Scootaloo woke with a shake. It was the crack of dawn and her and her two other friends had spent the night inside if their tree house. It's was early in the morning and the sun was just beginning expose its face to the sky. Today was the day the Cutie Mark Crusaders would follow Twilight and the other five Elements of Harmony into the new, foreign, civilization.
Except there was one problem. None of the fillies knew when they were leaving.
Scootaloo rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and rolled out of her makeshift bed consisting of blankets and pillows and trotted to the center of the clubhouse, where Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle lay in their own sleeping bags. The pegasus nudged both sleeping girls and politely told them to wake up.
"Oh hey Scootaloo" Apple Bloom said groggily.
"Is it time to go?" Sweetie asked.
"That's what I've been wondering" Scootaloo said. "But I think it's a little early for them to leave now, but knowing Twilight, she's probably ready."
"Maybe we should ask Spike! He manages Twilight's schedule, after all." Sweetie thought aloud.
"That sounds good, let's head over there." Scootaloo ordered.
"That sounds like ah' might good idea, but I think Twilight has some different plans." Apple Bloom stammered as she looked out the window, a carriage being drawn all by itself. Scootaloo ran to the window and glanced out. There was only one carriage that pulled itself. Twilight mentioned building a steam-powered carriage, but it wasn't until now that the three had laid eyes upon it.
The carriage was rectangular in shape, with wheels that were wooden with steel spokes. The body was half brass, half cloth canopy. A large, brass cylinder that served as the motor was attached to the back of the interior and had a smokestack next to the motor. A large wheel sat parallel behind the windshield. Couches sat against the wall of the vehicle. The door was placed on near the front right corner. There were five ponies inside, all holders of the Elements, except for the element of honesty.
Scootaloo watched to carriage pull up to the front of the Apple family's house, sputtering and making other odd noises and gears turned on the motor and steam blew out of the smokestack.
"Guys, could you go get my scooter, the wagon that attaches to it, and a hooked cable?"
Sweetie and Apple Bloom both saluted comically and ran off. Scootaloo had left her vest on from the previous night. She strapped her mechanical wing's motor to her back. The wings were still locked in place. She reached behind her as her hooves searched for the switch. She found it and gave it a flip. Her pack began warming up with the signals of smoke emitting from the top.
Apple Bloom's older sister, Applejack stepped out from her house and appeared to talk to Twilight. AJ ran back inside and returned with her saddlebags and the two mares entered the carriage.
Come on, where are you guys? Scootaloo was growing more and more desperate every moment her friends were gone. She then heard the voice of Apple Bloom call out from below the tree house.
"Scoots, we're ready!" Her Apple friend yelled. As Scootaloo requested, there was her scooter, the wagon attached to the back so the other two could sit, and a hooked cable.
Scootaloo ran outside and jumped off of the rail, letting her pegasus instincts take over as she glided, not flew down to the ground.
"Alright, get in. Twilight is about to leave!" The orange filly was right. Twilight's vehicle was already in motion. At first, it moved at about the pace of two stallions pulling it at walking speed. But then, it began to gain even more speed, advancing to a gallop. It was then comparing to that of a sprinting pony.
"These new wings better work." Scootaloo whispered as she stepped onto her scooter. Instead of wearing her helmet as she used to, she now adorned a pair of flight goggles that Rainbow Dash had given to her as a birthday gift. She opened her wings which resembled to the unsheathing of a sword in sound.
With one, great, initial flap of Scootaloo's wings, the Cutie Mark Crusaders became mobile almost instantly.
Scootaloo pulled out of the front gates of Sweet Apple Acres and onto the open dirt road. She could see the carriage ahead, and she would easily catch up to it, if there weren't two fillies in the wagon behind her. The carriage must have been half of a mile ahead. Your'e not getting away from me now Scootaloo thought. Such a passion could not bested by any other pony of her age as she put all of her effort into catching that carriage. After a minute, Scootaloo barely had any energy left in her, but he was a hoof's distance away.
"Sweetie, the cable!" Scootaloo shouted. She knew that shouted would not alarm the ponies inside of the vehicle due to the constant whirring of the motor. Sweetie Belle handed Scootaloo the cable, removing one hand from the handlebar of her scooter to grab it. Careful, now. Scootaloo's adrenaline was rushing through her veins as he hastily connected the wagon to a handle on the end of the carriage. The pegasus jumped off of her scooter and into the wagon, gracefully landed in between her friends as they were now being effortlessly pulled. Scootaloo watched as her scooter was discarded and sat on the road, waiting for somepony to ride it.
Aw man, I'm gonna miss that thing. Scootaloo's mind quickly changed subjects as she said, "Girls, we're going to see some history happen." All three fillies laughed as they made themselves comfortable for the long ride ahead
Both the Elements of Harmony and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were engaged in conversation for the majority of the trip. They were also in awe whenever the scenery changed. They went from the grassy plains of Ponyville to the dark bogs of the Everfree forest. They drove through mountainous passes and dark tunnels. They even passed through Fillydelphia at one point, Twilight having to get out to obtain coal for the carriage's motor to burn. Luckily nopony payed any attention to the small wagon sitting behind the mares.
The carriage was now rolling through a thick, wooded area. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle could hear both of their stomachs rumble. They had been sitting in their wagon for almost seven hours now.
"Oh, I forgot that I brought some snacks!" Apple Bloom said cheerfully as she pulled out three apple fritters for each filly.
All three fillies filled their stomachs when Sweetie Belle looked around the carriage to see what was ahead. What she saw was an enormous mountain, slightly taller than the one Canterlot sat on. There were aqueducts and waterfalls down the forested mountain to... A city!
Surrounding the mountain was a city in the shape of a circle. There was a wall made of grey brick surrounding the city with few semi-circular guarded openings. The only thing anypony from the outside could see was the tip of smokestacks blowing smoke into the air.
Twilight drove her "car", as Scootaloo had heard her once call it up to one of the guarded entrances. She parked it at the front and stepped out. Scootaloo saw her speak with the guard for a moment and the guard gave her a warm smile and let her pass. As the car passed thorough the entrance, the guard turned to look at the carriage , when he saw the three fillies in a wagon being towed away. The Cutie Mark Crusaders all gave him an awkward smile, as the guard did nothing but look confused.
The inside of the city was nothing what any of the girls expected it to look like, both inside the of carriage and out. The streets were made of a dark grey cobblestone. Ponies would play and chatter as they walked the city's streets as a pony would anywhere else. There was barely any grass, but where there was, it only existed on the balconies of houses.
The houses were relatively close in relation to basic shape to houses in Ponyville. The base was the rectangular wooden structure, but instead of hay roofing, a smokestack was mounted on every house, some even having a spiral staircase surrounded by glass that lead to a second story of the house. Every house also had one other similarity other than a smokestack. A garage.
As Scootaloo looked closer into the streets ahead, she could she multiple steam-powered carriages, the designs to the motor almost identical to the one Twilight had built.
If these ponies are this advanced, I wonder what other things they have that are better than ours? Scootaloo pondered the thought a moment, until they the side of the mountain.
A brass platform lowered to the ground from the top of the mountain, not by magic, but by a system that had a motor that was barely visible at the top. Twilight started to drive her car onto the platform.
"Please make it," each filly pleaded, in hope of there being enough space on the platform for their wagon. The wagon narrowly missed being dropped off as the platform began to rise.
"Ah' wonder if there'll be a castle at tha' top!" Apple Bloom said.
There was something at the top, not a castle, but a council building. You could tell from that the original building was classic in design, almost the same as Princess Celestia's, but there were many noticeable adjustments made as time progressed and technology advanced.
Twilight drove off of the platform and stopped the car. All six ponies inside of the carriage stepped out and made their way towards the building.
"Here's where things get tricky." Scootaloo whispered. From the moment she could see the building she began to analyze it. The number of guards, their positioning, entrances, and blind spots. She waited for the exact moment of when to leave, and she was ready. "Follow me, and don't make any noise." She hissed. She didn't mean to sound hateful, but this was serious. No turning back now. Her friends nodded, understanding the importance of their mission.
Scootaloo hopped out of the wagon and started to slowly make her way to a side entrance of the building. She would dive behind trees, sneak behind bushes, and find crates to crouch under, both of her friends sticking to h closely.
The momentarily unguarded entrance was only a meter and a half away. Scootaloo's plan was about to be successful! She found her opportunity and took it. She had made it to the entrance unnoticed, except that she didn't account for one thing. She had her two friends following her.
One of the guards turned his head on routine, and noticed a cream-coated earth pony and a white unicorn snooping around the council garden.
"Hey! What are you two doing?" He shouted.
"I- uh, nothin'?" Apple Bloom stammered, fear and embarrassment mixed in her voice.
"Go, you've got to get out while you can!" Sweetie Belle whispered to Scootaloo. " If everything goes like Twilight planned, we should be let go."
"No. I'm not just leaving you guys here." The orange filly opened the door and searched for someplace to hide. There was nothing big enough that could disguise three small ponies. "I don't think that there's anything we can do."
"Then go!" Sweetie said.
"Uh, too late." Apple Bloom squeaked as the guard lifted her and Sweetie up with his magic.
"We'll see what your parents have to say about this. You're trespassing on government soil, ladies." As he barked out his last sentence, an evil smirk formed on his face.
From out of the shadow of the door, Scootaloo stepped out. "Put them down." She said, with malice and anger, but at the same time staying calm and collected.
"Oh, there's another?" The guard looked up and barely had enough time to catch a glimpse of the orange filly accelerating towards him with her wings. Scootaloo landed a clean, swift blow against the stallion's nose. Blood instantly began to trickle from his nostrils.
"Why you..." He engulfed her in the field of magic that the other two Crusaders were trapped in.
The look of anger and hatred the guard once possessed dissolved as his smirk reappeared. "Actually, I think I'll just let you see what the Emprress thinks of you three."
He carried the three down the halls inside of the council building. He walked through many twists and turns until he reached a door that was cast iron and had multiple locks running down the frame. He unlocked every one, some requiring a pass code, and some needing a key.
The guard opened the door and tossed the fillies in. "Have a nice stay." He said sarcastically.
"Now what do we do, because I don't think we can get out." Sweetie was blinking away tears now.
"We wait, and look, obviously guards don't check what's even inside this cell anyways." Scootaloo pointed to were the ceiling met the wall opposite to the door. There was a small hole cut, revealing the room above, only that this was not any room, but the "emperor's" room.
They needed a way to see what was happening in the other room. There were a few empty crates in the corner. They stacked them together and all stood on top of them. They saw an alicorn mare with a grey coat and a long, white straight mane sitting on a throne with the Elements of Harmony kneeling before her.
"Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle! My friends are Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. We come in peace and with many offerings, Empress..." Twilight was the first to speak of the the six.
"Lotus." A warm smile was adorning her face. "It's always nice to have visitors from Equestria, but there's often business involved. You need something, correct? Tell me, what brings you to The Society of All?"
Twilight took note of the odd name and decided to question it later.
"We'll y' see yer majesty, this civilization has been gone for a while, a long while actually." Applejack with her friendly southern accent.
"Yes, Applejack is right" Twilight continued. "Your'e familiar wight he Crystal Kingdom, yes? Well they disappeared for one thousand years, and just materialized out of nowhere! So the field that triggered the Kingdom's return is the same one that brought you back. I'm still not sure of how you disappeared in the first place, but could you tell me when the last time you contacted Equestria was?"
The emperor thought for a moment. She then started, "The last time I remember Equestria contacting the Society was when Celestia first began her rule. She was still as old as any average pony, only about forty years of age!" The Empress smiled at the humorous memory. "But I can't remember anything else after that..." She looked off past the six mares, trying to remember the events that unfolded, ultimately leaded to the Society's demise.
"No matter!" Her stare vanished, the warm smile replacing it on her face. "Of course though, peace is the best option for the Society and Equestria. How shall we work this out?"
Twilight and her friends would have gone on if a guard hadn't opened the door.
"Found this lot outside trying to sneak in!" He brought three fillies into the room with his magic and tossed them to the floor. Twilight recognized them as the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
Every mare in the room had either a look of shock, or confusion. Three fillies had almost infiltrated one of the city's most guarded buildings undetected.
Twilight was in shock to, but she quickly reeled back around to the Empress, knowing what she would say next.
"You bring spies to this meeting?" Twilight cringed at the Empress's choice of words used to describe the girls.
"I think this is just a big misunderstanding!" Rainbow Dash flew forth and tried to explain.
"She's right, one happens to be my sister." Rarity said, still attempting to charm her and her friends way out of trouble.
"I think I remember know..." The Empress said while rubbing her temples. "I remember Equestria sending spies to steal our technology! we were about to go to war with you, until your Princess imprisoned the whole city!"
Twilight and her friends stood in confusion. is this how they disappeared? she thought. Why didn't the Princess tell me anything?
"Get out." The alicorn said. "Get out and prepare yourselves. I'm going to finish what I started so many years ago. You may still be able to save yourselves if you go."
RainbowDash couldn't hide her anger any longer. "Now wait just a minute lady, we didn't do anything wrong! These obviously aren't spies, they're just fillies! We want to be your friends!" she flew towards the Empress at spectacular speeds, ready to pummel her, when a magic glow surrounded her tail.
"She's giving us opportunity, Dash. Now isn't the time." Rarity said with a calm, yet dark look on her face.
"At least somepony here has some sense to leave." The mare sitting on her throne huffed.
All nine ponies from Equestria turned and showed themselves out, never looking back.
This time in the carriage ride back, the three fillies got to sit with the mares inside.
"We're sorry" The three said as they got out of the city, their heads hanging low.
"Actually, it's not your fault. They were going to remember sooner or later, and I think it's better they found out early before we could begin to trust them." Twilight said in a comforting tone.
"Yeah, there's no reason to be down on yourselves." Fluttershy said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"But I, on the other hand am disappointed." Applejack scolded. "How could you follow us? You must've known it'd be dangerous-" Applejack was cut off by Twilight.
"It's okay AJ, these are three clever fillies, I think they know how to handle things, except for the part where they got caught. They were just curious."
"Ah' guess yer' right, I do suppose that a'm not the best role model for safety." Applejack leaned back in her seat.
"But now we're at war girls. Lotus was right about one thing. We have to prepare." Twilight explained. "We need a plan."
"Maybe if we gather everypony from all of the cities to Ponyville and Canterlot, since both are close together." Rainbow Dash thought aloud. " And Cloudsdale would be used as an unstoppable fortress! I don't remember seeing a cloud base like ours around the city. We must have some advantages!"
"Good idea darling. This might actually work." Rarity wasn't one to be known as a fighter, but Rainbow was glad she had someone that supported her idea.
"Alright. I'll notify the Princess when we get back... But now, I think we can relax a bit." Twilight slouched back and attempted to loosen up.
Not a single pony in the carriage would get any relaxation for quite a while.
It was the same night of Empress Lotus declared war on Equestria and after many discussions, it was decided to follow Rainbowdash's idea and call in everypony from big cities like Fillydelphia, Manehatten, and Baltimare since they would be the most likely places to be targeted. The ponies from the large cities were just beginning to arrive in Ponyville. Tents were being set up at Sweet Apple Acres for a place to stay. Twilight couldn't help but feel bad since she had taken ponies out of their homes with little explanation. She had told Princess Celestia about the previous events from yesterday the night they got back, and she thought it would also be best to move the ponies.
Maybe once they're settled, I'll explain the situation. We're gonna need as many volunteers as possible if we want to hold up in this war, She thought.
Her and her five friends had also spoke that night of splitting up and operating in their own fashion.
"I think Ah'll be fightin' on the front of th' battlefield." Twilight recalled Applejack saying.
"Yeah, fighting up front isn't really my thing, but I don't mind fighting from where nopony sees me." Rarity had said.
"Me and Fluttershy will fight from the air!" Rainbow Dash had said proudly as she hooked Fluttershy around the neck with her elbow.
"Oh okay then..." Fluttershy murmured.
"Maybe if I make a few adjustments to my party cannon..." Pinkie was pondering ways to make a lethal cannon of fun.
"I'll stay at the library. With some help from the Doctor, I think we'll be able to get ahead of the Society technologically." Twilight agreed. She knew that none of her friends wanted to separate, but teach knew that each had a different way of handling things, even when it came to things like fighting.
Twilight took a deep breath. She wasn't sure how she was handling this in only one day. Her mind was exhausted and she needed some rest.She trudged up to her room and was about to get in bed when she saw a pony-shaped lump on her guest bed.
What they hay? Did somepony find their way into the library? Better wake them up so I can get some sleep. She walked next to the lump and poked it. She confirmed that it was a pony when they started to move around.
"River? Is that you?" The Doctor, or Doctor Whooves as he was usually called started to blink as he sat up in bed and looked at Twilight. All of a sudden he shook his head and gained a look of panic.
"Twilight! Thank goodness your'e here! There's something I needed to tell you... Think, think!" He beat his head with his hoof and yelped. "Owee! I forgot that hooves hurt on your forehead... Anyways, I needed to ell you that we're going to war!"
"Yeah, I was kind of there." Twilight said, feeling annoyed but still giggled at his silliness.
"Oh, and if you come with me, we can stop it! We just need to get to the TARDIS and-" The Doctor was stopped short by Twilight.
"I think we tried that. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed. I don't mind you staying in the guest bed, as long as you don't snore, it really bothers Spike."
Doctor Whooves knew that there was no way he could get to the lavender mare, so he agreed. "Fine, tomorrow. But then, you're going to help me save Equestria, got it?"
"Sure, sure. goodnight." Twilight said as she slid under her covers and passed out almost immediately.