//------------------------------// // Seeking Help // Story: The Legend of Brave Rick // by Exelion //------------------------------// Discord was walking happily through the forest. His stomach growled so he grabbed a rock, played with it a little and threw it upwards. As it was falling, it turned into an apple, which he devoured with pleasure. He kept walking before being stopped by a chill that ran through every scale of his body. This was strange, he had only felt that before when the princesses were going to capture him.   Danger, the source of his goose bumps, but this time he felt it stronger. They were facing a formidable enemy. He unfolded his wings and flew over the land to see if there was anything out of place, but it was no use; he was still too far away to be able to see anything at all. He descended slowly, not able to shake the feeling from his head.   “I must be hallucinating, I better stop eating those apple rocks before they’re ripe,” he thought, resuming his walk.     Meanwhile, in a makeshift hive formed of rocks, the changeling queen looked through the hole which served as her window. She, as much as the rest of the hive, had begun to feel anxious about the recent scarcity of love. A changeling servant entered her chamber. “My beloved queen, how are you feeling?” “I’m worried. I feel like Equestria’s love is not reaching us like before.” “Does love have that much reach?” he asked. “Yes, their kindness and love are literally in the air, and that’s what satisfies us, or at least staves off this bad mood that is permeating the hive now.” Chrysalis paced up and down. “It’s like their love has evaporated, like something else has overshadowed it.”   The servant regarded her with a strange look. The queen wasn’t so usually so open; she did not normally speak so freely; the lack of love was affecting her. Chrysalis suddenly turned to him and snapped, “What are you looking at, commoner?! Return to your duties, or better yet, bring me something to eat, quick!” “Very well, my queen, I’ll be right back” the servant said.   He exited through the hole of the cave, glancing back to watch his dear queen who was looking through the window, almost in a trance. He admired her figure for a moment, before leaving the place.   Shadows devoured the place; Celestia didn’t know if she had her eyes open or closed. She screamed her sister’s name over and over, trying to find her. Dark winds blew from every direction; Celestia searched to find the source of the night winds. She lit her horn and projected a protecting light sphere that lit up just a small area around her, but it was enough to find Luna, wrapped in a dark ball. “Luna!” she screamed, her heart aching and she fought against the winds to reach her.   Luna was curled up in a fetal position, crying as Nightmare Moon spoke to her. “I know what you want, Luna, I can make you stronger than Celestia and you will be able to finish the humans. You’ll be the heroine, and your sister will be left as the weakling.” “It sounds… tempting,” Luna whimpered. “Accept my offer and we’ll be Equestria’s salvation, think about the number of subjects that will love you after this.” “Love… subjects… respect…” she murmured. “Do you accept?” Nightmare Moon asked, extending a shape resembling a hoof in front of her.   Luna reached out to touch it, but at that instant, Celestia appeared inside the black ball. “Luna, no!” she shouted. She was quickly caught by dark claws, tendrils of Nightmare Moon; she struggled while they pinned her against a wall of the dome. “She’s using you! If she manages to end the war, she’ll dominate Equestria with eternal night! Please, sister, listen to me!” “Don’t pay her attention!” Nightmare Moon soothed Luna while wrapping her tendrils around Celestia’s mouth. “Join me.”   Just as their hooves were about to touch, Celestia made her body explode with light, burning the dark hands that bound her. “Noooo!” she screamed and teleported to Luna’s side hugging her. Luna’s hoof froze in place; Nightmare Moon’s too. “You’ve got friends that love you! Think about Pip and the Elements!” The bubble started to crumble. “Ever since Nightmare Night, all of our subjects adore you! You’re loved by them!” The bubble blew up, leaving Luna with a black mantle. “What’s most important, I didn’t lie to you when I searched for your friendship!” “Don’t listen to her!” Nightmare Moon said, with a voice similar to Chrysalis coming out of the darkness behind Luna. “You’re my sister, but more importantly, you’ve become my best friend, Luna!” Celestia said, her horn glowing and coming into contact with Luna’s. “I love you, sister!”   A glowing aura emerged from Celestia’s horn, covering every part of her body, removing the darkness from her sister, and making their bodies shine. The shadow that tormented Luna was suffering on the floor.   “It’s time for you to disappear, monster!” Celestia yelled at Nightmare Moon’s receding shadow. “Foals! I’m still a part of Luna, I will never disappear. As long as there is Luna, there will always be Nightmare Moon!” The light of their horns drove the shadow away and she disappeared.   Luna was weakened having almost allowed Nightmare Moon to possess her, but in the arms of her big sister she couldn’t stop herself returning the hug that had saved her life. “I love you too, sister,” she said as she broke the embrace. “Don’t you ever forget it” Celestia said with a smile. They looked into each other’s eyes.   Luna started to feel guilty. “I-I’m sorry. I let my emotions control me and allowed the worst part of me to come out, sorry, sorry! I shouldn’t have.” “Don’t worry, there will be time to discuss that. But now I need you to help us, Luna.” “I don’t know. I don’t think I’m strong enough, after what happened in Ponyville. I don’t think I’m ready. It’d be more useful if I stay here and…” “Don’t say that! You’re not useless, Luna, they outnumbered us and had more firepower. Although they seemed like such simple creatures, they turned out to be intelligent. They cannot run at our speed, but those things they use and make so much noise, allow them to do that and more. They can’t fly like the pegasi, but they found a way to soar the skies in their metal birds. But we have a plan, and we need you, I need you, to ensure a future for our subjects.”   Luna turned this over in her mind, picturing the possible future that awaited Equestria if she didn’t help them. “Alright Celestia, I’m coming back to the battlefield with you,” “Excellent!” Celestia exclaimed with relief. “But I have a question; how did you manage to come here?” “The Soul Reflect spell, do you remember?” “I have vague memories…” “It doesn’t matter. How will you get out of the moon, sister?” she asked. “The same way I did last time — the stars that aided me are not out of orbit yet.”   Celestia had no idea what was her sister talking about. “Is there some way I can help you?” “It won’t be necessary, come with me outside.” In a blue spark, Luna teleported them both outside. “Let me show you how I did it.”   She lifted her horn, progressively gaining magic, reaching five layers of magic almost instantly. Celestia looked on with awe — her sister’s power was impressive given that she had been weakened by recent events — at full strength, her power had the potential to be unstoppable.   Once she was done, Luna shot a triple bolt of lightning that hit three different stars, these lit up and connected between one another, forming a silver triangle with dark blue edges. “Is that a portal?” Celestia asked. “My sister, you know I don’t have the power to cast a portal that big. This is something far less complicated.” Celestia looked to her sister for an explanation. “How so?” “As you know, we can’t fly through space in our actual forms, but stars are capable of traveling in space without problems. So, I used all of my knowledge to transform my physical body into a star and that way I can travel safely to Equestria.” “Amazing,” she said, her mouth agape, astonished at her sister’s abilities. “Thanks, see you in Equestria, sister.” Luna waved goodbye.   She kneeled, opened her wings and gave a big leap, flapping her wings once for extra momentum, to reach her spell. She traversed the stellar wake, and her body transformed into a silver star with dark blue borders. Celestia waved from below while Luna, like a shooting star, plowed through cold, dark space, homeward bound, ready to help her subjects, her friends, and her sister. Celestia thought for a moment. A tear crossed her cheek while she slowly undid the spell that had brought her here, vanishing from sight into nothing. At the hideout, Rarity was levitating her pencil and sighed: a job well done. Laid out before her was the completed map of the enemy base, including every possible detail to avoid mistakes.   “Finally, we’re done,” Twilight said.   “The place doesn’t seem like that big a deal,” Rainbow said with an air of grandeur.   “Believe me, there’s a lotta movement there — people, weapons, and there’s more. It’s a lot bigger than how the plan makes it look. By the way, good job uh…” Richard said as he tried to remember the name of that white unicorn.   “Rarity.” “Yes, Rarity, very pretty drawings, very polished.” “Thank you, dear.” Rarity smiled. “So now what, Twilight?” asked Applejack. “Well, we have to wait for the princesses to-” “That won’t be necessary!” Celestia descended from the higher entrance and landed resoundingly on the floor, kicking up a cloud of dust. “Princess Celestia!” the girls cheered. “Where’s princess Luna?” Spike asked.   Suddenly, a star appeared above, slowly descending and spinning while leaving a dark glowing trail. Once it touched down, it expanded and started to rise again, slowly revealing something — first, two pairs of hooves, then a body and tail that flowed on it’s own, and finally a head and mane. The star disappeared, leaving in its wake a very cheerful and smiling princess Luna.   “Princess Luna!” cheered Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity, who ran to her and hugged her tightly. “Please, girls, let me breathe! I’m asphyxiating!” Luna implored.   The girls broke the hug and gave Luna some space while some other ponies approached to greet her. After all the welcomings, the environment turned serious again.   “Twilight Sparkle, how can I be of help?” “Alright, now that you’re here, I need you to search for the Elements of Harmony that were left in the castle’s vault — that’s the only way I can carry out my plan.” “I’m sorry, Twilight Sparkle, only Celestia has access to that vault,” Luna replied, which saddened Twilight. “That is not true sister. Do you remember that day when I asked you to insert your horn into that slot? It was to register you so that you could dispose of the Elements whenever necessary — it wasn’t to watch your plot like you complained about all day.”   Luna’s face reddened after hearing that commentary; the Elements’ faces were indecipherable with faint blushing; Richard could only raise an eyebrow.   “A-alright,” Luna said, “I’ll bring the elements back.” Luna took off and left the cave, flying towards the taken city of Canterlot. Celestia put her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Twilight, Luna will bring back the Elements; be sure of that. Now we have to continue with the plan.” “Fine. Listen up, everypony. I’ve been analyzing the situation and I believe there is a slight possibility to defeat the humans. That’s why I have asked the princesses to bring the Elements back. This is just a theory, but it might work…” Her friends listened carefully to Twilight’s plan, and although that it was based on conjecture, long shots, and theories, they had to trust her, it was the last hope they had. Richard didn’t understand much about magic, Elements, and the sort, but he was ready to help the ponies, whatever the cost.   Finishing with her short explanation, Twilight waited to hear her friends’ thoughts on the matter.   “Is that our last option?” Rarity asked a bit scared. “I’m afraid so girls, it is our last chance.” “I don’t know, sugarcube. I don’t think these ponies want to fight,” Applejack said, gesturing towards the ponies in the cave, “who will fight with us then?” “That’s the other part of my plan. We can use the princess’ magic and mine to make portals to the other cities and ask them for help face to face. But for that, I need the help of my friends. What do you say? Do you want to save Equestria again?”   Impotent, Richard could only look on. Twilight seemed to have some hope ever since they got a hold of the soldier; she wanted her friends to have that feeling too. But would her plan work?   “If helping you means I get to kick human butts, then count me in!” Rainbow Dash cheered, bumping her hoof with Twilight’s. “It’s time to take part in a new rodeo. You can count on me, sweetie!” Applejack joined, bumping hooves with Rainbow and Twilight.   Surprisingly, Rarity joined her friends, the others looked at her a little surprised.   “Rarity, I don’t think it’d be a good idea to participate…” Applejack said. “Nonsense, I also want to throw away those brutish invaders from our home.” “Oi! I’m right here!” Richard protested. “No offense” was her only answer. “Pinkie? Fluttershy? What do you say? Are you helping?” Twilight asked.   Fluttershy turned around and left the place. There was no need for words — she had already clearly stated that she wouldn’t be a part of this. Pinkie, on the other hand, was thoughtful about it. “I dunno girls, I don’t know if I can keep on with this.” “Please, Pinkie, we need you. We’re not asking you to fight. We just want you to help us ask for help from the other cities…” Twilight said, waiting for her pink friend’s response. “Alright then, but nothing else,” she replied bumping hooves with the ponies.   All eyes turned to Richard now, like they were waiting for him to do something.   “What?” he asked. “Aren’t you going to join us?” “I don’t think I should,” he answered, “it’s a personal moment for you girls.” “Fine, if you don’t want to, don’t do it.”   The girls broke apart, ready to listen the second part of the plan, princess Celestia readied her horn with the portal spell.   “Applejack, you’re going to Appleloosa to talk to the sheriff, and then you’re visiting our buffalo friends to convince Chief Thunderhooves to support us,” Twilight said. “Ya got it, Twilight.” “Rainbow, you’re going to visit the ponies of Cloudsdale. Make them come around and convince them to support us. I know they’re afraid because they’re the prey that the humans are looking for, but they must help us if they want to cast them away.” “Consider it done, egghead!” Rainbow cheered. “Rarity, you’re going to Manehattan. Go and talk to the governor; inform him of the current situation.”   Rarity shuddered due to the place she was assigned, but kept her composure. “As you wish dear, I’ll do it with pleasure.” “And you, Pinkie, you’re going to Fillydelphia. Just like Rarity, you have to find the governor.”  Pinkie drew a little smile on her face, one that the girls haven’t seen in a long time, Twilight picked that place just for her.   “Count on me, Twily!” Pinkie said euphorically, something that her friends noticed. “I want to go too!” Spike proposed. “No way!” Twilight answered “You’re staying here to help with the food.” “Twilight please, I want to help. Also…” “I said ‘no’, Spike. Don’t be such an insolent dragon!” “Twilight would you listen to me for a second?!” the dragon yelled, leaving Twilight mute. “I know you do it to protect me, and I know that I’m just a baby dragon, but this is not the time to act like this. You said it yourself, we have to do anything that’s within our reach, and that’s why I’m not leaving you do all the hard work while I simply do these chores. Please, Twilight, at least listen to my idea.” Everypony looked at Spike in wonder, specially Rarity.   “Tell me, then. What’s your plan?” Twilight asked dryly. “It’s the time of dragon migration. If the princess can make me a portal, I’ll be able to talk to them and convince them to help us.”   The memories of that adventure to find his identity returned to Twilight’s mind, the way they treated and bullied him made her blood boil. But Spike was right, they couldn’t miss opportunities like this.   “Alright, Spike, you can go” she said sighing in defeat. “Really? Thanks, thanks, thanks!” Spike said as he hugged her. “In case of an emergency, take this,” Twilight said as from her horn a little white ball came out, like a pearl. “What is it?” “If things get tough, smash it on the ground and it’ll produce a blinding glow, leaving you with a chance to escape. “You got it, Twilight,” Spike responded.   The violet unicorn looked at her friends and dragon, and thought for a moment of the old times, and the good times they spent, then she turned to see Richard, which turned into the hope they were waiting for.   “Ready princess?” Twilight asked. “Ready,” she replied. Celestia shot her magic several times, creating five portals that would take the heroines and dragon to their destinations.   “Do all of you know what to do?” asked Celestia. “Yeah!” they yelled at the same time. “Good luck. May the Elders watch over you.”   Then, everypony crossed the threshold of their portals and put into action their last desperate plan to save Equestria.     The sun was burning hot in the afternoon, assaulting the streets of Appleloosa. There were a few ponies walking about, with carts used like taxis, and the orchard ponies were hard at work trying to keep the plantations topped up with just the right amount of water. Braeburn was as a volunteer for this hard work; sweat covered his body; not even the shade of the trees was a retreat from the heat.   “By a thousand applepies! This weather is not letting up! What’s going through the princess’ head?” Braeburn complained to himself.   “Stop complaining, Braeburn. Use that energy to water the apple trees. We can’t lose any more of them to this drought,” a young pony said.   “Alright…  shucks, she’s totally right,” he said as he kept on with his work.   Suddenly, a strange gleam threw Braeburn off his thoughts. He went to check the place, finding the portal. Never having seen one before, he climbed the first tree he saw and shrieked.   “By grandma’s teeth! What the hay is that thing?!” He trembled with fear, hanging onto one of the branches with his eyes closed.   Applejack stepped through the portal and saw her cousin scared on the top of a tree. The branch snapped and he plummeted to the ground. Without hesitation she assisted him. “Ya’ alright cowboy?” she asked.   “Uh, it’s nothing cousin… cousin!” he said, recovering and hugging her energetically. “Wow! If your visit isn’t a nice surprise. What brings you to Appleloosa’s apple tree fields, my dear cousin?”   “Listen, sugarcube, I need you to come with me to the sheriff as fast as you can,” she said as she galloped full speed.   He galloped after her, trying his best to keep up. “Wow, hey! Easy, cousin! Why are you in such a hurry to see the sheriff? What’s the matter?”   “I’ll tell you on the way,” she said, heading for the trees.     On a green hill, another portal opened letting through a pink pony. This was the city of Fillydelphia. Her face had a melancholic smile, like she was hoping to see somepony special.   She saw two little foals playing with one another as their parents watched over them. Pinkie approached them.   “Excuse me, could you tell me where the “Golden Hooves” hotel is please?” Pinkie asked pleadingly.   “Sure, follow that road up to the exit of the forest, then five blocks north. You’ll see which one it is once you get there.”   “Thank you so much. By the way, cute colts you have,” Pinkie said.   “Thanks,” said the parents.   And so, she walked through the city streets, watching ponies go by, ponies running to get to their jobs in time, foals being taken in their baby strollers, some colts playing hoofball, just normal daily activities, which reminded Pinkie of her life in back in Ponyville before this had all started. Those days meant a new adventure full of laughter and joy. A bakery full of vivid colours caught her attention, through the window she could see cupcakes of every colour; gummy strips hung from the ceiling near the lights; candy canes adorned pieces of cake on the corners; cookies were piled high inside glass jars. Her mouth watered and her stomach growled begging for something sweet to delight itself. But she shook her head to focus again on the mission. Although images of the Cakes flooded her mind, she knew she had to carry out her duty and that every second was crucial, but she couldn’t leave without visiting the reason for her happiness.   A 5-star hotel was the marvel of the block, with a classy but modern look at the same time. The building looked like it was touching the sky. Pinkie entered and asked the clerk, “excuse me, are Mr. and Mrs. Cake staying here?”   The clerk shuffled some papers on his desk. “Let me check the book. Yup, here they are, ninth floor, room 97. Do you want me to tell them you’re visiting?”   “No thanks,” said the pink pony.   She took one of the elevators. It had a red tapestry with golden details and mirrors on opposing walls that seemed to provide an infinite effect. Pinkie fixed her hair so that it didn’t look too messy. The doors opened and a couple entered the elevator as Pinkie left, then she walked a long corridor, with pretty lamps that lit her walk. Finding the Cakes’ room, slightly fearful, she knocked on the door and waited.   “Pinkie Pie!” the Cakes cried out in joy after opening the door.   Pinkie could only hug them affectionately. It was something she had needed for some time.   Rainbow entered the portal quickly, she lifted her wings and headed straight for the mayor’s offices. Cloudsdale’s streets were empty, wooden planks covering the doors of the buildings. Rainbow was the only pegasus roaming around. The clouds weren’t white, but grey, like a rainy day. The Rainbow Factory was also closed, the place seemed like a ghost town.   As she flew full speed ahead, the rainbow maned pegasus remembered the Wonderbolts and her broken dream, the time she was at the gala with Soarin’, the time when she went to the Academy with Spitfire as captain, and her partner Lightning Dust, the numerous times she saw them perform in air shows when she was just a little filly. Tears fell from her eye and got mixed with a trail of rainbow, until she heard a faint noise coming from below. She landed and searched for the source of the noise. The street looked a bit spooky but it didn’t matter to her.   “Is somepony out there?” she called into the void.   A shadow sneaked through and toppled over a trash can. Rainbow looked back but didn’t see anybody. She jumped, seeing a few shadows move, but couldn’t figure out who was there.   “Wh-who’s over there? I’m warning you: I’m a black belt in karate!” She made a fighting pose.   But her warning was in vain. From a dark alley, a net shot out, catching Rainbow and immobilizing her completely.   “What’s going on?! Let me go, you hoodlums!” she exclaimed.   There was no use, they dragged Rainbow down the alley, and her demands became less audible until the streets were quiet again.   At the base of a big rocky mount, there was a little dragon, his mind filled with memories of the last time he was there. Ready to help his friends, he started to climb, and quickly reached the top. The dragons were sleeping peacefully, some were big, and some were less so, but without a doubt, he was still the smallest around. He was looking for a place where he could hide, and wait for the bigger dragons to talk to them, so he hid behind some rocks. He didn’t really know when they would wake up, so to pass the time he laid down and closed his eyes for a nap.   “Do you think he’s dead?” a dragon asked.   “He’s still breathing, don’t you see?” another one said.   “Let me try something,” said a third one and poked Spike with a stick.   The latter started to open his eyes annoyed.   “Just five more minutes, Twi,” he said groggily.   His eyes flew open once he saw that dragons were waking him up.   “Look what the princess’ trash brought here, it’s the little pony dragon,” said a red dragon.   “Hi g-guys, it’s been so long, how’ life been treating you?” asked Spike with a nervous giggle.   The bully trio smiled maliciously, imagining the things they’d do to the little dragon. Their claws were approaching slowly, while Spike braced himself, awaiting for the worst.     A refreshing wind cooled the rooftop of Manehattan’s tallest building. “Thank you, Celestia. You couldn’t have sent me to a higher place?” Rarity thought.   She found the building’s stairwell descended to the ground floor before setting off to the hospital. It was a cloudy day in the city, and the ground was being splashed by soft rain. Rarity was past caring about her looks; very deep in her heart, she just wanted to get to a very important compromise. She stopped, trying to figure out where she was. There was no sign of a hospital nearby. She approached a guard to ask him. “Excuse me, officer. My sister is hospitalized somewhere. We’re from Ponyville and—”   “Ponyville? Come with me, miss. I know where your sister might be.”   “Oh thank you, thank you!” said Rarity as they galloped through the streets.   While the unicorn was in the waiting room, the guard got the information she wanted. “Is your sister’s name Sweetie Belle?”   Rarity nodded eagerly. “Yes officer, is she here?”   “She in observation, you can go and see her since you’re family. Good luck.”   “Thank you so much for everything officer.”   Rarity entered the pavilion where her little sister was being kept. With a slow walk, she traveled a hall that seemed infinite. She looked through each door as she walked the corridor. Ponies of every age were fighting for their lives. She stopped at the last door of the hall, her sister was there, with a respirator on her face, her neck bandaged, and an intravenous tube supplying blood. She was pale and her eyes were closed. Rarity entered the room. Her sister was in a coma; the only sound was the machine monitoring her heartbeats. She walked in and sat next to her, with a hoof caressing her face and her mane, appreciating her, wishing she’d come back to normal.   “It was all my fault, if I didn’t make you take all those things that tragic day, you wouldn’t be here now. It was all because of my selfishness,” she thought as she laid her head down next to her.   “Please, Sweetie, wake up! Wake up so that I can apologize and turn everything back to normal!” she begged while she sat beside the bed, shedding tears that refused to stop.