Tha Main Six, along with Guardian Sword, Scrapped Cloak, and Lickety Split are now heading to Midnight Castle, where Lickety Split is sure they will find the Rainbow of Darkness. But not before leaving their friends in Ponyville inside a safe barrier made by Twilight.
The Sky Wanderer is fast enough to reach everywhere on Equestria in a matter of minutes. After a short and quiet moment, Pinkie Pie decided to know a little more about their three new friends, Guardian Sword, Lickety Split and the young Scrapped Cloak, the poor filly was her first victim.
"Howdy, Scrappy!" Pinkie Pie popped out of nowhere right in front of Scrapped Cloak "Say, how come I've never met you before in Canterlot?"
"Well... I... I am..." Scrapped Cloak nervously tried to answer.
"Pinkie! Canterlot is the largest and most inhabitated city in Equestria." Rarity intervened. "Not even you can know everypony who lives there."
"Is that a challenge?" Pinkie turned her sight at Rarity, smiled and lifted an eyebrow with confidence.
"Err... I pass." Rarity backed down without saying anything else.
"Well? Are you really from Canterlot? Who is your father, anyway?" Pinkie Pie did a big smile at Scrapped Cloak and kept questioning.
"My father... he is... A traveler! Yes! He... he travels from town to town... and I go with him... So no, we're not really from Canterlot."
"Oh... Ok. That's why I've never seen you before." Pinkie Pie seemed satisfied with the answer. But she asked more and more questions. "So why do you travel so much? What does your father do?"
"Well... My daddy ummm... He... He creates..."
"Hey, relax, kid." Rainbow Dash noticed the nervosity of the cloaked pony. "I know Pink here is a bit scary when she starts asking questions, but she doesn't bite."
"Yeah! I don't bite." Pinkie Pie got closer and closer to Scrapped Cloak. "So... your father creates things? How?"
"Yes. He creates things just for fun, with no reason. He is like an artist, he builds his own world, to make it funnier, and more interesting, he always used to say it was the way it was supposed to be. That was until... until they took him away, and I was left alone. I try to follow his steps, but I lack a lot, lot of experience."
"Miss Pinkie Pie. I think you are pressing a wound." Guardian Sword, who was driving the ships helm, stopped Pinkie Pie from asking more questions to Scrapped Cloak.
"Oops. Sorry, Scrappy, I totally forgot." Pinkie frowned, and apologized. Then she went toward Guardian Sword, who gulped upon watching her coming. "Alright! Your turn Mr. Knight. Whether you like it or not, we are friends. Time to talk about yourself."
"Please, miss Pinkie Pie. I've already said that friendship is not part of my mission."
"It doesn't have to be. Everypony needs friends,"
"No, I don't"
"Yes, you do."
"I said no."
"And I said, everypony. And I don't mean just everypony, I mean every creature in every corner of this world needs friends, because friendship is the color in the painting of life, and without it, everything would be just a boring black and white drawing on the white canvas we call life. Besides you gotta have a reason to not want any friends, everypony has a reason for everything and...."
"ARRGGHH! PLEASE, STOP!" Guardian Sword shouted in dessperation, the poor stallion never stood a chance against Pinkie Pie. "I DON'T NEED FRIENDSHIP. NOT BECAUSE IT'S NOT MY MISSION. BECAUSE IS A WASTE OF TIME!"
"A waste of time?" Pinkie Pie frowned.
Guardian Sword looked down, and everypony stood silent for a brief moment. Then, Guardian Sword started talking again.
"Just like miss Scrapped Cloak, I lost my parents when I was young. I was raised in an orphanage, but one day, I was adopted by a rich family, I assisted to the high class parties, I met high class ponies and that's how I met friendship. My brother seemed to enjoy these celebrations with his friends, he invited me to enjoy it as well. But I was criticized, they were making fun of me, they humiliated me. If that's what friendship is, I don't need it."
"Oh my! Your own brother?" Rarity hid her mouth with her hoof. "I'm not the best sister ever, but I would never do such a thing to Sweetie Belle. Who on Equestria could be that mean to his own brother?"
"Maybe you know him. His name is Blueblood."
"THAT CONCEITED, POOR ATTEMPT OF GENTLECOLT?!" Rarity waste no time to show her spite at Guardian Sword's brother.
"Tell me about it." Pinkie Pie nodded. "It's not just Prince Blueblood. High class parties are filled with conceited, poor attempts of gentlecolts."
"That is not real friendship, Guardian Sword." Twilight explained while transmitting her magic to the ship's engine. "Don't you realize the difference between your brother's friendship and ours? Our friendship, the REAL friendship, is to love and tolerate each other, with virtues and defects. I know that if you open your heart to it, you will never want to get away from it."
Twilight smiled at Guardian Sword, and the stallion contemplated Twilight's smile, he gulped, sweat started to stream down his forehead, and his breath began to accelerate as his hooves began to tremble. Rarity saw the stallion's reaction and just frowned, disapointed.
"Come now, Rar." Applejack backpalmed Rarity to cheer her up. "You can't get'em all, y'know?"
"I always had the stallion I wanted." Rarity smiled at Applejack. "But I have to admit it. This time, Twilight has completely defeated me."
"Well, only one left, right Splitty?" Pinkie Pie bounced to Lickety Split. The two pink ponies stared at each other smiling cheerfully. "How did you met The Observer?"
"Well, I was residing in Vanhoover when I met her. She said she was leaving Equestria forever and needed somepony to assist her, so I thought, why not? And I've been her assistant since then."
"Is that really the whole story?" Pinkie Pie asked after a brief pause.
"Yes. That's all."
"Oh! Okey dokey lokey." Pinkie bounced away, leaving Lickety Split alone, as everypony else were left open-mouthed in shock, nopony has got rid of Pinkie so easily before.
Lickety Split indicated where Midnight Castle was and where could they land. Guardian Sword followed her instructions and landed the ship on the castle's main bailey. Lickety Split led the way to the place where they would find the Rainbow of Darkness, and everypony else followed her, as Twilight and Rarity iluminated the place with their magic, and Guardian Sword and Rainbow Dash were using lit torches.
The castle's hallways were deteriorated, many of the stone walls were crumbled, the creaking of the wood doors echoed through the entire hallway, and the stench to dust filled the place. When Lickety Split opened a door, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Spike and herself passed through, but the door suddenly slammed, leaving the rest of the group behind.
"What in tarnation is going on?" Applejack tried to open the door, but it was locked. "Stand aside! I'm going to knock this door away."
All the ponies on the other side moved away from the door, waiting for the earth pony to break the door, but for some reason, she stopped, and after a few seconds, the door opened again.
"Well, look at that, y'all! It opens to the other side! Sorry 'bout that." Applejack smiled and scratched her head, embarrased.
The group, then, reached the castle's keep where, according to Lickety Split, the Rainbow of Darkness was last used by Tirek on the top.
"Hey, Applejack. How come you're not wearing that dirty old hat of yours, now?" Rainbow Dash noticed Applejack wasn't wearing her hat. After all, she had lost it during her fight against Ignis, the Dragon Lord of Fire. Pinkie Pie and Twilight gasped and stared at Rainbow Dash, disapproving her last comment.
"Umm... well." Applejack was confused, and answered. "It's just a hat, isn't it? Ah can wear it anytime, y'know?." Twilight and Pinkie Pie were more surprised at Applejack's reaction, Rainbow Dash stopped, and smiled with confidence. Rainbow Dash tackled Applejack to the floor, Applejack fell on her back, and was trapped between Rainbow's legs.
"Rainbow! What does this mean?!" Rarity questioned Rainbow Dash, but she was ignored.
"Applejack's hat is a memento of her parents. She would have exploded after what I just said. But you said it was just a hat. Your indiference betrayed you."
"I don't understand." Applejack's southern accent disappeared.
"You mess up, partner. Who are you? Where are my friends? ANSWER ME!" Rainbow Dash interrogated Applejack, but the captured earth pony was covered in red flames, Rainbow Dash jumped backward, as the rest of the ponies who were left behind also covered themselves in red flames, and as soon as the flames were extinguished, the ponies inside them were replaced by Changelings. But these changelings were different from the others, they had red eyes and red wings, their bodies had no hollows, and there was a purple aura around each one, they were Dark Changelings.
"No way... Changelings, too?" Twilight could not believe what she saw.
"No worries, Twi. You and Split go for the Rainbow of Darkness." Rainbow Dash commanded. "Pink, Spike and I can deal with these guys." And so, Twilight and Lickety Split rushed for the top. One of the Changelings tried to chase them, but Rainbow Dash blocked his way.
"No, señor. You will stay here and have fun with us." Rainow Dash punched the Changeling back, starting the battle.
It was Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Spike, versus three Dark Changelings. Spike jumped and from the air, he shot fire at the Changelings, but one of them stepped forward, and countered the flames with a dark beam shot from his horn. The Dark Changelings charged all at the same time, and used their wings to boost theirs speed, the ponies and the dragon did not expect this, and they were knocked back.
Pinkie Pie regained her balance and hopped on the Changelings' heads, landing on the other side, Rainbow Dash charged at them and pushed one of them at Pinkie Pie, who kicked the unlucky Changeling with her hind legs, and Spike burned him with his fire breath.
The other two Changelings quckly regrouped with their downed partner, two of them pointed their horns at the third Changeling, and performed a strange spell, then, the third Changeling, who was surrounded by a dark red aura, pointed his horn at the ponies and the dragon, and a dark red beam came out of it, Rainbow, Pinkie and Spike where caught inside the beam, struggling against a current that was pushing them back, but the two remaining changelings jumped inside the beam and kicked the ponies and the dragon, who were taken by the beam's current until the other side of the hallway.
"Uff... This Changelings are tougher than the others." Pinkie Pie stood up with Rainbow Dash's help, who was the first one to stand up.
"Yeah, they're pretty good." Spike also got up and smiled. "But that's nothing compared to Lednik."
"Heh... yeah!" Rainbow Dash was also confident. "Even Fluttershy alone was more of a challenge than you guys."
The Changelings got angry for their enemies' words, they tried to repeat the same spell, but Rainbow and Pinkie rushed at the Changelings before they could do it. The ponies speed caught the Dark Changelings off guard, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie punched the three Changelings in a hoof-to-hoof combat. While the Changelings were distracted defending themselves from the ponies, Spike covered himself in green flames, he charged at the Changelings, and hit them with powerful green fire claws, then he blew his green flames on to Rainbow Dash, she was powered by the flames as she was wrapped by them, and she boosted at the changelings and ran them over, taking them all the way to the other side of the hallway.
"Hah! How's that, chumps?" Rainbow Dash mocked the Dark Changelings, who were too beaten and weak to stand up again. Pinkie clapped her hoof against Spike's fist, celebrating their victory.
"Okay, no time to lose. Let's move it!" Rainbow Dash commanded as the team rushed to catch up with Twilight and Lickety Split.
Meanwhile, the rest of the ponies were locked inside one of the rooms, Guardian Sword and Applejack, joined forces and crashed through the door, wich leaded to a garden. Other two Dark Changelings were waiting for them, as if they knew they wouldn't hold them locked forever.
"Sir Guardian Sword. You have a mission to complete, am I correct?" Rarity said. "You can leave this to us. And Fluttershy, please take Scrapped Cloak to a safe place." Guardian Sword and Fluttershy nodded at Rarity, and both pegasi flew away, Guardian Sword headed for the castle's keep, and Fluttershy took the young cloaked pony back to the Sky Wanderer,
"Oh my heavens." One of the Changelings imitated Rarity, taunting her. "Aren't you scared of messing up your mane?"
"Come here, you ruffian. So I can teach you how a messed up mane looks like."
The Dark Changeling fell for the taunt and attacked Rarity, he launched a one-two punch combination, but Rarity dodged easily with a left-right move, then, the Dark Changeling tried an uppercut, but the unicorn avoided it stepping to her right side, and countered with a roundhouse kick that hit the Changeling's cheek, and knocking him down.
"What the...?!" The Changeling got up, he was angry.
"Maybe Ah should have warned you." Applejack looked at the Changelings with a cocky smile. "Rarity is actually pretty good at fighting."
The Dark Changelings joined their horns, a purple aura glew around both of them, and a black beast shaped beam hit the two ponies, launching them to against the building, and both ponies crashed against the wall. The ponies stood up, but the Changelings were already making their next attack. One of them kicked his partner and shot it toward the mares, the Changeling who was shot started spinning, covered in purple aura, wich released a shockwave upon hitting the ground, and blowing the mares away, crashing through the building's walls and falling inside the building's hallway.
"Okay.... Ah think we underestimated them." Applejack talked to Rarity, as the mares slowly stood up, and went back out to the garden through the wall's hole. "You ready, Rar?"
"It. Is. On." The mare glared at the two Dark Changelings.
Applejack stomped on the ground, creating a small tremor, strong enough to make the Dark Changelings lost their balance, so the Changelings lifted themselves with the help of their wings, but the tremor was a feint to distract them, Rarity used a telekinesis spell on the stone pieces of the collapsed wall, and used them to knock the Dark Changelings back on the ground, then, the mares completed the combination by charging at their downed enemies, each one hitting a Changeling with a headbutt.
As the Changelings stood up, Rarity hopped on Applejack's back, and the earth pony impulsed Rarity to the air, then, she stomped the ground once again, but this time, the ground below the Changelings lifted them, also throwing them to the air and heading Rarity's way. The unicorn hit their heads with each one of her hind legs, making a strong impact when landing on the ground. The Changelings tried to get up on their feet again, but they were too hurt to do it. Realizing their victory, Applejack and Rarity smiled at each other and followed their way to the keep.
On top of the keep, Twilight and Lickety Split found an old bag, Twilight slowly walked to the bag, but right before she could pick it up, a Dark Changeling appeared and took the bag.
"Not so fast, Twilight!" The Dark Changeling said while keeping the bag away from her. "I'll be keeping this."
"Don't touch that. You don't know how dangerous that is." Lickety Split warned the Dark Changeling, but he ignored her, he was decided to open it, but he was tackled by Guardian Sword, who appeared suddenly, making the Dark Changeling drop the bag, and so,Twilight teleported to the bag and grabbed it,
The Dark Changeling quickly shot a dark beam at Guardian Sword, and the pegasus was hit, making him step back. The Changeling took advantage of this, and attacked Twilight to snatch the bag from her. Twilight's horn glew as she lifted a barrier and repelled the changeling, but he covered himself by his purple aura and shot another dark beam, this time penetrating the barrier, and hitting Twilight, who dropped the bag upon the impact, and the bag landed on the floor, opened. The Rainbow of Darkness was released and took the form of a dark flare wich started to surround Twilight.
"The Rainbow of Light, Twilight! Use it, now!" Lickety Split screamed and Twilight opened the glowing pendant, a small rainbow was released from it, and instantly fused with the Rainbow of Darkness.
The two rainbows formed a single large rainbow, while the darkness was trying to swallow the multicolored rainbow, wich was also trying to swallow the darkness. Twilight gazed upon the mighty power of the Rainbows, she heared a voice inside her mind, distracting her.
"You have so much potential and energy, but they are all held back by Princess Celestia."
"No... Princess Celestia is helping me grow... I even became a princess thanks to her..."
"You can be as powerful as I am, you can master even more magic than Celestia."
"I can... even more magic... No! I can't turn against her..."
"Twilight, Celestia has had many star students. You are just another one to her."
"Just another one...?"
"Once she sees you have gained the Rainbow of Light's full power, she will take it from you, because she is scared of anypony growning stronger than her. Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon. Discord was turned into stone. I was imprisoned in the Crystal Empire. Even your friend, Fluttershy, was about to be punished by her."
"No... Princess Celestia knows best... she will... she... she had... she had a spell ready, just in case the Elements of Harmony turned against her... We... we are a threat to her..." Twilight's doubt, made the Rainbow of Light lose power, and the dark side of the Rainbow was winning the struggle.
Lickety Split, against the strong winds created by the Rainbows, crawled to the Rainbow of Darkness' bag, and closed it, as Guardian Sword crawled to Twilight and closed the pendant. Both Rainbows were imprisoned, leaving a strong shockwave who pushed all the ponies back.
"TWILIGHT!" All the unicorn's friends reached the top and rushed to her friend to help her up.
"I'm... I'm fine..." Twilight rubbed her head and touched the Rainbow of Light's pendant with a trembling hoof.
"It's okay. We can leave. We have the Rainbow of Darkness, now." Lickety Split stood up, and started walking to the keep's stairs, she glared at Twilight with a disapointed look in her eyes. "My master was right about you. You can't wield the Rainbow of Light."
The ponies left Midnight Castle with both Rainbows in their possesion, heading for Canterlot, to face King Sombra once again. The last Dark Changeling watched them leave from the castle's keep, he stopped his companions from chasing them, as if he knew that there was a chance to defeat the Dark Unicorn. He knew that if the ponies were successful, he and his partners would be free again.