//------------------------------// // New skills learned, new friends lost // Story: My Little Pony: Friendship is Eternal // by AlphaToothless95 //------------------------------// The next day As Applejack wakes up, she feels a lot better than she did before.. well physically at least. But she can’t shake the thought that she did something terrible during the fight. The last thing she remembered was the fire pony getting ready to kill Rarity and feeling so much.. anger. After that, everything just went black.. until she woke up with a stab wound in her stomach, taste of blood in her mouth, and a lot of trees were destroyed and they were giant.. paw prints in the ground. Looked like they belonged to an Ursa Minor, or worse, an Ursa Major. She could figure it out later. She gets up, not bothering to be careful even though her wound still felt pretty recently stitched, and puts her combat jacket back on along with her hat. She walks out of the room she was currently in and walks around. The old castle of the two sisters wasn’t exactly the best place to call home but it has been more than adequate at hiding their presence from Midnight and her army. She’s just glad that this was a temporary settlement, she didn’t wanna hide forever, especially with the rest of the world going to hell around them. She goes to the new “planning room” that Starlight, Sunset, Spike, and Rarity were currently in. As soon as Applejack walked in, they all turned to face her but Spike and Rarity run to her and hug her, glad she’s alright. She chuckles and hugs them back. “Now now, don’t go cryin' all over me, I’m alright.” She says and Rarity glares at her. “Alright? You shouldn’t even be up right now! You need to go back and rest this instant.” Rarity says and Applejack rolls her eyes and puts her hands on Rarity's shoulders. “I’m fine Rare, don’t worry so much. I do wanna talk to you about.. something.. but later ok?” She asks and Rarity hesitates but nods and Applejack smiles and walks closer to Starlight and Sunset. “So.. Rainbow and Fluttershy still with the Kirins?” She asks them and Starlight shakes her head, confusing Applejack. “They were but then the Kirins were attacked and Rainbow and Fluttershy had to defend them. Once they saw their powers and saw them lose control of them a few times, they sent them to some other location where they could be trained.” Starlight explains, her answer seeming to confuse Applejack as she tilts her head. “Whaddya mean by ‘lose control?'” Applejack asks and Starlight hesitates to answer so Sunset answers for her. “She means that their powers kept activating without them noticing and when they did notice, they struggled to stop them. Plus they say that Rainbow Dash was acting really really impatient, and.. angry. Whenever it happened, a storm almost started and she started radiating with electricity.” She explains and Spike continues after her. “They also said Fluttershy was acting.. weird. Like sometimes she ended up sleeping upside down in trees and that she would get really aggressive if someone questioned it or tried to keep her in one place for too long.” He says and Applejack frowns before going wide-eyed. “Sleeping upside down? In trees? Cover me in apple seeds and call me crazy, but doesn’t that sound like-?” She starts to ask, but Rarity continues for her, surely realizing the same thing she did. “Exactly what a bat would do? I’m afraid it does..” Rarity says and they both gain worried looks on their faces. Starlight and Sunset are about to question the sudden change in behavior but Spike speaks up before they can. “Don’t worry, they were sent somewhere where they could get trained quick. It shouldn’t take long for those problems to be fixed, plus when they come back, they’ll be better than ever. I already heard Fluttershy was able to take on five ponies at once without any of them landing a hit on her. Same with Rainbow Dash.. even though when one did hit her, she almost fried him.” He says and Rarity and Applejack look at each other before nodding. “I hope you’re right cause with everything that’s going on.. we’ll all need to be at our best.” Applejack says and she wasn’t wrong. If they wanted to stop Midnight and end this nightmare, they couldn’t have any distractions whatsoever.. but that’s exactly what they were going to get. Somewhere hidden in Equestria As Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy both trained against their new “master”, trainer, and friend, Light Hope, a white pegasus with a grey mane, blue eyes, and a scar across her right eye in the shape of a lightning bolt, they surely made sure to bring their best, especially Rainbow Dash. They hadn’t been able to beat her last time, but Fluttershy had at least landed a hit on her.. before she beat them both. They were also feeling much better than they did the first time they got here and they had spent countless hours training, resting, meditating (Mostly Fluttershy meditating while Rainbow Dash did stunts or took a nap), exploring and more. They throw everything they’ve got at Light Hope, but as they expected, it wasn’t enough.. that’s when Rainbow Dash remembered patience and to be a team player and Fluttershy remembered control and to not be afraid to use her powers, to discover her true potential. They look at each other and nod before turning back to Light Hope. They charge at her at the same time but Rainbow Dash uses her speed to get to her first. She then jumps at her and throws a punch that she dodges. Fluttershy takes the chance to use a gust of wind to knock Light Hope a bit off balance and Rainbow takes the chance to deliver a back kick straight to her chest. She rolls backwards, does a specific motion, and sends water in Fluttershy’s direction. Fluttershy dodges, does another motion, then sends it back at her. She blocks it but Fluttershy uses her sonic scream for no longer than two seconds and that sends her back into Rainbow Dash who roundhouse kicks her to the side. She flips onto her feet, spins around, moving her foot to the right which causes the ground beneath Rainbow Dash to rotate in the same direction, making her lose her balance a bit. Just as she runs at her, a glowing vine wraps around her leg and raises her up and throws her into the air before grabbing her and slamming her down, causing her to roll towards Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy who were ready for that. They run at her and Fluttershy looks like she’s about to attack first and she blocks only for Rainbow Dash to jump towards her and kick her before jumping again, spinning around and grabbing Fluttershy’s hand to swing and throw her so she can deliver a drop kick to Light Hope's head. They both stand over her in their fighting stances, waiting for her to make a move. They’re surprised when she sits up and claps. She continues clapping even after she manages to stand up. “Well done you two, you’ve both made so much progress. I’m so proud of you.” She says and they smile and give small bows, causing her to bow back. “Well we had a pretty good teacher.” Rainbow says and Fluttershy agrees. “Thanks for everything Light Hope.. I’m actually gonna miss this place when we go back home..” Rainbow says with a hint of sadness to her voice. Light Hope smiles, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You can always come back and visit.. whether you need anything or after you’re done saving the world.” She says and both Dash and Fluttershy smile at her. “Oh and just for fun.. Fluttershy think fast!” She yells before sending two cement blocks into the air and Fluttershy instantly flys up until she’s between them and does a split-kick, shattering both of them instantly and landing back on the ground in a crouched position. “Your turn, Dash!” Light Hope says before flying back and sending lightning daggers at Rainbow Dash who spins her arms in opposite directions, making a makeshift lightning shield in front of her that helps knock them into the ground. “Very good.” “Like she said, we have a pretty good teacher.” Fluttershy says before continuing. “An amazing teacher actually.” She says, causing Light Hope to look a bit embarrassed. Before she can reply though, an explosion sounds off through the whole training area and into the village, coming from the forest that was right by the training area. They run outside it to find the magical animals that lived in the forest running away from it and panicking. Fluttershy and Light Hope try to calm them all down while Rainbow Dash goes to see what or who could’ve caused all this. She doesn’t see anyone but she does see that a large forest fire has started. Just as she’s about to try and put it out, she’s tackled from behind and thrown through one of the burning trees. As soon as she tries to get up, a tree fall on her legs, trapping her. Lightning Dust lands in front of her with a smirk. Rainbow groans in annoyance. “Seriously? You?” She asks, struggling to get free. “Glad to see I was missed.” Lightning Dust says, not even trying to hide her sarcasm. She takes out one of her lightning shaped blades and charges it with electricity before raising it up. “This time, I’m allowed to kill you too. That makes this so much better.. for me anyway.” She says and Rainbow Dash manages to break free just in time and roll out of the way just as she brings her sword down. “Since when did you get so.. murderous?! This wasn’t like you before!” Rainbow says and Lightning Dust chuckles as she walks closer to her. “Oh don’t worry, you’re not getting all the attention. Once I deal with you.. I’ll pay our little friend, Scootaloo a visit.” She says and that right there.. ..was her biggest mistake. She’s instantly tackled through trees and into the sky by Rainbow Dash. All Dash sees is red now. She flys to the top of the mountain behind “the Great Lake” of Light Hope's home. She throws Lightning Dust down and lands on her hard enough to crack the ground then cartwheels and flips forward, turning around to face her. Lightning Dust gets up, takes out both her blades and gets in a fighting stance. “Struck a nerve, did I?” She asks and Rainbow Dash glares as her eyes glow red. “You have no idea.” She says angrily and Lightning Dust smirks as Rainbow forms her own sword from multicolored lightning. Lightning Dust charges her own blades with lightning before they charge at each other, blades and powers clashing. This was bad. Deathbolts were everywhere, Short Fuze and Rolling Thunder were destroying parts of the village and the forest, animals and ponies were panicking, and more and more of Midnight's lackeys showed up as time went by. All the fighters in the village were trying to keep things under control but it wasn’t enough. Fluttershy and Light Hope try to fight them off with their powers and they do eventually manage to put a dent in their forces but they were still greatly outnumbered. They land and try to assist the ground forces to defend the village until Light Hope tells Fluttershy to continue to do so then flys up to defend it from aerial attacks. She does so and manages to do really well.. until three.. bipedal wolves with armor jump and run towards the village, sprinting on all fours and Fluttershy is taken by surprise but still tries to use her powers to stop them. They split up and the two female ones grab her from both sides, using dark magic to increase their speed. The male charges at her but then jumps over her and starts blasting fire everywhere in the village. Seeing all this destruction, something in Fluttershy breaks and her eyes turn red and her pupils turn to slits. Her fur becomes pale, her ears and wings becoming more like those of a bat, and her mane becoming messy. Her voice also becomes a little deeper and raspier. “NO!!!” She screams before biting into the arm of one of the female wolves, causing her to literally howl in pain before Fluttershy- no.. Flutterbat, kicks her in the stomach, knocking her back before she breaks one of the other female’s arms. She howls in pain as well before being thrown into the other. Flutterbat who tastes the blood on her two sharp, recently grown fangs, licks some off her mouth, her animalistic side coming out more when she does. That’s right.. last time, she thirsted for apples and nothing else.. but this time? ..This time blood was on the menu as well. The wolves all turn their attention to her and she smirks evilly. The female she had bit tries to attack her along with the male but she dodges both attacks, wrapping her legs around her neck and swinging her into him, knocking the both of them through the wall of one of the buildings surrounding them. This was amazing! She felt stronger, faster, more agile.. more alive. She holds all three of the wolves up in vines and is about to squeeze the life out of them until.. she looks towards her reflection in a nearby puddle.. and Fluttershy sees why she’s really acting like this and is shocked and terrified. She shakes her head and tries to calm down and turn back to normal but.. she couldn’t.. all she managed to do was turn her eyes blue again.. she was stuck like this. “No..” She says sadly, with a frightened edge to her voice. Before slowly backing up, not realizing she let the wolves go. “Big mistake!” She hears before one jumps at her and her eyes turn red again before she delivers a punt kick to the underside of his jaw, knocking his head back before she delivers a spinning kick to his stomach. The one with a broken arm charges at her and tries using her legs and one good arm to fight but Flutterbat makes quick work of her but it turns out to be a distraction so the other female could kick Flutterbat's feet from under her before delivering a powerful kick to her chest. That kick sends Flutterbat through buildings and into the Great Lake, unconscious. “Fluttershy!!!” Light Hope yells and she tries using her own nature powers to get her out but before she can, she’s blindsided by the Washouts, who continuously circle her, attacking her. She retaliates with her own attacks but they just would not give up and soon the Deathbolts join. That’s when she starts going all out.. she just hopes Fluttershy would be ok until she’s able to get her. Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust battled right into a stalemate, tumbling away from each other with cuts, bruises, and burns. “This isn’t working!” Lightning Dust yells in anger and frustration before she notices something that Rainbow Dash doesn’t and they both slowly stand up. “How about we try something new?!” She asks with a evil smirk as lightning radiates off her and she forms a lightning bolt and is about to throw it at Rainbow Dash or she seems like she is.. until she throws it down towards the village and Rainbow runs to the edge only to see it heading straight towards.. Light Hope. “NO!!!” Rainbow yells as she tries to get to it before it reaches her. Closer and closer it gets.. until Light Hope catches it and sends out a wave of electricity to down the Deathbolts and the Washouts. “You'll have to do better than that.” Light Hope says as she glares up at Lightning Dust who’s still smirking. She’s confused as to why until she sees the lightning bolt glowing way more and she immediately throws it but the explosion it makes still reaches her and destroys a lot of the village. When Rainbow Dash wakes up, she sees all the destruction caused by the explosion.. and sees Light Hope on the ground, critically injured if not.. “Light Hope..” Rainbow says as she gets up and runs to her. She gently turns her over.. seeing that half her body was severely burned from the explosion. She’s shocked by this and frowns, almost crying as she blames herself for all this. “I’m so sorry.. I should’ve been faster.. or just.. never have come here in the first place..” She says and Light Hope opens her one good eye and manages to smile at her.. “Don't.. say.. that..” She says as she puts her hand on one of Rainbow Dash's, still smiling despite the pain. “Take.. Fluttershy.. save yourselves.. and put an end to this nightmare..” She says weakly and Rainbow Dash shakes her head, one tear already rolling down her cheek. “We.. we can’t.. I.. can’t..” Rainbow says and Light Hope sighs before coughing and replying. “Yes.. you.. can..” She says as her eyes slowly start to close. “Just remember.. what you.. learned..” Light Hope says before her eyes finally close and she says one last thing. “Take care.. of each other.. take.. care of.. everyone..” She says.. before she takes her last breath.. and passes away. “No.. no..” Rainbow says, finally letting the tears fall.. this can’t be happening.. this can’t be real.. she’s so broken up that she doesn’t notice, or just doesn’t care, as the villains land around her, surrounding her. “Awwww that’s too bad.. guess you were too slow Dash.. give up?” Lightning Dust asks and Rainbow goes wide eyed in shock, disgust, and anger at how cruel Lightning Dust really was.. she was showing her true colors. She slowly turns to face her adversary with the same look on her face. “How could you be so.. broken inside? You enjoy killing the ponies close to me.. just because of YOUR mistakes.. the ones you blame on me?! ..Go to hell Lightning Dust..” Rainbow yells and that actually.. shocks Lightning Dust.. she frowns before glaring at Rainbow Dash with flashing yellow eyes and making a lightning chain, raising it up and bringing it down on her with a yell. It would’ve hit her.. if it wasn’t for the wind shield that now surrounded her and Light Hope's body. Rainbow Dash looks confused, especially when the shield bursts, sending wind everywhere violently which knocks everyone away. She looks towards the Great Lake and sees.. Fluttershy but she had glowing green markings on her body that were shaped like vines and other plants and her irises were glowing green as well. Rainbow Dash chuckles then starts laughing loudly and cheering. “Nice work, 'Shy!” Fluttershy smiles before making tendrils of water that attack the villains, even wrapping around some of them and slamming them into the others. She makes the wind cause the Deathbolts crash into others and makes plants trap the downed ponies. “Grab Light Hope and let’s go!” Fluttershy yells and Rainbow nods and goes to pick her up but she feels Lightning Dust grab and yank on her hair, causing her to yell in pain before cutting that piece of hair off and kicking her through a wall. She then picks up Light Hope and goes to Fluttershy, grabbing her and flying off faster than anyone can react. They hide in the clouds and take a moment to mourn.. everything was ruined. The village, their training.. everything.. and it cost them Light Hope.. they look down at the village and frown. Rainbow Dash swore that she would end this.. once and for all.. “Rainbow..” Fluttershy says, putting a hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn to her. “Let’s go home..” She says and Dash hesitates.. but nods and they both fly back home.. carrying Light Hope with them. Midnight would pay for this one way or another.. no matter the cost.