Omens

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Six ponies set forth to create a new world

Several stayed behind in devastation

Six gods of dark opposed the light

A war ravaged the lands

Eight Vestiges were crafted

None were found

In the end, two gods made the world peace

While six stars showed brightly.

Twilight soon woke up in her bed, stretching out her hooves to let out all the kinks in her body. She gave a quick hop off the bed before hearing the sounds of a familiar dragon entering her room.

“Oh, you're awake," Spike said, panting, "I'm sorry I was late to wake you up. I just thought you needed your rest."

Twilight frowned,"Well, luckily I didn't have anything scheduled today... I think.” She hummed as she looked around her castle,"Spike, does something feel... strange to you?"

Spike paused and began to think, "Well, the grocery store was out of cherry topping, even though they always have that brand, Fluttershy seemed to be a little happier than usual, Rainbow did seem like her head was in the air, and Applejack looked like she was little angrier than usual. But beyond that... Oh my gosh, did you find out about dinner last night? I am so sorry, I was in a rush to get to my O&O game so I had to microwave the lasagna! I am so sorry, I lied to you!"

"Aw, lasagna!?" Twilight muttered,"Well, it wouldn't be the first time your O&O game led to leftovers." She noticed Starlight leaving the shower. Her mind seemed to blank for a bit,"Starlight, how long have you been there?"

"Just long enough to get a shower and to get Spike's breakfast," Starlight said, walking away, "And totally not long enough for me and Trixie to have a fun time reading together." she then blushed and walked away. From the invisible trail, Twilight could see a hint of a blue tail following.

"Besides that, nothing really weird. What are you thinking, Twilight? Is it about those weird adventures your friends are having back in the other world?" asked Spike

"Yeah, that's probably it." Twilight said with a smile, before heading towards the door to the outside.

Rainbow Dash flew around in the sky and waved down to Twilight, "Hey Twilight, getting that new Adventure Zone book today?”

"Of course!" Twilight said with a grin,"I've been waiting to grab it for so long."

"Already got it, and you are gonna love it!" Dash said, and then she paused and looked at her. Shaking her head, she said" Hey Twi?” Dash’s face fell into a frown,”Glad you're here. Gahhh, why am I so mushy today!?"

"Twilight!" Pinkie cheered, seeming to come out of nowhere to give Twilight a big hug.

"Hey Pinkie!" Twilight said, giving her a hug back.

Pinkie let out giggle, "You know, somedays I just feel like hugging everypony!" she said, skipping away.

Fluttershy walked with Rarity and waved to Twilight.

Applejack sighed as she leaned up against her stall, tipping her hat to Twilight before taking an apple for herself. Looking up at the sky, she thought she saw a peach color mare and her husband looking down at her.

Trixie began to hitch up her wagon, smiling at Starlight before fixing a few more things on her wagon. She then glared a little at Twilight as she walked by. Carrot top happily walked down the road, her carrots bouncing behind her along with some juice.

derpy walked with her mail bag, at her side Dinky let out a giggle as a letter landed on her head. Up above, Raindrops pushed a rain cloud to the left, gathering a few more for the storm. Meanwhile Lyra was playing a ballad for Bon Bon.

In the Crystal Empire, Cadence shook her head and lowered it as she was given another report. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Shining Armor standing at attention with little Flurry Heart, who was attempting to salute alongside him. In the castle library, a tan mare gasped as she read a page in the book and began to run out.

At Canterlot, Celestia looked at Luna as the day work began and then sighed, wanting nothing more for it all to be over.

A black coated stallion bumped into Twilight, "Oh, excuse me princess."

Twilight let out a yelp,"Oh, sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going..."

"It's all right. A good day, isn't it?" asked the stallion as he walked off.

"Yeah..." Twilight looked back, not seeing the stallion,"... who was that?"

As Twilight returned home, she would hear the rapidly approaching footsteps of Spike, "Twilight! Celestia sent a letter!"

Twilight grabbed the letter,"Hmm, what's it about?" She unfurled it.

"Dear Twilight Sparkle,

The Canterlot Museum of Magical Artifacts and Ice Cream Shop has recently received a few new items and replicas that I believe you would be interested in seeing. While they would normally be available to the public next week, I do believe I can arrange for you to have a 'sneak preview' of said items.

Signed Princess Celestia.

Ps. Tell my infernal sister that it's unfair that you are getting this privilege before me! I want to see the replica f-

Pss. Ignore that Twilight, Luna is a little miffed I am giving you an unique view.

Psss: A LITTLE MIFFED!? Sister, I am this close to going Nightmare Moon II on your royal ar-

PSSSSS: Twilight, if you see a Luna-shaped hole in the ground once you arrive, do not mind that. It seems that my little sister could not see the flame strike coming."

Twilight chuckled a little at that,"Mmm, sneak preview of priceless artifacts!? Today must be my birthday! Spike, if my friends come, tell them I'm at Canterlot Castle!"

"Wait, you mean you are going alone? As in, I don't need to go to a boring museum and listening to the all of the boring lecture?" Spike asked, tears in his eyes as he hugged Twilight's legs, "Thank you. May I call you Lawgiver Mother?"

Twilight let out a sigh,"Just this once."

"Oh thank you, Lawgiver Mother," Spike said, walking away, "This will give me time to work on my Adventure zone campaign!"

Twilight let out a whistle as she headed towards her balcony, before flying off.

Spike looked over his shoulder, "Was the whistle really necessary?"

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Applejack sighed as she heard Applebloom giggle, "Hold still, Bloom. I might cut ya."

"But Applejack, I want to see how big I grew," Applebloom said, waiting for Applejack to finish making her mark. Seeing the mark, she thrusted her hoof into the air and shouted, "Yahoo, three whole inches!"

Applejack ruffled her sister's mane and looked at the tree. She smiled warmly and walked with her away from the two twisting trees. Looking over her shoulder, she held back a little tear as she thought about her parents.

Behind her, a small bee watched.

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Celestia stood next to an alicorn-shaped hole in the ground, smiling as she awaited for the arrival of Twilight Sparkle. Looking up she waved down the incoming purple alicorn, "Welcome, my faithful student."

"Princess Celestia !" Twilight landed and gave her a hug. She looked down at the alicorn-shaped hole for a second, before looking back at her teacher.

Luna let out a small groan from within, letting her magic heal her as she slowly stepped out. Celestia looked to Twilight and hugged her back.``Are you excited to examine the magical artifacts, Twilight?"

"Yes!" Twilight clopped her hooves together.

"Follow me then," Celestia said, leading Twilight into the museum. As they walked in, she paid a vendor for some chocolate dipped cones and gave one to to Twilight. Through the large museum, there were many magical artifacts on display. Most were replicas of the more dangerous ones, while others were items that were long since dead. One item was an ancient looking sword, "Hello, old friend." Celestia said looking at the sword. "Oh, don't worry, Twilight. The real Zenith is back in the castle. Perhaps one day you will forge your own blade."

"Princesses," a light brown stallion with a white mane came to the two. "How good it is to see you both."

"Professor Honeycut, I believe you have something to show my student," Celestia said.

"Ah yes, come with me," he said, walking past the artifacts and into the lab. "Thanks to Daring Do, we have gained many rare finds. Including some tablets and maps. What was most interesting was what she discovered out west, in some old port towns."

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Daring panted as she made it to the train, "I’ve got to get to Canterlot... now."

--------------------------

"Tell me, princess, have you ever heard of the legend of Vecna and why Meadowbrook became so enthused with making her eight items, or vestiges as she called them?" Honeycut said.

"Hmm, I don't think I have," Twilight said.

Honeycut smiled, "Well, it's an interesting story. I can assume you are familiar with litches and the like? Well, Vecna wanted to be more than that, he wanted to... to put it delicately, become a god of death and undeath. To make the world his own personal graveyard of decay and lies. After the fall of the old gods, Vecna had begun to want to take the place of these gods and Meadowbrook? Wanted to make sure it never happened."

He walked to a small tablet and a map, alongside it was a small eye, "She figured by creating the eight items, she can become a being of life as opposed to Vecna's being of death. So she created the eight items as a way to oppose him and to seal him away. This tablet, according to Daring, may be a map or a clue to the eight items! and this eye is said to be his eye that Meadowbrook took away."

"Wow," Twilight said.

"Yes, but the thing is, it's under so many magic runes and codes that we can't really break it," Honeycutt said, "Maybe you could. I heard that you love puzzles, and if we could find the locations of the eight... what a find."

Twilight smiled,"Well, I have broken a lot of magical seals before. Let me give it a shot." She stopped,"This isn't going to summon any evil gods or something, is it? That tends to happen. A lot."

Honeycutt shrugged, "I have no idea. It didn't come with any warnings."

"Well, C'est la Vie." Twilight began working with it.

As Twilight began to work on the tablet, she would not see the eye slowly opening to reveal a glowing pupil. looking around, the pupil looked at the center top of the tablet. As it shone its light, the words on the tablet began to glow a sickly green.

"Those who read these words will find the items true
And will find their powers' hue

But beware, gods of old,
For their stories are told

Powers that began life with a win
As their conscious din

Awaken now gods of old and light
To bind our wills is your right

Go, ye heroes to find the items of vestige
The map behind will guide the siege

Find the items if you can

If the six stars will stay inbound
Then the power will be found

If Honesty stays true
If Loyalty retains its hue
If Generosity contains greed
If Laughter retains its the creed
If Kindness can find its power

Then magic and will never cower.

If you’ve read this far, flip to the back for the map to the vault.

Return this to Meadowbrook for a free Bannaspilt."

"Wow, Meadowbrook must've been really into ice cream," Twilight said.

The back of the tablet slowly glowed bright, showing Equestria as it was a few millennia ago. Slowly, the lights began to glow as if someone was walking until it reached a small part of the Everfree forest, near where the Castle of the Two Sisters was built.

"Well, what do you know!" Twilight said with a smile,"Where it all began, pretty much.”

Honeycutt looked at Twilight, ""Did you discover something?"

"Yes, we may be able to find a clue to the Eight Vestiges back at the Castle of the Two Sisters."

"Does this mean you are going there? Because I would but...I love to research things, not go to places that can get me killed," Honeycutt said.

"Yes, yes, yes, I know." Twilight said with a smile,"You stay here where it's safe, while the pony who's taken down at least three gods goes and investigates with her friends."

"Oh thank you,"he said, watching as Twilight began to leave.

Twilight trotted out of the building,"Now, I just... got to..." She turned to the side,"What. Is. That? I'm feeling something... 14 of them... all immensely powerful..."

"Twilight,"Daring said, running to her, "You shouldn't...you read the tablet didn't you?"

"Yes?" Twilight said,"I shouldn't have read it out loud, should I? To be honest, half the time I don't even know I do it!"

"Is that just? Who does... Never mind," Daring said, narrowing her eyes. "Look, reading that tablet aloud will awaken the eight items, but there is something else that will awaken. The old gods."

"... Great." Twilight frowned,"How many, and when are they coming? I have a schedule to keep, and it shouldn't be interrupted by more old foes!"

"14, all very powerful," Daring said, shaking her head, "I came here to warn you and get you to get the other elements. You are not going to win this one, not without help." she looked to the castle, "I gotta tell the princesses. This a Code: Tirek, you need to get out of here."

In a temple, far away to the lands of the west, 14 statues began to glow.

Then the weave began to break. Light of the five pools began to glow and flow through the statues, forming small rivers along with their stony forms. The cracks made their way along with their still frames, traveling along the sides and up towards their eyes.

A pale mare with a short cut mane walked to Twilight, putting a hoof onto her shoulder, "Hey, just want to say, you have been a great friend. They'll miss you for a bit." When Twilight blinked, she was gone.

After a moment, the stone cracked and shattered, exploding in a rain of stone. At once, all of the alicorns screamed in a mix of pain and agony. The leader stepped forward, looking down at the group and then to her sister. Silently, the two nodded before the equines vanished in a flash of magical light.

Cadence shuddered as she tucked in Flurry Heart, "What was that?" she whispered.

A black stallion watched as the lights flowed from the temple. Closing his eyes, he said, "Welcome home...mother." then he looked to Canterlot, "Please be safe my two little stars."

Daring ran to the castle, panting, "Got to warn them, got to warn them, Code: Tirek, Code..." she paused and looked out the window. She saw fourteen lights flash outside of the city, "Mother of Celestia, no."

As the alicorns appeared, several spellcasters began to shudder and collapse to their knees under the magical might. Pegasi winced as they felt their connection to the weave falter for a moment. All then turned and felt a force telling them to bow, all except Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight turned to the flashes of light,"Crap, have to teleport-" her horn glowed, only for a white hoof to slam into her, sending her flying into a building.

"You will not evade us, False Goddess."

Twilight moved from the rubble and shook herself. She looked up at her attacker in awe. She saw fourteen alicorns bearing down at her,"Celestia..." She looked up, noticing their immense size compared to her.

"That goddess will not save you." The leader said, her rainbow mane flowing from her head.

An orange alicorn stallion turned to her,"We were right, she has eaten from the Fruits of Harmony. We should kill her now."

Twilight looked at all of them, noticing their horns glowing. She closed her eyes,"My friends... Celestia... sorry." She let out a yell as she activated Rainbow Power.

They all blasted magic towards her.

Rarity paused and looked up from her sowing. A tiny wince came to her as she felt a pain in her chest, a tightening in her heart, "Twilight?" she asked.

The fires of hell began to consume her, burning away every part of her magic.

Rainbow Dash stopped flying and looked towards Canterlot. Shaking her head, she said, "What’s wrong?" a tear began to roll down her cheek, "Why am I crying?"

The cold wind of loneliness blew through her, cutting away her bonds.

Fluttershy stopped in front of the sink, and began to collapse to her knees, "No, no, please don't let this feeling be..."

Earth began to collapse around her, suffocating her in darkness.

Applejack stopped in the farm, looking up and around. She began to whisper to herself, "Why? Do I feel so cold? Twilight?"

Water filled her body, turning into ice and slicing into her, cutting her away from life.

Pinkie stopped in her room, collapsing to her belly. Then tears began to flood her eyes as she laid her head down in between her legs. Shaking her head, she was silent as she began to cry her eyes out.

Darkness and Light combined into one as they hit her, destroying her. Somewhere on the tree of Harmony, the element of magic went blank.

Celestia looked up, and whispered, "Twilight?"

Luna teleported to Celestia's side, “Sister, we need to go outside now!"

"Luna, what happened!" asked Celestia as she walked to her sister, preparing her teleportation spell. "Why do I feel like something or someone just wrecked with the weave? And... where's Twilight?"

Luna shook her head as her horn glowed,"I felt her magical signature flare up, and then it was extinguished. I fear the worst, sister."

They appeared in the middle of the city, rubble was strewn everywhere.

Near a large white figure was a purple body on the ground.

Celestia paused as she looked around her, "My mother. What...who could've caused this." then she looked at the white figure in front of her. Slowly, her eyes trailed down to the purple body laying on the ground.

("Princess!" filly Twilight said, running to her)

Celestia took a few tentative steps, shaking her head, "No..." she lightly tapped it with her hoof

("Look at what I can do now princess!" Twilight said cheerfully as she used a powerful spell)

"No...please..." Celestia whispered tears in her eyes.

("I choose to stay with my friends." "Does this mean I won't be your student" "Are you proud of me?")

"Twilight, say something...get up," Celestia whispered, tapping her body a few times before turning to the white figure, "Who... are... you?" there was a low growl coming from her throat, the ground melting beneath her hooves as well as parts of the buildings.

"I am Queen Morning Dawn." The white alicorn said,"We are the Alicorns of Light, the true gods of this world."

Several alicorns landed around them. A grey one with a green mane and tail looked at the sisters in shock, before looking apologetically at Twilight's body.

The orange stallion winced,"If it means anythin' that false goddess put up a damn good fight." He looked at the burn marks all over his body," She must've been real mad at me or somethin'."

Luna snarled, her horn glowing, "You will pay for-" she spun around, producing a blade to block a strike from a dark blue alicorn with a purple mane and tail.

"I...will burn you," Celestia said in bearly restrained fury as she began bringing out three pillars of flame, aimed at a few of the alicorns. Using the rest of her magic, she summoned her blade from under her throne.

Looking over her shoulder, she whispered to Luna, "The moment that I fall? You teleport to Ponyville, get the elements, and run away to the west. I'll send the tablet to you."

The alicorns flew away from the pillars.

Luna looked back at Celestia,"Tia, I... yes, sister." She glared back at the other alicorn in front of her.

Morning Dawn looked at her people,"Spread out. I and my sister will teach these two a lesson." Her horn glowed bright, summoning a bright, rainbow-colored blade.

Celestia walked towards Morning dawn with Luna next to her. Celestia looked at her and said, "My sword is named Zenith. And yours?

"Ilumina." Morning Dawn said.

The other Alicorn held her blade up,"Abyss."

Luna frowned,"Nadir."

"Good," Celestia said walking and bringing it forward, "I won't need your names because I don't care to take down the name of a dead mare!" she said, before taking off with a forward thrust. Her horn began to glow as she collected magic for another spell.

Luna held her blade up beside her.

Morning Dawn deflected the thrust, preparing a spell of her own.

The other alicorn pushed Luna back away from the battlefield, horn bursting with power

Celestia moved to the side, slashing upwards, and then took flight, stabbing downwards three times. Her horn flashing blue and red, she created a cloud around morning dawn. "Incendiary cloud!" the cloud then burst into flames.

Luna went to the side of her opponent,"Cone of Cold!" She released a cone of freezing ice.

Morning Dawn flapped her wings, disappearing the clouds,"You are talented. You remind me of Terra." She caused her horn to glow,"Cloudkill." She whispered, summoning forth a poisonous cloud around Celestia.

Celestia began to cough and then used her wings to blow away the cloud with strong gusts. Looking up, she asked, "How do you know my mother?"

"So, you are Terra and the Traitor's child!?" Morning Dawn frowned,"Then killing you will be extra satisfying!" She flew up and pointed at her,"Disintegrate!" she fired a sickly green beam at her.

Celestia gasped, and then leaped out of the way. Frowning, she fired a beam of pure white-hot fire mixed with a beam of solar energy, "Aganazzar's scorcher!" getting herself to the level of her opponent.

Luna stepped to the side, creating black tendrils to slash at her opponent's hooves before slashing at her chest, "What do you mean our father was a traitor! He would never do anything of the sort."

Her opponent clashed blades with Luna,"Titan never explained it? You never asked about his past?" She raised a hoof as several ice stones struck down at her,"Ice storm."

"Evard's Black tentacles!" Luna shouted, allowing for tentacles to sprout from the ground to block and grab at the ice stones as they began to pelt the ground. "Father said that the past was past. There was never a need for him to discuss the world of old. Only that he felt it was dark until-"

"He met mother," Celestia said, locking her blade with Morning Dawn, "And she said that there was nothing in her world until we were born or that-"

"He needed anything more than her and his two friends: Starswirl and Meadowbrook. The past is not imp0rntant," Luna flew back and then looked down, as memory flooded her mind, "But who we are now." Closing her eyes, a crown of seven stars appeared around her head. Then, eyes glowing white, she sent all of them flying at her opponent, "Crown of Stars!"

Morning Dawn smirked,"Shame, if they had informed you, you'd be better prepared!" she teleported up and struck down.

The other alicorn spund her blade to deflect the stars," Titan was of the Light, Princess Terra was of the Darkness." She glared at Luna before holding out her hoof,"Acid Fog." She conjured a billowing green fog around Luna,"He betrayed us for her!"

Luna began to cough, the acidic cloud hurting and clogging up her lungs. Up above, Celestia received the blow and was knocked down into the ground, making a small crater. Standing back to her sister, Celestia said, "Our mother was no alicorn of darkness. You lie!"

Closing her eyes, Luna began to glow with black mana. Opening her eyes, she summoned a black orb of energy and sent it flying to her opponent, "Dark Star." as the orb flew towards her opponent, it began to suck in debris and destroyed objects, obliterating them.

Celestia looked up at Morning Dawn and began to craft three fireballs to throw towards her.

Dawn sliced the three fireballs, causing them to explode behind her,"She was, and she-" She stopped, and smirks,d"Yes, Your mother was a horrible monster."

The other alicorn glowed her horn,"Dispel." She dispelled the hole, before looking at her sister,"Dawn?"

"Dusk, don't you realize what horrible tyrants Queen Majesty and her daughter were?" Dawn smiled as she flew up with her sister.

Dusk looked at her and nodded,"Yes, horrible..." She glared down at them,"Your mother was no saint."

"Our mother was the kindest, most noble ruler we ever knew. Second only to our father," Celestia said. Frowning.

Luna looked up, and then to the museum. Gasping, she used a shadow clone to run and grab the tablet. Then she began to prepare a spell. Celestia, on the other hand, began to concentrate, "Darkness beyond Twilight, Crimson is the blood that flows..."

The two's eyes widened, before flying up,"So, you wish to use the power gained from The Ruby-Eyed one!? Very well then." Dawn held up her hoof alongside Dusk,"Comet."

Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows
I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand
before the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hand
Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed
by the power you and I possess...
DRAGON SLAVE!"

The fireball left Celestia’s horn and hit the comet. the two firey balls of magic stuck hard, pushing and straining until they exploded in a sparkle of light. When the light dimmed, Celestia and Luna were gone.

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"How dare you!" Celestia said, stomping towards Luna, "We were in the middle of a battle and-"

"You were losing your 'chill' dear sister!" Luna said, the two resting at the foot of the mountain, in a doorway within a mystical mansion. "You were letting your anger control you."

"My daughter just died, I think I am entitled to be a little angry, SISTER!" Celestia said.

"You can be angry at the world and all that when we have room to breathe. They had more advantages than us. Experience, knowledge, strength. If we kept the battle going, then,"

"Then the city would've been destroyed and I would've had the unicorns make-"

"No sister," Luna said, interrupting with a frown, "There would've been two bodies in the city that day. And I couldn't live with myself if I had to rule in your stead like this."

"Are you doubting my skills?" asked Celestia.

"When you have a clear head? No. You are second only to me in swordsmareshipe, but only two mares match you in magical power. You are not in a clear state of mind, and we need Celestia the leader, not the warrior." Luna then shook her head and put a hoof onto Celestia's chest, smiling warmly, "Remember what our mother always taught us? Balance? One fights, one leads. One stands in the light-"

"And one in the shadow. Always equal, and never apart," Celestia said, holding Luna's hoof comfortingly. Looking at her, she sighed, "Thank you."

Luna then stepped out, "They will not detect my magnificent mansion spell. Not unless they know what to look for. I'll find the other five, relay the news, and then bring them here."

Celestia nodded, and then hugged Luna, "I, miss her."

Luna sniffled a little, and blinked away her own tears, "I do too." She walked out of the mansion.

Behind them, a long serpentine figure drummed his talons on the floor,"Took you, sisters, long enough."

"Discord?" asked Celestia, seeing his appearance. Growling, she walked up to him and punched him in the face, leaving a hoofprint, "You BASTARD! Where were you when I needed you when she needed you? You could've done anything to help her, to save her life!? Why did I even think to bring you back, just because I knew it was easier to have you free than just putting my people in a constant battle! BUT WHEN I NEED YOU TO HELP YOU ARE NEVER THERE!" she said, panting, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Discord clapped his cheek, resetting the hoofprint,"Now, Caycay, I'm not omniscient, I didn't even know Twily was even in trouble!"

Celestia frowned, "You could’ve been nearby, felt some chaos being formed because of their attack. Something!" she then wiped her cheek and then shook her head, "No sense in blaming anyone. Why are you here?"

She would've asked how he managed to break into a spacial anomaly like the mansion, but she knew how Discord loved to break the rules.

Discord leaned back,"Why, to give exposition of course! But first," He held up a talon,"We wait for the other Elements to come in. Wouldn't want to repeat meyself."

Celestia sighed and sat down, the spectral guests all began to tend to the godlings.

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Applejack began to run towards the train station, Rainbow Dash flying next to her, "Do you feel it too?"

"Yeah, and now Ah'm getting to the train just to make sure Twilight is alive and ok!" Applejack said.

The train came up to the station and stopped. The door slowly opened as a grey earth pony came out, and stared at them.

In the center of Ponyville, the orange alicorn flew threw the sky, before landing,"ATTENTION MORTALS! AH, SIRIUS, COME WITH A MESSAGE FROM YOUR TRUE GODS! WE ARE TAKING BACK WHAT IS OURS!"

"Who are you?" asked Applejack looking at the earth pony

Rainbow Dash looked behind her, seeing the appearance of the alicorn, "Um AJ?"

"What? Oh buck me!" Applejack said, tipping her hat.

The earth pony stepped out, more that looked just like him following. He snarled.

Rainbow Dash turned to look over her shoulder at the sound of a snarl, "What was...WHAT?" she said, seeing the horde coming out of the train. Looking back at Applejack and then back to the horde, she said, "AJ..."

"Ah'll be fine, you check that out," Applejack said.

Rainbow Dash flew to the grey pony and asked, "Ok, what the heck is going on."

The Earth Pony leaped up and punched at Dash with a snarl.

Raindrops flew overhead, looking around. Occasionally, she would look over her shoulder at the alicorn, "You girls better not have left yet." she said, before looking down at the station to see the zombie-golems about to attack Dash. Nodding, she flew down and did a dive kick into the head of the golem. Then she spun around to slam her hoof into the face of the other. "Get moving. I got this."

"What do you mean ours?" Rarity asked, stepping out from the crowd and into the center of the field, looking up with a curious look.

Sirius looked down at Rarity, and grinned,"WE ARE THE ALICORNS OF LIGHT. WE ARE THE TRUE GODS OF THIS WORLD." He chuckled,"And you must have eaten from the Fruit of Generosity."

Rarity nodded, "I...am the Element of Generosity yes."

Sirius smirked,"And the other remainin' four are here as well! Good, that makes things easier fer me and our vassals."

Rainbow Dash nodded and flew after Applejack, catching the last of what Sirius said, "Is that what those monsters are called? Vassals?

"And just what are you? How come you’re an alicorn?" asked Applejack.

Pinkie giggled, "And silly, there are six of us. Twilight is still back at Canterlot."

"Why, Ah was born one. Ah am an old god, freshly freed from mah stone prison." Sirius closed his eyes and shook his head,"And Twilight? Well, we done took care of her first." He winced at some burn marks,"Put up a mighty good fight, but she couldn't handle our numbers."

Pinkie's eyes widened, and then shook her head, bearly able to whisper. Fluttershy broke into tears as she laid her head onto Rarity's shoulder. Applejack and Dash, on the other hand, lowered their heads in rage. Pawing at the ground, snorting up dust, Applejack said, "You LIE!"

Sirius stood up straight,"Do Ah?"

Applejack let out a roar and ran headfirst at him. Rearing back, she double bucked him in the gut, pivoting on her front legs to face him, and began to punch him hard with a three hit combo of two hooks and across. Then she gave him an uppercut.

Sirius looked up into the sky from the uppercut,"Ya done?" He looked down at her,"Mah turn." He punched her in the muzzle, sending her flying.

Pinkie Pie didn't move, still in shock as she just watched. Her body trembled while water came to her eyes, small whimpers leaving her throat. The others watched as Applejack flew through the air and into the side of a building. Running as fast as she could, Fluttershy went to Applejack and looked her over, "She's breathing."

Rainbow Dash's wings spread and she began to fly, only to be stopped by Rarity, "Let me go RARITY! I need to make him pay!"

"We can't!" Rarity said, shaking her head, "We need to retreat. The better part of valor is-"

"I don't give a buck!" Dash shouted, "I need to kill him! I need to kick his ass and make him pay! Twilight is-"

"Twilight would want us to do the same," Rarity said.

Fluttershy said, "Dash, please."

One look at Fluttershy and she stopped her struggling and then looked at Sirius, "Now we're done."

"Oh, you don't know the half of it." Sirius walked towards them, horn glowing,"I specifically came here lookin' to kill ya'll. Together, you and the Elements are invincible. But apart... yer weak." He grinned,"Don't worry none... You'll be together again real soon..." He reared back and fired a large blast of energy at them.

Another blast of energy intercepted it, sending it flying away into a part of a hill. Sirius stared at the still alive group of ponies. He slowly turned his head to the newcomer.

The clanking of yellow armored hooves slowly came to him. A red helm adorned with a greenhorn bared into view. Its upper body covered with red. A green visor glared down at him.

Sirius snarled,"Alicorn Bane! Ya should be dead!" He flew up and fired a shot at the armored figure.

The figure dodged and fired her own shot at him, striking him in the chest.

Applejack slowly got back to her feet, wiping away a bit of blood that ran down her forehead and spat out some blood. Looking at the yellow suited pony as she began to battle the alicorn, she asked, "Who the buck is that?"

"Applejack, you should-"

"I asked, who is fightin’ the alicorn?" Applejack asked.

Rarity shook her head, "I don't know, but this will give us a chance to run."

"Run? You mean right when one of those things is right in front of us?" asked Applejack.

"Discretion. Oh what is with you and Dash," asked Rarity.

"What is with me is that monster just said he killed Twilight and I want his yellow hide," Applejack said.

"Yes, and I am angry too, but we can't," Rarity said, shaking her head.

Pinkie shook and said, "We're not good enough."

"There you are, girls!" Luna said, teleporting in. "Thank goodness I was able to find you. Hearing Sirus make his proclamation, I had feared the worst."

"Princess?" asked Dash, "What-"

"No time, teleporting now!" Luna said, before turning to Sirus, "Sirius? You are going to die..." and then blinked out.

Sirius looked at her,"Wha-" He felt a blast from the mare into one of his burn scars,"Gah!" He flew towards one of the houses,"That visor of hers must be giving her an-"

The mare leaped onto one of the buildings, and then jumped towards him to fire into another burn,"Gah!" Sirius fell to the ground,"Damn it!" His eyes glowed white as he blasted three energy shots into her, sending her flying back,"Gotcha." He panted.

He slowly got up and began walking forward,"Ain't so big and bad when Ah ain't distracted, are ya!"

A little yellow ball rolled towards him, and then hopped right in between his legs.

The high-pitched scream could be heard across the heavens.

Sirius keeled over in pain, and he began to gasp,"You... bitch." He turned his head as the ball turned back into a pony. He fired several shots at her.

The mare bounced back and forth, before firing a few shots of her own. She leaped back and charged her corn cannon.

He snarled,"Ya think ya hot, doncha? Ya thank comin' down here makes ya big and bad!?" He laughed,"The Elements are without their pillar now. The princesses are without a home. The mortals have no choice but to bow to us! This world will perish, and you along with it!"

"You gave me an opening." the mare said.

"Wha-" the mare leaped towards his head, putting her horn into his mouth. She charged it, causing his eyes to widen in shock.

A large blast was heard across town, as a body fell to the ground.

The mare stood over it, her visor glowing,"Spazer Beam acquired." She looked at him,"So, I have another reason to kick your asses."

--------

Discord picked his teeth,"Any minute now."

There was a flash of light outside of the mansion door, followed by a door opening, "-You see, a Magnificent Mansion spell is basically a pocket dimension that allows powerful spellcasters to create a home away from home." Luna said as she walked in, "It keeps the mage safe and gives them a chance to recover and to think. What's more, it's completely un..."

There was a long pause as she saw Discord resting on her couch, her servants giving him a glass of chocolate milk. She looked to him, to her couch, to the mansion, to Discord, to the door, to the elements, to Discord. For a moment, she frowned.

A few minutes later and Discord was battered by meteors, moonbeams, sliced into ribbons, and then packaged in a meatpacking tin, before being teleported to a maze.

"Uh, you know that won’t do anythang, right?" asked Applejack.

"I know, I know. But by my mother, that felt good after today!" Luna said.

Discord appeared from a door, holding a cup of coffee while wearing a bathrobe,"Now that was just rude." He took a sip.

There was a sound of studio applause, followed by cheering and canned laughter. Luna shook her head, "So is appearing in a mage's personal sanctum. This is not meant to be invaded by a miserable mishmash of mangled malformities. Now, why are you here?!"

"He says exposition," Celestia said.

Luna looked to Celestia, and then back to Discord, "Proceed."

Discord let out a squee,"Oh, this is wonderful! I get to be the exposition fairy for once!" He grinned at Celestia,"This must be a new experience for you especially!" He snapped his fingers, causing them all to appear in a classroom.

He had a curly grey wig, a monocle, and a teaching stick,"Ahem," He cleared his throat and began to speak.

"Once, long ago, there was a race of godlike alicorns who ruled ponies of various races and lands." The chalkboard behind him showed a group of alicorns.

"Originally, the ponies didn't have minds of their own." It showed ponies grazing, eating, trotting," But one day, they began to grow smarter... more independent." It showed ponies creating fire, the wheel, and houses.

"The alicorns saw this as an opportunity. They wanted to rule them. However, there were disagreements." It showed the alicorns splitting apart.

"One side wanted to rule with an iron hoof, forcing the little ponies to follow them and only them. These were the Alicorns of Light, for they believed themselves to be righteous. They were kinda boring to me." the alicorns became encased in light.

"The other side were the Alicorns of Shadow, for they were the opposite of the light. They wanted to guide the ponies from afar, only intervening when they were truly needed." It showed the other side encased in darkness.

"Light was order and destiny. Shadow was free will." The two sets separated.

"Many years, many generations passed as the two sides began to war." The two sides began to blast each other with magic,"Until there were very few left."

He looked at the Princess,"Morning Dawn was correct. Titan was born of the Light, and Terra of Darkness." He grinned as the board showed a black alicorn on one side, and a green alicorn on the other,"That's right, your parents had the cliche "opposing sides" romance!" He laughed as the two placed their hooves near each other,"But, Dawn was lying when she claimed that Terra and her parents were tyrannical. In fact, they were quite kind."

Discord laughed,"But I'm getting off track. Tity and Terry fell in love, and eventually, Titan turned on his queen."

"This led to a huge battle." It showed Morning Dawn and Terra fighting,"Where Terra sent 14 Alicorns running with their tails between their legs."

"Morning Dawn, however, had one trump card. She heard of a creature of immense power hiding somewhere..." He began to laugh as it showed the 14 alicorns talking to a caricature of himself,"That's right, me." He grinned,"I admit, me saying I don't turn ponies into stone was... a fib just to get Celly's goat." A bleat was heard,"You see, Dawn wanted me to give her the order she desired. So I did. I turned her and her little entourage into stone... forever. Or so I thought." He tapped his podium,"I don't know how, I don't know when, but my seal on them broke."

Luna looked confused, "How did my mother send fourteen of them away."

"The seal broke..." Celestia looked down, and then gasped, "Meadowbrook’s Tablet." using her spell, she brought out the stone tablet.

"Meadowbrook’s what?" asked Applejack.

"When we called for Twilight, she was sent to investigate a tablet containing the location of the eight items," Luna said, "the eight items of Meadowbrook."

"Or vestiges," Celestia said.

Discord smirked,"Now Lulu, I can't tell you everything, it'll spoil the plot." He laughed. He looked at the tablet,"Ah, so Twilight must've read it, and broke the seal by accident." He frowned,"I admit, I do feel sad about her." He patted Fluttershy on the head.

Fluttershy whimpered, and smiled, "Thank you Discord."

Rarity looked at Pinkie and hugged her, "Pinkie I-"

"She isn't really dead," Pinkie whispered, "She'll come back She'll come back, I know it."

Applejack said nothing, only walking up to the tablet, "But why would reading it awaken the alicorns?"

"A number of reasons," Luna said. "Meadowbrook was also alive when the lich king Vecna made his power play. She probably tried to combine the seal with her items and to seal away any way of him from coming back. This magical resonance could've had an accumulative effect on the items and then fused back. Either that or somepony found the seal and linked it with the tablet to awaken the alicorns by connecting the ley lines. Or were able to-"

"Whoa, English Luna. English?" Dash said, "We don’t' have...' she paused and looked down. Tears welling up in her eyes as she said, "I... it just hit me you. I mean... I was so caught up in the fight and the anger that I didn't-"

"So, we find the items and then we get back at the alicorns?" Applejack said, looking at the map behind the tablet.

"HEY!" Dash said, flying up into Applejack's face. "Our best friend just died, maybe you can join in mourning her for a second?"

"I ain’t got time to mourn. I haven’t cried since my parents died, and I'm not going to cry right now. We have a world to save and I'm thinking carefully here!" Applejack said, pushing her nose to Dash.

"You mean you are being a cold-hearted jerk!" Rainbow Dash said.

"We can be emotional later! Right now we need to plan, get what we can, and then strike back before-"

"All right you two!" Celestia said. "Last I checked I am still a ruler and I think we need time to rest. We'll search for the items after supper when we have time to collect ourselves. Do I make myself clear?!"

"YES MAM!" the girls said, dispersing.

Luna walked to Celestia and patted her on the back, "You can let go now, sister."

Celestia then began to cry onto Luna's shoulders.

---------

Purple hooves beat against the darkness.

Purple eyes looked around the black viscous ichor.

Purple legs struggled to find escape.

A light shone as a lid was burst open before her. Twilight Sparkle leaned forward from the liquid coughing before letting out a gasp,"Wha..."

A blue earth pony stallion wearing spectacles looked back at her, his white mane and tail shining in the light,"Princess?" He asked.

Twilight held her hoof to her chest,"I... I'm breathing, I'm alive... but... I remember dying..." She frowned at the container,"... Unless somepony had my DNA..." She looked at the stallion,"Did you break me out?"

"Well, I heard sounds from inside a mysterious container, I figured I had to open it." The stallion said.

"Thank you... ?"

"Quick Draw Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III." The stallion said,"Just call me Percy."

"... Wait, de Rolo!" Twilight leaped out of the container,"My family used to visit yours! I haven't seen you in years! How has it been!?"

"... My family is dead." Percy said with a frown.

"..." Twilight looked behind her at a cage the two were in,"Awkward. Why are we in a cage?"

"Well, I tried shooting my family's killer. Not sure about you." Percy said with a frown.

"Quite simple, she fought her betters, stared them down, and then died. Shows you what an inferior breed she is," a germaine accented stallion said, stepping into the room. His blonde mane and tail matching and brushing against his tan coat. On his side, under his lab coat, was a cutie mark of a tree, "But we all know that, don't we Miss Sparkle? As for how you came back, well, I do believe a fellow scientist like yourself can figure it out."

"Clone spell." Twilight glared at him,"And I know you, Dr. Völkermord. A once-respected scientist."

He pulled back, looking somewhat insulted, "Once respected? My dear, I am still respected. Last I checked, were it not for me, most would not know how much force a unicorn's bone can take before it breaks and shatters." Mord then chuckled, "But tell me, princess. Which of my reports did you read? My studies on pegasus respiratory tracts? How a gryphon's renal system works? Or did you read one of my books? I must say, if you read any then I am pleased to be acknowledged by a fellow scientist of such renown."

"Read? Try thrown out." Twilight snarled,"Your studies were horrifying! You tortured people!" She frowned,"But that's beside the point. Why do you have us here? I know you don't have the magic to clone me."

"Briarwood." Percy glared at Kudos,"He may a horrible racist, but he's not above working with a necromancer for his own gain." He cocked his head,"Where is it, Mord?"

"Brairwood... one of my old professors," Twilight whispered.

"Where is what, Percival?" asked Mord, looking at him in the eyes, "Are you referring to your little toy?"

"It is no toy." Percy glared at him,"Especially not for what you plan to use with it."

"What?" Twilight looked at him.

Mord slipped his head into his breast pocket and then pulled out a steel cylinder with a long nose. At the other end was a wooden handle and in the grip was a trigger meant to be activated by a pony tongue. Holding the weapon in his hoof, Mord said, "This is what he is referring to. What did you call it? A gun? I prefer to call it an equalizer, the grand answer to the question of what makes Earth Ponies so superior, the final answer, and the greatest achievement. And I have you to thank for it, Percival."

He began to admire it some more, "For you Princess, I will say that by using a small sigil within the hammer, it hits some explosive power within to launch what is called a bullet at speeds normally reserved for pegasi. It is a marvelous little toy. And don't worry, Percival... I do use it responsibly."

"Probably on innocent ponies, right?" Twilight glared at him

"Twilight, I am stunned. I thought you as a scientist moved beyond such cliches as innocence and guilt. I prefer to think of them as subjects for my tests," Mord said, putting away his gun, "And to inform you...we now know that a unicorn takes longer to die thanks to a bullet wound as opposed to an Eart pony. Quiet informative no?"

Twilight held her horn towards him,"That's it, blasting you right now!" Her horn glowed. And then fizzled. She blinked a few times.

Percy looked at her,"Performance problems?"

"I swear this has never happened to me before," Twilight said

"I have a theory," Mord said, flicking Twilight's horn, just to watch her wince, "When the gods came, their arrival created a massive disturbance in the weave. Many ponies found themselves magically hurt or unable to do certain tasks. I, myself, was almost burned when I dropped coffee on my foreleg. When you died, I do believe your link with the weave was broken. All of that power, all of that magic, gone. Now you are just a normal pony."

Mord couldn't help but chuckle, " All of that power a unicorn possesses, and then you take away their magic, and you are left with nothing. This is why we earth ponies are superior, Percival. You cannot take away our brains or our strength. Pegasi and unicorns, on the other hoof, are so easily disabled.

Percy glared at him,"I'd rather not be placed in the same sentence as you."

Twilight reached through the bars and tried to hit Mord,"Well I still have hooves! Come here!"

Mord smirked and put his chin to Twilight, "Then hit me. Show me how an alicorn uses earth pony magic."

Twilight punched him. The power of the alicorns flowed through Twilight, millennia of evolution pumping through her hybrid body. Every last bit of mana gave her strength, and it flew through her hoof. The world of pain approached him, delivering with it all of her training and power.

boink

and in the end, all that Twilight accomplished was that her hoof lightly mussed a part of his coat. Mord looked down, and then back to Twilight, "It's ok. It happens."

Twilight stepped away with frown,"Well..." She looked at Percy,"You, on the order of the Princess of Friendship, hit him!"

Percy sighed,"Well, if it's on the order of the princess." he reached through the bars to punch him.

The punch managed to hit his jaw, leaving a bit of a bruise, but nothing noticeable. Mord rubbed his cheek, "Impressive, Percival. Your siblings were the fighters I assume?"

Percy frowned,"Julius and Vesper, yes, but not the rest of us." He took a step back,"And it's taking every bone in my body not to punch you again for mentioning them."

"You’re not above working with a necromancer. What do you want? What does she want!?" Twilight asked.

"Me? All I want, or ever need, is the freedom to do my experiments and prove the superiority of earth pony. To show the world that Earth Ponies are the strongest and greatest of the equine races. Sadly, our princess- hallowed be her name- exiled me for trying such a thing. As for my Lady Briarwood? I do not know. I do not pry. I an just content with doing what she needs of me. Speaking of which, I must take my leave." and with that, he turned away and began to walk away.

Twilight sighed,"Great. I'm powerless, my friends think I'm dead, and I'm pretty sure we've got two big bads to deal with." She began to rummage around her mane,"The only thing to do, is to escape!"

"And how do you plan to go about doing that?" Percy asked.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie taught me a few things." Twilight grinned, pulling out a lockpick.

----------

Rarity stared at her vanity mirror, sniffling once, twice, “Got to hold it together. Twilight wouldn't want you to have a breakdown before trying to save the world, come on..."

Fluttershy stepped in and looked at Rarity, "Rarity... are you all right?"

Rarity sighed,"Would you like an honest answer?"

"Honesty usually helps," Fluttershy said.

"I don't know how we’re supposed to stop those alicorns." Rarity sighed,"I'm this close to having a breakdown. I was worried that this was going to happen one day." She took out a brush and began to brush Fluttershy's mane,"One of our enemies comes in. Our friends aren't anywhere nearby. And then... silence." A shudder came to her breath,"And we don't even have time to mourn. Why didn't she ask us to join her?"

Fluttershy looked down, sniffling a little. She had her eyes closed, trying to blink the tears away, "I don’t know. I don't know why she just wanted to be alone. I thought she knew that we're stronger together, we need each other. And now she's gone, and I'm so scared."

Letting out a little shudder, she whimpered, "Twilight couldn't handle them, how are we supposed to. How are we supposed to do anything without her? I've tried to be brave, but that's only because I knew her and you were with me."

Rarity choked,"I'm about to fall apart myself. I don't know how Applejack does it, but I envy her. She's willing to hold herself together. I only hope she can hold us together."

“She’s trying,” Fluttershy whimpered and sighed, leaning into Rarity’s shoulder, “But she is holding it in. She doesn’t want us to bother, or let us in.”

“I don’t know how she can,” Rarity looked down, tears rolling down her cheeks, “This is what we chose when we became adventures, and I am worried... it’s all catching up with us and we are just seeing how small we are.”

“It’ll be ok Rarity, It’ll be all right.”

--------

"Why!?" Rainbow Dash punched the bag again, Rainbow Power flowing through each punch. Several hoof marks showed on the bag,"Why couldn't I have been there!? I don't care if I would've been bored, I'd have helped you!" She kicked the bag, sending it flying,"Get me another one..." she asked the invisible servants of Luna’s mansion.

Rainbow Dash growled, punching the fourth bag harder and harder with her foreleg. Every punch she gave, she would mutter, "Should've been there. Should've been there, should've been there!"

After a few more strikes, the bag was broken and so was she as she sat down and began to just cry to herself, “I need to be there for everypony, and I can’t...”

---------

Applejack stared at her hat for a long time, seemingly for ages,"Ah don't know if Ah could do this without ya Twi..."

She went to a dresser and found a bandanna to put on around her neck. Looking back up at the mirror, she continued to speak, “Ah always figured that, when things got tough, I could handle things with my strength and you could handle the big bad with your magic. Hay, even during the whole invasion thing, I knew we would be all right. Those storm king knights were magic immune, but they weren’t hoof immune Ah tell ya. But, ah also knew we needed reinforcements so Ah went because I trusted you.”

“And yet, you lost. You had all the power you need, and you still lost,” Applejack sniffled, trying to stop crying, “And Ah was worthless. Ah try to be everything for them, for my family, for you, and just to see me fail...it’s heartbreaking. But I won’t fail again, you can bet on that!”

-----------------------------

Pinkie sat alone in her room, sighing. She looked down and whispered to herself, "They're wrong. She's ok. I know. Just you wait, Twilight will be back."

--------------------------------

Celestia sighed, waiting in the dining room. Luna stepped out from the shadows, "Problems, sister?"

"If there is one thing I hate about being the ruler, is that I am going to be stuck here while I have the civilians fight for my kingdom," Celestia then sighed, "I just feel like I forced this task upon them."

"You forced nothing, dear sister," Luna said, rubbing Celestia's back. "As much as they loved you, what they did wasn't for queen and queendom, it was for the lady that became their friend. Need I remind you, one thing you have always wished, was for them to have the freedom to choose to fight on their own. Not relying on a queen to lead their hoof all of the time."

Celestia nodded and sighed, "I can only hope they can still find that independence when they get down here."

"You won’t have to wait long, the food is ready and I do believe they are arriving.”

Rarity was the first to arrive, suddenly wearing a long pretty dress,"Always make sure you look good when having an audience with the Princesses!"

Applejack followed, tightening up a neckerchief that was around her neck that had Twilight's symbol on it. Rainbow Dash flew in from the sky, "Really Rarity, a dress?" she said, straightening her bomber jacket.

Luna quirked an eyebrow, "Outfits?"

Rarity brushed her mane, "Something special to mark this grand adventure your highness. I figured something nice for all of us."

Pinkie walked in, none of her usual gait as she fixed a belt and nodded. Fluttershy walked in with a robe that had many fall colors on it.

"I must admit, it does suit an adventuring party as yourselves," Celestia said. "Now, our first order is to head to the Castle of Two Sisters."

"Why there?" asked Applejack, looking at her questioningly.

"Because, that is where the tablet said that the vault of Meadowbrook lies," Celestia said. "Somewhere deep in a cavern that I and my sister never looked at."

"We can only assume that it was hidden in such a way that could only be revealed by the tablet itself. Whatever magic that Meadowbrook sealed it with and connected it to, is a miracle," Luna said.

Celestia nodded, "Indeed. Now if we hurry we can-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dash said, holding up a hoof, "Who's we? Last I checked, there are five of us ready, not seven."

Celestia paused, "Well, I am the princess and I need to-"

"Look, Princess," Applejack said, "We all understand that you are responsible for the county and all, but that's the point. You are needed back here to be a symbol for the country, something to remind the country that there is hope. We are the ones who need to go out and fight."

Celestia was about to raise another point, but Dash stepped in, "Look, Twilight wouldn't have wanted you to join us, she would've been already there and exploring the caste without us. This is our job, our duty. We traveled with Twilight, we know each other the best, and we proved ourselves worthy of the Elements. We are the ones who are going to be the heroes here."

"Twilight always said," Rarity said nodding, "That we have our own destinies, and we must follow our own path."

"We are adults and we don't you holding our hooves princess," Applejack said. "Now, if you excuse us, we'll be getting the items right now." and with that, she and the other four walked out the door.

Celestia stood in shock for a moment, and she smiled before chuckling and laughing softly, "Finally, they are starting to understand."

----------------------------------

Starlight Glimmer was looking down at the map, frowning as the map seemed to be glowing red, “What is going on here? Ever since that god came in, this map has been on the fritz!" She kicked it. And then held her hoof,"Ow!"

Spike looked down from the staircase, "Hey Starlight, I am going to be reading my O&O books before setting up a real play podcast, so don't be too loud down there." he then went into his room.

And then a knock came at her door.

Starlight smiled warmly and walked to the door. Slowly opening it, she said, "The princess's castle is always open to vistors, there's no need to knock. Who is it?" then she began to open the door.

"Well, that makes things easier for me." A large blue earth pony stallion stood in front of her. He had a black goatee, and he was wearing a large blue dress shirt with a single feathery shoulder pad. The moonlight shone behind him, making the red eyes that stare down at her more intimidating.

"It's been too long, Little Star." A green unicorn mare walked next to him. She wore a blue dress with a single black tie. Her mane was done up in a bun,"I can't begin to tell you how long I've waited to see you again." She gave a long smirk.

Starlight's eyes shrunk to pinpricks as she looked at the two ponies, "S-S-Sylas, Delilah! No, what are you two doing here!? I've left that life behind." she said reaching for the door with her magic, ready to slam it.

Sylas held a single hoof to the door,"Now, Little Star. Don't be rude, we taught you to respect your guests."

Delilah walked towards Starlight,"Come on now, we have need of you."

"No, you don't need me! You just want to use me!" Starlight sad, turning around and running away. Using her magic, she grabbed a faucet from the kitchen and fired the water along the ground to create a tiny running stream. Turning around, she made her way to the stairs.

Delilah shook her head, using her magic to turn the faucet off,"Please don't wastewater. What would the Princess say?" She walked out of the room and headed for the stairs. A bat flew over her head and up the stairs.

Starlight gasped and ran down the hallway to her room and closed the door. Panting, she threw a dresser, followed by a bed, followed by another dresser, then a bookcase, followed by Sylas, and then another dresser, "Wait...

Sylas looked down at her,"Hey there."

"Did you tell Twilight about us?" Delilah's voice said,"About the little unicorn filly who wanted to learn magic so she could get into Celestia's school and see her friend once more? How a specialized tutor came to her hometown one day and helped her?"

Starlight shook her head as she backed away slowly, shivering, "No, I didn't tell her any of that. She didn't need to know about that story. I just told her what she needed to know." quickly her eyes began to dart back and forth, seeing the only ext being the window.

"That hurts, Little Star. You'd think that would be the first thing you'd tell her. Then Twilight Sparkle could've come and defeated us with her magical rainbow of light and everypony would be happy over in Whitestone." Delilah said.

Sylas loomed over her, and looked out the window,"Do you wish to risk it? Or do you want to quit while you're ahead?"

"She wouldn't have defeated you. I don't think she had the strength," Starlght said, opening the window, "As for me...you don't know what I wil do." and then she tried to jump.

A strong hoof clamped onto Starlight, holding her,"Now that wasn't very smart." Sylas whispered as he leaned in.

Delilah opened the door,"Don't bite her yet, hon." She walked to Starlight,"She could be of use as a mortal." She walked closer to Starlight,"Now, you are mine once more, Little Star."

Quivering, Starlight shook her head, "No, please...don't...Trixie."

Somewhere on the road, Trixie looked p and around. Twitching her ear, she said, "Starlight? No, she's fine."

----------

"My lord... we did a wonderful job on this bridge!" Rarity said as they went to the bridge leading to the castle,"It's coming along swimmingly!"

Rainbow Dash gave a confident smirk, "Hey when I get a bridge fixed, it stays fixed."

Applejack could only roll her eyes as they walked into the castle. As they walked, she could only frown and sigh at the sights of the ruins, hearing the echoes of their first adventure play through her head. Lowering her head for a quick moment, she felt the weight of the world on her shoulder increase. With a quick shake, she said, "So, Dash, where does that tablet say to go?"

"According to this, the chamber is this way," she said pointing to a staircase leading downwards,"Somehow we missed that the last time we were here."

"We missed a lot of things, journals, trees," Applejack said, walking towards the stairs, "Surprised we didn't miss a complete pony the last time we were here!"

Slowly, the group made their way down the stairs, the silence between the group was nearly deafening. Fluttershy stepped close to Rarity and whispered, "Rarity, can I ask a question?"

"Yes, dear?" Rarity asked.

"Do you-" but before she could speak, she heard Dash shout.

"Whoa!" Dash said, looking at the large pairs of doors in front of them. In the center of the door was a small indentation that matched the tablet. Then Pinkie read the inscription, "After opening the door, take this coupon for a free ice cream sandwich at any participating ice cream stand."

"Why would anyone be willing to honor a deal like that?" asked Rarity.

Applejack shrugged as she placed the tablet into the door. With a mighty lurch, the doors swung open wide, revealing the inside. The dark chamber was quickly lit up by a series of runes that caused the magical lights to turn on, revealing the silhouettes of the vestiges. However, as they stepped into the room, the eight items vanished.

"What?" asked Applejack as she ran to the dais and growled, "What the hay happened?"

Pinkie looked at the sigil and said morosely, "These sigils, I think they cause the items to teleport when a pony comes in. Like an alarm."

"MY word," Rarity said, "So even if the intruder breaks through the first chamber, the second one would make sure they don’t take the items."

"Buck!" Applejack said, punching the dais that looked like four boots, "So we got here for nothing?"

Rarity stood next to a rapier, "No, we are probably missing something. Meadowbrook was a known inventor, but also a trickster. Some would even call her mad."

Pinkie managed a smile, "I know. It's kind of why I like her so much," she said, standing next to a robe.

"Yeah, but how are we-" Dash began, only to get interrupted by Fluttershy.

"Look, another tablet," Fluttershy said, taking the tablet in her hooves, and looked under it, "And a disk."

Rarity stepped to it and looked at the tablet and disk, "Both are enraptured by powerful mana. Maybe it requires that eye to read it?"

Applejack put her hoof onto it, "You mean, the eye that is back in Canterlot? aka, villain central?"

"I thought bad guy central was Detrot?" asked Pinkie, putting her hoof onto the tablet.

"Now's not the time Pinks!" Rainbow Dash said, putting her hoof onto the tablet, and then backed away as the tablet began to glow, and the old squish writing that was etched on the stonework began to become read.

"If you found this room, congratulations, you solved the first step.
Now, for the next.
The eight have gone to the west, to the world of old."

"World of old?" asked Rarity.

"I think where the three tribes used to come from," Applejack said. "But I didn't think that there was anything there."

"Hunt for them, find them.
Hear their voice, hear their cry
Six will hunt for the eight
Six will bear the weight

The boots will give strength
The sword will give elegance
The cloak will give hope
The goggles will give speed
The staff will grant power
The gem will grant t unity
The bow will grant light
The bracelet will grant wisdom

These eight will call for those who seek it. Those who need tem. Battle may erupt, find them.

Turn this in for a free ice cream cake."

"Oh come one, that's just a bunch of riddles," Applejack said, "How is that supposed to help-" before she could say more, she saw the tablet glow and change, turning into a paper map that floated to Rarity. "Ok... how about my parents back and I have some apple pie?" she frowned as the room remained silent.

Pinkie looked at the disk, "For CS and LS, your parents," Pinkie said.

"CS? Celestia Solaris?" Rarity said, touching the disk and gasping at it turned on.

A hologram appeared, showing a large alicorn stallion with a beard,"Hello, my little ponies. You probably don't know who I am, or why this disk was made."

"No you are right, we don't know," Applejack said, before shaking her head, "What am I doing, this is just a latent image spell ain’t it?

"No, Young one, I can answer your questions." The stallion said with a smile,"I am Methuselah, King of the Alicorns of Shadow. Mine and Queen Majesty's essences are in this disk you hold before you."

In the mansion, the mares decided to recontinue the disk in front of Celestia and Luna. Celestia stepped forward and looked at the hologram, "How are you related to the
Alicorns of Light. What is the story of my parents and their connection to them, and what happened so long ago?"

As Celestia talked to the hologram, Applejack and Rarity began to discuss plans, "How the buck are we getting to the west. We need a way over there."

"I don't know as of yet. We can't get anywhere without being seen by the gods," Rarity cais.

"Unfortunately, I cannot give you all the information, my grandchild." Methuselah said with a frown,"You see, my and my wife's memories are trapped in the vaults in the west. I can only give bits and pieces. You need to place this disk into specified areas. Think of it as a book, where you have to find the rest of the pages."

Luna sat down, "What can this chapter tell us about our parents? They... never talked much about those times. They allowed us to learn under Starswirl in the field of magic and Meadowbrook used to entertain us, but beyond that, we don’t know anything about them.

"Oh, will this be a story of how Terra and Titan had met? Please tell me there will be romance!" Rarity said with a smile, her troubles all forgotten.

Applejack stepped up, "I hope for some clever tricks.

"Laughs, plenty of laughs," Pinkie said, sitting down while the servants brought out popcorn.

Dash rolled her eyes, "If there ain’t action, then I ain’t listening."

"Um, I'm fine with whatever, just as long as there are heartwarming friendship moments," Fluttershy said, sitting next to Rainbow Dash

Methuselah nodded,"Oh, there is. The story of Titan and Princess Terra is one wrought with much romance, tricks, Laughs, and oh, there is certainly action. Everything began when Titan and Terra were but teenagers on the cusp of adulthood.

"h, I can't wait to hear the rest," Rarity said with a smile. "But for now, we need to solve our problems of getting to the west, sneaking on a ship, all under the eyes of a bunch of gods that want us dead and are watching our every move. It will most likely to take a miracle-"

--------------------------------------

"To break out of the cage at her rate," one guard said, laughing as Twilight continued to pick the lock for the 39.9th time.

"Gah, did aliens make this lock or something!?" Twilight shouted.

"If only we had a unicorn with magic..." Percy muttered.

Twilight glared at him,"How about an earth pony with actual strength!?"

"Oh, if only I had thought of that before." Percy rolled his eyes.

"Oh, blow it out your ear!" She shouted before going back to her work.

"... I have an idea," Percy said. He walked over to her.

-----

"Guards, help, she's terribly sick!" Percy shouted, indicating Twilight moaning and groaning on the floor.

The guard gasped, "Oh my gods no! We can't have that, we do have a reputation to maintain after all. Thank goodness I have a doctorate and am a MD, otherwise I would've had to go and get a medic." he opened the door to kneel down with Twilight and pulled out a pen light, "Hmm, her pupils are dilating."

Percy went up and knocked him on the noggin, causing him to fall to the ground next to Twilight.

Twilight looked up and stared at Percy,"I can't believe that worked.”

"Me neither," Percy said, shaking his hoof.

Twilight yanked the keys away from the guard and the two walked out, locking the cage behind him,"Now what..." She looked up, noticing a vent,"Hmmm."

-------

"This was so much easier in the books." Twilight said as she and Percy crawled through the vents.

"Yes, because books never exaggerate for the sake of a good story..." Percy rolled his eyes.

"You know, things were so much easier when I was the only smart flank in my friend group!" Twilight said. She stopped at a vent,"Hey, a lab!"

"Must be Mord's." Percy looked over her shoulder.

Mord sat back in his chair, pulling out a jelly bean and eating it. Running his hoof along his console, he said, "Show me Abbigail," and in a flash, a screen showing Applejack walking with the group outside of the mansion. There was a frown that crossed his lips as he said, "Still hanging out with those inferior ponies my pet? Pathetic, and after all, I did to get you to this point."

He then pressed another button on his console, "Show me the gods, I need to know what they are doing with the country."

One guard stepped into the view, bowing before Morning Dawn, "Milady, the others have reported that many of the cities are currently hoisting your flag instead of those of the usurpers. The problem is, some of the more cloud-based cities are holding out."

"Pegasi were always the most rebellious. Send Commander Pursuit to Cloudsdale. If things get to riled up, I will send one of my own." Morning Dawn said.

"Why's he interested in Applejack?" Twilight whispered,"What's his game here?"

Kudos nodded, pressing another button on his console. There was a small smirk on his lips as he said, "Interesting, oh very interesting. Another player in this game." Then he pressed a button on the console and pulled back, "Meadowbrook's legacy has been released? My, the game has become much, much wider hasn't it?"

Pushing away from the console, he walked towards a pegasus mare cowering in a cell. Playing with a syringe in his teeth, he put it to her throat and smiled, "Now, tell me, what was it like in the west? I have heard stories."

"Please, let me go home," the mare whimpered.

"I am not in the business of granting requests. I am here for research and I plan on making a small sojourn to the west shortly" Mord said, putting the needle into her foreleg, "Especially since you have taught me so much about pony physiology. Tell me, mating with a deer and giving birth to twins? Was it hard?"

"No...it wasn't. It was," she moaned, "Wonderful to be in his legs. To nuzzle him, but we," she gave another moan, "What d-did you do to me?"

"A relaxant," Mord said, putting his syringe into his pocket. "I have been told that the screams are annoying the pirates and I can't have that. And considering that I plan on operating on your reproductive organs, Well, we can't have too much suffer correct?"

"Why?" asked a unicorn pony about the size of a filly"Why are you doing this?"

Mord looked to the pony that was strapped to a rack, the machine pulling on the limbs, "Still alive? My you fjords are resilient, almost as much as Earth Ponies. As for why? I just find it interesting that ponies seem to be able to breed with any race. You breed one with a gyphon and you gain a hippogryph. A dragon and you get a kirin. A diamond dog and you gain a half breed abomination that some can call orcs. There are just so many."

"And you wanna torture one to get the answers," asked the pony.

Mord nodded, "Yes. Now, tell me, do you have family... what was your name?"

"JB Trickfoot," the pony grunted, "Please, I just wanna see my cousin Pike again."

"Oh, and she is another of your race. My my my my, how peculiar. So many unknowns in the west. I look forward to heading there. But for now, tell me...how much more can you stretch?" he asked, turning on the machine, making it pull the fjord pony tighter to elicit a scream.

Then Mord looked over his shoulder to a small vent, "Enjoying the research?"

"Run, now!" Percy whispered quickly.

Twilight was about to speak,"We can't save them now! Not without your magic or my gun!" Percy said, pushing her along.

Twilight struggled,"But, he-" She shook her head, before moving forward.

The next few feet were silent, the screams of those ponies rang into Twilight's mind.

"Wait." Percy said,"I see the armory. I don't see anypony inside right now."

"Okay," Twilight said quietly.

Percy quickly opened up the vent and leaped down to take a look around.

There were many weapons lying around in the armory, some with small handles, while other weapons were lined up for use if need be. On one shelf, it said 'Consificated items." on the shelf was a six cylinder pistol with writing on some of the barrels marked in esquish. Next to it was a long rifle attached to a saddle, and next to that, was a small braclet.

Percy grabbed the six barreled pistol, the rifle, and the bracelet. He turned to Twilight.

Twilight stared at the ground,"I'm useless... "

Percy frowned,"Don't do this now, Your Highness. We need to escape."

"We need to save them... but I'm useless!" Twilight said again.

"We can save them later, but we need to escape now!" Percy said.

"They'll be dead, they'll be dead because we were too late! I'll be responsible for-"

Percy slammed a hoof in front of her,"Twilight Sparkle. I'm fully aware that I am the last pony to try and knock some sense into you, but we cannot lose ourselves now!"

Twilight stared at him, and then shook her head,"Y-your right..." She looked at the bracelet,"What's with the bracelet?"

Percy looked at it,"I'm not sure, I figured it to be some sort of weapon, so I grabbed it." He looked around at some of the guns and began to grab them,"I have an idea."

"What?" Twilight asked, before being tossed a longsword.

"Dragonslayer. I never use it anyway." Percy said, before taking some of the pellets,"Black powder is still in here, I need a container and a trigger..."

"What are you building?" Twilight asked.

"I call it a grenade. It should cause a distraction and an explosion."

Then an explosion was heard, and alarm bells rang.

"..." Percy had just crafted the grenade as he heard that.

Twilight looked up,"Uh, what's going on?"

"Intruder alert, Intruder alert," the voice rang over the intercom. "Intruder found on flight deck,"

BOOM!

"Food deck"

Boom!

"Radar Deck!"

BOOM!

"Announcement room de... that's this floor," he whimpered as he heard the sound of the door being banged.

"Ok, not much time. To Corporal Hicks, I am sorry for sleeping with your wife. It was a drunken affair and we haven’t touched each other since. To Lt. Hudson, I am NOT sorry for sleeping with your brother. Quiet frankly, he was the best lay I ever had, and I was thinking about dating him. Lt. Vasquez, you got it right, I am your real father. I am so sorry we never had a chance to bond and I never found the right time. to the rest of you

"It has been a pleasure serving you all."

He then turned around, and the sound of rapid gunfire could be heard, followed by a slight ping as it bounced off of metal. And then the sound of energy piercing someone, with a loud thud.

"To Vasquez...I am sorry about your dad. I am waiting in the announcement room downloading the map to find the prisoners. If you want to see daddy again, please come for revenge." the mare said.

"... Is she with you?" Twilight asked.

"I was going to ask that of you," Percy said. He leaned his head out the door as a strange-looking creature with pincers ran by,"She seems to be looking for us."

Twilight walked towards him,"I guess she's friendly? I hope?"

Just outside, they could hear the sounds of energy fire, grenades, and explosions. Then they heard one creature say, "I don't want to jinx it for us guys, but I think we killed her. Let's all go out for Frosty Chocolate milkshakes."

Then an energy shot was heard, followed by a body falling. The rest was screams, shouts, pleas, more screams, and then a punch as the pincer creature was then sent flying past Twilight and Percy. Stepping out, a mare in yellow and red armor stepped out, "I'm getting you two out. Now."

Twilight blinked,"Uh, thanks, but they’re two others that need our help!"

The mare looked down at Twilight, and silently nodded. Looking up, she tapped the side of her helmet several times. After a few minutes, her visor flashed while she looked down the way. Then she tapped the side of her visor again, looking for a few moments. After tapping one more time, she said, "Follow me. Not that I don't think you can handle yourselves, but you'll be safer if you stay at my side."

They both looked her up and down,"Yeah, not disagreeing." Twilight said

"Nope." Percy said.

The two ran with her. Twilight looked at Percy,"You look disappointed."

"... I wanted to make power armor," Percy grumbled.

"Sometimes it's not all that it's cracked up to be. The maintenance can be annoying, and if you get an AI inside, it sometimes won't shut up," the mare said, before looking up with her eyes to the corner and growling, "It's true, shut up."

Volkermord pulled out his scalpel, listening to the mare moaning in pain and watching her heart rate slow. Turning his head, he saw the monitor show the armored mare and the two ponies make their way to the room. Lowering his head, he said, "My apologies, milady. But it seems that I need to leave."

"You," panted JB "Are a monster."

"You know, most unicorns break at this point. It's interesting. But please, do not waste titles on me," Mord said, putting on his coat, "I do not believe in such things."

BOOM!

The door exploded. Mord placed his hooves onto the circle, "And I take my leave. Adieu... princess."

BANG BANG BANG

Three bullets flew and hit the wall as Mord vanished. The teleportation circle became inert.

"Who...is that?" asked JB as she looked to the three standing in the doorway.

"Go to the mare, I'll go to JB." Twilight ran to her and began to undo her bindings,"It's okay, little one, I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle, I came to get you out of here."

Percy shot the lock off the cage and ran to the mare.

The mare grabbed his hoof,"Vax'ildan. Vex'ahlia." She coughed out. Her hoof went limp as her eyes fell.

Percy closed his eyes and gave a heavy sigh.

Jb sighed and hugged Twilight close, "Thank you, miss..." she said.

The mare walked over to Percy and placed her hoof onto his shoulder. Silently, she shook her head and walked to the door.

JB looked up, "Is she..."

Twilight turned to Percy, who only shook his head,"No..." She shook her head. She began to tremble,"Alright, we... need to get out of here now..." She began to breathe heavily.

"Percy, JB, help her. Some guards are outside the door," she said, stepping out. A few seconds later, energy shots were heard. After the bodies fell, she poked her head out, "You have two minutes. That's how long it'll take to clear this corridor."

Percy picked the body up,"Did you hear a name, JB?"

As the screams and bodies hitting the floor rang outside, JB nodded, "When I was brought in, I saw her laying that cage. She said her name was Elaina. She was taken from her home in the west when a dragon attacked. She would talk about her twins, those two names she said before she..." she shed a tear, and then sniffed, "Will I be able to get home?"

Twilight looked at JB,"We'll... try to get you out as soon as possible, but Equestria is under siege right now, it may be difficult to get you home."

"Siege?" whispered JB. "But... I always heard Equestria was peaceful. A little too peaceful."

"Well, normally it is, but I made a huge mistake that summoned something terrible here."

"I see," Jb whispered.

The mare stepped to the door, "Hallway's clear, there should be an exit right in front of us," she said, blowing a missile into the hallway wall. "Seems their rockets are compatible with my suit... who knew."

"That's... convenient," Twilight said.

Percy nodded as he carried the body with him.

Exiting the hallway through the hole in the hallway, the group quickly escaped the bunker. Once outside, they ran into the woods and away from where they could be seen. Adjusting her horn cannon, the mare looked at Percy, "Plan on burying the body?"’

"Yes." Percy said,"She needs it."

Twilight collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily.

The mare turned to Twilight and then knelt down with her. Placing a hoof onto her back, she said, "Take your time, breathreathe. You are just letting the adrenaline and about five hundred other emotions rushing through you right now. Give yourself time and ten think about how to move on." she said, watching as Percy buried the body. Slowly, she lowered her eyes and then took a small breath.

("Take her home, don't let her see what we have t do. The hatchling is still young," the bird-like pony said.

"Can she even be a filly anymore? She lost-"

"We'll let her be the child she needs to be.")

The mare stood up and looked behind her at the bunker, "If you three have a place to be safe? Go there and wait. Think of your next move."

JB looked up, "What about you?"

"I've got work to do," the mare said. "And a job to complete. I'll keep my eye on you."

"But what about the pirates that are left in the bunker? They'll-"

There was a loud sound as the bunker began to explode from a series of eruptions and fireballs. Everyone looked to Percy, who was saying nothing at he finished putting a stone for the fallen mare. Then they looked to the mare, who they couldn't see the grin under her helmet, "Don't worry." she said before turning away.

"Not saying your name or goodbye, lady?" the mare heard the voice in her suit talk.

"It'll be easier for me to finish this mission if I'm alone. You know no one can ever really help me," the mare said, jumping into the trees.

"We should've been faster. We should've been faster." Twilight began to sob.

"... We need to find her children." Percy looked at Twilight,"The two of us have work to do, Twilight."

"Why, why could 't we be faster?" She shook her head in her hooves.

"The only thing we can do now is to find your friends," Percy said simply. He looked at JB,"After we drop her off somewhere safe."

"... I think I know this spot. A few kilometers west of here should be Zecora's hut." Twilight shuddered,"Then... then we leave."

Zecora walked through her hut, grabbing some ginger and Kamaole flowers to throw into her large pot. Taking a large ladle, she began to stir and twirl around in a slow circle while watching the liquid begin to turn a light red. There was a faint smile on her lips before she looked at a photo of her and Twilight, which made her frown. A swift knock on the front door distracted her, "Do not disturb Zecora on this day, I have friends I need to help on their way."

Grabbing her staff, she slowly opened the door to see Percy, JB, and Twilight. As she stood there for a moment, she paused as she looked at the fallen princess. There was a moment of unnerving silence as she closed the door slowly. Then violently, she threw open the door to lob garlic, salt, and a gas bomb at Twilight, "Stay away from me demonic spirit. Whatever offer you have, I wish not to hear it. And if you be, in my fear a zombie. Then get back to the dead, before I go and take your head!" she said, lightly hitting Twilight with her stick.

"Ow, ow, ow! I'm not undead!" Twilight shouted.

Percy held up his hoof," Ms, I can vouch for her, stop hitting her!"

"If she is not of the leaving dead then explain-" Zecora paused and then looked into Percy's blue eyes. A red blush came across her cheeks as she said, "Why my heart is in pain?"

Shaking her head, she fixed up her mohawk and smiled a little at him, "But, I have heard from the gods. Twilight fell to unbeatable odds. And now she is here with you and a filly? Seems quite strange and silly."

"Hey, I know I'm small, but I'm an adult fjord pony!" JB argued.

“Yeah, I did die, and then I got better." Twilight said, only to get hit with the staff," Ow! A clone spell brought me back!"

"A clone spell you say? I suppose you could come back that way," Zecora said, "Please come inside. The stallion, you sit by my side."

Percy blinked,"Okay?"He sat next to her.

Twilight sat near the cauldron,"We can't stay long, we need to find my friends. Can you keep an eye on JB here for us? Until we can find her cousin Pike?"

Zecora took a drink of some tea, giving some other cups to the others before taking her seat next to Percy. Looking to Twilight she began, "Your friends have gone to gain trip across the sea, Towards Baltimare and other ports I see.

They are on a quest to fight impossible odds.
To lay waste against the gods."

"The gods?" JB asked.

"I had problems with them. I died to them!" Twilight said, eyes wide.

Zecora drank a little, "I would only guess
That they are on the quest.

If you wish to know more and help with a smile
You can talk to Celestia for a while.

She and her sister are currently in exile
Hiding within Luna's mansion and others for a while."

"Well, I would need to know where Luna's Mansion was first," Twilight said.

"That was under the mountains shadow
That I know.

Now I believed it has moved to
Castle of the Sisters two"

"Right." Twilight got up,"I know how to get there from here. Thank you."

"I'm going from being a prisoner to having an audience with a princess. I must say that this is not how I expected my escape to go." Percy said.

"And do not worry about the pony the size of a filly
I will look after JB."

---------------------------------------

"You know Luna, if you ignore the circumstances," Celestia said, resting on the couch, "This is like a little vacation."

"Yes, A vacation where the fate of our kingdom is at stake,” Luna said. "And are you sure the zebra can make enough?"

"I trust Twilight's judgment when she talked of her skills," Celestia said, "And we have no idea what her friends will find in the west."

"And it is her judgment that is allowing you to trust the bounty huntress?" asked Luna.

"Lulu," Celestia sighed, "I don't have many options. It is not like we can just pick anyone to help. We need smugglers and bounty hunters to get the items we need to the west and-" she then paused and looked up.

"Your alarm spell, sister?" asked Luna.

"Yes. Cloak yourself and go outside," Celestia said. "Get ready for a fight."

Luna nodded and disappeared. Moving silently, she stepped outside and waited in the shadows, watching as the intruders walked through the castle.

Twilight looked around the castle,"Man, we really need to refurbish this place a little more."

Several black tentacles wrapped around Twilight, trying her up with the black mass. Percy jumped out of the grip of the tentacles and landed back on the other side on his forelegs, pulling out his gun. Luna stepped forward, "Are you with the light, or the darkness. Choose wisely whoever you are."

"Your Highness." Percy put his gun back,"That depends on your definition of darkness, but I can at least tell you that we are not enemies." He indicated Twilight,"Princess Twilight Sparkle has come back to life, and is seeking her friends."

"... Get me out of these things!" Twilight shouted.

"Twilight," whispered Luna, her eyes wide in shock and amazement. Letting her horn glow for a moment to dismiss her tentacles, she gasped as she gazed upon Twilight, "How... and who is your companion?"

"Luna, I assume that you took out-" Celestia came out and then looked at the reborn Twilight. tears immediately began to fill her eyes as she ran over to hug her surrogate daughter, "Oh, Twilight... welcome home."

Luna sighed and said, "Sister, perhaps we should convene back in the mansion?"

"Just a few more minutes. I want to make sure that this isn't a dream and my Twight has come back." Celestia said, whispering.

Luna nodded and walked into the mansion, followed by Percy. After a few moments, the two sat on chairs within the mansion, "My apologies if this is not the most formal of rooms. But we have to make do. Now, if your new friend would introduce himself?" Luna said/

Percy bowed,"I am Quick Draw Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowki de Rolo III."

"You can call him Percy." Twilight said immediately. She smiled at Celestia,"Yeah, I kinda got better from dying. Long story." She looked around,"As much as I would love to talk and catch up, Equestria's under siege and I need all the details you gave my friends."

"The port city that they are heading to would be nice," Percy said.

Celestia paused, "De Rolo? Of Whitestone? But... I thought that family had been killed off. At least, that was what a messenger had told me and Luna. He had said that any dealings would be done with the Briarwoods."

Luna looked to Celestia, "I believe we have some investigations to do to add to our current dilemma."

"As for the information you need. Most I what I know, is only second-hoof. I am still waiting for much of the information to come from the girls once they find the disks," Celestia said. "I even had to rely on Discord to gain much of the information I am about to bestow upon you."

"D-Discord!?" Twilight gasped. Her eyes filled with betrayal,"Y-you don't know everything, Celestia!?"

"Sadly, I do not," Celestia said.

Percy frowned,"Well, I can tell you that the Briarwoods are responsible for my family's deaths."

"I am sorry that my sister was unable to investigate into your family’s murder, Percival," Luna said while Celestia comforted Twilight.

Percy let out a heavy sigh,"You're busy princesses, I can't expect you to be everywhere. In a way, it's partially my fault." Percy looked down at the ground,"I was too lost in my own mind to find you... or the Elements to get help. And then I made the decision to stop them myself."

"I just, my world is now ruined!" Twilight shouted. She looked up at Celestia, teary-eyed,"So... what's the..." She gulped,"Second-hoof information you are giving me?"

Confident that her student's breakdown was abated, Celestia sat back down onto the comfy couch, "Well to begin..." she then began to explain all about her mother and father, the discovery of the tablet in the hidden chamber, and the disappearance of the items. She couldn't help but chuckle at Twilight's frustration of the item's disappearance. She also smiled when she told of the poem that was on the tablet about the items' descriptions. As she finished, she said, "And here we are. After we dismissed the mansion we made our plan."

"The girls would head to Baltimare and look for a certain pirate to smuggle them to the west. Meanwhile, we would hire a mercenary to send the girls some supplies from San Palemo to the same coastal city," Luna said. "I also had them write letters to their loved ones to say goodbye."

"A bracelet?" Twilight whispered,"Hey, Percy, you still got that bracelet?"

Percy pulled it out,"Here?"

"Can you use Detect Magic on that, Princess?" Twilight asked.

Celestia nodded and began to concentrate. Her horn glowed a faint blue and white as she tapped into two pools of mana to look it over. She then nodded, "This bracelet is hiding faint magical energy. A latent force of mana that lies within. However, if this is one of the items, I cannot say or can I tell your what it does. Have you tried using a spell with it?"

"Twilight, surely you can identify this item yourself," Luna said. "You have..." she then paused and looked at her. Her eyes widened, "You have lost your magic, haven't you."

Twilight sighed. She then proceeded to explain how she was brought back due to a clone spell by Briarwood,"When I came to, I found my magic gone."

"Hmmm, perhaps the problems with the weave when the gods awoke, plus the unusual way of your resurrection, caused your mana problems," Luna said. "Sadly it could take time and something unique for your power t return."

Celestia sighed, "I should say that this means you will be forced to stay behind, but I know you. Your tendency to want to be a hero to help and save others is inherent in you. So, I can not dissuade you. Instead," she then looked to Percy, "Quick Draw Percival Fredickstien Von Von Musel Klossowsky De Rolo III, you are in charge of protecting Twilight and helping her until her magic returns. You are to be her bodyguard and help her when you can. If you should fail in this..." there was a small shudder in the mansion as her mane combusted, "I will send you to meet your family."

Percy leaned back, eyes widening a tad,"I understand completely, your highness. I was planning on going with her anyway. I have... business in the west."

Twilight nodded,"Right. If we leave now, we'll probably find that mercenary to hitch a ride with." She looked up at Celestia with a smile,"Oh, Princess, I love you, but I'm so glad you know me well enough that I would go even if you did forbid me." She sighed,"I can't waste any time here, then." She gave her one last hug,"I guess this means I'm going. I need to find them, to help them. They would lose without me to help them out." She turned to the door,"See you later!" She ran out.

Percy gave a bow,"Your Majesties." He turned and followed her.

Twilight and Percy stopped at the front of the castle,"It's a long road." She smiled at him,"You know, I'm almost I picked up a new friend on this journey."

"Friendship is your specialty, is it not?" Percy said.

"You're right." She turned to the road,"It's a long road to Baltimare." She then felt a coat on her,"Oof!"

"Cover your wings. The alicorns will be searching the area, and if they find you, I will not be able to fight them." Percy said.

Twilight nodded as she put Percy's coat on,"Thanks. Geez, I'm missing being a normal unicorn now!" She chuckled,"Alright... let's go."

Percy nodded and walked beside her on the road.

-------

Rarity let out a smile as the group entered the city,"Oh, even under siege this city is fantastic!" She looked back at Applejack,"The Princess said that the smuggler is in a bar, right?"

"Yea," Applejack said, tucking her hat down over her eyes, "Though could you be a little more subtle!"

"I just hope we can find it," Fluttershy whispered as they moved around the building city. The ponies walking around, talking, and announcing various items of sale allowed for much confusion as they continued to walking towards the port.

Pinkie looked up and saw a tavern near a port. With a dull tone, she said, "Oh, Pirate Tavern. I bet we might find a smuggler in there." she then walked over to a different cantina to watch as a stallion with his big furry friend sat in front of a green stallion, before blasting him with a crossbow. Somewhere, in that same cantina, was a young stallion in a white robe sitting with an old stallion.

"Naw, probably not the smuggler I'm looking for. I think we should try for the Pirates’ Cove over there," Pinkie said, leaving the plot of the other adventure behind.

Rainbow Dash landed in front of Pinkie, slamming open the door, "I'm looking for a no-good low down smuggler who is willing to die! Where is she!"

A familiar female voice piped up,"Who's asking?"

Rainbow's Magenta eyes looked over the bar until she saw a white bird with light green plumage. Smirking, she said, "Rainbow Awesome Dash." and she looked to the bird and slowly walked to her, "Celaeno, you miserable BITCH!" she said, reaching up with her hoof and slamming it into the bird woman's claw in a powerful hoof shake.

"It's been too long!" Celaeno said. She leaned back against the table,"I've been waiting for you girls." She counted the number of ponies in her mind,"Where's Twilight?"

Each of the girls took a seat at the table, finding a good place to face the pirate captain. Applejack sighed and put her hat down over her eyes, "Twilight's... not here right now. She's busy elsewhere."

Rarity looked to Applejack, "Applejack..." she whispered, looking at her friend comfortingly.

"And she said we'll meet later," she shuddered, hating to tell a small white lie and partial untruth.

Celaeno hid her eyes under her hat,"AJ, I've been a pirate for a long time. I can tell when someone's lying to me." She immediately perked,"But I'm not going to pry. IT's the West to Glidesdale, correct?"

The girls nodded, with Rainbow picking up, "Yeah, Celestia said that the best way to get there without them knowing is to take a smuggler ship I told them you know the best routes that could get us there without them knowing."

Rarity smirked, "I may have also put out some rumors here and there that we were heading to the west ports."

"Ah, I get it." Celaeno walked around the table,"My baby could outrun those jerks easily. I should warn ya, Glidesdale is a bit different than here." She placed a claw on Fluttershy's head,"But I also know a few guys there that'll let us through without any issues."

Fluttershy let out a comforting sigh as got her head patted. Rainbow Dash looked at her, "How different."

"Who are these guys?" asked Applejack.

"The ponies of Glidesdale are kinda..." Celaeno waved her claw,"On the violent side. They're better now, but when they were ruled by The Conclave, they tended to kill everything in sight. Now, their blood rage has more or less been aimed at the monsters of their lands."

"The Conclave?" asked Applejack, while Fluttershy let out a small eep at the sound of violence.

"Hey, at least they are aiming at their own monsters," Dash said. "So, who are your friends that can get us there."

Celaeno smiled,"Oh, I know a couple of guards." She looked at Applejack,"Nasty rulers. Before the Circle, the new rulers overthrew them, they were five of the most bloodthirsty rulers this side of Tirek. Their names were Thordak, Raishan, Vorugal, Umbrasyl, and Brimscythe. I can only tell rumors, the Queen of Emon can tell you more, but I heard that they even changed the very landscape they ruled."

Rarity gasped and shook her head, "What kind of rulers could do that?"

"Have to be another set of gods of something," Applejack said. "Just glad we don't have to face them."

"I guess we'll talk to queenie about it," Pinkie said, lightly playing with her straw.

"Do, when can we get to the ship?" asked Rainbow.

Celaeno got up,"Right now! We need to do this fast, or the gods are going to get wise." She headed towards the back,"Mead, open up the back."

A big burly stallion nodded and pressed a button, opening a bookshelf.

"My ship's through here, come on!"

The girls followed, leaving Applejack to logically ask,"So, does the owner just naturally know that you have a secret entrance behind his bookshelf?"

"Uh, yeah? I mean, I wouldn't be asking him to help me out if he didn't know."

TThe girls nodded and followed her through the winding tunnel in the bar. After several feet through the walkway, they came upon an airship. Around the mighty ship, several avians and a few other species were loading onboard boxes and barrels full of ale (Ginger and the booze kind). A green half pony, half boar with an accent shouted, "Captain Calaneo approaching!"

Rarity watched as some of the boars passed by, toating the material, "My, I didn't think boars were so... airfare-ing. I thought they stuck to the boarder lands in the south."

"We do," One Boar said, "But sometimes we do like the idea of heading back to the homeland in the west." he then pushed the crate full of food and some gold onto the crane.

Galeano smiled as they got up on the ship. She nodded at a younger boar that had a green ting to it before heading towards the wheel,"We're heading off, boys, take care of your things now!"

The boar nodded, "Yes captain."

"Man, Fjord seems to be in high spirits lately. Maybe he's been to the west and found somepony cute," whispered one of the birds.

Applejack tipped er hat, "We don't know how long we're gonna be gone. We got everything?"

"I have the map," Rarity said, "Plus the cash, seeing as I am the only one who can hold our money without wasting it!"

"We don't even know if Gildesdale takes bits Rares," Rainbow Dash said.

"Can't be sure," Rarity said.

Fluttershy flew up, "I got some bandages and some supplies. Tem-um, I mean our contact said she'll make sure we'll get the potions when we get there."

"I got... things," Pinkie said, looking down as she walked to the hold, "I'll be hiding in here for a bit."

Oh, they take bits, don't worry." Galeano said,"I don't know why, but bits are like, the same in both countries." The ship began to take off.

--------

Twilight and Percy entered the bar,"Alright, let's hope the smuggler is someone shady."

Percy looked around at the crooks and thieves,"That... might take a while." He went to the bartender,"Did a quintet of ponies leaves here with an airship no too long ago?"

Mead spat into a tin,"Who wants to know?"

Percy put down some bits,"Very important ponies."

Twilight looked around the bar.

As Twilight looked around, she would see a set of different ponies and other ungulates at the bar. At one table sat what looked like a rouge, a cavalier, a wizard, an acrobat, a thief, a ranger, a barbarian, a unicorn little sibling with a small sheet, and a dm earing an odd outfit as he discussed the latest adventure the ponies were on. At another table at a silver earth pony and his buffalo companion as they kept an eye on the bar. Lastly, at the far corner sat a pony with a dark cloak, wielding a dagger. He was scowling and brooding, looking like he had a dark and sinister backstory.

"Move it, Wilting Flower, this is my seat to brood," a dark purple unicorn with a broken horn said, pushing him out of the way.

"But, this is my spot, I always brood here in this corner," Wilting said, frowning as he looked at her.

"And now it's mine. You should've got here beforehoof," Tempest Shadow said, her horn sparkling with electricity, "Now, do you want to ruin this bar or brood?"

"Brood. I'll look for a new corner," Wilt said, walking away, "I will just glare darkly, looking vicious for a fight and..." he left, muttering emo thoughts out loud.

Tempest sat back, taking a mug and drinking slowly.

"Tempest!" Twilight shouted,"Tempest, over here!"

Percy put a hoof on her shoulder,"Twilight, we're trying not to draw attention, remember!?"

"Oh, right," Twilight winced.

Tempest looked up, her eyes widened in shock. For a moment she smiled and waved Twilight to her, "Thought you were dead," she said. "And don't worry, most of the patrons here are trying to either forget their troubles, are too drunk to notice you, or are busy trying to find out how to get out of Equestria before the queens initiate martial law." narrowing her green eyes at Percy, she asked, "Who's the tight end?

Percy sighed, as if used to ponies hitting on him,"I am Quick Draw Percival Fredricksten von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III."

"Call him Percy." Twilight said,"And I did die, but I got better. Long story. So, what are you doing here?"

"The gods suck at their jobs. When I killed a target, they usually stay six feet under," Tempest said. "Waiting for a ship to receive a special delivery of a crate from the 'Zenith Exhibition Creation Organization Rational of Abolutes' heading to the west via the monarch corporation on the behalf of the princess of Zebrica and Sunny Daze. It seems they want me to protect some magical potions that encourage healing from here to the west. Then I am to make sure that set of potions get into the hooves of five certain mares."

She then brought out a letter, "And it seems that my assignment also requires me to help a stallion with a tight end, and Sunny's youngest girl to that land for some education. And oh look, I see just the two."

Twilight smiled,"Thanks, Princess..." She whispered,"Alright, so when do we go?"

Tempest picked up the glass and began to take another drink. She then slammed the jar down, "Now. Hey Mead! I'm taking my leave and your booze tastes like you took a piss in it."

"Yeah, and you look like something my niece ran over while getting to her bar," Mead said, cleaning the glass.

"Blow it out yer ear ya pony guzzler!" shouted Tempest as she got some armor and walked to the door, "Oh and put the charge onto his tab," she said, pointing to Percy. Then under her breath, she whispered, "He's a damn good stallion."

Mead whispered under his breath,"What a damn good mare..."

Percy blinked,"What!?" He looked at Mead,"Alright..." He muttered before handing him some bits before following Twilight and Tempest out the door.

Twilight looked at Tempest,"Are we going by airship?"

Tempest nodded as she walked towards the shipyards, "Of course we are. If I'm right, your friends are already out on the journey to the west and we need to get there as fast as we can. Luckily," she continued until they reached a small airship, "I just got hired."

A mare with long white hair and a blue coat turned to look towards the approaching trio. Moving so she could show off her cutie mark of a rook, she put away her clipboard with her magic, "You must be Tempest. I'm-"

"Checker Monarch of Monarch Industries," Tempest said, "Sunny Daze told me you had a 'shipment' you needed protecting?"

"Yes, a few casks of 'Equestrian healing mineral water' from the Z.E.C.O.R.A subsidiary and some small trinkets here and there. This is a very valuable shipment and who are these?" she asked, looking at Twilight and Percy.

"This is Taile Spin and Twinkle Puss, they are refugees from the west and need a guide back home," Tempest said, looking at Monarch with a small glare.

Checker looked and nodded, using her unicorn magic to take note, "I see. Now, since this might be contraband, I trust you know what to do if you or this shipment is caught?"

"Make sure it doesn't get traced, I got it. It’s not the first time I protected cargo," Tempest said, walking away from Checker to the plank, "Come on you two."

Percy looked at the airship with a slight smile,"Such a fascinating piece of work here!"

Twilight looked at Tempest,"Twinkle Puss!?"

"It's the best name I could come up with. Belle Amie would've been too wimpy and Shining Spark sounds something a nerd would come up with. At least this sounds about as soft as ponies are expecting," Tempest said.

The captain watched as Tempest got on board. The large boar walked towards her with a low growl, "The name is Klog, the captain of this ship. We are going to go into a dangerous country in the west. You sure ya got what it takes?"

To answer, Tempest pulled her head back and headbutted him in the face. This elicited a moan of pain and a whimper, "Owww, it was just a question. you didn't need to headbutt me." the captain said, before walking away.

Tempest looked to Percy and Twilight, "You'll both need to find some tasks to perform on the ship so no one will think that you two are refugees. I don't know what you are capable of," she said, looking to Percy. "But you, I think you can-" her eyes went wide when she used her magic, wincing a little, "Oh Celestia you did lose your magic didn't you?"

There was a sigh as she shook her head, "Twilight, there is a map room and I think this ship has some books, you should look at those and stay out of the way in case we get into trouble."

"Stay out of the-?" Twilight let out a disappointed sigh,"Right, I'll look at the maps. At least I'll be reading."

Percy walked up to her,"Well, I'm good with mechanics, and I have good aim."

"Goo, you work on the cannons," Tempest said, trying her best not to take a peek at Percy’s toned flanks. Shaking her head, she looked back at Twilight as she walked to the map room.

Sighing, she followed and looked inside, "Hey, look. I wasn't trying to be an ass back there. It's just true you know. If we get into a fight right now...I'll have two ponies to protect, and I don't think your friends are going to forgive me if I let you die again."

Twilight stared at the map,"... You know what my favorite books to read were? The ones where the brave knight always gallops in to save the day. I always imagined myself as that knight." She sighed,"I want to help ponies. I hate it when I'm relegated to staying behind because it's... safer." She looked at Tempest,"I know you were just telling the truth... but it still hurts." She looked at the map,"On another note, what do you know of the west?"

"It's nothing like here in Equestria," Tempest said, leaning against the doorway while crossing her legs in front of her. "Way more tendency to have a fight. You and Fluttershy would tame a cockatrice? I know of a mare who fought a few with her girlfriend and then killed them. She used the feathers as part of her wedding dress." there was a chuckle as she shook her head. "Wonder how Kima's doing."

Twilight looked up, "How do you know so much?"

"I was born there," Tempest said, smirking. "When I invaded before, I said that you mares have so much power, and yet you use it for parties. This is what I'm talking about. Do you know why Equestria practically wiped off the west on the map?"

Twilight looked confused and then looked to the maps. Her mind remembered how there was a time where the map of Equestria just showed the continent, then it had the crystal empire, then the Southlands, and then the dragon lands to the east. Occasionally there was a landbridge that would show up that was marked 'undiscovered lands to the west.' A sigh escaped her lips as she said, "Wish we ponies weren't so skittish about exploration. Note to self, make teams for a proper exploration team."

Stepping forward, Tempest began to point to a map that showed only a faint border, "For years, I don't know how long, ever since I was a filly though, the land was ruled by a powerful and dark king called Thordak. I never saw him myself and I don’t know much, but legends said he was a being of fire who would burn the lands to remind you that he was in control. If it wasn't him? Then it was the power of some of the other dragons you had to worry about."

"Those lands were fierce and untamed, with several cities separated by days of travel. And of course, there are more races of ponies and equines than there are here. There are fjord ponies that look like fillies and colts, half breeds like half-deer, and a few others I never even saw," Tempest sighed, "Kind of miss it sometimes."

"How come you never told us about this?" Twilight asked.

"Look at me," Tempest said, pointing to her with a hoof, "Do I look like a mare that talks about her past and old times? I'm a fighter, not a hugger or a dancer." she walked to a port and looked outside, "I'm not really like an Equestrian, I don't solve my problems with singing and dancing and a warm hug. I usually prefer to fight and wield magic like a boss. And when I left my town after the 'incident'. I ran away, fought on my own or a little, joined Storm King, and decided to just leave anything from my past behind."

"Hey, we don't solve everything through singing, dancing, and warm hugs!... well, maybe Pinkie does," Twilight muttered.

"I rest my point," Tempest said, "Of course I know that now. Now I notice that you hide some real firepower under all of that. But, try telling that to the westerners. They all think that about you."

Twilight pouted,"Of course..." She looked out into the distance,"Hold on everypony, I'm coming."

--------

Morning Dawn sat on a large throne, pieces of Canterlot strewn around her being picked up by her magic. She began to speak to a hidden figure,"Cayrel,"

An orange alicorn with a yellow mane walked forward,"Yes, my queen?"

"The Elements are headed to the west. I can feel their magic heading there." She turned to her,"Gather the other seven knights. Find them, and eliminate them in any way possible."

Cayrel smirked as seven other shadows appeared next to her,"Yes my queen."

------

A stallion with a purple mane and a light purple coat stood in a mechanical ship overlooking a holographic map with a red dot heading west,"It seems the Huntress is heading to the west sir," A voice said from his left,"She seems to be following the alicorns."

The stallion nodded,"Good, good. Everything is going according to plan. Tell Briarwood to hold on to her plans for now."

"What about the armor we found in the sea, Captain?"

"Activate it as soon as possible." The Captain said, turning off the map,"It'll give the heroes a little taste of what's to come. And then... we wait."

"Wait?"

"The best way to win 3D chess... is through patience."

-----------

A green alicorn stallion with a lime mane and tail circled the barrier of the Crystal Empire.

Shining looked up at it and frowned,"How long can that barrier last?"

Cadence paced the room,"Twilight's dead, Celestia and Luna are missing... oh, what am I going to do!?"

-------

"Good morning Equestrians, you're listening to Radio Freedom." Vynl Scratch said,"No, I don't give a dang about the gods, we're still going to give you the news you care about!"

"Here is the status report for today: Almost all of our heroes are missing. Twilight is dead, and the world looks like it's gone kaput."

"But hope is not lost. Two ponies with a lot of charisma are rallying the troops. Sunny Days is keeping the ponies up and training them to fight for themselves, while another pony named Moonlight Shadow is gathering spies. A resistance is forming, allowing us to show those gods that we will not take this sitting down."

"Speaking of, Eight gods have left Equestria for the West. I don't know why, but here's hoping they don't come back. And now, some music from Countess Coloratura."

Rainbow Dash walked outside of the ship, letting the wind blow through her mane while the ship sailed through the air. She let out a sigh as it did, trying to look up, "I could fly faster than this, but no." shaking her head, she walked around, "At least it's a quiet night to just enjoy the air."

Taking a walk to the rafters, she looked down and said, "Wonder if Twilight looking at us now, worried that she couldn't help us. Thinking she needs to be here." then she looked up ,"Don't worry about us Twi...we got this. Even if, you're not here."

That was when she heard a soft voice begin to sing,"Fluttershy."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6si-_hofdbM

Wishing on a dream that seems far off
Hoping it will come today
Into the starlit night
Foolish dreamers turn their gaze
Waiting on a shooting star
But

Twilight sat in the map room, sighing and looking at the window,

What if that star is not to come
Will their dreams fade to nothing?
When the horizon darkens most
We all need to believe there is hope

The Huntress sat in her ship, letting the soft music play while she monitored the radar,

Is an angel watching closely over me?
Can there be a guiding light I've yet to see?
I know my heart should guide me but
There's a hole within my soul

Fluttershy heard the clopping of hoves next to her and smiled at Rainbow as the two began to sing together.

What will fill this emptiness inside of me?
Am I to be satisfied without knowing
I wish then for a chance to see
Now all I need (desperately)
Is my star to come...

"Ok, so what was with the song," asked Rainbow sitting with her on the crow's nest.

Fluttershy sat and played with her mane idly, "I just thought, maybe, with a nice sailing song it would help lighten the mood a little." taking a deep breath she looked up at the moon, "With Twilight here, it usually feels so hopeful. Like we can do this, but now without her here?"

"Yeah, I get it. It feels like we can’t do anything and there's no way to win," Dashs aid, "But hey, you got me and then there's AJ. We both are pretty kick-ass fighters, and AJ keeps her head on straight so there's that."

"I know, I know," Fluttershy said, but then she laid onto her friend's shoulder,"But I can't help but think about what Rarity said, how this is something she was always worried about. One day we wouldn't be there and boom, one of us dies."

"Hey, that won't happen again, I promise," Dash said. "I'm going to make sure that I'm there for everyone this time."

"You really promise?" asked Fluttershy.

"I promise..."

Vox Machina

View Online

Sometimes friendships can cross realities

No one knows why, or how, but give it time

And the friend that you made in another world

Can be right outside your door.

-Twilight Sparkle

Celaeno walked out to the deck,"It shouldn't be much longer-"

With that, a couple of armored pegasi landed in front of her,"State your business?" One of them said,"Oh... it's you." He said with a sigh.

Rainbow Dash landed next to Celano, "You have a problem with the captain

The stallion sighed,"Her and her crew caused a lot of trouble over here."

Celaeno smirked,"Oh, but you know you love it."

"Just tell us what you're doing here." The guard said.

"These ponies from the East need to go here."

the guards blinked before looking at each other. The other guard whispered,"I thought all Equestrians were too timid to come here."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" growled Rainbow Dash stepping forward.

Pinkie sighed and waved to the new ponies. Then she said, "He means we win through singing and dancing and warm hugs."

"Wha-I-We do more tha- you know what? Forget it, I'm going down to see if Applejack is done yet," Rainbow Dash said, walking down to the hold. "What has she been doing for two days anyway?"

As she walked down to the hold, and the largest area of the ship, she heard the sounds of grunting and punching. Curious, she opened the door a little to see Applejack surrounded by the pirates. Panting, a little bit of blood running down the edge of her mouth Applejack stood up and looked around, "Again."

One of the bigger pirates shrugged and began to walk into the ring, only to be stopped by Rainbow Dash flying in and spreading her forelegs, "Whoa, hold it. Look, I love a good rumble too, but we got more important things than... than whatever this is."

"Training," Applejack said, looking away as she wiped herself with a towel.

"Yeah that. Now, come on, let's head up." Dash said, taking her friend by the foreleg and walking her out. As they were a distance away, she growled, "Ok, what the buck AJ? Are you just wanting to get yourself beat up or something?"

"No, I just wanted to push myself. You know, push my limits and all that?" Applejack said, "Thought you would understand something like that."

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash said, "When I am trying to train and perfect something. That looked more like you were punishing yourself because-this is because of that alicorn, isn't it?"

Applejack looked away and began to walk, "I couldn't beat him, Dash. I was just a little punk compared to him and I couldn't do nothing. We had to run away and let somepony else do the dirty work. You know how hard that was? You know how painful it was to just lie down and take it?"

She leaned against the side of the wall and shook her head, "Now we are heading into the unknown west. A place, mind, that Celano says is different and practically untamed compared to home and I have to lead everypony and I might not be-"

"Hey, none of that," Dash said, "You are and always be good enough. Besides, you have me as a leader. You can just, relax."

"You, the leader? That ain’t filling me up with confidence," Applejack teased as she left.

Rainbow Dash sutly lifted her foreleg, and smirked, before looking for the others. Walking a little more into the other rooms, she saw Rarity finishing up her makeup and her mane. Then she pulled a rapier and put it to her side along with a bow. Closing her eyes, she made her way to the door. The last room Rainbow dash looked at was Fluttershy, only to be surprised to see her gone.

Stepping outside with a quick flight, she saw Fluttershy flying alongside the airship with a few birds. With a giggle, Fluttershy said, "Aren't they cute Rainbow? They say they are Osprey. You don't see these kind in Equestria."

Rainbow smiled and flew up with Fluttershy sand said, "Come on, we need to get goi-" she then paused and gasped, seeing the port town peak through the clouds, "Wow."

Before her was a large port town, with several airships and normal ships floating in and out of the ports. There was also small schooners leaving for fishing in the ocean, creating small little wakes in the ocean. Dash marveled at the sight od the gleaming small buildings with the towers in the distance.

"Emon ahead captain!" shouted one of the pirates.

"Good, get us into the harbor! I'm certain Jarret will allow us to meet the Queen."

Applejack walked up to Celano, "Who's Jarret?"

"A very high ranking guard. The queen trusts him almost completely. In fact, there he is."

A dark coated unicorn stallion was on a platform near the harbor speaking to a couple of tiny ponies.

"My how adorable," Rarity said, "He is teaching some fillies."

Celaeno laughed,"Those ain't kids, Rarity. Those are fully grown Fjords."

"I didn't know that there were ponies so small out there in the world," Rarity said.

Fluttershy, who overheard Rarity speaking, landed behind her, "Some of the birds said that there are a lot of species in the west that we haven't met. Though we seem to all speak the same language for some reason."

"I know," Pinkie said, looking over the railing, "We both came from here. I remember seeing a history book on it when I was looking about Pudding head. It said that the founders all came from lands in the west before the bridge was destroyed."

Applejack looked to the port as it came closer, "So when do we land?"

"Right about..." Celaeno said.

Jarret finished his talks before turning and seeing Celaeno,"Ah, visitors." He walked up to them,"What brings you here?"

"These are Equestrians, looking for an audience with Silver Wing." Celaeno said.

"Hmm, Silver Wing is a busy pony. I'll see if she has time for you. Until then, these ponies can walk around this district for a bit. I will send a messenger when the Queen is ready to see them." Jarret said.

Rainbow Dash landed and then noticed a distant tower, one that was taller than the rest of the buildings, "So what's up with the tower?"

Celaeno leaped down next to her,"That's where the queen lives. She likes high places. In fact, notice somethin'?" She indicated a lot of flying ponies,"This place is home to a lot of pegasi. Pegasi love this place."

Looking up, Rainbow Dash could see several pegasi flying around in the sky. Letting out a chuckle she said, "Wow, you're right. This is so cool."

"Ok Dash, let’s keep focused," Applejack said, "Celano, how long till your buddy can get us to see the queen?"

"Not sure. The queen's a busy mare, it might take hours, maybe a day." Celaeno said.

"Right," Applejack said, stepping up to look at her friends, "Let's go and explore the town. Rarity, you go and get us some supplies with the money. Clothes, some rations, and get some rumors."

"Right, I do believe I have seen some wonderful sellers out in the city," Rarity said as they began to disembark.

"Celestia said that her contact with the 'medicine' will be arriving in a few hours," Applejack said, and then looked to Pinkie, "Pinks could you-" she paused and looked at the pink mare, her head held down. Closing her eyes, she said, "Flutters, could you take care of Pinkie for a bit? She needs company."

"Sure," Fluttershy said, taking Pinkie by the arm, "We'll meet back when Jarrod says the queen is ready." then she took her friend by the hoof, "Pinkie?"

"Mmmm, I smell a bakery," Pinkie said.

"Hey, AJ?" Dash asked, "What about the map? What does it say?"

"Don't know," Applejack said, pulling out the stone tablet. "After that riddle it gave us, it just gave us the map and the saying that it should be in the west. Then just this map with these weird squiggles."

"Yeah, what is that even supposed to be?" asked Dash.

Applejack shook her head, "I don't know, really. One of these has" she pointed to three dashes, "look like three little dashes. And this is just a line with three lines dripping from it. It looks like Claw marks but..."

Dash looked at the map and then to Applejack, "Look, let's figure that out later. Right now, we need to get something to drink! I'm thirsty and I bet if we try hard enough, we can not only get buzzed but get a lifetime's supply of drinks for the road."

"Dash, you can't get drunk, remember?" Applejack said, looking at her. "No pegasus does."

"Yeah, but new land, new pegasi!" Dash said, "They might have different, metabolism than me. I mean, look at them!" she then pointed to a very short pony with a dirty blonde mane and wearing armor, walking with a taller mare that was wearing a long blue robe. "They have shorter ponies here. They are bound to be lightweights."

"Sounds dishonest and tricky," Applejack said.

"But we need to. Listen, here's the plan," Dash said whispering in her friend’s ear as the two walked away.

"Captain, are those five equestrians going to be ok?" asked a boar.

Celaeno smiled as she leaned against the ship,"They'll be fine. After all, they're heroes." She turned her head as a ship slowly came in. She frowned,"Tempest."

The small schooner slowly landed at the port, docking with a small lurch. The gangplank lowered and allowed for the small passengers to get off, alongside Tempest and her two 'refugees'. A shipwright walked to the captain and began to talk, "Ok, so what are you bringing in. You know that Equestria shipments are off-limits."

"Surely Silver Wing wouldn't object to some health potions, brought fresh from Monarch Industries. Why..."

As the conversation continued, Tempest got a little away from the ship and began to look around the city, "Look, your friends have probably already made it to port by now. I bet if you look hard enough, you can find them. I'm going to go and get some information, secure the cargo, and-" she paused and saw Celano. With a growl, she began to walk towards the parrot.

The pirates, seeing this, began to gather around to protect her. Celano held out a wing, "No, I got this. She is mine." she then brought out a blade, ready to slash.

Only for Tempest to push her aside and began to walk towards a small halfinger pony in silver armor. Smirking, she said, "Hey, BITCH! How’re the wimpy scars!"

"TEMPEST?! YOU BITCH!" The pony said walking right towards her and then pulled her head back, and then gave her a head butt with Tempest following after.

"Still the hardest head out there, huh Kima?" chuckled Tempest.
Kima smirked,"Ain't harder than yours!"

Celaeno stammered,"That no good-" She turned to Twilight,"Can you believe this, Twilight? She ignored me!"

...

"Twilight?" Celaeno blinked a few times.

"Hi," Twilight said.

"Well, I'll be, AJ wasn't lying after all!" Celaeno patted Twilight on the shoulder, before looking at Percy who just stepped down,"And you brought a friend!"

Twilight chuckled nervously,"She lied?"

"Yeah, she said you were on another boat, but she acted like you were dead or something!" Celaeno said.

"I was. I got better though," Twilight said.

"... I'm not going to ask."

"Where are the others, anyway?" Twilight asked.

"In town. I'm certain you'll find them if you look hard enough. I'm pretty sure they separated though."

Percy sighed as he got up to Twilight's side,"Then we may have to split up and look for them."

Twilight nodded and looked out the port to a fountain,"Ask them to meet at that fountain." She looked at Percy,"Do you know what they look like?"

"You are the most famous six ponies in all of Equestria. Yes, I know."

Twilight cocked her head,"But nopony else seems to notice!"

"Twilight, if there is one thing I've learned these past two years, is that ponies can be idiots."

Celaeno walked between them,"You guys do that, I'm going to go after my archnemesis." She ran off,"Don't ignore me, Tempest!"

----------------------

Twilight would see a house of ill repute. There, a red gazelle smiled and waved, "Ever met a Gazelle before cutie?"

"Um, no." Twilight looked her over,"I'm... not from around here. Speaking of... have you seen an orange earth pony and a cyan pegasus around here?"

"Yes, I have. They were quite beautiful," the red Gazelle said. "They both went into that bar over there."

"Thank you," Twilight said. She headed into the bar, saying, “What a nice hooker.”

The bar was moderately packed with ponies milling about, ordering drinks, and yelling out catcalls to the wenches and swains. Various others were found playing games or talking to friends, bragging about victories. With all of these ponies, Twilight was lost in the confusion of where her friends were when she saw some figure sitting at a table, "Rainbow-Oh I'm sorry."

"Huh?" the female deer said, looking over and showing her guard badge. "Did I remind you of someone?"

"Sorry, you made me think of my friend. One's a Tough rainbow-haired mare and she might have a friend who-"

The deer interrupted, "Is a blonde earth pony?"

"Yeah, how did you know?" Twilight asked.

"The two have been here for an hour, trying to score the free lifetime drink deal by tricking him," the deer continued, playing with one of her weapons. "I'm just here to make sure this doesn't get out of hand."

"Right, I'll take care of it. Thank you miss..." Twilight began.

"No miss about it. It's Mrs, for one, and second, you can call me Gwen," Gwen said, sitting back in the bar.

Twilight nodded to the deer and walked towards the bartender. As she entered, she began to overhear the voices of her friends, "And Ah'm telling you, she took your strongest stuff and she ain’t feeling a thing. You lost now give us the prize. Unlimited drinks and that bag of holdin’." Applejack said.

"And I am telling you. The offer is null and void for yer friend over there," the barkeep said, glaring at Applejack. "She is cheating!"

Dash, with a shawl over her wings, shook her head, "Hey, I'm no liar! I drank your 'babom boom bang special and I lived! You are holding out!"

Twilight let out a sigh,"Really girls?" She walked over to them and then tapped both of them on the shoulder and gave her best annoyed look.

Rainbow was the first to turn around as she looked at her friend, "Twilight, what do you want now? Can't you see we are busy trying to run a convincing argument as to why we need the free drinks?"

"Yeah, Twilight. Look," Applejack placed her hoof onto Twilight's shoulder, "I know it seems risky, but we got this. How about you just go and wait outside for a bit, ok?"

Twilight nodded,"Fine, I'll wait." She walked outside and began counting the seconds.

"Can you believe her?" Rainbow Dash said, shaking her head.

Applejack could only sigh, "You would think ever since she became a princess, she would know to...just..."

"Was that..." Rainbow Dash whispered and ran away, throwing away her cloak and leaving behind the bits for her drink. Applejack followed soon after, slamming open the door and looking out. She stood for a second as she looked at her friend.

"I swear if this is some sort of trick," Applejack said, feeling conflicting emotions of rage and happiness warring within her.

Twilight raised her foreleg to her mouth and bit a little to draw some blood, letting the red fluid slide down, "Not green, so not a changeling. And I’m not healing, so I'm not a revenant either."

"So it's, I mean, you're really," Applejack asked, feeling her eyes start to water as she looked at her friend.

Twilight played a little with her mane as she smiled warmly, "Yeah, it's me. I'm alive."

Applejack said nothing, instead, she began to break into tears as she ran right into Twilight and wrapping her forelegs around her. Holding her tightly, she refused to let Twilight go, "Darn it Twilight if you had a plan to come back, let us in on it next time! Did you know how worried you made us?"

Rainbow Dash stood outside for a moment, seeing the embrace between the two friends and looked down, muttering to herself, "Damn pegasi, don't know how to keep it sunny." she said in spite of the sunny day and ran to Twilight, tears running down her cheeks, "Darn it Twi! Next time you go out to see something like a freaking tablet you take us with you. I promise, losing you is way worse than being bored!" she said, not caring at how many ponies were watching.

"Hey, I didn't know that thing was going to release gods!" Twilight said, feeling a few giggles come out,"She sniffled,"I'll explain everything later when everyone's together."

Applejack nodded, "Right. We have a lot to go over." Then she reached into her bag and pulled out a tablet, "Think you could translate some of this?"

Rarity walked along the shopping district, looking at the many shops and stores with her bag already filled with particular clothes and some small weapons for their journey. She then paused as she saw a sign that read, "Gilmore's Glorious Goods."

"Hmmm, what a fancy sign," she said, noting the sparkles and rubies laden on the sign while the storefront was extravagant. Curious, she walked in, "Hello?"

A purple unicorn stallion appeared in front of her,"Welcome to Gilmore's Glorious Goods! I am Gilmore!" He was dressed in a purple robe with various decorations,"See anything you like?"

"My aren't we the extravagant one," Rarity said, holding out her hoof for the gentleman. "I am Rarity Belle and I am quite curious as to what you have," she said, looking at Gilmore's outfit

"Thank you, miss! I pride myself on extravagance!" He motioned to some items on a shelf,"I usually have a vast array of magic items! From rings of protection to powerful weapons!"

Rarity began to look over the wears, seeing the various rings and diamonds alongside their shinier weapons, "I can see that. My word, these weapons are few and far between back in my country." she said, using her magic to pick up a dagger. "It is a shame that you have not done business there. My clothing would look fantastic in a store such as this."

"Oh, where are you from?" Gilmore asked,"I may try to set up a branch over there. I wouldn't mind going to your store, you have impeccable taste in fashion!"

"As do you, kind sir," Rarity said, taking a bow. "As you can tell from my faint accent, I am from Equestria."

"Equestria!? By Sarenrae, I never thought a pony from over there would ever come over here!" He gave a wide grin,"To tell you the truth, I've always wanted to set up a branch over there, but every time I would try to make a diplomatic trip there, there'd be some new trouble." He laughed a little as he put a hoof on a piece of cloth,"Well, there are rumors about you, that you solve problems with singing, dancing, and warm hugs. I'm certain that's simply just rumors."

Rarity let out a chuckle, "While I must admit that my country does indeed have a tendency to solve problems with song and other frivolities, we also have a tendency to strike back when need to. Although, we do seem to attract the weirdest bit of trouble here and there. Discord, Tirek, Storm King. I assume you have problems yourself."

"Oh, yes!" Gilmore said with a grin,"Beholders, The Chroma Conclave, and the occasional evil necromancer."

"Be...holders? I have never heard of such a thing," Rarity said.

"Oh, they are terrible creatures! Imagine a ball of flesh with many eyes, and a single one that disrupts magic!" Gilmore said.

With that, the door opened and Percy walked in.

Rarity turned to look at the newcomer, "Oh, I am sorry sir, I was just about to ask about these dag---"

She paused as she watched Percy come in, watching him shift back and forth as he walked in. Her eyes focused on his tight rump, his flowing short white mane, and his chiseled features. Behind her, Gilmore put his hoof to his chin and smirked, "I know what you are thinking Rarity, and I agree. I give that stallion a 9/10. Let me know if he swings my way, will you dear?"

"With pleasure, my good sir," Rarity said with a wink as she walked up to Percy, "And you are, sir?" she daintily rubbed Percy's foreleg.

Percy ignored the rubbing,"I am Quick Draw Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowki de Rolo III. But you can call me Percy."

"A pleasure to meet you, my dear Percival. I am Rarity Esmeralda Belle, from Ponyville. But you can call me Rarity," Rarity said, holding her hoof to her chest and looking back at him with dainty eyes. "I do hope I am not interrupting your shopping trip. I'll finish my shopping in a minute. Monsieur Gilmore, tell me about this dagger." she said, levitating a dagger to Gilmore.

"Oh, that? That is Whisper." Gilmore said,"A mysterious stallion gave that to me, said that it can be immensely powerful in the right hooves. It can frighten enemies when used."

"I see," Rarity said, holding the dagger in her magic. She held it aloft and then nodded, "I'll take it."

"That'll be 10000 bits... unless..." Gilmore leaned in,"we do something special for each other."

Rarity put her elbows onto the table and looked into Gilmore's magenta eyes, "I'm listening."

He placed a card on the table,"I promote your business, and you promote mine."

"Hmmm, I find that deal to be adequate," Rarity said, "Some of the places here have given me some grand ideas for clothes." she then turned to Percy, "Now, your turn, good sir."

"Actually, I came here for you," Percy said.

Rarity let out a gasp and then stepped back, "Oh, really?" then she paused and looked into his golden eyes, "Who sent you?"

"Your friend, Twilight Sparkle. She's alive, and should be waiting by the fountain." Percy said.

Rarity frowned and looked at him. She glared daggers into his eyes as she looked at him for a moment and then said, You are lucky I am good at reading ponies, otherwise I would accuse you of being a liar and slap you for such! Now, show me where she is."

"I would not blame you for not believing me." He headed towards the door,"I also need to find your other friends: Fluttershy and... Pinkie." He muttered.

"Well, Fluttershy is currently helping take care of Pinkie," Rarity said, walking out. "I do believe she and Pinkie were near some bakeries and food items."

"Well, then I guess we head there."

Rarity nodded, walking with Percy and standing close by with him.

After a few feet of walking and down a few blocks from the store, they saw Fluttershy sitting with a deer and looking at the passing by cats, "So, you do more than just talk to them?"

"Uh-huh," the deer said, smiling a little, "Sometimes I heal, and sometimes I even turn into them."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful. I always wanted to turn into an animal, but Equestria magic works differently than here. Wonder why that is," Fluttershy said.

"Well, my mom always said that magic is magic. Especially nature magic. Maybe they just haven’t taught druid classes over there," the young deer said.

"Oh Fluttershy," Rarity said, waving her hoof.

"Oh, my friend is here," Fluttershy said, walking away. "It was nice talking to you, Voltaire."

"It was nice talking to you," the deer said, walking away.

"Rarity, are you done with your shopping?" Fluttershy asked.

"Why yes," Rarity said, before looking at the departing deer ass he walked to his mother, "Who was that?"

"Oh, his name was Voltaire, he's a druid. They do magic like unicorns, but they do it with animals. They also can turn into them and work with nature elements like mine. He said that I have a talent for it because of how close I am to nature," Fluttershy said. Then she looked to Percy, "Who's your friend."

"This is Sir Percival," Rarity said. "He said that a mutual friend of ours is waiting."

"Mutual friend?" Fluttershy said.

"Twilight Sparkle," Percy said.

Fluttershy's opened wide, her face frozen in shock, "What..."

"She's waiting at the fountain," Percy said.

"I'll take you there Fluttershy," Rarity said. Then she looked to Percy, "Percival when you talk to Pinkie, try to break the news carefully. She is very fragile at the moment and she needs time to believe you."

"I... admit, I'm dreading this," Percy said, heading towards the bakery.

-----------

A silver pegasus was at the bakery, a cloak over her head.

Pinkie looked at the silver pegasus. With a sigh, she said, "He there. Tell me, what is good and delish here. I want to buy stuff for my friends."

The pegasus smiled at her,"Oh, well, there are several kinds of cupcakes, including chocolate, cherry cordial, and even peanut butter." She cocked her head,"I've never seen you around here before."

"I'm new. I just got here with my friends," Pinkie said, lightly touching the cupcake. She looked at some bread and chuckled lightly. Then she turned back to the silver pegasus, "That's a pretty color. I never saw a silver pony, I bet Twilight would-" her shoulders slumped and she let out a tiny sniffle.

The pegasus smiled,"Yes, my coloration is certainly rare." She tapped her shoulder,"Those who are lost may be closer than we think." she said as Percy entered the bakery.

Pinkie looked up and saw Percy. For a brief second, she felt the urge to say hello and hug him to welcome him in. Instead, she just waved and then turned around, "Nice pony, hello there."

The pegasus had seemingly disappeared as Percy walked up to her,"Pinkie Pie?"

"Yea, that's me," Pinkie said glumly, "Why did you want to find me?"

"A friend is waiting for you," Percy said.

"Yeah, I know, 5," Pinkie then gasped and sighed, "I mean four."

"No, you were right, five," Percy said.

Pinkie tapped her hoof to the ground, mouthing out the names. Then she gasped in shock before shaking her head and stepping towards him. As she glared into Percy's eyes, she had a small change in her look. Gone was her doldrum look, and now was replaced with a little spark of happiness. Pulling closer, she sniffed him, "Hmmmmmm, you don't smell like a liar. You don't look like a liar liar pants on fire." she looked at his kiester, "They aren't even on fire."

Then she began to walk along his back, "And you don't feel like a liar, even with these thingies!" then she leaned to his cheek and licked him, "And you don't taste like a liar would." she then jumped off, leaving him to wipe his cheek, "Ok mister, point me in the direction of her. If I find out you are lying, then I'll bring my-"

she then paused.

"Are you all right," Percy asked, looking at her as she paused.

An eye twitch, followed by another eye twitch, then her hoof tapped twice, and then her nose twitched, "Wait, that combo...That's a 'Twilight is about to scream in utter frustration over something she doesn't get and needs a warm hug' sense!"

"Your wha-" Percy asked, before being given a big hug.

"OH THANK YOU! THIS IS THE BESTEST BESTEST GIFT EVER!" she said, before giving him a cupcake from the shelf with a shopping list. Then she let him go and took off in a sonic boom, causing Percy to spin in place, becoming like a little top for a few minutes before stopping.

"TWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-" Pinkie shouted, becoming a pink blur as she ran out the store, past a few guards, by a deer and his twin sister, through a vegetable stand

"My Cabbages!"

through a bookstore, "So you see, I think that there may be differences in the way we treat magic here," Rarity said, walking with Fluttershy, "It may be why I find the lack of-move aside Darling," then with a flick of her horn, she moved Fluttershy to the side, "Fountain, Pinkie dear."

"Thankraritybye!" Pinkie shouted.

To at least three fountains until she found a violet ranting equine who was looking at a stone tablet. Seeing her coming, Applejack and Rainbow Dash stepped to the side.

"Gah, I can't rea-" Twilight yelped,"Unexpected hug!"

The force of Pinkie's tackle hug ended up sending the two of them into the fountain. Raising up, Pinkie's mane was down as she began to speak, the river of water mixing with her tears, "Twilight, you are alive! Oh, I am so glad to see you are ok! I thought I had lost a sister but you are here now and I am so glad to see you."

Then she began to giggle a little, "Did you see me back there! I was like, so depressed it wasn't me. I was like, boring and gloomy and mopey and took things wayyyyyy to seriously. I think I was getting close to using an effigy of you to make me sane. But now that you are here I can go back to being insane again! Oh I am just so happy to see you again, and I am wet and happy. I am wet, happy, and I am so cheerful!"

Applejack smiled and shook her head, pulling Pinkie Pie out of the water, "Pinkie, you are making a scene."

"Silly Applejack," Pinkie giggled while Rainbow Dash helped Twilight out of the fountain. "I can't be making a scene if I don't have props and toys and-"

"Pinks that's not what. That's not even close to what she-" Rainbow Dash was about to complain, before running a hoof through her mane, chuckling and saying, "Never mind...welcome back."

"Did I go somewhere?" Pinkie asked, flashing a smile. "Oh, Twilight, have you seen the different kinds of ponies here? I need time to go and make parties for so many of them! I got to go and get-"

"Pinkie, slow down darling," Rarity said, walking to the fountain and straightening her hat, "We have to focus on the bigger picture here." Then she smiled at Twilight and hugged her gently, "Oh it's so good to see you alive my dear."

"Twilight," Fluttershy whispered begore hugging Twilight tightly, "We thought, we heard that we would never see you again." she then began to sniffle a little before pulling away.

"-but let's focus on that later!" Pinkie said stepping to her friends, "Isn't this great? We're all together again! And no one is going to split us up! "

"Pinkie, you know we might not-"

"Well, not forever silly," Pinkie said. "I mean we won't die alone and separate. We'll be right here, for each other, like always. Because we are just not right when it's only a few of us. I'm just happy to be with the greatest friends, ever."

Applejack let out a chuckle and then hugged Rainbow, who followed with hugging Rarity, who hugged Fluttershy, who hugged Twilight. In the group, Applejack smiled and said, "Yeah, our little sisterhood is together again in a place that has danger everywhere on an epic quest to stop a great evil."

"With only our wits and inner light at our side," Rarity said.

"And with no idea what to do," Pinkie giggled.

"It'll be scary,” Fluttershy said.

"But I think we can manage because we will not fall because we have each other," Dash said.

Twilight smiled and chuckled. Then she blinked away tears, "It's so great to have you girls again."

Percy came up to them, carrying a package of goods while munching on a cinnamon roll,"I hate to interrupt, but-" Then he felt himself pulled into the hug by Pinkie"Yipe!"

"Oh, you got my list! Good," Pinkie said. "Ok, so I got some apple spice muffins for AJ, some chocolate chip ones for Dashie, got some jelly filled for me, some lemon cream for Fluttershy. Oh, I got Rarity the really sweet crullers, I know you love those."

"Thank you Pinkie," Rarity remarked.

Applejack raised a hoof, "Wait, you still focused on getting us what we wanted even while depressed?"

"No, that would be silly!" Pinkie said, "I did it in the five seconds I was feeling better and looking at all of the goods. I then wrote it down and gave it to the nice stallion over there! I knew he would have enough to buy all of that and some of that lembas bread. The owner said it would feed you for a month... I had three!"

Percy raised a brow at this.

"Don't, Percy. When she's like this, the only answer is Pinkie Pie." Twilight said.

Pinkie smiled and then looked to Percy, "I knew you were a Percy. Something told me you looked like a Percy and then I was right! YAY!" she then shook his hoof, "Welcome to the group. I'm Pinkie, that is Rarity, that is Fluttershy, That is Rainbow Dash, and That's Applejack!"

AJ sighed and then rested against the fountain, "This looks like a good place as any to recoup, relax, and talk. So let's start. Twilight, spill."

"Spill?" asked Twilight as she sat down.

"Alive, back, and how," Dash said.

"Alright. When the alicorns attacked, I did die. My original body's probably still in the ruins of Canterlot somewhere. However, it seems like a powerful necromancer named Briar Wood had some of my DNA and made a clone with it. My soul, instead of moving to the Elysian Fields, found its way to the clone body instead, giving it life. So, I'm a clone, with all my memories, all my faculties, I'm not degenerating or any cliched clone stuff." Twilight said,"I found myself trapped in a cage with Percy over there, but a mysterious armored pony came to our rescue, then we found Celestia and made our way here."

They all stood there, a mite confused. Pinkie was the first to speak, "So you are still alive then?" when Twilight nodded, she cheered, "Yay!"

Dash then raised an eyebrow, "But why didn't you teleport, or use a spell to find us?"

"That's the other item and reason #1 why Percy is here: My magic's gone," Twilight said with a frown.

"..."

"WHAT?!" they all shouted together.

"That's it, we're dead. Mage is gone, we're bucked!" Rainbow said, facehoofing.

Applejack looked to Twilight, "Your magic is gone, how did that happen?"

"I'm not sure." Twilihgt frowned,"One theory is that the disruption of the weave caused by the gods hindered my resurrection."

"Speaking of your bodyguard," Rarity asked, her eyes directed to the weird devices on his hips, "What are those on your hips, Percival?"

Percy looked at his weapons,"Weapons of my own design. Guns."

Applejack shook her head, "Don't look like any weapons Ah've seen before, but Twilight trusts you and you helped her come back to us."

"Hey, maybe that silver mare might have a way to get Twilight's magic back," Pinkie said.

"Yeah, but first we need to meet her," Dash said, "And that won’t happen until she is ready."

Percy looked away,"I'm not that trustworthy..." he muttered.

"The Queen is ready to see you." A pegasus guard said, landing,"I was told to bring you seven to her tower."

Applejack said nothing to Percy's comment, instead she patted her hoof onto this back. There was a small reassuring smile on her lips as she looked at him. Dash looked back at the guard and said, "About time, let's do this!"

"Come with me then." He flew ahead of them.

They walked up a long staircase, wherein several stained glass windows were shown, depicting various battles. One had a group of six ponies fighting six others of various colors.

They soon came to a large set of doors that opened to reveal a silver pegasus reading a history book while sitting on a throne. She looked up at her guest,"Ah, you're here." She smiled at Pinkie,"Did you find the one who was lost?"

Pinkie gasped, Hey! You are that pony I saw back in the bakery! And yep! I met up with one of my best friends again."

Rarity took a bow, "Lady Silver Wing, I am Rarity Belle, one of Princess Twilight's top diplomats, and I am proud to represent the rest of her entourage."

"Lady Silver Wing, it is a pleasure," Twilight said, bowing.

Silver Wing smiled as she bowed back,"It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess Twilight. What brings you to my kingdom?"

"Our country has been attacked by a group of alicorns calling themselves the gods of light," Twilight said, looking down, "They managed to kill me, and thanks to their servants I was put into a clone body. Right now, they are ruling over my country with an iron hoof and even Celestia and Luna were useless against them."

Twilight looked over her shoulder to Applejack who pulled out a stone tablet and gave it to Silver Wing, "I found a tablet belonging to Meadowbrook that said to come here and look for the vestiges. I believe they can help us defeat the gods. The problem is..." she lowered her ears, "I can't read it. It's in a bunch of squiggles I can't recognize, and I know at least thirty languages and a hundred dialects."

Silver Wing looked it over,"This is in Draconic. I can translate it for you."

"...Draconic?" Twilight monotoned, "You mean, that dragons have an entire language all to themselves and I never studied it?"

"Well, to be fair Twi," Applejack said, "You said it yourself that a lot of ponies don't usually want to study draconic or study dragons, so you most likely didn’t know."

"Excuse me, your majesty. You can tell me what it says when I get back," Twilight said, walking out of the room. Finding a small place, she closed the door and began.

"Why am I the only pony in this whole entire country that seems interested in freaking exploring. I get it, dragons can be big and scary and breathe breath weapons I get it, but have you seen the population of them lately? They are teenagers who are in over their heads. I swear, I could've beaten Garble with little to no problem if I wasn't worried about an international incident. What am I saying, I did hand him his tail! BOOM! One ice storm to the face and he was crying! But NOOOOOOOO! We have ONE pony who is actually exploring everything and ONE pony who likes to research. And I tried to get more books but nope! Just stuck with little to no information on ANYTHING HERE! One day, one day, Celestia will be gone and I will be in charge, and you know what my first three tasks will be? FIRST; hire a crack team of explorers to help with diplomacy and exploration. Second: get a team together who will actually get off their flanks to STUDY. and Third: train more ponies to fight dragons than rely on most of my paternal side of my family!!! And maybe some medicine to calm my nerves down!"

Her rant done, she walked back to the throne room, combed her mane with her hoof, and said, "Proceed."

"Very well then." Silver Wing began to speak.

'To find the eight items
Go first to the four points of a rose
The four pure metals will offer aid
Now that gods arose

Find the fire fallen king
Whose scales are blacken
He will guide you to the fifth
Near a body of a Kracken

The two lay in places sacred
to what ancient races hold sacred
As for the eighth
It lies in plain sight."

"Wait for it," Pinkie giggled.

"Say these sacred words for a free banana split for a lifetime or a lifetime supply of blizzards."

"YAY!"

"Ok, now we are just getting weird," Dash said. "How does a rose have points!!?"

"A compass rose!" Twilight said as the map began to glow brightly, showing four lights on it. One light in the north, one in the south, one in the west, and one in the northeast.

"The fire fallen king." Silver Wing frowned,"It may speak of Thordak." She looked at the group,"Are you sure you do not wish me to summon an army to aid your country? it may be less dangerous."

"Queenie," Dash said, "I don't know about you, but danger is our middle name! We live for that and breathe it!"

"Yes, as the rumors of Equestria have shown," joked Silver.

"Hey, we kicked loads of flank on our homeland! Monsters, chaos gods, you name it. We took it down. Yeah, sometimes there is an ass who gets the advantage, but we still can kick his rump!" Dash said with a cocky grin.

Twilight looked up, (An army would make a lot of sense, with her strength and this nation’s power, they could devastate the gods and handle it. I could then spend the next few years focusing on my magic and getting it back plus the other two quests I got lined up. But then again if I did...there will be death. A lot of death, way too much for me. I don't want to risk lives if I can help it. I never want somepony to die or fight in my stead when I can do this.)

She then shook her head, "As much as I appreciate the offer, I can't ask you to do that. I don't like the idea of death and if I ask you to send your armies, then it will lead to a massive loss of life and I couldn't live with myself if that happened."

Silver closed her eyes,"You certainly have a big heart, Princess. I will not send armies then. However," She opened them again,"You must understand that I have a duty to protect my kingdom. If I feel that these gods threaten us in any way, I will fight back.

"Don't worry, we'll have those vestiges and be back home in six months," Rainbow Dash smirked.

"Rainbow, I don't think-"

"You're right Twilight, two months!"

"Rainbow if you-"

"Ok, I'll be fair, give us three months and two weeks and then you can send your armies to go and kick some god ass!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Fine then, three months and no more," Silver said.

Twilight looked at Rainbow, eyes wide and mouth agape, "Like how I solved that one?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Ya gotta let me negotiate more often."

"The time limit will begin when you leave the city. Is there anything else you need to know?" Silver Wing asked.

Twilight looked down and thought for a moment before asking, "Why are our two countries so different? My friend Tempest said that you have some different approaches to problems but I want to know more."

"Well, when our ponies found out that windigoes were responsible for our plight, we banded together... and burned them alive." Silver Wing said, “How did your country stop them?"

"...with singing, dancing, and warm hugs," Twilight said, a sheepish grin on her face.

Silver Wing smiled at this,"Well, apparently that worked."

“Yeah... it kind of did," Twilight said, her ears drooping a little.

Rainbow Dash whispered lowly to Applejack, "Though theirs was a little cooler. I mean, we did it with an awesome heart, but they burned them!"

"Rainbow!" Applejack commented and nudged her.

Percy raised a hoof, "One more question your majesty. While I have no doubt that lady Rarity is talented, I think our quest would be easier if we had a little more magic on our side. Any help with that?"

"Does Twilight not have her magic?" Silver asked. At their nods, she frowned,"You did say you were resurrected. Resurrection magic is quite common here in the west, but there are drawbacks. first, the pony must not have died from natural causes. Second, there must be a ritual given by the caster. If the soul is willing, then the spell is successful."

"However, sometimes the resurrection is not complete. There will be complications, from something as benign as a stutter, or something terrible, such as losing your magic. The magic will come back in half a year... time you do not have." She brought out a small map,"There is a faster solution: These are fonts of magic for all three tribes. Go to each one, and complete their tasks to restore your magic."

She got up to her throne,"You do need another magic user, there are three talented individuals in the city at this moment. One is more concerned with his shop. Another is my trusted Arcanist Allura, but she is incredibly busy. Finally, there is..." She frowned,"A bard fjord pony, who likes to hang around in bars and houses of lady favors. He is strange, but he is the most likely to help you."

"Thank you, your majesty," Twilight said with a bow as the group walked out the door. Looking down, Twilight said to Percy, "You didn't need to say it."

"It was kind of valuable information to let her know and do need the help. It's not like back in Equestria and you know this," Percy remarked.

"Yeah, don't you remember that whole Storm King thing? We can handle it if we-" Dash then paused and said, "You didn't want to admit it, did you?"

Twilight frowned and then looked out the window, watching the pegasi in flight," If you lost your ability to fly, would you admit it? I just, don't like to admit that my magic is gone, it's like I lost a friend or something special."

"Twilight, I understand," Rarity said, "I remember when I lost my cutie mark and felt...useless."

"My point exactly," Twilight said, "I know I am not like Trixie, but that doesn't mean I didn't take pride in just how much magic I have. And now... now I need a bodyguard of all things. I hate feeling like I am the most useless one here and that you will all have to protect me. And if one of you dies I just....don't know what I'd do."

Pinkie walked over to Twilight and gave her a big hug, "You aren't useless. You are right now the smartest pony I know unless Percy is smarter. Are you?"

Percy shrugged.

"So you are right now, our brains!" Pinkie said.

Twilight sniffed and smiled at Pinkie, "You know, I was trying to have a sad moment."

"Yeah, and?" Pinkie asked with a smile.

Twilight smiled back and then looked out the window some more, "It's a new world we're in, and we need me to be at my best. And right now, we gotta find a spell caster while I...just plan and keep us on track."

"So, let's get looking," Applejack said.

"I think we should split up," Twilight said, "Rarity, you, Fluttershy, and Pinkie go to the bars and lady favor houses to find that bard."

"Twilight," Dash asked, "You are sending them to the house of lady favors?"

"Yes, and?" Twilight asked with a questioning look.

"You do know what those are, right?" asked Dash.

"Nope. Why are you snickering?" asked Twilight.

"Never mind, let's just look for that mage!" dash said.

"Are you looking for Lady Allura? I think I saw her and her wife walking downtown to look for some books. She said she needed some new spell books," a guard said.

"Books? bookbookbookbookbookbookbook!" Twilight said, walking away.

"Well, that's where we are heading, you coming, Perc?" asked Applejack.

"Might as well," Percy said, following AJ.

Twilight looked to the right, seeing a tall light tan unicorn with braided blonde mane walking into a small bookstore, her blue robes flowing behind her. Twilight raised a hoof, ready to call the others, but frowned when she saw Applejack and Rainbow Dash leaving to a bar, "Girls."

"Look, I love adventure books, but normal and nonfiction are OWT! I'm gonna check out this rockin music," Dash said.

Applejack shook her head, "Might as well follow and keep her safe. Percy, you keep her safe!"

"Will do, better there than listening to the rumble that is bound to happen," Percy snarked.

The blonde mare began to levitate a book from one of the shelves, "Is this to your liking, Allura?"

"Not really," Allura said, "I already have a book on the Weave origins and Mythica by Sonambula. I was just making sure that this was not a fake."

Twilight sped in,"Excuse me, miss? Can I see those books?"

"Yes, you may," Allura said, levitating the book to Twilight. "Any particular reason why?"

"Um, I'm kind of not from around here. I'm from Equestria." Twilight said.

Allura's eyes opened wide, "Equestria, oh, I have always wanted to visit there. But, it seems every time I tried, some problem arose over there that stopped us from traveling. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Allura Vysoren, Arcanist for Silver Wing. Let's talk over there about magic shall we?"

Inside the bar, at the same time, Rainbow slowly stepped in, "Ok, so I think it's time to impress these punks."

"Rainbow, I don't think we got anything to prove," Applejack said.

"Don't we? Almost every one of these westerners thinks we are just a bunch of wimps who solve things with warm hugs and singing!" Rainbow Dash said. "I need to save our rep and challenging a tough pony is the best way to do it!"

"Wimps who save things with a warm hug and a song?" a short pony with a large sword cutie mark said, sitting near a table,"You the Equestrian wimps I heard about?"

Rainbow Dash turned around, looked up, and then looked down at the halfinger pony. After holding back the urge to laugh only a little and then let out a louder laugh at the halfling, she said, "Yeah, we are. But I don't know who you are talking to small fry. Maybe if you spoke a little louder, I could hear ya up here. Tell me, can you see my face, or do I have to lean down?"

"Heh, a wise pony eh?" The Halflinger pony smirked,"How's the weather up there, or are you too featherbrained to tell me!?

"Yeah, the weather is pretty awesome up here, a shame you can't feel it under the shade," Dash taunted.

Applejack walked up to a bard and slipped him some bits, "Play a nice beat, my best friend is either gonna live or die tonight."

The purple beret-wearing fjord smiled,"Alrighty then!"

"Tell me, is your brain matching the size or are you just using that sword to compensate for something."

"Sounds to me like you're jealous!" Kima said,"What, intimidated by my sword's girth!?"

Rainbow Dash snorted, "Ha! Me, impressed by that thing? Surprised you ain’t falling over by its weight, or are ya just too stupid to know how physics work?"

"Are you just saying that because you're worried your wings are too small to carry you!?" Kima asked.

"Oh, my wings are perfectly big enough, but I can name two things that must be really tiny on you," Dash said singsong.

Applejack looked to the barkeep, "Hey, just in case things go south, as diplomats, are we responsible for damages?"

The barkeep spat into a spitoon,"Nope, this happens all the time."

"Bigger than yours, you rainbow mane sissy." Kima said,"You gonna sing me to death or something?"

"Oh I don't need to sing ya to death," Rainbow Dash said, "I just need to step on ya, and ya would be beat!"

"That's a laugh. You'd chip a hoof if ya did that!" Kima said.

"Yeah, you're right, your little potsticker could poke my hoof," Dash taunted.

Applejack got in between them, "Ok Dash that's enough. We shouldn't belittle the little ones and you know it."

"But AJ-"

"Look, they got different customs and different outlooks, no reason to taunt them," Applejack sad.

Kima laughed,"What, you her foal sitter or something?"

"No, I'm her friend and I would like to try to keep this peaceful like between ponies of the east and the west," Applejack said.

"Yeah, besides, their booze is probably weak and their apples are second rate," Dash mocked.

"Now, the cider thing maybe true-"

"I thought apple family apples tasted like swill," Kima smirked.

"Ah'm sorry, but what was that?" Applejack asked, tipping her hat.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I not yell it to the country bumpkin," Kima said, smirking, "YOUR APPLES TASTE LIKE WHAT I SHOT OUT OF MY ANUS EARLIER!"

"OK BITCH! HOOF WRESTLE NOW"! Applejack shouted, steam coming out of her nose.

"You must tell me more about your medical spells. I didn't think that the east had such magic," Allura said. "At least that is what I heard. Though sometimes it's other...unflattering things."

Percy was reading another book while Twilight continued,"Well, our healing magic isn't as good as yours, we mainly just use ours for utility." She frowned,"Yeah, I heard about the rumors said about Equestrians."

"Curious, I wonder if it's because of how peaceful your land is," Allura said, sipping her tea.

"How so?" asked Twilight.

Allura paused and thought, "It's like this. Say that there are two brothers, twins. One is raised in a peaceful land, taught to embrace kindness and ompassion. While the other is raised in a realm where magic is needed to survive, to use it for battle and survival. While both are equal in strength, the peaceful brother finds no need for healing and battle spells because he never had to experience the pain of battle and war."

Percy frowned and looked to his gun, before putting away the book and looking at another. He smiled a little as he pulled out a book labeled 'The Feywild: Peaceful or Deadly'. Then he began to read and listen.

"Which, of course, is why you haven't developed your healing magic. There hasn't been a need to do so. Much like there hasn't been a need to focus on particular battle magic like here." Allura sighed, "Wich leads to the rumors. I am sorry some of us think that way. I do not. You aren't just singing and dancing...you just have a unique approach."

"It's fine really." Twilight sighed,"We never really had a chance to interact until now. Celestia has always told me that this place was too dangerous, so I suppose if you came over there, a lot of ponies would think you were warmongering barbarians."

Allura chuckled, "Yes, I can only imagine the reactions. Although, I hope you can see that we are a lot more sophisticated than some would think."

"Look out! Kima is wrecking another bar!!!" shouted a civilian.

Allura sighed, "My apologies, I need to go and stop my wife."

"And she's fighting with those two wimps from Equestria!"

"And I gotta stop my two friends," Twilight said.

Percy went to the librarian,"How long do I have to check these out?"

"You have three months to return those books," the librarian said.

As Twilight ran outside with Allura, a table broke out of the bar and was thrown across the street. In her mind, Twilight began to run down the offenders, "Ok, Rarity is too noble so unless they really cheesed her off it can't be her. Pinks and Flutters are out, which leaves only-"

"Hey, Bard! How's about a phat beat for me to own the small and delirious over there!" Rainbow Dash said. "She needs to learn about Equestrian manners."

"And barkeep? Put the money for the damages onto the Tab of Princess Luna," Applejack said, tipping her hat over her eyes and glaring at Kima while standing side by side with Dahs.

The bard smirked and then whipped out a flute to play a tune.

"Not sure how to get that, but sure." The bartender said.

Kima creaked her neck,"Well, let's see what you wimps got!" She leaped up at them."

That was when Kima was wrapped in a magic aura

"I am so sorry," Allura said, holding Kima in the air with her magic, "She usually knows when to reign it in. Come along Kima, we mustn't be mean or attacking the diplomats from other countries."

Rainbow Dash and Applejack winced and looked behind themselves to see Twilight and Percy holding their tails down, "Ow, why always the tail!" Dash moan.

"Oh... hey Twilight.

"I'm sorry too." Twilight said with a frown,"I expected this from you, Rainbow, but Applejack!?"

Applejack looked down, "Hey, it was all fine and dandy until she started to make fun of the apple family."

"Yeah, then she had a hoof wrestle match, which she won," Dash said.

"And then she made fun of my family some more and their honor, so I had to start the fighting!" Applejack said.

Twilight facehoofed,"What am I going to do with you!?"

"I can't believe we couldn't find anything!" Rarity said as she and the others entered the bar.

"At least those hookers were nice!" Pinkie said.

"They had a great fashion sense," Fluttershy said.

Rarity looked at Twilight and Percy keeping Applejack and Rainbow held back,"... Not even going to ask. You at least found some info on-"

"Scanlan Shorthalt!" a gazelle came inside the bar, fiddle in his hoof,"I have returned!"

The bard with the beret put his flute down,"Geraldo! Didn't learn your lesson last time, did ya?" The fjord stallion hopped off his stool and walked towards the gazelle.

"I did... never challenge you with a flute! I am best with a fiddle!" He brought his fiddle to his neck,"Behold!"

He began to play his fiddle hard, causing images of fire and other nasty things to show around the bar.

Scanlan laughed,"Nice... for an amatuer." He held his hoof out,"But this is unfair, I don't have a fiddle of my own!"

Pinkie pulled one out of her mane and threw it at him,"Here!"

"Ah, thank you, Fluffy Pony." Scanlan grabbed the fiddle,"Let me show you how it's done! then began to play it hard. All around them were the beautiful images of various fey creatures flying around them. As Scanlan began to play hard, he winked at several mares before leaping up on a table and began playing even harder, causing lightning to burst from his fiddle, before stopping and pointed back to Geraldo.

Geraldo stared wide eyed and agape.

"You come on back if you ever want to try again." Scanlan laughed,"I told you once, you son of a bitch, I'm the best that's ever been!"

Geraldo bowed his head before walking away.

Scanlan hopped back and handed the fiddle back,"So, you looking for someone important? Or just someone special?" He winked at Rarity.

Rarity could only let out a scoff and a pull of her mane at Scanlan's attempt to hit on her. Applejack was the first to step forward, "Yeah, kind of. Ya see we're on a quest to find some items and we are needing a mage. Silver said that there was a really good bard in town who could help us."

Pinkie ran up to Scanlan and gazed into his eyes, "Hmmm, seems to be a pretty great bard!"

"Well, I don't know about the really great bard, but you've found an amazing one!" Scanlan put his hoof to his chest,"Scanlan Shorthalt at your service. I can sing, cast spells, heal, and maybe cut a few guys up once in a while." He leaned in,"I heard that you were Equestrian. They sing and dance their problems over there. Sounds like my kind of place."

"We do not do that! And I swear the next pony who says that is gonna get a punch in the snout!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Oh, you would love it! We sing, dance, and have wild parties!" Pinkie siad. "We also solve by being talkative and loving to each other!" Pinkie said. "So, do we have a teammate!?"

"Wild parties you say!?" Scanlan's smile grew wider.

Twilight frowned,"I don't know..."

Percy frowned,"Allura said she was too busy, and we do need the magic."

"... if he's our only option."

"Yay!" Scanlan and Pinkie said, and then hugged each other.

Rainbow Dash looked on in shock, "Oh Celestia...there are two of them."

"So," Applejack brought out the stone map and put it onto the nearest table, "Where to first Twi?"

"The poem mentioned four points of a rose, so we know that's the compass,' Rarity said, looking at the map, "North, West, South, and East. Are there any major cities over there, Mr. Shorthalt?"

Scanlan looked down at the map,"Well, that four cities would be Vasselheim to the north, Kraghammer to the south, Westruun to the west, and Syngorn to the east."

"Where to then, Twi?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Hmm," Twilight pulled out the other map, noting each font of magic,"The first font of magic is in the west, near Westruun, so I guess we go there."

"A little to the left. Lower, lower. ahhhhh."

The huntress groaned as she laid under her ship, hidden deep in the woods of whitetail, "Adam! You are making this sound weirder than it has to be!"

The camera from the ship lowered itself to the huntress as it watched her tweak it with a small wrench, oil mixing with her blonde hair and giving it a little green tone, "My apologies lady, but with you working under there, it does give me a very sensual feeling." he was then hit with the wrench, chuckling while the huntress pulled herself away from the ship.

Taking a washcloth, the huntress began to clean herself and looking back at the ship, "She looks ready to get us to the west. Tell me, why do you think we got that message?"

"I do not know," Adam said. "It was peculiar when we got it. It didn't come from the Elk federation, and this planet lacks the technology to send subspace signals. If we go by the prime directive-"

"And I don't. I swear some use that as an advocate for genocide," the huntress said, walking to where her armor rested and began to put it on gradually.

"We shouldn't have a reason to come here. But your suit had a warning and a signal," Adam said.

The huntress nodded, "That's what's worrying me. It doesn't feel like a trap, but there are pirates and my suit is acting funny.."

"Well, you could go home. Forget about this-"

The huntress put on her helmet, "And miss out on kicking pirate ass? Not on your life."

"Yes, lady..." Adam said with a droll.

"Did you prepare that subspace message for me?" the huntress said, "That one I asked to be told to those 'gods' as well."

"Yes, lady. Translated in case they don't speak basic or whatever they call it here," Adam said.

'Hey, Asswipes! (Translation engaged: To the dear pirates and gods of this world)

Just letting you know, I'm here on your world, like you asked me. Sad for you ya pieces of shit. (Thank you for your marvelous invitation. We have accepted with gracious respectability.)

And what's more, I don't have all of my tech. Wich means, open season on me if you had the guts. Wich ya don't, I don't think you even have the spine to face me. But if you do, I'll be in the w4est ready to rip the wings off of ya, tear your horns off, and use the insides of the pirates as decoration.

(Although I am currently without my weapons, I am still skilled enough to welcome all challengers to my home. Please bring a friend)

And if I find that you pirates are hurting these ponies here while I'm in the west, just remember who was it that kicked your asses a few days ago. (Please do not attack while I am gone.)

Up yours, The Huntress.

(Sincerely, The Huntress)

One of the alicorns stopped as they landed in the west, "Hold! Before we continue, we must discuss how we are going to attack. As individuals or together as a united front!?"

One of the others looked back at him,"It's obvious, we must unite."

"No!" Cayrel shouted,"I will not squander this opportunity. The Queen forced us to fight unfairly last time, I refuse to let that happen again. I want to give these mortals a fighting chance."

"But Captain, we need to win, this is no time for your honor." The stallion with a purple mane and tail said.

"My honor is more important than what the Queen forces on me, Antares." Cayrel snarled.

"Who cares about honor? Don't you know how this works? It's called the law of conservation! The fewer soldiers you have the stronger you become! It makes sense that we fight separately!" One of the alicorns said, looking through a book.

The other alicorn rolled her eyes, "Oh there you go again with your pages and tropes. Antares is right. We split up, we are weakened. We need to bolster an united front, or else we shall all fall down!"

One alicorn looked down and lightly kicked the ground, "I just hope they don't hit too hard. I would hate to see them broken before I can..."

The arguments began to get louder until one alicorn stepped forward and spoke with a mighty voice, "Wait! There is but one way to solve this pressing issue! We must embrace-DEMOCRACY!"

Cayrel sighed,"Again, Pollux?"

Pollux nodded, "Indeed! If we are to present to these ponies that we have a divine right to guide them and to rule them by our power we need to present a united front."

"For if we do not present to the mortals that we can stand united and solve things with the beauty that is democracy, how can we immortal gods expect them to follow us. They would believe that they have the freedom to disobey us, to live how they want and when they want. We must show them that we are able to decide for them and that we can tell them how to live. Indeed, by being democratic, we can decide their fate while sticking to the liberties that we hold ourselves so dear! Don't you see, by sticking to our own democratic ways, we can ensure that we take away their freedoms and show that we alone know what is best for them. In this, we show that democracy is the true and best way to rule ourselves by divine right!!

The other alicorns stared at him.

"Well, that does make sense. Let's put it to a vote."Cayrel said.

Pollux happily clapped his hooves together and brought out a small hat with paper, "Ok, so let's all put this down and then write it out. Then we'll Cayrel read out the votes and count them. I am sure she will do this fairly."

Cayrel smirked,"Yes... fairly.

After a few minutes, they all put in their anonymous votes and then put it into the hat. Pollux then gave it to Cayrel.

Cayrel whistled as she changed the votes.

Pollux looked down, read, and nodded, "Hmmm, it seems that all of the votes say we attack one at a time! Granted, I do not remember voting for alone but I guess if this is how the people voted then I guess we have no choice but to follow. Democracy wins!!!"

Persei smirked as he put away his book, "See? This will go smoothly. This is why you should always follow what the good book says!"

"We're all gonna fail you know," Antares said, before putting on a killer smile, "But at least we'll kill them all dead!"

"So how will we," snorted Cephei, growling, "do this?

"I suggest we send our weakest first." Cayrel looked at Antares,"Meaning, Antares, Pollux, Persei, Cephei, Fomalhaut, Altair, Arcturus. and then myself."

Antares frowned, "Are you saying I'm weak?! Well, that's a fair cop."

"I am FAIR WITH THIS! Now that we are decided, NOTHING can stop us!" said Pollux.

"Well, according to my good book, the sorting algorithm of evil works for our team. Granted, we are seen only as evil by those around us!"

"We Can bring the WINTER. Snow forecast, a downer, AGGGGGG!"

Fomalhaut rolled her eyes, "Oi, are we sure that Cephei is right in the head after all this time. But sad to say, you are holding off the best at the worst time.

"Oh, can we be a little gentle with the killing? I mean, we shouldn't hurt them that much. We just need to remind them of the power," Altair said.

Arcturus frowned, and then nodded. A warm smile came across his lips and the group nodded, tears in their eyes.

Scanlan began to sing as the group headed towards the exit of the city.

"Oh, I know this one!" Pinkie said happily as she began to sing.

There's a road calling you to stray
Step by step, pulling you away

Scanlan smiled and continued to play his lute as they walked alongside the field.

Under moon and star
Take the road, no matter how far

Where it leads no one ever knows
Don't look back, follow where it goes
Far beyond the sun
Take the road, wherever it runs

Rainbow Dash smiled as she walked along the path before taking flight. In the air, she watched as her friends walked beneath her. Looking ahead, she let out a gasp as she saw the winding long road ahead. Leading through the farms the path seemed to lead past some of the mountains to the north and some small flatland to the south. With a chuckle, she flew overhead to play with some of the clouds while listening to Pinkie and Scanlan sing.

The road goes on, ever ever on
Hill by hill, mile by mile
Field by field, stile by stile
The road goes on, ever ever on

The road goes on, ever ever on
Moor by moor, glen by glen
Vale by vale , fen by fen
The road goes on, ever ever on

Applejack walked with Twilight, looking at her as she held her head down. Smiling, she placed a hoof onto her shoulder to give a comforting smile. Twilight looked up at her friend and smiled back as she continued to walk. Deciding to join in with the song.

Mountain and valley, and pasture and meadow
Stretching unending, for mile after mile
Fenland and moorland, and shoreline and canyon
Bordered by hurdle and hedgerow and stile

"Come on Percy, join in!" Pinkie said, nudging Percival.

Percy shook his head, "Sorry, but I don't sing."

"Because he sucks at it," Scanlan joked. "I mean, it's ok. We all have problems with singing. Except for me, you know."

Percy frowned and began to sing.

One more mile then it's time to eat
Pick some pears, succulent and sweet

To the farthest shore
Take the Road, a hundred miles more

Rarity gingerly stepped over a puddle, while Fluttershy watched some birds flying overhead as they began to head into the woods.

Sweet pink trout, tickled from a stream
Milk a goat, churn it into cream

Far beyond the sun
Take the road, wherever it runs

The road goes on, ever ever on
Moor by moor, glen by glen
Vale by vale , fen by fen
The road goes on, ever ever on

"Ah, the Bramblewood Forest!" Scanlan said with a smile, “Home of various animals, trees, and the occasional armored... bear..."

In front of them was a lonely-looking armored bear sitting at a tree.

"Why would a bear need armor?" Rainbow Dash asked as Fluttershy flew up to it.

"Oh you poor thing, why are you so sad?" Fluttershy asked, "Are you lonely?"

The bear began to make small guttural noises and frowns, "I miss momma. I found some friends who talked me into an adventure and when I came back, mommy was missing."

"Oh, I am so sorry," Fluttershy said, patting his head. "What's your name, little guy."

"Trinket," the bear said, smiling. "Will you help me nice pony?"

"Yes. You can travel with us until you find her," Fluttershy said, and then walking back to her friends.

"His name is Trinket and he's lost. We're going to help him find his mother," Fluttershy said.

"Well, I guess if it's to help him out." Twilight thought for a moment,"Though a bear in armor is rather strange."

Fluttershy nodded, "He says his mom bought it for him."

"His mom... Okay, I get it now. What's her name?" Twilight asked.

"He says her name is, Vex'ahlia," Fluttershy said. Then she noticed a small look in Twilight's eyes and a look in Percy's, "Is something wrong?"

"... we'll explain later," Twilight said gravely.

Percy looked at her.

"I want to save it for when we meet them. Just know that we need to find her and her brother." Twilight said.

That night, the group made camp for the night. Scanlan was immediately kicked away from Rarity's bedroll while she snuggled herself in. Fluttershy sat on top of Trinket while the others snuggled around him. The only ones who were awake were Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Dash sighed as she kicked up the fire a little, "Something on your mind?" Applejack asked.

"Think we're good enough?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking at the fire and then up to Applejack. "To keep going I mean."

"Ah wasn't expecting you to lack confidence. Ah mean, you challenged that one mare without a second thought," Applejack said with a chuckle.

"That's because she was one mare and I had you. But this place, with these creatures and these new ponies, I just... I don't know," Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. "I just feel like we should've just accepted Silver's offer and moved on."

Applejack nodded, "I get ya. That alicorn's beatdown got to ya. Ah'm the same way."

"It's not just that. It just feels like we haven't had any chance to show what we can do. We practically let the changelings take us in-"

"You know the truth behind that one," Applejack said, frowning. "As much as I hate lying about it."

"Then there was the Storm King invasion! I mean, we could've taken him on you know! You saw it! The guys we brought in didn't help all that much and we had the strength we needed to. But nope, ran away because we needed to find the orb," Rainbow Dash sighed. "Maybe these guys are right and all we can do is just sing and dance and give out warm hugs."

"You know that ain’t true," Applejack said with a smile. "You're right, you and I, we probably could've beaten most of those guys without a second thought and got Twilight to fight Tempest to a standstill."

"But we would've gotten swarmed in the end, and then where Twilight would be. Without us," Applejack said, looking down in the dirt. "Look, sometimes we gotta run from something bigger to conserve our strength and take the high road. Sometimes, we gotta take the best way to make sure we don't lose anypony."

"Is that why Twilight sometimes runs from a timberwolf even though she could burninate the son of a bitch," Dash said. "Still mad at that."

"Yeah, that and she knew Spike and I had it. How else was she gonna get him to realize he was being an idiot." Applejack laughed. "Ah know these ponies seem like they are stronger and braver than us. But that ain’t true. They are just raised differently. They had years to fight monsters and all of that. We, didn't. But that don’t mean we're not strong. Pinkie's got ingenuity, Rarity's got precision, Fluttershy is a healer, and you and are the fastest and the strongest. We just need to find our own way of matching them. Maybe we’ll find it here. After all...we're the same."

Rainbow Dash sighed, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Just don't start killing yourself over trying to be stronger than ever."

"I make no promises. But you know you will most likely stop me if it comes to that." Applejack said, getting up and walking to bed.

"Night," Dash said. "Oh, and watch out for whoever is watching us. Somepony has been since we came in."

"Got ya," Applejack said, going into bed.

There was a minor sound of shuffling from Twilight as she looked up at Dash, and then she let out a sigh.

There was a snarling sound as the group woke up.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash got to their hooves and stood in front of the group, followed by Percy. Fluttershy flew out and landed, listening to see if she could recognize the sound of growling.

Two double-headed dogs appeared from the edges, snarling with poisonous saliva coming from their maws.

"Oh, will you look at that..." Scanlan gulped, his horn glowing.

Rarity's horn began to glow, pulling out a small bow and arrow, "Mr. Shorthalt, what are those things?"

"Those would be Death Dogs. It wouldn't be a good idea to get bit!" He held out his hoof,"Bigby's Hoof, Chamon!" A large purple hoof came forth, smashing into one of the dogs.

Applejack nodded and ran right at one of the dogs and moved to the side. Readying one of her hooves, she delivered a hard right hook into its eye. Then she dodged to the side to kick it in the chest.

Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy, "Flutters, wait here. Pinkie, Rarity, get ready to run with Twilight if this goes south." she then flew off to the dog that Scanlan was hitting with his magical hoof. She slammed both hooves into its back before to a cloud and pulling it down before kicking it and throwing out a lighting bolt.

Rarity aimed her bow and fired a shot at one of them, hearing Pinkie comment, "Didn't know you knew how to shoot!"

"Well dear, a lady must have her hobbies," Rarity said, smiling warmly while firing another shot at one of the creature's eyes.

"Ah, got ya," Pinkie said, hiding behind Trinket, "New let's see what we got here. Hmmm...hot sauce, some gum..."

The dog howled before leaping around and then jumping at Applejack's side.

Scanlan let out an,"Ew, as he held up the squished dog.

Applejack grunted in pain as one of his teeth managed to cut her. Then she spun around and gave him a double kick in the face, and as he reeled back twin gunshots rang out and went through the dog's head.

The other head snarled at Percy before a sabertoothed tiger came from a bush to strike at the dog with its claws.

“What the?" Applejack asked, "What on earth is that..." she asked, wavering back and forth as she began to feel woozy.

"Don't know, but if she's on our side," Dash said as the tiger slashed at its side and bit into its leg. Seeing an opening, Rainbow Dash began to spin in a small tornado and turned into a lightning-charged spinning bolt of electricity and slammed both legs into its side.

"Y...yeah..." Applejack said, before falling down to the ground.

"Applejack!" Fluttershy said, flying to her friend’s side and patting her down. Then she looked at the remaining head of the dog with a hard and powerful glare.

The dog let out a laughing bark before Percy shot it dead.

The tiger ran over to Applejack.

Twilight gasped,"Oh no she's-"

The tiger began to glow pitch white, transforming into a deer-like creature that had a pony-like face. She wore leather barding, which still showed her antler cutie mark,"A deer?"

The deer knelt down to Applejack,"Death Dogs have poisonous bites. It shouldn't be too hard to heal it with Lesser Restoration... I hope!" Her small antlers glowed as she put her hooves on Applejack.

"Wait, who are you, how could you do that?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Fluttershy looked up, "Rainbow, such. She's trying to help. I can't fix this, I have never seen this poison before."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes while she watched the deer began to touch Applejack. After a few moments, Applejack began to glow a soft white and for a while, she did not move. Then she began to breathe evenly and her eyes opened up. Looking at the deer, Applejack said, "Are, you the one who healed me?"

"Ok, now start answering the questions," Rainbow Dash said.

"Oh, um," The deer stammered,"Well, I'm a half-deer, I'm a druid, I was kinda watching you but I didn't know how to approach you," She gasped,"Oh, my name, right, I'm Keyleth of the Air Ashari, nice to meet you!"

"Watching us, why were you wat-"

"How did you turn into a tiger-like that? Can all druids do that? I met this adorable deer who talked about how he could control nature. Oh, could you tell me more about druids if it's not too much trouble? Can you talk to animals?" asked Fluttershy, uncharacteristically fast. Then she looked down, "Oh if that's not too much trouble that is."

"Oh, no it's fine!" She stammered,"I'm sorry, I'm not used to ponies not in my tribe so this is very new to me. I think all druids can turn into animals. I can teach you if you'd like, but I'm not sure if pegasus ponies are capable. I was watching you because I was trying to figure out how to say hi..."

Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash,"This is the most I've ever seen Fluttershy be social."

"Tell me about it. She's not that talkative even with me," Rainbow whispered back.

"Can you talk with animals? We should really talk more about the animals you've met." Fluttershy then turned to the group, "That's Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Percy, and Scanlan. You shouldn't be so shy, we are actually really friendly."

"Oh, hi!" Keyleth waved to the others.

The rest waved back. Scanlan looked up as if he weren't really paying attention, and then looked to the reader, “Wow, we're getting the group together fast!"

"Well, I think we have to. The fans would get too impatient," Pinkie commented. then she looked up and smiled, "Wow, you can see them too!? HI ME!"

Keyleth looked at this.

"Don't ask, just, don't," Twilight said.

Rainbow Dash nodded, "Let's just call it, Pinkie being Pinkie."

"Oh, okay!" Keyleth said with a smile,"So, uh, what are you doing here?"

"We're heading towards Westruun," Dash said, "We need to find some sort of font to help our friend. And trying to get some items to help kick a god's ass."

"What's an Ashari," asked Applejack.

Keyleth gasped,"Wow, beating up a god!?" She turned to Applejack,"Well, the Ashari are a group of tribes that are tasked with guarding four paths to the elemental planes: Earth, Air, Water, Fire." She indicated herself,"I'm on my Aramente, a journey where a member of these tribes goes to each plane to become a master of each element."

"Wow!" Pinkie gasped, leaping on top of Applejack's head, "How many have you done so far?"

Keyleth turned away,"... one..." She kicked the ground,"I haven't gotten the chance to go to the others because it’s so dangerous here."

"We have noticed," Rarity said, looking back at one of the dead dogs.

Fluttershy stepped forward, "Would you like to come with us, and maybe we can help you? If... you don't mind that is," she added, lightly kicking the ground.

Rainbow Dash muttered, "Wow, meet one druid and she's become a regular Pinkie."

“ ’Member, we don't have anypony like her back home," Applejack said, "She's simply being ecstatic meeting somepony she can talk to on her level."

"Yeah, yeah," Dash said, looking a little down.

Keyleth gasped,"I would love that! It gets pretty lonely out here."

Scanlan walked forward,"Perfect. The first thing you need to learn, I'm the leader, and I make the decisions."

Percy coughed,"I'm pretty sure the princess makes the decisions." he indicated Twilight.

Scanlan looked at Twilight,"You're a princess!? I thought those wings were just a fashion statement!"

"How... could wings be a fashion statement?" asked Dash, shaking her head.

Rarity paused and began to think Fake wings. Make yourself look like a princess... hmmm.

Twilight let out a sheepish chuckle before looking away, "Um, yeah. I don't like to throw my weight around. And I guess I'm kind of the leader at the moment." though I am the weakest one here.

"And besides, we could use another healer. Fluttershy can only do so much," Applejack said.

Keyleth smiled,"Great! I can't wait to be friends!"

"You already are!" Pinkie said, glomping Keyleth tightly.

"Yay!" Keyleth hugged her back.

"Going to be one interesting trip," Applejack said.

As the moon hung high in the sky, Keyleth sat with Fluttershy before the small fire. Pausing for a moment, she lightly tapped her chin, “So, um, druid magic. How do explain it? It’s kind of like normal earth pony magic but different. Like, how they tend to it and manipulated through their hooves, druids connect to all parts of nature.”

“All parts?” asked Fluttershy.

“Yeah!” Keyleth said, eyes brightening. “Earth ponies just tend to things like trees and the ground, druids connect to everything. The wind, the fire, earth, and water, knowing everything is in a delicate balance.”

Fluttershy gasped, “Oh, I get it. Like how animals live in a cycle of predator and prey.”

“Now you are getting it,” Keyleth said, before blushing and saying, “Even if I don’t a little.”

“But pegasi magic works differently. We just feel a connection to an element through our wings, I don’t think I can learn it,” Fluttershy said.

Keylethlooked at her, “But you talk to Trinket. And you seemed to be able to care for him.”

“But, that’s just part of my special talent,” Fluttershy said.

“And it’s exactly the same as druid magic,” Keyleth said, “Your special talent is a link to tapping into druid magic. Just, follow the same feeling that you have when you need to talk to an animal or to help heal them.”

Or a second, Fluttershy closed her eyes and breathed, letting the magic of the weaving flow through. Breathing softly, she began to feel the magic and the world around her, each animal speaking through her. And for a moment, she could feel her body surrounded by green mana until she let go, panting, “I think I almost that.”

“It takes time,” Keyleth said, smiling, “Even I had troubles.”

With the morning coming, the group left their camp with their new party member. For a few miles, the group walked through the woods, listening to the sounds of animals calling or talking. Occasionally, Dash would fly ahead and scout, looking for a new monster. Down below, Twilight walked ahead with Scanlan, looking over her map and notes.

Applejack took a few steps back to stand with Percy, "Tell me, why did you wind up here? Why are you adventuring out here? We haven't had much of a chance to talk yet."

Percy looked at Applejack and sighed,"Why am I here? Well, I wish I could say is something as selfless as just wanting to help my princess, and sorta childhood acquaintance. But the reality is that I'm mainly here to get revenge." He looked at his own hooves as they walked,"There is a stallion here that I need to kill." He brought out his pistol,"Silas, Delilah, Volkermord, Stone Fell, and Anders. A list of ponies I need dead for what they did to my family." He looked at Applejack,"I am not a good stallion, Applejack."

Applejack pulled back when he mentioned the word kill, and then at the list on the pistol. Taking in what he said, she said, "I think you're wrong. A good stallion wouldn't be here right now, trying to help us."

"..." Percy said nothing, only letting out a small sigh. As they continued walking, he said,"Volkermord seemed to have had a strange interest in you."

"Me? Who is this guy? You mentioned him earlier, but Ah never met him before," Applejack said.

"He is an earth pony 'scientist.' However his idea of science is skewed. He only wants to prove that earth ponies are superior to any other race." Percy snarled,"He was respected in some circles until news of his horrible experiments came to light. Then he went to hiding... and found my hometown of Whitestone and began to work with the Briarwoods. The entire reason I was captured was that I had attempted to kill him." He looked at his pistol,"And now he has the designs for my guns."

"He just sounds mad. How could somepony think any one race is better than the others, we're all ponies. We're all equal," Applejack then sighed and looked to the gun. Shaking her head, she muttered to herself, "hate to see that kind of weapon in his hands." after walking a few more feet, she then added, "Let me guess, these Brairwoods killed your parents."

Percy shot Applejack a quick look before she continued, "Kind of figured from the way you were talking. You sound like Ah do when I think of my parents and home. A manticore killed them when they were walking with once. Never forgot it, the blood, the anger, the rage. But being focused on wanting revenge doesn't make you a bad stallion.

"... Vengeance can do a lot of bad to a pony," Percy said.

"But having a strong bond, and someone who cares about you can do more," Applejack said.

"Bonds, huh... pretty much our entire culture in a nutshell..." Percy sighed.

In the middle, Scanlan was playing a song on his little flute.

"That is such a great little tune," Pinkie said with a smile. "Soooooooo, backstory, give!"

Scanlan looked at her, and laughed,"Oh, that backstory is depressing, I don't think you want to hear it. All you need to know is that I am looking for a very important fjord pony."

"Ohhhh, how important?" Pinkie asked

Scanlan smiled,"Important enough to get me to cross the entire country for her." He let out a whistle through his flute,"Of course, I don't know how she's going to react to me, she hardly knows me! Though I hardly know her so..."

"Aw, it'll be fine!" Pinkie said with a smile, "You know what they say about a warm smile and a big hug!"

Scanlan grinned,"They fix everything?"

Pinkie nodded,"That and a tasty cupcake!"

"A tasty cupcake does solve everything, doesn't it!?" Scanlan said with a laugh,"Like keeping that Gibbering Mouther away from us!"

Pinkie laughed with Scanlan.

Fluttershy walked with Keyleth, "Um, Keyleth. Can I ask you to do something, if you are ok with it."

"Sure!" Keyleth said.

“What’s it like, connecting to nature as you do?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, it’s like you are binding with the world around you. Like you feel connected to everything all at once,” Keyleth said, “My mom said the difference between wizards and druids is that wizards have to learn to bend the weave to their control, we druids ask for a hoof in friendship.”

“I think, I can understand,” Fluttershy said.

“Of course, I think to help,” Keyleth said, “She walked to her side and began touching her wings,"We might need to use these somehow."

Fluttershy let out a small shiver as Keyleth toughed the wings, "Sorry, sensitive."

"Oh, sorry!" Keyleth said,"I forgot that about pegasi, even though I'm Air Ashari..."

"No, no. It's ok," Fluttershy said with a blush, Pegasi don’t talk about it much."

"I see," Keyleth said,"I'll keep that mind, especially if we meet other pegasi."

Meanwhile.

Twilight looked at Rarity and Rainbow Dash,"So... got any stories to tell?"

"Just a little peeved that Fluttershy ats all quiet around all of us, but she meets one druid, and boom, she's Pinkie!" Dash said.

Rarity looked up, "Dash, are you jealous?"

"No! Just a little peeved that my oldest friend barely talks around everyone else. I worked hard to get her out of her shell and one pony fixes it," Dash began to grumble a little to herself as she floated for a bit.

Rarity sighed and looked to Twilight, "Are you holding up, dear? I can't imagine it's been easy."

"Me, oh I've been fine!" Twilight rolled her eyes,"I only have to live without the one thing I'm known for a while!"

Rarity gave a little smirk, "Oh, and here I thought that they took away your sarcasm as well as your magic. But, I am glad that they kept that."

"Rarity, they couldn't take my sarcasm even if they killed me... and they have!" Twilight said.

"And I believe we are all grateful for that," Rarity joked.

"You better be, I'm not planning on dying again!" Twilight smiled,"I'm also not going to let any of you die either!"

"Oh, believe me, dying will always be the furthest thing on my mind," Rarity said, before looking back at her friend, "Were you always scared this would happen?"

Twilight sighed,"Why wouldn't I be? You know me right? I have a billion possibilities running through my mind about how we would die... some monster, some villain out for revenge. Sometimes we'd be together, other times we'd be by ourselves. It comes with the territory, doesn't it?"

“Indeed it does," Rarity said, looking down,a small sigh escaping her lips as she walked.

Twiligt looked at Rarity, "Are, you ok?"

"No, it's nothing. Really," Rarity said, "You know me, I am always understanding and completely aware of our responsibilities as heroes and knights of the realm."

"Ok," Twilight said with a pause, making a note in her head.

The group stopped as a mass of flesh and teeth was groaning in front of them.

"And what...is that?" asked Dash.

That..." Keyleth gulped,"Is a Gibbering Mouther. A highly dangerous creature! We should-"

"YAH!" A large grey stallion, roughly the size of Celestia, appeared in the air and slammed his ax into the gibbering mouther. he had a cask of ale cutie mark and wore a thick black beard

Scanlan blinked,"Oh, a shire pony? Well I suppose..." He trailed off as another pony came up behind the stallion.

The pony was a fjord mare, with a blond mane and tail. Her cutie mark was of a pony-like figure with large wings,"Good job, Grog!"

Meanwhile, in Scanlan's mind...

The mare's mane flowed as she swished her head back and forth. she combed it back with her hoof before looking at him,"Hey..."

Grog got back up and cracked his neck side to side. Looking at the monster, he listened to it roar. Then he let out a loud roar right back, making the monster quiver in fear and leave a little wet pool next to its blood. With a laugh he picked up his ax and went for two more slashes, cutting deep into the vile beast’s body. Then he grabbed its jaw and pulled, tearing it off and then ramming it back into the creature's eyes. Then he walked away, dusting himself off.

Rainbow Dash looked down at the splattered abomination from my deepest nightmares, and then back to Grog, then back to the scariest thing in my life, and then back to Grog, and then back to the child of a shoggoth, and then back to Grog. Growling she began to march up to him and putting her snout to his, "Hey, we called dibs on that thing!"

"Um, excuse me miss, but is he your friend?" asked Fluttershy.

"My, he is..." Rarity blushed as he looked at him, her eyes widening, "Big."

"Twilight, can ponies can grow that big?" Applejack asked.

N-not normally... " Twilight squeaked.

The mare smiled at Fluttershy,"Yep, his name's Grog. Don't worry, he's only like that when he sees something he wants to kill." She looked at Applejack,"You never seen a Shire pony before?"

"Oh, wait," Grog paused, looking at Rainbow dash, "Are you an Equestrian pony? From the," he paused, holding up one hoof, and then the other. After a few moments, he said, "The east?"

"Yeah?" Dash asked, pausing in utter horror as she remembered what she had promised.

"I thought you didn't like battle. I thought you just liked to sing, dance, and give warm hugs.” Grog said.

Rainbow Dash bit her lip, before hanging he head in defeat and whispering Damn it.

Applejack shook her head, "We don't have anypony like that back home. We come from Equestria and the last time Ah saw somepony that big was our princess. And your name-"

BAM!

The girls turned to the loud sound from Grog and Rainbow's position. And they saw Grog standing in front of a deep pit where Rainbow's legs were sticking out, twitching, and feathers landing around the pit. A pained moan could be heard while Rainbow laid, her forelegs sticking up, and a giant hoofprint on her back.

"Grog!" the mare shouted.

"Pike," Grog said,"She hit me first, I thought it was a challenge!"

"We still shouldn't hit them, they are guests to our country!" Pike gave a very disappointed frown.

Grog then moaned, before looking down at Dash,"Sorry..."

"Its, ok. I think I saw my grandma for a few moments..." Dash moaned.

"Aint she dead?" asked Applejack, only for another moan from Dash to confirm how hard he hit.

"Could somepony get my feathers? I think they are over there with my pride..." Dash groaned.

Fluttershy sighed and reached down, helping Rainbow Dash up. After applying some ointment, she healed her friend, "Now Rainbow, why did you go and do such a thing?"

"Well, I did say that the next time a pony said that I would punch them! And I gotta keep my promise!" Dash said as Fluttershy affixed some bandages.

"So, why were you two traveling out here? Do ya two just normally find random monsters to kill?" asked Applejack.

Pike and Grog sat down with the rest of them,"Well, we were just taking a walk... and Grog also wanted to kill some random monsters. It gets pretty dangerous here in the Bramblewood, more so than other places." She smiled,"So, what brings you here? I didn't expect to see any ponies from Equestria here."

Scanlan brushed his mane,"I'm here from your dreams..."

Deciding now was a good time for their rations and meal, the group got out their food and began to share with Grog and Pike. Twilight quickly began to explain their quest and their reasons for coming. Pinkie smiled, "And that is how we got here!"

"Hmm, defeating gods, that's interesting, to say the least." Pike looked at Twilight, who had a grim look on her face,"But there's something you're not telling me."

"... I and Percy found your cousin, JB in Equestria. She's alive, but she was tortured by a stallion named Volkermord," Twilight said.

Pike's eyes widened,"JB!?" She looked down before glaring at Twilight,"What does he look like, and how fast can I put the hurt on him?"

Grog put a hoof on her shoulder,"I can take him on if you'd like." He smirked.

"So, I guess this means you are gonna help us out?" asked Applejack.

"Well, we were probably gonna help you out anyway, so yes!" Pike said with a smile.

Scanlan whispered while holding his hooves in a prayer position,"Thank you, Mercer!”

"Dibs on riding on top of Grog!" Pinkie shouted as she leaped on top of him.

Scanlan raised a hoof, before shaking his head,"Too easy, even for me."

Grog laughed as he walked with the group

Their journey continued for a day and a half, with no real attacks from any monsters. Along the way, Fluttershy listened to Keyleth discuss the various cure and medicines that could be found around the woods. Next to her, Pike walked alongside and would look at her medallion, “Um, excuse me,” Fluttershy asked, looking at the symbol, “But what is that pendant you are wearing?”

“Oh, this? This is a symbol from my goddess, Sarenrae,” Pike said, “I’m a cleric, we tend to gain magic from our gods.”

“You mean like the old gods or Celestia and Luna?” asked Fluttershy.

“Well there are plenty of gods out there for us clerics to gain power from,” Pike said, “Gods of the sun, gods of nature-”

“Nature?” gasped Fluttershy.

Twilight mainly kept to herself, focusing on the map as they managed to make their way out of the woods. Rainbow Dash floated behind Twilight and grumbled, "Twi, if we are not there yet, I swear to Celestia on high I am going to go mad!!!"

"Well, I'm sorry we can't go any faster, Rainbow!" Twilight said, “Unfortunately, cars are an invention from Sunset's world, so we're just going to have to stick to this.

"Look we are on a time limit and I hate being slow!" Dash shouted.

"I could polymorph everyone if you want?" Keyleth suggested.

Pinkie smiled, "Polymorph?"

Keyleth smiled,"Oh, that's where I can turn all of you into animals!"

"Oh, I would love to be an animal," Fluttershy whispered.

Applejack put a hoof to her chin, "It would get us there faster."

Twilight ignored her friends as she glared at Rainbow Dash, “Oh yeah, that time limit. One we wouldn’t even have or have a bigger one if it wasn’t for you!”

"Look, I just happen to have confidence in what we can do! They think we can't do this in three months, I am going to show them we can," Dash shouted to Twilight.

"Then maybe you should stop whining about having a time limit unless you want to fly ahead of us!?" Twilight shouted.

FINE! I WILL!" Dash said, taking off "And then, I'll come back and remind you why I am the fastest there is!"

Applejack walked to Twilight, "I think she is having some emotional issues."

Twilight sighed,"Yeah, she is."

Trinket then looked up with a growl.

"Trinket!" A blue half-deer flew down, wings fluttering as she gave the bear a hug,"There you are!"She began to rub his neck,"Did these ponies find you and take care of you!?" She turned to them,"Hello there!"

Percy looked at her then looked away,"Wow..."

"Howdy," Applejack said tipping her hat.

"Oh, you must be Vex!" Fluttershy said, flying over and petting Trinket, rubbing his fur. "We found him outside the forest all alone and scared. But I took care of him. He is such a good bear and really friendly. He said he missed you a lot."

Trinket happily nuzzled his mommy, letting out a purr.

"Look at that, he's happy," Fluttershy said.

Pinkie smiled, "Aw, such a happy reunion!"

Scanlan walked to Percy and lightly closed his mouth, "Stop drooling, we all can see your uvula."

Rarity stepped up to vex, "Excuse me, while all of this meeting is wonderful and I am very happy to see you reunited with your baby. I must ask you," she looked at Vex and her armor, "Where did you get that wonderful attire. It is simply divine!"

"Oh, I made it myself, part of my training as a Ranger darling." Vex said," But your outfit is even better, did you make that yourself?"

"Why yes, I did. How astute of you to notice," Rarity said with a warm smile and putting her hoof to her chest. "I tend to make all of my clothing, I am a dressmaker by trade. As a matter of fact, I would love to assist you one day. I may not be good at leatherworking but give me time."

"Oh, that would be wonderful darling. I was just saying..."

As they talked, Applejack slinked to Twilight, "Twi...When Rainbow Dash gets back, she is gonna scream that there are two of them."

"But what brings you out here darling?" asked Rarity.

"Well I'm here to look for two things, my bear." she petted Trinket,"... and my brother."

Rarity raised an eyebrow, "Your brother?"

"Vax'ildan, or Vax," Vex put a hoof to her face,"We kinda had a little tiff about our next job, and he ran off to prove himself."

"What kind of tiff?" asked Applejack.

Rarity sighed, "Well, whatever it was, I'm sure we can talk it over with once he calms down. We've recently had a friend of ours go off in a little bit of a tiff."

(A few minutes ago)

Rainbow Dash grumbled as she flew around. This was where she loved the most, and the place for her mind to be cleared. Thoughts of the past few days flowed through her mind, of Twilight's death and how she almost lost another friend. She began to grumble a little to herself about how she was feeling useless in comparison to these ponies of this country and how she was so easily beaten. Shaking her head, she continued to fly until she saw a small little mansion. Smirking, she said, "Hello exploration."

Landing on her hooves, she began to walk through, singing to herself, "give me a smidge of confidence

give me a speak of something that makes sense

give me an idea of dependency

give me a dash of Loyalty (Loyalty)"

"Man I love singing my song!" she chuckled as she continued to sneak through the mansion.

A male voice whispered behind her,"You know, you wouldn't be seen if you weren't singing your theme song, Speedy."

"Hey it's not like anypony is around to hear-" she paused, and then her wings shot out. Turning around, she asked, "Who said that? Where are you punk?"

"I said it." the voice said,"Vax'ildan's the name, but you can shorten to Vax if you wish. As for where I am, well, you'll have to try real hard to see me."

"I don't need to try hard!" Dash said, taking off into the air, "I just need the air advantage and a little lightning," she then began to rub her hooves together, causing lighting to crackle and light the dark room. "And I'll see you!"

A few black feathers fell from behind Rainbow,"I can fly too."

"Oh, big mistake emo boy," Dash said, "Because I can turn around very quickly!" she said, using her speed to move fast to get behind herself, and-

"WHAT?!" see nothing. "How did you, are you teleporting and you are just too wimpy to hide like a real pegasus?"

"No, I just really good reflexes... also I enjoy messing with ponies." Vax let out a small chuckle.

"Oh, ain’t we just a smart ass!" Dash said, growling. Then she flew up into the air and spun around, creating a small tornado that also rearranged the furniture, "HA! Dodge that one, emo!"

"I did," Vax said.

Rainbow Dash held up her hoof and then put her foreleg in the elbow, "Speak Equus buddy? Know what this means where I live?"

"Equus? Oh, are you Equestrian? Are you going to sing me to death?"

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, "Tell me...you ain’t a giant of a stallion are ya?"

"No. Ate you going to try and hit me?" Vax asked.

"Yea, because you are about to see why I am the fastest thing on the planet!" and with a shout, she began to run and strike and attack at every spot in the mansion.

There was a clicking sound, and a black blur flew off.

Rainbow Dash stood dumbfounded, and then her wings spread out. Narrowing her eyes, she growled and got into a racing stance, "OH!" pushing her hindleg back, she crouched, "IT! IS!" and then took off in a blue blur, "ON!"

The blur then stopped, revealing himself to be a black half-deer with wings. He was staring at something.

Rainbow Dash ran in front of him and panted, "HA! Told ya not to mess with me. And" she paused" Oh, a little deer boy huh? Didn't realize you were an emo half brain idiot. But now I cornered you. Did you really think you could outpace me?" she said, walking back and forth. "No pony beats Rainbow Dash, I don't care what kind of pony they are."

Vax stared.

"And that's what Twilight needs to understand. I can be egotistical and big-headed because I have the skills! And she should know it too. I mean, yeah, she's lost her magic and is in a bad place and needs us, but that's why she should rely on me!"

Vax stared some more.

"Because I can do it. We all have our own talents and skills. And my god, we are good at them. Just you wait, we'll make a name here and then we can show off what we can do." she then sighed, "I guess I just needed to cool off. I'm not really mad at her, y’know. Just annoyed. She's getting scared and anxious, and she knows she makes mistakes when she is like that. I guess that's coming from how she was born and raised/"

Vax stared and shuddered, letting out a small gulp.

"I think I'll head back and apologize. I just want to get this done and save everypony, y'know." Dash then frowned, "WILL YOU SAY SOMETHING AND LOOK AT ME!?""

Vax nudged her with his wing and then pointed in front of them.

"Oh no, I'm not stupid enough for that," Dash said, turning to look at the stone golem, "He thinks I'm that stupid to fall for it." she said before turning to face Vax. Then her ears drooped, as well as her wings. With a paler coat than usual, she looked back behind her at the giant stone golem. With a gulp, she took a few steps away and then took off in a blur of rainbows and blue. Vaw quickly followed behind her.

"JENGA JENGAJENGAJENGAJENGAJENGAJENGAJENGAJENGAJENGAJENGAJENGAJENGAJENGAJENGA!!!!!"

Outside and in the field, Vex continued to talk, "And that was when I told that deer that his so-called tacos were deplorable. Granted that made his twin mad. So Vax and I-"

Rainbow Dash ran by her in a blur, "Hey girls! Hey New Pony! A monsterschasingmegottagetgoing!"

Vax ran by,"Hey sis, hey new ponies! A monsterschasingmegottagetgoing!"

"I take it," Rarity said, watching the black blur, not seeing Grog smirking as he got up. Slowly, he began to walk away from the group, wielding his ax with a big grin.

"That's your brother?"

"Yup. That's your friend?"

Grog let out a battle cry as he raced off, much to Applejack's confusion. Rarity nodded to Vex, and sighed, "Seems she met your brother. That's good. It makes things easier."

Applejack stepped up, "Anypony want to ask what they meant by a monster is chasing them?"

That was when Grog flew through the air, shouting "He hits hard!!!!"

Twilight watched as a large stone golem rolled towards them,"Um, I think they were yelling about that!"

Applejack stood in front of Twilight, "Twi, you and Fluttershy hang back now. We got this."

Twilight grumbled,"Sure..."

The golem raised a hand, before lowering it,"Stay out." It said, before walking back to the mansion.

The ponies all just stood there, utter shock and amazement in their eyes as they watched the giant walk away. Rainbow Dash landed next to them with Vax following. Quirking an eyebrow, she said "That's it? He just wanted us to get out? Hey, Bu-"

before she could say another word, Applejack covered Dash's mouth while Pinkie...well...did what Pinkie did best. "She's awfully sorry mister."

"Mrs." the stone giant said. "Mrs. Aronowitz. I'm taking care of the house while the hubby is away."

It was then Pinkie noticed that the stone giant had a large pink apron and stone curlers in her hair. Letting out a silent nod in total understanding, she continued, "Dashie was just letting out some steam and she didn't mean to ransack your home."

"Kids today, no one respects the home and hearth," Aronowitz said, crossing her arms.

"So, here is a cheering-up cupcake and muffin just for you. To make up for it," Pinkie said, pulling the pan of cupcakes from her mane and handing it to the stone giant.

Percy looked at the campfire, and then the ingredients, and then the stove. He paused for a moment, "How did she-"

"The answer is Pinkie," Twilight said.

The giant took a few bites and nodded in approval, "Wow, this is good. Ya have to share with me the recipe."

"Here!" Pinkie said, handing the recipe to the giant.

Smiling, the giant said, "Aw thanks. This is going to make my kids so happy." she then began to walk back to her home.

Pinkie waved goodbye, "Bye, Mrs. Aronowitz!" and then she bounced back t the party, "What a nice lady."

Vex hugged her brother,"I'm sorry brother, but next time, don't ransack some poor stone golem's house!"

"I'm sorry too, but I didn't know it was occupied!" Vax said.

Rainbow Dash sighed, "Twi, look. I'm sorry all right. It's just I really want to show what we can do. I'm getting tired of all of these westerners thinking we just solve problems with singing and dancing and warm hugs." she then looked to Pinkie and shouted, "You don't count. So I figured w can show him up."

Rarity nodded, "I think we can say you are starting to lea..." Rarity paused as she looked at Vax.

"rn...." she looked at his handsome form, the sleekness of his coat, the sad look in his eyes that showed he ha been through. The dark gloss of his wings gave an air of mystery to him as Rarity felt a shiver up her spine.

("Don't come near me, lady Rarity. I'm, broken." Imaginary Vax said, a large gourd of sand on his back and a red tattoo that readout love on it)

"Oh my Celestia," Rarity said, fixing her mane.

(Possible boyfriends: 1. Vax. 2. Percy. 3. Grog. 4 Scanlan.)

"Are you alright, miss?" Vax asked.

Vex giggled at this,"Add another one to the pile, brother..."

Keyleth began tripping over herself,"Oh, uh, hi?"

"Maybe 2..."

"Oh, perfectly fine dear," Rarity said, smiling. Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw Keyleth tripping and then said, "Oh, have you met our druid?"

Vax stared at Keyleth for a minute,"Not yet..."

"This lovely little doe is our druid, and I think we will talk more later," Rarity said, while also introducing the others, "And this is the rest of our little merry band, who I am sure Keyleth would be glad to show you."

As Rarity left the two, Applejacksmirked at this and made a whistling sound, before making an explosion. Rarity narrowed her eyes at this before giving off a whiff and whispering "Still have one more." this caused Applejack to chuckle at this.

Pinkie Pie walked over to Twilight and patted her shoulder, "What's wrong Twily? You got the 'I need to say something but I don't wanna’ look."

Twilight let out a shuddering sigh.

Percy placed a hoof on her shoulder,"You can't delay it forever."

"Vex, Vax?" Twilight said, causing the twins to look her way,"Your mom..."

Vax immediately glared,"What do you know of her?"

"... She was in Equestria... a stallion named Volkermord tortured her to death..."

Vex stomped up towards her,"Our mother died in a dragon attack, how could-"

"Elaina, right? Her name was Elaina." Percy said.

Vex's eyes widened in horror as she stepped back,"No..."

Vax looked away in silence, staring at the ground.

Vex snarled,"Where... is he!?"

"Here, in the country, but all we know." Twilight turned away.

"... We'll find him. And then we'll fucking kill him!" tears fell from her eyes as she turned away.

Rarity walked up to Vex and patted her back comfortingly, "We'll all help if you let us. I do believe that we may end up crossing paths with this stallion if things continue as they are."

"Not one for vengeance, but this stallion needs to answer for something like that," Applejack said, tipping her hat.

Rainbow Dash looked at Vax and smiled, "Yeah, we'll all help. Providing that emo can fight as well as he can smack talk."

Vax let out a hmph in response,"Well, if you can keep up with me, Speedy."

"Oh, I can do more than that, Emo," Dasi snarked, "Just wait for the next rumble and I'll show ya."

"Oh, wow, are you going to sing the problem away?"

Dash growled, "No, I'll tornado the problem away and then I'll-

"Ok you two, stop comparing wing sizes!" Applejack said, stepping up in between them.

Rarity looked at Vex, "Is your twin always like this?"

Vex let out a sigh,"Only when someone as overconfident as him shows up."

"Oh dear," Rarity gasped.

"Yeah, we're going to have to deal with those two for a while."

Rarity sighed and looked down, "Don't suppose you know of a silence spell?"

"I have not prepared that, unfortunately." Vex said.

Scanlan raised a hoof,"I know Silence!"

"Right, considering my options," Rarity said, "Keyleth you are on Vax duty, Fluttershy you get Dash."

"Yes mam," Fluttershy said walking with Dash as the group began to get ready to set off.

Keyleth blinked,"Oh, uh, okay!" She shimmied up to Vax,"Hi! Rarity told me to keep an eye on you!"

Vax smirked a bit,"Well, thank you."

The group set off. The lights of a town not too far off.

"Hey Scanlan," asked Applejack, "Is that the place?"

There was a large city with a wall around it,"Looks like it!" Scanlan said.

Twilight walked ahead, noticing that the front gates were blown open,"What in the?"

"What, did a pegasus overdo it on tornado duty?" asked Rainbow Dash as she flew around the gates

There was nopony in the streets, however, Rainbow would notice some hiding in the houses.

Rainbow Dash looked down, "Hey, there is somepony in here."

Pinkie pie nodded and walked up, wrapping her hoof against the door, "Hello?"

"Help us!" a voice came from beyond the door,"There's a beast in town! He's frightened us!"

"A beast?" squeaked Fluttershy.

"What kind of beast," asked Grog.

"... He sounded way too happy about that." The villager coughed,"He claims to be a god, waiting for those who ate from the Fruit s of Harmony to come to him at the old Temple.

Applejak smiled, "Well that's us. How is he keeping you all inside and why are you coughing?”

"Oh, that was a sarcastic cough. Your friend is very scary." The stallion said,"He slaughtered a lot of the town guard. He's so strong, we're too scared to come out."

Oh, is he really that strong," Grog asked smiling. "Good. Tell me where he is and he'll meet Martha."

"Don't worry, we'll help."

Scanlan looked at him,"Martha?"

Grog nodded, "Yes, Martha. Named after my dear auntie."

"He's waiting at the temple down south =h from here."

"Right, time to kick ass-" Rainbow Dash let out a yelp as her tail was pulled, "Yeow! Why the tail!"

"We need a plan on how to get in and handle this. We are facing a god and we need to figure out who and what we need to do in order to win."

Vax looked at Applejack,"You need someone to scout ahead?"

Scanlan looked at her,"How about someone with a mouth?"

"Right, how about Scanlan and Vax scout ahead. The god will be expecting us, but not two ponies. Then if he gets suspicious, you can lead him a little away out." Applejack said. "This can leave us to head into that temple and see what is there."

"Just try and not to get yourself killed," Dash snaked.

Pike looked back at Twilight as the plan was being discussed and walked to her, "Are you all right?"

"No...not really," Twilight said with a sigh, "Just watching Applejack talk like that, planning. It's just right now reminding me of how useless I really am without magic!"

"Oh," Pike said, nodding.

"You take away Applejack's strength, she's still got a clear head. Each of them still has something that makes them better without their unique strengths. All I am right now is the book nerd that needs protection. And I hate it more and more," Twilight said, running her foot along the ground.

Pike ran a hoof along Twilights, "Sarenae has a saying, one I kind of find solace in. Even when we think we have nothing, if we look deep inside, we find something bright inside that will show how special we are."

"That sounds like something Celestia once said," Twilight said, raising her head. "Pike I think-"

"Yo, Twilight! Scanlan, and Vax are already gone, lets move it!" Dashs aid.

"Right, let's go..."

Scanlan whistled as he walked down the street,"Right, no pressure. I'm going to die if I'm not careful, but no pressure."

Ahead was the purple manned grey coated form of Antares.

Vax clung to the shadows, and then he overheard Scanlan muttering, "Oh, don't be like that. Dying is not too bad, at least you lived a good life."

"Dude, I'm only 69 years old! That's young for a Fjord!" Scanlan hissed.

Vax gave a chuckle as he found a ledge to run up and leap to the rooftop, "I said good, not long. Now, just keep doing what you are the best at and give me an opening." he said, hiding behind a small chimney.

Antares looked around and then saw Scanlan. A smile came to his lips as he looked at the fjord, "Ah, a race I had never seen before until now. And what is your name good sir?

Scanlan pointed to himself. He came in wearing a mustache,"I am Burt Reynolds, Esquire. I came to inquire about your presence in this humble little town!"

Antares bowed and said, "A pleasure to meet you Burt. I am Antares, a god of emotion and control, and the reason why I am here is-" his face then narrowed in rage as he took on a very angry PErsona. "TO lure those annoying bitches here and kill them before hanging their bodies as a warning! Got a problem with that ya piece of shit small fry?"

Vax rolled his eyes as he leaped to another rooftop, almost slipping on the shingle, "Boy does he have issues." across his vision, he could see Vex slinking into a small empty building. "Stubby, be careful."

"Whoa!" Scanlan smirked,"No, I don't have a problem at all. But how do you know those mares are coming anyway? For all you know, they could be taking a detour somewhere else, and you'd be sitting here for no reason whatsoever!"

"Because, you fucking moron," Antares coughed a little, "Sorry, sometimes I get rage moments. But, the reason why I can figure is that this temple has what they need. I can feel old magic here. Ancient. Either a dragon is lying in wait here and protecting it, or there is an item here that can give them an edge."

His eyes narrowed and looked down at Scanlan, growling, "And while they need the help to save their asses, a god-like me doesn't! And I know they are coming! I sent a gibbering mouther out not too long ago and he hasn't been back. Unless that organization killed him, those FUCKTARDS killed it."

"Not exactly the nicest god," Vax whispered.

Grog began to tap his ax against a wall, counting, "1,3,5. 1,3,5. 1,3,5. Pike can I go smash yet?"

“No, Grog, wait for the signal, remember?" Pike said.

"Organization?" Scanlan cocked his head,"What organization are you speaking of?”

"Since we got here, we heard of these fucking hunters called the Slayer’s Take. They hunt monsters and I met one of their own. I told them to fuck off if they knew what was good for them!" Antares said, before softening, "Oh, I do hope you don't mind my cussing and swearing, I cant help it."

"Oh, I understand perfectly." Scanlan shook his head,"I have many mannerisms that I cannot help with!"

"Like fucking talking to much!" Antares said, stomping his hoof to Scanlan, "Now, are you going to leave my presence or will I rip your fucking Dick off and ram it down your through to give yourself a fucking blow job!" then he pulled back and blushed, "Um, if you please."

Vax shook his head and made a motion to tell Scanlan to move to the left and then to the right for his right angle.

"Now, that is one of my fantasies..." Scanlan coughed,"Excuse me," he moved to the left, and then to the right.

"What are you doing? Are you delaying your death you FOAL?!" asked Antares angrily. Then he frowned, "Or do you have another question?"

"Yes, um, have you spent enough time here?" Scanlan asked.

"Why no, I hav-"

Silently, Vax leaped from the top of a roof and jumped down onto Antares. Pulling out a dagger from his belt, he used a hoof to jab it deep into his neck and slash at the gods back. Then he leaped off, taking flight to another roof while throwing a third dagger. The god grabbed this and broke it in his magic. "Damn, that was my favorite dagger," Vax said.

"YOU TRICKED ME YOU FUCKING SHORT STACK!" Antares growled, magic flowing from his horn.

"Yeah, well, I kinda did, and,

It's too late to cast that spell,
It's too late!" HE shouted, horn glowing to disrupt Antares'.

"What?" Antares asked, feeling his magic short circuit for a brief second as two arrows shot into his flesh.

"Now?" asked Grog with a big freaking smile

Pike brandished her mace,"Now!"

Percy looked at the Mane 6,"Go."

"Wait, what about you guys?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Percy got ready to hold his gun,"Your destiny is back there. Ours is here."

Keyleth looked at him,"But aren't you from the same country?"

Percy turned her,"Yes, but I am better suited here."

Rainbow Dash frowned and looked down. Then she narrowed her eyes as she said, "Just don't die!"

"Not planning on it!" Vex said from afar.

The mane six watched for a few moments as the group of new friends made their way to the battlefield. For a brief moment, Rainbow Dash made a move to join, but Applejack stopped her with a foreleg and shook her head. Growling, Rainbow Dash ran with Applejack by her side towards the temple.

Antares frowned as he glared at Scanlan, his magic beginning to glow once more, "You bards are clever. in my time, you LITTLE ASSHOLES WERE NOTHING BUT OVERSEXED, Buttmonkey, wastes of space who think poop humor is hilarious.

"Hey, I'm not a butt monkey or a waste of space," Scanlan said.

"But I am sorry to say," Antares said, taking flight, "Your dreams of glory and that of your ally will be squa-URRRK!" he gasped as yellow streams of light erupted from the ground and grabbed his wings to pull him to the ground with a crash.

"Did you see that? It worked! I never used that spell before!" cheered Keyleth as Antares began to break free. As he did, he found himself face to face with a goliath-sized uppercut and then a slash from Grog.

Angrily, Antares punched Grog in the face, pushing him back a little. His lip cut, Grog wiped the blood away and looked at the alicorn with an almost animal-like sneer.

Percy ran to a set of boxes to the side and shot at Antares.

Antares felt one bullet hit him, before pulling up a shield in defense.

"Figured, an unknown weapon would only catch him off guard once!"Percy said, before running out and looking for another spot of cover.

Vex flew to the god's side, her antlers glowing for a bit,"There." She said. In her eyes, Antares was surrounded by a glowing aura. She took out her bow, a flame erupting around the arrow, and fired.

Antares let out a groan in pain as the arrow struck him in the side. Looking to his left, he slammed hoof into the ground to cause a large stone to lift up and be thrown a Vex. As he did a dagger was thrown from one of the buildings and cut deep into his cheek. Looking around for his attacker, he saw a glimpse of a feather and fired a firebolt at it. Eyes then oped in shock as another dagger was thrown at the side, the metal glowing red hot and into his foreleg.

As Vax landed next to Vex to check up on her, Antares lifted his hoof to try and slam into his back, only to be slashed in the side by Grog. HE growled, "Getting close is not a very smart thing to do, foal!"

"Neither is pissing me off, but you are doing it anyway," Grog said, pulling away his ax. Then he spun around to slash across the chest twice before hitting his chin with the hilt of the ax, breaking some of Antares teeth.

Keyleth looked at the various plants around the area and began to concentrate, her horns and eyes glowing a bright green. While Scanlan shouted, "Hey, you know how you got your name? Because Ants are really tiny and so are your balls!"

"What?"

Pike chuckled a little at that before leaping onto one of the boxes, and causing her horn to glow, before firing a radiant bolt of energy from her mace,"Guiding Bolt!" She smiled,(This'll make things easier for everyone else to hit!)

Vex got up and nodded, before spinning around and shot another flaming arrow before flying off. Quickly finding purchase on the ground, she fired three more shots, each hit finding their mark into the wings of the alicorn

The growl of an angry bear came barreling towards Antares."Oh, how cute a bear," Antares said, before getting cut, "OH GODDESSES DAMNIT!"

"Good boy, Trinket!" Vex said with a smile. Seeing Vax throwing one of his daggers, she fired an arrow into the air, hitting the dagger and ricochetting, flying back to Antares. Before he could make a shield, the arrow split into hundreds of tiny thorns that slashed and cut into his body.

Percy rolled towards a saloon, doing a few more shots with his gun before going behind a pillar.

The shots flew, but only a few of them managed to make their mark before Antares put up a shield to block the shots. Looking to his left, he saw Vex preparing her arrow and began to raise his shield once more. He then let loose a series of screams and yelps as the branches of the trees began to cut and slash into his flesh while rocks pelted his skin.

Looking around he saw Keyleth using her earth magic. Smirking, he said, "You think you are a master of nature? well my dear," he then summoned a few tree branches and turned them into metal, "Eat this Bitch!!"

As the shards of metal flew at Keyleth, Scanlan pulled out his lyre and shouted, "And I strike, like THUNDERWAVE!" and rocked a wicked thread, allowing the wave of energy to knock the shards of metal out of the air. Keyleth smiled as she continued her spell, allowing rocks to slam into his face and roots to pull Antares into the ground.

Letting loose a growl, he looked to the left at Scanlan and snarled, "I can see that you will be the annoying one."

"No, I'm the handsome one," Scanlan bragged. "The annoying one is above you."

"What?" he asked and looked up, not seeing Grog slash twice with his ax.

"Whoops! I lied!" Scanlan said, "I mean in front of you. Ya skinny palooka!"

"Hey," Antares frowned, feeling pain, both from the attack and Grog's punch to the face, "That really hurt."

"So does this!" Vex said, firing three arrows, each one turning into flames as they struck into his chest.

"Vile BITCH!" he said, unleashing a lightning bolt, only to watch it fade away, bearly singing her fur. Turning his head, he saw Pike holding onto her symbol and whispering, allowing a faint blue glow to appear, "A cleric? Oh, ain’t that just a BITCH!

Pike looked up at him,"Flame Strike." She pointed at him, causing a pillar of flame to appear beneath him.

Percy watched this, and then ran into the saloon,"I need a barrel of wine!"

The bartender blinked,"Sir, is this really the-" Then Percy slammed a bag of bits down,"Okay!"

Percy lifted the barrel and then pointed it at the alicorn,"Magic, meet Science!" He bucked it towards him while the flames still kept going.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Grog shouted as he watched the barrel fly through the air and into the pillar of flames.

As the giant pillar circled him, burning and scarring his flesh, Antares looked up at the incoming barrel and growled, "You think I fear the corruption of wheat? I fear no bo-"

there was a roar of an explosion as the barrel ignited, causing a huge explosion that shook the village. Antares let loose a giant scream of pain and agony as the explosion rocked and incinerated around him.

As it exploded, he got to his knees and whimpered, "Piiiike!"

"Yes Grog?" asked Pike.

"I...would like to..." Grog lowered his head to Pike and began to cry loudly, "Cry!"

"Oh Grog," Pike said with a roll of her eyes and patted him on the neck. "We'll get you a barrel of ale when this is done."

Vax stood on top of the roof, "If this is done. Did it work?" asked Vax.

To answer Vax, there was a mournful scream of pain coming from the crater of the flame strike. Antares stood there, most of his fur was gone, blackened while his skin was blistering. Moaning, he walked towards the group as they began to gather. His horn, broken, sparked, and seemed to be a brother to his now destroyed wings, "You foals...y ou have done the impossible. You... have bested and killed a god without the powers of love or the increase of your mana. Impressive."

Scanlan smirked at this and thumbed his hoof, "What do you expect from our little group."

"Yes, and soon, the world will begin to know of your names. Soon, the other gods will be hunting for your hides like they hunt those who dine on the Tree of Harmony."

"Vex’ahila, Vax’ildan, Grog, Scanlan, Percy, Pike, Keyleth. If you are to be besting gods, you will need a name. One that will be sung in stories..." Antares moaned as his body began to fade.

"Well I got one," Scanlan said, "How about the S.H.I.-"

"There was a name of friends who won glory in their time, a group of people who desired to do the impossible and bring forth revolution. They have since faded with the generations," Antares moaned, "But today, I will bring forth the name once more. From this day forward, you will be known as...

Vox Machina!"

Scanlan shrugged,"I guess that works too."

Tales of the past

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Samus heard a beep on her helmet, and she paused for a moment. Green eyes moving to the left of her hud, she read to herself "Missiles downloaded."

"Lady, your missile-"

"I can read, Adam," Samus said, looking down. Putting a hoof to her chin, she said to herself, "I guess our theory is right. Each time one of them dies, my suit gains one of its powers back. Nice."

"All the more reason why we should move on from this little hunt, Lady," Adam said.

Samus turned o the bipedal creature in front of her, his tentacles moving under his mouth as he snarled. Then she looked at the two unicorns as they sat together in fear. With a smirk, she said, "What, and with a nice bounty in front of me and the additional reward of bringing those mares home?"

"Of course Lady, I was just hoping we would stop after this," Adam said.

The mind flayer growled, "Are you done? I was about to crack open your shell and feed upon your brain."

"I'm not done yet, I just have a request," Samus said with a smirk. Before he could ask, she said, "Say, "I want your braiiiiins, like a zombie."

"No, that's just stupid," the mind flayer said.

"Fine, how about after I calibrate my missiles, then you'll say it," Samus said, her horncannon opening to a small warhead.

"You really think that you can-" the rest of the sentence was blocked out by a volley of missiles to the face and a series of explosions. As he lay on the ground, bleeding out, he looked up at Samus.

"Now, say it," Samus said.

"Braiiiiiiiiiiins," he moaned.

"And who's my bitch?" Samsu asked, lightly smacking his face.

"What-"

"Who's my bitch? Are you my bitch?" asked Samus.

"I'm your bitch!" whimpered the mind flayer.

"Good boy." Samus chuckled.

--------------------------------------
A stallion's voice bellowed as the Mane Six entered,"Who goes there?"

Fluttershy let out a small eep and hid behind Rainbow Dash. Applejack stepped forward, and then Twilight stepped up. Nodding she said, "We came to this temple to find a font for earth magic and we are looking for help finding one of Meadowbrook’s items. We are on a long quest from home."

"Oh, and there's this god outside attacking? Care to help the ponies outside?" asked Rainbow with a smirk.

"I think the ponies outside have," He coughed a little," It handled. You are looking for the Madmare's items?"

"You mean Meadowbrook," Twilight said. "And yes. I mean, she is a scientist and an item maker. We kind of have to be a little mad."

"That explains so much about you," Dash teased.

A bronze stallion came into view, “I am Bronze Tail." He coughed again, “If you wish to grab one of her items, you must pass a test."

Applejack stepped forward, "Test, what kind of test?

"A test of combat." Bronze Tail said,"There is a creature behind me that will test your strength. If you can survive him for 10 minutes then I will allow you through." He walked through a door behind him.

“A combat test? Oh my," Fluttershy said, looking down.

Rainbow Dash smirked, "Hey, don't worry. Me and Applejack have got this."

"Yeah," Applejack said, "We can keep ya'll safe from whatever big guy is behind that door."

Pinkie looked behind her, hoping to see Scanlan. Instead, she thought she saw a random pony and said, "You see where this is going. I can even feel it."

"Yeah, so let him bring on any big bad ugly piece of-

A large bronze dragon stared them down.

"Bronze Dragon ass," Rainbow Dash said, frowning.

The bronze dragon laughed, “You've got a spine, Little one." He raised a claw up and slammed it down on them.

"Scatter!" Twilight shouted, causing the girls to disperse.

Applejack looked to Fluttershy and shouted,d "Shy, keep an eye on her. Me and Dash got this!"

"Party time!" shouted Rainbow Dash as she flew around the bronze dragon and began to charge with lighting. Then she clapped her front hooves together and launched a lightning bolt at the dragon. She had a small smirk on her face, only to lose it when the dragon didn't even flinch. Dash shook her head, "No way..."

Pinkie pie ran to the side of the dragon and began to look through her bag. then she pulled out a small shoulder-mounted cannon and fired a very hot pie at his face. At the same time, Rarity cocked an arrow.

The dragon ate the pie, before looking at Dash,"Nice shot. Allow me to return the favor." He charged lightning in his mouth.

Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs in front of her to take the shot, allowing the lightning to flow across her body. Narrowing her eyes, she spun her foreleg in a circle and then flew right back at him, the tornado now covering her entire leg as she slammed her hoof into his snout.

Down below, Applejack thrust her foreleg into his leg, followed by two more blows. Rarity aimed and fired three shots into his neck. Fluttershy watched and kept to Twilight, making sure she could keeper friend safe.

Twilight grumbled in frustration, “Don't kill yourself doing this!"

The dragon waved a claw in the air at Dash, before swinging his tail at Applejack

Applejack let out a grunt as the tail slammed into her stomach and knocked into the wall. Applejack held onto the rail for dear life and began to beat away at it.

The dragon swung it around, attempting to toss her into Dash.

Rainbow Dash caught Applejack in midair and then sat her back down. Looking back up, she growled and flew at him, rapidly hitting him at such a speed, it looked like there were four of her. Rarity began to move to the side to fire another arrow at the dragon's hide.

Pinkie, on the other hand, began to load a small bomb and fired at it from her cannon before throwing another bomb at him with a sparkling ball.

"A sparkling ball?" The dragon asked.

Music began to play

"New invention! I call it my Dancing Ball!" Pinkie giggled

The dragon smiled,"I like this!" He tapped his claw to the music.

Rarity stepped to the side and fired three arrows at him. At the same time, Applejack jumped up and slammed her right hind leg into his gut.

The dragon looked down at Applejack,"Don't you know not to attack a drake while he's dancing!?" He slammed his body down on her.

Applejack let out a groan of pain from the body slam. Slowly getting back up, she said, "Don’t ya know that you shouldn't try putting down an earth pony who's ready for a rumble?!" and then she charged.

Fluttershy laid down, closing her eyes, "You can do this, remember your training."

("It's easy to use druid magic. It's like, um...well, like earth pony magic but just a little bit different," Keyleth said.

"Sarenrae is just one of the gods," Pike said. "Melora is the one of nature, she guides and helps a lot of earth ponies in their magic.)

Green mana began to flow through her hooves as she looked, before launching out wines and roots to wrap around his tail, "I...I did it?"

The dragon looked at his tail,"A pegasus who uses druid magic?"

"Um well, I'm uh, kind of just starting, Mr. dragon sir," Fluttershy said walking to Applejack.

"Aw." The dragon said,” You’ll get better at it.”

"And I have been learning a little bit of cleric magic if I could heal my friend here while Rainbow Dash beats on your back or a few moments,” Fluttershy said. She ran to Applejack and placed her hooves on her body to summon a pure white glow.

"Ah, you mean the backscratcher?"

Rainbow Dash, who had been striking thirty times a second, frowned, "What do ya mean back scratcher?!”

"I mean you, little one.”

Rainbow Dash frowned, "I am not a little back scratcher!" she said, flying back up and spinning into a tornado, slamming her leg into his snout.

Standing up while Rainbow Dash began to swirl around and strike at the dragon, Applejack looked to Fluttershy, "Fluttershy, what was that?"

"H...healing magic, like Pike's,” Fluttershy said, panting a little, "I've been trying to use it for a while but I think I just got-" she then swayed, before being caught by Applejack.

"You just rest. We can still handle this." Applejack said, jumping back onto the dragon’s tail and running along with it.

Rarity saw a few diamonds in the horde behind him and used her magic to grab some. Then she hurled a few to Pinkie. Smiling, Pinkie attached some to her party cannon and then fired a few shots into the air. Aiming, Rarity fired a magic sot into the gems, hoping to create a set of blinding lights.

The Dragon held his claw in front of his eyes, “It seems I have underestimated you. I will stop going at 15%"

"..." Said Rainbow

"..." said Applejack

"..." said Rarity

"..." said Fluttershy with a gulp

"...So was the other 85% just you sleeping? What was going 15%? your pinky?" asked Pinkie.

"How does that work," asked Twilight, looking down, "You can't use only 15% of your body or your mind, it's physically impossible. It's like putting only 10% of your mana into your fire spell and the rest into the water spell at the same time. Sunset can convert her mana but that is her special talent. You can't just say you are only using 15% of something because then where is the other 85%. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted from one form to the next or transferred. This is a fact of science and magic."

The dragon raised his claw over Twilight.

Twilight noticed the shadow on the ground, then looked up and let out a very high-pitched "Eeeep."

Applejack body checked against the claw, "Hey, leave her out of this!"

The dragon looked at her,"She shouldn't be in this battle then. If she dies with you here, then you cannot pass."

"It ain’t gonna happen because she isn't going to die!" Applejack said.

Twilight stepped forward, "It's my duty to be here. I can't just let my friends risk their lives without me while I stayed behind doing nothing! I don't care if I don't have my magic, I don't care if I don't have any spells and I don't even care if I die! If I let them fight without me, and something happened, I would never forgive myself." she looked down and then back up, "I HAVE to be here, and I have to help them to beat you."

The dragon cocked his head,"There's a possibility of all of you dying."

"The possibility of that is actually very marginal," Twilight said.

"Really?"

Twilight smiled and nodded, "Yes, very marginal. Most likely about 5-10% if I calculated right."

"And how did you calculate that?"

"First, the time," Twilight said, "We need to survive for 10 minutes, and if Rainbow Dash is correct six minutes."

Dash looked up and closed her eyes, allowing for the wind to flow through her. After a few minutes, she said, "Yeah, that's right. Plus the thirty seconds we've been talking."

"Which means all we need is another three minutes and 20 seconds in order to win," Twilight said. "And I may be without magic, power, or anything else, but I have one very important thing that no one, not even death is taking away."

The dragon leaned down, his face curious, "And that is?"

"My brain, and three minutes-"

"Rainbow, run distraction with Pinkie. You aren't doing a thing against him!" Twilight said, looking to her left, paying attention to the boulders. Looking back at Applejack, she counted the seconds, "On Rarity's signal, let go."

"Singal, what-" as if on cue, another dazzling blaze of lights showed above the dragon's head while Twilight ran. Moving quickly ], she hid behind the rocks and then began to tap quickly on the rock wall. The echo began to sound throughout the cavern with the rhythmic beat.

Rainbow Dash began to count the beats and smirked. Flying to Pinkie, she waved her hooves to the mare. Pinkie, letting out a gasp, fired one of her sticky bombs to Rainbow Dash who stretched out the taffy. She then threw it to Applejack, who took it in her hooves, did a running jump along the wall to wrap the sticky candy around the drake's neck.

Fluttershy slowly began to get up to her hooves and panted. Putting her hoof to her chest, she began to remember one of the spells she saw Pike demonstrate to her and summoned a small shield around Rarity.

Nodding, Rarity reached into her quiver and fired three more arrows. As they flew, they struck the dragon with a splash of acid. Meanwhile, Rarity could feel and hear the beat of the tapping and closed her eyes. Allowing the weave to flow through her, she concentrated and summoned three small glowing missiles. Narrowing her eyes, she fired them off at the dragon.

Up above, Rainbow Dash started to fly around the Dragon, keeping his eyes on her, "By the way, I'm not the distraction, Pinkie is."

"Pinkie?" The dragon turned to the pink pony.

Pinkie giggled, "No, Applejack is!"

Applejack appeared behind him, wielding a large bat that said 'Pinkie's Coconut smasher MK 1' and slammed his head with it, "No, Rarity is."

"No," Rarity said, firing a shot at him. "Fluttershy is,"

Fluttershy panted, "No...T... Twilight is."

Twilight stood behind him, tapping out a beat, "Three, two, one... we win."

The dragon turned to her in shock. Then he started laughing,"You are a clever one, Twilight Sparkle."

"Well, I, um, don't like to brag," Twilight said sheepishly, "The reason why I stayed behind was just as much because I was lacking in magic as well as observing and thinking. It was what did me in back with the gods. Now that I think of it, if I could do it again I would've done more and-"

"Twilighting," warned Rainbow Dash.

Twilight blushed and chuckled lightly, "Sorry. But, thank you, sir."

The dragon stood up at attention,"I am Revru." He coughed a little,"Did you say you were lacking in magic?"

Twilight looked down, "A side effect of my return from the dead and being put into this clone body. I lost all my magic, I can't even use telekinesis."

"You should see her reading a book!" Pinkie said, "She uses her mouth and starts growling and cussing and asking AJ how she does it without magic."

"Thanks for the reminder Pinkie," Twilight growled lightly.

Pinkie smiled at this. Twilight continued, "That's why we are looking for the fonts and partly why we are looking for the items."

"Ah, the items." A burst of magic and he turned into Bronze Tail,"Come with me."

"DRAGONS CAN DO THAT!?" shouted the group of ponies at once.

Twilight walked with Bronze Tail, "Can all dragons do that? I've never heard of the dragons changing forms before."

Bronze Tail let out a cough,"Plenty of dragons can. Though, mostly the metallics like me." He looked at her,"I assume you are only familiar with chromatics?"

Twilight looked down, "I never even heard of the metallic race until now. All I ever saw were red, green, blue, and the occasional purple. I didn't even know that you existed until now."

"We metallics tend to blend in the background. As you can see, we tend to disguise ourselves as ponies to... not scare them."

"I can understand why," Fluttershy whispered, walking a little slower.

"You ok?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy smiled reassuringly, "Yes. It's just a little tiring to use magic like that."

"You never tried a spell-like that dear," Rarity said, petting Fluttershy's back comfortingly. "It's going to be tiring the first time you try something like that."

Twilight looked up to Brass, "Why is there a division? And why haven't you tried flying over to the east."

"Yeah, there are some annoying dragons back home that could use a wake-up call," Dash snarked. "And I bet Ember would love you."

"Well, we don't attack unless it is absolutely necessary, plus I'm kinda ruling this place right now."

"When this is all done, maybe you can visit?" asked Twilight.

"I would love that." Revru grinned.

Rainbow Dash flew up, "So, where does this tunnel lead?"

Revru looked down the tunnel,"This is the temple where the item lays.

"Any traps or something like that?" asked Applejack.

"Nope. I think I qualify as the trap." Revru said with a smirk.

"Right," Applejack said.

And then they stepped through the door to the temple.

--------------------------------------

Applejack woke up the next morning, yawning as the sunlight beamed through the window. Smacking her lips, she said, "What a good morning. Perfect for doing some bucking and harvesting."

Then she blinked for a moment, "Wait... arent I supposed to be at that temple? Why, why am I home?" she asked, looking around, noticing her room and her bed.

That was when the door opened slowly, and a peach-colored hoof stepped in, "Applejack? Honey? Are you all right?"

Applejack paused, and looked at the mare with a mix of sadness, happiness, and fear, "M-mom?!"

Pear Butter smiled and put her hoof to her chin, "Last I checked. But you know, I have been wrong from time to tim-oooof!" she looked down and smiled as Applejack hugged her close. "Sugarcube? What is all of this, you act like you haven't seen me in ages."

"Just, really really glad to see you," Applejack said, whimpering. "It's just been a weird couple of days. And I just needed to see you again."

"Is this all right?" Pear asked.

"Huh?" Applejack asked.

"I said, is apple butter ok on your waffles?" Pear asked.

"Y-yeah ma." Applejack said with a shudder. Sighing, she walked to her bed and pulled off her hat. Smiling, she looked out the window to the apple farm that she lived on and the town of Ponyvile in the distance. Turning to walk away, she did not see the photos on the stand, the picture of her and her family, her on the farm, and the photo of her, alone in a photo where five other mares should've been.

Happily, Applejack ran down the stairs, much to the annoyance of Granny Smith, "Land's sake child, slow down! Do you wanna break your neck?"

"Sorry Granny," Applejack said, tipping her hat, "I just wanted to get the breakfast before I lose it."

"Applejack? Why are you standing there?"

Applejack perked her ears for a second, "What?"

"I asked, why are you standing over there? I saved ya a seat!" Applebloom said happily. "Pa was thinking of taking your plate but I stopped him."

Applejack rolled her eyes as she saw Bright Mac sitting on his chair, a newspaper on the table, "That's what she gets for sleeping in," he said with a smile, looking at his middle child.

The brought forth a laugh from Applejack as she sat at the table, "Yeah, sure Pop." she then began to eat.

"AJ? we need to get moving. We're almost there"

Applejack turned her head left and right, trying to find the voice. Only to see Big Mac smirking with a piece of vegetarian bacon in his mouth. Growling, she said, "Hey, that's mine!"

"Nope!" Big Mac chuckled.

"Big Mac, stop teasing her," said Pear with a giggle as she finished putting away some of the plates.

Bright Mac sighed and looked at the paper, "Well look at that. Looks like the elements are back from their long journey."

"Yep." Applejack said, "There were some hard fights, but we won."

There was a long pause for a moment, and then Applebloom broke the silence, "My sister is an Element Bearer!? That is so cool! I'm the sister of an Element. Oh, wait until Twist hears that."

"Honey, Applejack is not an Element," Pear Butter said. Looking up, she asked, "Applejack, where did get this idea that you were an Element Bearer?"

"Mom, I have been. You remember, Twilight came here to see us and-"

"You mean Princess Twilight visited us?" asked Applebloom. "Oh, that would've been great!"

"Honey... she visited Manehatten when she found the Elements. She still lives there with your Aunt Orange and-" before she could say anymore, Applejack was running out the door.

Shaking her head, she whispered, "No, can't be true, can't be true!"

"Maybe she's meditating! Or having an out-of-body experience?!"

"Oh, please wake up. The item is glowing, and we can't touch it!"

Applejack shook her head, trying to ignore the voices as she made her way to the library. She paused and looked at the tree, seeing it as it once was all of those years ago. Giving out a soft gasp of surprise, she made her way inside and passed by the librarian, "Excuse me, just needing to read the newspapers for a bit."

"Is this ok? Are you fine with this?' the librarian asked.

Applejack paused and looked, raising an eyebrow. Turning to look at the librarian, she saw that the mare had gone back to reading, ignoring the orange pony completely. Trying to ignore it, she found the newspapers and began to read to herself

"Elements found, Nightmare Moon defeated"

"Trixie puts on spectacular show, Element of Laughter ablaze"

"Princess Twilight coronated"

"Octavia, Element of Honesty, wows with the concert"

"Battle with Tirek interrupts wedding."

Applejack shook her head, "So...it's true. I'm...not really an Element Bearer am I? None of it happened. And, my friends..."

"Is this all right? Are you ok with this?" asked Pear. "You are no longer the hero of this story."

Applejack looked up, "What did you say, Mom?"

"I asked if you are ok," asked Pear."

Applejack nodded a little and moved away from the table, "Y-yeah, but can I just head for a walk for a bit?"

"Sure, honey”, Pear said, watching Applejack walk away.

"Girls...she's turning grey."

"Fix her!"

"What do you mean?"

Applejack sat down in front of her favorite tree, watching the wind blow through the grassy fields. " So that's it then, no more adventures. No friends, no world-altering threats. I can just live the rest of my life as a farmer and relax. Just me, and my family."

"Are you ok with this?" a male voice whispered.

Angrily, she stood to her hooves and shouted, "OF course I'm not ok with this! Who would be!? I'm stuck on this little farm, doing nothing but wake, eat, harvest, and who knows what else while there are brave ponies out there doing something about the world's problems! It's not the life I wanted, and it's not who I am!"

"Are you sure?" the stallion asked, stepping out from behind the tree.

"When I first met Twilight," Applejack said, sighing and looking down, "I saw a mare who looked like she needed someone, a friend who could help keep her straight and narrow. And when Nightmare Moon attacked and she went off? I knew that she needed my help."

Turning her head to the sky, she continued to speak, "I love farming, and I love my home, but when you can do the things I can? When you can do something about the world's problems? I don't believe that I should stand back and not do anything to help."

"But you are just a farmer," the stallion said.

"Yeah! I am just a farmer, so what? I'm strong, agile, and a good fighter! And there are times when that is all that is needed. For a good mare to take a stand and say "No more!". That's all that's needed to be a hero." Applejack looked down, "And that's what Twilight needed a good and honest heart."

"You know," the blue earth pony stallion stepped forward, his mighty beard flowing out, "I thought Meadowbrook was mad when she made this test, but here you are. Someone who embodies honesty and true strength. The ability to stand tall and abide by your truest principles, no matter what. Willing to be someone’s pillar."

"I know you... yer that pony from the legends, Rockhoof," Applejack said.

"Yes, and now it's time for your test to end. Step forward, and claim the item that rightfully belongs to you," Rockhoof said, stepping away.

----------------------------------------

Applejack found herself walking to the boots, their glowing magic flowing onto her legs and bonding with her, "What?"

"Applejack?" Twilight asked, “You okay?"

"Yeah, fine, just fine," Applejack said, "What happened?"

"We walked into the temple, and then your face went blank," Twilight said.

Pinkie nodded, "You just stood there and went 'ooooooooooo' and then began to sway back and forth and we couldn't talk to you."

"Yeah," Dash said, nodding, "And then you began to cry a little."

"That's because," Applejack said, looking down, "I saw my parents. They were alive and I was with them."

"Oh, Applejack, I'm so sorry," Fluttershy said, walking to Applejack, and hugging her.

Applejack shook her head, "It's fine. It also showed me a life without you girls and without my element, but I couldn't accept a life like that. I need to be here with you all."

Twilight heard this and then looked down. Sighing, she said "a life without responsibility..." shaking her head, "We're just glad that you are ok."

"Hey! Lookie lookie!" Pinkie cheered, pointing to Applejack's legs, now adorned with green boots. Buckles were adorned with little apple blossoms and the tips of the boots were a dull grey.

"Wow!" Twilight looked them over, “They're amazing! I wonder what they can do!?"

Revru put a claw to his chin in thought, before stating, "If I remember right, Meadowbrook gave the items their own names and told us a little of their powers. That one is Truly’s Honesty. It has the power to, well..." he smirked as he flicked a boulder to Applejack.

Applejack let out a gasp and threw out a punch. Rainbow saw this and began to fly out in a rage, only to be held by Rarity. Rarity pointed to Applejack and the boulder. the large stone now had a hoof-shaped indent in it. "Your strength and endurance increase. It was made to make an earth pony and their connection to the earth even stronger."

Rainbow Dash flew around, looking at Applejack and then the boulder, "Ok, I admit, that’s pretty cool."

Rarity began to look around, "Hmmm..."

"What?" Twilight asked.

Rarity looked, "I seem to remember that we were told there would be clues to the past back with Titan and Terra with the items. I was trying to look for it." she then paused, looking at a small disk, "Is this it?"

The disk began to glow, and the image of Methuselah appeared once again,"Hello once again. You found one of the disks, and are ready to hear Chapter One of the saga of Titan and Terra."

Pinkie brought ut the popcorn and drinks, "Yep!

1,200 years ago, when the god war began...

Titan sighed as he looked out the window at the city below, sighing. Turning back to look around his room, he could only feel a sense of sadness and...grey. Nothing but grey and order, which wouldn't be so bad considering his cutie mark, but he hated it none the same. Grabbing a robe from his closet, he walked out of his room and down the stairs, "Mother? I'm heading out into a neighboring city with Starswirl, don't know when I'll be home."

Titan's mother spoke out,"Be back before sundown."

Titan nodded and walked away, his white mane casting down around his black coat. As he stepped out of the city walls he heard a voice. "Are ya really gonna come back at sundown?" asked a blue mare with curly red hair. "Or are ya gonna be brave for once."

"Lady Meadowbrook," Starswirl said, stepping out, his bells ringing with each step.

("He looks so young," Twilight said.)

"If you pay attention, you know that the lord has some responsibilities, dignity, and-" he paused as he watched Meadowbrook clapping her hooves and making faces "Will you stop!?"

"Whatever, Starly," Meadowbrook joked, playing with his mane, "I'm just saying Tighty can deal with a little more effort in being a rebel!"

Titan ignored the convo of his two friends, walking towards the small town. He could only sigh as he looked up at the blue skies, and then down to the ground. His mind just thinking about how privileged his life was, and the war...

-------------------------------------------

"Whetstone! PLEASE BE READY! TERRA IS HERE AND SHE IS READY TO ROCK!" Terra said, stepping out in front of her bodyguard, letting her brown mane swish back and forth. The sun shone down on her green coat as she began to step out, "Whose ready to party and make some wicked bad choices!?"

A green pegasus in orange and red armor sighed, her yellow mane done up in a ponytail,"Please don't go crazy, Terra. I’d rather not get killed by the Queen."

Terra let out a giggle before quirking an eyebrow, "Now, Tori, a friend of friends, lovely bodyguard, annoying busy body, my long-lost sister who probably was conceived thanks to Dad and a drunken bender. List two events when I have gone crazy."

"Let's see, you're responsible for turning the Ghastly Mountains into Ghastly Gorge, and there was that bender you went on where you decided to turn the Queen of Dragons into a toad. I actually have more, but you only asked for two."

"Hey, that dragon had it coming!" Terra said, tapping her hooves together, "Like did you see her, she was totally roaring at me and calling me a vapid party girl who only gets anything done when she is sloshed."

"..." Tori sighed,"Nope, that doesn't describe you at all."

Terra smiled, "Thank you for defending me!" she then gave her best friend a hug and began to skip away, "Now, let’s go and see what we can do to wreck this town!"

---------------------

"Whetstone, you will never find a bigger town of villainy and deceit," Starswirl said, looking morose.

Meadowbrook sighed, "It's just a small town that has some Go games being played. Nothing else, no need for melodramatic descriptions!"

"I am trying to set up an atmosphere, do you mind!?" asked Starswirl.

Titan let out a small chuckle as he walked ahead, focusing on his journey towards the center of town. As he walked, he could see how happy the townsponies were. The ones that walked and shopped, talking to friends or making meetings over dinner. He let out a deep breath, noting the difference between his home country and his people vs the so-called 'dark towns', the towns that were under the control of the gods of darkness, "And of course, Mom gets the town on the borderlands in-between because she is the most hated. But...i s this really darkness."

Terra, on the other side of town, stepped out and began to twirl, "Oh, do you think I should sing about this? Oh, yes, I feel a musical number-"

"No!" Tori said, frowning.

"Has anyone, like, told you that you have no soul?" asked Terra.

In the center of town, a pony walked to a pretzel vendor, "I would like one twist of fate, meeting of destiny, and a string of fate. Along with a small lemonade?"

Destiny, who ran Destiny's snack bar, nodded and handed the pony the meal.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts, time once again for the Go Tournament!" shouted a stallion dressed in a grey suit.

Titan smiled and walked towards it. However, he felt a hoof on his shoulder and turned around, "What?"

Meadowbrook pulled out a small medallion, "Here, just in case something weird happens and your cloak gets removed."

"Thank you, Meadow. And where are you and Starswirl going to be as I win my thousandth tournament?" asked Titan.

"Where else, I am going to see if there are some decent wizards around her and some smiths to buy materials!" Meadowbrook said.

"And I will make sure she doesn't do anything strange," Starswirl said.

"Oh come on, the Tri-Horn crown would be a great item for surgeons to work together..."

Titan sighed, watching as his friends left. Using the item, he began to concentrate and disguise himself before disappearing into the crowd.

Terra gasped, "Tori! Look, Go! Oh, do you think they would mind if I win?"

Tori looked at her,"Perhaps you should disguise yourself first, so that way they wouldn't hold back?"

“But Tori, if I disguise myself, then no one is gonna know who beat ’em!" Terra whined, "And it's so much fun when they think they can beat the princess!" she then rolled her eyes, "besides, how are you gonna disguise me? Invent that trenchcoat thing you have always talked about and give me a hat to hide me?"

Tori stopped, and then smiled.

-------

Terra was now dressed in a trenchcoat and wearing a hat.

"What is even the point of a trenchcoat?!" asked Terra.

"It's to hide your cutie mark and coat." Tori whispered,"Now go while I mingle with the residents... in the bar.”

"Don't destroy it! I want a place to come back to for my victory dance!"

"Look, the only I would destroy it is if somepony made me mad," Tori said.

"...that is not reassuring,"Terra said.

(Pinkie smiled, "And cue montage."

"Pinkie, this is a magically crafted video from the ancient past," Twilight said, trying not to think of the oxymoron in that sentence, "There's not going to be a "winning" montage in this video-

Pinkie smiled with a wide grin. Twilight looked at her, and frowned, "You make it hard to be mad at that face." )

Terra smiled as she entered and began to play very weakly. Every match she battled, it seemed that she would win only by a hair's breadth. Every match was one with only a point to spare, but no matter what she smiled and laughed at the win she procured from defeat's teeth.

In another bracket, Titan could only sigh as he played. The game he loved so much was getting boring, and each win to come to him was too easy. He frowned as each opponent seemed to fall by the wayside. Each move they pulled out, each strategy they came up with, he had seen before and was known like the back of his hoof. No one could seem to touch him and each move he pulled out was orderly, perfect, like a circle.

Terra gave a wink to Titan at one point, seeing her opponent so far away. Titan looked away, ignoring her. He knew what she was going to be like from her plays and style, just another mare to fall by his game. An orderly girl who will fall to another piece. Just so much black and white. Terra saw a different look, a stallion who might make this exciting and grand, like a new tree being born and growing. She couldn't wait to challenge him in the next match.

The game continued to be played between the several players and opponents, but it became obvious that all ponies were there to just watch these two strangers battle and win. The mare who would win with only a point ahead ad the stallion who seemed unbeatable to the world. And as more ponies watched, some did recognize Titan's unique style and began to talk; however, most could only look at the mare in confusion as none knew who she was.

Soon, the finals arrived and the Go board was set. Titan stepped forward and looked at Terra as she pulled out the black stones, "Black? So you decided to play with a disadvantage? My apologies, but whatever tricks you used to win, will not help here. You will lose, as it is meant to be."

"Like, I'm so sorry but no," Terra said, smiling, "I am going to win this one, and you be on the flat of your back in shock."

"Well then, come little mare," Titan said with a smile, "Best me. Show me where your strength truly lies!

Titan began to play, putting one of his stones in the upper corner and then looking at Terra. Terra looked for a while at the board, confused and bewildered. Then she placed her piece right next to his. A dumbfounded look came across his eyes as he saw this, wondering how a rookie could play a move like this and then put a piece next to hers.

Holding up, Terra let out a gasp, holding her green hooves to her chest in horror. Looking around, she played a piece to the side of the board as if trying to run away. Titan shrugged and countered by playing a piece in the center. Terra looked around, placing another piece randomly onto the board. Panic began to come onto Terra's eyes as she played against this god.

Titan could only shake his head, knowing that this would turn out like everything else in his life. Orderly, circular, and plain. There was no challenge in this mare like he expected. Then he heard, "Tell me, cutie... ever heard of a teaching game?"

"Yes, where you help a new player win by playing as a weaker opponent and give them an advantage," Titan said, "But I have no idea what this-"

"But I have another way of looking at it. I also think it's a good way to play dumb and let the other players, especially the top guy who has been playing the same way, think they know you," Terra said, moving her piece in the upper left-hand corner, "And the reveal who you are."

Titan raised an eyebrow at this, only to watch in horror as Terra placed a piece in the lower left-hand corner of the board, "No...it can't be."

"Thanks for opening up, big boy," Terra said, placing her piece down and then taking away all of his stones in a diagonal pattern. "Awww, and look at all of those points I took from you."

Titan could only shake his head in fear. Quickly trying to play and regain footing, he could only watch as each of his moves was countered by Terra. "Want to know what I love about Go and get bored with Chess? Chess is just too orderly. You study with greats and you can see how to play them, but all you end up doing is copying them. Go? You can have your own style, and that's what makes it fun for me," Terra said placing her last piece and watching as Titan stood frozen, hearing the loss being called out.

Getting up from her seat, Terra walked over and kissed Titan on the nose, "Mwah! Thanks for the game, sweetie pie. We must play again." And with that, she began to saunter away, while Titan stood there in shock.

Tori was waiting outside, “Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yep! I just beat the loser who was winning all of the time and won without even breathing hard," Terra laughed as she walked into the bar, "Now come on, let's get sloshed and party until way past curfew."

----------------------------------------

"And you know what?" asked Meadowbrook, "I don’t think he even knew what steel looks like, much less adamantine!"

Starswirl could only shake his head and was about to offer a rebuttal before seeing Titan stand alone in the field, his eyes wide. Scared, Starswirl tapped his friend on the shoulder, "Titan?"

"That... that mare beat me." Titan said, shocked "No pony beat me. Not even my mother was able to beat me in games. No..."

--------------------------------------------

Terra walked into her home, tip-toeing in slowly, "Ok, be silent, hope Mom and Dad don't see me and this will be the best day ever!"

The torches leading to the throne room then lit up, until they reached two ponies on thrones., “Terra." A pink alicorn mare with a glowing galaxy filled mane glared at her

"Oh, fudge, it's the popo," Terra thought. Then she rolled her eyes and said, "What is it, Mom?"

Queen Majesty stomped towards her,"You are late."

"Only an hour late mom!" Terra said, rolling her eyes and walking around, "And I'm perfectly fine, right, Dad?"

Methuselah looked up at her, and then at Majesty who glared back at him,"Listen to your mother, Terra."

("Whipped much?" Dash snickered.

Methuselah's hologram looked away in shame.)

"DAD!" Terra said, before turning to her mother, "And in case you don't remember, I'm a powerful princess. I don't see why I need a curfew!

"You are also a target!"Majesty said, “What if an enemy saw you? What if an alicorn of light attacked you and killed Tori? What if they capture you!?"

"Yeah Mom, what are they gonna do if they catch me? Brainwash me? Turn me into a broodmare? Torture and kill me?" Terra laughed, "I don't think that is possible! I got this! I am like one of the most powerful alicorns on the planet! I made a gorge by accident! I created a freaking mountain because of a bad breakup! I think they need to try harder to beat me."

"Morning Dawn could break the continent in half if she wanted to." Majesty stomped towards her,"Evening Dusk had wiped out an entire race in one night. There are so many other alicorns with more power and experience than you! And the only thing keeping you safe is a mortal pegasus. Even then I do not think she'll survive if you continue to act recklessly!"

Terra stepped forward, putting her nose to her mom. She narrowed her eyes, "It's not acting recklessly if you know how powerful you are! I know how to protect myself and save myself! You survived this long before meeting Dad, right pops?!"

(“My word, the ego on this mare," Rarity said. "How did Celestia ever spring from her!?"

"Age does that ponies," Applejack said.

Rainbow Dash cheered, "Yeah, you tell her!"

"On the other hoof..." Applejack joked)

Methuselah sighed,"Honey, you are very powerful. But no one is perfect."

"Oh sure, take her side! You both are just so...so...parental!" Terra said, stomping up the stairs to her room, "Oh, and I won a go game!" and then she slammed the door

----------------

Titan stepped into his home, just five minutes before curfew. His eyes were wide as he walked in a trance, "Mother? I...lost a game."

Titan's mother brushed her green mane aside as she walked towards him,"You did? Who were you up against?"

Titan paused as he looked at her, then he smiled as he noted the room was a little greener, "The most beautiful thing I had ever seen."

She laughed, “Aw, are we in love, Titan?"

"N-no! I'm not!" Titan said, a blush in his cheeks, "I just think it's beautiful that I have a rival who can match me!" he then run over and hugged his mom tightly, "No, I got to get to bed, night motherloveyou!" he then ran upstairs and slammed it.

Meadowbrook smiled and looked towards his mother, "Oh, he got it bad."

-------------------------------

Terra laid back and looked to the window, knowing her friend was outside, "Hey Tori... that stallion was cute, wasn't he?"

("OH I do hope Titan and Terra get together! They are so sweet!" Pinkie said, before blushing, "Oh...right. Timey-wimey")

"I guess." Tori said, sitting on the banister of the balcony,"Are you in love, Terra?"

Terra blushed at this, and then chuckled, "No, just...excited."

"Right." Tori chuckled,"Good night, Princess."

"Night Tori," Terra said, before rolling onto her back and looking at her, "Hey, Tori...do you really think that the Alicorns of Light are all that bad? Can't there be a few good ones?"

"..." Tori let out a sigh as she looked out at the city before her, “I'm not sure Terra. I'm not sure."

Terra sighed, "It's just...it's not me right, I'm not the only one who is tired of all of this right? I just... want the world to be like it was before, no wars no blood.. just friends partying on down."

"Believe it or not, so do I." Tori said, before flying off.

Terra smiled at this and watched as her friend left. She then began to look around her room, covered as it was with band posters, some jewelry here and there, a few little plushies at the side of her bed. Just an average teenager room for someone who was about to leave her teenage life behind. Rolling onto her back she smiled, "I may not love him, but," she smiled, "He is a cutie. I hope to see him again."

"End Memory," Methuselah said before the hologram shut off.

"Hey, you can't end it like that!" Rainbow Dash shouted, "Where’re the cool fights and stuff!?"

"Indeed the romance, while a good build-up, needed more oomph!" Rarity commented.

Applejack frowned, "And we didn't get nearly as much as we wanted on Terra's Mom and Dad. What are their actors were too expensive or something?"

"I liked it," Fluttershy whispered.

Twilight rolled her eyes, “This was obviously just the beginning chapter. It’s not going to get to the meat of the story until later!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, "I prefer it when the story gets to the meat quicker!"

"Not every story works like that- why are we reviewing history!?"

Pinkie shouted, "For a gag of course!"

"You confuse me sometimes Pinkie..." Twilight muttered,"Come on, let's go."

"I hope Keyleth and the others are ok," Fluttershy whisper

They came out, only to see nothing. Rarity let out a gasp, and softly whispered, "No."

Applejack stepped out and shouted, "Grog? Vax, Vex?"

Rainbow Dash took the sky and began to look around, her ear twitching for a brief moment. Then she looked ahead, "Hey, I hear music coming from there!" she said pointing to the center of town

There was an increasingly large group of ponies parting, and in the center of it all, was Vox Machina.

Rainbow Dash gasped, "Whoa, what's happening here?"

"A PARTY!" Pinkie said, running into the group and jumping around to the music.

"Excuse me, pardon me," Rarity said, moving through the group and trying to find a table. Finding Vex, she said down with a cup and asked, "I assume all went well?"

Vex nodded as she took a sip,"Oh, yes, we-"

"Are the one and only VOX MACHINA!" Keyleth shouted, her words slurring, “WE have beaten gods... maybe we are gods...”

"Oh the poor thing," Rarity said to Vex, "Cannot hold her liquor can she. How many did she have to drink?"

Someone shouted from the crowd, laughing, "Only one!"

Keyleth draped a hoof over Fluttershy, “You're... a really good friend..."

"Um, thanks," Fluttershy said, hugging her back.

Dash looked at Vax, "So, did ya drink anypony under the table? Or are ya a pansy waist?"

Vax smirked,"Oh, please, I'm part pegasus, I can drink most of these ponies under the table." He shot a glance at Grog,"Well..."

“You don't think he can? I mean, pegasi don't get drunk, it's a scientific fact," Dash remarked.

"It is, but that guy's constitution score is high as fuck."

Dash silently nodded and then took her place to ake a few drinks. Applejack walked over to Grog who was finishing his thirtieth tankard of ale. Smirking, she reached up to offer a hoof bump to him. Smirking, Grog did a little hoof tap. Pinkie giggled as she walked to Twilight," Isn't this great?"

Twilight looked up, "Huh? What?"

"The party!" Pinkie said with a big smile, "We have an item, beat an alicorn, and no one died! We are only a few steps away from winning!" she said, before hopping away to the party.

Twilight gave a smile, “Yeah, today... was a victory." She began to laugh.

A new journey

View Online

Pinkie skipped up to Scanlan and began to join him in the song.

Percy stepped to the side and watched them.

Twilight smiled as she sat down and watched the party. Looking back at Percy, she asked, "Is something wrong with me?"

"Hmm?" Percy looked at her, “Not that I'm aware of, why?"

"We have one of the eight items, one of the gods is down, and we are all safe. I should be happy and excited but I'm not!" Twilight said with a small shout. Shaking her head, she said, "My mind is just filled with what we have to do in the future, all of the risks we have, and what we are still missing. What if we fail, what if we mess up? What if we got lucky this time? I went here to look for the item and the font for earth pony magic to help me and I haven't found that yet!"

She let out a small little grunt and slam a hoof onto the table, "We're partying and we only barely completed step one! And I should be happy, but I'm not... I’m not."

Percy groaned inwardly(Of all ponies she could complain to, she complains to me!)"Well, we did make a big leap. Today I did not expect to kill a god, but here we are." He looked at her, “How many days do we have left?"

Twilight looked up at the moon, "About 53."

"Then we'll be fine." Percy looked at her,"The map does show the next area, right?"

Twilight brought out the map, "We are here at Westruun. The next few areas are to the north, east, and south. Then of course we have the other parts of the riddle."

Vex leaned over Twilight's shoulder," South would be..." She noticed Syngorn to the East,"Of course."

"A problem dear?" asked Rarity.

"That's where our... father lives." She hissed a little.

Vax looked at the south,"Well, at least the Earth Pony font and Kraghammer are next, so we won't have to meet him for a while."

"So, do you need me to punch that deer in the antlers when we meet him?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy shook her head, "Dashie, let's hold back on the beatdown until later. Let's enjoy the party."

Scanlan then shouted,"Yeah, they're doing Limbo over here!"

"HA! None can defeat the master of the Limbo!" Pinkie shouted.

Twilight looked on as they began to dance and gave a soft smile.

Keyleth giggled and looked at Vax, "Heh, has anyone told you that you look cute with those antlers?"

"Um, occasionally?" said Vax, watching Keyleth's drunken motions, "Maybe we should consider getting you to an inn?"

"Oh, in and out, in and out, I don't care as long as it's you," Keyleth giggled and nuzzled Vax.

Vex sighed and shook her head. Turning to see Percy sitting at a bench, lightly drinking, she sighed and walked over to him, "You know this is a party, right?"

"Yes," Percy said, looking at his glass.

"Which means fun, right?" asked Vex.

"Yes," Percy confirmed.

"Good, this means that you won't complain if I take you to dance!" Vex said, grabbing Percy’s hoof and pulling him into the square.

Rainbow Dash watched as Percy was taken to the dance floor and laughed a little. Looking back to Fluttershy, she smiled as she watched her friend tend to Trinket. Flying over to her, she said, “You, are gonna dance."

"Wha-eeep!" Fluttershy let out a squeak as she was taken to the dance floor, the two hovering above the rest as they began to dance.

"Let us party the night away everypony! So that way we are too drunk to remember our problems tomorrow!" shouted Scanlan.

---------------------------------------

"And you said, all she wants is a map of Glidesdale?" a mare asked.

"That's all she needed from the Slayers take," the male voice said.

"And she took on the project, all alone?" asked the mare.

"In record time too."

Samus stood over the corpse of the dragon, sighing. She looked down at her hoof and frowned, "An adult white dragon was nowhere near as fun as I thought."

---------------------------------

The next morning, Rarity woke, snuggled up to Grog, "Oh dear, please tell me that I passed out drunk where we fell."

"Oh, you got sloshed, So I cuddled you," Grog said.

Keyleth moaned,"Can somepony give me some coffee, and a crossbow to shoot myself?”

"Remember, suicide is not the way," Pike said with a warm smile.

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but laugh, "Being a pegasus is awesome, right Twi...ohhh..right."

Twilight glared at her for a few seconds, then laughed a little.

Applejack groaned, "Can't feel my legs. Just leave me here girls, I don't wanna do anything."

"Hey Twilight, does the sun have to come up?" Pinkie moaned

"Unfortunately, Celestia has a schedule to keep." Twilight moaned.

Vax sighed, "Pike, can your magic help?"

"Give me a few seconds." Pike began to cast Lesser Restoration on them, allowing her horn to shine a bright light on them.

The group slowly got up, the hangover slowly washing over them thanks to the bright light from the symbol. Rainbow looked at them, "Ok, now that we are done with the hangover, where are we heading to Twilight? Font or the next item?"

"Font." Twilight said immediately,"I want my magic back as soon as possible."

"Would the font be at the temple?," Applejack said.

Rainbow Dash let out a small mumble, "Here's hoping that it doesn't have a complicated test."

"Actually, it's a few miles southwest from here." Twilight corrected.

Applejack groaned "Couldn't make it easy."

“What do you mean you are in charge of the money?" shouted Rainbow Dash as she looked at Vex and Rarity.

"Well, we discussed it and figured that the ones most responsible that wouldn't be spending the cash on frivolous things would be me and Lady Vex," Rarity said.

Vex nodded,"Indeed, we talked with one another, and realized that we are the most trustworthy."

"So, we are all giving out 200 gold each," Rarity said. "And in case you are asking, I am getting some from my personal bank and Twilight had some sent over from her private school bank account."

"Also, for some reason, the monsters we killed had some gold in them," Twilight said.

"Why is that?" asked Applejack.

"Oh, every monster gets money for each adventurer and victim they eat from the monsters guild," A random earth pony said.

"There's a monster's guild?"

"Well yeah, a monster has to get paid once in a while," the earth pony said.

"Come on, Gramps, it's time for your meds," a young female pony in a nurse’s outfit said, taking him away. "Sorry, he has some wild theories."

So the group went and bought supplies.

A mare popped up to look at Pike, Keyleth, and Fluttershy they entered the store, "Welcome to Potions and Notions. Where you got the notion, we have the potion!"

Pike walked up to the desk, “Yes, what do you have?"

We have potions of healing, potions of sealing, one potion of giant strength, one potion of fjord pony strenght, one potion of Sam Reigel comedy, some defunct mana potions, some potions of mana, potions of maana, potion of continuity, potion of injuity, potion of lag, potion of itune, potion of google, potion of wedding, potion of divorce, potion of legal, potion of illegal, poton of corn,potion of p0rn, potion of cameo, potion of spoiler, potion of MGS, potion, notion, potion of notion, potion of gay, potion of straight, potion of furry, potion of evil, potion of good, potion of chaotic, potion of lawful, potion of discord, potion overly long gag, potion o running gag, potion of button, potion of jerk, potion of Ramsey, potion of Ferrari, potion of kiss, potion of stealt, potion of loud, potion of figaro, figaro, FIIIIIIGARO!, potion of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, potion of dnd, potion of successful fanfic, potion of running gag, potion of puttery, potion of adorable tiefling, potion of Twilight, potion of small, potion of large, potion of kidney stones, potion of how much longer can this gag go on, potion of puppies, potion of kittens, Neighpon poshion, potion of tranlate languages, and potion of end of fic.”

"I think we'll just stick with the potions of healing..." Pike whispered

"Ok, but we do have a sale on the potion of iTune!" the mare said and she went to grab some small and large potions of red vials. She then walked over to bring them out. On her name tag was the word Dare.

"Um, is your name dare?" asked Fluttershy.

"Yep, Dare Mare of Potions and Notions Westruun branch. We are working hard to bring our business all over!" Dare Mare of the red hair said bringing potion to bear.

Grog, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash went to some of the smaller weapon shops, "Rassin fracking, Stupid Rarity. What does she mean that I am an irresponsible shopper?" Dash grumbled.

"I think she knows what she is talking about..."Applejack sighed.

After a few moments of shopping, the group regathered outside of town. "There, I hope nopony bought anything frivolous,” Vex said

Twilight subtly put away her novel, “Yeah, nothing frivolous."

"Wait a sec," Rainbow Dash said, looking at Rarity's bag, "What's that then?!"

"Oh, this? This is a bag-"

"All of this talk about us buying frivolous things and you and go and buy a bag!" Rainbow dash said, "And not even a good-looking one! It's just a little, brown, Bag of-

"Holding!" Twilight said, "I read about it in some of Celestia's books but I didn't think we would find one."

"Yes, cost me a pretty penny, but I think it was worth it," Rarity said with a smile as she pull out some arrows. "And Vex was nice enough to let me have a new bow and some daggers."

She then looked at Vax, "Speaking of which. You seemed to have lost one of yours in the fight. Here," she handed the dagger "you can have Whisper.”

"Whisper?" Vax looked it over, “Looks good." He said with a smile

"Yes, I bought it not too long ago from," as she walked away, she held up a giant hoofmade sign that said,"Gilmore's Glorious Goods."

Vax gave a smile," Gilmore! My old friend!"

"Oh, you know him?" Rarity asked as she walked with Vax through the wood.

"Yes, we've enjoyed each other's company several times."

This gave Rarity pause, and a moment to think. And then after a moment, she nodded and followed him. Applejack, walking just behind them, lightly chuckled and rolled her eyes before joining up with Grog who was busy looking up at the butterfly above. Sighing, "Ok, so how do ya do it?"

"Do what?" asked Grog.

"That thing where you practically seem invincible, stronger, and more...you," Applejack asked.

"I don't know," Grog said, putting a hoof to his chin, "I just get really mad and think about how much I want to kick the big monster in front of me!"

Applejack le out a small chuckle at the big lug. Pinkie, on the other hand, bounced to and fro, looking at pony from pony, listening to everypony talk while they walk.

"So, Pike," Twilight asked,"What... who do you think raises the sun and moon over here in the west?"

"Celestia and Luna, of course," Pike said.

"Oh, that's- what." Twilight looked back at her in shock.

"It's actually surprising to know that they are on this plane as we speak!" Pike smiled,"We do have ponies worshipping them from over here, telling tales of how they keep the world in balance." she frowned,"Though, I wonder why Luna left her Moon Kingdom?"

"That... is a long story," Twilight muttered.

Fluttershy walked with Pike, "You don't know? What...did you think happened to Luna 1000 years ago."

Pike cocked her head,"Well, isn't she living on the moon? Though the Mare in the Moon did disappear 2 years ago..."

"Um, well, you see..." Fluttershy began to fumble, trying her best to talk about the difference in myth. Lightly tapping her hooves she was about to speak.

"She was actually corrupted thanks to a lot of ponies forgetting to appreciate her and tell her how beautiful her night was, so she became really grumpy and was turned into the dark side so Celestia sent her far away to the moon and then she came back and we had to band together to go through a series of tests to stop her and that's how we became the Elements of Harmony!" Pinkie said, explaining at a rapid-fire pace. "Next time I'll talk about how we beat chaos and made him our friend."

"Oh. Okay." Pike said,"That wasn't long at all."

Scanlan muttered,"Enough for a two-parter.

"And for a whole lot of alternate dimensions," Pinkie joked back at Scanlan

Coming up ahead was a large stone temple.

"Oh wow!" Pinkie said, looking up at it, "It's so big."

Scanlan chuckled, "Yeah, almost indescribable, isn't it." he said, looking up at you.

"How do we get in," Applejack asked. "It might have a few secret doors and tricks and-"

"FOUND IT!" Grog said, pushing the door with one hoof.

An Earth Pony stallion dressed in a red robe showed up at the front, panting,"Finally, got to the front entrance..." He coughed,"Welcome to the Font of Earth Pony magic!"

"Were you, waiting for us?" asked Twilight with a raised eyebrow. "How long were you...why did you...?"

"Well, not waiting for you specifically. I'm merely they greeter for all who wish to take the trials and regain their Earth Pony magic." The stallion said.

"..." Twilight paused at this, and asked, "Is losing an earth pony magic such a common thing that there needs to be a test and a trail and a ceremony to regain it?"

"Believe it or not, yes!" The stallion said.

"...I wish I had my magic so I bring out a notepad and write down this as things to ask Celestia later," Twilight said.

"Here you go!" Pinkie said, giving Twilight a list.

Twilight nodded and looked back at him, "Then what are the trials?"

"Well, you'll have to see." The stallion said, before looking at them,"Unfortunately, those without Earth Pony magic within them cannot come."

"What," was the group’s responsive answer.

"Well, I suppose that makes sense. It is an earth pony temple," Applejack said.

Rainbow Dash groaned, "But you'll take forever in there!!!"

"Ah, you'll be fine," Applejack said. "You guys can just have some conversations with each other while me and Pinkie-"

"And me," Grog said stepping forward. "I want to see this place for myself. Besides, I'm not standing around bored!"

Percy also raised a hoof, "I'm going as well. I am actually quite curious as to what I can find in there."

"Perfect!" The stallion beckoned towards them,"Come, come, I will talk you to where you need to go."

He led them down a long stone corridor. Cracks appeared all along their sides. Looking closely, they could see drawings of Earth Ponies doing tasks, creating tools.

Finally, they came to a large chamber, with three doors. One on the north, one to the west, and one to the east, “The magicless one must go through that door and enter a special chamber, the other four must pass the trials, and then complete the ritual." He turned and headed out.

“Wait, what if we need-" Applejack sighed and looked around, "So... how do we split up?"

Twilight stepped to look at the other two doors, trying to read it, "Hmmmm, it's in different languages, but If I'm right...I think it's strength and skill. So-"

She paused looking at the sigils of the points crafting and working hard, for a few moments regarding the words of Volkermord playing her mind. She blinked for a second as she heard Applejack’s voice call out other, "Twi?"

"Um, anyway. I think it should be Pinkie with Percy," she looked at the look of fear and horror that flashed on the normally stoic pony's face, "Sorry. And Grog with Applejack."

"Oh yeah," Grog said, giving a light hoof tap to his blood sister.

"I wish everypony good luck. I mean, after all, they wouldn't put killer tests in here...right?" Twilight said with a chuckle

Percy sighed, “Way to tempt fate, Twilight Sparkle." He walked towards the west door, “Come on..."

Twilight sighed as she went towards the front-facing door to a large pod, "Here's hoping everypony will be ok

-----------------

Pinkie and Percy would end up upstairs and seeing a floor with several numbers on them

"Oh, my gosh!" Pinkie shouted, "There are more numbers here than I can count!”

Percy looked at the numbers

They were arranged in a 3x3 square. Next to them was a sign,"Find 15"

8 ? 4
1 5 ?
? ? 2

Pinkie looked at the numbers, and then circled the one and five, "Found it!" she giggled at her joke. Then she put a three in between 8 and 4,

"Huh, you figured that out." Percy walked over and put a 9 after the 5
"Well duh, of course, it's easy!" Pinkie said, "I used to do these with Maude all of the time. It was to help her study and for me to 'get that hyper ball of kinetic energy out of my hair' in the words of Limey."

Percy smirked,,"It appears that I have underestimated you, Pinkie." He put a 7 and a 2 on the bottom.

"That's one of the best things about being so peppy!" Pinkie said, "I am totally unpredictable!"

"Indeed," Percy said, as a wall ahead of them shifted down to reveal a hallway.

Pinkie followed, looking up, "Gotta try harder than that to trick me you tricky trick puzzle!

Percy and Pinkie would appear in a circular room. On the other side was a door with a keyhole. In the center was a pedestal, with a small grey orb floating in the air.

Pinkie paused, and began to look at her body, "Mmmm, let's see..."

Percy looked at Pinkie, “What are you doing?"

There didn't seem to be anything scary.

"Want to touch the orb?"Pinkie asked.

"Trying to see if my Pinkie sense is picking up anything scary," Pinkie said.

"That sounds like a plan." Percy went over and touched the orb. The orb began to morph around his hoof before he pulled away.

Pinkie lightly tapped the orb

The orb did the same thing to Pinkie's hoof.

Pinkie pulled away, and then put her nose to the orb.

The orb morphed around her nose.

Percy grabbed the orb with a frown,Ithink we need to turn this into a key."

Pinkie nodded and turned the orb into a keyblade.

"I... suppose that works..." Percy muttered.

Percy indicated the keyhole, “Well, put it in."

Pinkie put in the key and turned it, before walking in while dressed in an outfit with a lot of zippers.

Through the door was a similar wall with two holes. The message was the same.

Pinkie smiled and pulled out a cupcake, "This is tasty magic!" she then put two of them into the holes.

Percy watched as she did so, to no effect, “I think we need to put our hooves in there."

Pinkie whimpered, "Right. Oh, I hope the Dude who Made this didn't put in needles!" she then put her hoof in

Percy did the same.

And then needles struck both of them, causing a bit of magic to drain from them.

"Ow!" Pinkie whimpered.
------------

In front of Applejack and Grog, there were several large blocks.

"Oh please don't tell me it's a slider puzzle," Applejack said s she walked to try and push one of the blocks

The block went forward and then swung back. Applejack would notice that there are three sets of different colored blocks, all set in a column, with two blocks in a row across from one another.

Grog walked o the middle column and punched the middle block. Applejack began to look at the sets and then the two blocks in a row. Stepping over to move one of the blocks in a row.

The two blocks slammed against each other.

Grog knocked one of the bottom blocks.

The block was a little harder to push this time.

Applejack and Grog punched another set of blocks this time together.

The blocks broke.

"Was that supposed to happen?" asked Applejack.

"Who cares! Block smashing time!" Grog said, pushing and smashing a few more blocks.

As all the blocks were smashed, the wall beyond them lowered to reveal a hallway.

Grog and Applejack gave each other a high hoof, which accidentally sent Applejack flying. Grog looked a little sheepish, but she gave a hoof up and smirked at her comrade. The two walked through the hallway.

When they walked through, they would feel their bodies growing heavier.

"Hey, do you feel heavier?" asked Applejack, walking a little slower.

Grog shrugged, "Well, I did eat a lot."

The gravity increased little by little on each step.

Grog shrugged, "Still not feeling anything."

"Really," Applejack said, looking at his knees, "Your knees are saying something else."

"Probably can handle more than you, “Grog smirked,

"Try me ya tall softie."

The gravity got even stronger as they neared the end.

"Still feeling nothing?" asked Applejack.

Grog shrugged, ignoring the sweat on his forehead, "Why? You wanna quit?"

"Nope, just want to make sure you are ok." Applejack said.

The gravity got heavier and heavier as they entered the last stretch.

Grog shrugged, like taking off a jacket. Each step began to create a crater beneath his feet while his thighs trembled. Looking to Applejack, he asked, "Ready to quit?"

"Nah, just needed to let you catch up," Applejack smirked.

They reached the door where the gravity turned to normal

They looked at each other and then hoof bumped.

AJ and Grog would see beyond them a large golden wall, with two holes in it.

A sign above said, “Feed magic into the one who has none."

"Now what the-

“Hey does that mean!" asked Grog and Applejack together.

The holes glowed before them.

Grog and Applejack put their hooves into the holes.

The holes clenched around their hooves, while needles stuck into them. A little bit of magic drained from them.

Applejack and Grog shrugged, "Was that all we needed?"

Twilight headed into the center room. Inside was a small pond surrounded by stone tiles. Beyond those tiles were a ring of flowers.

Twilight let out a sigh, before entering the pod. A few minutes later, she felt a surge of energy flow through her.

Applejack was the first to step into the area, and seeing the pod, ran to it, "Twilight, are you all right?"

Twilight stepped out, steam pouring from the pod. She then wiggled her hoof with a grin, “I've got Earth Pony magic now!" She began to hop around, “I've got Earth Pony magic!" she ran to AJ and bopped her on the nose, “Did you feel that, huh, huh, huh?"

Applejack looked at Twilight, "Um, Twilight, if ya wanted a liar then you should've tried hitting Grog, Percy, or Pinkie." she said, frowning. Then she put her hoof onto Twilight's shoulder, "Even when you were at full power, your punches were um....kind of like-"

"-a butterfly punching a giant pony like Grog?" Pinkie asked.

"Hey, that one butterfly hurt my nose," Grog said. "Oh, I know, you can try punching me

Twilight, smile wide, went over and bopped Grog,"Did ya feel that!?"

"Yeah!" Grog said smiling, "Totally felt that! It hit hard!" he said, looking at Pinkie who did sign language to tell him what to say.

Twilight let out a squee as she began hopping around, “I've got magic!" She then bolted away.

Applejack ran after her, "You don't have your magic, just earth pony strength!"

Pinkie Pie was about to run, but then looked around, "Mr. Earth Pony guardian? Are you going to be stuck here all alone when we leave?"

The guardian appeared behind Pinkie,"Nah, we work in shifts."

"You do?! Oh yay!" Pinkie cheered, "I was worried you worked all alone and had nopony to talk to. Still gonna give you a cake tough!"

"Ah, thanks!" The stallion said. Then he went to a time card, punched it out, as a mare walked past him.

"Do they have a union or something?" asked Applejack.

"Who cares, they give out free drinks in the lobby and free cookies! Plus I used the tablet at one of the ice cream stands and now have a free ice cream!"Pinkie cheered

"Since Twilight's not here to cock her in confusion, I will do it," Percy cocked his head,"How in the blazes is that tablet working as a coupon!?"

"Well," Pinkie said, bringing out the stone tablet/map, "You'll note right here that it says "turn this in for a free sweet or treat for a year? I decided I might as well try it at the temple's concession stand."

"That... just... let's just go..."

Applejack and Percy soon left, with Pinkie following close behind with a small cone and Grog with an even bigger cone and some more cones. Applejack walked up to Twilight after catching up, "So now the excitement is dying down, how do ya feel??"

Twilight turned to her with a smile,"Pretty good! I can't wait to get the rest of my magic back."

"Bladesinger?" Rarity asked herself as she read from the book.

"Ah, one of the lesser-known of the magic schools," Scanlan said, "Always learning how to wield their swords with the strength of a swordsman while losing none of their power. Can be a little bitchy though and sometimes you dare one and right in the middle of the fun stuff will start comparing blade sizes..."

Rarity rolled her eyes at what Scanlan had said, and then went back to look at her book. She could see the picture of a deer wielding his blade and pulling back, looking like a dance. For a moment she a bit of memory hit her, "It looks like the style of bladesinging back home. Granted, no pony but the old knights know it."

"Ain’t that the boring truth!" Rainbow Dash said, resting in the tree and playing with a pinecone. "Your uncle is a cool knight with swords and all of that, but unless it's a normal pony he doesn't get to use it! We know all of these cool tricks but we never get to prove ourselves, and this whole country thinks that we are wimps!"

"Are you saying that you would rather have us be in a battle mode all of the time, be ready for a war or a fight?" asked Rarity, looking up from the book.

"Well, know. I mean," Dash sighed, "Just look. These ponies are still peaceful, with the exception of a monster or two. They are just like us, just better fighters! I just-"

"Want to prove that we are just as tough if we trained like them?" asked Rarity, looking back up at Rainbow Dash. "That's what all we are doing right now. Learning from each other, exchanging cultures and ideas. That's what it means to travel to a distant land. Perhaps, when this adventure is over, we can all begin to learn more and help each other. Perhaps then...never mind. Look at how Fluttershy is taking this."

Dash looked up at Fluttershy as she continued to talk and concentrate around Keyleth and Pike. Magic sparks came from her hooves and wings as she practiced. Rainbow sighed as she looked at her friend and nodded. Shaking her head she laid back and said, "Whatevs. I'm conking out. You are on Vax duty."

"Vax duty?" asked Rarity.

"Make sure he doesn't sneak up and prank me while I sleep wait for the two slowpokes to get over here," Dash complained as she began to sleep.

Vax looked at Rarity, “Where's the trust?"

"Handsome, though you are Vax, you are also a cunning rogue with all of the implications there are," Rarity said, using her magic to create an alarm spell around the tree.

Vax smirked, “Now you're just giving me a challenge."

Samus looked down at Ridley, her horn cannon aimed at his maw. She glared daggers at him as he watched his bleeding body slowly die before her, "Y-you think this means anything? Heh. I'll come back someday, I always do. I'll be able to stand with my brothers and fight again, and all you will be is alone. I don't even know why you care about that infant. It's only suffering the fate we all do. We are born alone, and then we die alone. Forgotten by all but those who are the closest-" Ridley's next words were obliterated by the sound of two super missiles going down his throat and exploding, leaving him a headless corpse.

"If only you didn’t come back so often," Samus said, "I might et some satisfaction from this..."

Samus woke up on the ground of Glidesdale, before sighing and saying, "Alone...always alone."

"He was wrong you know," said Adam, coming on, "No one is truly alone. Perhaps, if you had allowed others to help you could-"

"Just go to sleep Adam, the wyvern won’t be here for a few more hours," Samus said, closing her eyes again.

The group finished resting up at the temple, before continuing onwards towards Kraghammer.

Applejack walked with the group ahead of the others, occasionally she would look overhead at Rainbow Dash. Then she would look back "Anypony from the West know much about this Kraghammer place?"

Pike looked up at her,"Well, I know that it's full of Shetland ponies."

"Shetland ponies?" asked Applejack.

"Um, very short like Fjords, but also very aggressive miners and blacksmiths."

"My kind of ponies!" Grog said, smirking.

Fluttershy walked back with Rarity and looked at her. With a curious eye, she asked, "Are you ok?"

"Hmmm, me darling? Why do you ask?" asked Rarity.

"I was just thinking about what you said before we got here. How you were always afraid that we might die alone? I was wondering if you are still scared," Fluttershy asked.

"I think are all a little scared dying again, my dear," Rarity said. "We are in a new land, surrounded by threats we do not know of, and while Vox Machina's skills are great. I cannot help but worry that at one point, our luck may be up."

"Oh my, and you...are still fine?" asked Fluttershy.

Rarity smiled warmly and placed a hoof onto Fluttershy's shoulder, "Fluttershy, of course, I am. It just wouldn't do to worry when I am seeing you and the others slowly improve. If it isn't Twilight getting her magic slowly day by day, there is you with your cleric training."

Fluttershy watched as Pike walked ahead, talking with Vex, "I...do think I'm getting better. Pike has been showing me so much about healing magic and Keylteht's been letting me practice on plants with my druid magic."

"You see dear? We are all improving, even if we don't know it," Rarity said, looking up to the sky as Rainbow kept her aerial patrol. "Though I will say this, I do wish we bought a carriage!"

Fluttershy let out a giggle and put her head to Rarity's "Maybe we can find one in Kraghammer."

Twilight kept stepping on with a small hop,"Applejack, how does your earth pony magic work?"

"How does...Ah," Applejack paused and looked down, "I don't know really. I always just felt it come naturally. Though...Granny Smith has told me about some sort of skill that some ponies used to do to get in touch with their magic."

Twilight frowned,"Should've asked you back home then..."

Applejack stood, "First you gotta breathe deep, letting the sun flow through you. Letting it warm your coat, like how it would warm a tree."

Twilight let out a deep breath and began to concentrate.

"Put your hooves onto the ground, feel the earth's mana just flowing on through," Applejack said. "Just like if you are a tree and taking in Celestia's good light and it's making you grow big and strong."

"Yes..." Twilight said.

"And voila, you should be feeling a little of the earth pony magic flowing right through your mana," Applejack said.

"Wow... it's not much..." Twilight muttered.

"Well, remember, you are just now getting reused to it," Applejack said patting Twilight's shoulder.

Twilight sighed,"Yeah..." She muttered.

Rainbow Dash grumbled to herself in the sky before shouting down below "How much longer. I swear if I don't see something interesting soon I'll do something drastic!"

Vax then yelled back,"Why don't you fly into another rock golem's mansion then!"

Vex frowned,"You were a part of that."

"Yes, but I'll take any chance to take the piss out of Speedy."

"And why don't ya take one of your daggers and shove it up your nostril, captain emo!" Dash shouted back

"And why don't you take a flying dive off-" Vax began.

Vex bopped him on the head,"No! None of that!"

"Ha! I win-"

"Rainbow Miriam Dash, you cut that out," Fluttershy said.

"Yes ma’am," Dash said, defeated.

Up ahead was a large mountain. Built into the side of it was a large set of red doors with hammers on them. In front was a grumbling pony with a lot of braided hair.

"Hey!!" Rainbow Dash shouted at the grubling pony, "Is this Kraghammer?"

Rarity stepped forward, "Why are you grumbling sir?"

"Yeah." The pony said,"And there's this douchebag alicorn spouting constantly about democracy. He. Won't. Shut. Up!"

"An alicorn!?" Pinkie said, rushing in, "Well, we made it a hobby of stopping them! Why is he talking about democracy?"

Applejack also looked at him, "And why are you out here anyway Mr...

"Hammerstein," The pony said,"And I'm out here to get away from that guy!"

"Well don't worry big guy!" Pinkie said, "We'll take care of that man who is spouting democracy and make him pay."

Applejack looked over her shoulder, "Why does this all sound wrong?"

Twilight was too stunned,"No, that's gotta be an exaggeration, there's no way-"

Then they saw Pollux in the center of the stone-built city, on a pedestal where several moaning ponies were

"MY FELLOW PONIES! WE MUST MAKE A STAND TODAY!" Pollux shouted at the top of his lungs, "WE MUST STAND FOR THE BEAUTIFY OF DEMOCRACY. FOR WE ARE ALL INDIVIDUALS CAPABLE OF NOT ONLY FREE THOUGHT BUT FREE SPEECH! WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT, THAT ALL PONIES ARE CREATED EQUAL. SO YOU MUST SHARE THAT EQUALITY WITH OTHERS, WHILE WE ALICORNS SHOW YOU OUR OWN DEMOCRACY!

Twilight stared at him,"Sorry girls, but I'm going to be gone for a minute." she walked away. A few seconds later, there came the sound of something hitting a wall.

"Excuse me miss," Asked a stallion "But could you sign this impression, please? It might help with the Kraghammer tourism."

Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed, signing out her autograph, "There. Probably not going to be big anyway."

Keyleth looked at the impression on the wall, "Oh, that looks just like you!"

Twilight let out an annoyed groan, before walking away.

Pollux stepped forward, "And in order to best represent democracy, we must stare down the threats to Democracy! Threats such as the undemocratic and monarchial Twilight Sparkle and her team!!!"

"You're not democratic either!" Twilight shouted,"Scanlan, tell him!"

Scanlan was looking elsewhere when his name was called,"What?"

"AND HOW AM I NOT DEMOCRATIC!!? I REPRESENT NOTHING BUT DEMOCRACY! I HAVE US ALL VOTE EQUALLY TO DETERMINE THE LAWS OF THE PEOPLE AND WE ALL HAVE ONE VOTE IN OUR LAND AND WE ALL MAKE THE SAME RULES THAT TEN ARE APPLIED TO YU PONIES. BY DOING THIS WE SHOW THAT ALL ALICORNS AND GODS ARE MADE EQUAL AND CAN MAKE DECISIONS AS AN UNIFIED BASE!!!

Scanlan chuckled,"You're equal, but not the rest of us."

"BUT UNDER DEMOCRACY, YOU ARE EQUAL! EQUAL BENEATH US AND BELOW US. IN YOUR UNEQUALNESS YOU ARE ALL EQUAL!"

Scanlan tipped his beret,"I bow to no one but myself."

"AND WHO ARE YOU TO QUESTION MY BELIEFS AND THE POWER OF DEMOCRACY!!!"

"Scanlan Bert Reynolds Shorthalt Esq., the most magnificent bard in all of Glidesdale!" He bowed.

"POLLUX! AND WHAT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT MY DEVOTION TO DEMOCRACY!!"

"Oh, I happen to be under the service of another princess that's working against you. Also, I am an amazing bard."

"A BARD YOU SAY. HA, FOOLISH MORTAL, I HAVE WRITTEN THE BOOK ON BARD SPELLS AND ABILITIES! DO YOU THINK THAT BEING ONE IMPRESSES ME!?

"You may have created the Bard spells..." Scanlan pointed to himself,"But I perfected them."

"OH YEAH, THEN PROVE IT! YOU CANNOT MASTER A CREATOR!"

"Alrighty then." Scanlan turned his beret around as Vox Machina, the Mane Six, and several Shetland ponies gathered behind him, all wearing some sort of bling.

Pollux smirked and clapped his hooves, summoning his own men, "Lay a beat."

They began to make a beat.

"You are short, small enough to be run over by an armadillo. Why do you ya think you can match me fellow?"

Scanlan flipped his mane,"I got a lot of wit in this little frame. As opposed to you, whose form is very lame."

"Ya think ya got wit,
You don't know ya twit

See, you are small
Like your momma
When I plastered her against the wall

Yeah, she is so tiny
The mice made her a queen.” Pollux smiiled

"Please, you think that affects me?
I got a million of these, see.

That ain't nothing big,
I did more with your Ma
Almost snapped her like a twig..” Scanlan crossed his hoves

"Look pal, you momma so big
We thought she was an ultra being

Like these silver giants
we smash them as gnat” Pollux grinned

"Yo momma was so fat
She made the earth shake!

When she died, we fed her to my rat!

Pinkie then jumped in and added, "Also, she is so twisted, that we thought she was a pretzel!

The hype machine answered with an ooh!

Pollux looked around, "The hype machine?"

The crowd around you and Scanlan.

"Fool! I am the hype!"

"No, Mr. Pollux, I am." Scanlan said,"You're just a low-end pretend god.

“Bet you're the second weakest of your group,
I'll turn you into soup!"

"Do you really think that you are bad
Don't you realize that you have been had

Weak though I may be
No one handles my beats!"

He glowed his horn and began to unleash some whispers as he went back to his mockery. Pinkie then jumped in front of Scanlan and strummed a random guitar.

"Now I say that you misunderstand
See you walk around and have to
play like this!"

"WALK THIS WAY! I say WALK THIS WAY!"

Pollux winced and was pushed back from Pinkie. Pinkie then pulled out a small bomb and looked at Scanlan, "Music change?"

Scanlan nodded, pulling out his lute,"We got the biggest, Bombs of them all!"

Using a combination of minor and major illusion spells from Pinkie's bomb and Scanlan's music, the world change to a giant stage with Pinkie and Scanlan on one side and Pollux on the other." NOW! I WANNA ROCK!"

"You think you so bad, you so dumb that you thought about concentrating on orange juice. Now watch as I rock out loud! SHOUT IT SHOUT IT OUT LOUD!"

"Oh yeah?!" Pinkie said, twirling her guitar and summoning some lighting, "Thunder!

Scanlan sang back, tuning the lightning into a little ball,"Baaaaallll"

The world began to change again and everyone started to dance, "You, make me feel like dancing. Aw Aw All night long!" Pollux smiled ats his fellow dace began to amp it up.

"You can tell by the way I walk, I'm Ma's Stallion,
No time to talk

Pollux screamed as he was hit by the powerful spell, shaking his head, he glared at the two bards with rage.

Scanlan began to ping a few strings ofhis lute.

Pollux growled and stamped his hoof, summoning some fire, "Burn through the ditches and slam through the bitches and into the back of my Dragula!"

"-Indestructible, Determination that is incorruptible!

"Killing the beast Killing the beast," Pollux panted (WHAT'S GOING ON, MY MAGIC IS FAILING ME?)

Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
We're off to Never Neverland

Pollux growled, "Help! I need someone HElp!"

Some of the stallions became zombies, only for the magic to break

"I get by with a little help from my friends," Pinkie sang.

"Get back, get back to where you once belonged!"

"Kisten," moaned Pollux, "You think you are bad? You ain’t nothing. You are just a...a..." he began to lose track of thought.

"Doctor, doctor, give us the news..."

Pollux shuddered

"Not gonna give in tonight!" Pinkie shouted

Pollux began to fall to his knees, "This evolution of music, of the soul..."

Scanlan smirked,"The music makes you lose control."

"You need to get with the times. You are so old that you knew Mimic and her friends." Pinkie said.

"N-n-n-

"You're so weak, a squirrel could break your nuts!" Scanlan said.

Pinkie brought out her metal bat and handed it to a squirrel. Pollux shuddered in fear as he was hit. Pinkie twirled her guitar, "Come on everyone smile smile smile."

Pollux let out one final scream as a blast erupted from his body. Before he finally collapsed to the floor, "I...how is this possible. I invented the bardic magic you wielded."

"You may have invented it... but we perfected it!" Scanlan said, bowing with his beret.

"I...see," Pollux gasped, feeling his body fade away. "You know something..."

"Hmm?"

"Maybe, what I was preaching wasn't democracy after all..."

"YOU THINK!?" Twilight shouted.

"Maybe...I was in support of...a republic." he then faded, allowing Twilight to have the appropriate reaction

Twilight let out an annoyed scream.

Pinkie frowned as she watched the dots fade from his corpse, “Aw, I liked him.”

Samus held her gun horn at the dirty and grey dog creature as it stood on its hind legs. In any other world, it would be like a hyena. However, here it was a sub-species of diamond dog known as a gnoll. With a laugh, it cracked its whip lined with spiked unicorn skulls, "Hahahaha! Pathetic armored pony. Trying to help the town. We rule the town, we own the gems. And we own the pony meat. You think you can stop us?" the fiend laughed while the rest of his war pack laughed and howled.

Samus was about to usher a one-liner but then smirked. Her visor scanned the area behind the gnolls and she smirked, "Interesting?"

"Eh?" the fiend asked.

"I just got a new power," she said, before rolling into a ball and rolling behind the war pack. Using the energy in her suit, she formed a series of small little bombs that she planted behind the gnolls. Then she rolled back in front and stood up. "I'm leaving. And those of you who want to surrender might want to do so in 5..."

"Five what?"

"Three," Samus said walking out the path towards the entrance.

"What happened to four.?"

"It took you a second to say all of that and two so now you have one," she said, walking out of the cave.

As the explosion rocked the cave, Adam's voice rang out, "You know, is it possible to leave a place without blowing it up?"

"Hey, there is some planet left standing," Samus said, leaving out the cave. Behind her, she could hear the ponies cheering at their iteration. Turning around, she sighed.

"Ever want to stay for the celebration. Maybe enjoy the day?" asked Adam.

Samus shook her head, "Naw, that's for heroes. I'm not a hero...just a huntress looking for the next hunt. They'll forget me soon enough." and then she turned to walk away.

The shetlands cheered them.

A copper pegasus was giggling,"You guys did great!

Pinkie giggled, "Thank you! We try to make sure every place we leave is a little better than we left it! And you are?"

The curly maned pegasus pointed to herself, “I am Copper Tongue, guardian of the Temple."

"I'm Pinkie Pie! And these are all of my friends!" She said, pointing to them, "Tha's Vax, he's the brood, That's Kiki and she's their Fluttershy, and that’s our Fluttershy. That's Vex, she’s an archer, that's Percy and he says as many big words as Twily, That's Scanlan and he's awesome, and that's Pike and she's the nice one, and that big guy is Grog. And those are my other friends, Twilight the smarty, Dashie the sporty, AJ the toughy, Rarityy the glamour, and that's Pinkie Pie!"

Pinkie Pie ran to the side and waved hi to herself

Copper smiled,"I like you!" She fluttered towards them,"I hear you're looking to enter the temple for some goodies, ain't ya?"

Twilight nodded, "We need to find one of the items, and we need to find a font."

"How did you hear about that?" asked Dash

She winked,"That's my secret." She flew towards a temple,"I'll tell you about the Pegasus Font, after you get your item. First, you must defeat the dragon in this temple.

"Another... dragon?" asked Fluttershy trembling.

"Eh, considering the last one? This will be easy Fltters," Rainbow Dash said, smirking

"Please don't jinx it, Rainbow..." Twilight muttered as she neared the temple.

Pinkie bounces to the copper pony, "Soooo, how did you get such a coat? And what do you know about the dragon?”

"Oh, my coat is all-natural." She smiled,"And, well, you should see for yourself!" She disappeared into the temple.

Pinkie smiled as she bounced ahead, "I like her!"

"Please tell me this test or whatever is gonna be easy," Rainbow Dash said as they walked into the temple.

A loud stomping was heard.

Behind them was the sound of breathing.

"Twilight, tell me that was you," Applejack said.

Twilight shook her head.

Everypony turned around to look at the breath coming from behind them

"Boo!" A large copper dragon was behind them, grinning.

"Boooo yourself!" Pinkie said with a giggle at the copper dragon.

"Yep, it's a dragon," Applejack said calmly.

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but notice her grin, "Awfully cheerful, ain’t ya.

"Yep! I am the most cheerful of the Metallic Circle, Reventh!" The dragon said.

"I see. You must be one of Bronze's friends," Rarity said .

Twilight looked at her, "How did you all end up agreeing to this?"

"Now that's a long, long, long, long story!" Reventh said with a chuckle," That'll have to wait though, wouldn’t want to tell the whole story, that wouldn't be fun!"

Pinkie nodded, "Yes, and besides, we can wait for that for a little bit longer. Let’s have some fun instead!"

"Oh gods it’s a Dragon Pinkie," said Dash

"Oh, yes!" Reventh's grin then turned into a frown," However, if you want to enter, you must pass a test."

"What kind of test?" asked Applejack

Reventh laid on her claws,"You... must... make me laugh."

"Laugh?" the group asked.

"Yep! Make me laugh! I should warn you, I am very old, so I've heard tons of jokes and variations of those jokes!"

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Twilight looked to Pinkie. Pinkie smiled back, bowed, and walked up to Reventh, "Oh, I will make you laugh, giggle, guffaw, chuckle, chortle, and smile. But first, care to tell me what is the first joke in this book?" she then pulled out the book trying to answer the question of what is the oldest one in the book.

"How do you entertain a bored princess? You sail a boatload of young stallions dressed only in fishing nets down the river and urge the princess to go catch a fish." Reventh said.

"Curses, she does know the oldest one in the book," Pinkie said, snapping her hooves.

"Try something more recent! Like from the east!" Dash shouted.

Rarity nodded, "Indeed. She may only be stuck to this one region."

"Ok, so here!" Pinkie said, handing her a train schedule, "We actually think that these come on time!"

Reventh let out a yawn in response,"I may or may not have taken a few trips over there."

"Oh, so you fell on a banana peel to get over there?" asked Pinkie.

Reventh shrugged,"I can't because I flew there."

"And boy are your wings tired!"

"I made that joke when we were first formed," Reventh smirked.

"Tough crowd," Pinkie said, putting a hoof to her chin. "Oh, I know, psychical comedy! Hey AJ!"

"What?" asked Applejack, before finding herself in a little ball, "What?"

"And fire!" Pinkie said, taking out a pool cue and shooting her down a long tunnel, allowing her to hit the wall several times until Tilt hit the screen.

"Wow, pinball." Reventh still didn't laugh.

Pinkie frowned, and then pulled out a scorecard, "This is gonna be a tough nuttie to crack. Hmmmm..."

Bringing out a copy of Ponies make war, she said, "Time for some funny reviews!"

"Ooh! I love these!"

So Pinkie spent 25 minutes making fun of Astor Coruscare’s book.

Reventh leaned on her arm,"That was pretty good."

"And did it make you laugh?" asked Pinkie.

"It was amusing, but it didn't make me laugh."

“Curses," Pinkie said, sitting in a thinking chair, "Hmmmm..."

"Excuse me, but I'm not a thinking chair," the chair said.

"You're not?" asked Pinkie.

"No, I'm a mimic chair!"

"Ahhhhh!"

"NOM!"

After Pinkie was eaten, the chair smiled. Then he moaned in pain, before screaming, "ARG! DIABETES!!!!!" and then melted away.

Pinkie smiled as she stepped away, "Remember...always get checked for Diabetes."

"So, you're made of sugar, then?" Reventh smiled and licked her lips.

"No, but my Piezooka MK VII is!" Pinkie said, pulling out a large cannon firing a sugar pie and sugar cookie her way.

Reventh dodged it and leaned in,"Hmm, you do seem tastier." She laughed,"I'm only kid-" She stopped,"Oops."

Pinkie smiled, and then booped her on the nose, "I win."

"Yep, you win!" Reventh disappeared in green smoke, leaving Copper Tongue.

Dash looked at Copper shocked and then grumbled, "Does every dragon like to dress in their colors. I swear the next one I see wearing some metal I'm going to start asking questions."

"Yay! I guessed it," Pinkie said, giving Copper a hug.

Copper gave her a hug back,"Yeparooni!"

"I am impressed by the differences of the personalities of the metal dragons we have met so far," Rarity mentioned.

Twilight looked at Copper, "Miss Reventh, where is the item. And why do you guys enjoy mingling with us?"

"The item is just behind me, and personally?" Reventh wrapped a hoof around Twilight,"You ponies are so much fun to be around!"

Twilight let out a small chuckle at this, "Is there anything you can tell me about your friends?"

Reventh put a hoof to her mouth,"Shh, I can't say anything because it's a super-secret."

Twilight frowned, "Of course." she said as they began to walk into the temple room.

"It's over..." a voice whispered.

Pinkie looked up, "Huh?"

Twilight looked at Pinkie,"Again?"

"What?" Pinkie said, turning to look at Twilight, watching the world slowly fade to black

"Pinkie!" Twilight watched as Pinkie gained a blank look.

-----------

Pinkie looked around her, watching as her friends began to disappear. Soon, the world around her was replaced with a desolate wasteland full of broken buildings and dark clouds. Turning around, she watched as ponies began to walk behind her. Their colors were grey, cutie marks were gone, and no smiles. Pinkie raised a hoof to try and say something but was interrupted by a whisper.

"It's over. See. You have lost. In what world did you think you could win?"

"This one," Pinkie said, looking around for the voice. "Well, maybe not this one, but the one where my friends are near me and were this a little more light."

"Oh really? You think you can win, even though she lost?"

For a brief moment, Pinkie saw a flashback of Twilight's battle with the gods. She watched as she fell and was obliterated before her eyes, "She only lost because we weren't there. If she had all of us-"

"All of you would've perished as well," the voice echoed. "Don't you get it yet? This is too big for you now. You aren't a hero, you never were. This isn't a battle you can win with singing, dancing, and a warm hug. This is a...are you mocking me?"

"Nope!" Pinkie giggled, holding up a puppet with a name tag that said 'silly voice' and was playing.

"You-you ARE! You are mocking me!" the voice said. "Aren’t you getting it yet? I said this is a world where you don't belong. Volkermord, the gods, and a few other shadows are lying in wait. They are darker than what you know. You are too full of light, too happy. This is not for you. Now, take your," the voice stopped as Pinkie began to walk to the shadows and try to cheer them up, "What are you doing?"

"Trying to cheer them up while you finish with your big ol 'I'm going to break her speech'" Pinkie said, smiling back at the voice.

"You can't cheer them up. You...you don't get this," the voice said, almost begging to laugh, "This world is full of light fighting back against the darkness but the darkness will just grow stronger in the end. You can never win and you can't keep ponies happy forever. Sooner or later, you will fade into legend and the ponies will separate again. You aren't even a real virtue, you are just laughter."

"So, this means I hope aren't I? The hope for the future, the hope for a brighter day, and hope for things to get better," Pinkie said, smiling. "I mean, yeah, I'm gonna die and fade away and things might not always be this way. So, that means I'm going to have to work super duper hard to make everything great now and make people see a better world while I'm here!"

"I..." the voice shook her head as she began to appear, a tan earth pony with a white headdress and a white gown, "Could tell you the world will be black and your friends will die and you will still keep going."

"Nope," Pinkie said, "Because they aren’t going to die. Not again, I'll keep on trying to make sure that they are all ok and we'll get through this together."

The mare smiled, "Good answer. Sonambula," she said, offering her hoof.

"Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie said, hugging the mare. "Hey, weren't you one of Meadowbrook's closest friends?"

"Yep, she helped to arrange these tests. I enjoyed this one because I get to scare ponies and see who is willing to fall to darkness," Sonambula said. "And I am glad to see, you aren't. Take the item, and then kick those gods in the hiney!"

"I will," Pinkie said with a giggle as she skipped away into the light, and into the world. Complete with a brand new cloak. A light blue and yellow one with many pockets.

"Pinkie?" Twilight asked.

Pinkie played with her cloak and then looked to Twilight, "Yessssssss?"

"You spaced out there, you okay?" Twilight asked

"Yepperorni!" Pinkie said, "I just had one of those vision things. You know, where you are forced to face the big challenge of yourself to move forward?"

"Ah, like what happened with AJ." Twilight said.

"Yep," Pinkie said, "And I got a cool item!"

"So where is the disk and what does that cloak do?" asked Rainbow.

Twilight looked around and noticed the disk on a pedestal,"I'm not sure what that cloak does... unless it brings out whatever Pinkie wants."

"The cloak will provide hope and clarity," Rarity said to herself as she read the tablet. "Perhaps it's a-"

"Ooooh, a Groovitron!" Pinkie said with a smile, "I was hoping to get a new one."

"I figured. Whatever Pinkie wants, she can pull it out of that cloak." Twilight said.

"YAY!" Pinkie cheered as she pulled out popcorn. Then she looked back and sat as she waited for Twilight to hit the disk.

Twilight activated it.

King Methusulah appeared once again," This next chapter doesn't exactly star my daughter, but the great wizard himself, Starswirl, and a friend that will soon fall..."

(Aw, thanks for spoiling it!" Pinkie said.

Rainbow Dash shouted "Booo, I hate it when stories look at side characters we don't care about!!)

"War, bloodshed, battles," Starswirl whispered to himself. "Ever since light and shadow declared war on one another, the gods have done their hardest to prove who is right. And sadly, it is the ponies that fall in the crossfire." as he left his home, he turned to look at a photo of a young light green pegasus holding a small colt with a little hat. "Mother... if only you saw what you sacrificed yourself for."

Starswirl looked down as he stepped outside and allowed the dun to beam down upon him. Shaking his head, he began to walk through the small village that lay in the shadow of the castle. Occasionally, he would look up at the towering spires and the looming towers, "The Alicorns of Shadow are rumored to have a powerful goddess on their side. Even if they could teach her to unleash the power within, would it be enough to win the war for their side? What is that element that is missing from their side to win for freedom."

Making his way to a small library, he smiled, "At the very least, they allow for neutral wizards to study across the battlefield. Good morrow Vecna."

A yellow stallion with a grey mane and tail dressed in a black robe looked up from a book and smiled,"Morrow to you as well, Starswirl. How goes your day?"

("V-Vecna!?" Twilight gasped in shock.

"Who?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"HE's the lich king!")

Vecna closed his book,"My studies of the Shadowfell are going swimmingly." He said with a smile,"But what pray tell were you doing with Titan yesterday?"

Starswirl looked at various books and picked one from the shelf, "Encouraging the young soul to partake in games of go in order to bolster his skills. He needs to learn to embrace the world."

"Did you mean to bring the madmare, or did she invite herself?" Vecna asked.

"You should know as well as I do, no one can determine where mares like her go. She is a free spirit who wishes to hang out with her comrades," Starswirl said, pulling out a book on trees and looking through it. He began to walk towards the light from the window and sat down, "A lesson you could learn Vecna. We do miss you from time to time."

Vecna sat in the shadows and laughed,"I'm so dreadfully busy these days, Starswirl. I have so much work to do!" He leaned back,"So much for me to understand about the different planes of existence... about life and death... about the gods." He frowned.

"Understanding? Why the interest in life and death and of planes old friend?" asked Starswirl.

"I... I merely want to aid our people, Starswirl." He frowned,"We're caught in a war of gods. A war where several ponies could die." He glared at the table,"and... my son's disappearance still haunts me.

Starswirl frowned and sighed, "Vecna, about your son. I am sorry, and I promise I will do all I can to find him." He then looked back up at Vecna, trying to see his face within the shadows, "But how will learning the means of life and death help out people? Medical spells have gone as they far as they can without tearing apart the weave."

"It's not enough." Vecna snarled,"Especially when we are at their mercy. Starswirl, look at us. We're nothing more than lapdogs to a higher power. But we are capable of so much more."

"There is only so much that we are capable of, Vecna," Starswirl said, looking up from his book, "We are only mortal. And as mortals we have limits. I am sorry that our people are getting caught in this god war too, but we can only do so much."

"Are we not the most powerful mortals on this plane, Starswirl?" Vecna said,"We can warp the fabric of reality if we wanted to. Imagine what could happen... imagine what would happen if we become like them?"

"You are talking of ascension," Starswirl said, frowning, rubbing his temples with his hoof. "That is not a step to be taken lightly."

"It is a necessary step, Starswirl. One that would need to be taken if we want to be on their level!"

Starswirl sighed and looked down, "Only the worthy should attain that power. One who can show the perfection of that cutie mark. Only one pony has ever actually achieved it. We are too old to push ourselves to that limit. There is no need to break these limits."

"Starswirl, I thought you knew." Vecna glared at the light in the window,"Limits are meant to be broken."

A door opened, and a green unicorn mare popped in,"Uh, Teacher?"

"Yes Clover?" asked Starswirl, looking towards his student with a warm smile.

"I, uh, decided to come early for some lessons." She turned to Vecna,"Oh, Grandpa, I didn't see you there."

Vecna smiled at her,"That's okay. I really should stop sitting in shadows."

(Twilight's eyes widened in horror,"What?"

“Twilight?” Rarity asked

“Clover’s my ancestor, that means-” Twilight stammered

"That means..." Applejack asked, pausing for a second.

"Darn it, why does Twilight get all the cool relations. I mean, you have two liches in your family, how did that happen?" asked Rainbow Dash asked.

"I don't know!" Twilight shouted.)

Vecna got up,"I'll leave you, for now, Starswirl."

"Far well Vecna," Starswirl said, before turning to Clover. "What are you interested in my dear?"

"Well, quite a few things actually..." Clover trailed off before the scene ended.

Shooting Star: Six Points of Light

by Alchemystudent

Omens

Vox Machina

Tales of the past

A new journey