Rainbow struggled to move. The memory of Twilight being blasted through the window was replaying itself in her mind. Each playback was worse than the last. Tears were forming in her eyes as she cursed at them for the first time in her life. Sombra smiled at Rainbow’s anger and sadness and even produced a camera to record her cursing. Rarity and Applejack remained emotionless in the middle of the throne room. Behind her, Pinkie was as silent as the grave while Fluttershy begged for her vision back.
Chrysalis sighed. “As much as I wanted her gone, this was not what I expected at all,” she said.
Sombra looked over. “If we decided to let her live, she would’ve found a way to overcome us. Her demise is necessary if we want Equestria all to us,” He said.
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Well then, with no more heroes of Equestria up your sleeve Celestia, it looks like this is victory,” she said.
Princess Celestia raised her head. Her horn, still broken, started to run a familiar red liquid. Her face drained of color from exhaustion. “You haven’t won yet, Chrysalis. Remember, there are millions of ponies who will do whatever it takes to keep their families safe. You hit too close to home. Expect a revolution,” she said.
Chrysalis smiled. “Guards, lock her up. Send the yellow and pink ones to the dungeon! May they never see the light again,” she said.
A few Changelings walked over and carried the two ponies away, against their protests. Rainbow tried flying, but her crystalized wings were too heavy for any kind of movement. “Girls! Don’t worry, I’ll get us out of here! Fluttershy, don’t be afraid!” she called out.
The door closed behind the prisoners. “And what of the rainbow one?” Sombra asked.
Chrysalis smiled. “Discord, have her sent to the Everfree Forest. Let her play with the monsters inside,” she said.
Rainbow puffed up her chest. “I’m not afraid of the Everfree! I’m brave enough to take on anything in there,” she said.
“Your bravery only comes when you can run. Goodbye Rainbow Dash.”
“Traitor!”
Discord snapped his claws, and Rainbow disappeared. Sombra laughed at her disappearance. “Now, Miss Rarity, I have an empire to return to, and I need somepony as my First General. Will you be willing to fight in the name of Your Highness?”
Rarity smiled. “But of course,” she said.
Sombra smiled and teleported out of the throne room. Rarity followed suit. Chrysalis looked down at her slave. “Oh young Applejack. So very young and filled with sadness. You will be remembered beyond Twilight Sparkle. I have a pest problem at the apple orchards, and my Changelings need help resolving the problem. How would you like to help your queen?”
“Ah would be delighted,” she said.
“Good, now go. Your commanding officer will lead you to the first orchard.”
Applejack turned and walked out the door. Chrysalis smiled. Finally, victory!
*Beep beep beep*
The sound of a heart monitor slowly rocked Twilight back into consciousness. Her eyes slowly began to open, taking in her surroundings. She was in a hospital, a really weird hospital. She looked around. It was a single room and only one bed, and she was in it. The heart monitor was on her side, showing her that she is alive. She raised her head, only to be forced back down by pain. Her hoof instinctively ran up to her head. Bandages. She felt something warm underneath her bandages, and she guessed that it was blood. She groaned and slowly rose up.
Another painful shot ran up her head. This time, it was at her back. She looked over to see her wings bound to her body. She could only imagine her wings were broken. 3 months of having wings, and I break them. And how is Spike still well enough to be my assistant?
Her eyes shot open. Spike? Spike! She looked around, looking for her baby dragon. He wasn’t there. Her heart monitor began to beep rapidly and she knew there would be a doctor coming in to check up on her, but that didn’t matter. She needed to find Spike.
Immediately, the memories of what transpired in Canterlot flooded her mind. Rarity and Applejack becoming slaves of Sombra and Chrysalis, Fluttershy being blinded, Rainbow bound and helpless, and Princess Celestia near the point of death. She remembered trying to fight back with her Element of Magic, but it failed her. She thought she would win with her Element on her side, but nothing helped. She was blasted out the castle and her friends probably think she’s dead. Pony feathers, she thought.
She looked over at the counter next to her. Her Element was there, but the jewel was cracked. She read that cracking an Element was impossible, but it looks like it happened. They won. I can’t fight back, not without the Elements.
A hoof rested itself on her shoulder. She looked up. Princess Luna was there with a sympathetic look on her face. “Twilight Sparkle, it is good to see you alive,” she said.
Twilight was at a loss of words. Instead of a simple ‘Thank you’, Twilight rose up and hugged the Princess of the Night, completely ignoring the pain she was experiencing. Luna was taken back at the sudden display of affection, but she hugged back. “Luna, I’m so sorry that I couldn’t protect her. They have Princess Celestia. I’m sorry. I let you down.”
Luna pulled the Princess of Magic back. “You did the best you could. You defended her while I could not. I am grateful that you were there for my sister.”
Twilight nodded and pointed at the Element of Magic. “What do we do about the Elements? Mine is cracked.”
Luna looked over at the crown. Twilight saw a spark in her eyes as she studied the cracked gemstone, almost like she had a plan. “I think I know somepony who can help you with this. He is here with his assistant. I am sure he knows what to do,” he said.
Twilight looked up. “Is it Starswirl?” It was a farfetched question, but nopony else really understands the Elements as much as Starswirl. “I mean, perhaps Starswirl had something specific about how to fix a cracked Element or something. Perhaps maybe some ancient texts?”
Luna shook her head. “No, but he is close. He is as clever and wise as Starswirl. I will take you to him.”
Twilight nodded. She jumped onto the floor, and sparks of pain flared up in her back. She made a mental note not to do something stupid like that just after waking from an injury that nearly cost her life. Once the pain subsided, the room began to shake. The shaking threw Luna and Twilight off balance. “I think that’s him now,” Luna said.
The Princess of Magic was confused. Were they in a traveling hospital? She followed Luna out of the hospital wing. In the hallway, there were engravings of strange symbols on the walls. They were not like the runes she studied from Pre-colonial times in Equestria. These were circular. In fact, these runes looked older. Older and more powerful. Twilight made a mental note to study them later.
They reached the end of the hall. In front of them was a pair of gold doors. “I must warn you, Twilight Sparkle, he is a bit eccentric. Patience is key with him,” Luna said.
Twilight was confused. “Who is he? A magician? A scholar? A scientist? A doctor?”
Luna smiled. “All of the above.”
The Princess of the Night opened the door. Twilight’s eyes couldn’t open any wider. She was in a very large room lined with copper. Frames extended from the floor all the way into the ceiling. In the middle of the room was a giant console with a large green tube running up to the ceiling. At the console was a brown Earth Pony with a messy mane. Next to the Earth Pony was a familiar gray Pegasus. She recognized the Pegasus from some of her endeavors. It was the mail mare who crashed into her balcony with a gift from Princess Celestia.
The room continued to rock back and forth. The console began to explode, and the earth pony was trying to fix it. He flipped switches and pushed buttons at an unnatural speed. She looked up at Luna with a confused look.
Luna smiled. “Don’t worry, he is a genius,” she said.
Twilight looked back at the earth pony. He stopped and looked in their direction. He told the Pegasus something and walked over to them.
“Luna, I can see you got bored with the library,” he said.
“It’s in the pool Doctor. I had to leave to avoid ruining your collection,” she said, holding back a chuckle.
The words ‘Library’ and ‘Pool’ in the same sentence didn’t seem compatible to Twilight. Why would the library be in the pool? The earth pony looked over at Twilight. Immediately, she recognized him. He would always be around whenever she or her friends got in trouble. It was him and the Pegasus who were there when she had to settle a dispute with the Appleloosans and buffalo tribes. He was there when Nightmare Moon returned. She ran past him when he was asking a question.
The stallion turned to the lavender princess. “I see our patient decided to join the world of the living.”
Twilight extended her hoof. “My name is Twilight Sparkle,” she said.
He smiled. “Nice to finally be introduced to you, Twilight. I’m the Doctor.”
“Doctor who?”
“Just ‘The Doctor’,” he said.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. Before she could question him, the room jerked forward. The Doctor turned to the Pegasus. “Ditzy, ease up on the controls! We aren’t jumping into the Vortex this time!”
“I’m not trying to. They found us Doctor!” Ditzy called out.
The Doctor’s eyes widened. “Alright then, it looks like we aren’t staying here. Off we go!”
He ran back to the console. Twilight and Luna followed. The Doctor noticed them both. “Luna, I need you to keep that lever in the midway position! Twilight, press that blue button whenever it turns red. Ditzy, I need you on the shield. They are hitting us with everything they got!”
Luna and Ditzy ran to their stations while Twilight did nothing. The Doctor looked over to her. “Oh, and welcome to the TARDIS. Allons-y!”
The Doctor flipped a switch, and the TARDIS jerked forward. Twilight clung onto the console. She pressed the button as instructed. The Doctor and Ditzy were cheering. Luna was smiling while Twilight was starting to feel sick.
I must be dreaming.