the light of the gate gave way to an overwhelming darkness, and an overwhelming feeling of cold that permeated the area. As the bearers all stood together in the darkness, Pinkie looked up, “Hey, who turned out the sun?”
“Uh, Twilight, how did we come here at night?” Applejack asked.
Twilight shook her head, “I know, this is weird. The last two times we went into another dimension we were at the same time that we left our world. The time discrepancy-”
“Girls...did you hear that?” Rainbow Dash asked s her ear twitched at the sound of rustling bushes.
A shout of "Trixie!" resounded from the bushes as a rainbow maned, cyan pegasus tackled the cyan unicorn.
"Wait, wha-" Trixie exclaimed as she was tackled by the blue blur.
Growling, Rainbow shouted,"Hey! get off my friend!" flying over, she tackled the pegasus with a flying kick.
The pegasus gasped as she was kicked. She got up and turned before gasping,"Uh-oh..."
A purple unicorn walked out of the bushes,"Rainbow Dash, what are..." She looked at the group,"Oh no."
"I am trying to protect Trixie from... me?" Rainbow Dash said, stepping back.
"Twilight? What are you doing here?" Applejack asked, looking at her friend’s counterpart.
“Have you noticed, Will? No wings,” Rarity whispered as she looked at the other Twilight.
Trixie got up, dusting off her hat, "More importantly, why was Trixie attacked?"
The other Dash looked at the Trixie before her, “Long story, trust me.”
Unicorn Twilight looked around,"Girls!" She looked at Applejack, and then hugged her,"I missed you." And then the other Rainbow Dash immediately hugged her as well.
Applejack opened her eyes in shock at the sudden hug, "Um, please to meet ya, again? Was, the other me gone long?"
"Um, sorry, but we, um that is we aren't-" Fluttershy began, only for Rarity to take over.
"What she means is, we aren't your versions of your friends and we are right now a little confused."
"I know, it's a little complicated," Will said.
Unicorn Twilight nodded,"I'm aware of that, it's just..." She looked away,"Although I'm sure our Applejack is okay, this world's Applejack is... gone."
Princess Twilight blinked,"Run that by me again?"
Unicorn Twilight looked at her alicorn self,"Okay, you see, this Rainbow Dash and I are also not of this universe, we got here through a teleportation accident. We've been stuck here trying to help this world get back on it's feet, because in this world, Twilight, we didn't get the Elements to work the first time, and we were unable to stop Nightmare Moon."
"Wait, wait, wait," Rainbow said. "Run that part of the elements not working here again?"
"Is it because Ah died?" Applejack asked.
The Other Rainbow Dash growled,"No, you died shortly before we defeated Nightmare Moon ourselves. It was actually this world's version of me, because she agreed to Nightmare Moon's offer!"
This was met with a loud and collective, "What???"
"I know right?" Rainbow Dash growled,"Supposedly, she didn't care about you guys!"
"That's stupid," Princess Twilight said,"If she didn't care, why did she go anyway?" She looked at her unicorn self,"Wait, you said you defeated Nightmare Moon?"
Unicorn Twilight nodded,"We had to use this version of Rainbow for Honesty, and we purified her." Twilight then looked to the group, “So how did you get here?”
Will stepped forward, "We were on a quest to find something called the heart of worlds. To get to it we have been opening gates that will open the path to heart. We used a key to open a portal to this world."
“Now, why is she traveling with you/’ Dash asked, pointing a hoof at Trixie, and then one to Will, “And who the buck are you.”
“My name is Will Vandom. I am the one who is able to lead the others to the hearts, and they are trying to help me with my memories,” will said.
Trixie gave a flashy bow, “And Trixie is traveling with these seven because she is their friend and they needed her after the lost of sompony close to her.’
“I don’t see when I would ever be desperate enough to need your help,” Dash remarks, much to Rainbow’s anger.
Princess Twilight stepped forward, the darkness hiding her wings, “Maybe we should talk more as we head to you base.”
Dash let out as a gap a she got a good look at Princess Twilight, “Whoa, whoa whoa!!!! What’s with the wings?”
“I’m an alicorn in your world?” gasped Twilight as she ran a hoof along Princess Twi’s feathers. “But, how...Just how did we-”
“Long story, but I can tell you about while we walk,” Princess Twilight said with a smile.
As they walked, Pinkie began to pull out small little note card and writing down. Rarity looked over and whispered, "What are you doing?"
"You'll see," Pinkie said.
“-and you wouldn’t believe the books I had to read,” Princess Twilight said. Looking back up at the moon, she asked of her unicorn counterpart, “So where's Celestia?" the Princess asked.
Unicorn Twilight fell silent.
"Twilight? What happened...no," Rarity gasped.
Applejack shook her head, "No, she can't be."
“But, how can she be dead?" Will take, a look of horror on her face.
Unicorn Twilight sighed,"I guess Nightmare Moon just couldn't... hold herself in."
Princess Twilight frowned,"Then why is the sun not out? Celestia isn't that connected to it."
"I... don't know. That's what we're trying to fix, and the main reason we're not home." the unicorn said.
"So where are the othe-ooof!" Before Applejack could say anything else, a pink blur passed her by. When she look down, she saw a name tag 'AJ 1"
Twilight has a tag that red, "Prinny Twi”
Prinny Twi blinked at the name tag, and then chuckled,"Thanks Pinkie."
Pinkie Pie rushed back to her side, the name tag reading 'Pink13 P13' "You're welcome Prinny.
Dash, who wore the tag that read 'Rainbow 1" shook her head, "So where are the others?"
Uni-Twi turned to Rainbow,"They're at Canterlot, doing some rebuilding. Come, I'll lead you there."
The journey to Canterlot did not take long for the group of dimensional travelers, for the grove that they appeared in was not too far from the city. As they traveled along the darken path, much of their conversation was filled with the two universes comparing notes and stories. Laughs were had amongst the group, while Applejack whispered to Will, “Hey, you sure we ain't messing with their timeline by telling them what is happening.:
“No,” Will shook her head. “They already know about another world, they already have enough differences to deal with.”
Prinny looked at her unicorn self,"So, where's Shining and Cadence?"
"I'm not sure. They haven't shown up in the month since we've been here." Uni-twi looked away, a little bit of a tear in her eyes, “I hope they're ok.”
Trixie followed along, grumbling to herself, "First thing they do is tackle Trixie. She swears..."
Rainbow Dash landed by her alternate self, "So, why did you go after Trixie?"
Uni-Twi looked at Trixie,"Well, she was one of Nightmare Moon's generals. At one point, she took Luna's powers and we had to stop her by trapping her in the moon." She glared at Rainbow 2,"Something that somepony should've thought about!"
Rainbow 2 chuckled nervously, putting a hoof to the back of her head"Sorry about that."
Trixie stood back in shock, shaking her head. Quickly putting on her game face, she followed the group. Her hooves trembled in fear as she tried to shake the horror from her mind and tried to listen to her friend’s voices. She felt a hoof on her back, and looked up into Pinkie’s blue eyes, “It's ok.”
"Ok, so," Dash said, flying backwards, "Basically, life is hell and we wound up in one of the worst possible scenarios we coul. Life just gets better and better."
“Hey, it was better than when we first got here, somewhat." Rainbow 2 said with a frown.
"Yes, Pinkie's not crazy anymore." Uni-Twi said.
Dash looked over at Pinkie, who looked like she was still trying to figure out nicknames, "Crazy in what way?"
"Think Pinkamena, but worse." Rainbow 2 said.
Prinny looked at her unicorn self, ignoring the conversation between the two Rainbows,"But there's still no sun." She looked up, and frowned,"Hold on." Her horn glowed.
"What are trying to do Twi?" Applejack asked as they stopped within the front of the gates to the castle.
"I'm using my magic to see in the dark..." She gasped,"There is a sun, but it's covered in... some sort of shadow..." She looked at Uni-Twi,"Does the name Sombra ring any bells?"
"No?" Uni-Twi said.
"How about Discord?"
"Sorry," the unicorn thought,"I did see a statue of a thing called that."
"Oh, dear." Prinny said with a frown.
This caused Rainbow Dash to shudder. Applejack arched an eyebrow at this, "Wait, y'all never fought Discord?"
"No, did you fight him?" Uni-Twi asked
"Why would a sun be covered in shadow?" asked Will.
Prinny looked at her younger self and nodded. She looked at Will,"I don't know, but I do have an idea." She looked around,"As soon as we get to Canterlot, we'll find out."
"Stop!" A big stallion came up from the unicorn's light,"State your business."
Dash landed in front of the others, while Trixie hid behind the back, trying to hide. Applejack stepped forward, "Hold on, we don't mean to cause any trouble.
The stallion stepped back a bit at Applejack, his face turning pale"Y-y-you're dead!"
Uni-Twi stepped,"Relax, she's just Applejack's cousin, Pearjack. Don't worry about them, they're just here to help with the rebuilding."
The stallion gave a sigh of relief, before turning," Alright, but only for you." He opened the door to various bits of fires with ponies milling about.
"Pearjack?" Applejack whispered to herself.
"I think it is a cute name," Rarity said.
Prinny blushed as she looked over her shoulder at Applejack, “It was easier than saying we are alternate versions of our counterparts here but not the same ones that came from their world.”
“Yeah, because we are from an alternate world but not the same alternate world that they,” Pinkie held her head as she screamed, “Arg! Alternate dimensional travel is hard.”
Prinny let out a giggle at her friend’s antics and then looked to the path that led to the gardens, “"I'm going to the Canterlot Gardens for a bit." She said, using her horn to light her way.
Uni-Twi turned to the others,"Alright, we're going to meet some of your other selves, this is going to be a shock to them, so be gentle."
The girls nodded, Trixie tried to shy away from the group. Putting her hat over her eyes, the blue unicorn followed PRinny to the gardens, trying her best to hide her face from the rest of the town and the guards that might see her.
Uni-Twi led the group into a small hut just a distance from the caste. Inside she walked into a room with a round table,"Everypony, we have guests!"
As the rest of the group waited outside for Twilight to introduce the group, Applejack whispered,"Ok, now remember, they aint used to all of us yet, so be calm when we walk in there,"
Almost as if on cue, Rarity used thread to tie Pinkie's legs together, "And that means no jumping in and exclaiming ‘Surprise!’, Pinkie."
"Awwwww," Pinkie frowned, putting her party cannon away.
"Let’s not forget that there are going to be three Rainbows there, One villain, and their Applejack is dead," Will said.
Rainbow Dash frowned and rolled her eyes, "So basically... awkward city."
"Yeah, so let's be careful everypony," Applejack said, walking into the doorway as Twilight finished talking. "Uh, Howdy?"
Inside, a pink pony would be sleeping on the table, another Rarity had turned and gasped in shock, and another Fluttershy made a squeak sound.
"Twilight, tha-tha-" Rarity walked up to Applejack,"How?"
Pinkie, now free, sat in the back and began to write on her note cards, and then looked around in surprise at the lack of Trixie. Arching her eyebrow, she walked away, but was stopped by Rarity's hoof. Silently, her Rarity shook her head and gave out a little sigh. Pinkie Pie backed away and nodded slowly, a little bit of a frown creasing her features.
Applejack sighed, and then looked away, "Ah'm sorry rare, but...Ah'm another Applejack. That's how."
"Um, hi," Fluttershy said to the group.
Will waved, "Hi."
"I... " Rarity 2 backed off, the slow realization hitting her hard. "I realize that..." She looked away,"Why are you here? And who is that?" she indicated Will.
"This is Will, she has been helping us to travel between dimensions and we are here to help you dear," Rarity said, looking at herself. She noticed that her other self looked ragged and very tired, "My word."
Pinkie smiled, bouncing to each mare and putting a name tag. going to her other self, she put down, 'sleepy me' and went back to the group. By the time she was done, everypony had their own name tag. She had a big grin as she put her marker away, “There we are,” the party mare said. “Now me and my friends are Applejack-1, Dash, Rarity-1, Fluttershy-1, Will-1, and P1nk3 P13. While you’re messy Rare, Sleepy me, Ultra shy, Rainbow, and Uni-Twi.”
As Pinkie giggled at her naming convention, Rainbow strode to argue about her new name. Dash stepped forward and sighed, stopping her counterpart"That' not the only reason. We're here looking fo rsomething called a heart to stop some sort of evil dragon back in our world."
Rarity 2 sighed,"I'm afraid I don't know about any heart. I'm not sure how you can help us, we're not having an easy time ourselves, especially without Cadence..." She looked away,"What do you mean,'Evil dragon?" She asked
"Long story, but to sum up," Will began. "Evil Dragon, wants ancient heart to assume dominance over the multiverse, gave me a mind rape, we traveled, and saved ponies."
Pinkie waved her hooves, “We also met other versions of ourselves, fought some interesting villains, got armor, sang songs, redeemed bad guys, went through tests, met gods, sav-”
“Ah think they got it Pinks,” Applejack said, putting a hoof into Pinkie’s mouth. The sleepy Pinkie giggled and kicked her leg.
"What happened to Cadence?" Fluttershy asked.
"We're not sure." Rarity looked at the table,"The last time she was seen was in Manehattan."
"What about Shining?" Applejack asked, looking at Rarity.
"We assume that he's with Cadence." Rarity said.
As Applejack looked over the notes and plans for reconstruction and food efforts on the wall, the mare chuckled, "How are the reconstruction efforts going anyway? Ah bet Appelbloom is trying her hardest to get into everything ain't she?"
Rare gulped,"Oh, there's..." She looked away, a sob coming from her,"I'm sorry, I couldn't save them..."
"...What?" Applejack asked, all the color drained from her face.
"Please, tell you are... this is a joke yes?" Rarity asked, trembling.
Rarity 2 stayed silent.
as Rarity looked into the sad eyes of her counterpart, her eyes began to fill with water. trembling, she backed into Applejack and was immediately embraced by her earth pony friend. Rainbow Dash joined them, holding her friends tightly and trying to hide Applejack’s face. "No..." the orange mare looked down and way, trying to hide her tears, which did not stop rarity from crying. Dash held her friends close, her own tears rolling down her cheek.
Fluttershy looked to the sleeping Pinkie and put a blanket over her. Looking over her shoulder, she finally noticed a pony in a black wonderbolts garb flying in, "Rainbow Dash?"
The pony looked away,"Just the Captain."
Uni-Twi looked at her,"I thought you were wandering?"
The Captain walked up,"There's a reason for that: Luna is missing."
Fluttershy gasped, "Missing?"
“What?!” yelled Rainbow, flying out, but was stopped by Applejack grabbing her tail.
"While she and I were in Fillydelphia, a strange shadow attacked us, and the next thing I knew, she was missing." The Captain said.
"What did the shadow look like?" Pinkie asked.
"It had some sort of dark green smoke. I don't know, it was kind of a blur." The Captain said.
"Oh, was it a speedy blur or one of those indistinct blurs that you can't really say what it is?" Pinkie asked.
"The latter." The Captain said in an annoyed tone. The Captain frowned as she saw Dash,"Great, more alternate selves..."
"Um Pinkie, I think she would rather talk to the others," Fluttershy said. Looking back to the Captain, she nudged her head to follow.
"I know, isn't this great?" Pinkie said, smiling as she lead the captain further into the room.
the new arrivals helped to pull Dash, Applejack, and Rarity out of their sadness and pay attention to her. Steadying herself, Dash looked to the captain,
"Nice outfit."
"Thanks, nice armor." The Captain said.
"And who are you," Applejack asked, regaining her composure. She then shot Rarity a look that asked if she was alright and silently her friend nodded.
"I'm the Captain, and that's... all you need to hear for now." She gave a sad look at Uni-Twi.
“Fine, be mysterious," Dash rolled her eyes, not seeing the Captain's look towards Uni-Twi.
"Anyway, I'm not sure if you heard, but Luna's been taken by a shadow creature with green flame." The Captain said.
"What?" asked the group.
This caused Rainbow to throw her hooves up as she roared, "great, a rescue mission too!!! Why not have us stop a war while we’re at it, or "
“Well, you don't have to do it if you don't want to!" The Captain said, interrupting Dash’s rant.
"We want to, trust us," Applejack said.
Rainbow Dash hoof bumped the air, "Yeah, its what we do best after all."
Rarity rolled her eyes, "They might be a little excited, but they are right. We will be doing all we can to fix all of this.'
The Captain scoffed,"I'm not sure what you all can do. After all, what do you have that they don’t?"
A smirk came to Dash’s lips, “Watch us.”
Rarity smiled, "Well, once we have our friend here. We can do some investigations."
"Your friend?" The Captain asked.
"Another version of me." Uni-Twi said.
"Oh, great, more nerds." The Captain rolled her eyes.
"Hey, that nerd happens to be my friend," growls Dash.
"And mine too, but let's try to work with," The Other Rainbow glared at the Captain,"... her."
"And what's wrong with her" Applejack asked.
"She's this world's Rainbow..." Ultra-shy whispered, her head down
Rainbow Dash growled and stared at the tritor, "WHAT? Shes the little coward that turned this world into this, I'll kill jerk. Let me go Aj!" Rainbow was stopped by Applejack biting down on her tail.
"Hold on there, Sugarcube. We can talk about that later, right now we need to find Luna," Applejack said.
“But, she-”
Applejack shook her head, “Rainbow, you know we don’t have time to waste with vendettas and fights. Not when other ponies need us.”
"Plus, she's kind of the Element of Honesty," Uni-Twi said.
"I had my reasons." The Captain said simply.
Prinny-Twi walked up to a statue of a draconequus,"Well, you still haven't escaped. Guess things are too boring, aren't they." She frowned, her horn glowing,"I could... but no, you're my final option." She placed a hoof on the statue, only to hear Discord's voice
"Hello, Twily!"
"Discord!? What are-" Prinny-Twi gasped.
"Relax, I'm not your Discord. I just said that to get a rise out of you. Now, I know why you are here, and I can tell you, for a price." Discord said.
"If you think I'm freeing you, you have another thing coming. Plus, what do you have for me?" Prinny Twi asked.
"Information on the Heart of Despair here. I don't want freedom, yet, what I want, is for Luna to ascend to the throne."
"Why do you want Luna back on the throne?" Twilight asked.
"Because Celestia is dead." Discord said simply.
Twilight blinked, and then gasped,"You want somepony to play with, because it'd be too easy without a princess to annoy!"
"I hate victory, Twilight, and I need a challenge." Discord said, an illusion appeared in Twilight’s mind of him on his knees begging.
"Alright, I'll bring Luna back. Now tell me about the Heart." Prinny said.
"The heart is in a place long since lost
Where ponies of heart once sought
If you need it to appear
You must use your ear." Discord said, then laughed,"Ta-ta!"
"..." Twilight frowned as she took her hoof off,"Why did I expect a straight answer?" She then heard crying near another statue. Prinny walked over to the source of the crying, only to find a yellow unicorn kneeling over a statue of Celestia,"Sunset?" She whispered.
"Why? Why did you have to go, just when I had my plan ready!?" Sunset yelled to the memorial. She raised her hooves and began to pound on the statue.
Prinny Twi frowned,"Trixie," She looked behind her at nothing,"I think she needs our help."
With a sigh, Trixie decloaked, "How did you know?"
“I figured you wouldn't want to stay with them." Prinny said," Going with me was be the best course of action for you."
Trixie chuckled, "And here Trixie thought you just used magic to fine me."
Prinny's face scrunched up,"Ok, I may have done that..."
"So, how do we help her?" Trixie asked.
Twilight walked up to her,"Sunset?"
"Leave me alone." Sunset sniffled, her head held low.
"We are here to help you and you want us to leave you alone? Was Trixie ever this bad?" Trixie asked.
Twilight simply nodded,"Also remember that this Sunset didn't have the same experiences." She whispered. She looked at the unicorn before her,"Sunset..."
"How do you know my name anyway!?" Sunset shouted.
"We're... friends, Sunset." Twilight said, putting a wing over her.
"This is Princess Twilight, and I am the Great and powerful Trixie," she said with a bow. "We know your name because you must be the powerful Sunset, bravest of the brave and boldest of the bold." Trixie said, quoting one of her favorite characters.
"But, I'm not that well known, I mean, Celestia didn't tell a whole lot of ponies of my feats..." Sunset frowned.
“Trust Trixie, you are well known to her," she smiled softly. “You... have been there for her.’ Twilight looked at Trixie as she lost her showboat persona for a second and put a hoof onto her friend.
"Heh, thanks." Sunset frowned, her eyes mixed with rage and sorrow, "Who killed my mother?"
"Nightmare <oon," trixie said.
“I'm going to kill her!" Sunset got up, her horn glowing.
"And how are you going to do that" Trixi asked, eyebrow arched. with a shake of her head she added, “Make her laugh?”
"I'm... not sure, but I'll find a way!" Sunset yelled.
Trixie shook her head "Overconfident much?"
Prinny Twi looked at Trixie,"Pot, meet Kettle..." She muttered.
Trixie looked back at Twilight, "And what is that supposed to mean?"
Twilight grinned, her eyes glowing a bit magenta,"Nothing." She looked at Sunset,"I'm afraid Nightmare Moon's dead, Sunset."
Sunset dropped a hoof,"You mean, I've even been denied my revenge!?" She snarled up to Twilight’s face
"Ye, and now she's Luna. But Trust trixie, revenge is not a good journey. Better to honor Celestia by getting the sun back," Trixie said with smile.
Sunset frowned,"Bring the sun back? Why, how did it get lost?" She shook her head,"Never mind, I'll help you bring it back."
“Trust me,” Twilight said with a smile as she put a hoof to Trixie’s shoulder and smiled at Sunset, “She would want it this way.”
“But how are you going to do it?” Sunset asked.
Trixie smiled, "Such is the mysterious ways of the Great and Powerful Trixie and her assistant, the Princess.
Prinny's eyes went magenta,"Excuse me, You are my assistant." She said with a smile.
Sunset raised an eyebrow,"Trixie... why does that name sound familiar?"
Trixie suddenly realize what she just said, "Did say I was Trixie? I mean i was...Checker, Checker Monarch." as the name escaped her lips, she shuddered in revulsion.
Sunset frowned,"Are you hiding something from me?"
Nothing, nothing a all," Trixie said as she turned to walk away.
Sunset reached out to stop the mare, but Twilight shook her head, “She has her reasons.”
The three ponies made their way to the small house where the other members of the bearers of the elements and their universal counterparts waited. As the door opened, Prinny Twilight remarked, “"Alright, what did we miss?"
Trixie entered the tent next, followed by Sunset. She turned to look at the group, "Greetings my new friends, I am Checker Monarch. I was hoping to ask about what had happened to my sister."
Rarity blinked,"Are you... Trixie's sister?"
"Why, yes I am, " Trixie lied. "I used to play with her when she was younger. I took great care of her and was very kind."
Rarity looked down,"I'm sorry, but... your sister's been lost."
"Oh, my gosh, What happened?" Checker asked.
Rarity sighed,"Trixie turned evil and we had to trap her on the moon."
"Oh, my gosh, poor Trixie," said Checker, shaking her head.
Applejack noticed a bead of sweat on Trixie's brow, and a shudder from her back as she lied. A part of her told her to ask Trixie more about her sister and to offer a shoulder for her, but she chose to focus on the task at hand. Turning to look at Prinny she took a breath, "Twi, we got some bad news," Applejack said. "It seems that this world's Luna has gone missing."
Prinny gasped,"What!? Oh, great, more on our plate!" she frowned,"Hold on, I'll use my magic to find any clues..." Her horn glowed.Prinny frowned,"I'm feeling two Alicorn energies, but one's dormant, in Manehattan."
"Two?" asked Will.
Prinny nodded,"It appears that the dormant one... is Cadence."
"then, what about Luna?" Fluttershy asked.
"Luna is more fuzzy, but I think she's in the north somewhere..." Prinny looked at the inhabitants of the tent,"I think they need to be woken up." She noted the shocked looks everypony gave her.
“Well,” Rainbow Dash noted the looks of shock on the others faces.
Rarity put her hoof to her chin and said, “Dears, don’t you know it's impolite to stare?”
" I think the fact that I'm an alicorn kind of surprised them a little." Twilight said.
Pinkie grinned, "I think i got it!" Taking out a big alarm clock, she hit the button.
The alarm woke everyone back up,
The Captain coughed as blinked,"Should I be worried that there's an Alicorn Twilight around?"
Prinny looked at the Captain,"Do you have a reason to be worried?"
"Uh, yeah," Applejack chuckled. "Kind of forgot to mention that our Twilight is an alicorn."
Prinny nodded as she fluffed up her wings. Her eyes went magenta again,"Bowing is optional. Now, what do we want to do first?"
Dash shook her head a little, before looking up, "If you ask me, I think finding Luna is the most important."
"We also have Cadence to think about," Will said, smiling at Twilight. "We might find Shining Armor."
Prinny nodded,"Alright, we'll send a team to find Luna, and one to find Cadence."
Uni-Twi raised a hoof,"I'd like to find Cadence."
And Ah'll-" Applejack paused when she saw the newcomer, who had been hiding in the corner" Sunset?"
Rarity then nudged her friend, "Not her, remember what we've been dealing with."
"Oh yeah," Applejack whispered as Pinkie went over to hug Sunset,
"Heya Sunny." Pinkie smiled, not caring that this was not her friend.
Sunset blinked,"How do you know me?" She looked at Pinkie.
"She knows everypony." Prinny said with a smile.
Uni-Twi whispered into Applejack's ear,"Who is she?"
Pinkie Pie nodded and put a card onto Sunset that read 'sunny!'
"Her name is Sunset shimmer, she's..." Applejack began.
Trixie leapt in, "Celestia's old student and she came here t to help us. With no alternative motives, right? Especially with any desire to see her teacher dead, correct?
"Sunset nodded,"Uh, all of my motives that I did have were gone due to death of my mother." She frowned.
"OH, I'm so sorry," Fluttershy said, hugging Sunset close.
Sunset wiped a tear from her face,"Thank you," She gulped at seeing Fluttershy,"I'll go help find Luna if you like."
"Ah'll go and look for Luna," Applejack said.
"OOH! I call team Cadence!" Pinkie cheered.
Trixie smiled, "I'll go and look for Luna.
Rarity 2 nodded,"I guess I'll go for Cadence."
Sleepy Pinkie woke up,"Luna for me!"
The Captain nodded,"I'll look for Luna, It's my right."
"I'll go search for Luna as well," Messy Rarity said. She looked to her counterpart in her armor, “You look better suited for finding Cadence.”
Fluttershy looked to Twilight, "What are you going to do Prinny?"
Prinny looked at Fluttershy,"I'm going to look for Luna."
"I'll go for Luna, besides, somepony has to keep an eye on Traitor over here," Dash said.
"I'll go after Cadence," Will said.
Prinny looked at Dash,"Traitor?"
The Captain looked at her,"She means me."
"Oh-" Prinny immediately grabbed The Captain's neck and slammed her to the ground,"Give me one reason why I shouldn't beat the crap out of you!?" Her eyes glowed magenta as she yelled.
Applejack went to Prinny, "Because, THEY need her."
"Really? I don't think they need a traitor." Prinny growled, her grip tightening.
Uni-Twi ran to her,"She's right, she's our Element of Honesty!" She gave a bewildered look to Applejack that asked,"What's going on with her?"
"Um, personal issues. Back in our world we just lost a very good friend to a monster. She still hasn't gotten over it," Applejack said, looking away.
Rarity added, "She also takes our friendship very seriously. There was a monster that tried to kill us all by using her as a trap."
The Captain gasped as Prinny let her go,"Must've been awful. Dang, she's strong for a nerd..."
"You should see her when she's really mad," chuckled Dash.
Uni-Twi got up,"Everypony ready to go?"
they all nodded at once.
Will sighed as the train went on through the Equestrian countryside. She hated the feeling of separation that went through her. She had already been separated from one set of friends and now she has gone through it again. Turning her head, she looked back at Pinkie, who was talking to Uni-Twi a mile a minute, "Please tell me she isn't messing up the timeline."
"-and then Discord sent a whole bunch of balloons out, and they started to laugh. It wasn't as fun as you might think," Pinkie said.
Uni-Twi covered her ears,"Please Pinkie, you don't know the ramifications this could have on me!"
"And not even five minutes in, and she is already messing with things," Will said. With a chuckle, she added, “Well, at least she won’t mess it up too badly.”
Pinkie then looked at Uni-Twi, "So, how do you think they are doing? Your friends back in your own world?"
Uni-Twi sat back,"I... don't know. I'm pretty sure they're out looking for us right now, probably worried sick, or thinking that we're dead."
"They are probably turning the whole country inside out looking for you," Fluttershy nodded.
Will went back to looking out the window, tracing an outline of her cutie mark. She began to wonder how long it has been since she came here, and if she really had been separated from her friend for that long. A longing sigh escaped her lips as she laid back onto the seat.
Uni-Twi looked at Will,"Hey, you okay?"
"Oh," Will said, turning her head away, "Just thinking of some... distant friends."
"They'll be ok," Fluttershy said, rubbing Will's back.
Rainbow smirked,"Hey, I'm sure you'll get back to them!"
Will smiled, having to admit, that these girls were becoming some very close friends with her. Looking back at Uni-Twi she asked, "So what's the plan?"
"Well, first we'll start asking around to see if anypony seen Cadance. If nothing comes up, we'll split up and start searching areas around the city for her." Uni-Twi said.
Fluttershy stepped forward and looked to Uni-twi, “But, what if we don’t find anypony who will know about her?”
“Somepony must surely know about her,” Rarity remarked, “How hard would it be to misplace an alicorn?”
Uni-Twi looked out the window,"Uh, we're heading the wrong way." She said, getting up.
Rainbow went to the front car,"Hey, what's the big idea?"
A white unicorn stallion with a blue mane coughed,"We had to go somewhere else. Manehatten is a death zone now."
“Wait a sec," Pinkie said, taking a cup of water and spitting it out, "WHAT?"
The white unicorn, without turning his head, nodded,"Yep, ever since that hot princess and that handsome, brave, awesome unicorn failed in protecting the place against a bunch of shadow creatures, it's been a hell hole."
Pinkie inched closer to the stallion, "So, how did he fail?"
"S-shadow creatures?" Fluttershy trembled.
"Well, his magic just couldn't stop all those strange looking creatures." The stallion shook his head,"Even his beautiful and strong wife couldn't hold out against them. Those creatures appeared shortly after Nightmare Moon was defeated."
"Any idea what they are?" asked Will.
"Well, before I- er the unicorn took his wife here, the alicorn mentioned something about 'The Crystal King's return.'" the unicorn said.
Will put a hoof to her chin, "Crystal king, doesn't that sound like..."
"Wait, I-" Pinkie said, running over and removing the hat. With a wide eye look, she exclaimed, "Shining!!!"
The unicorn stammered,"Shining? Who's that? Awesome name though..."
Turning to look back in the cart, Pinkie shouted, "Hey Twilight, I found this world's Shining!!"
Uni-Twi ran up,"Shiny!?"Uni-Twi gave Shining a big hug.
Shining sighed,"Aw, and my disguise was so good too..."
"Um, yes it was," Fluttershy lied. "I was fooled."
Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Really?"
“Well, um no...I just wanted to make Shining feel better,’ Fluttershy said.
Shining smiled,"Yay!" He looked at the others with a frown,"Yes, unfortunately we're taking a little detour." He frowned,"Cadence needs you more then you could believe."
"How so?" Rarity asked.
Shining sighed,"When Nightmare Moon came, Cadence and I decided to set up a small resistance faction in Manehattan."
Uni-Twi gasped,"There was a resistance?"
Shining nodded,"We would've started it, had Nightmare Moon not been defeated," He smiled at his sister,"After that, we stayed in Manehattan to rebuild, until a week ago when these shadows attacked. As I've said, we failed stopping them, causing me and Cadence to have to flee. Cadence mentioned the return of a king, and then she suddenly went unconscious."
The group gasped, "Where is she now?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"There's a cave just south of the train station. I'll lead you there when we stop." Shining said.
"That will be a great help," Will said, nodding her thanks.
As Shining Armor turned to continue the train on its destination, Twilight raised a hoof to speak to him, but the white unicorn turned and said, “Don’t say it... just let me live with the fantasy for a little bit longer.”
Twilight pulled back and nodded, as Rainbow landed next to her, “You two were close?”
Twilight nodded as she leaned into her Rainbow’s shoulder, “I miss home sometimes.’
“I know,’ Will said, looking into her stone. she sighed, “I have a brother too... right?” in her mind, a young boy about five began to fade into a white haze.
The train stopped, and Shining Armor lead them out, leading them through the snow towards a small cave with a fire lit inside it. Shining entered the cave and shouted,"Honey, I'm home!" He frowned,"Not awake yet..." inside, Cadence was resting on a small tarp.
Fluttershy walked to her and put a hoof onto her forehead, "No fever."
"You said she's been like this since the shadows attacked?" Will asked.
Fluttershy gasped, "Did you see if she got attacked? Or if a black tendril hit her?"
“Or if you had hear a cackling noise, or sa a cat walking around?” Rarity asked, looking around.
“”What does a cat and black tendril have to with anything?” Rainbow asked, forehooves crossed.
“You don’t want to know. But she’s a big meanie that you don’t want to mess with,” Pinkie pie said.
Shining sighed as he shook his head,"I was too busy fighting other creatures to notice."
On Cadence's side, a black mark pulsed. Rarity looked to the pulsing black mark and turned to look at Twilight, “Twilight?”
Uni-Twi walked up to Cadence and used her horn. She grunted,"Does the name Sombra mean anything?"
Fluttershy gasped, "Sombra?"
"Oh, that was the big meanie that took over the empire!" Pinkie said.
Will nodded, "He enslaved several ponies and put them through tortures that I can't imagine. At least that was what I was told. He would continously mind rape them, and that was the least of what he did."
"Okay, because as I'm scanning her body, I'm hearing his name being spoken, along with other words I can't understand."
"Can you describe them dear?" Rarity asked.
" It sounds a little like "Revertar inclina ad me, et adorabunt me , rex Sombra"
Shining frowned as he looked at Cadence,"That's mark's gotten bigger..."
"Oh, no," squeaked Fluttershy.
Will stepped forward, "Rex Sombra, King Sombra. What is the rest... Gah I wish I paid attention to Latin."
"Latin? Never mind," Twilight frowned,"If that mark's getting bigger, then we have to find a way to fix it, but how?" She thought for a moment,"If I had one of the creatures here, I could see what I could do."
Rainbw Dash looked to Pinkie and smiled, "On it," and with that she took off.
Twilight raised a hoof,"Wait-" She frowned,"She could have at least waited for the plan..."
Fluttershy let out a small giggle I almost forgot how brashs he could be. She seems more mature now.’
“What was you plan, dear?" Rarity asked.
"I... haven't thought of one yet, but it didn't involve running off half-cocked!" Twilight shouted out to the cave.
Will looked, "Should we stop her or wait for her to get into trouble?"
Twilight sighed,"Let's go help her."
Rainbow would come across a moving pony-like shadow walking around.
"And there we are!" Dash smirked as she flew after the shadow.
The shadow looked up, and screamed as it sent out tendrils after Dash. Dash smirked as she began to dodge, "And that is how I knew you were going to attack. You scream like a bucking banshee. Now to hope my buds can get her," she said, moving around.
The Creature screamed and wailed as it tried to reach for the pegasus, only for it to be trapped in a bubble of magic. Twilight walked up to it,"Alright, now we can get some answers."
"How can you be so sure it can talk?" asked Will.
"Just because I'm a shadow creature, doesn't mean I am incapable of speech." The Shadow creature said, his Trottingham accent appearing as he spoke.
"Oh, sorry, she didn't mean anything rude," Fluttershy said with a bow.
Twilight walked up to the shadow creature,"Alright, what did you do to Cadence?"
The shadow creature made a crooked smile,"We made a mark that will turn her to our King's control."
“Just like Valtor. Why do these villains have spells like this?” Will asked herself.
Dash growled, "How do we get it off? And who is this king?
"Oh, the only way to get it off, is to use the blood of the one who struck her, or defeat Sombra, our king."
“Using blood, how horrid,” Rarity said, shaking her head in disgust.
"And where is Sombra?" Will asked.
"In the Empire of Lost Souls, the place that was lost to centuries, the Crystal Empire.
"Oh, great, and let me guess," Dash began
"There's going to be an overwhelming amount of you there?" Will finished.
"Exactly, child." The creature hissed.
"Hey, I'm 22!" Dah shouted.
Will nodded, "18."
"I am a thousand years old, to me, you are a child."
"So you're an old geezer," Dash remarked.
"Rainbow, don't antagonize the eldritch abomination!" Twilight shouted.
"She... He... it started it!" Dash shouted.
Pinkie giggled, "You know, I think our Dashie is a little more mature."
"Well, maybe a little," Fluttershy said, whispering.
"Well, a smooch," Pinkie said.
"So, I take it you all aren't going to let me go?" The creature asked.
"Well, that depends, are you planning on hurting more ponies when we o?" Will asked.
"Uh, if I say no, would you believe me?"
"Nope," Dash said.
"Most definitely not," Rarity agreed.
"Not for all of the cupcakes," Pinkie noded.
"Yeah, no," Will said.
"Sorry, but we really don't trust you,"Fluttershy said.
"Not really." Twilight said,"Besides, I need you to help me figure out which monster we need to find to cure Cadence!" She grinned as she pulled the creature along in her bubble of magic.
Fluttershy tapped the bubble, "Is he going to be ok in there?"
Twilight nodded,"As long as he cooperates, at least."
Shining looked up from Cadance's bed to see the creature,"What in Celestia's name!?"
“This thing is connected to what's hurting Cadence right now," Will said. "And he is also a lead to helping us cure her," saud will
Shining went up to the creature,"Alright, tell me how to fix her!?"
The creature chuckled,"There is not much I can tell you, the creature that struck her is probably gone by now. Perhaps if you'd search the Empire..."
Dash smirked, "and you will be happy to point the guy out to us, won't you?"
"Oh, but you're a little late." The creature said, pointing to Cadence.
"Too late, what the buck...oh no," Dash turned her head to look at Cadence.
Will gulped and looked to Cadence, "Oh, this is not good."
Cadence was sitting up, her eyes still closed, but her breathing went ragged.Cadence's eyes opened to green irises." Yes, Grandfather." She turned to them and got up, horn glowing. Cadence silently walked towards them. She looked them over, and then walked towards the cave entrance.
Pinkie leapt in front of cadence and put a pillow in front of the alicorn, ‘Wait a sec. Don’t go anywhere.’ The alicorn ignored the pink mare and continued her journey..
Dash growled, "Hey, don't ignore us!!"
Twilight teleported in front of her foalsitter,"Cadence, what are-" She was picked up in Cadence's magic, and thrown away. Cadence's horn glowed.
Pinkie used her party cannon to fire out a bunch of balloons to catch Twilight, While Dash flew up in front of the alicorn, "What's the big idea!!!"
A beam shot out of Cadence's horn, the same time as a beam came out in the distance
Trixie walked behind the others, looking down at the ground. She could feel the pain in her heart growling slowly with each step they took. every once in awhile, she would look up at the group, only to turn away as she saw them walking in front of her. A small shudder escaped her lips as she thought about her other self, hurting her her friends “I... I could’ve become-”
Sunset looked behind her,"Are you okay?"
Trixie sighed and looked away from Sunset, "I'm fine...just fine."
"You don't look fine." She used her magic to put up a barrier around them,"Now, talk to me."
Trixie sighe, "You are so much like my Sunset it isn't even funny. I was told that this world's version of me went mad and stole the power of Luna. Then she was thrown and sealed in the moon."
"... yeah, I figured you were lying about being Checker. Who’s she?” Sunset asked.
“The most vile, horrible, and cruel pony that i have ever met. Every memory i have her ends in tears and rage,’ Trixie growled.
“And, why the deception? they should realize that you aren’t their Trixie,’ Sunset said.
Trixie growled a little, slamming her hoof to the ground with tears sliding down her cheek, ‘I... I know I shouldn’t be worried about that. That they would realize that I am not their Trixie but...but,” she then looked at Sunset, “ You try and look at them in the face knowing that if you had just did one thing different, one thing wrong,” she pointed her hoof up to the sky, “That could’ve been me! All I wanted was power when i was younger, and dreamed of nothing more than revenge. If it wasn’t for them, if I wasn’t smart enough to be friends with them and open my heart, then i could’ve been just a crazy. This version of me betrayed one of the closet ponies in my life without mercy, what if I am just as bad,’
"Well there's nothing too wrong with power, at least, if there was only someone to show it too." Sunset sighed,"Celestia was the main reason I came here, but with her gone, I've got no motivation. All I dreamed of was showing how strong I was to her and now-”
Trixie put a hoof onto Sunset's shoulder, "honoring her memory is a good place to start-"
"Hey Trix, if you are done making the moves on Sunset, let's get going!" Dash shoute, flying ahead with the other bearers.
Sunset blushed,"Oh my!"
Prinny looked up as the air got colder,"I think I see something up ahead..." She said as the familiar spires of the Crystal Empire got closer.
Rainbow Dash smiled, but then looked at Twilight, "Hey Twilight, you don't think that he's back too do you?
Twilight growled,"It's a possibility."
The Captain looked at them,"Who's back?"
"Sombra," Rainbow Dash said punching her hooves together. She then looked into the Captain's goggles, "You might like him, he's a total di-"
Applejack interrupted with a hoof over Rainbow's mouth, "He's a monster.
The Captain glared at Rainbow,"I don't just like any ahole I come across."
"Could've fooled me." Twilight said. She frowned, noticing the blackened crystals, and various shadows moving about.
"Twilight, did you catch that?" Rarity asked, a shadow moving out of the corner of her eye.
"Ok, anypony getting flashbacks to the heartless?" Rainbow asked.
"The what?" Trixie asked.
Applejack walked back to Trixie and sunset, “Long story, but they are firce little beasts.”
A tendril lashed out at them, followed by several other tendrils striking at the group. In a blur, Rainbow Dash slashed at the tendril with her wingblade. Rarity brought out vorpal and looked around, "Uh, oh."
Several shadow creature surrounded them. Each pony got into a fighting stance, ready to protect each other, while ready to strike out against any attack that would come at hem.
"Stop." A figure arose in-between them. He had a red tipped horn, and a black coat. He wore a silver crown,"What brings you to my kingdom?"
"Sombra," said a few of the ponies.
Rainbow Dash growled and got into a stance, "Ready to fight when you give the word, Twilight."
Sombra held out a hoof,"Please," He cocked his head,"Princess, I believe? Let this be a more diplomatic mission."
"A diplomatic Misson? asked Rarity.
"Should we?" Rainbow asked.
Twilight frowned,"He's not attacking, so let's hear him out." She looked at Sombra,"Do you know where Princess Luna is."
"I have her." Sombra answered.
Trixie made her horn glow, ready to hold onto Rhe Captain in case of her racing. Rarity looked up at him, "Why do you have her?"
"I need her to help awaken the Heart of Despair." Sombra said simply,"That'll bring me closer to the Heart of Worlds."
"What? W-what do you know about the heart of worlds?" Rainbow asked, a look of shock in her eyes.
"I know that it's a very powerful object, that, should I acquire it, I'll become god-like." Sombra said.
“And how will Luna help you awaken the heart?" Rarity asked.
"Simple, Her blood, and my granddaughter's magic will unlock the heart's magic." Sombra said.
"You're granddaughter?" Twilight asked.
"Mi Amore Cadenza."
Sleepy Pinkie let out a gasp, while Dash rolled her eyes, "And if this was our world's Pinkie she would have a comeback for that."
Applejack growled, "And what makes you think we're going to let you anywhere near the heart?"
"Simple, I'm already enacting my plan. This is just a shell you're talking to." Sombra gave a wicked grin.
"What?" they all asked.
Rainbow Dash growled, "Oh you got to be bucking kidding me!!”
Sombra chuckled as Twilight fired a beam at him,"We've got to get to the castle!" She shouted.
The others nodded, following Twilight. Applejack ran alongside Twilight and asked, "Twilight, have you noticed something's kind of missing from here?"
“What!?" Twilight asked.
"No Crystal ponies, I haven't seen any of the slaves around here," Applejack said.
Sombra's voice echoed,"Maybe it's because I decided to make them more... useful." Twilight gasped as she looked at one of the shadow creatures.
"No, no, you bucking monster!" Applejack growled.
Trixie lowered her hat over her eyes, and looked to Sunset, "Sunset... I think you may have your motivation
Sunset growled,"Oh yeah!" She said, glaring up at the castle.
In the window of the castle, a dark blue light shimmered.
Twilight's horn glowed as she pushed the creatures away.
Applejack stomped her hooves, allowing her armor to shake the ground, while Dash spun in a circle, allowing her armor to help blow the creatures away.
Twilight burst down the door,"Be careful everypony, Sombra really likes his traps, and stairs." She gulped as she looked up, only to find a boulder rolling in her direction.
Applejack bucked the boulder hard, "Like that one?"The boulder exploded in fire
Rainbow Dash used her wing to blow some of the fire away, While Applejack kicked up some dust to hold back the flame, "Of course it exploded, why wouldn't it!
Twilight shook her head,"Huh, making a trap explode... must investigate later." she flew up the stairs as several spikes came at them.
Dash rolled her eyes, "I think I encounter one too many spikes in my life."
"Twilight, tell me that you ain't planning on using them for the treebar." Applejack said, kicking the spikes away.
"Relax, I wouldn't dare use them on the Treebrary." Twilight grinned,"Now if I had my own castle..." She used her magic to block some swinging hammers.
Sleepy Pinkie gasped and sighed, "Oh look, hammers. This place has everything."
Rainbow growled, "Will somepony please get her up, she is starting to make me think of Maude!"
"Spikes, hammers?" Trixie muttered as she walked to one hallway, "Why not a hallway that has intermittent flamethrowers?"
Sombra's voice chuckled,"Oh, I also have acid spewers thrown in the mix!" Flamethrowers and acid spewers were then shooting out at them.
"BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCK!" Yelled Trixie.
"Plans?" Applejack asked Twilight.
Twilight's horn glowed,"Stay close to me!" She said as a shield went up around them.
Each girl nodded, and got close to Twilight.Twilight moved the shield through the flames. The group then found themselves in a large empty room. Trixie looked around the empty room, and shouted," Ok, what else you got?"
"Trixie," Applejack face hoofed, "Don't say that.
A large pony decked out in spiked armor flew down from the roof. He growled as he pulled out a mace.
"And that's the reason why you don't say that," Applejack said as she ran at the soldier and bucked him in the face. Pulling back, she looked at the soldier with a smirk that begged him to get up again.
The solder spat as he got up, and kicked at Applejack.Applejack was pushed back thanks to the hit, causing her to shake off the the hit. Looking back up at the soldier, she raced at him and delivered another three punches with her hooves The soldier blocked, and then punched at her three times.Applejack took the hits, being pushed, back. A smirk still crossed her face as she waved her hoof to ask for another shot
The stallion ran at her with the mace.Only for the stallion to get zapped by a magenta eyed Twilight, who laughed hysterically,"Oh, I'm such a stealer..."
Applejack walked over to Twilight and playfully hit her with her hat, "Ah called dibs!"
The Captain rolled her eyes, "Are you girls seriously..."
"I don't recall those words coming out of your mouth!" Twilight stuck her tongue out.
Sombra's voice groaned,"Are you serious?"
"Don't worry AJ. Next monster or bad guy, we can kill steal from her," Rainbow Dash chuckled.
Trixie growled and stepped forward, "You two are incorrect, if anypony is going to take a victory away from Twilight Sparkle, it will be the GRRRRRREAT AND POWERFUL T-Checker Monarch!"
"Dear Sombra, I am dreadfully afraid that they are quite serious," Rarity said with a look of shock at the bickering mares.
The Captain growled, ‘We are in the middle of the bad guy’s hideout and you girls a trying to decide who kicks who’s flank?”
Sunset shook her head,"No, I call dibs."
“Don’t encourage them!” the Captain yelled.
“Well, Captain, when you have friends like these,” Prinny said, her magenta eyes glowing, “You kind of know that you will end up winning.”
Turning around, Twilight led the group up the flight of stairs. They ran up the the flights of stairs leading up to the top of the highest tower of the castle. once reaching the top, Applejack turned and bucked the door down revealing Sombra standing next to a Luna propped up on a cross.
Each mare got into a fighting stance, while Trixie looked on in shock. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak, "Let her go."
"No, my plan is too far ahead." Sombra said, as Luna's eye began to glow, as a light shone in the distance. Luna's horn glowed as it fired a beam of light into the heavens, allowing a large glow of light, causing a fortress to appear in the sky.
"Anypony care to tell me what that is?" Trixie asked looking up with wide eyes.
"Don't know, but Ah know that ain't good," Applejack said, turning to look at Sombra.
Sombra chuckled,"That is the Place of Despair, caused by using the magic of Crystal Royalty, and the Princess of the Sun. Considering that I lacked Celestia, I had to use a substitute."
"So, what are you going to do, and what makes you think we are going to let you do t?"Asked Dash.
"I'm going to fly up there, and then I'm going to use the Heart to take over this world." Sombra said,"And I know you won't let me do it, but that's why I'm using Cadence's magic to take control of your friends over in the distance."
"Like that will happen," Rainbow Dash said with a roll of her eyes, "There is no way they are going to be controlled that easily."
"Oh, really? Come, servants!" Sombra said, as a purple unicorn teleported in front of Prinny. She had eyes of green.
Applejack gulped, "Uh oh, don't tell me..."
A lighting bolt struk from the shadows as a blue pegasus landed next to Sombra, "My apologies master."
Prinny stepped back from her unicorn self,"Oh, come on..."
Sombra chuckled as a pink alicorn appeared with a white unicorn stallion,"Grandfather, I have brought your warriors."
"Good, keep them distracted while I obtain my treasure!" Sombra laughed.
Pinkie Pie stepped forward, her party cannon aimed," Party... time," she smiled sinisterly as she prepared to fire.
"Wait, since they still have their armor, then that means," Trixie's eye widened as she pulled Sunset out of the way of Fluttershy's wingblades.
Rarity turned and jumped away from a sword strike from her alternate self, “Well, this may be a problem.W
Sunset gasped,"Holy-! Where did they get those toys!?"
Dash looked to Prinny, and then to Sombra as he flew up to the castle, “Kind of need a plan here!”
“Girls, think you can handle our friends?” Twilight asked the others, and much to her satisfaction they nodded in agreement. looking up at the escaping unicorn, and then to Will, she told Trixie, “I need a way to distract them so I can get to Sombra.”
A smirk came to Trixie's lips as she looked at Sunset, "Shimmer, tell me... what size do you wear?"
Sunset blinked at Trixie,"Uh, that's a bit personal, but eight?"
"Good," Trixie said as she zapped Sunset with a spell, putting her into a showgirl outfit that showed off a bit of flank. The Captain let out a wolf whistle as she saw, and Trixie shook her head, "Oh great Twilight Sparkle, watch be amazed by the astounding feats of the Great and Powerful... Checker Monarch! First, my lovely assistant will make us all, disappear!"
Sunset blinked at her showmare outfit, before nodding as she used her magic. Trixie’s horn glowed brightly along with Sunset’s, making the room flash in bright lights and explode with loud music. Swirls of blinding color and light surrounded the ponies.
Twilight was the first to open her eyes and saw that she was outside of the castle, facing up at the stairs that led to the castle of Despair. Will was quickly following behind her. Narrowing her focus, Twilight flew as fast s she could, occasionally looking back to see if the blue pegasus was following her.
Trixie smiled to herself as she stood in the room, “And boom! Trixie’s amazing and stupendous roulette spell saved us all! And now to find out who-” the unicorn’s monologue was interrupted by a spell from Twilight Sparkle.
“For the king!” she shouted, firing another fireball at Trixie.
Trixie gasped a she rolled out of the way of the shot, “Of course Trixie gets to face a mad unicorn with alicorn like power. What’s worse... this one won’t be holding back.’ she muttered to herself as she ran away from the next fireball, watching as each shot began to increase in power and width. “Hope the others are faring better than me.’
Rainbow Dash shook her head and looked around in the courtyard, trying to get her bearings. Quickly hearing the sound of a wing blade whizzing by her, she turned to look at her attacker, “Heh, Fluttershy? I have to stop you/ easy.”
“Will it be?” asked Fluttershy calmly.
“Well, duh!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, flexing her wings and showing off her wingblades. “You could never beat me. Not in a million years.”
“That so?” Fluttershy asked, blinking her eyes at Dash. ‘Then hit me.”
Growling at the mare’s seeming confidence, the blue mare flew straight at her old friend. Reaching back with her right hoof, she readied a punch and threw it at Fluttershy, stopping within an inch of hitting her. With a growl, Dah threw another punch and another, barely coming within an inch of Fluttershy’s nose with each strike, “W-w-why can’t I hit you?”
Fluttershy let out a giggle as she pushed a hoof through her pink mane and smiled evilly, raising her wings to slash at Rainbow Dash, barely cutting her mane, “Simple, you can never hurt me. Because you are too afraid of going too far. You know how delicate I am compared to the others. Applejack, Twilight, Pinkie, and maybe Rarity could take one of your blows, but not me.”
“N-not true. You aren’t that delicate,” Dash said, finding herself on the defensive from Fluttershy’s assault.
“Will and inner strength, yes. But, I don’t have your muscles or training. I can break, and you know that now,” almost teasingly, the buttery pegasus looked down at the sound of crashing glass as Dash and the Captain began a harsh duel. “You of a few years ago would of attacked. BUt not now, not when you truly started to feel empathy for other ponies. Weird, your compassion has become a weakness.” Growling, Fluttershy flew at Rainbow with her wings outstretched.
Gasping, Rainbow Dash flew down underneath her friend and began to fly away. There was a cruel smile on the pegasus’s face as she flew after Dash, occasionally catching up and slashing at her with wings. Dash would occasionally bob and weave out of the way of some trees, while trying to keep her eyes on Fluttershy. Blocking the next strike, Rainbow argued, “N-no, you’re wrong! I-ugggh!” he argument was interrupted by a punch from Fluttershy that sent her tumbling into the ground with a thud. Slowly, Rainbow Dash got to her hooves and shook her head, eyes flashing purple.
Landing on the ground, Fluttershy began to walk slowly towards Rainbow Dash menacingly, “ but, there is something else...isn’t there? You are missing your rage from your attacks, almost as if you are thinking about your attacks. Interesting.”
“What is she talking about?” Dash thought to herself, feeling the armor’s power over lighting kicking in, crackling over her body. “ It's just common knowledge, right? Use the surrounding environment o my advantage and engage ome aerodynamic maneuvers. After all, if I don’t hold back, logically... nopony can catch me” her eyes flashing back into magenta, Dash flew off into the sky, turning into a living lightning bolt.
Fluttershy smiled as she flew after her longtime friend.
Applejack backed up against a wall as Vorpal struck against her golden greaves. The orange mare let out several grunts as she began to block the rapid strikes of Rarity's blade, doing her best to keep the sharp sword from coming into contact with her body. With a mighty shove, applejack managed to push Rarity back, “Now listen Rares. Ah’ve never wanted to fight you, (mainly because Ah would win,) and Ah still don’t. So please stop this!’
Rarity only smiled in response, slashing sideways at Applejack. This cause the mare to duck and roll out of the way. Adjusting her hat, the orange mare raced at her friend, lasso in mouth in an attempt to tie her down. As she neared her target, she was besieged by a wave of crystals and diamonds. Some of them barely making their way past her armor and cutting into her flesh. Growling, Applejack ran to Rarity, only to be hit with another wave of energy. Slowly, she got up and watched As Rarity walked to her, waving Vorpal slowly, “Buck,” the farmer said, putting out some blood. ‘she knows me too well. She knows I like letting the idiots wear themselves out, and she is doing the same with me by holding back.’ jumping to the side she thought, “Come on, AJ. She’s your best friend, you should know how to fight her one-on-one.”
Overhead, applejack could hear blades clashing, followed by the crashing of a pegasus as she crashed into Applejack, “Hey there, AJ. How’s it going?” Rainbow Dash asked, shaking her head.
“Not good, bout you?” Applejack asked, fixing her hat.
“I can’t hit Fluttershy,” Dash growled. “I’m too afraid of hurting her.”
“Ah know, can't hit Rarity because she knows how to break a pony down,” Applejack grumbled. “Heh, maybe Ah should’ve become a dressmaker, they seem to be badass.’
Rainbow Dash chuckled as Rarity and Fluttershy stood side-by-side, “Just be glad pinkie isn’t here. She could take us both out.”
Unknown to the girls, Pinkie had her party cannon aimed at the two mares, “Ready, aim and-”
“Tag,” Sleepy Pinkie said, before she began to bounce away. Unable to resist, the pink mare began to chase after her counterpart.
“So, plans!” Rainbow asked her friend.
“Yeah, switch,” Applejack said.
“I can’t hit Fluttershy, what makes you think you can?” Dash asked.
Applejack smirked, “Because, Ah can tie her up and get to her. You can stay in the air and dodge Rarity for a while. She may be a good shot, but you are a quick target.’
“Ooooh, sneaky. I like it,’ Dash chuckled.
‘Aint sneaky, common sense,’ smirked Applejack as she ran at Fluttershy, leaving Dash to charge at Rarity.
Trixie could hear Sunset letting out a roar of anger as she began to fight Cadence and Shining. Turning her head, she looked at Fluttershy as she watched the fight in fear and then turned back to Twilight, “So, Trixie is alone in this fight. Fine with her, she has faced Twilight when she was an alicorn and won. How hard can this be-AHHHHHH!”
The unicorn grinned as she threw a lightning bolt at the blue mare, “You will now die. For all of the crimes that you have done.’
“To be fair, this is a completely YEOOOW!” Trixie shouted as she ducked under another fireball ‘Twilight Sparkle, princess of whatever...GET YOUR FLANK MOVING AND SAve THE DAY ALREADY!!!”
If Twilight heard Trixie’s plea, she did not show it as she dodged a lighting bolt from Will. Narrowing her eyes, she fired off an ice shard at Will, that broke into particles that froze her wings and caused the red maned pegasus to hit the ground. Panting, Twilight looked to the path that Sombra took and ran down it, Will in tow. As she neared a small chamber, she found Sombra standing in the middle of a room with a bunch of hearts,"Multiple copies of the Heart of Despair!?" he shouted
Twilight chuckled as she came up behind him,"I figured it wasn't going to be easy." She frowned as she looked around,"Which one is the real one?"
Sombra charged his horn,"That one," He tapped one of the hearts, only to scream as his body was turned to crystal.
Twilight frowned, only to hear a ringing sound,"... Use my ear!" She remembered Discord's words. She closed her eyes as she listened for the ringing of Will's jewel, corresponding with the ringing of the Heart of Despair,"There!" She turned to a simple pale heart on the right. She ran to it.
Elsewhere, Rarity began to slow down her attacks on Rainbow Dash and began to sway back and forth. As Rainbow Dash watched Rarity sway, she smiled and flew down to her and picked her up, “Come on Rare, you need to get to Twilight!” she said as she flew Rarity into the clouds and into the castle. Setting the white unicorn down, she watched as Rarity walked instinctively to Twilight’s locatio.
Will began to blink her eyes open, "Where am I?"
“You're in the fortress. You were kind of mind controlled." Twilight said,"Now go to that heart, now!" She said,"It should fix everything if the pattern's the same!"
Will nodded, placing her hoof on it as Rarity was placed onto the ground next to Twilight, "Here Twilight." she said looking at her friend as she felt the magic wash over her.
Twilight nodded as she touched the Heart.
As Rarity touched the heart, her eyes became a blazing white.
Twilight and Will would find themselves in a white void, the world barren except for a group of figures in the distance, "Twilight, where is everyone?"
"Welcome, scion of magi and bearer, have you come to open the door to the heart," the voice boomed.
Twilight looked at the group of figures and looked up,"Yes, we are, who are those figures?"
The world of the void seemed to shrink as Twilight's friends appeared before them in chains, a stick in the middle draining them. Next to them was a crying pegasus with short black hair."
Twilight gasped,"Everypony!" She looked at the stick and went to pull it out.
As Twilight touched the stick, she would feel a drain on her magic. As if her life fore had been drained. Will walked to hay lin, "Hay Lin, what's wrong-AHHH!" she screamed as she put a hoof onto the pegasus's body, feeling a memory slip away.
Scion of magic, Bearer of the heart," The voice boomed. "You must be ready to give you memories and your magic to save your friends."
Twilight gasped as her magic drained,"No..." She growled,"I have to save these ponies, they're my life!" She pulled on the stick even harder.
Will gasped, "But my memories are all I ha-Hay Lin!" To her horror, the pegasus began to fade away slowly.
"Without your memories, she will fade bearer," whispered the voice.
"No, I won't let her fade!" Shouted Will.
Rarity looked around, hearing the screams of Will and Twilight, "What on earth? What's happening to my friends!"
"Generosity..."
"So, is this my test?" Rarity asked. "Sacrifice myself? Fine, I am always willing-"
"No, that is not all of your test," the voice continued.
"What? Then what is..." Rarity asked.
"While your deeds of generosity are great, they are only good if you know about them, correct," the voice boomed.
Rarity nodded, "Why yes, it would be nice to be known for some of the things I have done. Why is that important?"
As Rarity asked, the white void began to shift. The floor beneath her dropped, forming a series of stairs, 23 of them, "You must climb each of these stairs to reach and help you friends."
"Shouldn't' be to hard," Rarity said, stepping onto the first step, only to scream as her magi was drained.
In Twilight's mind
"Oh, we are going to..." the white unicorn said before she faded away from Twilight's memory. While she could still remember Rarity's name and where she lived. The day she met her was gone from her mind.
Rarity looked down at her hoof and gasped, "MY hoof, it's faded!"
"As well as your magic," the voice said.
twilight gasped,"No... I don't want to lose their memories," She looked around,"But... they need me..."
"Your magic is the only thing that is keeping them alive, Magic," the voice said as it began to drain her. Her friends were slowly healing, becoming healthier.
"Generosity," The voice said. "Every step you take, will shatter another memory they have of you. Every step will drain you of your magic. On the other hand, the bearer and Twilight will regain their magic and memories, but not of you."
"You mean...I will be sacrificing my identity to save them?" Rarity asked.
"Yes, when you reach that final step, you will never again wield magic. The others will not know of you. The world will never again know of Rarity Belle," the voice said. "When ponies pass you by on the street, they will forget you in an instant."
"But, my element-"
"Will find a new chosen one, and the power will go to her," the voice said.
"So, I will become..."
"Useless, and unwanted," The voice said.
Rarity looked down at her hooves and then to the stairs...
"Shucks Rarity, you didn't need to-"
"IT belonged to your mother, I insist!"
"Rainbow Dash, I am sorry..."
"Fluttershy, you are much too lovely to stay here."
"Pinkie you...are marvelous.
Looking at the next step, she immediately took one, followed by another
"OH Twilight, you simply must le..."
"Ok Twilight, what do you nee...
Two more memories of Rarity faded from Twilight's mind. Unable to remember the name of her family or cat.
Twilight screamed as she continued to pull,"Come on!"
"Hay Lin, I-AHHHH!!!!" she screamed as Hay Lin began to grow brighter. Twilight's magic began to grow as she pulled.
Rarity continued to walk each step, "My friends...” the white mare groaned as she took another step, a painful shot of electricity followed each step as her magic and memory were ripped from her body.
"Oh don't worry about it dear, that de...
"Oh manehatten what...
"If you hurt one..."
"Twilight, about the wed..."
"Oooonly ten more steps," Rarity whispered.
"You'll fade you know. You won't even be a unicorn, just a plain white earth pony with a horn," the voice said.
"I don't care," Rarity whimpered, crawling onto the next step
"What does that fro..."
"Argh!" Twilight pulled even harder.
"...goodbye," Rarity cried as she placed her last hoof onto the step.
"You have to believe that we will....
There was a blinding flash when Twilight pulled out the stick. When she opened her eyes, she would see Rarity sitting in front of her.
"Rarity!" Twilight gasped as she gave her a big hug.
Will smiled as Hay Lin turned and hugged her. Giggling, the pegasus smiled, "Thank you for remembering me."
"This is Xanadu, it's supposed to be paradise," the asian girl smiled.
"Hey Will, want to see the new design I had made?
"You are welcome," Will smiled.
Rarity opened her eyes wide, "Wait, you remember me?"
"Well, of course!" Twilight blinked,"Is there any reason for me not to?"
Rarity looked confused, "Well, it's just that the voice-"
"Of course it told you that," growled a white unicorn with green mane. "It had to lie to see if you would hold true to your generosity, even if it meant that you lost your own identity. Or some other crud like that." the unicorn rolled her eyes, "Waste of time if ya asked me."
Twilight frowned,"Well, you're kind of rude..."
"Well, excuse me Prinny, but I hated the fact that the voice put you through that," the unicorn growled.
"And who are you, ruffian?" Rarity asked.
"Gusty Hurricane," Gusty said. "And you are generosity's successor, joy. And I bet Prinny is the new Magic?"
"Well, yes," Twilight frowned,"Wait, the voice is separate from you guys?"
"Yeah, apparently," Gusty said. "When Mimic began to work with the alicorns, she said she would put our spirits in here waiting for the bearers to come. That is when we are to meet with them and give them the poem that would help them find the heart of worlds. Too blasted complicated if ask me. I'd rather get to the point and kick their asses before they can get to me. But you know..."
Twilight sighed,"Just get to the poem already," She blinked,"Wait, what was that about Mimic?"
"I said Mimic helped to get our spirits here," Gusty sighed.
"Well, can you tell me more about her!?" Twilight's eyes sparkled.
"I don't know Twilight, she seems a bit-" Rarity began.
Gusty stepped forward, ""Hey, just because I am little grumpy doesn't mean I don't care about her! Mimic wa one of the best unicorns I've ever met, even if she could be a bit selfish and forget that she needed others sometimes. All the time she was sick she wanted us to find the alicorns, get them to protect the heart from the darkness, bring light to the land, leave our mark! What about us? Didn't she care?"
Twilight placed a hoof on Gusty's shoulder,"Trust me, she probably cared more about you than herself."
Rainbow's voice spoke in her head,"Oh, don't get mushy again, Twi."
"T-thanks," Gusty said, sighing.
“No problem," Twilight smiled,"Anything else you want to tell me?"
Gusty sighed and looked up at the white void, "Loyalty will tested at the final gate,
Then the six will rift
Leaving Faith and the bearer to journey to the path
The six must remember the bonds of others
And join again
The will lose Faith as they reach the end of their journey.
Twilight frowned as her mind processed the words,"Six will rift..." She gasped,"Wait, what!?"
"That's what the poem said, I can't make sense of it. Neither the rest of us," Gusty shook her head. "I was too busty trying my best to not go over and knock some sense into Mimic's skull."
"Wait, so what did you do for this place?" Will asked.
Gusty smiled softly, "I helped a friend."
"Come on, Jade. Your dad wouldn't want you to stay here," Gust said.
The light blue earth saddle arabian nodded and wiped a tear from her eyes, "You're right”
"Helped her with what?" Twilight asked, her face curling into a determined snarl as Rainbow's voice echoed,
"Oh no, are you going to let that happen!?" Rainbow shouted in her mind.
"I got Jade to actually get moving and help save her kingdom again. Then I immediately began to head for home. I heard Fizz found a way to save Mimic. So I ran home as soon as possible," Gusty said.
"And then what happened dear?" Rarity asked.
"I can't say. My spirit can't go that far, besides," she said as they faded, "You have to go back."
The trio would be back at the Crystal Palace, as Shining grabbed Prinny in a hug.Shining was soon joined by the others as thy glomped her and the others. Rainbow Dash whispered, "He does know that isn't his Twilight, right?"
Applejack whispered,"Let 'em have this."
Rainbow Dash nodded as she watched the siblings have their moment. Trixie took a few steps away from the group, trying to keep hidden, only for Pinkie to smile, "See you."
"Pinkie!?" Trixie yelped, "What are you-no never mind/"
"Why are you walking away? Don't you want to be part of the hugging?" Pinkie asked.
In response, Trixie pointed to the moon, "Trixie will, but with you. Right now, Checker Monarch has nothing to do with them."
"But Trixie-"
"No! I know that isn't me, but that isn't important! I almost killed my mentor here. A mare who has done nothing for me but has given me the chance I need. This wasn't just taking over a town, this was almost a murder and it was all my fault. How can they forgive any Trixie?"
"Well, It seems that Twilight is just like our Twilight. So... I think that means it will be easy," Pinkie said, walking away, before giving a yawn, "Besides... I forgive you."
Trixie cocked an eyebrow in shock as she realized that she was talking to the wrong Pinkie. Then she shook her head and looked for Sunset.
Will smiled softly as she looked down at her pendant, watching it glow slightly brighter than before, before watching the sibling reunion with a smile.
Sunset looked out over the horizon, watching as the moon began to fall, and a light shone, blinding the inhabitants of the world for a bit.
"Arg, hat the Buck?" Dash asked.
Fluttershy blocked the view with her wings," Is that..."
"The sun?" Applejack asked.
Uni-Twi gasped,"The sun, it's normal again!" She hugged her Rainbow Dash,"This is wonderful!"
"You're welcome..." Cadence moaned as her horn glowed.
As Rainbow Dash watched the two hug, she raised her hoof to make a snarky comment, only to get nudged by Applejack. Rarity looked at Cadence with a gasp, you did this, Princess?"
Cadence gasped,"Yeah, figured that without Celestia, the world needed somepony who could control the sun."
"Need practice?" Luna asked, walking up to the princess.
"Yes, and who could possibly be close enough to Celestia that she could give a few lessons on how to control the sun?" Trixie asked, looking to Sunset.
Sunset blinked,"B-b-but I wouldn't. I mean- I guess I could..."
Luna raised a hoof,"I could give a few pointers myself."
Trixie looked at Sunset, "Tell me the truth, did you ever planned on really killing Celestia, or did you just want to prove to her that you were more powerful?"
"I..." She sighed,"I just planned on proving that I am powerful and that I can lead, I can exceed her expectations! But, with her gone... I have no motivation..."
"Rainbow Dash landed next to sunset, her eyes turning violet, "Then help them. they need someone like you when Twilight leaves."
"They do?" Sunset turned,'What's wrong with her eyes?"
"What do you mean?" Trixie asked.
"Uh, nothing." Sunset shook her head,"Must've been seeing things. But, how, I mean, I'm no teacher..."
Rainbow Dash smile and said, "We all have to start somewhere. Just Ggve her what you know."
"Twilight?" Trixie asked herself.
"Hey, Twi," Applejack asked
Both Twilights turned,"Yes?"
Applejack shook her head, (Celestia Ah hate dimension hopping) "Prinny."
Prinny looked at Applejack,"What is it?"
"Ah was just thinking, do you find it odd that we haven't found any new armor here?" Applejack asked, looking out from the rest of the group. "Ah mean, in the last two worlds we visited, we found some armor belonging to those gods. Here, nothing."
Prinny put a hoof to her chin,"That is odd. Perhaps the Queens couldn't find anything to give us?"
Pinkie Pie smiled as she looked up ,"OH, nice save on that one author."
Rainbow Dash then looked to the other Twilight and Rainbow, "So, you two heading back?”
Twilight looked around,"Well, I'm not sure if we should? I mean, that would leave this world without two elements."
Sunset looked at her,"We'll find some, but if any threat comes along, we'll handle it."
"But we don't know how to come back anyway!" Uni-Twi said, only for a portal to open up behind them,"Oh."
Will looked down a her pendant, smiling as the energy glowed from it, "Nice one."
Rainbow Dash leaned to Applejack, "Five bits on Shining becoming Loyalty and Sunny Magic."
"You're on," Applejack smiled.
The ponies of darkness each walked to their Twilight and Rainbow, hugging them and giving their warm farewells.
The two teared up as they hugged back, and turned to enter the portal.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Uni-Twi gasped as she saw several pink clouds giving out chocolate rain, and her greyed out friends walking around snarling,"What happened here?"
Discord chuckled as he floated above Twilight and Rainbow,"Wouldn't you like to know?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A portal opened up behind the others.
"Well, time to go," Applejack said, looking behind her.
“Do you think they'll be ok?" Will asked.
Twilight looked back,"I think they'll be just fine." she said as they began to leave.
As they stepped out of the portal, the tiger's head began to glow bright and shoot out a light into the heavens. As the light went into the sky, it hit the constellation of Gusty causing her stars to glow. The three beams that hit each constellation began to turn, connecting to one spot.
Valtor watched the lights with a sinister smile, "Yes, show me the fourth gate. Reveal to me where it is!"
Celestia put Sunset onto the bed, kissing her forehead, "Sleep well my daughter."
"Your majesty," a white unicorn said, running in.
"Esteem, what is it?"
"The lights, the ones you told us to keep an eye on? They are converging!" Esteem said.
Celestia looked out the window and gasped, "Oh, stars. They've done it.”
"Look the lights!" Applejack aid, pointing to where the lights began to hit.
"Twilight, dear, do you have any idea where they are pointing to?"
Twilight nodded,"It looks like they're pointing to- Oh-"
Valtor’s smile faded as he looked at the lights, "You've got to be-"
"Bucking kidding us-" Rainbow said.
"It's-" Servant gasped.
"Right back-" Fluttershy began.
The entire group yelled,"Where we started!?"
"You must admit, it is quite clever," Rarity said.
Trixie rolled her eyes and grumbled, "Oh, shut up."
Valtor fell onto back, wings extended as he laughed, "HAHAHAHHAHAHhaHAHAH! OH, brilliant, just brilliant! The queens are pure geniuses, hiding the gate right in the middle of Equestria. Any demon searching for it would give up or be defeated by the time they reached the second or third gate. The challenge of this all was if you were determined to see the quest through."
Servant looked at the glowing lights, "But why? Why make it a quest at all? Why not put the barriers in front of the final gate?"
"To make sure that the ones who are traveling to the heart have the same light of the queens." Valtor smiled. "A single person could never make the journey, but a group of friends..."
"So, now do we wait for the key?" Servant asked.
"No," Valtor shook his head. " I can now search to the final key on my own and open the last gate to enter the Heart of Happiness. Loyalty still has our present correct?"
"Yes," Servant said.
"Good, we now can isolate her, the bearer, and the key," Valtor said.
"But you still need Magic," Servant said.
"Or her soul," Valtor smiled, looking to the castle of Canterlot.
Twilight sighed,"Let's just get to the train back home...
The mares agreed.
As they rested on the night before near Agrabah, Will looked up to the sky and smiled softly to herself, "I know... I know it feels like I am starting to lose myself. That it feels like I am losing track of who I am and why I am here. I," Will shuddered, "I can't even remember my mom's face anymore. All I have left are my powers, this pendant, and something else. Something important," Will smiled softly, "The feeling that somewhere you guys are out there! I can feel you, in my heart. Somehow, your names never left me! Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, Hay Lin! I an remember you all and I know you are out there!"
As Will said this, she could feel a light glowing from within. The heart of Kandrakar began to glow with a bright pink energy. Sighing, she placed a hoof onto the pendant, and for a moment, she could see the others. Looking up into the sky she started to sing. It was a melody she felt in her heart with a soft beat that slowly built up.
[Will]
A true, true friend helps a friend in need
A friend will be there to help them see
A true, true friend helps a friend in need
To see the light that shines from a true, true friend
In her eyes, she could see Irma on a boat. She could see her standing alone against four powerful monsters as she looked on from the crow's nest. She could see a faint smile on the auburn haired girl's face, but knew the truth
Irma, I know needs our help
You smile but I know
Deep down inside
You are hurting the most I can see
The light from her pendant shot out, flying through the dimensions and to a distant world. In that world, Irma looked up from her position on the crow's nest. That was when she heard a voice singing, "Will?" she asked herself as she looked around, seeing a faint pink light, "What are you saying? That I need help? No, no...I'm good, really." She saw a flash of Cornelia standing against a fierce cat monster, ,But I bet Cornelia needs us first."
[Will]
A true, true friend helps a friend in need
A friend will be there to help you see
A true, true friend helps a friend in need
To see the light that shines from a true, true friend.
Softly, Irma followed along with the beat. Siling as Will reached out her hand for her.
[Irma]
Cornelia needs our help
The girl is going to try hard, doing what she can
But if we try and give it a chance
I think we can save her, if you understand
Will nodded and took Irma's hand as the girl began to glow with a green light, and followed her through the dimensions to where ornelia was. Their voiced mixing as they flew
[Will, Irma,]
A true, true friend helps a friend in need
A friend will be there to help them see
A true, true friend helps a friend in need
To see the light that shines from a true, true friend.
Looking up to the sky, she thought she saw two brightly colored lights. As they descended, she felt warmer, as if two young women were standing by her side. Glowing a little, she looked to the sky and added her own voice to the song. In her mind, she saw Taranee standing in a world of darkness, and looked up determined.
[Cornelia]
Taranee needs our help
She's all alone in the night
She is standing against everything
But if we stand together, we can stop her plight
The three girls looked at one another, and placed their hands on top of one another. As they touched, Cornelia glowed with a dark blue light and found herself flying through the multiverse.
Taranee stood in front of the dark hut, sighing. Then her ears perked at the sound of singing. "Cornelia? Irma? Will?" She asked, her smile brightening as she looked in the direction of the song, but saw nopony there. As the song continued in her head, she began to feel the warmth and the calmness of the other three by her. It was if, somehow, they were with her at that moment.
[Will, Irma, Cornelia]
A true, true friend helps a friend in need
A friend will be there to help them see
A true, true friend helps a friend in need
To see the light that shines from a true, true friend
"Hay Lin, we need you too..." Taranee said, seeing hay Lin in a world full of plumbers and a princess.
[Taranee]
We all need you
We’re all sad here for a while
Our lives are all down
We can’t seem to smile
But if you feel like helpin'
We be ever so grateful
If you get your butt here
And start making us cheerful
The girl glowed their bright light and flew off into the multiverse. As they Landed, they felt a happy girl rah behind them and give them a big hug.
Hey Lin: All right everybody, let's get out there and smile!
The girls looked to each other, smiles on their faces as they began to glow bright. Somehow, across the multiverse, the worlds that they were on began to glow bright as well, shingin as a beacon to the other worlds. On each planet that their voie could be heard, their song rung out.
[W.I.T.C.H]
A true, true friend helps a friend in need
A friend will be there to help them see
A true, true friend helps a friend in need
To see the light! (To see the light!)
That shines! (That shines!)
From a true, true friend!
Will opened her eyes as she looked up and smiled. Silently, she whispered,”I'll find you”
Twilight's horn stopped glowing, and a red light appeared on the tip,"Just a little further..." She whispered to herself.
“Master, what is this?" Servant asked, her curiosity peaked.
"A Time Spell," Valtor said, standing in front of a large magical bubble, "I had to raid the most powerful sorcerer I knew to get it, but I did it. You know, I admire Starswirl, but his knowledge and power only went so far," his claws began to glow and he put his claws to the bubble, "He only knew of magic from the dawn of time, but as for me and my mother, we know of magic from beyond the dawn of time. Thus, I know of the deeper magic, back when the virtues were but foals nursing on their mother's teat! So thus, I know of a more powerful time spell."
"Genius sire," bowed Servant as she backed up.
"Chronos, I wish to bend to laws of time. Allow me to manipulate the web to control the unlimited worlds!"
"What was that Twi?" Applejack asked, watching s Twilight’s horn glowed. the train ride for the girls was very slow and uneventful.
“Just... some modifications, nothing major." Twilight gave a smile and then walked off,"I'm going to get myself some coffee!"
As Twilight walked, the train began to shake and rattle. Applejack looked outside and gasped, "Twilight, Something's up with Equestria!!!"
Twilight looked outside,"What!?"
As the train neared the border of the country, waves of purple, white, orange, pink, yellow, and dark blue began to rhythmically beat out. Sending out waves of energy that made the train shake, "Twilight! Wwwwwwwhat's going on?!" Fluttershy asked.
"Tttttthiiiiissss mmmmmaaaakiiinnngnggg mmmmeeeeee ddooooo theeeee silllllllyyyyy vvvvvvvooooooiiiiiccceeee agaaaaaaaiiiiinnnnn," Pinkie said, vibrating.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Valtor smiled as his hands continued to manipulate the temporal lines.
It's astounding
Time is fleeting
Power
takes it toll
Listen closely
Servant chuckled, "Not for very much longer."
I've got to keep control
-------------------------------------------
Around the bearers, the train changed forms. Sometimes to just a flatbed, others to a car, while all around them ponies from various eras began to buzz in and out.
Twilight looked around,"It's like time is changing around us!"
With a bultstrious laugh, Valtor began to sing with the beat
I Do the TIME WARP
Drinking those moments when
The power would take me!
Servant began to laugh
and the void would be calling
LET'S SEND THEN THROUGH A TiME WARP!
LET'S SEND ThEM THrough A TiME WARP!!!"
"Who could be doing this?" Applejack asked as she saw two fillies run by her and then turn into adult mares in an instant.
Rainbow Dash got jostled in her seat and thrown into Pinkie Pie, "Who do you think?"
"Valtorrrrrr!" Trixie said as she was pushed into Twilight.
Slamming his right hand into the orb, Valtor commanded
It's just a shift to the left
Then her twisted his claw to the right
And then a jump to the riiiiiiiiight
and then push it like this!
Servant looked at her staff and watched as the land of Equestria began to feel the effect of the time warp as well
But its rifts
That'll really drive you insaaaaaneee
LEt's send them through a time warp again!
LEt's send them through a time warp again!
"Luna, your majesty!" painted Sunshine Smiles as he ran into Luna's room, "There is something wrong with the country. Look!"
When Luna looked out, she would see the city become dust, vibrant, and the dust again
Luna gasped,"Valtor!" She teleported to Celestia
Twilight gasped as her seat changed to wood, plastic,and steel
Celestia looked over Sunset, before turning to Luna, "Luna, what's going on?"
Servant smiled as she watched some ponies run in terror as the world continued to radically change
This is dreamy
To watch fantasy crumbling!
They can't stop you
Valtor laughed
No, not at all
Looking back at his orb, he grabbed a line from it and pushed it to the side
In this dimension
With my own intention
Secluded, I control all
Fluttershy let out a gasp as she was almost thrown from her seat, but Rainbow Dash caught her and pulled her in. Rarity used her magic to start helping ponies.
Servant snickered
With a bit of a mind flip
A grey pegasus gasped in shock as she watched her daughter age before her eyes. Looking with fear, she ran to the back door, only to find the blue box gone.
They're in a time slip
"Starlight!" a white earth pony shouted, his equal sign cutie mark hidden beneath his cloak. "You need to see this!"
"I know," shouted the pink unicorn, her mane in pigtails. "Time is changing!"
Valtor laugh as he grabbed another time stream,
And nothing can be the same
"Time, it's unraveling!" Luna shouted.
Twilight used her magic, to anchor herself and her friends, while trying to catch several other ponies.
“Valtor! He must be trying to mess with the time stream and slow down Twilight and the others. Luna, come with me!" Celestia said, running out the hallway.
They'll be with sensation
and put under sedation!
The two sang in unison
LEt's send them through a Time WARP
Let's send them through a time warp!!
A Celestia ran down the stairs with Luna she explained
Well mommy told of
a spell
to be done when
Time goes to hell
This is a surprise
But we have to stop
That dragon with the devil's eyes
Put your horn to the glass
and together
we can fix time again
and correct it again
Let's send them through a time warp
Let's send them through a time warp!
Celestia looked to Luna, "Put your horn on the left!"
"I guess you take the one on the right!" She did as her sister instructed.
“Now let's do this!"
As Valtor felt Celestia and Luna cast the spell, he began to laugh
The trap has been sprung!
Servant began to laugh
Now let's bring it to light!
And really drive them insaneeeeeee
Once again the two began to sing in unison
Let's send them through a time warp
Let's send them through a time warp!!
-----------------------------------------------------
The rumbling in the train stopped, but the waves continued to hit the car, "Twilight, Ah've got a bad-" before she could say anything more, the orange wave hit her and wiped her from existence.
lets do the time warp again,
LEts do the time warp again
Lets do the time warp again!!!!!
“Applejack!" Twilight shouted.
----------------------------
Just a twist to the left
The white wave hit Rarity, wiping her out
Then a jump to the right
"Rarity!" Pinkie shouted as she jumped to where her friend disappeared, only to get hit as well
And then we do this!
Rainbow Dash saw a yellow wave flew towards Fluttershy, "Fluttershy!" leaping out, she reached her hoof to hold onto her friend, only to watch in despair as Fluttershy’s hoof faded away
But it will be this that will drive them insannnnneeee
A dark blue wave flew and hit Trixie, "Twi-"
LEts send then through a time warp!
LEte send them through a time warp!
"Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Trixie!" Twilight shouted, tears running down her face as she attempted to use her magic.As she used her magi, the wave hit Twilight, wiping her out as well.
Lets do the time warp...again.
As the train entered the station, Will and rainbow Dash stepped out. Tears ran down Wil's eyes a she collapsed to her knees shaking. Dash sat on her knees and screamed "VALTOR!!!!!!!"