Discord has once again escaped from his stone prison, with a little help from the Diamond Dogs, and sets out to get his revenge on the mane six. His plan involves kidnapping the Cutie Mark Crusaders and holding them for ransom in exchange for the Elements of Harmony. Now Twilight and her friends must think of a way to rescue the Crusaders without handing Discord the one thing that can stop him. (Note: This story can also be found on fanfiction.net under the name panther23)
This fanfic is based the TV show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic which is owed by Hasbro and Lauren Faust.
In the deep underground caves of Ponyville, the Diamond Dogs were hard at work trying to search for what they loved best; gems.
The huge gray dog in the blue vest, who went by the name of Fido, was digging at the ground only to let out a groan of frustration when he discovered nothing but dirt. He then saw a big tunnel next to him, one that he never been through before, and hoped there would be gems there, so he entered.
The small brown dog in the black vest, who was named Spot, was still digging at the ground until he saw just what he was looking for; a small red ruby. He picked it up and handed it to his leader, a gray dog in a red vest who went by the name of Rover, but he could tell by Rover's face that he was not too happy with it.
"This is all you could find?" Rover asked in an infuriated tone. "One messily ruby?”
"Sorry Rover," Spot said, a bit nervous. "It's just that gems are not so easy to find as it use to be. If only we still had that gem finding pony, Rarity, then we would find lots and lots of gems."
As soon as Spot said that name, Rover grabbed him by his dog collar and pulled him close.
"Don't you dare mention her again," he shouted. "That pony was nothing but a spoiled little mule! I'm still trying to get the sound of her constant whining out of my head!"
"Yes sir," Spot nervously said as Rover let him go.
At that very moment, Fido came running towards the two screaming. He didn't see them as he was looking behind his shoulder as if something was chasing him and crashed right into them. Rover and Spot fell flat on the ground and Fido landed right on top of them.
"Get off me, you big ox," shouted Rover.
Fido quickly got to his feet and helped his two comrades up.
"What's the big idea trying to flatten us like that?" asked Spot.
Fido tried to say something, but all he could do was stammer.
"Well, spit it out already," said Rover impatiently
"There's a monster in that tunnel," Fido finally said as he pointed to the tunnel he was just in.
Rover and Spot were silent for a few seconds. And then, the two of them burst out laughing.
"I'm serious," said Fido. "I went into that tunnel, hoping I could find some gems, when I saw this big monster staring back at me. It had this big head with horns on top and a snake like body."
"Okay Fido," Rover said in a fake sympathetic tone. "We'll come with you and make that big bad monster go away."
The three Diamond Dogs walked into the tunnel with Rover and Spot in front while Fido was behind them, quivering in fear. They walked until Fido pointed to a corner at the far left of the cave.
“It's right there," he said, still shaking.
Rover and Spot walked towards the corner, while trying hard not to giggle. They knew Fido was a bit of a scardey dog, but they still went with this whole thing just to prove to him that there were no monsters in their cave. They came to the corner and started looking around.
“I don't see anything Fido," said Spot.
"Yeah, you were probably just seeing things," said Rover. "The darkness of these tunnels can play tricks on your eyes sometimes."
But then Rover turned around and saw a pair of eyes staring right back at him. They were the eyes of a big headed, snake like creature with horns on it's head, just like Fido said. Rover screamed, as did Spot and Fido when they saw the creature and Spot jumped right into Fido's arms.
Rover covered his head, fearing that the monster would try to bite it off, but then he noticed that the monster was not moving at all. It was just stood there with a still expression on it's face, looking like it was screaming with fright. Rover slowly tapped the monster on it's forehead, but it didn't move. Rover then saw that it's body was completely gray. Rover then let out a small sigh of relief and went to Fido, who was still holding onto a terrified Spot.
"Relax you two," he said. "It's not real. It's just a statue."
Fido had a confused look on his face as he dropped Spot onto the ground, who slowly got up and grumbled in anger for being dropped. Fido took a good look at the statue and let out a bit of an embarrassed chuckle. He also blushed a bit as Spot and Rover looked at him with faces that said that they were not too happy that he got them all worked up over nothing.
"Where did this thing come from?" asked Fido.
"I don't know," said Spot. "But it sure is weird looking."
The other two had to agree. The statue did look weird. Besides the big head, snake like body and horns, the statue had different shaped arms and legs. It's right arm looked like a lion's paw, while it's left arm looked like an eagle's talon. It's right leg looked like the leg that belonged to a lizard and it's left leg looked like the back leg of a deer. The statue also had two wings on it's back, one that looked like the wing of a giant bird and another that looked liked the wing of a bat. It also had a long tail with what looked like a puff ball at the end of it.
"Thanks for the scare, Ugly," Rover said as he patted the statue on the chest.
But as he did this, Rover felt a small thumping coming from inside the statue. He told Fido and Spot to touch the statue, and they both said that they felt the thumping as well.
"It's almost like a heartbeat," said Fido.
"That's impossible," said Rover. "Statues can't have heartbeats. Can they?"
Spot tapped the statue where the thumping was, but he tapped too hard and his claw made a crack in the statue. The crack soon got bigger and bigger until it covered the whole statue which then began to shake. The dogs slowly backed away as the statue exploded into a cloud of dust in front of them. As the dust cleared, the dogs looked in shock at what was in the statue's place. It was the creature that the statue was made shaped as, only now it was moving.
"I'm free," said the creature. "Boy, does it feel good to be out of there. I can finally stretch my legs and wings and finally spread a little chaos."
The creature let out a huge triumphed laugh and then looked at the three Diamond Dogs, who stared at him in shock.
"Wait, you're not the royal guards," it said as he looked around the cave. "And this is definitely not the Canterlot garden. Guess Celestia didn't want to take any chances this time. Where exactly am I?"
"You're in the underground caves of Equestria," said Rover, a bit nervously. "It's where we look for gems."
"Gems huh?" the creature asked. "And who might you be, my little furry friend?"
"I'm Rover," said the scared yet confused dog as he then introduced his comrades, "This is Spot and Fido. We're Diamond Dogs. And may I ask, who or what are you?"
"Who am I?" the creature said sounding a bit insulted, "Who am I? You've never heard of me? Well, I guess being underground, you don't know much about what is going on up top. I am Discord, the spirit of chaos and disharmony."
"How did you get to be a statue?" asked Fido.
"That is quite simple." said Discord. "I was just minding my own business, spreading chaos all throughout Equestria, when these little ponies used their little Elements of Harmony to turn me into stone."
Discord paused for a few moments before asking, "Is there a way out of here? This place is far too dreary for me."
"Uh, this way," said Rover who lead Discord to a tunnel that brought them all the way to the surface.
Discord breathed in some fresh air and said, "What a beautiful day to spread some mayhem."
"So what type of powers do you have?" asked Spot who was a bit curious.
"Oh, just the usual stuff, you know," said Discord. "Cotton candy clouds that rain chocolate milk, dancing buffalo, soapy streets, that sort of thing. But there will be time for that later. Right now, the only thing I'm interested in is revenge."
"Revenge?" the dogs all said in unison.
"Revenge," Discord repeated. "Revenge on those six little ponies who trapped me in stone and ruined all my fun. I still remember them all. Twilight Sparkle and her little magic of friendship," Discord shuttered as he said that, "Pinkie Pie and her little giggle fits. Quiet little Fluttershy. That so called tough pony, Rainbow Dash, that little bucking pony, Applejack, and of course, little Miss. Drama Queen, Rarity."
The dogs' ears perked up as they heard Discord say that last name.
"Did you say Rarity?" asked Rover.
"You've heard of her?" asked Discord.
"Yes, we've heard of her," said Fido. "We once captured her and forced her to use her unicorn powers to find gems for us."
"But she wouldn't stop whining or complaining," said Spot.
"And she cried over the littlest things," said Rover. "I called her a mule and she thought it meant I thought she was ugly."
"Well, looks like we all have a grudge against those ponies," said Discord. "Which is why you'll be perfect to help me."
"Huh?" the dogs said together.
"You see, I have the perfect plan to get revenge on those ponies and take over Equestria at the same time," said Discord. "But I'm going to need some help, and you three are just what I need."
The Diamond Dogs were silent for a moment until Rover said, "What's in it for us?"
"Yeah," said Fido. " What do we get in return?"
"Well, I guess you'll want some kind of reward for your services," said Discord. "Let me think."
Discord thought about what kind of reward the dogs would really like when he saw a bunch of small pebbles on the ground and came up with an idea. He waved his hand across the pebbles and in their place were a bunch of gems.
The dogs saw all of the different colored gems and ran towards them. They picked them all up and big smiles appeared on their faces.
"And there's plenty more where those came from," Discord said. "But only after you help me with my plan. So what do you say?
Rover looked up at Discord and went down on one knee and Spot and Fido did the same as he said, "What do you want us to do, Master Discord?”
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were at the park throwing a Frisbee around. Sweetie Belle tossed it to Scootaloo who tossed it to Apple Bloom, but she threw it too hard and it zoomed right above Apple Bloom's head and landed in the top of a big tree.
"Way to go Scootaloo," said Apple Bloom.
"Hey, it's not my fault I don't know my own strength," said Scootaloo, who sounded a little proud of herself.
"How are we going to get it down?" Sweetie Belle asked as she looked at how high the tree was.
Scootaloo tried jumping up to grab it, but she was too small to reach it. Apple Bloom tried bucking the tree like her big sister Applejack does, but the tree would not budge.
"I've got an idea," said Sweetie Belle. "What if we stand on top of each other and one of us can grab it."
The others agreed to give it a try. Sweetie Belle was at the bottom, then Apple Bloom got up in the middle and Scootaloo was at the top. Scootaloo tried to grab the Frisbee with her front hoof, but couldn't reach it. So she got up on her back legs and this time was able to grab the Frisbee. But then Apple Bloom started to wobble and Scootaloo almost lost her balance, but was able to get her footing back.
"Take it easy," she said. "Do you want me fall?"
"Sorry," said Apple Bloom. "I had an itchy knee I had to scratch."
But an itchy knee was about to be the least of their problems as Sweetie Belle noticed a small butterfly flying towards her. It flew around Sweetie Belle's face until it landed right onto her nose. At first Sweetie Belle was amazed at how colourful the butterfly was, but then she started to feel a little tickle in her nose. She tried to blow the butterfly off, but it would not budge and the more it stayed on Sweetie Belle's nose, the more it tickled. Finally, Sweetie Belle couldn't take it anymore and she let out a huge sneeze and her two friends came toppling down. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo slowly got up and glared at Sweetie Belle as they both said a very sternly, "Bless you."
"Don't blame me. Blame him," said Sweetie Belle as she pointed at the butterfly as it flew away.
Just then, the Cutie Mark Crusaders heard a big bong sound and they all looked up to see the big town hall clock chiming in the distance as it read 12 o'clock.
"I better get home for lunch," said Scootaloo.
"Me too," said Apple Bloom. "Applejack is making apple dumplings and if I don't get home quickly, Big Macintosh will eat them all."
"I better go too," said Sweetie Belle. "I'm having lunch at Rarity's place and she hates it when I'm late."
"Just let me grab my scooter and we can go," said Scootaloo and she walked towards a near by tree where her scooter was parked.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stood in the field for just a few seconds before they heard Scootaloo shout, "Girls, come here! Quick!"
The two fillies ran to where their friend was and asked her what was wrong and she pointed to the tree. The scooter was gone. All that was left in it's place was Scootaloo's helmet which was lying on the ground.
"Do ya think it just rolled away?" asked Apple Bloom.
"That's impossible," said Scootaloo. "I leaned it right next to this tree so it couldn't have rolled at all. Some pony must've stolen it."
"Who would do something so terrible?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"Hey look at that," said Apple Bloom, pointing to the ground.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle saw what she was pointing at. There, in the grass, were fresh scooter tracks.
"Let's follow them," said Scootaloo. "Maybe they will lead us to our thief."
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were a bit nervous when they heard Scootaloo say that.
"Are ya sure that's a good idea?" asked Apple Bloom. "It sounds dangerous to me."
"I don't care. Nopony steals from me and gets away with it," said Scootaloo as she started following the tracks.
"We better follow her," said Apple Bloom. "Make sure she doesn't get into any trouble."
Apple Bloom started following Scootaloo while Sweetie Belle muttered, "Rarity is going to kill me," before following her friends.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders followed the scooter tracks all over the park until they stooped and saw that the tracks were leading right into the Everfree Forest. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom started to back away from the forest, but Scootaloo began moving right into it.
"Are you crazy?" said Sweetie Belle. "Do you know how many dangerous creatures are in there?"
But Scootaloo would not listen and walked right into the forest. The other two fillies knew that they had no choice. They had to follow their friend so that at the mere moment something bad happens, they grab her and get out of there. Apple Bloom walked in first with Sweetie Belle right behind her.
The Crusaders slowly walked through the dark forest. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were both trembling with fear as they had the feeling that something was about to jump out of the bushes and gobble them up. But Scootaloo was too determined to get her scooter back to be scared.
Just then, a huge furry arm came out of the darkness and grabbed Sweetie Belle. Another hand covered her mouth to prevent her from screaming and they pulled her right into a bush. Then two arms came out and did the same thing to Apple Bloom. As this was going on, Scootaloo noticed that the scooter tracks disappeared.
"Looks like the thief got away," Scootaloo said disappointed.
She turned around to tell her friends that they could head back when she saw that they were both gone. She looked around the woods, calling their names.
"Apple Bloom? Sweetie Belle? C'mon girls, this isn't funny."
Scootaloo continued walking until she stopped dead in her tracks as she saw her scooter standing in front of a big bush.
"There you are," she said.
She then looked around to see if the thief was still around, but didn't see anyone. She then realized that she had to find Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle as she remembered them saying how dangerous the forest is. She went up to her scooter, thinking that she could find her friends faster if she was riding it, but just as she was about to touch it, two large arms burst out of the bush and grabbed her front hooves. Then a large furry dog like face popped out of the bush and a wicked smile appeared on his face.
"Hello, little one," it said as Scootaloo trembled in fear.
Twilight Sparkle was happily walking through Ponyville with her dragon assistant, Spike, sitting on her back.
"So, where are we going?" asked Spike.
"Well," Twilight said with a smile on her face. "You have been such a big help this week, helping me clean up the library and stuff, that I decided that my number one assistant disserves a little reward. So, I talked to Pinkie Pie and she has made a special treat for you at Sugarcube Corner."
"Wow! You're the best, Twilight," Spike said as he hugged Twilight's neck.
The two finally arrived at Sugarcube Corner and as they entered, they saw Fluttershy standing by the front counter.
"Hi, Fluttershy," said Twilight. "What brings you here?"
" Oh, hello, Twilight. Hello, Spike," Fluttershy said in her normal quiet voice. "I'm just here to pick up some carrot muffins for Angel. He has a bit of a cold and I thought maybe some treats would cheer him up."
At that moment, Pinkie Pie came out of the back room with a white box on top of her head.
"Here you go, Fluttershy," she said. "I added some extra carrots in them just for Angel. Hope he gets better."
As she placed the box of muffins onto Fluttershy's back, Pinkie smiled as she saw Twilight and Spike.
"I bet I know why you're here," said Pinkie as she pointed at Spike. "You're here for your treat, aren't you?
"You bet," Spike said as he jumped off of Twilight's back. "So, what is it?"
"Well," said Pinkie, still smiling. "Do you remember that sapphire cupcake that Mr. and Mrs. Cake made for you for your birthday?"
"Oh yeah," said Spike, licking his lips as he couldn't help but visualize that delicious cupcake he had.
"Well, here is another one for you, only with different gems this time," said Pinkie as she presented the young dragon with a cupcake.
Unlike the other one, which had blue frosting and was covered in sapphires, this new one had red frosting and was covered in rubies.
Spike's eyes lit up and his mouth began to water as Pinkie handed him the baked good.
"Wow, thanks Pinkie," he said. "This looks so pretty. And so delicious. I wish I could treasure this forever."
Spike was silent for a few seconds until he stuffed the cupcake in his mouth and swallowed it before saying, "And what better place to keep it safe than in my stomach."
Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie all giggled at what the little dragon had said.
"Well, I better get going," said Fluttershy. "Angel will be wanting these muffins."
But just as Fluttershy was heading for the door, a blue figure flew into the store and bumped right into her. The muffin box flew off of Fluttershy's back and was about to fall to the floor when Twilight quickly used her unicorn magic to stop the box in midair and place it gently on a near by table.
As Pinkie Pie and Spike helped Fluttershy to her hooves, they saw that the figure that hit her was none other than their friend, Rainbow Dash, who was rubbing her head before she saw who she flew into.
"Oh my gosh. I am so sorry, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash said. "I didn't see you there. Are you okay?"
"Don't worry, Rainbow Dash, I'll be fine," said Fluttershy.
"So, what brings you here?" Pinkie Pie asked Rainbow Dash. "Did you hear about the ruby cupcake I made for Spike and want one too? Wait, that can't be it. You're a pony, not a dragon, and if you did eat that cupcake, it would give your mouth a lot of ouchies."
Rainbow Dash was silent for a moment until Pinkie stopped her rambling so she could talk again.
“Actually, I was going to ask if any of you have seen Scootaloo," she said. "I just talked to her mom and she said that Scootaloo didn't come home for lunch and I've been helping her look for her. But I've looked all through town and I can't find the little pipsqueak anywhere."
"Scootaloo is missing as well?" asked a voice from behind the ponies.
They all turned around and saw that their two other friends, Applejack and Rarity, had just entered the store with worried looks on their faces.
"What do you mean by 'as well'?" asked Twilight.
"I'm afraid that Sweetie Belle is missing too," said Rarity. "She was suppose to come to my boutique to have lunch with me, but that was over an hour ago and she never showed up. It's not like her to be late."
"Apple Bloom is missin' too," said Applejack. "And I know something has happened to her because I made her favourite food, apple dumplings, and she has never missed a day I made them."
"Relax, girls," said Twilight. "They probably just lost track of time."
"Yeah," said Spike. "Those little fillies are probably just off doing another crazy stunt to try and get their cutie marks."
"Yeah. Like tree climbing," Pinkie Pie said. "Or treasure hunting. Or alligator wrestling."
Pinkie then noticed that everyone was giving her strange looks when she said that one, so she let out a nervous chuckle before saying, "Okay, maybe not alligator wrestling."
"We'll help you look for them," Twilight told her three worried friends. "We might find them quicker if there are more of us."
"Thank ya kindly, Twi," said Applejack.
"Well? What are we waiting for?" said Rainbow Dash. "Let's go."
The seven friends all walked out of Sugarcube Corner, but just as they were about to start their search, they saw a golden chariot being pulled by two white colts in golden armor coming towards them. The chariot stopped right in front of them and the ponies all bowed when they saw that it's rider was none other than Princess Celestia. The princess got off her chariot and walked towards the ponies.
"Hello, Princess," said Twilight as she and the others got up from their bows. "What are you doing here?"
"Hello, Twilight Sparkle," said the princess. "I'm afraid I have some terrible news."
But before Celestia could explain her problem, a small raindrop hit her snout. Then two more drops landed on Twilight's snout and then it came down in buckets.
The ponies soon noticed that this rain was a little different. Instead of blue, like most raindrops, these were brown.
Pinkie Pie then stuck out her tongue, caught some of the drops on it, tasted them and said, “Mmm, chocolaty.”
“D-d-did you say ‘chocolaty’?” Fluttershy nervously asked.
The ponies all looked up in the sky in terror as they saw the chocolate raindrops were coming out of a pink cloud.
"No. It can't be," said Twilight.
They all soon started to hear a booming, evil laugh that could be heard all around them. Just then, a huge bright light burst in front of the ponies and in it's place, with a huge smile on his face, was a creature they thought they would never see again.
"DISCORD!" the ponies all said in unison.
"Hello, my little ponies," Discord said in a cheerful tone. "Did you miss me? Because I sure missed all of you."
"Yeah, I missed you like I miss the stomach flu," said Rainbow Dash.
"Aren't you suppose to be a lawn ornament right now?" asked an infuriated Twilight Sparkle.
"Oh, I wasn't a lawn ornament this time," said Discord. "Care to explain that, Celestia?"
The others looked up at their princess who had a sadden look on her face.
"After you six defeated Discord," she explained. "I tried to take precautions to make sure he would never escape again. So I placed his statue in the underground caves of Ponyville, hoping that he would never be free."
"But unfortunately for you, I did escape,' said Discord. "With a little help from my new friends, the Diamond Dogs."
Discord then gave a mischievous look to Rarity and said, "You should know about them, little miss, 'but I thought you wanted whining.' All they wanted to do was get you to find a few gems for them and all you did was complain and try to make them your slaves. And I thought I was cruel."
"That's enough, Discord," ordered Princess Celestia. "What do you want?"
"Easy, Celestia," said Discord. "I just came by to have a little conversation with some old friends."
"We're no friends of yours," shouted Applejack. "You're nothing but a manipulative, lying snake in the grass!"
"Oh stop," Discord chuckled. "You're making me blush. So, what have you ponies been up to recently?"
"That is none of your business," said Rarity.
"Looking for a few little fillies by any chance?" Discord asked.
The ponies were silent when Discord said that until Twilight asked, "How did you know?"
"Why don't you see for yourselves," said Discord.
He then snapped his fingers and the chocolate rain cloud came down from the sky and floated in front of the ponies. It then swirled around until it started to show an image that shocked them all. In the image, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were all trembling with fear as they sat inside a dark cave with the three Diamond Dogs watching over them with evil looks. The cloud then popped and the image was gone.
The ponies then all glared at Discord, who just looked at them with an innocent smile.
"How dare you abduct my sister and her friends and take them somewhere so disgustingly filthy," said Rarity.
"What gives you the right to kidnap innocent fillies like that?" said Fluttershy in a quiet, but angry tone.
"You have gone too far this time, Discord," said Princess Celestia. "As ruler of Equestria, I order you to let those young ones go."
"Sorry Celestia," said Discord. "But I don't take orders. I just give them."
“If you lay one paw on those fillies, I’ll…” Rainbow Dash said before Discord shushed her by placing one of his fingers over her mouth.
"Relax, I'll let them go," he said. "For a price."
"What do you want?" asked Pinkie Pie. "You want some candy? I got tons of that in the shop? Or how about some cake? I got lots of those too."
"Sounds tempting," said Discord. "But I want something more than just sweets."
"What is it?" asked Twilight impatiently.
“Oh not much," said Discord. "Just the Elements of Harmony."
"WHAT?" yelled all of the ponies
Discord let out a devious smile and said, "You heard me. Give me the Elements, and I'll let your little friends go."
"That is low. Even for you," said Spike.
"That is my offer," said Discord. "When you decide to give them to me, head to the deepest part of the woods. The Diamond Dogs have already made an entrance to their caves for you. Go down it and meet me there. Bye for now."
Discord then let out a huge evil laugh before disappearing in a bright light.
"Twilight? Do you still have the Elements with you?" asked the princess.
"Yes I do, Princess," said Twilight. "Follow me, girls."
Twilight led her friends and the princess all the way to her library. As they went inside, she asked Spike to find the element book. Spike climbed his small ladder and found the book he was looking for on the top shelf and handed it to Twilight, who opened it with her magic and inside were all the Elements of Harmony. The five necklaces that represented kindness, loyalty, laughter, generosity and honesty, and Twilight's tiara which represented magic.
"We can't just give these to Discord," said Spike.
"You're right, Spike," said Twilight. "These are the only things that can defeat Discord and if we give them to him, there will be no stopping him."
"But we've got to save the youngins," said Applejack. "If anything happens to Apple Bloom, I'll never forgive myself."
"And poor Sweetie Belle must be scared to death," said Rarity.
"And there is no way I'm going to let that jerk Discord harm my biggest fan," said Rainbow Dash.
Twilight walked up to her mentor, Princess Celestia, and asked, "What should we do?"
"I don't know, Twilight," said the princess. "I'm afraid this is a decision that you must make on your own."
Twilight was shocked when she heard this. Ever since she was a student at the school for gifted unicorns, she always thought that Princess Celestia would always have the answer for everything and to hear her teacher say that she had no idea on what to do made Twilight feel that all hope was lost.
Every pony in the room was silent, with the exception of the small sobbing coming from Rarity, who was still worrying about her little sister. Just then, a smile appeared on Twilight's face.
"I've got an idea," she said as the other ponies leaned in close to hear what she had to say.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked around the cave they were in. The walls were gray, with small torches attached to them to light up the room and in the middle of the cave was a small pool of water. To their right were the three Diamond Dogs who just starred at them with evil grins on their faces.
"Who are you?" asked Apple Bloom.
"And what do you want from us?" asked Sweetie Belle.
The dogs kept smiling as they all said in unison, "We're the Diamond Dogs."
"Diamond Dogs?" said Sweetie Belle. "Wait, now I remember who you are. My big sister Rarity told me about you."
All three smiles on the dogs' faces disappeared when they heard what the young unicorn said.
"Rarity is your sister?" asked Spot.
"That's right," said Sweetie Belle. "She told me all about how you kidnapped her and forced her to find gems for you."
Fido then glared at Rover and asked, "Did you know about this?"
Rover shook his head. "Of course not. I was just following Discord's orders. He told us the names of these three fillies and told us to capture them."
Sweetie Belle and the other Crusaders were a bit confused about what the dogs were talking about and asked them why they were so upset.
"I'll tell you why we're upset," said Rover. "It's because having Rarity with us was a living nightmare. She was nothing but a whining, spoiled brat!"
"Don't you say anything bad about my sister," said an angry Sweetie Belle.
"Oh yeah?" asked Fido as he walked up to Sweetie Belle. "What are you going to do about it?"
Sweetie Belle replied back by kicking Fido in the shins with her back legs. Fido jumped up and down, holding onto his shin and repeatedly said "Ow," over and over again, until he growled at Sweetie Belle and was about to grab her when Rover and Spot held onto him.
"Easy Fido," said Rover. "Remember what Discord said. We cannot harm the fillies. We must watch them until he returns."
Just as Fido finally calmed down and the other two dogs let him go, they heard someone say, "I'm back." from behind them. They turned around and saw that Discord had returned.
"Welcome back Master Discord,' said Rover as he and the other dogs bowed their heads. "We did what you asked. Here are the three fillies you wanted."
Discord got a good look at the Cutie Mark Crusaders, making sure the dogs got the right ones, and then a big smile appeared on his face.
"Excellent work Rover," he told the lead Diamond Dog. "You and your friends have pleased me very well."
"Does that mean we get our gems now?" asked Spot, a little excitedly.
"Patience my little friend," said Discord, patting Spot on the head. "You'll get what you disserve. But first, I need you to do one more thing for me. I need one of you to guard the entrance you've made for the six ponies. If I know them, they'll be here looking for their little friends and they will have the elements with them."
"And when they get here, you want us to bring them to this area, right?" asked Fido.
"No, and don't interrupt me," said Discord in a firm tone.
Fido quickly apologized, fearing Discord would do something awful to him if he didn't.
"When they get here," Discord continued. "I want you distract them. Don't tell them where the fillies are until I arrive."
The dogs were a bit confused at what their master was telling them, but they dare not question his orders.
"I'll do it," said Rover, thinking that if he did this, Discord would give him the most gems when this was all over.
Discord then excused Rover who left the cave. Discord then walked up the Cutie Mark Crusaders with a cheerful smile.
"Greetings little fillies," he said. "Allow me to introduce myself.."
But before he could say his name, Apple Bloom cut him off.
"We know who you are," she said. "You're that creep who tried to turn Ponyville into a funhouse. Discard, right?"
"That's DisCORD. With an O," Discord corrected the young filly.
"Whatever," said Apple Bloom. "I still remember what you did. You turned my sister into a liar, and you made my big brother act like a dog."
"Oh yes," said Discord with a chuckle. "That was priceless."
"And you made my sister fall in love with a rock," said Sweetie Belle.
"Actually, it was a boulder," said Discord.
"And I still remember what you did to Rainbow Dash," said Scootaloo. "I saw her sitting on a cloud and I asked her to help with all the chaos that was going around, but she said that it was Ponyville's problem, not hers. She would never abandon the town like that."
The three young crusaders started going on about all the awful things Discord did to their friends. Apple Bloom mentioned how she told Fluttershy about a sick mouse she found and Fluttershy said to tell the mouse to "suck it up." Sweetie Belle said that she went to Sugarcube Corner to ask Pinkie Pie to help her throw a party for her parents' wedding anniversary and Pinkie said that she hated parties.
"All in good fun my little fillies," said Discord. "As a matter of fact, I should be thanking you for all that chaos I caused."
"Thank us?" the crusaders all said at once.
"Of course. Don't you remember? When you all went on that field trip to the Canterlot gardens and you had that big fight by that big statue of yours truly?"
Discord then snapped his fingers and two puppets appeared on both of his hands. The puppet on his right hand looked liked Scootaloo and the one on his left hand looked like Sweetie Belle. He then moved his tail in front of them and it had a puppet of Apple Bloom on it.
"It's not chaos, you dodo," Discord said through the Sweetie Belle puppet.
"Don't call me things I don't know the meaning of," said the Scootaloo puppet.
"You're both wrong," said the Apple Bloom puppet.
Discord then made the puppets act like they were fighting each other until he made them disappear. Fido applauded as Discord took a bow. Spot then stared at Fido with a weird look as Fido said, "What? I like a good puppet show."
"And that little fight was enough to release me from my stone prison and let me spread as much chaos as I wanted," said Discord.
The three fillies all hung their heads in shame as they remembered that day until Apple Bloom spoke up.
"That's doesn't matter," she said. "Because my sister and her friends were able to beat you that time and they forgave us for what we did because they care about us. I bet they are looking for us right now and when they do, you're going to be very sorry."
Discord cheerful face suddenly changed into a sad one.
"I'm afraid you are wrong about that," he said. "Because I just talked to your sister and her friends and told them that I had you and they said that they don't want you around anymore."
"That's a lie," shouted Scootaloo.
"I'll prove it to you," said Discord as he went up to the small pool in the cave and touched it with the tip of his finger.
The water then started glowing a bright purple, then yellow, then red and then blue again.
"I've placed a spell on this water," said Discord. "It will show you the past of any time. I have put it at just a few minutes ago when I talked to your friends and you can see what they said."
The Cutie Mark Crusaders slowly walked towards the water and looked into it. There was an image of Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie standing outside of Twilight's library with Discord standing before them.
"I have captured the Cutie Mark Crusaders," the image of Discord said. "And you are more than welcomed to rescue them. If you can stop me."
"We don't care," said the image of Twilight. "Those three are nothing but trouble."
"I know," said Pinkie Pie. "Even I'm not as annoying as those three are."
"I can't believe I volunteered to baby-sit them that one time," said Flutterhsy. "They gave me such a headache with their constant running around."
"That sister of mine is such a handful," said Applejack. "I can't get any work done on my farm without her getting in the way."
"I couldn't agree more," said Rarity. "Sweetie Belle is always getting into my things and wrecking everything."
"And that Scootaloo is a total pain in the neck," said Rainbow Dash. "I can't go five minutes without her bugging me."
All six ponies then looked at Discord and said all together, "YOU CAN KEEP THEM!" And then the image disappeared.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders were all shocked when they saw this.
“Is that what they think about us?" asked Scootaloo.
"I thought Applejack loved me," said Apple Bloom.
Sweetie Belle didn't say anything. She just looked down at the ground with a sad face.
"Aw, you poor little fillies," said Discord. "Here you thought everypony cared about you when in reality, all you do is cause trouble and make them all mad at you."
All three fillies lowered their heads in shame and tears started to drip from their eyes as their bodies quickly turned a dark grey.
Fido and Spot, who were watching the whole time, walked up beside Discord and took a look at the three grey crusaders.
"What did you do to them, Master Discord?" asked Fido.
"Oh, just a little spell I know," said the chaos spirit. "Now for a little something extra."
Discord then stuck out his eagle hand, which started to glow a bright green, and stroked it across the fillies' manes.
"I guess they don't care about us," said a sad Apple Bloom.
"Pinkie Pie is probably throwing a big 'Glad that the Cutie Mark Crusaders are gone' party for everyone." said Scootaloo.
"Can you blame them?" asked Sweetie Belle. "You heard them. All we do is cause trouble."
"Oh, this too perfect," said Discord gleefully. "Not only will I have the Elements of Harmony, but those six ponies are going to be in for a big surprise when they come to rescue their little 'fans.' It's the perfect revenge!"
Discord then let out a huge evil laugh that echoed through all of the underground tunnels.
Twilight was walking through the Everfree forest. Spike was sitting on her back and she also had a blue saddleback around her waist. Her friends, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie all walked behind her as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew above her. They all made their way through the forest until they made their way to the deepest part of it. They were soon surrounded by huge boulders and dead trees and the ground was covered in dirt.
“I never thought I would have to return to this wretched place,” said Rarity, remembering the last time she was in the area when she was looking for gems with Spike only to be captured by the Diamond Dogs.
The six ponies continued walking until Twilight raised her front hoof, singling everyone to stop as she noticed a huge hole a few feet away from her.
“That must be the entrance Discord told us about,” she said. “Let’s go.”
And with that, Twilight jumped down the hole with Spike wrapping his arms tightly around her neck. Rainbow Dash dive bombed into the hole with Fluttershy right behind her. Pinkie Pie jumped in the air, curled herself into a ball and shouted “CANNON BALL!” before falling down.
Applejack dived down next while Rarity simply looked down at the hole. She was disgusted at all the dirt she saw, but then she said to herself, “Remember Rarity, this for Sweetie Belle and her friends.” So she gathered up all the courage she had and jumped down.
All six ponies landed on the ground of the Diamond Dogs’ dark cave. They were expecting to see Discord waiting for him, but saw no one there. The entire cave was empty.
“Where is that filly napping creep?” asked Rainbow Dash. “He said he’d meet us here.”
“Remember Dash, this is Discord we’re talking about,” said Twilight. “He doesn’t play by the rules. We’ll have to try and find him.”
But just as they were about to begin their search, the ponies saw someone in the distance. It was Rover, and the ponies knew that he would know where Discord was keeping the Crusaders.
“Hey, furball,” shouted Spike. “We’d like to talk to you.”
Rover saw the six ponies and remembered Discord’s orders; distract them until his master arrived. So with that, Rover ran off as the six ponies took off after him. They tried to catch up, but Rover was just too fast for them. That’s when Rainbow Dash spread her wings out and flew towards Rover and was able to catch up to him, and tackled him to the ground.
The other ponies soon reached Rover, who was lying flat on his stomach with Rainbow Dash sitting on his back, looking quite proud that she was able to take him down. But Rover was able to grab her by the back leg and throw her off of him. Rainbow Dash was about to go flying into a wall when Flutterhsy flew towards her and grab her before she made impact.
Rover was just about to get up off the ground, when he soon realized that he couldn’t. He couldn’t move his body at all. He couldn’t lift himself off the ground, or move his arms and legs, he couldn’t even wag his tail. He could still move his head, and open and close his eyes and mouth, but that was it. Rover looked up and saw all six ponies, and Spike, glaring down at him and he also saw that Twilight’s horn was glowing so he knew that she had put some kind of spell on him.
“What did you do to me?” Rover demanded.
“It‘s called a heavy spell,” said Twilight. “It puts so much weight on your body that you can’t move at all.”
“Alright diamond mutt, start talking,” said Rainbow Dash. “Where is Discord and where is he holding the Cutie Mark Crusaders?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” said Rover, who was still following his master’s orders.
Rainbow Dash was about to smash her front hoof into Rover’s face, when Twilight stopped her.
“Easy, Rainbow,” she said. “Violence never solves anything. We’ll have to think of another way to get him to talk.”
“I know how to make him spill the beans,” said Spike, and he whispered something in Twilight’s ear.
A sinister smile appeared on Twilight’s face as she walked around Rover and stopped right next to his feet. Rover saw the smile and was starting to get a little worried about what she and Spike were going to do to him.
Spike jumped off of Twilight’s back, opened up her saddle bag and pulled out a big red quill. Twilight had brought it with her to write her report to the princess about their progress on the mission.
Spike then took the quill and started stroking it across Rover’s feet. The Diamond Dog laughed hysterically as soon as the feather touched him.
“HAHAHAHAHAHA! NO! HAHAHAHA! STOP! PLEASE,” Rover said between laughs. “I….. HAHAHAHA… I CAN’T STAND TICKLING! HAHAHAHAHAHHA!”
“How is tickling going to help us find the little ones?” asked Rarity.
“Oh, you’d be surprised,” said Applejack. “I remembered when I was a filly, I stashed some of my Nightmare Night candy in my closet, but I started to notice that some pony was taking some of it. I knew Big Macintosh did it, because he has the biggest sweet tooth in our family, but he refused to admit it. That is until I gave him a good tickling that he told me he did it.”
Applejack and Rarity then went back to watching Spike tickle Rover, who was now laughing so hard, he had tears in his eyes.
“Tell us where Discord is and I’ll stop,” said Spike.
“HAHAHA! I..HAHA…I WON’T TELL YOU! HAHAHA,” said Rover.
Spike could tell that what Rover said meant that his plan wasn‘t working. So he finally stopped the tickling and placed the quill back into Twilight’s bag.
“That dog is a lot tougher than I thought,” said Spike as he and Twilight walked back towards the others.
“Um, if you don’t mind,” said Fluttershy. “I think I might be able to make him tell us where the girls are. If it’s okay with you.”
The others ponies weren’t sure if Fluttershy could get Rover to say anything, but they were desperate to find the Cutie Mark Crusaders so they all said “Okay.”
Fluttershy walked up to rover, who was still catching his breath from laughing so hard, and closed her eyes. She then burst them back open and gave Rover her famous ‘Stare.’
“You are a very, very bad dog,” said Fluttershy. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself! Kidnapping little fillies like that! Now you better tell us where they are, young man, or you’re going to be in big trouble!”
Rover was terrified at Fluttershy just starring at him with her evil looking glare.
“I…I…I can’t,” he said trembling. “I have orders from Master Discord to keep you away from them.”
Fluttershy and the others were shocked. No creature had refused Fluttershy’s orders when she did her stare. This meant that he was very loyal to Discord. Twilight also shuddered a bit when she heard Rover call Discord, ‘Master.’
“It’s no use,” said Rainbow Dash. “This walking carpet isn’t going to tell us anything.”
Rarity looked down at the ground, trying to think of another way to get Rover to talk, when she saw that her hooves were covered in dirt. That’s when she came up with an idea.
“Oh no, I got dirt on my hooves,” Rarity whined. “And I just got back from the spa. Can’t you dogs clean this place up once in awhile?”
The other ponies just looked at Rarity as if she was just complaining about the littlest thing like she always does, but then saw her winking at them. That’s when they all remembered her telling them about her time with the Diamond Dogs and how much they couldn’t stand her whining. So the others decided to do a little whining of their own.
“Rarity’s right,” said Spike in his own whiny voice. “The ground is very dirty and I hate getting dirt between my toes.”
“Yeah, and it’s too hard,” whined Twilight. “It’s hurting my sensitive hooves.”
“And can’t you get some more light in here?” Applejack groaned. “It’s too dark in here. I might bump into something.”
“This place is too dusty,” whined Rainbow Dash. “it’s making my beautiful wings all dirty.”
“Mine too,” Fluttershy said in a pouting voice. “No pony will come near me if I have dusty wings.”
“And what is that smell?” Pinkie Pie asked in a whiny tone. “It’s too stinky. It’s like rotten cheese that’s been out in the sun too long.”
Rover could not stand all the whining he heard. It was bad enough when Rarity was just whining, but hearing six ponies and a dragon doing it was just pure torture. And since he was still under Twilight’s heavy spell, he couldn’t even cover his ears. He just laid on the ground, gritting his teeth together.
“Make it stop! Make it stop,” Rover shouted.
“You want it to stop?” asked Twilight. “Then tell us where Discord is.”
“Did someone say my name?” said a familiar voice from behind the ponies.
They all turned around and saw Discord standing behind a big cave entrance with the two other Diamond Dogs, Spot and Fido, standing by his side.
“Now why don’t you let my friend go and we can have a nice talk with each other?” the chaos spirit asked
Twilight’s horn stopped glowing as Rover quickly got to his feet and ran to his comrades.
“Where are the girls?” asked Twilight in a very firm tone.
“Don't worry. They’re fine,” said Discord. “But first thing’s first. Give me the Elements of Harmony.”
Twilight let out a small frustrated sigh as her horn glowed again and she used her magic to open up her saddle bag and pull out the book that contained the elements. The book floated right towards Discord, who snatched it from the air and hugged it tightly.
“At last,” he said. “The most powerful objects in all of Equestria are mine. All mine!”
“Yeah, yeah, you got what you wanted,” said Rainbow Dash impatiently. “Now where are the fillies?”
“Oh, of course. Where are my manners?” said Discord, as he pointed to the cave entrance behind him. “Just go down there until you find a small cave with a pool of water in it. The girls will be right there, waiting for you.”
The six ponies all walked past Discord and the dogs and made their way through the entrance.
Discord then saw the Diamond Dogs were looking at him with impatient looks.
“Can we have our reward now?” asked Spot. “We went through a lot of trouble just for you.”
“Yeah,” said Fido. “I got a kick in the shins while guarding those little ponies.”
“Oh, that sounds awful,” said Rover in a sarcastic tone, “What about me? I’ve been tackled, pinned to the ground, tickled half to death and almost had my eardrums destroyed.”
“Ok, calm down you three,” said Discord. “You’re right. You do deserve something for all your hard work.”
Discord then stuck out the index finger of his lion hand and a yellow beam shot out of it and hit a part of the ground. Just then, a huge dust tornado appeared and started spinning around. When it died down, the Diamond Dogs’ jaws all dropped at what they saw. There, in the center of the cave, was a huge pile of gems. The dogs all ran to the pile and started grabbing the gems, kissing them, hugging them and throwing them in the air.
Discord smiled at the dogs, but it wasn’t because he was glad he made them all happy, it was because of how stupid they looked. Because, the gem pile was nothing but an illusion, so what the Diamond Dogs thought were gems was really just rocks and dirt on the ground.
“Oh, how I love to play with the minds of others,” Discord said to himself.
Discord then eyed the element book he was holding and stroked it like he was petting a cat. He thought about opening it right then and there, but then he remembered the six ponies who were on their way to find their little friends and decided to follow them and watch the fun.
The six ponies made their way through the dark tunnel until they came to another cave. They could see a small pool inside and knew right away that is was the cave Discord was talking about.
They walked inside and were relieved to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders sitting in the middle of the cave.
“Girls, thank goodness you’re safe,” said Twilight as she and her friends walked up to the three fillies.
The Crusaders all looked up at the six older ponies with gloomy looks on their faces.
“What are you doing here?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“We came to rescue you, of course,” said Rarity.
“Are you okay, Apple Bloom?” asked Applejack as she walked up to her sister. “Discord didn’t hurt you or anything, did he?”
“No,” said Apple Bloom. “But even if he did, you could probably care less, right?”
Applejack was shocked at this. Apple Bloom had never talked to her like that before.
“You don’t want to rescue us,” said Sweetie Belle. “You probably just came here to tell us that this is our new home and to never come back to Ponyville.”
“What’s the matter, girls?” asked Twilight. “Why are you acting this way?”
“Oh, like you don’t know,” snapped Scootaloo. “Discord told us the truth. That you never liked having us around and you think we’re nothing but trouble.”
The six ponies tried to figure out why the Crusaders were acting like this. That’s when Twilight noticed that the three fillies’ manes and coats were completely gray and she realized what was going on.
“Discord must have used his disharmony spell on them,” she told the others.
“You mean the one that turned us all into big meanies?” asked Pinkie Pie
“Afraid so,” said Twilight. “He’s convinced the girls that we hate them.”
All of the ponies gasped at what Twilight had said.
“Wait, Twilight, can’t you use that memory spell of yours to change them back to normal like you did with us?” asked Applejack.
Twilight had completely forgotten about her memory spell. She used it on her friends when Discord used his little spell on them. It filled their heads with good memories of them as friends and was able to break the spell. Twilight walked up to the three young fillies as her horn started to glow and shot a white beam around the girls.
Twilight was so concentrated on her spell, that she didn’t notice the Crusaders’ manes glowing a bright green as the beam touched them.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders did get some memories of the six older ponies, but they weren’t good memories, they were bad ones. Apple Bloom was reminded of the time she tried to help her older sister sell some apples, but she only wound up scaring customers away until Applejack ordered her to go home. Scootaloo was reminded of one time when she accidentally rode her scooter right into Rainbow Dash and gave her a pretty bad bruise on her side and the filly’s idol yelled at her to watch where she was going. Sweetie Belle was reminded of when she thought about getting her cutie mark in pet grooming and she wound up shaving half of Opal’s fur off and Rarity screamed at her for “ruining her precious kitty’s fur.”
The bad memories just kept on coming. The Crusaders were reminded of how they tried to help Fluttershy feed her rabbits, but they accidentally gave them mouse food pellets and made them sick. They also remembered the time they went to Sugarcube Corner, to try and get their cutie marks in baking, but they wound up causing a huge mess in the kitchen and got Pinkie Pie in trouble with the Cakes since she was suppose to be watching them. The last bad memory came when they tried to help Twilight organize the books in her library only for Twilight to get mad at them since they put the books in the wrong order and on the wrong shelves.
When Twilight finally finished her spell, she was shocked to see that the Crusaders’ bodies were still gray.
“I don’t get it,” she said. “That spell should have worked.”
That’s when the ponies heard a laugh from behind them and turned around to see Discord enter the cave.
“Oh my dear Twilight Sparkle,” he said. “You can’t expect the same thing to work twice. You see, I knew you would think about using that little memory spell of yours on your little friends, so I added something extra to my spell. You see the manes glowing? When your little spell hit them, it reversed it’s effects, so instead of good memories, the Crusaders got nothing but bad memories.”
“You are a very sneaky spirit,” said Pinkie Pie.
“Why thank you, Pinkie,” said Discord. “It’s all part of my revenge. I have made your little friends think that they are unappreciated and believe that you hate them, and it worked like a charm. And as an added bonus, I got the Elements of Harmony. I just have to destroy these and then there will be no stopping me from ruling Equestria.”
The ponies watched as Discord slowly opened the book, but then he slammed it shut before he could look inside.
“You know what?” he said. “I think I should do this in front of the one pony who truly cares about them. Your beloved Princess Celestia. Oh, I can’t wait to see the look on her face. Well, farewell my little ponies, I’m off to Canterlot.”
And in a flash of light, Discord was gone.
“You should have gone with him,” Apple Bloom told the six ponies. “And leave us here. We know it’s what you want.”
“That is not true,” said Rarity. “What did that monster, Discord, tell you about us?”
“He showed us what you thought about us,” said Sweetie Belle who then pointed to the pool. “We saw a vision in that water of when he told you he captured us and you told him he could keep us.”
This reminded Applejack of when Discord used the same trick on her to make her believe that her friendship with the others would end.
“And what exactly did you see in this image?” asked the farm pony.
“Don’t play dumb,” said Scootaloo. “You know what you said. You said that we were nothing but trouble and we were always getting in the way and you don‘t care about us.”
“That is not true,” said Twilight. “We all care about you and appreciate all the stuff you did.”
“Me especially,” said Spike. “Remember when I got sick and you three helped me get better?”
That memory soon entered the Crusaders’ minds. Spike had come down with a really bad case of the flu and Twilight needed some ingredients to make a special soup for him, but she also had a appointment with the princess in Canterlot that she couldn’t miss. The Crusaders were in the library at the time and heard Twilight figuring out what to do and they volunteered to take care of Spike while Twilight was at her appointment, hoping that maybe they would get their cutie marks in dragon caring. And the girls did a pretty good job looking after Spike. Scootaloo rode her scooter into the market place to gather all the ingredients for the soup, while Apple Bloom followed the instructions on how to make it and Sweetie Belle fed it to Spike.
“Thanks to you three, I was better in just two days,” said Spike.
“And I appreciate that you helped me when I was in trouble,” said Twilight.
The Crusaders smiled a bit as Twilight noticed some of the gray colour disappearing from the fillies’ tails. But then their smiles disappeared when they looked at Fluttershy.
“What about you?” asked Apple Bloom. “You said that we gave you a headache when you babysat us.”
“Well, that is true,” said Fluttershy quietly. “I was a bit frustrated that day, but only because I didn’t know what to do. That was the first time I ever tried babysitting fillies. I was so use to taking care of animals that had no idea on how to take care of you. But that doesn’t mean I hated you for it. Remember our little ‘adventure’ in the Everfree forest?”
The fillies started to remember that day when they went into the forest, looking for Fluttershy’s missing chicken, and how Fluttershy almost risked being turned into stone by a cockatrice just so the girls would be safe. That surely meant that Fluttershy really cared for them.
“Well, you said we were annoying,” Apple Bloom said to Pinkie Pie.
“Annoying?” the pink pony said in shock. “Are you kidding? I love having you three around. Especially when I’m planning your birthday parties.”
The young fillies started to remember that every time Pinkie Pie needed help on one of the Crusaders’ birthdays, she would go to one of them for help since they knew what would be perfect for them. Sweetie Belle once told her that Scootaloo was a huge fan of the Wonderbolts, even as big a fan as Rainbow Dash, so for the party, Pinkie had put up a piñata in the shape of the Wonderbolt logo and made a cake with the logo on it as well.
Twilight started to notice that as the Cutie Mark Crusaders were reminded of these things, the gray colour on their skin was almost gone. It was now gone off their tails and back legs. She believed that if the girls kept hearing these stories, it might break Discord’s spell.
Scootaloo then walked up to Rainbow Dash with a stern look.
“I still won’t forget what you said,” she told her. “You said that I’m always bugging you and that I’m a total pain.”
“That is so not true,” said Rainbow Dash. “I love having you around. I think it’s great that you look up to me. Also, don’t forget, I’ve helped you a few times.”
Rainbow Dash then smiled as she noticed a small scar on Scootaloo’s forehead.
“I remember how you got that,” she said, pointing at the scar.
As Scootaloo touched her scar, the memories of how she got it came back.
She was riding her scooter in the park, trying to go as fast as she could, until the scooter hit a rock in the ground and Scootaloo went flying in the air as her helmet came off and she fell face first on the ground. As Scootaloo got up, tears filled her eyes as she saw a huge cut on her forehead.
Scootaloo just sat on the ground, crying, until she heard someone say, “Need a little help there, kiddo?”
Scootaloo looked up and saw Rainbow Dash standing beside her, extending her front hoof out. Scootaloo smiled as she grabbed hold of it and Rainbow Dash helped her up.
“C’mon,” said Rainbow Dash as she helped the young filly up onto her back. “Let’s take a look at that cut.”
Rainbow Dash flew Scootaloo up to a small cloud right next to her cloud home and placed her gently on top of it while she went inside. When she came back out, she was holding onto a small box of band aids. She then took one out and placed it over Scootaloo’s cut.
“Thanks, Rainbow Dash,” said Scootaloo, as she gave her idol a big hug.
Back in the present, Scootaloo’s stern face soon turned into a smile as the gray colour on her body slowly vanished.
“How about what you said about me?” Sweetie Belle asked Rarity. “You said that I’m always wrecking things and getting into your stuff.”
“That is true, Sweetie Belle,” said Rarity. “You can be a bit of a hoof-full, but that doesn’t mean I hate you. You’re my sister and I love you with all my heart and I would do anything for you. Remember what happened to Huggles?”
A small smile appeared on Sweetie Belle’s face as soon as Rarity said that name.
Huggles was the name of a teddy bear that Sweetie Belle owned. Her parents gave it to her as a Hearth’s Warming gift and she loved it ever since.
One day, Rarity was busying working on one of her dresses while Sweetie Belle was playing in the other room. Rarity could hear her sister giggling and it made her feel a bit happy as she did her work. But then, Rarity heard Sweetie Belle’s laughter turn into crying. She went into the room and saw her little sister sitting on the ground with tears pouring down her face. Rarity was about to ask what was wrong, but she soon saw what the problem was.
Sweetie Belle was holding onto Huggles, who had a big rip in his back, exposing some of his stuffing.
Rarity went up to Sweetie Belle and gave her a hug as Sweetie Belle continued to cry.
“It’s okay, Sweetie,” said Rarity as she used her magic to hand her sister a handkerchief so she could dry her tears. “Why don’t you give Huggles to me? Maybe I can fix him.”
Sweetie Belle was silent for a second until she said “Okay,” and placed her teddy on Rarity’s back and watched her sister take him out of the room.
Sweetie Belle spent the next few minutes sitting on the ground with a sad look on her face. But then, something floated in front of her that made her smile. It was Huggles. His back was stitched up with not a bit of stuffing sticking out. Sweetie Belle grabbed her teddy and hugged it tight. She then turned around and saw Rarity standing behind her with her horn glowing, which made Huggles float. Sweetie Belle ran up and nuzzled her sister and thanked her for saving her teddy.
Back in the present, a teary smile appeared on Rarity’s face.
“I fixed up Huggles not just because I love sewing,” she told Sweetie Belle. “But also because I knew how much he meant to you and I will do anything to make sure you are happy.”
Sweetie Belle got a little teary eyed herself as the color on her coat began to return.
That only one left was Apple Bloom. Applejack walked up to her sister, who wouldn’t even look her in the eyes.
“What did I say in that vision you saw?” Applejack asked.
“You said that I’m always getting in the way while you’re trying to work,” Apple Bloom said quietly.
“That doesn‘t mean I don‘t care about you, sugarcube,” said Applejack. “Sure, you sometimes bug me while I’m trying to do chores around the farm, but even if you do mess up, I’ll always love you. Remember the apple cart incident?”
Apple Bloom’s eyes widened when she heard her sister say that and the memory came back of what happened that day.
Apple Bloom was walking home from school when she saw Applejack bucking a few apple trees and an idea popped into her head; what if she could get her cutie mark in apple bucking just like her big sister?
Apple Bloom went up to a near by tree and gave it a good buck, but since she was so small, the tree wouldn’t budge. Apple Bloom then tried a different approach. She jumped in the air and tried to do a flying kick towards the tree, but missed it by a few inches and kicked Applejack’s apple cart and fell flat on her back. She soon looked up and saw Applejack, who was watching her the entire time, look down at her with an annoyed look on her face.
“Seriously, Apple Bloom, what am I going to do with you?” Applejack asked.
Apple Bloom could only reply by letting out an embarrassed chuckle.
Just then, the two sisters heard a creaking noise. They both looked up and saw that the cart Apple Bloom had kicked was rolling down a hill. Applejack tried to stop it, but she wasn’t fast enough and the cart crashed into a tree, smashing all of the apples it was carrying.
Apple Bloom slowly walked up to her big sister, who just stood there in silence.
“Applejack? Are you okay?” the young filly quietly asked.
“DO I LOOK OKAY?!!” Applejack shouted.
Apple Bloom was shocked to see her sister so angry like this.
“IT TOOK ME ALL DAY TO GATHER UP THOSE APPLES AND THANKS TO YOU, I GOTTA START ALL OVER AGAIN!” Applejack said, still raising her voice. “YOU’RE ALWAYS WRECKING EVERYTHING!”
As Applejack was yelling at her, tears started to form in Apple Bloom’s eyes. She tried to say she was sorry, but she was so stunned by all the yelling that she just couldn’t come up with the words.
“NOW GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE YOU CAUSE ANYMORE TROUBLE!” shouted Applejack.
And Apple Bloom ran all the way home, crying her eyes out.
Later, Apple Bloom was lying on her bed, still crying a little bit, when she heard someone enter her room. She opened one eye and saw that it was Applejack, walking right towards her. New tears started to form in Apple Bloom’s eyes as she was sure that Applejack was still mad at her.
“I’m really sorry, Applejack,” she said. “It was an accident.”
Applejack didn’t say anything. She just went and sat on the bed next to Apple Bloom. She then took off her hat and placed it on the little filly’s head.
“It’s okay,” Applejack whispered.
Apple Bloom looked up at her older sister and saw that she had a few tears in her eyes as well and she was smiling.
“You know I can’t stay mad at you, sugarcube,” said Applejack.
A huge smile appeared on Apple Bloom’s face as she and Applejack gave each other a hug.
With all of the wonderful memories that were appearing in the Cutie Mark Crusader’s minds, the gray colour on their bodies disappeared completely. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle then ran up and gave their older sisters a hug while Scootaloo hugged her hero, Rainbow Dash. Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Spike soon joined them in a huge group hug.
“Uh, I hate to ruin this heart filled moment,” said Spike. “But we still have to stop Discord.”
“Spike’s right,” said Rainbow Dash. “Let’s go after that creep and teach him that no one messes with our family and friends and gets away with it.”
And with that, the six ponies, Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders headed to Canterlot to defeat Discord once and for all.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: The ‘good memories’ that Apple Bloom and Scootaloo have of Applejack and Rainbow Dash are based off of the comics “Apples are the Sweetest Thing” by ParadgimPizza and “I’m Hurt” by AleximusPrime which can be found on Deviantart.
Princess Celestia sat on her throne with two of her guards standing beside her. She was silent the whole time as a lot was going through her mind. Mostly, she was hoping that Twilight’s plan to stop Discord would work and she also hoped that they found the little fillies that were captured.
At that very moment, the silence was broken to the sound of a familiar evil laugh that echoed through the room. Just then, a flash of light appeared in front of the princess and Discord appeared in it’s place.
“Hello again, Celestia,” he said. “Happy to see me?”
Celestia just glared at Discord as her guards charged after him. Discord then shot a yellow blot from his finger which hit the ground and a huge puddle of brown liquid appeared. When the guards stepped in it, they stopped dead in their tracks as the liquid had made their hooves stick to the ground.
“What is this stuff?” asked one of the guards
“Maple syrup,” said Discord. “Good for putting on pancakes and for stopping pesky guard ponies that are in my way."
Discord flew right above the guards, and the syrup floor and then walked towards Princess Celestia. The princess shot a number of beams from her horn, but Discord simply stopped them with his hands and turned them into piles of flowers. Discord then shot a huge bolt towards Princess Celestia, which quickly turned into a rope and tied her to her throne. She tried to wiggle her way out, but the rope was too tight, so she couldn’t help but sit still as Discord walked up to her.
“You won’t get away with this, Discord,” said the Princess.
“You won’t get away with this, Discord,” said Discord mockingly. “I wish I had a bit for every time I heard that. Anyway, I’ve already gotten away with it.”
Discord then showed Princess Celestia the element book, which he had wrapped around his tail. The princess just sat in the chair, shocked that her sworn enemy was holding onto the one thing that could destroy him.
“That’s right, Celestia,” said Discord as he waved the book in the princess’ face. “And you have the privilege of watching me destroy the most powerful items in all of Equestria and when they are gone, there will be no stopping me from taking back what is rightfully mine; your throne.”
“Twilight Sparkle will stop you,” said Princess Celestia
Discord simply laughed at what the princess had said to him.
“I’m afraid not,” he said. “You see, she has problems of her own right now.”
“That’s what you think, Discord,” said a familiar voice.
Discord turned around and saw Twilight and her friends glaring back at him. He was also shocked to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders with them, their coats and manes no longer gray.
“How did you three break my spell?” the chaos spirit asked. “It was my strongest one.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Discard,” said Apple Bloom,
“For the last time,” Discord interrupted in an annoyed tone. “My name is DisCORD. With an ‘O.”
“Whatever,” Apple Bloom continued. “Anyway, that spell of yours may have been strong, but our love for our family and friends is a lot stronger.”
“Got that right,” said Scootaloo.
“Couldn’t agree more,” said Sweetie Belle.
Discord let out a huge groan as he said, “Why is it that love and friendship always seems to ruin my fun? Well, no matter. I still have the Elements of Harmony.”
“Wrong again, Discord,” said Pinkie Pie in a sing-song voice.
Discord was a bit confused at what he just heard. So he grabbed the element book from his tail and opened it up only to get the shock of his life. The book was empty. There wasn’t one single necklace or tiara inside it.
“This can’t be,” said Discord. “Where are the Elements of Harmony?”
Twilight simply smiled and said two little words, “Right here.”
Just then, Twilight’s horn started to glow and Discord looked in disbelief as the Elements of Harmony all appeared on their respected owners. First, Pinkie Pie’s element of laughter appeared around her neck, then Fluttershy’s element of kindness, then Rarity’s element of Generosity, then Rainbow Dash’s element of loyalty and then Applejack’s element of honesty. Finally, Twilight’s tiara, which represented her element of magic, appeared on her head.
“I don’t understand,” said Discord, who was still dumbfounded at what he saw. “You had the elements all along?”
“That’s right,” said Twilight. “With a little help from a invisibility spell I know. Did you really think we would hand the elements to you so easily?”
Discord suddenly started to back up as the six ponies walked towards them, their elements glowing brightly.
“Okay, so maybe kidnapping your little friends and trying to turn them against you was a bad idea,” Discord said nervously. Can’t we just put it aside and forget all about it?”
“Don’t think so,” said Rainbow Dash. “Time for you to taste the rainbow again, Discord.”
The six ponies all got into their positions as Twilight shut her eyes and used her magic to levitate her and her friends. When she reopened her eyes, a white glow appeared out of them and soon, a huge rainbow shot out of all of the elements and hit Discord who could only let out a huge scream as his body was once again incised in stone.
Just then, the syrup on the ground disappeared and the guards were able to walk again, and the rope around Princess Celestia disappeared as well.
“Thank you, Twilight Sparkle,” the princess said as she got off of her throne and walked towards her faithful student. “You have once again saved Equestria from eternal chaos. I am very proud of you.”
The princess and the others soon eyed the Discord statue.
“What are you going to do with it?” asked Twilight.
The princess thought for a second and then said, “I know what to do.”
She then used her magic to lift the statue off the ground and carry it out of the room. The others were a bit curious about where she was going so they followed her. When they caught up, they saw Princess Celestia place the statue inside a small empty room. The others recognized it as the room where Princess Celestia had placed the Elements of Harmony before Discord escaped the last time. She placed the statue in the middle of the room, shut the door and locked it by sticking her horn into the lock.
“Are you sure it will safe in there?” asked Rarity.
“Of course” said Princess Celestia. “Remember, this room is protected by a magic so powerful that only I know how to open it.”
The other ponies remembered that the only reason that Discord was able to get at the elements last time was because his magic was even more powerful than the magic that protected the door. And they knew that since he was in the room as a statue, he wouldn’t be getting out anytime soon.
“Well, I better take you home, yougin,” Applejack said to Apple Bloom. “I think there are a few more dumplings left for you.”
Apple Bloom licked her lips as she got up onto Applejack’s back.
“Come along, Sweetie Belle,” said Rarity as she helped her sister onto her back. “We still have a lunch date at my house to attend to.”
“I better get you home too, pipsqueak,” Rainbow Dash said to Scootaloo. “Your mom must be worried sick about you.”
“I have to get back to Angel,” said Fluttershy. “I still have to give him his carrot muffins.”
“Don’t worry, they're still at Suagrcube Corner,” said Pinkie Pie. “You head on home to your little sick bunny and I’ll deliver them to you myself.”
“Thanks, Pinkie,” said Fluttershy smiling.
Before they all left, the Cutie Mark Crusaders asked if they could talk to the princess for a second. The others said it was okay and the three young fillies walked right up to Princess Celestia.
“What can I do for you, my little ones?” the princess asked.
“We would just like to tell you the lesson we learned today,” said Scootaloo.
“Yeah,” said Apple Bloom. “We learned that there will be times where you may cause trouble for some pony you care about.”
“But if that pony truly loves you,” Sweetie Belle said. “They will always forgive you and do anything to make you happy.”
“An excellent lesson to learn indeed,” said Princess Celestia with a smile.
And with that, the Cutie Mark Crusaders went to catch to the other ponies and head home.