• Published 29th Dec 2012
  • 2,685 Views, 143 Comments

Sonata de Equestria - MyHobby



Equestria's history is catching up to the present. When Twilight Sparkle uncovers a dark crystal heart in King Sombra's tomb, she and her friends find themselves on the run from timberwolves, windigos, and Sombra himself.

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Second Movement: Part 8- Rising Dynamics

Rising Dynamics

Fluttershy inhaled sharply. She watched Big Macintosh trot deeper into the house, his face wrinkled with concern and uncertainty. When the big stallion was out of sight, she turned back to the other stallion in her company.

Dusty looked up at her with a kind of surprised awe. The fur on his cheeks was still damp with tears, but his labored breathing had slowed down. When her eyes met his, he found himself unable to hold her gaze. His head dipped to the floor as his cheeks burned with shame.

Fluttershy poked at his side with a hoof. “Come on, Dusty, you need some rest.”

She led him into a side bedroom, one filled with the toys and crayon drawings of a young filly. Fluttershy’s eyes caught on a simple drawing of five ponies and one swaddled baby. Crude lettering labeled each figure, and she realized that it must be the Apple family. The full family.

“This must have been Applejack’s room,” she mused. She motioned for him to get in the small bed, and he complied. She took a close look at his swollen shoulder. “Oh, my. What happened to it?”

“D-d-dislocated when I fell off Canterlot Mountain.”

She jolted, looking to him for confirmation that he wasn’t joking. He grimaced. “S-Sombra lied to m-m-me. H-he betrayed me. I t-tried to escape and…”

Fluttershy rose into the air on her butter-yellow wings. “Stay here, I’ll get some snow to put on that.”

She flew out the door and into the frozen cold of summer. She gathered a bunch of the wet snow and packed it tight, giving it a chance to last in the heat of the house. As she was flying back inside, she noticed the red body of Big Mac standing out against the white snow. He opened a previously snow-covered trapdoor and entered what looked like a basement. He returned to the surface carrying several cans of food.

Angel Bunny was waiting for her back in the room, a wash cloth in his paws. He raised an eyebrow at Dusty Shelves, uncertain if he deserved pity or the bunny’s usual condescending demeanor. Fluttershy first wrapped the cloth around the ice, then placed it against the shoulder.

Dusty seethed in pain. “Ah! Ah… That h-hurts…”

“I know,” Fluttershy said. “It’ll be better in a second.”

His breathing slowed as his wound numbed. Fluttershy left it sitting on his shoulder and looked to his rear left leg. “Oh, my. This didn’t heal right.”

“N-no,” the stallion grunted. “I didn’t… I didn’t ex-exactly have the b-b-best care.”

“Why not?” she asked. Dusty was surprised at the forceful tone in her voice.

“B-because… because there w-was nowhere f-for me in t-t-t-town.” He choked the words out, a fire rising in his eyes.

“Dusty,” Fluttershy whispered as she brought her face close to his. “Why did you leave Ponyville?”

She tried to look him in the eye, but Dusty kept moving his head away from her. “N-n-none of y-your business.”

“Dusty, please,” she pleaded. She placed a hoof on his own, rubbing softly. “I want to help you, just like you helped me when… when I came to Ponyville.”

He chewed his lip and shook his head. “C-can’t h-help.”

“I’m your friend, Dusty,” she said. “I always will be.” She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. “Let me be your friend and help you.”

“NO!” he shouted. His volume threw Fluttershy to the floor. “Y-you can’t help me, because sh-she’s your friend!”

Fluttershy peeked out from under her bangs as she shivered at his voice. Slowly, she found herself able to stand and face his angry glare. “Who’s my friend?”

Dusty swallowed and licked his lips. Fluttershy could see his veins pumping blood through his thin neck. His chest heaved with rage. “Tw-T-Tw-Twilight Sparkle!” He stood, letting his icepack fall to the ground. He paced around Fluttershy like a panther stalking its prey. “Sh-she replaced me! She threw me out of my home, and took away my job, my life!”

“D-Dusty, no,” Fluttershy spoke softly. “She didn’t.”

“I saw the book!” He turned on her, baring his teeth and flattening his ears to his head. “I s-saw the princess w-w-welcome her into my home!”

“No!” Fluttershy pressed him back onto the bed with a hoof. “Dusty, she was only filling in for you until you returned.” She placed her hooves on his shoulders and finally locked gazes with him. “D-don’t you see? She was just helping. But… but then you never came back.”

She sighed and let him lie back. She sat on the floor a short distance away, Angel Bunny perched on her back. “You didn’t come back, and everypony was worried about you.” She tilted her head as a tear ran down her cheek. “Why didn’t you come back?”

“Y-you’re lying.”

Fluttershy was taken aback at his comment. His eyes were hard, his mouth was thin, and his chest still heaved with each breath. “You lie,” he accused. “You lie to protect her!”

Fluttershy ducked as he threw a pillow at her. “She ruined my life!” The stallion rose from the bed and grasped at a small lamp. “She stole my purpose!” He tossed the heavy object at Fluttershy, who dodged by flapping her wings. It shattered on the ground. “I-I’m nothing because of her!”

He stumbled as a sharp pain went through his shoulder, and his weak leg collapsed beneath him. Fluttershy ran to help him up, but he batted her aside with a heavy hoof. “Leave me alone! You’re no help to me!”

Fluttershy stumbled into a rock-hard surface. She looked up to the crimson chin of Big Macintosh looming over her and blushed as red as the farmer’s coat. The large stallion frowned severely. “You’re a guest in my daddy’s house, in my little sister’s room.” He stepped around Fluttershy and lowered his mouth next to the other stallion’s ear. “If’n you so much as touch Fluttershy again, I’ll buck your buckwheat so hard that the earth’ll shake.”

He rose to his full height and gestured to the door. “C’mon, Miss Fluttershy, supper’s ready.”

She followed him out hesitantly, glancing back to see if Dusty would join them. Instead, he had tramped back to Applejack’s old bed and laid down quietly, his expression cold. He squinted at her as she watched him. “W-what’s that th–th-thing around your neck?”

She touched her Element, Kindness. The pink butterfly adorning the front matched her cutie mark perfectly. She smiled slightly despite the tension in the air. “It’s one of the six Elements of Harmony. My friends and I share a special bond that makes them powerful enough to halt any evil.” Her face softened and she smiled earnestly. “I would trust each one of them with my life, there’s no way that Twilight would have hurt you on purpose.”

With that, Dusty rolled over to face the wall. Fluttershy lingered for a moment, but soon followed Big Mac into the kitchen.

Her eyes widened at the small smorgasbord that he had prepared. The tantalizing aroma of home-made applesauce tickled her nostrils, and the sight of a half-dozen personal apple pies cooling on a tray made her mouth water. “Wow, that looks amazing!”

“I ain’t no slouch when it comes to cookin’,” Big Mac boasted. “You don’t get to be an Apple without knowin’ your apples.”

Fluttershy sat at the table and pulled a bowl in front of her. Macintosh ladled a scoop of applesauce into her bowl, then into his. He sat and wrapped a cloth around his neck, somehow using his huge hooves to tie a knot in the back. He raised his hooves and put them together in front of him. “I… I always like to thank Glory for the good harvest, you okay with that?”

She nodded and bowed her head. The two sat in silence for a few moments, eyes closed in reverence. Big Mac grinned. “I think ol’ Glory gets the message, let’s eat!”

As the delicious taste of cinnamon and apples danced across her tongue, Fluttershy couldn’t help but remember the absent pony. “I think I should take some food to Dusty, he needs to keep up his strength.”

Big Mac’s eyebrows fell low over his eyes, but he answered with a nod. “It’s only right, I suppose.”

Fluttershy smiled and rose to her feet. “I’ll be right back,” she promised.

She balanced a tray on her wings as she walked down the short hallway. She poked her head in the doorway. “Dusty, Dusty I brought you some food.”

The stallion didn’t reply. He was still lying with his back to the door, and his face to the wall.

“I’ll just leave this here,” she said as she placed the tray on the nightstand. “If you need me, I’ll be just a call away.”

As she closed the door, she let one final whisper reach Dusty Shelves ears. “Get well soon, please.”

Dusty glowered at the bright, foal-friendly wall paper, torn and worn with age. He ground his teeth in a sneer as he grumbled. “I-I have no f-f-friends…”

Fluttershy returned to find Mac nibbling at his food. “You can take the master bedroom that-a-way,” he said as he pointed. “I’ll be in my old room if’n you need me. Down th’ hall to the right.”

She sat down and resumed eating. “Thank you.” She looked out the window to see the sun setting. “Who do you think is lowering the sun?”

“I ‘spect that it’s the unicorn nobles of Canterlot,” Big Mac murmured through a mouthful of apple. “Ain’t likely that those ponies like the thought of Nightime Eternal, no matter who’s in charge.”

Fluttershy shivered at the mention of The Longest Night, no matter how indirect Big Mac meant it to be. “They… they probably still remember Nightmare Moon’s attack.”

Macintosh snorted. “Yeah, I guess that’d light a fire under my britches, too. Weren’t the best night ever.”

“It wasn’t the worst either,” Fluttershy giggled. “I got to meet Applejack because of it. I really got to know all my friends because of it.”

A touch of applesauce stuck to the end of her nose, and she licked it off. “I…” she hesitated. “I guess sometimes the b-bad times can lead to good things. To the best things.”

She looked up to see Big Macintosh staring at her with a raised eyebrow. She pursed her lips and shrank down in her chair. “Did… did I say something wrong?”

“No, Miss Fluttershy,” he said as he took her empty bowl. He brought it to the sink and began to wash the dishes. “I think you bit somethin’ important right on the bud.”


Sombra walked among the unicorn mages, each with their horn glowing brightly. The sun set in the east, just as it always had. As it disappeared from sight, he snorted. “Another day ended, another lackluster sunset.”

One unicorn noble raised a hoof in protest. “Sire, we’re just starting out, surely you don’t expect perfection!”

Sombra growled, bearing his fangs at the hapless unicorn. “You seem to feel argumentative tonight, Seymour Scuts,” he said in low tones. “I don’t think you want to argue with me.”

His eyes glowed purple, and Seymour’s glowed to match. Within a moment, the noble was writhing on the floor and shouting, “Ants! I’m covered in ants! Help!”

The other Canterlot mages stared down at their fellow with apprehensiveness. His body was completely clean, not a single bug in sight. They looked up to their king as the victim writhed in imagined agony.

Sombra’s smile sent shivers running down their spines. “Do any of you fancy learning what you deepest, darkest fear is?” At their vehement head-shaking, he chuckled. “Of course not, it could be…”—he looked at the panicking unicorn—“Embarrassing.”

His lesson in object terror was interrupted by the screeching voice of Rover Redvest. “My King! Unicorn King! We have a problem!”

Sombra’s fangs ground together like a grain mill. “Doesn’t everypony?” he mumbled. He turned to the Diamond Dog with a sneer. “And what is the crisis this time, Redvest?”

Rover’s face was stretched in horror. “Windigos in Fillydelphia! Everything frozen!”

Sombra’s mouth fell open, his chin plummeting into the depths of disbelief. “Windigos, are you certain?”

“Diamond Dogs frozen like popsicles!” Rover exclaimed. “Timberwolves on ice! I think some ponies even got cold hooves!”

“Windigos,” Sombra mumbled again. “Windigos, of course! That’s their plan!”

He turned to Rover and snarled. “You get these useless mages indoors, don’t let them spread the word about the windigos. I have a meeting with royalty.”

As the king departed, Rover leered at the collected nobles. “Anypony who doesn’t do what I say gets clubbed! Now move!”

Sombra marched through the halls of his castle, his iron-shod hooves clanking against the stone floor. His cloak of red fur billowed out behind him as he proceeded double time down to the depths of the Canterlot Castle dungeon. Down he tromped, through dark spiral staircases and dank halls of stone.

When Sombra arrived, he found himself eavesdropping on a very odd conversation.

“I always did think I could get ahead in life,” said a disembodied draconequus head. “I would have liked a ‘heads up’ beforehand, though.”

Celestia covered her ears with her hooves, her face the picture of misery. “Luna, Discord is still making head puns.”

“You don’t need to tell me, sister,” the unicorn mare replied. “He’s in the cell across from mine.”

“I would have thought that he would've run out by now.”

“Verily…”

Discord grinned from his mount. “Oh, come on, Princesses,” he chuckled. “You know you love this face.”

Celestia fluttered her wings, sending a loose feather flying to tickle Discord on his lopsided nose. He snuffled, took several hesitant breaths in, and then finally let loose with a sneeze that sent his mount tumbling across his cell.

“That, on the other hoof,” Celestia smirked, “Never gets old.”

“Playing games with a draconequus?” Sombra spoke as he trotted into view. “Are you simply tired of playing games with ponies’ lives?”

“Sombra…” Celestia lowered her head. “What do you mean?”

“You clever plan to end my empire!” he replied. “Once you two were imprisoned, the Hearthswarming spell dissipated.”

Celetia’s eyes widened as her pupils shrunk to pinpricks. “The Hearthswarming spell is gone?”

“Windigos are already moving in to take control of Equestria,” he continued, his tone triumphant. “I’m impressed with this amount of cold, Celestia, it’s not like you.”

“I-I didn’t…” Celetia stuttered. “Th-that’s not what happened!”

Sombra’s face twisted in rage. “Then why!?” he shouted. “Is my kingdom!?” He smashed an armored hoof against Celestia’s bars. “Freezing over!?

“Without the power of an alicorn,” Luna mumbled, “The spell had nothing to keep it going.”

“But alicorn magic is no different than the other types,” Sombra passed in front of Luna’s cell. “Tell me how to perform the spell, and I can get rid of these accursed windigos!”

“Sombra,” Celestia said. “It isn’t that simple. It requires the light and friendship of all three types of ponies to complete.”

“Ergo,” Luna sighed. “Alicorns.”

“Do you understand me, Celestia? Luna?” Sombra rumbled. “If you don’t tell me how to use the spell, then the windigos will take control.” He stood on his hind legs and held his forehooves to the sky. “Our people are dying!

The ponies sat in silence as Sombra’s cape flapped behind him. A chuckle arose from the cell behind him. “I see Trottingham… I see Prance… I see Sombra’s big fat flanks!” Sombra swirled to face Discord as the draconequus grinned. “And his are as blank as Pinkie Pie’s brain, have you noticed?”

Sombra glanced at his rear before allowing his horn to gather power. Several large crystal spikes jutted up around Discord’s head, their razor-sharp edges inches from slicing into his hide.

“No regenerative magic, remember?” Sombra chuckled darkly.

“Shutting up, as requested,” Discord gulped.

The Unicorn King turned to the two former alicorns. “You cannot help, then?”

Neither said a word, and Sombra stormed out of the dungeon. “If you will not help…”

His voice echoed through the halls as he ran. “I will find the spell, I will perform the spell, and I will save Equestria alone!

“Even if I have to scour the entire library for it!”


Prince Blueblood sipped from a hot cup of coffee, his eyes drooping from lack of sleep. “Are you certain that this will work?”

The pegasus beside him nodded emphatically. His darkened flight goggles shielded him from the glare of the setting sun. “When this baby hits eighty-eight miles per hour,” he said. “You’re gonna see some serious horseapples.”

Blueblood and the pegasus stood on the top of the largest skyscraper in Manehatten, the Empire Stallion Building. There appeared to be a large cloudbank approaching the city, but closer inspection revealed several colorful shapes flitting about it. Some pulled the clouds, some flapped their wings to create wind currents, but most had been placed at the rear to push to cloud towards Manehatten.

“Cloudsdale and Manehatten united as one city,” Blueblood grinned. “Never before has a populace been so thoroughly protected from all sides.” He took another sip as the cloud city approached. “The perfect fortress for the resistance against Sombra.”

The pegasus laughed. “Yeah, glad I thought of it.”

“Oh, you’re name will be on the patent, I’m sure.” Blueblood’s legs began to chill as the cloud moved over the Big Apple. “’Blueblood and Doctor Jigawatt’s Turtle City.’”

Several pegasi moved to tie ropes around the skyscrapers, securing the city in place. The towering structures acted as elevators, connecting one city to the other. Unicorns stood ready on rooftops to cast cloudwalking spells on anypony that needed it. Soldiers tramped around, patrolling the ground and sky for any sign of enemy forces.

One pegasus mare flew up to Blueblood and saluted him. “Prince Blueblood, sir.”

“Captain Stonewall.” Blueblood acknowledged her by returning the salute. “Any sign of either the Diamond Dogs you were chasing or the rogue stallion?”

“No,” she answered, a dark cloud falling over her face. “The scum got away.”

“There’ll be time for them after the coming war.” Blueblood turned to Jigawatt. “Will you be alright alone?”

“It’ll be fine, it’ll be fine!” Jigawatt replied. His wispy pink hair danced in the wind as Cloudsdale settled into place. “Just make sure the workers know who’s in charge!”

Blueblood walked alongside Stonewall. He took notice of her stony face and inquired, “Is there something wrong?”

Stonewall closed her eyes. “Sweetie Drops didn’t make it.”

He nodded. “I’m sorry. I suppose there’ll be time to mourn after the princesses are reinstated.”

“My lord!” One unicorn hailed him from a window on the hundred and first story. “The Element Bearers have arrived!”

Blueblood rolled his eyes. “Oh, joy. Our country’s greatest weapon, in the hooves of civilians.”

He entered the elevator with a sigh. “Come, Captain, it’s time to make their acquaintance.”


Rarity’s eyes widened at the spectacle before her. The city of Manehatten, a metropolis in its own right, had just doubled in size with the addition of Cloudsdale. “My stars…”

Applejack was just as dumbstruck. “Hommina, hommina, hommina!

“Coool!” came the opinion of the three Cutie Mark Crusaders and Pinkie Pie.

“Surely the kingdom faces duress,” Zecora said, “When we find the need for such a fortress!”

“Smashing,” Steve gasped. “I had always wished to journey here, but I never had the time!”

The river serpent was dragging himself along on his arms, attempting to wiggle his body like a snake. He was only half-successful, and often stopped to catch his breath. His body wasn’t built for land.

Spike rode on Rarity’s back, his eyes jumping from building to building. “It… It’s like Canterlot only… Taller!”

Rarity giggled. “Oh, yes. Sometimes you can find buildings filled with entire marketplaces that just keep going up, up, up!”

“Those are…” Sweetie Belle hesitated. “Those are called ‘malls,’ right?”

“Absolutely, Sweetie!” Rarity beamed. “Just imagine all the sights, sounds, smells…”

Her voice dropped to a flat drone as she caught sight of a familiar face. “Princes…”

Blueblood trotted up to the ragtag bunch of creatures. He looked them up and down and sighed. “The Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, I presume?”

“Yer darn tootin’ we are!” Applejack proclaimed. “An’ we’re here to be as big a help as we can be!”

Blueblood raised an eyebrow. “How charmingly rustic of you.”

Before Applejack could say another word, Rarity interjected. “Really, we’re just going to find a place to stay so that we can be far, far out of your way until the others arrive.”

“Well, that can be arranged,” Blueblood smirked. His smile soon grew into a dashing grin. “And who might you be, my dear?”

“You can’t be serious,” Rarity groaned. Spike dismounted and stood beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Blueblood glanced between the dragon and the mare. “Did I miss something?”

“You could say that,” Spike snorted. When he thought Rarity wasn’t looking, he stuck his long tongue out at the prince.

Blueblood did a double take, but chose to ignore the rude gesture. “Well, then. I’ll have a soldier escort you to your hotel.”

“No need,” Applejack said as she brushed past him. “I got kin here.”

“Hold it, hold it!” an insistent voice hailed from the sky. “I said hold your charlie horses, ponies!”

Doc Jigawatt swooped down, his face alight with glee. “You didn’t tell me they’d arrived!” His frizzy pink mane bounced as he ran around the gathered caravan. “Where is she?” he asked as he pushed his flight goggles off of his eyes. “Where’s Fluttershy?”

He pointed a butter-yellow hoof at Pinkie Pie. “You! Where’s Fluttershy?” he demanded. “Where’s my daughter!?

Pinkie almost found herself speechless. “Um, well, first of all, she’s A-okay!”

Jigawatt brought himself close to the earth pony. “And!?”

“And…” Pinkie hesitated. “We think she’s on her way?”

“You think!?” he shouted. “You think!? Well, now isn’t that just fine and dandy!?

He raised his hooves to his mouth and shouted out across the city. “Stop your panicking, everypony, this pink chick thinks she’s on her way!”

He spun back to Pinkie. “Is she alone? What happened?”

Rarity placed a hoof on Jigawatt’s shoulder. “She’s not alone, she’s with a friend. He’ll protect her with his life, I promise.”

He’ll protect her!?” Jigawatt fumed. “Are you telling me that my little girl is alone with a stallion, and you think she’s on her way!?”

“Hey!” Applejack butted in. “Are you castin’ aspirations on my big brother?”

“I’ll do more than ‘cast aspirations’ on him if he so much as touches her!” Jigawatt leapt into the air and growled. “By golly, if Fluttershy doesn’t return here in one piece, you’re gonna wish that Sombra was the one gnawing your bones!”

“Perhaps,” Blueblood spoke up. “It would be best for you to return to your station, doctor?”

Doc Jigawatt looked down on the prince and seemed ready to tell him off, too. Instead, he shot off into the sky, still spewing profanities under his breath.

Stonewall smiled a small, subtle smile. “He’ll be fine in a little while, count on it.”

Applejack noted her eyes; they were droopy, weary… sad. “You okay, Captain?”

Stonewall’s lip twitched. “I will be.”

Author's Note:

Uh oh, MyHobby thinks he's being clever again...

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