North Star
Sweet Tune read that as the first name when she quickly glanced over at the paper Orchard Drop was carrying. The first pony they were going to see. She’s heard the name before. To be honest, she’s heard all of these ponies’ names before. She’s pretty sure someone in the castle mentioned them one time or another. She asked Orchard Drop if she had any background information on the pony.
“North Star is a sixteen-year-old mare that lives in that crystal castle at the end of town,” Orchard Drop started. She pointed towards the said castle, despite it being hard to ignore.
“She’s the only other pony beside us who is considered royalty. She lives with her mother, father, and her little brother.”
“That’s it? Nothing about how she’s like?” Sweet Tune asked.
“Nothing on that. Our mothers have probably not seen this mare since she was a small child. It wouldn’t surprise me if they knew every detail about her,” Orchard Drop responded.
“But hey, we’ll probably know by the end of this... hopefully,” Sour Patch added.
The three of them approached the front doors of the castle. It took Sweet Tune a moment before she slowly knocked on the door.
“Why so hesitant? Are you nervous after all?” Orchard Drop said. Sweet Tune scowled at her.
Before she could give a response, the door slowly opened. The three of them noticed that there was no one on the other side. Sweet Tune looked back at her cousins for a signal, but the two of them looked just as confused. Slowly, she stepped inside, the other two followed her shortly after.
When the three of them entered the castle, the door loudly shut behind them. They jumped and turned around to face an alicorn mare at the door. Her dark blue eyes monitored them.
"Ah, it's you. I was expecting you," she said.
She had dark purple fur and her mane was a similar color to her eyes, accompanied by purple and magenta streaks. She had messy bangs hovering over her eyes. Her cutie marks were three yellow stars. As the mare made her way over to the three, Sweet Tune noticed how tall she was. She towered over the hybrid.
"You must be North Star," Orchard Drop said.
The mare silently nodded, "That I am. My mom got a letter from the queens and informed me about everything immediately. I know what's going on, so no need to explain." She gestured for the others to follow her down the hall.
"You see, when I found out about this, I decided to learn the most I could about where these guys could be, both our enemies and allies."
She opened a door to reveal a table with a map surrounded by ten chairs, one being smaller than the rest. The four ponies surrounded the map that was covered by various small papers with pictures drawn on them.
The pictures varied from an apple on fire, to a diamond, to some sort of trophy. The biggest paper had a bottle like the one around Sweet Tune’s neck. She could tell that the paper represented the enemy.
“The papers here in Ponyville represent the others on that list of yours. After a bit of research, I could easily find where they all live,” North Star started, “but I also found out where the camp and villains’ hideout are: The Everfree Forest.”
She pointed to the dark part of the map. It was an area covered in trees and gloomy clouds. She put a paper midway into it with a witch’s hat drawn on it, this was the camp. There was a mountain deeper into the forest where the paper with the bottle was placed on.
“So... to complete this mission, we have to go into that big, scary forest where there is a high chance of mild to severe injury and... I don’t know... death?!” Sour Patch said.
“Yeah,” North Star responded, “but c’mon, that’s what makes this whole thing fun. I mean, everybody’s gotta risk their lives once in a while.”
“I think I can get through life pretty smoothly without having to do that.”
Orchard Drop turned back to the map, “This is some great thinking on your part. It saves so much time. I don’t say this much, but good job.”
“I don’t know how honored I should be, but thank you,” North Star said, “So! Know that you guys are here, where to next?”
“You want to come with us?” Sweet Tune asked.
“Of course! I want to meet these guys just as much as you do.”
Sweet Tune picked up the list and a pencil. She crossed off North Star’s name and looked at the one under it.
Apple Crisp
“Hey, do you know any information on them?” she asked Orchard Drop.
The unicorn picked up a different paper with the needed information and scanned it, “Mare...14 years old...lives in the town farm, Sweet Apple Acres...well that’s rather interesting.”
Sour Patch looked at her, “What is it?”
“It says here that she is an earth pony, but a hybrid as well... a dragon one.”
“Wait!” Sweet Tune said as she took the paper from Orchard Drop. She read through it herself to see if her cousin was pulling her leg, even if she rarely told a lie.
Her face lit up, “She is! I’m not the only one! Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go get her!”
She bolted out of the room but came back soon after, “Yeah, I don’t know my way around here. Can you help?”
“Well, here it is. Sweet Apple Acres,” North Star said as the four of them approached the apple farm.
It was big. Fields upon fields of nothing but apple trees. In the center was a large red barn where one could assume the resident ponies lived. There was still room for pens where they held other animals.
"The barn isn't too far from the castle, so it's pretty easy to find."
"Alright, let's get on with it. The more you spend time here, the more time you waste," Orchard Drop said as she made her way towards the barn.
"All work, no play, isn't she?" North Star asked Sweet Tune.
"Don't even get me started."
The four of them roamed the fields for a sign that someone was around before going to the barn. While they were walking, Sour Patch heard the sound of hoofsteps trudging through the grass. He hesitated for a moment before following the noise. It didn't take him too long before approaching another pony.
"Howdy there! How can I help ya?"
The voice belonged to a purple mare. She had emerald eyes and freckles on her cheeks and nose. Her mane was a straw-like yellow mixed with green. Her hair was topped with a lime flower. Not only that, but she also had claws at the end of her hooves and a snake-like tail. Her cutie mark was a red apple with green fire. She had a friendly smile on her freckled face.
Sour Patch took a good look at her before realizing who she was, "Guys! I think I found her!"
The other three emerged from the trees and joined the other two ponies.
"Hi. My name's Sweet Tune. These are my cousins, Orchard Drop and Sour Patch, and this is North Star. You must be Apple Crisp."
Apple Crisp stared at them and was about to speak before pausing. Her smile disappeared and she looked around before facing the ponies in front of her again. Her smile returned.
"Howdy there! How can I help y'all?"
Sweet Tune was immediately confused, "I'm sorry, what?"
"Yeah, um, you- you already said that" Sour Patch added.
"I did? Oh, I guess maybe I did," Apple Crisp said as Orchard Drop looked back at the paper with her background information.
"Ah, I missed this when I first looked at this. Apple Crisp here was badly injured in the head during the original attack. This messed with her brain and resulted in some short-term memory loss."
"How could you miss that?" North Star asked.
"Anyways, hi," Sour Patch said, "I'm Sour Patch. Is there anything you do to remind yourself of things you need to remember?"
Apple Crisp thought to herself for a moment. Her face lit up, "Follow me!"
She led the ponies into the barn and up the stairs. She opened a door and walked inside. It didn't take long before she came out with a camera and a tape recorder.
"Oh, that's smart. Alright, start the recording. We have a lot to cover."
When Sweet Tune explained the entire thing, Apple Crisp stopped the recording. Sour Patch wrote something on a piece of paper and stuck it on the tape recorder. Confused? Just play this and get caught up.
"That should come in handy. Now let's get on with this. Who's next?" North Star asked.
Orchard Drop crossed out Apple Crisp's name and looked at the one below it.
Aviator/Hurricane
"There are two names here. I guess both meet the requirements to be a part of this. Aviator, a seventeen-year-old mare, and Hurricane, a sixteen-year-old stallion. Both are pegasi. There are nine elements, so I recommend we take the one that would be more of help," she explained.
"Oh yes, that doesn't sound even the slightest bit messed up," Sweet Tune said sarcastically, "let's just go."
"Oh right, about that they live up in the sky," Orchard Drop said.
"Really? I wonder if they've seen my old hamster. Momma says that he went up there too," Apple Crisp added.
All of them realized what it meant, "Oh hun..." North Star started, then paused, "you know what? Yes, they have."
Sweet Tune, Orchard Drop, and Apple Crisp followed on the ground while North Star and Sour Patch searched the skies for either one of the pegasus siblings. It was then that Sweet Tune realized how much it sucked to have two different types of wings.
North Star searched through the clouds to see if she could find anything. She looked at Sour Patch, "Have you found anything?"
Sour Patch looked over and shook his head. North Star sighed and kept looking. She then caught a glance at something different. It was not a rainbow. Well... yes, it had the colors, but it wasn't a rainbow. She stopped and looked back; it was a stallion. He was laying down on a cloud.
She flew over to the cloud and landed in front of him. He looked up with a look of confusion in his magenta eyes.
"Uh... hello?" he asked.
"Hi there. If you are who I think you are, what are you doing out here?" North Star responded.
"Why would you know who I am? No one's seen me since I was six."
"That confirms my suspicions. You're Hurricane, aren't you?"
The stallion's eyes widened, and he stood up at the mention of the name. His fur was a light blue color, and he moved his rainbow main away from his eyes. His cutie mark was a theatre mask in front of a trophy, both being surrounded by a blue ribbon.
"I can neither confirm nor deny that," he said.
"Just the fact that you said that confirmed it."
"Well, aren't you just Ms. Detective. What's next, finding out a way to get out of this prison that does not allow me to talk to others?"
He looked away for dramatic effect. North Star mouthed a silent, "Wow." She could tell the type of pony he was.
"You can help me with that. Well, not just me, you can help us."
Hurricane looked back at the alicorn, "Who's 'us?'"
North Star smirked and looked down from the cloud, "Guys! I found one!"
The two flew down and joined the others. Hurricane looked around and he had a realization.
"Wait, I know you guys. I remember my brother reading a letter about some of the children of the nine element bearers going and stopping these guys who attacked Equestria ten years ago... or something like that."
Sour Patch blinked, "Yeah, something like that."
"So yeah, I'm Sweet Tune, and these guys are Orchard Drop, Sour Patch, and Apple Crisp, and I'm guessing you've already met North Star."
"Ah yes, Ms. Detective," Hurricane remarked, "I'm Hurricane, a pleasure to meet you."
Orchard Drop crossed off both names on the list, "I think we're going to have to take you and leave your sister behind if that's okay with her."
"Brother actually, and I'm sure he'll be fine. He doesn't go out much anyway. Also, don't bother going on some long monologue about what's going on, I know everything."
"We figured," Sweet Tune said while taking the list from Orchard Drop.
Diamond Glow
The next name.
"Any information on them?" Sweet Tune asked Orchard Drop while pointing to the name.
"Let's see, fifteen-year-old unicorn mare who lives at the Carousel Boutique with her mother and younger sister. She also has a record of sneaking out and causing a bit of trouble in town. Mostly theft."
"Oh wow, a criminal. How exciting," Hurricane said.
"Or worrying," Sour Patch added.
"Well, I think that maybe she uses this rebel persona as a way to cope. Maybe she's just misunderstood and is struggling with herself. Maybe this is the only way she can control an overflow of a certain emotion," Apple Crisp said. Everyone looked at her with confused faces.
Apple Crisp shook her head, "But you know, she could just be a jerk and steal things for no other reason than to be mean. Maybe we'll never know."
Sweet Tune was about to say something when she heard some commotion coming from a distance. She started to walk over but was stopped by North Star.
"I think we have to let them figure out their problem. We are on a bit of a time limit."
Sweet Tune sighed, "Alright."
The six of them turned around to make their way to the boutique. Hurricane took one glance at the main part of town. He heard voices.
"Get out of here! You already cause enough trouble as it is!"
"Someone get her! She stole from my stand!"
"She's over there! Grab her!"
He then saw a small pony run out of the crowd wearing a cloak. They bumped into the stallion and looked up him. They had deep blue eyes.
"Watch it, will ya!" they said before continuing to run past him.
His eyes followed them until he heard more voiced behind him, "She went over there!"
Hurricane then quickly began to follow the pony, using his wings to get a bit more speed. He had a sneaking suspicion as to who they might be.
"Hey! Stop!"
He managed to chase them into an alley and backed them up into a dead end. He started to approach them a bit slower and gentler.
"Listen, I'm not trying to hurt you. I think I know who are. If you trust me, I'll get you out of this situation without being caught. You just have to hear me out," he said as he approached the cloaked figure.
There was a little silence between the two before the other pony pulled out something and pointed it at him. Their hood came down to reveal a white unicorn mare with the longest light blue mane. Hurricane looked down at the object she pointed at him.
"That- that's a knife. Where were you storing that?"
The mare ignored the question, "What makes you think I'm just going to trust a stranger who chased me down and acted like they know everything about me?"
"I don't know, that's what I did, like, ten minutes ago!" he yelled back.
The mare dropped the knife and clasped a hoof over his mouth, "Why don't you say it a little louder. I don't think all of Equestria heard you."
She dropped her hoof and backed away a bit. She took off the cloak, revealing a cutie mark of a shining diamond covered in dirt and bandages running up and down her front legs.
“Alright, then smart guy. If you know who I am, then who am I?” she asked.
Hurricane instantly recognized her, “You’re Diamond Glow. The daughter of Rarity, the element of generosity. You’re known for stealing things in the town market. Is it safe to assume that that’s what you were doing before you bumped into me?”
She looked a bit surprised, “I thought at first you were an idiot, but now you’re more on the creepy side... and yeah, but the jerks made me trip and drop everything I had.”
“That’s a shame,” Hurricane said with a hint of sarcasm, “Anyways, did your mother receive a letter talking about this group of ponies planning on taking over Equestria and her having to send you to stop them?”
“That’s... oddly specific, but yeah.”
“What a coincidence! Mine did too! I’m Hurricane, son of Rainbow Dash.”
“Diamond Glow, but you already know that.”
Hurricane smiled at her and stood up, noticing how tiny she was, “Let’s get you out of here and meet up with the others.”
Diamond Glow raised an eyebrow, “What others?”
“What do you mean you lost him?!” Orchard Drop looked at the others in disbelief. They were about to knock at the door of the boutique when she noticed Hurricane’s disappearance.
“I mean that he was right here, next to me, and now he’s not anymore. It’s not that hard to understand,” North Star said back.
“Who’s not here anymore?” Apple Crisp asked. Everyone ignored her.
“Well, maybe we should just recruit Diamond Glow and then split up and look for him again. It’ll be easier to do with another pair of eyes,” Sour Patch suggested.
Orchard Drop took a deep breath, “Glad to know that at least SOMEONE’s thinking with their brain.” The other three were slightly offended.
It was then that Sweet Tune saw two ponies approach them in the distance. She instantly recognized the stallion, but she hadn’t seen the mare before. She got the others’ attention.
“Hey, I think I found him.”
Hurricane noticed all of them look at him and nervously waved back. He realized he never told the others that he stayed behind.
“I bet you were wondering where I was.”
“As a matter of fact, yes we were. Now, where were you?!” Orchard Drop yelled.
“Funny story. I looked at what was happening in the marketplace and ran into the pony that was causing all that mess,” he started. No one was laughing.
“Well, I chased them down and backed them up into a corner. Turns out that it was the pony we were looking for in the first place. Isn’t that crazy? I know it is,” he noticed that he wasn’t helping the situation.
“Anyways, here’s Diamond Glow.”
The others turned their attention to the mare next to him. She looked around awkwardly.
“Hey.”
“So, these guys are Sweet Tune, Orchard Drop, Sour Patch, North Star, and Apple Crisp,” Hurricane explained.
“I am assuming that you got the letter or that at least Hurricane explained what was going on,” Orchard Drop said. Diamond Glow nodded.
“Well good, that saves time,” Orchard Drop said as she pulled out the list.
“What’s up with her and time?” North Star asked Sweet Tune.
“It’s just her thing. She runs on a tight mental schedule and will give you a hard time if you throw it off. She’s already been in a bad mood all day because this whole thing completely killed her daily routine.”
“Alright, let’s see who’s up next,” Orchard Drop started, “Fifteen-year-old pegasus.
Lives in a residence on the outskirts of town with their mother, father, younger brother, and baby sister. Also... half draconequus. Interesting.”
Hurricane’s face lit up, “Wait! I know who it is! I’ll lead the way.”
He began to walk, and the others reluctantly followed. Sweet Tune looked over her cousin’s shoulder to catch a glimpse at the name.
Jupiter
“Jupiter was a great childhood friend of mine. They still keep in touch with my brother through letters. I haven’t seen them since the day before the attack, I hope they still remember me,” Hurricane said as they made their way to the cottage.
“How do you still remember them?” Diamond Glow asked.
“Well, they’re pretty unforgettable. It’s not every day you meet a pony with chaotic magic.”
“And they’re another hybrid. That’s an automatic win to me,” Sweet Tune added.
“Hey! Look at the pretty cottage!” Apple Crisp pointed out. Everyone looked to where she was referring to.
“We’re here,” Hurricane said.
The cottage looked quaint, it looked welcoming and homey. It was also surrounded by grass and a river. It was something straight out of a storybook.
“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go,” North Star said.
It was quiet as the ponies walked towards the door. Too quiet. Sour Patch looked around, he felt the presence of another pony, or maybe he was just paranoid. He shrugged it off and kept going.
Diamond Glow heard rustling in the bushes. She stopped, “Did anyone else hear that?”
“I did,” Apple Crisp said.
“This place is known for being an animal sanctuary. I’m pretty sure it was just a small rodent,” Hurricane said.
Diamond Glow shook off the feeling and kept going. She paid closer attention to things.
It was Sweet Tune’s turn to hear something. It was the sound of someone laughing. It sent a chill down her spine.
It wasn’t only her that heard it. Everyone else heard it as well and stopped. That didn’t sound like it came from an animal.
“Just drop the act! I know it’s you!” Hurricane said, breaking the silence.
Just then, a pony crawled out from the bushes, “C’mon! I was just about to get to the good part! Geez, ten years, and the one-time ponies come up to my door, I can’t scare them.”
The ponies looked at the creature. They had a light-yellow coat, except for the gray tuft that went around their neck. Their back right leg was a zebra and their front left leg ended with a paw. Their wings ended with blue feathers and their eyes were a piercing red. Their short mane was a light pink mixed in with some gray and was topped off with a deer antler and a goat horn. They had a snake-like tail and their cutie mark was several rings laid out to look like an optical illusion. Everyone immediately knew that this was Jupiter.
“Yo, Hurricane! Long time, no see! How have you been?” they asked while approaching the stallion.
“Not too shabby, Jupiter. Although, I do miss this place,” Hurricane started, but remembered why he was there, “Oh, right! Jupiter, these guys are Diamond Glow, North Star, Sour Patch, Orchard Drop, Apple Crisp, and Sweet Tune. Guys, this is Jupiter.”
“My mom mentioned you guys. I reckon you’re here to start this whole ‘saving Equestria’ thing?” Jupiter said.
“Yeah. Is true that you can do chaotic magic?” Sweet Tune asked.
“If I could, I would. These buzzkills put me in these-,” they held out their front hood and paw which had some sort of hoof cuffs on them, “-when we first had to go into hiding. Scared I’ll use my magic to escape or cause chaos in Ponyville.”
“Oh yeah, about that,” Orchard Drop began. She walked over to them and her horn started to glow. She aimed it at the cuffs, and they came apart, falling to the ground.
“I think that your magic could come in handy during this mission, so there you go. You’re welcome,” she said.
Jupiter stared at what was previously their only obstacle to use their magic. They looked up at the ponies with a smile on their face. It didn’t look friendly; the others were scared.
With a snap of their fingers, they disappeared. They reappeared just a few feet away.
“Look what I can do!”
With another snap, they teleported somewhere else.
“I’m here!”
Snap.
“Now I’m here!”
Snap.
“Now you see me!”
Snap.
“Now you see me... again... but this time over here!”
With one final snap, they were back to where they started. They looked so excited, it looked like their head would explode.
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” they yelled. They were now using their magic to float around instead of flying with their wings.
“Here’s a thought,” Diamond Glow started, “Can’t you just snap your fingers and poof some power back into the elements?”
“I mean, maybe, but being half draconequus gives me only half the power. I’m not nearly as strong as my dad. Doing something that requires that level of energy would really take a toll on me,” Jupiter responded.
“Fascinating. I need to take notes on these types of things,” North Star said. Orchard Drop silently agreed.
“Aww. Why, thank you,” Jupiter gushed, being a bit overdramatic.
Orchard Drop crossed off their name and showed Sweet Tune the last one.
Cream Cheese
“Fifteen-year-old earth pony earth mare. She lives in the town bakery, Sugarcube Corner, with her parents, twelve-year-old brother, and six-year-old twin siblings,” Orchard Drop said, “She is also the last one on our list.”
“Good. I’m getting tired of this,” Diamond Glow stated.
North Star looked at her quizzically, “You haven’t even been with us for that long.”
“Well, let’s go. Cream Cheese, here we come!” Jupiter said as they floated away.
“Sugarcube Corner is that way,” Diamond Glow pointed in the opposite direction.
Jupiter turned around and floated the other way, “I knew that!”
Sugarcube Corner was busy when the ponies got there. It was the only bakery in town, so they weren’t surprised.
The bell hanging on the doorframe jingled as they stepped in, heads turned to the big group. It didn’t help that there were three hybrids, an alicorn, and a crystal pony in the mix. Diamond Glow even got ponies moving out of the way due to fear.
They approached the unicorn at the counter. She had an orange wavy mane, an orange cream coat, and a light blue bow in her mane matching the color of her eyes.
“Hello, how may I help you?” she asked.
“Hello. We’re here in search of a pony named Cream Cheese. Don’t say anything, but we require her for an urgent mission,” Sour Patch informed.
The pony blinked a couple of times, “Oh of-of course. She’s upstairs, first room the left,” she said as she pointed to the stairs on the other side of the room.
The ponies thanked her and made their way upstairs. As they approached the door, they heard many noises. Clinks and clanks of every sort.
“What is going on in there?” Hurricane asked a bit irritated.
Apple Crisp put an ear to the door, “Sounds like... construction?”
“Well, I guess the only way to know is if we go in ourselves,” Sweet Tune said. She then knocked on the door. The noises stopped, and the ponies could hear hoofsteps approaching.
The door opened to reveal an earth pony. She had a peach-pink colored coat and a pink and brown, poofy mane. Her eyes were a light green-blue color, and they showed a look of confusion. Her mane was topped off with a light pink bow. Her cutie mark was a wrench and hammer tied together with the same bow. She overall gave off a pure and innocent effect.
The one thing that threw it off was that she was covered in oil and grease. The noises were definitely from construction.
“Hi? Who are you?” she asked.
“Hi there. My name is Sweet Tune. These are my cousins,” she gestured to Orchard Drop and Sour Patch, “and they are North Star, Apple Crisp, Hurricane, Diamond Glow, and Jupiter.”
“Hi, I’m Cream Cheese,” she said back with a little wave, “Not to sound rude, but what are you doing here?”
Sour Patch looked through the room and couldn’t help but spot a letter on the mare’s desk. He pointed it out, “Have you read that letter yet?”
She looked back at it, “Yeah, I think I have.”
“Then you know why we’re here.”
She thought for a moment, then gasped, “Oh, you mean that was real!?”
They looked confused, “Of course it would be. Why wouldn’t it?” Orchard Drop asked.
Cream Cheese’s face showed a look of embarrassment, “I thought that letter was made up by some local ponies trying to scare me,” she chuckled nervously.
Diamond Glow raised an eyebrow, “Does that happen a lot?”
“Well, it happened once or twice, both a while ago. I just thought they were back at it again and I didn’t trust it. Now I know it’s real, and Equestria,” she paused, “Equestria is actually in danger?”
“Yeah. That’s why we need you. You’re the daughter of Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter,” Sweet Tune said, “Your mother, along with ours’, saved Equestria multiple times. Now it’s time for us to take their place and become the new protectors of Equestria.”
Jupiter leaned in, “How long have you been practicing that for?”
Sweet Tune glared at them turned back to Cream Cheese, “So, what do you say?”
Cream Cheese thought for a moment, “Can you excuse me for just one second as I think about it?” She closed the door on them.
There was about a second of silence until they heard squeals coming from inside the room. “YES! YES! YES! FINALLY!”
The door opened once more, Cream Cheese looking a lot calmer and not knowing that the others heard her, “Let’s do this.”
“Okay then. Clean yourself up, I say we should all go out to lunch, pack up, and leave first thing in the morning,” Sweet Tune said. They all agreed.
They had the team together. Sweet Tune thought that everything would be so much easier now that they had help. Those villains don’t know what’s coming for them.
But what she didn’t know, is that they exactly knew what was coming for them, for they had eyes everywhere. A shadow that was in Cream Cheese’s room moved all on its own. It traveled through the town and into the Everfree. At the end of the forest was a mountain that the shadow traveled upon. It entered a cave and turned into a pony.
She was a unicorn mare. Her coat was gray and was covered in seaweed and barnacles. She had red tentacles for hair and her ears were fins with multiple earrings. Gills ran down her neck which had a necklace with a purple substance tied around it. Her eyes were green with a purple flame-like light glowing around them. She wore a torn pirate hat on her head. Her cutie mark was tentacles wrapping around a sword and a pirate flag.
She approached a unicorn stallion. He had a dark magenta coat, black mane, and red eyes. His face and limbs looked torn and mauled, exposing some flesh and bone. He wore a top hat. His cutie mark was the same hat with bloodstains, one being the outline of a paw. He had the same necklace, but with a black substance.
He noticed the mare walk in without even looking up from the map on the table he was sitting at.
“What do you have to report, Shadow?” he asked.
“I just came back from that incredibly annoying bakery. I saw that the children of the Element bearers have officially met each other and are planning on heading over here tomorrow morning,” the mare replied.
He looked up at her, “Well, that’s great news,” he paused. He suddenly slammed his hooves on the table, “If you planned to fail! We can’t have them coming this soon! We need to create a distraction, something to keep them there for just a little longer.”
He thought for a moment then came up with an idea, “POISON IVY! BUD!” he yelled.
Two ponies walked into the room. They were younger than the other two.
One was an earth pony mare. She had brown fur and her mane was teal and was tied up into a bun by some thorned vines. The vines went down and wrapped around her eyes. She did have an eye in her hair which she used to see. Her teeth were sharp, and her cutie mark was an eye surrounded by some vines. Her bottle had a dark purple substance.
The pony next to her was a pegasus stallion. His coat was a light blue, and his hair was black. His eyes were dark blue, and a protective armor of the same color ran down the back of his neck. His cutie mark was a mask. His bottle was dark blue.
“Yes, Dark Magic?” they both said.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but our little pony friends have already teamed up. As you can see, we are not ready. So, as you two being our rookies, I’ve decided to let you figure out a way to distract them. Buy us some extra time. Do whatever you like, just don’t hurt them,” he said.
“I’m honored to have been given this mission, sir,” Poison Ivy said. Dark Magic smiled at her. He looked at Bud and waited for a response.
Bud looked up and noticed Dark Magic’s gaze resting on him, “Uh, yeah. They teamed up, buy some time, do whatever we want, don’t hurt them. Got it!”
Although not being pleased with the response, Dark Magic let them go. Once they were gone, Shadow spoke up.
“Dark Magic, if you want us to succeed so much, then why don’t you have those two get rid of them?”
“You see, Shadow,” Dark Magic started, “the only way they could restore the elements is by coming here to where Tree of Harmony planted one more seed before it was destroyed. We can’t have the power they possess until they are restored. So, we are having them bring the elements to us. They think they’re just going to restore them and save the day, but in reality, they are just walking straight into our trap.”
Shadow thought about it, then smiled.
“Isn’t it brilliant? No one will ever see it coming! Now go rally the others. We have to make sure we’re ready for our visitors," Dark Magic ordered.
Shadow turned and walked out of the room, “You’re right,” she said quietly, “No one will see it coming.”