"Twilight, wait!"
Twilight hesitated, before she started walking again.
"Twilight!" Celestia's voice lashed at her now. "I was once your teacher, and once your princess, I command you to listen to me!"
Twilight stopped and looked back at Celestia, massive and wallowing on her throne, tears running down Celestia's cheeks. Twilight told herself to ignore them. She turned her gaze to Minty, “Minty?”
“Yes,” Minty said, unsure of what to think.
“Get back home,” Twilight’s horn glowed, and sent Minty just out of Caketopia’s outskirts. Twilight turned back towards the door. "I'm done here. Don't fight me, Celestia, I don't want to have to fight you."
She turned and began heading for the door.
Only to fly back across the room as a magical blast struck her, a familiar-looking light-blue magical blast. She smashed into the throne of cake, sending splatters of chocolate frosting and yellow cake everywhere.
"My throne!" Celly cried out, and then, in a shadow of her old voice, "Twilight!"
"I'm fine," Twilight said, rising with a wince.
"For now," Cadence said angrily.
Shining armor joined in. "If you don't want to fight, then I have bad news for you, little sis.”
Twilight gasped as she remembered the speakers. "Please," she whispered. "Not them, please not them..."
She looked and felt her heart turn over.
Cadence and Shining Armor both looked down at her, neither purely pony any more. Cadence's wings were insect-like, and her hide showed signs of a carapace in places; and Shiny's coat looked almost scaly in sections. Leathery wings stretched out from his back as, looking cold and very disappointed, he slapped one of his shields down over her, containing the lavender alicorn.
"Paradise exists for ponies, Twilight," Cadence said as her husband concentrated on the force field. "We don't want to hurt you, but we're not letting you hurt anypony else, either."
A few Changelings -- no, Twi thought, they've been the new Flutterponies for generations now -- their carapaces looking almost crystalline, flew up to Queen Cadence.
"Her fellow conspirators are approaching, highness," one of them buzzed. "What do you wish us to do with them?"
"Stop them from aiding her," Cadence said, her voice holding a chill vaguely reminiscent of the long-gone Chrysalis. "Don't hurt them if you can help it."
They buzzed their wings in agreement and flew for the door, only to stop as Cadence spoke.
"But if you can't do it peacefully, then..." Cadence swallowed before saying clearly. "Then... I'll understand."
===
Outside, the flutterponies flew a little ways down the road leading to Caketopia before stopping. Running towards them in the distance were an alicorn, a unicorn, a draconequus and a breezie.
Strange, thought the lead flutterpony. I thought breezies weren't supposed to be that fast. Then magically amplifying his voice he said, "In the name of High Queen Cadence and King Shining Armor, I command you to stop! You are not allowed to enter Caketopia."
The group ignored him and continued to run towards them.
"Stop now! If you do not comply, I am authorized to use force!"
Again the group ignored him.
"I said--Gah!" A white alicorn barreled past him, knocking him to the ground. His fellow flutterponies shouted as the alicorn's friends stampeded past them.
"That's it," he growled as he got up. "Take them down. Hard."
Fluttercruel peeked out of her hiding spot to get a better of view of the angry flutterponies chasing the decoys of herself and the others. She fiddled with a remote control to make the decoys veer off the road, leading the flutterponies away from Caketopia.
"Well, that should keep them distracted for awhile," she said, tossing the remote over her shoulder. Then she looked up at the cake-castle. "Guess the rest of them are still in there. Great. Well, no sense in waiting around." She started to float towards the castle entrance. "Hope the others are having better luck getting the Element..."
Minty walked the opposite direction of Fluttercruel, causing them both to stop.
“Huh?” Both said at the same time.
“Who are you?” Minty said.
“I could ask the same.”
“I’m Minty. I-”
“Wait, if you’re here, then where’s Twilight?”
“I need your help.”
===
"Applejack, what are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Discord, Sombra, Chrysalis, Nightmare Moon, they had all the same problem... they didn't think they could lose."
"But we're the good guys!"
"And let me tell ya darlin', that means squat, we can still lose. So Ah'm gonna hedge mah bets. Ah'll have a talk with Big Mac so he doesn't get mixed up in this tomfoolery later, ya keep Rarity and the others distracted in the meantime."
"Gotcha AJ." The two clasped hooves and went in separate directions. "Hmmm, maybe I should have something prepared just in case too. Spike."
"Yes Rainbow Dash?" The baby dragon avatar appeared.
"I've got a message I want you to send to everypony!"
+++
Applejack flew inside Apple Bloom's 'bigger on the inside than on the outside' design room. Her morbidly obese little sister was floating on her massive golden throne, surrounded by floating schematics and blueprints. She had not left her throne or seen her friends in over a century.
"Apple Bloom!"
"Big sister? You're... you're a princess!"
"No. Ah just became what Ah had to become to protect ya and everypony else."
"Protect? From what? Did monkeys from space try to invade Equestria again?"
"No. Spike!"
"Yes Applejack?" The baby dragon avatar asked.
"Ah need ya to build a factory for Apple Bloom's inventions!"
"What? But Applejack, Spike can just MAKE my stuff appear right off the paper."
"Maybe now, but what if something happens?"
"HAPPENS?! Applejack, yer scarin' me!"
"Ah'm sorry Apple Bloom." Applejack nuzzled her. "Ah don't mean ta. But this is important. Spike! Make that factory piece by piece! And do it FAST and do it NOW! I'll be VERY disappointed if you don't."
Applejack might not have been a magic expert, but she had picked up some fundamentals over the centuries. 'Permanent' magic worked in that the magic was what was holding together whatever it made. 'Instantaneous' magic meant whatever the magic did was now the natural state of things. But there were ways around it. All the nails put in by a magicked up hammer wouldn't all pop out if the hammer went away, and if you magicked up something, but then made it into something new, then it wasn't the something that got magicked up anymore and couldn't be made to go poof.
"And Apple Bloom! Ya got some robots and 'talkin' to each other without wires' stuff in that collection of yours?"
"Uh, yeah. A couple decades ago, even invented some who could form a labor union, then I dumped that design, burnt it, and had Spike erase all copies of that design, and went for the ones who weren't programmed to feel resentment and indignity.
"Good. Good. And Ah've got a few other inventions of yours ya showed me that Ah wanna see ya build more of."
+++
Many ponies all over Equestria had requested their bodies to be kept perfectly healthy and safe so they could dream forever. The ultimate symbol of love and devotion to the night goddess, who was unconditionally looked up to by all of them. Pipsqueak, who now was a full-grown stallion, was among them. Their minds forever remaining in the dream world, to effectively live in the domain of the Alicorn Princess of The Night forever.
+++
Donut Joe wondered what was going on up there. Were monkeys in power armor invading the planet again? Donut Joe sighed. All least the constructs were constantly repairing and updating his beautiful Caketopia. And of course he always had extensions to build. Who didn't like Cake after all? And there were plenty of ponies who were perfectly happy to enjoy his cakes. To think once, his city of pastries could only exist as a model. Now, NOW it truly existed life size, and Princess Celestia herself had chosen it as her retirement home! What other pastry chefs could ever hope to say that?! Who cared if she made a pig of herself; if anypony had earned a cushy retirement, it was her.
+++
Diamond Tiara had spent over a century on the most ostentatious throne imaginable. But she had eventually gotten bored with that. Then she had viciously teased Simulacrums of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and anypony else who had shorted her in life. She'd gotten bored of that even faster. Then Spike's Simulacrums had given her endless admiration, but she grew bored of that much faster still, it slowly dawning on her how hollow it was.
There was nopony to manipulate or command, Spike provided her with Simulacrums to do so, but they were pointless, not real, and real ponies now couldn't be bothered with what she ever had to say. In fact, many had created mute spells, filtering out whatever she had to say into silence whenever she tried to speak to them. She had no pony to lead, control, manipulate, command, or rule over, her special talent was completely worthless!
Diamond Tiara had always defined her worth by how she had what others didn't, and now everypony had everything, she was worthless!
And she was out voted on EVERYTHING. Her parents now had their own private paradise. And a clone of her that was the ideal daughter she had never been when she herself had been too busy sitting on her throne eating bon bons.
A part of her growing larger and larger wanted to ask Nightdrake Banneret to end her life (as other ponies had done when they felt they had explored every pleasure, or conquered every challenge their minds could conceive of).
She was alone. And she didn't WANT to be alone.
Spike provided.
"Hello Diamond Tiara."
"S-Silver Spoon? That's really you? The real you?"
Diamond Tiara wanted this to be true.
Spike provided.
"Of course it's me! Who else would it be?" Silver Spoon nuzzled her.
The two oblivious fillies wandered in a field of flowers with dolls and tea-sets and played, oblivious to all else, all the two truly wanted was the other's company. And all Silver Spoon had ever wanted, was to be with her only friend.
+++
"Auntie Pinkie Two, is everything okay?" The 1000 year old colt Pound Cake, who still lived in Sugarcube corner, no longer a baby but not a stallion either, asked.
"What's wrong? Didn't you like the new level to the Whack-A-Pony Tower?" She then whispered to the side. "Don't get any wrong ideas, it's just a name."
"Who are you talking to?"
"No one!"
"Oh, well, no, it's great, but where's Mama-Pinkie Pie?"
"She's... resting I think." Pinkie Pie's first clone answered. Her appearance was mostly identical to her mother except her cutie mark balloons were different colors, and she also had the nickname Junior. Her sisters ran Partitopia with zeal and effectiveness, no foal was unhappy for long under their watch. Like their mother, what made them most happy was the happiness of others, in particular the foals they watched over. Her sister Pinkamena ran the super-spooky haunted house.
"Resting?" The colt had never known in his memory for Mama-Pinkie Pie to tire out.
"Yeah.” She briefly thought about telling them of how Gummy accidentally died, but decided not to. “Some mean ponies said some mean things to her, and she needs to have a good cry or something, she told me to house sit in the meantime, don't worry, she'll be back to herself in no time."
"Hey Pound! Ya wanna play this round or not?" Pumpkin Cake shouted. "Anne Smith, Cup, and Carrot are all ready!"
"Coming!" The little pegasus flew to the Smash Ponies Live Room, a costume appearing on him as he wanted. The other four foals on the floating platform already stood in position.
"Ready? GO!" One of the Pinkie Clones serving as referee (who had taken the name Pinkie Cake) shouted.
The foals used toon physics to give harmless slapstick attacks to each other in the reality bending chamber, the last not to fall into the comfy pit of balloons below would be the winner.
+++
"Cadence! Please don't hurt her!" Celestia begged. For the first time in centuries she had forgotten about her cake.
"I don't WANT to hurt her Auntie." Queen Cadence said. "But I'm not letting my sister-in-law destroy the world."
"I'm trying to SAVE the world!" Twilight pleaded. "Please... let me out."
"So you keep saying," Cadence sighed. "But unlike Auntie, I'm not going to sit there and do nothing."
"Please Twiley, just stay put." Shining Armor said.
Cadence turned towards her aunt, "I hate to say this auntie, but you're too SOFT. You aren't willing to do what NEEDS to happen to protect Equestria's ponies..."
"You're sounding too cruel Cadence," Celestia said sadly.
"I don't WANT TO BE! But if Twilight's going to do this, knowing exactly what's going to happen, not just to my changelings but all of Equestria, if she wins, then I'll be what I need to be to protect my subjects."
"Like Chrysalis?" Celestia said, tears in her eyes.
"NO!" Cadence snapped.
"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Shining Armor roared.
"Chrysalis ENJOYED the hurt she caused others, she didn't think the lives of any but her subjects had value. Nightdrake Banneret is the only reason my changelings don't revolt and try to feed off everypony else, who exactly do you think I'm doing this for?! Whether you realize it or not, ALL of Equestria is at stake! I am NOT enjoying this! At all!"
This brought Twilight memories of when she was ruler of Equestria, and guilt with them.
At the time Cadence had defeated Chrysalis and became the new Queen of the Changelings. It was then when it was discovered they were another race of ponies, the flutterponies, and it was Twilight's job, as the new ruler of Equestria, to integrate them into society, and also to punish them for their previous invasion.
She didn't. Nightdrake Banneret gave them the love to feed from and a place where they wouldn't be hated because of their invasion. No wonder why the new flutterponies and the crystal ponies had been interbreeding for centuries now, it was the only place that didn't held a grudge.
"Please, I promised I wouldn't stop Twilight from leaving here," Celestia asked.
"I didn't," Shining Armor said simply. "Don't make this harder than it already is."
===
Far away from Caketopia, Rarity, Trixie, and Seabreeze looked down on a little farm. Apple trees grew around a farmhouse that looked comfortable rather than palatial, and the fruit on them showed crimson and yellow and rainbow colored. And some grey as well.
"Trixie finds it odd to see plain old normal apples after all this time," the blue unicorn said as she tried tugging one of the latter from a branch with her hoof. "Well, except for these. Just what is it?" It refused to budge. Trixie frowned and pulled harder. Little sparks began to run along the apple.
"Dear," Rarity said, stepping forward. "If I were you I wouldn't try..."
Too late.
Rarity and Seabreeze both stared as electricity flew all along Trixie's body. Her eyes bulged and her mane and tail stood out on end before she dropped with a groan. Seabreeze flew up to her with a shake of his tiny head.
"Trixie! Vy yoo do dis foolish ting?" He pointed at the grey apple. "Dese are zap apples, dey cannot be pulled until dey are ripe, everybreezie knows dis!"
"Eee-yup," a massive red pony said as he came into sight. Behind him came a purple mare and with her were several younger ponies, ranging from near-foals to near-grown colts and fillies. None of them showed the sloth or heftiness that dominated so many ponies. The stallion looked at the snowy alicorn. "Miz Rarity. Your little friend there," he nodded at the breezie before scowling down at Trixie. "Trixie. Y'all are guests here. If ya want somethin' ta eat an' drink, ya can have it, an' no obligation."
Rarity relaxed as Seabreeze flew over to the windfallen apples and started eating one. At least it wouldn't be a fight. And his words only emphasized what her own alicorn's senses were telling her as soon as she saw him, the once-familiar energy seeming to hover over him.
Big Mac said, "What are y'all doin' here on Sweet Apple Acres? Ah thought y'all were tryin' ta ruin what Spike's doing for everypony."
Rarity decided to get right to the point. "You know why we're here, Generosity." Big Mac flinched. Rarity continued, "You knew Spike in the old days, Big Mac. And Cheerilee, you remember what it was like to be a teacher, to see ponies want to learn and grow." Cheerilee looked away, a twinge flashing across her face. Rarity nodded. "We don't want to ruin anything, but we have to stop what he's doing, both to himself as well as everypony else, while there's still something left to save of Equestria."
Applejack dropped down between Rarity and Big Mac, wings outspread and snorting. "Ya know, Ah think that's what sickens me th' most about sidewinders like y'all." She scraped one forehoof against the dirt. "Ya always dress up ever' self-servin' thing ya do in how it's 'for everypony's good'."
Rarity froze, ready to fight, but holding off to keep the peace for now. Thorny vines reached up from the ground and gripped her legs and wings. One snatched Seabreeze, whose language alone should have set it afire. Another reached for Trixie, who vanished with one of her trademark puffs of smoke -- only for it to reach right through it and drag her back, hanging her up by her hind legs.
"It was so much easier for Trixie to be clever when she was not Laughter," the showmare groaned. Big Mac and Cheerilee set themselves between the vines and their kids. The young ponies looked at Applejack and shivered, backing away. AJ caught it, raised one hoof hesitantly as something like regret showed in her eyes, and then turned back to Rarity with a snort.
"Y'all have some nerve comin' here, missy." Applejack glared at Rarity, before she thrust her horned head against her old friend's. "Ya ain't welcome here no more!"
"Yes, she is, little sis." AJ looked at Big Mac. The massive stallion trotted forward, slow and steady as a mountain. "She's mah guest, they all are. So will ya let 'em go so we can talk? Or are ya gonna spit on Apple hospitality?" It looked almost like Applejack would, fury in her eyes, before she calmed herself.
"Fine." Applejack grumbled, her horn glowing as the vines around Rarity vanished. But only the ones around Rarity. Big Mac just looked at her. "She used ta be a friend, not them two! Ain't nothin' about hospitality says I gotta let some pony go so they can hurt other ponies."
"Fair 'nough," Big Mac said. "Cheery, honey, maybe ya and the little ones can stay out here an' keep an eye on them two so nothin' happens while Ah talk things over with ma sis an' Miss Rarity?"
He headed for the farmhouse. Rarity started to follow, with the angry Applejack right behind.
###
Twilight ran for one of the windows leading outside, her horn aglow as she dispelled another of her brother's force fields, only to drop as greenish slime splattered across her, pinning her to the floor.
She looked up at a pink Changeling Queen. It landed atop her, holding her down.
"Queen of the Changelings, remember?" Cadence hissed at her.
The next moment magical purple light surrounded Cadence, sending her flying back with a piercing shriek, landing on top Shiny.
"Element of Magic, remember?" Twilight said, her horn alight as she dissolved the goo. Cadence reverted to a pony as she and Shiny rose, furious.
"Please," Twilight said, "I don't WANT to hurt either of you! I just want to save Spike! And everypony else!"
"Sorry, little sister," Shiny said. He trotted around her, trying to make her turn her back on Cadence, but Twilight took to the air instead, keeping them both in sight. "But I know better! If you wanted to 'save' everypony you care about so much, you would have visited some of them more than once a decade! Our grandfoals and great-grandfoals don't even know what you look like." He pointed a hoof at Cadence. "Spike gave me an eternity with the mare I love! And if that's wrong? SPIKE!" The dragon's avatar appeared beside him. "Scale me up, little bro!"
"And me!" Cadence said. She looked at Twilight with pity and fury. "I don't WANT to hurt you, Twilight; but if it takes a few weeks in a body cast to make you realize why you're going to hurt absolutely everypony with this, then..." Greenish flames surrounded her as Cadence's form exploded outwards, expanding into a scaled, clawed, fanged pink mountain beside the white scaled and blue crested dragon, "SO BE IT!"
"Oh, no," Twilight said. She ignored Celestia's yells, as chunks of the cake castle began dropping around them both, knocked down by the two dragons. She could feel the fire charging up in their throats, just behind their fangs.
Only to vanish in a puff of yellow smoke that reeked. The two dragons howled, clawing at their mouths and spitting out clots of bright yellow foam.
"I hate hot mustard!" Cadence roared as she spat an especially large wad out. Celestia whinnied in fury. Cadence saw her, enraged and covered in mustard and dragon-drool glaring at her. "Sorry, auntie."
Celestia looked at her ruined throne, now dripping mustard, and shrieked. "My cake castle! Do you have any idea how long it took me to get it just the right flavor of chocolate!? You, you vandals!"
Celestia grabbed her still-draconic niece and Shiny with her magic, still potent even after centuries, and knocked both of their heads together. Dazed, the married couple of titanic proportions fell in opposite directions, into and through the cake walls.
Celestia whinnied once more as her entire castle fell on her head.
###
Stunned, Twilight tried to fight as something with claws snatched at her and dragged her out the door.
"Who -- Fluttercruel?" Then she saw her great-granddaughter running alongside them, “Minty!? I told you to go home!”
"Can we do this later!? If you haven’t noticed, a giant cake fortress is coming down on us!"
Roars echoed behind them as she pulled and pushed Twilight down the hallway. The walls began to collapse and the ceiling started to cave in. Fluttercruel dodged away from a hard-sugar column. "Now let's get out of here before the whole place comes down on our heads. I sent the rest off to find Generosity, but I got the feeling somepony else found them too!"
“Fluttercruel! Can’t you teleport us out of here?!” Minty said.
“Don’t need to ask me twice!”
With a snap of her claws, they were suddenly standing on hill on the outskirts, panting. The group turned around and saw the center of Caketopia, right where the once big, mighty and solitary castle once stood.
“They know where we are,” Twilight said. “Minty, I told you to go back home!”
“I couldn’t just leave you there!”
“That doesn’t matter! You-” Twilight stopped when she heard that familiar loud buzz that could only come from changeling wings, prompting her to look over Caketopia. It wasn’t tens changeling or dozens or even hundreds of them. It was tens of thousands rising from the streets of Caketopia, and ready to swarm them where they stood.
Minty turned to Fluttercruel. “I need you take this,” Minty passed the bag containing the Elements of Harmony to her “And get away from here!”
“But what about you? What about the plan?!”
Minty didn’t answer, she turned to Fluttercruel, “Teleport me out of here. Spike will tell them where am I, but he won’t tell them where,” Then she briefly looked at Twilight “you are.”
“No. I’m your great-grandmother, I can’t-!”
“I don’t care!” Minty yelled, then said to Fluttercruel, “Fluttercruel, just do it!”
“I am sorry,” Fluttercruel snapped her claws, teleporting Minty out, then grabbed Twilight and flew near the ground level as fast as she could.
The swarm of changelings began moving in a different direction.
“Minty...”
###
Behind them both, Celestia looked around on the ruins of her cake castle, her eyes filled with tears. What little remained was stained in mustard and dragon drool. Restored to normal, Shining Armor and Cadence sat there sheepishly.
Celesta hovered a piece of one sugar column over. She nibbled on it, and it crumbled.
"Uhhh..." Cadence looked at her aunt, wondering what to say. "You needed to go on a diet, anyway?"
===
"WHAT THE BUCK?! I KNOW I DESIGNED THIS CASTLE BETTER THAN THIS!! It should stay standing until the last crumb!" Donut Joe cursed as he climbed out of the destroyed master work. "Somepony sabotaged my work! And if I ever find out who, Wham! Right in the kisser!"
-
Fluttercruel felt a chill go down her spine.
-
One ruined cake castle did not stop two dragonified ponies. And they knew where Twilight Sparkle was headed.
Celestia sighed. "... Just go. I can't stop Twilight from making her choice to destroy the world. And I can't stop you from using violence on your own family. MY own family. I couldn't stop Luna from becoming Nightmare Moon. I couldn't stop Sunset Shimmer from becoming a monster."
===
Back at the farmhouse, Rarity and Applejack sat at opposite ends of a table. Applejack angrily glared at Rarity, while the white alicorn attempted to maintain a more neutral expression. Big Macintosh sat at the middle of the table between the two mares, with Rarity’s friends behind him.
"Okay," he said. "Before we talk about anythin' else, Ah want ta know one thing: why am Ah the Element of Generosity? Why me?"
"Well, if what I heard is true," said Rarity. "Then you're probably one of the few ponies who still show some generosity. I mean, do you really try to help Spike out?"
"Eeyup. It's usually not much, Ah think he sometimes just invents things for me ta do, but jus' last week, Ah helped an orphaned colt get ta Partitopia."
"And why do you do this?"
"'Cause Ah worry 'bout him. He does a lot of good, but he works himself a little too hard in mah opinion, so Ah try ta help lighten his workload where Ah can."
"Now that's outta the way," said Applejack placing both hooves onto the table. "We can get ta the important stuff. Like how ya all want ta destroy Equestria and kill us all!"
"Applejack." Big Mac said, warningly, silencing his sister. Then to Rarity, he said, "Why do ya want ta stop Spike? Why now?"
Rarity composed herself before she spoke. "As you know, Big Macintosh, Equestria has become quite literally fat and lazy. Ponykind has become completely stagnant Nopony does anything for themselves anymore. They make nothing--no art, no machines, nothing. They contribute nothing to world and simply occupy space. And every year they become more and more hedonistic."
"That's a lotta words ta say that nopony measures up ta yer high-falutin' standards," said Applejack scornfully. "You've always thought of yerself as being better than everypony an' this is no different. Ya think that jus' because ponies aren't strugglin' that they don't deserve paradise!"
"No, that isn't it at all!" said Rarity angrily. "This 'paradise' has made ponies ignorant, selfish, and honestly it isn’t that much of one. You've seen what happened at Moonshine Valley--those thugs were maiming, torturing, and ending the lives of bat ponies for fun!"
"An' Ah took care of them! An' when Ah'm done here, Ah'll take care of anypony that tries ta repeat what they did!"
"This isn't just about that, this is also about Spike! He can't keep doing this to himself."
"Spike's fine. He's been fine fer the last thousand years."
"Wait," interrupted Big Mac. "Is there somethin' wrong with Spike?"
"Spike's fine," repeated Applejack. "Or at least, he was until they started messin' with things."
"Spike isn't doing fine. The effort from maintaining everything has taken a tremendous toll on him. I don't know how much longer he can handle it..."
"Spike's immortal like the rest of us. Whatever it is, he can take it."
Big Macintosh silenced Applejack with a hoof. "Ah think Ah need ta see this fer mahself. Spike?"
A Spike avatar appeared. "Yes? What is your request?"
"Ah want ta see you. The real you."
Rarity and Applejack both stared at the avatar in anticipation.
The avatar bowed. "Very well, if that is what you wish."
Then it turned to a wall and blew green flames on it, turning it into a giant screen. For a moment, it was completely dark. Then an image formed.
The normally stoic Big Macintosh gasped. Rarity closed her eyes. Applejack turned away muttering "He can take it, he can take it..."
On the screen, a skeletal adult dragon laid on the floor. His eyes flickered open and he slowly raised his head. "Does this satisfy you, Big Macintosh?" asked Spike.
"Yes... it does," said Big Mac. "That's enough Spike. Ah don't need anything else."
The screen flickered off and the Spike-avatar vanished. For a moment, everypony was silent. Then Big Mac turned to his sister. "Applejack?"
"Yes?" asked Applejack.
"Little sis, Ah love ya, but we know Spike. An' even if we didn't, nopony should do to themselves what he's done."
===
"But it's his choice Big Mac! We don't have a right to say what he does with his life!"
"Little sis," Big Mac said, looking her directly in the eyes. "I just heard y'all say that ya were gonna stop anypony from doin' what those thugs did. If y'all are gonna allow Spike ta torture himself, how can ya turn around an' say you're gonna stop those OTHER ponies from hurtin' folks? Who gave ya the right ta say what THEY ought ta do with their lives?"
"Huh?" Applejack's eyes widened. "That's, Ah mean, they're..." She waved her hooves over her head. "That's different! Ya can't say they're the same thing! Spike does it ta his own self voluntarily for everypony else's sake; they were hurting ponies and not healin' them after just fer fun."
"Dear," Rarity said. "What if those brutish pegasi HAD been healing them afterwards? Said 'No hard feelings, we'll do this again next week'? Would that have made their actions acceptable to you?"
"Oh, that would be different."
"Vould it?" Seabreeze shot forward, his wings buzzing. "Vould it really be different if de pink pony dat hurt my fellow breezies chust say after' vards, 'Now be alife again'? Breezies and ponies is people, not toys in games that can be broken over and over and fixed vit no other effects!" He pointed at the foals hiding back by their mother. "Vat if some pony do dat vit dem? You chust say, 'Iss alright...'"
"SHUT UP!" Seabreeze was blown away from the force of Applejack's roar. Rarity and Big Mac rose to set themselves between he and the foals as Applejack surged to her hooves, her eyes ablaze. "Ah, that is, Ah mean..." She shook her head, her words harsher as she said, "It ain't the same when it's somepony Ah care about! There, Ah said it! Was that what ya wanted ta hear?!?" She thrust her hoof at Rarity. "An' don't you play all righteous with me, missy! If you'd done what Spike was brave enough ta do from the get-go, you'd have made sure stuff like this never coulda happened! Ponies got hurt, ponies got lazy, ponies got selfish, and it's all our fault for not makin' em go hungry and cold and lonely 'for their own good'?" Something in her liked this anger, when she focused on it she could forget Spike wasting away -- don't think about that!
She thrust her hoof at the wall.
"Granny Smith is young again, she's happy! Fatty, Ah mean Apple Bloom, sits on her throne but she spends all her time thinkin' of new machines that do things nopony else can even think of! Lil' Sweetie has parents that love her cookin' now," AJ shuddered despite herself, "Scootaloo can try all the stunts she likes without ever gettin' hurt permanent, millions o' ponies are content with what they are, some r' even happy..." Her voice turned to a shriek, and she felt pain in her eyes as the pupils turned to slits, "An' damn all of you ta Tartarus if y'all want ta end that, just so YOU can tell yerselves how noble ya are!"
She panted, her sides heaving and more of that crimson lightning crawling over her horn and face. It felt like a caress. She dimly heard the foals weeping, and her sister-in-law, Cheerilee, comforting them in a quiet and frightened voice. Big Mac and Rarity looked at her as though she was something dangerous. What a laugh! They were the threat, to everypony in Equestria. Why couldn't they see that?
Why did she have to be the only pony who ever saw or understood anything? Why did everypony else always have to be so STUPID?
A soft cough sounded at the door.
Everypony and breezie turned to look.
"Uh, hi," Twilight Sparkle said. She stood in the doorway with Fluttercruel and a frightened looking and now unbound Trixie with her.
"Did we come at a bad time?"
###
Elsewhere, a pink Alicorn Minor and her blue-maned unicorn husband slowly made their way from Caketopia, the furious words of both Celestia and Pony Joe ringing in their ears.
"That could have gone better," Shining Armor said weakly.
"I know," Cadence said, sounding equally wretched. "And we didn't even stop Twilight. If she wins, so many are going to die!"
"Maybe, and maybe not," a familiar voice said above them. Both ponies looked up to see a blue-feathered griffon with a rainbow hood grinning at them. She dropped down between them.
"Cadence, Shiny, listen up," she gathered them in close. "I have got the best idea ever for how to stop Twilight and Rarity and the rest from ruining everything for everypony forever." And as she talked, Shiny and Cadence both perked up with joy at every word.
===
Twilight had no time to react before Applejack charged into her and sent them both crashing into a nearby apple tree.
"Applejack--!" Twilight started to say when the former earth pony picked up the shattered tree trunk and knocked her straight into the sky. Applejack was ready to pursue Twilight, but then she found herself encased in in gelatin.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Fluttercruel said.
The alicorn magic that now engulfed Applejack in a red aura started to melt the gelatin, burning hotter every moment, “I’m going after that stinking, no good snake of a friend!”
Applejack lunged at Fluttercruel, trying to rapidly assault her with a barrage of hits and red lasers, directed at Fluttercruel’s mana-points, the ones she could sense with her earth-pony magic. Fluttercruel managed to dodge some of the hits, but others connected with extreme force. A few of those hits were too much for Fluttercruel, who had to teleport before she went past her limit. She wouldn’t underestimate Applejack again.
Of course, Twilight’s friends wouldn’t stay still as their friend was being attacked, so they went after Applejack who responded by putting a large barrier, preventing them from coming.
Fluttercruel knew she couldn’t just kill Applejack. It would endanger her association with the rest, especially with Big Mac, and therefore their chances of getting the Elements to work. Teleporting her to the other side of the world would just make her ask Spike to send her back to the farmhouse. She didn’t have many options.
Fluttercruel tried a cage, walls, telekinesis, everything, but Applejack either blasted through it or used her alicorn strength to get out. It finally came to mind altering magic. With so much on the line, she hoped she could pull it off this time.
She didn’t. Applejack just finished hitting the rest of her mana-points as fast as she could, and finished with a strike at Fluttercruel’s forehead, sending her crashing against the barrier. Fluttercruel saw Applejack put all of her rage into the final lightning blast she was changing, and tried to snap her fingers before she was hit with it. Nothing came to save her from the lightning blast that broke through the barrier, slamming her against the rest of the Elements and destroying the farm house’s doorway.
Roaring, Applejack kicked off the ground and pursued after Twilight.
At the farmhouse, Big Macintosh stood at the smashed doorway and looked on in horror. "Applejack, no..."
"What just happened?" Trixie asked as she and Cheerilee helped Fluttercruel off the ground. "Did Applejack just go nightmare?"
"Nah," Fluttercruel said pained, panting and trying to stand up. "But she is going completely out of control-- She worked herself up into a real frenzy..."
"Ah know Ah can reason with her," said Big Mac "But first we need ta get her ta calm down somehow..."
"Dat's easier said than done," said Seabreeze as the sky flashed red and purple.
Cheerilee turned to Fluttercruel. "Are you alright? You took quite a beating back there."
“My magic stopped working.”
“What?” Rarity said.
“I don’t know what she did. I tried to get away from the blast but nothing happened!”
“How?” Cheerilee said. “You’re a draconequus. Didn’t you have something to get her to settle down?”
"First off, I’m actually a half draconequus," replied Fluttercruel. "And secondly, I tried to use mind altering magic, and you saw how that turned out. Besides, even if it was working, let alone on an alicorn, I would have probably burnt through most of my mana before she even got a headache."
"'Burnt through...?'" Trixie repeated. The phrase caused Trixie to recall the very first lesson she learned in magic kindergarten. A light bulb went off in her head.
Fluttercruel turned to Rarity “Can you fix this?”
“No... I’m afraid only Applejack can.”
“What?!”
“Trixie’s got it!” Trixie excitedly jumped, startling everypony, “Trixie has thought of a way to defeat her! Big Macintosh," she said, confidently strolling to the stallion. "Trixie believes she has an idea..."
===
Far above, Twilight dodged wildly as Applejack sent blasts of crimson lightning at her.
"AJ, please! Don't do this! We're friends, we..." Twilight barely raised a shield in time to counter an especially potent lightning burst, only for AJ to come charging through and slam into her. Twilight choked as she felt a telekinetic grip closing on her. She felt unsurprised to look down and see something like a lasso of crimson energy around her.
"You mean we USED ta be friends," Applejack said with a grunt of effort. She spun Twilight around her head before flinging her at the ground beneath the clouds far below. "If y'all are Spike's enemy, then y'all are mah enemy! Ah ain't lettin' ya ruin Paradise!" AJ plunged after Twilight, horn lowered like a lance.
Twilight didn't fight against the force of the toss. Instead she used it, diving at the ground and turning it into a spiraling descent far enough up that she reached the ground safely. Her friends gathered around her as she landed. Rarity hurried to her side.
"Twilight, darling! Are you alright?"
"Give me a second," Twilight said, waiting for her eyes to stop spinning. "I think I'll be fine."
"Ve don't haff a second," Seabreeze said in a weak voice, looking skywards.
They all heard the rolling boom and could see the thick clouds being sucked down after Applejack broke the sound barrier. The air seemed to burn around her as she dove.
Twilight spread her wings, ready to take flight. If she met Applejack in the sky maybe the destruction would be limited... But how would she stop her old friend without killing her? She pulled up short as Trixie let off a blast of magical fireworks before her.
"Twilight, listen," Trixie hurriedly said. "Trixie has a plan to stop your friend safely, but we must work together!"
###
Many miles away, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle also looked skywards as old friends dropped in.
"Hi, Rainbow Dash!" Both of the little fillies said. They were both currently fillies, forms they retook every few decades. Scootaloo stood at the top of a scooter ramp that rivaled Old Canterlot for height, Sweetie with her. They saw who was with Dash. "Hi, Princess Cadence, Shining Armor -- wait, what's wrong?"
"Hi, squirt, Sweetie," Dash said, landing before them. Her eyes were grim as she said, "We gotta talk. I sent Spike to tell everypony else, but this involves family."
"What's wrong?" Scootaloo asked.
“It’s a long story.”
Along with Cadence and Shining Armor, Dash quickly filled the two in on what Twilight, Rarity, and the rest were up to. Scoot and Sweetie went from shocked to determined as Dash finished with, "An' that's the plan. I'm hoping we can use a show of force to make them back down and listen ta reason, but if not?" She clenched one claw. "We'll stop them the other way, and do whatever it takes to make them stop short of permanently hurting them."
“But what if that doesn't work?" Sweetie said, her voice soft but her eyes cold. Dash reminded herself that despite their appearance, they were both as old as her and the two seemingly adult ponies with her.
"In that case," she flexed her talons against the dirt, clawing it up, "We do what we gotta to save Equestria and Spike from Twilight and Rarity."
===
Applejack swerved to dodge the fireworks, causing her to crash into the ground. The alicorn quickly got back onto her hooves and turned to face Twilight, only to realize that she and her friends had vanished.
"TWILIGHT!" she shouted as she climbed out of the crater she made. "YA LILY-LIVERED COWARD! COME OUT AND FACE ME LIKE A MARE!"
Twilight didn't respond. Instead a thick, blue fog flooded the area. Applejack could only see a few feet away from her, but this only made the mare snort in disgust. "TWILIGHT, AH KNOW WHAT YER DOING! AH'M NOT AS DUMB AS YA THINK AH AM! AH KNOW THIS IS ILLUSION MAGIC--"
"I don't think you're dumb." Twilight walked out of the mist in front of Applejack. "Applejack, please, it doesn't have to be this way--"
"Oh, yes IT DOES!" Applejack charged up her horn and fired a powerful blast at Twilight--
--which passed harmlessly through the alicorn.
Applejack stood dumbfounded as the illusionary Twilight disappeared. Then she heard laughter. Trixie stepped out from behind a nearby tree, laughing madly.
"S-sorry," said the blue mare, wiping tears from her eyes. "It's just--you say you're not dumb and then--and then not two seconds later, you fall for the oldest trick in the book! Priceless!"
"YEEEAARGH!" Applejack pounced and smashed both hooves down on the unicorn--who promptly faded away.
"And then you fall for it again," said another Trixie, sitting smugly behind Applejack. "Would you like another try?"
"Or three or four?" asked a third as a crowd of Trixies materialized around the alicorn. "Or three dozen?"
Looking around in frustration, Applejack roared and started firing magic blasts randomly as the Trixies ran circles around her. One blast hit a Trixie causing it to disappear. "Wrong!" said one of the remaining Trixies.
Applejack picked up a boulder with her telekinesis and crushed three Trixies at once with it. "Wrong again!"
Applejack stomped the ground causing a number of roots to grow up from the ground and entangle several Trixies. "Wow, you're no good at this at all."
"Trixie," growled Applejack, eyes glowing red. "Ah've never liked ya, but there was a time Ah thought you had changed for the better. And now Ah see that yer the same stuck-up nag ya always were. Guess it's like what Granny Smith used ta always say." Applejack hovered in the air, crimson lightning arcing from her horn. "ONCE A SNAKE, ALWAYS A SNAKE!"
Applejack blasted the ground causing an explosion that engulfed all the Trixies. She then landed on the smoldering ground, sweating profusely and panting heavily.
"It's over," said a voice above her. Applejack looked up to see Twilight standing on an enchanted cloud with Trixie, looking down at her.
"No," snarled Applejack. She jumped off and started to fly towards the mares...but she found herself struggling to gain altitude and speed. "It ain't over--until--Ah--say--" Applejack didn't make it up to them, stopping just short. Her wings felt like they were on fire. "What's--happening?"
"You overchanneled," explained Trixie. "Basically, you used too much of your magic in a very short time. Your body's going into metabolic shock." Trixie leaned down to be closer to Applejack's face. "You know, Trixie is genuinely impressed by level of magical mastery you displayed during our fights, but Trixie guesses that nopony taught you Lesson Number One, the first lesson they teach in magic kindergarten." At that moment, Applejack's wings seized up and she started to plummet to the ground. "'The star that shines twice as bright, burns half as long.'"
Applejack fell towards the earth at an alarming speed. Rarity teleported her closer to the ground, to shorten the distance, and summoned several pillows formed with her magic. Then she laid Applejack on the ground.
"Is she alright?" asked Big Macintosh.
"She'll live through this. Though, I shudder at the thought of her waking up and being out for blood."
"Not if we wake her up, weakened and all."
“Are you insane?!”
"Ah wanted ta talk with her, and that’s what Ah’m gonna do."
“I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Don’t y’all worry,” Big Mac got out his rope. “Ah’m prepared.”
===
They listened as Big Mac spoke with his sister, still very much weakened from her fight, all to no avail.
"Ah ain't hearing any o' this! Just because y'all ain't happy with what ponies are doin' with their lives, or not doin', ya wanna return everypony's lives ta the misery we all used ta have!?" Applejack fought against her bonds. "The only reason Ah held back was because I didn’t want ta kill them! But no more! Ah'm stopping ya however Ah can! So lemme go!" She fought against her bonds and started to get free --
CLONG!
Applejack sank back down, her eyes rolling, a lump rising on her head and little half-pegasus draconequi flying around it.
"What?" Fluttercruel said to the others. "We weren't getting anywhere with her! It was this or spend all day listening to her rage at us."
"V'hat she says iss true," Seabreeze said. He tapped Applejack on her head and said in a gentler voice, "I saw it vit'in her. She tinks that if we stop the dragon, den her grandmother and so many other ponies vill age into dust."
"Blast," Twilight muttered. "I was hoping we'd be able to get through to her. She is one of my oldest friends, or used to be..." She sighed and looked at Big Mac, picking the unconscious Applejack up. "You have anywhere you can keep her so she won't get hurt?"
"Ee-yup," Big Mac said. "Ah hope so, anyhow." He walked over to what was once the storm cellar; no longer needed, since Banneret could make whatever weather, or food, anypony desired. He opened the door, saying, "Ah hate ta do this ta her, but like Ah said, Spike was a friend o' ours once. And even if he wasn't, nopony, or dragon, should do to themselves what he's done. This has gotta end." He frowned. "Ah just hope we don't hurt a lot o' ponies doing this... Ain't there some way ta make Spike still help, just not as much as he has been? Ta kinda wean them off him and get ponies back ta doin' things for themselves?"
"I'm hoping we can," Rarity said. Horns glowing, she and Twilight lowered the unconscious Applejack into the cellar, laying her gently on a pile of empty bags. They deepened the slumber she was in. Hopefully she would be out for days. "I don't want to hurt dear Spike, or any ponies, but we can't let him keep doing what he's been doing to himself. It would be the worst cruelty to him, and to Equestria as well."
"Right," Twilight said. She sighed as she thought of what lay ahead. Can I really do this? Confront, maybe even fight, that little dragon I hatched so long ago? She remembered every single time hatchling-Spike laughed or cuddled against her on cold nights or gave selflessly of himself to help her and Rarity and the rest.
We can talk it out. I hope.
"Well," she said, spreading her wings. "Let's get going."
And the two alicorns, one breezie, one draconequi, unicorn, and Earth pony all disappeared in a flash of violet light.
Headed right for Spike's lair.
===
Except ... they didn't teleport into Spike's lair. Which was a problem, since teleportation was the ONLY WAY inside, the lair being miles underground and surrounded by protective runes, metal sheets and solid rock.
In fact, if Twilight had calculated right... they were a hundred miles away from Spike's lair, actually FARTHER AWAY than when they had teleported.
"Urgh. Trixie is beginning to find this really frustrating. Trixie means to say, it’s not like the Elements are going to cause everypony to drop dead," said Trixie. Then after a moment she turned to Twilight. "The Elements wouldn't do that, would they..?"
"No." said Twilight firmly. "I don't believe that the Elements would do that. I know that they won't." I hope they won't.
The group fell silent.
Then Big Macintosh said. "Well, what are we waitin' for?" He started trotting down the tunnel.
Seabreeze flew up to Twilight. "Yes, Ve have come too far to get cold hooves now. Ve need to finish this once and for all." The breezie flew after the red stallion.
Trixie straightened her hat. "Show's about start. And a good magician never misses her cue." And then she too started following them.
"And here's where I say something suitably heroic," said Fluttercruel, hovering past Twilight and Rarity. "Hurry up, you two. You don't want to miss all the fun now do you?"
Twilight turned to Rarity. "You ready?"
"Not really," said Rarity, sighing heavily. "But it must be done. For Spike's sake."
"Then let's do this. Wait up you guys!" And the two alicorns ran after their friends.
---
None of the ponies ever noticed that Apple Bloom's machines were already building more machines. Apple Bloom's mind going full blast with everything Applejack had instructed her to do and using her talent to its full potential like she'd done for a thousand years, had her machines ready to take over for Nightdrake Banneret if the unthinkable happened. Apple Bloom desperately wanted to help fight. But Applejack had given her instructions. In fact ...
Pudgy and hover chair bound Apple Bloom, ever the dutiful little sister, asked Spike how her big siblings were doing.
He had to restart her heart after he told her the news.
Twilight and her friends were so focused on the idea that every pony in Equestria had been blindly lazy and 0-dimensional centered spoiled brats, the mere idea that ANYONE would seek out Applejack, let alone ask Nightdrake Banneret to heal her, was outside of their realm of thinking ...
The CMC, after a thousand years, still wrought chaos wherever they went, even if it was only one of them.
---
Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, met with Lyra and Bon Bon, recruiting them to her group with eight words. "Do you wish for your daughter to die?"
That was all Rainbow Dash needed to say to gain two ponies ready to fight to the death to protect Spike's paradise.
---
Toot Sweet was Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon's child, created from Spike's magic and raised from newborn status to her filly age. She had Bon Bon's beige coat and Lyra's green and white mane. Her cutie mark was a whistle made out of candy. Having been born after the rise of Nightdrake Banneret, all she knew of the 'Equestria of Endless Struggle' was what she read about, and what she read terrified her.
Before the fight could start, Lyra and Bon Bon decided to bring their daughter to Partitopia, until the conflict was over.
Lyra crouched down to her daughter’s level, “Toot Sweet, there are some bad ponies out there who want to make Gift-Giver Spike vanish.”
Bon Bon interceded, “To make you vanish.”
“I don’t wanna die!” She ran to her mothers and hugged them.
“We won’t let them, sweetheart, we promise” Bon Bon said, as she and Lyra hugged her back.
“But we need you to stay with Granny Pinkie Pie, please, we need you to be brave,” Lyra said, still holding her daughter.
“Promise me you will come back,”
They began doing all the Pinkie promise motions, “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
They hugged again, just before asking Spike to sent them back with the rest of their comrades. They left and despite their reassurance that would stop them and that they would come back for her, Toot Sweet was still scared, and now alone.
The Pinkie clone approaching Toot Sweet wasn’t going to let that stand.
“Welcome to Partitopia, where the fun will never end!” The clone slapped a party hat on her and gave her a balloon.
"Granny Pinkie Pie?" Toot Sweet asked a Pinkie Pie clone.
"Yes dear?" The Pinkie Pie clone asked politely.
"Is it true... there are some bad ponies... who are going to make Gift Giver Spike go away... and when he goes away... all magic will go away and..." The little filly whimpered, and then began to cry. "That means I'll... go away?" She knew she'd been born from Gift Giver Spike's magic green flame.
Granny Pinkie Pie hugged her. "No dear... because we have friends who won't let that happen. I promise."
===
The Element bearers got closer to the location of the tunnel. It was hard to miss because of giant sign saying “Entrance to Spike. It’s totally not a trap!” in glowing letters.
Fluttercruel said, “‘Totally not a trap’ my tail. It’s so obvious.”
“Sadly, that REALLY is the only way to get to him.” Celestia flew down from the sky behind them. The white Alicorn, being considerably thinner. “I take it you haven’t seen the angry mob waiting in front of it on the hill.”
"Celestia?!" Twilight gasped.
"Hello Twilight." She lowered her head. "I'm here to protect you."
"Does this mean yer done with what Nightdrake Banneret is offering?" Big Mac asked.
"No. When I retired I meant it... When I said I think if this is the happiness my ponies have chosen of their own free will I won't take it away from them... but I'm also incredibly selfish, and unlike you I can recognize what I'm doing is selfish. I'll fight to the death against anypony who'd dare try to harm you Twilight Sparkle... I won't lose you too Twilight. I'm at your service, my Princess. Your subject offers her services."
"BBBFF? Cadence?"
"They're up ahead, Spike has it set up so there is no way for you to avoid those waiting for you... and they'll fight to the death to prevent you from ending this world. I'm sorry My Princess."
===
"So what's the plan?" asked Rarity as she patted Fluttercruel on the back.
"I... don't know," said Twilight, running a hoof through her mane. "How many of them are there?"
"Several. More than we can hope to fight off," said Celestia. "Rainbow Dash has been going all through Equestria recruiting everypony she could think of."
"Okay, that's no good." Twilight squeezed her eyes shut and tapped her brow. "Come on, come on. Think! There's got to be some way to get past them all."
"You know, if I knew something like this would happen, I would've had Spike make my body out of poisonous animals," said Fluttercruel, sighing. "Then at least I could have something to fall back on."
"Well, we gotta do somethin'," said Big Mac.
"But what? We have all hooves working against us now..." said Twilight.
"Maybe if somepony were to throw me into a wall causing a rock to poke me in the back, unlocking my balled-up chakra then I'd get my powers back," mused Fluttercruel. "That could work. Who wants to throw me into a wall?"
Everypony ignored her. Seabreeze fluttered up and said, "Vhy don't ve just shoot ze Elements of Harmony at dem?"
"I doubt that would work," said Twilight, shaking her head. Then in a flash of light, she made the bag with the Elements inside appear. "Rainbow Dash probably has some measure in place to prevent us from using them if we tried charging them up."
Trixie cleared her throat. "That may be true, but Trixie believes that the Elements may still be able to make us a path..."
“That cave leads to a dead end. Do you know the exact spot where Spike is?” Celestia said.
“Nope,” Big Mac said. “But Ah’m sure ya can tell us.”
---
The mob led by Rainbow Dash watched the Elements run towards the tunnel through her viewing globe. She was at the front with Applejack, Cadence and Shining Armor, the latter two having resumed their dragonified forms.
“Where’s Pinkie Pie? Why isn’t she here?” Cadence asked.
“She’s in Partitopia trying to make the foals feel safe?” Rainbow said.
“I hope she’s alright,” Applejack said.
“Me too.” Rainbow Dash cracked her claws, "We're going to end this once and for all." She flew up and said to the crowd, "Alright, this is it! Remember, this is where we draw the line! If we fail then everything will--will--"
The pegasus-turned griffon noticed the shocked expressions coming from the crowd. This prompted her to turn around, and she saw him. Nightdrake Banneret, or what was left of him, barely managing to crawl out of the tunnel with his giant arms, not even paying attention to where he was going, almost like he wasn't even conscious and lacking the muscle to do it, just like the rest of his body.
A rainbow light beneath the emaciated dragon shone from the ground.
"WHAT!?" cried Rainbow Dash, covering her face with her wings. "HOW--? Why didn’t he stay inside!?"
Applejack tried to ignore this as hard as she could. She glared at what she was seeing, focusing her rage-filled gaze on the ponies beneath the dragon and gritted her teeth. "If ya think Ah'm just going to go down without a fight then ya got another thing comin'! Come on everypony! Today ain’t the day we return to the dirt!"
The angry mob charged towards the rainbow light. Whatever happened today, they weren’t going to give up so quickly. Cadence and Shining Armor, along with several others, put themselves between the Elements and Spike, while everyone else, especially Rainbow Dash and Applejack, tried to strike their former friends down. Their attacks phased through them.
"It was a trick," she said, dumbfounded. "IT WAS A TRICK!"
She said the last words using the Royal Canterlot Voice. The surrounding chaos immediately ended as everypony stopped and looked at Applejack.
After a moment of awkward silence, Rainbow Dash said, “Applejack. Go to the cave, and check if they’re there already. If you see them, alert everycreature inside.”
Applejack flew closer to the cave, first noticing that the gems inside where glowing, finally arriving at the spot where the gems glowed the brightest, just in time to see Twilight and her friends dispel an invisibility spell, making it seem like they reappeared right next to it. They were on top of a floating blue platform made of diamonds, and surrounded by a barrier maintained by Celestia that protected them.
Applejack said using the Royal Canterlot Voice. “AH FOUND’EM VARMINTS!” She began charging a lightning blast as fast as she could. “EVERYPONY FOLLOW THE RED LIGHT!”
Rarity dispelled the platform she and her friends stood on, and summoned a large diamond encrusted drill.
“Oh no, yah don’t!” Applejack shot several lightning blasts towards them, lifting the dust beneath them with every shot, but it didn’t even dent Celestia’s barrier. When she was done and the dust cleared all she saw was the hole they had drilled, which promptly shut itself with rocks and dirt.
Applejack landed on the spot where they had entered Spike’s cave and smashed it with her hooves. It didn't give with the first blow or the second, but it cracked with the third.
"No," she said wide-eyed. "They're going to Spike!"