> Fears
>  by Short Stories
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prolouge: Quick End
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When this lavender unicorn first appeared, and I teleported her away from her five travel buddies, I didn't think much of it. She didn't look like the type that could 'defeat me', per-say. When she started running towards me, with her horn charged up, I thought she was ready for battle, and charged towards her, as well.

Then she teleported, over to where the elements lay in stone. I was starting to get nervous as I saw her ignite her horn again, this time not for teleportation. "Just...one...spark..." I heard her murmur, as her magic surrounded all five elements. Enough was enough; I teleported over to where she was, she was so busy concentrating, she didn't even notice my presence.

"Enough!" I yelled as I shot her away with a hard blast of my magic. She went skidding across the floor, looking quite hurt. Good. That's what she gets for trying to overthrow me. I look at her as her expression changes from horrified to smug; she looks like she's looking at the elements surrounding me. I look down, curious to see what she sees, and immediately regret I did.

The elements were shinning in her light-pink aura, and her horn had stopped glowing; only meaning one thing: She ignited the spark.

"No!" I say, stunned; I didn't think it was possible. What, with my 1,000 years trapped on the moon, it gave me plenty of time to come back with a battle strategy--plenty of time to think of every possible thing that could happen and over come it, new dangerous possibilities forming in my head each day. Unfortunately, I hadn't planned for a simple unicorn from Canterlot--I presume-to come into the battle, I had been expecting my sister, so I could fight her--and win, then banish her to the sun for 2,000 years. She would hate that, just as much as I did, and finally see my pain.

The stones stopped glowing. "No!" I heard the unicorn say, almost mimicking me. A delighted smile creeps upon my lips. I start to laugh, at the doubts I just had, what was I thinking? There was no way a pony half my height could ever defeat me! I crush the elements for good measure. "No!!" She says again.

"You little foal!" I say, loving the play-on-words. "Thinking you could defeat me? Now you will never see your princess, or your sun! The night will last forever!" I throw in an evil laugh for good measure. The unicorn looks terrified, once again, and I know I have her in my clutches. Then I hear voices.

And not the voices in my head that made me get revenge, no, outside voices.

"Don't worry Twilight, we're here." A voice says, this voice is high-pitched, energetic, and sweet all the same.

"Don't worry, we'll be there." A more southern accent says, concern mixed into her voice.

The unicorn--Twilight, from what I heard, lets out a happy gasp. Thats not a good sign for me, I find myself with my mouth hanging open, and close it immediately. "You think you can destroy The Elements of Harmony just like that?" Twilight asks, more than a statement than anything. "Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here."

I was speechless for a second, then a word found it's way to my lips. "What?" I felt my expression change from from surprise to disgust without thinking.

"Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... honesty!" As she spoke, some shards from the elements I broke picked themselves up and whisked around the orange earth pony, the pony looking confused, and a little frightful, of what would happen next. "Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of... kindness!" Twilight continued, more shards picking themselves up and surrounding the frail yellow pegasus, this one seemed terrified, and tried to huddle herself into a ball while hovering in mid-air. "Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of... laughter!" Twilight continued, some more shards surrounding the bubbly, bouncing, earth pony. She didn't seem scared one bit.

"Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of... generosity!" The white unicorn stared at the shards, tried to back away as they came near her, then realized it was no use and stood still, letting them revolve around her. "And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty!" The blue pegasus, the one I was keeping my eye on, looked at the shards surrounding her with a smug expression. She must be playing it cool, in front of her companions.

"The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us!" Twilight claimed, pointing an accusing hoof at me, but I found a loophole almost instantly.

"You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work! " I yell, trying to get that fact through their thick heads.

"But it did!" Twilight argued, "a different kind of spark." She turned her back to me, facing her friends instead. "I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... are my friends!" Just then, a orb of light so bright I had to shield my face came down and landed--if that was possible--on the unicorns head, after the light left, there was a purple crown that matched her cutie mark sitting just behind her horn. "You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!"

I saw them about to lift up, probably about to over throw me. Panicking, I decided to tell them what really happened. "Wait!!" I cried. The six ponies, who were starting to rise in the air, (minus the pegasi) stopped and somehow hovered instead. Twilight looked down at me with irritation, something she felt she had a right to hold.

But she didn't know the full story.

My side of the story.

The unpublished side of the story.

"I want to tell you what really happened." Twilight switched her expression to confused. "Before you reform me, of course, and I lose my memory."

Twilight sighed and she, along with her new-found friends, plopped down on the floor in front of me. I cackled, not believing how foolish these ponies were! I fired up my magic and teleported all six of them to my post-home on the moon. 

I then went and paid a little visit to my sister, teleporting her to the sun for 2,000 years, like I planned. My reign of the night went on forever, Discord eventually adding in his own little twist of things. I heard about a changeling attack in Canterlot, and King Sombra returning in the Crystal City.

For some reason, ponies were slowly becoming mind-controlled little zombies with the same equal sign cutie mark, but I didn't care one bit.

Equestria had fallen, all thanks to me.
> Prolouge: For Real This Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When this lavender unicorn first appeared, and I teleported her away from her five travel buddies, I didn't think much of it. She didn't look like the type that could 'defeat me', per-say. When she started running towards me, with her horn charged up, I thought she was ready for battle, and charged towards her, as well.

Then she teleported, over to where the elements lay in stone. I was starting to get nervous as I saw her ignite her horn again, this time not for teleportation. "Just...one...spark..." I heard her murmur, as her magic surrounded all five elements. Enough was enough; I teleported over to where she was, she was so busy concentrating, she didn't even notice my presence.

"Enough!" I yelled as I shot her away with a hard blast of my magic. She went skidding across the floor, looking quite hurt. Good. That's what she gets for trying to overthrow me. I look at her as her expression changes from horrified to smug; she looks like she's looking at the elements surrounding me. I look down, curious to see what she sees, and immediately regret I did.

The elements were shinning in her light-pink aura, and her horn had stopped glowing; only meaning one thing: She ignited the spark.

"No!" I say, stunned; I didn't think it was possible. What, with my 1,000 years trapped on the moon, it gave me plenty of time to come back with a battle strategy--plenty of time to think of every possible thing that could happen and over come it, new dangerous possibilities forming in my head each day. Unfortunately, I hadn't planned for a simple unicorn from Canterlot--I presume-to come into the battle, I had been expecting my sister, so I could fight her--and win, then banish her to the sun for 2,000 years. She would hate that, just as much as I did, and finally see my pain.

The stones stopped glowing. "No!" I heard the unicorn say, almost mimicking me. A delighted smile creeps upon my lips. I start to laugh, at the doubts I just had, what was I thinking? There was no way a pony half my height could ever defeat me! I crush the elements for good measure. "No!!" She says again.

"You little foal!" I say, loving the play-on-words. "Thinking you could defeat me? Now you will never see your princess, or your sun! The night will last forever!" I throw in an evil laugh for good measure. The unicorn looks terrified, once again, and I know I have her in my clutches. Then I hear voices.

And not the voices in my head that made me get revenge, no, outside voices.

"Don't worry Twilight, we're here." A voice says, this voice is high-pitched, energetic, and sweet all the same.

"Don't worry, we'll be there." A more southern accent says, concern mixed into her voice.

The unicorn--Twilight, from what I heard, lets out a happy gasp. Thats not a good sign for me, I find myself with my mouth hanging open, and close it immediately. "You think you can destroy The Elements of Harmony just like that?" Twilight asks, more than a statement than anything. "Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here."

I was speechless for a second, then a word found it's way to my lips. "What?" I felt my expression change from from surprise to disgust without thinking.

"Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... honesty!" As she spoke, some shards from the elements I broke picked themselves up and whisked around the orange earth pony, the pony looking confused, and a little frightful, of what would happen next. "Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of... kindness!" Twilight continued, more shards picking themselves up and surrounding the frail yellow pegasus, this one seemed terrified, and tried to huddle herself into a ball while hovering in mid-air. "Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of... laughter!" Twilight continued, some more shards surrounding the bubbly, bouncing, earth pony. She didn't seem scared one bit.

"Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of... generosity!" The white unicorn stared at the shards, tried to back away as they came near her, then realized it was no use and stood still, letting them revolve around her. "And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty!" The blue pegasus, the one I was keeping my eye on, looked at the shards surrounding her with a smug expression. She must be playing it cool, in front of her companions.

"The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us!" Twilight claimed, pointing an accusing hoof at me, but I found a loophole almost instantly.

"You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work! " I yell, trying to get that fact through their thick heads.

"But it did!" Twilight argued, "a different kind of spark." She turned her back to me, facing her friends instead. "I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... are my friends!" Just then, a orb of light so bright I had to shield my face came down and landed--if that was possible--on the unicorns head, after the light left, there was a purple crown that matched her cutie mark sitting just behind her horn. "You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!"

I saw them about to lift up, probably about to over throw me. Panicking, I decided to tell them what really happened. "Wait!!" I cried. The six ponies, who were starting to rise in the air, (minus the pegasi) stopped and somehow hovered instead. Twilight looked down at me with irritation, something she felt she had a right to hold.

But she didn't know the full story.

The unpublished side of the story.

My side of the story.

"I want to tell you what really happened." Twilight switched her expression to confused. "Before you reform me, of course, and I lose my memory."

Twilight sighed and she, along with her new-found friends, plopped down on the floor in front of me. I cackled, not believing how foolish these ponies were! Twilight jumped to her hooves and pointed her horn at me. "If you try anything, we can use these elements in an instant!" She warned.

Like I needed to be reminded.

"When we were fillies, my sister and I fought a lot. It only got worse in years passing."

"Hey, what's with the unhappy start?" The pink earth pony-Pinkie Pie, I think- asked, pouting.

"Don't interrupt her, darling. Maybe the story will get better as it progresses." The white unicorn said, then faced me with a worried smile on her lips. She was scared. Excellent. That made me feel powerful.

"When Celestia first took on her proper role as the leader of Equestria, she kept telling me the pressure was to strong, too much, too soon. She was telling me she couldn't handle it, and asked me to take over the night, since ponies were coming in well past midnight for help from the princess then, and possibly now."

"This isn't getting any happier." Pinkie loudly whispered, she was starting to get on my nerves.

I ignored her and continued on. "I noticed ponies were shunning my night, and worshiping her beautiful day--"

"Thats exactly whats in the book! How is this different, exactly?" Twilight interrupted, a scowl on her face.

"Just listen." I instructed. "The worst part was--my sister was parting during my lovely night, getting drunk, smoking, she almost stripped if I wasn't there to teleport her to her room!" All the ponies in that small room were looking at me, horrified. Probably not believing a word I was saying. I cast a spell to project my memories upon the closest wall, so they could see it with their own eyes. "That was the night we started fighting; Tia kept saying that she knew what she was doing, that she was handling it responsibly, however, she kept slurring as she spoke, so I highly doubted she was right." I narrated. After that, I stayed silent and let my memories tell the story.



"Tia, everything you just said in that sentence was wrong!" Memory-me cried, you could visibly see the tears of anger in my eyes. "I care for you, Tia! I don't want other ponies taking advantage of you!"

"You don't care fo me one bit!" Celestia argued back, trying to point a hoof at me, but wound up falling on her side instead. "Tat nia* pony waz showin me da way to da garden!"

Memory-me shook my head. "No, Tia. He was leading you downstairs."

"Izn't dat where da garden iz?" Celestia asked. She had her golden dress half-off and her shoes were on her wrong hooves.

Memory-me shook her head again. "No, Tia, it isn't. He was trying to get your dress off of you."

"Poniz r naked 'alf da tim, anyways! Why iz it a big deal noow?" Celestia asked, slowly and clumsily parading around the bed.

MM lowered her voice, along with her head, in anger. "It's a big deal iif it's a social gathering." She whispered.

I seemed like Tia had come to her senses, that's what it felt like, at least, when she suddenly turned to me and started stomping her hoof, just like Twilight did when I first met her not even ten minutes ago. Her eyes narrowed and she pointed her horn at me; I thought she would teleport me to my room, but I was wrong.

"I'm da oldr sizter. I am rezponzable, I can make my own decizions." She told me, horn still down. "I get to punizh thou. You need to dink about how ur acting ta meh."

MM looked at her with shock, fera and anger mixed into my expression, it looked like she was beside herself with these emotions; thats because she--thats because I--was.

"TO DA RMOON!" With that, and a huge flash of light, MM was gone, a huge smoldering spot in the middle of the floor.



My spell ended, and I looked at my small audience. They were all still staring at the wall, slack-jawed. They slowly turned their heads towards me, pity written all over their faces.

"Nightmare Moon...I'm so sor-"

"Don't go there." I instruct Twilight. "Please, don't even go there."

"I think she was trying to say 'room." Pinkie said. "Forgive and forget, right?"

I scowl at that saying; oh, how I HATE that saying so much! "If it's 'forgive and forget', pink pony," I say, slowly walking towards her for intimidation. Pinkie keeps smiling at me, waiting for what I have to say next. "Why didn't Celestia come here herself and apologize, hmm? Why did she send you six pony-drones in her place? Why didn't she write a response to all those letters I sent to her while I was on the moon?"

"Maybes she's just busy?" Pinkie shrugged, holding an innocent grin on her face. I was now where the pink horse sat.

I lowered my face right next to hers, as if I wanted to tell her a secret. "Why did she tell me that she'd never. LOVE ME?!" I scream into her face. That did happen the night before the 'incident', but I doubt they need proof now.

Pinkie stared straight ahead,"Uhh..." All hope was gone from her eyes.

"That's what I thought." I say, a satisfied smirk on my lips. I teleport back to the front of the ponies, and all five switch their heads back to me. Pinkie doesn't do anything, I assume I lost her. "If you want to reform me now, go on ahead." I say, standing as stiff as a soldier. "But you must remember: You won't be doing any pony any good if you aren't reforming a half-brained nitwit that I swear still parties like she used to to this day."

"How do ya know?" Applejack asked me.

"I spied on her with my magic for the last ten days I was on the moon." I said. "It wasn't pretty."

"Eww!" All five ponies chimed, probably imagining what I might have seen. Pinkie was still staring off into space; her hair was deflated, and her fur seemed duller then before.

"We won't reform you." Twilight said, walking forward. She must be the unspoken 'leader' of these five ponies. "We want to work for you, and help Princess Celestia become more.." she cleared her throat. "..modest."

I took a step back in shock; not expecting these ponies to put their trust in me. "You trust me?" I ask.

All six ponies nodded, Pinkie had finally come out of her trance and was back to her regular self.

"How do I know your not lying?" I ask, in a more flatter tone. I need to make sure I trust them as well.

"You could. . .trust us?" Rarity suggested. I shook my head.

"We could throw a trust-party for you!" Pinkie yelled. I shook my head again.

".....Trust...falls....?" Fluttershy asked. I know no why she's called 'Fluttershy', it was a wonder I could hear her. Still, I shook my head at that, too.

I noticed Twilight had stood and was beginning to pace around in front of me. She suddenly stopped, right in my point of veiw, and made another delighted gasp. This time, I knew it was a good thing.

"You could put us through trials!" She exclaimed. Before I could think it over, however, Applejack started to speak.

"Twilight?"

She turned around to face her friend. "Yes?"

"What's a trial?"

"A trial is a formal examination of evidence before a judge, and typically before a jury, in order to decide guilt in a case of criminal or civil proceedings." All five ponies looked at her with wondrous expressions, confused on how that type of 'trial' would help me test their loyalty. Twilight bent back her ears, she probably had a sheepish smile on, but I couldn't tell. She was still facing away from me. "Uhh...It's also a test, for something," she turned to the side so I could see her profile, "or, in this case, somepony to assess its suitability or performance. In this case, trust and loyalty."

A series of "Ooooh!"'s coursed out through the room. Twilight turned to face me head-on, her eyes clearly showing her excitement. "What do you say, Nightmare Moon?" She asked, the hopefulness in her voice easy to her.

I liked that idea, I liked it quite a lot, actually. And I already had an idea for the theme of each trial. "That sounds like an excellent idea." I say, "and I think I have an idea for each of you, already."

"Ooo, what is it?" Pinkie asks, "is it baking,orpiemakingorthrowingpartiesorgivingoutballonsor--"

"NO!" I spread my wings in frustration. Pinkie immediately stops talking, shock stricken across her face, as if I had slapped her. "No." I repeat, a lot more calmer this time. "I'd rather surprise you, then tell you right away." My voice sounds shockingly sweet for me, I decided I don't really like it.

"Okay! Whatever you wish! I can hardly wait to know, though!!" Pinkie cheered. She won't be cheering for long.

"When do we start?" Twilight asks, her eyes full of hope.

I lower my head, my horn pointing straight at her. "There all solo trials," I warned, "so your friends can't come and save you." I see them all nod out of the top of my eye. "Your trials begin..." Pause, for dramatic effect..."now." With six beams of light, there all gone.

I cast a spell six times, to see each ponies progress. I can also speak to them, if I wish. But I doubt they'll need help. There strong, brave ponies. It's only their worst fear, after all.
> Cheesy Delima
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight Sparkle appeared in a lavender room, the exact same shade and color as her fur. She first thought that she should camouflage into it, but instantly declined the though, seeing as there was no predators or around to hunt her down. Plus, Nightmare Moon clearly saw she was a unicorn, and could probably easily camouflage herself against a blank, white space.

She mentally face-hoofed herself, regretting her pattern of thought. She had almost forgotten her five new friends were in this, too. It was strange having friends, but in a good way. She was used to being alone, which is why she thought what she had just thought a moment ago, about the camouflage and only thinking about herself.

She saw a door appear ahead of her, and slowly began walking towards it. Nervous of what would happen, nonetheless. She reached the door, opened it, and immediately regretted her decision.

In the next room, there was tortilla triangles filled with frightening, orange, cheesy cheese. It was her worst fear: quesadillas.

Twilight let out an ear-splitting shriek, then tried to run away. An invisible force prevented her from doing so. Twilight screamed again, louder this time. It was no use. The invisible force kept pushing her towards her cheesy delemia, no matter how much she cried or begged for it to stop. She tried screaming yet again, but o sound came out. It was like her brain face-hoofed itself. This was Nightmare Moon's challenge.

Her worst fear.

I pained Twilight to say this, let alone think it, very much so. Eventually, she forced the words out of her mouth, barley audible over the sound of her heart pumping in her ears.

"Bring it on."
> Betrayed
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ooo, what is this place?" An ecstatic Pinkie bounced through the light pink room, looking left and right for each hop. It was no use, though; the only thing in the room was the color pink, and a door with her cutie mark  printed on it at the farthest wall. "This place doesn't have a party?" She asked herself, abruptly placing her flank on the ground, trying to think of a way to spice things up.  "Boring! This place needs some music!"

She looked towards the door, beginning to stand up. "Maybe there's some party supplies in here..." With that, she began hoping towards the door, unknowingly hoping towards her doom. 

Pinkie froze, seemingly staring off into nothing. "Hey! Spoilers!" She called, "and I'm looking at you, silly!" he should probably keep the fourth-wall breaking to a minimum. She huffed, then began hopping once more, saying her signature "Okie dokie loki."

It didn't take long for Pinkie to reach the cutie mark-imprinted door. As soon as she reached it, the door opened for her; on the other side was a grassy hill. On top of the grassy hill was a tall tree, a picnic basket resting beneath it,  but nopony was around to claim it for themselves. "Maybe there's party supplies in there..." she mumbled, hopping happily towards the abandoned picnic basket, her eyes closed. 

Suddenly, a limbo stick appeared in mid air, hovering at the height of Pinkie's chest.  With her eyes still closed, she somehow hoped over the hovering stick and continued on her way. She heard somepony say something, but couldn't interpret it. Again, the stick appeared around her chest and again, she hoped over it.

This happened yet another time before some scuffling in the bushes that were surrounded the hill and the picnic began to rustle. Not all of them, of course. The ones that were nearest to her, on the right. She stopped hopping and humming, opening her eyes to see where the noise could've been coming from.

All noise suddenly stopped, no gradual end or just end in general. Just a sudden stop that made the pink pony's suspicions rise higher. She stood there for quite some time before shrugging and continuing her merry way to the picnic basket.

A pink flash lit up the inside of her eyelids.

She opened her eyes to see what happened, and found herself at the top of the hill instead of at the base. Neat! She also saw that the single picnic basket was unpacked, the checkered picnic blanket and all the foods laid out perfectly; which was odd, considering nothing but the basket was there a moment ago.

Her five new friends were there as well.

"Hey, guys!" Pinkie cheered, "you having a picnic break before taking on Nightmare Moon's quest?" All five shot her a rather annoyed look, but none of them spoke up. "What?" She asked, "did I do something wrong?"

The five exchanged a look Pinkie didn't quite understand before silently nominating Twilight as their speaker. "Yes," she answered, "you did do something wrong. Incredibly wrong. I can't believe you haven't noticed it yet."

Well, that was rude... Pinkie thought, instantly dismissing it; Twilight was knew to this whole 'friendship' thing, She might be extremely blunt before she meet her new friends, but Pinkie would never know.

"What?" Pinkie prodded when she realized Twilight wouldn't continue. All four, minus Twilight, had turned their backs on her. "What did I do?"

Rainbow scoffed before turning her head around to face the party pony. "You don't know what you did?" She asked in a cruel tone; Pinkie shook her head. "You failed Nightmare Moon's test!" The blue sky that was around them suddenly turned dark, stars popping up here and there  and a full moon rising above the tree they were under. Rainbow's eyes went wide, as if hypnotized, and she slowly turned her head back to it's normal position.

Pinkie's expression changed from confusion to worry. "S-so?" The mean looks the others were giving her were making her nervous.

"So?" Twilight mocked. "So?!" Don't you realize, you pink buffoon? So we can no longer trust you! So we can't hang out anymore! So we can no longer be friends!"

Those four cruel words hit Pinkie's heart like a bullet. The worst part? Nopony tried to defend Pinkie--not even Fluttershy! They were all still shunning her!

It felt like Pinkie was dropped into an endless, spiraling, unforgiving abyss. Had they seriously stopped being her friend, right then and there? She felt dizzy and faint. It was her worst nightmare all over again.
> Apples to the Corpse
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as Applejack opened her eyes, the only color she could see was orange. Correction: The only thing she could see was orange, along with a door that sported her cutie mark on it. She looked around the carrot-orange room, trying to see if there was any windows or hints of where she was. When she didn't see anything, she figured it would be best if she headed towards the door.

"I'll be.." She mumbled into the eerily quiet room, turning her head from left to right, even though she knew it wasn't much use. "Am ah supposed ta camouflage inta this here room?" She didn't think so, but it was nice to get the burning question out of her head. "Is this all part of the test Nightmare Moon sent us to?" 

She couldn't quite help but talk to herself; she lived in a house that held an energetic filly, an elder pony that shouted almost everything she said, and a stallion-not that any of her other kin were a problem. She also had all of her extended family over for about a month to prepare food for the Summer Sun Celebration. It was almost never quiet in the Apple house, not even at night. This full sense of silence, though she would never admit it out loud, scared her in ways she couldn't explain.

Maybe there was somepony that would materialize out of the wall and help her on her test. "Hello?" She called, "anypony here?" Her hind stood inches away from the door while she looked all around the room for the tenth time since she appeared there, waiting for somepony to answer her important question.

Nothing.

Her back involuntarily shivered as she turned around and reached her hoof out to open the door, wondering what other fur-raising experiences would be on the other side. She was happy to see what laid out on the other side of the door, though. Her beautiful apple trees- acres and acres of them.

Her home.

"Hoo-ey! Glad that test is over, that there room was givin me the willies." She wondered how her family was doing, and decided to check on them before finding and helping the other five. She started walking towards the familiar bright red barn in the distance, humming a little tune to herself as she walked.

She didn't get far, however,  when a scream interrupted her mild melody. "AAAAAA--PULLLL---JAAACK!!!!" The desperate, urgent scream made her stop in her tracks and look around frantically to try and find the source of where the sound was coming from. Her vision went from looking up into the night sky to down low on the ground. From one side of the apple trees that seemed to stretch on for eternity to the other side. She finally caught sight of a tan pony running towards her, pink bow bouncing each time her forelegs touched  the ground. Applejack could hardly make out her expression, but she didn't need to see it to know something was wrong. Seriously wrong.

"Ah'm a comin, sugar cube!" She called as she ran through the clearing towards her little sister. As she ran, full grown apple trees sprouted from the earth right in front of her, making it difficult to reach the troubled filly. Applejack had to turn sharply multiple times to avoid running into the wood walls that tried to stop her.

They finally reached each other, Applejack pulling Apple Bloom into a strong yet comforting embrace. They stood like that for quite some time until Applejack broke their loving moment by holing her sister out at arms length. "Now tell me, sugar cube, what is it that's gotcha all rild up?" 

Apple Blooms eyes were misty as she tried to hold back her tears. "Somethin's wrong with Granny," she explained, "I came in the kitchen to help her with supper, an she was hackin up somethin fierce. Ah tried ta help her by gettin her a drink of water, but when she took it, she started coughing up blood." Applejack left out a soft gasp, letting her sister continue on afterwards. "Ah called Big Mac an once he saw the whole scene, he told me ta go get you. He sounded serious, Applejack, ah just don't know what ta do!" Apple Bloom then started to hyperventilate, concerning Applejack even more; if that was even possible.

"It's alright, Apple Bloom, just take a deep breath--"

"Ah'm tryin!" The filly cried, the tears that were trapped in her eyes before finally streaming out. "Ah'm tryin real hard to be strong, Applejack, ah just don't think ah can." She started to hyperventilate again, stopped for a moment, then collapsed to the ground.

"Apple Bloom?" Applejack immediately asked, there was no doubt that worry was trapped in her voice. "Apple Bloom, y'all OK?" The farm pony lowered her head down to her sisters mouth to try and hear-or feel-her sisters breath. Each second that ticked by felt like agony, Applejack gaining more and more fear until finally, after ten of those dreaded seconds, she heard a soft exhale and, at the same time, felt a small breeze tickle her ear. 

There was absolutely no wind that night, so it must've been Apple Bloom's breath. Her sister was still alive. Thank Celestia.

With some effort, Applejack got her fainted sister onto her back and started off once more towards the barn in the distance. On the outside, she looked calm, cool and collected. 

On the inside? She was terrified.
> 3.1) Lickety Split!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apple Bloom felt something wet licking her face; something strangely rough yet smooth at the same time. It was the strangest sensation that reminded her of her dog--Applejack's dog--the family's dog, Winona.

She opened her eyes, expecting to see Winona wagging her tail as the morning sunlight trickled in. What she saw was somepony licking her face. She was unable to move-to push them away-due to the fact that she had been hog-tied so tight it seemed like her eyeballs would pop out at any second. She was also up-side down, her head pounding form all the blood rushing too it; she figured she had been hanging upside down for quite a while.

No, correction: everypony in Ponyville was scrambling to lick her face. It was a huge and difficult effort just to ask what was going on.

"Sugar cube, don't mind them." Applejack responded, "were just gonna eat y'all up fer supper, is all."

Apple Bloom screamed as soon as her big sister's words set in. Somepony's tongue got inside her mouth; she almost puked. This has to be a nightmare, Bloom thought, mah sister would never let others eat me alive.

A nervous smile set across Bloom's wet face; the ponies licking didn't seem to notice. I'm ready to wake up now! She thought urgently. She figured she shouldn't open her mouth again, she didn't want any extra tongues in there. C'mon, Bloom, wake up!! The tongues continued to caress her face.

This wasn't possible, she was a light sleeper and could easily wake up if she knew she was having a nightmare. She could easily wake up if she told herself in the dream to wake up. She was also a scream-sleeper, if she screamed in her dream, she screamed in real life, and that sound usually woke her up if nothing else did.

But nothing worked.

She didn't know how this was happening, but she did know one thing for sure: She wanted this to be over. Now. She also knew that whoever was doing this was going to get a buck to the face, courtesy of Applejack.

Ignoring the tongues, she opened her mouth to scream yet again.
> 3.2) A Small Problem...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something was wrong. Seriously wrong. No doubt about it, Big Mac knew something was wrong.

What threw him off? Maybe the fact that his legs could be mistaken as jello, his torso as thin as a skeletons, and instead o the definite sign that he was a stallion, his mane and tail were in braids and went down to his wobbly hooves. There was also the fact that everything grew while he was sleeping, everything he looked at was at least 12 feet tall when he woke that morning. Or he shrunk. Nah... not possible. He had to somehow rock-climb his way down his un-sturdy sheets just to see how he looked in the mirror, something he did every morning to make sure something like this didn't happen. And, unfortunately, today was the day.

It also happened to be the day of the apple bucking contest. Of course it was.

He had to admit, he was pretty scared for what would happen next; horrified, even. But did he show it? No. Thats not what a true stallion would do.

To his horror, a puddle formed at the base of his hooves. 

Great, he thought, this day just keeps. Getting. Worse.
> 3.3) Blind and Homeless
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The moment Granny woke, she didn't see anything. She pondered about how this could happen, and tried to wake up again. She closed her eyes, then opened them as fast as a whip. Still empty blackness.

She somehow safely rolled off her bed and landed on her rug that she made when she was no older than fifteen. "Applejack, sweetie, can y'all come into mah room fer a moment?" She hollered. Hollering was a good sign; she was still alive, right?

"Comin' Granny!" She heard her granddaughter yell back, her hoofsteps sounding closer and closer as she approached. "Whats the matt- Oh, Celestia!" Applejack's voice sounded like it was now in Granny's room. Took her long enough, she thought. Granny had a small problem of being impatient.

"What? What is it, Applejack?" Granny asked, waiting impatiently for a reply. There was a long, heavy silence, something that seemed to damper the mood. It seemed to drag on forever, until Granny finally broke it yet again. "Ya still here, Applejack?" Her voice showed no hint of annoyance whatsoever. She had mastered that talent many years ago, when Applejack was first born.

"Uh....yeah...I'm still here..." Another withdrawn pause. "You know how ya kept tellin me when I was Apple Blooms age how you were a scared of losin yer sight?"

"It'd be my worst fear come true." Granny agreed; she imagined Applejack nodding in her minds eye. There was a small scuffing sound. Was Applejack kicking the rug?

"Ah don't know how to tell you this any other way but the plain truth."

Granny sighed, she could deal with not having her sight anymore. She was old, as the years went on, she expected it more and more. "Spit it out, now!" She cried when Applejack didn't continue on.

There was a sigh, then hooves padding closer. Applejack's hoof gently rested itself on top of Granny's. "You've gone blind, Gran." The four words that left her mouth were barley audible, but somehow, Granny heard them all the same.

And even though she had been expecting this to come for quite some time, a weak scream exited her mouth, quickly followed by a close sob. She could feel Applejack's presence all throughout her freak-out.

"This may be a bad time to tell ya, Gran..." Applejack continued, no doubt that there was nervousness in her voice. "These unicorns that call 'emselves the Flim-Flam brothers just bought out our property."

"Eh?" Granny could feel the tears that kept streaming down her face, slowly dampening the rug she stood on.

There was a shaky breath before Applejack continued. "Were gonna have ta move out by nighttime."

It felt like the world had crushed down on the poor old granny's spirits. She shriveled herself up into ab ball on her rug, unable to deal with anything for the moment. But still, like a loyal hound, Applejack stayed in her room until Big Mac came to get her.

"I think Granny Smith might need some time alone." He gently advised his sister. Granny still lay huddled in a ball of blindness and tears. Applejack nodded and gently closed the door behind her, letting Granny wither away into her two worst possible fears combined.
> Wonderbolts Forever!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today was the day Rainbow Dash had been preparing for her whole life. A chance to meet her idols and prove that she was Wonderbolts Material. Today was the day, now was the time, but this definitely was not the right place.

How would the Wonderbolts, or anypony, for that matter, see her if she was locked up inside a room the color of her fur, with one door and no windows? A door that had her cutie mark painted on it. A door that had her destiny painted on it. She didn't bother to look around the room, she just spread her wings out and zoomed up to the door, smashing it into a perplexity of wood shavings and splinters. Smashing her destiny right along with it.

"Hey! You!" Spitfire called from across the clouded ground, making her way towards the cyan pegasus; Rainbow didn't zoom towards her right away, however. She was still confused on what just happened. There weren't normally wooden doors in Cloudsdale, or on clouds for that matter. Even if there was, they wouldn't be that easy to smash down.

"You!" Spitfire called again, right on top of Dashie now. "What's your name, soldier?"

"Uh..." Rainbow almost forgot how to speak. One of her idols was actually talking to her! And it wasn't due to Rainbow's careful planning, it was their choice and their choice alone! She must have been taking a while, due to the fact that Spitfire raised an eyebrow out of annoyance and impatience. "Rain---Rainbow Dash," she finally managed to spit out.

"Rainbow Dash?" Spitfire asked, slowly raising one of her eyebrows. Rainbow nodded like a drone, mouth partly opened. Spitfire sneered at this, narrowing both of her eyes behind shaded glasses. "We need a tougher name on the field, private. And a tougher face. You look like you belong in a mares clothing store." With that, she snapped Rainbow's mouth shut and turned to fly away yelling something to somepony else; probably another Wonderbolt.

Rainbow's eyes popped out of her skull while the lower part of her mouth took the job of meeting the soft cloud-filled ground below her feet. Had her idol seriously just said she looked like she belonged in a MARE'S clothing store?! Did...did she really look that...

girlish?

"Alright, everypony! Please turn your attention to the podium for the newest Wondercolt!"  A nearby intercom blasted out Soarin's commanding voice, causing ponies all around, including Rainbow Dash, who was curious to who could replace her so quickly, look towards the Wonderbolt's podium.

An incredibly nervous light pink earth earth pony with a blonde mane and tail stepped up behind the stage. "Give a warm welcome for Lily Valley!" Soarin's voice boomed, quickly followed by thunderous applause. The nervous pony's eyes darted all about before she collapsed in a heap on the clouds surface. Nopony seemed to notice. 

"Are you kidding me?!" Rainbow shouted above the noise. She flew until she was above the crowd, so everypony could see her; including the Wonderbolts. "This is the sorry excuse you picked as a Wonderbolt?!" She knew she was being rude, but she couldn't help how cruel she was when she was upset. "This...No! Lily is the one who belongs in that mares clothing store! NOT ME! I should be up there, signing autographs! Not her, passed out on the floor!! She can't even FLY, for Celestia's sake! What's she gonna do, run on the ground below them?!"

Nopony seemed to hear her freak-out. Or notice her.

Or care.

The attention-seeking, wounded pegasus slowly drifted back down to the ground as cold, hard reality set in: The Wonderbolts wanted a nervous little earth pony that was weaker and much, much worse than the pride champ herself. Rainbow's knees sank to the ground as a wounded scream ripped it's way out of her body.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Nopony bothered to give her the attention and friendship she seeked. There was no denying it anymore. Her worst fear had somehow come true. Rainbow gave up on screaming to the heavens and wept for the first time since she was a child.

She had to admit: It felt good, but it didn't help fix anything. Yet still, nopony at all helped her. So she cried and wept every last tear out of her body, and by the end of the day, she was on a large, grey, lonely cloud. Only having the passed-out Lily Valley to keep her company.
> 4.1) Wingz for Life
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scootaloo's doctors appointment was today. She stared at herself in the mirror, long enough to take in a deep breath, close her eyes, and calm her nerves. Her doctors appointment was today. She was going to take a simple test today one that was to help see if she would be able to fly or not later in her life.

She had a flight appointment today.

Slowly, she moved away from the mirror and made her way downstairs. Her mom, Amber, was at the table, drinking some fresh water and reading the morning newspaper. "I can totally ace this appointment today..." Scootaloo mumbled to herself as she reached up on her small hind legs to try and get some breakfast cereal. "It's in my blood and bones; I have this in the bag!" She wasn't sure if this small pep talk was working or not.

"What was that, sweetie?" Amber asked, gently setting down the morning paper to face her daughter. "Did you say something?"

"Uh.." Scootaloo chuckled out of nervousness and the fact that her mom had just caught her speaking to herself like a crazy pony. "I guess I'm just a bit nervous about my flight test today."

"Flight appointment." Her mom corrected, walking over to her daughter and wrapping her in a hug. "Don't be, Scootaloo. I'm positive you'll fly just like I did when I was your age."

"Like a chicken?" Scootaloo asked, trying to break away from her mom's embrace.

Amber smiled at Scootaloo's sarcastic statement and held her out at arms length. "No," she whispered, "like a falcon."

Scootaloo nodded, suddenly looking bored. "A falcon with clipped wings." She added, at which point Amber let out a sigh and let go of her daughter.

"Scootaloo, I know you've tried your hardest to fly this past month, and I know the results were..." she paused, sucking in a breath, not sure how to continue and keep her daughters ego safe. "Crooked..." Amber winced when she saw Scootaloo roll her eyes, "but don't give up hope! Who knows? Maybe today is the day you'll spread your wings..."

Scootaloo's grin was the best grin any mother could ever see. "...and soar..." Scootaloo finished in a hushed whisper. Her mom nodded, returning Scootaloo's grin; she said something about breakfast and 9 o clock, but all of Scootaloo's attention was on her wings. The wings that could help her reach the clouds.

Today.



"That's the last test there is, Mrs. Amber." Doctor Heartbeat said, "I'll have the results back in about two hours. Feel free to stay here and enjoy our new vending machines." He gesture towards some vending machines out in the hall that had lollipops in each slot. "We need them to help raise money." He added when Amber gave him a curious look.

"I'll give Scootaloo here a dollar or two so she can get herself a sucker." Amber said with a warm smile, then quickly ushered Scootaloo out of the small room. She gave the small orange pegasus two dollars, which Scootaloo quickly fed into the machine, and received four lollipops in return.

"What do you think I got on my test score, mom?" Scootaloo asked, her mouth stuffed full with suckers ranging from red to green.

"I'm not sure, sweetie." Scootaloo instantly hung her head, "but I'm sure it's fantastic!" Her mom finished with a wink.



"This is anything but fantastic." Heartbeat said as he levitated the final results. "I don't mean to scare your precious one, Mrs. Amber, but..."

"But what?" Scootaloo interrupted. She had a orange and green swirled lollipop in her mouth that barley mufflled her words.

"Shh, sweetheart, it's OK.." Amber mumbled, all the while looking anything but calm.

Heartbeat took a deep breath before continuing. "But she..uh..Scootaloo may never be able to...fly..." he cleared his throat, worried Amber would go full karate on him. "...Fly..."

The sucker in Scootaloo's mouth fell onto the long wax paper she sat on. Everything seemed so distant. Heartbeat's words rang through her head like a bell.

Never...be able to...fly...

Never...fly...

Never...

The world around her went from the dark purple of the room's tiled floors to the inky black of the midnight sky. A sky she'd never be able to touch or sleep upon.

"Scootaloo!" Amber's voice sounded like she was calling her name from ten miles away. Scootaloo was already gone.
> Fashionable Stress
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh, this room is so..so drab!" Rarity complained as soon as her eyes cracked open. "I need some windows here, a table would look lovely here... Is that my cutie mark?!" Her attention immediately swiveled to the off-white door with three blue diamonds imprinted on it. "Oh, thank Celestia! I do hope this leads to my store..." She started walking towards the door that held her fate, innocently believing it contained some supplies to help perk up the room she was in.

"Ooo! Maybe Twilight and the others will be there too, to help me fix this..." She looked around as her hoof rested on the door handle. "..mess." She finished, having trouble finding a polite way to put it.

She walked through the door and..

"There she is!" An angry pony shouted and, in a clamoring instant, twenty ponies were there, mad as can be, with horrible looking dresses and shoes.

"She's the pony responsible for this!"

"No wonder! She looks stingy!"

"The gala is tonight! There is no way plausible we can go there now!"

"Calm down, everypony!" Rarity shouted over the commotion. As soon as everypony calmed down, Rarity regained her composture. "now..." she cleared her throat, "what seems to be the problem?"

"What seems to be the problem?!" Somepony mocked. They stepped forward. It was Sapphire Shores, wearing what looked like a table cloth as a dress and tissue boxes for shoes. 

How odd, Rarity thought, maybe it's the seasons latest fashion trend?

"What seems to be the problem?!?" She repeated; she looked anything but happy. "This...this thing you made for us is. Is..UNBEARABLE, to say the least!"

Rarity took a step back, about to go back into that bland and boring room to calm down before stepping outside again. There was only one problem: It was gone.

"I--I--" Rarity's voice cracked as she tried to fight back the tears. "I have no idea what I did wrong...I-I can try to fix it, if y-y-you'd like..." She backed up against a nearby building wall as Sapphire's shadow appeared over her. "I'll make sure not to make the s-same mistake again!" It proved difficult to not stutter in front of a large crowd of very angry and annoyed ponies. The last sentence she said sounded meek compared to Fluttershy's normal voice.

"It better be." Sapphire snarled, getting up in Rarity's face. "Or else Canterlot Boutique will be closed."

Rarity took a gulp of air, finding it hard to breathe. "I-"

"FOREVER!" Sapphire interrupted. 

Rarity was left in a huge pile of trashy dresses and wound-up stress. She knew one thing for certain. She took in a shaky breath to calm her nerves as another thing popped into her mind. Then another.

No sleep for Rarity tonight.
No gala for Rarity tonight.
No sanity for Rarity tonight...

Or ever.
> 5.1) Impostor!!!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



It's been quite some time since Rarity and I have gotten some quality sister time. What, with the Summer Sun Festival and that evil mare taking over and damaging almost everything in sight. Most of it was the stuff I made. Typical.

Rarity and five other strangers walked into the Everfree forest; it's been a while since they returned. I'm nervous some Timberwolves ate her, or maybe an Ursa Major ripped her to shreds. It's strange that they would tell us about the beasts that live in the Everfree forest during school. You'd think they want us to have nightmares!

If Rarity isn't back in 15 seconds, I'm going in after her. (15) I know it isn't smart to do this...(14)...but I miss her so much already! (13) She told me, and I quote, 'Sweetie, we will have sister time after everything...' (11)...'simmers down, as it were.' (10) I might never see here again now...

You know, she used to talk like I talk now. (9.5) Then she watched some show. (9) I forgot what it was called, but it had a heck of a lot of British people in there. (7) She still watches it, and it's still as annoying as ever. (6)

She insists on speaking that way. (5) I'm going to miss her old voice...if she ever uses it, it'll sound like somepony else entirely. (4) Yet, everyday, I want to hear that natural voice of hers again. (3) to bring me back to when i was just a foal, and she took care of me. (2) We had lots of time to bond then! To bad I couldn't talk. (1) 

I would say "I love you, Rarity!" 

And she would say "I love you too--" 



"Sweetie Belle!" (0) Sweetie looked up from the journal she was writing in to see her sister running towards her, out of the Everfree Forest. There were twigs and leaves stuck in her messy purple mane and her hooves were coated with mud  and goop, but she didn't seem to care. Rarity kept running until she reached her little sister, then wrapped her in a bone-crushing hug.

"I...can't...breathe..." Sweetie gasped as her off-white face slowly tinted red, then blue, then purple before Rarity let go of her to let the filly breathe.

"I'm terribly sorry, Sweetie Belle, I just missed you so much!" Rarity exclaimed, "I didn't think I would ever make it out of the Everfree alive! I had to scavenge for food and water, all the while trying to find a place out of this mess!" She looked down at Sweetie Belle, who was still trying to catch her breath. "But it was all worth it!" Rarity hugged Sweetie again, yet not as hard as before.

Sweetie returned the embrace, closing her eyes and letting out a happy sigh before noticing something wrong. None of the strangers Rarity went in with came out with her. Also, Rarity would have probably cleaned herself up by now, even if she hadn't seen Sweetie in five years, she would always ignite her horn and make herself sparkly clean before any hugs of any kind.

There was one more thing: Rarity was speaking in her natural voice.

Sweetie pulled away from the hug in disgust, then walked backwards to get a better view of 'Rarity'; she narrowed her eyes before speaking. "Who are you?" Sweetie asked.

Rarity looked shocked, swiveling her head from left to right before realizing Sweetie was talking to her. "I'm Rarity!" The impostor claimed, "your sister! The one you grew up with..."

"Wrong!" Sweetie pointed an accusing hoof at the impostor as she continued. "I grew up with mom and dad! You grew up with Aunt Gleam! You looked over me when I was five and onwards!" As soon as Sweetie realized that technically ruined her evidence, she tried a new tactic. "Plus, the Rarity I know would have cleaned herself up by now with a simple spell!"

"I haven't seen you in so long, Sweetie Belle, of course I--"

"Your not speaking in your 'British' accent, 'Rarity'." Sweetie mocked, placing air quotes around the words 'British' and 'Rarity'.

The impostor's face slowly changed into a huge, creepy grin before 'Rarity' transformed into a shadowy figure with blue-green hair, a crooked horn, and tattered wings. Her teeth looked dangerously pointy. "Smart filly..." the beast whispered, circling a terrified Sweetie Belle like it's prey. "Too bad I hate smart fillies." It growled.

In a split second, it snatched Sweetie Belle then flew into the Everfree Forest. As soon as her shock was resolved, Sweetie tried to get free. "Who are you and what did you do to my sister?!" Sweetie demanded, trying to gnaw on the beast's holy hoof.

"I am Queen Chrysalis." Chrysalis stated, "and forget about your sister. Your not going to see her again."

Sweetie stopped gnawing to look at Chrysi with wounded eyes. "I won't?" She squeaked.

"Hmm.." The queen pretended to think for a brief second before giving Sweetie the answer. "You might," she said, "just from a distance. These pods are sound proof, too, so..."

"From a distance?" Sweetie interrupted. "Sound proof?!?"

"Hush, child." Queen Chrysalis instructed, landing in a seemingly empty clearing. "We're here."
> Fallen Angel
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A light yellow room with  light pink door and her cutie mark imprinted on the wooden door's surface. That's what she saw when she woke up. But, instead of her going out the door, which she was about to do, a grizzly bear burst through the door, looking quite panicked; Fluttershy could see the inside of her cottage on the other side. Harry kept pointing somewhere outside of the door, out of Fluttershy's view, but she got the message just fine.

"You want me to follow you?" Fluttershy asked Harry, just to be sure. Harry nodded urgently. "Oh my, is it urgent?" Another hurried Harry nod. Fluttershy zoomed out of the dainty little room she was in and up the stairs to her bedroom, where a mass of animals were waiting for her. Angel Bunny was on the bad and Harry cam heaving up the stairs moments later.

"What's wrong? Is every animal OK?" Fluttershy asked, her concern growing as she scanned the room and didn't see one happy animal face. They all looked solemn...sad...they type of faces you'd see at a funeral.

At a funeral...

A funeral?!

Fluttershy zoomed over to the bed Angel lay on, quickly but gently removing the sheets that covered him. Her hoof covered her mouth as the sight she saw unraveled before her.

There was a hole--the size of a bullet--that cleared through Angel Bunny's soft, white fur. She couldn't see the bed he laid on through the hole, thankfully, but this was a horrible and heart-wrenching moment all the same.

Fluttershy's eyes welled up with tears as she threw her hoofs around her wounded bunny. "Oh, Angel!" She bawled, "Angel, Angle, Angel...why did it have to be you?! I-I-I just don't know what to do without you, Angel, I- I-" Harry's claw came down and gently but firmly closed Fluttershy's muzzle as he raised his other paw to his lips, telling her to be quiet. And listen.

So she did. She put her furry little ear right next to Angel's head and listened. The rooms mood changed from sad to suspenseful in a matter of minutes.

*bump pump* *bump pump* His heartbeat. That was a good sign! Two seconds later, she heard a shaky breath come out of Angel's mouth. That was an excellent sign!

"He's still...alive?" Fluttershy asked all of her animal friends. Harry had already taken his paw off of her muzzle and now held his paws as if he were praying, which he might've been doing, Every animal head in the room except Fluttershy's, Angel's and Harry's nodded. That was some amazing news!

"It's not too late?" Her hopes rose even more as every animal somehow gave a thumbs up. "I can still save him?" Fluttershy asked, cradling Angel like a baby as she hovered in the air; even though that was more of a rhetorical question, every animal nodded anyways. "What a relief!" Fluttershy cheered, then turned her attention to Harry. "Come on! Let's go to Twilight...maybe she can help get this bullet out of Angel's stomach."

Harry growled in response, saying "good idea" in bear. He started heading down the stairs while Fluttershy lingered behind.

"I'll be sure to tell all of you what happens" She told every pet that was still in her room. "I'll be at Twilight's if you need me." With that, she flew down the stairs as fast as she could and out the door where Harry was waiting for her. She tried to find a happy medium between fast and slow so Harry could catch up, but she was terrified they wouldn't make it in time.

It was a matter of bunny life or bunny death. And it all rested on Twilight's shoulders.
> Mental Breakdown (of cheese)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It's just a simulation...it's just a simulation..." Twilight repeated to herself over and over to try and calm her frazzled nerves. It wasn't working too well.

Whatever magic Nightmare Moon had, it was obviously powerful enough to make this frightening, cheesy simulation look, smell, feel and--if she even dare say it--possible taste all to real!

"No. No. It's just a hologram." She tried to convince herself, "just a very realistic, very disturbing hologram. This is a...a...a test! Yes! That's it! Once I pass this--" she shuddered in spite of herself. "Disgusting test, it'll be over with and I won't have to see another one of these evil cheese slices again!" She pried herself from the wall that she was hanging onto and took a tiny step towards the quesadillas.

Some cheese dripped down, inches away from her furry, purple hooves.

She screamed and ran back towards the door.



A pale pink aura surrounded the nervous unicorn as she slowly but steadily started walking further into the quesadilla death trap. She noticed there was another door on the other end of the room; one where she had to walk across her fear just to get to it. So, after some thought, she decided to place herself in a bubble of protection.

After two minutes of slow walking and nervous head-turns, Twilight was starting to feel  comfortable with the cheesy scenery, as long as nothing got on her hooves or any part of her body. She was well into the middle of the room when a sudden voice made her jump.

"No spells." It said, taking away her bubble of protection along with her horn. 

Twilight immediately started to freak out and tried to run back to the door she had been clinging too before hand. Unfortunately, she realized that there was no possible way she could ever reach her 'safety zone' without getting the food all over her. Plus, the cheesy triangles seemed like they were slowly crawling towards her, leaving the small circle of cleanliness that she stood in to shrink more, if that was even possible.

A large glob of cheese fell where her horn used to be, quickly followed by the triangular tortilla shell, standing upright so it looked like Twilight's new horn.

She fell to the ground in her small circle, slowly rocking herself back and forth while quietly murmuring: "this isn't happening. Only a simulation. This isn't happening. Only a simulation..."
> Hayfries
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"My worst nightmare..all over again...actually came true!" Pinkie cried as she fell onto the soft grass beneath her. "Just because I didn't pass some dumb...test..?!"

Twilight and the others looked at their former friend with sneers of disgust. None of them seemed to be ignoring her anymore. "C'mon, y'all, I think it's best we move to a different spot." Applejack said through her teeth as she picked up her plate holding remaining food. The other four mummered in agreement as the started to pick up their food as well.

A light pink aura surrounded Applejack's plate, gently prying it from her teeth. "Let me hold this for you, Applejack." Twilight said in a pleasant manner. Definitely not the same one she used when she was talking to Pinkie.

"Thank ya kindly, Twilight." Applejack responded. "Now, would ya be so kind ta teleport us on outta here? Away from..." Applejack turned her head to glance over Pinkie before continuing. "That?" She asked. Twilight simply nodded, and, in a flash of light pink, all five ponies were gone. Picnic basket, too.

"Wait a second..." Pinkie thought out loud. "My worst fear has come true..Worst fear...came..true..." She suddenly inhaled an unrealistic amount of breath while somehow hovering in the air until her gasp ended. "Thats it!" She claimed, "That's Nightmare Moon's challenge! To face my worst fear! Isn't that right, narrator?"

The narrator--what...what? Uh...I can't give you freebies, I'm sorry. 

"You can't?" Pinkie frowned at this news.

I wish I could, but that would make the story less interesting...

"Oh, it's okay." She tried to put on a smile, but there wasn't much happiness behind it. "I think...I hope I understand what this challenge is. Springing back to her normal Pinkie Pie self, she posed herself secret-pony-agent style. "I guess I'll just have to deal with this situation like I do almost everything!" Her eyes narrowed before she continued. "Pinkie Pie style."



"Would you be a dear and pass the hayfries, Fluttershy, darling?" Rarity asked in the most lady-like way she could. There was absolutely nothing lady-like about eating hay fries, in her opinion, but it seemed OK that she could do it from time to time, even around her friends.

"Oh, certainty." Fluttershy answered, "Do you mind waiting until Twilight is done with them, though?"

"Not at all, darling, not at all." Rarity closed her pristine eyelids and let her other sense take control on this gorgeous day. Despite having a run-in with that pesky little Pinkie Pie, things had gone swimmingly and Rarity could hardly wait for their sleepover all fie were having later.

Something bumped her in the muzzle. There was some muffled talking, but other than that, things didn't seem to out of the ordinary. The smell of hayfries hit her nostrils like a firecracker and her stomach instantly growled. "Oh, sorry, Rarity. I didn't mean to hit you in the nose." Fluttershy whispered, her voice seeming a little more softer than normal.

"It's fine, dear, don't worry about it." Rarity replied. She opened her eyes and gasped. 

"Pinkie Pie?!" All four seemed to notice her at the same time Rarity did; they must've been closing their eyes as well. The pink party pony was stretched out in a seemingly-uncomfortable position. She had one hoof over Fluttershy's mouth and was stretched across the blanket, still holding out the hayfries to Rarity. Her hindlegs were behind Fluttershy, making her mid-section vulnerable. 

Fluttershy gently removed Pinkie's hoof from her mouth. "That's what I've been trying to tell you." She stated, "Pinkie covered my mouth and I tried to scream for help, but it didn't work."

"Fluttershy! Her stomach is right there!" Rainbow complained, pointing at Pinkie's stomach which was a hoof away from the timid pegasus. "Why didn't you just tickle her and we would hear her laugh?"

At hearing this, Pinkie instantly recoiled back into her non-stretched out self and shot a rather mean look at the narrator, for she never exactly liking the idea of being forced to laugh. Fluttershy bowed her head in due respect, staring at a dandelion instead of at her upset friends. "It didn't seem very kind." She whimpered. All four groaned in disgust.

"Let's just go somewhere else." Rainbow said, wrinkling her nose. "This area's already been contaminated."

Thinking fast, Pinkie flung herself upon Twilight's head, acting like a hat, and covering up Twilight's horn. "Wait!" Pinkie pleaded, "don't go yet! Please! I'll do anything; I just want to be friends with you girls again!" The poor pony started breaking out in sobs.

The only thing Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow did was roll their eyes. "How pathetic." Rainbow added, "let's go, guys." 

"Wait!" Twilight called to the four that had started to leave. She looked up at Pinkie with a maniacal grin upon her face. "Anything...?'


> New Information
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ah'm here!" Applejack called as she burst through her front door.  Apple Bloom was still out cold and hanging onto Applejack's back, despite Applejack having to high-tail it to the far for the last mile. She gently set her sister on the floor before venturing into the kitchen. "Is Granny okay?" She asked urgently.

The soft sound of her hooves on hard wood floor echoed throughout the silent house. Apple Bloom stirred in her sleep, mumbling something unintentional, but Applejack wasn't paying attention to that. She stopped walking, her mouth falling open as her eyes took in what had happened.

Granny Smith lay in a puddle of her own fluids, her eyes ghostly white. She looked like she was barley breathing; like she was barley alive. Big Mac stood by the elder pony, ad, at seeing Applejack, sadly shook his head. She got the message loud and clear: Granny was going to leave tonight.

Applejack started to silently cry, barley hearing the soft voice broke through the stilled silence. "Applejack..."

"What's that?" She asked, turning her attention to her sister. "You say somethin', Apple Bloom?" Apple Bloom looked as unconscious as ever, yet the voice called her name again. Apple jack looked around but couldn't seem to find the pony that was talking to her.

"Meet me...up..above..." The voice faded like a dying whisper, the news slamming Applejack like a sledgehammer.

"Big Mac?" She asked; the stallion looked at her with wide eyes. "Was that...Granny?"

"Eeyup." He replied.

"Did her...did her mouth move?" She asked.

"Eenope."

That answer made her back crawl like nopony would have believed. "So...ya heard her? Even though her mouth didn't move?" A simple nod from Big Mac was all it took to get Applejack's nerves going. "Strange. She told me ta meet her...up...above..? Ah wonder what she meant by that..."

"Ah think I know, Applejack." Big Mac said, "ah don't want ya dyin just ta meet Granny up there." He made a motion with his head to somehow symbolize heaven. A groan came from the floor by the door, meaning that Apple Bloom was regaining consciousness. Applejack didn't rush over to check on her sister right then and there just yet.

"She coulda meant the roof." Applejack pointed out, "Granny has a way of sayin things in strange ways."

"She could also mean heaven."

"Ah'm not sayin yer wrong, Big Mac. Ah'm just sayin I should check the roof out first!"

"Whats on the roof y'all need to check out?" Apple Bloom asked, stumbling into the kitchen. "An can ah come too?"

"Apple Bloom, y'all shouldn't be walkin around just yet." Apple Bloom informed as she gently pushed her sister into a chair. "Ah just need to see somethin on the roof is all. Then ah'll come back down and make some din." She didn't want to worry her sister any more that her sister possibly was.

"All right, Applejack." The filly yawned and her attention was drawn to the late elder on the floor. "Ah hope Granny'll wake up from her nap soon, she spilled her fruit punch an it'll get into her mane an ruin it..."

Applejack exchanged a worried look with Big Mac before speaking. "Yeah...she's just...takin a nap..." Her eyes never met Apple Bloom's and her mouth scrunched into a puckered-face expression. She hated lying to her kin, and keeping two lies was the worst possible thing she could do, and she wondered if they could see right through her when she got like this.

She knew one thing for certain: she wasn't going stay on the roof all night, looking for Granny's floating spirit. She was going to look in heaven as well.
> 3.1) Trust Me, Sugarcube
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ponies had finally stopped licking the tan filly, stepping away to get a drink of water for their dry tongues. It was at this moment that her older sister stepped up to talk to the up-side-down Apple Bloom.

"Why are ya lettin them do this ta me?" Apple Bloom demanded, "I ain't done nothin wrong ta nopony whatsoever!" Apple Bloom struggled to get free of the ropes that held her hostage, more blood rushing to her head as she wiggled in her hog-tied trap. Applejack put a hoof to Apple Bloom's nose, causing her to stop attempting to get free. "Applejack?" She asked after a while, her voice nasally. "Ah can't breathe."

"I know, sugarcube, I know. Just relax an everythin will be better before ya know it."

"How?" Apple Bloom demanded, her voice still sounding nasally. "How will everything get better if everypony's gonna eat me?"

"I ain't gonna let them eat ya, Apple Bloom." Applejack told her, causing Apple Bloom to put on a curious expression. "Just keep actin like ya were before, like we never talked. Ignore me, if ya have to. I have a plan. Ain't nopony gonna eat mah family even if there ain't anythin left ta eat!"

Apple Bloom nodded, secretly jumping for joy inside her head. Her sister was going to save her!! "I trust ya, Applejack."

"Course ya do, sugarcube." Applejack then turned and ran away towards home.
> 3.2) Fly like a Burger
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Mac stepped away from the puddle and started making his way towards the hallway, figuring one of his family members could help him with the pickle he was in.

As soon as he reached the stairs, he saw a problem: no way he could get down there without breaking any of his bones! Even a simple jump could possibly wind him up in an emergency room. Then the doctors would see him like this and.. He paused, a smile forming over his lips as her realized what could happen.

and.. cure him.

He looked over the first step of ten, then decided he needed a running start. Hurting himself was difficult to do, especially in this or any situation. He ran for the first stepped and jumped...

He felt like he was flying and wanted, more than ever, to become an alicorn.

Until he started to fall to the first step. He didn't think this through...
> 3.3) Something we take for Granted
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"No!' Granny cried, slamming her hoof into her rug. "I ain't goin down without a fight!" She picked herself up and slowly walked herself over towards a wall. From there, she felt alongside it to get to the doorway of her room, only to discover somepony had closed it while she was crying.

Granny started to debate whether to call for help, never the type of pony who liked to ask for such a thing. A thought wormed its way inside her brain, making her decision final. Her property and sight was riding if she called for assistance; if she didn't, things would be going a whole lot more slower and they possibly could be homeless by the time she got down the stairs. 

She could also potentially hurt herself--or worse--if she even tried to make it down the stairs alone."Applejack?" Granny called, "I need yer help!"

Almost immediately, fast hoofsteps approached and the door swung open to reveal a happy yet frantic Applejack. "What can I do ya fer, Granny?" She asked, extending a hoof to the elder. "Y'all hungry? Wanna come downstairs and get some grub?"

"Something like that..." Granny replied, reaching out for Applejack's hoof. Applejack saw the hoof that was a couple inches off to the right. She moved her hoof so the two were touching. "Ah'd like ta try somethin, first, 'fore ah eat." She started to make her way towards the stairs, Applejack following. "Let's go outside, Applejack. Ah need ya ta do me a favor."



"Uhhh...How'll this help with your eyesight, Granny?" A confused Applejack asked, her hooves filled with the familiar substance of mud. "Makin mud pies don't seem to be the..ya know..right thing to do at a time like this."

"Just place the mud piles on mah eyes, Applejack, I know what ah'm doin!" Granny  Smith complained; she was lying in the grass, in the shade of an apple tree, eyes closed, waiting for the mud to hit her face.

"Y'all sure..?" Applejack didn't really want to do something that seemed downright crazy, this was one of those things.

"Ah'm as sure as my fur is green! Now hurry, Applejack! Put the mud over my eyes!" Applejack sighed before doing as Granny requested and placing the goopy substance over Granny's eyes. "Now, do ya remember the lines I told ya to recite?" Granny asked.

"I....I guess so..."

Granny seemed to be getting more urgent with each passing second. "Recite em!"

Applejack sighed again and began to recite her lines as best as she could with her accent. "This pony shall no longer be blind, else mah name isn't Applejack." She stood on her hind legs before continuing. "With Celestia as mah witness, and Clover as a helpful founder, let this pony see the light of day once more!"

If it weren't so sunny out, the orange earth pony could have sworn there would have been lightning after her words were spoken. She got back on all fours and turned around to see Granny reaching up to wipe the mud from her eyes, stopping herself just in time. "Get the hose, Applejack." she instructed, "wash this mud off of my eyes."

The farm pony was through with questioning her zany Granny's ways and headed off for the hose, still curious on what in Equestria Granny Smith was planning. After a while, she spotted the dull green hose hiding in plane sight. She grabbed it with her mouth, turned it on, and dragged in back to where Granny was lying down.

She then sprayed the cold water over the elders face, Granny not shivering one bit, even when a breeze flew by. She just kept her eyes clenched tight and waited patiently for the water to stop running.

Applejack turned off the hose after a good five minutes, telling Granny Smith to stay put as she put it away. She started walking towards where the hose was placed last, practically walking all the way around the house before a scream of delight caught her by surprise, making her drop the hose she held.

It was Granny's.

"I can see again! I CAN SEE AGAIN!!"
> Lily Flower
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow lifted her head from the gray cloud, her eyes all out of tears. A timid little earth pony that's scared of a little ladybug...why, of all ponies, would they choose her instead of me?! Or anypony else, for that matter?! She picked herself up and walked over to the fainted earth pony. She gently kicked her, to make sure she was still alive.

Sure enough, Lily opened her eyes and let out a soft moan before looking around and asking what happened.

"Your a Wonderbolt, now, I guess." Rainbow answered, "welcome to the club."

"Oh! Are you a Wonderbolt...to..?" Lily asked, almost instantly regretting for she remembered Rainbow's freak out before she fainted. "N-n-nevermind...forget I asked..."

"No, it's fine." Rainbow replied, "you just took all of my hopes and dreams and threw them out the window, it's not anything serious." Lily bowed her head making Rainbow instantly notice her mistake. "Hey, I'm sorry. I guess I'm still upset that the Wonderbolts denied me into their team."

"I understand. I didn't really want to be a Wonderbolt in the first place." Lily said, "I was just tending to my flowers when some pegasi held me down and a unicorn cast a spell over me. I got so scared, I fainted and the next thing I knew, some pegasi was trying to get me to get onto the stage..."

Rainbow let herself hover as she pondered over what Lily said. "Weird..." Lily nodded in agreement. "I wonder why they would do that..."

"They said something about Rainbows and Dashing before I fainted in Ponyville." Lily offered, turning her head to look at Rainbow. "What you you think they meant by that?"

"Rainbows and Dashing?" Rainbow asked.

"Yeah, Rainbows and Dashing." Lily confirmed.

Rainbow knew for certain they were talking about her. But...why? They didn't have anything against her, right? "Hey, uh...Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"Do I look like I belong in a mares clothing store?" Rainbow asked, not sure how to say that without having her cheeks turn pink. "I-uh-Spitfire told me I did, so I just wanted an outside opinion."

Lily looked terribly confused as her mind went over the question Rainbow just asked multiple times. She eventually found a reasonable answer that wouldn't have her shouting, freaking out, or fainting. "No, you don't look like that at all! You actually look like a Wonderbolt, except without her-er-your uniform." Why this pony didn't see that was beyond Lily's range of mind.

"Really?" Rainbow beamed. The nod of confirmation from Lily made Rainbow's already high ego soar. "Thank you!"

"Your welcome," Lily smiled, "you still haven't answered my question quite yet, though."

"Oh! Right. That thing about Rainbows and Dashing." Rainbow mumbled, "do you want to know what I think it means?"

"Yes, please," Lily answered. Rainbow flew to land in front of the timid and nervous earth pony so she wouldn't have to be craning her neck for their whole conversation. Although it was a nice thing to do, it would be pointless in a matter of seconds.

"I think it means I need to talk with my idols." Rainbow said, determination washing over her. "It was nice talking to you, Lily."

Lily smiled. "You too, uh---" She blushed before continuing. "I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name."

"Rainbow Dash." Rainbow informed her before lifting her wings and zooming off to the distance, soon far behind Lily Valley.

The now nerve-racked flower pony stared off into the distance before fainting. The two pegasi also said that Rainbow was a wanted criminal. In her unconscious state, Lily dreamed it was either a lie or a bad dream inside a dream. Rainbow seemed really nice for somepony who was 'wanted'...Right..?

Little did Lily know, the cloud walking spell cast upon her was about to wear off...
> 4.1) Reach for the Lie!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Scootaloo! Scootaloo, sweetheart, are you okay?!" Amber's voice came crawling into Scootaloo's senses what seemed like seconds later. Scootaloo opened her eyes to discover her vision was slightly bleary. Thankfully, it cleared up as here eyes opened more. She discovered she was lying on a hospital bed in a curtain-walled room.

"What happened?" Scootaloo groaned, "why does my head hurt so much?"

"Scootaloo, do you remember anything?" Her mom asked. She shook her head but instantly regretted it, due to the sharp pains that stabbed her skull.

"That's too bad..." Amber trailed off, thinking Scootaloo would never remember this day, but an idea quickly struck her. "Because you..passed! You passed the flight test, Scootaloo! The doctor said you would be able to fly in a moth or two!"

"Really?" Scootaloo asked, not believing her ears.

"Yup!" Her mom lied.

"That's awesome! I can't wait for my birthday next year!" Amber cringed at the possibility of the truth coming anywhere near her daughters ears, Scootaloo's hopes would be shattered instantly! It was wrong to lie, she needed to tell her daughter the truth.

"Actually...Scootaloo..." She began, but Scootaloo had already fallen fast asleep, dreaming of her tiny wings touching the clouds.
> 101 Designs (for stuck-up rich ponies)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rarity watched the crowd trot away before teleporting the messed up dresses and herself to her workshop, immediately noticing it was pitch black. "How odd..." The unicorn mumbled as she walked around in the darkness, looking for a light switch. She made her way over to the door and, when she couldn't find the light switch where it always has been, she groaned out of frustration and curiosity, light up her horn, and looked at the wall.

The light switch was a couple inches over from where she was. "Oops," she giggled, "silly me." She proceeded to turn on the light switch, then turned around, eyes closed, and walked over to her work space. She had taken this route so many times before that she didn't need her eyes open to navigate around her usually clean shop. Almost immediately, she felt something press into her left fore leg and her chest; curious to know what it is, she opened her eyes and screamed.

Her shop had been ransacked. There was ripped ribbon and fabric, along with ponequins all over the floor, some had been marked on with marker, and most, marked or not, had literally lost their heads, which were scattered around the room as if somepony had positioned them there precisely to try and scare her. She didn't know who would do this, as she didn't think she did anything to Sweetie Belle to tick her off lately. But whomever was trying to scare her was doing an excellent job.

Rarity screamed again and ran upstairs to her room, where she conveniently had a spare sewing machine and supplies. When she got there, she made dresses and suits for all the mares and stallions that were there--especially Sapphire--in record time. It hardly even seemed like an hour passed, and yet, all the dresses and suits were breathtaking.

Rarity walked downstairs, now somewhat over the shock of somepony breaking and entering; sewing always helped ease her nerves, and began to levitate object to their proper place and mend the things that had been broken. She smiled as she super-glued the last ponequin head onto its rightful owner, glad that the whole disaster was just about over.

She used her magic to grab all 101 designs and teleported back to the Gala.
> 5.1) I've Got No Magic in Me~
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Where is Rarity?!" Sweetie demanded for the fifth time since Chrysi abducted her and took to the woods. "I want my sister! I want her friends! I want your flank-ugly hag face to be GONE FROM MY LIFE!"

"Such a needy and feisty child." Chrysalis commented, "good think you'll be in a sound-proof cocoon soon. My changeling army is already analyzing your form as we speak. They'll soon be out there, causing havoc and such, doing damage to your good name."

"What about Apple Bloom? Or Scootaloo?" Sweetie asked, ignoring the villain, "Where are they? Did you take them? Are they here? Did you....k-k-kill them.....?" The last two words left her mouth as a whisper.

Chrysalis cackled at Sweetie's fear. "No." She said, her voice dripping with sarcastic sweetness. "not yet."

Sweetie's eyes widened at the buggy queen's words and she felt her body stiffen. If Chrysalis was just messing around with her--and Sweetie prayed to Celestia she was--she was doing a pretty gosh darn good job at it. The changeling queen cackled again at Sweetie's reaction then nodded at a nearby changeling solider. He nodded back, waiting for his queen to place the filly on the ground. The second she did, he changed into a mirrored version of Sweetie Belle, leaving the original trapped in a gooey, green cocoon that quickly hardened around her.

The young filly swung her head from left to right, trying to see if she'd recognized any familiar, friendly faces behind all the cocoons that surrounded her. 

She saw Rarity ahead of her, but the grown unicorn hadn't seen her sister just yet and instead was intent on trying to use her horn to break free. By her side, she saw that lavender unicorn that had taken her sister and a couple other ponies into the Everfree. Sweetie felt her anger heat up and decided to look away before her anger got the better of her.

It helps to have a clear mind when your trying to escape.

It was to dark on her right and behind her to see anything and on her left stood a tall elm tree, some of it's lower branches bending from the force of the green, bubble like shell. 

She looked up at her horn, wondering if she'd miraculously be able to make it work. And, if she could--wait, no--when she would, as Rarity always told her it's best to have confidence when first trying out magic, would it be enough to get her out of makeshift prison cell?

She closed her eyes tightly, hoping against hope that it would actually work this time. A simple teleportation spell was all she needed. She could hear the magic sparks popping and sizzling as the spell came to life. Her excitement swelled, causing her concentration to go off course ever so slightly. The spell backfired and she wound up charring her horn, the top part of her head, and most of the bubble.

She groaned in frustration and wiped at the soot that now covered the interior of her bubble and looked at her now sooty hoof with disappointment. Turning in a small circle, she sat facing away from Rarity. All the excitement and hope had washed away, and it was at that point that she realized she didn't even know any teleportation spells--or any, for that matter.

She didn't know what else to do.

I suppose I could scream to get Rarity's attention, she thought, but Chrysalis said these pods were sound proof. She stood up and turned back to face her sis and took in a nice, long, deep breath. Doesn't hurt to try... "RARITEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!" She screamed, the sound echoing throughout her cocoon and threatening to shatter her eardrums. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea... she thought as she lowered her head to cover her folded ears with her hooves, though it wasn't much help.

The sound suddenly stopped.

She opened one eye hesitantly and looked around as best she could. Then the other, then stood up slowly, her ears still folded back. The sound wasn't there anymore. Through the small space where she wiped the soot away, she saw Rarity in her bubble, looking up and around, as if looking for something.

Or more--wondering where a sound was coming from.

Sweetie quickly wiped away as much grime as she could, then waved frantically, trying to get Rarity's attention. The fashionista saw something out of the corner of her eye and faced Sweetie. Sweetie beamed, inwardly high-hoofing herself. 

Now I'm getting somewhere...
> Electric
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Twilight?" Fluttershy barged through the library doors to see Twilight studding a book of sorts, her back to the shy pegasus. She rushed over in a hurry to face the unicorn, placing the nearly lifeless Angel on the podium. "Twilight? Oh, I'm so sorry for interrupting you, I-I didn't mean to, but---but--but--"

"Fluttershy, what's wrong?" Twilight asked her gently, picking up Angel with her magic.

"Angel's dying!" Fluttershy cried, tears matting her fur and her breathing gone ragged as she tried to collect air through heavy, ugly sobs. "I just don't know what I'd do without him." She glanced at her friend and tried yet failed to regain her composure. "Twilight, you have to help me. Please. I won't bother you again, I swear. I know how much you don't like to be bothered. I just want my little Angel to live!" She broke into another series of heart-wrenching sobs on the last word and Twilight stood over her, unsure of how to comfort the usually shy pegasus.

She glanced at the limp bunny, back at Fluttershy, then at the rows and rows of books she had. A look of determination came across her face and she quickly got out a book entitled 'Medical Spells 101'. "Well, I haven't studied many healing spells..." she said, "but I'll do what I can, Fluttershy. Follow me to the basement."

~*~*~

Test--tubes, beakers, and other sciency things Fluttershy didn't quite understand  filled most of the treehouse's basement. Twilight pranced over towards the right side of the basment, where an off-white table lay, two square pads with wires hooked to them rested on top of it. The lavendar alicorn took Angel in her aura and gently placed him on the bed, placing certain wires on certain parts of his body.

"Uhm, Twilight?" Fluttershy started, "I don't mean to, um, interupt your concentration. And I'm sure you know what you're doing but I'm just a little confused as to what's happening."

A machine next to the medical bed started making slow beeps as a line showed Angle's heart rate. "I'm going to shock him." Twiligh said, examining the two electric shocker pads. "As far as I know, this is the ony way to do it." *pause* "I think these are to big for a little bunny. I'll just use one, for now."

"Shock him?" Fluuttershy cried, "but--but that could kill him!"

"So would us doing nothing to help." The moniter flat-lied and the timid pegasus let out a whimper. "Don't lose faith just yet, Fluttershy." Twilight said, charging up the two pads. She held one away from his body and lowered another one closer to it until it made contact with his fur. 

Fluttershy closed her eyes.

"CLEAR!"