• Published 5th Mar 2013
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My Little Caboose II: Friendship is Fragmented! - DarkWing



Church, finally freed from his stone prison after a month of having Discord trapped in his mind along with him, must readjust to the pony world with nothing but twisted memories, as well a group of equally twisted friends.

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Chapter 51 - "Ghosts of the Past"

"What is that?" a mare coming out of a nearby home asked, staring up at the sky in awe.

"I don't know," admitted a stallion, coming to her side. "Do you think it's dangerous?"

"It's alright, everypony. Just go back inside. I'm sure this is nothing," Twilight said instantly, voice wavering as she ushered her small warning.

"But, Twilight, it is something!" Caboose said confusedly. "Don't you remember that-"

"Don't mind him," Church said, holding Caboose's mouth shut. "He doesn't know how to think before he speaks. More often than not, he doesn't think at all."

"Church, what are we going to do about this?" Twilight asked as the nearby ponies hesitantly but surely went back into their homes.

"Us? Why the hell should we do anything?" he inquired. "If it is what we think it is, somebody will be coming in at any moment. When that happens we can do something, but there really isn't much we can do right now but wait or ignore it. Personally, I prefer the latter option."

"But nobody is coming out of it this time," Caboose said confusedly.

"This isn't good. This really isn't good," Twilight said, trotting back into the library. "Where is Spike when I need him? I need to tell Princess Celestia about this right away."

"Of course you do," he sighed, following her inside as she began heading towards the Elements of Harmony.

"Church, I know you don't see completely eye-to-eye with her, but don't you think that is something she should know about?" Twilight asked, waving her hoof at the window.

As Church opened his mouth to answer, he and Twilight were partially blinded by a sudden gold flash. After instinctively shielding his eyes, Church lowered his hoof and saw that he was in the throne room of Canterlot, surrounded by the other Elements and AI. Standing at the base of the throne was a troubled Celestia, while a curious and focused Luna stood by a window, horn glowing.

"Looks like she already knows," Church grunted at Twilight.

"Hello, everypony," Celestia said seriously. "I hope I did not interrupt anything important, but as you might have seen, there seem to be more pressing matters to attend to."

"I'll say you did! I was in the middle of building a... a..." O'Malley trailed off, then fell into silence when all eyes went to him. "A vase. A very eloquent vase. One which would rain fire down upon my enemies!"

"Whether or not that is the truth, something more important has come up that may threaten the safety of everyone in Ponyville. Perhaps all of Equestria."

"And it isn't my... vase?" O'Malley asked in a tone that was a mix of anger and jealousy. "Then I shall say I am glad you brought this to my attention. Point me in it's direction so I may destroy it or use it for myself! If anyone is going to destroy life as we know it in a gory fashion, it is going to be me!"

"What is causing this?" Delta asked, then glanced out the window and saw a black scar in the sky. Turning his head fully to investigate it, he raised a brow. "That does seem what some would think as out of the ordinary."

"Is that what I think it is?" Sarge mumbled as he looked out the window.

"Yes. It is the same sort of tear that you and the others arrived in," Celestia said with a nod, then looked towards Luna. "As you can see, my sister is in the middle of holding the tear shut as best as she can. We do not want anything getting in of out of it, nor do we want the size to get out of control."

"What do you want us to do?" Rainbow Dash asked firmly, stepping towards the Princesses, ready to help them in any way.

"Girls, you're going to stay here and keep the peace with the ponies of Ponyville. Rainbow Dash, you and some of my Royal Guard will cover up the tear with clouds."

"On it!" Rainbow Dash said with a quick salute, then darted out the open window.

"Twilight, you take the other girls and keep the peace," Celestia said sternly, eyes focused on the rest of them. "Tell them all is alright, but that they should stay in their homes while we fix a small problem."

"What about us?" Simmons asked.

"You, my little stallions, are going to be turned back to your prior form. You must go back out through the tear and find the source of the disturbance."

"You're sending us home?" Church questioned harshly. "What, now that there's an easy opportunity, you have to take it?"

"Not quite. While you are out there, Luna and I will do our best to keep the tear from growing any further, but we will not shut you out. As of now, whoever is trying to come here is being blocked out. You, my little stallions, are in charge of going back out to see if Discord is the cause of the disturbance. If he is, then you must bring him back here."

"What? How the hell do you think we can do that?" Grif snorted. "We couldn't stop him in here with the girls' help, so why do you think we'll be able to when he's out there?"

"He is new to your portion of the universe. His magic may not work as well where he is now compared to here, nor will he know what he is in for over there should his power be weakened."

"Wait, what do you mean our portion of the universe?" Simmons inquired, leaning closer.

"You know, I was not too sure of that myself," Sarge added curiously.

"Now is not the time," Celestia sighed. "I will explain everything that I know once you return."

"Again, I'd just like to point out the fact that we're going after him with less people than we had last time..." Grif grumbled on the other side.

"You may not have the girls to aid you, but you will not be doing this completely alone," Celestia murmured. "I am sending another with you."

Glancing to their side, the used-to-be men saw the scattered fragments staring back at them. A dawning expression ran across their faces, but it quickly turned to confusion. She said she was only sending one with them, so they turned to Celestia to question her about it.

"No, it is not any of them," she sighed. "Though I am afraid that you will be less welcoming of who I am sending with you compared to them."

"What? Are you going to send Shining Armor or some other experienced guard with us?" Simmons asked, hopeful that they wouldn't have to do this just the six of them, and equally glad that it wouldn't be any of the artificial intelligences.

"No, it is not any of the Royal Guard. I will need all of them here should any other problems arise."

"Then who are you going to send with us?"

"You may not like it, but while Discord was in the castle and encased us in stone, he used the Necronomicon on someone."

"Don't you mean somepony?" Tucker asked with a smirk.

"Not quite," a female voice said from the other side of the room.

The instant the ponies in the room heard the sound, they froze in place, backs feeling as cold as ice. The voice behind them was one they recognized all too well, and it was one they hoped they would never had to hear again. Turning in unison, the stallions and mares caught sight of a large figure standing in a nearby door. She was nearly twice as tall as the ponies and sported a suit of cyan armor .

"Carolina?"

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