The next day went by rather quickly and uneventful. Celestia didn't want to alarm everypony in Ponyville about Scootaloo's DNA doners being on the loose. Luna had asked her to put her faith in Scootaloo's saviors, assuring her that if they faced Black Death and killed him the real threat would be over. The dragon would never be able to haunt them again, and Scootaloo's doners would be powerless. Celestia didn't like putting her faith in ponies she hadn't even met, but she trusted Luna's judgement.
Sheer Cold and Spoiled Rotten were on the run in the Everfree Forest, trying to find their way back to their house. They were determined to get their hooves on the remote control so they could reawaken Black Death. In order to avoid being seen by other creatures, they had covered themselves with leaves to mask their color and scent. It succeeded in fooling the Timberwolves and Manticores, but there were two keen creatures that were on the lookout for them.
Tyrannosaurus and Indominus had been patrolling the forest, but they hadn't seen Sheer Cold or Spoiled Rotten. The two pegasi had managed to slip by the dinosaurs with their makeshift camouflage. Indominus's thermal detection eyesight had picked up traces of them, but he couldn't see enough of them in the dimly lit forest. The two pegasi were able to make it to their house by the end of the day. Once they reached it, they found the remote and patiently waited for tomorrow when they would make their move.
The day of the meeting had finally arrived, and Scootaloo was more anxious than the first one. All throughout school she kept imagining what Rainbow Dash would think of her saviors. Her fellow Crusaders couldn't help much because they were wondering what their sisters would think. The three fillies were so eager that their day seemed to drag on forever. When it finally ended, they found an audience waited for them outside.
All of the mane six were waiting outside of the school for the three of them. Scootaloo was sure that she was about to present her saviors to the most important ponies in Equestria. She had never been so overjoyed to see Rainbow and the rest of the Mane six. She and the Crusaders ran up and hugged their sisters.
"Hey Scootaloo, are you really this excited to see us?"
"Yes, and I finally get to introduce you to my saviors after everything that's happened."
"Tell me about it, all of us have been as anxious as you three waiting for this moment. Now Crusaders, lead the way."
The CMC lead the Mane six towards the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy had a frightful history with th forest, but with her friends by her side she was willing to endure it. Scootaloo confidently lead the ponies deeper into the forest, unaware that the group was being watched. She spotted a huge clearing up ahead, which was where she had arranged for T-Rex and Indominus to meet them. But the closer she got Scootaloo could tell that something was terribly wrong.
The area was eerily quite, not a sound was heard. Scootaloo couldn't even hear any branches snapping or massive footsteps. Either Tyrannosaurus and Indominus weren't close enough, or something was making them stay hidden within the trees. Rainbow could see the uneasiness starting to form on Scootaloo's face.
"Uh Scootaloo, everything ok? You sure we're not lost?"
"No, this is where I asked them to meet us," Scootaloo said quietly. "It's just something doesn't feel right. This place is just too quiet."
Then Scootaloo heard a sickening voice directly above her. It was one she never thought she'd hear again.
"You've been a very bad chicken, now you will pay for disobeying us."
Bolts of lightning came raining down towards the group. Everypony scattered in panic, Rarity and Applejack grabbed their siblings to keep them safe. Rainbow was about to grab Scootaloo, but one bolt came right in between them. When the flash cleared, Scootaloo was gone. Rainbow looked about wildly trying to find Scootaloo, and she found her being carried away by the ponies she was dead set on killing. Scootaloo was in the clutches of Spoiled Rotten, and she was being taken towards the edge of Equestria.
Rainbow had never felt such vengeful anger before, she was going to make sure those ponies never flew again. She exploded from the ground and took off after the fleeing cowards. Twilight saw Rainbow take off and turned back to her friends. She spoke to them in a serious tone they had never heard before.
"Follow them, whatever you girls do don't lose sight of them. I'm going to alert the Princesses!"
Twilight sent a beam of energy into the sky hoping that the Princesses would see it from Canterlot. Her friends chased after Sheer Cold and Spoiled Rotten. The ponies were unaware that Rainbow Dash wasn't the only one chomping at the bit for vengeance. Two huge shadows followed after the rest of the Mane six, determined to bring down those evil pegasi once and for all.
Back in Canterlot Celestia was going about her usual day, when she saw the beam of energy from the Everfree Forest.
"Oh no, Luna, Cadence come quick!" The other princesses rushed to the window and spotted the energy beam. "It's Twilight, she and her friends must've stumbled upon Sheer Cold and Spoiled Rotten. Cadence, assemble the guards and tell them to bring the Elements of Harmony. We're going to need all the help we can get. Luna let's get going, we need to catch up with Twilight and find out what's going on."
Celestia and Luna took off with Cadence bringing up the rear. Following them were the Canterlot guards, a few of them carrying the chest that contained the Elements of Harmony. Celestia was dreading that the dragon's return was close now that events were falling in place.
Twilight kept up the energy beam until she saw Celestia, the other Princesses and the Canterlot guards.
"Twilight, what happened?" Celestia was trying hard to keep herself from freaking out.
"It's awful Celestia, Sheer Cold and Spoiled Rotten jumped us and kidnapped Scootaloo. They're heading for the edge of Equestria with Rainbow Dash following them. My friends are pursuing them through the forest as well, but we must hurry."
"Absolutely!" The Princesses flew off towards the edge of Equestria, trying to catch up with Rainbow Dash and the fleeing pegasi.
Rainbow Dash was catching up to the cowardly pegasi when she heard Scootaloo's voice.
"Rainbow Dash, help me!"
"Shut up you whining brat." Rainbow could see Spoiled Rotten punch Scootaloo in the face. The hit knocked Scootaloo out cold and she went limp in the mare's hooves.
"How dare you? HOW DARE YOU!!!" Rainbow went full blown protective mode and charged straight for Spoiled Rotten.
She nailed an angry, swift punch right across the green mare's face, but she continued to fly onward.
"Careful now Rainbow Crash, if I lose my grip then this chicken falls to her death."
"We'll see about that," Rainbow said as she went in for another attack.
She had to divide her attention between dodging Sheer Cold who was trying to attack her, and smacking Spoiled Rotten around. Rainbow also had to make sure that Scootaloo didn't fall, or she would surely die from the impact. Up ahead Rainbow could see the edge of Equestria, the forest was giving way to barren land and rocky outcrops. Rainbow knew she had to make a crucial move and soon. But she needed a distraction in order to get Scootaloo out of Spoiled Rotten's grip. Fortunately her attacking and maneuvering had slowed down the cowards enough for help to arrive.
Rainbow could see Twilight, the Princesses, and the Canterlot army headed their way. The time for her to make her move was now or never. When Sheer Cold swooped in again, she smacked him away and dealt a quick punch to Spoiled Rotten's face. The move distracted the green mare long enough for Twilight and Celestia to blast her from behind. The attack caused Spoiled Rotten to release Scootaloo and Rainbow instantly scooped her up before she could get close to the ground. She touched down at the edge of Equestria and tried to wake Scootaloo up.
"Scootaloo wake up. Come on squirt, I can't do this without you." Her concerned voice caused Scootaloo to stir and she began to awaken.
"R-Rainbow Dash, what happened?" The cyan mare was so relieved to see her surrogate sister was ok.
"Your DNA doners ambushed us and ruined the meeting. Now we're all the way out here at the end of Equestria."
"How right you are Rainbow Crash," Spoiled Rotten said as she and Sheer Cold touched down in front of the siblings. "Now there is no hope for you two."
"I wouldn't say that," Twilight said as she touched down alongside Rainbow and Scootaloo. Celestia, Luna, Cadence and the entire Canterlot army joined them. A minute later her friends finally emerged from the forest and stood by their side. "You want to get to Rainbow Dash, you've gotta go through us."
Sheer Cold and Spoiled Rotten looked at each other and just laughed.
"We won't be going through all of you, our dragon will."
Sheer Cold pulled out the remote and pressed the button before anypony could stop him. A moment later, an explosion was heard off in the distance. The noise that followed sent a cold chill down everypony's spine. A loud piercing roar was heard from where the explosion had come from, then came the beating of giant wings. The ponies then saw five black shapes off in the distance, but as they got closer the fear started to take over.
It was a V formation of five dragons and they were heading straight for where everypony was gathered. The five of them landed behind Sheer Cold and Spoiled Rotten. The four dragons in the back were different color variations of the red dragon that Twilight and her friends had encountered years ago. They were green, dark blue, grey and white, but their leader was a dragon that could strike fear into the heart of any pony.
He had a more muscular build than the other dragons, stood on all fours and had a greater wing span. Even on all fours he was still taller than the other dragons. His scales were more thick and a shade of black that was darker than the sky on Nightmare Night. His eyes gave off a menacing red glow that made it seem like a demon was peering into their souls. Scootaloo had no doubt that this was the monster that had plagued her dreams, this was Black Death.
Everypony felt on edge at the sight of the monster, Luna and Celestia were more nervous than the others. The monster still looked the same as it had when it first attacked Equestria. They all shuddered when the monster began to talk.
"What's wrong? You all seem frightened of me, well don't be ashamed. Everypony finds my size and power hard to believe." He spoke in the same demonic tone that Scootaloo had heard in her nightmare.
Black Death glanced down at Sheer Cold and Spoiled Rotten and spoke to them.
"I assume you two have a reason for bringing me out here again. Considering the last time I was summoned you asked me to gather reinforcements. Now what is it that you want with me?"
"Your task this time is to kill that worthless chicken's friends Black Death. Once they're dead, then you boys can wreak as much chaos and havoc as you want." The dragon's lips curled into an evil smile.
"Oh, that sounds very promising. Consider it done, it won't take too long to kill these ponies. I've already demonstrated my power before, and those two princesses were witnesses to my devastation."
Celestia and Luna stepped forward, trying to remain calm in front of the evil dragon.
"Well last time it was just me and Luna. Now we have four princesses and twice the power." The dragon merely laughed at Celestia's protest. Cadence and Twilight stood alongside her for support.
Then Celestia spoke in a rather calm tone. "I think I know how to get that smirk off your ugly mug, we're going to renovate your face." Black Death just continued to laugh at the princesses. "Funny huh, alright then, allow us to show you what four alicorns can do."
"Go ahead, take your best shot." Celestia felt a little unnerved by the dragon's confident attitude, but she began to light up her horn. The other princesses followed suite.
"Alright ladies, let's show this beast what we're made off."
The four princesses put their horns together and a huge combined blast came forth. The combined blast of power went straight for the dragon's face. Everypony and the other dragons watched in disbelief as Black Death took the blast head on. The attack exploded upon contact with his face and the ground shook slightly from the force of the explosion. Then everypony waited for the smoke to clear, but were horrified when they saw a pair of red eyes glaring at them.
Black Death glared at the ponies with his eyes shining red and a toothy evil smile on his face when the smoke vanished. It looked like the attack hadn't even fazed him. There wasn't a single scratch anywhere on his face. Celestia was in absolute shock, that attack had enough power to blow through a mountain and it didn't even leave a mark on his scales.
"What? No damage, no injury, nothing?"
"I'm afraid this is looking awfully grim for us Celestia," Twilight added.
"Oh I felt it alright, it was like a vampire bat trying to bite my neck. But for a couple of alicorns who actually thought they could harm me, that's not so bad. Do you have anymore tricks left or can I get on with killing you pointless ponies?"
"Twilight, the Elements of Harmony, they're our last chance. If they don't work on this dragon, then all hope for our world will be lost."
Scootaloo had never heard Celestia speak in such a desperate tone, she truly was terrified of this evil dragon. Though secretly, Scootaloo knew her saviors would arrive in time to stop this dragon. They always had a habit of saving the day at the last possible second.
Twilight got the Elements out of the chest that the guards had brought along and distributed them to her friends. She lit up her horn and the Elements symbols began to fly around the dragon.
"Well, this is interesting. Looks like I'll have to tap into my power after all."
Sheer Cold and Spoiled Rotten weren't so sure that their project should take on the elements.
"Black Death, I don't think this is something that you should try to take," Sheer Cold called out in concern. The dragon didn't seem concerned at all.
"Let them try, I have a trick up my sleeve for dealing with something like this. It's something not even you two were aware of."
The Mane Six's eyes turned white as the rainbow burst forth and went straight for Black Death. The other dragons and Scootaloo
s DNA doners flew out of the way, but the black dragon remained where he was. As the rainbow approached him, Scootaloo could swear she saw a faint light glowing around the dragon. The rainbow engulfed the great beast and he began to turn to stone. Yet despite what was happening to him, Black Death didn't budge once.
When the stone had engulfed him completely, the dragon was in the same position as before. Sheer Cold and Spoiled Rotten couldn't understand why their dragon refused to budge in the face of such a weapon. Nothing ever survived when the Elements of Harmony were involved. Celestia and the others were rejoicing, glad that the Elements had come through in the clutch. She then looked over at the statue that was Black Death.
"How's that for a couple of pointless ponies? Not so tough now that you're a statue. Now we won't have to hear you run that hideous mouth anymore."
"Who are you calling hideous you cocky princess?" Everypony gasped in shock, there was no way he should be able to speak. Then they watched in horror as the stone mouth began to move. I'm about to show you all what it means to beat impossible odds."
The stone body began to shudder and the ponies could see pieces beginning to flake off. They watched as one of the arms began to slowly move upward and clench into a fist. The other followed suite and the ponies could only watch. Never had any creature been able to escape the Elements of Harmony, not even Nightmare Moon or Discord. The arms moved to the side as if the dragon was trying to gather power, and in one swift motion, the stone encasing Black Death was shattered.
Celestia and the others were sweating bullets at what they had just witnessed. The dragon had taken the Elements of Harmony head on and destroyed the stone prison all at once. The princesses never thought that such a feat would be possible, yet the proof was in front of them laughing evilly. Not only had Black Death destroyed his stone prison, but Equestria's last hope of stopping him.
Scootaloo noticed a faint glow that was covering the dragon's body and wondered if that was how he survived being turned to stone. But it didn't matter because Black Death was advancing towards her.
"That was quite a nifty trick indeed, but not even your precious Elements can stop me. I've been around long before your little trinkets were even made. Nothing in this world has the power to stop me." Black Death kept moving closer to Scootaloo and it was forcing her to retreat back into the trees. Nopony could move after what had happened, not even Rainbow Dash could find the willpower to help Scootaloo. If any of them tried to help her, Black Death would surely kill them.
"Torturing you is going to be so satisfying. I'll start by tormenting that precious idol of yours, then I'll make you watch while I tear her to pieces. How's that for-" Black Death was cut off as two heavy objects smacked him in the head and knocked him back out of the treeline. Scootaloo was surprised at first, but then she heard two familiar growls behind her.
"I knew you boys would make it in time," she said softly.
Black Death was surprised for the first time in his life. He had never been hit so hard before, there wasn't supposed to be anything in Equestria capable of harming him. He set his deadly gaze on Scootaloo as she walked confidently out of the trees.
"How did you do that? TELL ME!"
"Oh I didn't do anything, it was my new friends that hurt you," Scootaloo said in a voice of pure confidence.
"How in the hay bales can anypony be strong enough to hurt a beast like that?" Applejack was just as shocked as Black Death.
"Everypony, and former parents, it's time all of you met my saviors. Boys, the time for secrets is over. I think everypony deserves to see you both for real."
The sound of giant footsteps began echoing from the trees and it made Black Death and the dragons quite nervous. Tyrannosaurus and Indominus burst from the trees, bellowing roars that shook the very land. Nearly everypony had shrunken eyes and open jaws, except for Luna and Rainbow Dash. Rainbow recognized Indominus by the slit pupils and his massive size, she had wide eyes and was trying to contain her squeals. The animal she had fallen for was standing before her and she was positively ecstatic.
"Girls, behind us now!" Celestia, Applejack and Rarity put themselves between the dinosaurs and the others. The guards prepared themselves ready to attack just in case. Luna disregarded what Celestia said and moved towards Scootaloo and the dinosaurs. She stood alongside Scootaloo, who was standing in between her saviors.
"Everypony, listen carefully to what Scootaloo has to say about these grand creatures. They are not our enemy, so do not harm them."
"Thank you Princess Luna. Everypony, these are the friends I have told all of you about over the past few days. They are the ones who cared for me when Rainbow Dash wasn't around, and have loved me like a real family. I know it might be hard to believe, but what I'm telling you is the honest truth. They have even meet my fellow crusaders and bonded with them too."
Applejack and Rarity looked back at their sisters and asked them in unison "is this true?" Applebloom and Sweetie Belle stood their ground and responded back in unison "yes, it's true." The crusaders went over to Scootaloo and Luna to show their loyalty to the dinosaurs.
"We were frightened of them at first, but after they saved us from a pack of Timberwolves we came to trust them. Scootaloo showed us that they weren't savage if we showed them kindness and respect. We've come to respect them, and they've become our friends."
"Why aren't you doing anything Black Death? Get over there and attack them!"
"Let them have this moment of bonding. It will make their pain greater when I kill those beasts. Besides, those creatures have peaked my interest."
Celestia was having a great inner conflict over whether she should trust the dinosaurs. But given how they had saved the lives of three fillies and cared for Scootaloo, she decided they were the better choice.
"Guards stand down. Scootaloo I will put my trust in these friends of yours. If they truly are as great as you say, do you think they have the power to bring down Black Death?"
"They have been training for this moment Celestia, they are more than ready for the challenge,"
"Very well, let them fight." Celestia and the others moved aside to give the dinosaurs room. Before Scootaloo joined them, she had one last thing to say to her saviors.
"Boys, this is the moment you both have been training for. This dragon is far worse than I thought, you both must give this fight everything you have. That monster will kill you both if he gets the chance. Show him why you guys are the kings of your world. Oh, and promise me that you both will come out of this fight alive."
The carnivores gently nuzzled Scootaloo, and it brought a huge "awwwww" from the ponies on the sidelines.
"Thanks boys, now show this monster what you're made of." Scootaloo ran off to join the others, leaving the dinosaurs face to face with Black Death. Their stares intensified upon spotting the dragon. They bellowed a challenging roar, one that the dragon happily returned. He asked the other dragons to stay out of the fight. It was going to be something Black Death had never had before: a true challenge.
"This is going to be a day to remember. This is our fate, our battle! Whoever wins this fight, determines the fate of Equestria!!"