Episode 13: A Mother's Confession, A Nightmare's Wrath
She had held it off for so long. For years she had heeded Pinkie Pie's warnings, but in the end, she just could not resist the opportunity to do it.
She was going to prank Fluttershy.
Sure, Fluttershy was extremely sensitive; everypony knew that. That was just how she was. But what harm could a light-hearted prank possibly do? Fluttershy was one of her best friends; surely she'd know that it was all in good fun if one of her closest friends pulled it on her rather than some rude stranger.
With all this in mind, Rainbow Dash had donned a realistic-looking dragon mask and was now trotting towards Fluttershy's cottage, grinning with anticipation. She had also managed to procure a little magical recording device that contained a real dragon's roar; boy, had that been hard to get a hold of! She could hear her friend through the open window tending to Angel and bit back a sinister chuckle as she waltzed up to the door and knocked on it briskly.
"Coming!" came Fluttershy's sweet, unsuspecting voice as she approached the door. Opening it up, she began to say, "How can I help…"
"RRROOOOAAAAAARRRRR!"
The loud roar and the mask on Rainbow's face had an immediate reaction from Fluttershy; she fell back from the doorway with a loud scream, landing on her back and clutching her chest. Taking off the mask, Rainbow laughed uproariously, heedless of Fluttershy's spasms and broken gasps for air.
"Holy cow, Fluttershy!" Rainbow chortled. "You should see the look on your face right now! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Rainbow spent a full two minutes laughing hysterically before she finally began recollecting herself. "Haha…don't worry, Fluttershy, it was just me."
She looked down to see Fluttershy's reaction, but something immediately threw her off. Fluttershy lay still on the floor, one hoof still clutched to her chest, the other limp at her side. Her eyes were wide-open with fear, but they stared emptily at the ceiling, never blinking.
"Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked, starting to get worried. "Hey! Fluttershy!"
She flew over to her friend's side and repeatedly nudged her shoulder, but received no response. "Fluttershy! C'mon, this isn't funny!"
Now her worry was starting to grow into full-blown panic. Nopony could keep their eyes open that long without blinking. Rainbow put her ear against Fluttershy's chest, and paled as her worst fears were realized.
Fluttershy's heart wasn't beating.
"No…no no no NO NO NO NO NO NONONONONONONONO!" Rainbow panicked, refusing to believe it in her mind.
She began desperately administering CPR, constantly muttering, "c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" under her breath with each push against Fluttershy's chest. She put her mouth to Fluttershy's and blew air down her throat. "Don't do this to me, Fluttershy! C'mon!" she cried as she withdrew and began pushing against her chest again.
But it was too little, too late. And after ten minutes of CPR without results, Rainbow realized the horrifying truth.
Fluttershy was dead.
She had scared her own best friend literally to death.
Rainbow collapsed on her haunches, hyperventilating as she stared into Fluttershy's unblinking eyes, forever sealed in that expression of the mortal terror that had claimed her. "Oh Faust, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Rainbow bawled. "I should've listened to Pinkie! I'm so sorry!"
Before Rainbow knew it, it was the day of Fluttershy's funeral. The surviving members of the Mane Six, all dressed in black, refused to talk to Rainbow, only acknowledging her presence through hateful, accusing glares. But Pinkie's was the worst; it was her warnings that Rainbow had defied, and now look what had happened. Such venom in her expression; it seemed almost unnatural on Pinkie's usually-happy face. Rainbow stood alone in silence throughout the entirety of the funeral, tears streaming down her face. She continued to stand there as all the mourners eventually left, leaving her alone in the Ponyville Cemetery. She stood before Fluttershy's grave, reading the epitaph with a heavy, guilt-ridden heart.
Fluttershy
A kind soul. A true friend.
Taken before her time.
All because of her.
Rainbow sank to her knees as she lay a bouquet of roses underneath Fluttershy's headstone. She gently placed a hoof on the cold stone, tracing it over her best friend's name.
"I'm so sorry, Flutters," she murmured mournfully. "I swear I'll never, ever prank again."
"Rainbow Dash…"
Rainbow jumped in surprise as the familiar voice that came from behind. "Wha…? Fluttershy?"
Rainbow whirled around, and found herself face-to-face with the best friend she had murdered.
Only Fluttershy now looked withered and rotting, her once-kind face now sunken and wrinkled. Her eyes had a glazed-over look, but they met Rainbow's open-mouthed, horror-stricken stare with a look of anger and betrayal.
"How could you do this to me?" Fluttershy accused. "I thought you were my friend."
"F-Fluttershy!" Rainbow begged. "I-I swear I didn't know!"
"Yes you did!" Fluttershy shot back. "Pinkie Pie warned you about pranking me, that I wouldn't be able to take it! And you did it anyway! You killed me!"
It would have been bad enough had Fluttershy been yelling. But the fact that she still spoke in that soft, timid whisper was all the more gutwrenching.
"Pinkie trusted you. You are the Element of Loyalty; she thought she could trust you not to do it. But you betrayed her. You betrayed all of us."
Rainbow couldn't form words, because she knew Fluttershy was right.
"Traitor," Fluttershy hissed.
"I-I'm sorry," Rainbow whimpered, curling in on herself as she sobbed uncontrollably.
"Murderer."
Those two words repeated endlessly in her head, whispered by all her former friends with contempt and disappointment. Rainbow squinted her eyes shut, pressing her hooves against her ears, but the voices continued unabated, cutting into her with their brutality…
XXXXXX
Daring Do slowly opened the door and felt her breath catch in her throat as she heard the muffled sounds of Rainbow Dash crying in her sleep. Quickly pushing it the rest of the way open, Daring entered the room and saw her long-lost daughter curled in her bed in the fetal position, her eyes squinted shut as tears streamed down her face. "I-I'm so sorry," she whimpered. "I d-didn't mean to…!"
Daring realized Rainbow was having a nightmare, and from the looks of it, a pretty bad one. Seeing how much Rainbow was suffering, Daring refused to let it go on any longer, and approached Rainbow's bedside. Shaking Rainbow's shoulder, Daring whispered, "Hey, kid! Wake up!"
At first she didn't succeed, and Rainbow remained locked in the throes of her night terror. "Hey, come on, Rainbow Dash! Wake up!" Daring pressed more loudly, roughly shaking Rainbow's shoulder.
Finally Rainbow's eyes snapped wide-open as she took a huge gasp. She sat bolt upright, slowly coming to her senses as she let loose a strangled bawl. Immediately she felt herself wrapped in a tight hug, and Rainbow's breathing finally began slowing down as the waking world came back into focus.
"Shh, shh, it's alright," she heard a voice say as the owner gently stroked her mane. "I'm here, kid. I'm here."
Choking back a sob at the memory of what she realized had been her nightmare, Rainbow looked down to see who had a hold of her, and could not contain her utter surprise.
"D-Daring Do…?"
Daring Do slowly pulled back from the hug, looking at her with a worried expression. "Are you okay? You looked like you were having a pretty bad nightmare there."
Rainbow shuddered. "Y-yeah…"
"You…wanna talk about it?"
Rainbow violently shook her head.
"Okay," Daring said softly. "You don't have to if you don't want to."
"T-thank you," Rainbow whimpered.
Daring awkwardly stood there for a few moments, looking like she wanted to say something but was unsure of how to say it.
"Um…i-is something wrong?" Rainbow hesitantly asked.
Daring sighed in response and looked her right in the eye. "Rainbow Dash, I…got a confession to make. I mean, I know this is probably bad timing and all, considering that bad dream you just had, but I really…need to get this off my chest. I…I've seen you before. A long time ago, on the very day you were born, actually…"
Rainbow's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I don't understand…how could you have met me the day I was born?"
It was now or never. Daring steeled her nerves, took a deep breath, and said, "Because…I'm your mother."
Rainbow was shocked into silence.
XXXXXX
Dethl laughed as it reentered the void between dreams after Rainbow Dash's dream bubble had disappeared upon her awakening. Her nightmare had been its best one yet, and the Demon King felt a sense of pride. The Element of Loyalty was brash and arrogant, and though truly loyal to her friends, even the strongest loyalties could be shattered, and sometimes not even through an intentionally-malicious act. These fools would learn how deeply their own flaws contradicted what they were supposed to stand for, and surely the Elements of Harmony would be left powerless once their bonds of friendship were severed.
However, Dethl was abruptly pulled out of its revelry by a voice from behind.
"At last! At last I have cornered thee, demon!"
The King of Nightmares slowly turned to see Princess Luna staring it down.
And she did not look happy.
The Lunar Princess looked the Demon King of Nightmares up and down, taking in the features of the fiend that had caused so much harm to her people already. She noted with concern that its body bore an eerie resemblance to Vaati's demon eye form, though without the wings, horns, and gold patterns adorning the eyelid. Its body was spherical and pitch-black in color. Two bulky arms grew from its sides, each bearing a spiked ball for a hand with glowing red palms. A single eye, large and tinted a poisonous, sickly green, narrowed into a menacing glare as it locked eyes with her. This was it; this was the monster that had possessed Diamond Tiara and forced her to try and kill the Cutie Mark Crusaders, that had been interfering with her prophetic dreams to hide its intentions, that had been responsible for freeing and restoring the powers of King Sombra as well as granting him access to those loathsome winged hounds, that was even now unleashing nightmares the likes of which she had not seen since Sombra's time upon the bearers of the Elements of Harmony and taking utter pleasure in doing so. And Luna was eager to tear this son of a Diamond Dog a structurally-superfluous new flankhole, as the much more vulgar modern lingo of today so eloquently put it, for all the crimes it had committed against Equestria, against its ponies, and most unconscionably, against helpless children.
"Long have you eluded me," Luna growled. "Long have you threatened the dreams of my subjects. No more."
The time had come. Without any other distractions to aid it, Dethl had finally been caught by Princess Luna. But luckily for the Demon King, Majora had recently revealed that the element of surprise was no longer theirs, meaning that maintaining secrecy was no longer a concern. The Nightmare laughed mockingly, its deep, multi-layered voice sending chills down Luna's spine as it echoed across the vast dreamscape of Equis's inhabitants.
"Gwo hoh hoh hoh hoh…Princess Luna, Goddess of the Moon. At last we meet. We would say it is a pleasure, but in truth, your every breath insults us."
Luna's wings flared out as her horn glowed with energy. "Your time on this earth is at an end, creature of darkness!"
A violet streak of energy lanced out of Luna's horn, aimed right at Dethl's ponderous eye. However, Dethl coolly blocked it with a massive arm, never taking its eye off the enraged alicorn. "Equestrian whelp," Dethl sneered. "You lack the means to destroy us."
"If you're so confident in your hideous powers, then face me and stop running like a coward!" Luna roared.
"And why would we waste our valuable time with a bug like you?" Dethl replied condescendingly. "We have so much else to do that is far more important than taking the time to step on a cockroach like you. You cannot defeat us, no matter how you try. We could easily destroy you with a fraction of our powers, but alas, Lord Majora wants the pleasure of killing you all for himself. But since you went through all this trouble just to catch up with us, we don't see why we can't have a little fun. Your perseverance certainly deserves reward."
Dethl thrust its arms out, causing a multitude of black shadows to split from its main body and take the form of a horde of bats that looked as though they were made of ink. Without warning, the Shadow Bats flew off in random directions, each of them randomly targeting a dream bubble and entering it. Each penetrated dream instantly became a nightmare, rapidly increasing in severity.
"Let's see how many of your precious ponies you can save from quite literally dying of fright! And do tell the Wind Sorcerer hello for us! GAH HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
Luna could only stare slack-jawed as Dethl vanished from the world of dreams, its maniacal laughter ringing in her ears long after the vile beast had fled. She glanced all around at the tainted dreamscapes, overcome with shock. I've never seen such a display of power before! What sort of ancient horror are we truly facing here?!
But she didn't have time to consider that. Right now, she had to save several of her subjects from literally being scared to death in their sleep.
However, there was one thing she did know for certain.
That demon was definitely affiliated with Majora.
With all the speed and dream powers she could muster, she began hunting down the nightmares one by one, entering each dreamscape and quickly silencing the perpetrators with a well-placed energy beam. She could not stay to hear the dreamers' thanks, though, and forced herself to keep moving. But the nightmares were progressing fast, and despite her best efforts, she was beginning to panic inside with the fear that she wouldn't be able to get to everypony in time.
A Phillydelphian baker…
A filly in Trottingham…
The Ponyville teacher Cheerilee…
A Crystal Pony within the Empire…
A traveling showmare that Luna had honestly taken a recent interest in, also happening to be taking shelter in the Empire…
With each nightmare dispelled, the sense of urgency grew.
A young foal from Appleloosa was a frighteningly close call, and Luna was growing desperate. However, just as she emerged from the foal's dreams, she felt the unimaginable.
A dream bubble shattered, the subconsciousness of the dreamer fading forever into oblivion. Luna's heart stopped deathly cold.
"No…"she breathed, choking back a sob. "N-no, it can't…!"
For she knew which dreamer's life had been cruelly cut short by the machinations of the Nightmare King.
"P-Pipsqueak…I'm so sorry!"
XXXXXX
Cloudsdale Hotel…
It took several minutes for Rainbow Dash to find her voice again. "Wh…what?"
"On the morning of April 13th, nineteen years ago, at exactly 9:34 am, I gave birth to you at the Cloudsdale Hospital. You were three pounds, six ounces, and the first thing your dad, Rainbow Blitz, told me as I held you was that you had my eyes."
Rainbow's jaw dropped at Daring Do's perfectly-accurate repeat of the details of her birth that her father had given her. "You…I…h-how…?"
"I met your dad in Saddle Arabia," Daring continued, fearing that if she paused, she wouldn't be able to keep going. "I was on an archaeological dig as part of my college education, and Blitz was an international reporter covering the dig. He and I met, and we eloped. Two weeks later, just as the dig was close to done, I found out I was pregnant, and Blitz and I went back to Cloudsdale together. A year later I had you."
"If…" Rainbow stammered. "If you r-really are…my mom…then, where were you all this time?!"
Daring had been bracing herself for this question, and decided to answer bluntly and honestly. "I was a coward and ran away after they released me from the hospital. I wasn't much older than you are now, and I was still in college, and I-I just wasn't prepared to deal with a responsibility like this. Blitz was waiting for me at his house with you, a-and I never showed up. I trusted him to raise you, because I knew he was a good stallion. I left Cloudsdale, got a new name, and went to a different college. And I thought that my adventures would make me forget about my own guilt, but…it didn't. That's why I started writing about my adventures and turning it into a series for kids and young adults. Maybe, deep down, I was hoping that you would one day find my books and read all about my adventures so you could have somepony to inspire you to do big things, even if you never knew the truth about who I was. But…it wasn't enough. It'll never be enough. Now that I've seen you again, now that I've seen the pony you have become, I…I don't want to stay away anymore. I-I know I don't have any right to ask this, but…but would you be willing t-to let me into your life, so I can make up for all the time I was never there?"
Rainbow was absolutely silent as she took this all in, staring at her idol, no, her mother, in total shock. After a few minutes of heavy silence, Rainbow finally began to speak. "Dad never talked about you. He always g-got this sad look on his face whenever I asked about you, and he'd always say, 'maybe one day'. He had no pictures of you, nothing. As I got older, I thought you had died giving birth to me, and that he was constantly grieving about it, and that was why he wouldn't talk about you. But now I really know why; you hurt him. When I-I was born, h-he was expecting us t-to be a family! A-and then you ran away and left him all alone with m-me, and you knowingly cut us both out of your life!"
By now, Rainbow was fully in tears as her tirade continued. Daring winced at her harsh words, but knew that she had every right to be angry, every right to cut into her for how she had failed her own flesh and blood. She could not stop her own tears though, looking away in shame as her daughter continued.
"For nineteen years, I knew absolutely nothing about you!" Rainbow was close to yelling. "What you looked like, w-what you and Dad did together, and it was almost like you never existed at all! But y-you were still out there, running around and saving the world, and you knew that my dad was raising me all by himself! I never got anything from you, not even a birthday card once in a blue moon! You were just content to let me keep thinking you were dead or something!"
Daring, unable to look Rainbow in the eye, hung her head down as she quietly sobbed.
"And you know what one of the few things he told me about you was?" Rainbow suddenly asked in a much softer voice. "He was going to ask you to marry him once you got back from the hospital. He had the ring picked out and everything. He even showed it to me once. He was expecting the three of us to be a family together. You didn't just break his heart that day; you broke him completely. Rarely did I ever see him smile."
Daring lifted her head a few millimeters. "D-did?" she repeated, dreading what that phrasing implied.
"You didn't know, did you? You were off in Tenochtitlan, having adventures! Three years ago, Dad was working at the Rainbow Factory after he quit the reporter gig, and there was an accident. The spectra condenser malfunctioned, and Dad was caught in the blast."
Daring's breath caught in her throat. "Oh Faust…"
"There wasn't even anything left of him to bury," Rainbow continued. "I'm only thankful he died instantly, because he already suffered enough in life."
Daring didn't answer, hanging her head low again and sobbing remorsefully, letting out a pitiful whine. Rainbow opened her mouth to say something else, to make Daring see how much hurt she had caused, but those words died in her throat as she really took notice of her mother's state. Despite everything, the sight of her mother sitting in front of her, crying her eyes out, utterly broke Rainbow's heart. She was still, after all, her mother, and Rainbow valued family just as much as Applejack, if not more because she had much, much less of it than the farmpony. And after all these years, she had finally come forth with the truth and a desire to come back into Rainbow's life. She wanted to stay angry, but her guilt overrode her anger and Rainbow slid off the bed and wrapped her mom up in a hug.
"I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Rainbow whimpered.
After nineteen years of separation and suppressed emotions, mother and daughter embraced for the first time and cried into each other's shoulders.
XXXXXX
Crystal Palace, Luna and Celestia's bedroom…
Celestia jolted awake as she felt a horrific sensation deep within her soul that indicated something was terribly wrong. Hearing a noise, Celestia looked towards her sister's bed to see that Luna was sitting up, hunched over as she sobbed.
"Luna! What happened? What's wrong?" Celestia asked, fearing the worst.
Luna slowly looked up at her elder sister with tear-stained eyes. "T-the demon…the monster that has been plaguing the w-world of dreams since Vaati came to Equestria…I finally confronted it."
Luna seemed unable to continue, collapsing back into a fit of sobs. "Lulu, tell me what happened!" Celestia pleaded, throwing off her covers and rushing to her sister's bedside. "What did this monster do?!"
Luna tried to keep herself from hyperventilating, and she managed to choke out, "It…it unleashed a horde of lesser dream demons u-upon our subjects. T-they were trying to kill as many ponies as they could through their d-dreams."
Celestia felt her heart stop at this. Oh, please…let it not be so, she thought with dread.
"I…I…" Luna trembled, before she succumbed to a hysterical meltdown. "I w-was too la-ha-hate to s-save them! I c-couldn't get t-t-to all of t-them in t-t-time!"
Celestia's heart shattered as her worst fears were confirmed; Luna hadn't been able to save all of the affected dreamers.
"H-how many?" Celestia forced herself to ask.
"Th-th-thirteen," Luna sobbed. "Out of f-fifty. They…they…they took Pipsqueak"
Celestia was overcome with horror and sadness. Pipsqueak, the little foal from Trottingham that Luna had met on Nightmare Night of last year, who had told her she was his favorite princess, a foal that Luna had doted on ever since, often taking time to visit his dreams to play with him during her vigil…
His parents would find his cold, lifeless body still in his bed come morning.
"No…" Celestia whispered, tears spilling from her own eyes.
"T-they got a filly in Manehattan t-too," Luna whimpered. "O-one of the A-Apple relatives…a-and another f-f-foal in Filly…Fillydelphia…oh Celie, they were just foals! They didn't deserve this!"
Celestia swiftly embraced Luna as the Princess of the Night unleashed an anguished howl of guilt and despair at her failure to prevent the senseless deaths of innocent children. As she held Luna close, Celestia heard her sister mumble something into her chest.
"What was that, Lulu?" Celestia asked, looking down at her younger sibling.
Luna sniffed, a glint of hatred appearing within her grief-stricken eyes as she repeated softly, "The demon…it works f-for Majora."
So it was true. They were indeed affiliated, which meant that Majora had had his eye on Equestria for a lot longer than they had initially believed. Celestia stroked her sister's ethereal mane as Luna cried into her chest. As she did so, she looked out the window at the luminescent moon, a determined glare on her face as more tears slid down her cheeks.
I swear on our dear mother, Celestia silently vowed. You and your servants will pay for what you have done, Majora.
XXXXXX
Cloudsdale Hotel, Rainbow Dash's room…
"…and King Sombra was all like, 'no, this cannot be!', and he just has the most epic 'oh crap' look on his face, and BAM! Crystal Heart blows him and those freaky wolves into a billion pieces!" Rainbow eagerly regaled to her mother, gesturing excitedly as she did so. "And we all got hailed as heroes again, especially Vaati. Boy, were we starting to get used to that…so anyways, that was the third time we saved all of Equestria…"
Rainbow trailed off as she realized that Daring Do was fast asleep, still sitting upright on the floor with her head tilted downward. The exhausted adventurer had likely finally nodded off to the sound of her daughter's voice, for now that such a weight had been lifted off her chest, her body had finally begun to involuntarily power down. Rainbow knew this; she was pretty tired too, especially after her nightmare. (which she could not believe she had forgotten would occur after each Element was retrieved, for some strange reason) The young pegasus smiled as she pulled the blanket off her bed and draped it over her mother's sleeping body before laying back down on her bed. Before she closed her eyes, Rainbow stole one last look at Daring and whispered, "I forgive you…Mom. I'm glad you came back."
Rainbow sighed and closed her eyes.
Which then snapped open as she fell into another fangasm fit. "Omigosh, Daring Do is my mom!" she whispered excitedly to herself. "Daring Do is my mom! My life can't possibly get any cooler now!"
Daring's back was turned, so Rainbow did not see the corner of her mother's lips tug up into a smile, as though her daughter's words had reached her through the dream realm.
Unbeknownst to either of them, Ahuizotl stood outside their door, having been listening in the whole time. Satisfied, the former ruler of Tenochtitlan Valley returned to his room to rest alone with his cat.
XXXXXX
Across a stretch of sea…
Above and around mighty, snow-capped mountains…
Laughter was calling.
Griffons desperately tried to fend off hordes of attacking Blin warriors, but although their wings granted them an advantage against the pig folk, they were all but helpless before the onslaught of a strange humanoid female that led the Moblin army. She bore a slight similarity to Ganon, what with the dark skin and evil expression. Her hair was strange; half of it was a raging inferno, the other a solid block of ice. She held two wand-like broomsticks in her hands, each radiating fire and ice energy.
She struck down the Griffon King in cold blood, tittering with sultry laughter as she did so.
The sight filled Pinkie with anger and sadness, both of which Pinkie otherwise excelled at dispelling. But now the prince was without a father and too young to take the throne. Griffons by the hundreds were locked in their own dungeons, left to rot for their resistance. The sorceress of fire and ice settled comfortably into the Griffon King's throne, content in her new dominion.
The Element of Laughter had been taken to Griffhala.
But that's all the way across the sea! How'd Ganon get over there so fast?! Pinkie thought to herself. And how're we gonna get there fast?
XXXXXX
Ponyville, the next morning…
Maulgrim and Nigellas ventured down to Ponyville's surface just in time to hear the dreadful news; Pipsqueak, a young foal who lived there, had been found dead in his bed. While he appeared to have no injuries, he had been found with a look of utter terror forever etched on his innocent face, as though he had quite literally died of fright during the night. His parents were inconsolable.
A large crowd of ponies and monsters quietly watched Nurse Redheart and her unicorn doctors solemnly carry away Pipsqueak's tiny body, concealed under a white sheet so that the onlookers would not have to see such a heartbreaking sight.
"Died in his sleep, from what I heard," Nigellas spoke up, shaking his head. "Goddessdamned shame, this is."
"Old men and women die in their sleep," Maulgrim answered. "He was but a child, and a healthy one from what I could tell. Does this not seem unusual?"
"Is He behind it?"
Both Wizzrobe and Darknut looked down to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders standing at their side, watching the nurses cart away Pipsqueak's body with sad expressions. It was Scootaloo who had spoken, and a hard look was plastered on her face.
Nigellas thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't know, kid. This isn't the sort of thing Ganon's known for, so it probably isn't him. But at the same time, Majora, while probably having power over dreams, was not known for exercising it often."
"He exercised it with me," Scootaloo grimly pointed out. "He might have killed me if Princess Luna hadn't showed up."
"True," Nigellas conceded. "Still, if it actually is Majora, why Pipsqueak? Why not go after your friends for revenge?"
"Maybe he's tryin' t'make some sorta statement," Applebloom offered. "That he could git t'us at any time, that we ain't never gonna be safe as long as he's around."
"It's psychological," Sweetie Belle surmised. "He might be trying to induce panic amongst us."
"Now that I can believe," Nigellas agreed. "Psychological warfare is right up Majora's alley. He loves turning people against each other."
Scootaloo shook her head as Pipsqueak's stretcher disappeared around the corner of a house towards the hospital. "He's gonna pay for this," she muttered darkly. "I knew Pip personally, and he was just the sweetest colt you'd ever meet. He didn't deserve this."
"I wager he will," Nigellas answered. "But right now, we've got to do something about Ganon. We called a meeting with the Mayor yesterday, and we're going to assemble a relief force to ride to the Crystal Empire's aid."
Scootaloo frowned. "Who'll watch over me while you're gone?"
"I'll be staying with you, kid," Nigellas spoke up. "Maulgrim will be the one to lead the relief force. Speaking of which, Maulgrim! Has our envoy to the Diamond Dogs returned yet?"
"Yes," Maulgrim replied. "The Diamond Dogs will be sending some of their best fighters to aid us. They are supposed to arrive within the hour."
"We better get ourselves some volunteers, then," Nigellas said, looking over his shoulders at the gathered townsfolk.
"Indeed," Maulgrim agreed, stepping forward to address the crowd before they could disperse. "Attention, denizens of Ponyville! The time has come for us to ride to the defense of your Princesses! Today, we march to the Crystal Empire! Glory awaits, but so may death! Who will stand with us? Who will join us as we march into Equestrian history?"
The crowd shared numerous glances, murmuring amongst themselves. Suddenly one pony stepped forward.
"I'm in," said Vinyl Scratch.
"Vinyl?" Octavia exclaimed in worry and surprise.
"The Princesses need us, Tavi," Vinyl replied, looking over her shoulder. "I'm going."
"Then I'm going with you!" Octavia declared stubbornly, trotting up to stand by Vinyl's side.
"I'll go," Lyra spoke as she stepped forward.
"Not without me, you won't!" Bon Bon proclaimed, joining her.
"Sparkler, take care of Dinky for me," Derpy said to her younger sister as she too stepped forward.
"Sis, you can't…!" Sparkler objected.
"I need to do my part for Equestria," Derpy explained. "Besides, it's not like I'm new to the whole 'saving Equestria' thing."
"In that case, you'll be needing me, then," Doctor Whooves spoke up as he trotted up to Derpy and joined the growing group of ponies. "You're my companion, after all."
Derpy smiled and hugged the ponified Time Lord.
"Why the buck not?" Berry Punch shrugged before coming forward. "Always wanted to see the Crystal Empire anyway. Colgate, look after Ruby till I come back."
"Berry, are you sure about this?" Colgate worriedly asked.
"Aye, as sure as vodka tastes like horseapples!"
"I'll fight!" Sea Swirl declared.
"So will I!" Pokey Pierce said.
"Me too!" said Caramel.
"YEEEEEEEAH!" boomed Bulk Biceps. "You know, as long as there aren't any more giant moths…" he added in a much quieter voice.
"Count us in!" the spa ponies said in unison.
Suddenly a certain group of Earth Ponies stepped forward together. "Us too!" Three Leaf vowed. "We'll fight with you!"
"It's time to do our part for Equestria!" Gladstone proclaimed.
"I'm going too!" Carrot Top said.
"Me too!" said Cloudchaser.
"Not without me, sis!" said Cloud Kicker.
"We're done with being scared of everything!" Roseluck proclaimed as she and her fellow flower sisters joined in.
"I'm in too!" Rainbowshine said.
"Me too!" Raindrops said.
Maulgrim and Nigellas watched in unrestrained awe as over half of Ponyville volunteered for what could possibly be a suicide mission. They could see it in their eyes; they were willing to lay down their lives for their homes, families, and the Princesses. Maulgrim failed to suppress a smile, while Nigellas discreetly wiped away a tear of pride. Looking beneath the pastel skin of these ponies, one could see that they were truly some of the bravest souls imaginable. Many of the other monsters regarded the ponies with expressions of abject respect for the sacrifice they were willing to make.
Maulgrim clasped his hands behind his back as he paced back and forth before the gathered volunteers. "Alright, fillies and gentlecolts, listen up! When our Diamond Dog allies arrive, we will march on the Crystal Empire! You saw for yourselves the force that stands opposed to us. Even with the Crystal Empire's defenders, we are likely outnumbered three times over. But we have something the enemy does not. We have a reason to fight. We have homes to defend, families to protect. And we have each other. Between us exists an unbreakable bond of trust and friendship, forged in fire and stronger than the finest steel! Regardless of what awaits us on the plains of the Empire, one thing is certain; what we do in life…shall echo in eternity!"
A great roar rose up as ponies and monsters cheered, eager for the fight ahead.
"Warriors…arm yourselves!" Maulgrim bellowed.
As the pony and monster volunteers dispersed to ready for war, a war horn sounded from the Everfree Forest. Maulgrim and Nigellas turned to see that their Diamond Dog reinforcements had arrived at last, emerging from the forest.
Only it was not just Diamond Dogs that greeted them.
Many of the ape-hounds were mounted on the backs of Timberwolves, which growled menacingly, eager for battle. Around and amongst the Diamond Dog horde was a great host of beasts native to the Everfree; cockatrices, manticores, chimeras, cragadiles, Timberwolves without riders, and even a fearsome hydra. Maulgrim and Nigellas regarded this with open-mouthed shock.
"How…wha…?" Nigellas stammered.
"H-how came you by such allies?" Maulgrim marveled.
"We've lived in the Everfree Forest a long time," Starlet spoke up. "More than most ponies, we are close in communion with the will of the Everfree. Last night, we and the Diamond Dog Betas paid a visit to the source of the Everfree's sentience and made an appeal to it."
"The Everfree's sentience?" Maulgrim repeated.
"Gaia," Mitta explained. "Otherwise known as the Tree of Harmony, the source of the Elements of Harmony."
Nigellas's eyes widened. "No bloody way…"
Mitta grinned. "And Gaia accepted."
"All creatures born of the Everfree are bound to the Everfree, and now they have been called upon by the Tree of Harmony to help us cleanse Equestria of Ganon's evil," Three Leaf said proudly.
As she said this, a manticore padded up to Maulgrim and glared at him. Maulgrim held his ground, unsure of what to do, but to his surprise, the manticore chuffed and knelt down before the Darknut. With a start, Maulgrim realized what was going on; the manticore was offering itself as his steed. Grinning, Maulgrim reached up and scratched the manticore behind the ears.
"Ganon won't even know what hit him."
XXXXXX
Cloudsdale Hotel…
Vaati, Chrysalis, Rover, Ahuizotl, and Zecora all waited in the lobby as the Mane Six slowly joined them one at a time, each waking up according to their own internal alarm clocks. Pinkie excitedly bounced downstairs, eager to share the news. Vaati arched an eyebrow, quickly realizing what she could possibly be so excited about. No one paid Rainbow Dash and Daring Do much mind as they sheepishly trotted downstairs and joined them.
"I know where my Element is!" Pinkie blurted out, unable to contain herself any longer. "It's in Griffhala!"
"Griffhala?" several of them exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah! Griffhala! You know, the place where all the griffons live across the sea, and they got a king and a prince, but now they don't have a king anymore 'cause some crazy lady who kinda looks like Ganon murdered him in cold blood and now she's locked up all the other griffons and she's acting like their new ruler and now there's a bunch of Moblins all over the place and…"
"PINKIE PIE!" Vaati and the rest of the Mane Six yelled.
Realizing that she had been rambling again, she sheepishly smiled and said, "Sorry."
"Now, what was this you were saying about a woman who looks similar to Ganon taking over Griffhala?" Vaati demanded. "And please try to talk like a normal person."
"Well, she had this funky hair, and half of it was on fire and the other half was a block of ice!" Pinkie explained. "She had these two wands that kinda looked like little broomsticks, and one was on fire and the other one looked like it was frozen! She looks like she couldn't settle with hot or cold, so she took both!"
"Fire and ice…" Vaati murmured, scratching his chin as he thought about who the sorceress in question would be. And then all of a sudden, it clicked, and Vaati's eyes widened in realization. "Twinrova…"
"Who?" Rarity asked.
"Twinrova," Vaati answered, turning towards her. "She was once two sisters, ancient Gerudo witches who were so in tune with one another that they had the ability to merge their bodies and souls into one entity without ill effects. Koume, the Sorceress of Flame, and Kotake, the Sorceress of Ice, were banished by the Gerudo for practicing dark magic, but they wormed their way back into Gerudo society after Ganon was born, and they raised him for their evil purposes."
"So she's essentially Ganon's mom?" Rainbow marveled.
"Not by blood, but basically," Vaati confirmed. "Since it appears the Twinrova sisters have made their bonding spell permanent, we will be dealing with a powerful sorceress who excels at fire and ice magic. However, she does have a major weakness."
"What's that?" Twilight asked.
"She's susceptible to her own magic," Vaati replied. "Our easiest path to victory would be to turn her own magic attacks back at her, but we could always just wail on her with our own spells. She can take quite a beating though, so expect a tough fight nevertheless."
"And the Moblins should be easy enough to take care of," Rarity replied. "I try not to speak ill of the ones who live among us in Ponyville, but I have to admit that Moblins are not the smartest of creatures."
"Don't let their stupidity lull you into complacency," Vaati said. "What they lack in brains they make up for in brawn. They're brutal warriors and will fight to the death without question when they face their enemies. That's why Ganon favors them as his primary minions."
"All this aside, this creates a bit of a problem," Twilight spoke up. "Griffhala is over a day and a half away from Equestrian shores by ship, and with Ganon causing trouble, I don't know if the major shipping lanes in Manehattan and Baltimare are still active."
"It's the best we can hope for," Vaati shrugged. "It's too far for us to fly or teleport, so going there by ship is our only option. Which is closer, Baltimare or Manehattan?"
"Manehattan," Applejack answered. "But if that don't work out, Fillydelphia's just about a hundred miles south'a Manehattan. Anyways, if the ponies there're diggin' themselves in rather than gettin' outta Equestria, we can spend the night with some'a mah folks down there."
"Let's shoot for that, then," Vaati agreed. "Let's hurry and find something to eat before we go."
"Wait!" Rainbow abruptly exclaimed, stopping them all before they could meander off to get ready for breakfast.
"What?" Vaati demanded impatiently.
Rainbow took a deep breath and said, "You guys are not gonna believe what I found out last night."
Vaati rolled his eyes. "Well, don't keep us in suspense; spit it out!"
"Daring Do is my mom!"
A good five minutes of silence followed. Vaati and the Mane Six looked utterly shocked, Ahuizotl had a smirk on his face, Zecora looked confused, and Chrysalis and Rover looked indifferent.
"And…?" Chrysalis remarked, raising an eyebrow.
"Rainbow, this is not the time for jokes!" Twilight reprimanded, recovering.
"She's not joking, though," Daring Do plainly spoke. "I am her mother."
Twilight's jaw dropped, followed by Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, whose jaw dropped all the way to the floor.
"No way…" Twilight breathed. "Daring Do…THE Daring Do, is your mother?!"
"I know! Isn't it bucking awesome?!" Rainbow positively squealed, doing a loopty-loop in the air. "This makes my whole life twenty…no, no scratch that, a hundred twenty times cooler!"
Twilight put a hoof to her head as she fell on her haunches. "First I find out Daring Do is real…then I find out she's Rainbow's long-lost mother?! My mind is officially blown."
Vaati shook his head. "Bloody Dark World, that's a bombshell I wasn't expecting."
Applejack sidled up to Daring, glaring critically at her. "If you really are Dash's ma, then where were ya fer the majority'a her life?"
"AJ!" Rainbow began.
"No," Daring interrupted, raising a hoof. "It's alright, Dash." She then evenly met the farmpony's gaze. "When Rainbow Dash was born, I was afraid of the responsibility that came with caring for a baby. I didn't really plan on getting pregnant, and I was still in college, so I just didn't think I was ready. So I left her with her dad and moved to another town to start fresh. I know, it was a terrible thing for me to do, and there is no excuse for running from your responsibilities, especially when it comes to family, but I was young and stupid and scared. Judging from the accent, I'd say you're one of the Apple relatives, right?"
"Yup," Applejack replied curtly.
"So then you of all ponies know how important it is to keep your family close, and…I knew I was wrong in running away, but I was too scared and ashamed to go back. Until now. I understand if you won't exactly ever grow fond of me, but I want to be a part of my daughter's life and make up for lost time."
Applejack continued to stare at Daring for several tense moments before the farmer suddenly smiled warmly. "Aw, shucks. Can't argue with that. If Dash is fine with you, then you're fine by me."
Daring let loose a sigh she hadn't even realized she was holding back. But there was something else she had to do. Walking past Applejack, Daring trotted up to Ahuizotl, who looked at her questioningly.
"And you…" Daring hesitantly began. "If it hadn't been for you, I might have never gotten the courage to do this."
To everyone's surprise, she flew up to Ahuizotl's face and planted a kiss on her former nemesis's snout, her cheeks redder than a freshly-peeled grapefruit. "Thank you," she whispered with a shy smile.
Ahuizotl could not form a reply, merely touching the spot on his snout with his tail-hand with a dumbfounded expression, his cheeks slowly going red as well.
Seeing this, Rainbow could not suppress a fit of giggles. "So…when's the wedding?" she snickered.
"So you're okay with the idea of having Ahuizotl as your stepdad?" Daring smugly retorted.
All the gears ground to a halt in Rainbow's head as she collapsed on her rear. "Huh…wha…? Ahui…my…broken…sandwich…"
"Emergency! We have a Blue Screen of Death!" Pinkie exclaimed, diving into Twilight's satchel. "I repeat, we have a Blue Screen of Death! Administering reboot operation: Cupcakes!"
She promptly fished out a cupcake, opened up Rainbow's slackened jaw, and shoved the pastry into her mouth. Rainbow munched on it as she returned to reality.
"So moist," she muttered through a mouthful of cake.
"Operation success!" Pinkie grinned, wiping her forehead.
"I'm surrounded by weirdoes," Vaati grumbled, facepalming.