Chapter 7
I couldn't blame them for what they did
They were weak and hungry
NEW GAME
>CONTINUE
OPTIONS
She had made her declaration, one that had struck every one of the ponies deep within their souls, and she relished in it. Nightmare Moon stood tall and proud before the crowd, almost regal, but her hatred for the ponies radiated out from deep within her piercing eyes and twitching lips. None of the ponies could stand to look her in the eye for more than a second before feeling her all-consuming enmity bore into there minds. "The night will last forever!" she declared again, laughing manically and throwing her wispy night mane into the air. Clouds gathered around her and threw lightning across the plaza just because she willed it. "Bow, my little ponies, before your Princess of the night! Princess of all Equestria!"
"And what if I don't!?" a raspy voice answered her. Rainbow Dash flew above the crowd, sword clenched in her teeth and wings flared in defiance. She did not fear Nightmare Moon. On the contrary, she was smirking, aching to make the first attack. "It sounds to me like you just declared war on the mighty Cloud Kingdom, so I'm gonna have to take you down!" There was no hesitation in her voice, only foolish pride. "Let's go, G.!"
"Are you crazy, Dash?" Gilda lazily asked. She flew up and took a defensive stance next to Rainbow Dash, but it was obvious that she was not only unafraid of Nightmare Moon, but downright disinterested with the display.
"More like crazy awesome," Rainbow Dash shot back. "The Cross Thrust formation, go!" She flew at Nightmare Moon's side, awing the crowd with her bravado. Many wondered if she really did stand a chance, some even hopeful that the Cloud Kingdom's military might would be reflected in the foolhardy mare; if the power of the winged unicorns was greatly exaggerated. With both herself and Gilda in position, Rainbow Dash and her partner dive-bombed Nightmare Moon swords and talons stretched outwards. "Shouha Juumonji!" they both shouted.
Nightmare Moon chuckled slightly, dissolving into a cloud of mist just moments before the pegasus and griffon could strike her, taking delight in watching them crash into one another and fall to the floor with a satisfying thud. Her mist drifted menacingly over the two, who were too dazed to notice the jagged-toothed slowly re-materialize, poking her only half-finished head out of the cloud and drawing fear from the crowd. "Well, isn't this interesting," she scoffed, her menaching and haughty tone infuriating the pegasus. "A griffon, here in Equestria?"
"Up yours," Gilda spat back, her predatory eyes fixed on the almost-whole Nightmare Moon. "I've heard every griffon joke in the book."
"A pity, a thousand years gave me such a long time to practice humor." Her smug attitude disappeared replaced by one of complete contempt and malice. Her horn gave off an eerie dark-cyan light and a circle of darkness opened up under the fallen knights. "Darkened roars that echo across the lands of turmoil, Bloody Howling!!" she cried, her voice sweeping across the crowd as magical screams of darkness erupted from the circle and consumed Rainbow Dash and Gilda, it's wailing sending chills through anyone who heard it's terrible song, save for Nightmare Moon who gazed from over her victims, malice shining in her toothy grin. "Had enough fun?"
"Stop!" Spitfire rushed to the stage, positioning herself between Nightmare Moon and her fallen soldiers. "You've won this fight. There is no reason to continue."
"They're still breathing, that's more than enough reason" Nightmare Moon dryly commented, unsettling Spitfire.
"They surrender, so let them go!"
"Commander!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she slowly dragged herself back onto her hooves. "I don't ever remember losing!" She hated to lose.
"Rainbow Dash, I order you to stand down or I'll have you court-martialed. Is that understood?" Spitfire's tone was serious and grave. Strong enough to finally convince Rainbow Dash to back down, mild cursing excluded. "Good," she sighed, slightly relieved. "Gilda, I hope you also understand."
"Yeah yeah, I get it," she hissed.
"Good." Spitfire turned back to Nightmare Moon, who stared with amusement back at her.
"Very entertaining," she chuckled, "but I never said I was done fighting. Anypony who dares to resist my will will meet a terrible and painful ending. I have an example to make."
"In that case," Spitfire spoke slowly, picking her words carefully, "I will take any responsibility for any cross-national crimes my subordinates are guilty of as their superior officer, your majesty."
Nightmare Moon's smile returned, slowly descending back to the ground with a low rumbling. "At least somepony here gets the message," she hissed, enveloping Spitfire in her aura of magic and hoisting her into the air. "Their crimes are your crimes now, and for the crime of lifting your blade to your Princess, I sentence you to life in the dungeons. Be grateful for mercy, my little pony."
Spitfire found the aura around her fading and fell to the floor unable to catch herself in the fall. She turned back and found that her wings were still bound by Nightmare Moon's magic. She quickly trotted over to Rainbow Dash's side and whispered something in her ear before being magically tugged away. "Just getting off some last words," she joked lightly. "I want my next of kin to know that I'm in merciful hooves."
"And mercy you will have." Nightmare Moon's words shot ire at the bounded commander, and with a swish of her mane the fiery pegasus had vanished. "Now then..." Nightmare Moon finally turned back to the crowd of ponies, all staring back at her with a mix of fear and awe. "The time has come, my little ponies," she started, "for my, no our crusade across Equstria. I promised you better days, and you will have better days." Her last words were filled with a cruel sense of sincerity, genuine in ways that left many feeling hollow. "No longer will you go to bed with fear of hunger. You want your bits, well, I see plenty here!"
Various ponies across the crowd were lifted into the air, their hooves wiggling pathetically. The wealthiest ponies of Canterlot were all suspended in midair, becoming horrified as the were all one-by-one turned upside down and shaken. Bits rained out of pockets and purses and Nightmare Moon chuckled coldly, her amusement growing as she watched depraved ponies dive for the golden baubles.
"Out of my way!" Applejack growled as she bucked another pony off a pile of bits. "These here are mine, you hear!?"
"What the!?" Pinkie Pie squealed in panic, fidgeting from right to left. "What the hay is going on? Who is that pony? What's she doing? Why does she have horns and wings? How is she doing all that? Why do we call 'em Guinea Pigs when they aren't pigs!?"
"I've been wondering that too," Snails added.
"Pinkie, shut up," Trixie replied coldly. "That is Nightmare Moon, the former princess of the night." She flared her nostrils and gritted her teeth, a small bolt of electricity escaping her breath when she exhaled. "We're returning to Ponyville, now!"
"What!?" Pinkie Pie's head snapped to Trixie. "Shouldn't we stay longer!? I mean, it's raining bits! Now's the best chance we've got to make some real moolah! Why it would be a crime not to steal so many bits! Right, Snips, Snails?" She turned to the two colts, tiny glints of hope in her eyes.
"She does have a point," Snails drawled slowly. "We do need bits."
"We can make a ton real fast, Miss Trixie, if we just run down and grab some!" Snips piped in, eager to get his hooves on as many bits as possible.
Trixie glowered at the other three. It was obvious to them now that she didn't care about stealing. Trixie turned to Fluttershy, who was content to stick to the sides and be invisible, silent as ever. "Bits aren't going to mean hay soon," she angrily scowled at everyone. "I am saying this for your safety. I do not fear any Nightmare, but I cannot be bothered to protect weaklings like yourselves when things get dangerous."
Her words cut right through Pinkie Pie. "Trixie," she whimpered, "is something wrong?"
Trixie shot a menacing look at Pinkie Pie before turning towards the night sky. "I am leaving for Ponyville right now because I doubt the Nightmare Moon would like escapees. You're either coming or leaving, so pick. I'll be at the front gate, waiting. Don't waste my time." With a swish of her cloak and a stare as hot as lightning, Trixie jumped off the stone fence and descended into lower Canterlot, leaving Pinkie Pie to ponder over her ultimatum.
"Do you think she meant it?" Snips asked feeling downtrodden. "I mean, we've been getting along so well until now, right?"
"Boys," Pinkie Pie turned back to the crowd, "go back to Ponyville. Trixie's right: it's going to get really super duper dangerous here."
"Are you coming with us?" Snails asked.
"Nope." Pinkie Pie balanced herself on her backhooves, trying to look as tall and heroic as possible. "Auntie Pinkie Pie is going to save the world! But to do it, she needs to know you guys are safe, alright?"
With eager smiles, Snips and Snails nodded their heads furiously. "Sweet!"
"Stay safe boys." Pinkie Pie winked and grabbed Fluttershy, depositing her on her back. "You ready, Fluttershy?"
"What?" she squeaked. "I-I don't know about this. Can't I just return to my forest? That looks like a long way down, Pinkie Pie. Uh, why are you stepping closer? Shouldn't we think about this?"
"Nope!" Pinkie Pie smirked and jumped off the stone fence, dropping ten stories into what was once the Summer Sun Celebration, Fluttershy screaming the whole way down.
Twilight could barely stand to move. She was petrified in the gaze of the monster that took delight in watching the ponies scramble for bits, hurting one another to scrape up the little pieces of gold. The legend of Nightmare Moon's return had come to pass, and Twilight had failed to collect the Elements of Harmony. She failed, and she didn't have the nerve to do anything but gawk,. She scooped up Spike and holding him close to herself so that he felt her racing heartbeat."Twilight?" he whispered softly into her ear.
"The time has come, my little ponies!" Nightmare Moon announced with a booming voice that shook the entire city. "You want your bits and power? Then you will serve me! Equestria is mine for the taking, and you stand on edge of opportunity. Serve me, and you will never go hungry again! Worship me, my little ponies, and you will never go cold on a winter's night! The era of the winged unicorns has come again, and I shall be the one to herald it!" She spread her wings and rose into the sky, the clouds above her twisting and turning in a raging mass of wrath and spite. Her cold words left everyone unsettled, but many found a kind of dark hope in the promise of an easier life. "Just remember, my little ponies: there is no escaping, for the night will last forever!" And she disappeared, dissolving into a star-filled mist that began to spread over the sky, blanketing the city in darkness.
Silence lingered over the crowd until one voice finally broke it. "What the hay was that about!?" Spike cried out, causing everyone to turn to him.
"Spike," Twilight sighed, burying her snout in the back of his jacket "I really need to teach you about tact."
"Sparkle!" called a familiar voice. Twilight turned to find Pokey galloping up to her, gasping for breath and words. "What-what was that-that thing!" his voice trembling, shaking with each word he uttered. "It had w-wings and a horn and was so b-big. The way it dissolved was unworldly."
"A fabled winged unicorn," Twilight whispered, casting her gaze downward. "Nightmare Moon, the monster who was once imprisoned on the moon by Princess Celestia during her reign." She turned back up and gazed at the moon, the only thing visible in the night sky now. It was clear and bright. The spots that had once formed the mare on the moon were gone. "It's all true..."
"Hey, keep it together," Pokey tried to comfort her. "Panicking isn't going to solve anything."
"Twilight!" another pony called to her. Twilight turned and find Pinkie Pie's giggling and bubbly face staring back at her, a wide-eyed and stiff Fluttershy strapped to her back.
"Where did you come from?"
"I jumped over the fence, silly," she answered, finding no absurdity in her own remark.
"So much for the guard," Pokey sighed. "Just where is everypony? I was lucky enough to have Lyra for assistance, and she's up and disappeared on me."
"Things seem to be getting from bad to worse, don't they?" Twilight sighed, once again reminding herself that she could not panic, not with everyone around her agitated and fighting one another to grab the last few bits left on the ground.
"Yeah, they do," Pinkie Pie replied solemnly. She deposited Fluttershy and her giant pinwheel, easing her burden. "Twilight, we've got to find the other Elements of Harmony and stop that black snooty-pants! You're the only one with the know-how to find them!"
"What? Why me?" Twilight's mind wandered back to the single Element of Harmony back in her home. "I-I can't do it. I'm just a single pony!"
"Not with all of us together!" Pinkie grabbed Twilight and Fluttershy, bringing them uncomfortably close together. "We're friends, right? We can find the elements if we work together easy-peasy."
"No, we can't!" Twilight yelled as loud as she could.
"Sparkle, what is she talking about?" Pokey asked.
"Twilight found one of the elements," Spike answered, his mouth plugged up moments later by Twilight's hoof, much to his displeasure.
"Well..." Twilight droned off, but a call from her father interrupted her.
"Sparkle!" Night Light waved to her, beckoning her closer. Pinkie Pie let go of Twilight, allowing her to approach her father. "Twilight," his voice was low, careful not to be overheard, "do as the pink pony says," he said mournfully.
"What!?"
"Gather your friends and leave, quickly, before it's too late. Nightmare Moon is probably sealing the exits as we speak" His eyes were shifty and his heartbeat was slowly rising, filled with dread. "She won't let us go, not if she hears about the elements. A flying chariot is your best shot."
Twilight couldn't comprehend anything. She just felt a simple hopelessness in it all. "But, why?"
"You’re the only hope Equestria has. That's what your mother said."
Twilight's mind froze for a moment. "What did she say?"
"Curse that Goldlight for leaving me to fend for myself like this!" Rarity screamed. Even with a full moon and an empty cloudless sky, it was impossible for anyone to see further than their hooves because of Nightmare Moon. Rarity ingeniously used her mirrors and her own talent for light magic to illuminate her surroundings and found her light magic was just the trick. "He must have run off with his tail between his legs the moment he saw that... that..." She couldn't bring herself to say Nightmare Moon's name. She had looked the monster right in the eyes, something that left her with an ice-cold lump stuck in her chest. "We need to get back to Caballus, quickly!" she told Sweetie Belle.
"But, sis!" Sweetie Belle argued back, "I need to find Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. When everypony started panicking, they went missing."
"Now is not the time for that, Sweetie Belle." Rarity ignored her sister’s complaining, forcing her along as she tried to maneuver her way through the dark and desolate city. "Oh, why do I have to put up with all this!?" she groaned, indifferent to the growing number of ponies attempting to sneak up on her. "And what do all of you want, hm?" she hissed, drawing Sweetie Belle behind her.
A single bright-yellow unicorn approached her. She looked at Rarity with an air of disgust, her horn giving off a low blue shine. "You're the pony from Caballus. Nightmare Moon doesn't want you leaving."
Rarity huffed, her eyes narrowing in a grimace of annoyance. "And who is going to stop me? You all? And here I thought Canterlot was supposed to be a town that prided itself in ethic."
"Rarity, don't make them mad," Sweetie Belle whimpered drawing herself between Rarity's legs/
"You’re thinking of the blow-hards from the noble courts. We're the ponies that have had to put up with them, and we're far from polite." A dagger floated out from behind the yellow mare, shining menacingly at her prey. "Just make this easy on all of us and surrender."
"I surrender to nopony," Rarity snapped back, magically pulling her four mirrors in front of her, creating a shield. "I dare you to make the first move," she taunted them, her body tightening up at the odds facing her, cursing herself mentally.
"Get her, boys!" the yellow mare yelled, a gang of maybe twenty ponies charging Rarity.
"Meguro No Honoo!"
"Schatten Jagd!" The ranks of ponies were forced to scatter as Gilda barreled into them, Rainbow Dash's ignited sword following after her. "You better have a good reason for making me do this, Dash," she shrieked back to her cohort, absentmindedly tossing a charging pony behind her.
"We're knights, remember!?" Rainbow Dash argued back as she retrieved her sword. "This is the kind of thing Commander Spitfire would do, so quit complaining and just enjoy the fight!"
"Oh, I can do that much!" Gilda smiled mischievously as she spotted another two ponies galloping straight at her. "Spirale Kralle!" She dove at them, spinning her body and knocking out one of them before turning to kick the other.
"What are you two doing!?" Rarity grimaced. "I don't remember asking either of you two for help!"
"Oh yeah, I'm sure you were just going to have a tea-party, huh?" Rainbow Dash slammed her blade into the ground creating a power shock-wave that threw the ponies in front of her off their feet. "Tenbaken Kai!"
"I was doing just fine, thank you!" Rarity blocked an attack from one of the gang ponies with her mirrors. She charged the mirror with magic and released a bullet of concentrated light from it. "Prism Shot!"
"Would you two quit squawking and fight!?" Gilda roared, tossing aside another pair of ponies and striking the pony faster than any eye could see, striking again when she withdrew her talon. "Schimmer Drücken!"
The gang of ponies were slowly reduced in numbers as they charged at Rarity and the Cloud Kingdom knights. The yellow unicorn was left the dagger still floating by her side, cursing under her breath, her anger reaching a fever pitch as Rarity smugly moved aside the knights and approached her. "Try harder next time, darling." She willed the dagger at Rarity, but the blow was blocked by one of her glowing mirrors. "Prism Bullet!" was the last thing she heard before being knocked unconscious.
"Well, that was bothersome," Rarity groaned, ignoring the knights as she strode past them. "Come along, Sweetie Belle," she beckoned to her sister.
"Hey, how about a ‘thank you’?" Rainbow Dash sarcastically asked, holstering her blade on her back. "I mean, we did save you and all. Something most ponies would be grateful for."
"I never asked for your help," Rarity snapped back. "I could have handled them all on my own. It was you brutes who wanted to fight so much." Her own mirrors still floated behind her with an aura of magic and hostility.
Rainbow Dash became infuriated, her hooves becoming itchy to sock the prissy unicorn right in the muzzle and teach her some common courtesy, but her anger melted away when a little while filly bounded up to her.
"Thank you!" Sweetie Belle bowed to the two of them. "Rarity won't admit it, but she's really thankful!"
"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity roared.
Rainbow Dash nearly fell over in laughter at Rarity's reaction. "Well, at least somepony is grateful," she chuckled. "Say, squirt, think you or your sister can tell us where the docking bay is?"
Rarity sighed, turning her mirror's light back to the streets of Canterlot. "That's what we're trying to find, but I think I'm on the right path. I take it your also trying to make it out of the city."
"Yeah," Rainbow Dash sighed. "Commander Spitfire told me to get back to the Cloud Kingdom and warn them about Nightmare Moon, and the quickest way is by flying chariot. An army of pegasi will at least give that monster something to think about before she attacks anything."
"Or give her something to fire at," Gilda joked coldly. "Lots of bodies just falling to the ground."
Twilight lead the way back to her home where the single Element of Harmony was stashed away. Even with the impenitrable darkness slowly encroaching around the city, Twilight was able to expertly navigate the streets and alleys. I've lived here for as long as I can remember after all, she mused to herself. She found the door to her home and unlocked it. "Here we are, girls."
"Not all of us here are girls," Pokey grumbled as he fumbled his way to a lamp, igniting it with a basic fire spell. The lamp came to life and shined a faint light through the halls of Twilight's house, but the effects of the encroaching darkness dampened the little light and soon it was nothing more than sliver of warmth and quickly extinguished. "This is crazy!"
Twilight ignored Pokey and let her own horn, shining a weak but effective light across the room. She reached in her saddlebags, pulling out the Element of Harmony. "This is it, one of the few things we can use to combat Nightmare Moon." She spoke quietly, fearful of any prying eyes or ears. "But we need the others, and the last one doesn't even reveal itself until the other five have been gathered." She paused for a moment, letting the torrent of magic contained within to seep a little into her hooves. Twilight felt her own inner reserve of magic growing insatiably strong.
"Let me see!" Pinkie Pie snatched the orb away and a spark of electricity shot out from her, zapping Pokey. "Hey, I've never done that before!" she giggled. "But how did I do that?"
"Maybe it was the element!" Spike piped up, jumping on the table to get a better look at the element. "Is there a button on it to make it shoot out electricity?"
"Nope. I just touched it and then zap!"
"Delightful," Pokey moaned. "I don't suppose we could keep the zapping to a minimum?"
"It wasn't my fault! The element did it!" Pinkie Pie shoved the stone into Pokey's face, driving another current of electricity through the poor guard’s body. "Oops, this thing is dangerous!" Pinkie Pie replied with a slight giggle. "How about I make it up to you with some cupcakes sometime?"
"They better be made from sugar and rainbows for all the pain your putting me through, mare," Pokey spat back. "Sparkle, why in all of Equestria are you carrying something so dangerous!?"
Twilight grabbed the stone and shoved it back into her saddlebags. "It's never acted like this before!" She spoke with a mix of apology and curiosity. "But what could be causing it to act so oddly? A magical reaction? Was it discharging? Does this happen often? Spike, prepare some parchment!"
"Sparkle, focus!" Pokey yelled. "Don't forget about our mission here."
"This is for the elements, Pokey." Twilight ignored him, trotting past him and through the front door.
SKIT: A Lost Friend
Pokey: Where is she...
Pinkie Pie: Bit for your thoughts?
Pokey: Bah, where did you come from?
Pinkie Pie: We're traveling together. I've been next to you this entire time.
Pokey: Fine.
Pokey: A friend of mine, Lyra, I lost track of her shortly before Nightmare Moon appeared and...
Pinkie Pie: You're worried about your lost friend...
Pokey: Yes. She hasn't been herself lately. She's been acting irrationally.
Pinkie Pie: Oh...
Pokey: It's nothing you need to worry yourself over. Please, just leave me to stew.
Pinkie Pie: Hey, if you're ever feeling down, just remember about those cupcakes I promised you!
Pokey: I'm holding you to it, mare.
SKIT: End
Twilight found her way through Nightmare Moon's darkness and could feel the docking bay for the flying chariots in the distance. She, Pokey and Spike lead Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy through the eerily quiet city. It had chilled Twilight to find the her hometown so empty and lifeless. Are they still back at the celebration? Or did they all lock themselves in their homes? It doesn't sound like a bad idea right now. She shook her head, dispelling any dread and reserves she still had. This is for Equestria...
"Twilight," Spike whispered from behind, "are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"It's not too late to turn back."
"I can't do that." She turned back to Pinkie Pie, who showed no sign of hesitation in her movements in contrast to Fluttershy's constant fidgeting. "I'm scared, but somepony has to stop Nightmare Moon."
"I'll be right behind you the entire way," Spike spoke with sincerity.
"Promise me you'll stay there."
"Shh!" Pokey quieted everyone, straining his eyes to see through the night shroud. "There are ponies ahead. Two at least. They're patrolling it, like guards."
"Oh! Are they good guys?" Pinkie Pie asked, leaping on top of Pokey to get a better view. "I still can't see a thing,"
"Crazy mare," Pokey grunted under Pinkie Pie's weight. He wasn't sure if it was the weight of her giant pinwheel, or if she ate too much, but he swore one of his ribs were broken. "Get off me?"
One of the guards turned in the direction of Twilight's company. "Did you hear something?" he asked the other guard.
"Better tell Lemon Hearts about this," the other guard replied. "She's still steaming from the last encounter."
Twilight and her friends huddled close together, listening to the guard ponies. "Anypony get the jist of that?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"They said they were going to tell a pony named ‘Lemon Hearts’ about us," Fluttershy answered, catching Pokey Pierce off guard, who had come to assume the mare was mute. "So, we're probably going to be surrounded soon if we don't get out of here," she answered again in a much lower tone.
"This is already off to a bad start," Pokey sighed.
"Then there's only one thing left to do," Pinkie Pie giggled, throwing a hoof over her weapon. "Charge in!" The response from her friends was less than positive.
"Or we could sneak in," Pokey sighed. "Nightmare Moon has already given us a nice leg-up in that department."
"Well, if you want to be boring about it."
SKIT: Eyes of a Hunter
Fluttershy: Eyes left, ears right. Eyes right, ears left.
Pinkie Pie: Is that a nursery rhyme?
Fluttershy: What? No. It's something I was taught.
Fluttershy: When you're sneaking around in the dark, you want to use the edge of your vision to notice movement.
Pinkie Pie: That doesn't make sense!
Twilight: Actually, it's brilliant!
Pinkie Pie: What?
Twilight: The back of your eyes is lines with rods and cones that-
Fluttershy: Shush, I hear somepony.
SKIT: End
Twilight stood on top of the docking bay station building. She peeked in through the edge of a sky window, the insides of the building illuminated with various lights to fight off Nightmare Moon's darkness. Inside, numerous ponies, all of whom she recognized as Canterlot citizens, stood around a trio of earth ponies. "Applejack?" she whispered.
Inside, Applejack was cursing to herself for letting herself get caught in her current situation. She had tried to sneak out of Canterlot with as many bits as she could hold and her brother and sister, but she was ambushed and knocked out by the gang encircling her. "Well, you got my bits. Let me go!"
"No can do," a yellow unicorn, Lemon Hearts, answered her. "Nightmare Moon told us not to let a single pony out of the city, or else."
"Or else what!?" Applejack barked back. "You really think that crazy pony is going to make your lives better? She ain't."
"We don't have a choice," Lemon Hearts sighed. "Suppose we did resist, then what? She took down Cloud Kingdom knights. I can barely open a jar of peanut-butter." She mournfully eyed the dagger floating by her side, her mind wandering to less savory thoughts. "We resist, and she'll probably kill us, but if we follow along then maybe our lives will become easier."
"That's a load of pony-feathers," Applejack spit. "Nothing in life ever comes easy."
"Shut up," Lemon Hearts pointed the dagger at her. "Every day we've had to deal with blood-sucking nobles and those full-of-themselves pegasi hogging every little bit of food. We have to scrounge for bits just to afford your apples, which you can barely sell at such low prices without putting your own pelt in the red. To top it off, you're no better than the rest of us! Just another beggar looking for a hand-out."
"How about you try saying that when I'm not tied up!?" Applejack roared. "At least I haven't given up and sold my soul to some wannabe princess!"
"Applejack," Big Macintosh whispered, "just be quiet. Think of Apple Bloom at least."
"Dang it," Applejack cursed, narrowly avoiding Lemon Hearts' flying dagger.
Pinkie Pie flinched when she saw Lemon Hearts threw the dagger uncomfortably close to Applejack. "We have to do something, quick!"
"Calm down, Pinkie," Twilight retorted. "We can't help them if we barge in and get caught."
"So we're going to help them?" Pokey asked her.
Twilight paused, considering the question carefully. She took one look back at Applejack and knew her answer. "Yes. Applejack is my friend, so I have to save her, and I have just the plan for it." She turned to Pinkie Pie, who's face betryaed her excitement. "Pinkie Pie: you and Pokey are going to barge in while Spike, Fluttershy and myself sneak in and untie the Apple family."
"Sparkle, that is insane!" Pokey argued back in disbelief.
"You have any better plans?"
"No, but what if your little plan fails? What about the element of-" Pokey stopped, both he and Twilight turned to her saddlebag. "Can you get it to discharge again?"
"We'll find out, if you go through with the plan."
"Sparkle, you're evil."
Pokey held his sheathed katana close to himself, feeling his heart racing. Next to him, Pinkie Pie showed no sign of hesitation. She had put her full trust in Twilight, something Pokey couldn't comprehend, and he had known Twilight longer. "Crazy mare, you better not turn on me when it gets rough."
"Crazy stallion," Pinkie Pie replied back, imitating Pokey's whiny voice. "You better not bail on me when the party starts," she chided. Nudging him in the shoulder. "Besides, don't you trust Twilight?"
"It's been hard to figure out who to trust lately, and Twilight herself is a tough nut to crack."
"All you need to know about Twilight is she'll do anything for her friends, so let's go!" With a smile the two jumped in through the windows, raining broken pieces of glass everywhere. Pokey unsheathed his katana and swung it at the closest pony. "Azure edge!" he shouted, unleashing a wave of azure energy that knocked the pony off his hooves. Ponies were gathering around him already. "Dang."
"Jump, Pokey!" Pinkie Pie ordered and Pokey complied, jumping as high as he could. Pinkie Pie bit down on her giant pinwheel and spun around, forming a small pink hurricane. "Dizzy Punishment!" The gang of ponies were knocked away, giving her and Pokey room to breathe once again. "Who wants some!?"
"Crazy mare, don't provoke them!"
"Who the hay are you two!? Wait, Pokey!?" Lemon Hearts suspended her dagger in front of herself defensively. "What are you two doing here!"
"We came to stop Nightmare Moon and save Equestria!" Pinkie Pie announced. "So you don't have to worry about bossy-boots Nightmare Moon ever again!"
Lemon Hearts became infuriated. "You think you can stop her? Well you're going to have to defeat all of us first! Everyone, gather up!" From halls and hidden rooms, a hundred ponies flooded into the room with either a dagger or a sword suspended in front of them or clenched between their teeth. "You think you think you can stop Nightmare Moon when you can't even take us on?" she replied back, anger welling up in her voice. "Who the hay are you!"
"I'm Pinkie Pie," Pinkie Pie declared back, "a bandit from Ponyville! Now give up, or prepare to fight!" From within her coat, Pinkie Pie withdrew a cake and she threw it at the closest pony. "Cake Assault!"
The pony had no idea what he had been hit with, but mere seconds later he found Pokey Pierce's knee wedged in his muzzle. "Raging Blast!" Pokey unleashed a powerful shockwave, sending the pony flying back into the crowd.
"You bozos!" Lemon Hearts yelled. "Attack them all at once, don't give them time to recuperate!"
The gang of ponies all charged Pinkie Pie and Pokey Pierce at once, giving Twilight, Spike and Fluttershy the chance they needed to sneak in and rescue the apple family. "Hey, Applejack," she greeted her.
"Twilight." Applejack was dumbstruck, fumbling her words. "What are you doing here?"
"I need a flying chariot, but when I saw you tied up I knew I had to rescue you," was her reply. "I'm not going to leave a friend in danger."
"Miss Twi', thank you." Applejack felt the rope binding her hooves leave her, freeing her to get back at the ponies who jumped her, fair and square. "Big Macintosh, protect Apple Bloom!"
"Eeyup," Big Macintosh replied, throwing Apple Bloom over his back, who cheered them on.
Applejack cracked her neck and turned back to the gang of ponies. "Howdy there," she yelled as loud as she could, momentarily grabbing everyone's attention. "Allow me to show you all some Apple Acre's courtesy." She dove right into the nearest pony, ramming her shoulder into her body and tossing her into the air. "Beast!" she cried out, letting out all her pent up energy, a window-shattering lion's roar piercing through the room, blue energy launching the pony into the air. "Bandit!"
"You got it, A.J.!" Pinkie Pie leapt higher than anyone thought she could with the burden of her heavy and powerful weapon, but still she managed to soar through the air and catch the airborne pony. "Crazy Devestation!" She struck down with the pole of her pinwheel rather than the edge, and batted her victim back to the ground. "Twilight!"
Twilight rose on the back of her hooves and slammed down on the floor as hard as she could. "Stalagmite!" Spikes of earth erupted from below many of the ponies, knocking them away from her friends as she tried to tactically summon the spikes in a way to disperse their ranks. "Spike, go!"
"It's my turn!" Spike lept into the air, drawing a single arrow and blowing on it slightly, enveloping it in green embers. "The next step of the Burning Lotus!" he proudly declared as he nocked the arrow. "Dragonfire Lotus!" He fired the arrow, and before it could hit anything it exploded into a light rain of green embers. Many of the gang ponies were forced to duck and hide, some of them even getting lightly scorched, but still they had more ponies than they could count to fight. "Any more ideas?" he asked, separating his bow into daggers.
Twilight withdrew the Element of Harmony and held it over her head. "C'mon, spark!" she pleaded with it, but nothing came of it. "Uhm, lightning bolt? Lightning ray? Lightning storm? Storm of the Century?"
"Was that last one an actual spell!?" Pokey yelled back as he deflected a sword aimed at his throat. "Sparkle, what's happening!?"
"I don't know, it's not working!" she cried. "C'mon, element, do something!"
"Kuuha Zesshougeki!" From through the doors a blue pegasus flew into the room, tackling one of the gang ponies before disappearing and reappearing right behind the pony, tackling him again. "Hey, I found the docking bay!" Rainbow Dash yelled back. "And a fight!"
"Now we're talking!" Gilda slowly entered the building, smirking to herself as she counted how many skulls she'd get to beat in. "So, do I get to fight you all, or is it first come first serve?"
"Honestly, can you be any more barbaric?" Rarity groaned as she shined her mirror light across the building, completely penetrating Nightmare Moon's aura of darkness and shining true light across the room. For the first time, Twilight and her friends were able to see more than a few feet in front of them, even hurting their eyes. "Don't get too used to the darkness now," Rarity joked as she increased the intensity of her light, blinding nearly everyone.
Gilda took her opportunity and barreled into the closest pair of ponies. "Schatten Jagd!" She brought down her claws, nearly burying them in the floor. "Who's next!?"
The gang of ponies began to ease away from the sight. More and more their numbers were falling before the tenacity of the intruders. A vicious griffon was all they needed to turn tail and run, leaving Lemon Hearts alone to deal with them. "Cowards!" Lemon Hearts shouted, brandishing the dagger defensively.
"Oh good, this one still has some fight in her." Gilda smirked at her next target, her eyes teeming with blood-lust and the hunger for more battle.
"G., quit it!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "She can't do anything, so just let her go."
"Way to take the fun out of it." Gilda turned, just barely swiping Lemon Hearts with her tail, and retired to a far corner of the room.
Lemon Hearts fell to her knees, entirely defeated, giving no attention to the ponies that trotted past her to the flying chariot that separated Canterlot from the rest of the world.
"What do all these buttons do!?" Rainbow Dash cried out as her eyes wandered over the control panel of the flying chariot. "Who the hail even designs these things? Eggheads! Eggheads who don't know how the common pony thinks, that's who!"
"Can you do anything other than complain?" Rarity whined back at Rainbow Dash. "Since I've met you it's been a non-stop stream of complaints. Honestly dear, be quiet and let the smart ponies do their work," she huffed.
"Oh, then let's see you operate this thing." Rainbow Dash stepped aside, egging on the pristine white mare to press any button and pray that the ship wouldn't blow itself up. "I'm waiting."
"Well, certainly, you have to start by turning it on. That only makes sense."
"Have you two figured it out yet?" Twilight called from the other side of the cockpit. "Spike, have you managed to discern any of the controls?"
"Huh, what was that?" Spike snapped out of his trance, gazing with fascination at the white pony. "I can't hear you, Twilight, speak louder."
"If this pegasus wouldn't keep getting in my way I would be done by now," Rarity huffed, crossing her forearms to make a point. "Aren't pegasi supposed to know all about this flying stuff?"
"I'm a soldier not an airline attendant!"
"What's with all the shouting!? Are you girls having a party without me?" Pinkie Pie poked her head into the room and was subsequently thrown out. No one trusted her to be in a room stuffed with delicate controls and shiny buttons. "Oh c'mon, it can't be that different from a steam-wagon!"
"Which, if memory serves me right, is currently stuck in a tree in the middle of the Everfree," Applejack chided. "How long do I need to hold her down? I need to get back to Apple Acres fast-like."
"You should stay and join the party instead, A.J.!" Pinkie Pie squealed, turning the tables on Applejack and pinning her down in an impromptu wrestling fashion. "I win!" she giggled, her victory punctuated by the vibrations of the flying chariot's engines coming to life. "Ooh! Did you figure it out!?"
"See, I told you," Rarity gloated. "You just need to find the power switch."
"Well, set a course for the Cloud Kingdom!" Rainbow Dash yelled in excitement. "Like hail we're going to take some nightmare's declaration with our wings folded!"
"What?" Rarity gasped. "Heaven's no, we need to go to Caballus first. Blue Blood might know the most about dealing with this Nightmare Moon."
"Uh, girls," Fluttershy whispered. "We're going up."
"Up?" Applejack bleated. "Up! I need to get off this thing!" She threw off Pinkie Pie and made a bee-line for the door, bucking it open and subsequently knocked off her hooves as Gilda shoved her aside with a beat of her wings. Gilda chuckled lightly as she strode past her and took a seat in one of the passenger's chairs. Applejack spit out a mouth full of griffon feathers and gazed at the ground in horror. Big Macintosh was just a tiny red dot from how high she was. "Someone turn this thing back!"
"I don't know how!" Rainbow Dash cried, sweating bullets as the chariot continued to rise higher into the air.
"I know how!" Pinkie Pie squealed as she brought her hooves down on the console.
"Who let her in here!?" Rarity gaped.
"It's time to save the world, girls!"
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Sorry there is no art this time around. My scanner is screwing up and I just couldn't stand to delay this any longer!
You never cease to amaze with your work.
You're honestly tempting me to see if there are any copies of Tales of Symphonia or Legendia left to get and play!
Keep up the good work, Starwind. This and your other fics are awesome
Just when I was about to start studying for the first time ever you had to go an update.
If I fail that test I'm blaming you for writing such an awesome story.
and I believe Storm of the Century is actually from Dragon Age, correct?
227912
Yes! You have no idea how much I love that someone got that reference! I love Dragon Age and Pony Age is one of the fanfics that inspired me to write this!
Psssh, who needs drawings when you're already this awesome, Starwind?
IT'S TIME TO SAVE THE WORLD, GIRLS! Yes. Yes it is, Pinkie!!!
Damn, this isn't even a cliffhanger, but the foreshadowing makes me so excited! All the elements of harmony (pony-wise) are gathered, shit's about to go down for real!
By the way, should we assume the one element they have is laughter? It reacted (lol punny) shockingly to Pinkie's touch. Where shall they find the next one? Only time will tell, in TALES OF HARMONY!
1.bp.blogspot.com/-RcBMx3snXfM/ThXsoRf8j6I/AAAAAAAABEc/8my7dHdc3SQ/s1600/cliff-hanger.gif
I was craving an update to this yesterday while I was playing Tales of the Abyss 3D
perfect timing on your part, and a great chapter, can't wait for the next chapter
Curses! Why must I have to leave before I can read this *shakes fist*
Totally reading it tonight if i can get on my sister's compy
You do realize you're a genius for crossing-over the two best things in the world, right? I hope you do. Because you are.
Great chapter as always.
I just knew you were going to use that song for the airship, I just knew it somewhere deep down in my soul. Good chapter.
I love how you put music into this, it's really cool! Can't wait till your next update.
The Fury Sparks song is gone, so here is the new one to replace it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJwNIpoQbB8