//------------------------------// // Friendship Falls Apart // Story: Equestria Ninjas: The Movie // by Wildcard25 //------------------------------// Back in the outside world, the group resurfaced, almost out of breath. They all swam ashore looking soaking wet and like they were back in square one. The group then looked at Twilight, clearly upset with her. "Twilight, what were ya thinking?" Applejack asked in anger and in disbelief, "I mean, stealing their pearl?" "Did you honestly think that plan would work?" Karai asked, also in disbelief. "It was the only way to save Equestria." Twilight responded while drying her mane. "Except it wasn't!" Raph shouted. "That was an act of blind desperation!" Blade scolded her. "Twilight, the queen was going to say yes! We all did what you instructed us and that had the queen realize that we are ponies worth saving." Sunset pointed out. Pinkie gasped in realization and spoke, "Unless...you didn't really wanted us to show her the best time ever! You just wanted us to distract her!" The group gasped in this realization as well. Twilight then faced the group in anger, "I never would have done it, but this isn't Equestria! We can't just dance around with con artists, make Rainbooms in the sky and expect everything to work out!" Twilight responded. "And yet look how far we've come," Donnie replied, "Don't you realize what this whole adventure has led us to? The folks we met? The differences we have made?" "Yeah all because what we know what we do best...at being awesome!" Rainbow pointed out. "Its just not enough!" Twilight argued, "We are not enough!" "Not true, Twilight," Leo spoke up, "We all stuck together throughout this journey no matter what." Rarity spoke up, "Leonardo is correct, darling. We were going to get the help/reinforcements we needed." Pinkie then spoke up, "The only thing that stopped us was you." Twilight then trotted forward, towards Pinkie, still in anger, "Well I'm doing the best I can!" Twilight shouted, "Its all on me. I'm the one Tempest wants. I'm the last princess that still stands in the way..." "Not everything is all about you!" Raph snapped, as Pinkie spoke up getting equally angry. "You're also the only one who doesn't trust her friends!" Pinkie shouted, causing the group to gasp. "Pinkie!" Mikey called to her. Twilight faced towards Pinkie and stomped towards her, "Well..MAYBE I'VE WOULD'VE BEEN BETTER OFF WITHOUT FRIENDS LIKE YOU!?" Twilight shouted in anger as her horn started to spark. Leo came in to break it up, "STOP IT NOW!" Suddenly the magic from Twilight's horn burst out causing both Twilight and Pinkie to be pushed away from each other a little. As for Leo, he was pushed harder, causing him to hit his back against the boulder wall and fell to the sand in pain. "LEO/LEONARDO!" every pony called out in shock. Sunset, April and Karai then rushed towards Leo and helped him on his hooves, "Oh, that's gonna leave a mark." Leo groaned. Everypony else was in shock after hearing what Twilight said and did, mostly Pinkie who started to shed in tears. She then looked down to the ground. Twilight, upon realizing what she just said and did, was too in shock. Twilight spoke in her mind of this moment, 'Oh dear Celestia, what have I done?' Pinkie started to trot away from Twilight, "Pinkie...I..." Twilight tried to reach out. "I just can't talk to you right now," Pinkie sniffed, as she trotted further. The rest of the group followed Pinkie, all in disbelief and disappointed in Twilight's act of judgment. Rarity had her head high in disappointment. Rainbow looked down in anger. Fluttershy looked really sadden. Applejack glanced over Twilight and then turned her head away as she walked. As April walked passed Twilight, she spoke, "Sorry, Twilight, but I think you need to cool off." Casey walked passed her and spoke, "You got a lot to think about, girl." Karai trotted pass Twilight, giving her a disappointed stare as she trotted away. Shini walked pass Twilight and spoke, "Forgive us, your highness." The three turtles glanced over Twilight, also feeling disappointed, "Real smooth there, Princess." Raph spoke. "Take some time to think things over." Donnie pointed out, as he followed the others. "Sorry, Twi." Mikey feeling sympathy for Twilight walked way with the others. Blade walked by and looked at her, "Somewhere in that mind and heart was a pony who helped teach me the importance of Friendship. What happened to that pony?" he asked in disappointment before following the others. Sunset trotted passed Twilight with Fugitoid. Sunset looked back to her with sorrow in her eyes and filled with tears as well. She turned her head and trotted with the others. Fugitoid only shook his head as he followed the others. Soon enough, only Twilight, Leo, still feeling a little pain from the blast, and Spike were left alone. Twilight looked down in her guilt as she began to trot in the other direction the others were going. This leaving Leo and Spike alone. Some time later, Twilight was sitting alone on top of the cliff looking down and reflecting what has past. Still feeling miserable of what she said and tears were leaking through her eyes. Out of sympathy, Leo and Spike caught up with the Princess of Friendship, in attempt to try and comfort her. Spike stepped forward, "Twilight, its okay...You'll figure it out. You've always have." "No...I can't," Twilight sniffed, "I ruined everything! There's no chance to save Equestria now!" Leo decided to walk to Twilight and attempt to comfort her the most, "Twilight..." Leo tried to lay a hand on her. "IT'S ALL MY FAULT!" Twilight sobbed and cried non stop. She then felt Leo's warm hand on her shoulder, as she noticed Leo kneeling down beside her. "Its not your fault, Twilight," Leo stated, "We'll find some other way to stop the Storm King and Tempest. We always find another way." "Not this time Leo," Twilight sniffled, "All is lost...because of me." Leo not wanting to give up spoke in pride,"No. I don't believe so." "Why didn't you two go with the others? Why did you come back after what I said to Pinkie and out of anger, magic was released causing you to be hurt by me?" Twilight spoke between sobs, "You should hate me for that." "Twilight...Look at me," Leo instructed. Twilight opened her eyes and looked at Leo, still leaking in sorrow. "I don't hate you. We don't hate you. We can never hate you. We're still friends, Twilight, no matter what or how difficult the situation is," Leo stated, "If there's one thing I have learned from all this, is that...friends don't quit on each other! They stick together to the end." Leo continued on stating on what good they all have done for a long period of time, "Aside from the times that we both had separated, we both have faced other impossible odds together. We stopped the alien invasions from both the Kraang and the Triceratons, saving both our worlds from destruction, putting an end to the Shredder in his super mutagen form, and even helped Blade Swipe reunite with his sister, Melody and the rest of the ponies. Facing the Storm King and Tempest will be no different! We've been through a lot together, the good and the bad, with our friends. You even defended my life on Bleecker street from Shredder and his goons that one night in our world. You and your friends from CHS have shown all of us what the Magic of Friendship was really all about and we believed in it. The Twilight I know would never throw in the towel in the past encounters. And I'm certainly not gonna be the one that will let you do so!" Twilight, upon hearing Leo's words, snapped out for her sorrow. She then smiled a little bit and wrapped her arms around Leo in a tight embrace. She then spoke upon sniffles, "Oh, Leo...I'm so sorry about what I said and did to you." Leo held Twilight close and spoke, "It's alright, Twilight. Its gonna take a lot more than just a burst of magic to make it worse. You are our best friend, Twilight. The others still love you. My brothers still love you. Spike still loves you...I still love you!"" Twilight, heart warmed by Leo's words again, calmed herself down and spoke again in lighter sobs,"Oohh, I love you too, Leo!" Spike, upon hearing what has pass, smiled and. A few tears were leaking from his eyes and he placed his claws onto his chest, feeling this moment coming to pass. Twilight paused for a moment and spoke,"You're right though! We'll find another way out of this mess together!" Leo then smiled at Twilight's recovery and spoke, "But first things first, you need to make amends with the others. So let's return and get things back on track." "Yes," Twilight said as she and Leo got on their hooves and turned around and spoke, "Spike, let's..." The two were in shock upon noticing that Spike was held captive by one of the Storm King's goons, "Spike!" Leo and Twilight called out. "Help!" Spike cried. "Hang on, little buddy!" Leo called, as he rushed over, jumped towards the goon and delivered a jump side hoof kick, causing the goon to be knocked out cold and released Spike. "Spike, are you injured?" Leo knelt down and checked. "I'm ok, thanks to you," Spike replied. Twilight was staring to approach only for a crystallized cage to suddenly drop down and surrounded her. Twilight shrieked, causing Leo and Spike to turn and see their friend ended up being captured. "No, No, No, No, NO!" Twilight shouted, as she was then being lifted up towards Tempest Shadow's Blimp. "SPIKE!? LEO!?" Twilight called out to the boys. "TWILIGHT!?" both Leo and Spike called out, as they watched their close friend being taken away from them. "Oh man! Oh man! What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?" Spike freaking out, until Leo calmed Spike down. "Spike, listen to me. Find my brothers and the others. Tell them what happened," Leo instructed, "My only guess is that they will be heading back to Canterlot. We're gonna need all the help we can get." "What are you gonna do, Leo?" Spike asked. "I'm gonna hitch a ride on that blimp and try and help Twilight." Leo spoke in confidence. "Are you crazy? You can't go through this alone! It's way too dangerous and that blimp will be crawling with guards!" Spike pointed out in concern. "I've got to, Spike. She's our best friend! Like I said before," Leo then walked towards the edge of the cliff, holding our his grappling hook and shot it towards the blimp. Leo then turned to Spike, "Friends don't quit on each other!" Leo was then pulled up to the blimp and shouted to Spike, "NOW GO!" Spike, inspired by Leo's word ran off to find the others, in hope that they are still willing to help save Equestria. Meanwhile on board the blimp, Twilight was struggling to break out of her cage, but her magic was being repelled by the bars. Tempest walked over and spoke mockingly, "Aww, the "Princess of Friendship". With no friends! And no way out." she chuckled. "Why are you doing this?" Twilight asked in confusion, "You're a pony just like me." Tempest angrily put her hoofs to the bars with her magic sparking, "I'm nothing like you! I'm more than you'll ever be!" Tempest started circling the cage and decided to give Twilight her own taste of reality through song. Tempest: It's time you learned a lesson It's time that you understand Don't ever count on anybody else In this or any other land I once hoped for friendship To find a place among my kind But those were the childish wishes Of someone who was blind Open up your eyes See the world from where I stand Me, among the mighty You, caged at my command Open up your eyes Give up your sweet fantasy land It's time to grow up and get wise Come now, little one, open up your eyes Tempest started flashing back to long ago when she was a filly with a regular horn. She was playing ball with two of her friends happily. Suddenly their ball rolled into a dark cave, and Tempest's two friends chickened out and selected her to go retrieve it. She crossed paths with an Ursa Minor inside the cave and it looked angry. Tempest tried to use her magic to defend herself, but the Ursa Minor swatted at her with its paw which was strong enough to break off the filly's horn. We all start out the same With simple naive trust Shielded from the many ways That life's not fair or just But then there comes a moment A simple truth that you must face If you depend on others You'll never find your place Afterward, Tempest with a broken horn tried to play with her friends like before, but with her broken horn her sparking magic started scaring her friends, who ran from her and made a new friend to replace her. Filly Tempest watched in sadness and betrayal as she walked sadly away. And as you take that first step Upon a path that's all your own You see it all so clearly The best way to survive is all alone Filly Tempest's sadness was replaced with anger as she started galloping away and left home, and since then vowed to not trust anypony or get too attached to anyone ever again. It cut back to present time, as Tempest continued to sing to Twilight. Open up your eyes See the world from where I stand Me, among the mighty You, caged at my command Open up your eyes And behold the faded light It's time to grow up and get wise Come now, little one, open up your eyes Open up your eyes! Tempest pulled a lever, as Twilight's cage was hoisted up to the deck of the blimp, where Tempest arrived. Twilight after listening to what she sang about realized what led her down this dark path, "I'm so sorry you felt so alone. Tempest spoke bitterly, "I saw the truth. My 'friends' abandoned me when times got tough. Looks like I'm not the only one. Face it, Princess. Friendship has failed you, too." Twilight sighed, "Friendship didn't fail me. I failed friendship." "Soon that won't matter. Trust me, you'll see soon enough." Tempest left to check on things aboard the blimp. Twilight dropped down to the ground and laid feeling bad about herself, "Without my friends, what can I do? I have nobody now." she sniffled. "Do not let Tempest's words blind you from knowing what is truly right." came a familiar wise voice. Twilight lifted her head up, seeing Master Splinter standing before her, "Master Splinter," she gasped, before sighing, "I messed up big, sensei. I did something terrible out of desperation because I had no faith in my friends. I even hurt Leo in the process. And now look at me, trapped, powerless, and with nobody." Splinter went into teaching mode, "My dear student, mistakes is something everyone makes big or small. Some let these mistakes weigh them down, but others choose to learn from them and grow in spirit. You and my sons have done that countless times no matter how bad things ever got. You think you are alone because you are separated from your friends. But you are never alone. I may be gone, but I am always there for my sons and students in spirit. Including you." Twilight was moved by Splinter's words, and asked, "What should I do, sensei?" "Keep your hopes up, my student. It is not over until you have given up hope. And I've never known for you to give up hope." he finished. Twilight looked away thinking about everything, before looking back to see Splinter was gone. She said to herself, "Splinter is right, I need to keep my hopes alive for Leo and everypony else." Speaking of Leo, he had been laying low in the cargo area of the blimp, making sure to stay out of sight from the Storm Goons, Grubber, or Tempest. He looked around while sticking to the shadows. When he saw there was no opening to make an escape he thought, 'I'll never be able to get Twilight out of here at this rate. I guess I'll have to wait it out until we get to Canterlot. I just hope the guys have caught on by now.' Back on the beach, the rest of the ponies and ninja were sitting around dismally over their failure, and Twilight snapping. Fluttershy was the first to speak, "This whole journey was such a mistake. All we wanted was somepony to help us." "I guess beyond Equestria, everyone's only priority is looking out for number one." Shini said. "Sadly it reminds me of myself." Karai sighed. "Ya think, maybe it's time we talk to Twilight?" Applejack wondered. "It has been awhile, perhaps she had enough time to come to her senses." Sunset replied. Suddenly Spike came running over screaming, "She's! Been! Taken!" "What?!" Rainbow Dash gasped. "What do you mean 'taken'?" April asked in concern. Spike panted, "Twilight's been taken! Tempest! She grabbed her! And took her on her ship! Leo went after her!" The group gasped, "Leo went after her alone?" Mikey asked. "He told me to warn you guys." Spike explained. "I warned him about solo hero stunts!" Raph snapped. "We've gotta get her back!" Fugitoid said in worry. "How? We'll never catch up!" Fluttershy panicked. "And we got no way to defeat those monsters." Applejack added. "Even with our quantity, the Storm King and Tempest will be prepared." Blade put in, as everyone sighed feeling hopeless. "Well, it's a good thing I happen to know of a group of mighty heroes that could handle this easily!" Came a familiar sly voice. Standing atop a rock was Capper wo miraculously survived the sinking airship. He came down to the ground, but was greeted by an angry Raph. "YOU?!" he shouted, before charging at him, grabbed his coat, and pinned him against the boulder. Rarity walked up looking less thrilled, "Well, look what the cat dragged in? Himself!" Capper expecting this reaction tried to explain, "Now-now I know things did not really go as I planned due to me getting carried away by my little itch of habit..." Raph answered, "Funny, the only thing I'm gonna be carrying away is another one of your nine lives puss in boots!" he pulled his fist back. "Wait! Before you punch my lights out, just hear what I have to say. I may have a proposition that can save us from this Stormy mess." Capped pleaded. Sunset feeling there was no other option stopped Raphael, "Hold on, Raph, even though he betrayed us, I think we should hear what he has to say." Raph groaned, but spoke, "Alright...you got a minute, fur ball. Better make it quick." Capped sighed in relief, and began explaining, "These heroes have faced the Storm King's army and escaped! I've seen them tackle the streets of the roughest towns, break out of the tightest situations, and inspire others to join their cause!" The group gasped in amaze, until Applejack spoke, "Now don't get too excited. He's just talkin' about us." "Obviously." Blade agreed, as the group sighed. Capper continued, "They even escaped certain doom at the hooves of Commander Tempest!" Casey spoke recalling it, "Yeah. We did do that." Rainbow smiled, "And that was pretty great." Suddenly another familiar voice called out, "Are you kidding me?! That was awesome!" They looked up seeing Captain Celaeno and her whole crew, "You're alive?" Mikey gasped. "We thought you were goners." April said. "You can't bring us down so easily." the Captain answered. "Figured you could use a claw!" Boyle offered. "We're on board to help you fight the Storm King! Just not on board our... actual ship." The Captain added. Mullet spoke, "That crazy unicorn sunk it. But you got back our argh! And we're ready to kick some booty." the pirates have a heartily laugh. "Now we're getting somewhere." Fugitoid said happily. Suddenly they saw the water bubble, and flying out from it was a creature glowing. It died down to reveal a creature half bird and pony, "Whoa!" Spike gasped. "No way." Karai gasped. "Beautiful." Shini gasped. "Is that what I think it is?" Capper asked. "A hippogriff." Casey answered. "Not just any hippogriff." April realized, when they noticed the coloring of her feathers, and voice. "Hellooooooo! Me again!" Skystar giggled, "I'm gonna get so grounded, but I talked things over with Shelly and Sheldon and they pointed out that you were just trying to help your friends. So I wanna help too," she flew over to the group, "'Cause ya know... one small thing..." she whispered to them, "Can make a really big difference!" Spike looked around, "That's it, right? We didn't make friends with anypony else?" "That about covers it." Raph assured. "All right, y'all! I think our course is clear. Y'all ready to do this thang?" Capper asked the group. "Indubitably." Fugitoid agreed. "Always." Blade nodded while smiling. "Ninjas never surrender." Donnie declared. "And neither do friends." Sunset added. "All right, team. We're in this together!" Raph declared, as they cheered. "We're coming, Twilight and Leo! As soon as we bake up a plan!" Pinkie called