In the plains northeast of Ponyville, Shining Blade and Scootaloo sat calmly by a campfire as the night drew on. Nyx was fast asleep a few feet away. As they stared into the fire, they each contemplated the events that had brought them to this point.
"Hey, squirt," Blade called out to the orange filly across the fire. "You really think you can handle a journey like this?"
"Honestly, I don't know," Scootaloo replied, "but I have to try. Sure, all of this is scary, and I don't know what going to happen to us...but Nyx is my friend. If she's in trouble, I've gotta help her, no matter what."
"You really care for her, don't you."
"Not just her. I'd do the same for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle if they were in trouble."
"Ready to protect your friends to the very end," Blade ruminated. "I like you, kid. Anyway, you better rest up. We can't exactly take the Friendship Express, so we're gonna have to actually climb that mountain if we wanna get to Canterlot."
"Woah, how long has it been since anypony's tried to climb that thing?" Scootaloo wondered. "Is it even possible?"
"It'll have to be," Blade answered, before lying down to sleep.
The next morning, the three ponies began the long, challenging climb up the mountain atop which Canterlot rest. The steep inclines weren't much of a problem for Nyx, but they proved a challenge to her companions. Shining Blade used his strength to leap from perch to precarious perch, while Scootaloo pushed her wings to the limit to slowly pull herself up to each ledge. Eventually, they made it to a flat area where they could all stop to take a rest...
As they stopped to rest their aching limbs however, they were attacked my monsters, green chickens with beaks in the shape of axes. Blade instantly went alert and slew the monsters, but their mere existence sent him into an inner panic. This wasn't the Everfree Forest, it was an area subject to the will of ponies...and suddenly there were monsters here. Was this another effect of the magic surge? Had this once peaceful nation suddenly become full of hostile creatures? He couldn't worry about that now. Even so, it was clear that it wasn't safe for them to rest anywhere for long. They continued their ascent up the mountain, wary of the creatures that now roamed the rocky slopes.
Eventually, they reached Canterlot's altitude, and were just a few yards away from their destination. Yet something felt wrong. As Blade turned a corner onto a large clifftop, he motioned for the fillies to stay behind while he scouted the area. As he trotted onto the cliff, the whole place was quiet and calm, yet Blade couldn't shake the feeling that danger was nearby...
BOOM! A rainbow missile shot toward the cliff, landing right in front of him. As the dust settled, Rainbow Dash stood in front of Blade, staring him down and blowing steam from her nostrils.
"Oh hey there, Rainbow Dash!" Blade greeted her, surprised. "Say, think you could get a message to Twilight?"
He jumped back as Rainbow suddenly turned around and tried to buck him in the face. "Let Nyx and Scootaloo go right now!" she yelled.
"Wha- I'm not holding them hostage!" Blade rebutted.
"Bull! I thought you were weird, but I never thought you'd sink this low!" She rushed Blade and tried to punch him.
"Are you crazy!?" He pulled out his sword and blocked her hoof.
"You gonna use that thing? Bring it!"
"I don't wanna hurt you!"
"Too bad! I'm taking you down!" She flew up into the sky, only to dive right back down. As she fell, a mach cone formed around her, getting tighter and tighter, until she finally performed a Sonic Rainboom...while focusing all that momentum straight toward Shining Blade.
Oh sweet Celestia, she's serious.
As the speeding rainbow approached its target, however, Scootaloo rushed forward and into Rainbow's path.
"STOP!"
Panicked by her honorary sister's sudden appearance, Rainbow violently swerved...into the side of the mountain. She fell to the side, limp and unconscious, but still alive. The mountain, however, wasn't faring as well. Nyx noticed as it trembled, and hurried to her friends before a massive rockslide separated the trio from Rainbow Dash.
"Thanks, kid," Blade told Scootaloo. "You saved my life."
"You think she'll be okay?" Scootaloo asked, concerned for her idol.
"Eh, I'm sure she's been through worse. But we have to go, before she wakes up."
And so the three made haste to the front gates of Canterlot, an entrance that hadn't been used for quite some time.