//------------------------------//
// A Rising Hope 
// Story: The Blackened Skies 
// by gosha305 
//------------------------------//

Continuing to walk through the cozy forest, a new hope arose within the ponies' hearts. It might just have been its welcoming contrast with the Everfree Forest, or perhaps, those trees also possessed some form of magic, antithetical to that of the cursed woodland.

Unlike during their last journey, Twilight's paranoia had been dismissed, bliss and confidence taking its place. Now that she had the certitude of the Elements' effectiveness, their displacement just felt like a minor setback of their inevitable victory. She chatted with the others, sure that their objective was nearly reached, her sudden change of heart surprising them slightly, but it was probably for the better.

"You know, I've read plenty about these woods" asserted Twilight, visibly excited "They might not look very special, but there are a lot of endemic species here!"

"All the poor critters! They must be too scared to show up!" exclaimed Fluttershy, looking around in search of frightened animals.

"You know, under this light, the forest looks totally different from during the Running of the Leaves." stated Rainbow Dash "Oh I still remember that defeat..."

Suddenly, Spike intervened "Uh, girls, I think I hear something galloping behind us!"

And indeed, in the partially silent woods, the sound of many hooves hitting the ground at regular intervals reached their ears. It appeared the noise was getting closer, catching up to their rapid progress. Halting and turning around, the ponies saw what resembled a crowd. Unorganized, it featured ponies of different professions and social status. Some even appeared to be royal guards, far away from their usual occupation. Lightly confused by this sight, the group of friends stopped, waiting for the strange mob to move closer. As they approached however, their intentions became clearer.

"The princess!" yelled some "Give us the princess!"

The cultists were back. And this time, a fight could not be avoided.

"No! Your plan is utter madness!" replied Twilight herself "Doing that won't help our world!"

"That's what we'll see..." cried out a pegasus royal guard, getting off the ground, a scowl on his face.

Some unicorn didn't waste time, immediately charging up their horns. Of course, since most cultists were just normal ponies, the former royal guards needed to tell them how to use some form of offensive magic. Thus, even after training, some failed their spells. However, those who succeeded, were already bombarding the group of friends.

Immediately reacting, Twilight cast a protective spell, encompassing the group in a glowing magenta bubble. This shield deflected most of the projectiles, emitting slight metallic dings after each impact. Once the unicorns interrupted their fire, waiting for magic to regenerate, pegasi lunged forward, some guards still carrying their spears.

Rainbow Dash, not intimidated in the slightest, already bolted off the ground, exiting the protective bubble and scoring several hits on multiples cultists at the same time. Meanwhile, Applejack moved forward getting ready to face anypony approaching the shield too closely. Suddenly Pinkie revealed that she somehow brought a party canon with her. Already charging it with ambient garbage, she prepared to fire. Rarity joined the fight, immobilizing cultists by entangling them in fabric. Even Spike overcome his fear, burning some overconfident fliers with his breath.

Starlight had a spell in mind. Her last use of it might not have been the best, but this looked like the perfect setup for something of this type. Remembering the spells' names, she cast fudicia compelus and cogeria, thus hypnotizing several cultists and spreading confusion amongst the enemy's ranks.

With Rainbow Dash continuously assaulting them from the air, managing to deal with their aerial forces while still causing serious damage to the terrestrial ones, their own allies turned against them by Starlight's mind control spell, Pinkie shooting random junk with her party canon, Rarity incapacitating more and more troops and Twilight's shield preventing them from inflicting any damage themselves, the battle wasn't turning in favor of the cultists.

But as their defeat seemed imminent, a unicorn stallion, once part of the lunar guard as indicated by his dark blue armor, advanced, getting in front of his injured or stunned allies. His facial expression was a mix of utter rage and bitter disappointment as he yelled "Selfish Princess! You may think your life is worth more than that of all Equestria, but know that your egoistical assumptions are as wrong as the fact you merit your title! I despise you! You do not deserve to be a leader, nor do you deserve to wield the Element of Magic! I thought rulers should be able to sacrifice themselves for the good of their subjects when it is a necessity. Perhaps I was wrong, rulers only do care for their own well-being! Think about that the next time you meet us, Princess..."

Each word he spoke hurt as a knife plunged into Twilight's heart. She knew this pony was wrong, but the conviction in his voice and his hateful look made her question her beliefs. The speech had the opposite effect on the rest of the cultists. Many angrily shouting, encouraging their spokesman. Most eyed the princess with the same scowl, staring right into her eyes.

When they finally get hold of the Elements of Harmony, all of those poor citizens will see their mistake. But now, nothing was able to change their mind.





Moving away from the defeated cultists, the ease of this victory encouraged the group. Deciding to set camp in a clearing near the mountains, they continued discussing the battle.

"Have you seen how awesome I was?" exclaimed Rainbow Dash bolting into the air and nearly hitting an adjacent tree "I bet these crazy ponies didn't see that coming!"

"It was quite impressive indeed, my dear." replied Rarity. She then turned towards Starlight and said worriedly "You know, using that mind control spell probably isn't a very good idea. I know it worked quite well, but you probably shouldn't have done it."

Starlight lowered her head "You're right." she admitted "But facing all these hostile ponies just made me think it was justified."

Suddenly Twilight's voice could be heard "Seeing all those ponies, so convinced by the lies of their leader is really sad. Hard time really do change the minds..."

Pondering these words, all ponies understood how somber their recent encounters was. Fighting ponies too scared to think properly, manipulated by a crazy leader. There was nothing to celebrate in this victory.





Thus saddened by the news, the ponies went to sleep. Hopeful that this would be the last time they will do it within this gloomy dusk. All were hoping that the Elements would be able to finally fix this situation. And the most hopeful of all was Twilight herself...