The Rise of Nightshade

by Brickbrock24

Chapter 1: Enter Prince Nightshade!

The Rise of Nightshade

By: Brickbrock24

Chapter 1

‘Twas just another day in the humble town of Ponyville. The weather was beautiful, the air was fresh and clean, the food was delicious, and everypony was enjoying the time of peace and prosperity. The citizens of the town could go about doing their share for the community without the fear that fate would suddenly throw a curveball; like a supernatural disaster, a random demon lord, or some other scenario that would surprise them like a cruel jack-in-the-box. It had been a few months since Twilight Sparkle, the esteemed Princess of Friendship, had defeated Tirek in battle. It seemed, at that point, that Equestria could finally catch a break from all the terror and hullabaloo that these villains would cause.

The story begins at Rarity’s boutique, where the fashion enthusiast herself was hard at work creating top-of-the-line attire and jewelry for all, from the normal to the ridiculously foppish. And, of course, who better to be Rarity’s guinea pigs than her own best friends. Rarity, along with Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash had been burning the candle at both ends for the past day and a half during one Rarity’s "Inspiration Bursts”. The group had been helping out Rarity all morning and were settling down for a lunch break.

“Everypony, I cannot thank you all enough for your help with my fashion designs!” said Rarity cheerfully, “We’re almost done! If we keep at it, we’ll be done in half an hour!”

“Ugh, you said that about 50 dresses ago, Rarity!” grumbled Rainbow Dash, “Can I go now? It’s the perfect day to be flying and I don’t wanna be stuck in here all day!”

“No, Rainbow Dash, you promised me and Rarity that you would stay until she was finished! After all, you owe her,” said Twilight with a hint of rebuke in her voice.

“I never should’ve made that promise, stupid Element of Loyalty!”

Rarity sighed, “Well, since fashion is such a bitter subject right now, is there anything somepony would like to discuss?”

“Well,” Twilight began, “My brother’s wedding anniversary is coming up soon and I was thinking of throwing a party for him to celebrate.” The word ‘party’ made Pinkie Pie turn on like a light. She became hyper, as if she had eaten five gallons of sugar in one sitting, and began to splutter out words faster than Rainbow Dash could fly.

“Oooooooh, a party! I’ll create the ultimate party for you!” Pinkie Pie began, completely forgetting that her mouth was full of chewed up sandwich. With almost every word she said, bits of sandwich goop flew out her mouth and bombarded everything on the dining room table (including the other ponies) like a volley of arrows, “So we’ll decorate your castle with streamers and balloons and -- OOooooh! I’ll make this new dessert I’ve been working on! The Q.L.P.C.C.C.B.L.C.S.L.F.T.V.T.C.P.C.F.T.C.S.P.S.H.S.B.C.W.C.! I’ll invite everypony we know and we’ll jump out and surprise him when he arrives with Candace! I’ve definitely gotta break out the party cannon for this occasion! I’ll bring confetti and party hats and cupcakes and -”

“Slow down there, Pinkie!” interrupted Twilight, Pinkie Pie was talking so fast that Twilight could barely comprehend what she was saying, “I’m sure whatever you’ve got in mind will work just fine. But what was that obnoxiously long acronym?”

Pinkie hastily answered, “Quadruple Layered Pound Cake with Cookie Cake on the Bottom Layer, Chocolate in the Second Layer, Fudge in the Third, and Vanilla on Top Covered in Pink Chocolate Frosting Topped with Cherries and Sprinkles and Peanuts and Strawberries and Hot Sauce and Brownie Chunks and Whipped Cream!”

Rainbow Dash, who had been wistfully staring out the window at the perfect day that mocked her, suddenly chimed in, “Don’t forget the cider! If you forget, I’m gonna be REALLY disappointed in you!”

“Don’t worry, Dashie!” Pinkie assured Rainbow Dash, “I’ll make sure Applejack brings a whole ton of cider for the party!”

“Hmph, you’ll probably guzzle it all down before I even get a drop…” mumbled Rainbow Dash.

“I’m sorry, but-” Rarity said, still confused in trying to understand Pinkie Pie’s run-on acronym - “why in Equestria would you add hot sauce to a cake?” Before another word could be said, the conversation was put on hold by a knock on the door, “Hold that thought, darling, I’ll be right back.” Rarity got up from her seat and went to answer the door.

“Aw, no!” groaned Rainbow Dash, “Look at the storm clouds coming in, and they’re way too big for me to destroy by myself!” Rarity had returned to the table and along side her came Fluttershy, who was holding too rolled up pieces of paper in her mouth - one of which was slightly larger than the other.

Twilight got up and greeted her, “Hello, Fluttershy! What brings you here?”

“Um, well… I was strolling in town today and Spike came up to me,” said Fluttershy, “He, uh, told me he had gotten a message for you shortly after you left to come here and, um, asked me to deliver it to you.” She spit out the two rolled up papers onto the table and passed the smaller one over to Twilight.

Twilight unrolled the paper and said, “Hey, it’s a message from my brother, Shining Armor!”

“OOOooooh! What’s it say?! What’s it say?!” asked Pinkie Pie. Twilight slowly began to read the letter out loud. As she read the letter, anxiety slowly crept into her body and spread to the the other ponies listening like a virus.

Dear Twilight,

How are you doing? Are you enjoying yourself as an alicorn princess? If you are, then I’m happy for you! It’s nice to know that my little sister is doing alright!

But that’s not why I’m writing to you. I pray that you get this message before anything happens to you and your friends. I hate to be a bringer of bad news, but there’s a major crisis going on right now in the Crystal Empire! Ponies have been mysteriously vanishing throughout the Empire and I don’t know why! It’s been happening so gradually that I didn’t even notice what was going on until about two days ago. I’m not sure why this is happening, but I get an ominous vibe from it. I do not believe this is a natural occurrence, as nopony in the Crystal Empire has any problems with living there.

What adds to my apprehension even more is that one of the ponies that have gone missing is my wife, Princess Candace. I left her alone only for a few minutes and she was gone in a flash! I’m very worried for her safety, for I fear she might have been ponynapped! The anguish I feel thinking about what the cruel, heartless scoundrels responsible for such a heinous act might do to my sweet Candace torments me every minute of everyday! But, unfortunately, it doesn’t end there…

I’ve been hearing rumors that the Crystal Empire is not the only place that is suffering from this catastrophe. According to reports from tourists who come to visit the Empire, this has been happening all over Equestria right under everypony’s noses. Baltimare, Fillydelphia, Ponyville, and even Canterlot have several reports of missing ponies, some of whom have been missing for months and even years! I’ve already contacted Celestia on the matter and she says she’s looking into this matter with the Elders. She’s upped the security in Canterlot tenfold and last night, she wrote to me about something interesting that she discovered.

There have been sightings very recently around Ponyville and Everfree Forest of a suspicious character prowling about. Mayor Mare sent Celestia and I some sketches that were drawn based on the descriptions of the witnesses. We closely examined the sketches and came to the inference that the pony that was seen is most likely an elusive fugitive that we had failed to capture half a decade ago, back when I still lived in Canterlot. The criminal’s name is Nightshade and the soldiers he escaped from reported that his brother and sister also fled with him. I’ve been told by Celestia and Mayor Mare that they’ve had their citizens put up wanted posters of this pony all over Ponyville and Canterlot.

I should probably wrap up this letter, lest I let my worries turn into rambling and a waste of ink. Twilight, please be extra careful! I don’t recommend that you go out alone or during the night, as it would be throwing caution to the wind to your safety. Promise your big brother that you and your wonderful friends won’t do anything foolhardy, as I don’t think I could endure another round of grief that would puncture my heart if something were to happen to you. Again, please be careful!

Sincerely Yours,

Shining Armor

Twilight put down the paper and everypony just sat still in fearful silence. What they had just heard Twilight read had cast a blanket of apprehension over the room, much like the dark clouds that now fully covered the sky outside. Twilight then unrolled the other paper that Fluttershy brought with her and spread it over the table so everypony could see it and read it. It was one of the wanted posters of Nightshade that was mentioned in the letter. There was a colorless sketch of his face, which was very handsome to everypony’s surprise. Below it were some highlights and descriptions:

Wanted: Nightshade

Be on the lookout for a jet black Earth pony with a crimson mane and tail. This fugitive is responsible for a series of major heists from several stores in Ponyville five years ago. Subject has been described to have red eyes with scleras the color of honey that appear to slightly illuminate in the dark. If you spot this pony, file a report to a guard or Mayor Mare immediately!

Reward for capture: 10,000 bits

After examining the poster, Rainbow Dash finally broke the silence, “W-wow, ten thousand bits! This pony must be quite the baddie!”

“Th-that’s, um, n-not the part I’m w-worried about…” quietly stammered Fluttershy, trembling with fear “Wh-what I’m w-worried about is th-that h-he’s right around Ponyville. Wh-what if he’s n-near -- EEEEEK!” A roaring boom of thunder shattered the silent atmosphere of the room and made Fluttershy dive under the table with her hooves covering her head, her trembling doubling in strength.

“Well, I’m scared right now! Are you scared right now, Dashie?” asked Pinkie Pie.

Rainbow Dash knew she was frightened on the inside, but she tried to look like she wasn’t, “Ha, I’m not scared in the slightest! I bet I could-” Suddenly, there was a very loud banging on the front door that effortlessly broke Rainbow Dash’s poker face - “YAAAAH! It’s him! He’s gonna get me! He’s gonna break my wings!”

“Well, so much for the big, brave Rainbow Dash,” said Twilight, rolling her eyes, “I’m pretty sure that was just the door…”

“I wonder who could be at the door?” asked Rarity, “I couldn’t imagine anypony would want to walk outside with the weather we’re having.” The knocking on the door got louder and harsher. Rarity walked to the door shouting, “Alright! Alright! I’m coming!” A few seconds later, a horrible crashing noise echoed through the the house followed by Rarity’s scream. Everypony in the kitchen got up and cantered towards the the front door.

When they got to the living room, Twilight and friends were shocked at what they saw. Three evil-looking ponies had broken down Rarity’s front door and had backed her into a corner. The pony in the center of the group had scarlet armor that looked different from the other two, along with a coat the color of an eggplant and a neon green mane and tail. The two ponies beside him looked a smidge different. Their eyes, unlike the center thug pony’s normal eyes, were cherry red and lacked pupils and irises. Their armor was as black as the night and had manes and tails that were turquoise instead of green. Like the center pony, whom Twilight and friends assumed to be the leader of the pack, their coats were also purple as an eggplant. All three of these malicious ponies wielded long, sharp spears and pointed them at Rarity.

“Now look here, little pony, I don’t want to have to gut who with my spear. So be a good little filly and hand over all of your jewels!” said the center pony, his voice was deep and demonic-sounding.

“Ya, you better hand over all your gems to da boss!” added the thug to the leader’s left.

The pony in scarlet whipped his head towards the pawn that spoke and snapped, “Hey, I already said that! Why do you have to repeat everything I say? It’s so freaking annoying!”

“Sorry, boss…” responded the pawn, looking down at his hooves in shame.

“Boss! Look over dere!” said the other goon, looking at and pointing his free hoof at Twilight, “Da little white mare’s got friends over! What should we do about dem?”

The evil leader turned his head and stared at Twilight, “Well, look at that! Seems you have some company today, little mare.” He thought for a second, then smiled sinisterly, “I ask again, fork over your jewelry and I won’t have to hurt you in front of your friends!”

After he said that, the sound of clanging metal filled his ears. The lead pony thug turned around and before he could assess the situation, he found himself slammed against the wall after taking a mighty kick to the face. Applejack, who arrived unnoticed by both the evil ponies and Twilight and her friends, had snuck up behind them. When she got up close, she slammed the heads of the two black armored ponies together and whalloped the scarlet armored pony with her two back hooves. When the two black armored ponies fell to the ground, something happened that truly astonished everypony. They exploded into black smoke filled with golden glitter that twinkled like stars in the night sky.

“Oh, Applejack! Thank goodness you’re here!” said Rarity, sighing a huge breath of relief.

“Um, wh-what just happened?” quietly asked Fluttershy, “Why did those thugs just… explode like that? A-are they…”

“I dunno, but that was SO COOL!” shouted Pinkie Pie, “They were all like happy festival fireworks! Oooooooh, do you think we can find more?! Maybe I can launch them out of my party cannon into the sky and we can put on a show!”

“What I’m even more curious about is why the one in red didn’t turn into glitter…” pondered Twilight.

“Will y’all stop talkin’ about why the thug I gave the ol’ one-two and fillin’ the sky with razzle-dazzle and listen up! There’s an emergency over at the farm!” yelled Applejack, who already had something else on her mind, “A whole bunch of these creeps are attackin’ mah farm as we speak! I was doin’ mah chores and enjoyin’ the nice weather when these thugs showed and started stealin’ apples from our trees! Mah brother an’ I tried to fight ‘em off, but there were far too many of ‘em! Now they’re holdin’ mah family hostage while they continue to plunder apples and cider!”

“WHAT?!” shouted Rainbow Dash, the memories of the sweet savory taste of Apple Family cider awakened some sense of justice inside her, “What’re we waiting for? We gotta stop those crooks! It’s bad enough Pinkie steals all the cider during cider season, and I’m not gonna let them hog it all now!”

Suddenly, the group a hoarse chuckle. They turned and saw the goon that Applejack defeated staring at them with a smirk on his face, “Hehehehe… You foals will never make it in time! My master knew you all would be here, so he sent me and those other two to raid this boutique in order to buy him some time! My master’s probably wrapping things up right now! Hehehe…” The fallen thug leader let out a final chuckle before losing consciousness.

“Let’s not waste anymore time! Let’s go, everypony!” said Twilight.

“Yeah!” shouted everypony else. The six friends galloped out the door and headed for Sweet Apple Acres. As they ran to the farm, the wind began to pick up intensity. The sky was now painted with storm clouds, which began to drool on the land with a light drizzle. Every now and then, a flash of lightning brightened the sky and was followed by an intense crack of thunder. When they got to the farm, the six friends saw exactly what Applejack told them. A horde of the same black-armored and scarlet-armored ponies (mostly black-armored) had surrounded the Apple family against the barn. There not only Earth ponies, but also unicorns and pegasi in the mix as well. They grinned and laughed as they pointed their spears and drawn bows at their prey. In the distance, another dozen of these evil ponies were harvesting apples and hauling off large barrels of cider.

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy rushed into the entrance and cantered towards the crowd near the barn.

Applejack walked up and shouted, “Alright, you monsters, I’m back! I demand you release my family, NOW!!” The horde turned and stared stared her down. When they noticed she had company, they looked among each other with a bit of concern and looked back towards something. Suddenly, from the back of the crowd came a loud chuckle. The voice was very mature-sounding, not too high and not too low. The ranks of the evil ponies divided in two as they made way for their leader to stride through and greet his enemies.

Their leader stood in front of Twilight and her friends, analyzing them with a . He was a handsome jet-black pony with a crimson mane and tail that was very neatly groomed. He looked about the same age as Twilight and was only a bit taller than her. He was clad in silver colored armor that had gilded edges, as well as gilded streaks along the breastplate. But the feature that was immediately noticed by the Mane Six was his eyes. The honey-colored scleras glew with the brightness of a faint candle in the dark stormy weather and the red irises pierced through the souls of what they leered at. He cleared his throat and spoke,

“Well, well… Looks like the hillfilly has returned, and I see you’ve brought some friends home with you!” He stepped towards Twilight and stared at her for a bit. His eyes then gleamed as he recognized the purple mare, “Ah, Princess Twilight Sparkle! It is a pleasure to finally meet you! Wow, you’re so much prettier than I expected... Um, anyway, I hear you’ve been a busy mare in the last couple of years, knocking down villain after villain and studying the so-called ‘magic of friendship’. Excuse me, but where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself -”

“We know exactly who you are!” said Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah!” shouted Pinkie Pie, “You’re Fightglade!”

The crimson maned pony sighed in annoyance, “No, you pink foal, my name is Nightshade; though I’d prefer it if you called me by my full title: Prince Nightshade! As you can see, my soldiers and I are helping ourselves to your delicious apple goodies!”

“Why are you doing this?!” asked Twilight.

“Hey, a villain’s gotta eat, right?” answered Nightshade, he paused and pondered for a moment, then said, “There is undoubtedly a fascinating story on how the princess of friendship came to be friends with a spunky athlete, a pink weirdo, a fashion freak, an apple slave, and a pathetically shy animal lover.”

“Well, actually there is!” said Twilight, “You see, I-”

Splat!

Before Twilight could say anymore, Prince Nightshade had thrown a water balloon filled with ink at her face. Rainbow Dash started giggling, but all of her friends stared at her with grimaces on their faces.

“What?” she mumbled, “I can’t be the only one who found that funny…”

“I’m sorry, were you saying something?” Nightshade mockingly asked, “Anyway, I’m sure you’re all truly fascinated by my soldiers. They really are a phenomena of magic. You see, the ponies clad in black are made entirely out of magic. I call them… Shadow Ponies. Now, while they are very efficient in carrying out the tasks I give them, they weren’t exactly the ponies I was looking for in my army.”

“Wait a minute,” said Rarity, “There’s no way you can use magic! You’re not a unicorn!”

“Very observant, Ms. Fop!” said Nightshade, glad to see his assailants were paying attention, “Indeed, I am no unicorn, and yet…” He took two little emeralds out of a pocket in his armor and began to squeeze them in his hoof. The gems suddenly were enveloped in a pink light and soon the emeralds had turned into mysterious purple crystals that looked like there were little dark embers on the inside.

“Isn’t malicite such a beautiful crystal?” asked Nightshade, staring at the jewels he had just created with fascination. He tossed one in the air and it landed at Twilight Sparkle’s feet, “Here, think of it as a little something from me! May some of its evil rub off on you!” Twilight and friends stared at Nightshade in awe, as if they’d seen a ghost. They just stood there speechless with their mouths ajar at what they had just witnessed. A pony, not a unicorn, had just performed incredibly advanced dark magic.

“I-it’s not possible…” murmured Twilight.

“Ha, look at your faces!” said Nightshade with a grin, “I just blew your minds, didn’t I? No, I don’t even need to ask, I know for a fact that you’re all dazzled! And now, mares and gentlecolts, I present to you my next trick! The amazing flying filly!” He turned around and lifted his left front hoof towards his hostages. His hoof became surrounded in an eerie purple light and so did the ‘volunteer’ he picked out - Apple Bloom. Soon she was lifted in the air by Nightshade’s powerful telekinesis.

“Hey! Put me down!” she squealed. Apple Bloom writhed and struggled, but it was no use. Nightshade’s magic had an iron grip on her as he waved his hoof around to make her fly in random directions at high speeds. “I… I think…” stammered Apple Bloom, “I think I’m gonna be sick…”

Applejack and her friends watched in both horror and outrage as they watched this cruel, sinister pony torture Apple Bloom.

“Put. My. Sister. DOWN!” snarled Applejack through gritted teeth. She couldn’t watch Nightshade’s heartless demonstration for another minute. Nightshade said nothing; he simply took the hoof he was using to control Apple Bloom’s crazy flight, put it in his mouth, and bit it at her.

“D-did you just bite your hoof at her?!” yelled Rarity and Twilight simultaneously, they were just as offended as Applejack.

“Why, yes, I did bite my hoof, little fillies! I didn’t necessarily bite my hoof at the farmer, but I did bite my hoof!” responded Nightshade.

“Oh, that’s it!” shouted Rainbow Dash, “I can’t take this anymore! I’m gonna teach you some manners, you red headed thug!” With a flap of her wings, she charged at Nightshade as fast she could. Nightshade simply chuckled and infused his hoof with a different type of magic. He held it out in front of him and stopped the speeding bullet that was Rainbow Dash dead in her tracks, barely being pushed back by her outstanding velocity.

“H-how did he…” muttered Fluttershy in terror, her eyes were lit with fear as she watched her friend be stopped like a bird flying into a window.

Nightshade slowly shook his head and clicked his tongue as he held Rainbow Dash in his magically strengthened hoof, “Tsk-tsk, out of all the things you could’ve possibly done, you choose to charge directly at me as fast as you can? How boring! I was really expecting more from the great and vigorous Rainbow Dash!” He quickly spun around and sent Rainbow Dash flying into an apple tree with a swift and powerful kick of his back legs, “Anyway back to the the story of my troops! I was getting to the good part about the ponies clad in scarlet! You see, little mares, they were once ordinary ponies! That is, until I infused dark magic into their hearts and souls. The results were better than I had hoped; they’re stronger, faster, smarter, and more durable than the Shadow Ponies. I call these perfect soldiers... the Darklings!”

Twilight tried to evaluate all that was going on. The sheer amount of thoughts and emotions that her mind was taking of the situation, from the anger towards Nightshade to trying to hypothesize how Nightshade had his powers, was turning her brain into spaghetti. Then, a realization suddenly reached her brain,

“It’s you…” she said emotionlessly, “You’re the one behind the disappearances of all those ponies! You’re turning them into warriors for your army!”

“Wow, you catch on fast!” said Prince Nightshade, “Then again, I should expect that from a nerdy mare like you. Anyway, I hate to be a stick in the mud; but I’m afraid I must be going, now! I’m a busy colt, you know, and I have much bigger plans for Equestria that I must be preparing for! Plus, this rain is really messing up my mane and I really don’t want to catch a cold! So, I’ll just place this filly down nice and easy and - Aaaaaaaargh! My head!” Suddenly, Nightshade felt a great deal of pain in his head. He released his grip on Apple Bloom and fell to his knees while clenching his head with his front hooves. Ominous purple lightning sparks began to emerge around his head and flew out in all directions.

Apple Bloom fell like a stone, screaming her head off as she did so. Luckily, Rainbow Dash had recovered from her tree injury and managed to swoop in and save her from hitting the ground. Nightshade continued to endure the immense amount of pain he was feeling. Then, as quickly as it came, the pain suddenly went away along with the purple lightning around his head.

“Urgh… Another one of those awful headaches…” mumbled Nightshade to himself, “They’ve been getting so much more painful and frequent recently! U-urgh… I don’t think my head can bear it much longer. I must recuperate at the campsite!”

“Your Majesty, are you alright?” asked one of the Darklings.

Nightshade turned to his platoon, where they immediately stood at attention when he did, “I’m fine! Don’t worry about it! Now, listen up, my minions! We’re going back to the campsite! Once there, we will finish the final preparations for our next big plan!” Prince Nightshade glanced at Twilight and friends and smiled, “Au revoir, my pretties! I warn you, the magic I have demonstrated tonight was but a mere hors d’oeuvre compared to my true power! Get in my way again, and you shall all feast on a five-course meal!” With that being said, he threw a smoke bomb down at his feet and disappeared in the puff of purple smoke. His soldiers soon hustled out of the farm after their master.

Applejack ran over to her little sister and hugged out of relief, “Are you alright, li’l sis’?”

“Not really…” answered Apple Bloom, trying to hold in the vomit, “Listen, sis… Th-they took Big Mac…”

“WHAT?!” yelled Twilight, “That monster of a pony took your brother?” She thought for a moment, then her eyes shrunk at a terrifying realization, “I think I know what’s he’s gonna do with him…”

“What’re we waiting for?!” said Rainbow Dash, “We gotta go after him!”

“Are you crazy, Dashie?” said Pinkie Pie, though that slightly ironic statement gave her some funny looks from her friends, “Did you not hear what Prince Heightraid just told us? He was gonna serve us five courses of dark magic into our faces if he ran into us again! Oh, why couldn’t he have meant a five-course cheese dinner?”

“Rainbow Dash’s right,” said Granny Smith, she was shivering a bit from the rain and wind that got ever so slightly heavier by the minute, “Y’all gotta go after that crook and save my grandson!”

“B-but Granny Smith…” said Fluttershy, she was shivering the most from the rough weather, though that wasn’t the only factor, “I g-get the feeling that that d-dark prince is much more than an apple thief!”

“No, my grandmother and Dash are right!” solemnly said Applejack, “We can’t just stand around like a couple of haystacks while that no-good Nightshade threatens more innocent ponies! I say we go after him! Who’s with me?” Applejack put her out her hoof and all of her friends joined in by putting their hooves in as well.

“Count me in! I’m always in for an adventure!” excitedly exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

“Of course, I’m in! We ponies have gotta stick together!” said Twilight Sparkle.

“Absolutely! I can’t forgive that cruel pony for sending his goons to trash my home and hurt my friends!” said Rarity.

“I’m in, too!” Pinkie Pie chimed in.

“Um, alright,” quietly said Fluttershy, “I, um, I guess I’ll put my hoof in as well…”

“Aw, yeah! It’s settled! We’re going on a quest!” shouted Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah, but where do we go?” asked Twilight. She didn’t want to waste time searching random locations.

“They’re… camped in Everfree Forest…” said Apple Bloom, still fatigued from her traumatic experience, “I heard... one of Nightshade’s minions... talk about it to each other while they… had us surrounded…”

“Then, it’s settled!” said Twilight, “We’re going to Everfree!” As she prepared to leave, Twilight closed her eyes, lowered her head, and quietly whispered to herself, “Celestia, please let us be safe…”

The group gave a final glance towards Sweet Apple Acres and galloped towards their destination.

Comments

[This-Is-A-Dead-Account]

Oooh, this has my name written on some of it!