie inquired. Fluttershy was so excited she forgot what to say and just gave her a hug. The group decided to grab some snacks over by a Starbucks (heh, no need for pontification there eh?). As they drank some coffee and tea, they tried to piece together why they had come to Canterlot.
Pinkie Pie seemed the most excited. "I was just planning on visiting Twi. I know she's really busy but that’s no excuse right?" She was currently enjoying some muffins. The baker on duty at the small stand had just finished a new batch and this one tasted just like the mail mare’s special muffins she gave out to everyone.
Rarity had a completely different reason. "I wanted to come into town today to see Fancy. We had a date a little while back and this was the follow up. However, when one is surrounded by friends, one should not pass up the chance to talk."
"I came because I need to speak to Twilight about the current...happenings near the forest. Strange happenings." Fluttershy explained.
"OMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSH!" Came a sudden voice from behind Applejack. The group of four looked at the approaching party of 2. Twilight and Rainbow Dash were in town too! Naturally, they all talked to each other and caught up to date with the latest happenings. Twilight then invited to the Canterlot castle. She told them it was important.
"I'm afraid we cannot party right now. Actually, not for a while." Came a voice from behind the mane 6. The main doors to the throne room had opened and Luna strode in flanked by guards. She turned to the guards. "I will only be a moment. Please check on my sister and make sure she is okay."
Twilight was the first to respond. "What is wrong with Celestia?"
Luna only shook her head. "Nothing is. Just a minor faint. Probably due to the heat in her room. Nothing big." She was clearly putting something off, but the ponies there, even Princess Twilight, knew better than to question her. Night was already cold; didn't need to be freezing.
Rainbow Dash, however, asked for more. "Why would she call for us but suddenly you're the pony in charge? Sounds fishy to me..." Of course, Rainbow Dash's famed loyalty to Celestia had once again spurred her to a hasty response.
"You know not what you say. Rainbow Dash. I am here to deliver her message." She pulled out a scroll. "My dear friends. You have known me most of your lives. I have always tried to be a good ruler and learn from my mistakes and that of warring nations. I have tried to keep stability and peace. But now I fear all of it may be undone. My past was never to be known. I admit to doing things no pony should ever think of doing. But it was done. And now my past has come back to haunt me. Soon, an old enemy will rise and I will be unable to stop him. I am tasking you, the bearer of the Elements of Harmony, to seek out a very important artifact. In fact, there are 6. One for each of you. Luna will explain the rest. Good luck, my dearest friends."
The room fell silent. The ponies all looked at each other and different emotions popped up. Pinkie pie was frowning a little. Fluttershy seemed to be breaking down a bit and getting wobbly. Rainbow Dash kept a straight face while she comforted Fluttershy. Rarity and Applejack began to converse. Twilight was the only one to respond. "And so what is it that you can provide us with Luna?"
Luna fell silent. "Allow me to explain." Came a voice from behind Luna. Wheeling in the Bringer of the Sun, the guards rolled her near the others before taking a smart leave. "I believe it is my duty." Everyone simple hushed down and prepared for a story.
She ruled Equestria. After years of work, all the land was at peace. The three tribes were now one, living together in piece. But she was not content. Having just sent her only sister to the moon, she longed for company. Oh sure, she could have picked any stallion. But no. It had to be him.
He really wasn't much of stallion. He was one of the many unicorns who had come to the palace to learn magic straight from Celestia. The two of them were more intimate, however. Although it was rather...controversial...to have this relationship, the two were happy. They spent mornings practicing and evenings cuddling and talking about a future. Then it all changed. Things got out of hand. He was attempting monsterous experiments without Celestia's consent.
Ponies bones were found in his laboratory. He said he wanted to become something more. To be more than just a unicorn. He wanted to become an Alicorn. Celestia explained it was something she was born with and was a curse, but he would have none of it. He refused to believe what he was told.
Celestia decided that he could not be stopped. She then took the elements of harmony and began working on a binding spell. Once it was finished, she used it to seal him away forever. However, spells do not work that way. There are limits. While the spell was strong, he was a genius taught by Celestia herself. He vowed to return and destroy her for her betrayal.
"He is going to break free soon. I have been having....dreams and visions of his return. I want us to be prepared." Celestia continued. "We cannot let him return. I have seen his power growing for some time. When he returns, there is nothing we can do." Celestia's voice was anything but comforting. She was shaky in speech and her eyes seemed bloodshot from stress (or lack of coffee).
Rainbow Dash spoke up. "Your highness, I, Rainbow Dash, will take this mission. I-"
"Rainbow Dash!"
The group just stared at the pony who spoke. Luna had used her Canterlot Voice to catch their attention. "This is no simple task, Element of Loyalty. What is at stake is so impossibly high that-" Her voice got louder "-You have no possible idea how great the risk you will take! My sister and I will not watch you fail. You will need training, and armor, and-" Celestia magically clamped her sisters mouth shut. "We will prepare you for this journey. Do not worry my friends, I know-"
"Stop."
The group once again looked at another pony who had decided to interrupt. However, this time it was a determined Fluttershy. "Your majesty, I understand the urgency. However, None of us have agreed. I believe we should take a vote or at least have a night to think it over. Don't you all agree?" The rest of the Mane 6 just stared and thought. They did not know much about the quest, true, but it was for the queen, so it should have been fine. However, they each began to grow seeds of doubt. It was indeed a rather dangerous mission.
"Princess," Twilight asked "I would like to request that we stay the night and think on it. Just to be safe."
Luna spoke up first. "You must do this. We are too old. No one is brave enough. You must-"
"Sister." Celestia spoke in with commanding authority. "Yes. Let us allow them to sleep the night. Let them think on it. We will decide on a course of action then." As she finished her decision, the royal caterers brought in a very nice cake. The pony merely bowed and explained "Someone knew it was your birthday, your majesty. They sent this cake-"
"Oh and this ring I think too." Applejack gave her a small box.
Celestia frowned. Very few people knew her birthday. And yet...
"Shall I slice the cake?"
Celestia was about to say yes until she opened the box. She read the note and let out a gasp. She quickly pieced it together.
"WATCH OUT!"
The cake erupted, throwing flames and icing all over the walls.
In deep dark dungeons a few miles away, the smoke coming from the bomb was visible. A lone pony walked down the paths, opening the doors one by one using the magic he had acquired from his master. He finally got to the last chamber and did a ritual to call forth his lord.
"My lord. The present has been given." A strange black pony said.
A voice from the pit responded. "Good, good. Soon I will rise and we can begin the final stage of plan. And the ring?"
"She accepted it naturally. However, the explosion probably did not help, my lord."
"Leave it be. We must show power when we can. Go then. I will wait here for the moment to arise. Go off and awaken the guardians. Stir evil in their hearts."
Firefighters were all over the place. The blazes were intense. The servants were running around trying to put out small fires. The princesses and Mane 6 were now at a safe area of the castle, the princesses shelter in case of emergencies. Celestia, who was now laying down next to her sister, contemplated what just happened. It happened to quickly none of their magic could contain the blast.
It had been her birthday again. The day had begun with the most frightening of things.
A nightmare, a sealed scroll broken, and an explosion. She new what it meant. HE was returning. She should have seen the signs. After she had lost connection to the elements, she began to feel a nagging at the back of her head. As if something was coming for her. Her suspicions were confirmed with these events. Now it was only a matter of time before he came for her. Very few people knew her birthday considering she was older than Luna, who was trapped in the moon for 1000 years. However, only one pony could have known this info and lived so long.
Darlem. It was an ancient pony name for "Honor". And he had tons of it too. However, honor is sometimes taken too far. And when one is betrayed, it can lead to feelings of revenge. He had returned from the land of the dead and had brought an army.
Just as he promised he would.
The other ponies gathered were checking to see that they were all okay.
Fortunately, Fluttershy was good with medicine and got them patched quickly. However, they were still in high spirits. It truly was a surprise that this group of friends had stayed together this long. Most ponies today were spread out. New territories had been discovered which lead to more jobs. However, these ponies were always so close even when spread apart.
Celestia checked their supplies in case she needed to fetch more. Luna had passed out on the spare bed. As she stood up the other ponies looked at her for guidance. Normally she was prepared for such a thing. However, in this case, she was not ready to tell them. But they were ready to know.
"Sit down my little ponies. I know this was a very pressing moment. I did not know-"
"Princess, what is going on?" Rainbow Dash dared interrupt. Normally, the multi-colored pony was respectful with the princess but right now she had lost patience having come so close to death by frosting.
The princess just sat down and sighed. "I own you the truth. It all began again with my student. He was making great progress. However, he began to use horrific experiments. Ponies were disappearing. It seemed almost like magic. It in fact was. When we found him, he was carving up my captain of the guard. I could bare it no longer." She was now shuddering and shivering at the memory of that moment. But she continued.
"His name was Darlem. I sealed him away in a scroll using the Elements. However, this was not just any seal. It required..." Celestia paused at the though of what she had done.
Twilight spoke up "You used the blood seal spell...didn't you." Celestia was silent for a moment before speaking. "I had no other choice. Yes, I used the blood seal."
Tired of not getting anywhere, Applejack spoke up. "What is this spell? I assume there had to be..."
"A sacrifice."
The group turned to a serious Fluttershy. She was surprisingly calm. She seemed almost unfazed by the news that the princess had sacrificed a pony to doom another pony to eternal damnation. However, she knew of sacrifice. There were times when she had to operate on animals and many uneasy choices had occured that would perhaps frighten another pony. But not her.
Celestia sobbed. "I know I have always tried to do the right thing. But i was so consumed with anger I cast the curse. My sacrifice was too high. The captain was already missing limbs.....so.....(sob)....I put him out of his misery. And with his blood, i saved Equestria for many centuries. However, this was the second time I had used the elements to punish another pony. I was becoming drunk on power. Thus, I hid away the Elements. I vowed to only use them when absolutely neccessary. Fortunately, the need did not arise. But now I fear the time has come to get the Elements."
Rarity spoke up "But your highness. The Elements are with us, remember?" The rest of the group remembered in their minds where the Elements were kept in each of their hiding spots.
"No Rarity. Those are merely a little taste of the true element. I hid the Essences of the Elements of Harmony all over the world, not just in Equestria. I set up powerful spells and curses to deter all races from ever discovering them. But i could not just throw away the most powerful instruments in the world. Thus, I created the Elements by taking a portion of the original Essence." Celestia explained.
"Well we can just get it then right?" Asked Applejack. "If you hid it then surely you could remember and we can go get them!"
Celestia just sighed. "It sounds that easy but i did not make it that simple. I was connected to the Elements when I cast the spell. Now that I am no longer connected to the Elements, I do not possess the power to deal with the challenges and curses I set. I still remember the locations, but that is all."
It was Pinkie Pie's turn to speak. "Princess, while I have no problem going, this is a dangerous mission. Do you think we should go?"
"I would not ask you if I did not believe you could do it."
Pinkie smiled. "Then let's turn that frown upside down! If anything scary comes, I'll cheer up with my party cannon!" She pulled her cannon out of nowhere and shot a few streamers and balloons.
"I guess I go too. " Applejack added. "Applebloom can take care of the farm until I get back. Besides, your gonna need some strength on this trip."
Rainbow Dash huffed. "PLEASEEE Applejack. I think I can handle myself and the group."
"You couldn't win a hoof-wrestle with me. How ya gonna take care of all our friends?"
"Girls. That's enough for now." Fluttershy spoke as she separated the two strength-obessed ponies. "I will join as well. Discord can handle things. I taught him myself!" She smiled. "Also, we may need a healer or someone to talk to animals for servailance.
Rarity sighed. "Well, if I am going I will need to pack some clothes for "roughing it". Perhaps something green?"
Celestia laughed. "Don't worry Rarity. I will outfit you all with the best armor, weapons, and escort that I can get. Twilight?" The lavender mare looked up to see her friends. They were all so strong and confident.
Silence fell upon the room. The mane 6 each knew of the elements well. They were best suited to get the Essences. But the dangers they would face were unlike anything before. They looked at each other. They had been friends since day 1. To lose one of them now would be almost unbearable, if it were not for the other 5 to support each other. However, they had always faced danger. They had stopped Nightmare Moon together. They stopped Discord together. They could do anything together, as long as they had the support of each other.
They all thought these in their own minds. They looked at each other as more than friends. They were practically family. Everyone would support each otehr in the coming days. Their strength was undeniable and unbeatable.
Princess Twilight Sparkle spoke up. "How do we find the Essences?"
As the others stood by the fireplace warming up, Twilight requested an audience with the former princess. The two met in a private room.
Twilight was the first to speak. "Celestia." The princess of the sun as shocked. While Twilight was not required to call her Princess, she usually did. However, her town and voice were not for regal talk. This was an important matter.
"I know this is a very important mission. You have outlined the cautions to us many times tonight. But I am not 100% convinced." Twilight leveled a glare at her mentor. "You and I both know that the Blood Seal spell requires more that just 1 sacrifice. Now you know I always trust you. But they don't know what they're getting into. If you had to use a spell like that, there was much more to this than meets the eye." She was almost out f breath at her anger.
Celestia just sighed. "Twilight. You know I always do what is best and right for Equestria. But that was centuries ago. It was a mistake Twilight. I did not want to do it but it had to be done. But you must believe me. I had to use that spell." She was near tears. Lying to someone who was probably one of your only real friend was difficult and it was tearing Celestia.
Twilight shook her head. "I don' know what to believe anymore. But let me tell you this Princess." Celestia suddenly looked up from the ground and shame. "If ANYTHING happens to my friends or brother, I will never forgive you. I know there is more to that spell. I don't want to know what you did, but I will find out sooner or later. I dont know how many deaths are on your mind, but if ANY of my friends are on that list..." Twilight let the threat hang.
As Twilight walked back to her spare bed, Celestia stared at the moon through the window. She had gazed upon the moon once and saw her sister. She had been out late on nights like these with Darlem. She had so many lies, so many things she had done. Her sins.
She spoke to herself. Do not worry Twilight. Everything I have done was for the good of Equestria. If keeping the truth away is what will win us this fight...I am sorry.
As Celestia went to sleep, the birds in the Everfree Forest flew away. A great evil was stirring and even the animals could sense it. However, they could not see it. In a cave in the deepest part of the Everfree, a shadow played along the walls. It created nightmares that would scare even Nightmare Moon. In this cave, he plotted for years to take his revenge. And now the time was close.
At night, in the dark, his magic was strong. He snuck into dreams and planted nightmares. But tonight, he had one less target. Celestia's own guilt would bring the nightmares for him.
The Mane 6 along with Celestia and Luna were eating a fantastic breakfast. They had everything brought in from the finest places. Food was stacked high all along the royal table. There was strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, all the berries! Apples and other delicious breakfast food for vegetarians were spread across the table. It truly was a splendid meal.
"Calm down Dashie. I'll ask the head waiter for more."
After moving from the safe area after the previous nights explosion, the ponies were hungry. Fortunately, Luna and Celestia combied there power to quickly rebuild as much of the castle dining area and kitchen so they could at least enjoy a meal.
While the Mane 6 were enjoying their meal, Celestia was distraught. The dream last night was truly shocking. She could barely think straight. She was afraid her magic wasn't focus enough and the roof would cave in. But fortunately, Luna has recovered her strength and helped rebuild. But Celestia knew something far worse than yesterday's disaster was coming.
Celestia stood up to speak. "My friends. I believe it is time we spoke of how we will acquire the Essences."
Rainbow and Applejack looked at the princess as they calmed down. Twilight and the other girls returned to their seats after looking around the room. Luna had just walked in a few minutes ago and was wiping the sleep from her eyes.
They then began to eat as Celestia explained the situation.
"Darlem is returning from the demon world I sent him to. He will arrive within a month or so. Let's assume he will attack in about a month. By this time, we must gather the essences and recast the spell. If we fail, Equestria will be doomed." She explained.
"He is one of the most powerful magicians to ever live. Even you, Twilight, and my sister are outmatched compared to his abilities. He nearly matches mine! However, with the Essences, we will stand a chance against him. The Elements of Harmony are powerful tools, but they will only match you to his abilities. If it comes down to that, he will use years of training and magic to defeat us."
"We must aquire the Essences. I have used my magic to trace down where it could possibly be. I have marked them here on a map." Celestia brought over a map of the entire world. "You ponies may think we are the only kind of race. However, many other places exist. The Griffon kingdom. The Mermen of Talacost. The Nation of Zebricana. These are but a few of the many other species living on this planet."
"I sensed an Essences here." She pointed to a mountainous region. "This is the Lava Caves of Entity. It is still an active volcano. Here, I sense a Essences near the center of an active volcano. You will need a potent magic spell," She looked at Twilight "to safely navigate through this area."
Twilight thought it over. "I may know a few things. I could use a heat protection spell. However, we may need to cross lava and sometimes my magic isn't powerful enough against nature. I will do my best!"
Celestia nodded. "The next Essence is something I have given to a friend of mine many, many years ago. He lived in the cloud city of Aeropolis. They are well known for their use of cloud energy to use machines. Their current leader, Arrow Wing, cut off contact with me several years ago. I have not heard from him since. You will need to negotiate with him and somehow get the Essence." Pinkie Pie interupted. "Maybe we can throw him a party!....No?" Everypony just stared at her before Futtershy laughed. "Sure Pinkie Pie. We can throw him a party once I negotiate peace. I have had much experience with peace. Many woodland creatures have nearly gone to war with each other over territory." The other ponies in the room just stared at Fluttershy's confidence. She truly had grown up from the shy girl she was. Also, they wondered how a bunch of squirrel would fight a squad of chipmunks for a tree.
Celestia continued. "This is all I have sensed as of now. You six must gather these 2 Essences. Once you have them, we can divulge the next locations for the other Essences. For now, let s finish breakfast and head down to the supply rooms."
As they finished their meal, the ponies gathered in the Princess' war room. "I have not used this since the Great Battle with Discord. It brings back some dark times..." Luna said. While it was not always in use, it did serve its purpose. It was a magificent room. The ceiling stood high as they lit the candles. There was a vault at the other end of the room. Next to it was an armory room. Rarity spoke up. "Princess, you can't possibly expect us to wear or use weapons and armor right? I mean, just look at those hunks of metal!" She nearly fainted at the design of the armor. It really was crude and had no special artistry. However, it had served many ponies well in the past and the princess kept them just in case of an invasion.
"I admit they are not the most aesthetic feature of the room. However, they are very sturdy and made from a powerful metal. These ca withstand magic attacks and even a few sword blows." The princess showed them the weapons vault.
"You will be attacked on this journey. I would give you a guard to go with you but I need to fortify our defenses and check on our allies. So please, pick your weapon."
None of them had ever used a weapon before. However, it was only for self defense. No one needed to get hurt who didn't mean to harm them. They walked around the room. There were many weapons all over the place. Muskets and long swords lined the wall of the vast vault.
Rainbow was the first to take a weapon. "Awwwww yeah! Look at this huge baby!" She said as she held up a massive sword. She could barely lift it.
"Uh...nevermind. I need my speed if I want to be fast."
"May I make suggestions?" Princess Celestia asked. The group nodded their approval. "Rainbow Dash. I believe these are the weapons you will wield best." She handed her 2 daggers. "With speed, these can be powerful tool. However, you must be within range. But I am sure you are fast enough to get out of danger when you need to." Celestia smiled as Rainbow took the light weapons and gave them a few waves. Unfortunately, she was on the ground rather than usually flying and almost hit Rarity.
"Watch it Rainbow Dash! You could have hit me...or worse my mane!" She exclaimed.
Celestia continued to rummage through a dusty chest. "Ahh here they are." She pulled out a pair of gauntlets...or so they seemed. She turned to Applejack. "I know that you enjoy more physical methods. Judging from your strong and sturdy legs from years of work, these may just be perfect." Upon further inspection, The gloves were actually more like steel hooves. They had studs on one side of it while the other was for the hoof to be put in. "Your strength will be multiplied with these."
Naturally Rainbow had something to say on that. "Hey! I am pretty strong too! This one time-"
"And for you Pinkie-" she rummaged through the chest yet again. "I think these will suit you just fine." She pulled out what looked like two sticks held together by a chain. "These are Nunchuks. Something tells me your unpredicatablness will help you with these. They only go where their master wishes them to land." Pinkie too them and tried them out. Sure enough, though she was unpredictable, the control of the nunchuks only went were she want. She stowed it away in her mane.
Rarity stepped up. "Unlike my friends, Princess, I am not one for fighting. I could perhaps design clothes or armor to suit up in." Celestia smiled. Of course she had taken into account the fact that Rarity may not be the biggest on fighting. Same with Fluttershy and Twilight. "Do not worry. I have something for you that I feel you can handle with each and kept from too much fighting." She took a crossbow from the wall. "This kind of weapon has not be used in recent memory but it is good. Stand from a distance and aim. The better a persons eyes are trained, the better they can be at aiming and handling this weapon. " Realizing that the "eyes" part was aimed at her, she tried aiming. She was able to see from across the room and note a small bug was climbing on Celestia's shoulder.
"Princess! On your shoulder!" Celestia simply looked over at her shoulder and picked up the bug before putting it down. "My point exactly. Dear Fluttershy, I assume you dont really use weapons?" Fluttershy nodded. "Then take these instead." Celestia gave her a pouch and needle. "You can use the medicine inside the pouch to heal others. And if neccessary, you can make concotions to knock out enemies. I am sure you are proeffecient with herbs?"
Fluttershy nodded and took the items. "Back home, some animals get food poisoning and other illnesses. I know what can be deadly and some that can cure anything." Celestia nodded her approval. "And lastly, Twilight-"
"Don't worry princess! " Twilight interupted. "MY books and magic are all I need to defeat foes!" She waved her horn around showing off her finesse.
"Show off." Rainbow mumbled.
"Hush now Rainbow. Your not one to talk." Applejack chided.
"Cmon AJ. You know I am a modest athlete...sometimes." Rainbow responded.
"Look 'ere RD-" No sooner had the words left her mouth when she was gagged by a zipper. Rainbow Dash attempted to laugh but was quickly silenced.
Twilight turned their lips to prove her point. "Silence spell. Worked on the hydra last week and worked well here."
Celestia sighed and turned their mouths to normal. "Mastery over magic is as expected my FORMER student," she winked. "But as a Princess, you must channel it. Here, take this." Celestia gave Twilight a long wooden staff. It had weird signs and symbols known to only olden pony folk or people who knew how to change the letters to their native tongue. "This will help you control it better and direct your magic at enemies on a small or wide scope." She turned fully to address everyone.
"This will be your greatest battle yet. Nothing can prepare you for this that you have not already experienced. But this will truly test your limits, physically and spiritually. Remember this always: Stay together. Keep the mission. Honor your fellowship above all else." She turned away as she led them back to the main throne room.
She proclaimed from her thrown. She called over a messenger to prepare a message. "Let it be known to all our friends everywhere in every kingdom that these ponys are under the protection of Canterlot and its guard." She turned to Twilight. Six medals floated over to her and Twilight's friends. "These are your passports. Show this to any royalty and you will be greeted with happiness and a good rest. Do not lose these; they are almost as important as your elements if you wish to make friends to help you on the journey. However, know when you show it and when not to." She winked.
"Go forth valiant ones! The journey of a lifetime begins here!"
The mane six left the room. They were eager to pack and make sure all arrangements neccessary were made. The messenger took off as well. Celestia decided she had had enough to do for the day and had done enough as of right now. She quietly made her way to Luna's room to check on her.
Celestia made her way up the stairs. The collection of paintings caught her eyes. She had many made. Portraits of Starswirl the Bearded and the three original tribe leaders seemed to watch her as she moved through the room. The velvet floor was shaded blue with elegant diamond patterns. Three massive stain glass windows had daylight passing through them. Etched on them were 3 scenes. The first was the triumph of Celestia and Luna together over Discord. Celestia stood proudly, her sword raised (which was silly because she didn't REALLy use one. Heck, she was actually afraid of the things!) and Luna waiving the Staff of Leadership, guiding the other nations to help in the fight. It was as if the battle was just yesterday...
"HAHAHAHAHAHA you silly ponies think you can just tie up chaos? I am the exact opposite of restraint!"
Discord broke his bonds and used the ropes to tie the his captors up. He then melted into the wall. Celestia issued a command. "At the ready Commander Hurricane! Should he attack, we must be swift in his recapture!" She undid the ropes of her soldiers. CHurricane just grunted a response. "Easier said than done Princess! He is qui-" He was cut off mid-sentence as his head turned into an apple. Celestia changed him back, but not before Discord shot a blast at Luna turning her into a goldfish.
"Damnit!" She flicked another shot at Luna who, upon becoming a pony again, was sputtering nonsense. Celestia had never encountered a secondary trap spell. The first spell had a timer and would wear off, but if someone deactivated the spell before it was times up, a second trap, much more powerful and complicated, would activate.
"HAHAHAHA oh Luna your were always comedy "gold"!" Discord laughed insanely.
Celestia charged up a shot. "Princess Platinum! Fix luna!"
The unicorn huffed but did as she was told. Celestia, in the mean time, continually fired at shadows of Discord. She was very close once or twice but the elusive draconequus was nearly impossible to spot and had the element of surprise.
She suddenly caught a glimpse of his foot and fired an insane blast of magic.
She moved the thoughts out of her mind. Discord was reformed now and everything was good. Fluttershy was a wise choice. Her gentle attitude and trust allowed Discord to become TOO close. His fear of losing something cherished finally cracked down his heart of stone.
She proceeded down admiring the other portraits. At the second one, she saw a famous painting of herself. She had multicolored main and tail. Her long and tall elegant body and slim physique granted the painting grace and beauty while making her out as somepony with distinguishable power. She looked the role more then than now. These days, she was ordering around the ceremonies more than ruling. Twilight was doing a fine job and Shining and Cadence were starting a family. Things were moving just fine.
She continued down the hallway. She stopped for a moment.
She could feel the air grow cold. Her entire spine shivered along with her nerves. Normally, she was prepared for any hostiles but right now she was unstable from thinking and planning her next moves. She cast a spell of invisibility.
However, she knew better than to light her horn up. Instead, she reached to a vase with a bunch of flowers and ate it. These were one of the few "invisibility" flower sythesis spells that Twilight had created to help poines hide if the castle came under attack.
Celestia disappeared just as a robbed figure appeared. The pony was rather small compared to Celestia but nonetheless, she was worried the pony had powers she did not know about.
For this was not just any regular pony. His mane and fur were red and black. His eyes were filled and fueled by the fires of hatred. As they stared at Celestia for a moment, she could feel the pupils dig deep into her core, almost judging her. The pony merely laughed. "Oh Celestia, you should know better." He gave no sign of knowing where Celestia was. He continued to walk over to the 3rd portrait. It was a simple scenic view of Canterlost. "Sorry Celly. I know all your secrets." The strange creature pulled the picture off the wall which revealed a safe.
'"A decent safe." The safe had approximately 24 locks and 2 curse enchantments. However, the creature merely aimed its horn and hovered over it.
"Ah. There is it." With a flash of magic, all the locks and enchanments dispersed. Celestia gasped. The creature paid it no mind.
Inside the safe was an urn. It was beautiful and showed intense mastery on the behalf of its creator.
CRASHHH!
With one mighty heavy, the pony threw it down, shattering it to pieces. Celestia was shocked.
It was noon at the castle. Twilight and her friends had gathered at the castle to get ready for the journey. It was to be a long road ahead. The other 5 had varying amounts of equipment. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash did not have too much. However, Rarity, and shockingly enough AJ, were carrying a mass amount of items.
"It is a necessity for me." Rarity argued. "My mane does not stay this way without some kind of help!
Applejack's excuse was a little more viable. "I brought all I need to help everyone. I have food, money, and other things we can use. I will carry my weight." She glared at Rarity. "Oh don't worry honey, I will carry my things. Oh BOYS!"
A few stallions from the guard walked in. Celestia was with them. "I don't think these two will be able to help you. They are in trouble for making a mess down at the barracks. Your names?"
The cyan earth pony saluted. "Private Snails, Your Highness!"
The orange pony did the like.
Celestia straightened her face. "I expect more from my guard. Or at least if you want to remain royal guards."
"We do! We are so sorry for peeping!"
Celestia merely shrugged. "I don't know if I can accept that..."
"We will clean the bathrooms! Please! Just don't send us to the moon!"
"What was that?"
The orange pony changed his words. "I mean, please don't fire us!"
Celestia thought hard. Or at least made it look that way. "Very well. Bathroom duty. Dismissed." The two stallions saluted and left. Celestia smirked at the ponies in front of her. "Sorry about that. They are the new recruit. They have great potential but..."
"That is alright princess! Don't worry. We can move on from here." Twilight turned to the other girls. "Wait. Where's Pinkie Pie?"
BOOM!
"PARTY CANNON!" Pinkie fired her cannon into the air. Streamers and the like flew all over the place. "Pinkie!" Rarity complained "I spent a quality amount of time working on my mane! Look what you've done!" Sure enough, bits and pieces of the explosive party favors were in her hair. "Oopsie! Sorry Rari." As Rarity plucked her hair for the streamers, Celestia explained the mission.
"You must travel to the tribe of the Sun. There you will meet an old friend of mine named Hotwsop. He is the head chief. His tribe has guarded an Essence for centuries. They are a none hostile people, unless provoked." She pulled out a bag. "Inside here is several things. I have given you a map. But this is not ordinary map. You can tell this map what you want, so long as it is within 100 miles, it will sense it out and you can move in that direction."
Twilight gratefully took the map. "Thank you, Princess. I promise not to let you down!"
"I know you will not."
"Alright girls!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "Let's get a move on!"
As they neared the front gate, Twilight gave one last look at Canterlot. She had lived there her whole life until she met the ponies who would become her friends. But she could feel a dread in her stomach. If she failed, all of her home may not survive. It truly was a mission she could not fail.
~~~~~~~~~~
The figure watched from the nearby alley. How cute, it thought menacingly. They think they will complete their mission. They believe they are doing a good thing. That would be too easy.
The robed figure merely trotted away, a smile on its face. There was much to do in preparation of his return. All that needed to happen was to find a way to get rid of the nuisance elements and then revenge would be dealt.
Yes. Revenge will be mine.
~~~~~~~~~
The countryside was beautiful. The trees sparkled with the morning dew as the birds sang. The road was relatively paved and so the 6 friends could travel without hurting a hoof. The sun was shining brightly, thanks to Celestia. A wonderful breeze blew from the west.
"I spy something white." Pinkie yapped excitedly.
Rarity sighed. "For the millionth time Pinkie. It could be ANYTHING!" They have been playing a game of eye spy for the past hour now. While everypony was enjoying the scenery along with the game, Pinkie didn't quite seem to get the idea.
"But I thought we had to keep picking the same one?"
Facehoof. "Pinkie, again, you-...What was that?"
The gang just stared at her and the surrounding. There were a few trees and animals around, but nothing out of the ordinary. A squirrel jumped from a nearby bush.
"Uh, excuse me." Fluttershy called to the small creature. The squirrel, in turn, turned to the speaker of its' tongue. "Is something wrong?"
There was chatter between her and the squirrel continued as the others cautiously looked around. They were not sure what to expect. Twilight pulled out her staff and began to chant a shield spell. The others continued to search.
Rustle Rustle.
"Who's there?" Yelled Rainbow Dash. No response returned the command.
"Show yourself! We won’t show mercy if you hide in the shows!" Yelled Applejack, preparing to pull out her weapon.
From seemingly out of nowhere, a small ball rolled out. It caught all their eyes.
"What the-"
The small ball quickly turned into a cloud of smoke. The ponies stumbled back in surprise. At that moment, the bandits hiding in the trees chose their moment to strike. Fluttershy quickly grabbed the squirrel for hear of it getting hurt. Twilight erected a shield as Rainbow pulled out her dagger.
Unfortunately, the team of mares were not used to using force. Fluttershy was knocked unconscious from behind.
"Fluttershy!" Rarity yelled. She ran over to her fallen comrade when the bandit came up behind her and took her bag.
"Hey!" She yelled. Her mind fought to save the bag and to help her friend. Meanwhile, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had armed up and continued to fight. None of their attacks landed a blow on the swift bandits.
"AJ! Try tying them up!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"Ah would if I could!" She retorted. "But from the looks of things, I can't even hit 'em!"
They continued in vain as a group of bandits neared Pinkie and Twilight. "Pinkie! Aim your cannon at them!"
"Okie dokie!"
She positioned the cannon at the front of the shield and fired before Twilight could warn her. As nature goes, the blast of confetti bounced off and knocked Twilight off her feet, breaking her concentration on the spell. The bandits quickly jumped on the opportunity and stole the rest of the bags.
All of this happened in a matter of minutes. As the dust cleared, all the bandits had disappeared, leaving Rarity caring for Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash frustrated, and the rest of the group tired.
"What. Just. Happened?" Rainbow asked in a seemingly calm voice. "How could this happen? Fluttershy! That animal is useless for information! And Applejack you couldn't even hit one of them?!"
"Hey now-"
"UGHH come on everypony! That was horrible! Now they have the map, our weapons, and the food. What do we do now?" Rainbow just huffed in frustration.
"Rainbow!" Twilight yelled. "You know better than to blow up like that! They took us by surprise. The squirrel doesn't know and Fluttershy did her best! We need to-"
Rainbow Dash was inconsolable. She quickly took for the skies.
"Wait don't go Rainbow Dash!" Twilight called out. She made an attempt to run after her, but quickly lost sight. She turned to her defeated friends. They had accepted such a dangerous mission, and hadn't even made it to to the first stop before being robbed. And to make matters worse, they had lost their friend.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hehe! We made away with a good hull!" The masked bandit squealed. "We can sell this armor and weapons easy. But this map looks useless. Can I burn it?"
A big stallion came over and knocked him on the head. "Of course not! We can sell this as a treasure map. You're a dimwit, Dim Light."
The pony stood up. "Watch your mouth Biggy. You may be bigger than me, but don't forget who won the title for strongest."
"I was drunk!" Biggy yelled as he chucked a bottle across the room. "You wanna mess now? Or take it to the Head?"
Dim Light held his glare for a minute before sitting down. Facing the Head of the Thief Guild was a bad idea, and Biggy was his number 1 fan. Light sat down and continued to value his loot.
"I see your hunt went well." Came a voice from the back of the cave room.
Biggy turned. "Oh yes sir. We have been working hard." He quickly called attention to the figure who entered the room. "Hey boys! Get a feast ready for our friend here." The bandits yelled in glee and got ready to prepare whatever food they had.
"Mr. Snatch Steal, it is a pleasure to have you here. How can we help you?" Biggy turned to the Senior Bandit.
"I have come with some news. Those ponies you robbed today are a high value target. We need you to capture one."
Biggy laughed. "Them? Why they were so easy! You can have all 6 if you like."
Snatch waved his head. "We only need one. We are getting paid a considerable amount of gems to do this right."
Biggy's smile grew even wider. "Yes sir! I will work on it right away. But for now, please enjoy what we have to offer."
"I am fine. I have a meeting to attend. Get me one of those mares. ASAP."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was nighttime when the mares had finally decided to break for camp. They had traveled all day and had grown extremely tired. They had search for Rainbow for hours, calling her name. They quickly made camp in a cave. Fluttershy informed them that the animal who lived there, a bear, had moved out. They took refuge inside.
Twilight gathered some who she found and set it on fire with her magic. The others got as cozy as they could.
"What do we do now?" Applejack asked. Her orange coat was wet with mud from the walk through the swamp.
"What else can we do?" Responded an equally wet Rarity who was, surprisingly, handling the situation well. "We must go after our friend."
"Hmmmm I don't know." Pinkie Pie answered. "It could be a trap. Like in those moving picture shows! They capture a hero and then they-"
"I don't think bandits are fast enough to catch Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy spoke.
"But she is right about a possibility." Twilight confirmed Pinkie's suspicion. "We have to move as fast as we can."
"Well we ain't moving in this weather." Applejack said. "Beside why don't we-"
THUD.
"Rarity!" Pinkie yelled. She stood up to run to her but also fell, knocked out.
"Pinkie! What’s-" Applejack did not even finish her sentence as fatigue knocked her out.
Twilight and Fluttershy attempted to stand as well, only to feel as groggy as them. The last thing Twilight thought was "Is this a trap?" as the world turned black.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Several hours later...
"Chief! I found somepony!" The villager yelled. "They are in the cave."
Tusclone walked over to the group of ponies. He waved his stick over them, trying to sense their pulses.
"They are tired and weak. And it seems they have a fever. Take them back to the village and care for them. I will continue to try to find the source of darkness that has befallen the land.
"Chief?" The villager asked.
Only then he realized he had spoken aloud. "Oh nothing child. Just take them back. Get help." The villager nodded and went to get help.
So. It has finally begun. The prophecy of old has finally come. He pushed it from his mind. Perhaps he was just getting paranoid. He glanced at the sky as he exited the cave. Or perhaps he was being blinded by the darkness that was already present.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You are late."
"You expect somepony like me to be early for a meeting? You're lucky I showed up."
The other voice did not return a response.
"Look, if you have- ACK!" His voice cut off from seemingly nowhere. The darkness creeped upon his neck.
"You are lucky I do not kill you now. Will you aid us or not?"
"If you-ACK-stop-UGH- choking me!" He sputtered. The darkness pulled away, but not before one final squeeze.
"That was unnecessary."
"That was a warning."
"One has followed us, according to the scouts. A blue Pegasus. We can apprehend her easily."
"Come general. The time has come to begin the attack."
Out of the shadows emerged a single figure. Clad in dark armor, his footsteps echoed in the dark room. His menacing blood red eyes hungered for battle.
He kneeled before his master. "Yes m'lord. I will prepare the troops for the ambush."
The Voice in the Darkness seemed pleased. "Do as I command and I will reward you well. They are currently staying at a small village a few miles from the first Essence. Capture the White one and bring her to me."
The general merely nodded. He knew better than to talk about failure. It was simply not an option.
Everypony was in a bad mood. The bandits were nowhere to be found, Rarity was screaming about her situation, and Rainbow Dash was missing since the ambush. While she could handle herself, Twilight was sure that it was only a matter of time before she was caught and possibly...
Well, she thought, better to be positive than negative.
The village of Tyros was a kind, small village. They had a small population and not very many troops to guard them. It was a rather poor village as well. Bread and simple pony food is all they really had. Yet, they gave what they could to the tired travelers. The head of the village, Tusclone Yorkuta, was a generous man. He gave his guests a wonderful meal and a clean house (Rarity, however, was still inconsolable about her now-missing make-up and beauty kits).
Twilight decided she would ask Tusclone for help. They did not know these parts well, and the only way they would find their friend or the bandits (or more than likely both) was to have a sense of direction.
This morning, they had gathered at the Tusclone's house. It was rather rickety. As Twilight pounded on the door, the other ponies admired the house. It was made of mostly loose stones and whatever else could be used for adhesive. It was a sad sight. The elites of Canterlot could easily provide for this village, if they would pay their taxes. They ate wine and cheese while these people could only dream of tasting their own produce.
The door opened. "Ahh, my friends. Come in. I assume you have some questions?"
The ponies filed in. The house was small, but beautiful inside. Portraits of the land and its surroundings were all over the walls.
"Oh my," Rarity exclaimed. "I did not know you were a painter!"
Tusclone smiled meekly. "It helps pay for the village's food. That one over there," He pointed at a huge painting of the Royal Sisters, "just sold for 4000 bits! I can feed the people well for at least a month with that income." His smile faded. "Unfortunately, the buyer said he may lose interest. If he does, I will have to find another buyer, and not many are willing to pay such a price." His smile returned. "But this is a village problem! I invited you here not to talk about our problems. Let us get down to business."
Twilight was about to talk when Pinkie Pie, in excitement, fear, anger, and whatever else she had going on in her head, decided to tell the story.
"Oh you missed it Mister! We were walking along the path like Celestia told us to-"
The leader's smile turned into a frown. "I was not aware Celestia was involved." His mood seemed dark and Twilight caught it fast. "She meant Celly! But we call her 'Celestia' because she is a drama queen." Twilight gave her most sincere smile. Tusclone was about to speak, but AJ cut in. "Allow me to explain. We were walking down a path and some bandits caught us. Do ya have any idea who they could be?"
Tusclone's mood only seemed to darken. "Those...vagabonds...have been stealing our food and laying siege to our village at the same time. Quite frankly, I thought that the rulers of this FAIR LAND would send aid, more than a few troops." His eyes moved to Twilight who, in turn, promised to send more guards. "They have been more bothersome as the days go by. More food goes missing, money is taken, and aid to help us is killed. How can we survive?"
Fluttershy spoke up for the first time that day. "It seems you need an eye on these bandits. I can help." Before she could call her animals, however, Tusclone continued his speech. "I know that they hide out in the mountains. It is a relatively cold environment. I have never been there, but judging from the constantly missing materials for clothing," He showed his cape, which had many holes, "we can draw conclusions."
Twilight turned to her friends. "Rainbow Dash went after them, I think. If she did, going into the nearby mountains may bring us close to her. And getting our equipment back." The others nodded their agreement. It was settled. They would travel to the nearby mountains and find RD along with the bandits.
Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, wasn't doing so well. She had been following the bandits from a distance. However, she soon lost sight as it was nearly midnight when she had gone out to stalk the bandits. Without much of a clue where to go, she went for the closest, notable site: The Mountains.
As she trekked through the forest, she began to hear sounds. Rustle Rustle. Whoosh.
CRACK.
She immediately whipped around but not before being hit over the head. As the world around her went dark, she cursed herself. Why hadn't she just flown and watched from a cloud?
The Mane 6 (minus a cyan blue pony) packed their belongings. They decided it would be best to get Dashie and travel straight through the mountains to their next destination. Tusclone had provided the villages best map, at a modest price, of course. Applejack, fortunately, kept a small purse with her at all time under her hat, thus the bandits only got away with about 5000 bits (The Apple Family fortune was worth about 20 million bits at this point. So she could have spared the money, if only it weren't for the fact they only had that money and Canterlot and Ponyville was roughly another 2 days walk to get back again.)
Twilight met the group at the back gate of the village that had a path carved out to go to the mountains. "Tusclone said this trail can bring us close to the mountains, but from there, we are on our own." Twilight commented.
The group nodded. Fluttershy added her thoughts. "I will have some woodland creatures go ahead and scout out the area. Perhaps there is a secret and easier route to the top."
Twilight nodded her approval as Fluttershy went about trying to call any nearby animals. "Applejack?" The orange pony looked up. "Which way does the map say we go?"
Pinkie pie snickered. "Way, say...nice rhyme!"
The other girls giggled a little. Pinkie always had a way of lightening the mood. Twilight was a little more stressed.
"Not now Pinkie! AJ! Stop laughing! We need to get moving as soon as possible." The group straightened themselves out, laughs calming down. AJ spoke up. "Alright. The path is supposed to cut into the forest until we get to a cave. From there, we are in bandit territory."
Rarity, naturally, had some plight. "Why don't you all go ahead? I-I will just s-stay h-here." She stuttered. Twilight shook her head.
"No chance. We can't come back and risk the bandits attacking the village out of vengeance, should we have to fight them. And I think we will need to." She grabbed her saddle. "Everypony ready?"
They nodded. The gates opened and they stepped out into the world ahead of them.
Her eyes shot open. Rainbow Dash's head hurt and felt like a lump was forming. She was hog-tied with ropes that cut into her flesh. She quickly focused her mind. Where was she?
"You're in a cell. I think."
What happened?
"You were hit in the head."
Why?
"You followed the bandits."
What- Wait. That's not my mind talking...
She looked up and saw an image forming in from of her. A dark-blue skinned pony began to form. Her horn was long and beautiful (no jokes) and was glowing with magic. Her tall, beautiful body was much larger than a regular pony. However, the most distinguishing feature was the wings. And the cutie mark.
Rainbow Dash attempted to bow, to no avail. The Princess of the Moon smiled. "It is alright Rainbow Dash. I am here to help." She attempted to speak, but realized she had a gag on her mouth.
"Just think it Rainbow Dash. And I can answer."
Where am I?
"As I said," Luna responded. "I think it is a cell. They wanted to keep you alive and not die from hypothermia. Thus the cozy fire."
Okaaay...How do I get out?
"You must wait and survive their questions. They will want to know why you followed, and see if they can ransom you or use you as bait."
FOR MY FRIENDS?! I will never talk then!
"Now now. It is not the end of the world. Your journey will not end here, I can guarantee it. There will be far worse attractions to come." She grimaced.
Wonderful...Well. What now?
"Rest, Element of Loyalty. I must leave now but I will return, if you survive." She smiled. Dash's eye lids began to droop against her will. And she didn't resist.
The General of the Dark Lord's army smiled. The bandits had done their job well. The prisoner was in their hands, rather too easily. For a moment, he thought he had fallen for a clever ruse. And yet, no one had followed to retrieve the cyan pony.
Now all they had to do was wait for the others to arrive. He trotted over to the weapons that the bandits had secured (and sold to them for a decent price). They were surprisingly light; it would make sense, however, as ponies were not as strong as their kind. Their strength was roughly twice as much as a regular stallion.
In short, a Darkreim was much stronger than any regular pony.
He gathered the weapons together, careful not to cut him, and prepared his magic.
"General." He turned to see the new voice. Although he was able to see perfectly well in the dark, he saw no one.
"Just listen carefully. The Element of Loyalty has been caught. Take her now and kill her." The General said nothing as he returned to his work, slightly agitated. Who was the intruder?
Yet, no answer came to his question. He returned himself to his work.
They had arrived at the foot of the mountain at last. The entire mountain range was long and expanded far. As they neared it, the air seemed to fall a few degrees, despite the fact that temperature drops occur at the top of a mountain.
Fluttershy's creatures told her that the bandits used this cave for loot and slaves. Twilight suggested they look around before moving to another mountain.
As they entered the cave, Twilight used her horn to illuminate the dark cavern. Everyone was quiet as the cave itself. Even Pinkie Pie managed to contain her merriment; no doubt she would attempt to try to push away the darkness with a laugh or song.
"Shh." Twilight whispered. "I think I see somepony."
They found a rock to hide behind as a pair of ponies appeared.
"Yeah she fought hard." One said. "You should have seen it Knifer. Even after we bound her, she was buckin' like a hydra that lost all its heads. "
Knifer, presumably, laughed. "I know the kind. Not east to seduce either."
Twilight was about to gasp, but her mouth was covered by Applejack. She shook her head. Not now, it read.
"What do we do now?" Knifer's companion asked.
The other pony put a hoof to his chin in contemplation. "I suppose we wait for orders from the boss. We need to wait for his call. Says that the dark pony needs time to set a trap."
"A TR-" Twilight was about to yell, but was held down by Rarity. She knew from the look on Twilight's face she was going to do something rash. Like diplomacy.
Knifer caught it, however. "Hey!" He called. "Is some pony there?"
"No pony said anything!" Pinkie whispered. They held their breath...until they smelled a foreign one.
"'Ello poppet."
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" The mares yelled. Jumping away, the 2 bandits pulled out a knife and attacked. The ponies were not used to such violence. They scattered.
"Come out little ponies!" Knifer yelled. "I know this cave like the back of my hand!"
The other pony laughed maniacally. "Come out to playyyy-OOF!" He felled backwards as streamers and balloons nailed him in the face.
"Party cannon go!" Yelled a pink pony. "For Rainbow Dash!"
The bandits did not stay down for long. Slowly regaining their footing, they stood back to back against the ponies. "C’mon!" Knifer's friend yelled. "Fight!"
Twilight simply picked up two rocks and dropped them on their heads. They crumpled to the ground. When they came too, they were surrounded and tied.
"Where is our friend?" Rarity demanded. She was also fixing her mane as much as she could to look presentable, even to bandits.
They refused to speak. Rarity sighed. She would have to do it.
"Could you PLEEEEEEEEEAAAAAASSSSEEEEE..." The shrill sound was enough to shatter glass. The bandits tried to refute any signs of submission to the hell siren but nonetheless, could not hide their pain.
"ALRIGHT ALRIGHT!" Knifer yelled. "I'll tell!" Rarity closed her mouth (wiping away some spit. Unladylike).
"They are just farther down in that cave." He explained. "She is in a cell. The key is with our leader."
"If I find you are lying," Applejack warned. "I will buck you myself."
Pinkie smirked. Applejack gave her a good eye roll. "Immature."
They continued into the cave until they saw a light at the end of the tunnel. And a very recognizable shape, along with an even more annoying yell.
"Get the hay off me!" Some pony yelled. "I ain't goin' down without a fight!" The Mane six, down one, ran further to the rescue.
"Get your hands-" Twilight yelled, but fell short. She really didn't know what to make of the scene.
Rainbow Dash's skin was dark and she was thrashing around frantically. "Get off me!" She yelled. Her body was engulfed in literal darkness as her body shriveled from the pain.
"Help me! I won't do it! I won't tell you about them!" Rainbow continued to yell. Twilight and the other mares ran over to the jail quickly. Twilight bucked the door as hard as she could.
"No good! We have to get her out now and get her treatment!" Twilight yelled.
Applejack cracked her hoof. "I got this." She aimed a precise kick right at the lock, hitting it perfectly wish a strong clang. The rusty lock, in turn, shatter under the powerful hoof.
"YEEHAW! Ain't no lock gonna stop me!" AJ celebrated.
"The perhaps I can intimidate you further."
The mares turned to the stranger. His body was completely shrouded in darkness. His eyes glowed a menacing red.
"Who are you?" Rarity inquired. The figure simply laughed.
The sun shown brightly over the land of Equestria. The birds had awoken early to begin the hunt for food. The little creatures in the ground would continue to build their homes and search for resources.
Then everything changed.
The sun was completely shrouded by darkness, replaced by a hollow ball of infinite black. The sky opened a void that ripped through the sky curtain and from it, all monstrosities that had been banished flowed forth.
And in the center of all the madness, there was the one devil-creature that would lead it all to fruition:
Emperor of the Darkreims: Darlem.
The scene changed: the ponies and all the species in Equestria worked on a massive monument to the glory of the new Emperor. Both parent and child slept in overstuffed homes. Soldiers lined the streets, harassing and regulating trade. The elites of Equestria were thrown down from their high perch and forced on a deat hmarch across the lands. Darkness creeped in, threatening to swallow any who attempted to fight. The heads of each nation were lined up to lose their head. Soldiers executed the armies of the kingdoms in horrific fashion.
"You know, it didn't have to be this way."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Celestia woke up, sweating bullets. She clawed for air and threw off her sheets. Her mane was completely disheveled and her tail had seem to lose it's flowing nature. Heavy sandbags hungs from her eyes and her breath made her nose turn away in revulsion.
It was just another dream and another night.
It had been getting worse from day to day. The nightmares increased. Luna did all she could, giving her older sister remedies and even going as far as to go into the dream and try to fight off the Darkreims. It was no use.
She knew why it was happening. The seal on the scroll had been broken. It was a blood seal, meant to hold a spirit for all eternity unless the convenant was broken. Celestia had created that scroll a millienia ago, but it should have still been powerful. She even had to use "that" to seal him away. It wasn't called a "Blood Seal" for nothing.
She bowed her head in shame. To think of what she had to do to fight that monster. To think she had to sacrifice so much to stop him.
To think she almost fell in love with him.
A sudden pain creeped into her mind. She had to make her own preparations. She would need to contact her strongest allies and prepare for the battle ahead. They still had time to prevent Darlem from rising. In his current form, he could manifest in brief ways and places. It was highly unlikely he had a physical form yet, meaning he could do no physical harm.
However, he had no doubt sent for his minions ahead of him. The Darkreim race was scientifically impossible. They literally came from hell. Born from darkness and raised in a competative land, only the best survive. A mother was a term they never knew. They killed and used each other until the very last backstab. On top, their strength was almost double that of a regular ponies'. They had the ability to use magic, but could not fly.
Her mind flashed to the elements of Harmony, and its' bearers. Twilight and her friends had no idea what they had accepted.
And she had let them try.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luna was in her chamber as usual. Her sleep was not as affected as her sister; she saw nightmares too but could control them. On this day, she awoke feeling rejuvenated. Unlike her sister, her mane and tail were in good condition and her eyes spoke of complete readiness to attack the day.
Yet all was not well in her heart. Her sister was in such pain. She could remember a time when SHE was the one who would inflict such trauma on her, but this was different. These machiniations of horror were beyond her abilities. Celestia had refused company despite her being able to go to meetings and hold councils every day.
With a flare of magic, she teleported to a nearby dresser, deciding to do her hair for the morning, despite that it was already in good condition. She picked up her brush and quickly fell into a trance. It happened every morning; her boredom became so great she would do things unconsciously.
Her mind was particularly worried about Darlem. On more than one occasion in the past, the future Emperor had often spoken to Luna, telling her of the wonderful world he could create. She knew Celestia and Darlem were currently "crushes" and pushing too far would anger her sister. In a world where it was only you and your sister that lived for centuries, one tried not to make an enemy of the other.
She pushed the thoughts out of her mind. Luna needed to focus on the world at large.
And she had a plan that would either prove to be the biggest failure and lose the world to darkness or a gamble that would give them a shot at defeating the coming Emperor.
No biggy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In other places across Equestria...
Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetiebelle had gathered for their meeting. They had decided to meet in Canterlot for a luncheon at the Fancy Pants Hotel. Normally, Scoots and Belle couldn't even get in, but Applebloom knew how to pull rank.
She went right up to the front of the line and looked the host in the eye. She took a card from her saddle and flashed it. The host (and a few of the patrons) gasped at the card and quickly showed them to their seats.
"That wasn't nice." Sweetie giggled.
Scootaloo objected. "Nah, we just have priority." She sat down at her seat. "I've performed at Wonderbolt shows, you are a renowned singer, and Applebloom has connections." She smiled at her red maned friend.
"Oh shucks, it ain't nuthin'." She responded. "Applejack just said to use the card if I ever wanted to treat you mares out. And since we just entered a pretty successful deal with the Cherry company, I thought we should celebrate."
They prepared their orders and the waiter took them. The relaxed as the began to talk about life.
"So Scoots." Sweetie Belle asked. "How is the academy?"
A smile quickly lit up her face. "It. Is. AWESOME!" She yelled. When a nearby table looked at her crazy, she blushed and lowered her voice. "I'm really trying hard. I even got to perform with the Wonderbolts!" Again, her voice squeaked to loud, earning her more glares.
"And you?"
Sweetie just stirred her lemonade. "Not really much. Voice lessons are good. Sapphire Shores is a good mentor, if a little flashy." She reflected on her time with the diva, molding her into a superstar. But she never forgot her way home.
"Seems like just yesterday we were hunting for our cutie marks." She looked down at hers. "I still can't believe I got mine from that incident..."
"HAHAHA! Oh my Celestia! That was funny!" Scoots laughed. Sweetiebelle joined in aswell.
They continued to chat as their appetizers came in. "How are things in Ponyville, Sweetie?" Scootaloo asked.
"Oh, the same." She said. "Dinky took over for Derpy for mail a few days ago and actually did an awesome job. I do miss Derpy, but apparently she had gone to Cloudsdale for a few days."
Sweetie scooped some more hayfries. "Snips and Snails visited me a few days ago. We hung out at the park."
"OOOOOOOOOH!" Both the other mares cooed.
"Puh-lease." Scoots chided. "It was nothing big. They just happened to be on duty there and no disaster had struck. Yet." They mares giggled at the thought.
They continued to chatter, completely unaware of the imminent chaos that was to ensue. But for now, let us return to more pressing matters...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Who are you?" Twilight asked the hooded figure. Fluttershy and Pinkie had untied Rainbow, still heavy with fatigue. The darkness, however, continued to creep into her soul. As they tried to lift her, the coldness of her body made them begin to lose hope that they could save their friend.
The stranger merely stared at them, not showing any sign of having heard the mare.
"Who are- ACH!" A sudden leash of darkness strapped itself to the unicorn's throat.
"Twilight!" Rarity yelled. She powered up her horn and with a loud battle cry (unbecoming of her) she yelled. "Let my friend go you...you..." She was at a loss for words. When the creature showed no sign of stopping, she fired a quick blast of magic energy into the figure.
"I got him!" She cried in victory. However, the dark one did not give up so easily. The parts of his body that had been hit began to reform, darkness creating a physical being.
"Oh." The unicorn exclaimed. Twilight then used her own magic to attempt a shot blast at the enemy, only to fail as her magic was cut off by the strangulation of the darkness.
"Oh no ya don't!" Applejack yelled, throwing a rock she had found. Once again, it passed through the enemy as the darkness reformed.
"Hahahaha. You are the mares of prophecy?" The figure spoke. "This must be a joke. The master would easily wipe the floor with all of you in a second. And to top it off, you are down one pony." He pointed at the rainbow-maned mare.
He turned his attention once more to Twilight. "I give you mercy now. I was only sent to gauge your powers. And I can tell you are nothing but a common herd of equines who will die a slow and painful death at the Rising."
He gave Twilight one final choke before dropping the mare.
"Twilight!" The group yelled. The unicorn fell to the ground as the figure disappeared.
"We...can't...let him get ....away." She said in between gasps for breath. Rarity lit up the room while Fluttershy attempted to tend to Twilight and Rainbow Dash.
"No," Twilight coughed out. "Take care of rainbow first." She looked to her friend who was clearly shivering not from the cold, but fear. "She needs it more that I ever will."
Fluttershy nodded. Applejack had meanwhile given chase to the mysterious individual, only to hit the end of the cave.
"How in the hay?" She wondered. No pony should be able to escape in the opposite direction from the entrance and have a dead end...
But was that an average pony?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"My lord, I have returned." The General announced. The halls of the dark cave was a familiar place to the Darkreims. It was were their leader made his home.
"Good General. Did you instill fear?"
The General looked up proudly. "Yes, your majesty. The element of Loyalty and Magic have both been slightly traumatized."
The Darkness merely snarled. "Slightly traumatized?" The General could tell something was wrong with his master's voice.
"I WANT THEM TERRIFIED!" The master yelled. "I want them to feel the darkness seeping the life out of them!"
"I will deliver, my lord." The Darkreim leader promised.