Rise of the Empire pt.3
Twilight looked around as she realised that not only was everypony looking at her, but were expecting her to explain what was going on and what they could do.
"Well Sparkle? What do you know?" Dash demanded as she hovered above Twilight glaring down at her. "Some unknown 'princess' turns up and you're the only pony that knows her name and what's going on, so spill it"
"Enough, you do not order anything from me. Understand this, all of you, the only thing that can save our Empress and stop the de-throned princess is called The Elements of Harmony, and since no creature here knows where they are kept I suggest you stay out of my way while I find them" jumping off the table the crowd parted quickly as Twilight ran out of the Town Hall and to her lodgings, Spike floating behind her wrapped in her magic.
As she entered the library she floated Spike up to the bedroom as she started to quickly scan through the books, checking their index before tossing them aside. "There must be at least one book here that can help, a page, a paragraph, something."
"Need some help?" Rarity asked as she, Applejack, Fluttershy, Dash and Pinkie entered
"I told you to keep out of my way, this is too important" Twilight kept looking through books, ignoring the small group
"Hey, even I know a search goes quicker when there's more than one pony looking" Dash pointed out as she started to scan the titles of the books on the higher shelves
"Elements of Harmony: a reference guide" Pinkie read a title aloud, only to be pushed aside by Twilight
"What? How did you find it so quickly?" Twilight ask as she pulled the book out
"~It was under E~" Pinkie bounced around the room as Twilight skimmed the book, nothing she didn't already know from her previous research
"What does it say?" Rarity asked
"Nothing I don't already know" Twilight said off-handedly over her shoulder as she continued to read. "Wait, this is new, 'it is said the Elements were last seen in the battle between the then Princess of the moon, Princess Luna, and the Princess of the Sun, Princess Celestia, and remain there to this day. As no pony could use them and the Empress was leading her troupes on the front line of war, the Elements fell into story, then myth as they were slowly forgotten. The last fight between the two princesses was in the ancient castle where they held court, it is located which is now The Everfree Forest'"
"You mean to tell me, the only thing to bring back our Empress, stop her sister and bring an end to this whole thing is in the dangerous forest on the outside of town?" Applejack asked as the others looked nervous
"It doesn't matter to you anyway" Twilight closed the book and placed it back on the shelf in its proper place. "I have to find the Elements and I have to use them to stop Celestia, you can all go back to protecting the town, or whatever it is you do"
"Now hold on Sparkle" Applejack jumped in front of Twilight to stop her leaving "you may not like us and we don't exactly like you, but what kind of ponies of the Empire would we be while we sat around doin' nothin' while our Empress was missin' and her student was wanderin' around in a dangerous forest by herself. Whether you like or not we're coming with you and there ain't nothin' you can do about it"
Twilight was tempted to blast Applejack through her door with the way she'd just spoken to her, but for every minute she stood arguing with the locals Celestia was a minute ahead and another minute her Empress was gone. "Do what you want, but if you get into trouble don't expect my help"
***---***
As Twilight approached the Everfree Forest she could see why the ponies avoided it as much as they could, the trees were tall and the foliage was thick, blocking out the sunlight and quickly making the forest dark. What was most disturbing was how quiet the forest was, there were no birds chirping in the trees, no rustling of bushes as small animals moved through them, there wasn't even a breeze to rustle the leaves making the air in the forest heavy and stuffy, which quickly wore down their stamina and tolerance of each other.
"Does anyone actually know where the old castle is?" Dash asked as she walked along with the rest, they'd come to the edge of a cliff that gave them a large view of the forest which went on as far as their eyes could see.
"I'm not sure where exactly, but the castle is supposed to be near the middle of the forest" Twilight looked across the forest below and couldn't help but wonder how long it would take to get to the castle, especially since they'd have to find a way down from the cliff.
"You don't know? You dragged us along and you don't even know where the castle is?" Dash shouted glaring at Twilight, exploring the forest having worn down her patients
"Dragged you along? I told you all to stay behind" Twilight shouted back "now I can truly see why you got kicked out of the army, you can't even follow a simple order of staying put let alone an order to scout the enemy"
Twilight saw the shock on Dash's face and watched as the wind was momently knocked out of her sails, unable to think of any comeback argument but Rarity quickly intervened
"That is enough you two, arguing amongst ourselves isn't helping anything"
"Oh shut up Rarity" Twilight turned on the pony she dispised the most "you act like your part of the high society of Canterlot but you're no better than the rest of them, just a small town pony with dreams of grandeur who got lucky that her feeble designs got noticed."
"FEEBLE! How Dare You you arrogant little stuck up good for nothing" Rarity screamed, her eyes burning with pure hatred for Twilight as her horn began to glow
"Um, perhaps everypony should calm down" Fluttershy tried to suggest but wasn't heard over Rarity
"Why calling my designs feeble is like calling your magic feeble, though I must say we haven't seen an inkling of your so-called talent"
"Show you my magic? The fact I'm the student of-" Twilight's horn began to glow as well as she tried to argue but was cut off by Rarity
"Yes yes we've all heard it 'I'm the personal student of our Empress Moon'. Well let me tell you Sparkle we're all sick of hearing it" Rarity spoke in a poor impression of Twilight voice which annoyed her even more, only for Pinkie to jump between them
"Ooh are we doing impressions now? Can I try? Guess who I am. Howdy y'all, I'ma goin' keep the peace and buck anything in the face if they be messin' with my town or kin" Pinkie put on a bad southern accent as she bounced around the group
"Will you shut up" Twilight screamed as she sent a blast of magic at Pinkie, meaning to freeze her in place but Pinkie bounced out of the way and the magic hit the ground. Suddenly the ground lurched and everything was at a slight angle, everypony realised what was going on and tried not to move but slowly they could hear the ground begin to crumble away.
Suddenly the ground gave way and four of the ponies were falling, sliding down the small mountain which suddenly dropped and they quickly picking up speed. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy dove after them and were able to grab Pinkie and Rarity as Applejack slid after Twilight, crouching low as she slid and willing herself to catch up to Twilight.
Grabbing a root sticking out of the dirt she grabbed it with her mouth as she grabbed Twilight's hooves and pinned them just as she went over the edge.
Trying to pull Twilight up Applejack felt the root pull out slightly and threatened to come out even more, sending them both over the edge. Her mouth and neck already hurting from both the angle she was at and Twilight's added weight.
"Sparkle, I've got a plan but you've got to trust me" Applejack said through her clenched jaw, her voice showing how strained she was
"Trust you? I've just met you, I wouldn't trust you with borrowing one of my quills, never mind with my life" Twilight screamed out in panic, she was trying to get some footing but the surface was too smooth.
"Twilight Sparkle, I am a guard of Ponyville and a member of the Equestrian army. Everyday I do my bit to protect the Empire and it's citizens, I swear to you I will not let anything bad happen to you" feeling Twilight stop digging her hooves Applejack removed her own, Twilight instantly sliding over the edge and screaming as she fell, which died away as she realised she wasn't falling as fast as she should be. Opening her eyes she saw Fluttershy and Dash holding her and slowly lowering to the ground.
Once the group was below the cliff and back in the forest Twilight turned to Rarity, her face showing she was thinking hard about something.
"Rarity, I... I'm sor- I mean. Your designs aren't feeble, you designed and made a dress that was perfect for the Empress. You also made it match with the Town Hall in Ponyville, no pony with feeble talent is capable of doing that"
"Is she trying to apologies?" Dash whispered to Fluttershy
"Thank you Twilight, we were all just irritated by the stuffy forest and said things we didn't mean, and- hello?" Rarirty's horn started glowing again, this time pointing itself at the large pile of rubble that had fallen with them and making patches of it glow. "Why I don't believe it girls look, there are jewels underneath there, oh if only I had the mind to bring a saddle bag with me"
After a bright flash Rarity felt something placed on her back, recognising the saddle bag as Twilights as the purple unicorn turned away from her. "You can use that to hold the gems, and while they're being dug out we could all use some rest"
"I think that's the closest you're going to get to 'I'm sorry'" Dash pointed out as she and Applejack helped Rarity move the rocks and dig through the dirt.
*
As the last of the jewels were put in the saddle bag they heard a large growl behind them, turning they saw Pinkie and Twilight backing away as a Manticore stepped out of the shadows and growled at them, a trickle of blood running down from a cut between its eyes.
Immediately Dash opened her wings and lept into the air as the Manticore pounced at the group, Fluttershy not moving an inch as it sailed towards her, acting quickly Twilight cast a protective shield around them making the Manticore slam into it and bounce off it.
"Oh, that wasn't necessary" Fluttershy said as the shield was dropped and Dash zoomed past her followed by the rest "if everypony would stop a minute, please"
"Drive it off" Twilight shout as Dash flew around the creature, trying to confuse it and make it dizzy, only to be slapped away by its large tail sending her barrelling into Rarity and Applejack.
"If everyone could just wait a second" Fluttershy tried again only to be ignored as Pinkie kicked the creature in one of its legs, and bouncing out of the way as it tried to swipe at her.
"Attack all at once from different sides, try and confuse it" Applejack order, charging straight for the Manticore with the others following right behind her, but as Fluttershy jumped between them and the Manticore she screamed at them
"EVERYPONY STOP!"
As the Manticore charged at her it roared loudly only to be drowned out as she turned to face it and screamed
"AND YOU! You think it's okay to attack ponies when you've got a boo-boo?" She walked up to it while staring at it unblinking, stopping it in its tracks and making it feel ashamed of itself "that is not what we do, when we're hurt we ask for help, not lash out at the nearest thing." Flying up to its face she wiped away the trickle of blood and kissed the cut "now you go find your mother and tell her what a naughty kitten you've been"
Lowering it's head in shame the Manticore turned and slunk away back into the forest, as Fluttershy turned back to her friends she smiled at their surprised faces. "Sometimes all you need is a kind but firm hoof"
"Why am I surprised? I saw her with a Manticore earlier, it listened to her perfectly" Twilight began walking after Fluttershy with the rest, entering the dark forest again.
As they walked through the forest only thin strands of light were able to get through the thick canopy of leaves and tree branches, again the trees made the air heavy and stuffy but instead of a straight path like the one the followed as they entered the forest, this one had been neglected and was badly damaged, tree roots and various animals over the centuries had worn it away and made their own adding twists and points that split off.
"By the Empress" Twilight panted as she sat down panting slightly, sweat rolling down her face and neck "I need to rest a minute"
"Agreed" Rarity collapsed to the floor and pulled the saddle bag off, she was sweating and panting worse than Twilight thanks to the added weight but she wouldn't let it slow her down, though she'd need a good bath and long spa treatment when she got home. She looked around the group and saw everypony was tired, even Pinkie had lost her cheery bouncing.
"We can't sit here too long girls, we need to keep moving if we want to find that castle soon" thanks to her long days on the farm Applejack had built good stamina over the years but even she was beginning to feel tired, though she refused to let herself rest. "Which way do we go Twilight?"
Looking up Twilight looked around as she wiped the sweat from her eyes, a slight confusion and lack of focus on her face "we came from that direction right? Or was it that way?"
"I'm pretty sure we came from over there" Rarity offered pointing a hoof in the opposite direction they'd just walked, pretty soon everypony was pointing in different directions and only one was right, but they couldn't figure out who.
"This is stupid, we can't go anywhere if we're lost. It's too darn dark to see any hoof prints, think you can cast some light?" Applejack asked of Rarity and Twilight who only shook their heads.
"Too tired" was all Twilight could say
"Same" was all Rarity could offer.
"We need some kind of light" Applejack looked around but as before the cliff the forest was deadly silent, no bugs, no birds and nothing they could use to make some light. Looking up Applejack could just make out small spots of light, like faint stars in the sky, as the leaves moved at the top of the trees, which gave her an idea. "Dash, I need you to fly through those tree branches and find us something to tell us which way to go"
Looking straight up, then to Appljack, Dash pulled herself up and spread her wings, shooting up as fast as she could she tried to force her way through the thick branches. But her energy had been long sapped by the forest and her speed wasn't nearly enough to break through, closing her wings Dash tried to climb up through the branches. But they were too close and tangled for her to make any real progress, the further up she went the tight things felt, as if with each movement the branches were closing in and restricting her movement.
She'd heard about this before, claustrophobia, where you felt things were closing in and you felt unable to breath and couldn't do anything. Being a pegasis Dash hated close quarters and loved open spaces and this was the first time she'd been in this situation, doing her best to remain calm and not panic but she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She tried to breath normally, but it was hard with the branches across her chest and the close air, she could feel her body begin to shake.
She needed to get out of the trees and quickly Dash opted to head back down to the ground, but as she moved she let out a whimper of pain. Without realising her wings had opened and as she tried to move they'd become tangled with the trees.
"Oh no. Oh no. Oh no" Dash could feel herself start to panic, her mind starting to think the worse things and her body starting to get cuts and scrapes as she began to fight against the branches. Pulling and kicking where she could and trying to get her wings free all the while trying to move downwards, she wanted to cry out for help but the only one that could help her was Fluttershy and she didn't want her to get stuck as well.
With each second she tried harder to move, hearing branches snap as she twisted and kicked, leaves falling onto her as she tried to get free. Suddenly she was falling, watching as the branches got smaller and small patches of light getting through where the leaves had fallen and the branches had been broken, Dash just had time to register she was free when she got her wings working making her glide to the ground to the worried faces of the group.
"Dash you okay? You're shakin' worse than a new born calf" Applejack asked as she ran over to her.
"I couldn't get through" Dash heard her voice shaking, her whole body was still panicking from being stuck and unable to move, it didn't feel right to her at all. Looking up Dash saw something just past Applejack, a large face with sharp teeth "Look Out" Dash cried out in warning springing to her feet, looking around she could see creatures all around them, large eyes and wicked looking jaws with sharp fangs, her kicking and shaking in the trees must have attracted whatever creatures they were.
Looking up Twilight saw the shadow of a face on a tree, screaming she tried to focus her magic but she was too exhausted. As the others looked around they could see shadows and faces as well, coming together on the middle of a small patch of light they looked around, they were completely surrounded by these creatures and they were all too tired to put up a proper fight. They all knew they'd failed, the Empress was going to stay missing, the Empire was going to fall and fallen princess was going to make the pony species weak, all because of them.
Suddenly they heard giggling, not malicious, crazy giggling from something about to attack, but actual happy genuine giggling. Looking around they saw Pinkie making faces at the shadows and laughing.
"Pinkie what are you doing? Run" Twilight called out
"Oh girls don't you see?" Pinkie asked as she started to bounce around "~when I was a little filly and the sun was going dooooown~"
"Is she? Tell me she's not-" Twilight began to ask as Pinkie interrupted with the next line of her song
"~the darkness and the shadows would always make me froooown~"
"She is" Rarity sighed, unable to believe that even Pinkie could make one of her songs at a time like this
"~I'd hide under my pillow, from what I thought I saw. But Granny Pie said that's not how you deal with fears at all~"
"Then what is?" Dash asked still feeling her body shaking
"~she said 'Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall, learn to face your fears. You'll see that they can't hurt you, just laugh and make them disappear~ WITH BOOMS!!!" dropping all notes of singing Pinkie reached into her mane and pulled out several lit grenades and threw them in all directions, laughing maniacally as she did.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE" Applejack yelled as she tackled Twilight to the ground, the others quickly following as the grenades exploded sending burnt wood and leaves still on fire in all directions. As she felt the now destroyed trees stop raining down on her Twilight looked up to see the whole area clear of trees, a cool breeze flowing through the giant hole in the top of the trees as sun light poured in, she watched as Pinkie rolled on the floor laughing to herself.
"What possessed you to allow that pony to be in charge of explosives?" Twilight asked weakly
"Now Twilight, Pinkie is an expert in two things; Throwing parties and controlled explosions, ain't no other pony that can pick off the enemy with bombs in the middle of a battle field without hurtin' their own" standing up Applejack helped Twilight back on to her hooves "All right corporal that's enough, we got a job to do"
Standing up Pinkie saluted Applejack and giggled "yes ma'am"
"It's a shame we have to head back into those stuffy trees, this breeze is so nice and refreshing" Rarity sighed as she tried to stand, but all she was able to do was get in a sitting position
"She's right, I could fall asleep in it" Fluttershy sat and closed her eyes, feeling the cooling breeze flow through her mane.
*
Blinking Twilight stretched her stiff body, as her mind collected itself and began thinking properly she cried out "Oh No" startling the others awake
"What the hey? Dang it, did we all fall a sleep?" Applejack asked as she stood up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes
"It appears so, one minute we're all agreeing we could do with a rest and who knows how long later we find ourselves being awoken by Twilight's shout" as Rarity stood up she inspected her mane, coat and tail to see if anything was out of place or dirty, but everything was perfect as usual
"Well good thing about our power nap is we got the energy to double time it, Dash see if you can find anything to lead us to the castle, Rarity don"t forget you're saddle bag"
"I would never forget these darling, these will help me make all kinds of dresses" Rarity smiled as she placed the bag on her back as Dash zoomed upwards through the hole in the trees, only to land several seconds later
"I can just see something sticking out of the trees in that direction, I think they might be towers from the old castle" Dash said as she pointed in the direction she saw the towers.
"Alright girls double time, no dilly dallyin'" Applejack set off at a fast pace with the others following closely behind, dodging around trees and running through bushes, thankful as the forest seemed to slowly open up slightly until finally they reached a river which was flowing faster and splashing worse than it's size would normally allow
"This isn't right, there aren't supposed to be any rivers this strong going through the Everfree forest" Twilight looked at the river as the water sprayed them
"Who cares? This is nothing, me and Fluttershy can carry you guys over the river no problem then we can keep going to the castle" Dash grabbed Rarity and lifted her off the ground, about to fly she heard Rarity ask
"Wait. Do you hear that?" As she strained her ears to hear above the water "sounds like something is crying"
"What are you talking about? No creature that lives in the Everfree forest cries, all they do is attack or hump whatever they see, sometimes both at the same time" Dash put Rarity back down as she gave her less-than-expert opinion of the creatures of the forest
"Hush Rainbow Dash, I do believe it's coming from over there" pushing her way through a large bush Rarity saw the cause of the crying and the rapid river.
In the middle of the river was a wailing, flailing large river lizard that was taking dramatic posses as he cried, slamming his hands into the water and his long serpent body wriggling and flailing everywhere
"Calm Down citizen" Applejack called above the crying, grabbing his attention "now why in tarnation are y'all cryin' so much?
"Oh it's horrible, just so horrible. Here I was minding my own business and out of no-where this flock of Pixie-Ravens attack me, grabbing and pulling out my scales and scuffing them up. When I tried to swat them away the horrid little creatures used one of my own scales to cut my beloved moustache clean off, and now I look simply horrid" crying out the serpent flopped into the river sending a wave of water over the small group, rolling over and over they could see where his scales had been pulled out.
Shaking the water out of her mane Twilight remembered to her studies about various magical creatures, and quoted her book "Pixie-Raven; a magical bird that plays tricks on others and will cheat them out of beloved objects. They're attracted to shiny objects that, to the rest of their flock, show how important they are and to court the female of their species. If an object is shiny enough they will attack in numbers to take what they want."
"A few shiny scales and a ruined moustache? That's what this is about?" Applejack asked as Rarity pushed past her
"Why of course it is" she said with a tone saying she couldn't believe Applejack was asking such a silly question "how can you be so insensitive? Just look at him, such lovely luminescence scales"
"I know" he sniffed as he rested his head on the bank of the river
"And such an expertly kept, quality mane"
"Oh I know, I know" he agreed, running a hand through his hair
"Not to mention your fabulous manicure"
"Oh its all true
"And all ruined by those horrid Pixie-Ravens, I cannot allow such a crime against faboulosity stand" grabbing the saddle bag Rarity pulled it off herself and dumped out the gems she had found, using her magic she lifted them up as she grabbed one of the serpents scales and pulled it out, making him cry out.
Everyone watched as she used her magic to reshape the various coloured gems to match the length and shape of the scale, fusing several together to meet the requirement. Once enough had been made she floated them onto the serpent in the proper places, allowing the gems to match and go with the rest of the scales.
"Now only one last thing remains to be done" grabbing the scale again with her mouth, Rarity swung it as hard as she could, using the sharp edge to cut through her tail. Seeing the action the serpent let out a wail as he 'fainted' as Rarity spat out the scale and used her magic to lift up the tail and levitate it next to the serpent, using her magic to merge it with the remains of his moustache.
Opening his eyes the serpent cried out in cheer as he looked at his new scales and moustache "my moustache is restored, and my new scales are fabulous, how do I look?" He asked as he posed for Rarity
"You look smashing" Rarity looked proudly at her work, but felt as if she'd lost one of the most important things in her life.
"Oh Rarity, your beautiful tail" Fluttershy looked at the mess that was now Rarity's tail
"It's, it's fine. It was for a greater cause and besides, I always think of myself as a trend setter" Rarity spoke as if she was trying to convince herself more than the others, as she looked at what remained of her tail she sighed, already missing it. "At least we can cross the river now"
As Rarirty moved to step into the river a large hand stopped her "after all you've done for me, I simply insist you accept my help"
Using his long body the river serpent arched points in his body allowing the ponies to jump across him to get to the other side of the river “Now that the Fashion Emergency is over we need to hoof it to the castle, Celestia must've found the Elements by now and who knows what she's planning to do” Applejack said as she landed on the other side of the river and started running
“I've got a theory about that” Twilight panted as she kept up with Applejack's pace “I think that since they were used to imprison her, whatever connection Celestia had to the Elements was broken, or else she could have escaped from her prison earlier. Add in the fact nothing has happened to us or the Empire, no sign has been given that the Elements have been found and used I think my theory has some footing”
“How much you willin' to bet?” Applejack asked as she leapt over some roots
“Not much, not enough is known about the Elements. They're a power lost to history and the only one who has any real knowledge on them is the Empress, but why didn't she share it with me?” Twilight asked as he mind tried to think of reasons why her Empress wouldn't entrust the knowledge with her personal student. “Empress Moon knew this was going to happen, I presented all the reason and findings myself, so why didn't she tell me where to find them and how to use them?
“This isn't the time to be doubtin' Twilight, yourself or our Empress, she's older than the Empire itself and seen and done things we can only imagine. The Empress may not have told you everythin' about the Elements, but she trusted you enough to find as much as you can about them, and act when Celestia turned up, to rally everypony against her and stop her from taking her throne. You are the personal student to Empress Moon, and today you're doing your duty” Applejack had been told since she was young that the Apple Family always answered the call of the Empire, that in times of peace and war the Apple's knew their duty and would act. She would never doubt the Empress had some plan in motion to protect her citizens, she had to.
The group skidded to a halt as the trees cleared and in front of them, the light glaring into their eyes and revealing the crumbling, old remains of the castle of the two monarchs dwelt within before the Empire. The old castle in which the Elements of Harmony supposedly sat after a thousand years of being forgotten and unused. Twilight looked at the crumbling towers and broken roofs, an age of being neglected and unused had taken its toll on the building as it would anyponies home, while it was a site to behold and a sense of awe swept over the group, the building had lost but all of its grandeur and the brilliance it once held was gone.
“Alright we're nearly there” Dash smiled as she leapt into the air “now all we gotta do is kick Celestia's butt and get our Empress back”
“Now hold on, we need to find the Elements to beat Celestia and for that we need to find the other end of this bridge” Applejack pointed to the end of the bridge that was still secure on their end, but other end had been damaged somehow and instead of allowing them to cross the chasm that separated them and the castle all it allowed for was certain death.
“Aww come on you heard Twilight, Celestia can't use the elements. I could fly in there, find Celestia, beat her down till she lets the Empress go and be a hero, Wonderbolts gotta let me join then” Rainbow Dash smiled to herself as she imagined getting a heroes welcome and allowed back into the army, joining the Wonderbolts and flying through the skies wearing the uniform and fillies pointing as she flew by.
“Celestia is also an alicorn, who used to raise the sun. just because she can't use the Elements doesn't make her weak Dash, the best way to face her is together so we have a better chance of finding the Elements.” Twilight corrected Dash, who's bubble was popped as as she sighed and dove into the chasm to find the other end of the bridge
“Have to find the Elements, take on Celestia together” Dash grumbled to herself as she grabbed the rope of the bridge and started to fly upwards “I could find the Elements quicker than all of them, beat Celestia and save the Empress too, all by myself”
Ever since she got caught in the tree's Dash had felt useless, letting her fear get the best of her and act like a little filly as she'd kicked and fought against the branches and panicking as she couldn't move. She had one job and that was to punch a hole in the trees and she couldn't even do that right, she wanted to lift the group over the river but Rarity has insisted on helping the river lizard, she even let shadows get the best of her and made her see things that weren't there.
As Dash landed she looked at the old castle, the doors were open and inviting anything that could reach it inside, she could've easily let the bridge drop again and while fluttershy was struggling with it she would be flying through the castle, proving she wasn't useless and deserved to be in the army by finding the Elements and fighting Celstia, she would probably even be able to use them. If she could use the elements not only would she be able to join the Wonderbolts, but she'd probably be made Captain of them.
But what if she couldn't find the Elements, and couldn't fight Celestia by herself, or save the Empress? She'd just be proving that she deserved to be kicked out of the army and never allowed to join it again, just showing she was useless and hot headed.
“Rainbow Dash, do you see something?” she heard Twilight shout
that's right, she wasn't completely useless, she'd helped save the others from falling from the cliff, and helped fight against the Manticore, if she wasn't here the others wouldn't have made it this far, and if the others weren't here she wouldn't have gotten this far. When she joined the army she was a hot blooded, thick headed filly with ambitions and made plenty of mistakes. Now she was a hot blooded, thick headed pegasis with ambitions and experience that knew she needed somepony watching her back in case she made a mistake but the one thing that had never changed in her since she was a little filly no matter what happened, how bad a situation got or how many ponies she had to punch in the jaw, was she never let a friend stand alone and she never turned her back on them.
Tying the rope as tight a she could Dash signalled for the others to cross, who moved as quickly as they dared over the old wooden planks “What took ya?” Applejack asked as she joined Dash, watching the others as they crossed the bridge in case something happened.
“Just admiring the castle from up close, and remembering something about myself” Dash smiled as Pinkie passed them, the small group looking up at the castle again
“And what was that?” Applejack asked as Dash took flight
“That I'm totally awesome, now lets go save our Empress” Dash called out as she flew through the doors, leaving the others to race after her.