Part VI: To The Rescue
Princess Twilight knocked on the door to Zecora's hut. "Zecora, it's me Twilight. Are you there?"
Zecora opened the door, surprised to see her pony friend at the Everfree Forest. Twilight entered her hut and placed her crown on a table.
"Twilight, don't you have an party to celebrate in Ponyville? Do you have a question that you need me to fulfill?" Zecora muttered.
"About the party, Zecora. It didn't go so good.." Twilight murmered.
Zecora looked at Twilight and noticed how down she was. "What happened, my dear? Has something happened that you feared?"
Twilight broke down. "I planned out.. this party.. and it was a mess! Every pony blamed.. me for it. I blame.. myself for it too! It was suppose to be perfect! And now.. it's all gone.."
"Do not blame yourself for that mess. Do not listen to those who oppress," Zecora advised.
"But they said I was a terrible princess! Maybe I don't deserve to be a princess in the first place.." Twilight confessed.
"Don't say that Twilight," Zecora said as she was making tea. "Your future as a princess is bright."
"But Zecora, I made a major mistake. A mistake I will probably never forgive myself nor would the ponies ever forgive me.." Twilight responded.
"We all make mistakes; they come and go," Zecora replied. "The mistakes we make always help us grow."
"So you're saying that I shouldn't expect perfection? And that instead of letting these mistakes bring me down, I should learn from them to be a better princess?" Twilight asked.
"Yes, you are a wonderful princess. That is something you should be blessed," Zecora reassured, handing Twilight a cup of tea.
"What is this?" Twilight questioned as she grabbed the cup.
"A special tea I make when I frown," Zecora chuckled when she drank the tea. "It always turns that frown upside down."
Twilight drank the tea and giggled as well. "Thank you Zecora. This tea is amazing. It makes me feel rejuvenated inside."
"Of course, that's what friends are for. Knowing you, I know you will succeed more," Zecora kindly mentioned to Twilight.
"Now off to Ponyville you should go, hang out with the friends you've come to know. And make a new party, you shall do. Just have fun and don't feel blue."
Twilight smiled. "Thank you so much Zecora." She opened the door and left the hut.
However, oustide the hut, Twilight noticed the odd weather patterns and heard screaming back in Ponyville. She galloped as fast as she could to Ponyville and noticed how much darkness had clouded the town. Going back to the party, she saw a whole lot of ponies that she couldn't recognize. They were wearing robes and they were all surrounding the other ponies.
"What in Equestria is going on here?" Twilight wondered as she inched closer to the scene.
Empress Adrestia was still casting her spell on the Mane Five. All the fears that the Mane Five were experiencing in the alternative universe were all illusions created by Adrestia. While Empress Adrestia was casting her spell on the ponies, that allowed her minions to snatch their elements from them.
"Good job my minions. Look like our job here is done," the Empress declared.
"What are you going to do with those ponies now that we have their elements?" the lieutenant asked.
"Now that we have no use for these ponies, I will cast a spell that will put them in a temporary sleep. When I'm done, get rid of them! Put them in a place in the middle of nowhere. Where they won't be able to find their way back, where they can't get help, where they won't be a bother to me!" the Empress explained.
As Twilight walked closer to the scene, she felt her heart drop as soon as she saw her friends unconscious on the floor in front of a tall mysterious figure.
"Hey! That's my friends! What do you think you're doing!?" Twilight angrily screamed. "Leave my friends alone!"
All the ponies and the Metusonians stared at Twilight. Twilight was bewildered. She couldn't recognize who the odd ponies were or where they came from, but she didn't care. All she cared about was her friends safety.
The Metusonians hissed and were about to attack Twilight, but the Empress called them off. Empress Adrestia walked closer to Twilight, but Twilight didn't seem to show any signs of fear or concern.
Empress Adrestia circled around Twilight and said "You must be Princess Twilight? Princess of this cursed town?"
"YES! And I demand you to tell me what you did to my friends!" Twilight aggressively demanded.
"Oh? Those ponies are your friends? I did nothing terrible to them, just put them to sleep. That's all.." Adrestia addressed, menacingly laughing afterwards.
"Liar! I will stop you!" Twilight snapped, preparing to shoot magic at the Empress.
"How did it feel like to have every pony blame you for everything?" Empress Adrestia asked, changing the subject.
Twilight then froze a bit. "Wha- Stop. Stop changing the subject you monster!"
"It must've felt awful to get blamed on. Being a princess and all, you're supposed to be a role model to these helpless ponies." Adrestia said, pointing to the frightened Ponyville ponies. "And what do you do? You mess up! How shameful.."
Twilight, trying to concentrate on the real matter, said "Stop! Or I will shoot! I am a great princess!"
"Are you a great princess? Would a great princess back away from a problem right in front of her?" Adrestia laughed, mocking the princess. "I saw the whole thing. Don't act like it never happened!"
Twilight then started to lose her concentration. The flashbacks of the anniversary not long ago started to haunt her mind again. She began to tear up a little, but also tried to keep her composure. "Who are you? What do you want?"
"Nothing. Just revenge," Empress Adrestia replied, quickly shooting the same spell on Twilight like she said on her friends.
Twilight found herself in a dark room, just like what her friends saw previously.
"Wh-where am I?" Twilight asked. She tried to shoot magic to break herself free from the room, but the magic just deflected off.
Welcome to my game, Princess Twilight!
Twilight looked around to see where the voice was coming from. "Where are you!" she shouted.
You think you can stop me!? I won't let anyone interfere with my plans!
"You hurt my friends! You invade my home! I will do whatever it takes to protect the ponies and things that I love!" Twilight responded.
"Aw, aren't you such a sweetie?" the Empress sarcastically cackled. "Your friends blamed you.. They oppressed you yet you still back them up.. This party was suppose to be perfect..right..? Now how did that turn out..? Now you have no pony..! You're alone and continue to be alone..!
As the Empress verbally attacked the princess, Adrestia changed the room to re-play the anniversary disaster in front of the princess. Twilight watched her worst fear happen all over again and she tried to look away. It seemed so real. She observed the facial expressions of all the ponies, but all they saw from them was anger and infuriation.
Some friends you have!
"Stop! What do you want from me!?" Twilight begged.
I want revenge and I won't let ponies like YOU get in my way!
In the real world, Empress Adrestia casted a temporary sleeping spell to knock Twilight unconscious for a bit.
She looked at her minions and pointed at the unconscious ponies. "Get rid of these ponies. Like I said before, put them away in a faraway place, a place in the middle of nowhere. I don't want to deal with them any longer!"
The lieutenant nodded. "Yes, my Empress. Right away."
The minions put the unconscious ponies into a chariot and flew into the sky. As they flew farther away from Ponyville, one of the minions pointed at the perfect location: a desert. When the minions landed on the ground, they dumped the ponies into the desert as powerful desert winds breezed through.
At the city of Manehatten, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance found their way at a concert.
"Uhm, are you sure this is the right location, Shining Armor?" Cadance asked.
"Yeah. These are the coordinates Princess Celestia gave us," Shining Armor answered. "Maybe we should ask that guard over there if he's seen the pony we're looking for."
Shining Armor and Cadance made their way to the security guard. The guard, noticing the two ponies, bowed down in respect.
"Shining Armor. Princess Cadance. It's an honor to have you two here, but what are you doing at a concert?" the guard said, still bowing down.
"Thank you. We're not here for the concert however," Shining Armor replied.
"Yes, we're looking for a specific pony said to be here. Have you seen them?" Princess Cadance asked, showing the guard the picture.
"Ah, yes! Follow me," the guard said.
He led the two ponies backstage and pointed at a door at the back. Cadance and Shining Armor thanked the guard and proceeded to talk to the mystery pony. When they entered the room, they saw the pony that matched the picture and description. They explained to the pony what was going, how Equestria was in grave danger, and that Princess Celestia needed the assistance.
As the group left the room, Shining Armor stopped and asked, "I almost forgot. What is your name?"
The mystery pony also stopped and replied, "My name is Jazz."