The Wonderbolts had just taken flight towards Canterlot while the Mane 6 climbed the steep slope toward the castle of the two sisters, the ramparts visible from a distance –
“AAARRRGGGHHHH!”
Daybreaker reared up in fury, blasting the viewing portal with her horn and shattering it like glass. The Mare of the Sun breathed sharply while her mane flared up like an uncontrollable wildfire.
“I should’ve known better to put my trust in the hooves of a bunch of circus performers!” Daybreaker roared. “How could they have been duped so easily by that two-bit magician’s ridiculous act?!”
“Perhaps it’s time to call it quits, sister,” Luna suggested calmly. “My student and her friends are nearly to our former domain and the Elements of Harmony. You’re out of time.”
The fiery mare snort angrily, spinning around toward her sister, and pressing her face against the moon goddess’s barrier to stare her directly in the eyes. Daybreaker didn’t even care that her skin was sizzling from the cool contact of Luna’s Moon Magic; her blood was boiling beyond reasonable thought.
“It’s not over yet, sister,” Daybreaker sneered. “They haven’t reached the Elements and they never will. I’m done playing games. It’s like they always say: if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.”
“You realize that if you leave now, your barrier will gradually weaken,” Luna challenged. “And when it does, I will break free, and I will come after you.”
“I’ll take my chances,” Daybreaker hissed.
Daybreaker stretched her wings and summoned a plume of flames beneath her hooves that swallowed her whole. The fire extinguished itself and all that remained was a sun-shaped burn mark on the ground where Daybreaker once stood. Luna tilted her head back, staring off apprehensively into space while her mind and heart wander to six unsuspecting unicorns.
“Be safe, my little ponies,” Luna prayed. “For your greatest trial has yet to come.”
The Mane 6 were starting to wish they had stayed lost in the Everfree Forest. It was dark, spooky, and filled with monsters lurking around every corner, but at least the magic kept them cool. Now that they were out of the forest, the wrath of Daybreaker’s sun was beating down on them without mercy. Twilight had nearly forgotten how intense the heat was; sweat was pouring down her face like a waterfall, which says nothing compared to how Trixie and Tempest must feel.
“It’s official: I – hate – the sun!” Starlight wheezed.
“We’re almost there, girls,” Twilight tried to sound optimistic, but it was difficult when she was panting so hard. “Just a little further….”
“If this turns out to be a wild goose chase,” Tempest groaned, “I’m bucking you all off the nearest cliff.”
They made it over the crest of the hill and stopped for a moment to catch their breaths; Trixie collapsed on her stomach, her hat tilted over her eyes. Twilight inhaled deeply through her nose, exhaled through her mouth, and looked ahead. To her delight and relief, she saw a dilapidated structure just along the path, across a wooden bridge over a wide ravine. The stone walls had collapsed, foliage steadily reclaiming the land, but they could make out the crumbling spires and the splinteerd double doors of what was once a magnificent castle. They had made it!
“There it is! The ruins that hold The Elements of Harmony!” Twilight shouted with renewed vigor. “We made it!”
Twilight was too excited to stay put. She galloped along the path, forcing the others to follow quickly in her hoofsteps.
“Twilight, wait for us!” Sunset shouted behind her.
“We’re almost there, girls!” Twilight cried jubilantly as she approached the bridge. “It’s just across this – YEOW!”
The lavender unicorn felt a sharp tug at her tail that grounded her to a stop before she could step on the bridge. Twilight glanced over her shoulder to see Tempest spitting out Twilight roughed up tail as the other unicorns stopped behind them.
“Tempest, that really hurt!” Twilight whined, smoothing out her tail. “What’s the big idea?”
Rather than answering, Tempest stepped around Twilight and cantered up to the bridge. She stared at the first plank with an intense look in her eyes as she raised her hoof and slowly, cautiously, set it down on top of the wood. At first, everything seemed fine, but when the mare slowly applied pressure, the wooden board cracked down the middle into two halves that dislodged from the rope and fell into the ravine. It took an estimated thirty seconds before they heard the planks hit the bottom.
“The bridge is unstable,” Tempest explained coolly to Twilight. “If you had run on that as recklessly as you did, you would’ve taken a nasty fall. One that you wouldn’t have walked away from.”
“Oh, wow, um…,” Twilight stammered, gulping loudly. “Thanks for the save, Tempest.”
“You really should be more careful,” said Tempest with a teasing grin.
“Now what do we do?” Moon Dancer asked. “Should we try to find another way around?”
“That would take too long,” Twilight shook her head. “By my calculations, it’s been almost twenty hours since Daybreaker returned. The sun needs to go down soon or there could be irreparable damage to Equestria.”
“Then I guess we’re crossing the bridge,” said Sunset, stepping up beside Tempest. “We’ll go across slowly one by one. The bridge should be able to hold us up as long as we don’t make any sudden movements. Tempest, you go first.”
“You want me to intentionally put myself in danger?” asked Tempest with a quirked brow.
“We’re trusting you to guide us through since you obviously know what you’re doing,” said Sunset.
“Plus, you’re the biggest of all of us,” Trixie pointed out. “So if the bridge collapses, it’ll be your fault.”
“Gee, thanks,” Tempest said blandly.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be right behind you,” said Twilight confidently.
Tempest rolled her eyes, but nonetheless faced the bridge again. She carefully put her hoof to the creaky board, testing it. When she was confident that it would support her weight, she put another hoof forward. And then another. And then another. Before she knew it, she had already walked ten steps across. Though the creaking did concern her, the bridge did not seem to be giving out. Tempest waved a hoof and called back, “It’s safe! Come on over!”
“All right, everypony, one at a time,” Sunset commanded, waving the mares along.
“Why couldn’t Trixie have been born a pegasus,” Trixie moaned.
Twilight went second, followed by Moon Dancer, Trixie, Starlight, and Sunset bringing up the rear. Twilight was pleasantly surprised that the bridge was able to hold up the combined weight of six unicorns. There was a tense moment where one of the boards cracked underneath Starlight’s hoof, but the lilac mare was able to lift her hoof up slowly and press on to the next board. A sudden wind picked up from the ravine that caused the entire bridge to shudder, making everypony tense up and stop. The wind thankfully passed in seconds and the Mane 6, sighing in unified relief, kept walking. After what seemed like an eternity, Twilight looked over Tempest’s shoulder and saw solid ground only less than a few hooves away.
“We’re almost to the other side, everypony!” Twilight called back. “Just a few more steps – “
The words died on her lips as a flaming geyser suddenly erupted ahead of them. The Mane 6 gasped horrifically as Daybreaker cantered out of the fiery funnel, her lips curled into a malicious smile.
“Surprise!” Daybreaker cackled. “Bet you weren’t expecting to see me, were you, my little ponies!”
“Daybreaker!” The Mane 6 cried in unison.
“You ponies made it farther than I expected,” said Daybreaker. “But now it’s the end of the line for you. And I do mean that literally.”
“Turn around! Turn around!” Tempest shouted.
But they were too late. The Mare of the Sun swiped her horn at the rope, snapping it clean. The bridge collapsed instantly underneath the Mane 6’s hooves, sending them plummeting into the gorge.
The mares screamed and flailed their hooves, as if it would actually accomplish anything, their minds too rattled with panic to think straight. Tempest tried reaching for a hold on the ravine wall, but unfortunately, ponies did not evolve with the necessary appendages on their hooves for grabbing things and just rolled off. Starlight, with her eyes bugging out, saw the ground steadily getting closer. The lilac unicorn reacted instinctively as she took a deep breath, held it, and flared her horn up with magic.
Just as they were about to slam into the dirt, the Mane 6 suddenly stopped less than a hoof above the ground, all of them coated in a light turquoise aura. The mares stopped screaming and calmed down when the realized they weren't colorful splatters on the floor; all except for Trixie, who was still kicking and shrieking; Moon Dancer slapped a hoof over her mouth to shut her up.
Starlight visibly strained herself as the telepathically rolled everypony around and planted them safely on their hooves. She dissipated the spell, but suddenly found her vision spinning and stumbled sideways, dizzy. Sunset quickly caught the lilac unicorn before she fell over.
“He…he…thanks for catching me,” Starlight said gratefully.
“Thank you for catching us,” Sunset said with equal parts appreciation and amazement as she helped Starlight steady herself. “That’s was amazing. I’ve never heard of anypony who could use a levitation spell to hold themselves, let alone hold up six full grown ponies.”
“It’s really easy once you understand the basic principles spatial relativity combined with the fundamentals of gravitational magic while replacing the core principle of pony biology to replicate the weightlessness of pegesi,” Starlight explained smartly to an audience that only blinked and stared cluelessly. “But it’s not so easy to use it on more than one pony at a time. Ooh, my head is going to be pounding in the morning – er, night.”
Tempest, meanwhile, walked up to the ravine walls and tilted her head straight back. Even with her sharp eyes, she could barely make out the remnants of the rope bridge swaying listlessly on one side. They must have fallen over forty hooves.
“We’re not getting back the way we came,” she commented.
“No! We were so close!” Twilight cried, kicking her hoof in frustration. “The castle was right there! The Elements of Harmony were practically in our hooves.”
“Don’t worry, Twilight,” Moon Dancer said in a soothing voice, resting a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “We’ll figure out a way to get back up there. I promise.”
“Right now, I’m more worried about Daybreaker coming after us,” said Sunset, frowning. “She probably thinks we’ve been turned into pony pudding by now, but I don’t want to stick around if she decides to fly down and check it out.”
“And I’d really like to get out of this heat,” said Starlight, fanning herself.
“And where do you expect us to find shelter at the bottom of – “ Tempest started until Trixie shouted at them.
“Hey, guys, over here!” The unicorns looked around curiously until Twilight pointed at a cave just down the way. They spotted Trixie leaning out of the cave mouth waving her hoof enthusiastically. “Check out this neat cave that Trixie found!”
Starlight flashed a smug grin toward Tempest, who lowered her head, muttering under her breath, and followed the showmare begrudgingly inside.
Like the strange phenomenon of the Everfree Forest, the temperature immediately fell to a pleasant coolness the moment they stepped over the threshold of the cave entrance, but also had a slight warmth that seeped into their bones. The cavern had dozens of polished purple gemstones sticking out of the walls and glowing flower buds on the hundred raised stones.
And there, in the back of the cavern, was the most magnificent thing Twilight had ever seen: a massive tree made of pure crystal, twinkling lights dancing on its many branches. Upon five of the branches were large crystalized slabs with strange indentations, almost like something could be inserted in them. And in the middle of the trunk where all the branches met was a six-pointed crystal that bore an odd resemblance to something that Twilight couldn’t think of.
“Whoa…,” said Sunset in awe.
“Pretty,” Moon Dancer breathed.
“Nice find, Trixie,” Starlight complimented.
“This is the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen,” Twilight gasped, trotting slowly, reverently, up to the tree roots. “Do you feel that? The magic coming off of it. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Where did it come from? Why is it made of crystal? Why is it hidden in a cave in the Everfree Forest? Are there other’s like it? What are those holes in the branches? Are you supposed to put something in them? How did - ?”
“Twilight, Twilight!” Starlight shouted, cutting the lavender mare off. “You’re spiraling again.”
“But I have so many questions!” Twilight shrieked fanatically, gesturing a hoof to the tree. “This tree obviously has some kind of magical power! Aren’t you curious to know what it is?!”
“I think we should spend more time focusing on the Elements of Harmony than checking out a cave tree,” Starlight shrugged nonchalantly. “Besides, it’s not like we’ll ever have a reason to come back here anyway.”
“…Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Twilight conceded. “Too bad, though. I really wanted to know more about it….”
Starlight rolled her eyes amusingly and pulled Twilight away from the crystal tree to their friends, who had thrown off their saddlebags and gathered around in a circle. Twilight sat down on Trixie’s left, the blue showmare smiling with slightly pinkened cheeks, until Moon Dancer suddenly used a levitation spell on Trixie to move her aside and take her place. Trixie blinked bewildered; Moon Dancer smiled widely at Twilight; Twilight remained utterly clueless.
“Anypony have an idea on how to get back up to the castle?” Twilight asked around.
“Can’t we just have Starlight fly us back up the cliff?” Tempest suggested.
“It took all of my strength just to keep us from being smashed into paste,” Starlight shook her head. “There’s no way I’ll be able to carry everypony at once. I could do it one at a time, but that’d take too long and I’d run out of magic pretty quickly.”
“Trixie could use The Never-Ending Scarves of Mystery as a rope,” Trixie offered optimistically. “We could climb back up to the castle.”
“It only goes six hooves,” Moon Dancer pointed out bluntly.
“BLASPHEMY!” Trixie shouted dramatically.
“What if we build a makeshift catapult from rocks and vines and fling ourselves up the cliffside?” said Sunset.
“That sound’s like the kind of plan that Trixie would come up with,” said Starlight.
“Trixie will agree with you, Starlight Glimmer,” said Trixie proudly. “Trixie fully and completely supports Sunset Shimmer’s plan one hundred percent.”
“…Okay, new plan,” said Sunset quickly; Trixie pouted.
For nearly five minutes, the ponies went back and forth, bouncing new ideas off one another searching for a solution. It wasn’t until Twilight made the suggestion of casting a spell that would give them butterfly wings that Tempest had enough. The broken-horned mare rose to her hooves with an exasperated sigh and made her way to the cave entrance, to the curiosity of the others.
“Where’re you going, Tempest?” asked Moon Dancer.
“I’m going to explore the area for a little while,” Tempest explained. “Maybe there’s a path up the cliff or some boulders we can jump on. Anything is better than sitting around listening to more of your insane ideas.”
“Wait, hold up, I’ll come with you.” Twilight jumped up to her hooves, galloping to catch up with Tempest as they exited the cave. Tempest glanced at Twilight out of the corner of her eye, but didn’t say anything. “I just wanted to say thanks again.”
“For what?” Tempest questioned, scanning the ravine walls.
“For, well, a lot of things, really,” said Twilight, smiling. “For coming along to help us find the Elements of Harmony. For driving off those Timberwolves. For stopping me from running off that bridge. I don’t think we could’ve made it without you.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” said Tempest, who was now inspecting a crack in the wall. “But don’t read too much into it. Don’t forget, I only signed up with you mares because I didn’t trust you to get the job done. I’m only helping you until I know I’m not going to die of heatstroke.”
“You can’t fool me,” Twilight said with a teasing smirk. “I know you like hanging out with us.”
“I prefer to be alone,” Tempest argued.
“You used to prefer being alone,” said Twilight confidently. “But things are different now that you have friends.”
Tempest suddenly stopped in her tracks, causing Twilight to bump into her flank. The broken-horned mare spun around, momentarily wide-eyed before creasing her brow in a leer.
“We’re not friends, Twilight,” Tempest claimed pointedly. “We’re a bunch of strangers who got caught up in this insane adventure by accident. The accident being Trixie’s wagon.”
“That may have been how it started out,” said Twilight optimistically. “But after everything we’ve been through together, I really think we’ve all become good friends. Sunset is open and honest with everypony. Moon Dancer is sweet and kind. Starlight is giving everything she has for us. And Trixie cheers people up. And then there’s you, Tempest – “
“You don’t know anything about me,” Tempest interjected rudely. “You don’t know who I am or where I come from or the things I’ve done to make it this far.”
“Hmm…yeah, that’s true,” Twilight admitted with a thoughtful look. “I don’t know much about you.”
“See?” said Tempest pointedly.
“What I do know,” Twilight continued, “is that you are brave, strong, resourceful, a bit of a jerk, but you also have a compassionate heart underneath that rough exterior. And even though you say you only came to help yourself, the fact of the matter is that you could’ve left at any time or even gone off on your own when you found out where the Element of Harmony were. But you stayed with us, through the best and worst parts of this journey. You protected us, looked out for us, and put yourself on the line when you could’ve just as easily have left us to fend for ourselves.”
Tempest had gone rigid with every word that poured from Twilight’s mouth, her jaw tight and her eyes wide as if she had seen a ghost. Her brain was screaming at her to deny everything; that Twilight was wrong and she was just looking out for herself. But the more she said, the harder it was to refute Twilight’s claims. And Twilight seemed to have noticed that.
“You may not think that we’re friends, but I think we are,” said Twilight, smiling, “And I bet that everypony else does, too. We trust you, Tempest. And that’s all I need to know.”
Tempest stared at the lavender mare in thoughtful silence for many seconds…then she slowly turned her flank to Twilight and said, “I think you should head back to the others, Twilight. I’ll continue searching on my own.”
“But I – “
“Please, Twilight,” Tempest requested in a low tone. “Just go.”
Twilight hesitated, attempting to reach out for a moment, but conceded to Tempest’s wishes and walked away. But after taking a few steps, she paused and looked back around, saying, “You don’t have to be alone, Tempest. We’re your friends. Don’t forget that.”
Tempest maintained her silence as she walked away.
The violet mare continued her trek through the gorge, but her attention was no longer focused on the walls. Tempest trudged solemnly, her head hanging low, her eyes staring at her hooves, lost in thought. She didn’t want to admit it, but Twilight’s words stirred something inside in her chest. A strange feeling that she hadn’t known for a long time.
“Friends…,” Tempest murmured softly. “They’re my…friends? I…I guess we could be…maybe…. I…I haven’t had had any friends since….” She turned her eyes upward, barely making out the jagged bits of her horn on the edge of her vision. She touched it tenderly with her hoof. “Glitter Drops…Spring Rain…I wonder how they’re doing….”
Her mind momentary wandered before she shook her head. No, there was no point in dredging up those memories now, Tempest told herself. The violet mare raised her head and looked forward, her thoughts returning to the task at hand, when Tempest suddenly paused, taken aback.
A formation of rocks rose up the side of the ravine in the form of a crude staircase that went straight to the castle of the two sisters based visible towers overhead. Tempest blinked and looked back over her shoulder. The cave where the Mane 6 had taken shelter wasn’t that far; it must have been twenty hooves at best.
“How did we miss this?” Tempest asked herself dumbfoundedly. “Oh well, no point in questioning logic now. I should get back to – “
But as Tempest started making her way back, something crashed into the ground in front of her, kicking up a cloud of dust. Tempest coughed, her hoof raised to cover her eyes, until the dust cloud passed. Tempest lowered her hoof and gasped as she came face-to-face with Daybreaker; the fiery mare grinning malevolently down at her.
“Daybreaker!” Tempest yelled, crouching lower with her horn crackling.
“Easy there, little shadow, I’m not here to fight,” said Daybreaker in a pleasant tone.
“Sorry if I don’t believe you,” Tempest retorted scathingly. “Being dropped off a bridge is a real turn-off for most ponies.”
“I do apologize for that,” said Daybreaker, “but you have to understand that I had to stop you from reaching the Elements of Harmony. I couldn’t let you stop me after it took a thousand years reaching this point. But we don’t have to be enemies, Tempest Shadow. In fact, I was hoping we could make a deal.”
“…What kind of deal?” Tempest asked suspiciously.
“You joined those silly fillies because you wanted to protect yourself from my wrath,” said Daybreaker knowledgably. “But if you aid me in disposing of those ponies who wish to oppose me, I swear on my name that you will be spared. When the new world is built and all of Equestria bows to me, you will have a place by my side. You will lead my armies as they crush all who rebel against my rule. Yours is a name that will be respected and feared.”
Tempest’s horn was still trained on Daybreaker, but there was a flitter of hesitation in her eyes. Daybreaker chuckled cruelly.
“You’re not thinking about what Twilight Sparkle said, are you?” Daybreaker questioned.
“Spying on us, were you?” said Tempest, glaring.
“You’ve given me ample reason to keep an eye on you ponies,” said Daybreaker with a crackling chuckle. “Don’t think too deeply on Twilight Sparkle’s words. She may say they are your friends now, but you already tried friendship once before. And how did that turn out for you, hmm? You lost your horn because your so-called ‘friends’ were irresponsible for losing your ball in that Ursa Minor cave and neither of them had nerve to go in after it. Those very same friends got into my sister’s magic school, did they not? It was always your dream to attend that school, wasn’t it? A dream that was shattered just like your horn. They went on to live fulfilling lives, and abandoned you to your misery. How long will it be before these new ponies abandon you as well?”
“I…I don’t…,” Tempest mumbled, the energy dissipating from her horn.
“You don’t need them, Tempest Shadow,” said Daybreaker, tilting Tempest's chin up with a wing to meet her eyes. “You don’t need ‘friendship’. All you need is to look out for yourself. Bring them to this place, and you will receive your reward when they are properly disposed of.” Her lips curled into an evil smile as she leaned in close, whispering in Tempest’s ear. “Don’t forget: It’s every pony for themselves.”
And with a flap of her wings, Daybreaker took off into the skies, leaving Tempest alone with her thoughts.
Back at the mysterious crystal cave, the rest of the Mane 6 was going through the last of the provisions they had packed for the trip. They polished off all the apples, oranges, water, and Trixie practically inhaled the peanut butter crackers. After this, they had nothing left.
“We should’ve stocked up more when we were in Ponyville,” Sunset complained, turning over her empty saddlebag. “No turning back now, I guess.”
“If we don’t stop Daybreaker, food is going to be the last thing we worry about,” said Twilight.
“But first, we need to find a way up to the castle of the two sisters,” Moon Dancer pointed out.
“Speaking of which, where’s Tempest?” Starlight asked curiously. “I thought she would’ve been back by now.”
“Just waiting to make a dramatic entrance.” The Mane 5 turned their heads as Tempest emerged theatrically from, well, the shadows with a cocky grin. “How was that?”
“Trixie will give it a six out of ten,” said Trixie, waving her hoof in a nonchalant fashion. “If you want a real dramatic entrance, Trixie will gladly offer you some fireworks. Trixie could also give you the address for this one pony Trixie knows that makes personalized party cannons.”
“Did you find a way out?” Twilight asked quickly, hopefully, bouncing on her hooves.
“There’s a path on the walls not too far from here,” Tempest informed them, pointing outside. “I think it leads directly to the castle.”
“All right!”
“Woo-hoo!”
“Way to go, Tempest!”
“Trixie is impressed!”
Enthused by the news that Tempest brought them, the mares quickly packed up their saddlebags and practically stampeded out the cave; Tempest pressed herself against the wall to avoid being crushed. The broken-horned unicorn watched them gallop outside, a noticeable look of unhappiness in her eyes. She stretched her hoof to her forehead, gently tapping the jagged edges of where her horn once stood. Memories flashed in her mind: the Ursa Minor, Glitter Drops and Spring Rain, Daybreaker’s offer….
Tempest jumped when she felt a tap on her shoulder and spun around with her horn charged. Twilight raised her hooves in surrender, blinking surprised. Tempest exhaled a relieved sigh and powered down.
“Sorry about that?” Twilight apologized. “Didn’t think you were so jumpy.”
Yeah, well, when you live life the way I have, a little caution is necessary,” Tempest said cryptically.
“…Are you okay?” Twilight asked, concerned. She leaned in close to Tempest, who purposely tilted her head sideways to avoid meeting Twilight’s eye. “You look upset about something.”
“It’s…it’s nothing; just remembered something unpleasant,” Tempest said evasively, turning her flank to Twilight. “C’mon, our friends are waiting for us.” But as she marched toward the cave mouth, Twilight trotted alongside her, giggling, to Tempest’s bewilderment. “What?
“Oh, nothiiiiing,” Twilight said in a sing-song voice. “You just called them ‘our friends.’”
Tempest almost tripped over her herself, sputtering, “I – I didn’t - I wasn’t thinking – “
“So you admit it: you do think of us as friends,” Twilight teased.
“I…I…”
“We better get moving,” Twilight said smugly, trotting ahead of Tempest. “We don’t want to keep our friends waiting.”
Tempest was momentarily frozen, her eyes bugging and her jaw dropped. She didn’t mean to say it; the words just spilled out of her mouth unconsciously. But that just gave more credibility to the statement, didn’t it? Did she really think of these ponies as her…friends?
The violet mare shook her head and straightened herself, to her full height, wiping her face clear of emotion. She had already made her choice, Tempest told herself. Now it was time to follow through with it.”
The other unicorns waited patiently at the mouth of the cave for Tempest. The violet-coated mare did not address them as she walked through the group, pivoting on her right and trotting along the ravine walls with the others following behind in her hoofsteps. They only walked for a few short minutes before Tempest stopped and pointed out the makeshift stairway carved into the cliffside.
“That should lead us to the castle of the two sisters,” said Tempest.
“How did we not see that earlier?” asked Sunset, tilting her head curiously.
“I think nearly being flattened into pancakes might have distracted us a little,” said Moon Dancer, pushing her glasses up.
“Who cares?! We have a way out!” Starlight cheered. “C’mon, everypony, we’re almost there!”
The Mane 6 shouted jubilantly and galloped for the stairs as a group. All except for Tempest, who stayed behind, watching them with furrowed brows.
The mares were only feet away from reaching the first step when the ground in front of them exploded in a geyser of flames. Twilight, who had been leading the pack, grounded her hoofs into the dirt to stop herself, causing the other four unicorns to bump into her flank, knocking them over into a pile. Twilight and her friend gasped as Daybreaker appeared in the wake of the fading flames, flashing her pointed teeth in an insane smile.
“Welcome back, my little ponies!” Daybreaker cackled maniacally. “I was hoping you were still galloping around!”
“Daybreaker!” The Mane 6 cried in unison.
“You know, you’re getting good at the whole ‘talking-in-sync’ thing,” Daybreaker commented jokingly. “Maybe you could take that act on the road. That is, if you live to see tomorrow.”
“You’re not going to stop us, Daybreaker?” Sunset said with a determined glare. “We are going to find the Elements of Harmony and we will put an end to your reign.”
Daybreaker threw her head back, laughing, and said, “You’re right about one thing, Sunset Shimmer. I won’t be the one to stop you. I’ll leave that to my newest subject.”
The Mane 5 looked at Daybreaker with puzzled expressions until they heard a sharp crackling ring out behind them. Twilight and the others climbed off one another and turned around slowly. Everypony took a step back when they saw Tempest Shadow tilting her head with her broken horn pointed at them, energy building in the hollow stub.
“Tempest…what’re you doing…?” Moon Dancer asked, trembling.
“It’s it obvious?!” Daybreaker shouted gleefully. “Your friend is betraying you!”
“No! She wouldn’t!” Trixie gasped dramatically. “She wouldn’t dare turn against the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
“Really?” Starlight asked with a quirked brow.
“…Okay, maybe she would,” Trixie admitted. “But she would never turn on the rest of you!”
“Ah, but she would and she has,” said Daybreaker smugly. “You silly little foals overestimated your ‘bonds of friendship’ and let your guard down. Tempest Shadow is a thief whose only priority is to look out for herself. She’s betrayed her partners before and she would do so again if it meant saving her own flank.” She pointed her wing at Tempest. “And look where we are. All it took was a promise of power and safety and she turned on you without a second thought.”
“Tempest, please, don’t listen to her,” Twilight pleaded, taking a cautionary step closer to the mare. “We’re your friends – “
“You don’t need friends, Tempest Shadow,” Daybreaker snorted. “All you need to do is survive. Now…get rid of them.”
Tempest Shadow nodded curtly and slowly marched closer to the Mane 5, the energy in her horn growing stronger. Twilight stumbled backwards with a fearful look, huddling up with her friends. Moon Dancer held Twilight close while Trixie ducked behind them, but Sunset and Starlight stepped in front of the group, their horns glowing and ready for a fight. Tempest stopped a few hooves away, looking them over with cold, unfeeling eyes, until her gaze stopped on Twilight. A moment of silence passed between them before Tempest spoke.
“You really thought we were friends, didn’t you, Twilight Sparkle,” she said in a cold voice. “You thought you knew me well enough that you would trust me no matter what. Did you really think that I would never turn on you? Daybreaker is offering more than anything I could’ve ever dreamed of: money, power, security. You think I would give all that up for a bunch of ponies I met by chance? For friendship? Well, let me tell you something, Twilight Sparkle….”
Tempest glared at the pack for several heart-stopping moments…until her lips curled into a cocky grin.
“You’re right.”
“Wha – “ Daybreaker stammered.
Tempest blasted the energy from her horn, but it completely soared over the heads of the Mane 5 and instead struck Daybreaker in the chest. The Mare of the Sun was thrown backwards into the cliff wall, screaming in surprise. Tempest shot a second blast at the wall above Daybreaker, splitting off several large rocks that collapsed on top of the alicorn before she realized what had happened. Tempest walked around the Mane 5, spitting in the direction of the rock pile Daybreaker was buried under.
“As if I would ever work for a bag of mixed nuts like you,” Tempest spat.
The other mares jumped up and cheered, throwing themselves into a giant group hug with Tempest in the middle. Surprisingly, Tempest did not fight them off and started chuckling lightheartedly.
“Now that was a performance,” Trixie complimented. “The Great and Powerful Trixie applauds you, Tempest Shadow.”
“Ah, such high praise,” Tempest said jokingly.
“I knew I was wrong to doubt you,” said Twilight, smiling at the taller mare.
“Hey, friends don’t turn their backs on each other,” said Tempest, smiling. “Now, we should find those Elements. I have a feeling Daybreaker’s going to be pretty upset when she gets out.”
Nopony needed to be told twice. The Mane 6 quickly turned around and galloped up the rocky stairway two steps at a time.