The large double doors opened silently, allowing Twilight Sparkle and her remaining friends to walk into the entrance hall of Canterlot Castle. Of course, their eyes didn't bother to wander to the splendid, breathtaking decor that surrounded them. Instead, they immediately set off for the top of the stairs where Celestia herself stood waiting a concerned look on her face. "We got here as fast as we could, Princess," Twilight said as they reached the top of the stairs.
"Twilight, it's good to see you and your friends are well," Celestia replied with a nod, though she quickly noticed the absence of Pinkie Pie. She wasn't shocked, however; Twilight had explained everything in her letter.
Immediately after Gilda's curse had finished, the group decided to head back to the library, both to put Gilda there for safe-keeping and to have Spike send urgent word to the princess about everything that had happened so far today. Of course, it hadn't taken her very long to reply, agreeing to send transport for them to see her immediately. Minutes later two chariots had arrived, each capable of pulling two ponies. Rainbow had chosen to fly alongside the guards pulling them while the other four rode, Spike staying behind at the library to hold down the fort, so to speak.
Celestia lead the five to the Chamber of Harmony, talking along the way, "As soon as you sent word to me about Discords return, I went to check the vault where I had him imprisoned in after you defeated him. I knew it was too dangerous to risk him breaking out again. Well, you can imagine my shock when I found his statue had indeed disappeared." While the princess sounded like her normal, real self, Twilight could easily detect the worry in her mentors' voice after so many years of studying under her.
"But then, who could have possibly been able to know where he was, yet alone free him?" Twilight asked as she looked up at the Princess.
Celestia could only shake her head sadly, yes closed, "I'm afraid I have no idea about that. But I can assure that the royal guard has been put on high alert and and I'll personally be heading up an investigation on who did this." By now they were in the Chamber, Celestia heading up and unlocking the vault the held the Elements of Harmony. "There is one bit of good news, however," she said as she floated the chest out in front of the girls. She then opened it to reveal all six of the Elements, still inside. "I have no idea why but Discord didn't take the Elements of Harmony, unlike last time," she said, watching as Twilight floated each one of them out.
"Yeah, probably because he knew it wouldn't do him any good, just like last time!" Rainbow proclaimed as the element of Loyalty settled around her neck. "Discord had better watch out, because when I find him, I'm gonna... I'm gonna... well, I don't know what I'm gonna do just yet, but it sure won't be pretty!"
"Rainbow Dash, you need to calm down," Twilight said, settling the Element of Magic on her head. "Discord wants you to lose your temper and be angry. He wants to try and get to all us, that's why he had Gilda kidnap Pinkie Pie. Speaking of which, before we even think of fighting Discord, we have to find Pinkie Pie, which won't be easy since we have no clue where she could be. But it's the only way we can use ALL the Elements. It's the only way they'll work."
"Actually Twilight, that's not entirely true," Celestia suddenly said, making them all turn to her.
"What do you mean, Princess?" the violet mare asked, looking up at her teacher in confusion.
"The Elements of Harmony are normally used to rid the world of any chaos that threatens the order of the world, that is true," Celestia explained, "And as you just said, it only works when all six Elements are together and sharing all their strength. However, separately, each Element of Harmony is capable of being a formidable fighting weapon alongside magic and physical battles."
"And, just what can they do, exactly?" Rarity asked.
"I think it would be best to just try it yourself, actually," Celestia answered. "I understand you're in a hurry to save your friend, but it would be best if I gave you a few pointers before you leave on your adventure."
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Tutorial on Battle
Celestia walked away from Twilight and her friends, standing across them in a defensive stance. "Now, while rather basic, the Elements powers are impressive. Each one harnesses a well of magical harmonic energy and can manifest it into a strong discharge of power," Celestia answered.
"Wait, so their like laser blasters?" Rainbow asked. She grinned, "That is like, so totally awesome!"
"Well yes, I suppose you could call them a laser blast," Celestia went on. "However, you can also charge the energy as much as you feel you need to release a much stronger attack. And, if you let each one charge long enough, they'll grant you each temporary, special powers."
"Powers? Like what, exactly?" Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I wish I could say, but the powers are unique to every pony who wields them. They could be anything, but they're more than likely to be connected with your special talents," the Princess answered. "I wish you didn't need to, but I have a feeling that you're going to have no other choice then to harness these powers of the Elements of Harmony to help save Pinkie Pie and defeat Discord. But it wouldn't do you well to try and go off without knowing how to use the Elements, so I want you to try and strike me down."
Twilight was shocked by her mentors' words. And she wasn't the only one; her friends all had looks of surprise and shock on them. "B-but, Princess... we, we couldn't possibly do that to you!" she protested.
Celestia smiled a bit, "Don't worry about me, Twilight; I have enough power to defend myself from your attacks."
"Oh, of course," Twilight said, chuckling nervously. How had she forgotten she was the Princess, capable of moving the sun? She could easily conjure up a strong shield spell.
"Well, I if she'll be okay, then it wouldn't hurt to try these powers out, would it?" Rainbow asked Twilight. After a minute, she nodded in agreement.
"I guess not, if the princess is so willing and able to defend herself," Twilight said. "Okay Princess, what do we have to do?" she asked.
"It's quite easy; just focus intently on your Elements," Celestia instructed, "Feel their power coursing through your bodies, waiting to be tapped into."
They all nodded, closing their eyes to help focus. Twilight was the first to feel it after about a minute; something new, more than even her magic, moving all throughout her body in an even, constant flow.
"Now, channel a bit of that energy into the Elements themselves," Celestia went on. Not even a minute later, all the gems on the Elements began to glow, slowly getting brighter. "And, when you feel enough energy is stored up in them, relax your thoughts and let the energy release."
Almost at once, five blasts of energy shot at her in the form of a red lightning bolt, a butterfly, an apple, a diamond and a starburst. However, they failed to strike her, due to Celestia butting up a sun-yellow wall of magic in front of her, the blasts meeting it and dissipating harmlessly on its surface.
"Impressive," Celestia said, smiling more, "I can see you've all got a knack for this. Now, the power you pour into the Elements can be built up steadily over time, allowing for a much stronger attack the longer you wait to attack. I want you all to charge up your energy and hit me with a stronger attack then just now."
The girls nodded and focused again, though they held it for about a half minute this time, instead of only a few seconds. The result of the extra wait was quite obvious when they let the energy loose. The shots were much bigger than before and glowing brightly. Still though, her shield kept her protected.
"Well done, my little ponies," Celestia praised with a nod. "As you go on your adventure, you'll find your skills with the Elements improving as time passes and you gain experience with them. But don't rely entirely on them; their supply on energy does have its limits, and takes time to recharge. And remember, you can only use the special attacks if you let their energy charge up to max.
"I'm afraid that's all I can really instruct you on; the rest you'll learn about as your journey progresses; I have a feeling that things won't be settled with Discord as soon as before. But remember, I have faith that you'll save Pinkie and defeat Discord for good!"
End Tutorial.
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"Thank you for teaching us about this Princess," Twilight said, her and her friends bowing in respect to their ruler.
They soon came back up, and it was Rainbow Dash who spoke first, "Well, with all that out of the way, Princess..." She looked up into Celestias eyes, trying and failing to keep a pleading look out of her own, "I know Twilight mentioned what happened to Gilda in the letter, and I was wondering if it was possible to... you know..."
Celestia sighed, shaking her head sadly, "I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, but there is nothing I can do to free your friend. The curse on her was placed by Discord, and not even I can counter his devious, destructive magic. The only way to free her, the only way to free any pony placed under his curse of stone, is to defeat Discord."
The sky blue Pegasus was quiet for a few seconds, her face unreadable. But she slowly raised it back up, a look of determination on her face, "Well then Discord had REALLY better watch out now! He's not gonna get away with any of this stuff he's done! Come on girls; let's go kick some god of chaos butt!" With that, she spread her wings and flew towards to door, only to find herself yanked back by her tail, which was wrapped in a purple, shining aura that matched the one now around Twilights horn.
"Again, calm down Rainbow Dash," Twilight said, watching as her friend reluctantly landed beside her. "Remember, we have no clue where Discord could be, and our top priority at the moment is finding and rescuing Pinkie Pie before he tries anything on her."
"Well, we'd better find a way to find her real soon, then," Applejack piped up, walking up beside them. "Ah mean he's had all day ta try all sorts 'a things on her..." The five of them all stopped at her words, trying not to imagine what could be happening to their friend right now.
"Wait, no, we can't think negative, girls! Discord wants to demoralize us," Twilight suddenly said. "Come on, we have to head back to Ponyville and try to find some clue on where she could have been taken."
Her friends nodded and were about to start walking towards the door when, suddenly all of them as well as the Princess, found themselves blinded by a sudden bright flash of light. Instinctively, the group huddled together beside Celestia, all now on high alert and ready in case something had appeared to do Discords bidding.
However, the sight waiting for them once the light died down wasn't anything they'd expected. They were surrounded, but not by anything they would have expected. Forming a sort of square around the six were a stack of rocks, a sack of flower, a ball of lint, and a bucket of turnips. "Sorry, but am I the only one who's seeing a bunch of rather filthy-looking inanimate objects around us?" Rarity asked while dropping the defensive stance she'd taken. For some reason, Fluttershy was still cowering behind her, however, though she'd clearly seen the objects as well. But that was most likely the shock she was still in.
Rainbow Dash, however, groaned, and put a hoof to her forehead, "Oh for the love of, not this again!"
Suddenly, the stack of rocks started hopping up and down, apparently on its own. And, even though there was no visible mouth, it seemed to speak in a low, gruff voice, "Yes again, ya chump!" Suddenly, the voice was joined by three others as thy started to laugh, all the objects hopping and moving in place as they did so.
Twilight looked to her friend. It seemed clear she knew something, but wasn't letting on to what. "Rainbow, care to tell us what's going on here?" she asked.
Rainbow Dash nodded, "Well, remember when we threw Pinkie the surprise party a while back on her birthday party?" Twilight nodded and she went on, "Well, when I came to get her, she was acting all weird and stuff. You saw she was angry, but the weirdest thing was that she was actually talking to all these things." She motioned to the normally inanimate objects with a hoof, "She was only throwing her voice to make them answer her and all that, and they sure weren't alive back then. Discord must have used his crazy chaos powers to bring them back."
"That's exactly right!" Sir Lints-a-Lot piped up, "And trust me, getting your face sat on is nothing compared to what Pinkamena has in store for you and your friends, Rainbow Dash!" His voice held a tone of joy to it.
"Wee, zat is correct!" Madam Le Flour added in her thickly accented voice, waving her 'arms' around as she spoke. "Now zat Miz Pinkamena iz back, she can be all ours again!"
"And if you chumps are smart, you'll stay away from our hideout in the old Princesses castle in the Everfree Forest!" Rocky told them. "Unless you wanna be baked into our next batch of cupcakes that is!" he laughed. The other objects joined in his laughter before vanishing in another flash of light, leaving only the slowly-dispersing echoes of their laughter behind.
For a minute, the group stood, or in Fluttershys case, cowered, in silence. Rainbow was quick to break it, however, standing up to her full height. "Well, looks like we know where we're going first!" she proclaimed, grabbing the Element of Laughter out of the air where Twilights Magic still held it. She lifted it up in the air dramatically, "Don't worry Pinkie Pie; we're coming to save ya!" The others were quick to agree.
"Well then, let's get to it!" Applejack said, smiling and standing beside her friend,
"Agreed; I could never let Pinkie Pie be kept in such a filthy place, and with such poor company," Rarity added.
"That's right; we won't leave Pinkie Pie with those things in the forest!" Twilight said.
"O-oh, well... I guess, if you're all going, I-I'll come to," Fluttershy added in her soft voice as usual, still shaking a bit from the recent events.
"Come on then, girls! Let's get back to Ponyville!" Twilight exclaimed, going at full gallop towards the exit, her friends in tow.
"The best of luck to you, Twilight Sparkle! To all of you!" Celestia cried after them as they rushed out.
*****************************************************************************************
As soon as the chariots landed, the girls hopped off and went at full gallop towards the forest, Rainbow leading the way in the air, wings flapping madly. Every moment at this point was a moment lost towards saving Pinkie. They didn't have time to go back to their homes and grab anything; even Twilight knew that, she painfully told herself.
"Come on girls, pick up the pace!" Rainbow yelled back as she broke through the first row of trees. Knowing better then to try and fly inside a place like the Everfree, Rainbow dropped to her hooves, moving fast but still slow enough the others could catch up with her.
"We're trying Rainbow Dash!" Twilight called to her as she and others gained on their friend. "But you can't go so fast; we aren't all as athletic as you!" she pointed out as Rainbow slowed down even more, letting her and the others finally meet up with her.
"Right, sorry. It's just that, well, Discord already got his hands on Gilda and... And I don't think I could take it if he got to Pinkie Pie too..." Rainbow gulped.
"We know how you're feeling, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said as she came up to her side. "Pinkie Pie is our friend just as much as she's yours. However, we mustn't get overworked because of that. It will do us no good if we find her and are too exhausted to help her," she explained, "Now if you would kindly slow down to let the rest of us keep the pace with you, we can get our bearings and continue down the proper path."
"Rarity's right; you were going in the wrong way entirely, Rainbow," Twilight said, pointing a hoof to her right, "That's the way we went last time we went to the Ancient Castle."
"Oh, right. Um, sorry," Rainbow said with an embarrassed blush, following the others as they went the proper direction. It wasn't too long until they suddenly found themselves in a small clearing amidst the trees, however.
"Funny, ah don't remember this bein' here the last time," Applejack said, looking around.
"Um, m-maybe we went down another wrong path? If, if I can say that, I mean..." Fluttershy stammered, looking around as well.
"Oh, don't worry, you're on the right path, all right!" a sudden voice boomed. It was loud, echoing out over the clearing from every direction, clearly magically magnified. It was also vaguely familiar, as well. The voice continued, "However, this is as far as you'll ever be able to go, Twilight Sparkle and friends!"
With that, there was a burst of smoke and flash of light and sparkles. When the cloud dispersed, a familiar unicorn stood in front of them, her coat an azure blue and her mane and tail long, shimmering silver. Atop her head was a pointed, purple hat spangled with silver and gold stars, matching the cape adorned on her back that covered the wand and sparkle cutie mark on her flank.
"Long time no see, Sparkle. The Great and Powerful Trixie has been waiting for this moment for a long time!" Trixie proclaimed, her voice no longer magnified but still loud due to her shouting, even from across the clearing.
"Waiting? For what?" Twilight asked as she raised an eyebrow, genuinely confused.
"For ruining my career, for ruining my whole life!" Trixie yelled at her, stepping a bit closer. "Ever since that whole incident with the Ursa Minor, no pony anywhere has wanted to see Trixie's act! She finds herself without an audience wherever she goes, and consequently without any bits to make a decent living. I've had nowhere to live for months now, and it's your entire fault, Twilight Sparkle. You showed Trixie up with your magical skills, and for that, you must pay!"
Twilight was silent for a moment, trying to take in the shock of everything she'd just heard. "R-really? You mean, you've been suffering all this time for that?" she asked incredulously. Yes, Trixie's act had consisted mainly of boasting and humiliating her friends, but not even that was enough to have some pony leading a life like this. "Trixie, I... I had no idea. I'm sorry..." she said, heading hanging low.
However, she suddenly felt herself pushed to the side. Looking, she saw Applejack, now standing beside her, a glare on her face.
"Don't ya dare apologize ta this snake, Twilight," Applejack said, her glare not wavering from its direction at Trixie. "Ya'll didn' so anythin' wrong, ya were just protectin' the town. Which is a lot more then ah can say fer this Las Pegasus reject! Besides, if she hadn't gone and been boastin' and inflatin' her ego so darn much, those two colts wouldn't have gone and brought that Ursa ta town in the first place," she explained, scowling at Trixie the whole time. "She's just a big jerk is all she is and she ain't worth a courtesy nod, much less an apology!"
Trixie's face was unreadable as she looked at applejack. However, her eyes failed to hide the anger that flashing behind them. "Really, is that what you think, little hayseed?" she asked, her voice growling a bit as she spoke. "Fine, you think all that was boasting, then how about some proof!?" Suddenly, she ducked her head down, her horn pointed right at Applejack. Before the farm pony could possibly react, she shot a pure, concentrated beam of magic at her, sending her flying backwards into the others four and knocking them all back, leaving only Twilight standing, a look of shock on her face. "And while we're at it, how about this!?" Trixie asked, stomping her hooves on the ground. Suddenly, a wave of light rose up from the ground in the short gap separating Twilight from her friends. The wave formed a perfect circle all around the edge of clearing, stopping when it was a good ways up in the sky before turning in on itself, stopping any entrance from the sky as it met with itself in the middle of the sky, making the whole barrier it had formed completely solidify.
"How's that for impressive? That barrier will keep those annoying little pests you refer to as friends out of the way while I destroy you, Sparkle! There's no way in or out unless you defeat me, which will never happen with my new found power!" Trixie announced proudly, an evil smirk on her face. "And after I've finished you off, your friends will meet a similar fate! And I, The Great and Powerful Trixie, will do all this in the name of my new, incredible master, Discord!"
Twilight's look of shock increased as her friends came forward, hitting and shoving at the invisible wall with all their might, but it was clearly no good. Even a blast from their necklaces didn't look able to bring it down. She held up a hoof, however, as they were about to try again, "Don't bother girls; I can tell she's right, you can't take this thing down. It's like Discords curse of stone; I have to beat Trixie to take it down..."
"Which Trixie won't allow!" the show mare butted in.
"But don't worry, it shouldn't take me to long," Twilight finished, eyes suddenly filled with determination as she turned back to Trixie and reared back, looking ready to charge. "You can insult me all you want, Trixie, but I won't stand here and let you mock my friends like that! I let you go last time because I thought you could learn your lesson, but it's clear I was wrong if you were so willing to partner with Discord! Trixie, I'm not letting you stop us from reaching Pinkie Pie, so either stand aside or try and fight me!"
Trixie just laughed at her words, however. "Bold words coming from you, Sparkle! Alright, let's see if you really do have the might to match that of The Great and Powerful Trixie!"
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Boss Battle: The Great and Powerful Trixie
Boss Music: Dimentio Boss Battle Theme from Super Paper Mario
Twilight charged forward, running fast as her hooves could carry her, eyes narrowed as she rushed at Trixie. The show mare just scoffed, however, aiming her horn at Twilight and shooting a burst of pure magic at her. However, Twilight quickly managed to dodge the shot by simply moving to the side of it. The starburst on her tiara began to glow as she sent a shot from it right at Trixie. However, her horn sparked and the blast dissipated as it hit the force field she'd conjured up after letting her attack lose.
Trixie laughed at Twilights shocked look. "Surprised Sparkle?" she asked tauntingly. "Discords powers have given my own a boost! You could never have stopped Trixie before, anyway, but now she's stronger than ever, thanks to her new master! Now, not even your precious Element can harm The Great and Powerful Trixie!" she proclaimed once again.
"We'll see about that, Trixie," Twilight said, jumping back from her a bit. "If there's one thing I've learned in all my years of reading, it's that no defense is perfect," she said, "All I have to do is find your weakness and exploit it."
"Like Trixie would give you a chance!" the show mare growled, sending more magic at her, only now in three bursts instead of a single, straight beam. Twilight was quick to bring her own wall of defensive magic, of course, but she could feel the power behind the blasts as they struck her shield, the flashes of light that came with them making her shield her eyes. Trixie sure wasn't just boasting now; they were strong! Dodging was probably the better way to go, she thought to herself as she looked back over at Trixie.
And she noticed it; Trixie's wall of magic was down. That was it! She couldn't keep the shield up when she went to attack! She didn't get a chance to try for an attack, however, as Trixie suddenly shot a new attack at her. This time, her magic flared as it enveloped her front hooves. She raised them up and brought them smashing to the ground, a blue ring shooting from underneath them and spreading in all directions.
However, all it took was a well-timed jump from Twilight to avoid it. She noticed Trixie hadn't brought her shield back up. In fact, the power behind her last attack seemed to have a bit much for her, leaving her eyes a bit unfocused and looking dazed. This was her chance! Twilight galloped forward, her elements stone glowing as it aimed three shots at Trixie.
All three were dead center, striking her chest and legs and making the show mare stagger back in shock. "Those were for humiliating my friends the last time you were here!" Twilight yelled all feelings of remorse for Trixie now gone after the display of her magic, which was clearly aiming to bring her down for good. "And this one's for siding with Discord!" she added as she spun on her front hooves, giving Trixie a strong buck to neck and winding her.
Trixie wheezed, trying to get her breath back as she got to her full height again. "Fine, you want to play dirty, Sparkle? Then let's play!" With that, her horn sparked back to life and she vanished in a flash of pale purple light.
Twilight was momentarily shocked. She hadn't expected Trixie to be able to teleport, even wait aid from Discord. She was therefore to distracted to notice her reappear on her left and send three bursts of magic at her. Manage to dodge around two, but the third hit her in her front right leg.
It was painful, to say the very least. The raw magic seemed white hot, searing at the skin and flesh under her coat. It felt like she'd pressed her leg against a hot plate. She grit her teeth, a small grunt of pain leaving her lips as managed to keep herself standing fairly straight. The pain also served as another distraction as Trixie sent her hooves crashing down, sending out another blue ring of energy which promptly knocked Twilight off her feet this time.
Trixie shook off the daze from the attack as best she could, laughing as Twilight shakily got back up. "How does that feel, Sparkle? I bet it's painful, knowing that Trixie's about to make sure you stay down." She smirked as Twilight glared back at her. No way would she lose this, not when Discords very own power was backing her up! Finally, she'd get revenge on the mare that ruined her life and her annoying friends as well!
Trixie teleported in another flash of light, but Twilight was ready this time. Hearing the distinct flashing sound that came with reappearing, she turned towards the sound just in time to dodge and weave around several more of Trixie's attacks and jump over her energy ring, using the small time in the air she had to send a large blast from her Element of Magic and strike Trixie dead on with the attack, before following with a hard buck to her side.
Trixie teleported mid-stagger, so when she popped up again, she stumbled fully and fell to the ground. Twilight fired at her again, but she managed a shield in time and got back up, breathing heavily. She didn't want to admit it, but Twilight was better at this then she would have guessed. She'd learned from Discord that she was apparently nothing more than a bookworm with a talent for magic. But now she looked to be skilled in fighting, too! Just what the heck did she read, anyway!?
She was also starting to feel the strains of the battle. Those blasts from her Element had left Trixie in some surprising pain, feeling the force of a weak punch but leaving a bad, stinging sensation where they landed as well. She could only guess Discords power was stopping it from hurting more. And then there were her actual, physical attacks, the latter of which had surely given her a bruise in her side. This was getting irksome, and she was intending to end it now, before Twilight could take another chance at an opening in her pattern. Why had Discord instructed her to follow this dumb pattern, anyway, when it clearly left her dazed!? Oh well, hers was not to ask why, she reminded herself. Hers was to stop Twilight Sparkle and her friends from reaching their goal, and she intended to do such!
The show mare braced herself and aimed at Twilight, who was a short distance from her, launching another array of magic blasts at her, "You won't beat me, Sparkle!"
"Sorry Trixie, but I already have"! Twilight replied as she ducked and weaved around the blasts. "All I need to do is knock it into you, here and now!" she called out as she jumped another ring of energy and aiming to release a single, large blast from her Element.
However, they didn't come. Something else did, instead. Twilight hadn't noticed it, but the whole fight the stone of her tiara had been glowing steadily brighter, even when not attacking Trixie. It had been charging power from successful attacks, just as Celestia had said. And now it was unleashing her special attack, she guessed. And it seemed to take on the simple form of a large, powerful beam of magic that sped forward and struck Trixie dead on, making her fly back and smack into her own barrier. It remained for a few seconds, pushing her back against the invisible wall until it finally dissipated, Trixie dropping down to the ground in a slump, her hat and cape falling off her damaged body. It was over.
End of Boss Battle
Twilight: +60 Exp (Level Up!)
Items obtained: Magicians Hat, Magicians Cape, 50 Bits
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Trixie growled as she stood back up, albeit slowly. Somehow, despite the fact she was battle worn, she kept her original composure from the start of the battle. "Bah!" she exclaimed as she tried dusting the dirt off her coat with her magic, "Trixie just needs more training! That's all!" She glared over at Twilight, "Because Trixie is clearly way more powerful than the likes of you! Thanks to Discord, who will lead me to become the most powerful unicorn in the world!" With that said, she suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Apparently true to her word, the barrier Trixie had created shined for a second before falling. Twilights friends rushed up to her.
"That was amazing, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, her desperateness forgotten temporarily in the heat of the moment. "You totally kicked Trixie's flank!"
"I wouldn't expect anything less from you, dear," Rarity said proudly, smiling at her friend. "It was always clear to me you were superior to her in every way, and now it can be written as fact."
"Thanks for the praise you guys, but that's not important right now," Twilight said, turning back towards the direction they were heading. "First and most importantly, Trixie was only a distraction to take time out of our search for Pinkie Pie. And secondly, she managed to get away, and something tells me haven't seen the last of her... But for right now, let's keep going."
The others nodded and they started forward, until Rarity's voice stopped them, "Wait, but what about these?" The others turned to see her floating Trixie's hat and cape in front of her.
"What about them?" Rainbow asked back.
"Well, we can't simply leave them lying around now, can we?" Rarity asked, suddenly floating over something else form where they had been watching the battle. It looked to be a pair of saddlebags, small and woven from the surrounding plants.
"Where in Equestria did ya get those?" Applejack asked as Rarity set them on her back.
"Well, while you were all busy watching Twilights scuffle ("Just call it a fight, would ya?" Rainbow breathed quietly) I took the liberty of thinking ahead. No doubt Discord has something planned for us if we go further in, perhaps more enemies to fight off. And I hardly think he would send the mall in carrying nothing to help their odds. They might have things we could use on them, and as it's rather taxing and foolish to waste my and Twilights magic floating everything along, I made these to carry anything we might find," Rarity explained to them all, leaving them in shock. "What?" she asked, looking at their expressions, "Need I remind you I was in charge of making nests for Winter Wrap-Up? I know how to use what's available to me. However, the only problem is that they are a bit small, so we can only carry a few things at a time."
"Actually, that's impressive Rarity," Twilight said happily as Rarity tucked the clothing inside one of the bags. "Good thinking ahead," she praised.
"But just why would we ever need that one trick pony's costume for, exactly?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Actually, I could tell from our fight that there's some kind of magic over them," Twilight explained to her friends, "A sort of enchantment that could make them useful if we ever need it. But I don't have time to explain; we've lost enough time getting to Pinkie Pie as it is."
Rainbow nodded, suddenly remembering the present situation, her mind having wandered after the fight. "That's right; we gotta get to the ancient Castle now! Come on every pony, move your hooves!" Her friends nodded and they galloped through the clearing, heading deeper into the Everfree Forest, not knowing what waited for them at their destination...
End of Chapter 2
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Chapter End Condition;
Twilight Sparkle; Lv. 2, 60 Exp.
Rainbow Dash; Lv. 1, 35 Exp.
Applejack; Lv. 1, 0 Exp.
Rarity; Lv. 1, 0 Exp.
Fluttershy; Lv. 1, 0 Exp.
Pinkie Pie; Lv. 1, 0 Exp. {Absent}
Inventory;
Magicians Hat; Equips only to a unicorn. Increases attack power.
Magicians Cape; Equips to any pony. Increases magical defense.
Woven Saddlebags; Capable of carrying ten items.