The three sat down at an empty café to talk about whatever, deciding they weren't ready to talk yet. Of course, Pinkamena and Rarity directed their questions to Applejack, hoping to keep the spotlight off of themselves.
"Where'd you learn to lie so well?" Rarity asked, amazed by Applejack's abilities. Sure, she lied, but she made it obvious, no matter who she spoke to. Sadly, half of the time it worked.
Applejack smiled at the two, they always wore smiles and their eyes sparkled. They seemed as if they were in a better place than before. "Flim and Flam started, well, they still are con artists. Before they started takin' care of us, they taught me and my brother some things. Big Mac never had any interest in it."
Rarity continued her sad smile. "What's your siblings names?"
"Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom."
"They're cute names," Rarity smiled sweetly, hoping to comfort her. She didn't think she was doing a great job. "Are you okay? About them?"
"Oh yeah," Applejack smiled. "They never really liked me that much. Big Mac took care of me, protected me and such, but I don't think he liked me that much. Same for Apple Bloom," she explained sadly. "My biggest wish is that they would like me one day."
Rarity and Pinkamena felt bad, they wanted to let her vent about it, but the mare got up out of her seat and looked at the two. "Let's go walkin' 'round. Last day we'll have the whole city to ourselves."
The idea of Applejack's tragedy left Rarity's mind as she remembered the night she stole a dress from that one shop. She gasped and smiled as she trotted alongside Applejack giddily. "Oh yeah! I didn't get the chance to check all the shops that one night anyhow!"
Pinkamena just watched the two walked off and followed with a roll of her eyes and a hang of her head. She didn't like the idea of just following Rarity around, especially if she was trying to talk about what was on her mind. Once the three turned a corner, Rarity dragged the three inside a shop and started critizing every thing in it.
Pinkamena sighed and looked away, mentally calling Rarity a selfish brat. She told herself this day was for Rarity, so she started questioning why she was even there.
Rarity looked at the two happily, seeing their respective emotions. Applejack was smiling, seemingly supportive while Pinkamena seemed tired already. She didn't even bring Applejack to notice Pinkamena, she deserved the attention right now. It was Pinkamena who hurt Twilight, what could the mare possibly be sad about anyways?
Her eyes turned a dirty blue as she turned back to the racks, her magic throwing clothes across the bar. She'd pick out her favorites and throw them on Applejack, just like she did with the Dragon Lord. She didn't care, she just acted like it was him.
She'd lead the two over to another shop, see Applejack's support fade into annoyance and Pinkamena's irritability go through the roof. She loved the sight, they were so upset and it was cause of her! And did she care? Of course not! That was how she could tell somepony mattered to her. She felt guilty when she inconvenienced them. And she felt guiltier than anything when the Dragon Lord seemed tired. That's why she didn't see all the stores.
She stopped thinking emotionally about him and went back to clothes. It took most of the day before she was done, and Applejack and Pinkamena ended up with stacks of clothes, plus the ones in Rarity's magic.
"You two ready to talk yet?" Applejack asked as she shook under the amount of clothes on her back.
"Nope!" Rarity smiled as she walked into another store, hearing a familiar bell ring. She rushed over to a rack of clothes, seemingly in the same style of her gothic dress from before. She wondered if it was the same store, but was happy to see it wasn't.
Pinkamena blew her mane out of her face as she looked bored and irritable. "No," she said harshly.
Applejack just stared at the two, she felt used and useless. She was starting to regret the whole day. "Well, why not?" She threw the clothes on her back off, Rarity gasped and turned to her. Pinkamena did the same and it seemingly tore Rarity apart, especially when her magic failed to keep up and dropped the dresses she was carrying.
Rarity huffed. "Well, I just don't think I'm ready yet," she was obviously lying as she went back to looking through clothes.
"I just don't feel like it. I want to go back home," Pinkamena deadpanned. Her hair seemed even straighter as a frown sat on her face.
Applejack huffed loudly, pulling Rarity's attention from clothes to her. "Then why'd we come out here? Why'd we waste a whole day if you two ain't gonna talk so y'all could feel better?"
Rarity smiled. "You took us out to make us feel better, darling," she smiled sweetly, hoping to keep the mare so she didn't have to carry everything back.
"Wouldn't talking just help?" Applejack asked rudely, stomping her hoof on the ground. "It's just how you feel about somepony you barley know! How hard is that?"
Pinkamena and Rarity gasped at what she said. Their faces instantly retorted into anger. "You don't get it!" Pinkamena stated. "The fact that we barley know them is part of the problem!"
"Yes!" Rarity huffed. "Besides, it was somepony we cared about. If not more than a friend than at least as a friend!"
Applejack just stared at the two as they teamed up against her. She didn't even feel bad. She just couldn't believe her time was wasted on these two. Pinkamena looked like she hated her attempt to help her, and Rarity didn't even care. She was furious.
"I'm still tryin' to help! You two could at least look like you care!" Applejack shouted at them. Rarity and Pinkamena were appalled.
"I'm sorry our situations are so sensitive that we don't want to talk!" Pinkamena shouted back.
Rarity nodded. "Yes! We have had to come to terms with our mistakes-"
"What?" Pinkamena cut her off, a confused look on her face. "You mean your mistake. Right?" The two just looked at each other with confusion.
Rarity shook her head. "No, I misspoke and you broke up with Twilight. Both were our mistakes, what do you mean only mine?" Her hoof was to her chest in sheer confusion as she tried to understand.
"Uh, Twilight ruined everything, she seemed in love with herself, of course I wouldn't want to like her anymore," Pinkamena explained, almost offended at what Rarity was saying. "That's not my mistake, it was Twilight's. I'm just coping."
Rarity was more than confused. "Well, you had a choice to stay with her, so why be sad at your own choice?" The two had completely forgotten that Applejack was there. She shook her head and walked out, declaring she could save some of her day.
"Cause she seemed like she liked herself more than she liked me! Why would I try and stay with her if that was the case?" Pinkamena asked, raising her voice as she spoke. She was so offended. "Of course I'd be sad that she seemingly liked somepony else."
Rarity gasped. "You didn't have to break up with her! You could've talked about it! How inconsiderate are you? You didn't even care about her feelings!?" Rarity's voice raised along with Pinkamena's as the two shouted at each other.
"Says miss selfish!" Pinkamena shouted back, their foreheads touching in anger as they fought. "And she didn't deserve a conversation! It was her fault!"
Rarity couldn't understand anything about the mare. "You didn't even give her a chance to fix it!"
"I will! When she wants to fix it! But until she shows me she likes me, then I'm gonna have nothing to do with her!"
"Then why are you do sad about her?"
"Cause I still like her!"
"Then why not fix it yourself?!" Rarity yelled at her, getting fed up with her. Rarity might've been selfish, but she knew when to fix things that were obviously her fault.
"Cause she needs to show me she cares!" Pinkamena yelled as loud as she could. She backed away from Rarity. "I'm done talking," her face just looked hurt as she ran off, her eyes a dark blue as they intended to guilt trip Rarity. Of course, it didn't work.
Rarity looked at all the dresses and clothes and jewelry on the floor and looked around for Applejack. "Applejack?" She asked as she looked all around. She plopped down in despair in the middle of the piles of clothes. She looked up at the ceiling. "How will I ever get these all back?" She asked pitifully.
Rainbow Dash watched as all those ponies walked back to their houses. She was infuriated, she wanted fear, she wanted control, she wanted them to be scared to even look at her or take a wrong a step! She didn't want them to feel okay under 'new management'.
She growled as she stood up and watched them all leave, her tail flicking in anger. She ignored the guard as he stared at her with a curious look on his face. The violent red color left her eyes for the bright magenta, but there was still a fire behind them.
"Maybe it's better this way," the stallion said bluntly, scared to put emotion behind it. And he was right to be scared, Rainbow whirled to him with her eyebrows furrowed and her mouth formed in disgust and anger.
"And how's that?" She asked rudely, growling behind it. He just stared at her with a nervous smile. He was really wrong to think she was more than adorable.
"Uh, well," he stepped away from her. "Just let them get, you know, comfortable and happy and take it all away!" He laughed nervously as she just stared at him. He cowered into himself. "Or not."
She just kept staring with that infuriated look on her face. His coat turned light blue, his mane and tail a dark blue. But his eyes stayed the same. She sighed and plopped down on the ground.
"Maybe you're right for once, Soarin," she said quietly.
"Who's Soarin?" He asked curiously and crept up behind her. "A boyfriend?"
She laughed and rolled her eyes. "No way! Soarin's a dweeb," she chuckled. That chuckling soon turned into actual laughter as she thought about it. "But you remind me of him, he was better though."
"I'd imagine, you knew him longer," Thunder said bluntly. "You like him?"
She didn't feel like dealing with him. And she most definitely didn't feel like talking about Soarin, especially with an up-close and personal guard like him. She sneered. "Just leave it. He was nothing, reminds me of you."
She stomped off.
The castle was cold, especially if you lived in it alone. The cold colors gave to the atmosphere that was enhanced with the freezing crystal floors. But loneliness and negative emotions made ponies shiver in its own. And feeling alone with so many ponies around you was the worse.
Twilight was seemingly the coldest of them all, even harsher than Fluttershy. She was commonly found in Celestia's old room or her throne, but this morning, she decided to go walking around to find a certain someone.
She didn't really try, expecting everything to just work out in at least one way. Her head was hung low as she just looked irritated, which she was. She was paranoid, guilt-ridden, sorrowful, and sleep deprived. She couldn't even walk in a straight line.
She sighed as she picked up her head, just for it to fall again with a groan. She shook her head and picked her head up, puffing out her chest at an attempt to keep it up. "C'mon! You've survived on one hour naps and staying up for twenty four hours before!" She yelled at herself.
Her head fell and she sighed again. "Yeah, but then you were busy. Now you're just waiting around. Jeez, this is impossible. I'll never find either of those bozos."
She turned a corner and smirked at a yellow pegasus walking around aimlessly. The mare seemed away from any reality. But surely being engulfed in magenta would wake anypony up, and it did. Fluttershy looked down at the mare that kept her in a bubble and growled. "Hey! What do you want!"
Twilight just groaned, having forgotten how annoying the disobedient mutt with a voice was. She couldn't even bring herself to answer as she kept walking. Fluttershy just growled and started banging on the edges of the magic, giving Twilight an even bigger migraine than the one she already had.
"Spike!" She yelled loudly, hurting her head. She hung her head again and sighed, "Ow," she rubbed her head and looked up to see light green skin. She smiled up at the tall dragon growling down at her.
"Good, follow me or you'll end up like the mutt here," Twilight nodded her head towards Fluttershy who just huffed and crossed her hooves.
The Dragon Lord towered over her and drew his claws out. "What do you want?"
Twilight rolled her eyes, guessing she'd be safe if he'd attack. But Fluttershy's nagging voice made her not even want to converse. "Oh yeah, disturb the feral thing with teeth!" Fluttershy yelled at her. "You're really smart for an egghead."
"I know what I'm doing," Twilight mumbled. She whirled her head to Fluttershy and yelled, "So just shut the hell up! Cause I'm sure I'm a hell of a lot smarter than you! I wasn't raised by animals!" Fluttershy huffed again and looked away rudely, after sticking her tongue out at the mare.
Twilight sighed in relief and looked up to see the Dragon Lord with his teeth bared. "Look, you need to stop leaving every day. So you'll stay in the castle today!"
"Why should I? Cause you'll put me in a magic bubble?" He growled angrily like an animal. The response to his question was being engulfed in magenta. He was completely thrown off guard. Twilight started walking with her pets on their leashes.
"Yes. And you need to be here more often in case of an attack! No one even has any idea where you go!" She yelled at him and continued walking.
Fluttershy rolled her eyes and blew her mane out of her face. "So why am I here? Everypony knows I go to the gardens."
Twilight groaned at just hearing her voice. "We'll have a lot of time to talk once we get to the throne room, so please shut up so no one has to hear your awful voice!" Twilight growled at her and kept walking, almost happy at the silence that followed.
But once she got to the throne room doors, she dreaded everything that would follow. She used to love the hallway, now she hated it. She pushed open the doors and just dragged her hooves across the floor with dread. Those pictures of justice stared down at her, laughing at her for her mistake, taking her weakness as a way to win.
She could just imagine evaporating, losing while everyone else got free, leaving her to die. And she couldn't help but laugh at herself, thinking it out to the last detail.
But every thought that enters her once she pushes opens the door, leaves her as she closes them. Her magic dropped the two birds to the ground and put a huge, comical lock on the door. The Dragon Lord flew for the windows, slamming into them as Twilight's magic locked those too.
Fluttershy dashed for the balcony, she stuck her tongue out at Twilight as she thought she was free, but she just hit magenta as Twilight put a wall up. Fluttershy growled and turned to Twilight. "Gonna answer me yet, egg head?!"
"I can't have somepony go track you down and take two away from the fight once those Elements show up!" Twilight yelled at her, already infuriated with the mare.
Twilight looked to both of them. "So you've had your days of freedom, from now on you to stay in the castle." Twilight saw both of the annoyed looks. She looked to Fluttershy, "I don't care about whatever you do." She looked to the Dragon Lord, "and I don't care about your emotional isolation. You two stay here."
"You don't get it," the Dragon Lord growled at her.
"Sure I do, you miss your fucking girlfriend so you're isolating yourself. Well emotion is evil's biggest downfall so get over it!" Twilight yelled at him. She looked to both of them, ignoring the growling. "And I'll trap you both here every day until that attack comes! Even if it takes a year!"
The two were furious with her. They couldn't even stand the look of her, she made them lose everything and they had to listen to her? They couldn't stand it. She got off free, but they didn't even have a choice anymore. They just stared daggers at those violent violet eyes of hers. They both wouldn't mind ripping them out of their sockets.
"You're real ballsy, Twilight Sparkle," Fluttershy announced rudely. She couldn't help but get even more infuriated as the mare rolled her eyes. She didn't understand anything, and she was pulling Fluttershy down with her. "Don't drag me down your hole of fuck ups, Sparkle."
Twilight stopped caring. All she had to do was secure them in a room all day and that's what she did. She'd keep them there for every second until the attack if she had to. The two weren't going to ruin what she built up. The two hadn't been very useful thus far, but she'd rather deal with it and not need them than lose.
"Some princess you are, brat," The Dragon Lord spat as he crossed his arms. He couldn't stand it, she seemed to infatuated with power that she couldn't even understand the situation. He'd thrown away everything without having control of it, certainly the egghead could comprehend that. And the longer she looked like she didn't care, the more furious he got.
His claws dug into his arms as he watched her listen to Fluttershy's shouting. The two just looked like Rarity separated, and he hated it. Rarity didn't care, but she got mad as all hell really fast. He shook his head, he kept telling himself he didn't even know her at all.
Twilight's mind went blank as she stared at Fluttershy's angry face. The mare was all bark and no bite, but she stopped caring. Her voice was just annoying her, and she wouldn't shut up. She tried to act like she didn't care, but she was furious.
"You're just a failure! You've failed us twice, Sparkle!" Fluttershy shouted rudely, her face almost red with anger.
Something snapped inside Twilight at just hearing that. Her eyebrows furrowed, but Fluttershy didn't notice, she was still rambling with her huge mouth.
"Just let me out of here! She's getting annoying," the Dragon Lord yelled at her to try and sound louder than Fluttershy. Twilight couldn't take it.
Her horn glowed magenta which shut the two up. "Shut up!" She yelled as she put a shield around herself. Once she looked back to them and how they were finally quiet. She sighed and the shield evaporated around her hooves. She looked up at the two. "Look, what happens when they attack and we have to go fetch the dragon? That's a weak start that could ruin everything! I don't know about you, but I don't want to lose."
"Well I don't want this stupid Equestria anymore! I already have a kingdom!" The Dragon Lord yelled at her with his teeth bared, hissing at her with his claws drawn.
"So did I!" Fluttershy yelled again. "I'm fine with staying inside, by why lock us up! It's pointless instead of just being civil!" She stomped her hooves on the ground. Twilight couldn't see anything but a baby in both of them.
"So after everything you're gonna give it up for all of us!?" Twilight yelled at them. She looked to the Dragon Lord. "Looks like you kept some qualities of your little girlfriend."
He just growled at her and took a step forward. "You're really smart, aren't you?" He asked and showed off his claws and teeth. She just groaned.
"Stop being selfish just cause you lost something!" Twilight yelled at him, ignoring the threatening pose. She looked to Fluttershy, angrier than ever. "And just shut the hell up! I should just kill you outright since you're so fucking useless!"
"At least ponies can trust me to not defend the enemy!" Fluttershy shouted back, seeing Twilight flinch with a spark of fear in her eyes. Fluttershy's frown turned into a twisted grin as her eyes turned a murky, dark blue. "Aww!" She said loudly. "The baby doesn't take well to her fuck-ups!"
The Dragon Lord growled at her, "Oh don't act like you're better than her. At least she's worth something."
Fluttershy didn't think. She didn't think she would care if she did. "Says the thing that thought he was special!" She gushed like a child and then laughed, ignoring the red in his vision. "Rarity wouldn't care about you ever! And she doesn't now! She just misses her hench-dog!"
She stuck his tongue out at her, ignoring the obvious signs. "I wonder what lies she told you just to keep you around! Or maybe you're just that gulliable and niave! Makes sense coming from a brain made of colored rocks!"
She turned to Twilight with a wicked grin, twisted in all the ways that showed she got way more out of this than healthy. She started towards the mare who just seemed to cower away. "And you! Way to ruin everything! You know, we wouldn't need to be here if you didn't save miss Magic! You are way more selfish than all of us combined and we have to suffer?!"
She just laughed maniacally. She didn't see a purple alicorn, she saw a cowering cockatrice, backing into a cowering timber wolf. "You're just useless! Who needs you around? Pathetic!" She spat rudely. She couldn't think, she just loved the sight of it, so whatever fell out of her mouth didn't matter as long as it hurt.
"Maybe Spikey-Wikey wouldn't have lost his bitch if you didn't mess up!" Fluttershy yelled, saying 'Spikey-Wikey' in a posh voice to mock Rarity.
The two heard a loud hiss and looked to see the Dragon Lord growling loudly at them. His claws seemed sharper, just like his teeth. Everything seemed sharper, even the skin on his stomach. The scales that followed his spine, his pupils, his teeth. Everything.
Fluttershy and Twilight froze at the sight as his tail swished back and forth behind him. "W-what's that mean?" Twilight asked as she watched it, mortified.
"That the second we move he pounces on us and claws out our stomachs or throats, "Fluttershy said with blunt worry. The three sat in silence for what seemed like hours, when it was really just a few seconds. "Okay. On three, jump out of the way."
Twilight nodded slightly. "One," Fluttershy said quietly, the dragons claws sparkled in the light as he growled loudly. "T-two," she whispered even quieter than last time. He hissed at them. "Three!" She yelled loudly as the dragon pounced on them. Twilight and Fluttershy both jumped out of the way, the ends of their tails charred with green fire.
The Dragon Lords head snapped to Fluttershy's direction as she stared at them. Her eyes shook with fear as he slowly walked towards her, his growling getting louder the closer he got. She was trembling, she tried to push herself away, but she soon was pinned against the wall.
She just watched as he got closer and closer, a sob leaving her throat. She couldn't comprehend it, she was going to die to her own mistake with the things she knew about the most. She just couldn't shut up, and now she was going to die and leave everything she'd ever love behind.
She shook as he stood over her, his claws draw and placed at her throat as she glued herself to the wall. Her shaking made the claw touch her fur and it was freezing, she was terrified as tears left her eyes. She tried to look past the dragon to see if Twilight would help, but she just crept towards her throne.
Fluttershy looked back up at the dragon, his low growl the only thing she could hear. His eyes seemed red, and she knew he had no control over what he was doing. She was dead, and it just took forever.
Twilight just watched. Fluttershy was a baby, her biggest skill was her big mouth. She was actually fine with the Dragon Lord killing her, she didn't mind. But she doubted he would just kill her and be fine, so she started creeping towards her throne to prepare a fort of safety until she let him go.
She looked towards her throne, it was so close and she was more than happy with the turn of events. She didn't expect to hear a flash and a thud instead of a scream and a cry for help. She dashed for her throne and put a shield around herself, as she finally looked at the situation. And she was horrified.
Fluttershy was alive, trembling with her hooves over her head. And the Dragon Lord was on the ground on the other side of the room, growling as his eyes shined with red.
She didn't expect that, but she also didn't expect an amalgamation of things called a draconequus to be standing in front of Fluttershy.
The Dragon Lord growled loudly and pushed himself off the wall, dashing straight for the draconequus. Discord rolled his eyes and groaned as he snapped his fingers, the dragon slammed into the floor with a groan. Discord crossed his arms and looked at Twilight.
"You'd just let her die? You do realize you need all seven of you to win, correct?" He asked her, his snake tongue making his voice scratchy and a big hiss, it wasn't that noticeable, but it just bugged Twilight.
She just sneered. "You could've told us that. Like I knew," she said bluntly. "She wasn't doing anything. I was just letting a nuisance disappear."
"Well, now you can't," he said rudely to her. He snapped his fingers again and Twilight looked to see the red fading from the Dragon Lords eyes. "And stop fighting. You'll never be successful if all you do is bicker!"
The Dragon Lord just looked up at Discord with an annoyed look on his face. "Guess we know why she liked you. You're just as annoying as her." The dragon looked behind Discord and saw Fluttershy still trembling under her hooves. He smirked up at the draconequus. "Maybe you should help her," he stood up. "You're her prince charming, after all."
Discord just snorted. "I'm just here cause we need all of you alive, and princess over there didn't seem like a trustworthy pony." He just glared at the Dragon Lord rudely. "The rest of the rulers were just too lazy! So they had to send Discord!" He bowed to the dragon with a paw to his chest and a claw extended to the world.
Twilight rolled her eyes, propping her head up on her hoof as she laid in her throne. "Doubt it!"
Fluttershy stood up as the three bickered processing the whole situation. Now she understood why the Dragon Lord was so angry with Rarity. She still didn't feel bad about what she did, she was happy she said it all. But she watched Discord's tail and smirked as she stepped on it.
He jumped and turned to look at her with a growl. "You almost got eaten by a dragon. Stop messing with animals, would you?"
She just smirked happily at the sight of him. He was adorably silly looking. Two different horns and a tooth sticking out, she couldn't even be mad at him. She was extremely sad, but she tried not to care. She was more terrified than anything. "Y-you wouldn't have saved me t-to hurt me," her voice shook, just as an aftermath of what the Dragon Lord did to her. "But if you aren't n-needed here anymore. Then you should just g-go."
He just looked away from her at the Dragon Lord and Twilight. "Stop fighting. They'll use that to their advantage." He snapped his fingers and disappeared. Fluttershy just shook in place as she stared at where he stood.
"Aww!" Twilight said loudly. "You should've kissed him goodbye!"
Fluttershy just stared at her with hate in her eyes. "You should've kissed Pinkamena goodbye! Or maybe you would've preferred Magic!" She stuck her tongue out at the mare.
"You sad he didn't save you cause you're you?" The Dragon Lord asked her and she huffed.
"He barley knows me!" Fluttershy looked away with a high head.
The Dragon Lord flew around her with a smirk. "That's what I thought about Rarity! And look what happened!"
"You miss him already!" Twilight yelled and started laughing, the Dragon Lord joined her. Fluttershy just stared at the two rudely and huffed.
She stared for the door. "Open it! I'll stay around! I don't want that whole scene to replay again!"
The Dragon Lord flew up next to her again and picked her up in one of his arms, "Of course you do! Then he'll save you again!" He just laughed at her some more, along with Twilight.
"Let me leave!" Fluttershy yelled at the two. "I don't like him! Okay? He's a dirty, rotten animal!"
"Sounds like where you live, course you'd love him," Twilight grinned childishly as she opened the door for the two. "Stay inside the castle Spike! Otherwise I will make that barrier electric!" She yelled after them as Fluttershy ran as fast as she could.
He saluted her with a smirk. Once the doors shut, Twilight was left all alone. She laid on her back in her throne with a smile. "Oh that's hilarious," she said as she relaxed.