The sound of the creaking wooden wheels of the cart reverberated in Twilight's mind as she thought of her plan. Her friends all looked at her with concern and confusion on their faces. The ponies who had captured them took their saddle bags so Twilight couldn't use anything in there. They also took Twilight's C.L.A.M.P So she couldn't cut herself free. But she had already formulated an escape in her head. The cart came to a stop and the two ponies who had captured them came around the back of the cart. One of them threw Sweetie Bell over his back while the other took Coda's unconscious body. They left for a few minutes only to return and grab Travis and Apple Jack. Twilight faced the bottom of the cart. One of the ponies came back and threw Twilight onto his back, they began walking past the cart and soon it was out of sight. After a few minutes Twilight lifted her head. She gasped as she saw a tall, spiked wooden fence stretching out deep into the forest. The pony tapped his hoof on the front gates and they swung open with the sound of old, creaking wood. Inside Twilight saw many wooden structures, sounds of music and ponies laughing, smells of pastries being baked and campfires burning all seeped through the now open gate. Twilight saw vendors stalls, people paying with what looked like knives and weapons. The pony carried Twilight in and took a sharp left. Leading Twilight down an alleyway. Torches burned inside of stone bastions which lined the wooden walls of the Colony. The pony took a right and they entered a building with a long diagonal hallway leading through it. Doors were placed every ten feet down the hallway. The pony stopped at the sixth door and opened it. Inside Travis and Apple Jack were tied to a center support pillar. Twilight was tied to the support pillar as well and the pony slammed the door. It was dark, the only light Twilight could see was the outline of the door.
"What's your plan?" Whispered Apple Jack. Twilight could feel Travis' ropes shift as he moved closer to hear their conversation.
"Well first we need to cut these ropes."
"How do we do that?" Asked Travis.
"How sharp are your claws?" Asked Twilight.
"Claws? I don't have any... Oh." There was a glowing of green light next to Twilight and she felt Travis' ropes loosen. Soon Apple Jack was free as well and Travis was close enough to Twilight she could now make out his beaked face. He reached his claw behind her and cut her ropes. Twilight got up and slowly opened the door, just enough for her to see out. There were no ponies that she could see. Only torches and doors. Twilight opened the door completely. "What now?" Whispered Travis, he transformed back into his Changeling form.
"Now we find Sweetie Bell and Coda." Twilight said as she stepped out the door. She began walking down the hallway, pressing her ear against the door, then peering in for a second or two before closing it and continuing to the next door. Apple Jack went to the other side of the hallway and did the same. Travis began walking down the hallway slowly, limping slightly with every step.
"What happened?" Asked Twilight, noticing Travis' limp.
"The pony carrying me dropped me on our way here." Great, Travis thought to himself, Just when I got it fixed they go and screw it up again... I'll get Sweetie Bell to heal... Travis stopped in the middle of the hallway. His eyes zooming in and out of focus. After a few seconds he zipped into the air and flew down the hallway as fast as possible. His bug-like wings flapping furiously. Passing at least fifteen doors he stopped and opened the sixteenth. "They're in here!" He called. Twilight and Apple Jack galloped down the hallway and looked through the open door. Inside there was an unconscious Coda and Sweetie bell. Both were tied up to a center Spire like Twilight. In the corner of the room Twilight saw her saddle bags. Travis and Twilight entered while Apple Jack stayed back and kept watch. Twilight slipped on her saddle bags, passing Apple Jack's to her and handing Travis' to him. Twilight reached for Sweetie Bell when she was tackled by Apple Jack. Travis and Twilight fell to the ground and Apple Jack shut the door as quickly and quietly as possible.
"Apple Jack, what the-"
"Shhhh!" Apple Jack cut off Twilight's sentence. Hoofsteps sounded from behind the door. Twilight saw four hooves beneath the door pass by. They waited for what felt like minutes until they couldn't hear the hoofsteps anymore. "Sorry." Said Apple Jack, helping Twilight and Travis off the ground. "Saw somepony comin' and didn't know what to do."
"You did the right thing." Said Twilight, Apple Jack smiled with pride. "Just be gentler next time." Apple Jack nodded. Twilight turned back to Sweetie Bell and noticed she had a black eye. Coda's head had a bandage around it, a large red stain had appeared on the left side of his forehead. Twilight lifted Sweetie Bell onto her back while Apple Jack picked up Coda. Twilight opened the door and poked her head out. "Cost is clear." She said to the others. They began walking back down the hall and after a couple minutes they found themselves in front of a large wooden door. Twilight cracked it open and peered through. She smiled as a purple mare came into her view. She shut the door and began to whisper. "Travis, I want you to question the mare on the other side of this door. Do you think you can capture her?" Travis looked through the crack in the door.
"Yeah." He said, observing the ponies muscle mass and weapon. He seemed like he knew a lot about this. He was bred to be a warrior after all.
"Find out if she has any close friends or relatives. A coltfriend would be great. I want you to get as much information about Cinder and the Colony as possible." Travis nodded. His eyes zoomed out of focus, the color slowly shifted from green to red. A large slit formed in place of a pupil. His left wing slowly turned into the head of a goat, his right became the head of a dragon. A tail sprouted from his flank and grew into a green snake. His own head slowly morphed and grew a large red mane. His fangs enlarged and fur sprouted all over his body. After a few seconds he was fully transformed into his new form of a Chimera. He winked at Twilight. She opened the door wide and he entered the hallway in which the pony guarded. There was a loud scream which quickly became a muffled yell.
"What is your name?" Said the dragon head in a hushed, rumbly voice.
"Star Blaze." Said the trembling purple mere.
"How many loved ones do you have?" Said the goat head in a higher, vibrating voice which bounced from pitch to pitch.
"What?"
"Answer the quessssssstion!" Said the hissing green snake of a tail. It's hiss echoed through the halls lasting way longer than it should.
"Just my brother and my husband." Said a terrified Star Blaze.
"Good." Said the dragon head.
"When you wake up, don't speak of this encounter." Said the lion head in a deep and stoic voice. Travis the Chimera grabbed the spear Star Blaze had been holding in her hoof and whacked her over the head with the wooden end of it. Star Blaze fell unconscious in an instant. Travis grabbed her body in the lion's mouth and carried her back into the hallway. Twilight opened one of the many wooden doors which lined the hallways and Travis set Star Blaze down gently on the floor.
"Nice work." Said Twilight. There was a large green light as the Chimera before her morphed into the purple pony she had just seen guarding the doorway.
"Thanks!" Said Travis in his now female voice.
"Now go find out what's going on here." Travis saluted and galloped through the doorway. His hoofsteps faded into the distance and Twilight shut the door. "Follow me." She said to the others. Twilight began galloping down the hallway in the opposite direction of the door, making sure Sweetie Bell doesn't fall off of her back. Apple Jack carrying Coda followed. Twilight eventually arrived at the door where she had originally entered.
"Uuughhh." Sweetie Bell's eyes slowly drifted open. Twilight slowly lifted Sweetie Bell off her back. Sweetie Bell got to her hooves and noticed her eye was shut. She put a hoof to it and winced in pain.
"What happened?" Asked Twilight, setting her hoof on Sweetie Bell's shoulder and looking into her good eye.
"I kept trying to escape, and the pony carrying me hit me with his spear, he slipped and hit me in the eye, then he whacked me over the head." Twilight rubbed Sweetie Bell's shoulder.
"Well if it makes you feel any better, I have a plan." Sweetie Bell smiled.
"That does make me feel better." Twilight smiled back. She turned towards the door and opened it. The sound of crowds filled the hallway as Twilight and her friends exited through the door. Twilight walked to the corner of the building and looked out into the crowd. She didn't recognize anypony.
"Set Coda down." Said Twilight, looking to Apple Jack, she obliged. "We'll come back for him later." Coda was propped up against the side of a building. Twilight nodded to Sweetie Bell who walked around the corner into the crowd. Twilight and Apple Jack followed closely behind. As she was walking Twilight reached into her saddle bags. She rummaged around for a few seconds then pulled her hoof back. She hadn't felt the C.L.A.M.P which means Cinder must have it. No doubt trying to figure out how to use it. "Twilight!" Called a voice from above. Twilight looked up to see Travis in his purple earth pony form floating above Twilight. He landed next to Twilight and opened his mouth to speak but Twilight cut him off.
"How and why are you flying?" She whisper shouted. "You're an earth pony now, you shouldn't be able to fly."
"I still have wings," Explained Travis. "You just can't see them." Twilight shook her head as she continued to follow Sweetie Bell through the crowd.
"Don't you think that if somepony saw an earth pony flying they would think it's a little suspicious?" Travis lowered his head slightly.
"I didn't think about that, I was too busy trying to find you." Twilight lifted her hoof to her forehead.
"What information did you get?"
Travis regained his look of confidence. "Cinder used to be a blacksmith who worked in Canterlot. He made all sorts of weapons and armor for the royal guard. He was the first to wake up out of everypony here, so he declared himself leader. Other ponies began showing up and he slowly started the Colony. Him and all of the other ponies worked on this compound for the past six years."
"So they've been all the way out here this whole time." Twilight stopped in the middle of he crowd. The others stopped as well. "That means there could be ponies all across Equestria." The others looked at each other, all of them with mixed feelings. "This is extremely good news." Twilight continued walking through the crowd of ponies. Travis looked around, feeling outnumbered. "We need to get somewhere high." At this, Twilight noticed a guard tower in the distance. It stood in the corner of the town with two ponies overlooking the crowds. Twilight looked at Sweetie Bell who nodded. Twilight and he others placed a hoof on Sweetie Bell's back. Sweetie Bell screwed up her face in concentration and they vanished In a flash of blue light. They reappeared several yards away at the base of the guard tower. "Travis, you go to the top and take care of the guards. The rest of us will head up the stairs. Travis nodded and flapped his invisible wings. Twilight and the others began making their way upstairs. They passed two floors seeing nothing but racks of swords and knives. Twilight paused when she saw a few sets of armor. It was silver and blue with great detail carved into the metal. Three of them even had holes for a unicorn's horn to fit through. Twilight removed her saddle bags and began putting on the unicorn compatible armor. The others followed her lead. Sweetie Bell's armor was a little too big for her but it would have to do. They returned to their course back up the stairs where hey found Travis, standing before two unconscious ponies. Twilight nodded in agreement and walked over to the edge of the guard tower.
"Ponies of the Colony!" She called over the mass of multicolored ponies before her. Slowly the bustle of he crowd Diminished. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, I am here be-"
"Twilight!?" Twilight looked down to see a familiar scrawny pony, wearing an apron.
"Mr. Cake?" Twilight's heart filled with joy but she brushed it away to continue her speech. "I am here because of the same reason you're all here. The spirit of chaos, named Discord, cast a spell that caused all this. However, that spell he cast is slowly reversing. There is a ripple in time, slowly making its way west. If we're caught in this ripple, we will lose all of our memories from the apocalypse and return to the past before it all began. If we don't find a way to stop the apocalypse from ever happening, we'll be sent back and relive it all over again." Twilight surveyed the crowd, some faces looked confused, some looked scared, while others looked intrigued. "I am trying to find a way to stop the apocalypse so we can to back to our old lives and live in peace. But we need more people to help us survive and to help us figure out exactly how we're going to manage to do that. Do we have any volunteers." The crowd remained silent.
"They won't join you!" Yelled a familiar voice. Twilight looked down to see Cinder standing at the base of the tower, horn illuminated and sword clutched in Twilight's C.L.A.M.P on his wrist in front of him. "They're loyal to me. I was the first pony to ever wake up in this wasteland. I know it better than anypony!"
"How log have you been here?" Asked Twilight with fake interest in her voice.
"Six years!" He said in an impressive, booming voice. Some ponies In the crowd nodded with impressed looks on their face.
"Try fifteen years." Said Twilight. Some ponies I the crowd gasped, everypony began talking all at once.
"That's impossible!"
"Fifteen years alone?"
"She's lying!"
"Maybe we should go with them."
"Silence!" Screamed Cinder. His voice echoed out into the forest. The crowd fell silent within seconds. "That is impossible!" He yelled up to Twilight. "If you know Equestria so well then Why have I never seen you before?" "
I lived near Ponyville for fifteen years." Twilight responded. "Half of my life I spent trying to rebuild my home town, trying my best to keep myself from going insane!"
"And clearly you failed in your attempts!" Called Cinder. Ponies In the crowd muttered sounds of agreement.
"Then why am I here!?" Yelled Twilight back, "Why would I design that machine on your wrist? Why would I come all this way for nothing!?" The crowd and Cinder remained silent. A couple guards wearing armor similar to Twilight's set and carrying or levitating swords and spears made their way through the crowd and stopped at Cinder's side. He looked to the guards and smiled.
"Well come down here and fight then!" Yelled Cinder. "Prove your determination!" Twilight looked to Travis and nodded. Travis smiled and winked, he galloped towards the edge and lept over he railing. On his way down he transformed into his changeling form and landed on the ground with a thud. Twilight, Sweetie Bell and Apple Jack appeared behind him. Travis hissed and kicked up dirt. The guards charged and so did Twilight and her friends. Blasts of magic flew into the air as the crowd screamed in terror, but they remained still. Watching the battle that unfolded before them. Travis and Sweetie Bell took down a Pegasus wielding a spear, while Apple Jack engaged two ponies at once. One unicorn had a sword levitating and one had a spear which was attached to a special modification on his armor. Twilight stayed to fight Cinder. He ran at Twilight flailing the sword in circles above his head but Twilight narrowly rolled out of the way. Twilight kicked her back legs and hit Cinder square in the chest. He stumbled backwards and shook his head in pain. He looked up with rage in his eyes. He charged once more, Twilight rolled out of the way but the tip of his sword scratched a small cut in her cheek. Twilight kicked her back hooves once more with expert precision. She narrowly managed to hit the C.L.A.M.P on his wrist. It went flying across the dirt path and Twilight narrowly managed to grab it before him. She slipped it onto her wrist and smirked at the familiar feeling. The sword was still clamped to it, Twilight flourished the sword in circles and pointed it to Cinder's face.
"Surrender." Said Twilight.
"Never!" Twilight flicked the sword to the right and left a cut on his cheek, in he same place as Twilight's identical cut.
"Surrender." She said again.
"Never!" She flicked the sword to he left and cut another mark into his other cheek. "Okay!" He yelled in pain. Twilight stabbed the sword into the ground and turned back to the crowd. Travis had taken the shape of Cerberus and the other guards were cowering in fear.
"If you wish to join u-"
"Look out!" Screamed Mr. Cake. Twilight turned to see Cinder charging at her. His sword levitating in front of him. He was a few inches away from Twilight, giving her no time to react. A white furred hoof came from out of Twilight's vision, the hoof collided with the side of Cinder's face, sending him flying through the air. He hit he ground with a grunt and a thud. He was knocked unconscious. Twilight looked over and saw Coda Singer, his left, rear hoof still extended. He lowered it back to the ground, a look of satisfaction on his face, eyebrows furrowed beneath his bloody bandage.
"I woke up and heard the commotion, came here as fast as I could."
"Thanks!" Said Twilight with gratitude. Coda nodded and Twilight turned back to the crowd. "Anypony who wishes to join us! Step forwards!" The crowd didn't move for a few seconds. Mr. Cake made his way out of the jungle of other ponies and stood by Twilight's side. Another pony walked out of the crowd. She had a white coat of fur and an extremely light blue mane. Her name was Sugar Rush if Twilight remembered correctly. She was the pony who was sent to warn the town about Twilight and the others. Sugar Rush stepped out next to Mr. Cake and looked towards the crowd.
"Anyone else?" Twilight asked loudly.
"I will." Twilight saw an extreme familiar pony walk out of the crowd. She flicked her deep blue hair as she walked out of the tangle of ponies and waved to Twilight. Twilight marveled at how her eye was back to normal.
"Rarity!" Twilight, Apple Jack and Sweetie Bell yelled as they galloped at her at full speed. The three of them tackled her to the ground and held her In a tight embrace.
"Good to see you too." Said Rarity, not caring how dirty her coat got rolling around In the dirt. Twilight got to her feet with a smile on her face.
"Is that all?" She called to the remaining crowd. "Then I suggest you get as far west as possible." Twilight looked to Sweetie Bell who smiled and illuminated her horn. The six ponies vanished in a flash of light, leaving he crowd I awe of what just happened.