The Harmony Crusaders stared up the crystal walls of the Crystal Empire's throne room they hadn't seen in years. It sparkled back in the exact same way, almost making them fall into the comfort that their sisters were only gone for a week fighting a threat to the Crystal Empire.
But their nerves were on fire and they couldn't stay still. Their stomachs turned in fear as their hooves shook, they didn't know what to think. They had actually made to the Crystal Empire, where Zecora knew the Elements of Harmony stayed. And sometimes, they couldn't believe they were actually here.
But Shining Armor stood clad in the golden and purple armor that the Empire used, he was really there, they had really talked to him. He seemed just as nervous as they were, he couldn't even look at them. Sweetie Belle smiled as she looked up at the throne room's crystal doors, the same doors she had just walked through.
And now she waited next to her friends for the castle guards to alert their sisters and bring them to them. Her journey into the Empire filled her mind, she made it, otherwise she didn't think she could be standing there nearly as calmly as she was.
The train ride was long and short at the same time, their anxieties started kicking in the second they stopped talking. They were so anxious to see their sisters, so anxious to get inside the Empire so they could know they would be completely safe.
The roaring snowstorm just outside got louder and louder with the closer they got to the frozen north. They waited, watching the silhouette of the Empire get closer and closer until it wasn't even a silhouette anymore, it was the glowing castle inside the storm, shining against the night sky.
They grinned as it got closer and closer, trying not to puke, they were so excited and worried and filled with so many conflicting and non-conflicting emotions that they didn't even understand when they jumped off into the horrible storm. They barely felt the pelting snow or the harsh wind as they stared up at the Empire, the memories of it didn't compare to how it looked that night.
It looked like heaven, the glowing, glistening Empire against the deep black of the sky. The Crystal Heart's protection was clear, it wasn't a horrible amalgamation like the one around Equestria, no, this was transparent, and loving. Tears filled their eyes as their hooves burned in the freezing snow, the train finally gone behind them.
Scootaloo looked back, seeing the rustic tracks carry away a train to a place they didn't know. But behind them sat a broken, ruined train station. The platform had caved in, the roof fallen on top of it as if being smashed in the middle by a large sledgehammer and left.
The only light on the station was flickering weakly, as if it had happened recently. The girls looked at each other warily before the storm took its toll. The girls shivered and turned to face the Empire, starting towards it as their hooves sunk into the snow.
As they slowly made their way to the Empire, Sweetie Belle felt something hard and cold underneath her hoof. She stepped aside and used her magic to pull back the snow. She saw metal. She raised an eyebrow as she moved away more snow, she gasped at what she saw. "Apple Bloom! Scootaloo!" She shouted, staring down at train tracks that led into the Empire.
The others walked over and stared with wide eyes at the cut tracks, the metal looked like someone bit it off, and center boards just stopped. They all shot each other another worried look as they walked past it, walking towards the Empire with new passion to get inside.
The closer they got, they noticed the huge wall of guards on the northern front of the Empire. Worry became the most prominent emotion in the concoction of emotion that was their bodies. What if the guards came running at them and didn't recognize them? What if they shot at them with magic, thinking them spies from Canterlot? What if they--
Their thoughts paused as they were encased in a coat of magenta. They screamed and pounded and clawed at the magic, too scared they would be killed without being known. They thought they were home free, they thought they would see their sisters again, but no, they would be killed by their friends guards.
Tears streamed down their faces as they were quickly brought closer to the line of guards. They were brought before a white stallion in purple armor outline in gold. His colors were blurred or darkened by the snowstorm, he stood inside the protective shield and held them outside of it. Blue eyes stared back at them, full of fire.
Apple Bloom recognized those eyes, and that surprisingly not dangerous stare. She gasped happily. "Shining Armor!" She shouted, the tears now streaming out of her eyes those of joy. "It's us! The Cutie Mark Crusaders!"
He didn't understand, he couldn't see the intruders colors very well. He took them inside the shield and his eyes widened as he saw their happy, childish eyes on him. The one who had sounded like Apple Bloom looked like Apple Bloom too. She had a red mane with yellow fur and bright orange eyes.
And next to the mare he concluded to be Apple Bloom were two young mares that looked like Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo with minor differences lying mostly in their manes. But as he took a closer look, Scootaloo's smile was matched with a scar on her cheek, more lied on her neck and her hooves and he could only imagine what stood under that coat.
He shook his head. "You three are Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo?" He asked skeptically, but they nodded so manically and happy as if they didn't hear it. His heart blossomed with hope and joy for the girls sisters, but how could he trust these mares?
He raised an eyebrow at them, watching as their smiles didn't change. "How can I trust you aren't one of Electricity's spies?" He asked rudely.
Their spirits weakened as their eyes widened, they looked hurt. But any actor could manage to look hurt. Apple Bloom shook her head a stood up. "We need to see our sisters," she said desparately. "Please, Shining, we ain't spies. We spent days gettin' 'ere."
His will against them was breaking, seeing such old friends that he knew would spark hope and make Twilight and her friends happy. But he couldn't just believe anypony's. "We'll do anything to see our sisters, please, Shining," she begged again.
He sighed and looked at them, he had no idea what he could possibly ask, he didn't know them as well, and he had no idea what they would know about his sisters that he also knew that wouldn't be known by Twilight's look-alike. He shook his head, trying to think of something, when he came upon something he guessed Twilight's look-alike wouldn't know. He swallowed. "Who's the mare that led the Equestria games here in the Crystal Empire?"
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom exchanged worried glances, they knew who she was. She was the mare that followed Spike around and told him what to do. But her name? They had no clue. They looked to Scootaloo with wide eyes, and were taken aback by her calm stare.
"Duh," Scootaloo started as she rolled her eyes with a calm smile. "Mrs. Harshwhinny, she was a perfectionist. Still is from what we've heard." She stared up at Shining Armor with a wide smile. "So, now you can take us to the Empire right? If you need more proof, I can tell you all about the Equestria games here--"
Scootaloo's mouth was held shut by magenta magic. "Okay, I believe you," he said as he released his magic and saw their gushing smiles and sighed. How could he ever question them? He nodded towards the castle as he walked past them. "Let's go, they're staying in the castle."
The girls tried their hardest not to squeal as they followed. They hadn't expected getting approval by the Empire would be an obstacle, but they were thankful it ended up fine. They watched as ponies of the Empire gasped and smiled in their direction, the houses sparkled in the night sky, the lamps still on. They smiled back, but were more or so distracting themselves from the approaching castle.
Just as she was done replaying her memories of their treacherous journey to the Empire, she heard an ear-bleeding scream. After she stared at Shining Armor wincing, she looked to the open doors and saw Rarity sitting there with her hooves over her muzzle, tears already streaming out of her eyes.
Sweetie Belle felt her heart break and fix itself again. She couldn't move, she could only stare at her sister, her knees failing her as she fell. Her mouth wouldn't open, her eyes wouldn't shut, and her body most definently wouldn't move. A smile was fixed on her face as tears rolled out of her eyes. Emotions she kept hidden for so long finally surfaced and she didn't think she would ever stop crying.
"Where are they!?" A brutish voice asked as she flew next to Rarity. She followed Rarity's hoof to the center of the throne room and saw Shining smiling softly as three young mares stood behind him. Rainbow Dash's wings slowed to a stop as she dropped down to the ground.
She couldn't care less about the other two, her stare locked on the orange mare with a purple mane, a cyan streak running through it. Scootaloo's smile couldn't be wider as Rainbow Dash watched her try to move. Rainbow Dash was frozen in place, her heart breaking as she saw her make-shift little sister standing there with tears pricking at her eyes, scars covering her body.
Their coats were slipped off almost the second they stepped inside the warm castle, but Scootaloo didn't think the castle was warm anymore. Her heart ached at the sight of her old fake-sister, but was warmed to any degrees higher than some random castle. Rainbow Dash looked the exact same, nothing had changed about it and Scootaloo couldn't be happier. It was Rainbow Dash, the real Rainbow Dash, not that monstrous look-alike that tried to keep them from getting here.
She covered her eyes with her hooves as she cried, almost not wanting to look weak in front of Rainbow Dash, but mostly because she couldn't bare to stare any longer. She couldn't watch her old idle after five years of being missing just sit there. She couldn't move, she was frozen in her place, it felt strange to want to hug Rainbow Dash and never let go, but she didn't care, she wanted to. Why couldn't Rainbow Dash hug her and never let go? Why did she know Rainbow Dash was asking the same exact question?
Apple Bloom smiled at her two friends, both sobbing at the sight of their sisters, or fake sister in Scootaloo's case. She tried to not let simply seeing Rarity and Rainbow Dash let her cry, they were old friends, and the heart-warming feeling the room had tempted her to cry with her friends.
But then she heard hoofsteps and she couldn't stay still. She walked slowly towards the door as the running hoofsteps got louder and louder. She stopped in front of the free spot in the door, the hoofsteps stalled to a stop and she stared up at Apple Jack, who was already crying and blurring her emerald eyes.
She smiled, feeling tears at her eyes but not letting them slip past. She stared up at her sister's wide gaze on her, her sisters eyes shaking, trying to find something to tell her the young mare in front of her wasn't Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom smiled softly up at her before looking down and laughing slightly and sadly. "My mane's longer," she whispered as she stared at the ground.
"I don't got such a big bow anymore," she continued, her voice breaking as her heart filled with joy, warm, unbridled joy. She finally looked up at her sisters confused, wide eyes. "I grew up," she said, tears finally falling out of her eyes. They only fell harder as Apple Jack wrapped her hooves around her silently and tightly. Apple Bloom shut her eyes as she heard hoofsteps run across the room, assuming Rarity and Rainbow Dash finally moved.
She didn't care anymore as she basked in the warmth of her older sisters hug, remembering how it felt five years ago when her sister hugged her. Memories she hadn't let in for five years finally surfaced, and she didn't mind as she remembered the Sisterhood Social, all the chores she had done with Apple Jack, all the times she ran away.
She smiled as tears fell out of her eyes. She finally got to see her sister again, her real sister. Not that mare that always looked at her with bored hate. But she found the sister that had eyes full of emotion and love directed at her.
"Oh my Celestia, it's really them!" They all heard a loud, bouncy voice followed by sets of hoofsteps. Apple Bloom looked up and saw Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy smiling with wide eyes tearing up at the sight of their old friends. She smiled at them and tipped her head when Pinkie Pie burst out in sobs.
Shining Armor chuckled as Cadence walked up to him with a smile and hugged him. Apple Bloom noticed the empty look on Twilight's face as she searched the room. She seemed to be the only pony that looked different, she was slightly taller, her wings slightly bigger.
"Is Spike here?" Sweetie Belle asked Rarity with a curious look. Rarity smiled and hugged her tightly one last time before backing away.
Rarity nodded. "Though he's probably still asleep," she said calmly as she stared at Sweetie Belle. She squealed and grabbed the mare, hugging her so tightly she might as well be suffocating her. "Oh! I just can't believe you came here to find us!"
"Of course we would!" Sweetie Belle gushed. "We've been looking for you ever since you left," She said sweetly, no harm behind it, but it still caused Rarity's shoulders to fall.
Rarity sniffled. "I'm so sorry I left you behind! I would've taken you with us if I could have," she begged for her sister's understanding, but Sweetie Belle was already smiling motherly, as if she was the big sister.
"It's okay," she started sweetly. "It really is," she continued comforting her sister, even cupping her face and giggling to herself at her sister's dramatic crying.
Rarity burst out in sobs again. "B-but.... now you're older!" She sobbed, falling down to Sweetie Belle's hooves and clinging to them as she bawled. "Y-You c-cu-cut your hair!" She stood up, grabbing Sweetie Belle's mane. "A-an-and y-you... you cut your-your beautiful mane!"
Sweetie Belle smiled softly as she dealt with Rarity's dramatic crying and worries and objections as she mostly complained about Sweetie Belle's haircut. She missed Rarity's theatrics, she missed Rarity's face, she missed Rarity's voice, she missed Rarity.
Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo now stood next to each other, not blinded by their emotions enough to keep hugging each other. Rainbow's heart was breaking as she noticed the scar across Scootaloo's check, skin showing through as her fur that wouldn't grow back. Rainbow would look down to the rest of her body, scars covering her neck and hooves, her torso and her hind legs.
"Where did all those come from?" She asked worriedly, she couldn't keep her eyes off of them. Her fake little sister had encountered more dangers in five years than Rainbow did in her entire life.
"Fights," Scootaloo boasted like it was something to brag about. "We all got pretty good at fighting, oh yeah!" She said before she flew up into the sky, her wings only slightly smaller than Rainbow Dash's. Rainbow Dash stared with wide eyes and her mouth agape. "I can fly!"
Rainbow Dash shook her head and flew up to her, she grabbed Scootaloo's shoulders and narrowed her eyes. "You can't be proud of those scars! You're young!" She fought angrily. Scootaloo rolled her eyes and pushed her mentor off of her.
"They're cool, I look twenty percent cooler!" Scootaloo cheered, making Rainbow Dash notice the scar on her wing. She groaned.
"We're getting Zecora to make something to get rid of those," Rainbow Dash pushed, knowing Zecora would have something to help Scootaloo look like her old self. She narrowed her eyes on the streak in her mane. "And what's that? Don't you know dying your mane can ruin it?"
Scootaloo smiled at Rainbow Dash's motherly protection that she didn't know of-- wouldn't admit she had. "It's fine, Zecora did it. 'Sides, it's in honor of you."
"Of me?" Rainbow asked, completely astonished as she froze, her hoof pointed at her chest as she slowly hovered to the ground. Scootaloo nodded as she dropped down next to her, a smile on her face.
Rainbow Dash's eyes filled with tears again as she pulled Scootaloo into a tight hug and nuzzled her. "Oh, you little squirt!"
"Hey! I'm not little anymore!"
"You're still smaller than me!" Rainbow fought happily as Scootaloo growled in defense.
Apple Bloom hadn't let go of Apple Jack and Apple Jack hadn't let go of Apple Bloom as they sat in the warm feeling the room was full of. Reunion was a nice feeling. Apple Jack stroked her little sisters mane, catching the small bow connected to a rubber band she used to hold her pony tail in place.
"You're so big now," Apple Jack mentioned sadly, her tears still dropping onto Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom smiled and nuzzled up into her sister, hearing Rarity's crying and Rainbow and Scootaloo's bickering. She nodded as she recalled how nothing about Apple Jack had changed. It was same ole Apple Jack.
"Im really sorry, Apple Bloom," Apple Jack said as she pushed her away, staring at the ground as she shoulders shook with silent sobs. "I'm real sorry."
"'Bout what?" Apple Bloom asked with a smile on her face, her wide eyes searched her sister, hoping this wasn't some cruel joke. She hoped and prayed and begged this was Apple Jack.
"I left ya there," Apple Jack said after moments of silence, looking up at Apple Bloom with hatred in her features. Apple Bloom jumped, her mind seeing the blue and white jacket and those murky green eyes. She shook her head and saw emerald eyes and a clear torso, the words kicking in. Apple Bloom sighed in relief. "I just up and left ya, and Big Mac, and Granny Smith."
Apple Bloom's heart dropped at the name of their two other family members. Her mind ran with things to say, but she ended it with waiting until later. She didn't want to be the bearer of bad news so soon after just seeing her sister again. And if she was honest, she didn't want to think about it. She shook her head and smiled at her sister. "Don't worry," she said as she walked towards Apple Jack.
She smiled motherly, remembering the mother figure she had become for her village, the bigger leader she had become. She put a hoof on Apple Jack's shoulder. "If you didn't leave us, who would be here right now to bring you back?"
"Bring us back?!" Every pony but the Crusaders shouted in unison. Apple Bloom noticed the almost happy stares on them from everyone, everyone but Twilight, who looked worried out of her mind. She raised an eyebrow before Apple Jack blocked her view.
"You're here to bring us back?" Apple Jack asked happily, wide green eyes on her. Apple Bloom smiled and nodded, getting suffocated in a hug again and she watched as Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Fluttershy who was being crushed by a squealing Pinkie Pie.
They heard a flash and Apple Bloom didn't think she'd be happier to see a disgusting draconequus in her life. "Discord!" She smiled happily as Apple Jack let go of her. Discord smiled down at her with a smug look. He quickly noticed Fluttershy struggling to get out of Pinkie Pie's grip and snapped his claws, Fluttershy appearing outside Pinkie Pie's grip and a smile towards him.
He turned his attention back to Apple Bloom and snapped, a suit appearing on him, a top hat struggling to balance on his horns, and a cane appearing in his hand. "It is I, the Lord of Chaos!" He said, even though the Crusaders winced at the title. "Discord!"
Scootaloo laughed nervously as they all appeared in his arms. "Yeah, nice to see you too, buddy. But, um, maybe not call yourself that?"
"What? Discord?" He asked as he dropped them, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle catching themselves with flight and magic respectively as Apple Bloom just dropped to the ground with a scowl.
She glanced up and saw him stroking his beard in thought of what was most definently going to be a new name. "Maybe..." he started, but green magic covered his mouth so he couldn't even suggest a name. Sweetie Belle used her magic to floated up to his height and shook her head, telling him not to even try. He wiped the magic off his face and narrowed his eyes on her, pointing at her. "Don't even try magic with me, sister," he said rudely and cut off her magic, dropping her into Scootaloo's hooves that only pulled a bigger scowl from Apple Bloom.
"Well we meant the Lord of Chaos thing," Scootaloo explained, Rainbow Dash walking up behind her mirroring Discord's confused stare. Eventually every pony in the room, but Twilight, Apple Bloom noticed, was wearing a confused expression.
"Why?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah, it's kinda his thing," Rainbow added gesturing towards Discord with her hooves.
Apple Bloom sighed and glanced up at him, thankful there was something nice in his stare that was different from the draconequus he looked like. "That's kinda the title the guy who runs Equestria uses."
Discord's confusion wasn't cleared up as silence sat over them, the Elements being reminded of the ponies who ran Equestria. Discord suddenly understood as he snapped and nothing changed. "Oh! You mean that psychopath?"
"Yeah," Scootaloo shivered. "He's one of the worst of them."
"He was awful when we fought him," Fluttershy said quietly, brining up even more memories of the day they lost Equestria to those monsters.
Sweetie Belle smiled, wanting to comfort them. "He hasn't ruined Equestria like our Discord did when he first broke out of stone," she explained, seeing the relief wash over the crowd.
"Yeah, come to think of it, he ain't really all that bad," Apple Bloom thought back.
"What? You mean when he doesn't talk and doesn't target a part of Equestria to ruin daily?" Scootaloo said rudely, bringing despair over the Elements, and especially Discord, knowing his look-alike was causing that much havoc he'd grown past. "Oh, I-I mean..."
She looked for something to say to cheer them, mostly Discord, up. She found something and smiled. "Don't worry! He isn't nearly as bad as that stupid princess of his."
"I have a princess?" He asked in disbelief, although the Crusaders could see he was happy to not be the worst of the horrors haunting Equestria.
Sweetie Belle quickly realized Scootaloo was just searching for something to relate to Discord, not actually thinking of their rulers. "Yeah..." she said with a sneer to Scootaloo as she shrugged nervously. Sweetie Belle looked at Fluttershy and sighed, knowing they'd either be asked, or she could just say it now. She hung her head. "It's Fluttershy."
Every one, but Twilight again, gasped at the news. Some at the fact that Fluttershy was worse than Discord, which was most of them, and some at the fact that Fluttershy was Discord's 'Princess' in Equestria. Rainbow Dash grabbed Scootaloo, "Really? Fluttershy? With him!?" She asked with a gesture towards Discord. She smiled nervously. "No offense," she said, he obviously took offense.
"I'm really that horrible?" Fluttershy asked with tears in her eyes, obviously not caring about the other news.
Apple Bloom sighed. "No, Scoots was just tryin' to make Discord feel better. Don't worry, she doesn't do nothin'," she explained on Scootaloo's behalf. Fluttershy was quickly relieved as Discord seemed depressed again. Now she saw why Scootaloo had so frantically chosen Merciless to be the option. "S-still, he ain't that bad. Not as bad as, uh," she looked around the room desparately, wondering who would take the least offense. "Rarity!"
Sweetie Belle stared at her with wide eyes as if the idea in thought was bad, much less execution. She smiled nervously and looked over at Rarity with a wince. "What does that witch even do?!" She said, absolutely appalled. She huffed. "I'd be shocked if she did anything! She was so... so selfish last time!"
Sweetie Belle sighed before shooting Apple Bloom a grimace. She turned to Rarity with a nervous smile. "She, uh, she... um..." She fought to think of something.
"She has most of the stallions and mares in Canterlot working to make the dresses in her store, has a team to design the dresses, and steals from every store she walks past if it has something she wants," Scootaloo explained bluntly. She looked at all the angry stares and shrugged, "What?"
"That menace really does all those things?" Rarity asked breathlessly. After the Crusaders nodded, she put a hoof to her forehead as if she was going to faint. "Ugh, how despicable! I was right to name her Selfish!" She huffed even though tears bubbled at her eyes at the news. Sweetie Belle winced and went to hug her.
Pinkie Pie jumped in front of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. "Oh, oh! What does Pity do?"
"Pity?" Apple Bloom asked, exchanging a confused glance with Sweetie Belle. Pinkie Pie raised an eyebrow before she backed away with a laugh.
"Oh! I forgot! You guys weren't there when we named them!" Pinkie Pie giggled to herself. She took a deep breath before explaining everything. "Last book we decided we couldn't keep calling them 'other Rarity' and 'other Twilight' so we decided, 'hey! Let's give them names!' so we did," she explained before pointing to Rarity. "The evil, meany side's Rarity is Selfish," she said before she jumped over and hugged Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack. "Rainbow's Control, AJ's Tricks, named by Celestia herself," she said as she pointed at the two respectively.
She presented herself to the two as she stood up on her hind legs. "I named their Pinkie Pity cause she just looked so sad, I was gonna name her Sadness, but then Luna stepped in and suggested Pity," she explained lengthily before jumping over to Fluttershy. "Their Flutters was Cruelty," she said.
"Oh, she was just so mean," Fluttershy piped in as Pinkie Pie slid over underneath Twilight.
"And Twily here was Electricity cause she had, like, electrified magic!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Before they could blink, Pinkie Pie stood up and stood in front of them. "So! What's Pity like?"
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo blinked, trying to process what she just said. Scootaloo left it and declared it was impossible to decipher what was meant to be explained in ten minutes explained in one. She tried to think of the enemy's Pinkie Pie and finally remembered what she'd heard ponies say, and what she'd encountered. "She doesn't do much, follows 'round their Twilight--"
"Electricity!" Pinkie interrupted.
"Right, uh, Electricity. She just follows her around her like a puppy," Scootaloo said, expecting Pinkie Pie to be disappointed, and then happy she didn't cause any trouble, and erupt in a civil war of her own mind. Instead, Pinkie Pie just smiled happily.
"Yeah, I thought she was doing that," Pinkie Pie said simply with a smile as she trotted off and sat down next to a squalling Rarity crying about how much she must be terrorizing Equestria. She giggled to herself and didn't expand on it.
Scootaloo just stared at her as Discord snapped and appeared next to her. "Now, I'm curious," he said tauntingly. He smirked as he pointed at Rainbow Dash. "What does Control do? Because our Rainbow Dash is a walking, flying I should say, hazard all on her own."
"What was that, Mr. Weather trouble?" Rainbow growled before looking at Scootaloo with a worried stare. "Please tell me she wasn't as bad as she was when I fought her."
Scootaloo sighed before looking down. Rainbow Dash sat down, staring out in an existential crisis, she flew over to Scootaloo's hooves and latched on. "Please, pretty please, tell me she's not the worst."
Scootaloo smiled slightly. "She's not the worst," she reassured, Rainbow sighing in relief and letting the tension in her body go. "But she's one of the three worst ones," Scootaloo winced as she saw Rainbow's sad stare.
"Tell me what she did," Rainbow sat up with a growl and furrowed eyebrows, determination in her eyes. "So I know what I have to pay her back for."
Scootaloo smiled at her determination before remembering all Control had done. She sighed. "She runs the military, forces stallions into guards," Scootaloo sighed, looking away from Rainbow Dash's pained face. "She took over Cloudsdale, making it exclusive for pegasi and forcing some to stay there," she said, she couldn't bare to look at Rainbow Dash.
"She made more cloud cities for pegasi, they don't clear the sky most of the time," she listed, sensing Rainbow Dash's confidence and determination falter. She swallowed, knowing she was just about to hit the finishing blow. She closed her eyes and spoke fast. "And she changed the Wonder Bolts to the Shadow Bolts, and she made them pegasi exclusive," Scootaloo finished, peaking one up open and seeing anger etched into her fake sisters features.
Rainbow Dash flew up into the air, teeth bared as her eyes almost sparkled with enough hate to seem red. "Oh, she's getting it!"
Scootaloo almost smiled at the newfound determination in her sister, knowing anger was a good motivation. "Well, if she's not the worst..." Rarity started, still hugging Sweetie Belle tightly. "Who is?" She asked as silence filled the room, hanging over them.
Apple Bloom sighed and looked up at Twilight, already seeing the scared look on her face. "Princess Twilig- er," -she noticed Pinkie Pie out of the corner of her eye- "Electricity."
Twilight hung her head at the thought that her look-alike, the mare she had fallen in a sick and twisted love with was the worst of the monsters she let take control of Equestria. She didn't feel anger, she didn't feel like getting revenge, she was just... empty. She almost expected it.
"Well to have done worse than Control, my, what could she have done?" Rarity asked before jumping as Sweetie Belle pulled her mane and pointed at Twilight. She laughed nervously, "I'm sorry Twilight..."
Twilight shook her head, she was barely listening anymore. "It's fine," she muttered, knowing her friends would take it as sorrow instead of the emptiness she was feeling. She almost growled at herself, feeling her heart blossom the tiniest bit at the idea of her look-alike. She could only imagine her in a stunning dress, a crown on her head as she danced across a ball room. And she saw her look-alike asking her to dance, only to take her hoof away and dance with a straight haired Pinkie Pie.
Her blood boiled, but that didn't override the empty. Nothing did, not hope that they could take back Equestria, not joy that the Crusaders were here, not fury that Equestria was being run by a bunch of scum. Not even anger that her look-alike, her Twilight had chosen some straight-haired, dull-colored, ball of sadness over her.
Though giving into her anger was more and more tempting the more she thought about it. She was pulled away from her thoughts when Apple Jack stomped a hoof down. "That's it!" She shouted, startling everyone in the room, but getting their attention.
"We're goin' back to Equestria," she said simply as she looked at Apple Bloom. "We didn't know how to do it, didn't know how we could even get there, much less take it back. But with you girls here," she started towards Apple Bloom, picking her head up with her hoof. "We got all we need right here in the form of you Cutie Mark Crusaders."
Apple Bloom smiled and hugged her, feeling the joy and happiness that was filling the room to the brim. "Harmony Crusaders," Scootaloo said. Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at her before smiling and going back to hugging her sister
"What?" Rainbow Dash asked her, hovering down until she landed on the floor next to Scootaloo. "You've always been the Cutie Mark Crusaders."
Scootaloo cowered away from her slightly, giggling nervously. "Um, we decided to change our name since we don't really... help ponies with their Cutie Mark's anymore."
"Yeah! Since we've been looking for you guys for the last five years, we decided to be the Harmony Crusaders!" Sweetie Belle explained. Rarity smiled down at her and hugged her again.
"Well, it don't matter what y'all's name is," Apple Jack said, looking down at Apple Bloom. "You girls gave us hope again, and this time, we'll win with it."
Everypony cheered, everypony but Twilight at the sudden news, who stood appalled with wide eyes, searching the room. "Now, we just need a way to get back, you girls got a plan?" Apple Jack asked expectantly. The Crusaders stared at each other with wide eyes, exchanging looks of worry.
Discord appeared over the three sets of sisters, but before he could save the day, light blue encased all of them, including Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. They all looked to Rarity, but when she shook her head they didn't know whose magic they were levitating off of the ground with.
"Stop!" They heard a voice and all looked over to Cadence with a sleeping Shining Armor encased in her magic next to her. She winced as he stirred and sighed when he didn't wake up. She walked over to the group with furrowed eyebrows and a still line for a mouth. "You need to rest, think of this in the morning."
"What!?" Rainbow fought against the magic binds. Cadence shot her a dangerous look, gesturing to Shining Armor and the crowd knew to stay quiet. Rainbow huffed and crossed her arms, blowing her mane out of her face.
At the mention of rest and the sight of Shining sleeping, the Crusaders felt warm in Cadence's magic and their adrenaline left their bodies as sleep tempted them. As Apple Jack and Discord went to fight Cadence, she shot them a stare that told them to be quiet. They didn't fight her as she talked slightly above a whisper. "We will discuss things when everyone wakes up, but the Crusaders haven't sleep in a bit and neither have the rest of you," she said as she slowly lowered them out of her magic.
"Now, go to bed," Cadence smiled motherly as she disappeared with Shining Armor still in her magic. Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared, shocking the others that he didn't think to go behind Cadence's back. Maybe he did understand the severity of the situation after all.
Rarity squealed as she hugged Sweetie Belle. "Your sleeping with me, I don't know how I'll ever let you go now," Rarity gushed as she held onto Sweetie Belle as the mare sleepily left the room, yawning a goodbye to the others. Apple Jack told Apple Bloom the same and the two walked out of the room together, only to be found in the hallway with Apple Bloom passed out on Apple Jack's back as she carried them to her room. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo raced to Rainbow's room, but Scootaloo ended up passing out at the end of the hall, having to be carried by Rainbow Dash to their room.
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie followed them, saying their goodbyes as Twilight sat there staring at the door as it shut behind her friends. Her chest heaved with fear as she crouched down, putting her hooves over her head as she cried, she felt like she was starting a new nightmare.
A long, dangerously real nightmare.