The Return of King Sombra

by Dragon-Master-31

The Bad News

After a good morning of hard work and studies, Twilight, along with Starlight, were on their way to meet up with the rest of their friends for a picnic. Since their recent return from the Crystal Empire, Starlight had heard some interesting things about the visit. The news about the mysterious door below the Crystal Empire was certainly a very interesting topic to think about. Aside from the mysterious door, Starlight was also rather curious about this Flash Sentry fellow that Rarity had mentioned to her. From what Rarity had told her, it seemed that Twilight and Flash had some history. Starlight wasn't one to be very interested in love or anything of the sorts, but since Twilight was involved, she couldn't help but be a bit curious.

“So, Twilight, about this Flash Sentry…” Starlight said, catching Twilight's attention as she turned to look at her.

“Flash Sentry? What about him?” Twilight asked, curious as to where this conversation would go.

“Well...” Starlight said, putting on a very curious smile. “Rarity told me that you two have some history. From the way she was talking, it seems like you two might be more than friends. So, tell me, what's the deal with you and Flash?” Starlight asked, putting on a sly smile.

“Wh-What? Oh no! Flash and I aren't like that at all, we're just really good friends.” Twilight said, as she was quite taken aback by what Starlight was implying.

“Really? Huh, that's not how Rarity made it sound. Are you sure there’s nothing going on between the two of you?” Starlight asked, playfully nudging Twilight.

“Yes, really. Come on, Starlight, you're starting to sound like Rarity during one of her gossip talks.” Twilight said, laughing a bit as she playfully nudged Starlight back.

“(Giggles) Alright, I believe you, Twilight.” Starlight said as they shared a laugh. “He seems like a nice guy though. From what I've heard, he was very friendly.”

“He certainly was. Flash is a really nice guy.” Twilight said as she smiled, remembering how nice he was as well as how nice his mirror world counterpart was to her.

“Heh, seems like this Flash might have the same charms that worked on you like the other Flash from that mirror world.” Starlight said, playfully nudging Twilight again.

“H-Huh? N-No! Not at all! Well, maybe, kind of? You know what, I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” Twilight said, trying not to have a panic attack.

“Yeah, I figured as much.” Starlight said as she then spotted the rest of their friends up ahead. “Well, I see the rest of the girls, come on, we don’t want to miss out on a lovely picnic.”

“Yeah, you're right, let’s go.” Twilight said as she trotted faster to the picnic, mainly to avoid having to be asked any more questions about Flash.

“Heh, right behind you.” Starlight replied as she quickly followed.

As Twilight and Starlight made their way over to where their friends were, they were greeted by smiles and laughs. Soon, everypony was having a wonderful time, enjoying each other's company. It wasn't long before Rarity had started to bring up Flash again, trying really hard to see if Twilight was hiding anything. After a bit of teasing, Rarity decided to let it go for now, but she wouldn't give up.

“This is quite a lovely picnic, I must say.” Rarity said as she took a sip of her tea.

“Yeah, it’s so nice and peaceful. I always enjoy being able to just relax and spend time with my friends.” Fluttershy added as she took a sip of her own tea.

“Yeah! Spending time with all of you is the best!” Pinkie Pie said as she started to gobble up some of the cupcakes she had brought.

“It really is, Pinkie. It really is.” Twilight said as she then exhaled a bit and then put on a more serious face. “I don’t want to ruin this moment or anything, but I just can’t stop thinking about that mysterious room back in the Crystal Empire.”

“I can’t stop thinking about how AJ and I’s attempts to break that door down literally did nothing!” Rainbow Dash said, tossing one of her cupcakes in the air, thankfully Pinkie Pie managed to catch it in her mouth.

“Heh, I’m with you on that one, Rainbow.” Applejack said, looking at her back hooves, which had been healed up. “I do wonder what is in that room.”

“If that room really does belong to King Sombra, I imagine that there’s nothing safe in there.” Starlight said.

“We’ll never know for sure unless we get inside. I just hope we can find a way to get in.” Twilight said.

“We could ask Princess Celestia and Princess Luna for help. Maybe their magic is strong enough to open the door.” Fluttershy said.

“That definitely is a good idea, Fluttershy.” Twilight said, trying to think about what could be behind the door. “With the room being enchanted with some sort of protection spell, I can only imagine that Sombra was trying to hide something he didn’t want anypony to find.”

“My only question is if that room is protected by a spell that seemingly no pony can open, why didn’t Sombra hide the Crystal Heart in there?” Rarity asked.

“That can only mean one of two things. Either there is some powerful evil artifact hidden in the room, or there is something hidden that is more precious than the Crystal Heart was.” Starlight said.

“What if it’s an evil version of the Crystal Heart!?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“I doubt that’s the case, Pinkie. If that was the case, I certainly would have read about some dark version of the Crystal Heart. But whatever it is we must-.”

“INCOMING!!” Spike's voice yelled from above.

“Huh? Wah! Everypony, duck!” Twilight yelled as she saw Derpy flying straight towards them at an astonishing speed with Spike on her back.

No sooner than Twilight and the rest of her friends jumped out of the way, when Derpy crash landed right into their picnic, destroying it. After the crash, Spike was accidentally thrown off Derpy's back when she quickly got up and ran over to Twilight, putting both her hooves on Twilight's shoulders.

“Twilight, you have to help me! Please!” Derpy cried as she shook Twilight a bit before she gently pushed Derpy off of her.

“Derpy, what's wrong?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, is everything okay, Derpy!?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“It's Doc! The Doctor, he's gone!” Derpy cried.

“WHAT!?” They all cried.

“I went to Doc's place to deliver the equipment he had ordered but I couldn't find him anywhere! I'm really worried, Princess Twilight!” Derpy said as she was on the verge of tears.

“Derpy was flying around trying to find you and I told her where you were. You really need to see this, Twilight. It's not good.” Spike added.

“Don't worry, we'll go check it out.” Twilight said, patting Derpy's shoulder.

“I'll go get the mayor! Just in case Doctor Whooves really is missing!” Starlight said as she ran off to find Mayor Mare.

“I'll go with Starlight. Two of us should make it easier to find Mayor Mare.” Spike said as he flew after Starlight.

“Good thinking, Spike! Come on everypony! Let's go!” Twilight said as the rest of the group made a mad dash towards Doctor Whooves's lab.

When they arrived at Doctor Whooves's lab, there was seemingly nothing wrong with the outside of the place. After not spotting any signs of damage towards the exterior of the lab, Twilight and the rest of her friends walked through the doors. As soon as they walked into the lab, they were hit by a feeling of worry.

“Oh no...” Twilight said as she saw clear signs of a struggle and damage. “Okay, everypony look around, see if you can find any clues as to what may have happened here.” Twilight said as they all began to look around the lab.

The lab certainly contained many tools of science and a lot of strange yet fascinating inventions. As everypony was looking around, Twilight spotted that blue box labeled 'Tardis' again. Twilight walked over to it and right as she was about to open the door, Rainbow Dash's voice stopped her.

“Hey everypony! We've got a really big problem!” Rainbow Dash yelled as everypony quickly rushed over to where she was.

“Rainbow, what's wro-Oh no...” Twilight said as she saw what Rainbow Dash was looking at.

“Yep, that's right! Gone! Those robotic arms are gone!” Rainbow Dash said as she glared at the spot where the arms should have been.

“Rainbow Dash! For Celestia's sake, focus on the main issue here! We came here to look for Doctor Whooves, not his metal arms!” Applejack said, punching Rainbow Dash's side.

“Ow! Hey, I know that! Don't you get it!? Doctor Whooves is missing and so are the metal arms. Coincidence? I don't think so!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Oh no! You don't think that our good Doctor has become Doc Ock, do you!?” Pinkie Pie cried, placing two hooves on the sides of her face.

“What? No, of course not! I'm just saying that something really sketchy is going on right now.” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Look, enough about the arms already. Like Applejack said, the arms aren't what matters right now. What matters is that Doctor Whooves has gone missing and it's clear that he didn't leave by choice.” Twilight said, gesturing to some of the damaged equipment and furniture in the lab.

“But why would anypony want to ponynap the Doctor? What did he do? Doctor Whooves never hurt anypony.” Fluttershy said.

“I think it's more a question of, 'What he can do'. Doctor Whooves is a brilliant inventor after all, no doubt somepony out there would want to use his genius for bad intentions.” Twilight said.

“Are you implying that we have a new villain to face off against?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Well, I'm not too sure about that, Pinkie. The only evidence we have is of the missing arms and the damaged furniture. No other clues as to where Doctor Whooves was taken or who even took him in the first place.” Twilight said.

“Hmm, Derpy, has the Doctor had any... suspicious customers or acquaintances come by recently?” Rarity asked, turning to Derpy, who was on the verge of tears.

“Um, n-no... at least, not that I know of...” Derpy said as she looked down to the floor, tears falling from her eyes. “(Sniff) Oh, Doc...”

“Hey Derpy, look at me.” Rainbow Dash said as she walked over to Derpy and lifted her chin up. “We will find him. I promise.”

“That's right. We'll make sure Doctor Whooves is okay and we'll bring him back to Ponyville.” Fluttershy added, placing her hoof on Derpy's shoulder.

“(Sniff) Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You girls are the best!” Derpy cried as she pulled Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy in for a big hug. “I really hope you can find the Doctor.”

“Are you kidding? Of course, we'll find him, right Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked, turning to her friend.

“I give you my word, Derpy. We will find Doctor Whooves and bring him back safe and sound.” Twilight replied, giving Derpy an uplifting smile before going into deep thought. “Now, the question is, where do we look?” Twilight asked before Starlight suddenly teleported next to her.

“Girls! You have to come with me now!” Starlight yelled, startling the others a bit.

“Starlight, what's wrong?” Twilight asked.

“Spike and I were able to find the mayor, but before we could bring her here, she told us that there was something very important and concerning that you all need to see right now. Something about Braeburn as well as some odd cat fellow. They want to see all of us right now.” Starlight explained.

“Huh!? Braeburn!?” Applejack asked, her eyes widening with horror. “What's happened!? Is Braeburn alright!? Tell me, Starlight!” Applejack cried as she rushed over to Starlight.

“I don't know. Mayor Mare said that Braeburn wants to see all of us now.” Starlight said.

“Alright, everypony hold still!” Twilight said as she and Starlight used their magic to teleport all of them over to the town hall.

Meanwhile, Mayor Mare was pacing back and forth in front of the town hall, worried sick. She was taken by surprise when she saw a group of ponies suddenly appear right in front of her. She relaxed when she saw who they were.

“Oh, thank Celestia you're all here!” Mayor Mare said as she walked over to them.

“What's happened to my cousin!? Where is he!?” Applejack asked, looking around desperately for her cousin.

“He's inside, come on in all of you.” Mayor Mare said as they followed her inside the building.

As soon as they all entered the building, they were greeted by the sight of Spike and Braeburn. As soon as Applejack saw her cousin, she rushed over and hugged him, grateful that he was okay and seemingly unharmed.

“Thank Celestia, you're alright, Braeburn! I was mighty worried for you!” Applejack cried, hugging her cousin.

“(Chuckles) Of course I'm alright, Applejack. Well, mostly that is.” Braeburn said as he turned his head to completely face Applejack, causing her to gasp at the sight.

“What the!? Braeburn, your eye! What happened to ya!?” Applejack asked, seeing Braeburn's scarred face and bandaged right eye.

“I'll explain everything in a minute. Need to give my partner a few minutes to relax.” Braeburn said, gesturing to the other side of the room, where the Mane Six spotted a very familiar cat.

“C-Capper? Is that you?” Rarity asked, walking over to him before Capper suddenly shook himself out of thought and stood up to face her.

“Heh, heh, well if it isn't my good friend Rarity. It's a pleasure to see you once more.” Capper said, shaking Rarity's hoof before looking over to the others. “Well, would you look at that. The rest of your friends are here too. It's very nice to see all of you again, amigos.”

“Well, it's nice to see you too, Capper. But what are you doing here in Ponyville?” Rarity asked.

“(Sigh) I really wish I could say I was just visiting, but sadly that is not the case for me or for Cowboy over there.” Capper said, gesturing towards Braeburn.

“Wait a minute, you know my cousin, Capper?” Applejack asked, tilting her head a bit.

“Well, actually I only met him yesterday, but yes I know him.” Capper said as he walked over to Braeburn.

“That's right, but like Capper said, we ain't here for visiting reasons.” Braeburn said as he got up and took a deep breath before speaking up. “Ya see, we came here because Appleloosa has been attacked.” Braeburn said, causing everypony to gasp.

“Wh-What!? Appleloosa!? Attacked!?” Applejack cried before her eyes narrowed into a glare. “Who did it!? Who attacked Appleloosa!?”

“There was quite a few ruffians that attacked Appleloosa. But I know for sure that those lying Flim Flam brothers were involved with the attack.” Braeburn replied.

“WHAT!?” everypony cried.

“Flim and Flam were a part of this? But that... that can't be right. Flim and Flam might be a pair of rotten con artists, but they would never do something like this!” Applejack said, more so shocked rather than angry at this bizarre news.

“I don't what else to tell you, Applejack. It was Flim and Flam who were part of the attack. As for the others, I don't know who they were.” Braeburn said.

“Can you possibly describe the attackers? How many were there? What did they look like?” Twilight asked, stepping forward a bit.

“There was five of them in total. First, there were those rotten Flim Flam brothers that you seem to have a bit of history with Applejack. Then there was this really big and strong minotaur. Oh, and there was also this really angry Pegasus that was pretty fast but seemed kind of reckless.” Capper explained.

“M-Minotaur?” Fluttershy asked before she gasped, hoping that what she was thinking was wrong. “Capper, do you remember anything specific about this minotaur? Maybe he mentioned his name or something?”

“Oh, let me tell you sweetheart, that big guy said his name so many times that I still can't get it out of my head. He said his name was Iron Will. Weird name, right?” Capper asked with a slight chuckle before everypony gasped once again.

“N-No! It can't be... Iron Will wouldn't do something like that. H-He said he was going to change...” Fluttershy said, deeply saddened and horrified at the news that Iron Will had done something so terrible.

“Hold on a sec, you know that big rampaging bull?” Capper asked, his eyes widening with shock.

“Iron Will once taught me how to be assertive, although it may have gone a bit too far. But he wouldn't do this!” Fluttershy cried.

“I'm really sorry, sweetheart, I really wish I was wrong.” Capper said, patting Fluttershy on the back.

“Wait, Capper, you mentioned something about a fast but reckless Pegasus, right?” Rainbow Dash asked, stepping forward a bit.

“Yep, that's right. She was one angry pony; I'll tell you that. She tried to stop Cowboy and I from escaping but I threw a trash can lid at her. Sent her crashing down like a falling star.” Capper said, laughing a bit as he remembered hitting Lightning Dust in the face.

“What did she look like? Did you see her cutie mark?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“She was like a very light green color with a golden yellow mane and tail. As for her cutie mark, from what I could see, I briefly saw a lightning bolt and maybe a couple stars.” Capper explained, causing Rainbow Dash to scowl.

“Lightning Dust.” Rainbow Dash growled, gritting her teeth in anger.

“Lightning Dust? That's her name? (Chuckle) Well, I'll tell you one thing, Lightning sure did hit the Dust!” Capper said as he laughed at his little joke, making the others roll their eyes. “Sorry.” Capper said, rubbing the back of his head.

“First, she almost gets my friends seriously hurt, then she almost gets Scootaloo seriously hurt, and now she attacks Appleloosa? She just keeps getting worse and worse every day!” Rainbow Dash said, stomping her hoof on the ground.

“Wait a minute, Dashie.” Pinkie Pie said as she put a hoof over Rainbow Dash's shoulder. “We all know that Lightning Dust has done some pretty bad things, but do you really think she would do something this bad? I mean, the first two things she did were mainly out of her just being a reckless side character. Attacking a whole town isn't reckless, it's just wrong and evil!”

“Well... I guess you have a point, but still, it wouldn't surprise me if she was all in for attacking Appleloosa.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Capper, you said that there were five attackers in total. Can you tell us who the last one was that attacked Appleloosa?” Twilight asked as Capper and Braeburn looked at each other.

“Before Capper tells ya about this strange fella, ya need to know something, Princess Twilight. We are telling ya the honest truth and nothing but the truth.” Braeburn said, before nodding to Capper.

“Cowboy's right. Scouts Honor.” Capper said, placing one paw over his heart and the other in the air. “This last guy, he was like something out of a comic book or something. This creepy dude was attached to four of these huge mechanical robotic arms. He was a nightmare on eight legs if you count his hooves as well as the four robot arms.” Capper explained, once again making everypony's eyes widen with horror and realization.

“Capper, this pony with those four mechanical arms, what exactly did he look like?” Twilight asked, as the others looked at each other with worried faces.

“Geez, sounds like this guy has you all spooked.” Capper said before he went back to answering Twilight's question. “This pony was a stone-grey color with a black mane and tail. Had these really deep dark blue eyes that stared into your soul. Weirdo also had some sort of collar on with a green bowtie, odd clothing choice if you ask me. Oh, and he was a Pegasus.”

As soon as Capper mentioned that this pony was a Pegasus, everypony was suddenly very confused about this. Especially since the Doctor Whooves they knew was an earth pony and he was mostly a light brownish color, with his mane being a darker shade of brown.

“Wait, are you sure he was a Pegasus and not an earth pony?” Twilight asked.

“I mean, he had wings, so I assume so, yeah?” Capper replied, not sure how to further elaborate.

“Excuse me, Mr. Capper.” Derpy said as she walked over to him. “Did you see his cutie mark? Or did he say anything about who he was?”

“Well, he didn't give a name, but he did say something about being a doctor. As for his cutie mark, I think it was an hourglass.” Capper replied.

“N-No... it can't be... Doc...” Derpy said as she fell to the floor and fainted.

“Um, miss? You, okay?” Capper asked before Rainbow Dash flew over to him and pushed him down to the floor.

“You better not be joking right now you, hairball! Cause if you are, I'm gonna buck your teeth out with my hoof! You hear me!?” Rainbow Dash yelled, glaring deep into Capper's eyes before he glared back.

“Joking? JOKING!?” Capper yelled as he scratched Rainbow Dash in the face, causing her to yell a bit in pain. “I WATCHED A WHOLE TOWN GET DESTROYED! I WATCHED PONIES DIE! MY BEST FRIEND SACRIFICED HIMSELF SO BRAEBURN AND I COULD ESCAPE, AND YOU THINK I'M JOKING!?” Capper yelled as he hissed and took out his claws, ready to slash at Rainbow Dash again.

“CAPPER, NO!” Rarity yelled as she jumped in front of Rainbow Dash and used her magic to keep Capper still, preventing him from scratching anypony.

“Let... Me... Go!” Capper hissed as he tried to fight against Rarity's magic, tears of anger and sadness ready to fall from his eyes.

“Listen Capper, I am terribly sorry about what happened to your friend, but you had no right in doing what you just did. Yes, what Rainbow Dash said to you was just as wrong, but two wrongs don't make a right. It's clear to me that you are grieving, but you're not handling this grief properly. You're storing all of this grief, sadness, and anger inside of you. That's not good for you, darling.” Rarity said as Capper started to become less angry.

“It's... It’s not fair...” Capper said, on the verge of breaking down.

“I know it's not. You know, Fluttershy once said that the best way to deal with grief and sadness is to just let it all out. Go ahead, Capper, let it all out. All of your sadness and anger, just let it all out. It's okay. You have nothing to be ashamed of, darling.” Rarity said, giving Capper a warm and gentle smile.

With that, Rarity released Capper from her magic and for a moment he just stood there, looking into Rarity's eyes. Then tears started to fall from Capper's eyes and after relaxing his claws, he let out a loud sob as he threw himself at Rarity, hugging her tightly as he cried and wept for the loss of his best friend. Even though Capper was getting his tears into Rarity's mane, she didn't care as she just hugged him back, making sure to comfort him and assure him that everything was going to be okay. For a few minutes, no pony said anything as they let Capper let out all of his grief. When Capper finally stopped crying, he stepped back and wiped the tears off his face.

“(Sniff) Thank you... Rarity.” Capper said, trying his best to give a good smile.

“You're absolutely welcome.” Rarity replied, smiling back at him before Capper looked over to Rainbow Dash.

“H-Hey, Rainbow, I'm really sorry about what I did.” Capper said, looking down at his paws.

“It's okay, Capper, I had no idea that you lost your best friend in the attack. I shouldn't have been so cruel to you like that. I'm sorry for those things I said.” Rainbow Dash said, rubbing the back of her head.

“No, it's fine, I should have told you. Besides, you were just looking out for your friend's wellbeing. It’s what friends do, right? Look out for each other?” Capper asked.

“Yeah, that's right.” Rainbow Dash said, grinning at Capper, who grinned back.

“So, this Doctor, I’m guessing he's special to her?” Capper asked, gesturing towards Derpy, who was still unconscious.

“Very special.” Rainbow Dash replied.

“I see...” Capper said as he looked down.

“Gosh, you two have been through a lot.” Applejack said, before she noticed something on Braeburn's vest. “Hold on, Braeburn, ain't that Sheriff Silverstar's badge?” Applejack asked as Braeburn looked at the badge and then back at Applejack.

“(Sigh) Sheriff Silverstar is dead. He was crushed by a building and in his dying words, told me that I was now the new sheriff and that Appleloosa would be under my protection.” Braeburn said as he remembered the Sheriff's last words to him before he died.

“This is horrible...” Pinkie Pie said as she started to become less excited and happy, to just being sad.

“Braeburn, did... anypony else aside from y'all two survive?” Applejack asked, preparing herself for the worst.

“The town tried to put up a fight, but we lost a lot of ponies. However, we sent the survivors of the town to hide out in the secret bunker. They're still there now and they need help.” Braeburn explained.

“That's the main reason why Cowboy and I came here, we have to get those survivors away from that destroyed town and bring them somewhere safe so they can recover.” Capper added.

“Then there's no time to lose! Come on y'all! We're going to Appleloosa now!” Applejack said as they all nodded in agreement.

“We're coming too.” Capper said, standing next to Braeburn.

“Oh no, I don't think so.” Applejack said, standing in front of the two survivors. “You two are staying here, no point in y'all seeing whatever ya saw at Appleloosa again. Besides, from where I'm standing it looks like you both need to rest.”

“I'm Appleloosa's new sheriff, I'm not going to just sit here and abandon those ponies. I'm coming with whether you like it or not, Applejack.” Braeburn said, his voice filled with confidence with determination.

“I have to find my best friend, Dusty, and at least have the chance to say goodbye and give him a proper burial. Besides, if those bad guys show up again, you ponies will need all the help you can get.” Capper said, the same look in his eyes as Braeburn.

“(Sigh) Fine, but once we're done helping the survivors of Appleloosa, you both are coming right back and staying here to recover.” Applejack said.

“I'm alright with that.” Braeburn said as Capper nodded in agreement.

“Good, we're ready then.” Applejack said as she turned to Twilight for approval.

“Mayor Mare, can you watch over Derpy and make sure she’s, okay?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, of course. I'll take care of Derpy. You all just get to Appleloosa as fast as you can.” Mayor Mare said as she went over to Derpy.

“Also, please make sure that the doctors and nurses at the hospital are aware that they will be getting a lot of patients very soon. Please have them prepared.” Twilight said.

Mayor Mare gave Twilight a nod as she motioned for them to get going.

“Come on y'all! To the train station!” Applejack yelled as they all quickly left the building.

Not even ten seconds after the group left the town hall, Discord suddenly appeared right in front of them, causing everypony to stop in their tracks so as not to crash into him.

“Oh my, fancy seeing all of you here! It sure is nice when the gang is all together isn't it? Even when we have some extras in the group, but no matter! How is your fine day so far, ponies?” Discord asked as he used his magic to summon a comfortable couch with a little table on the side as he started to pour himself a glass of water from his fingers.

“(Sigh) Discord, we don't have time for your-.” Starlight began, before Fluttershy stepped forward, letting Starlight know that she would handle Discord.

“It's really nice to see you too, Discord, but we really have to get going. Something terrible has happened in Appleloosa and we have to help the survivors who are still there.” Fluttershy explained with her most gentle and calming voice.

“Really? Well, why didn't you say so earlier?” Discord asked as he snaked over to Fluttershy and picked her up suddenly. “Well, it was a joy seeing you all, but Fluttershy and I have a town to save.” Discord said as he was about to snap his fingers before Fluttershy spoke up.

“Um, Discord? I meant 'we' as in all of us...” Fluttershy said, pointing to her friends behind her.

“Pfft! Of course! That makes a bit more sense now. Though personally, my interpretation was better.” Discord said as he gently placed Fluttershy back on the ground. “I actually just remembered that I have something to do, but I will be more than happy to send you all to Appleloosa. When you're ready to come back, just call my name and I'll be there to bring you back. Good luck to you all!” Discord said as he snapped his fingers, causing the Mane Six, Starlight, Braeburn, and Capper to suddenly be teleported to Appleloosa.

A few seconds after being teleported, everypony found themselves in Appleloosa. The very moment they could see clearly, all their mouths were opened wide at the sight of the destruction of Appleloosa. Buildings were destroyed, some completely flattened and others still on fire. But the most horrifying thing they saw were the bodies. There was a lot of dead bodies of ponies all near the front of town and even towards the back. It was truly a massacre and a horrible sight for the eyes.

“N-No... it can't be...” Applejack said as Braeburn put a hoof on her shoulder.

“I know Applejack... I know…” Braeburn said he too was in great pain to see his home in such a horrible condition.

“Okay look... we have to stay focused. Let's all split up into groups. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, see if you can find any more survivors; Applejack, Braeburn, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie, go get the ponies from the safety bunker; Starlight, you and I will put out the fires and look for survivors as well. Capper, you're with us. Everypony meet back here when you're done.” Twilight said as everypony went off to do their assigned tasks.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew all over Appleloosa, searching for any more possible survivors, or at least they were trying to. The two Pegasi were also trying their best to avoid looking at the gruesome display of the dead bodies of innocent ponies. While Fluttershy started to breathe very heavily, Rainbow Dash's teeth gritted as she was suddenly filled with rage. The fact that Lightning Dust had taken part in this horrible act was just insane. Sure, Lightning Dust was never a bright pony, but she never showed any signs of being so willing to actually kill other ponies, let alone an entire town of ponies. Attacking innocent ponies, sure, maybe Lightning Dust would do that. But killing innocent ponies? It was just so wrong. As Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy kept flying, Rainbow Dash suddenly dove down and landed on the roof of a house. Seeing this, Fluttershy quickly followed her friend. She could tell just by the way Dash landed on the roof, that she was enraged.

“Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked as she gently tapped Rainbow Dash's shoulder.

“It just doesn't make any sense!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she stomped her hoof on the ground. “Why would she do this!?”

“Who?” Fluttershy asked.

“What do you mean, who!? Lightning Dust, of course! I mean, yeah, she was a jerk and all, but this... this is just evil!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she flapped her wings aggressively.

“I know... I'm just as confused and upset as you are. Iron Will... he was a bit mean, but he would never do something like this...” Fluttershy said as she gently draped her wing across Rainbow Dash's back.

“(Sigh) Come on, there's no more survivors. Let's just head on back.” Rainbow Dash said as she stepped forward and took to the air, with Fluttershy following close behind her.

Meanwhile, Twilight, Starlight, and Capper were searching through the ruins of every destroyed building in Appleloosa. Seeing the bodies of dead ponies all over the place was a terrible sight. No pony had ever seen anything like this before. No villain or evil that had risen in Equestria, had ever crossed this line of actually committing mass murder and genocide. It was practically unheard of. Despite this, however, Twilight knew that something was seriously wrong. She knew that there had to be some logical reason as to why Doctor Whooves, Flim, Flam, Lightning Dust, and Iron Will would cross this line. There was no possible way that they just decided to go out and kill innocent ponies for no reason.

“Capper, did any of the attackers say why they were attacking Appleloosa?” Twilight asked, turning to her feline friend.

“Unless I missed something, I never heard any of those maniacs give any kind of explanation. They were like mindless monsters, just destroying everything in sight.” Capper replied.

“Did the attack looked… planned or anything?” Starlight asked.

“I can’t say for sure. But if it helps, I think I can safely say that this ‘Doctor’ was most likely the ringleader of the whole thing.” Capper said.

“Doctor Whooves as the leader? Well, I suppose that wouldn’t be too out of the question. He is the smartest and the one most likely to have any kind of control over the others.” Starlight said.

“Whether Doctor Whooves was the leader or not, that still doesn’t give us any kind of-Oh, gosh, oh gosh no.” Twilight said as she suddenly started to wobble and lose her balance.

Reacting quickly, Starlight rushed over to Twilight and kept her stable. Twilight then started coughing as if she had seen something that made her sick. As Starlight comforted Twilight, her eyes managed to land on what had made Twilight so sick. Not even inches away from them, was the body of a young mare with her throat slit in such a horrendous way that the slightest touch would cause her head to fall off of her body. Starlight quickly closed her eyes as she just helped Twilight move away from the body.

“(Cough) N-No, this is… this is just… oh Celestia…” Twilight said as she continued to cough, trying to hold in her disgust.

“I know, Twilight, this is just horrible. I’ve never seen something so gruesome.” Starlight said, also trying to hold in her sickness.

As Twilight kept coughing, she realized that Capper was gone. With the feeling of concern temporarily taking over, she stepped away from Starlight and looked around for her friend.

“Capper!? Capper where are you!?” Twilight cried, as she heard a response come from just down the road.

“Over here!” Capper called back.

Twilight and Starlight looked over to where Capper was standing. In front of him, was the body of an earth pony stallion. Even from where they were standing, it was clear that this pony had been crushed to death. Twilight had a feeling that this was probably Capper’s friend, but she wasn’t able to bring herself to see how badly damaged his body was.

“Starlight, go with Capper… I need a minute to recompose myself.” Twilight said as she sat down.

“Okay, just stay here, we’ll be right back.” Starlight said as she rushed over to Capper. “Oh my gosh…” Starlight said, seeing the horrible condition of Capper’s friend.

“Dusty…” Capper said, looking down at his deceased friend.

Dusty’s body was so horribly crushed that his stomach had literally burst open, his intestines and internal organs on display for all to see. His front legs were horribly broken, and his back legs had been torn off. Dusty’s face was probably the most haunting sight. Blood had dripped from his eyes and his eyes were still open, an expression of emptiness on his face. His lower jaw had been completely severed and was hanging loose.

Starlight knew that it wouldn’t do anypony any good to keep staring at Dusty’s body, so she gently tapped Capper on the shoulder.

“Capper, come on. Let’s head on back. We need to regroup and figure out what to do with the survivors… and the bodies.” Starlight said.

“(Sigh) Okay… let’s go.” Capper said as they turned to leave. “Rest in peace, old friend.” Capper said, looking back one last time at Dusty.

When Starlight and Capper walked back over to Twilight, she seemed to be doing slightly better as she wasn’t coughing or trying to vomit anymore. After confirming that there were no other survivors, they agreed to head back to the entrance of Appleloosa and wait for the others to finish up with their duties.

Applejack, Braeburn, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie were almost at the safety bunker. It had been very hard for them to actually make it through Appleloosa as somepony would have to stop to either vomit or fail to do so. Applejack was currently being hit with emotions of grief, disgust, and anger. As time went on, anger started to take over Applejack’s body as she had started to become more aggressive with every step she took. The final straw, however, was when they passed by the body of Sheriff Silverstar. The sight of his body made Applejack snap as she kicked the ground hard and let out a yell.

“AAAAARGHHH! WHY!? WHY!?” Applejack yelled as she ran over to a half-broken wall and started to bash her head in.

“Applejack! Stop!” Braeburn yelled as he rushed over to his cousin and tried to pull her away from the wall.

Applejack didn’t respond as she just kept on smashing her head against the wall, causing cuts and bruises to form on her forehead. Her hat had already fallen off, but not before getting covered with little splatters of Applejack’s blood. In a last-minute effort to prevent his cousin from seriously injuring herself any further, Braeburn wrapped his hooves around Applejack’s neck and pushed her up against the wall, keeping her still.

“Applejack, stop! I know you’re mad, I am too! But hurting yourself is not going to make things any better!” Braeburn yelled.

“Why did they do this!? Why!? Appleloosa is just a nice little town! There’s nothing here worth killing other ponies!” Applejack yelled, trying to get out of Braeburn’s grip.

“I don’t know why! If I knew I would have told ya! Now I don’t mean to sound like a heartless pony, but now ain’t the time to mourn. Those survivors need to know that they’re safe now.” Braeburn said.

“(Exhale) Braeburn, I swear… I swear on everything I stand for… I will find out why this happened… I will make everypony involved with this attack pay for what they did.” Applejack said.

“I’m sure you will. Now come on, we have a job to do.” Braeburn said.

“O-Okay… alright…” Applejack said as Braeburn gently moved away from her.

Once Applejack had calmed down, they all continued to make their way to the safety bunker. Pinkie Pie was probably the quietest she had ever been in her entire life as they passed by the bodies of the poor souls who had been killed. Her mane had deflated, and her pink was on the verge of fading away. The seriousness of the situation was really hitting her. The only thing that was preventing her from having a total breakdown, was the thought that at the very least, the ponies who had been killed could at least rest peacefully. They would never have to feel pain or suffering ever again. Pinkie soon found herself leaning against Rarity as they walked side by side each other. Tears had streamed down her face and onto Rarity’s coat and mane. This did nothing to bother Rarity as she didn’t care how dirty she got. All she cared about was getting the survivors to safety. Of course, Rarity did do her best to comfort Pinkie Pie as she herself was trying not to breakdown from the horrible sights.

Rarity knew that they had to remain strong so that when they reached the survivors, they could show them that they were going to be safe. She made a mental note that once they were back in Ponyville, she would use her connections and arrange for some of the best doctors to come to Ponyville to treat all the wounded. Of course, she would also arrange for therapists to be brought over. No doubt every survivor of Appleloosa would need them. She didn’t care how much it would cost; she would make it happen.

Sometime later, they arrived at the safety bunker. Braeburn told everypony to stay put as he went inside the bunker. Voices could be heard from within the bunker, though no pony could make out what the voices were saying. Eventually, Braeburn came out of the bunker, followed by the survivors of Appleloosa. Once everypony was outside, Applejack spoke up.

“Everypony listen! Everything is going to be okay. We’re going to get you all out of here.” Applejack said to the survivors.

“You will all be taken care of in Ponyville. We’ll have doctors ready for all of you.” Rarity added.

“That’s right. Now, as I’m sure y’all know by now, Braeburn is the new sheriff of Appleloosa. Braeburn, I think it’s best if you say a few words to them.” Applejack said as she allowed Braeburn to speak.

“Sheriff Silverstar fought hard to protect Appleloosa from those vermin. Before his death, he entrusted me to keep y’all safe. I promise everypony, I will do my best to protect y’all. We will get answers for the attack on our town. Those monsters will be punished.” Braeburn said, making sure to sound confident and reassuring to the survivors.

“Everypony follow me. We’ll get ya to safety.” Applejack said as she led the survivors to the entrance of Appleloosa.

As Applejack and Braeburn led the survivors back to the entrance of Appleloosa, she spotted the rest of her friends were all waiting for her. Once they met up with the others, Twilight nodded to Fluttershy. Fluttershy then called out for Discord and seconds later, he popped up out of nowhere.

“You rang Fluttershy?” Discord said slyly before he suddenly saw the destruction of Appleloosa. “Oh my, what happened here?”

“I’ll tell you later. But first can you please take these ponies to the hospital, Discord?” Fluttershy asked.

“O-Of course, I can. But what about you? Aren’t you going to come back to Ponyville?” Discord asked.

“We’ll be there soon. But we need to have a talk first.” Twilight said as she looked at her friends.

“Alright.” Discord said as he snapped his fingers, which summoned a portal to the entrance of the Ponyville Hospital. “Just head on in through here when you’re ready.”

Applejack and Braeburn looked back at the survivors and motioned for them to go to through the portal Discord had summoned. One by one, the survivors of Appleloosa stepped through the portal and were greeted by the sight of many doctors and nurses, all prepared to help as many ponies as they could. Once all the survivors, aside from Braeburn and Capper, had gone through the portal, Applejack turned to her cousin.

“Take care of the others and take care of yourself, okay?” Applejack said, giving Braeburn a hug.

“Don’t worry about me, Applejack. I’ll make sure everypony is safe.” Braeburn reassured her while hugging her back.

“Hey, Twilight, what are we going to do about, you know, the bodies?” Capper asked, his voice full of depression.

“Don’t worry I’ll have Discord do something about it.” Twilight replied.

“Did you find your friend, Capper?” Rainbow Dash asked as Capper merely gave a small nod in response.

“Capper, darling, if you ever need to talk or anything, please know that my door is always open.” Rarity said, smiling to Capper.

“Thanks, Rarity. Thank you everypony. I’m really glad we met. Thanks to the Storm King am I right?” Capper asked with an attempted laugh.

“Come on, partner, let’s join up with the others.” Braeburn said as he patted Capper on the back.

“Sure thing, Cowboy. See you later, amigos.” Capper said as he gave the ponies a wave and a weak smile.

Braeburn turned to look at Applejack one last time and after a few seconds of looking into each other’s eyes, nodded to her and gave her a confident smile. Braeburn then led Capper into the portal, and they made their way to the hospital. Once the two friends had left, Discord looked at the remaining ponies expectingly. Fluttershy took a step forward and gently tapped Discord with her hoof.

“We’ll be there in a minute. Can you help make sure everypony is accounted for?” Fluttershy asked.

“Of course, just come on through when you’re ready.” Discord said as he walked through the portal to do as Fluttershy asked him to.

“I’ll go help them. The medical ponies could use all the help they can get.” Starlight said to the others.

Twilight responded by giving Starlight a nod as she walked through the portal to help out in any way she could. Once Starlight was gone, the six ponies just looked at each other and stood around in silence for a little bit. Applejack was the first to break the silence as she took a single step towards Twilight.

“Twilight… I need ya to promise me something…” Applejack said as Twilight looked over to her.

“What is it?” Twilight asked as Applejack suddenly walked up to her and placed her hooves on Twilight’s shoulders, causing the princess’s wings to flare out a bit.

“P-Please… promise me… promise me that we will find out why this happened… that the vermin that did this will be punished... that this won’t ever happen again… P-Please Twilight… p-please promise me…” Applejack said, almost on the verge of breaking down.

“I give you my solemn vow, Applejack. We will find out what exactly happened and why it happened. I promise.” Twilight said, gently lowering Applejack’s hooves off of her shoulders.

“Thank you, Twilight. That means a lot…” Applejack said as she gave Twilight a smile of pure gratitude.

After another few minutes of silence, it was Twilight’s turn to break the silence as she took a couple deep breaths.

“(Sigh) Alright girls, I think we all understand the seriousness of the situation, right?” Twilight asked as her friends all nodded in response. “Something like this… it’s practically unheard of.”

“We should tell Princess Celestia and Princess Luna about this.” Fluttershy said.

“Trust me, Fluttershy, the first thing I’m doing is having Spike send them a letter about this. I’m not sure what they will do, but they have to know.” Twilight said.

“What about Cadance and Shining Armor? Should we tell them about Appleloosa too?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“I don’t mean to sound rude, but don’t Cadance and Shining Armor already have their hooves full dealing with that mysterious door?” Rarity asked.

“I’m pretty sure a stupid door can wait, Rarity. This is a case of literal genocide we’re talking about here.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Doctor Whooves, Lightning Dust, Iron Will, and those darn Flim Flam brothers, it just don’t make any sense. Why would they attack Appleloosa?” Applejack asked.

“I’m with you on that one, AJ. No offense or anything, but what exactly is so special about Appleloosa that would warrant this kind of attack? Why not someplace like Canterlot or Manehattan or heck, why not Ponyville?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“No offense taken, Rainbow. I actually agree with you on that. It just don’t add up.” Applejack said.

“Capper told me that he couldn’t see any kind of a motive for the attack. All he knows is that Doctor Whooves was most likely the leader of the group.” Twilight said.

“But even if Doctor Whooves was the leader, it still doesn’t explain why Doctor Whooves would do this or what even happened to him.” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah, and do you girls remember how Capper described the way Doctor Whooves looked now? That certainly doesn’t sound like the Doctor Whooves that I know.” Pinkie Pie said.

“You’re right, Pinkie. But from what Capper told us, this Pegasus that attacked Appleloosa with the mechanical arms still had the Doctor’s cutie mark. No pony can have the same cutie mark.” Twilight said.

“I for one, am very curious as to what is going on with the Doctor, but I am also very confused on the actions of his followers. Lightning Dust, Iron Will, and the Flim Flam brothers certainly weren’t good ponies before, but this is something they would never do.” Rarity said.

“Do you think they were all mind controlled or something?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“We can’t be sure, but it could very well be a possibility.” Twilight replied.

“But if they are being mind controlled, then who’s the one controlling them? It can’t be Doctor Whooves because he doesn’t have any magic and I don’t remember him inventing any sort of mind controlling device.” Rainbow Dash said.

“(Sigh) Unfortunately, girls, it seems this whole thing has left us with more questions than answers.” Twilight said, shaking her head a bit.

“What are we going to do, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked, looking at her friend.

“For now, I think it’s best if we head on back to Ponyville and see what the princesses say about this.” Twilight said looking at the mental state her friends were currently in. “I suggest you all take it easy and just head home for the rest of the day. This is new territory for us.”

Everypony agreed with Twilight’s proposal so one by one they started to walk towards the portal. Fluttershy was about to enter the portal herself when she turned to see Twilight was looking Appleloosa, barely moving a single muscle.

“Um, Twilight? Are you coming?” Fluttershy asked, getting the attention of the rest of her friends, who turned to see Twilight was not following.

“Y-Yeah, I’ll be there.” Twilight said, her voice barely audible to her friends.

“Come on, it ain’t safe to be here right now, Sugarcube.” Applejack said as she tapped Twilight’s shoulder.

“Girls… recently I’ve been having a really bad feeling that something is seriously wrong. I can’t put my hoof on it, but I have a feeling that something is coming, something dangerous. Let’s all be on our guard from now on.” Twilight said as her friends all nodded in response.

“Don’t worry Twilight, we’ve faced against some pretty intense villains and crazy events before. I know that as long as we stick together, we’ll get through whatever is coming.” Rainbow Dash said, giving Twilight a confident smile.

“Rainbow Dash is right, darling, no matter what happens, as long as we are together, everything will be okay.” Rarity said.

“Yeah, we’ll stand strong against any evil that stands in our way.” Pinkie Pie added.

“You’re right. Thank you, girls.” Twilight said, giving a very thankful smile to her friends.

“Come on now, let’s get back home. It’ll be better for all of us.” Applejack said.

“Right, let’s go.” Twilight said, nodding in the direction of the portal.

As all of Twilight’s friends started to make their way into the portal, Twilight gave one last look at Appleloosa. That unsettling feeling kept nagging at her that this horrific tragedy was only the beginning of something terrible. It really annoyed Twilight that she couldn’t tell what it was, but she knew that dwelling on it too much would only drive her insane. Twilight made a mental note to have Discord help with taking the dead bodies of ponies and having them placed in the Appleloosa Cemetery just on the outskirts of town. With that, Twilight walked through the portal as it shut behind her.

Meanwhile…

Little did Twilight know; she and her friends were being watched the entire time that they were in Appleloosa by Sombra through his crystal ball. The sight of how horrified and disgusted the ponies were at the destruction of Appleloosa put a big smile on Sombra’s face as he started to chuckle while he watched Twilight enter the portal.

“(Chuckle) Yes, princess… something is wrong… something is coming… Prepare yourself Twilight Sparkle… for this is my story… my path to victory is set in stone and your path to failure has already started… I hope you’re ready because I have so much planned for you… (Chuckle).”