> The Crystal War
>  by EpicMuttonChops
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 01: Return of the Crystal Empire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Celestia sat on her throne, signing some documents for a well-styled mare as two members of her Royal Guard stood stoic on either side. Suddenly, another member of the Royal Guard burst through the doors of the throne room. "News from northern Equestria!" he exclaimed as he galloped toward her. "Uh, Your Highness." He stopped and bowed at her hooves.

"Yes?" the white alicorn replied.

The earth pony guard removed his helmet. "I am simply to tell you that it has returned," he declared with a nervous look on his face.

Princess Celestia gasped. She turned to the guard on her right. "Find Princess Cadance and Shining Armor"

"Yes, Your Highness." The guard bowed and all three guards galloped off.

Princess Celestia picked up a quill and a sheet of paper with her magic and began writing to her star pupil. My dearest Twilight; you must come to Canterlot at once. She finished her letter and sent it off to Spike. Then, she flew off to find her sister.

She found Princess Luna in her room. "Dearest sister, I have just received word that the Crystal Empire has returned once more."

The blue alicorn was just as shocked as her sister was. She stood. "But how can that be? Sombra -"

"I don't know," she replied, "but I've already sent word to Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, and I've sent a letter to Twilight Sparkle, requesting her presence."

"It is time, then."

"Yes." 

The next morning, after they raised the sun and lowered the moon, the walked back to the throne room, awaiting Twilight's arrival. They stopped in front of a stained-glass window, the one depicting Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's wedding, and how their love had saved Canterlot from being overtaken by Queen Chrysalis and the Changelings.

Princess Luna asked her sister, "Are you sure you don't want me to go as well?"

"Yes. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor are already there. The others will be joining them soon." Princess Celestia addressed her sister.

"The Empire's magic is powerful," Princess Luna replied, and she looked back at the window. "It can NOT fall again, my sister."

The white alicorn nodded her agreement. "She will succeed at her task. And when she does, we'll know that she is that much closer to being ready."

"Ahem." A purple unicorn announced her presence, and the two sisters turned toward her. Twilight Sparkle stood in the doors of the throne room and gave them a nervous smile.

Celestia smiled back at her, then turned to her concerned sister. "Trust me, little sister," she said confidently while Princess Luna walked away.
The blue alicorn looked at Twilight as she passed her on her way out of the hall. The blank look she wore did nothing to ease the purple unicorn's nerves.

"I brought my own quills," she said as she lifted her saddlebags, filled with supplies, off her back. "And plenty of paper to show my work." One of the scrolls opened up and rolled all the way down to Celestia's hooves. Twilight anxiously nudged it with her head to try and roll it back up. "Sorry, sorry!"

Celestia instead rolled up the scroll with her magic and declared, "This is a different kind of test." She replaced all of Twilight's books, scrolls, and quills into her saddlebags. Then, she bowed her head, giving her star pupil a grave look. She looked back up. "The Crystal Empire has returned."

Twilight sat upon the floor. "The Crystal Empire?" She pulled the books she had brought out of her saddlebags. "I'm sorry, I - I thought I'd studied." She tossed each book aside, and Celestia caught them with her magic. Twilight's voice became shakier and higher pitched. "Oh, I don't think there's anything in any of my books abou-"

"There wouldn't be," The white alicorn interjected. Twilight stared at her teacher, her mouth hanging open. "Few remember it ever existed at all." She walked over to the throne, where a crystal sat to one side, under a glass dome. She lifted the glass and retrieved the crystal. She placed the crystal on the ground in front of Twilight. "Even my knowledge of the Empire is limited." Celestia shot the crystal with magic, and the crystal revealed an overhead view of what the Empire looked like. "But what I do know, is that it contains a powerful magic."

She continued explaining the story of the Empire, showing it through the crystal's illusion. "One thousand yeas ago, King Sombra, a unicorn whose heart was black as night, took over the Crystal Empire." The illusion turned desolate, and black crystals grew on the castle in the center. Sombra's head appeared atop the tallest tower. His head gave a sneer, and now, the illusion shifted to show the crystal ponies enslaved by him.

"He was ultimately overthrown, turned to shadow, and banished to the ice of the north," she explained, as the illusion showed the silhouettes of her and her sister battling King Sombra. Once again, the crystal showed the Empire. "But not before he was able to put a curse upon the Empire, a curse that caused it to vanish into thin air." At this, the illusion ended, leaving Twilight staring at the crystal before her.

Celestia lifted the crystal, smiling. "If the Empire is filled with hope and love, those things are reflected over all of Equestria." Another shot from Celestia's horn sent a rainbow of colors to radiate from the crystal. She shut her eyes and her face contorted into a mix of fear, anger, and sadness. She was remembering when she had battled Princess Luna as Nightmare Moon, and foolishly banished her to the moon. "If hatred and fear take hold," she opened her eyes. They had turned completely green, and they emitted a purple haze, just as King Sombra's had.

Black sparks and purple smoke arose from her horn. She hit the crystal once more, and the crystal turned black. The crystal shot out a line of shadow on the floor towards Twilight, and three black crystals quickly rose up, larger than the purple unicorn herself.

Twilight was positively afraid.

Then, Celestia, who had returned to normal and was now hovering above, shattered the crystals with light. She lowered herself and continued. "Which is why I need your help finding a way to protect it."

This was certainly NOT the kind of test she had imagined. "You want me to help protect an entire empire?"

Princess Celestia returned the crystal to its glass case. "It is, as I said, a different kind of test. But one I am certain you will pass."

Twilight's face switched from shock to sadness, and finally it stopped at determination. "How do I begin?" she declared.

Celestia approached her star pupil with a smile. "By joining Princess Cadance and Shining Armor in the Crystal Empire."

Twilight beamed. "My brother is there?!" She quickly trotted to match the white alicorn's gait.

"He is, and your Ponyville friends will join you there as well." The two approached the door, where Luna was waiting just outside. "I have every confidence you will succeed, and when you do, I'll know you are ready to move on to the next level of your studies."

Twilight looked at Luna, who now gave the purple unicorn the same grave look that she had given her sister a few minutes before. Twilight's nerves returned to her. "But what if I fail?"

"You won't," Princess Celestia assured her.

"But what if-"

Celestia put a hoof on her shoulder to assure her student once again. "You won't," she repeated, slightly shaking her head to emphasize her confidence in her student.

Twilight, still unsure, slowly walked away. "But Twilight," Celestia began, and Twilight turned back to look at the two sisters. "In the end it must be you, and you alone who ultimately assists Princess Cadance and Shining Armor in doing what needs to be done to protect the Empire." Now, a feeling of hope arose in the purple unicorn. "Do you understand?"

Twilight nodded. "Mm-hmm."

"Then go; there is no time to lose." Celestia closed the doors to the throne room.


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


It was snowing hard as the train reached the station nearest the Crystal Empire. The doors opened, and Twilight and her friends stepped out, bracing themselves from the harsh wind. As Rarity stepped out, followed close by Spike, who was holding her things, she exclaimed, "Ha! And you all made fun of me for packing so many scarves!"

"I didn't say a word," Spike said before slipping on a patch of ice. Some of the scarves fell out, and Spike ran to get them.

Twilight and her friends looked around as best as they could in the wind and snow. Suddenly, a voice called out the purple unicorn's name through the weather. "Twilight!"

"Shining Armor?" she answered, and her brother emerged from the blizzard.

He removed his snow shades and pulled his black scarf from over his mouth. His eyes widened as he saw his sister. "Twily! you made it!" They ran to embrace each other. "We'd better get moving," he continued. There are things out here we really don't want to run into after dark."

This caused all of them to become nervous. "What kind of things?" asked Fluttershy.

Shining Armor started walking. "Let's just say the Empire isn't the only thing that's returned." As they traveled closer to the Crystal Empire, he explained further. "Something keeps trying to get in. We think it's the unicorn king who originally cursed the place."

"But Princess Celestia said I was being sent to find a way to protect the Empire." She had to shout over the howling wind. "If King Sombra can't get in, then it must already be protected."

Suddenly, a low, groaning howl overpowered the storm. The ponies all fearfully looked around, but they couldn't see anything. "That's one of the things, isn't it?!" Fluttershy worried.

Shining Armor knew exactly what that sound was. "We have to get to the Crystal Empire. NOW!" He yelled as a giant shadow abruptly rose up behind the friends. The shadow itself had purple smoke emitting from green eyes.

King Sombra.

Spike froze in fear and Shining Armor picked him up, and everypony ran. It wasn't long before Cadance's protective shield could be seen shimmering through the snow. "Almost there," Shining Armor said. He stopped, turned toward Sombra, and fired a violet bolt at the shadow. Sombra enveloped the unicorn as Twilight and her friends passed through the shield.

Twilight and her friends were panting. "Everypony okay?" she asked. Her friends nodded and verbalized that they were.

Shining Armor stumbled through the shield, his horn covered in small black crystals. Twilight ran over to him. "Oh no," she said, "Shining Armor, your horn!"

He attempted to cast a spell to remove them, but the crystals blocked his magic. He shook his head and they joined their friends at the crystal gates of the Crystal Empire. "Sparkleriffic!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


Princess Cadance sat on a crystal throne, her horn constantly aglow, a worn and weary countenance covering her face. She hung her head as Twilight and her friends entered the room.

"Cadance!" she shouted. At once, though her eyes remained weary, her spirits lifted and she smiled wide as they ran to meet each other. They both sang their old childhood rhyme:

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake.
Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"

They laughed, but Cadance's magic flickered, and it was obvious she was in pain. Sombra had just attacked the shield again, knowing that each hit weakened the already weary pink alicorn. "One of these days we need to get together when the fate of Equestria isn't hanging in the balance," she mused.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked.

Shining Armor came up to his wife's side. "Cadance has been able to use her magic to spread love and light. That seems to be what is protecting it," he explained. "But she hasn't slept, barely eats. I want to help her, but my protection spell has been countered by King Sombra."

"It's all right, Shining Armor, I'm fine," she tried to reassure her husband.

"She's not fine," Shining Armor countered, and Cadance hung her head. "She can't go on like this forever; and if her magic were to fade, well, you saw what's out there waiting for that to happen."

Twilight gave a look of concern toward the window and gave Princess Cadance a reassuring look. "That's why we're here."

"Why we're ALL here," Applejack added, and the rest of them all agreed.

"Well with Cadance putting all of her strength into keeping her spell going, and me trying to keep an eye on signs of trouble in the Arctic, we haven't been able to gather much information from the crystal ponies."

"Crystal ponies?!" Rarity was so excited, she stood on her hind legs. "There are crystal ponies?!" The others stared at her with puzzled looks, and she calmed herself. "Er, please, continue."

"But we have to believe one of them knows how we can protect the Empire without having to use Cadance's magic," he finished.

Twilight got an idea. "We'll gather information from the crystal ponies and deliver it to you!"

Despite their best efforts, none of them were able to get anything out of the crystal ponies. Every time it sounded like a pony was close to telling them something relevant, they wince. As part of the curse, King Sombra made it so none of the crystal ponies would remember anything but him, and any attempts to do otherwise would cause them immense pain.

"King Sombra's spell must be why their coats aren't...crystally," she once observed to Spike.

The search was going nowhere until Applejack said she heard something about a library.

The library was a beautiful piece of architecture, with carved griffons on each side of the front stairs, and a diamond emblem on each pedestal.  Twilight opened the doors, and the ponies reveled in the brilliance of it. There were three stories, with amazing shelves that were twelve feet tall, all filled with books.

Twilight stood, frozen in awe, at the sight she was now seeing. She could barely even speak.

"May I help you?" came a firm voice to their right. It was a gray mare with glasses on. Her cutie mark was a scroll.

"Yes," Twilight said as she and her friends approached the mare. "We're looking for a book." She was still lost in her little world of bliss.

"We have plenty of those," the librarian replied.

Applejack approached the mare. "We're lookin' fer a history book. Somethin' that might tell us how the Empire mighta pertected itself from danger back in th' day."

"Yes," she answered, "of course. History, history..." she muttered as she tried to remember. "Ah, yes!" she smiled.

The ponies all stood in silence for a moment. Twilight finally broke the silence. "Which is where, exactly?"

The librarian looked from side to side. "I - I can't seem to remember. I'm not sure I actually work here," she admitted.

"We'll just take a look around. I'm sure we can find it on our own."

"Let me know if you find anything." The old grey mare walked off.

Each of the friends searched the shelves in their own way; Fluttershy looked at each book one at a time, Rainbow Dash and Applejack worked to get the higher books off the shelves via kicking a ladder down the shelf, and Pinkie Pie jumped up and grabbed random books from various heights of shelves.

They were beginning to think it was a lost cause when Twilight, using her magic to float books past her into a large pile, finally found what they'd been looking for. She grabbed it and let the other books drop to the floor.

It was literally a history book of the Crystal Empire. "History of the Crystal Empire," Twilight read as she opened its pages. "I just hope it has the answers we need."
> 02: Fall of the Crystal Empire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash had just heard from the librarian, Amethyst Maresbury, that King Sombra had hidden the Crystal Heart away, never to be found again. She dashed into the air and took the flag that Rarity had made from its pole. She flew under the castle and covered Twilight's carving of the Crystal Heart with it.

"I think we may have a problem," Rainbow Dash remarked.

"What do you mean, Rainbow Dash?

"The librarian said that the whole purpose of the Crystal Faire is to lift the spirits of the Crystal Ponies, so the light within them can power the Crystal Heart," she quoted. "That's how the Empire is protected."

"The Crystal Heart is an actual relic?" Twilight frantically searched the book for the answer.

"There's no time! We gotta tell Cadance and Shining Armor right now!" Twilight nodded and ran up the stairs to where her brother and his wife were. Rainbow Dash flew up the castle to let them know Twilight was coming. They all met on the upper balcony.

Twilight continued flipping through pages of the history book. "I didn't know it was an actual relic! The book didn't mention anything about the Crystal Ponies powering the Heart!" She reached the back cover and her eyes opened wide. "There was a page missing....How did I not notice?!"

Cadance swayed as she tried to comfort the purple unicorn. "It's all right, Twilight." Shining Armor caught her in his front legs as she fainted. Her magic flickered for the last time, and the shield spell dissipated. All around, the storm raged on, and King Sombra emerged. "The Empire is under attack," Shining Armor declared. He went over to his wife and helped her up. Cadance, with a few moments of rest, could project her shield spell again.

As the shield went back up, King Sombra noticed he might miss this opportunity. His shadowy form charged the Crystal Empire, but he was too slow. The shield grew directly in front of him, cutting off the tip of his crimson horn. Sombra screamed out in pain, and the tip of his horn fell to the other side of the shield.

Cadance had now erected the shield to full strength, but the tip of Sombra's horn sank into the ground, surrounded in black sparks and purple smoke.

Shining Armor supported his weary wife. "I have to find the Crystal Heart," he said with determination.

"No," said Twilight. "You stay here with Cadance. She needs you, Shining Armor." She turned from them. "I'll retrieve the Crystal Heart," she said with the same determination as her brother.

"Let's do this!" Rainbow Dash said as she flew after Twilight.

"I've been trying to figure out how I'm meant to pass Celestia's test," Twilight announced as they entered a large room. "Retrieving the Crystal Heart must be it. But there is something else you can do," she continued as they descended the stairs that led to the Faire.

Rainbow Dash smiled. "Name it."

"You and the rest of our friends have to keep the Faire going."

"What? With that thing moving into the Empire?"

"The whole purpose of the Crystal Faire is to lift the spirits of the Crystal Ponies, so they can activate the Crystal Heart," Twilight explained. "If the Crystal Ponies find out that King Sombra is trying to take over the Empire again, their spirits are gonna be anything but lifted."

"It won't matter if I find the Crystal Heart," the purple unicorn continued as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "They won't be able to make it work. You have to keep them happy here at the Faire."

The cyan pegasus saluted. "Keep the Faire going and the crystal ponies' spirits high. Done and done!" She went off to let Rarity, the others, and Applejack know. Rarity whispered the news to Spike, and he ran to join Twilight, and Rainbow Dash joined Applejack, who was already guarding the fake Heart. They were doing a decent job trying to make it look natural, but the pegasus kept being brash to the crystal ponies who got too close.

"Maybe you should let me keep the Crystal Ponies away from the fake Heart, while you show off your joustin' skills," Applejack suggested, pushing Rainbow Dash away from the fake Heart.

Rainbow Dash thought for a moment. "Seeing my awesomeness does have a way of putting ponies into a pretty good mood." She flew off with a faint rainbow trail behind her as she went to go find Fluttershy.

Meanwhile, Spike caught up to Twilight as soon as she realized where Sombra would have hidden the Crystal Heart. "Twilight, wait! I'm coming with you," he pleaded.

Twilight shook her head. "You can't. I have to retrieve the Crystal Heart by myself."

Spike frowned. "I know. I promise I won't lift a claw to help you." He stuffed his claws under his arms and Twilight picked him up with her magic and set him on her back.

"Not a claw, Spike," she repeated to him and galloped toward the center of the city.

"Where are we going, exactly?"

"I think I might know where King Sombra hid the Crystal Heart."

Spike looked up to see where she was headed. "The castle?"

"The king would've been counting on the fact that nopony would dare come looking for it here," she speculated. "They'd have been too afraid to even try."

"I hope you're right," the baby dragon said as they reached the big doors of the castle.

Twilight looked back at her loyal assistant. "You and me both."

As Twilight searched the castle and Spike followed behind her, she was getting exasperated as she kept finding nothing. They entered a room next to the throne room with a large table in the middle of it. The table sat atop a red rug. Spike noticed that there was a wrinkle in the corner nearest him. He picked it up and scratched his chin. Twilight turned around, putting the books she had looked at back on the shelf. "Not a claw, Spike," she reminded him. He laughed nervously and put his claws back under his arms. "Celestia's orders."

They crossed the hall, passing in front of the throne room. The purple unicorn backtracked to take another look at the crystal on the throne. It looked just like the crystal Celestia had used in her demonstration! If the Empire is filled with hope and love, those things are reflected across all off Equestria. If hatred and fear take hold... Celestia's words echoed in her mind.

"Of course!" she shouted, which brought Spike running to her.

"What, did you find it?

"No, because this isn't King Sombra's castle!" she explained as the two of them approached the throne.

"Well, isn't this where he lived when he was in power?"

Twilight stopped. "It is, but it didn't look like this," she said, indicating the perfectly-shaped crystal on top of the throne. She strained her magic, picturing something much fearful and hateful than she'd ever faced. Her magical aura turned black, and black sparks began to shoot from her horn. Then, purple smoke emitted from her horn and eyes, and she shot a beam of it at the throne itself.

The shadow enveloped the throne and extended onto the floor. It rested not far from the throne, and revealed a hidden staircase. Spike stood in awe, and Twilight clapped her hooves in excitement. The baby dragon joined her at the top of the stairs. "When did you learn to do that?" he asked her.

"That was a little trick Celestia taught me." She lit her horn so she could see her way down. Spike cautiously took a step toward the stairs, but Twilight returned and said, "You stay here."

"If you insist," he replied, grateful that he wouldn't have to descend them. As she descended the staircase, he called to her. "Can you see what's down there yet?"

"Not yet. I can't even tell how far down it goes." She broke a crystal off the wall and dropped it. Eight seconds later, she heard the clunk as the crystal hit the ground. "Spike?" she called out.

"Yeah?"

"Can you see outside?"

Spike ran to the window. Sombra's dark clouds were attacking the shield again, and the tip of his horn, which had buried itself between the gates, started transforming them from their current state into dark ones. "It's not good!" he replied. "Cadance's magic must be fading faster than before!"

Twilight rushed down the steps, hurrying to find the Heart. One of the steps crumbled as her hoof landed on its edge, causing her to stumble all the way down. She caught herself with her magic before she hit the very bottom. Spike called to see if she was okay, and she assured him that she was.

She turned and saw a door. Not a large door, not a fancy door, but a plain-looking wooden door. She tried to open it with her magic, but the door ran away from it. She saw it to her right, and she tried again. Again, the door fled from her magic. This time, she jumped at the door, but the door did as well, making Twilight slam into the wall.

"Stop...moving!" This time, as she powered up her magic, black sparks and purple smoke came from it, and it shot a beam at the jagged crystal on the top of the door. The door opened, and...

Spike sat at the top of the stairs for a few minutes, waiting for Twilight to say something, anything. It had been too long since she'd disappeared into the dark. Finally he got fed up and followed her down, shouting her name the whole way.

Hearing Spike call her name brought Twilight out of her trance. She shook her head and was now staring at a blank wall behind the door.

"I know you told me to stay up there, but you were down here for such a long time and you weren't answering, and I got worried, so I came down here, and you were just staring at that wall. I was calling your name, but I couldn't seem to get your attention and..." Spike scratched his head. "What were you looking at?" He approached the door. "I mean, it's just a wall."

Twilight stood behind the door and reactivated the door's spell.  Instantly, the baby dragon's eyes turned green as he was sucked into the illusion that he was back in Ponyville, and Twilight was sending him away. She slammed the door, and his trance was broken as instantly as it had begun.

"King Sombra's dark magic," she explained. "A doorway that leads to your worst fear." After consoling her favorite assistant, Twilight shot a beam of light at the door's crystal, just as Princess Celestia had done. The door opened and revealed...more stairs.

At the top of the stairs, thanks to an anti-gravity spell, Twilight found the Crystal Heart! They stood at the very top of the central spire of the castle. At this height, the wind was almost as fierce as the storm outside. The Heart sat in the center of the room, hovering above the floor. Twilight approached it, but as soon as her hoof touched the emblem beneath it, Sombra's magic activated a spell that captured her in a cage of black crystals. Twilight jumped for the Heart, and knocked it out of the circle before it could be caught as well.

When Spike revealed the Crystal Heart was on the floor beside him, Twilight attempted to teleport out of the cage, but the magic teleported her back inside. She tried pushing against the crystals, but they were firmly in the ground. "How could I have been so foolish? I was just so eager to get it! Then when I saw what was going on outside, I..."

Spike tried to encourage her. "You have to get out of there, Twilight! You have to be the one who brings the Heart to Princess Cadance!"

Celestia's words once again echoed through her mind: It must be you, and you alone who ultimately assists Princess Cadance and Shining Armor in doing what needs to be done to protect the Empire. "It has to be me," Twilight insisted, and she kept trying to get out of the cage.


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


There was nothing to change the luck of Twilight and her friends that fateful day. Crystals grew around the spire, trapping Spike and Twilight for good. Rarity and Applejack couldn't keep the crystal ponies at bay anymore, since the fake Heart had been discovered. Princess Cadance's magic sputtered a final time, and now, there was no shield blocking Sombra from entering the Crystal Empire, reversing every attempt the ponies had made to bring back their crystalline coats.

Rainbow Dash had beaten Fluttershy in another round of jousting when King Sombra entered the Empire. Fluttershy took off her armor and joined the others on the balcony as Rainbow Dash put away equipment and dodged crystals that had started to pop up from the earth. She flew to the castle where her friends were waiting.

Shining Armor said the words that nopony wanted to say, and nopony wanted to hear: "It's gone. The Crystal Empire is lost again." Then he turned to the others and ordered, "Bring as many crystal ponies as you can to the train station. We need to save what we can from the Empire."

Crystal ponies cowered in fear of King Sombra. It wasn't going to be an easy task to evacuate the Empire. As hard as it was to try and get them to the safety of the blizzard, there were also crystals to avoid. Rainbow Dash got frustrated yelling at ponies who were too scared to move. She even tried coaxing them in her own way. "Come on, crystal ponies. I've faced tons of things as bad as this. I'm scared too, but you gotta MOVE YOUR TAILS!" When nopony moved, she groaned and looked up.

Sombra himself was riding shadowed crystals toward the top of the tower. "Uh oh," she said, and she dashed toward the jousting stage. She passed Rarity and Applejack along the way.

"What are you doing?" they asked her.

Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof at Sombra, who was getting ever closer to the tower. "Twilight's up there, I'm sure of it. She's doomed if Sombra gets to her."

"Rainbow Dash, you could die if ya go get her," Applejack protested.

"I'm not leaving her behind!" She shouted and shot away toward the stage.

Crystals now completely covered the ground, and Rainbow Dash couldn't find where she'd put the armor. It didn't take very long, however, and soon, she was back in the armor. She fumbled with the helmet and threw it to the side. "I don't need that part anyway." And off she went, zooming toward King Sombra. Rarity and Applejack saw that she was airborne, and told the others what she was doing as they continued to evacuate.

It was hard for Rainbow Dash to keep up with Sombra. Not that he was traveling fast, she could handle fast; she was faster. It was more due to the fact that the crystal the Sombra was using were large and jagged, and pieces of them pointed in all sorts of directions. She flew a little farther away from them, and flapped her wings hard, gaining speed.

King Sombra rode his giant crystals toward the tower, where he had hidden the Crystal Heart. As he got closer to it, the shadowy part of his body got swept away, and his physical form had completely returned to him, including the tip of his horn. The Crystal Heart is mine! he yelled. The closer he got, the stronger he felt.

Rainbow Dash turned toward him, and flew as fast as she could. The air compressed in front of her as she got close to him, and Sombra didn't even acknowledge her presence until she slammed her shoulder into his chin, knocking him off balance, and off the crystal. Sombra grew up another crystal to catch his fall, and he had just been able to right himself by the time the cyan pegasus had turned around and attacked again.

This time, Sombra ducked out of her path. He shot blasts from his horn, but she dodged every one of them. She flew around, giving Sombra a hard time to aim for her.

On the ground, Pinkie Pie started shaking and bouncing rapidly and violently. "Wo-oa-oa-oah!" The other ponies noticed. The crystal ponies had no idea what was going on, but Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy knew that a doozy was about to happen.

One last time, Rainbow Dash charged at King Sombra. You foolish mare. You have so few tricks, he taunted as he turned to face her. She was aiming for his head with her left shoulder. He moved back slightly, too soon for her to react. He grabbed her wing with his teeth as it brushed against his muzzle. He wrenches her wing up and toward her tail, stopping her mid-flight. Then, he pulled it down as hard as he could. The sheer power and force behind his counterattack, combined with the rigid hole around her wing, broke her bones, ruptured nerves, and instantly caused bleeding from the open fracture and the bite. She screamed in pain, loud enough that the ponies on the ground could hear it.

She blacked out as she fell.

Pinkie Pie abruptly stopped shaking and the little curl in her mane stuck straight out, pointing directly at Rainbow Dash. She gasped. "Rainbow Dash can't fly! I'm comin' Rainbow Dash!" The pink pony ran and jumped on top of one of the tents. The tent slung her upward, and she caught the pegasus in her front legs. "Rarity, catch me!"

The white unicorn grabbed the roof of a tent, and caught the two of them in it. Rainbow Dash moaned as she landed on her left side. Everypony fled the Crystal Empire, along with two dozen crystal ponies.  They took one last look at their old home as they boarded the train. "Everypony out of the way, please," Rarity said. "My friend is badly injured. Are any of you a doctor?"

A yellow crystal unicorn with a lavender mane stepped forward. Her cutie mark was a glowing laurel wrapped around a staff. "I'm a doctor. My name is Aura Borealis." Aura, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie quickly moved to the last train car. The first thing they needed to do was remove the armor. Aura checked for sensitivity in the wing, but there was none. The only feeling Rainbow Dash had left in her wing was around the fracture. The pegasus slipped in and out of consciousness.

"Rarity, hold her wing in place as I pull off the armor." The two unicorns applied there magic, and freed the pegasus from the armor. Rainbow Dash cried out as her destroyed wing got pulled through the armor's wing hole. The unicorns worked their magic the entire trip back south to Canterlot.


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


Rainbow Dash sat in a Canterlot hospital bed. Very slowly, she opened her eyes. The sudden flash of light made her cringe. She rubbed her eyes to help them adjust to her new surroundings. Her vision was still blurred as she scanned the room for anything familiar. The crystal unicorn doctor noticed that the pegasus was finally awake.

Aura Borealis pulled another pony aside and told her, "Go tell Pinkie Pie she's awake." The pony galloped off to find her, and the doctor approached Rainbow Dash. "How are you feeling, Miss Dash?" she asked.

"Everything hurts," she replied bluntly.

"What was the last thing you remember?"

"I was fighting Sombra, and then there was just pain." She looked up at the crustal unicorn. "I remember seeing bits and pieces of things after that, but nothing clear."

"You've been unconscious for four days, Miss Dash," she informed her.

"Four days?!" She winced as pain coursed through her. "Who are you?"

"My name is Aura Borealis. Your unicorn friend and I helped you after we fled the Crystal Empire."

Suddenly Rainbow Dash remembered why she fought Sombra in the first place. "Twilight? Where's Twilight?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know who that is," she said, stepping back a bit. "Is she your friend?"

Rainbow Dash nodded. The faint sound of a high-pitched shout echoed through the halls. The pony could barely keep up with Pinkie Pie's speed. "RAINBOW DASH!" she yelled as she got closer.

"Pinkie Pie?"

The pink pony ran to her friend, and Aura had to keep her back with her magic to avoid any more injury to the pegasus. "Be careful, Miss Pie. She is still in a lot of pain."

Pinkie Pie nodded and the unicorn released her. She walked up and put her foreleg around her friend, being wary not to accidentally hit the cast that held her broken wing. "I saw you falling, and I caught you, and Rarity caught me, and you were hurt real bad, and we came back, and I've barely left your side. My hair finally poofed up again just now."

"Pinkie Pie, where's Twilight?"

The pink pony let go of her friend and backed away. "Nopony knows. We left before anypony could find out."

Rainbow Dash turned toward Aura, rubbing her left wing shoulder. She couldn't feel any of it. She looked at the doctor with her most worried look. "Why can't I feel my wing?!"

"I'm sorry," the doctor answered. "We tried healing it all the way to Canterlot, and even the last four days, but we weren't able to fix it all the way. You may never be able to fly again."

Rainbow Dash's eyes grew wide and sad. Pinkie Pie's hair fell and the pink pony lost her saturation. "What about Celestia and Luna?"

"The princesses have been too busy with the war to come and help."

"What war?"

The crystal unicorn stared at the floor, sorrow flooding the room. She looked up with a grim face and said, "With your friend captured, the princesses retaliated against King Sombra, thus beginning the Crystal War."
> 03: A Call To Armaments
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash sat on her hospital bed, staring out the window. Princess Luna had risen the moon long ago, but the cyan pegasus couldn't fall asleep. Pinkamena had fallen asleep at her feet an hour ago. Thoughts of Twilight, the crystal ponies, and her battle with King Sombra kept running through her mind.

Is Twilight okay? Is Spike safe? What will Sombra do with the remaining crystal ponies? How did he fend me off? What did he do to my wing? Will I ever be able to fly again?

"Rainbow Dash," said a gravelly voice. She recognized that voice instantly. It belonged to the yellow pegasus that led the Wonderbolts. Usually, she would freak out that Spitfire had come to see her, but the last question was the one she asked herself the most, and frankly, she was depressed. "I heard about what you did for Twilight Sparkle."

Rainbow Dash kept her gaze toward the window, tears now starting to well up in her eyes. "Yeah, well, it didn't help."

"Still, that was the most heroic thing I've heard anypony do."

"Wait, how did you hear about it?"

Spitfire sat at the foot of the bed, on a spot that Pinkie had left available. "When you and your friends returned from the north, most of them went and told the Princesses what had happened. Some of them watched what you were doing, and spread the story."

Rainbow Dash let the tears fall down her face. Spitfire laid a hoof on her knee. "You were brave, Rainbow Dash. Nopony else would have faced Sombra like you did."

"But now I'll never be able to fly again!" the cyan pegasus sobbed.

Spitfire was silent as she thought. "You woulda been a great Wonderbolt, kid." Spitfire stood and walked to the door. As she reached the threshold, she turned and addressed Rainbow Dash again. "I'll see what I can do to get you in the air again." But the words were just an empty promise to her.

Pinkie Pie awoke from her sleep. Still groggy, all she noticed was her friend crying, and she got closer to Rainbow Dash and held her as she cried.


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>

Four days ago...


Princess Celestia and Princess Luna sat in the throne room, discussing political matters. A guard opened the large doors and bowed to the two sisters. "A train approaches from the Crystal Empire," he said.

Instantly Princess Celestia stood and walked to the guard. "Take me to the station. I wish to be there to greet my student as she returns."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The white alicorn accompanied her guard to the Canterlot train station. She stood there looking stately, waiting patiently for the train, her student, and most importantly, the news from the Crystal Empire.

The train chugged into the station, but the occupants were not what Princess Celestia had expected. Crystal ponies outside of the Empire? Princess Cadance and Shining Armor? Something was wrong. It wasn't until Twilight's friends carried the wounded Rainbow Dash out of the train that she realized that something was very, very wrong. She called out to Applejack. "What happened in the Crystal Empire?"

"Ah'm not completely sure, Princess," the orange pony replied, "but King Sombra got inside, and Rainbow Dash went to go save Twilight, but you can see how that turned out."

Celestia put a hoof to her mouth. "Oh no."

"Ah'm sorry, Princess, but ah think th' Crystal Empire's fallen again, and we can only hope that King Sombra took Twilight prisoner."

Celestia nodded and excused the earth pony. Rarity and the crystal unicorn brought Rainbow Dash to Celestia, with Pinkie Pie following close behind. "Princess Celestia, could you help us get Rainbow Dash to the hospital?" Rarity asked. "King Sombra did quite the number on her wing; it took us the whole trip to keep her stable."

"Of course," she said, and she turned and led them into the city. As they went along, ponies rushing out of the way, Rarity took notice of Celestia's calm demeanor.

As soon as Rainbow Dash had been admitted into the emergency room, she stopped the white alicorn. "Excuse me, Princess, but I couldn't help but notice that your behavior is quite calm, in regards to the current circumstances.

"Yes," was all she said.

"Do you not realize that Rainbow Dash could die? And our dear Twilight is missing!"

Suddenly Princess Celestia sat on the cold, polished floor. Her luminous mane no longer flowed as it once did; her eyes no longer shone as bright. Her vision blurred as she began to cry right there in the hall. "I know," she sobbed. "And it's all my fault."


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


King Sombra laughed as the pegasus fell. He turned his attention to the castle tower once more, riding atop a large crystal. As he stepped on the railing of the rotunda, he heard whimpers of fear to his right. There stood a little purple dragon, no taller than his foreleg. The dragon was scared out of his mind, and gave a rather humorous shriek as the shadow pony dropped him into the crystalline cage with... whomever was trapped inside.

"What's going on, Spike?" a mare's voice said softly, yet loud enough for King Sombra to hear.

He smiled to himself; the little dragon was still quivering in fear. "It's Sombra," he replied. "He's here."

Instantly he grew angry. I am king of the Crystal Empire, and you will address me as such! He bellowed, using his magic to turn the crystals transparent. Now he could see his prisoner, but more importantly, she could see him.

The purple unicorn gasped, taken by surprise by both Sombra's voice and the sudden change in scenery. "What are you going to do with us?" she asked. He simply engulfed the prison with magic and escorted it down the tower.

I didn't think you would be so foolish as to find the Crystal Heart yourself, crystal princess.

Twilight realized he must have meant Cadance. "I'm not the crystal princess," she said.

This made King Sombra stop in his tracks. He turned to look at her. Ah yes, that made sense. He hadn't bothered to notice before, but now it was obvious that the purple unicorn's magic was different than that of the shield he had been attacking. If you are not the crystal princess, then who are you?

Twilight stood slowly. "I'm her friend. Princess Celestia asked me and my friends to help her and my brother Shining Armor protect the crystal ponies."

Sombra grinned, then he started laughing. Low at first, but it gradually grew to a full, hearty laughter that echoed off the walls. When he had regained his composure, he asked her, You are Celestia's student then?

"Her brightest," she said softly.

King Sombra still grinned, his fangs gleaming from the light bouncing off the walls. And that turned out swimmingly, didn't it? he laughed again. Twilight slumped back down to the floor of the cage, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Sombra continued down the stairs as he laughed.

"I -- failed," she stammered.

Oh yes, he answered her. You did a wonderful job at that. And to think, you almost succeeded. Twilight lay there crying the rest of the way, until Sombra revealed he was only imprisoning them for the time being. I remember what happened the last time I went up against your precious princesses, he told her. Killing you right now would only warrant a far greater consequence, and is the least favorable for my plans. Don't worry, he said as he left them in the dungeon, I'm sure your friends will try to rescue you in due time. The black unicorn halted once more and held a hoof to his chin. Well, maybe not the blue one. I left her in pretty rough shape after she attacked me.

"Rainbow Dash?" She tried to get more out of him, but he had already left them, and was not listening. He was on his way back to the top of the tower. Once he had reached the top, he put another spell on the circle that would allow him to visit the dungeons. The purple unicorn had figured out how to use his dark magic, but nopony else would.


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>

Three days ago...


King Sombra stepped out onto the balcony of his new castle to admire the panic he had caused. Once again, his throne was returned to him, ponies feared him, and he felt as if nothing had changed, even though the spell he had cast on the kingdom had simply sent it a thousand years into the future.

He was only able to enjoy it for a few moments, because he heard a light knock on the door, followed by the heavy door creaking open. He growled as he turned toward it to face the intruder.

What he saw in front of him was the first sign of respect that he had received from the crystal ponies since he had enslaved them oh so long ago. He saw three ponies enter and bow to him. What is the meaning of this?

The light gray stallion with blue hair and violet eyes in the center took a step forward. "Be merciful on us, Crystal King," Crystal Arrow began. "We remember everything from a thousand years ago and the slavery you put us through. We will do whatever you say." Crystal Arrow stayed bowing in front of the black unicorn, his eyes closed.

King Sombra looked to the other two ponies that cowered behind the stallion. Each of them also closed their eyes as Sombra's gaze swept over them. What are your names? he asked them.

"I'm Crystal Arrow," the light gray stallion replied. "This is Glass Rose," he indicated the salmon-colored unicorn mare with pale orange hair to his right, "and Rock Candy," the light purple pegasus stallion with bluish-grey hair to his left.

King Sombra stood there, thinking. Why should I trust them now? Why would they risk their lives to come to me? He didn't understand. He stood there in mindful silence for two minutes before making his decision. Very well, he said as he turned and walked toward his throne. Your lives will be kept, along with the lives of every crystal pony in my Empire. Sombra sat on the throne and brought the three ponies closer to him with his magic. All three of them squirmed in his aura, surprised by his actions. However, he continued, I have Celestia's favorite student in my custody, and I have no doubt she will try to free her from my grasp. There is a battle coming. Perhaps a war. You three will be my generals, leading my kingdom to victory!

As the three ponies turned and exited the throne room, Sombra remembered the other prison, the one that did not hold Twilight Sparkle, and added, And the ponies who are not willing to die for me, throw them in the dungeon.


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


That was the day Princess Celestia began the counterattack and rescue mission. Her eyes were red from crying and weary from fatigue; she had not slept at all that night, not even a wink.

"Sister, you had to have known that this was a possibility," Princess Luna argued.

"Yes, but I was sure that my dear Twilight would be able to find a way on her own," the white alicorn replied.

Luna set a hoof on her sister's shoulder. She knew all too well the shameful consequences a single mistake could cause somepony. Many times in her thousand-year imprisonment, before Nightmare Moon's bitterness took control, she had wished for the same thing; not condemnation, but comfort.

It was a long while before the princess let anyone enter the throne room. When they finally opened the doors, Princess Celestia ordered the royal guard to prepare for battle in the North. Still stricken with grief, and despite Luna's warnings, she insisted that she front the attack herself and rescue Twilight Sparkle from the clutches of the Crystal King before his shadow embraced all of Equestria.

Celestia and the royal guard arrived in the North by the same tracks that Twilight and her friends had taken. They approached the Crystal Empire by hoof, and stormed the border of Sombra's new realm, hoping to take the shadow pony by surprise.

He had been prepared for this kind of reaction. Only a few guards, Princess? he scoffed at her. He led his own troops, the crystal ponies who had conceded to his authority, led by Crystal Arrow on the ground, and air strikes coordinated by Rock Candy.

Likewise, Celestia had also prepared for both air and ground battle, with Shining Armor leading the ground forces. Though not as strong as the earth ponies, Shining Armor still held his own, and as captain of the Royal Guard, his intelligence and skills still made him a great asset to the Princess. His magic was still blocked by Sombra's magic on his horn, but he was a valued soldier and tactician above all else, so rather than put him on leave until his horn was cured, Celestia put him with the other earth ponies.

The battle appeared to be a stalemate at first. The Royal Guard definitely had a tactical and military advantage over the crystal ponies, but the crystal ponies were driven to fight by their fear of King Sombra. They were crudely armored by whatever pieces they could find around the city, and many of the crystal ponies had none. Princess Celestia gave the order, if there was any chance, not to kill the crystal ponies.

The battle raged on for hours. The unicorns and earth ponies made the ground shake with their hooves, and pegasi filled the air with a roar of flapping wings. King Sombra grew tired of the battle and joined, now making it a very one-sided fight. Sombra single-hoofedly forced the Royal Guard back, and erected a wall of crystal around the Empire too thick to shatter.

Once Sombra had joined the fight, she knew without a doubt that she would lose this battle, and despite knowing how to use Sombra's dark magic, Princess Celestia could not break through either. She flew to the top edge of the barrier looked upon the Crystal Empire. What she saw saddened her; no fewer than three dozen of her own Royal Guard had been trapped on the other side. King Sombra and some other crystal ponies were currently stripping off their armor and binding them. She could only guess that they were going to be imprisoned.

Celestia projected her voice in a booming volume toward Sombra. "Do not think that you have beaten me, Sombra. I will return."

Sombra raised himself on a giant crystal and returned, in a voice just as loud, I have won this battle, and I will win every battle. I have your student, and now you have given me some of your own army.

Princess Celestia's anger grew. "You rule the crystal ponies with fear. My sister and I have all of Equestria that will come to our aide."

Sombra laughed. It sounds like you are declaring war, Princess.

"I am."


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>

Today...


It was now morning, and Princess Luna was visiting Rainbow Dash in the hospital. "The next day my sister and I appointed members of the Royal Guard outside Sombra's barrier to ensure that nopony, not even Sombra himself, would make sinister advances to the rest of Equestria. So far, he has not done anything since the first battle," she explained.

"Why not?" asked the cyan pegasus.

"We do not know," Luna replied. "It is most likely he is preparing his troops for future battles. My sister told me that many of the crystal ponies were not wearing any armor."

Rainbow Dash leaned back onto the hospital bed, careful not to put too much pressure on her broken wing. "Thanks for visiting, Princess."

"You are feeling better, Rainbow Dash?"

"Yeah, a little bit," she said. "I don't think I'll be able to help with fighting though."

"Perhaps that is the case. But perhaps it is not." Rainbow Dash looked at the blue alicorn. "We are holding a meeting today to discuss strategies. When she was told of the meeting, Captain Spitfire requested that you be in attendance."

"What? Why?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused that a disabled pegasus would be invited to such an important meeting.

"She did not disclose anything else, Rainbow Dash."

Pinkamena walked into the hospital room. It was rare for her to leave Rainbow Dash's side, but when Princess Luna came to visit, she had asked the pink pony to leave them. She hadn't realized that she was hungry, not eating much the last four days, and fatigue showed on her face and eyes. Even her legs were sluggish beneath her body weight.

Princess Luna stood and crossed to the door. "I will take my leave. The meeting is later tonight, before my sister lowers the sun." As she passed Pinkamena, she put a hoof on her shoulder. "I miss your dreams, Pinkie Pie. I hope you will be able to sleep well again soon." With that, the blue alicorn exited the room.

Pinkamena watched Luna go. Rainbow Dash slid off the bed and walked over to her. They embraced each other and talked until it was time for them to go to the meeting. Rainbow Dash was still a bit weary, not having eaten much without throwing it back up, so she put her right hoof over Pinkamena's shoulders, and the two of them walked through the halls and across the garden to one of the rooms beside the throne room, which held a table.

The two princesses sat at the head of the table, with Shining Armor and Princess Cadance to Celestia's right. Other Royal Guard officers sat around the table, and Captain Spitfire and Soarin, the senior members of the Wonderbolts, were also there. Rainbow Dash, escorted by her pink friend, were the last to arrive; the meeting had already begun.

Celestia and paused what she was saying and looked at the most recent attendees. "Welcome, Rainbow Dash. I am glad you could make it," she said, and directed the two to sit next to the unicorn sitting next to Captain Spitfire. "You have come at a good time. We were just discussing how to get my student, and your friend, Twilight Sparkle, away from the Crystal Empire. And since you risked your life to save her at the beginning, we were hoping you might have some vital information regarding this."

Rainbow Dash looked around the table, at all the faces pointed directly at her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I saw Sombra heading toward the tall central tower of the crystal palace. I kinda knew that's where Twilight was, since she and Spike had gone to look for the Crystal Heart in the palace. The closer I got, I saw Spike standing next to the Heart. It looked like he was talking, but I didn't see anypony else. I saw something like a cage in the middle of the room."

The ponies around the table took note of this. Celestia had come to the same conclusion as everypony else. "Sombra hid the Crystal Heart in the castle? Twilight must have gotten caught in the cage." She turned back to Rainbow Dash. "Do you remember anything else?"

"I'm sorry, but that's all I remember. I was too busy fighting Sombra."

"We thank you for your efforts, Rainbow Dash. Captain Spitfire," she said, turning to the yellow pegasus, "I believe you have something to share with us?"

"Yes, Princess," Spitfire replied. She stood and put her hooves on the table. "Dr. Monchino here approached me a few days ago when he heard about Rainbow Dash. He's witnessed her amazing abilities a number of times, and wanted to help her out. Dr.?"

The tan unicorn next to her stood as she sat back down. "Thank you, Captain. For years my team and I have been working on limb replacements, mostly for those injured in construction, or natural disasters," he explained. "It broke my heart when I heard about Rainbow Dash's predicament. But!" he shouted, pointing his hoof into the air, "I have been perfecting a full wing replacement for such an injury as this."

He brought the prosthetic prototype out of a box and set it on the table for all the ponies to see. Everypony leaned in to get a closer look. "It is mostly comprised of plastic, but I have added in electronic elements, which I hope to connect to the existing nerves."

"That sounds dangerous, Doctor," Princess Cadance expressed.

"Yes, it will be a risky operation. All my previous experiments show that, if successful, Rainbow Dash may be able to fly again." Rainbow Dash's eyes widened at the thought. "All in all, it is up to her," the doctor concluded. He turned his attention toward the cyan pegasus. "In regards to recent events, we have no reason to ask this of you, but are you willing to undergo this surgery, for the chance to fly again?"

Once again every eye was set on her. Dr. Monchino sat and gestured for her to stand. Slowly, she rose and leaned against the table, still weak. She returned the gaze of every pony in the room, taking her time, and finally her eyes rested upon the princesses and Shining Armor. "I was probably the best flier in all of Equestria until a few days ago. Flying was everything to me, and now that's been taken away from me. Twilight is my friend; that's why I fought King Sombra. He brought us a war, a war that we have no chance winning."

"To answer you question, Doc, no." Faces fell, and some eyes (especially those of Shining Armor) looked betrayed. "I'm not gonna get this surgery for the chance to fly again. I'm gonna get this surgery because I want to fight. We're gonna need the Wonderbolts, and the Wonderbolts need the fastest and best fliers in Equestria."

Most of the ponies cheered, and the princesses smiled at her answer. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor got up and hugged her.

Once the noise had calmed down, Dr. Monchino took the stage again. Picking up the prosthetic, he said, "Come with me," and he led Rainbow Dash and Pinkamena away from the room.


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


Rainbow Dash sluggishly opened her eyes, drowsy from both the pain medication and the anesthetic. She was lying on a different kind of hospital bed now, and she took her time sitting up. When she finally regained her bearings, she saw Dr. Monchino standing nearby. "Hey, Doc," she said with a weak smile.

"Ah, good, you're awake." The doctor turned his attention to her. "And you're sitting up, very good. But before you do anything else, I'd like to give you a quick examination."

He led her through extending the new wing, flaring out the feathers, and flapping it, gently at first, to see if the nerve connections were stable. There was, of course, some pain and tenderness at the site of the surgery, but everything seemed to be okay.

As he exited the room, he held the door open for Pinkamena, who walked up to her friend and gave her a hug. "Pinkie? Your hair's still deflated. What's wrong? The Doc says I'll be able to fly again soon."

"I know," she replied, "but your left wing was my favorite wing." Rainbow Dash couldn't help but laugh. "Oh yeah," she continued, "Spitfire told me to give this to you if you survived." She produced an envelope, with a red wax seal that bore the Wonderbolts emblem on it. The pegasus took it and tore it open with her teeth.

Captain Spitfire had written these words: "I don't remember ever thanking you for saving our lives at the Best Young Flier Competition, Rainbow Dash. It seems you have a habit of risking your life when your friends' lives are at risk. After you left the meeting with Dr. Monchino, we continued discussing the use of the Wonderbolts in the coming war. You're right, we do need the fastest and the best fliers in Equestria, which is why we're holding emergency auditions at the Wonderbolts Academy, and you're invited. Practices start in two weeks; that should give you enough time to recover well enough to join us."

"And thanks," she finished. "We could really use you, Rainbow Dash." Rainbow Dash threw the letter on the bed, whooping as she jumped up and down. Even Pinkamena had to smile, now that her friend could keep on flying.
> 04: From Rocks To Ranks
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkamena Diane Pie stood waving her hoof at Rainbow Dash, who was now headed off to the Wonderbolts Academy. It had been two weeks since the pegasus had gotten her new prosthetic wing, and she could now fly well enough for simple travel, with little irritation around the prosthetic.

She stood there with the wind blowing through her pink hair. "I hope she doesn't forget to write," she said to herself, turning back toward Ponyville.

As she walked back to Ponyville, she thought of all the times she'd seen her friend defy what was normal, pushing the limits of what it meant to be a pegasus. Pinkamena approached Sugarcube Corner as she normally did. At first, the Cakes were shocked that the party pony Pinkie Pie was not so vibrant anymore, but they had become accustomed to her new appearance.

Princess Cadance met her at the door of the sweets shop. "Oh, Pinkie Pie. I was hoping to find you."

"Hey, Cadance. What's up?"

"I heard your family are rock farmers?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Good," the princess replied. "I need you to bring me to them. We need to tell them what's happened."

"Okay," Pinkamena agreed, and they caught the next train out of Ponyville that was headed south to Appleloosa, then walked west across the plain and across the Saddle River (which starts at Saddle Lake in Ponyville and runs through the Ghastly Gorge. The rock farm is just south of the Gorge).

Along the way, Pinkamena asked her why they were going to the rock farm. "Princess Celestia asked me to find out if they would be valuable assets to the fight. She wants to know their strength and abilities."

"Limestone would probably jump at the chance to fight," the pink pony replied. "And Ma and Pa might want to stay on the farm, even if they're willing."

It was just as Pinkamena had implied: Ma and Pa Pie were indeed willing to help, but weren't willing to leave the farm. Limestone Pie was eager to help in the cause, and didn't even give it a second thought. Pinkamena's sister Marble was shy, and while she supported the cause, she would not be a very good soldier, so she stayed on the rock farm with Ma and Pa. Maud and Pinkamena were the strongest of the girls, so they were also recruited to the war effort.

Ma, Pa, and Marble Pie stood at the gate and waved them off as the four of them returned to Appleloosa, and caught the next train north, toward Ponyville. They continued past Ponyville and through to the Canterlot train station, where members of the Royal Guard were waiting. They escorted the four mares to Princess Luna, who was watching over Canterlot as Celestia was at the front lines, defending Equestria.

"Welcome, Limestone Pie and Maud Pie. I would rather have met you in more favorable times, but there is nothing that can be done about that," Luna stated, and the Pie sisters (minus Pinkamena) bowed to the princess. "Arise. Did Princess Cadance tell you why we have summoned you?"

"Cuz we can fight!" Limestone shouted, her light gray mane swaying as she took an aggressive stance.

"To put it bluntly, yes," the blue alicorn responded. We have heard of your family's strength from farming rocks your whole life. We sent Princess Cadance to bring you here to measure it."

The two princess led them along a rocky path that was cut into Canterlot Mountain, toward the eastern edge of it. "This mountain consists of a mixture of igneous rocks, including andesite, granite, and rhyolite," Maud said flatly. "This used to be a volcano until all the magma either drained or hardened." She turned to Princess Luna. "What is the test?"

Luna explained as they approached a relatively small chunk of the mountain, "We will start with this. I imagine you dug the quarries and tunnels yourselves?" The Pie sisters all nodded. "We would like to know how fast you are able to tunnel through this portion of the mountain. Don't worry, there is enough room on the other side so you will not fall."

The three earth ponies lined up in front of the rocky mound and prepared to dig. Luna had flown to the other side. On her signal, all three earth ponies dug into the rock. Maud and Pinkie punched the rock in front of them with their hooves, pulverizing chunks that they scooped away with their hind legs as they proceeded forward. Limestone was more direct with her punches, grunting and yelling as she progressed, but didn't pay much attention to the debris she had accumulated.

Maud was the first to break through to the other side, a full two seconds before her sisters. Pinkamena was next to break through, followed closely by Limestone. Limestone had a few scrapes on her head from pieces that fell on her. Her hole was the largest of the three.

For the next test, Luna simply said, "Now, recover from a fall," and she picked them up with her magical aura.

"Hey, put me down!" Limestone shouted

Luna paused for just a moment. Remembering her design ideas for the Castle of the Two Sisters, she smiled deviously. "As you wish, Limestone Pie." She released her magic, and the earth ponies dropped. They tumbled down the side of the mountain. All three were able to right themselves; Maud and Pinkamena slowed their descent by digging their hooves into the rock, and Limestone, angered, did so by trying to run back up the mountain.

Luna glided down and watched them as they descended, taking mental notes from each test to tell Celestia at a later point. The final test (for now, at least) was to see how they would clear the debris that had gathered at the bottom. Limestone beat her sisters in this test, sending a rock as big as herself flying over the Foal Mountains.


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


Once the princess and the Royal Guard had retreated those three weeks ago, King Sombra lowered the crystals that surrounded the city, and his army of crystal ponies swarmed the remainder of the Royal Guard that had been appointed, capturing them. They, too, were stripped of their armor and sent to the dungeons.

Sombra walked the streets of his empire, along with Crystal Arrow and Rock Candy. Our forces are small, Crystal Arrow. I do not want to intervene every single battle, especially when my empire grows, he told them.

"Agreed, my King." Crystal Arrow added. "And as your empire grows, the ponies that we capture will fill our dungeons, faster than we can build new ones."

Rock Candy was silent as he pondered both situations. He was a smart pony, and his intelligence was valuable to King Sombra. He paused in the street. "I think," he began, "I may have a solution to both of these issues."

The other two stopped and turned back to look at him, puzzled looks on their faces. "What do you mean?" asked Crystal Arrow.

The purple stallion drew figures in the dirt as he explained. "My King, you said our forces are small in number. Crystal Arrow, you said our dungeons would overflow before too long. We have a deficit of bodies on one side of things, and a surplus of them on the other." The other two stallions started to understand. "My King, can you apply a spell to an object?"

Of course.

"Here is what I propose: we build helmets to put on our prisoners, with a mind-control spell applied to them. We'll have to tweak the spell to do exactly what we need it to do, of course."

"Sounds simple enough," Crystal Arrow said.

Sombra looked up from the drawings on the ground, and set his gaze upon the aging pegasus. How soon can you build something?

"Well," he thought, putting a hoof up to his chin, "we could start trying it with the helmets we salvaged from the Royal Guard; that shouldn't take long, but once we figure out the parameters of the spell, we may need to mass-produce helmets to maximize efficiency, and that will take some time."

For now, do as you suggested, Sombra ordered. But remember, Rock Candy, not to cross me

"Of course not, my King," the pegasus replied. He wouldn't dream of it, but the crystal king made sure to end most conversations this way.

King Sombra left the two ponies to their tasks as he made his way back to the castle. He climbed the staircase all the way up to the top tower, the same tower he had hidden the Crystal Heart a thousand years ago. He had now hidden the Heart elsewhere in the castle, due to a certain pony's nosy prying. He activated the center circle with his magic, which opened up to another large spiral staircase.

At the bottom of the staircase sat a single prison cell. The only two prisoners were the aforementioned prying purple pony and her little purple dragon. Since there was no bed or cot in the cell, they both laid on the dirt floor. The floor, however, had a thin layer of straw scattered upon it. Twilight Sparkle looked up when she heard the footsteps. "There was another battle last night, wasn't there?"

Yes there was, he answered her, and once more, the results did not favor your friends. Sombra sauntered in front of the iron bars, gloating. How did you know that, from all the way down here?

"If you haven't noticed, there's really nothing to do in here," she explained. "We've spent the last few weeks in silence, and when it's this quiet, your ears start picking up on things that are smaller or farther away."

Sombra returned to his confident mood and walked right up to the iron bars. I see, he said. Let me know if you hear anything from your precious princesses, foalish mare! He laughed as he turned and went back up the stairs.

"Could you at least bring me a book or something?" She shouted after him.

NO!

Twilight sighed.

Spike waited to speak until King Sombra was completely out of range. "Well, that didn't work."

The purple unicorn looked at her dragon assistant. "It's the only idea we've got. If we can't get a book and send a message to Celestia, that's it. We'll be prisoners forever."

"But Twilight," Spike interjected, "you're gonna rip it up."

"I know," she replied. "I don't want to do it, but we don't have any scrolls or quills with us, and any book will work." They sat in silence for a while. At this point, there wasn't much to discuss other than memories, but after weeks of listening to sounds of distant battle and the hollowness of the dungeon, Twilight sighed again. "I'm sorry," she said.

Spike's eyes widened. He looked from side to side before resting his eyes on Twilight. "Say what?"

"You were right there," she continued. "The Crystal Heart was right next to you, and I... I've been thinking about it this whole time, and I feel terrible." She lay down on the ground and put her head on her hooves. Tears filled up her eyes.

Spike walked up to her and hugged her neck.


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


After another day of testing the earth ponies on other things that Celestia had suggested, Luna looked north and saw her sister returning from battle. The alicorns met at the Canterlot Lofty Observation Platform, where they had stood lookout during Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's wedding. "How goes the fight, dear sister?"

"King Sombra's crystals are corrupting more of Equestria each day," Princess Celestia replied flatly. "For the most part, the Royal Guard have been able to keep it to a minimum."

"But..." Luna encouraged.

Celestia sighed. "But we are still losing Royal Guard members. The loss is still small, but we cannot recruit ponies fast enough." At this, she turned away from her sister and sat on the balcony. Her eyes began to fill with tears.

Luna put a hoof on her sister's shoulder. "I know you still blame yourself for Twilight Sparkle's capture. Whether or not you are indeed at fault, the past is in the past. We need to focus on the present, and we have a war to fight." Celestia looked at Luna. "We will rescue her, Celie."

Princess Celestia stood and wiped the tears from her eyes. The two sisters raised the moon and lowered the sun, casting night over the entire land. Once the sun and moon had been placed, the white alicorn once again turned to her sister. "Did you train the Pie family as I directed?"

"All three of them will be valuable assets to the war effort," Luna started. "Although, through the testing, I've concluded they do not need much further training at all."

Celestia nodded. "Good luck, Luna," she said. The blue alicorn flew down to where her batponies were waiting with her chariot. She stepped in her chariot and directed her squadron of batponies northward. Celestia watched her sister disappear into the night, and turned toward the door. She walked to the throne room, where the Pie sisters were waiting.

As she walked, Shining Armor approached her, followed by Princess Cadance. "Princess Celestia!" he blurted. Princess Celestia stopped and turned to the Captain.

"Ah, Shining Armor. Have you rested well?"

"Not well enough," Cadance interrupted. Shining Armor slowed his gait and his wife caught up to them. "He only sleeps a few hours. Most of the night, he's trying to rid his horn of the crystals, or working out." Celestia now noticed the dark circles that hung under the stallion's eyes.

"I need to get these crystals off, Princess," he explained, "but so far nothing's helped."

Celestia saw that the newlyweds were tired. When Cadance wrapped a hoof around her husband, Celestia heard a small crack. She'd heard that sound before; it was unmistakably the sound of Sombra's crystals. She studied his horn and had an idea. "Shining Armor, your love for Princess Cadance attracted the changelings to Canterlot." The couple looked at the white alicorn with confused, yet trusting, expressions. "Princess Cadance, your unique power of love kept Sombra at bay for days on end, and only faltered when you were too tired to cast the spell anymore."

Cadance spoke. "Are you saying our love can fix his horn?"

Celestia paused. "I don't know for sure, but there is no doubt the two of you have the purest love I've ever seen in Equestria." She directed the two to follow her. "King Sombra's magic is powered by fear and anger, and deterred by love and hope. That's why your shield worked so well, Princess Cadance. It's possible that the love that you share is enough to begin the process of removing the crystals from your horn."

Princess Cadance and Shining Armor thanked the princess and walked away.

Celestia continued to the doors of the throne room, where her subjects were waiting. A unicorn guard stood posted on each side of the doors, prepared to open them. She closed her eyes and exhaled, then applied an aura of authority. She nodded, and the guards threw open the doors. Some guards began to blow a fanfare on their trumpets to accompany her entrance. Citizens of Canterlot and Ponyville filled the hall on either side of the center rug, with a single line of armored guards separating the two halves of the room. Celestia approached the end of the throne room, where the Pie sisters stood in fresh tactical gear.

The white alicorn turned. "Citizens of Equestria, my fellow ponies," she addressed them, "Although the war against King Sombra has only begun, he is a great threat to Equestria. He has captured many of our soldiers, and is no doubt exploring ways to grow his forces. The crystal ponies that remain within the Crystal Empire have chosen to fight for him, rather than endure another reign of slavery under his iron hoof. We will need every resource we can gather. Which is why," she continued, "we are gathered here today to recognize Miss Limestone Pie, Miss Maud Pie, and Miss Pinkie Pie. As earth ponies, they do not seem to have any magic of their own; however, earth ponies are more closely attuned to the land than any other species. As rock farmers, they have gained certain skills and abilities that will be vital to the war effort."

She turned her head and nodded to another unicorn, who took a moment in front of each sister, pinning a patch featuring the insignia of Equestria on their sleeves. Everypony on the platform turned to face the audience. "Equestria, please give a hoof to the newly appointed Equestrian Special Operations - Team One!" A thunderous applause rose from the ponies in the audience as the earth ponies walked down the aisle and exited the hall, the unicorn guards closing the doors behind them.
> 05: The Wonderbolt Academy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash broke through the clouds and arrived in Cloudsdale, the place of her birth. Cloudsdale had settled in the skies near Ponyville ever since King Sombra's crystals started creeping outward from the Crystal Empire. She inhaled, taking in a deep breath of the fresh air. "Damn, it feels good to fly again!" she exclaimed.

The cyan pegasus flew a little bit more, letting the wind blow through her feathers. It still felt weird; before, she felt the wind in both wings, but now, she only felt it on her right side. She sighed and lowered herself onto the clouds. As she landed, she folded her wings to her flanks. She rubbed her aching left shoulder with a grimace and walked the fluffy pathways to her home.

Pegasi greeted her as she walked, stallions and mares who stayed home to take care of their families. She waved back at them, trying to keep conversations to a minimum. She had to get home, then to the Academy.

She entered the front doorway of her home, and walked up the stairs to her room. She pushed her hoof against the door and it opened with a creak, sending vortexes of dust into the air. The sunlight pouring through the windows illuminated the particles, making the whole appear abandoned, and in a way it was. "Geez," the cyan pegasus groaned. "I forgot how long it's been since I was here."

Rainbow Dash stood frozen in the center of the room. She realized she needed nothing at the Academy; not her Wonderbolts posters, not her bedsheets, not her Daring Do comic books. Everything she needed, the Academy already had. As she turned to leave, a short flash of light in the corner of the room caught her eye. She walked to where the flash had come from.

She saw an old photo album. "When did I make this?" she asked out loud as she flipped through the pages. She knew she had to get going, but for some reason, she was compelled to finish looking through the pictures.

Then, one photo stood out to her. It was one of a sequence of photos taken at Sweet Apple Acres, soon after Discord's temporary return. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had the idea to get their Cutie Marks in party planning. Despite Pinkie's objections that she'll be out of a job, she helped them anyway; the fillies threw out ideas, and Pinkie gathered them all together and gave advice as the fillies put together their first party.

"Heh," the cyan pegasus chuckled. "For once Pinkie was the level-headed one."

The party, an "Awesome Sister Party," was for Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, but their other friends were also invited. Featherweight was invited to take pictures. The picture that Rainbow Dash was now staring and smiling at showed Rainbow Dash with her forelegs around Twilight and Scootaloo's shoulders. All three of them were laughing.

Rainbow Dash took the picture out of the photo album and placed it in a small pouch, which she slung around her neck. She was ready to go now.


<>-<>-<>-<>-<>


The other cadets were already taking laps when Rainbow Dash arrived at the Academy. One of the stallions noticed her arrival, and said something to Spitfire. Spitfire turned and took off her aviators before approaching her. "Glad you could make it, Rainbow Dash," Spitfire said in her rough voice. "How ya holding up?"

"Feeling a lot better, Captain," she replied with a smirk. "I'm already flying as good as the average pegasus again."

Spitfire chuckled. "Well, that's good." The yellow pegasus turned, and Rainbow followed beside her. "This group of cadets has got real potential," she continued.  She pointed a hoof at an aqua mare. "Ya see that pegasus with the yellow and orange mane?" She nodded. "That's Lightning Dust. She's probably the most skilled flyer this term. I think you two will really hit it off."

"Ma'am?" Rainbow Dash interjected. "What's the plan here?"

"Excuse me?" Spitfire was confused.

"I mean, I know the Wonderbolts are a paramilitary force, and they also entertain ponies across Equestria..."

"Uh-huh?"

"But we're going up against King Sombra. He may not seem like much, but he enslaved an entire culture, and somehow made the whole Crystal Empire disappear! I don't know how smart he is, but he's got tact, that's for sure."

"So I've heard."

"The crystal ponies under his control are just regular ponies like you and me, and the cadets. But what's your plan for defeating Sombra?" She had followed Captain Spitfire to her office.

The yellow mare sat down behind her desk and set her chin on her hooves. "That's what we're training for, Rainbow Dash. I've talked to Princess Celestia about it, and she's allowed training techniques that we haven't used in a long time. I've already explained to the other cadets that these techniques can be brutal sometimes, but they need to be at their best for this war effort."

Rainbow Dash stood awkwardly, crossing her forelegs. A moment later, Spitfire saw her and said, "Oh, you're dismissed. And don't forget to connect with Lightning Dust."

"Yes ma'am!"

The cyan mare exited her office and almost ran into one of the other stallions who monitored the cadets. "Are you...Rainbow Dash?" he asked her, looking down at his clipboard.

"That's me."

"The other cadets just finished up laps. They're headed into the cafeteria for lunch."

"Thank you, sir!" she saluted him and trotted away.

The stallion tipped his cap and entered Captain Spitfire's office.

Rainbow Dash trotted into the Academy's cafeteria, not expecting anypony to turn their heads. She heard many conversations going on, but didn't understand any of it, since they were all talking at once. Then, she felt some eyes land upon her, and there was a low murmur as she received her food. All other conversations died off as more and more ponies turned to look at her.

One of the cadets, a black stallion with a white and silver mane was the first to cheer for her. "Wooo! Rainbow Dash!" Everypony else joined in cheering as she walked among the tables, causing the cyan mare to blush, her cheeks growing warm.

As Rainbow Dash scanned her audience, she noticed that a certain yellow- and orange-maned mare wasn't. As she approached Lightning Dust, the rest of the cadets grew quiet. Before she sat down, she looked back at the other pegasi. Most of them had already returned to their seats, and others were still doing so.

Rainbow set her food on the table beside Lightning Dust. After a moment of contemplating how to begin, she said, "Spitfire told me you were a pretty good flyer."

The aqua mare scoffed. "'Pretty good?' Is that it?" She turned to Rainbow Dash. "I'm better than good; I'm the best!"

"Easy, Lightning Dust. I didn't mean to make you mad," she stressed. Another silent moment passed. "But you are talking to the only pony who's ever done a Sonic Rainboom," she said with a sly grin.

The aqua mare scrunched her brow, then opened her eyes wide as she realized who she had just shouted at. "Ohmigosh, Rainbow Dash?" Rainbow nodded. "I saw you do it at the Best Young Flyer competition."

The two mares were fast friends, just as Spitfire had thought they would. Everypony else's nerves settled down as Lightning Dust, who was at first gaining a reputation as an intimidating rogue, was now being seen as a normal pony. She and Rainbow Dash talked whenever they could between drills.

After dinner that evening, Soarin stood at the door of the cafeteria. He dismissed the ponies to the barracks as they left the hall, but stopped Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust as they passed by. "Rainbow Dash, Lightning Dust, meet me in Spitfire's office before bed."

"Yes, sir!" they both replied, saluting the Wonderbolt.

Spitfire was reading reports behind her desk when the two mares entered. "Dash, Dust, welcome. I have a special assignment for you two."

The cyan and aqua mares looked at each other. "Special assignment, ma'am?" Lightning Dust asked.

"That's right," Soarin confirmed as he walked into the room behind the mares. "Myself and some of the other Wonderbolts have been watching the cadets, monitoring their progress and assessing their skill levels." The pale blue stallion walked to the edge of Spitfire's desk and turned to face them. "Rainbow Dash, you've already proven your skills as a flyer, and the fact that you're here so soon after your battle in the Crystal Empire shows us you will do whatever it takes to help."

"Lightning Dust," he continued, "there is no doubt that you are one of the most-skilled flyers we've ever seen at the Academy. Your speed and vitality will be valuable assets when we ultimately face King Sombra."

Captain Spitfire removed her sunglasses. "Exactly," she said. "The Princesses have asked us to not only train pegasi for battle, but also to put together a team for special operations. Stealth, extraction, that sort of thing."

Rainbow Dash's eyes fell as she whispered Twilight's name.

"The Wonderbolts have decided that because of your abilities, we want the two of you to lead this operation. Tomorrow morning, the cadets will receive their team assignments. They will be assigned to teams of two, with a lead pony and a wingpony. I'm assigning you two together."

Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash saluted her and replied in unison, "Thank you, ma'am!"

Spitfire put her sunglasses back on. "You're dismissed."

Soarin watched as the two mares left the room, closing the door behind them. Once they had gone, he turned to his superior and inquired of her, "Ma'am, are you sure putting the two of them together is a good idea?"

The yellow mare rested her chin on her crossed hooves. "I trust that Rainbow Dash knows what she's doing," she said, "but I think the other one is still too wild. She needs to learn how to control herself."

All he could do was nod at that.


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Somepony rang the bell, waking up all the cadets, letting them know to prepare for the day to come. They all lined up at the foot of their bunks, standing at attention, ready for the morning's debriefing. Soarin debriefed the stallions in their bunkhouse, while Spitfire did the same for the mares.

"Cadets! This morning at breakfast, you will be assigned to teams of two," they barked. "Each team will consist of a lead pony and a wingpony. Our observations of your talents since you arrived have given us everything we need to form these teams. You will be expected to work together, to the point that you and your partner become a unit. You are free to discuss maneuvers or tactics, but the lead pony has the final say. Wingponies, you must abide by your lead pony's decision. If you still have concerns, bring them to your superior officer, which is me."

The cadets were visibly excited as Spitfire and Soarin dismissed them to breakfast. The mess hall stirred with it, as conversations droned on at each table. A single mustachioed stallion walked in, nearly unseen by the restless pegasi. As he approached the far end of the hall, a few ponies noticed him and grew quiet.

He posted the list as the crowd of pegasi slowly stood up. They eagerly walked toward the back wall as the mustachioed stallion left the mess hall. Their soft murmur grew louder and louder until every sound in the building was indiscernible from another. The ponies nearest the list whooped and searched for their partners.

Since Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust were toward the rear of the crowd, they were among the last to see the list. "We already know we're on a team," Lightning Dust said, "but who's lead pony?"

Rainbow Dash searched the list for their names. She found Lightning Dust's name, about halfway down the page, with the letter "W" after her name. Next to it was her own name, marked with an "L." She stared at the page as she answered. "I am."

"What?" Lightning Dust pushed the cyan mare out of her way to see for herself. Once she saw the result, her shoulders drooped and she slowly took a few steps back. The few ponies that had not seen the list yet moved in to view it.

Rainbow Dash stepped closer to the aqua mare. Lightning Dust's eyes twinkled with sorrow and confusion. "Lightning Dust, I'm sure Spitfire kn-" Lightning Dust ran out the door and Rainbow Dash chased after her. "Lightning Dust!" The aqua mare took to the sky, wiping salty droplets from her eyes. She was headed straight toward Captain Spitfire's office. She burst through the door.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion, cadet?" Spitfire barked.

"What's the meaning of making me wingpony?" she snapped back. "I'm clearly the best flyer here, and you've seen that I like to push my limits."

Spitfire sighed. "I know you do. You're also brash, egotistical, and disrespectful. If I put you as lead pony, and you made a risky decision, you'd put the lives of many ponies in danger."

"But..."

"I will not put anything above the safety of my cadets, Miss Dust. This is a war. Dismissed."

Lightning Dust huffed out of the office, just as Rainbow Dash reached it. Rainbow Dash turned to follow her. "What'd she say?"

"I'd put ponies in danger," she replied, falling to her haunches on the edge of the mountain. She didn't let the cyan mare respond before she blurted, "This is war! Like there's not gonna be any lives in danger during a war!"

"She was talking about unnecessary danger, Lightning Dust," she said. "Besides," she continued, sitting next to her friend, "we've got a different mission. We're supposed to be looking for the elite flyers, and put together a special operations team."

"Oh yeah," the aqua mare grumbled as she stood up. "Well, let's go find some."


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


"What about that one?" Lightning Dust pointed her hoof at a team consisting of a black stallion with a silver and white mane, and a purple mare with a brown mane.

"Hmm, precision maneuvers, good speed.... Looks good! Let's go check 'em out." The two mares flew over to them, who continued their drills, expertly weaving through cloud rings, flying as fast as they could manage without breaking the rings. Soon, Rainbow Dash was able to gain their attention. "I'm Rainbow Dash, and this is Lightning Dust," she said, pointing to the aqua mare. "Fastest pegasi in Equestria," she added, sly and confident grins stretching across their faces.

The black stallion nodded at Lightning Dust. "What's up, Rainbow Dash?"

The cyan mare explained the situation to them; why Captain Spitfire recruited her, how she had given the two of them the task of forming an elite team for special operations. "That's why we're here," she explained. "We think you two got what it takes."

The stallion and the purple mare smiled. "Thanks," the stallion raised his hoof. "My name's Eclipse."

"Little Angel," the mare said, raising her hoof as well.

"Nice to meet you," the cyan and aqua mares replied, knocking each hoof in turn. "So, tell us about yourselves."

Little Angel looked around, a confused look upon her face. "Shouldn't we be doing our drills?"

Lightning Dust stepped toward her. "We've been given a special mission by Captain Spitfire herself. She knows we'll take ponies away from drills for a few minutes."

"It'll be fine," Rainbow Dash added. "Tell us about yourselves," she said again.

Both of them had grown up in Cloudsdale, and both their parents worked in the weather factory. Eclipse had seen Rainbow Dash perform the Sonic Rainboom at the Best Young Flyer's Competition. From that moment on, he was inspired to be just like her, but since he could never be as fast as her, he turned to learning aerial tricks until he had heard the news of the Crystal Empire. "Ever since King Sombra's return, I wanted to help. I didn't know what else I could do, except join the Wonderbolts."

Angel Cattleya, nicknamed "Little Angel" by her friends and family, was fond of the orchids that her parents nurtured at home, which fueled her interest in Equestrian flora. As a filly, she was teased a lot in school, and was frequently chased through Cloudsdale after school let out. Since she was small, she was able to get away from them with relative ease after a while. "I used to hate it," she said of her nickname, "but after realizing that my small stature could help me, it started to grow on me."

"Alright," Lightning Dust said. "Let's see what we can come up with together!"

The four pegasi went aside and discussed maneuvers, practicing technique and form until Dusk, when all the other pegasi had already gone inside. Spitfire had seen the four of them practicing all afternoon. She smiled as she flew out to greet them.

"Rainbow Dash, Lightning Dust!" she interrupted their practice. "How's the team coming along?"

Eclipse turned to the blue duo. "Oh wow, you were actually serious about this," he said. "That's awesome!"

Rainbow Dash beamed. "I know, right?" She turned toward Spitfire. "It's goin' pretty well, Captain. What Lightning Dust and I have in speed, Eclipse and Little Angel have in maneuverability." The black and purple pegasi saluted their captain as their names were spoken.

Spitfire smiled again. "Show me whatcha got," she barked. Lightning Dust told her to stand right where she was while the new recruits flew right for her. Eclipse zoomed by, twisting his body to the right to avoid hitting her, twisting back as soon as his tail had passed hers. Little Angel did the same, twisting her body to the left. "Not bad," she congratulated them. "But we'll be flying around giant crystals. Lemme see how precise your climb is." She directed them to the wall of the nearest building and hovered above the clouds, facing the wall.

Eclipse and Little Angel flew as fast as they could until they reached the wall, and then turned their wings forward, rapidly slowing them down. Then, with a strong flap of their wings, they sped toward the sky with almost as much speed as they had started with. Little Angel almost got a little too close to the wall; the tips of her hooves scraped against it.

"Impressive. Keep working on things," she told them as the sun dropped below the horizon and she started back to her office. She paused and added, "Tomorrow."
> 06: The Flim Flam Brothers Come To Town
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tomorrow. Tomorrow, Applejack would head back to Canterlot because Princess Celestia had requested her presence. No doubt it had something to do with the war effort; not much else was talked about these days. Everypony in Ponyville and Canterlot tried to keep it in the backs of their minds, and sometimes it worked, but wherever somepony went, there was a solemn atmosphere lingering, hovering beneath every word, in every conversation.

But today, there was work to do at the farm. Since the Crystal War had started, the troops needed more food sooner, and both the Apples and the Carrots had been called to try and find a way to increase production. Tomorrow, the two families would meet Princess Luna and discuss possibilities. Today, the two families would meet each other to discuss possibilities.

"Ah don't see why we hafta meet with the Carrots today and tomorrow, Applejack," Apple Bloom protested as she and her sister crossed the tree-covered fields toward the Carrot family farm.

"There's nothin' ta worry yourself over, Apple Bloom," the orange mare replied. "Ah bumped into Golden Harvest in Ponyville yesterday. Turns out both of us were invited to meet with the Princesses this week ta discuss food production." She held a hoof to her hat as the breeze blew a bit harder and chuckled. "Ah had Spike send Celestia a message asking if our two families could meet and toss around some ideas, then meet the next day ta see what they thought about 'em."

"Oh," the filly said. "Well, ah don't like carrots, and ah don't see why anypony else would wanna eat 'em."

Applejack sighed. "It's usually a matter o' taste, 'specially with young colts and fillies," she teased, poking Apple Bloom in the shoulder. When the filly stared in confusion at her big sister, the orange mare cleared her throat. "Well," she began, "Ya like cake, don'tcha?" The filly nodded. "But ya also like pie?"

Again the filly nodded. "'Specially apple!" she added.

Applejack laughed. "Believe it or not, some ponies don't like one or the other. Some of them like eatin' cake more than pie." She chuckled for a moment. "Princess Celestia's one o' those ponies, actually."

Apple Bloom joined her sister in laughing as she remembered her time with her friends at the school newspaper. "Oh yeah, ah remember that." In a more pleasurable mood, the two sisters finally reached the Carrot's home.

Golden Harvest met them just outside the door and gave Applejack a friendly hug. "Welcome to the farm, you two!" Golden Harvest said giddily. She continued as she led them to her kitchen table where her family was already sitting. "I can't believe we got invited to meet with the Princesses!"

Her unicorn mother, Early Horn, and earth pony father, Autumn King, smiled at their daughter's excitement. "It is an honor," Early Horn said.

Once more Applejack laughed. "You sound just like me and my friends when we were first invited to the Grand Galloping Gala, Golden Harvest." She rubbed her chin with her hoof. "Gosh, has it really only been two years since then?" She sat, her little sister following her lead. The Apples and the Carrots sat a few moments, looking at each other, and Apple Bloom looked around the room. "So, we're here ta come up with ideas for producin' enough food for the Princesses' army."

"Well, we haven't sold many shipments of carrots recently, so we have more than usual sitting in the fields." Autumn King said.

Early Horn sipped a cup of tea and continued, "What's your situation on apple trees?"

Apple Bloom leaned back in her chair. "We always sell our largest number of apples durin' cider season, and even then we only use a little more than an acre."

Golden Harvest took notes. "So we both grow more food than we sell, and we have plenty left over in our fields." She tapped the pencil on her chin as she bit her lip in thought. "We have more land we can plant on, right mom and dad?" The light green mare and red-orange stallion nodded. "Okay, so we can have more carrots ready in a few months."

Apple Bloom got down from her chair and trotted up to the window. "Applejack," she said, "what was the name o' those stallion brothers that came around last cider season?"

Applejack got up and walked over to the same window her sister was looking through and saw a carriage sitting at the end of the road. She saw the two cream-colored stallions walking up the path to the front door. "The Flim Flam brothers," she muttered.

As if on cue, the brothers knock on the door. Golden Harvest gets up from the table to answer the door, but Applejack meets her before she can reach it. "Careful, Golden Harvest. Remember, these ponies are con artists." Golden Harvest nodded and opened the door.

"Hello, young miss," one of them said immediately. "My brother and I were just traveling the countryside and happened to overhear that you were invited to meet with the Princesses tomorrow; such an honor."

"A great honor," the mustachioed stallion interjected.

"And the topic of conversation is food production, I hear. Now, you may or may not be interested, but my brother and I - " he saw Applejack in the corner, her forelegs crossed. "Oh. Hello."

"Hey," she replied flatly.

Flim tried to continue. "Now, my brother and I have an idea - "

"Not interested, Flim." Applejack approached the brothers. Golden Harvest noted the firmness in what she said and backed away from the door to let her pass. "Whatever it is, we don't want your version of help."

"This is different, Applejack. When we heard about the war, we started thinking of ways to actually help ponies."

"That's right, brother. Many ideas, including ways of quick and efficient food production."

"I said before - "

"Applejack," Golden Harvest interrupted. "A moment please?" Reluctantly, the orange mare followed her into the next room. "Applejack, I know they've caused trouble in the past, but I think maybe they actually want to help us."

"But-" the orange pony began to protest.

"Think about it, Applejack." Golden Harvest continued. "Equestria is their home too. They've got nothing to gain from deceiving us now."

Flim and Flam took off their hats. Their faces were solemn. "She's right about that," Flim said.

"Applejack? Everythin' alright?" a small voice called from the kitchen.

Applejack looked from the brothers, to Golden Harvest, toward the kitchen where their families sat. She took a moment to collect her thoughts. Then, a song started ringing through her head, a little ditty she had heard when she was a filly:

Equestria, the land I love
A land of harmony
Our flag does wave from high above
For ponykind to see

Equestria, a land of friends
Where ponykind do roam
They say true friendship never ends
Equestria, my home

Applejack sighed and bowed her head, humbled. Everypony stood around her, waiting for her answer. Finally, she looked back up again and took off her hat. "Ah'm sorry, you two. I've spent so much time focusin' on the trick ya pulled last cider season, ah couldn't see that you were bein' honest." She gave a weak smile, and the tension in the air lifted as Golden Harvest led them back into the kitchen. The cream-colored twins thanked her.


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


The next morning, Applejack and Golden Harvest took the train up Canterlot Mountain, toward the city. It wasn't the fastest way to travel, especially since the alicorn princesses could teleport anypony from one place to another, but it was safe and reliable. The two mares sat in silence for a while until Golden Harvest broke it. "Applejack?"

Applejack turned to look at her. "Yeah?"

"What made you change your mind last night?"

The orange mare rested her chin on her hoof and stared out the window. She answered, with a few hesitations as she spoke. "An old friend o' mine believed that love and tolerance were the best way to keep Equestria as great as she hoped it was. Ah haven't heard from her in years, but ah'm sure she wouldn't have liked it very much if ah'd sent 'em off without a second chance."

Golden Harvest nodded. "I'm glad you did. They actually had some pretty good ideas."

"Eeyup," she replied.

"Oh, I'm so excited to meet the Princesses," the yellow mare nervously tapped her hind legs on the floor. "Still nervous, too."

Applejack chuckled. "Really, Golden, it's not as big a deal as ponies make it out to be. Celestia and Luna are just as normal as anypony. In fact, ah betcha one o' them will be waiting for us at the platform."

They weren't.

Instead, a few young-looking members of the Royal Guard met and quickly escorted the two mares through Canterlot, into the throne room. Everypony seemed nervous as they entered the presence of the Princesses. Princess Luna greeted them as they approached the thrones. Golden Harvest and the guards bowed to her.

"It is good to see you again, Applejack. I am glad that you and Golden Harvest could meet with us today."

"Good to see you too, Princess. And speakin' of which, where's Princess Celestia?"

"As you may know, my sister and I must take turns leading the Royal Guard in the Crystal Empire. It takes a lot of energy to lead both the troops up north as well as Equestrian matters." She stepped down from her throne and led the two earth ponies toward the southern windows. "She'll be here as soon as she can."

Applejack and Golden Harvest began describing the ideas that they had come up with the previous night, and it wasn't long before Celestia flew in the castle and stepped through the great doors, and she was welcomed by the three.

She joined them at the windows as Applejack told them of Flim and Flam's visit. "Despite being con-artists, they're still businessponies, and good businessponies too. Granny admitted that the cider that came outta their peculiar mode o' transport was really delicious, a cider to rival our own." Applejack hung her head. "Ah'm ashamed to say ah refused ta hear 'em out last night."

Celestia and Luna smiled. "I'm glad you gave them a chance, despite your past history," the white alicorn replied. "It's not often a pony gets the chance to forgive somepony who did them wrong."


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


Flim and Flam had stayed at the Carrot's farm that day, helping Golden Harvest's parents where they could, playing with Apple Bloom when she visited, and awaiting the result of the meeting with the Princesses. When Applejack and Golden Harvest returned, they told them what transpired at the meeting, and the Princesses' approval of Flim and Flam's ideas.

As soon as the sun came up the next morning, the unicorn brothers got to work. Golden Harvest led Flam through her family's fields, and Applejack did the same with Flim throughout the orchard. Together they added a spell to the dirt and trees.

"Flim, what the hay are you doin' to mah trees?"

"This spell encourages growth in plants. When it is effective, you can get at least three times the yield on a crop in a single season!" He zapped a tree and saw the orange mare's worried look. He continued. "Every crop is exactly the same as usual, there's just...more of it."

"Uh-huh."

Flim zapped the base of another apple tree. "My brother and I have used this spell before, and it works nicely. We get plenty of food in a week for a month on the road!"

"What about the Blight?"

"Hasn't been an issue. Now, for the war effort, we've modified this spell to give every single crop an excellent source of every natural nutrient, every vitamin and mineral it contains, and boost its flavor a hundred percent!" Flim boasted, smiling and raising his hoof in presentation.

The pose he struck made Applejack laugh. "Ya know, Flim, you and your brother got a lotta good skills and smarts. Why don't you use them to help ponies more often?"

Flim zapped another tree and responded, "We're entertainers, Applejack. What we do is a lot more fun."

It took two full days for the brothers to cast their spell upon all the carrot plants and apple trees, as well as the unused fields. As soon as Flam had zapped the last plant, it was time to focus on upgrading the farms themselves; since the output would be greatly increased, they also needed the space and equipment to deal with such a sudden increase in production.

"The first thing we'll need is assembly lines for each product," Flam began as he and his brother stood on either side of an easel that held pages of designs and schematics.

Flim stepped forward. "Of course, the assembly lines will basically have the same design for each addition to the barns," he stated.

Golden Harvest nearly hopped out of her chair from excitement. "Ooh, I can't believe we're going to be able to help so many ponies!"

"Yes," said Flim, and the Apples agreed. "Now, we have the approval of the Princesses, but we'll need constructions crews to help build the lines before the first harvest, but I'll oversee the Apple's farm -"

"And I'll oversee the changes to the Carrots!" Flam interjected.

Both families agreed, and Big Mac added, "I'll talk to the crews around Ponyville, see what they can do."

"How long will we have until the first harvest?" Mr. Carrot asked.

"Oh, should be in about two weeks," Flim replied.

"Give or take a week," Flam added


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


Although Twilight Sparkle and Spike, her baby dragon assistant, were prisoners of the Crystal Empire, King Sombra did keep them fed well enough. And although he did not give them anything more, he did get weary of her pleas for a simple book. Surely he could grant her that one wish?

King Sombra grunted. Fine. Books are harmless. I shall give her a book. He called for his aides, who quickly came galloping to the throne room. Crystal Arrow was the first to arrive.

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

You are familiar with the prisoner who tried to take the Crystal Heart from me? Crystal Arrow nodded. She asks again and again for a book. Go get one.

"Yes, Your Majesty." He ran toward the library, but stopped at the door and turned around. "Does it matter which book, sir?"

NO!

Crystal Arrow bolted out of the throne room, only slowing down as he reached the library. As much as King Sombra scared him, he was glad he wasn't a slave again. He shuddered at the memory. "Of course," he muttered to himself, "being forced to fight in an army probably isn't much better."

He thought of the crystal ponies already drafted into King Sombra's war troops as he skimmed the shelves. Most ponies had voluntarily, although somewhat reluctantly, signed on, and some of those who had resisted were currently being fitted with helmets. The helmets had been augmented with experimental spells, for the king wanted to use a form of mind control to turn Equestria's Royal Guard against their precious Princesses.

Crystal Arrow shuddered again at the thought and picked up a random book from one of the lower shelves. He placed the book in a nearby saddlebag, put it on, and trotted back to the throne room.

With his teeth he pulled the book from the saddlebag and laid it on the floor. "Your Majesty, here is a book for the prisoner," he reported.

Almost immediately, Sombra's shadow magic enveloped the book as he drew it up to his eyes. A Study of the Flora and Fauna of the Badlands. That'll do. He teleported the book down to Twilight's cell. The black unicorn turned and walked back to his throne. When he sat down, he saw Crystal Arrow still present. Why are you still here? Go help one of the others. Crystal Arrow bowed to the Crystal King and went away.

Moments earlier, far below the palace in the dungeons, Twilight Sparkle sighed as she stared out the window while Spike napped on the ground. Suddenly, the book that Crystal Arrow had found fizzled into existence in the air, knocking the breath out of the baby dragon as it fell on top of him and woke him up.

"Oof!"

"Spike?" Twilight turned. Her eyes brightened when she saw the book. She ran over and picked it up with her magic. "Thank Celestia, Sombra gave us a book!" She turned back, sat on the floor, and began to read.

Spike brushed the dust and hay from his scales and rolled his eyes. "Really? I didn't notice." He walked up to where Twilight sat and read the title. "A Study of the Flora and Fauna of the Badlands?" Twilight didn't respond as she turned another page. "Uh, Twilight?" No response. "Twii-liiight!" he sang. The purple unicorn was still too busy reading. "TWILIGHT!!"

"I know, Spike, but I've gone so long without reading a single sentence. I need to do this first."

"Alright," her assistant conceded and let her calm her anxiety.

Three and a half hours later, not long after Celestia had lowered the sun and Luna had raised the moon, Twilight closed the book and exhaled a sigh of relief. She sat there a moment more. "Okay, Spike, let's get to work. Do you still have those scrolls from earlier?"

Spike nodded and gave her one, and went to hold the book open in front of her. Twilight's horn glowed as she began tearing chunks of letters from the pages. "You sure you really wanna do that to a book? You love books."

"We have to, Spike. We need to send a message to Celestia and Luna." She tore another word from another page. "Besides, I think Celestia already has this one in her library."

"Oh, ok."

A little more than an hour later, Twilight had affixed the final clipping from the book to the scroll. "There," she said. "That should hold for as long as we need it to." Spike rolled up the scroll. "I hope," she added softly.


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


Princess Celestia was exhausted from being in battle all day. She hadn't been this tired since the period of time after she'd banished Nightmare Moon to the moon. No, not just Nightmare Moon, she reminded herself, but my sister as well. Every night, she remembered the nights she had fallen asleep in Luna's bedroom, wishing she was back by her side. She still remembers those nights, but now she is also grateful to have her sister back. She smiled as she closed her weary eyes.

She had only been asleep for a few minutes when a scroll appeared above her with a pop, loud enough to rouse the white alicorn. She caught it in her magic as it floated down to her. She unrolled it and read the letter. Her eyes grew wide and she gasped before bolting up to write five identical letters.

She had one of the Royal Guard deliver the letters to Ponyville. This was a priority.
> 07: Separate Ways
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Celestia pushed away her weariness as she found one of her Royal Guard patrolling the hallways. She stopped him and held up the letters for him. "What is your name?"

The guard snapped to attention. "Aftershock, Your Highness."

"Aftershock," the white alicorn continued, "It is most important that these letters reach their recipients as soon as possible. Can I count on you?"

"Of course, Your Highness," he said, bowing to her.

"Good." She floated the letters into his raised hoof. "The letters are identical, so it does not matter who receives which. The recipients are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony: Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash. You will find Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack in Ponyville. Pinkie Pie is currently in training with her sisters here in Canterlot. And Rainbow Dash will be training near Cloudsdale, at the Wonderbolt Academy."

"Cloudsdale, Your Highness?"

"That's right. You will need to locate the mailpony in Ponyville to deliver it for us."

Aftershock bowed once more. "Yes, Your Highness." Princess Celestia spun and hastily returned to her quarters, and though she was tired, she doubted she would get any rest tonight. The purple-grey earth pony looked at the letters and remembered Celestia's orders. "Okay, the closest recipient is Pinkie Pie. She and her sisters should be at the barracks.

He stuffed the letters between two plates of his golden armor and made his way toward the training grounds. Since the sun was no longer in the sky, the Royal Guard trainees and the newly appointed Equestrian Special Operations Team One were either headed to the showers or their beds.

The Pie sisters had been given their own quarters, not far from the other barracks. Aftershock saw that the light was on inside, so he trotted up and knocked on the door. It was Limestone who opened who opened the door.

"A real Royal Guard? What do you want?" she snapped at him.

Aftershock pulled out one of the letters and held it out. "Message for Pinkie Pie, from Princess Celestia." Seconds later, the pink mare appeared in the doorway and unrolled the letter. She read it silently to herself and smiled, nodding to the Royal Guard. He left to deliver the next letter.

Limestone Pie didn't like her sister's silence. Marble's she was used to, but Pinkie was never this quiet for this long. "So? "What is it?"

"Somehow Twilight was able to send a message to Celestia to let her know she was okay. She's sending a letter to each of my friends as well."

"That's good news," Maud interjected.

"So what do we do?" Limestone asked.

"We train hard and fight harder."


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


Aftershock took the night train to Ponyville, where the remaining letters would be taken care of. He arrived in Ponyville long after everypony had gone to bed, so he found his way to the hotel, stripped off his armor, and slept until sunrise. He awoke and put his armor back on, making sure the letters were still in place before setting out for Fluttershy's cottage.

As he made his way up the hill to her door, some critters, a few birds and a couple of rodents, followed him. "Good morning, little ones," he smiled. The birds flew off, in through one of the windows. Just as he was about to knock on the door, the yellow pegasus opened it.

"Yes?" she said quietly.

Aftershock held out another letter. "Message for Fluttershy, from Princess Celestia," he said with a smile.

"Oh, hi, Aftershock. How's the little chameleon you got last year?"

"Dewey loves it up in Canterlot!" he said. "Every morning there's plenty of dew and insects on my porch."

"Sounds perfect for him."

Aftershock nodded. "Indeed. He likes changing colors for my filly." They both laughed.

Fluttershy opened the letter and read it. She smiled softly. "Thank Celestia she's okay."


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


Aftershock knocked on the door of the Carousel Boutique, Rarity's posh fashion shop in the center of Ponyville. He heard a voice call from inside: "Just a moment, dear; let me finish this hem." He patiently waited for her to open the door, twirling the letter on his hoof. Moments later, Rarity's blue aura enveloped the doorknob and opened the door.

"Message for Rarity, from Princess Celestia," he repeated again.

"From Princess Celestia? Why on earth would she send me...unless-" She broke the wax seal and quickly read the letter. "Oh, that's such a relief," she sighed as she pulled up her chez lounge and laid down. "Do come in, darling. Did Celestia send one to all of us?"

"Yes, she did," he entered and Rarity closed the door.

"And to whom have you already delivered one?"

The violet-maned unicorn's fluffy white Persian, Opalescence, smugly walked toward Aftershock and rubbed her body against his hind leg. He reached back and pet her head. "Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and you. My next stop is Sweet Apple Acres, and I'll need some help getting the last one to Rainbow Dash up at the Wonderbolt Academy."

"Oh, that will be no problem, dear; I'll send the mailpony your way. She's a pegasus."

Aftershock smiled. "Thank you." He nodded a goodbye to her and left the Carousel Boutique. Opal stared at him as he left and turned away, her nose pointed upward. She meowed as she passed a little filly entering the room.

"Was that Derpy?" she asked her sister.

"No, Sweetie Belle," Rarity replied, "it was a member of the Royal Guard. He's delivering messages to each of the bearers of the Elements."

"Oh," the white filly said. After a moment of thought, she piped up again. "Rarity?"

"Yes, dear?"

"What're we gonna do if what's-his-name gets all the way to Ponyville?" Sweetie Belle scraped the floor beneath her with a hoof.

Rarity stopped stitching a hem and sighed. "I don't know, Sweetie Belle. I sent some rather drab, yet functional, designs to some factories in Manehattan and Fillydelphia, with a letter that explained the whole situation at the Crystal Empire, and the lingering threat of King Sombra. I received a letter back from one in Manehattan yesterday; They want me to...oversee production."

"Manehattan?" The excited filly hopped around. "Woo-hoo! We're going to to Manehattan!"

Rarity stopped her sister mid-jump and set her little hooves back on the floor. "No, Sweetie Belle, not us. Not even Mom and Dad. Just me."

"Wh-what?"

"It'll be alright, Sweetie Belle." The white unicorn wrapped a hoof around her little sister. "Listen, there's something really important I need to tell you..."


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


Construction was well underway at the Apple and Carrot family farms by the time Aftershock walked through the wrought iron trellis at the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres. In a nearby field, he could see an orange mare wearing a Stetson standing next to a yellow stallion in a striped vest. He turned his path toward them.

"You must be Applejack," he said as he got close enough to the two ponies.

The orange earth pony nodded. "That's right. What can ah do for ya?"

"I have a message for you, from Princess Celestia herself," he answered, holding out the sealed scroll. "Regarding Twilight Sparkle."

"Twilight?" Applejack opened the scroll and read Celestia's words:

To the bearers of the Elements of Harmony,

I have just received a message from Twilight. As you bear one of the Elements, as well as one of her closest friends, I felt you should be among the first to know. She and Spike are both prisoners of King Sombra, but they are both alive and well. She must have been able to convince Sombra to give her a book. Thankfully, Spike was with her to send me the message with his dragon's breath. But, while this is glad news indeed, there is still the matter of rescue.

I will keep you all updated as soon as I hear more.

Applejack smiled and took off her hat to wipe her sweaty brow. "Thank Celestia they're okay. Ah knew she'd figure something out."

The yellow unicorn with the candy cane mane interjected, "I couldn't help but read over your shoulder, Applejack. Wonderful news, indeed."

"Flim!"

Flim turned his attention toward the other stallion and wrapped his hoof around his shoulder. "It looks like you've only got one more letter left, good sir. And seeing as you're an earth pony (no offense), that last letter must be for none other than Rainbow Dash."

"That's correct," Aftershock replied. "Rarity said she would send the mailmare over here."

Applejack squinted toward Ponyville. "And here she comes."

The stallions also looked toward Ponyville, and saw a figure in the sky growing larger, and turning from shadow into a gray mare with a blond mane, saddlebags around her barrel. "Careful now, she tends to fly like a pig in th' mud and land like a -"

Derpy crashed near the three ponies and rolled a few meters past them. "Like that," Applejack finished.

"Oops," she said.

Aftershock was immediately at her side to help her up. "Are you alright? That was quite a tumble."

"Yeah, I think so."

"Did Rarity send you?" She nodded. "I have a message for Rainbow Dash, from Princess Celestia herself. You'll find her at the Wonderbolt Academy." Derpy took the letter and put it in her saddlebag, and flew up into the air. The three ponies watched her go, silent for a moment until Applejack spoke.

"Well, we should probably get back ta work. Thanks for the letter."

"Of course," Aftershock bowed his head and turned back to Ponyville, to the train station to catch a train back up to Canterlot.

Applejack led Flim back to the barn, where construction was already underway, turning it into an industrial processing plant for all the food that was almost ready to be harvested.

"Say, Applejack," the stallion said.

"Yeah, Flim?"

"The last time my brother and I were in town, I saw this quaint little restaurant behind the statue. You wouldn't mind going there with me for dinner tonight?" he asked as their voices trailed off.


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


Captain Spitfire floated around the Academy, observing the cadets as they trained hard. She smiled as she saw some ponies helping others, encouraging them if they failed. She shouted an order once in a while, keeping them focused. Smiling again, she started flying back to her office.

About halfway, she heard a small voice growing louder. She looked, a single eyebrow raised, and stepped aside as Derpy skidded across the clouds. "Hi, Spitfire."

"Good to see you again, Miss Hooves."

Derpy looked around with her walleyed gaze. "Is Rainbow Dash here?"

"She's around. Why?"

"I have a letter for her."

"I'll take it to her," Spitfire said.

"But, I have to give it to her," Derpy replied.

"Sorry, Miss Hooves; but protocol states that all mail goes through my staff."

Derpy conceded and surrendered the letter to the yellow pegasus. She took off and waved her hoof at the Wonderbolt. Captain Spitfire carefully stuffed the letter inside a pocket and returned to the training grounds. Searching the skies, she found the cyan pegasus and flew up to her.

"Rainbow Dash!" she called to the cadet.

Rainbow Dash halted her exercise and saluted her superior. "Yes, Captain?"

Spitfire held out the letter. "Message for you. Just came in from the mailmare."

Rainbow held the letter in her hooves as she hovered. She looked it over and recognized the Princess's seal on it. She gasped and opened it hastily. She read the words from Celestia, and before she finished, she celebrated with a loop. "Woohoo!"

Eclipse, Lightning Dust, and Little Angel flew closer, curious. "What's going on?" the black stallion asked.

"Twilight's okay!" the cyan mare exclaimed, still celebrating.

Smiling, Captain Spitfire separated herself from the group and gathered the rest of the cadets. "What's going on?" some of them wondered softly to another. Little Angel tried to calm down Rainbow Dash.

"Listen up, cadets!" Spitfire began. "Make no mistake, what we will be asked to do in the Crystal Empire is very dangerous. We're gonna risk our lives and the lives of our compatriots." Nervous, yet confident, murmurs arose from the cadets. "Which is why we're starting a new covert operations exercise, centered around search and rescue," she continued. "I'll play the role of the captive, and you'll have to find me by working together as a team and utilizing each of your skills to the benefit of the team. Each team will consist of four ponies, as well as one of my Wonderbolts, who will report to me after the drill is complete."


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


Everypony trained hard the next two days as Spitfire prepared the drill. Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust led one team, along with Storm Zero and Last Legacy, a pair of twins who lived in Ponyville; Eclipse and Little Angel led another, along with Abacus, and Midnight Blaze, a pegasus from Canterlot. They all hovered at attention in a line under the grey clouds.

"Rainbow Dash, which Wonderbolt do you choose for your team?" Spitfire asked.

"We choose Soarin Skies!" Soarin joined the cyan mare's team.

"Eclipse!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Which Wonderbolt do you choose?"

"We want Fleetfoot!"

Each team had chosen their Wonderbolt companion, and Spitfire addressed them before the exercise began. "Wonderbolts, and that means all of you if you complete this exercise, I have instructed my "captors" to do whatever it takes to stop you from finding me. I'll be somewhere in the Castle of the Two Sisters, deep in the Everfree Forest. Eclipse, you're up! Good luck." And with that, she and Misty Fly disappeared into the clouds.

Eclipse and his team set down and lined up at the edge of the clouds, waiting for Misty Fly's return. Soon, the Wonderbolt returned. "Team One, go!" Eclipse's team shot off from the clouds in the direction that they had seen Spitfire disappear.

Team One flew until they found themselves over the rundown castle, which was surrounded by many ponies with bat-like wings. Eclipse huddled everypony under the cloud cover to form a strategy.

"Okay, everypony," he began, "listen up. Little Angel, you're the most maneuverable, so you'll fly through the castle, looking for Captain Spitfire. Midnight Blaze, Fleetfoot, Abacus, and I will fend off the batponies and clear a path. There shouldn't be many of them inside, but if there are, you can handle them?"

Little Angel nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good, then let's go!" Eclipse dove, immediately trailed by the others. Little Angel waited for a moment, and followed up the rear. Eclipse and Midnight Blaze dove into the crowd of batponies first. The batponies saw them coming and moved out of the way, turning to look at the pegasi as they flew past. Then, Fleetfoot and Abacus flew in as the group was distracted and scattered the batponies, sending some of them tumbling through the air. Eclipse ordered Abacus to split off and he did, leading three of the batponies away. The other three pegasi led the rest of the batponies the other way, splitting the enemy's position.

With the castle's main hall cleared, Little Angel dove into the ruins and started searching, turning around in each room and checking every corner. After checking a few rooms, she looked back and saw that batponies were slowly gathering behind her. She flew back to the main hall and twisted around the broken columns, disappearing into another door behind the thrones. She found herself in another hall of doors, and she checked these in the same way, but found nothing. She returned to the throne room, where three batponies still searched for her. As soon as they saw her, they attacked, screeching. "Oh Celestia," she muttered to herself before dodging their attack. The batponies took turns attacking her, and she dodged, blocked, and counterattacked each time. They tried one last attempt to subdue her, and with a spinning kick, knocked out all three. They fell to the floor. Little Angel was bout to fly away, but returned to quickly check that they were still alive before returning to the exterior of the castle ruins.

"Eclipse!" she called out.

In a moment, the black stallion was by her side. "What is it?"

"I can't find her."

A batpony sped toward Eclipse, who kicked it away. "Okay, I'll look for her, you take over out here."

"Yes sir!" she saluted and turned to the batpony, who had returned for another attack. Little Angel shot toward it.

Eclipse disappeared into the ruins, and took less than a second searching each room; as soon as he entered, he scanned from left to right as he flapped his wings backwards as hard as he could. He repeated this with every room until he came to the throne room and saw the three batponies laying limp on the floor. He chuckled to himself. "Good job, Angel." He then repeated his search pattern until he found a door that wasn't as obvious as the rest. He flew inside.

The first thing he saw was Spitfire's yellow coat and fiery mane in the back of the room. "Captain," he began, but didn't get to finish, because they two guards on either side of her advanced on him. Eclipse fought them off, throwing them into the bookshelves on either side of the room. The black stallion then turned to Spitfire again. "Let's go, Captain Spitfire!" He turned back to the door.

"Hold it, cadet," she stopped him, and he turned back to face her. "Can't you see my wing is injured? You'll have to carry me out."

Eclipse nodded and let the captain climb onto his back. He braced for the extra weight, and although he tried, the added weight of the captain slowed him down, but not slow enough that he couldn't finish the job. He exploded out of the ruins and recalled his team to the clouds. As he led them back toward the Academy, Spitfire stopped him and flew off Eclipse's back.

She hovered in front of them and called Fleetfoot to her side. The four cadets saluted their superiors and listened to what they had to say.

"Alright, Fleetfoot, gimme your thoughts."

"Yes, ma'am." Fleetfoot cleared her throat. "Midnight Blaze and I were a good team as we fought off the enemy. I can tell she's had some previous training; she was able to read the situation very well and dodged attacks nicely. Abacus, I noticed you were more adept on the tactical side of battle; you used strategy to outsmart your enemy. Little Angel, most of your time was spent inside the ruins, but as soon as you  switched places with Eclipse, you held them off with ease."

"Do you have any critique for Eclipse, the leader of the team?"

"Yes, I do," she replied. "Eclipse seems to flirt more with the risky side of things, like throwing himself directly at the enemy and flying boldly, but he always comes out on top. His direction of the team was simple, but worked as well as one of our own strategies."

"Thank you, Fleetfoot." Spitfire turned back to the cadets. "I can speak for the rest of Eclipse's performance, and I agree; he flies boldly and takes risks, but always wins. When he found me, he failed to notice the batpony guards around me. I won't fault him for that, though, because their color schemes blends in better with the blues and grays that fill the castle."

"Thank you, cadets," she continued. "You may return to the Academy. Eclipse, tell Misty Fly to wait two minutes before sending out the next team. Dismissed." She saluted them.

The cadets returned her salute. "Yes, ma'am!" they shouted and turned back toward the Academy.

<>--<>--<>--<>--<>

Rainbow Dash, Lightning Dust, Storm Zero, Last Legacy, and Soarin stood at the ready on the edge of the clouds, awaiting Misty Fly's send-off. Misty Fly tapped the cloud beneath her hoof, counting the seconds since the previous team's return. "Team Four, go!" she shouted, and Rainbow Dash led the rest toward the castle.

As the castle ruins came into view, the cyan mare directed her team to circle the location. "What's the plan, boss?" Soarin asked.

Rainbow blinked at Soarin Skies calling her 'boss', but quickly recovered and laid it out for her team. "Soarin, Lightning Dust, you're one pair of fighters. Storm Zero and Last Legacy, you're the other. We'll all fight the batponies until I see an opening into the ruins. Each pair needs to stay close and work together to defeat them."

Storm Zero and Last Legacy, the twins, chuckled to each other. "No problem," Storm Zero said.

"Love the enthusiasm, guys," she replied as she looked back down at the crumbling walls. "Soarin, Lightning Dust, we'll distract them along the north wall. Twins, you got the south wall?"

"Yes, ma'am!" they answered in unison.

"Alright, team, let's go!" And down she flew, leading her team in a V-formation. They swooped in, closer and closer to the castle until Rainbow called for them to split. The twins broke off and disappeared behind the stone wall. Rainbow, Lightning, and Soarin dove to the other side, barreling through a group of batponies. The Wonderbolts fought them off for a few minutes before Rainbow Dash finally saw an opening to go inside.

She flew in through a window, scanning the rooms for Captain Spitfire's yellow coat and fiery mane. Her rainbow mane caught the attention of the batponies, and they flew in to attack. Rather than dodging them, like Little Angel had, the cyan mare easily fought them off, and kept searching, calling out her captain's name.

Meanwhile, the rest of the pegasi fought off batponies outside the castle. Soarin and Lightning Dust fought well, but the aqua mare was enjoying herself a little too much. She dashed toward each opponent, punching and kicking each batpony until they bled. One of them, after a powerful kick from Lightning Dust, hurtled into Soarin.

"Oof!" he cried as the batpony hit him. The light blue stallion held onto him as he shook off the hit. "Are you okay?" The batpony nodded. Soarin let go and the batpony fluttered down to the ground to recover. The Wonderbolt looked back up at Lightning Dust and tried to get her attention.

"Lightning Dust!" he called to her, but either she didn't hear him, or she was ignoring him. Soarin sighed as he turned to find Rainbow Dash. He found her as she knocked out another batpony. "Rainbow Dash!" he shouted.

Rainbow Dash turned to him. "What's up?"

"Lightning Dust is going nuts fighting our opponents."

She nodded and flew out. Once she saw Lightning Dust, she flew up to her and shouted, "Hey, cool it, Lightning Dust! It's just a drill, we don't wanna kill 'em!" Then she flew back inside the ruins shaking her head.

It didn't take long before she noticed Spitfire's warm colors in the cold blues of the castle. She easily dispatched the batpony guards. "Hop on, Captain," she ordered, noticing the bandage around her wing. As soon as Rainbow Dash set down, Spitfire climbed on her back. The cyan mare ran out of the room and shot into the air as soon as she could.

When Rainbow Dash cleared the ruins, her flight path was drawn toward a small tornado. "What the hay?" both Rainbow and Spitfire wondered. The tornado quickly dissipated, revealing the two tan pegasus brothers giving each other a high hoof. Rainbow called out to them and motioned for them to retreat. They nodded and flew up into the clouds.

Then she turned her attention north and grabbed Soarin's attention, giving him the same signal. Soarin flew up to Rainbow Dash first. "She's not stopping," he said flatly.

"You take Spitfire to the others, I'll get Lightning Dust," she responded. Soarin nodded, took the captain, and joined the twins in the clouds. Rainbow flew immediately to where she was and put herself between the aqua mare and the batpony. Lightning Dust pushed past her and kept attacking.

"Hey!" she shouted, blocking her advances again. "Job's done, let's go!"

"Ugh, fine," Lightning Dust grunted as she followed her team leader into the cloud cover, joining the rest of the team.

Soarin had already given his critique of the team by the time the two mares joined them in the clouds. Spitfire turned to them, gesturing toward the others. Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust lined up next to the twins.

"Soarin's given the rest of you your evaluations. As for Lightning Dust and your team leader," she continued, "what about them, Soarin?"

Soarin gazed at her for a moment longer before turning his attention to Lightning Dust. "Lightning Dust is one of the strongest fliers I've ever seen, and is an effective fighter, from what I've seen today." Lightning Dust beamed at the praise. "However, she didn't pay attention to her surroundings, and fought recklessly enough that she couldn't pay any attention to her team, even endangering me."

Lightning Dust blinked, then scowled. Soarin continued, "Rainbow Dash performed amazingly, considering her prosthetic wing. No doubt she fought through some level of pain to complete the job. I expect nothing less from a Wonderbolt, as long as she minds her limits." Realizing his words may have a negative atmosphere for the cyan mare, he turned to her. "No disrespect, of course. Most pegasi would be grounded if an injury like that happened. You're stronger than anypony."

Rainbow Dash nodded in response. "I've definitely been more aware of my limits since then," she said softly.

"Thank you, Soarin," Spitfire said. "Let's go home, Wonderbolts." Morale was high as Captain Spitfire and Soarin led the pegasi back to the Academy. As they flew, Spitfire hung back and let Rainbow Dash catch up to her.

"How's your wing, Dash?"

"Sore," she replied. "I haven't done this much flying since I got injured."

"Ya held up pretty well with my added weight. Soarin's right, you're strong. Not just mentally, but physically, too. Remember, you carried your friend Rarity and three unconscious Wonderbolts in last year's Best Young Flyer Competition." Spitfire had lifted her spirits.

"Different question now," the captain continued. "How's your new wing feel?"

"You mean the prosthetic?" She held it out. "Much lighter. I've flown so much recently that the joint is much stronger. I always have to readjust my flapping speed to compensate. Think I could get in touch with Dr. Manchino again?"

Spitfire laughed and put a hoof on Rainbow Dash's good shoulder. "No promises, but I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks."


<>--<>--<>--<>--<>


A salmon-colored crystal unicorn galloped through the halls of King Sombra's crystal palace, searching for the shadowy overlord. He hadn't been in the throne room, which she expected, so she ran here and there, searching any room she thought he might be. As she approached the center of the castle once more, he materialized in the center of the ornate crystal that lined the floor.

She quickly halted and bowed her head. "Crystal King," she praised him.

King Sombra's large body towered over hers, almost as large as the aura of authority that emanated from him. Yes, what is it?

Glass Rose stood but kept averting her eyes. "The helmets are ready, my lord."

A confident, sinister grin crept across Sombra's black lips. Excellent. Let us oversee their distribution.

"Yes, my lord." Glass Rose bowed again, and led her Crystal King toward the dungeon that held the captured Royal Guard and any crystal ponies not obedient to King Sombra. They arrived, standing on a balcony overlooking the operation. Glass Rose alerted and signaled her team of unicorns, who began fitting the enchanted helmets on the prisoners' heads.

Once the helmets were on, the prisoners, Royal Guard and crystal pony alike, marched out of the dungeon and lined up outside, to the east. Soon, Crystal Arrow and Rock Candy had joined Sombra and the salmon unicorn on the balcony. And now, he declared, we will have the Princesses battle their own subjects!

King Sombra's laughs echoed through the palace and the Crystal Empire.