A day had passed since the dark blue Pegasus had told of some of his time in Canterlot, the crusaders and even Rainbow Dash occasionally pestering him to continue the story he had started the night before.
The sun was setting in the horizon, Rainbow Dash slowly stretching her wings while looking back at them, a slightly pained look on her face as she grumbled under her breath and looked across to Written Dreams who was sitting off to the side, a book in his hooves that he had been reading for the last hour, “How long till my wings are better…?” Written Dreams looked up, chuckling towards her before he shook his head,
“Well it‘s going to be a while. Just be thankful that your other wing escaped any damage. It‘s incredible that your body resisted a lot of the impact you went through… I suppose you should be thankful that tree broke your fall.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes with another groan before letting herself fall forward, her chin landing on a pillow under her with a light ‘poomf’ sound before she groaned once again,
“Yeah lucky… that tree‘s the reason I broke so many bones anyway!”
“Rainbow… if that tree wasn‘t there you would have hit the ground. JUST the ground.” Written Dreams said as he turned a few pages in the book he was reading, “You probably would have broken a lot more. Anyway, you‘re healing up nicely so just be patient.” Rainbow Dash sighed softly before turning her head so she could look at him from her lying position,
“I have been… I just don‘t remember the last time I‘ve had to sit still for so long!” Rainbow Dash then blinked as she eyes the book in the pegasi’s hooves, “You know those are meant for kids… right?” Written Dreams looked up and gave a chuckle before shaking his head with a light smile,
“I like these ‘choose your own adventure’ books… I find them fun to read and a nice way to pass the time.” Rainbow Dash sighed as she shrugged, turning her head back to upright before closing her eyes again,
“Well… how about reading it to me then…?” The silver-maned Pegasus looked over to her, seeing one of the pegasi’s eyes on him before he got up and walked over laying next to her with the book open,
“Well I just got into this deep dungeon. We can either head deeper inside or check the cavern off to the side…”
“Come on girls!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both nodded before quickly following Applebloom into the castle before them, the three heading towards the throne room and pushed open the doors before peering around, “Hey! Mister Discord isn‘t here!”
“Girls you shouldn‘t just barge into the throne room like that…” The crusaders turned back to the door they had opened seeing Fluttershy standing behind them, still the stony grey color she had been the last time they saw her. Scootaloo turned towards the pegasus and grinned whilst tilting her head,
“Fluttershy do you know where Discord is? We thought he‘d be here.” Fluttershy seemed to pause for a moment before she spoke again, steadily looking around before shaking her head,
“Master Discord isn‘t here right now, but he should be back in a little while. If you‘re here to see Rarity or Pinkie Pie I don‘t believe he‘ll mind…” Sweetie Belle spoke next, her expression turning quizzical after Fluttershy finished speaking,
“Where‘d he go?” Fluttershy’s attention turned to the small white unicorn and she looked around again a bit warily before she sighed,
“He said something about Rainbow Dash and Gilda the griffon but I don‘t know what he meant. We haven‘t seen Gilda in a really long time.” Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to speak, along with the other crusaders before they all stopped themselves and looked down a bit, pondering before they looked up again and nodded, Applebloom speaking,
“Alright Fluttershy, we‘ll go see Rarity and Pinkie now then.” Fluttershy slowly nodded to them before she left and closed the door behind her, letting the crusaders go about their business and they all looked at each other quickly, “Gals… whatcha think’s gonna happen?” The other two crusaders simply shook their heads and continued down the hallway towards where they had last talked to Rarity on their previous visit.
“Applejack do you have any idea what the clue means…? It‘s such a bizarre place!” Twilight said as her horn glowed, an illuminated image before the two of them depicting the crystal caverns that were on the tablet they had seen back at the migration grounds.
“Ah dunno Twi. Seems tah me that we best be gettin‘ on back ta Ponyville on the double so we can check yer library. ‘Sides that feller Written Dreams said he found it by doin‘ a bit a searchin’ on his own.” Twilight looked down as the two mares continued trotting down the path before them, the purple unicorn giving a light sigh as the image disappeared,
“I suppose--” They both stopped cold as the darkly familiar laughter of Discord echoed throughout the densely forested area they were trotting through. The leafs on the ground began to swirl together before there was a powerful flash of light and Discord appeared before them both, folding his arms as he looked at the two of them. The three sat in silence for a few moments before Discord blinked and looked around,
“Unexpected… where‘s that rainbow one? I was certain she‘d still be with you after my spy was silenced.” Twilight took a step forward, her eyes wide with anger as her horn billowed and sparked,
“You know what happened to her Discord! It‘s your fault! All of this is your fault!” Discord seemed unusually calm as he raised an eyebrow staring down at the little angry unicorn before him,
“You‘re saying that little Rainbow Dash is no longer with us? My, my!” Discord let out a laugh before grinning down at the two of them, “Then your bond with the Elements of Harmony is severed! Really Twilight Sparkle, I had expected this meeting to go much differently but in light of this… I‘m feeling generous.” Twilight narrowed her eyes, growling towards the spirit of chaos darkly as her horn sparked brighter,
“What do you mean Discord?!”
“Listen Twilight. Normally I don‘t deal in death and such. That‘s not how I do things. Miss Gilda on the other hand simply wouldn‘t let the idea rest once I had my magic corrupt her as it did your friends. I figured it would shake things up a bit and I must say… it‘s put an interesting spin on things.” Twilight and Applejack were both silent, giving Discord angry stares as the spirit joined his paw and claw behind his back as he paced back and forth in front of them, “Gilda and Rainbow Dash are both dead and nothing will be changing that. Your other friends have been less then fully cooperative--”
“You turned them to stone though!” Discord blinked as he looked back to Twilight and let out another laugh,
“Who chooses to be alone in a giant castle? I needed servants and your friends have their… talents.” Twilight’s glare grew colder as Discord said this, “Twilight, Applejack… in light of the unfolding of these events I feel, once again, fully secure in my throne. Even now I can sense the chaos eating away at your mind Ms. Sparkle and it‘s absolutely delicious to watch.” Twilight was silent as the spirit of disharmony grinned down at her, pausing. A few second later she spoke again, still glaring angrily towards him,
“Discord… where is Trixie?” Discord raised an eyebrow before he laughed once again,
“Do you mean that feisty, blue, unicorn that was with you in Canterlot?” When Twilight nodded Discord’s grin faded slightly, “I have no idea. That little confrontation went differently then I had planned it to go…”
Trixie looked back to Discord, seeing the Elements of Harmony shimmering brightly as he smirked looking down at her. Trixie stood her ground, glaring up at Discord,
“You don‘t honestly think a few pieces of flashy jewelry are going to be enough to defeat the Great and Powerful Trixie do you?!” She stamped her hoof, her horn glowing brightly as the blue unicorn charged with a yell, her starry purple cloak billowing behind her.
Discord let out a dark chuckle as his arms flew out to his sides, a surge of rainbow-colored energy blasting out towards Trixie but there was a bright flash and she appeared at Discord’s side, firing a blast of magical energy from her horn and shot Discord in the side. He gave out an annoyed grunt and swiped at her with his claws before he growled towards her and held out his paw and claw, Trixie’s horn losing its billowing aura and the mare’s eyes widened,
“How dare you remove Trixie‘s magic!” Discord rolled his eyes, clearly fed up with the display the unicorn was giving and the Elements of Harmony began glowing once again as his arms folded,
“Just sit there and I‘ll make it quick.” Trixie growled and got down low, focusing as hard as she could, her horn sparking slightly before her eyes tightened shut and she let out a scream, her head turning upwards as her horn shined brightly, a shield of magical energy surrounding her before Discord unleashed the power of the elements on her, the rainbow energy spiraling around her and Trixie growled keeping her eyes squeezed shut before she let out another yell, the swirling rainbow covering her before there was a bright flash and she disappeared leaving Discord with a baffled expression watching the spot she had just been standing in.
“…so you see girls… she disappeared when I used the elements on her but honestly, I think she just teleported and is just sitting around somewhere as a statue.” Twilight had paused during the story but as Discord finished she growled at him once again,
“Fine then, where is my brother Shining Armor?” Discord paused as he looked down at the unicorn, raising an eyebrow as he thought to himself, tapping his claws on his chin as he thought,
“Honestly the name doesn‘t sound familiar. Probably just one of the nameless soldiers I blasted with the elements when I took the castle.” Discord then gave a light cackle as he stopped pacing and stood facing them, “I‘ll be off now. Eager to watch some more chaos unfold from my throne. Farewell Twilight Sparkle, I trust it will be a while since we next meet--” Twilight tilted her head slightly as she glared up at Discord,
“Wait Discord! Give me another one of my friends back! You took Rainbow Dash from me by letting Gilda loose on us!” Discord paused as he looked at the two mares standing before him before he shook his head,
“Twilight Sparkle, our deal was two of your friends for Princess Luna. You‘re acting like you had insurance policies put out on your friends or something. No, because it‘s more fun seeing you trying so desperately to keep hold of your mind in all of this chaos.” Discord then disappeared in a bright flash of energy, Twilight stamping her hoof with an angry growl before she yelled up at the sky for a good ten seconds, Applejack silently watching her before taking a step over to her and rested a hoof on her shoulder,
“Twi… I know how ya feel…” Twilight looked down, her eyes squeezed shut as she growled in deep anger and frustration,
“I CAN‘T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!” Twilight let out another loud yell as her horn billowed brightly and she fired a beam into one of the trees, the tree falling over a moment later with a massive hole through it. Twilight gave heaving breaths as her wide eyes darted around and Applejack grabbed her, pulling her into a tight embrace and held her tightly,
“Twilight… don‘t let him get to ya… we‘re almost there, I feel it. We have to stay focused and keep going. Just think!” Applejack released her a bit, seeing Twilight staring at her, “When we beat Discord… you get to throw everything he said right back in his face! He thinks ya‘ll‘re weak an‘ can‘t do anythin‘ and ah‘ve got faith that we can pull through and wipe that smile right off his face!” Twilight’s breaths became a bit shorter as she steadily calmed down and Applejack released her, smiling softly as Twilight let out a deep breath,
“You‘re right AJ… but he was right as well, this world… I feel like my mind is going to fall apart!” Applejack tilted her hat slightly as she smiled towards the unicorn and leaned over giving her a light nuzzle,
“Twilight. There ain‘t a doubt in mah mind that we‘re gonna be able ta do this thing. Ya‘ll‘re not alone. Ya‘ve got honest AJ with ya ta the end.” Twilight sniffed back a tear before she embraced Applejack tightly and smiled, her eyes closed,
“Thanks AJ… you really are an amazing friend.” The two mares then continued down the road, Applejack looking over to her and she smiled softly towards her,
“Twilight ya‘ll mentioned a brother. Ah never knew ya had a brother!”
“I… haven‘t…?” Twilight said as her gaze turned back to Applejack, her expression fairly quizzical and she brought a hoof to her chin, “Hmm… I guess I haven‘t. He was the first pony I ever really accepted as a friend back when I lived in Canterlot. He was the only one I felt I could really talk to and… I feel kind of bad having not spoken to him since coming to Ponyville-- WAIT!” Twilight stopped, her eyes wide as she was looking forward and she quickly turned her head back to the farm pony, “Discord said that he was probably one of the nameless ‘soldiers’ that he blasted with the Elements of Harmony!” Applejack tilted her head slightly in response, shaking her head a moment later,
“Why‘s that weird Twilight?” Twilight shook her head again, her eyes still wide as she stared at Applejack,
“My brother is captain of the royal guard! The only way Discord would have been specific to soldiers instead of just saying nameless ‘pony’ would be that he must have met him and learned who he was! Something doesn‘t add up…” Twilight looked down, bringing a hoof to her chin before slowly shaking her head as she continued thinking silently,
“Twilight, that does seem a might fishy…”
The Cutie Mark Crusaders all hummed together as they walked down the hallway of Canterlot Castle to see Rarity, Sweetie Belle walking a few steps ahead of the other two and laid her hoof on the door the three stopped at, pushing it open and looked into the room with a cautious gaze, the small white unicorn remembering the last time she’d talked with her sister, “Rarity…?” A white unicorn with an indigo mane and tail gazed up from her sewing machine towards the crusaders, pausing before she let out a sigh and left her station, walking over to them and looked down at Sweetie Belle,
“Sweetie Belle…” She then dropped down low and embraced the filly tightly in her arms, Sweetie Belle blinking before closing her eyes and smiling as Rarity held her tightly, “I‘m sorry about everything I said the last time I was here… You‘re right. I shouldn‘t just mope around and be jealous and hopeless; I should have faith that Twilight is going to do all she can to stop that wretched beast and restore Equestria.” Rarity then released her, looking down at the three girls with a soft smile, “I was hoping that you three had seen Twilight recently and could possibly give me an update on whatever it is she, Rainbow and Applejack are doing.” Scootaloo gave a sigh as Rarity finished speaking, the small filly looking down but then up at the beautiful mare with a bit of a sad look,
“The three of them were trying to track down some kind of magical quill called the Quill of Eternity but… they ran into trouble.” Rarity gave them a cautious gaze as her eyes drifted from one filly to the other before her gaze turned to Applebloom as the filly spoke,
“Ya see… they were headin‘ up north ta get the next clue ta follow but then Gilda showed up.” Scootaloo chimed in next, looking away from Rarity and down letting out another sigh,
“She was effected by Discord‘s magic… and she had come there to kill the three of them. Rainbow hasn‘t told us the story of the fight yet but… Gilda died and Rainbow Dash almost did too…” Rarity was silent as she stared at the fillies before her before she looked down a bit and nodded closing her eyes,
“I felt it… a kind of wrongness in the air like something awful was happening… but Rainbow is alive though?” Sweetie Belle nodded with a light smile,
“Yeah. Mister Dreams flew off to where they had fought and found Rainbow Dash. He brought her back to the clubhouse and he fixed her up.” Scootaloo spoke next, a happy smile on her face as she also nodded,
“Yeah, and he even brought her back to life when her heart stopped! He‘s the coolest colt I‘ve ever met!” Rarity had a genuine smile on her face as she gazed at the three fillies before her and gave a soft giggle,
“That pegasus is certainly one of many talents… I‘ll have to make sure to give him my thanks for saving Rainbow Dash‘s life the next time the two of us meet And the next time you see him please say hi for me.” Applebloom tilted her head slightly and she and the other crusaders smiled brightly towards Rarity,
“Can you tell us the story of how you and mister Dreams met?” Rarity paused for a moment, bringing a hoof to her chin before giving a sad sigh and shook her head,
“I‘m sorry girls… doing the work Discord assigns us around the castle is the only way that we can remain unfrozen. I‘d rather Discord not find me telling a story as opposed to keeping to my work, I hope you all understand.” The crusaders all nod with understanding smiles and Rarity trots back over to her sewing machine smiling over to them all, “I‘m sure Pinkie Pie would enjoy you three cheering her up. She needs it far more then I do.” The crusaders then all nodded to her, Sweetie Belle giving her another hug before they left the room leaving Rarity to her work.