Chapter 1: Arrival

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A bright flash of energy exploded in the middle of a field, incinerating any of the grass that was unfortunate enough to have grown around the source. Sparks erupted from the epicenter of the blast, and after several seconds, the blinding light finally dimmed, and the bearers of the Elements appeared. The previous flash of light, though mostly dissipated by this point, was still bright enough to send thousands of spots into Twilight's eyes and a loud ringing in her ears. For a while, Twilight could do nothing but lay on the ground in a dizzying daze, the overload of her senses too much to handle. It was several minutes before she heard a voice near her.

“What... what happened?” Twilight heard Rainbow Dash groan, the shuffling of hooves telling Twilight that Rainbow was adjusted her stance. As the unicorn tried to force the blindness out of her eyes with a quick rubbing of her hooves, the maneuver mostly failing, the cyan mare's voice returned, this time with a tinge of fear in it, “Wh... where are we?”

“Ah don' rightly know sugarcube,” she heard Applejack softly respond. More shuffling could be heard, but this time it was in the cowpony's direction, “but Ah don' think we're in Ponyville anymore.”

Twilight's vision was starting to slowly return, and what she saw awed her. What stood before them was not the Discord-tainted landscape that had invaded Ponyville that day, nor was it the Ponyville prior to Discord's attack, or any other area of Equestria that they were familiar with. Instead, what greeted the six mares was a vast expanse of what once had been a field of tall grasses, except now it looked as though a long drought had took its toll on the land. Most of the vegetation that had grown in the fields had browned in their struggle for life, a sure sign of death. Whatever trees that had stood in the area had very few leaves in their possession, some of them being completely devoid of any semblance of life.

The land itself consisted of soft, rolling hills, though from where the ponies sat, no other significant landmarks could point the ponies towards any notable destination. Far off in the distance to their right, the rolling hills turned into high mountains, the snow-topped peaks bare of any greenery as well. On their left, they noticed that there was a forest, but it was much lusher than the rest of the terrain, and considering the condition that the grasses on the hill were, it appeared impossible to have such a divide in the quality of life. It was as though this particular forest was immune to whatever calamity that befell the land rest of the land. The sun above signaled that it was around noon, for it stood straight above them, throwing its heat down upon the ponies.

It was only then that Twilight realized that it was hot. Very hot.

Picking herself up, Twilight softly spoke to the group, rubbing her eyes with a hoof once more, “Well, at least Discord seems to be gone. Though I guess the real question I should be asking is where are we ourselves? I mean, one second we were using the Elements, and the ne—”

“Wait, where IS your Element, Twi?” Applejack stared in Twilight's direction. Reaching with her hoof, she realiced that her tiara was no longer on her head. Her eyes slightly widened, she saw Applejack reach to her own neck, and after a second, finished the thought, “An' where's mine?”

“You think Discord had anything to do with it?” Rainbow said as she felt her own neck, noticing her necklace missing as well.

Twilight thought to herself for a moment. “Well... it's definitely possible. I mean, it wouldn't be the first time that he took them. However, taking them while we were activating them is something else entirely. I don't even understand how it would be possible, considering the amount of magic that must be going through them at the time, I'd assume that... well... I have no idea!”

“Well, darling, as much as I know this is important, I think finding out where we are is a much more pressing task, don't you think?” Rarity looked around, being the second of her friends to interrupt Twilight that day. “Rainbow Dash, do you think you can find out where we are, or at least where the closest shelter is? This heat is absolutely dreadful on my mane!”

“We have Discord on the loose, we have no idea where we are, and all you can do is worry about your mane?”

“Correction, we MIGHT have Discord on the loose, and we don't know where we are, YET! Besides, while I would love to get back home, I am trying to be optimistic, dear Rainbow. I'm surprised you think I would be so selfish as to—”

“Yeah yeah, I get it. One five-star spa coming up,” Rainbow spoke with sarcasm. With a quick flash of strength in her legs and speed in her wings, she was several hundred feet in the air, looking in all directions for anything of note. After a few moments, she started zooming off in each direction, but never straying so far as to lose sight of the group.

Breathing a sigh of relief at the ease of the tension amongst her friends, Twilight decided to mentally figure out what they did know about their predicament. “Lets see,” she thought. “All I can remember is the Elements activating, a flash of light, and then... nothing. I had no idea what happened, or why. I don't know where we are, so getting home is not an option. We don't know if the natives of this place know Equestrian, so finding somepony to help is probably not an option either!”

“Argh!!” Twilight threw her hoofs into the air, flopping herself onto the ground in defeat.

Applejack walked over to Twilight, consern filling her face. After a few moments, the mare nuzzled Twilight's neck. “Hey now, don' get all worked up over this, alrigh'? We'll figure out wha's wha', and we're gonna get home and be safe and sound in time for Applebuckin' season. Ya hear?”

“And if Discord wasn't destroyed?” Twilight moaned, her hoofs still covering her head.

“Well, Ah don' rightly know how he would've gotten away from tha' shot, but if he did, we'll jus' get our flanks over there, and show 'im wha's wha'!”

“Besides, dear,” Rarity walked up to join the pair, “there's no problem that we haven't figured out before, and I for one refuse to allow myself to remain in the dreadful place.”

“And when we do get back, we're going to go up to that big meanie face and kick his meanie flank all the way back to meanie Canterlot!” Pinkie exclaimed, flailing around her four legs, kicking and punching the air until she landed on her back next to the three with a giggle. “Minus the last meanie, because Canterlot is actually a pretty nice place.”

“Umm... I'm sure there's a few nice ponies out there that can help us find our way as well... if they don't mind of course.” Fluttershy timidly walked up to the group, joining the embrace.

Twilight looked up at her friends, and smiled. “You guys are the best friends a pony could have. You know that?”

“Well duh silly filly!” Pinkie poked Twilight's nose with the last word. “We're the best friends ever!”

“Hey,” a scratchy mare's voice came from above as the source landed next to them. “As much as I love watching this mushy stuff, I think we should get walking. I found what looks like a road leading to a town to the... uh...” Rainbow pointed in a direction, “...that way. Don't know which direction is North. Sun straight up and all.”

With that, the group nodded to each other, and started trotting in the direction that Rainbow pointed. At first, the group trotted along, with Rainbow flying overhead. Every so often, she would zip off, flying at full speed in several directions, adding a loop every few seconds, the mare anxious to get moving faster. However, with every minute, the heat of the world sapped more and more energy from the six of them. By the time they got to the road the cyan mare found earlier, Twilight was barely able to shuffle her hooves along, and saw most of the others were in the same situation. Even Rainbow was on her hooves, unable to keep up her flying antics because of the scorching blaze. Upon reaching the road, they went to the direction that Rainbow pointed out. It took several long and painful hours, but they were getting close to the settlement, to the extent that they could now see it over the horizon.

As they walked, the six talked about anything and everything. At first, the talk was mostly about what they were going to do to Discord once they got their hooves on him. A common response involved a statue, but the subject seemed to always turn to what sort of crazy way to use the statue. Pinkie suggested that they turn it into a birdbath for Fluttershy's flying friends, but that idea was soundly rejected, much to Fluttershy's relief. As the heat of the day wore on, talk came less and less common, to the point that when the group got close to the settlement, they were not talking at all, only letting their panting in response to the heat and Pinkie's soft humming break the silence.

That is, until Applejack spoke up. “Ah don' mean to be... breakin' any thinkin'... but... why is it still noon!?” The five others looked up, only to see that indeed the sun was still straight up in the sky.

“I don't know... but it... doesn't make any sense. With how long we've... been walking... it should've moved... by now,” Twilight panted. Ironically, right when this late last sentence was spoken, the sun immediately set to the west in a heartbeat, and the moon moved straight up into the sky.

Even after the moon had placed itself high above, Rarity continued to look up. “Well... at least we have the answer to that question... unfortunately,”

Twilight groaned. “Yeah... great...”

Letting out a collective sigh, the six friends got the the entrance to the small village. With it just turning night, there were a bunch of ponies still out conducting business, though none appeared too distraught over the strange movements of the sun and moon. However, through the darkness, Twilight was able to make out some startling details of some of the ponies around the town.

Most of these ponies were earth ponies, and while there maybe one or two pegasi here and there, there were no unicorns that were seen at all. Ponyville itself was predominately earth pony, yes, and the town was heavily influenced by their way of life, as shown by the way Winter Wrap Up was carried out, but there were many pegasi and unicorns that made up the town to make their presence commonplace. Here, however, almost every pony was an earth pony.

A second difference that became apparent rather quickly to the bookish unicorn was the lack of the vivid coloration that was normal among ponyfolk. While hues of yellow, red, blue, and even pink were common in Equestria, the only colors of coat and mane that could be seen among the ponies in this village were various “earthy” colors: gray, brown, tan, black, and white were the most common colors, with some dark reds and blackish-greens being the most flamboyant. In fact, because of the bland coloration, it made the six friends stand out more than Princess Celestia would back home.

The final, and possibly the most jarring, realization that Twilight made was that there wasn't a single pony in town that had a cutie mark. There were a few that seemed to have one, but it was soon apparent that these were not cutie marks, but were actually tattoos of some kind that the ponies had. It was probably these tattoos alone that made it so the six friends did not completely stand out.

“This place is... creepy,” Rainbow whispered to nopony in particular.

Before entering past the walls, Twilight turned to the gang, and addressed them all in a slightly hushed voice. “Okay, this place is weird I know, but its probably a common thing in this part of the world. I think... we should just do our best to blend in, and—”

“Blend in? Twilight, dear, I don't want to sound harsh, but we probably doubled the unicorn population by just walking through these gates, we are the only ones with cutie marks, and Fluttershy draws more attention with her pink mane than my gems on my dresses.” Fluttershy audibly 'eeped' at the potential attention to be drawn to her, forcing Rarity to add, “Not that there's nothing wrong with looking fabulous darling Fluttershy, but I'm just making a point.”

Twilight sighed, and looked towards the town, ignoring the interruption. “I know Rarity, but we don't have much of a choice? We are just coming in, staying for the night, finding out where we are, and getting back home soon after. Alright? Oh, and Rainbow, please don't fly around. I don't see the other pegasi flying at all, so let's not be the only ones doing anything crazy.”

“Yeah yeah. I just hope you know what you are doing, Egghead.”

“I do too,” was all that Twilight could think to herself as they started their trot towards the center of town. Seeing within the sudden nightfall wasn't that hard, for there was an abundance of streetlights adorning both sides of the street, illuminating the village's major streets. However, finding an inn was another story entirely. Like Ponyville, it would seem that a village as small as this one did not normally receive visitors, for after searching for thirty minutes, not a single place to stay was found. It was just when the ponies were about to give up when they found a place that seemed like an inn.

Walking inside, Twilight tried to take in as much of the room as possible as quickly as possible. The first floor was entirely taken up by a single room, and while there were several tables that sat in the middle of the room, the main feature was the bar that took up nearly the entire length and width of the place. Many patrons sat at these tables, while several more were sitting at the bar itself. The entire room was sparsely decorated, with the only real decor being various knickknacks that adorned the walls: from crudely drawn pictures of unknown ponies to various bottles of drinks that she didn't recognize.

On the ceiling, a single large chandelier lit the room with a soft glow, casting a low light upon the patrons. Behind the bar, there was a single earth pony that was wiping the top of the bar with a rag, cleaning up what was assumed to be a spill from the pony in front of him. He was a simple chocolate brown, with a lighter brown mane and tail, completely fitting in with the rest of the crowd.

“Wait here girls,” Twilight spoke to her friends. “I'm going to see what I can do about getting us some rooms.”

Slowly, the unicorn careful not to bump into anyone, Twilight approached this pony. As soon as she made it to the bar, she attempted to get his attention. “Excuse me, but do you have an open bed for tonight?”

The pony behind the counter looked in her eyes, slowly raising an eyebrow, “Say again?”

“Do you have an open bed for us? I have five friends with me if you're interested.” Twilight gestured to her friends, still standing near the entrance. “We're desperate, and we'll do anything to help you out with any favors you might have for us mares.”

The pony behind the counter raised his eyebrow even more, as many of the patrons near the conversation had turned towards the interesting exchange. “As much as Ah'm flattered, Miss, but Ah'm married.”

“Huh? I don't know that that should have anything to do wi...” Twlight trailed off. Eyes growing wide, she slowly realized what the pony behind the counter thought she was implying. “Oh no! NO! That's not what I meant at all! I just meant do you have a room to rent out for the night, and... uhh... we don't have money, and we could help clean dishes or something... because... umm... yeah... hehehe...”

“Oh geez!” the pony behind the counter sputtered, receiving howling laughter from the patrons all around him. “Ah'm so sorry! Ah didn'! Ah mean... Ah'm sorry!”

Coughing to regain his composure, he continued, “Anyway, yeah, this place ain't no inn. In fact,” he thought to himself, “hate to break it to ya, but Ah think there ain't a single inn in all of Conflound. This here is only a bistro.”

“I thought this here was a bar, Clyde,” the pony seated closest to Twilight at the bar said, chuckling to himself.

The owner looked at the patron with an annoyed look. “Or bar, if ya mus' be so casual, but yup. This here ain't no hotel. Sorry, Miss.”

“Oh, okay.” Twilight sighed in defeat. “Thanks for your help anyways,” she said, turning towards the exit.

The barkeep looked at the defeated unicorn, “Aw horseapples. Look, Miss, Ah can tell you ain't from 'round these parts. How 'bout this, we ain't got much, but if ya'll want, we have a guest bedroom that Ah could put ya'll ladies in. There's only two beds, but they're yours if ya wan' 'em.”

Turning back around, Twilight had the biggest smile on her face. “Really?! Oh thank you thank you thank you! By the way, my name is Twilight Sparkle,” she stated, holding a hoof in front of her.

He took her hoof and gave it a shake. “Mighty interestin' name ya got there, Miss Sparkle. Name's Clyde. Give me a few minutes, and Ah'll show ya to tha' guest room.”

After another round of thank you's, Twilight happily trotted to her friends, and told them the news. After a few minutes, Clyde walked up, introduced himself to the rest of them, and let the girls to the room upstairs. Inside the bedroom, it was even more sparse than the bar downstairs. The only things in the room were a pair of single beds, a simple desk, a single window, and a few candles that were soon lit by Clyde.

“Make ya'llselves at home. Now, as much as Ah would like to meet with ya'll girls more, Ah gotta get back downstairs 'fore Ah'm raided of mah drink. If ya'll want, Martha and mahself are actually about to close up shop in an hour or so, and after tha', we're gonna have dinner. Ya'll welcome to join if ya wanna.”

“That would be simply divine.” Rarity slightly bowed her head. “And once again, thank you for the room. It is most generous of you.”

Clyde smiled, “Ain't nuttin', ma'am.” With that, he did a quick bow of the head, and left the six guest to their room.

Twilight turned to her friends, and smiled. “Well, at least we know that the ponies around these parts are friendly! Besides, with this track record, nothing can go wrong!”

Chapter 2: Hospitality

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“Clyde? Really? That's his name?”

It had been almost an hour, and in that time, the six mares—while still trying to get their room in order—were still not settled with the situation they were caught in. In fact, if anything, they were more unsettled now than ever before. The mares had tried to put off the elephant in the room for the entire time, but with Rainbow's final outburst, said elephant was brought front and center.

“Okay girls,” Twilight started, ignoring Rainbow's fifteenth comment about how Clyde's and Martha's strange names, “I'll be honest, I don't know what to do next, so for now, lets just try to lay low a little bit. Tonight, when we have dinner with them, we can ask those two where we are, and maybe even get to see a map of the area. When we do that, we can figure out where we are, and how to get back to Ponyville.”

“Ah think that's a mighty fine idea, Twi. Though Ah don' reckon ya know any spell tha' can get us back home real quick-like?” Applejack said to Twilight, the mare resting herself on one of the beds.

Twilight sighed. “Sadly not. I can teleport myself several miles on a good day, and all of us a few hundred feet usually, but nothing near the distance we would need to get home. Assuming I even could, I don't think I could fight Discord after doing something like that for at least a few days, let alone right after we teleport. My magic would be tapped out.”

“And she's named Martha?”

“Either way! We have to thank those two! These ponies look all sad and haven't had a laugh in for-EV-er!” Pinkie gasped. “We should throw them a party!”

“We're trying to lay low, remember Pinkie?” Twilight rubbed her brow with her hoof. “Pinkie, I promise we'll throw all the parties we can handle when we get home, but right now, we have to work on getting home, okay Pinkie?”

Pinkie glared “Fine, but I’m just letting you know that I’m' going to have make up for the lost party somehow.”

With that foreboding statement, Twilight thought to herself again. “Maybe if we are near the ocean we can book a passage on a boat and get back to Equestria that way...”

“Martha and Clyde!?”

“Shush.” Rarity looked away from Rainbow Dash, looked at the other three, and added, “This is a wonderful plan, but may I be the stick in the mud and point out that we do not have any bits among us. Even if we did, dear Twilight, we don't know if these ponies even take that kind of currency.”

“Ugh. Yeah you're right. How did I forget that?” Twilight groaned, thinking even harder. “I couldn't bring myself to ask these ponies for bits, or whatever they use, after all the generosity they've shown us. Umm... we could get part time jobs or something, but considering how much a boat ride might cost, it might be faster to just walk... the long way...”

Applejack had lay herself down on the bed at this point. “Well ah for one don' mind a good day of hard work, and Ah think jus' walkin' it back ta Equestria tha ol' fashion way migh' work too. It all depends on how far it is, ya know? 'Sides, some of us could use tha' workout!” she snickered, poking Twilight, which was replied with a friendly glare.

“Clyde? Martha? What kind of names are those?”

Fluttershy softly whispered to her chromatic friend. “Oh Rainbow. Please don't be rude. Those ponies were so very nice to us. I'm sure he thinks our names our strange too.”

“Are you saying you think my name is strange?”

“Why yes. I mean no. I mean... I love your name... I mean... I...” Fluttershy descended into whispered squeaks as she faltered.

“Rainbow! Fluttershy is just saying that you should be a lady and be grateful that the kind stallion took us in.” Rarity stepped forward, making her presence known to the brash pegasus.

Sighing, Rainbow lowered her head. “Yeah yeah, I hear ya. Hey Fluttershy. Look, I... uhh... don't be upset okay? You know I can't really get mad at you, right?” Rainbow gave a smile towards the yellow mare.

Fluttershy smiled back. “Oh, I know Rainbow Dash. Thank you.”

Twilight looked at the other five, and sighed. “Look, I don't think we're going to figure this out tonight. I know that I'm usually the one with the plan and the checklist and... well... everything! But this is too much too fast. We'll think of something, but right now lets just settle down, and relax for the night. I think a good night's sleep will help us all figure out what we need to do to get this situation under control.

“Who knows! Maybe this is all a dream and we'll wake up tomorrow with everything back to normal right?” Looking around, she saw their faces, showing her all she needed to see about their thoughts. “Yeah... I didn't think so either, but either way, a good night's sleep will help.” She was stopped by a low rumbling coming from her stomach, causing an embarrassed chuckle.

“Ah think maybe ya need to get some food in ya first, sugarcube.” Applejack snickered.

A few minutes later, they heard a knock on their door, along with soft grumblings about stairs and how there were too many of them. Twilight walked up to the door, and after her magic to carefully hit the latch, and saw the face of their friendly host. Peeking in the room, Clyde smiled at the six girls. “Dinner's in a couple minutes! Why don't ya'll come on down and get yourselves situated 'n all. Ah'm sure Martha would love to meet ya.”

“Thank you. We'll be right down!” Twilight said back to the smiling stallion. She finished opening the door the rest of the way with a hoof, and with a on each of them, the six proceeded to follow Clyde down the stairs to the main room where they first met him. By now, the lights in the room were dimmed—the room just bright enough to allow them to see how the room had changed. The chairs around the tables had been put up, the floor swept and mopped, and the glasses that the patrons were using were cleaned and ready for the next day.

All throughout the walk, Clyde smiled and made idle conversation to the girls. In actuality, it was less of a conversation and more of a monologue by Clyde that the others could only listen to. Even Pinkie didn't get a word in past his rambling. His talks were on a random assortment of topics, ranging from how the business was doing, the weather, to even how he suspected that there was a house down the street that was haunted by the ghosts of a broken toilet. This last one got a soft muffled squeak from Fluttershy, and a wide smile from Pinkie.

Walking past the counter, they went to the back room, where there were two tables of different shapes and height, one rectangle and taller and one circular and a few inches shorter, that had been haphazardly pushed together to make what could be called a large dinning table. To the sides, there were three other doors, one being a set of swing doors that led to a kitchen, where the sounds of dinner being made came from.

Clyde motioned for his guests to sit at the odd table, and pulled out the chair for Rarity and Rainbow as they sat down. “Now if ya'll would be so kind to excuse me, Ah'm gonna bring out the grub. Trust me! You won't get any better home cookin' than here!” With that, he totted into the kitchen where new sounds of conversation were added to the noises of cooking, leaving the mares to their own devices

Looking at the others, Rainbow smirked a little. “I change my mind. I don't know who this guy is, or what kind of name 'Clyde' is, but he's funny! I like him.”

“Ah don' know... Ah don' trust him,” Applejack softly replied, keeping one eye on the swing doors.

“What's not to trust! He seems like an amazingly crazy colt! He even gives Pinkie a run for her money with how fast he talks!” Rainbow pointed at the pink pony, who simple nodded as fast as she could with a giant grin on her face.

“Ah hear ya, but Ah jus' don' trust him. Ah don' know why though... Ah think it's the way he talks.”

Rainbow cocked her head to the side. “...Huh?”

Lowering her head closer to the table, Applejack continued her hushed accusation. “Ya know... it's his accent. Ya can' trus' an accent like tha'. Ah think he's lyin' about somethin'.”

The other five just looked at her at her with those words, the face of bewilderment showing through on all of them. As the seconds past, Rainbow and Pinkie's faces started to contort, fighting the grins. Eventually, they were unsuccessful.

“Phhhahahaha! Really AJ? You must be pulling my leg here!” Rainbow spit out, holding her sides.

“Ah ain't pullin' nothin'! It's true!”

“Applejack, you silly filly! I never took you as a prankster!” Pinkie was nearly falling off of her chair laughing. “Dashie and I should take you on our next pranking session! You'd fit in perfectly!”

“Ah don' get why ya'll are laughin' so darn much! Ah'm serious here!” Applejack's face starting to show frustration.

Rarity merely sighed. “Darling, do you mean to tell us that our host, who has been ever so generous in granting us our humble rooms out of the kindness of his heart, is being... dishonest with us?”

“Yup!” Applejack nodded.

“...Because of his accent...”

“Yup!”

“...Which so happens to resemble yours quite impeccably?”

“Yu—wait what? Impeca-what?” Applejack just stared at Rarity, while Rainbow and Pinkie's laughter got even louder. Even Fluttershy was trying to fight a giggle through her pink mane. Twilight could only put her hoof to her forehead and groan.

“Applejack, dear, your accents are uncannily similar. I do say that if I didn't know better, you two would be related somehow.”

Applejack's mouth hung open, “Ah... Ah don' have an accent! Ah don'!” She turned to Fluttershy, “Do Ah?”

Fluttershy sunk into her chair, trying to look as small as a pegasus could. “I... umm... well... I don't...”

Thankfully for her, Clyde and an earth pony mare walked out of the kitchen with a few bowls for them and their guests. The mare was a light gray, had longer black hair, and was—as with everyone else in town—without a cutie mark. Looking at the scene around him, Clyde chucked. “Well Ah can see tha' Ah missed something! What's so funny?”

All the girls hushed up quickly, except for Pinkie, who continued to laugh. “Applejack was just telling us the funniest joke!”

“Well shoot! Ah'm sorry Ah missed it. Ya'll have to tell it again for me soon. But not now. Dinner's ready.”

Once the bowls were placed in front of the girls and the two empty spots for the married couple, Clyde trotted back into the kitchen, and on his back came one of the largest pots of soup that any of the girls—minus Applejack—had ever seen. Placing it on the table, the aromas from the dish forced even Rarity to fight the drool that tried to escape from her mouth. Almost immediately, the six attempted to take some of the soup from the pot, but were quickly stopped by a loud coughing by Clyde.

“Ah know ya'll ain't from 'round here, but 'round these parts, we like to give our thanks for our meals,” Clyde softly spoke, giving a sincere smile towards the, now somewhat embarrassed, mares.

Clyde and Martha bowed their heads down slightly, which the six friends, after looking at the two, followed suit. Clyde began.

“Oh heavenly God, ruler of all tha' world and the creatures upon it, please bless this food in fron' of us, so tha' it may provide the nourishment we so desire. Please bring us the rain we need for our crop, and let the sun stay in the sky less over the next few days than the last, so tha' the heat won' be as harsh. And thank ya for ya generous blessings of late, by providin' our ruling Lord the courage and strength he needs to protect us against the other domains. Our prayers are yours.”

The girls continued to bow their heads, until Clyde coughed again, “Ya'll girls wan' me to serve ya'll?” The six looked at each other, and nodded quickly.

As the bowls were passed around, Clyde once again spoke up, “Aw shoot! Ah'm sorry! Ah forgot to introduce mah wife! Ladies, this here be mah lovely wife, Martha.”

“Its a pleasure to meet you all. I've heard stories of ponies from other lands, but never could I imagine that they would look so...” Martha paused to look around the room at the colorful ponies, and smiled, “...vibrant.”

Twilight smiled back. “Please, the pleasure is all ours Ma'am. I'm Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends: Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy.” Twilight pointed at each in turn when their names came up, and each in turn smiled and nodded. “I have to admit, I'm surprised that you two would be so kind and generous as to allow us to stay and eat with you two, especially when we don't have anything to give. I don't know how to thank you two enough!”

“Oh don't you mention it, deary! We rarely get any travelers through these parts, and all of those either pass us by, or have family in the area. When a bunch of young mares come through looking lost like you, we couldn't let you just stay out in the elements! Besides, Clyde is the one who you should thank.”

Clyde nodded, “Wha' can ah say? Ah know if mah wife here were travelin', Ah'd hope everypony would treat 'er well. Leas' Ah can do.”

“But we do mean it. It is awfully generous to let all six of us stay here.” Rarity smiled in response.

“Well little one, I admit, when he told me we were having six guests over for the night, why, I thought some of the customers were too drunk to stand again.” Martha let a small chuckle escape her mouth. “But six traveling mares from parts unknown? I have to say, never expected that one!”

By this point, the bowls of food had been passed around, and Applejack, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie were all digging in, while the other four were content with just talking to each other.

Martha continued, “But anyways, what ARE you girls doing all the way out here? Hmm?”

The question almost made Rainbow spit out the soup that she had in her mouth. “Vacation!” was what she said before anypony could say otherwise.

Twilight coughed a little to give herself more time to think. She knew blurting out, “Oh you know, we were fighting the embodiment of all chaos when we were teleported here, and now we need to find our way home before the entire world is destroyed,” would sound a little far fetched. Instead, she decided to continue with Rainbow's lie.

“Yes. That's right. A vacation. See, we had been working for so long without a break, we all decided to get together, and take a long vacation to, well, see the world. Ah he he he...”

Twilight gave a very large and very guilty smile towards the two. If Clyde or Martha suspected something, they didn't show it. Instead, Clyde simply smiled. “Ah see. Well, wha' do ya'll do anyways? Work wise Ah mean.”

Twilight smiled, glad to get off that topic, “Oh, well... guess you could say I'm a librarian officially, but I do lots of research into various topic.”

“Oh my! You have enough books to have a library? Why... that's got to be a lot! More than what we have in our entire village. You must truly have a dedicated passion indeed!” Martha smiled, making Twilight blush slightly. “And you... Rarity was it?”

“Yes,” Rarity said, “and I am the preeminent fashion designer of all of Equestria, if I may be so bold. Perhaps you've heard of me?”

Clyde rubbed his chin for a moment with his hoof. After thinking he shrugged his shoulders, “Nope. Got nothin'.”

Martha frowned. “Me either, deary.” Rarity frowned, but Martha quickly spoke again. “But don't be upset. We don't get out much. Why, I've never heard of this Es-squash-ia before either.”

Twilight filed that little tidbit of information in the back of her mind—the fact that they were far enough away from Equestria that they hadn't even heard of it. As she did this, Clyde turned to Applejack and asked, “Well, wha' about ya? Ah'm gussin' tha' Stetson ya wearin' tha' ya be one of them cowponies. Am Ah right?”

“Sorry, but no bit for ya'll.” Applejack chuckled. “Ah'm an apple farmer actually. Me and mah brother run Sweet Apple Acres. Finest apples around, if Ah may toot mah horn.”

“What's an 'apple'”

The six of them turned to Martha, dumbstruck. Even Pinkie, who had soup dripping down her face, looked at the mare as though she had told them she'd never seen the sky before. Applejack finally recovered enough to say exactly what she was thinking.

“Uhh!?”

“I'm sorry. I didn't know these apples were so... umm... important? Are they like oats?” Martha quietly spoke, hoping to not offend the farmer any more than she already had.

If anything, Applejack got even more confused, her jaw nearly hitting the table in the process. Pinkie started giggling at the sight, and Twilight could tell from the shifting eyes that the mare was debating either throwing napkins into the gaping mouth or force feeding the soup to the mare. Other than the quiet giggle of the pink mare, the room was silent for a good fifteen seconds. Eventually, Clyde broke it.

“Anyways... uhh... how abou' ya Pinkie Pie? Wha' do ya do?”

“Oh that's an easy one! I help Mr. and Mrs. Cake bake at the bestest bakery ever: Sugarcube Corner! And I'm the number one party thrower ever!” Pinkie nearly yelled at the end, bouncing up and down in her chair as she excitedly spoke.

“Heh, well Ah'm sure tha' ya got the best baking skills 'round here. Only baker in town worth a damn is Walter, and he only bakes bread. As for parties, well, Ah admit Ah haven't had a party since Ah was a colt mahself.”

Pinkie gasped. “Then there's no time to lose!” She leaned across the table, farther than her figure would suggest she could, until she was right up against the married couple's ears. She whispered, “Tomorrow. Sundown. Bring an onion.”

Clyde blinked for a second, “...Wha'?”

Pinkie snapped back to her chair, and grinned a wide, toothy smile, “Oh, nothing!”

“I... ummm... I see... deary,” Martha nervously said. She then turned towards the yellow pegasus, “And what about you my quiet one? You haven't said a peep this entire time. What do you do?”

Fluttershy hid her face at the question, dreading having the attention put on her. After a few tense moments of silence, she felt a hoof rubbing her back. Jumping a little, she looked to her right, and saw that Rainbow trying her best to comfort the skittish mare. Settling a little, Fluttershy took a deep breath, and finally whispered a response.

“I... umm... I take care of animals.”

Martha said back in a hushed tone, trying not to startle her any more, “I see, so you are like a shepherd?” Fluttershy nodded in response, not wanting to point out how many ways that statement was incorrect. “Well that's very kind and noble of you. I'm sure you are very skilled at what you do deary. No reason to be shy about it.” Martha turned to the last of their group. “Now how about you... Miss...”

“Just call me Rainbow,” she said with a smirk.

“Right. Well what do you do?”

Rainbow took her hoof off of Fluttershy's back and smiled. “Only the most awesome job ever! Weather Manager of the entire freakin' town, and soon to be Wonderbolt!”

Clyde and Martha looked at Rainbow, looked at each other, then back to Rainbow. “Uhh... you mean like a weather reporter or something dear?”

Rainbow merely laughed. “No no no, I mean like make the weather and such! You know, moving the clouds, making sure it rains, you know... the fun stuff.”

Clyde looked more confused than ever, “Ah... uhh... see. Well tha's jus' swell,” he muttered in a monotone. At this point, he had given up on having them explain all these jobs and what they meant. “Anyway, Ah'm starvin'! Don' mind me, but Ah'm diggin' in!” He said right before sticking his mouth into his bowl, and slurping a large amount of soup.

“Clyde! Manners! Remember the guests!” Martha fussed at him. “Pick it up like a proper pony, instead of... whatever that is!” Just a second later, she heard another slurping, this time from Applejack. She looked up, soup on her face, dripping on the table in front of her.

“Eh he he he... sorry.”

Rarity sighed, and whispered to her friend, “Applejack, I know you can't eat like Twilight and myself, but please try not to draw attention to yourself like that.” Rarity's horn lit up as she picked up the bowl with her magic, taking a dainty sip out of the soup. The aroma that invaded the groups nostrils earlier did not do the soup justice. “I do say, this soup is the most marvelous thing I have ever—”

The mare was stopped two loud crashes of bowls hitting the table, then floor, breaking in the process. Nearly releasing her bowl from the sudden sound, she quickly turned towards the hosts, who's eyes were larger than she thought possible. Both of them were frozen in the position they were in: Their hooves were near their faces as if the bowls were still in their possession. In any other situation, it would've been the most comical position.

Right now, not even Pinkie Pie laughed.

It was nearly a full minute and a half before Clyde was able to stammer out a response, “Wh... wh... wh...”

Twilight was growing concerned. “Uhh... Clyde? You ok?”

“WHAT WAS THAT!?”

Taken aback, Rarity asked, “What was what?”

“What ya did! Wit the bowl an' the glowin' an' the flyin'!”

“What? Magic?”

“Tha' was magic!?”

“Umm... yes? I know there aren't many here, but you must have seen a unicorn use it before.”

Clyde slowly turn towards the only other unicorn pony in the group, “Y... you can use it too?”

“Uhh... yes.” Twilight admitted, feeling like it wasn't a good idea to admit it, but they were already deep in this situation. Lying now was nearly impossible.

For the next minute, the two hosts just looked at the two mares before them. Eventually, they both looked at each other, and stood up. Clyde stuttered out, “Ah'm sorry ya'll, but all of... this is takin' a... toll on us ol' folk. Big ol'... shock and all. Ah... we need to lie down... for the night. Ya'll can eat ya fill, and just... uhh... leave all the dishes till mornin'. G'night an'... uhh... yeah...”

With that, the two hosts slowly backed into the back room, stumbling around until they got through the door, shutting it behind them. The remaining six looked at each other, not entirely sure what had just happened. Instead of saying anything, the six quickly finished the soup in their bowls without any grace or fanfare, and quickly made their way upstairs. As they did, Twilight could hear Applejack mutter to herself.

“Now ah know this ain't gonna end well...”

“My Lord.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“There's a situation that I need to appraise yourself to.”

“Yes?”

“We've gotten word that there have been a group of six mares that have committed a capital offense within the town of Conflound.”

“You disturb my dinner for something as simple as this? Execute them as any other criminal, or do I need to rethink my putting you in your position?”

“I understand your confusion, my Lord. Normally I would have done just that. However, this is a different situation. Its... well...”

“Out with it.”

“The offense was the open use of magic.”

“Hmm... do you have a description of the offenders?”

“On some. There's a yellow pegasus with a pink mane, a cyan pegasus with a rainbow patterned mane, an orange one with a blonde mane, a—”

“Wait... was one of them a purple unicorn? With a purple mane?”

“Uhh... with a pink stripe yes. Is that important?”

“It might be. Hmm... very interesting. Detain them if you can. Do your best not to kill any of them. I wish to speak to them all personally.”

“And if they resist?”

“I have faith that you have trained your soldiers well so that casualties will be low enough.”

“My Lord? Is this wise?”

“Are you questioning me Captain?”

“No. Not at all my Lord. I just was wondering what the reasoning behind all of this is.”

“The reason is my own. See to their capture, Captain.”

“As you command, my Lord.”

“And Captain.”

“Yes?”

“See to it that this stays secret. I don't want this incident to get out of Conflound, much less to the neighboring provinces.”

“Lord?”

“They never existed. Understand?”

“As you wish.”

Chapter 3: Running Time

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“Fools! Do you think you can stop me!?”

Discord was standing on top of Canterlot Castle, towering over Twilight and her friends, who were doing their best to defeat the draconequus. Discord could only laugh as he threw pies at the six ponies below while he chased them atop his unicycle. Meanwhile, the six were expertly dodging the pies, the creamy filling which was the bane of all that was pony.

“Friendship can stop anything Discord! Even a chaotic beast like you!” Twilight yelled back at the evil being. “Our friendship will stop you, and your reign of terror will be undone!”

Jumped off the unicycle, Discord laughed. “Oh really? What friends?”

Twilight looked around, to see that she was the only one on the balcony. “Wh... what? Rainbow? Applejack? Girls!? Where are you?!”

“Well, well, well! It looks like the magic of friendship cannot hold up to the magic of running far far away from the big mean scary monster! But don't be upset, I'm sure that Celestia and Luna will help you defeat Mr. Evil Draconequus. Let me help you find them.” Discord teleported in various areas as he called out, “Tia? Oh Tiiiiiaaaaa? Where are you and your precious Lu-Lu? Ah ha! I think I found the fillies!”

He snapped his fingers, and a plaid purse appeared before him. He reached inside, and after digging for a moment, pulled out two objects, and threw Twilight two objects. Looking like two bone-like objects, they clattered on the floor next to her as they rolled. Looking down, Twilight realized the distinct spiral grooves that ran along each object, which tapered into a point. Her breath ran short when she looked closely at these two “bones”. Twilight realized in an instant that these were not normal bones. They were horns.

Alicorn horns.

“No... no... no no no no no no!” Twilight stumbled back, eyes wide, at what she saw. “That's impossible! You can't... you just... that's impossible!”

“Oh it is very much possible, my little pony. In fact, if I remember correctly, the last thing that your precious Princess Luna did was BEG for her life. Like a scared filly.” Discord shrugged, a smile still on his face. “Tia's last words were something about pickles and iguanas, but I'm pretty sure that was because she was well past the point of insanity by then, but that makes it so much more fun! In fact, you should be thanking me! I saved her from her own tormented mind.”

Discord laughed, watching the lavender unicorn slowly back away from him until she hit the railing lining the balcony. Instead of holding her weight, the railing broke, and Twilight slipped off of the platform. Reaching up, she barely caught the edge of the balcony with the crook of her forehoof. Twilight looked down, and was dismayed when she couldn't even see the ground below her. Instead, she saw the entire landscape in flames. Ponyville was completely destroyed, the Everfree forest was engulfed in an inferno, and the Whitewood Forest was nothing but ashes.

Twilight turned her head back up, and saw the God of Chaos standing above her looking down on the unicorn. Twilight's hooves slipped a little against the slick marble flooring, sending her closer to her demise. Twilight tried to teleport back on the balcony, but for whatever reason, she couldn't use her magic.

Discord smiled and waved a pale purple unicorn horn in his lion paw. “Tisk tisk tisk. Oh my precious little FORMER unicorn. You didn't really think that you defeat me, did you? Why, that's the most delightful thing I've seen all day!”

Twilight lost her grip, and fell. Before she could fall more than a few hoofs, she was stopped by Discord, who grabbed her front hooves. Any sense of relief was instantly washed away as he lifted her up to eye level, “But sadly for you my little pony,” his smile disappeared, “this world belongs to chaos.”

He threw Twilight off the balcony, and she fell into the fire below as his cackling laughter was the only sound filling her ears. Not even her screams could drown out the mad laughter of the God of Chaos as he relished in his victory. She closed her eyes as she was just about to hit the ground, and screamed louder.

“Ow!”

Twilight opened her eyes to see that she had fallen off of her bed, landing on Rainbow Dash's back. Twilight's heart was still pounding at a ferocious speed from the nightmare. A cold sweat covered her body as she, still half asleep, was still in a panic mode. Twilight scrambled up to a sitting position, eyes darting all over the room.

“Rainbow! Where are we?! Where's Discord?! Whe—” She was stopped with a hoof to her muzzle.

“Shh! Quiet Twilight.” Rainbow had gotten up, and was looking at the others, seeing that they were still asleep, even after that outburst. Rainbow sighed, removed her hoof from Twilight's mouth, and responded in a hushed voice, “What are you talking about?”

“I... I saw Discord. He took Canterlot, and the Princesses... oh Celestia! He... he...” Twilight started to tear up as the dream came back to her. “I think he killed them! He just...”

She was stopped by Rainbow pulling her into a hug, “It's okay... it's okay... it's okay...” Rainbow just kept repeating those two words again and again as Twilight felt her terror escape from her body through silent sobs. Rainbow continued to hold her tight until she heard the sobs slow down, Twilight's tense muscles start to relax, and her heart slow down to a calmer rate. “Discord isn't here. You're okay. I'm okay. Everypony is okay. Alright, Twilight?” Rainbow pulled out of the hug, and looked deep into Twilight's eyes. Even in the dim light of the night, Twilight saw the small reassuring smile on the pegasus.

“It was so real. I thought that... that...”

“Shhh... shhh... it was only a dream Twilight. Alright? That's it. Just a nightmare. Alright?” Rainbow continued to smile, and pulled her into another hug. After another few minutes, they pulled back away from each other.

“Thanks Rainbow.” Twilight smiled. “I needed that. Who knew you were the sentimental type.”

“Yeah well...” Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof in a slight bit of embarrassment. “You tell anypony about this, and I'll make sure that even Discord will feel bad for what I do you you.” Both of the mare giggled softly at this. They stopped when they heard Pinkie shifting in her sleep, putting her hind legs in the air, and mumbled something about chocolate tacos.

Twilight giggled again. “We should probably go back to sleep.” She pulled herself back up on the bed next to Rarity, who was sharing the bed with her. “And Rainbow?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think they are okay back in Ponyville?”

“You kidding? I'm sure the ponies are giving Discord hell until we get back.”

Twilight forced herself to show a smile, as if forcing it would make her believe it. “Yeah... well... Goodnight Rainbow.”

Rainbow flapped her wings a couple times, getting in a more comfortable position, curling back up, on the ground, “Goodnight Twilight.”

“Open up!”

Applejack sat up with a startle hearing a loud banging coming from the door. Applejack hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night due to nightmares, but with the sudden yelling, she was wide awake. The loud banging had also awoken Twilight and Fluttershy, who were still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. It was still dark outside, though what time it was was completely unknown to the group due to the chaotic nature of the day cycle. The three conscious ponies looked at each other, each sharing a confused face, for none of them recognized the the voice that had yelled out the command.

Again, a loud bang came from the door, the bangs straining the door against its hinges. This time, it was harder, and the mares could hear other voices outside of the door, “Open up, magic users, or we will be forced to break down the door!” The sound of shuffling hooves was heard on the other side of the door. A few seconds later, a crash was heard on the other side as the force of a galloping pony smashed into the wooden door of the bedroom. Somehow, against all odds, the door held.

“Horseapples!” Applejack jumped up, and braced herself against the door before the next crash came from the other side.

“Tw...Tw...Twilight!? What's going on,” Fluttershy was barely able to say before tears started to spill from her eyes.

Now fully awake, Pinkie Pie ran over to the trembling pegasus and held her in a hug. The pink pony herself was attempting to calm the flighty pegasus, but the fear Pinkie showed in her eyes made clear her true worries. Rainbow Dash had gotten up, and was looking through the now open window, trying to work out an escape plan. Rarity had only sat up from the noise, still waking up from her deep slumber.

“I don't know, I just woke up! Something about magic users or something?”

CRASH!!

Rarity's eyes grew wide as she jumped off of the bed, “Oh my... do you think that picking up the soup bowl might have caused all of this? I mean, all I did was use a little teleke—”

“GIRLS! Ah don' mean to be rude, but can we worry 'bout the why later!?” Applejack yelled, her body still braced against the wooden door. It was not lost on her that cracks were starting to form along the wooden frame holding the door in place.

“Twilight! You gotta teleport us!” Rainbow yelled

“I don't think I can take us far. I didn't sleep at all last night.” Twilight's horn started to shimmer with a purple aura.

“I don't care! Take us anywhere!” Rainbow yelled as Twilight charged the teleportation spell. “You hear me? Any—”

An audible 'pop' took the six friends out of the room, and into the downstairs dining area.

“—where. Oh hey, we're here.”

Applejack saw Twilight fall to her knees panting at the exertion, obviously fighting for consciousness. After a moment, Applejack joined the other four friends in looking around, seeing the familiar scenery of the bistro that was normally filled with customers looking for an escape during the operating hours. Right now though, it was completely empty of anypony except for the six girls that had just teleported into the room.

And a certain married couple, that could only stare in shock at the six that now inhabited the room with them.

“How'd ya git there!?” Clyde yelled, more towards himself than the girls.

“Ya stupid lil' swine. Ya jus' had to start trouble, didn' ya!?” Applejack yelled at the chocolate-colored earth pony as she approached him, until she was right in his face. “Why'd ya do it!?”

Clyde swallowed his fear for a second, and yelled after he got his nerve. “GIT AWAY FROM MAH WIFE!” he screamed, and with an off balanced swing of a forehoof, attempted to take a hit at Applejack.

Applejack stepped to the right, easily dodging the wildly thrown punch. It was obvious by the way he shifted his weight and the way that punch was tossed that this stallion knew nothing about actual fighting. She, on the other hoof, had been in several due to many disagreements at the farm. Shifting her weight, she turned, and bucked with her back legs, knocking the bar owner across the room, and into a table, shattering the piece of furniture in the process.

Martha screamed at the top of her lungs.

The sound of the commotion was heard from upstairs as the sound of hooves running down the upstairs hall started towards them. Applejack muttered a swear, then turned. “Rarity, keep Fluttershy an' Twilight safe. Pinkie, get us a way out. Rainbow, ready to kick some flank?” Applejack smiled.

“You got it boss.” Rainbow smiled as she stretched slightly. Wings flaring outwards instinctively in the anticipation of a fight. The two mares bumped hooves, then faced the stairs.

The guards that had previously been breaking into their room were now galloping down the stairs. As the first one stepped off the staircase, Applejack launched a powerful buck into him, launching him back into the wall behind him like Clyde before. Rainbow attempted to do the same with the next, but her raw enthusiasm was not nearly as effective as Applejack's years of experience, and so was only partially successful. Thankfully, their position at the bottom of the stairs meant only one or two could come at them at once.

Meanwhile, Pinkie dashed to the front door, opened it, only to be forced to quickly leap over a hoof being thrown in her direction. Outside, there were a dozen more guards, forming a sort of perimeter around the building that the mares were currently trapped in.

Dodging another hoof, Pinkie frowned. “Oopsie!” she muttered, and quickly slammed the door in the stallion's face—the mare feeling a thud where the door met his snout. Holding it shut, she noticed a light blue aura surround the door—the magic coming from Rarity. Nodding in the unicorn's direction, she darted impossibly fast to the back kitchen, looking for a back way out.

She found it via another hoof thrown in her direction. Dodging it as well, she threw party streamers into the guard's face, and backed back into the main room. Every time a hoof was thrown at her, she would dodge it, Pinkie nearly dancing instead of fighting, not letting any get close to her. However, she was slowly pushed back well into the main room.

Applejack looked back for a second, and was beginning to see the growing futility of their situation. There was no way out, Rarity was holding the front door from being overrun, and Pinkie—while not actually throwing any kicks—was keeping the back thoroughly occupied. Fluttershy was too busy whimpering in the back to fight, while Twilight was slowly recovering from the use of magic earlier.

Applejack yelled to the others, “Anypony got any bright ideas!?”

“Darling,” Rarity replied, the strain in her voice apparent every time a hoof smashed into the wooden door, “if you... understand, I'm a... uhh... little occupied right now-ow-ow-ow...” she closed her eyes, head recoiling at the point with every hoofbeat. Suddenly, the windows closest to the stairs were broken inwards as a pair of stallions jumped their ways through, and into the room.

“Rainbow!”

“On iYIPE!” Rainbow's reply turned into a yelp, as a guard tackled her as she was trying to get to the others.

The two guards that had broken their way through the window were making their way towards the three mares not in direct combat, and seemed to have their sights on the yellow pegasus who was cowering in front of them. Suddenly, a massive wave of force pushed the two back into the wall, knocking them out. Rarity bore her teeth at the soldiers in both anger and fear as she kept her horn ablaze with magic.

Behind Fluttershy, Twilight was standing, if barely, though she wasn't able to contribute at all.

Applejack took a split second to look at the situation around her. By now, Rainbow was restrained by three guards, Pinkie and herself were backed up to where Rarity was, Fluttershy was a blubbering mess, and while Twilight was back on her hooves, she was still out of commission. Rarity had taken the partially destroyed door, and was using it as a sort of battering ram, pushing some guards back whenever they got too close. Behind Twilight, there was no way out—only a wooden wall. Slowly, the precious space that they held was sacrificed, getting smaller and smaller, until Twilight was pressed against the back wall, and Applejack was only a foot or two in front of her.

Applejack felt a warmth, and the air seemed to grow a static charge. Looking back behind her, she saw that Twilight had summoned every ounce of magic she had left in her. Once again her horn glowed, and the magic enveloped the group. The wave of warmth that the magic usually brought enveloped her, but the presence of a pain filled scream chilled Applejack to the core. A loud 'bang' was was heard, and Applejack felt a cool breeze on her, throwing her mane against her face. Opening her eyes, she saw that Twilight had been successful—the six of them were standing at the gate of the village. The others looked around briefly, noting that the world was still bathed in moonlight.

Twilight stood for a second, gasping for breath, then collapsed in a heap where she stood, her magic completely spent. Fluttershy hovered over to Rainbow, the thoroughly beaten, but conscious, mare had blood flowing down her face and sides, her face starting to swell in areas. Rarity knelt down next to Twilight, doing her best to make the spent unicorn comfortable. Pinkie just sat there in a daze, frown on her face, muttering how these ponies would never get a Pinkie party ever. Applejack sighed, and pulled her Stetson forward on her head further.

Except it her beloved hat was not there. Applejack swore to herself at the loss of her inseparable friend.

“What was that dear Applejack?” Rarity spoke up.

“Nothin'. Look, Ah know we're all tired, but unless we wanna waste tha' chance Twilight just gave us,” Applejack looked over to the unicorn, who had her eyes closed, but her rough breathing betraying the image of her being in a calm sleep, “we gotta get outta town.”

“Applejack, darling, I agree with you, but can we please have just a moment?” Rarity frowned as she approached Twilight.

“I reckon we can'.”

“Not even for fi—”

“NO! Rarity! We gotta get goin' now! If we don', we're gonna... gonna...” Applejack eyes were trained towards the gate of the town, and she began to see several guardponies—some of who she recognized as some of the ones from the bar—look in her direction. “...horseapples...”

“STOP!!” the guard ponies yelled as they galloped towards them.

“Oh dear... Applejack! What do we do!?” Rarity started to yell, looking towards the default leader.

Applejack looked at her friends. While she herself and Pinkie were fine—if not happy—for a fight, Twilight was unconscious for who knows how long, Applejack assumed that Rarity was nearly as spent as Twilight, so unless they wanted two unconscious unicorns, the mare was done, Fluttershy was not the kind of pony that would fight another pony, and—as much as the pegasus would deny it—Rainbow was in no shape to do anything physically challenging.

She sighed in resignation. She knew what had to be done, though she was a just a little afraid to say it. “RD, can ya fly?”

“I... uhh... I think I can...”

“Rainbow! Can you or can you not!?” she yelled now, digging her hooves into the dirt, preparing for the charge. Pinkie hopped next to the farm pony.

Rainbow Dash took half a second to harden her look. “Yeah, I can.”

“Then Ah need ya to take Fluttershy, an' get outta here.”

“WHAT!?”

“Ya heard me,” Applejack said, steeling herself for the upcoming task at hand. She heard a hard swallow, though wasn't sure if it was from herself or Pinkie.

“I can't leave you guys! I just can't.”

“Having ya two captured as well won' help nothin'!” Applejack spoke through her gritted teeth, “Jus'... don' forget us, alrigh' Sugarcube?”

Rainbow looked as though she was going to say more—Applejack knew the mare desperately wanted to say more—but then she looked over at the yellow pegasus. After looking at the quivering mare for a few seconds, Rainbow turned back to Applejack, and grimly nodded in defeat. She and Fluttershy started to hover above the group, a frown on both of their faces as they did so. Applejack tried to smile back, glad that the cyan mare wouldn't be arguing more.

However, her thoughts turned to the several guards in front of her, who had at this point had stopped advancing. The five of guards were only standing about fifteen hooves from the group, but instead of closing the remaining distance, they were just... waiting. Applejack—grateful at first for the extra time to come up with a plan—was now worried.

The sun suddenly came up to its spot above the world.

The sun now out, Applejack noticed that the guards were not looking at the group of ponies, but were looking behind and above them. Applejack turned to where the guards were looking, and her eyes shrunk to pinpricks.

“...Oh... oh you've gotta be kiddin' me...”

Rainbow, seeing that Applejack was looking at something behind them, turned, only to have the same reaction that Applejack had. Applejack swore she saw the pegasus' heart inside her chest explode from fear.

A dragon was coming straight for the pegasus.

Rainbow couldn't move anywhere before the dragon was upon her. It took one of it's front legs, and backhanded the pegasus upwards, sending the pegasus skywards. Rainbow arced through the air, then—like a rag doll—she started to tumble towards the ground. The dragon banked, flapped its wings hard, and moved to dash towards its prey with surprising agility. Fluttershy—upon seeing this—somehow overcame the paralyzing fear, and sped as fast as her wings could take her towards the falling pony.

Applejack stared in disbelief as Fluttershy was effectively now in a race with that dragon, with Rainbow Dash being the prize. While the dragon was much faster than her, Fluttershy's head start was enough to let her get there first. With a final heave of her wings, she barreled herself into Rainbow, and she started to flap her wings frantically in an attempt to save the mare. Of course, because she only won the previous race by a second or two, as soon as she had Rainbow in her hooves, the dragon was upon them. With a fluid swipe, the monster grabbed the two flying ponies in a foreclaw, and trapped them in his clutches.

Firmly gripping the two ponies, the dragon circled around the field just outside of the town, taking its time as the guards and four remaining mares looked on. The dragon eventually lowered itself, harshly flapped its wings to slow down, and landed on its hind legs. Facing the four friends, it crossed whatever distance that lay between them and itself—eventually halting when it stood with the the few guards that were there next to it. Applejack was just staring at the dragon, shaking in her hooves as she, Pinkie, and Rarity looked on. They caught out of the corner of their eyes the rest of the guard arriving, only to bow.

The dragon, still firmly holding the two pegasi in one of his foreclaws, looked at the colorful assortment of ponies that were assembled. The dragon's scales were royal purple, with very slight hints of light green on the underside. While in pristine condition these scales would shine in the sun like thousands of little mirrors, signs of hundreds of fights had worn the scales to a much duller texture. It was slim but muscular, and the distance from head to tail was about one hundred fifty hooves long, and a wingspan reaching at least the same distance. Several scars cut into his scales, though the most prominent went across the right of his face: a deep gash crossing its left eye. It was obvious that he was a fully or nearly fully grown dragon, with several hundred years to his age.

Applejack gulped.

The dragon turned towards the guard ponies, and spoke in a deep, rumbling voice, devoid of any apparent emotion. “Are these the six magic users, Captain?”

What appeared to be the leader of the guard stepped forward. “Yes, my Lord. These are the criminals you requested to be apprehended.”

With what passes as a stifled laugh for dragons, he replied. “I see... well done. You are relieved of your mission.” The dragon turned back to the other four, still standing on his hind legs, “So, welcome to my domain, my little ponies.”

“Who do you think you are you... you brute!?” Rarity yelled, a little more of a sliver of fear in the mare's voice.

“Yeah! And put them down you big meanie dragon!” Pinkie yelled in defiance as well, her voice somehow much strong and level than Rarity's.

“Oh? You mean these friends,” he retorted with as light chuckle in his voice, and began to carefully stroke the mane of Fluttershy with a claw, who was still tightly clutching Rainbow as she made various whimpering noises. “Hmmm... I think I like my new pets too much to give them up, so no.

“As for my name, I am Lord Sarlaka,” his smile grew larger as he gave a mock head bow, “'the Butcher'.”

“Ah don' care what your name is! Drop 'em, now!” Applejack yelled, digging her hooves into the dirt, prompting another chuckle from Sarlaka.

However, his chuckle quickly was replaced with a frown. “First you demand my name, then you yell at me when I give it. Is that any way to treat your ruler? And do you really want to try and fight me for them? Would not be the first time I fought a group of foolhardy ponies. Found out in my experience that I could easily crush these two in my grip here. It would not be hard... like squishing a couple of grapes.” He emphasized his point by holding the two clutched ponies in the air a tiny bit higher. His smile grew wider as he spoke, “Besides, I am willing to make a proposition for you six, but you will have to shut up to hear it.”

The three conscious ponies hushed their complaints.

“Good. Now, you ponies are obviously not from around here, and I am curious of how two very skilled unicorns got into my domain. I wish to learn more of where you came from.” He pointed towards a mountain nearby with his free foreclaw, “I inhabit a cave most of the way up that mountain. You cannot miss it. Its the one that says 'big meanie dragon' on the doormat. Now if you will excuse me, I have to get my pets introduced to their new home.”

Sarlaka beat his wings strongly, sending out a short gust of wind around him. Before he took off, he looked down on the four remaining friends, and spoke with a stern timbre to his voice, “Do not make me wait. I get... hungry when I wait.”

With that, he flew off, pegasi still in his clutches, banked around, and headed towards the direction of the mountain, leaving Applejack just to look on as the dragon slowly disappeared from sight.

Chapter 4: Waiting

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Pinkie Pie stared off to where that meanie dragon flew off to, still dumbstruck at what had just happened. This was only the second fully grown dragon that she had met, and this was by far worse than just popping a few balloons that she had with her. The previous dragon was more sad, lonely, and probably just tired after she thought about it. All it was doing was hibernating, and was grumpy when it woke up. It was obvious with the scars and the physique that Sarlaka was a dragon that knew how to fight, and wasn't going to be pushed over by a harsh scolding by Fluttershy.

“Ugh... what happened...”

The party pony had her trance broken by the rousing Twilight behind them. She was still shaking the cobwebs out of her head, and was attempting to get up. She stumbled, only to be caught by Rarity, who helped her up. Once Twilight was on her feet, Rarity stayed by her side to allow the exhausted unicorn to brace herself.

Rarity softly spoke a reply, trying to keep her voice as even as possible, hiding the fear within her, “Twilight.. Fluttershy and Rai-Rainbow Dash were... taken...”

Twilight woke up instantly, “Taken!? Where? Who!?”

“They were taken to Lord Sarlaka's lair,” the captain guard pony replied with a emotionless face, “He apparently has an interest with you six.”

“And why, my dear sir,” Rarity replied with more than a hint of hate in those last three words, “would that be?”

“Don't know, but if he took those two and invited you to his lair, then it is something important you don't want to turn down.”

Pinkie squinted her eyes in anger “Oh? How important?”

The guard chuckled, “Important enough to not make you all dinner... well... the four of you at least.”

The four gasped, “He wouldn't!”

The guard smiled again, “He has before; why would two criminals be any different? Anyways, I would suggest you get moving. It'll take at least a day before you get there, and from what I hear, dragons aren't known for their patience.”

The rest of the guards chuckled, and started to walk away. Applejack yelled back at them, “Now wait a gosh darn second! What do ya mean... hey! Ah'm talkin' to yall!” she continued to yell as they ignored her, walking back into the town, though Pinkie noticed that the lieutenant of the guard took a couple of glances back at them.

“Forget it Applejack, they don't care,” Twilight finally getting her voice back, though as soon as she did, she lowered it, “Nobody here cares...”

With a sigh, nobody argued the point, with three of the four ponies just staring at the ground, hopelessly unsure of what to do. Pinkie was looking at the others, not sure what to do. She was mad, upset, frustrated, and tired. Still though, she was Pinkie Pie, and it was her job to make sure to giggle away the ghosties, even if those ghosties weren't ghosties... right? She closed her eyes, looking deep for that very special spark within.

She got a smile on her face as she finally found it, “Hey now silly fillies!” she yelled with a smile on her face. “That big meanie dragon probably is sad and lonely because nobody threw him a party when he came here! That's what he needs! A party!” she threw her hooves up in the air, confetti flying out of seemingly nowhere.

“Pinkie, can' ya jus' realize now ain't the right time for a party?” Applejack sighed in a defeated tone.

Pinkie gasped, “Not a time for a party!?” She seemed to teleport right up next to her earth pony companion with her speed, and put her eye right up against Applejack's, “Who are you, and what did you do what my friend?” After a few seconds, she smiled, and placed Applejack's stetson on to her head.

“Wait... wha? Pinkie! Where'd ya get mah hat!?”

“Oh silly filly! It was under 'H',” she sang, and stepped back, “Besides frown-faces, no matter what we do, whether its throw him a party, beat him up, throw him a party, convince him to stop smoking up the place, tell us the time, or throw him a party, we're going to have to BE there to do it! So why not start now?” Pinkie gasped again, “Oh! Have I ever told you fillies the tale of the Bakery Wars? Well I'm going to tell you ponies it right now! It all started just after the Big Bake, and in the ensuing chaos...” she rambled, and started bouncing towards the direction of the mountain where the dragon had flown.

As Pinkie hopped away rambling, she noticed that her friends were still completely lost, but more importantly, distracted from their worries: just as she had hoped. Her heart swelled even more as she saw them exchange a grin with each other, and started to trot along to catch up. Sure, she wasn't strong like Applejack, smart like Twilight, or graceful like Rarity, she always knew exactly what to do to bring out a smile.

And that was what they needed.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Fluttershy was scared. Beyond scared. Fluttershy was more terrified than she had ever been in her life. It wouldn't be so bad if Fluttershy could see what was going on, maybe, but with the way Sarlaka was gripping the two, she was forced to have her head buried in Rainbow's mane. This terror was the reason why she still clutched onto Rainbow Dash. She slowly stroked the cyan pegasus' mane, fully realizing that her counterpart was still not awake. Though through it all, Fluttershy thought to herself that while Rainbow wasn't awake, they would both need to comfort. While Fluttershy felt bad for using Rainbow, she thought that she wouldn't mind when it came down to it.

Sarlaka cruised through the air for what felt like an eternity for the yellow mare, who could only wonder where they were going. All she knew was what she heard him say while she was still near the rest of her friends, which was that they were heading towards some mountain nearby. Of course, considering they were surrounded by mountains, it didn't narrow it by much. Still, as long as her friends knew where they were, Fluttershy knew they would be ok in the end... she hoped.

Suddenly, she heard a low rumble of his voice, “Hold on to your hooves.”

Before she could ask why, she felt the sudden sensation of her stomach lurching as they hit near free-fall. The sound of the three tearing through the air overpowered all other sounds, including a certain yellow pegasus' terrified screaming. This lasted only a few moments, but to her, it felt like forever. She eventually stopped screaming when she realized that they weren't falling anymore, and had landed. If Sarlaka could see her face, he would notice that even with the current situation she and Rainbow were in, she was lightly blushing in embarrassment.

Still unable to see the world around her, Fluttershy felt the warmth of the sun leave as they went inside what she assumed to be a cave. Fluttershy shivered at the damp cold, the memories of the last time she saw a dragon's cave coming to mind as she imagined what the place looked like. Suddenly, she felt the two of them being lifted higher, and then they were flung into a cage of some kind. A quick look showed that it was shaped like a birdcage, barely ten feet wide, and was hanging from the ceiling. Fluttershy picked herself up into a sitting position, and looked at her captor, who was returning the gaze with an uninterested frown.

He huffed, “Welcome to my home. Hopefully you two won't be alone for too long.” He did not give the girls another look before he sauntered off, the light rumbling of his thundering steps echoing throughout the cavern.

Fluttershy stood, only to nearly fall from the pain coming from her back left leg. Looking at the leg, she knew it was injured from the violent toss, but it didn't look major. Adjusting her weight, she limped over to where Rainbow's body laid. She laid back on the ground next to the cyan mare, and saw that she was still unconscious. She shifted her body, so that she laid herself under Rainbow's head, using her own belly as a pillow for her friend. Shifting slightly once more to get comfortable, Fluttershy slowly and carefully resumed petting the prismatic mane of the pegasus again.

Taking a look at her surroundings, she realized that this was by far the nicest cave she had ever seen. In fact, calling it a cave would be an insult. This chamber itself was at least four times as large as the throne room of Canterlot Castle, and just as extravagant. Vast natural columns rose out of the ground, the chamber being carved around these massive pillars. They, the walls, the floor, and the ceiling all seemed to have been worked on extensively, making each have a very smooth finish to them, with all but the floor having a texture similar to natural glass. The floors themselves were more simply finished, with a giant floor rug covering the majority of the expanse. Curiously, the rug had a design of some battle between two groups of ponies, because a conflict between ponies was unheard of, to Fluttershy's knowledge, since Princess Luna was corrupted and turned into Nightmare Moon. The light from the room came from three massive chandeliers, each with dozens of torch-sized candles. Lining the walls, there were seven doorways spread out, with only one having a natural light coming through, barely getting past the tunnel mouth. On the opposite side of the chamber, there were two doors sealed shut with massive iron doors. She couldn't tell where the other four doors went, but that wasn't what she focused on now though.

One of the things she was focused on was Sarlaka's hoard. It was massive! It was at least twice the size of the dragon that was coating Equestria with soot almost a year ago. Very little of it was actual currency such as gold coins or bits. Instead most of it was various different kinds of gems, gold bars, and other rare or particularly shiny metals that would be worth much more than mere bits. The edges of the hoard seemed to rise into large hills, while the center of it had a slight divot to it. Fluttershy smiled, knowing that if Twilight was here, she'd try to calculate the worth of this hoard. All Fluttershy knew is that it was more wealth than she had ever seen in once place before. 'Oh, if Rarity could see this,' Fluttershy thought, 'she would probably try to swindle Sarlaka out of... actually... umm... its probably best she isn't here right now.'

The second thing that drew Fluttershy's attention was the decorations that adorn the walls. Much like a typical pony would, there were many paintings displayed, giving a sense of home that was devoid from the other dragon's cave. Most of the paintings were of various scenery of nature, but there were two pieces that drew her attention the most. The first was a picture of a town similar to Ponyville, but details were off. Houses were shaped differently, roofs were different styles, and the layout was slightly different. It was obviously a different town, but the similarities were surprising. The second painting was of three young ponies, one of each race, that were staring off into the distance. It was hard to make out details though, for the age of the painting was quite apparent: details were worn, colors were nearly gone, and some of the primary lines that made up the ponies themselves were starting to fade. It was starting to look more like a drawing than a painting.

Taking all of this in took some time, but even after going over it again and again, Fluttershy could come up with no new conclusions on how these details pieced together, or if it was possible to find a pattern. The only thing she could do now was wait, and take care of the mare that now laid on her. Now thinking about Rainbow, she realized that she had stopped stroking the pony she was cuddled next to as she looked around. Rainbow was now violently twitching in her 'sleep' in an apparent nightmare.

Fluttershy had to fight the onrush of tears at the sight of her friend. Cuts and scrapes adorned her body, and a patch of fur here and there that was torn out. Rainbow's wings were relatively intact, and her primary feathers seemed to all be in the right places, but there were a few feathers that were missing. The worst part was her face. It was battered and bruised, with just as many cuts on it as Rainbow's body. Parts of the mare's face were swollen, and Fluttershy wasn't sure if there was anything broken, but was also afraid to check for now. Instead, the yellow pegasus simply resumed stroking the rainbow mane.

“Shhh...” Fluttershy softly said in a calm, if wavering, voice to her companion, as if Rainbow was able to hear her, “Its ok, Rainbow. Nopony is going to hurt you now. I have you. You are safe with me. Shhh...”

Rainbow Dash slowly, as if in response to the comforting touch, stopped her convulsions, and seemed to drift off into more pleasant dreams. Fluttershy let a few tears fall, but she let out a small smile now that Rainbow seemed to have calmed down. Feeling the exhaustion of the day finally catch up with her, she gently lying her head on Rainbow, and joined the cyan mare in sleep.

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“...and that's when Derpy realized that being Queen of the Muffin Empire did not grant her magical powers over the Cupcake Alliance.”

“Ah see... but wait, wha' happened ta the Cheesecake Republic? Weren't they supposed to help Queen Derpy?”

“Oh no no no no. Remember? The Cheese Blight of the Open Refrigerator spoiled them.”

“Yes, dear Applejack. Do you not remember? That's why the... wait... is it dark already?”

The four of them looked up, and noticed the full moon above them. Twilight replied, “Huh... I guess it is. Thank Celestia the heat's gone.” She looked up the mountain that they had started climbing what she guessed what was an hour ago. Time was starting to get hard to figure out, with the sun and moon not following the normal slow path across the sky.

Twilight turned to the other three, “Well... what do you three want to do? We've been traveling all day, and could probably use the sleep. Want to stop here?” She looked around, looking at all of their faces. Seeing the frowns on all of them, she could tell their answers just by looking, “Yeah... me either,” she grinned as she turned back to the path, and the four continued on.

“Say Twilight, I have a question,” Rarity trotted up to the lavender mare, “When we get there, what ARE we going to do anyways? I know Applejack can handle herself in a fight and you have your magic, but Pinkie here isn't very good at anything other than avoiding getting hit... err... no offense Pinkie.”

“Oh none taken! I'd rather make parties not war!”

“And that's quite noble of you dear... I think? As for me, I have some magic, but not nearly enough to fight a nearly adult dragon!”

“Oh don't worry Rarity, we aren't going to fight him.”

“We aren't?”

“Nope! We're going to talk, just like he wanted to.”

“Uhh... Sugarcube. Ah love the idea of not fightin' 'nd all, but he's a dragon! Ya know, big teeth, razor sharp claws...”

“Ooh ooh! And don't forget the fire!” Pinkie bounced ahead, making herself noticed.

Applejack gave Pinkie a subtle glare, “...don' remind me. Point is, ah don' see how a big ol' dragon like that is gonna listen to a buncha lil' ponies like us.”

“Well... the last time Rainbow tried to use violence with a dragon, remember what happened?” Twilight responded, referencing the once encounter with the red dragon.

“Ah remember. Ah also remember talkin' to it didn' do nutin' either.”

Twilight sighed, “I'm sure it was only because he was trying to hibernate. I'm also sure that because this one is seems to be wide awake, things will go much more smoothly.”

“Well... alright Twi. Ah know ya the expert in dragon stuff. Well, much more than this country mare is at least.”

“Right, and no offense again Pinkie, but I don't think you know much about dragons either, right?”

“Nopie dopie lopie! I only know alligators, parasprites, and cupcakes!”

“Then its settled. We'll talk to him, and ask him what's so important, and while I don't see it as an issue because Rainbow isn't with us,” Twilight paused a second to sigh, “but no kicking him either. Ok? I don't think a Fluttershy stare is going to help us this time.” They nodded in response.

The four continued up the mountain for a while later. The air around them started cooling both because of the night and because of the altitude. Twilight looked behind her, and saw the landscape of the rolling hills with the forest in the distance. She sighed, wishing that she were home. Wishing she could see Spike and the Princesses again. Wishing she could hunt down Discord, and with the Elements of Harmony, tear that... thing... limb from limb. Rarity broke the silence before Twilight could think more about it.

“Say Twilight. I know its true, but how did you know so easily that I knew nothing about dragons? Dear Spiky Wiky does hang out with me a great deal. How did you know I didn't know a little thing or two about dragons?”

“Simple, because you said this was a young adult dragon.”

“Well I didn't mean that literally dear. I know he is most likely an adult, but I know that dragons are nearly ageless.”

Twilight beamed at the opportunity to display her knowledge, “Right. You see Rarity, while they all look similar, there are various different kinds of dragons, and as such, some kinds don't grow nearly as large as some, even if they are ancient beings from before Celestia and Luna reigned...”

“...like this one?”

“Correct. While some species are much more powerful than others, some are much better at speed and agility. From what you three described to me, this one seemed to pull off those turns without any hint of stumbling, the forces it must have pulled to come out of that dive enormous: signs that it has been practicing for a very long time. Furthermore, the amount of scar tissue you told me it had tells me that the rate of regeneration is not that of a growing dragon, so it must be getting up there in age.”

Rarity looked slightly stunned, “You mean to tell me that you figured out it was that old from those two points alone!?”

Twilight made a sheepish grin. “He he he... umm... yes?”

The other three girls just looked at her. Pinkie Pie spoke up after a moment of silence, “Wow Twilight. Even I think that's weird and creepy.” She then bounced and sang along the trail, making it the second time she left Applejack, Twilight, and Rarity behind. The three giggled at the strange response, and continued on their way.

“Uhh... so Pinkie Pie,” Applejack said, getting the pink pony's attention, “So how did Queen Derpy get the Cupcake Rebellion under control?”

Pinkie Pie's grin grew huge on her face, “Oh! I forgot! Anyways, so once Queen Derpy Hooves figured out that her magic muffin powers didn't work, she was forced to make a deal with the Confederacy of Condiments...”

Chapter 5: Discovery

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Rainbow felt the most comfortable warmth she had ever felt before. It was like nestling yourself next to a crackling fireplace on the coldest and snowiest winter day. She adjusted herself to get closer to the heat source, wanting nothing more than to go back to a restful sleep. Sadly, she slowly, if reluctantly, started to stir from her slumber. Her eyes fluttered open, only to be filled with a mass of yellow and pink. Confused, she lifted her head, to see that that mass was Fluttershy, and they were curled up together in a quite... intimate position.

Her face flushed with color and sat up quickly, not noticing that Fluttershy woke up when in her rush. With Fluttershy's head off of her side, Rainbow got up, and took a few steps away from her now half-awake companion. While Fluttershy was still out of it, she was having a thousand thoughts a second rush through her head, 'How did that happen? Why did Fluttershy go along with it? Was it intentional? Was it an accident? What does this mean? Why-'

“Ra-Rainbow?”

The cyan pegasus stopped her thought processes, and looked at the yellow pegasus, watching as her face was slightly contorting. From the looks of it, Fluttershy was sick, or really really needed a bathroom. Rainbow looked around, and saw they were in some sort of bird cage like prison within a cavern, with no bathroom in sight. She looked back to Fluttershy, who had the same face, but there was a difference now. A single tear was falling from the mare's face.

“Fluttershy? I-” she was interrupted by a mass of yellow pony crashing itself into her, gripping her in a tight hug. She was stunned for a moment, and nearly lost her balance. Rainbow was just about to push her friend off of her and put on her 'gruff' face, but stopped when she heard the soft sobbing of the yellow mare that held her in her arms.

“Rainbow. I... I was so scared...” Fluttershy sobbed.

“Scared? Of what?” Rainbow softly, trying to calm down her friend.

Fluttershy continued to cry, “When... when I couldn't wake you... I was afraid that... that you...” she then buried her face into her, letting the tears soak her chromatic mane.

“Hey. I'm ok. See?” Rainbow pulled herself out of the hug slightly, flapping her wings for emphasis. “You did good. Besides, they're lucky that I decided to take a nap when I did. If I didn't, I think I would've scared off everypony that tried to give us the time of day trying to protect you girls.” Fluttershy stayed silent, so Rainbow continued, “Well, except for Pinkie. I don't think anything I could do could get rid of her, no matter how hard I try sometimes.”

Fluttershy giggled, tears still soaking her face, “Well... umm... you tend to have that effect on ponies.”

“Oh really now?” Rainbow softly spoke in a false hurt tone, placing a hoof over her heart like it was stabbed, “My best friend ever, the kindest and most gentle pegasus to ever grace the skies over Equestria, is making fun of me? I'm hurt! Woe is me!”

“Oh,” Fluttershy timidly mewed, “Umm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings...”

Rainbow sighed to herself, shaking her head, “I'm just messing with you Fluttershy. But I have do a question,” she looked around the room, taking in many of the details that Fluttershy had previously analyzed, “Where the hay are we?”

“Umm... I'm not sure to honest. I know we are on some mountain not too far from that village we stayed in. I was hoping that we could ask that... ummm... Sarlaka guy. You know... if you want to...”

“Umm... who is Sarlaka?”

“Oh. He's a...” Fluttershy gulped, “a dragon.”

“Oh. Well that throws a bit and bridle in our plan now doesn't it? Well... think that we ne-” Rainbow's ears twitched, and she started to look around.

Fluttershy gave a concerned look at the mare, “Umm... are you ok, Rainbow?”

Rainbow Dash shushed the pegasus, closing her eyes, and continued to look around, her ears still trying to pinpoint at something. She finally whispered to Fluttershy, “I think I hear someone talking. Listen...” Fluttershy perked her ears up as well, releasing Rainbow from their deep embrace. After a second, the two finally made out something softly echoing in the cave.

They heard the voice speaking, “I think it would be safest for us both if we just forgot they ever happened.”

Fluttershy whispered to Rainbow, “I think that's Sarlaka... but I don't hear anyone else.” Rainbow nodded, and continued to listen. No matter how hard she tried, she could only hear the deep voice of their captor.

“Look, I'm just trying to look out after the both of us ok?..... Of course I trust you. There isn't anyone else in this world that I can trust anymore..... But I have been keeping this up for so long, waiting for the perfect moment... And what about those others? Their blood is on our hands..... NO! We could have! And we should have! Which is why caution is required..... That is true, I admit that, but you are wrong about some things..... And that mistake has been a disaster! If we had taken action before..... If! A very big if..... You mean us..... And you are sure that they are the ones that we've been looking for?..... Heh. We could always throw them off the cliff, and be rid of them forever, and save us the trouble of all of this..... Yeah, I know. You never did have a sense of humor. Alright. I'll do it. But if it turns out the same way as the last group did..... We hope. Anyways, thanks for the ear. Its always helpful. I just wish...”

Silence filled the air after the last line was spoken, causing Rainbow to listen even harder. Suddenly, there was a low rumble as the mares heard the dragon's steps pound their way closer and closer. The two moved themselves to the back of the cage, and laid back down next to each other, trying to act like they were still asleep. Rainbow felt Fluttershy curl herself up next to her, along with that warmth she felt earlier when she woke up. She felt a small blush coming over her face, but rid the thoughts from her head as she regained her composure. The steps stopped, then Rainbow felt the cage list wildly, sending the two sliding towards the other side. They were about to slam into the side of the cage when the tilt ended, and the two lightly hitting the side of the cage in a heap. Gathering their senses, Rainbow heard a deep chuckle.

“Aw, how sweet. You two look lovely together. I have to say, your colors sure complement each other. And here I thought that in a dismal place like this, love was impossible.” Sarlaka continued to laugh.

Rainbow shook her head, quickly righting herself back onto her hooves. Turning towards the dragon, she stood herself in front of Fluttershy, who was still dazed from the shifting. Rainbow glared at the scarred face of the dragon who was sitting upright, “What the buck was that for ya freak!” She growled, her wings instinctively flaring up, trying to make herself look bigger. Though considering she was smaller just one of Sarlaka's claws, pegasus' display didn't do anything but produce an amused smile.

“Now, now my little one. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Besides, while I think that one,” he pointed at the now standing, yet cowering yellow pegasus, “knows who I am, I believe you were a little... incapacitated at the time, so introductions are in order. My name is Lord Sarlaka the... well... lets forget the titles for now. Tends to make ponies a little nervous,” he said with a grin. “And you two are?”

“Why should we tell YOU who we are!? Huh?” Rainbow sternly stated, wings still flared. Fluttershy continued her trembling behind the cyan mare.

He shrugged, “I could call you two Shorty and Shrimpy, but I think that'd get old for you two quick.”

“... fine. I'm Rainbow Dash. And this,” she motioned her head towards the yellow pegasus, “is Fluttershy.”

Sarlaka's paused, his eyes widening just slightly, “Rainbow Dash... and Fluttershy?”

“Uh, yeah? That's what I just said. Are you deaf or just denser than a rock?”

Sarlaka brought a claw to his scaled chin, thinking. After a minute of inspecting the two, which Fluttershy was not comfortable with in the slightest, he finally spoke, “Curious names. Very few have names as exotic as that nowadays.”

“Our names... are exotic? What does that mean?”

Sarlaka slowly smiled, “Merely that you don't have typical names. Anyways, I hope your friends are going to be here soon. I've got a lot of questions to ask, and not a lot of time.” He lowered himself back down onto all four legs and turned to leave the two alone again.

“Hey! I'm not done with you!” Rainbow yelled at the dragon, who stopped, and turned with a slight scowl on his face. Rainbow gulped.

“I am,” he huffed, and walked through the doorway, leaving the two bewildered mares alone once more.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Left hoof... right hoof...

Rarity was slowly trudging through a blinding sleet-storm, her horn softly glowing with light which illuminated the area around her. The snow and ice around them came up to her knees, though the trail she walked was much easier, only coming to half that height. She could hear Applejack ahead of her, forging the trail ahead of the four. For how much the two were opposites to each other, Rarity had to admit that the strength Applejack was showing as she threw herself through the snow, which was one of the impressive sights she's seen recently. How the farm mare was able to continue after over an hour of this trail blazing was beyond her. While Rarity was exhausted from the long journey and the constant use of her magic, she looked at Applejack, and used her as inspiration to go 'just a little farther'.

Left hoof... right hoof...

Pinkie Pie was no longer telling one of her crazy stories or singing one of her silly songs, and had settled on simply humming a tune that Rarity simply couldn't place. With the volume of the howling winds, and the low hum of the tune, it was incredibly hard to hear, even with the pink pony still right behind her. At the time, Rarity was dying with how much talking and singing the party pony was doing, but now that there was nothing but the howling wind to invade her ears, Rarity couldn't help but wish she would start again. Now she could only think about the ground in front of her.

Left hoof... right hoof...

As for her purple counterpart, Twilight was the worst off physically. According to Twilight, she had not gotten any sleep the night before; the time of day unicorns regenerate their magic. Add in the fact that Twilight had activated the Elements of Harmony twice, teleported the group twice, and had been shielding the mares from the worst of the heat for the greater part of the day, she was nearly completely spent. Much to Twilight's objection, Rarity had taken the lead in magic usage several hours ago, leaving her to light the way for them, and allowing Twilight to rest.

Twilight's yelling voice cut through the wind, “How much longer until we get to the top!”

“Ah don' know!” Applejack yelled back. “Ah can't see farther than ten hooves ahead of me!”

“If I could get up there, I could cast a seeking spell that could-”

“Nice try sugarcube, but no can do.”

Twilight groaned, “This is stupid! Why not!?”

“Because dear,” Rarity finally found it was her place to pipe in, “you and I both know the consequences of using too much magic without a good night of beauty sleep, and I for one am not going to carry you.”

“But I know my limits!”

“Says the pony who passed out a few hours ago from that teleport spell. Besides Twilight, we haven't rested since then, and even I am feeling the strain, and I haven't done nearly as much as you.”

Twilight once again groaned, “Pinkie Pie, I never thought I'd ask this out of you, but could you please talk some sense into those two?”

“Hmmm,” Pinkie brought a hoof to her chin, walking on three hooves for a moment, “Nope!”

“Ugh. Why!?”

In a singing voice, Pinkie replied to the frustrated unicorn, “Because you asked me to talk some sense into somepony! And even I know that's something only a crazy silly filly would ask!”

Twilight didn't reply, only muttering something to herself. It sounded something involving Celestia and the moon, which Pinkie seemed to giggle at, though Rarity decided to act like she didn't hear it. Instead, she continued to walk along the path the earth pony was making in front of her. Rarity stumbled for a moment, but quickly caught herself, willing herself to continue.

Left hoof... right hoof...

It was what Rarity would suspect to be just about an hour of silence before she was fed up as well. Rarity sped up slightly so that she was closer to Applejack. “So... how much farther do you think it is Applejack darling?”

“Honestly Rarity, its jus' how ah told Twilight a little while ago. Ah don' rightly know. We should be gettin' close though.”

“Well I do have to say, that dragon fellow really doesn- EEP!” Rarity squeaked as she walked into Applejack, who had just halted. “Applejack! What was that for?”

Applejack pointed towards what seemed to be the entrance of a very large cave. The opening was absolutely massive. It could easily fit all four of the ponies walking side by side with enough room to spare for a few more. Rarity brought her light closer to the cave, which showed that while the walls of the cave were natural, there were a vast amount deep cuts and scratches into the stone, as if something wanted to make the cave wider. Deep into the cave, the two ponies saw a flickering reflection of light deeper into the cave, showing signs of candlelight. The two were just about to inspect the entrance some more when Pinkie Pie and Twilight came up besides the two.

“So I'm guessing this is it.” Twilight said to nopony in particular, looking at the cave. “And I thought that other dragon had a large lair. This one blows it out of the water.”

The four stood silently, looking at the entrance. All the sudden, Pinkie Pie jumped in the air, “Ooh ooh! Last one inside is a rotten dragon egg! Weeee!!!” With a blur, Pinkie dashed inside, with more of a bounce than a gallop to her step. The three other mares stood there wide-eye'd for a second before yelling at her as they ran. Rarity was thankful for the chaotic shouting at Pinkie, because the silent cursing she said to herself was quite uncivilized for a lady of her stature.

Rarity was doing her best to keep pace with Pinkie, but the boundless amounts of energy that she seemed to contain within her body served to widen the distance between herself and the pink blur. In the middle of her hushed cursing, she was able to take a little bit of pride in the knowledge that she was able to keep up with Applejack in their running. Her confident smile was on her face only a fleeting moment, for turning towards her, she saw the orange mare seemed completely drained, and Rarity realized it wasn't her getting stronger, but Applejack being a snow plow for several hours that allowed Rarity to keep pace.

Turning the corner, Rarity and Applejack had to make an abrupt stop to prevent herself from colliding into the fuzzy pink flank of the pony in front of her. “Pinkamena Diane Pie! What in Celestia's name was that... for...” Rarity's voice trailed off as she saw the dragon lair in front of her in all its glory. She especially noticed the giant mass of gemstones that was in the center of the room. Her eye twitching, she could have sworn she heard angels singing in the background. “... oh... my... EEP!”

Rarity was suddenly pushed forward by a very tired and unaware Twilight barreling down the corridor. Rarity in turn was pushed into Pinkie, who decided it was a fun idea to grab onto Applejack and have her join the pile. The four were sprawled out on the floor, with Pinkie giggling chanting “do it again” over and over.

“Girls?”

Rarity got enough of her senses back to look towards the whisper in front of the four. Looking around, she didn't notice anything: only the vast hoard, the various decorations, and the walls themselves seemed to greet her.

“Girls?” the voice called out again. This time, Rarity was able to make out that it came from above the group slightly. Looking up closer to the ceiling across the room, she noticed a birdcage-like contraption that was hanging from the ceiling. Inside that cage, came the voice, who's owner was a very familiar yellow pegasus.

“Fluttershy!” Rarity jumped out of the pile of ponies and dashed with renewed strength over to where the cage was hanging above. “Sweetie, are you ok? Are you hurt? Where's Rainbow Dash? Can you get out? Can you fly?”

Fluttershy quietly responded, “Umm... Rainbow Dash is here and asleep, and I'm ok, but-”

“Fluttershy! Yall ok!” Applejack interrupted, rushing over next to Rarity. “Yall hold tight. We gonna get yall outta tha' thing ya here? So sit tight!”

Fluttershy whispered again, “Umm... thank you, but I really think you should-”

“Rarity. Do ya think that ya can cut that chain right there?” Applejack pointed to the roof, where the chain holding up the cage.

“Maybe darling, but I don't think that would be a pleasant idea. The fall would be so dreadful!”

“Umm... girls... if you don't mind, you should-”

“Horseapples. Rarity. Ya think ya can levitate them all while ya do that?”

“Applejack, while I am flattered at your confidence in my abilities, I am simply a fashion designer, if a amazing one if I might be so bold. I am not Twilight. Besides, I've been using magic all day.”

“I could get them down,” Twilight readied her stance in the way she normally prepares her more powerful spells.

“Oh dear. Girls, that's... umm... nice, but-”

“No can do sugarcube. Ah lead ya all the way here wit' ya up an' runnin'. Ah ain't losin' ya now! We'll jus' have ta find out another way.”

“Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!” Pinkie bounced up and down, smile plastered over her face. “All we need is a megaphone!”

“Pinkie Pie,” Rarity looked at the party pony with an eyebrow raised, “How in the wide world of Equestria is THAT going to help Applejack get them out?

“Oh. Its not! Its for Fluttershy, silly! I think she's trying to tell us something!”

“She's probably trying to tell you that I'm right behind you foolish ponies,” a low rumbling tremor of a voice spoke, with a hint of amusement in his voice. The other four ponies stopped, and turned slowly towards the voice, which happened to belong to Sarlaka. Another chuckle emanated from his jaw, “What, do I have something on my face?”

Silence permeated the room as the booming voice continued to echo in the chamber. After a few more tense moments, a final soft voice came from the roof.

“That's what I was trying to tell everypony...”

Chapter 6: Dinner Date

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Twilight was frozen in fear. Not many things truly frightened Celestia's student to this level, for she had faced Nightmare Moon, a Hydra, and even two other dragons. In fact, on two of those occasions, she actually charged her opponent. Of course, having a dragon cornering you in his lair while two of your friends were held captive, two passing out due to exhaustion, and she herself barely be able to cast a simple light spell before going comatose, Twilight assumed panic is a reasonable response. And while she had no doubt Pinkie's physics defying antics could make her last a few minutes, Pinkie was not known for her haymaker. Twilight stole a glance behind her at the other three ponies at the ground level, and while Applejack was readying herself for a fight, they were all, including the party pony, visibly frightened by the sight in front of them.

Sarlaka smiled at Pinkie, “Well little one, it seems that you are the winner of the 'get to the dragon lair first' contest. Do you wish for your prize?”

Twilight said a silent prayer to Celestia that Pinkie would do anything but say something stupid.

A noticeable few seconds passed before the bubbly mare replied in her usual tone of voice, “Ooh! I didn't know you were giving out prizes! Gasp! Is it a dragon cupcake!?”

Twilight mentally facehoofed.

Sarlaka merely chuckled, “You will see in a little bit, but for now...” He started approaching the four mares, with Applejack bracing for an attack that never came. Instead, he lurched back on his back two legs, and with a foreclaw, grasped the cage that the two pegasi were locked into, and ripped it off the chain with no apparent effort on his part. He turned to the other four, “I will make you a deal. I will let you all go on one condition.”

While her friends were still stunned at the dragon's presence, Twilight was able to respond first, doing her best to sound brave, “And what condition would that be?” she said, a slight squeak coming out in the middle of the statement.

“Only that you listen. I have something to tell and propose to all of you, and I wish for all of you to give me your insights on... a few certain matters. However, once I have told you what I have to say, all of you may leave, and I promise that I will not only not stop you, but you will never hear from me again.”

“... really?” Twilight heard Rarity ask in a very confused tone.

“Well, if you try to kill me, attack a few guards, or commit any other various high crimes, you probably will run across me again, but I don't think six young fillies will get into any sort of messes like that. So no, you will not see me again.”

“Jus' like that. Yall gonna let us go. No catch? No apple buckin' backstabbin'?” Applejack stated, still ready to fight, but stood less aggressively towards the dragon.

“Jus' like that,” he replied, attempting to imitate the cowpony, though with the booming voice and the jaw structure, it was only partially effective.

This earned a muffled scowl from the earth pony, and a giggle from Pinkie. Twilight looked at the purple dragon, trying to sense any kind of dishonesty coming from him. Though he wasn't the Element of Honesty, he appeared to be telling the truth enough. “Fine,” she finally stated, crossing her forelegs across her chest, “we'll hear you out. So what do you have to tell us?”

“My little ponies,” Sarlaka chucked again, “I'm sure all of you are feeling very hungry, especially after such a terrifying ordeal. Please, I have set up a fine dinner for you all, and considering at least two of you have not eaten in at least a day, I suggest you take it.”

It was only then that Twilight heard the tell-tale rumbling of her stomach, now begging her at the mention of a meal. Hoping nopony heard, she tried to keep face, “I'd rather just hear what you have to say.”

The dragon lowered himself back onto all fours, so that if face was level with the ponies, “Please,” he spoke, his tone becoming more serious, “I insist.”

Twilight sighed, and, relenting, simply nodding her reply.

Gently, Sarlaka placed the cage on the ground, and pulled the door off the rest of the jail, uncaring at the destruction that was the result. He stepped back, and started to turn towards the door just to the left of the entrance. “Follow me, and don't touch my little pile of goodies. I do not like having thieves at my dinner table. Leads to awkward silences.” He turned a corner, and was out of sight.

Slowly, Fluttershy and Rainbow, who was using Fluttershy to keep her balance, exited the cage. As soon as the two stepped out, they were rushed by the other four, Pinkie uncharacteristically being very gentle with the chromatic mare, while Rarity made sure she was the first to reach the yellow pegasus, asking all sorts of questions, most of them inquiring about their condition and what the dragon had done to them.

“Well,” Fluttershy softly spoke, “he really wasn't that unpleasant. Maybe not nice, but he wasn't that mean.”

Rainbow huffed, “Not mean my flank! You call batting me like a fly, ponynapping us, and then caging us in that thing,” Rainbow pointed over Pinkie, who still hung on the pegasus, at the cage, “not mean?”

“Umm... I mean... he didn't eat us...”

“Oh! So he didn't eat us. I'll make sure to thank him after my fur comes back in!”

“Anyways!” Twilight interrupted, “As much as this is a lovely conversation, I would much rather know why he even went to all of this trouble to talk to us. Think about it. A dragon plus what could pass as the entire town's guard could have easily torched us. Yet they went through the trouble to get us here alone with him.”

Applejack brought a hoof to her chin in thought, “What ya meanin'?”

“I mean that whatever he is telling us is something that he doesn't want to tell everypony in sight. Though WHAT that something is is still a question.”

“A question I would ANSWER if you were to get over here, sit down, and shut your muzzles!” an audibly annoyed voice echoed through the cavern. The ponies looked at each other, shrugged, and turned towards the door. Twilight noticed that Applejack made sure to stay in the rear, having more than once turn Rarity's head forward as her eyes drifted towards the vast riches of the dragon's hoard. Fortunately, Rarity was sensible enough not to go through with any crazy schemes she had floating through her head. Passing the threshold of the dragon sized doorway, the girls let out quiet gasp.

Continuing the theme of the previous room, the dining room, while not quite as large as the previous chamber, was still an extremely large. It was furnished and decorated to the extent that only the most wealthy of nobles of Canterlot could possibly imagine creating. Massive chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceiling, while smaller candle-like torches lined the walls, creating a brighter space than before. On the walls, various paintings lined the room, though the subject of these were much more varied and typical than that of the main hall: from portraits of famous ponies to a landscape of an unknown mountain range. Further lining the walls, various tapestries hung, depicting even more variety of scenes, though one very prominent and large in particular displayed a small story. It depicted a very ferocious looking purple dragon locked in combat with a larger green dragon, with the ending being that of a very grizzly looking death of the latter. While the walls and floor were finished as well, they did not have a mirrored sheen like the last room, and instead were just simple stonework. Curiously enough, through all the elegant decor, there seemed to be several hundred, if not thousands, of small three to four inch long vertical grooves cut into the walls, scaring the otherwise flawless stonework.

The dining table itself was massive as well. Made from some kind of stone, it was almost proportionally sized for Sarlaka, though it sat lower to the floor, giving the six ponies the ability to sit and eat there as well. The food contained on the table was enough for a party three times the size, with all kinds of various fruits, vegetables, and grains sitting upon it. There were six pony sized chairs set, plus a space at the head of the table where Sarlaka was laying down with a proportionally small bowl of various gemstones in front of him. He gestured with his foreclaw for the six friends to sit.

The ponies nervously, with the exception of a bouncing Pinkie Pie, sat themselves into their chairs, and just looked at the food. Most of it was somewhat familiar, such as pears, grapes, lettuce, and carrots. However, some of it was obviously more exotic, as Twilight had no recollection from her books on what these were. Such foods, like a spiky yellow-brown fruit with a green leafy top that was yellow in the center, and a round hairy brown thing that was white in the center, perked her curiosity. Several times, Twilight attempted to take the first step, and take one of the more familiar foods, but every time, her nervousness got the best of her, and she withdrew her hoof once again.

“You know, last time I checked, fruit didn't bite. Well... the ones I'm serving doesn't at least,” Sarlaka smiled, popping a gem in his mouth, not eating it right away, but playing with it in his mouth, savoring the taste. “May I suggest the apples over there Miss Cowpony? They aren't quite as red as your cutie mark, but they're still good.”

Applejack looked at the dragon, who still held his half smile. Bearing her teeth wide in a forced smile, she took one of the apples, inspecting it. Other than its color, which was red as a normal apple from her orchard, if a little bit rounder, except that it wasn't nearly as red, and yellow-orange hue to it. Slowly bringing it to her mouth, five pairs of pony eyes were looking at her as she took a slow bite, and started to chew. After a few seconds, Applejack stopped, and with a little bit of juices running down her chin, a genuine smile grew across her face.

“Yeeeessss?” Sarlaka smiled wider.

“Ah... what kind of apple IS this!?”

“I'm told its called a honeycrisp. Frankly when I do decide to eat fruits, I tend to favor those.” He leaned over to Pinkie, who was seated next to him, and said in a mock hushed tone, “They're my favorite.”

Gaining some nerve, the rest of the group started to slowly take some of the other food that was on the table, filling the plates in front of them. Once filled with the colorful foods, they started. At first the ponies ate somewhat politely, though Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie less successfully as the others.

“Please,” the dragon lord said, “you haven't eaten for a long time, and I know you have traveled far. You don't have to be polite for me.”

With that statement, the floodgates seemed to open, and with the exception of Rarity, all of them started to devour the food with earnest. Their host merely watched for the first five minutes of the dinner, every so often popping a gem into his mouth, content to let the other ponies eat in silence while he grinned.

“What's that?” Pinkie pointed a hoof at a gem encrusted cupcake the size of her head in the center of the table.

Sarlaka reached over, picking up the subject in question, “Why that is the “dragon cupcake” you won.” He set the cupcake down in front of the pony, who only could look at it with slowly widening eyes. “Don't worry, its rock candy.” Pinkie Pie's toothy smile took over her entire lower face, and she thrust her face into the culinary masterpiece, throwing frosting to either side. At first, Twilight feared she was going to drown in pastry delight, but after a minute, the pony lifted her head, gasping for breath, with a large smile, and several pounds of frosting, on her face.

“So where are we anyways Lord Sarlaka?” Twilight spoke finally.

“First, just Sarlaka is fine. Second, I get to ask the questions first.”

“Oh? And why's that?”

“Because I'm the hundred fifty hoof long ancient dragon that could eat a pony as an hors d'oeuvre, and you are all... well...” he popped another gem in his maw, “hors d'oeuvres.”

“You wouldn't,” Twilight said, her voice sounding much more confident than she actually felt.

Sarlaka shifted the gem in his mouth, “Probably not. Ponies taste awful, but its always fun to get a reaction out of you little ponies. As for MY questions, lets start with who you are. I don't think I ever got your names.”

“Ooh! That's easy! I'm Pinkie, she's Rarity,” Pinkie listed as she gestured to each in turn, who gave some sort of affirmation when acknowledged, “that silly filly is Rainbow Dash, she's Fluttershy, she's Applejack, and finally, that pony right there is-”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Sarlaka finished for her, his grin no longer present.

Twilight raised her eyebrow, “Why yes. How did you...”

“The fabled Elements of Harmony are known by only a few around here, and I'm lucky enough to be one of them.”

“Wait wait wait,” Rainbow interrupted, “Now I don't know entirely how they work, but we've only known ourselves we were the Elements for only a year, how are we “fabled” or whatever?”

Sarlaka's eyes squinted for a few seconds at the statement. “You've only known for a year?”

“Uh... I think so...” Rainbow looked inquisitively at Fluttershy, who nodded, answering the silent question she was asking, “...yeah... just about a year. Why? How long have you known?”

“Oh, but I'm the one asking the questions. You may ask me later.” Rainbow glared at the dragon at that response, but eventually crossed her forelegs in front of her in temporary defeat.

“Now!” the dragon said with renewed vigor, “Next question: how did you get here?”

Twilight remained silent, eyes just looking down at her plate, eyes wide, a slight amount of juice seeping from her mouth. “Twilight, darling? Is everything alright?” Rarity asked, waving a hoof in front of her face, attempting to snap her out of whatever daze she was in.

“What... is... this?” Twilight finally pointed at the yellow-centered exotic fruit sitting in front of her, with a tell-tale bite taken out of the inside.

“That?” the dragon questioned, “Pineapple. Why?”

“... its the most amazing thing I've ever tasted... ever...”

“HEY!” Applejack and Pinkie said in unison. Pinkie in particular decided to assault those nearby with little bits of partially chewed fruit that was in her mouth at her exclamation. Being across the table, Fluttershy and Applejack were the unfortunate victims.

“What?” Twilight looked around, seeing two somewhat angry faces, one that was attempting to rid itself of partially chewed fruit, one assisting the previous, one staring in disgust, and a dragon who was barely containing his laughter at the antics, “Its good!”

“Better than a Sweet Apple Acre specialty apple!?”

“Uhh...”

“Better than the cake I gave to you at your birthday!?”

“Uhh...”

“Better than my Equestria famous Sweet Apple Cider!?”

“Uhh...”

“Better than one of my super mega awesome 'go into a coma because its so good' cupcakes!?”

Sarlaka cut all of them off, “I think we've gotten off track a little. Please. Now... how did you ponies even get into my domain? Doesn't happen often that one comes in without my knowledge.”

“We... uhhh... teleported here I think,” Twilight said, keeping her eye on the two offended ponies.

“Are you sure, or are you leaving something out?”

Twilight looked around, with all the others mostly silently affirming what she just said, though Pinkie had her hooves crossed still, “Yeah, that's what happened. It was on accident though.”

“Now my lovely little purple unicorn,” Sarlaka spoke, all of the friendly banter in his voice throughout the dinner now gone, replaced with seriousness, “I don't like it when my dinner guests lie to me. I will ask again. How did you get here?”

“That's the truth! We teleported just outside of that one town... what was the name? Confoundedpony Town?”

Sarlaka let out a little bit of smoke from his nostrils, “Ok, the first time is forgivable, Element of Magic. The second time loses its humor very quickly. But lying to my face three times is not something I find amusing. The six Elements of Harmony cannot just teleport into my lands without me knowing. It is impossible, and the fact that you six think that you can slide such a thing past me is-”

“Hey!” Rainbow interrupted, flying out of her chair, getting into the dragon's face, “She's not lying!”

Sarlaka's eyes crossed, focusing on the blue dot that could easily stand on his snout with room to spare. “I will say this once, Fly,” he spoke, putting emphasis on the last word, “Get out of my face, or I will make sure you never use those wings again.”

Twilight heard Fluttershy let out an “eep”as the other five ponies looked on as the stareoff continued. To Rainbow's credit, the comment didn't seem to phase her very much. She seemed to back off a little, but she still continued to stare-down with the colossal dragon. Of course, her loyalty was making the flying pony do something very very stupid. Thankfully, Applejack interjected.

“Alright Mr. Dragon. If yall know so much about tha' Element's of Harmony, then ya know tha' Ah'm tha' Element of Honesty. Ah can tell ya righly tha' what Twi's sayin' is tha honest truth. Well... at least we think it is.”

Sarlaka looked past the cyan mare hovering in front of his face, and instead turned his stare at the orange earth pony. He seemed to inspect her face for something. “You tell the truth, Honesty.”

Applejack nodded, to which Sarlaka turned towards Twilight, “I apologize for losing my temper, Magic. If you understand, that explanation is quite... confusing, especially considering everything.”

“Honestly, no, I don't understand at all!” Twilight replied, “I don't know anything that's going on. I know its 'your turn' to do the questioning, but where in the wide world of Equestria are we!?”

Even in frustration, Twilight was relieved that at this point, Rainbow had landed back in her chair and was once again eating some of the pears in front of her, though Rainbow's glare on the dragon had not stopped. Sarlaka either seemed unaware, or didn't care, “You really haven't figured it out, have you?”

“Figured out what? I don't know about my companions, but I for one am getting quite tired of the runaround that we are getting, and the stress is getting to me,” Rarity finally exclaimed.

“Answer me this, what year is it?”

“Why?” Applejack cocked her head to the left .

“Just answer it.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, “Why 2531 Princess' Harmony of course.”

“Magic... the current year is 1499...”

The six mares stopped what they were doing, and just stared at the elder dragon in front of them. Rainbow had dropped the fruit on the floor. Fluttershy's eyes were almost as big as the plates in front of the ponies and Applejack looked very similar. Rarity's eye started to twitch slightly at the news. Even Pinkie was stunned silent, and her jaw nearly hit the table in shock, the frosting still sticking to her face.

Twilight could only look on in horror as Sarlaka finished his sentence.

“... Chaos' Reign...”

Chapter 7: Revelations

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Twilight's eye twitched.

Applejack looked around, and saw the rest of the girls looked to be in a very similar state of mind. To be fair, she was completely taken aback as well, to which the half eaten apple on the ground could attest to. While most likely each had a different mental image going through their heads, the one thing that they all had in common was that they didn't know what to say. Applejack's own thoughts were of her family. Big Macintosh. Granny Smith. Apple Bloom. Even Braeburn and the Oranges. Every single one of them was long gone. Dead for over a thousand years.

She didn't bother trying to hide the single tears that escaped her eyes.

“I don't believe you.”

Applejack looked at the lavender unicorn across from her. Twilight had a few hairs from her mane sticking out in random directions, a sign Applejack knew meant the unicorn was starting to lose it. Twilight was shaking her head in denial as she spoke those words, as if she was less trying to confirm it, and more trying to convince herself of the fact.

Sarlaka spoke in an uncharacteristically soft and gentle voice, “Why would I lie to you about something like this, Magic.”

“But... everypony...”

“Has been gone for countless years. Ponyville too is nothing but a field of dead grass. Conflound sits about ten miles from where it used to stand.” Sarlaka sighed, “For what its worth, I am sorry.”

Twilight once again shook her head, “I don't believe you. Time travel is impossible! It breaks so many rules in magic, I can't even begin to list them! Celestia herself told me she knew no way!”

“And yet here you stand in my presence, insisting that events that happened centuries ago happened yesterday. Tell me little ponies, what was the last thing you remember before coming here?”

“Lets see...” Twilight closed her eyes as she thought, tears running down her cheeks. Applejack couldn't tell if it was more out of fear, rage, sorrow, or just being overwhelmed with the realization. In any case, it broke her heart to see her best friend, or any of her friends, this distraught, “The last thing I remember is we were just about to use the Elements of Harmony on Discord. It was working all perfectly and... oh Celestia! I think he shot something at us!”

“I see. So what I am told is true then... mostly.”

Applejack cocked her head a little to the left, “Wha' ya were told?”

Sarlaka ignored the question, “What I have theorized in the millennium that I have had to think about the tale is that when you were hit by the spell Discord threw at you, which was supposed to turn the six of you to stone, the artifacts themselves saw the danger, and attempted to save you. The Elements of Harmony maybe tried to teleport you away from Discord, but instead of traveling through space, you instead traveled through time.”

“But that's impossible! Celestia told me-”

“Magic. I shouldn't have to tell you that the Elements of Harmony, when used by their true owners, are many magnitudes more powerful than even the former Princess Celestia could hope to summon herself. Imagine mixing that with a powerful spell from Discord.” Sarlaka shook his head, “At that point, basic laws of nature mean nothing.”

Twilight blinked in response, slowly lowering her head until her eyes met her plate.

“Which is why I need you to help me activate the Elements again.”

“Woah there partner,” Applejack looked up, shaking her forelegs in front of her, “Even if we all trust ya', an' we all did do all this here time travelin', why ya be needin' our help?”

“Because you are the Elements of Harmony?” Sarlaka spoke with a confused tone. “I don't understand your question.”

“No, Dear Applejack has a point,” Rarity lifted her head, looking at the dragon, “I don't know as much as Twilight about the Elements, but I have been told if and when the former bearers are... well... dead,” She said with a slight forced smile, “they find a new host in another pony.”

“True, but you never died.”

“I'm sorry?”

Sarlaka looked past the ponies, staring off into the far wall, “You are correct, Generosity, but not entirely. Indeed, when the former bearers die, the elements do seek out new host just like you said. However, you six did not die. Instead, you were moved from one time to another, completely alive and healthy. Therefore...”

“For fifteen hundred years, the world was without the Elements of Harmony...” Rarity finished.

The dragon slowly nodded, “Precisely.”

“Wait a minute!” Rainbow Dash spoke up, “Discord was turned to stone once before with the Elements by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna! Why didn't they use them?”

“Because Loyalty,” the dragon turned to looked right into Twilight's eyes as he spoke his next line, “He struck first.”

The ponies just looked at him. He looked the six pairs of eyes, “When Discord saw you were gone, he knew the only ones left that could destroy him were the Alicorn Sisters, so he fought them before they could obtain the Elements. I don't know much about the battle between the three, but from what I was told, all of Canterlot was destroyed in the battle. The conflict allegedly lasted several days, with some of the most powerful arcane spells every imagined, and some not even thought of before, being brought to bear. For all its destruction, it must have been a truly magnificent sight!” Sarlaka went silent, and looked down.

There was a pause. “And?” Twilight asked.

Sarlaka sighed again, “Celestia blinked.”

There was silence from Applejack and her friends. “You mean...” Twilight again spoke, fresh tears beginning to flow down her eyes.

“She was hit with the same spell that she used on Discord so many years ago, and was turned to stone.”

“Umm... and Luna?” Fluttershy squeaked.

Sarlaka looked up, and even with his dragon face, a sad smile shown on it, “Her fate is fittingly tragic, but yet so very heroic. With her sister gone, she knew she was outmatched, but was able to escape. She knew she couldn't fight Discord in a head on battle alone, so she spent the next five years looking for you six specifically, to no avail. For the next century, she searched for the next bearers of the Elements, and she also failed here. All the while, she was somehow able to put together a massive resistance army against Discord. And through all of this, that draconequus hunted for her, never resting. I have to admit, I am awed at her skill. Celestia may have had her beat in raw power, but when it comes to subterfuge and planning, she couldn't hold a candle to her younger sister.”

The six ponies looked at the dragon as he grew more lively as the tale came out of his mouth. “Eventually, she finally gave up on the Elements of Harmony, and enacted a plan that took another hundred years to finally put into motion. Using a massive army of unicorns and pegasi, she attacked Discord head on. Ha! Oh how I would give anything to have seen his face at her use of a frontal attack after two centuries of running. The pegasi were used as a distraction and cannon fodder, unicorns supplementing Luna's magic, while the goddess of the night fought Discord.

“It wasn't enough though. Discord wasn't doing well in the beginning, but the surprise wore off quickly, and Luna started taking hits... Sarlaka sighed, the joy in his voice disappearing, “...too many hits. Knowing she couldn't win, she decided to make sure Discord couldn't completely destroy all of her ponies, and sacrificed herself in a spell that locked most of his powers away, making them completely inaccessible to the God of Chaos in the hope that the Elements of Harmony would return.”

There was another long pause, but it was eventually broken with Fluttershy's timid voice, “So... Luna's dead too?”

The dragon looked down, “No, my precious Kindness. Oh how I wish you were right. For you see, when I say she sacrificed herself for that spell, I mean everything: Mind... body...” He looked towards the six, “soul...”

Pinkie gulped, and whispered in a voice none of the other five have ever heard her talk in, “You mean...”

Sarlaka nodded his head, “She will never find that eternal happiness that every other creature finds in the afterlife.”

There was a long silence after this statement as the six ponies absorbed the information that was just slapped into their faces. Applejack eventually broke the silence that permeated the chamber, “How'd ya know all of this? Don' seem like all of this be common knowledge.”

Sarlaka sighed, “By serving as Discord's most powerful and loyal ally for the past eleven hundred years.”

“WHAT!?”

All eyes turned to Rainbow, who, with fury in her eyes, picked herself up from her chair once more, but instead, decided to just stand on the table, “You are telling me, that we have been sitting here with this... this... monster for the past few hours hearing his stories and fairy tales, and now we hear he's with... HIM!” Anger and scorn dripped off of Rainbow's words as she stared into the eyes of the scarred dragon, “You expect me to believe you now!?”

Sarlaka just stared back, “Just because I am his ally officially does not mean that I wish him good health. It was the only way to bide my time long enough to find you six. There was no other way.”

“There were so many other ways! You could've hid! You could've fought against him! Something!”

“Loyalty, you have much to learn about how this world works. I did what I had to do to fulfill my mission.”

“Rainbow,” Fluttershy softly whispered. Rainbow Dash looked into the eyes of the mare, pleading for the cyan pegasus to settle down.

Rainbow sighed, “Right,” she said as she walked back to her seat, and sat back down. “Just so you know, if you weren't a several hundred ton dragon, I'd kick your flank.”

Sarlaka smirked, “And if you weren't the Element of Loyalty, I would make you my after dinner snack. But its best that you trust me. You're lucky you know: as far as I'm aware, I'm the only being left on this planet that would dare call himself your friend.”

“Wait!” Twilight looked up, “Not all of our friends could be dead!”

“Uhh... Sugarcube? Last time Ah looked, Ponies don' live THA' long.”

“Not a pony! Spike! He's a dragon too! He might still be around if we are lucky!” Twilight looked at Sarlaka hopefully, “Right?”

Sarlaka turned away from Twilight.

“...right?”

Sarlaka looked back at Twilight, but didn't meet her gaze, “Magic... I am truly, completely sorry...”

Twilight's eyes quivered, “... but...”

Sarlaka looked at the wall, gesturing with his claw, “You see those lines, young one? The ones on the walls? Every single one of those lines is a life I ended. Every single one of those thousands is my own personal memorial to the ones that had to suffer because of my task grave task.” The dragon paused for a moment, “The one you call Spike is that first one...”

“You killed Spike!?” Rarity had tears in her eyes as she screamed, causing the dragon to flinch, and turn towards the white unicorn, “How could you!? He was the most gentle, generous, and sweetest dragon ever... what reason would you have to kill him!?”

“It... was required for my mission...”

“Save it Scaley! Its one thing to act like you are helping Discord to help other ponies, but killing ponies for your mission!?” Rainbow yelled, her fury brimming over again, “Of all the things I have ever seen, you are by far the most pitiful excuse of a creature I have seen! You make... make... Diamond Dogs look good!”

“Loyalty, you know nothing about-”

“No Sarlaka.” Applejack finally spoke, “YOU don' know nutin' abou' tha world. Look at wha' ya done, and Ah dare ya to tell yaself tha' you're a good pony... err... dragon... whateva! Yall say tha' ya doin' this for the world, yet Ah see thousands of lines on tha' wall. You don' know nutin' but death and killin'. Ah reckon yall know nutin' about how it felt to all tha families tha' lost ones to your killin'.”

Sarlaka stood up on all fours, and roared with a fury that was unmatched by Applejack or Rainbow Dash. As he roared, a small amount of green flame burst from his maw passing over the dining table, between the ponies. The sound of the blasting roar echoed within the chamber, nearly deafening the ponies, who now had their hooves over their ears in pain.

He looked at Applejack, eyes still filled with rage, and spoke in a voice of matching his stare, “Do NOT tell me I do not know pain, you insignificant whelp! My mother was utterly destroyed in front of my eyes by Discord, while I cowered in terror. My mate was stolen from me by Discord, while I watched in the distance. My three beloved sisters died by Discord's agents in front of my eyes, protecting me, as I hid in fear. I watched the Unicorns and Pegasi of this world go nearly extinct by Discord's rule, and I did nothing because I didn't have the bravery to stand up to the God myself when I should have.”

Sarlaka's tone softened into one of mourning, “I am aware that when I die, I have a very cold corner of eternity awaiting me. Trust me ponies, I deserve all the suffering hell would bring, and more. However, until that day comes, I will fight in the only way I know how, and that is to bide my time, and hope I was not mistaken in forcing so many others to sacrifice their lives and the lives of their loved ones for you. Call my plan stupid and short-sighted, call me a fool and a coward, but do not tell me that I do not know pain.”

He finished as he let out a deep breath, little bit of smoke escaping from his nostrils as he did so. “Like I said before, I... the world needs you six to activate the Elements against that monster. Too much of a price has already been paid for your tardiness.”

“An' if we say no?” Applejack responded.

Sarlaka pointed towards the door towards the main hall, “Then you may walk out that door, out of my life, and never speak to me again. If you truly would say no, after everything that has happened over the years, then you are not worth my time.

“However, considering the massive snowstorm outside, I would suggest that you at least wait until sunrise to leave. Think it over for the night at least. There are a suitable amount of pony sized beds just across the main hall. Come.” He beckoned the ponies forward, and he walked back into the main hall.

Applejack looked at the other ponies, shrugged, and, after grabbing another honeycrisp apple, got up and slowly made her way after the dragon. She glanced behind her, and noticed that the rest of the ponies had followed suit. Twilight was not looking completely glum like Applejack had suspected, but seemed to be lost in thought. Rarity obviously didn't notice Twilight shutting out the world around her, for she was whispering something to the fellow unicorn. Pinkie was stumbling along, her mane still with bits of frosting in it, though Applejack noticed that she was much quieter than normal. Fluttershy was walking next to Rainbow, neither really talking, but Applejack saw that even after the boastful displays by the speedy pegasus, Rainbow still leaned slightly on the yellow mare as she walked.

The ponies crossed into the main hall once more, and indeed followed the dragon into the doorway opposite of the dining room. Passing into the massive doorway, Applejack saw the short tunnel led to a normal sized door, which Sarlaka stopped himself at.

“I will leave you here. I don't honestly know the state of the room. Small door and all, but I assume it is at least in acceptable living conditions.” Sarlaka turned walked back past the ponies. Abruptly, he turned again towards the ponies again, “Generosity.”

Rarity took a second to realize that the dragon meant to speak with her. She turned towards him, and spoke with apparent emotion in her voice, “Yes?”

Sarlaka looked on her for a moment, then shook his head, “Never mind. Try to get some rest. All of you.”

The ponies turned away from their host as they looked towards the door. Applejack pushed her hoof down on the latch, opening it, and once again had an awed face as she stared into the room. If possible, it was more extravagant than the Princess's private bedrooms back in Canterlot. Three massive four-poster beds lined one side of the room, with massive drapes cascading down from higher up, giving a sense of privacy. Each was a light crème color, with elaborate designs of gold plates on the headboard. The posts had carvings inlaid into them of the three pony races, with the horns, wings, and hoofs of the unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies respectively plated with even more gold.

Across the room, there was a large sitting area, which had four sitting chairs and a larger couch, all of which matched the color scheme of the beds . Each was just as elaborately designed as the beds, and were seated next to what appeared to be a fireplace. Applejack doubted that the fireplace was real, but the elegant design of the mantel was something that would make Rarity think was over the top. The mantel followed the design of the rest of the room, but only a single figure of each race was carved into the piece. The walls of the room were surprisingly plain when compared to the rest of the room, only having the same crème and gold coloration, with various paintings of landscapes and buildings. The only piece of note was that of the Equestrian Flag, displaying a sun within a night sky in one corner, and a moon in the day sky, with a diagonal cutting the flag into two triangular halves. A single door on the opposite side of the room likely leading to the bathroom.

Rainbow immediately trotted over to the closest bed. “I never knew napping and eating could be so tiring,” she spoke as she jumped onto the bed, curling up in a small ball, resting her head on her forelegs.

“Ya know RD, fer one tha' jus' threatened a dragon twice, ya be lookin' quite relaxed,” Applejack smirked, walking over to another bed, climbing up on it.

“Oh please. That guy is a wimp. I saw it in his eyes. He wouldn't hurt us,” she said as she waved a hoof in the air in a dismissive way. “As long as we are the Elements of Harmony, he thinks we're goddesses or something.”

“Well I for one do not intend on giving that brute any satisfaction of showing him our cooperation,” Rarity said as she flipped her mane over to the other side of her head. “While if we are needed to stop Discord, I will oblige, I say that we should turn those artifacts on that... that... monster immediately after. Right, Twilight?” Twilight didn't answer, causing the white unicorn to look towards her, “Twilight, darling, are you alright?”

Twilight was lost in a gaze past the ponies. Looking with Twilight, the other five looked to see that Twilight was looking at the painting of the Equestrian flag above the mantel. Instead of the crying that she had been doing throughout the dinner, she just looked with a face of emptiness.

“She was a mother to me...”

Rarity walked up, nuzzling Twilight's neck with her cheek. “Twilight darling, its ok. We'll make Discord pay for everything. Ok dear?” Twilight slowly nodded. Rarity sat down on her haunches as she gave the grieving pony a tight hug. It was only then that Twilight buried her face into Rarity's mane, and wept. “Its ok Twilight. Shhh...”

Applejack and the other three pony could only look on as a young filly cried her heart out over the loss of her surrogate mother; never having the chance to say goodbye. The sounds of the sobs filled the chamber, and all other thoughts in the room were silenced.

Chapter 8: Bathing

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Rainbow Dash had been through much in the last two days. Corrupted by Discord, fighting the Chaos God twice, apparently traveling through time, flying in scorching heat for hours and hours, fighting an entire city guard, and getting beat up and ponynapped by a dragon. Not to mention that she only ate and used the bathroom twice, once being just an hour ago, for the past two days. Sure she felt for Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, and Twilight, but a pegasi's metabolism was so much faster than the other two races. With all that had happened, she had never felt more tired in her life, and even with her bed not being made of a cloud.

And yet, here she was, wide awake.

Rainbow wasn't sure why she couldn't sleep. It was either the stresses of the day, the lack of actually having a cloud bed, or maybe even being too tired.. Regardless, here she was, wide awake, with so many thoughts going through her head. 'What are we going to do? What kind of crazy world is this? Are we really that far in the future? What if we can't get back? If we can't, what's the point of even trying?

'What was the reason to continue fighting?'

She wished she had an answer to at least one of those questions, she wished she was smart like Twilight, and she wished that she could just go home. Turning over for what had to be the millionth time tonight, she tried to clear her head of all these thoughts, and just sleep.

“Hey Rainbow... are you awake,” asked a soft voice, breaking the silence.

Rainbow rolled over towards her bed mate. It was completely black in the room, so she couldn't see her, even though she was right next to her. “Yeah Fluttershy,” she whispered back in a monotonous tone.

“Oh... did I wake you? I'm sorry.”

Rainbow rolled over onto her belly, stretching her wings slightly, “Nah, you didn't wake me. Couldn't sleep. What's up, Shy?”

There was pause in the conversation, but then Fluttershy spoke again, “I'm scared.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes, “Fluttershy, you're scared of your own shadow.”

“No. I don't mean scared like we all were in the Everfree forest the day we first met Twilight. I mean... scared scared.”

Rainbow decided against arguing that she didn't get scared of anything. “What about?”

“Well... umm... what's going to happen to us?”

“Don't worry Fluttershy. We'll be ok. Twilight always has a plan. She hasn't failed us yet, right?”

“But you saw her in there... she... didn't know what to do...”

“She's just tired and stressed. Just you wait, Fluttershy. Tomorrow, we'll be on our way to getting back to your animals.” Rainbow's ears picked up when she detected another voice, this one coming from outside. “Did you hear that?”

“Umm... yes... but I don't think...”

“Shhh.” Rainbow listened closer, straining to hear. She noticed that the voice was Sarlaka's, and from what she heard, he was talking to somepony again. However, Rainbow could only hear his side of the conversation, the other was too soft to hear through the door.

“We still don't know if they are the ones. They could be like the others... Its been too long. I don't remember exactly... We could hand them over to him. It would bring much favor to me. I could protect the ponies in my domain for the rest of my lifetime... I cannot save all the ponies... If this fails, then we both die, you know that right?... I worry alright? I can't see you die. Not again... I can't have blind faith in them. There must be an option... That's not an option... Fine, but you know if this doesn't work, I'll have to take care of them myself. They cannot know about it if they are not who they claim to be... I've kept us somewhat alive... I miss her still... Both. The suffering never got better like you promised... Yeah. I just hope this works.”

His voice died down. After a few moments, Rainbow realized that there was also complete silence coming from the yellow pegasus next to her.

“Hey Fluttershy, you still awake?” Waiting a moment, Rainbow thought the answer was no until she heard a soft sobbing next to her. Rainbow scooted closer to her crying friend. “Hey hey hey. What's the matter?”

“I'm... so, so scared Dash. What is he talking about? Take care of us how? I don't want to d... di...” Fluttershy said through the sobs, not able to say the last word.

“Shhh...” the cyan mare placed one of her forehooves on Fluttershy's face, softly stroking the slightly damp fur. “Don't worry Fluttershy. We'll get through this alright? No matter what, I won't let anything happen to you.” Fluttershy scooted closer, pulling the rainbow colored pony into a deep hug. She could feel the scared pegasus burying her face into her chest, her hair starting to get damp with tears. Rainbow flushed slightly for a second, unprepared for the sudden closeness, but she got over it as she rubbed a hoof over Fluttershy's back, attempting to calm her.

After a few minutes, Rainbow heard a single world, “Promise?”

Rainbow realized right there that she had found her reason to her questions from minutes ago. Even if there was no way to go back to their own timeline, and to the Ponyville they all remembered. Even if this world was completely insane and there was no way to bring back harmony. Even if there was really no way to defeat Discord anymore, and there was nothing the six friends could do but hide until their lives were over.

Rainbow Dash had a reason to continue to fight.

That reason was embraced in her forelegs, now softly sniffling over all the fears that Rainbow was trying to hide. Rainbow realized right there, that no matter what happened, she would not pause to put herself in front of harms way for her friends. But not only that, she would give anything and do everything to protect her oldest and best friend.

“Promise.”

__________________________________________________________________________________

Rainbow slowly started to come out of her slumber, her muscles aching from yesterday's ordeal. She felt the very unpleasant feeling of her right wing being numb, a result of her sleeping funny on it all night. Shifting her weight, she noticed that for the second time in a row, Fluttershy had fallen asleep cuddled next to Rainbow. Rainbow let a small grin come over her face as she looked at her friend. Even with the repeat of sleeping in an awkward position, Rainbow was glad that she was able to help Fluttershy relax. As much as she wanted to stay right where she was and go back to sleep, for the first time ever since getting thrown into this time, she felt the need to get up on her own accord.

Rainbow slowly pulled herself out of her friends unconscious grasp, somehow managing to not wake up the yellow pegasus. Stepping out onto the floor, she stretched her legs and wings, the pinpricks of feeling coming back to her feathered appendage being only mildly unpleasant. Looking around, she noticed that Rarity and Twilight were still in their bed, Twilight still embraced by Rarity. Rainbow could do nothing but smile at the sight: Rarity's white coat was matted worse than her own by not only the last two days ordeal, but also by Twilight's tears. Her smile lessened, but still remained bright, glad at the fact that Rarity was able to help Twilight in the same way she helped Fluttershy.

Looking over to the third bed, she noticed that only Pinkie was still in bed. The pink pony was laying on her back, her tail laid daintily on the pillows, and her head nearly falling off the hoof of the bed. Pinkie's hooves, which were curled above her, would twitch every so often as drool spilled out from her mouth onto the sheets. Rainbow heard the pony muttering something to herself, and could have sworn to have heard something about sapphire cupcakes, but wasn't certain. Applejack apparently had already gotten up, which Rainbow could only roll her eyes at. 'Leave it to Applejack to wake up at the crack of dawn, even when held prisoner,' she thought to herself.

Rainbow trotted quietly off to the bathroom, finding Applejack standing at the sink, her mane and tail wet and hanging loose after a shower. “Well look at that!” Rainbow smiled as she spoke. “Never thought I'd see AJ let herself loosen up like this!”

Applejack turned towards the cyan pegasus, and smiled at the jab, “Yea? Well ah never thought you an' Fluttershy would git together all romantic like; 'nd in front of all ya friends? Scandalous!” Applejack attempted to imitate Rarity with the last word.

Rainbow's face turned red with embarrassment, “Th... That's not true! I was just comforting her!”

“Oh? Is that what tha fillies and colts are callin' it these days?” Applejack's grin growing even wider.

“I... I mean... we didn't...”

“Ah'm jus' messin' with ya RD. 'Sides, Ah know Fluttershy's probably more scared than a cow in a stampede. Ah'm glad ya got her ta sleep.”

“Yeah...” Rainbow looked down, shuffling her hoof against the ground, “How about you? How're you holding up?”

“Honestly? Ah don' rightly know. Sad about mah family and friends, but gotta stay strong for the others, ya know?” Applejack walked up, and placed her hoof on Rainbow's shoulder, a soft smile replacing the wide grin from earlier, “Ah'm jus' glad yall girls are with me. Don' know what Ah'd do without yall.”

“Yeah... me too.”

“Well Ah know tha' yall be fine wit' Fluttershy bein' here. Just don' try walkin' through doors wit' ya wings like that” Applejack grinned again like a mad pony, flicked the tip of one of Rainbow's outstretched wings with her hoof, and walked out of the bathroom chuckling to herself, leaving the now heavily blushing Rainbow alone.

Rainbow cursed her wings as she forced them down with her forehooves. Sighing, her mood changed as she nearly started to jump for joy when she saw the two showers. Never before had she wanted to take a shower so much, the stench that she was emanating was starting to become apparent even to herself. She stepped into one, and turned on the hot water, and stood under the water as it washed away all the grime that had built up over the past couple of days. If there was one thing she was glad about, it was that she did not look at the the mirror before walking in.

She stood under the water for a long while, thinking about what was going to happen. 'What if Sarlaka really does try to kill us? Can we really have a chance against him? I'm fast and AJ is strong, but Twilight would probably be the only one able to do anything worth a hay.' Rainbow sighed, 'Guess the best thing to do is pray to Celestia... wherever she is now, that things go well. And what was up with AJ about me and Fluttershy anyways?'

Rainbow felt her wings raising again at the thought, 'And Luna help me I'm going to clip these things if they don't start behaving!'

After washing for much longer than necessary, she finally turned off the water, and stepped out of the shower. Drying herself somewhat with a fresh towel, she decided to style her mane by giving it the Rainbow Dash usual: a violent shaking, and letting everything fall wherever it decided to go. This tended to make her rainbow mane and tail look vibrant enough, if not a little rough on the edges. Looking into the mirror, she inspected her appearance, and finally got a good look at the damage Sarlaka and those guards had dealt to her. From the looks of it, the swelling wasn't really that bad, or at least it had begun to go down. Her face was still cut a little, but her fur mostly covered it up. As for the patches of torn off fur on her sides, fortunately, it wasn't that noticeable unless you were looking for it.

Satisfied, Rainbow trotted back into the bedroom, noticing that the rest of the girls were awake, and, especially in the case of Twilight, looking at lot better. An extremely dirty and matted Rarity passed her by as she went to take her turn in the bathroom. Rainbow turned to Pinkie, and they grinned at each other.

'Three... two... one...'

“IEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!”

Rainbow and Pinkie fell over laughing at Rarity's panicked yell, and Applejack quickly joined in with the uncontrolled laughter. Even Twilight cracked a smile, and started to chuckle. Fluttershy smiled, and while giggling to herself, trotted into the bathroom to see if she could do anything to help. The other four continued to hear the frantic wailing of the currently light-gray unicorn from the bathroom. After a minute, the shower was heard turning on, and the screaming either stopped, or was drowned out.

The laughing continued for several minutes afterward, but Rainbow knew she had to tell them what she heard last night. Sooner would be better than later, so she decided to just say it quick. “Hey girls, I don't want to worry you all or put a downer on the mood, but I heard Sarlaka talking last night... and it wasn't good.”

The laughing had died down, and the other three girls looked at Rainbow. “Who was he talking to? And what was it about?” Twilight asked.

“Absolutely no idea who he was talking to. I didn't hear the other voice. But I heard what he was saying. I'm not entirely sure, but I think he was saying that if he's not convinced we are who we say we are, he's going to kill us.”

“Now why in tarnation would he to that?” Applejack's ears perked up at the cyan mare's statement. “Ah heard 'im promise he'd let us go if we didn' want any part of his plan.”

Rainbow shrugged, “Well... he isn't the Element of Honesty.”

“And he's been lying for his entire life from the sounds of it. In his eyes, what's one more white lie?” Twilight finished the thought.

Rainbow sighed, “Well... even if he wasn't planning on killing us, he also said that he was debating giving us over to Discord if we WERE who we are.”

“Danged if we are, danged if we ain't” Applejack shook her head slowly.

“Aw don't be so saddie waddie! I'm sure he'll do the right thing!” Pinkie smiled, still lying on her back, “I mean, he told us he's been waiting for us, like, for-EV-er! If he waiting so long just to turn us into pony soup, then he's crazier than me!”

Applejack raised an eyebrow, “Pinkie, do you ever get sad?”

“Well sure! Lets see,” Pinkie held her hooves in the air, gesturing as she spoke, “there's that one time I thought you all hated me on my last birthday. Then there was when I saw Gilda made Fluttershy cry, though that was more mad than sad. Then there...”

Pinkie continued, but Twilight ignored her, “There's not much we can do. Lets just hear him out. Most likely he just looked us up in one of his books or something, and knows who we are, so all we have to worry about is being turned over to Discord. Not only that, but, as much as I never thought I'd ever say this, Pinkie's thought makes sense. Why do all the cloak and dagger sort of thing just on the slim chance we six specifically show up on his doorstep?”

Rainbow smiled, “Now that's the Egghead I know,” to which was replied by the unicorn only with a grimaced smile.

“... then there was that one time I was drunk with Luna, when... oh! Lookie who's done!!!” Rainbow looked over to see a now very white unicorn. Rarity trotted by with her mane and tail nearly straight, both not being styled yet with her signature curls, and a smile on her face. Behind her, Fluttershy looked in a similar state, the sole exception being the color scheme.

“Well, I must say that I apologize for my quite brash outburst earlier,” Rarity said as she levitated a brush over to her hair, “I admit that I was a little... taken aback at the state of my appearances.”

“Ah little?” Applejack smirked.

“Sounded more like you found out that somepony stole all of your tailoring gems! Weee!” Pinkie giggled as she popped up, from where she was laying down, and seemed to nearly teleport into the bathroom.

“Pah-leeze! If that happened, I might have done something drastic to somepony,” Rarity giggled. “Though considering his hoard, that might have solved our dragon dilemma.”

“I don't know Rarity, I don't think that he's a teEEP!” Twilight was interrupted by Pinkie jumping right in front of her face.

“Get in here silly filly! You're icky, and Auntie Pinkie is going to get your whole little body so squeaky clean! Pinkie style!!” Pinkie grabbed Twilight's tail, and pulled her into the bathroom with unheard of strength, the door slamming behind the two.

“...”

“... I'm sure she didn't mean that how it sounded...”

__________________________________________________________________________________

Pinkie and Twilight had finally gotten out of their showers, and for the first time in a while, the six were sitting together around the fireplace eating some hay and oats for breakfast. Apparently at some point, Sarlaka had delivered it to the door, though none of them had noticed him physically delivering it, so they couldn't be certain. And while it was not like the dinner before, Rainbow still had thirds.

“Woah there partner! Leave some for tha rest of Equestria!” Applejack snickered.

“Hey, Pegasi need to eat a lot compared to earth ponies and unicorns! And considering I'm the fastest flyer in Equestria, I gotta eat even more, which means...” Rainbow dove her face back into her bowl, continuing to devour her meal. She didn't need to look up to know Applejack was rolling her eyes.

There was a knocking at the door, “Hope everypony is decent,” came a familiar booming voice.

“Please. No. We are all naked. Don't look.” Rarity said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes, getting a giggle from Pinkie.

There was a pause, “Yeah... I should've seen that one coming. Anyways, I need you all to come with me.”

“Can you give us five minutes? I can't find my dress,” Rainbow yelled out, snickering.

“Do you want to find out why they call me 'The Butcher'?”

“Fine,” Twilight called, ending the back and forth. Putting down their food, they opened the door, coming face to face with Sarlaka, who was laying right in front of the now open door. The large scars that crisscrossed his face were much more obvious up close, with the deepest cutting vertically across his left eye.

Rainbow blinked, “Wow... that must have hurt.”

Sarlaka blinked, “I wasn't popular in dragon school.”

“Oh you poor thing,” Fluttershy spoke in a whisper, much to Sarlaka's surprise. All the while, she hid behind the other ponies, “That must have hurt so much. Why would anypony do such mean things.”

The dragon paused before closing his two eyes, and answering, “Have you ever heard of the magical properties of a dragon's eye?”

“Umm... no. I'm sorry. Should I?”

Sarlaka picked himself up onto all fours, “Its not important. I'll tell you later. For now, I need you to come with me.” He turned, and walked slowly towards the main hall, with the rest of the girls warily following. Reaching the overly extravagant room, Sarlaka turned.

“Now, I have a confession. I admit that last night, for a moment, I debated giving you six up to Discord. Considering you are all here still, I obviously decided against it, but I would like to apologize anyways.”

“Well thank you... I think. Though I would most certainly wish to meet the friend you were talking to last night that helped with that decision.” Rarity flipped her hair to the other side of her head.

Sarlaka blinked, “You heard?”

“He he he... well yeah.” Rainbow shrugged, “You weren't that quiet.”

“No matter. And no, you may not meet her.”

“Oh? Does Scaley have a lady friend?” Rainbow smirked, attempting to push the dragon's buttons once again.

Sarlaka actually let out a genuine laugh, “Oh sweet Discord no. I am not THAT lucky of a dragon. Besides, if we were together, it would be an awkward relationship to say the least. But we are getting sidetracked. If you heard what I was talking about last night, then you know that I need to make sure that you six are what you claim to be.” The dragon turned towards Twilight, “Magic, please step forward.”

Rainbow saw Twilight look back at her friends. Rainbow did her best to give her a reassuring smile to her, which apparently was helpful enough to have her step towards the dragon. Rainbow lowered herself to the ground, and saw the slight tremble in Twilight's step. She didn't know what the dragon had planned, but from the looks of it, his way of identifying the six of them didn't involve books as Twilight said she had hoped. She gave her wings another flap to make sure she was ready to act if needed.

“Now before we go on,” Sarlaka spoke to the six ponies with a serious tone, “I want to make absolutely sure that you all are willing to go along with this. Remember: once you start going down this path, the only way out is the end of the tunnel. And frankly my little ponies, for some of you, that tunnel might end in tragedy, but it is the only way I know to defeat Discord.”

Rainbow looked on as Twilight looked behind her, gazing at the other five ponies, who gave her no reaction. Rainbow looked at the five, who seemed to be thinking. Instead of leaving her hanging, the rainbow maned pegasus gave a smile, and nodded. Fortunately, the others noticed, and copied her affirmation message, to which Twilight turned back to the dragon, and nodded as well.

Nodding once, Sarlaka pushed away a massive pile of gems in his hoard, until a box large enough to fit a pony inside appeared before him. Taking it into his foreclaw, he spoke softer, addressing only the mare in front of him, “Magic, what I am about to show you is one of the world's most guarded secrets, and nopony outside of this chamber may know of its existence.” Sarlaka looked up, “That goes for all of you. Do you understand?”

The six ponies nodded, and Sarlaka opened the box. Twilight gasped at what was inside and fell onto her flank. Rainbow tried to see what was in the box, but couldn't make it out.

Twilight's quivering voice cut through the hall, “Is... is that...”

“Yes. Yes it is.”

Chapter 9: Conscription

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Fluttershy wasn't able to see what Sarlaka was currently holding, but the object was clearly very important. Twilight's trembling, followed by her falling onto her flank and stuttering response made that plain as day. Judging from the dragon's facial features, the way he displayed his concerned yet serious face, plus the low and deliberate way he spoke to Twilight only solidified her assumption even more.

Looking at her friends next to her, she could see the mixed emotions on their faces. Applejack looked anxious at the situation that was unfolding before them. Rainbow was flying slightly higher now, trying to get a peek inside the box that Sarlaka held. Pinkie Pie was just standing there with a smile, but the way she was slightly vibrating made it obvious that she was highly anticipating seeing the object inside. As for Rarity... well... she never was one to read easily, but Fluttershy assumed she was just as anxious as the rest of them.

Of course, as normal, Fluttershy was scared.

“How... how did you...” Twilight stammered, staying put on her flank.

“That's not important. I need you to take it,” was all that Sarlaka responded with.

Twilight finally got up, and took a few steps towards the box. Twilight's horn started to glow, and Fluttershy assumed her magic latched onto something inside the large box. Smiling, Sarlaka put the box down, revealing that inside was a mannequin of a... light purple unicorn? Looking back towards Twilight, Fluttershy's eyes grew wide as she saw what Twilight was now levitating.

The Element of Magic.

Looking back up at the dragon, she saw that he was smiling at the unicorn now, seemingly not noticing the other ponies. Her friends each had a different expression on their faces, though all said the same message of shock. “Well, I suppose you at least know what this is. Now I need you to prove who you claim to be by using it.”

Twilight sat back down, “But.. the other five! I can't use this one without the rest of the elements!”

“Oh no, Magic, I do not want you to actually shoot me or anything. I merely want you to start powering it up. While you are right in that all six artifacts are required to activate their magic, a single bearer can at least power up the magic inside.” Sarlaka waved his hand in the air in an uncaring fashion, “Just have the thing glow or something, considering its probably the best you will be able to do.”

Fluttershy saw Twilight slowly nod as she placed the tiara on her head. Though viewing from behind, Fluttershy could feel Twilight closing her eyes, and pumping all the magic she could muster into her element. Fluttershy 'eeped' as some of the hairs on her mane started to stand on end when the air became charged with the power that the unicorn was drawing. An unnatural wind started to pick up, and Rainbow was forced to land or crash into a wall. The wind and static charge continued to pick up, until Fluttershy was forced to huddle close to the ground and hold her wings tightly against her body to prevent herself from getting blown away. The tiara adorning Twilight's head began to glow as she was lifted slightly off the ground.

Sarlaka quickly swiped the tiara off of Twilight's head, causing her to fall back to earth, landing on her flank.

Twilight rubbed her rear, “Hey!”

Laughing, Sarlaka placed the artifact back onto the mannequin that he got it from, and closed the box, “Oh please Magic, you already proved to me that you are indeed honored with the status of the Element of Magic. Now, that we have that little issue out of the way, we have to discuss how we are going to take down Discord...”

“Oh yeah!” Rainbow jumped up, doing a few flips as her wings caught air, “Give us those elements and lets go kick some Discord butt!”

Sarlaka's smile evaporated instantly, “Yeah... about that...”

“Aw, wha' now?” Applejack frowned.

“Well... how do I put it... ok. Well see, I've been doing the whole 'hiding in plain sight' sort of thing with Discord for the last thousand years, and before that I truly was hiding from him, and so... well... I hid the rest of the elements.”

“Well dear, that's not that much of an issue! Why don't you gather them for us,” Rarity waved her hoof in the air dismissively, “Don't worry, we'll wait here.”

Sarlaka's eyes narrowed, “You're kidding, right Generosity?”

“Most certainly not, darling.”

The dragon let out an amused chuckle, “Not going to happen. You six are going to help me get them.”

It was Rarity's eyes that narrowed now, “Excuse me?”

“Rarity, he's right. We can't just let him gather them all up.” Twilight turned towards her five friends, “We don't have the kind of time to just let him get them all. Every day we are here, the more likely Discord finds out we are here. We have to go get them too. Besides, with friendship on our side, what could possibly go wrong?”

“Uh, Twi. Ah don' mean ta be rude, but remember tha last time ya said that, we were attacked by an entire army of ponies?” Applejack raised her eyebrow.

Twilight held her hoof up, mouth open as if to respond to the retort. Her face turned to one of confidence to one of deep thought as she thought of a response, but eventually put her hoof down and shut her mouth. Her eyes followed her hoof as they looked down, “Well.... I was hoping that our luck would get better...”

Fluttershy decided she had to support Twilight, as much as she was afraid to. She knew Twilight and Sarlaka were right: they DID have to find the elements as fast as ponily possible. Working up the courage, she spoke as loud as she could.

“I... umm... think we should help...” Fluttershy squeaked. She saw the heads of everyone in the room look at her, and any bravery and confidence she built up was instantly extinguished under the unified stare. She closed her eyes in her feeble attempt to hide, “I mean... if you don't mind...”

She felt them all staring at her, judging here, scorning her. 'How dare she!' they must think. 'This is a real problem, not some silly issue like feeding animals! This is real life!' Fluttershy started to tremble as her eyes remaining closed. As the minutes passed on the clock, she felt their anger bleeding into the air.

A soft fluttering of wings was heard to her right, and she felt the soft coat of a pony rub up against her side, “Well, I agree with Fluttershy! And besides, I can't let Mr. Scaley get all the fun!”

Fluttershy smiled under the warmth of her friend's side, subconsciously leaning slightly into it. She thanked Rainbow mentally, and opened her eyes to see the rest of the ponies were looking at the two of them, their faces surprisingly friendly, devoid of the angry stares that she expected.

Looking at the two pegasi, then towards her friends, Rarity relented, “Alright. I know when I am outvoted. Very well then. What is the plan Lord Sarlaka.”

Sarlaka looked at the six, taking a few seconds to think, “Very well. I will let you six find three of them, and I myself will acquire the other two. If I remember correctly, Well.. I think that is what I had intended to do in case I found you six.”

Applejack narrowed her eyes, “Wha' do ya mean ya think?”

“You forgot what your plan was?” Twilight groaned, putting a hoof to her forehead again.

Sarlaka threw his foreclaws in the air, “I hid these things before I could even fly, alright! You can't entirely blame me for forgetting the details of my plan. Its not like I could risk writing it all down now could I?” Taking a second to take a few breaths, he continued in a calmer tone, “Now, Generosity, you and Magic will seek out your element. Fortunately, yours is close by, and in the best place: half a week trek into the wilderness. For you, Lau-”

“The middle of nowhere!?” Rarity's eyes grew wide, “How is THAT the best place for it to be?!”

Sarlaka closed his eyes in frustration, rubbing the arch of his snout with a claw, “Because considering there are only one hundred unicorns that are still in existence, you two would stand out in a crowd, especially considering your colorful appearances.”

“One hundred left? Wow... that's... wow...” Fluttershy heard Rainbow whisper.

“Anyways. Laughter, you and Honesty will find your element. The good news is that while it is located outside of my domain, I am on good terms with the local lord, Lord Xavier. The element is hidden next to his capital. If you need to, just tell a guard that I sent you, and he'll help you out.” he squinted again, “Just don't tell him that you are looking for an Element of Harmony.”

“An' how do ya expect me to lie?” Applejack said.

“I don't know, let Laughter do the talking or something. That's for you to figure out. Finally,” Sarlaka turned towards Fluttershy and Rainbow, “Kindness, you will take Loyalty with you to find yours.”

“Right!” Rainbow stepped forward, causing Fluttershy to stumble slightly from the loss of her anchor. Catching herself, she looked up at Rainbow, who was fluttering her wings excitedly, “Just tell me where it is, and we'll have that thing back her in ten seconds flat!”

“Sadly, you won't like what I have to say,” Sarlaka's monotonous voice rumbled, “Yours is located two domains away, in the domain of Lord Ferinus, who not only am I not on friendly terms with, but who's policies have driven me to nearly kill him on several occasions.”

“Oh my! What could he possibly do that would warrant such a... harsh treatment?” Rarity spoke, picking her words carefully.

There was a pause before he responded, “He thinks pegasi are a blight that needs to be... corrected, and if anyone in his domain finds one of you, he will make sure that you are either killed, or... robbed of your gift of flight.”

Fluttershy's eyes grew wide, “You... you mean...”

Sarlaka nodded.

Fluttershy felt the fear in her heart take over again, she fell to her knees, closed her eyes, and hid behind her mane in fright of the situation placed before her. The thought of having her wings... taken... made her pull them tightly against her body, as if she pulled them close enough, she would be able to pull them into her body, hiding them from the world.

She heard Rainbow voice yell, “Hey now wait a second! If this place is so hostile towards pegasi, why in the name of Celestia would you send us two, the PEGASI, there!?”

“I wouldn't if there was another option, but it would take an earth pony well over two months to get there. If we want to obtain the elements before Discord realizes you six are here, it has to be you two.” He frowned, “Besides, over the years, I set up certain mechanisms so that only the bearer of the respective element can obtain it. Because of that, Kindness must go, no matter who goes with her. I suspect that you would refuse to let Kindness go on her own, now would you?”

Fluttershy heard only the breathing of Sarlaka for several seconds, but then felt a wing brush against her side, “Not a chance,” she heard Rainbow Dash softly say, as if it wasn't to anypony at all.

“Nu uh! No way! There's gotta be 'nother way.” Applejack's voice protested. Fluttershy could hear the nervousness in the earth pony's voice overpowering the anger.

“Sadly there is not. However, there are ways to minimize their risk. Stay away from settlements is a good start. You two are smart mares. You'll figure it out.” Sarlaka's voice spoke, optimism absent from it. Fluttershy regained enough confidence to open her eyes, and saw that his face was neutral of any emotion.

She was glad that Rainbow was next to her. Her oldest friend had always been her protector, but it had always been against minor things like bullies from flight school. This was something entirely different. This was a... a... life or death situation. Something that could result in them losing their wings, or worse. Fluttershy looked up from her laying down position to see that Rainbow was still standing next to her, a cyan wing dropping across the yellow mare's back in a protective way. Fluttershy worked up whatever courage she could find within her to pick herself back up, and stand next to Rainbow, who kept her wing over her body.

“Thank you Rainbow,” Fluttershy whispered with a smile, “for everything.” Rainbow looked at her fellow pegasus, and returned the smile, pulling her wing back to her side, but remaining with Fluttershy.

“That's great, but what about the other two elements?” Twilight trotted over to Applejack, sitting next to the earth pony. She pointed at the orange pony, “You know... the Elements of Honesty and Loyalty?”

The dragon merely returned a smirk, “Please, leave that to me. I can't let you six have all the fun now can I? Now, with that settled, follow me. I think you will appreciate what I am about to show you.”

Sarlaka turned towards the door that was next to the dining hall, lowered himself back onto all fours, and started to walk. Fluttershy looked at the other five, who merely shrugged at each other, and followed after him. During their walk Rainbow trotted ahead. Fluttershy sighed as her protector left her side, missing her external source of confidence already. Eventually they all went through the door after Sarlaka.

Upon entering, they saw a room that was much less finished than the rest of the complex, and with good reason. This room obviously served as the stores of the cave, with various foods, tools, and other equipment sitting on a dozen hundred hoof long shelves that stretched all the way to the dragon sized ceiling, and all the way to the far wall. To their left, they saw another door, which probably led to the dining room. Applejack was the first to start walking the aisles of the stores.

“Apples, oats, shovels, rope, saddlebags, extra horseshoes, a banjo... yall got everythin' here!”

Sarlaka casually smiled, “Not quite, but I have nearly everything a group of...say... six very adventurous ponies might need to go on a long journey into the unknown world. Take anything you think you'll need from here or elsewhere, though I do have two requests.” Sarlaka's face grew serious, “One, do not take anything from my hoard. Trust me, you don't want to see a dragon get territorial over that sort of thing. Second, whatever you do, do not go into those two rooms behind the iron doors. Its better if you don't see what's behind there.”

Fluttershy slowly nodded, turned, and joined the girls in taking stock in what was available to all of them in the room. Applejack wasn't exaggerating when she said that everything was here! She busied herself at just looking, unlike the pink pony in front of her, who acted like there was a saddlebag packing contest, and she was determined to win first place. She tried to get around Pinkie at first, but her efforts were soon understood to be useless. Instead, she took flight, and peered at what the top shelves had to offer.

Looking through the various items on the top shelf, she saw that Rainbow was doing the same with the next shelf over. Rainbow had her back to Fluttershy, and was muttering something to herself, though she couldn't make it out. The cyan pegasus didn't notice the pink maned mare looking at her from behind, being too preoccupied with the stores on the shelves. Fluttershy sighed as she looked at her oldest friend, envying the confidence she had brimming from her even now, longing for the bravery that she had, admiring that perfect flank that had the best cur-.

She blushed heavily, 'Fluttershy! Don't have those thoughts! She's your friend; a sister to you! Besides, even if she was like that, she wouldn't want to be with a flighty filly like you. Get over it.' Fluttershy shook her head, her mane flopping around from the vigorous motion, and sighed. Resigning herself to those facts, she turned, and continued to mentally take inventory of all the gear that was housed in this room.

Too busy distracting herself, neither she, nor her friends, noticed a certain purple dragon had left the room, being followed by a purple unicorn.

Twilight approached where Sarlaka had gone, trotting through the main hall, and towards the entrance to the cave complex. Crossing the space, she reached the bend in the tunnel leading outside, seeing the light shining from the sun. Looking back, she hoped that she was able to sneak out without her friends noticing. Considering what she needed to talk about, it was something she wanted to do alone.

She looked forward again, and continued down the passageway, until she reached the mouth of the cave, and took in her surroundings. The storm from the previous day had died down completely, and with the sun above, she noticed that the land was depressingly brown throughout the valley. The opposite mountains, where Twilight suspected Canterlot used to lie, were just as barren, with only the white of snow on the mountaintops breaking up the brown hues. To her left, the brown continued on several miles, until the distant greens of a forest, sitting where the Everfree Forest used to stand in her time, barely breaching the horizon. To her right she could made out Conflound sitting on the valley floor, with the same green forest wrapping around the mountain peak.

“The sight is something, is it?”

Twilight looked over, seeing their dragon host calmly laying down, his legs tucked under him as he laid on the snow covered ground. For just a frighteningly powerful and deadly creature, he looked... peaceful.

“Yes. It sure is,” Twilight responded, trotting up to where Sarlaka lay, and laying down near him. Twilight nearly jumped back up from the cold of the snow, but after fixing her position so that her legs were under her, it was tolerable enough.

“But not in the way we want it... isn't it?”

Twilight snorted a half-hearted chuckle, “Not too long ago, this entire land was green with endless fields of grasses, and over there,” Twilight pointed, “was the most beautiful hilltop full of flowers. Of course I didn't have time to appreciate it then, but now that its gone,” Twilight sighed, “I miss it already.”

“Even though its been gone for centuries, it still feels like yesterday.” the dragon softly spoke, lowering his head to rest on his foreclaws.

“To me, it kinda was.” There was a long pause. Finally, Twilight stood, and slowly walked up to the dragon's face, and laid back down next to his giant head. “So... how did you really get those scars?”

Sarlaka shifted his head slightly, moving his eyes to face the unicorn, “I know Kindness doesn't know, but do you know of the properties of a dragon eye?”

“No... I can't say I do. I only have studied magic extensively. Alchemy isn't nearly my forte.”

Sarlaka looked straight forward once again, “There are legends that with a dragon eye, if you were to mix it with various different common herbs, could make a pony immortal.”

Twilight's eyes widened at the revelation, “What... I mean... how!? That defies all magic I've ever known before!”

“Its because it isn't true, my little unicorn friend. The idea of one becoming immortal is ludicrous, and obviously an old mare's tale. Even Discord can't escape death. Not really.” Sarlaka closed his eyes, “Still... it doesn't stop some desperate foals from trying. Most of them are unruly psychopaths that I have no problem putting down. Some... some do it when they are at death's door, and beg me to help them. Those...” Sarlaka paused for a second, “...are the most tragic lives I have been forced to end.”

Twilight timidly raised her hoof forward, and ever so slowly, reached out to the dragon's face, until she touched his scales. Sarlaka instinctively recoiled slightly from the contact, opening his eyes to look at her, but then relaxed to let her softly caress his face. Slowly, she started to trace the paths of some of the more prominent scars. This close, though, it was obvious that there were dozens more, less noticeable ones, that ran along his face, and down his neck.

“All of these are from those ponies?” She asked in a whispered voice as she continued her strokes.

Sarlaka seemed to relax under her hoof's motions, “Of course not, Magic. Only a few are. The vast majority are either from battles between the other dragons, or through fights with Discord.”

Twilight withdrew her hoof, “You fought Discord? And lived?”

“Of course! How else would I get to where I am today if I couldn't handle myself in an argument with my opponent? Hmm? Besides, he has a few marks himself to sport from me as well, though I like to think mine are cooler.” Sarlaka smiled, and closed his eyes.

Twilight simply rolled her eyes, and returned her hoof to his cheek. There was a long, yet calming silence before the mare spoke again, “Sarlaka... something's been bothering me,” to which he opened his eyes slightly. “The last thing I know happened to the Elements of Harmony was that they were... left behind somehow when we came here. How did you get them?”

Sarlaka closed his eyes again, a stern face showing, “I got them from the dragon, Spike.”

Instead of recoiling her hoof as Twilight assumed he would suspect, she continued her caressing with earnest. “You know, you know a lot about me, enough to know that I study WAY too much about subjects that are important to me. One of those subjects was dragons. It was mostly for practical purposes, because I needed to know how to raise Spike properly. Dragon's are very different from ponies in their diets, sleeping patterns, and tempers. In reading various books, I learned a few things.”

He opened his eyes, and turned towards her, her hoof falling out of reach of his face. She noticed him looking at her out of the corner of her eye, but for dramatic effect, she decided to keep looking over the horizon, “Something very interesting I discovered in my reading about dragons is their coloration. You see, their colors come from the locations that they are native to, and act as a kind of natural camouflage. Red dragons near volcanoes, green in forests, blue near oceans... you get what I'm saying. However, the color purple doesn't fit any natural location in the world. In fact, its not supposed to be a color a dragon should have. Instead, its a genetic mutation, one that is so rare, I suspect that a purple dragon only appears once every millennium. Even then, the dragon would most likely die very quickly because of its inability to camouflage itself into the terrain that it is native to. The only way I suspect a purple dragon would survive for long would to be taken care of by a peaceful race... probably ponies.”

Twilight had a smile on her face at this point, “But you already knew this,” she turned towards the dragon, “didn't you, Spike?”

Chapter 10: Gift Giving

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Twilight felt triumphant at her deductive skills. All of the carefully crafted lies, half-truths, and masks that this dragon before her had imagined, assembled, and refined over the past thousand years had created a vast and impressive web of deceit. The cover was nigh flawless, but she had broken past all of the obstacles within two days of meeting him. She had a huge smile on her face as she turned, and looked into Spike's eyes, intending to give him a giant hug. But before she did so, she was stopped short at the sight before her. Instead of the loving affection of the Spike that she knew from when he was a baby, he was not smiling back.

He was frowning.

It was a mixed frown. It was a frown of sadness, fear, anger, and disappointment. Twilight looked at Spike, “Spike, what's-”

“I am not Spike,” he spoke quickly, his voice quiet and emotionless.

“Oh don't be so down,” she reached towards his head, but he withdrew it before she got close. Twilight sighed, “Why do you insist on being this... Sarlaka creature? Its obvious to me who you really are, Spike.”

Spike sighed, “Magic, for one who knows so much, you know so very little about me, for which I am grateful for.” He looked towards her, and she cocked her head to the side in confusion. “Please describe Spike to me, Magic.”

Twilight, with pride in her voice, responded instantly, “Well YOU are the best and most wonderful assistant and friend a unicorn... no... a pony could ever have. With a sarcastic sense of humor, you would drive me crazy beyond belief, but nearly every time I would laugh. Yet, with all the quirkiness, the kindest heart resides in your chest, one that would give up your most valuable treasures for the ones that you love.” She smiled at her response.

Spike looked at Twilight with even more of a frown now, “Magic, I have another question for you, and I want you to be completely honest,” he said quietly. “If Spike were to come face to face with a serial killer, a pony full of evil and empty of remorse, and Spike had no choice but to kill him to save you, would he?”

Twilight thought for a second, “Well... if there was no choice, I guess you would.”

“I see. Now, lets say that instead of a serial killer, it was merely somepony trying to rob you. What then?”

“I... I don't think you... I mean you would. I mean... you might, but you would feel bad about it...”

“Lets say that he had to complete an important task for Celestia, and somepony was stopping him from completing that task, and the only way for him to complete it, was to kill that pony,” the volume in Spikes voice slowly rose, “Would he?”

Twilight's eyes widened, “Oh certainly not! You would never... do... that...”

“What if he did something wrong. Very, very wrong, to the point that he would be sentenced to the harshest of punishments if discovered, but if he killed but a single witness, his transgression would remain unknown forever,” he raised his voice to just below a roar, “Would he kill this pony?!”

“I... I mean...” she stammered.

“What if there was a pony, not an evil pony, but a normal, bucking pony, that was simply a minor inconvenience for him!? What if that pony was a good, bucking pony, and only was a little annoying at times!? What if that pony was a friend that he had known for a decade!?” the dragon yelled, his chest heaving with large breaths. Nearly ten seconds later, he lowered his voice to a whisper, “Would he be so evil as to kill this pony?”

Twilight hung her head, unable to come up with a response to this.

He turned his head, and gazed towards the valley below, “I have done terrible, awful things, Magic. Dreadful, unforgivable things. I have killed thousands. Yes, many of them were vile, cruel, and would hurt others just to get the time of day. However, so many more were kind, honest, and innocent ponies, who just... got in the way. Good and evil, I ended them all, because I believed that the goal I set out for myself is greater than any single pony's life. Or a dozen. Or a thousand.

“Spike was a good dragon. A very noble, kind, gentle, friendly dragon, that wouldn't hurt a pony no matter what the reason was. You say that he would kill to protect you from the death, but I am not sure that he could even bring himself to do that. Because of that, I refuse to allow that soul be corrupted by my evil. Therefore, Magic, he is dead, and Sarlaka killed him. If you love Spike as much as you do, you would not associate him with me ever again.”

Looking up at the dragon before her, Twilight saw he had that mixed frown on his face again. This time though, he refused to look at her. Twilight could feel the tears streaking down her face, but made no effort to wipe them away. She took a step towards him, but couldn't force herself to move any closer. She could only whisper a single reply.

“I'm sorry.”

He looked over at the unicorn for a brief second, sadness in his eyes, before he turned back towards the valley below. “Do not be sorry for me, young one. I do not seek, nor deserve forgiveness for my sins, and I will not accept any if given. Instead, be sorry for all the good ponies I stole from this world to get where we are today.” He laid there for nearly a minute in silence, gazing over the expanse before sighing, “Magic, you have a long journey ahead of you. You should probably go and pack your things.” Twilight paused, but then turned towards the cavern. Before she walked more than a few steps, she was stopped by a deep voice.

“And Magic? Could you... umm...” the dragon paused. Twilight turned towards him, and saw him looking down at his foreclaws, “... Could you... not tell Generosity who I am?”

She looked at him for another few seconds before nodding. She turned back towards the caverns and, with tears still streaking down her face, she passed back into the darkness. Twilight slowly walked down the passage and into the main hall, until she came face to face with Applejack. Twilight tried to give the orange mare a smile, but Applejack put a hoof to Twilight shoulder to stop her, apparently seeing straight through the facade.

“Twi...” Applejack softly spoke, “We all heard yellin' from that Sarlaka dragon. Yall ok?”

Twilight put on a sad smile, “Yeah... I think I will be...”

“Ah' didn' hear wha' he was sayin'. Wha' gotcha all worked up, sugarcube?”

“I just...” Twilight looked behind her, back towards the opening. From here, she could see the daylight streaking in, but she could no longer see... Sarlaka. Without looking back at Applejack, she sighed, “... lost something very important to me...”

For the most part, the day had gone pretty smoothly, though Rarity knew there was one dark spot. She heard from Applejack that the yelling earlier was from Twilight and Sarlaka talking in private, and that something was said between them to make Twilight upset enough to cry. However, every time Rarity had tried to coax it out of the unicorn, Twilight would insist that not only was it not Sarlaka's fault, but that it was nothing important. Rarity sighed. The curiosity of what happened was overwhelming to her, and with nearly any other pony, she would hound him or her until they spilled the beans. However, for Twilight, she'd let the unicorn keep her secrets.

As for right now, she was content to quietly eating dinner in the dining hall with her friends. Rarity looked fine on the outside, but on the inside, she was worked up over the journey they all would soon be taking. She looked over at Twilight, who was talking to Applejack about something, though from the smile on both of their faces, it was hopefully some happy memory. A good sign. Turning to her right, Rainbow and Fluttershy were sitting together, though neither were talking much to each other. Rarity wasn't surprised at the yellow mare's actions, or inaction in this case, but THE Rainbow Dash being quiet instead of boasting about some trick? Rarity knew that this was interesting turn of events. Still, weirder things have happened before. As for Pinkie, Rarity had not seen the pink ma-.

“HI RARITY!!!”

Rarity nearly spat her soup across the table as the big ball of pink dropped from the ceiling into the chair next to her, surprisingly not shattering the seat in the process. Looking up, Rarity saw that there wasn't anything that Pinkie could have possible dropped from to where she now sat.

“How did you... I mean... oh nevermind.” Rarity shook her head, and chalked it up to, as Twilight would say, 'Pinkie being Pinkie'.

“So Rarity,” Pinkie rested her head on a hoof as she leaned on the table, “Whatcha' thinkin' about? Wait wait wait, let me guess! Ummm... is it cupcakes? No... that'd be something I would think about. Lets see... maybe its about a dress! No... oh oh oh! Maybe its that one stallion that was on the cover of playma-”

Pinkie was hushed by a hoof to her mouth by a now very red-faced unicorn. “Pinkie Pie! That is NOT a proper dinner subject!” Rarity waited a second to gain her composure back, “First off, I refrain from looking at magazines with such a... crude subject...” Rarity turned her head for a second, blushing a little bit more. Gaining her composure again, she looked at her bowl, and continued, “Secondly, I was thinking about the trip we are all about to take. I'm not going lie, I am quite nervous about it.”

Rarity waited a few seconds, but noticed that Pinkie wasn't responding. Looking at her, Rarity saw that her friend was looking down at the table as well, her signature Pinkie Smile absent from her face. “Pinkie Pie... are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Pinkie solemnly spoke. Looking around, she continued in a much more hushed tone, “Rarity, can I tell you a secret?”

To say that she was a little shocked would be an understatement. Pinkie Pie, the most cheerful and happy pony Rarity had ever met, not only looked sad, but was asking Rarity, a pony notorious for her dealings with gossip, to keep what Pinkie was about to tell her a secret. She smiled at the trust, if potentially misplaced, Pinkie had in her.

“Pinkie, dear, I not only promise, I Pinkie Promise,” she said as she quickly and subtly went through the motions, making sure the others didn't see. When she put the imaginary cupcake in her eye though, she pushed a little too hard, eliciting an “ow”.

“Hehehe, oh Rarity,” Pinkie giggled a little. The frown returned shortly after though, “I'm scared Rarity. Not scared like Rainbow got at the 'Best Young Fliers Competition' or Fluttershy gets over... well... everything, but scared scared. And being scared is scary Rarity.”

“Pinkie Pie...” Rarity placed a hoof on the now shaking mare, “Its alright to be scared. Celestia knows I am. We are about to embark on a terrifyingly dreadful journey, and I can tell you that if anypony wasn't scared about something like this, I would hit that mare over the head with a curling iron.”

“Its not just that Rarity...” Pinkie was trembling more, a few tears escaping her eyes, “I... got a Pinkie Sense... a tail twitch tongue twist tummy growl Pinkie Sense... and... I don't know what it means... but... but... I think something very, very bad is going to happen...”

“Oh Pinkie,” Rarity pulled the distraught mare into a hug, comforting her. The shaking pink pony just sat there, accepting, but not returning, the hug. Rarity held her in silence until Pinkie was shaking less, “Pinkie Pie, you know that I believe your Pinkie Sense, but you said it yourself. You don't know what this one means. For all we know, it could mean that I'm going to have my mane shaved off, and I can tell you now that that would be very, very bad.” She held Pinkie at leg reach.

Pinkie giggled, “That'd be even scarier than the time Madame LeFlour tried to eat those mushrooms.” The party pony's giggling slowed to a stop, before she spoke again, “Do me a favor Rarity?”

“Hmm? Yes Pinkie?”

“Can you... keep Twilight safe? I know she's super duper powerful in magic, but look out after her? Ok? I don't want anything to happen to either of you two...”

“Oh but of course, Pinkie. And before you ask, I'll make sure to look out after myself as well.”

In an instant, the pink pony bounced a little, and smiled, “Thanks! You know, you should go into psychotherapy or something. First Twilight, then me, next we'll have big lizard boy crying his heart out over spilled milk!”

As if on cue, Sarlaka sauntered into the hall, walking past the mares as they looked on in silence. In one of his claws, he held a small bag, which was as large as the box that held the Element of Magic. Walking to the head of the table, he laid himself down, and smiled at the ponies. “Well don't stop on my behalf. Please, continue.” The six ponies stopped what they were doing anyways, and focused themselves more on the food in front of them than their previous conversations.

Rolling his eyes, he smiled, “Well, I tried. I guess that now that I have your attention, I'll cut to the chase. Because of the danger of your mission, I am giving you ponies some of the treasures I possess. Honesty,” he looked at Applejack, and beckoned her over. Nervously, she got up, and came closer. “To you, I give you two things,” he said as he pulled a coil of rope and a pair of claws from the bag. “The first, is a pair of climbing claws, some of the best that I've ever obtained in my travels, though I admit I can't test that claim myself. The second, is rope.”

From where Rarity sat, the rope looked very simple, a bright orange hue being the only distinguishing feature. The claws, however, bore the appearance of exquisite craftsmanship. The blades were connected to some sort of jet black leather, or hopefully non hide leather-like, material, which would strap over the forehooves, and which braces went halfway up her knees. As for the claws themselves, they appeared to be a simple steel, and were more of spikes than claws.

Applejack raised an eyebrow, “Ah rope an' claws?”

“Ah! But not just any rope! This rope is made from the hair of the legendary sea serpent's mustache. While I am sure you are aware that it can be cut, it is incredibly resilient, mere tension will never break it. The claws I had specially made for ponies, and should make any climbing of a mountain that much easier,” He leaned closer, “Plus I hear this particular rope makes a mean lasso.”

She smiled, “Well thank ya kindly.” Applejack picked the rope and claws up with her teeth, and trotted over to her seat at the table.

“Kindness?”

Fluttershy let out a slight “eep” as she was called, got up, and slowly trotted over. “To you, I give you this.”

Sarlaka pulled from the bag a feather that was around the same size a typical eagle's feather. It was a fiery red, and appeared to emanate a slight glow from itself. “This is the primary feather of the last living Phoenix. It is said that when this is in your possession, you may fly at speeds much greater than any pegasus could ever normally achieve. I admit that I don't know how much faster exactly, but I suspect you can give Loyalty a run for her money with this.” Fluttershy just looked at the feather, not moving from where she was planted. Sarlaka smiled again, “I promise that it was willingly given by its original owner, and he was not killed or clipped for this gift.”

With the assurance, she gave a small smile, “Oh, umm... thank you Mr. Sarlaka,” and she picked it up in her mouth, and trotted back over to her seat. Rainbow looked at it suspiciously, at Sarlaka, then the feather. Rarity swore she heard Rainbow mumble something about being the best young flier in Equestria, but wasn't certain.

“Laug-”

Pinkie was upon him before he could finish the word, “So whatcha got for me huh, huh, HUH!?”

Chuckling, he leaned over to the pink pony, and whispered something to her. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes so wide, they took up her entire upper face. Her toothy smile taking up the lower half from its matching enthusiasm. “Remember now,” Sarlaka grinned, “Its a secret.”

Pinkie Pie nodded as she jumped into the bag, then a few seconds later, jumped back out holding a small forest green bag in her mouth, and happily bounced over to where she was seated.

“Loyalty?” he turned to Rainbow, who's ears perked up, “I apologize, but I do not have anything for you.” Rainbow's ears flattened against her head in disappointment. “However! I do not know how I could improve on perfection, and I suspect I will be giving you a gift in the journey at some point, so do not worry yourself.” Rainbow still looked disappointed, but she smiled anyways at the complement and reassurance.

Sarlaka turned towards Twilight, “Magic? I must also apologize, for I cannot give you your gift just yet. The... moment is not right. However, when the time comes, I will give you the greatest gift I could ever give to you.” Twilight only nodded in response, her gaze never once lifting from the soup in front of her.

Finally, he turned to Rarity, who had watched this whole event unfold with anticipation. “Generosity?” The white unicorn's ears perked up, but otherwise, her demeanor did not change as she kept her emotions in check.

“Yes, Lord Sarlaka?”

“Come with me. Your gift is something I wish to discuss with you, and you alone,” he smiled as he got up, and started walking over towards the main hall. Rarity looked at the others with a slightly confused look. Four the the five friends shrugged their shoulders, showing their confusion as well. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie smiled wide, and was motioning with her hooves for the purple maned unicorn to go with him. Giving a final shrug, Rarity got up, and trotted over to the door, giving one last look at her friends before she passed through the doorway.

As she entered the main hall, she noticed that Sarlaka had gotten on top of his hoard, and was digging through the gemstones for something. Rarity debated for a fleeting second taking one of the gems on top, but decided that enraging another dragon through stealing from his hoard was not a wise decision. After several minutes of anticipated waiting, Sarlaka finally came back with a box. This box was made of some kind of wood, though Rarity couldn't begin to guess at what kind, and measured about four hooves long, one hoof wide, and half a hoof thick at most.

“Generosity, how adept are you at magic?”

“Well that is quite a personal question, but if you must know, I am a unicorn,” Rarity replied, a little annoyance showing through from the nature of the question, “so it is second nature, like a pegasus with flight.”

The dragon shook his head, “No no no, you misunderstand. What I mean is how powerful are the spells you can cast? How varied is your mastery of the different schools? How deep is your magical reserve?”

“Oh... umm...” Rarity shifted her weight, now a little embarrassed, “I... do admit that most of my magic is focused towards my career as a dressmaker, though manipulation of gems is second nature and doesn't tax me in the slightest. As for other spells... well... I'm mostly limited to simple object manipulation.”

“I see... that is what I expected,” Sarlaka smiled reassuringly, “You see, Generosity, when it comes to fighting, the greatest warriors always make sure to fight with their strengths. Magic's is obvious, she would use her natural talent of the arcane magics. Laughter is a little less obvious, but still a powerful strength: her unpredictability and Pinkie Sense. However, you are a little more... complex.

“For your strength lies in your master of dexterous manipulation of objects, created by years of sewing, and your limitless ability to manipulate gemstones. Therefore,” he opened the box, “I entrust you with this.”

Rarity looked at the object inside of the box, taking it in. Inside, there was a steel object, not unlike that of a typical sword, except that there didn't seem to be any sort of bit to hold onto it with. Instead, the bladed weapon was just that: a three hoof long piece of metal that was sharp from point to point. Other than that, and the obvious exquisite craftsmanship that went into the forging of such a device, it seemed like any ordinary tool of war. Accompanying the blade, was a very intricate and heavily designed scabbard, which was the same purple hue as her mane, but also had six gemstones in the shape of the Elements of Harmony to complement the color. Several straps came off of it, obviously designed to strap the entire thing to the owner's back.

“Uh... this is... interesting.” Rarity gave out a weak smile to try to convince the dragon before her that she liked what she saw, when in reality it was so much the opposite. While she admitted to herself it was a beautiful piece of artwork, the idea that this was meant to kill squashed any positive thoughts of its appearance.

Sarlaka shook his head, “Ah, but you haven't tried to use it yet. Come on! Try it.”

“Alright alright,” the unicorn responded. Finally enveloping the blade with her magic, she levitated it towards herself. Upon first glance, she found it was just like a typical piece of metal that she levitated every so often. However, she sensed something odd within the weapon itself, so pushed her magic deeper. Suddenly, the magic aura around the weapon was swallowed, and the blade became near effortless to hold onto. Pulling it towards herself, she felt as if the weapon was an extension of herself. While something as simple as holding an object was usually required at least some amount of effort, it felt like she wasn't even using magic at all to move the blade. A sudden realization came to her, and using a small amount of magic, she confirmed it.

“Is this thing made of diamonds!?”

“Not quite, but close. There is a very thin core of diamond on the inside, plus the metal itself is mixed with slight amount of diamond dust.

Rarity had started to move the weapon side to side, but not in a swinging motion. Instead, she merely was inspecting it, awed at the amount of work that must have went into this thing. “Sarlaka, how did you do this?”

Sarlaka's smile grew wider at the question, “Ten years to figure out how to make diamonds, twenty years to figure out how to put them in a sword, and thirty failed attempts is how. Oh!” He reached into the bag that he had held all the other gifts in before, “I almost forgot. When I finally finished, I had extra chunks of diamond that I didn't use, and I decided that I might as well give them to you for your journey. I'm not sure how you could use them other than currency, but who knows? You're creative, and I'm sure you'll think of something.”

Holding her blade to the side, she grasped the diamonds inside the bag that he held. Her eyes growing even wider than before, she realized that there must have been over two dozen diamonds in that bag, and many of them were bigger than her hooves. The amount that these diamonds alone were worth was... staggering.

Rarity shifted the blade for a few more minutes, before she placed the blade and scabbard back into the box, releasing both from her grasp. She closed her eyes in thought, “I have to ask you... you waited for us for so many centuries, yet after all that time, you gave Applejack climbing tools, Twilight an IOU, and Rainbow didn't get anything. Yet, you made me such a masterpiece, if a brutish one, and you are giving me what must be the largest collection of diamonds I, if not any, pony has ever seen.” Rarity opened her eyes to look at him, “Why are you doing this for me, and specifically me?”

“Simple, because, no offense, I know the others can handle themselves in a fight fairly well with their own skill. You are... well... more delicate,” Sarlaka said with a chuckle.

“Oh reeeaaaaaally?” She spoke, an unbelieving tone escaping from her throat, “So you think Fluttershy can handle herself in a fight then? Because when it comes to it, I don't think that feather is going to help her throw a kick.”

“Uhh... well...” Sarlaka started to shift his eyes. After a second he sighed, and looked at his feet, “There's... several reasons...”

“I'm listening.”

“Well... for starters, there's that first reason I said. But more importantly... well... I made a promise to protect you.”

“Yes yes yes,” Rarity waved her hoof in a circular fashion, “You promised to protect the Elements of Harmony from Discord or something. I get it, but why me?”

Sarlaka spoke in a quiet voice, “No, Generosity, I promised, specifically, to protect you.”

Rarity cocked her head, “You promised to who?”

Salraka sighed, “Look, I'll make you a deal. If you and Magic get back here in one piece, then I promise I'll tell you everything. But for now, just trust me that I have good reasons for not telling you. Think of it as some sort of welcome back gift,” he nervously chuckled.

Against every instinct and every fiber of her nature that told her to do otherwise, Rarity relented, “Fine. However, as soon as Twilight and I get back, we are going to have a long chat.” She grabbed the sword and bag in one swipe, and walked out of the room to back to the dining room where her friends were waiting.

“Generosity...”

Rarity did not stop. Instead, she continued to walk out of the room.

“Generosity.”

She needed to get out of that room. There was too much going on. She needed to have some time to think to herself.

“Generosity!”

Why her? Who would Sarlaka promise to to keep her safe? Celestia? No. Twilight would be a more likely choice. Luna? No. She hadn't seen Luna since they freed her from Nightmare Moon's corruption, and Rarity wasn't even sure if Luna even remembered-

“Rarity!”

Rarity stopped, and turned towards the source of the voice. Behind her, a very sad looking dragon looked at her. Stunned for a few seconds at the outburst, she listened to what he told her, “Please... please be careful. Promise me you'll be safe.”

Rarity broke out of her stupor, looked towards her newly acquired weapons, then looked down at her host, “I... can't promise that, and you know it.” She then turned back towards the dining hall with her gift in hoof, and passed out of sight of the dragon.

Chapter 11: Onward Bound

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For the first time in her entire life, as far as she could recall, Pinkie was unable to get to sleep. She had been tossing and turning earlier, but now she lay still. She didn't want to rob Applejack of any rest that the orange earth pony would desperately need the next day. Pinkie had tried everything that she could think of: counting cupcakes, flipping over her pillow to the cool side, or even controlling her breathing. Nothing seemed to work. She was just so worried about what they were about to set out to do, and while Rarity had helped cheer her up, she was still uneasy. How the other five girls were able to stay so calm and find sleep was something Pinkie would never understand. Even Fluttershy, the most timid pony she had ever met, was able to calm down enough to go to sleep.

Sighing in frustration, she got out of her bed, carefully so that Applejack would not wake, and trotted as softly as she could to the restroom. Once inside, she closed the door, and ignited the gas lamp, filling the bathroom in light. Looking into the mirror, while she looked alright now, she knew that not getting sleep tonight would surly change that appearance to the typical insomniac look ponies got. She turned on the water, and splashed some of the cool liquid into her face. Looking back into the mirror, she felt like Rarity as she inspected her poofy pink mane, making sure nothing was out of its proper place.

Pinkie stared deep onto the mirror, her face still dripping as she looked into her own blue eyes, as if they would give her answers to one of the many unanswered questions that she had at dinner. 'Maybe Rarity is right,' she thought to herself, 'Maybe that Pinkie Sense only means that a crazy dragon is about to give us gifts! I mean, that's never happened before, which would explain the newness of the newthing. That makes sense... right?'

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the bathroom door opening. Looking to her right, she saw Twilight walking in. The lavender unicorn's appearance was much more disheveled than she herself had. The unicorn's mane was in every direction, and the single pink stripe that ran through her mane and tail was blurred into the purple surrounding it. Pinkie was about to bombard Twilight with an endless train of words, when Twilight spoke.

“Oh... hey Pinkie. What are you doing awake? The unicorn asked, the exhaustion obvious in her cracked voice.

“Well, I was trying to sleep when... umm... I couldn't get my mind off of that Dragon Cupcake!” Pinkie lied, doing her best to sound like her cheerful self, “I mean, sure he's an old dragon, but how the hay did he even make that thing!? How did he even carry the thing? Its like he was magical! Maybe he's half unicorn? Though I don't wanna think how that would work! So how about you, Twi-Twi? Why you awake?”

Twilight sighed, “I guess I couldn't sleep.”

“Really!? Me either!” Pinkie giggled.

Walking up to the sink, the lavender unicorn proceeded to wash her face, “Say Pinkie, I have a question. What were you are Rarity talking about at dinner? I looked over and you seemed... well... not yourself. Sad even.”

“Oh...” Pinkie's ears flattened, “You saw that?”

Twilight nodded, “You wanna talk about it?”

Pinkie looked around, nervously stepping with her front hooves, the thought of sharing her secrets with Twilight scaring her. After a few seconds of her nervous fidgeting, she nearly ran to the bathroom door, and locked it. Turning back towards Twilight, she started in a hushed tone uncharacteristic to the pink pony, “Well... I was trying to be happy, but I was thinking about a lot of things. Like how did this happen? Why do we have to go on this trip?” Pinkie looked down, “Can't it be somepony else...”

“Pinkie Pie...” Twilight softly spoke. She walked over to where the earth pony was standing, and nuzzled her neck with her cheek, “Its not like you to be the one that's stressed and worried. That's my job.”

She smiled slightly, letting out a single giggle, but as she kept her head down, the solemn face she held before returned, “Do you think that we'll all be alright? Do you think everypony will... come back safe? Do you... think that we can go home soon?”

Twilight kept her cheek to Pinkie's neck, “Of course we're going to be fine. I'm feeling much better than two days ago. Rarity is has been a little weird since dinner, but she apparently got a weapon of some kind from Sp... Sarlaka. Rainbow is too protective of Fluttershy to let anything happen to her. Fluttershy has that creepy stare thing that she pulled on that cockatrice a few months ago. As for Applejack, well, she's the most able-bodied pony I've ever met, so I'm sure she'll have no issues.”

Pinkie looked up, “... and me?”

“Really? You?” Twilight pulled away, showing Pinkie her smile, “I didn't think I'd even have to mention you. I may have been nearly passed out at the time, but I saw you in that fight a few days ago. Those guards didn't even get close to you, and I still have no idea WHERE you got that confetti.”

Pinkie pulled Twilight into a hug, holding it there. There was a long pause in the conversation, before she finally worked up the nerve to speak up, “Its hard,” Pinkie finally said, “being the Element of Laughter. Everypony expects me to be happy and giggle all the time, but I feel so sad sometimes, and I don't know how to laugh when I'm sad. I just don't know...”

“Pinkie... is this why you couldn't sleep?” Twilight whispered in her ear. Pinkie nodded slowly, “Oh Pinkie Pie... you can be sad too if you have to. You don't need to laugh all the time.”

“I don't?”

“Of course not!” Twilight pulled Pinkie closer to herself, “If Rarity was always generous, how could she run her business? If Fluttershy was always kind, then how could she have saved me and the Cutie Mark Crusaders against the cockatrice? If I always did magic, then how could I have participated in Winter Wrap Up?”

“Uhh... Twilight? Didn't Applejack say you DID use magic during the last Winter Wrap Up?”

Twilight muttered something to herself about Applejack and her honesty, “Well... ok yeah I did, but it was once, and it really didn't help at all. Other than that, I didn't use magic.” Pinkie looked skeptically at Twilight, “Ok, that wasn't a good example I admit, but you get what I'm trying to say.”

Pinkie put her hoof to her chin and thought. Even with Twilight butchering her own argument with that last example, she did have a point. “Well... okie!” she smiled, jumping with a quick bounce.

“There's the Pinkie I know and love. Now how about we try to get some sleep already?” Twilight let out a big yawn, “I'm beat.”

Nodding, Pinkie let go of Twilight. She watched as Twilight slowly trotted out of the bathroom. Pinkie frowned, “Hey Twilight. Why were you awake anyways?”

The unicorn stopped her walking, and looked down, “I was just thinking...”

Pinkie walked up to Twilight, sat down, and just looked at the unicorn. Twilight paused for a fleeting moment, kept her eyes at her hooves, and released a breath, “In three days, I went from having the perfect life a pony could have, to this. I had the five greatest friends a pony could ask for, had the best little assistant in Spike, and I was the prized pupil to Princess Celestia herself. Now? The six of us have been thrown into this completely bucked up world, Spike is... gone..., Luna is gone, and Celestia...”

Twilight sniffed, “...I'm doing my best to put on a brave face, but its taking everything I have not to just altogether fall apart... and now I'm about to lose four of you for who knows how long...”

Pinkie wrapped her forelegs around her friend, feeling Twilight shutter in response, “Twilight, I know things are all saddie waddie, but even if we aren't there next to you, doesn't mean we aren't with you. I'm here for you. Well, mostly to laugh at your silliness of course, but I'm here.” She smiled as Twilight faced her, “I'll always be here,”

The two ponies sat there in the glow of the lone gas lantern casting shadows that danced against the walls. Suddenly feeling an urge, Pinkie slowly pulled herself closer to the unicorn she was embracing. Their faces grew closer as they gazed into each other eyes, their breathing being the only sound that cut through the void. As she neared, she felt Twilight tense.

She raised a hoof up, and pressed it against the unicorn's nose, “Honk!”

Twilight sniffed again, giggling, “Hehehe... thanks Pinkie. You're smarter than you let yourself on to be. You know that?”

Pinkie smiled and gave off a mock gasp, “I am? Oh Twilight, you have to help me! I think somepony switched my brain out for some other pony's! You have to help me find a harmonica, a quill, and a ducky that can sing 'Rock-a-Bye Filly!'”

“Oh Pinkie, you're so random,” Twilight rolled her eyes, a grin now plastered on her face. “And thanks. I don't know what I would do without a crazy pony like you with me.”

“Probably eat icky cupcakes.”

“Heh, probably.” Twilight pulled Pinkie into one more hug, then back into the bedroom. Pinkie looked on as the unicorn disappeared past the doorway, into the darkness, and her smile slightly disappeared. She turned back towards the mirror next to her, and looked at the face of the pink pony in the glass. The signature Pinkie Pie grin did not greet her. However, a much warmer and genuine smile looked at her as she peered into her reflection. For whatever reason, it looked like the happiest smile she had ever shown in her life. Still, she sighed. Suppressing that urge just now wasn't what she wanted, but it wouldn't have been right, considering everything that's going on.

With a renewed bounce in her step, the pink mare quietly walked over to the bed she and Applejack were sharing, and slipped under the sheets, smiling at the comfort of the warmth the blankets provided. Beside her, the orange pony was softly snoring, her hat placed on one of the chairs next to their bed. Pinkie looked at her, and once again thought about the crazy journey that the two of them were about to embark on. This time though, she wasn't worried about their well-being, for even through all the danger that they would encounter, she knew the two would be alright. Well... unless Applejack finally got fed up with her crazy monologues, but Applejack would never crack under something like that.

But even after Twilight's pep talk and half an hour of rolling around, a pressing feeling was still weighing on Pinkie's mind, and it just wouldn't go away, no matter how much she tried to reassure herself. She could barely see past her own bed, but she could tell that the other ponies, as before, were contently asleep. Pinkie's soft smile slowly turned into a frown the more she thought about the dangers that lay ahead. Sure, she wasn't the fastest, strongest, or smartest of the group, but she knew that as long as she was with her friends, she could keep them safe. But tomorrow, they would split up, and with only Applejack with her, how would she keep Fluttershy safe? How about Rarity?

And Twilight...

Pinkie turned herself over so she faced towards where Twilight and Rarity were sleeping. “Psst! Twilight!” she whispered into the dark, “Are you sleeping?”

There was no answer. “Psst! Twilight! You awake?” she again whispered, this time slightly louder. Getting no answer for a second time, it was obvious that she was asleep. However, Pinkie couldn't contain what was on her mind, “I know you're sleeping, but... I want you to promise me you'll be careful. I know Rarity will be there with you, but... I think something bad is going to happen to one of us. Please please PLEASE look after yourself, alright? I... umm... I... well I don't want anything to happen to you. Anyways... Twilight, I... umm... I think I might... well...” Pinkie sighed, “... nevermind. Goodnight Twilight.” She rolled over, and tried to will herself to sleep once more.

Two mares would not be getting any sleep that night.

__________________________________________________________________________

Everypony was quiet at breakfast the next morning. Even with Sarlaka absent, which Pinkie had noticed the others ceased idle gossip when he was around, her friends were eating their oats in silence. Her five friends were probably thinking about their journey ahead, considering that they were completely packed and had their saddlebags next to their chairs. Normally, she would've jumped at the opportunity to start a silly song or do something random to get a smile out of them, but right now, even she didn't feel in the mood for her spastic antics.

A bad sign.

Pinkie was only half done with her bowl when a familiar “Meanie Dragon” walked in carrying a similar looking bag from the previous night. Calmly, he approached his usual place at the head of the table, and laid down. Instead of initiating conversation like the last two days, he seemed to be content just observing the six friends eat while he silently watched. Stealing a glance at him, she saw none of excitement on his face that he usually wore. Instead, she saw the same concerned frown that she had seen way too much from her group recently. It was as though he was fresh out of sarcastic remarks.

Another bad sign.

She was getting anxious. The anxiety, worry, and fear, not to mention the lack of sleep was building up inside of her. Not feeling like acting like her bubbly self was only causing the stress to become harder and harder to hold inside. Three more minutes of silence, and Pinkie had lost it.

“Aaaahhh!!!” Pinkie screamed, causing Rarity, who was sitting next to her, to jump a few inches off her chair. Feeling everypony's staring eyes on her, she brought her face to the table. She had intended to bring her forehead down on the table itself, but she instead slammed it into the edge of her bowl of oats, causing it to flip up, and flop on top of her head, spilling the contents on top of her. Ignoring the embarrassing situation, Pinkie just sat motionless in frustration.

The silence in the air was still thick enough to cut with a knife, except now that she had pulled 'a Pinkie', as she suspected Rainbow would call it, it only made it feel worse. Normally, she would love to be the center of attention, but not right now, especially with the mind numbing silence that was impossible to get out of the air.

She heard a giggle.

Then another.

Soon, she heard all the others laughing at the sight she had just created. Not wanting to laugh with them, she left her head on the table. The only one who was not laughing was Rarity, who had started to poke her in her side.

“Oh dear. Pinkie, are you alright?” Pinkie heard Rarity say, a slight giggle in her voice. Not moving her head from off the table, she looked over at the white unicorn, who was looking at Pinkie with amusement plastered on her face. Pinkie didn't want to laugh, but she couldn't resist the mental image.

“Well duh! If I wasn't ok, it wouldn't be an 'Aaaahhh!!!' It would be more of a 'Blurble!!!” Pinkie rambled. “Or maybe a 'Phhhhh!!' Of course, I would be even more ok if these oats had sugar in them, but they don't, so I thought to myself 'Gee Pinkie, why don't you add sugar to it?' Of course I don't have sugar on me, but I thought that maybe if I slammed my face into the bowl, I could imagine it was a Dragon Cup-”

She was stopped by Rarity pushing her hoof into Pinkie's face. “Really darling? You look like an absolute mess! Please have some table manners when you are eating,” the dignified mare smiled, the obvious amusement apparent.

“Oh boy. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time,” Sarlaka smiled. “Sweet Discord am I glad I met you, you crazy, crazy pony.”

Pinkie lifted her head off the table, and smiled at him, leaving the oat bowl on her head.

Several minutes later, after all the ponies had started to settle down, Applejack finally spoke, “So Ah guess tha' we all should be leavin' soon on our little trip, huh?”

Sarlaka nodded, “Sadly, that would probably be the best idea. But before you ponies go, I have three things to say. First, Honesty and Laughter, I put a medallion with my seal on it in your saddlebags. It will help you get past the border, plus guards should look the other way when it comes to minor... grievances. Just don't give me too much of a bad name.”

“My dear Lord Sarlaka, I don't mean to be rude, but why only those two?” Rarity questioned as she took another bite of her oats.

“Because you and Magic aren't leaving my domain, nor are you going into any urban areas, so there's no point. As for Kindness and Loyalty... well... they'd probably be in a worse situation if they were caught with them.

“As for the second thing, I put a map of the locations that you need to go into your saddlebags as well. The routes aren't that hard to follow, but I would rather you ponies follow a map instead of guess at the locations of the artifacts.

“Finally, I have a final gift for you all.” The dragon flung the bag he brought in with him onto the table in front of them, causing a couple of other, smaller bags to fall out of it.

The girls looked at each other, each with a confused face on. Twilight was the first to gather her wits, and used her magic to envelop one of the bags. Bringing it to herself, she dropped it in front of her, opened it, and looked inside. Her eyes grew slightly wider as she showed the others what was inside: a giant pile of golden coins.

“I know that some of you forgot to pack a few things, and I know situations will come up that will require some... greasing of gears so to speak. Considering the amount I gave each of you, it should be well enough to last all of you through the trip, plus some.”

“Just how much did you give each of us?” Rainbow asked as she flew over, and grabbed a bag in her teeth.

Sarlaka smiled, “From what I've been told by some of the ponies in the Conflound treasury, I suspect at least as much as an average pony in my domain would earn in a decade...”

Applejack spewed milk and oats across the table.

“... if not more.”

“Your kidding...” Rarity spoke up, looking in her bag that she had just brought over to herself, “This can't be as much as that.”

“Well, considering that each one of those coins could probably buy a month or two worth of a common pony's 'stuff', no. I am not kidding.”

Fluttershy quietly spoke, “Oh... my...”

“Just please don't waste it. I know I have enough in my hoard to buy everything I could ever dream of, but I don't condone that sort of behavior, especially out the ponies that will be using my money.” Sarlaka spoke, smiling a little bit.

“Well... thank you... um... Sarlaka,” Twilight said. “I don't know what to say.”

“Then say nothing. Please. I have enough subjects thanking me for little nothings every day. I don't need six more.”

“Fine by me!” Rainbow said through her teeth as she did a couple of flips in the air, landing on the ground next to her seat. She placed the bag into her saddlebags, and put them over her back. Wiggling a little bit, she eventually got them balanced onto her haunches perfectly. Looking around, seeing five ponies and a dragon looking at her, she spoke again, “What? I thought we were leaving.”

Pinkie grinned at Rainbow, and threw her own saddlebags into the air, catching them on her back. Seeing Rainbow start trotting towards the door, Pinkie decided to follow her, and with a quick pull of her saddlebags' straps, they together headed towards the main hall. Looking back, Rainbow smiled at her.

“Sweet Celestia I thought we were never going to get out of this cave. I can't remember the last time I've wanted to fly so much. Being all cramped in this cave is driving me crazy!”

Pinkie merely smiled back as she bounced out of the main hall, and down the passageway. Making the bend, they saw light spilling out into the tunnel leading outside. Unable to resist the urge, Pinkie ran towards the light until she was outside. She felt the snow blanketing the ground under her, the cool touch against her hooves. The wind was so still and the world so quiet, she could hear the amusing crunching of snow under her feet. Giggling, she started hopping up and down, feeling the snow underhoof. It didn't matter that she was cold; the sound plus the sunlight warmed her enough.

She felt a sudden gust push her from behind as a rainbow colored blur zoomed into the sky outside. Looking up, Pinkie saw the cyan pony flying around, doing various loops and spins, all the while having saddlebags strapped to her. Pinkie Pie could only watch in awe as not only did the pegasus do a few tricks, but also managed to not have the saddlebags, let alone the various items inside, fall back to earth. A minute later, she heard more ponies behind her approaching, the soft crunching of the snow making their presence known. Heavier steps soon followed, stopping behind her.

Rainbow eventually flew back down to the cliff edge, “Wow! I knew I was cramped up in that place, but I didn't realize how uncool that cave was until I was out here.” Rainbow flapped her wings a few times for emphasis, before tucking them close to her body.

“Now remember my ponies,” Sarlaka spoke, “each of you will have to be careful. The world you are in now is not a place of love and tolerance. There are many ponies out there that would love to harm each of you, take your stuff, or worse. All of you, especially you two pegasi, need to keep your wits with you. And please, don't do anything stupid,” he finished as he looked at Rainbow. The six friends looked at each other, and smiled.

“Well... ah guess this is goodbye for a while. Ah don' know how long we'll be, but ah hope we'll all be alright.”

“Oh please, dear, don't be so melodramatic. I am quite certain that any issues we will face will be minor.”

“Ah hope yall right. Take care of ya'self Rarity.”

“You too Applejack. And watch over Fluttershy, Rainbow.”

“Yeah yeah. Just worry about yourself.”

“Umm... please be careful Twilight. Please don't overuse your magic again...”

“Don't worry, I'll be careful Fluttershy.”

“Pinks, be careful you crazy, random pony.”

“Oh silly filly, when have I ever been in trouble?”

“How about every few minutes?”

“Hmm... true. But look out for Parasprites, Dashie!”

“Why should I... you know what, nevermind. I will.”

“Be careful Applejack! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!”

“Uhh... ya know tha' ya coming with me Pinkie, right?”

“Oh right! Hehehe.”

“Pinkie Pie, be careful out there, and remember what I said, ok?”

“Of course, Twilight! And you remember what I said about the cupcakes!”

“But Pinkie, I don't-”

“Hey! I have an idea! Last ones to get their element has to do something of the other's choice! Like a dare!”

“Really, Rainbow? Your making a bet out of-”

“Ya on!”

“I could use a good laugh after this. As long as it is not something too degrading, I accept.”

“Okie dokie lokie!”

“Umm... as long as its a friendly contest, and not anything mean...”

“But... ugh! Fine. Deal.”

The group of friend gave each other a long hug, which Pinkie almost wished would never end. Eventually though, the released each other, and she smiled as the ponies all said their last goodbyes. Fluttershy and Rainbow gave a final wave, then jumped off the cliff face, flying towards their destination. Rarity and Twilight smiled, gave a farewell, and started heading down the mountain in the opposite direction from which they originally came. As for Applejack and herself, they started down the mountain heading in the same direction that they originally came from a few days before. Applejack had a steady trot while she herself was moving along in her typical bounce.

“Hey Applejack.”

“Yeah Pinkie?”

“Have you ever had a Cherrychanga?”

_______________________________________________________________________

Sarlaka laid across his hoard, his wings stretching as far as they could to try and lay on every single inch of gems. He was largely unsuccessful, the hoard being many times his size, but the feeling of the gems on his scales was enough to make him sigh in satisfaction. While the visitors that he had recently hosted were... entertaining, he was glad that he finally had the place to himself again, and the silence that came with it. Of course, that silence brought back thoughts and memories of the past, but he long became close friends with the worst of them, so it was nothing new.

He swore he heard something. Lifting his head, he heard the soft pitter-patter of hooves against rock. With a sigh, he rolled back onto his stomach, and got up on all fours. It had only been a few hours, so unless one of the pairs had given up this quickly, which was unlikely, this was an... unwelcome guest that was after either his hoard, his territory, that damned myth, or a combination of all three. No matter which, he was likely to add a few marks to that accursed wall.

He prayed that it was somepony who deserved it.

Two ponies came into view. Both stallions, and were at peak physical condition. They were wearing some of the best armor that money could buy, and it showed, the steel their armor was built from gleamed in the soft light of his lair. While unarmed, Sarlaka knew that these two did not need weapons to bring harm to their adversaries. He sighed.

“Do you two always have to come unannounced like this?”

They stopped at the edge of the pile of gems, and gave a bow, “Why of course, Lord Sarlaka the Butcher,” the one on the right spoke. He had a jet black coat with a gray and white striped mane and tail. These colors contrasted with the golden trimmed armor in a curious way: the armor did not quite go with his coat and mane, nor did it clash with them. The two visitors rose back onto their hooves, “If there was a better way to contact you, I assure you that you would have received a message warning of our arrival.”

“Please Captain Jonathan, it is not a serious issue. You are not disturbing anything this time,” Sarlaka yawned, laying back down on his pile of gemstones, though he was completely attentive of the two ponies before him.

The second pony, a light brown stallion with a fiery red mane, a color scarce in today's world, stepped forward. He wore a very similar suit of armor as the previous, except that it did not have the gold trim. He spoke, “So is it true? Were those six actually the bearers of the Elements of Harmony?”

The dragon sighed, “Indeed they were, Lieutenant Wilks. I guess we are lucky that they landed where they did, and not in some other domain. Would have been... unfortunate for us.”

“Indeed it would be Lord. However, I must ask, why have you not sent out the order already?”

“Because I had to make sure that it was them, Captain. I don't want to send out yet another false alarm.”

Silence befell the two parties. Eventually, Lieutenant Wilks spoke, “So... are you going to give the order, Lord Sarlaka?”

Sarlaka paused for a moment. After ten seconds, he sighed, “Yes. Send the order: Operation Harmony has been initiated. The Bearer's are currently retrieving their targets as I suspected they would. Send word to all the necessary generals of their tasks and objectives. We will need to be ready for them when they return.”

“And of... him?”

The dragon let out another sigh, “I will inform Discord personally that the Elements of Harmony have returned. I'm sure he will be very pleased.”

Captain Jonathan smiled, “We shall carry out your orders accordingly. May the grace of our god Discord be with us.”

Sarlaka and Lieutenant Wilks replied in unison, “Discord be with us all.”

End of Part 1

A/N: Hey everybody! I know I never put Author's Notes at the end of these things, but it was either that, post it as a comment, or leave you all guessing. I picked this, so sue me. Anyways, onto the reason I'm typing this...

There are a few things I want to say. First, with Part 1 complete, I'm going to take a week off of posting, so expect the next chapter around Wednesday or Thursday (depending on when I get time to post it). I also in that time want to maybe post a one-shot, but we'll see. Second, over 60 trackers, and only 18 upvotes? What, are you waiting for the cloppin', cause it ain't happenin'! Fuel my oversized ego, and upvote this story. It makes Pinkie happy (yes I'm begging. Sue me again).

Third, and most importantly, while I'm not going to reveal anything about it, Part 2 is going to have some much darker elements to it. While I will never EVER make this story a mature rating for any reason, I just wanted to give a heads up so nobody is blindsided.

Now if you excuse me, I have over 40 chapters of tracked stories I need to read... *gulp*

Chapter 12: Questions and Pain

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“But Darling, I simply must insist that the first chance we get, you allow me to do your mane. You would look absolutely DIVINE if you let me have just an hour with it!”

Twilight sighed, “Rarity, as much as I appreciate it, there are much more important things that we need to be worry about.”

“Oh I am well aware of our present situation, I just would much rather not think about it. Instead, I would much rather worry about that mane and tail of yours.”

Twilight looked towards her companion, seeing the idyllic smile that Rarity was giving to her. Ever since the two of them started their trip several hours before, they had a series of very pleasant conversations. Sure many involved fashion, makeovers, and how the white unicorn was going to bring back “the lost art of nobility” to this world, but Twilight didn't mind. Granted once Rarity got to the part where about where she wanted to completely redo Twilight's complete look she drew the line, but the small talk was otherwise enjoyable.

In fact, she relished the conversations, and they even talked about things that she had more of an interest to. Books, magic, and what she was going to say to Celestia when they freed her from her stone prison were brought up, and Twilight was just as energetic as Rarity was when she talked. Twilight knew that while the Rarity had little interest in the books and magic, she politely nodded in the appropriate places and conversed anyways.

Twilight looked forwards, and saw that their path was taking them closer to the Everfree Forest. She was afraid that their travels would take them to this place, but now her suspicions appeared to ring true. The sight of the forest from several miles away gave away its dangerous nature. The trees themselves were mostly green, highly contrasting the world around them. Twilight couldn't see anything past the initial treeline, but if she were to guess, the inside was at least just as dark and spooky as before.

In fact, if this forest was scary and dangerous in their time, given one and a half thousand years to grow even more wildly out of control, the woods now must have been a truly frightening place. Cockatrices, Manticores, and Ursa Majors were three of the most terrifying creatures that the forest used to be able to muster. Now, however, with the world being even more violent and chaotic, Celestia only knows how much more powerful creatures lurk in the woods.

Twilight gulped.

“Say... say Rarity,” Twilight turned to her counterpart, attempting to get her mind off of her previous thought, “Sarlaka gave you that... uhh... sword, yes?”

“You mean this thing?” Rarity spoke as her horn glowed, pulling the piece of deadly metal out of the scabbard strapped to her back, the absence of the typical magical glow around the blade itself apparent. “Why of course. In fact, I do have to say that the whole encounter when he gave it to me was quite weird.”

“Can I see it?” Twilight asked. Rarity smiled as she moved it towards the purple unicorn. Enveloping the weapon in her aura, Twilight pulled the weapon closer to thoroughly inspect it. “Hmm...” she thought out loud. She looked into the weapon, analyzing its composition intensely, “... very interesting...”

“What's interesting, dear?”

Twilight thought about it a little more, then shook her head, “This steel is perfect in every single way. There isn't a single impurity, a single micro-fracture, or even a single bend in the steel. The diamond core seems slightly cracked, sure, but that shouldn't affect the integrity of the weapon as a whole. The time that he must have put into this thing must have been massive.”

Rarity looked away, “Yes... that is... quite interesting...”

She noticed the white unicorn turning away, as if ashamed of something, but Twilight let it slide. “Rarty,” Twilight spoke as she gave the weapon back to her companion. “You said that the whole situation with Sarlaka was weird. How so?”

“Did I say that?” Rarity chuckled nervously, “Oh it must have... umm... been a slip of the tongue as they say.”

Twilight glared at her, “Slip of the tongue my hoof. What happened?”

She turned away, and paused for a few moments. Eventually, Rarity turned back towards her, her face no longer cheery as before, “He was extremely interested in me in some weird way.” Upon hearing this, Twilight's eyes grew wide. Seeing it, Rarity opened her eyes wide as well, “Oh no! I don't mean like THAT dear! Dear Celestia no! I mean that when it came down to it, he wanted to make sure that I personally was prepared as much as possible. More so than the rest of the girls.”

“What do you mean? He did give the other girls his... well... 'gifts' as well.”

“Yes, but think about it Twilight. Even if it was from a phoenix, he gave Fluttershy a simple feather from a bird. All he gave Applejack was a set of climbing claws and some well made rope from a creature's hair. As for Pinkie, he gave her... well... I don't think I ever found out WHAT dear Pinkie got. But he didn't give you or Rainbow Dash anything. Yet with all of those things, they were just that, things. None of them actually had a significant amount of time or effort put into them. For me, not only did he tell me that he spent decades making this one... gift, but he gave me the largest bag of diamonds I have ever laid my eyes on! Doesn't any of that sound weird?”

Twilight was tempted to say it wasn't weird Rarity was treated specially for a single specific reason. Instead, she replied, “I'm sure there whatever reason there was, it was a good one.” Looking back towards their destination, she noticed that the two of them were standing a few hundred yards outside of the treeline of the Everfree Forest, which insides were no more visible than before. “Well, I guess this is a good place as any to stop for the night.”

Nodding to each other, they quickly started to set up camp in a way only an unicorn could. To an outsider, especially in this crazy new world, the sight of the two unicorns setting up camp with only their magic must have been a very astonishing sight. The two unicorns planted their feet, and proceeded to build their tent, place their items inside of the tent, set up and start a fire, and even set up an area to lay next to the now raging blaze, all without moving a single step from their respective positions. Smiling at a job well done, Twilight noticed that Rarity had already laid herself in front of the campfire, basking in its warmth. It was then that Twilight came up with an idea, an idea that Rarity would not like in the slightest.

“Not quite yet,” she said as she stopped the white unicorn's relaxation, “I think that since we have at least an hour of daylight left, I was hoping that we could do something before dinner.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow, “Darling, what are you getting at?”

Her horn glowing, Twilight pulled a very familiar jewel encrusted scabbard out of the tent, and placed it at Rarity's hooves. “Practice!”

“Wha?”

Rolling her eye's, Twilight elaborated, “Rarity, I don't know much about Ponyville's education system, but I'm fairly certain that classes that went over the intricate styles of sword fighting weren't in the core curriculum. And from what I've seen, even the royal guards didn't get much training with weaponry, much less using unicorn magic to wield them, so we both have to figure out what you will be capable of. And for us to figure all of that out, we need to practice!”

“But Twilight!” Rarity whined, “Not tonight! We've been traveling all day, and my legs are tired, and my hooves ache, and... and... umm... you don't care, do you?”

Twilight shook her head, a grin plastered on her face.

“Alright, fine, but you cook dinner tonight then.”

Rarity slowly started to get up onto her four hooves, only to have something hit her. Turning her head towards the source, she saw Twilight smiling, a small clump of dirt hovering next to her. Twilight's smile grew wider as she saw a small playful scowl grow on Rarity's face.

“Oh... it. Is. ON!”

“Then I swear I saw something resembling a cucumber attack me!”

Applejack was doing her best to keep her mind on their mission to find and bring a certain currently annoying pink pony to her Element of Harmony. Because they were passing by Conflound on their journey, Applejack wanting to be as far away from that town as possible, they had traveled for the entire previous day. In fact, they only stopped several hours after the sun went down. Now, they were in the middle of their second day, and were actually making decent time. Countless hoofsteps now separated them from Sarlaka's lair, and she really was trying her best to achieve the nearly insurmountable task at hand.

“And then!!! The fishy wishy went blubba blub blubblely blub!!”

However, with every passing second, the idea of bringing Pinkie to her element hogtied and gagged was becoming more and more appealing. For the entire time that the two had traveled, she listened to the non-stop chattering of the pink mare. At first, she listened and conversed with her, but Pinkie could talk a mile a minute, never letting her say anything in response. Then, she tried tuning it out, but the incessant droning had the same effect of a constantly dripping faucet when trying to sleep. Then, she tried getting the unstoppable mare to get on a subject that Applejack could at least listen to, like a story similar to that Pinkie told on the way to Sarlaka's lair, but that was a failure as well.

Now, all Applejack could do was hope that either her sanity would survive until they got back to Sarlaka's lair, or her eardrums would burst from the pink pony's verbal assault, relieving her from the torture. Regardless of the outcome, Applejack welcomed it.

“And then!!! A giant marshmallow came up and tried to impersonate Sweetie Belle, which is weird because Sweetie Belle's fur isn't actually that sweet tasting. Trust me, I know”

Applejack tried to recall how much farther they had left until they hit the river that bordered the Sarlaka's domain to the south... or at least used to be south before the sun stopped its slow crawl across the sky, and instead stayed directly above them most of the day. There, they would come across a border guard post, and, according to Salaka, the guards would let them through easily enough, thanks to the medallions. After that, it was only a hop skip and a jump to where Pinkie's Element was held. Where exactly that was, whether a fortress or a hollowed out rock, Applejack wasn't sure.

“Then Twilight used her magic to turn the pumpkin into a bunch of slippers!! Squishy ones!!”

Applejack did have one question though, “Pinkie...”

“But then the slippers turned into evil mind controlling footwear bent on ruling the universe, and they almost won!”

“Pinkie...”

“But all the sudden!! Zoom!! Whirrr!!! Bam!!! Rainbow flew in and saved the day with math of all things!! Of course, then Flut-”

“PINKIE PIE!!!” Applejack wailed at the top of her lungs, forelegs flailing in the air as she stopped walking.

Pinkie just looked at her, “Yes Applejack?”

“Could ya please, for five minutes, be... quiet!?”

“Hmm.... okie dokie lokie!”

Giving Pinkie a skeptical look, Applejack saw the pink pony standing there, giving her the widest smile she thought a pony could possibly hold, as if Pinkie was completely oblivious to her frustration. Seeing the pink pony not saying anything, Applejack started her trotting once more, hearing the hoofsteps of her companion next to her. The silence, while a complete relief to the constant noise, was weird. It was as if Pinkie's voice dropped off the face of the earth, and was stolen from her forever.

Perfect.

“Hey Pinkie. Ah been meanin' ta ask. What'd Sarlaka even give ya 'nyways?” Applejack waited a few seconds, but didn't hear a response. “Heya Pinkie. Ya hear me?” Applejack looked over to her right, and saw Pinkie was looking straight ahead, her face drained of any emotion. Pinkie continued her blank expression as they walked, though Applejack noticed that the pink pony's right eye had started to twitch slightly, and her body trembled.

Applejack stopped, giving a concerned face as she saw her companion look as though she was about to explode. “Pinkie Pie? Ya sick?” was all the orange earth pony could ask.

Suddenly, Pinkie jumped several hooves into the air, easily high enough to vault over Applejack, “Wow! I'm never doing that again! Being quiet for five minutes when I have sooooo much to say is hard! Its like not breathing, except when I talk I exhale, and when I breathe I inhale! Anyways, silly filly, what did you ask?”

She blinked, “Wha'? Ya weren't talking because... Ah told ya?”

Pinkie nodded furiously.

“Oh... Ah see, “Applejack was left speechless for a second, before shaking her head, “Anyways, Ah was wonderin' wha' Sarlaka gave ya when we all were in tha caves.”

“Hmmm... nope!” Pinkie started to resume her typical bounce-walk, “Can't tell you!”

“An' why not?”

“Because Mr. Dragon told me,” Pinkie took on an uncharacteristically deep voice, “'Pinkie Pie, whatever you do, you must keep what is in the bag a secret from Honesty. Because if you tell her, Honesty will take it away from you, and a mare taking a filly's toys is no fun.'” Pinkie smiled again, resuming her normal soprano voice, “So nope!”

Applejack blinked, “Ya tellin' me tha' the reason ya not tellin' me about your gift, is because tha dragon told ya to keep it a secret, even though knowing what it is could be important?”

Pinkie again nodded furiously.

Applejack blinked again, “Ya serious?”

Pinkie nodded for the third time, her head looking as though it would fall of its shoulders from the quick movements.

“Ugh. Fine. Then can ya tell me where ya been keepin' it? Ah saw ya saddlebags when you dumped them last night when ya tried to sleep in them, only Celestia knows what ya was thinkin', and ah didn't see nutin' interestin' in them.”

“Well silly filly, that's a secret too!”

Applejack growled silently, “Can ya at least tell me what its used for?”

“Nopsie wopsie!” Pinkie gave her a toothy grin. “So what about you silly filly? What did you get from Mr Dragon boy?”

If it wasn't for the fact that Applejack wasn't sure if Pinkie needed to be conscious to obtain her element, she would've committed her first act of battery right there. Suppressing the new source of rage, she responded, “Uhh... Pinkie, ya were there when Ah got mah gift. Its tha' rope and claws, remember?”

“A rope! That's so cool, Jackie! You can do things like tie up mean fillies and colts and dragons and monkeys and deer and-”

“Pinkie!”

“-fishies an-, oh, Yes Applejackie?”

The orange mare looked in front of her, seeing the landscape expand in front of her. The land before her remained brown with the dead grasses, but she could swear that in front of her, if she cocked her head to the left, closed her left eye, and squinted, she could see the river that they were supposed to be crossing. 'Ah hope that Ah'm going to last long enough to get thar'.

“Neva'mind Pinkie.”

“Hmm... Ok! So Applejack! Wanna know what's amazing about pie!? Well, other than that I was named after it, though I don't think that there's a pink flavored pie, which is sooooo sad! Anyways, it all started when I was talking to a bucket of radishes...”

She folded her ears down, 'this is gonna be a long trip...”

A/N: Well I'm back! And two things I'd like to say. First, I sincerely apologize for this chapter. I looked over this thing so many times, and rewrote it twice, and it still ended up (in my eyes) a short piece of garbage. Never again! Second, I will try to keep up my twice a week schedule for as long as I can, but if I need time off, I'll make sure to let you all know!

Chapter 13: Training and Stealth

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Rarity was completely exhausted.

It had been only three days since the pair had left on their adventure, and she already felt like it had been two months. Her hooves ached, her legs were tired, and she didn't even want to know what the state of her mane was in, but if it was anything like her tail... well... lets just say she was glad she had lost her mirror on the first day. More than anything else right now, she desperately needed a shower... or maybe a week at the spa.

Instead, the days were spent getting up as soon as the sun rose to its lofty peak. The two packed up their camp, then spent most of the day walking. Lunch was on the road, and the pair only stopped when the moon came out, where they would set up camp, set up light, and Twilight would insist that they continued to practice Rarity's technique with her sword. Twilight seemed to find immense pleasure with the practices, whether it was because she saw Rarity getting better, the fun in learning a whole new skill, or maybe it was because Twilight was having way too much fun throwing rocks and dirt clods at her.

Right now, she felt that the last guess was the most accurate.

“Come on, Rarity! You were doing so well and learning so fast! Now you are doing worse than your first day! Focus!” She heard Twilight fussing at her, several clumps of dirt slowly orbiting the lavender mare's head.

“Well excuse me if I'm a little tired after walking for several days.” Rarity closed her eyes as she flipped her mane to the other side of her head, “I think that with a day of rest, I could manage to d-”

She felt herself cut off by a clod of dirt smack her in the face.

Shaking the earth from her face, she noticed that Twilight was grinning at her, one of the clumps of dirt now missing from the lavender unicorn's magical grasp, “Not only are you letting your guard down in the middle of battle, but closing your eyes? That's not a good idea.”

Rarity gritted her teeth, “Twilight. I'm going to make you pay f-”

Twilight threw another clod of dirt towards her.

Rarity was ready this time, and stepped to the right, dodging the mass of dirt heading towards her. Just as she finished her movement, another projectile came towards her from the left. Dropping down, she ducked the second shot as it sailed over her head, missing by mere inches. Sensing a magic aura above her, she noticed that a third attack was coming from directly above. Rarity had no time to spare as she, much to her displeasure, rolled over, allowing the missile to slam into the ground where she stood only a fraction of a second before. After getting back upright, she looked around to gather her bearings, and realized she was now in a very bad position.

To her right, the second clod of dirt that was thrown at her before was floating in the air. To her left, the first was also waiting for the lavender unicorn's command to strike. Glancing upwards, she saw a new clod of dirt had replaced the one that impacted the earth. Behind her, there was another dirt clod that her opponent had somehow gotten behind her without her realizing.

And in front, there was Twilight, a devious smile plastered on her face.

A purple aura intensified around her horn.

The four object flew towards Rarity.

Time seemed to slow down as Rarity devised her impromptu movements. Igniting her horn, she wrested partial control over the dirt clod above her from her opponent. At the same time, she took her sword, just now being required to commitment, and angled it in an intercept course against the clod to her right. Finally, using whatever ounce of strength she had, she jumped. Just as her weapon and the projectile of dirt collided with each other, a light spray of debris coating her from the block, the clod to her left and the one that she stole from Twilight connected each other, neutralizing both. The one behind her continued uncontested, just barely grazing her as she flipped over it. She then used whatever magic she could muster within her, and pumped as she could into it.

The missile accelerated.

Rarity couldn't see what happened next while in the air, but from an audible squeal coming from her attacker's position, she suspected that she had done what she had intended: scaring the daylights out of Twilight. Rarity twisted in the air, and nimbly landed on her hooves. For a fleeting moment, she wish Rainbow Dash or Applejack could have seen her pull off the flip, knowing full well surprised gaping mouths is what she would receive as responses. That flip was something that she wouldn't have even dreamed of trying three days ago, and now she could normally do it without any trouble. Landing down, she smiled towards Twilight.

Twilight did not appear nearly as excited at the outcome as Rarity was, especially considering that Rarity was more effective at her dodging and magic usage than either had anticipated. Instead of only coming close to Twilight with the final projectile, Rarity had actually slammed the mass right into Twilight's face, and because of the shock and speed, toppled her over onto her back.

“Well... that wasn't what I was expecting,” Twilight groaned as she picked herself up into a sitting position, her head still swaying a little bit in dizziness.

Rarity gasped, “Oh darling, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you! I only intended...” She was cut off by Twilight holding a hoof in the air. Rarity noticed that her counterpart now sported a smile across her face, even with the large amount of dirt stuck to her mane.

“Sorry? Rarity! That was amazing! I knew you were getting better, but I didn't think that you were that athletic... err... no offense.”

“Well, unlike Pinkie, a lady like myself has to keep herself in tip top shape to keep a figure like this,” Rarity smiled as she walked closer, “Besides, having to babysit at least once a week does wonders for one's stamina.”

Twilight giggled, “Yeah. Those three Crusaders are a lively bunch, aren't they?”

“Yes... yes they were...” Rarity sighed, and looked down. The thoughts of her sister coming to her mind. Even if it wasn't her fault, she had abandoned Sweetie. Sure, her parents might have taken care of her after Rarity left, but they were out of town when the whole incident happened. And what about the other two?

She felt a cheek nuzzle her own. “I'm sorry...” was the only thing that her friend whispered.

Putting on a small smile, Rarity nuzzled back, “Think nothing of it, darling. I'm sure they were fine. Besides,” she pulled away to look into her violet eyes, “I can't change what's in the past now can I? We have a job to do.”

Twilight nodded, and turned towards the lake side clearing that they were going to set up camp, “Now, lets see if we can get this place set up now!” Once again, the two unicorns utilized their magic to construct their camp. It only took a few minutes, and when it was done, everything from the tent to the campfire was set up. All they needed was to make some food, and they would be set.

The white unicorn looked into her bag, and made a mental note to use the rest of the fruit that they had as soon as possible, “Well, Looks like we're having pears, apples, and this lime fruit that I made the mistake of picking up. No idea if its good or not,” she spoke as she passed one of each to her friend.

Smiling back, Twilight took the initiative to take a large bite out of the lime like she would an apple. Instantly, her face grimaced, and spat out the offending food from her mouth. “Sweet Celestia that was awful!”

Looking at her own fruit, Rarity decided to play it safe, and tossed it away. “Well, at least we have these,” She spoke as she took a small bite out of the apple. “They aren't nearly as good as Applejack's but I guess they... will... do...”

Rarity looked off into the distance, past Twilight, into the forest behind her. The sun was still up, so she could see the various shades of green and brown that made up the forest, but she still couldn't see past the thick foliage that the forest created. However, even being unable to see what was there, she knew something... important lay in the forest before her. She heard mumbling of a unicorn's voice enter her ears, but it wasn't important enough to drown out her desire for this sensation. This feeling was as if it was calling for her, telling her that she absolutely HAD to go towards it. She got up, and started to walk towards the the edge of the small clearing that the two had set up camp in, transfixed on her target.

She was suddenly shaken out of the hypnotic state by two purple hooves on her shoulders. “Rarity!” She heard Twilight yell, her face was merely a hoof away from her own.

“Huh? What? Yes darling? Must you yell?”

“Rarity, you completely zoned out there. I was calling for you for five minutes, but you just... kept staring off into the trees. What happened?”

Shaking her head, she replied honestly, “I don't know dear. It was as if something was calling for me, and me specifically.” Rarity looked back towards the treeline, the desire to find the source stronger than ever.

“Well...” Twilight thought out loud. Finally, she relented, “alright. Lets go figure this thing out. But lets take it slow, ok? I don't want to be caught off guard by some creature in here.”

Nodding, the pair, taking their saddlebags with them, trekked into the dense forest. The normally chipper talk the two had shared the past few days was sadly absent from their travel. Instead, the two had set into a silent walk, neither knowing what to say to the other. For her part, Rarity not only didn't know what to say, but also didn't want to say anything, for the feeling was getting stronger and stronger. Calling her. A part of her screamed for it. She felt a sudden desire for whatever was calling for her. She wanted it. She needed it.

She had to have it.

Rarity bolted, sprinting away from her friend as she dashed across the forest floor. Here, the ground was mostly clear, but on more than one occasion, Rarity felt a plant scratch her face or her legs, but for once, she didn't care about her appearance. She COULDN'T care. She wanted to find this thing, now a voice in her head, begging to be heard clearly. She needed it. Rarity picked up speed as she ran faster than she ever had before, barely registering a slowly disappearing yelling coming from behind her.

Still too slow, her hooves somehow provided even more speed to her . She swore that Rainbow would be envious of the speed she had obtained. Nimbly jumping over the errant log and dodging trees, she felt herself getting closer. Closer to her deepest desire in the world. The thing she wanted. Oh Celestia she needed it. All she needed was this voice to speak to her.

Suddenly, she hit the brakes as she skidded to a stop. Before her, was the opening of a massive cave the same size as Sarlaka's main entrance. The entrance was seemingly misplaced in the forest. It didn't cut into a side of a cliff, but instead, angled downward into the side of a hill, a simple stone staircase ending at a large iron door just a dozen steps down. The door itself was mostly devoid of any sort of decorative designs, but there were two things that stood out. The first, was the presence of three of the largest diamonds that she had ever seen before. Each was about the size of herself, and looked flawless, an impossibility for all she knew. The second, was the way these three diamonds were laid out. They were cut, and placed perfectly to represent a very particular symbol.

Her cutie mark.

Before Rarity could inspect it more, she was slammed forward by Twilight, who had failed to stop in time. Lurching forward, she was barely able to prevent the two ponies from falling down the short flight of stairs, though they did fall to the ground together. Groaning, Twilight eventually got up, shaking her head.

“Rarity,” the lavender unicorn spoke softly, “do me a favor, and never run off like that again.” Twilight looked up from Rarity to study the iron door that Rarity had discovered a few seconds earlier, “Wow... well... I'm guess we're here then.”

Shooting Twilight a slight glare, Rarity turned back towards the door to inspect it further. Even without the depiction of her cutie mark, it felt oddly... familiar. She approached it, the dim light from outside casting a soft shadow on the portal. Looking at it further, she noticed other than the cutie mark design, there wasn't any real textures or metalworking meant for decoration. Instead, only a few crossbeams crossed the door, giving it added structural integrity.

She lit her horn, allowing a simple light spell to be cast upon the door. A massive pull threw off her balance, a squeak emanating from her mouth as she was pulled closer to the door. While earlier, she wanted nothing more than to be in this spot, willing to abandon Twilight to get here faster, she now wanted nothing more than to get away from this force. Panic started to grip Rarity just as hard as the force which was now starting to yank her into the air. She heard muffled yelling as she was lifted off her hooves, the glow from her horn intensifying . Even with her eyes closed, the light was becoming too bright to handle. Eventually, she heard a loud bang, and just as quickly as it started, she was tossed to the stone below her, rolling down the stairs until her head thudded against the door.

Rubbing her temple, she heard Twilight run up next to her, saying something to her. She couldn't make it out the ringing in her ears, though it was obviously towards her. Something she did notice, once the dots in her eyes started to fade, was that the door was now partially ajar. Eventually, after sitting on her haunches for what felt like an hour, she was able to make out some of the things that Twilight was saying.

“... how the door opened, but I think it reacting to your horn. Maybe it is because the door itself is keyed to you? Though I have no idea how one could do that without having you personally with him or her. Maybe it reacted to the specific resonance of your magic? Though other unicorns could have the same resonance. Maybe your cutie mark? But that makes no sense. Maybe your element? But how can it sense your element without you using it? Ugh. It makes no sense!”

Rarity stood, catching Twilight partially off balance, “Well... there's no point in just standing out here dear, is there? Lets find that thing and get out of this... this... wretched place.”

She saw Twilight pause in shock for a moment over the sudden sternness in her voice, but nodded. Both of them pushed on the metal door, and peered into the darkness. Twilight took the lead as she lit her horn, and the pair descended into the void.

___________________________________________________________________________________

As Fluttershy flew, she heard Rainbow saying something on a cloud ahead of her. She was flying with all the speed she could attain in their long distance travel, but sprinting was something that she learned from Cloudsdale Flight School that was not a good idea to do over the distances that she was traveling. She could hear her flight coaches speaking to her as if it was yesterday. “Conserve your energy. Long, deep strokes of the wings. Coast, don't flap. Now give me twenty, Fluttershy!” Most of these points she tried to take to heart, but Rainbow was a much stronger flier than she was, and the cyan speedster wasn't making it easy for Fluttershy.

Just as Fluttershy was getting close to where Rainbow was crouched on a cloud, she heard her whisper, “Now!” and she darted off into the distance, putting a solid quarter mile between the two in just a few dozen seconds. Once Rainbow was nearly out of sight, her head looked in every direction, seemingly looking for something, before dropping back down onto a cloud, waiting once more.

At first, Fluttershy was sure that Rainbow's antics was because she was bored with flying at such a slow pace compared to the typically daredevil's breakneck speeds. However, over the course of a few days, it became more and more apparent that this wasn't the case. Instead, she had figured that the pegasus was taking things WAY too seriously, even by her own standards, and was treating this as a hostile infiltration into somepony's fortress.

Of course, this meant that Fluttershy was constantly tired.

At first, the trip had gone well. The first two days were filled with the two flying together, idle gossip passed between the pegasi one the first day, but absent on the second, though the silence was not an awkward one. Fluttershy blamed the muted flight on the lack of topics to talk about. At Rainbow's insistence, they flew above the cloud cover, the ground below them now obscured from sight. Before her, an endless expanse of white greeted her. Rainbow made sure to dart below the clouds ever so often to get their bearings, something Fluttershy longed to do, if to only catch a glance of the landscape below.

Now, though, the two hadn't bothered to stop last night. Rainbow had refused to stop, so the two flew through the night, so they could get to their destination that much faster. As a result, the two had been up for well over twenty four hours, and the sheer exhaustion was getting to Fluttershy. She wasn't mad at her companion over the 'forced march'. Instead, she was envious of her pegasus counterpart. Rainbow had so much strength and energy, that it felt like she could go on until she flew off the edge of Equestia and beyond. She, on the other hand, could barely keep her eyes open. Yawning, if she could... just... stay...

Snapping her eyes open, Fluttershy was forced to pick up the flapping of her wings before she fell below the cloud cover. Normally, her wings would be fighting back with excruciation pain at the stresses she was putting on them, but she had already gone through that phase half a day ago. Now, she couldn't even feel her feathered appendages. Fortunately, she found herself next to where Rainbow was crouched.

Fluttershy let herself just fall onto a cloud next to the one Rainbow was crouched on, not even looking to see if she had once again darted into the sky far ahead. Right now, all she could do is lay on this cloud, close her eyes, and pant. She noticed the sun suddenly dropping from the sky, the heat of the sunlight letting up. She also didn't hear anything other than her own breathing, so she guessed that Rainbow had abandoned... no... scouted ahead of them once again. It didn't matter though, she was done. She would just lay here, and let Rainbow go on.

In her labored breathing, she suddenly noticed a body standing over her. Turning her head slightly, she peered through her mane to see that it was indeed Rainbow Dash. Rainbow had come back just to protect her. Fluttershy smiled at the thought of her protector coming to defend her from unseen threats. There was no other reason for Rainbow to come back... right? No, no other reason at all.

Fluttershy's smile started to turn downwards. There was no other reason for Rainbow to stop, other than to wait for herself. Her weak self. They were just...

… stopped...

… and wasting precious time...

“I'm sorry,” was all Fluttershy could mutter, her face pressed into the cloud below her. She felt Rainbow looking at her, the disgust and shame in her eyes. How could she blame Rainbow anyways? The cyan mare was so strong, able to do so much, and Fluttershy was so weak. She shivered at the thought, the frigid air not helping any.

She suddenly felt a warm mass of fur lay next to her. “I'm the one who should be sorry 'Shy,” the heat source said, “I shouldn't have pressed you so hard.”

This was unlike the Rainbow she knew. Before, whenever Fluttershy fell short, Rainbow would yell at her in a friendly way, trying to make her a more assertive mare. Now... Rainbow actually sounded like she felt for Fluttershy in a different way. She wasn't sure how, and she wasn't sure where it came from, but this wasn't the pushy mare she was before, it was more of a... comforting one.

“I hate these clouds,” Rainbow eventually said.

If she wasn't confused before, Fluttershy was confused now. She looked to her left, watching Rainbow as she lay next to her, looking down at the cloud they lay on. She noticed that Rainbow was poking the cloud, as if inspecting it. “What... umm... do you mean Rainbow?” Fluttershy whispered so softly, she almost didn't hear it herself.

“You know me, I normally love clouds. Napping in them is the best thing in the world,” Rainbow said, keeping up her 'inspecting', “But these clouds are different. Remember when Discord first came to Ponyville, when all the clouds were cotton candy, and rained chocolate rain?”

Fluttershy nodded.

“Well, these might not be the same clouds, but they're probably just as connected to Discord as the others, and... I don't know. I just don't like it.”

Fluttershy watched as Rainbow continued her fidgety motions. She had no idea what to say, but she knew what she could do. Scooting even closer to Rainbow, she placed a hoof on Rainbow's hooves, causing the mare to stop her movements. For a few seconds, they sat there, Rainbow looking at the three hooves, two cyan and one yellow, in front of her, and Fluttershy looking at Rainbow's face. Then, Rainbow returned her gaze, relented, and gave the yellow pegasus a smile.

“Thanks...”

The two mares lay next to each other in silence. The cool air that had previously chilled Fluttershy was now blunted by her rainbow maned friend. Rainbow laid her head down on her own hooves, attempting to get some sleep. Sighing in contentment, Fluttershy did the same. With all that had happened, Fluttershy needed to get something off of her chest.

“Hey Rainbow?”

“... yeah 'Shy?”

“... umm... never mind Rainbow Dash...”

“Ya sure?”

“... yeah...”

A/N: There! A chapter I'm much more proud of! Also, hate to say it, but the time between updates will be closer to once a week now; my school and work schedules are kicking my butt.

Chapter 14: Deceit and Trust

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Pinkie smiled as she bounced along. Once again, it was a bright and sunny day, the sky was completely clear of clouds, and she was with one of her bestest friends ever. It had been half a week since they left, and for the past two days, she hadn't heard Applejack say a single thing, which was curious. Sure, she hadn't really let Applejack get a word in, and sure, Applejack did whisper something about bucking her head in, but Applejack is such a kidder.

Deciding against her cheerful talking for the first time in their trip, Pinkie was content with humming simple tunes as she bounced. Looking around, the dreary landscape of grays, browns, and blacks had made the appearance a few hours ago of the flowing blue shimmer of water a very welcome one. The river was a delight, so much so that even Applejack couldn't resist jumping in when the two saw it. Applejack didn't swim that deep, the river having too fast of a current, but she looked content splashing closer to shore. Though every fiber of Pinkie's body wanted to spring into the water and swim until she passed out, she instead merely waded for a few minutes close to shore to cool off from the heat of the day. She was sure Applejack shot her a few questioning looks at her apparent timidity, but said nothing.

Other than the dip, the day had passed uneventfully. Just a lot of talking, humming, singing, shouting, groaning, moaning, and potentially a bit of crying, though the last one Pinkie was sure she was only hearing things. However, looking over towards the horizon, Pinkie was sure she saw the shape of a large stone building on the other side of the river. Before she could talk about it, Applejack finally spoke.

“Oh sweet merciful Celestia! Tha's it! Tha border Pinkie! Tha border checkpoin'!” Applejack was nearly bouncing in excitement over it.

Pinkie smiled, “Silly filly! Why's the border checkpoint so great? Gasp! Are they giving out cupcakes!?”

Ignoring the last comment, Applejack continued smiling as she faced ahead, “Cause once we git there, we can ask tha folks ta git us ta where we're goin' of course! How'd ya forget somethin' like tha' Pinkie?”

She was glad that Applejack wasn't looking at her, because her typical smile was much more subdued. The structure ahead was indeed the only crossing that they had seen, and Sarlaka did say that they needed to get to the other side for her Element, but something bothered her about it. Thinking to herself, she finally spoke, “Applejack, I think we should stay away.”

Applejack finally looked over towards her, “Huh? “An' why's tha'?”

“I... I don't know Jackie. Something just doesn't feel right. Its like... we can't go there Jackie. Please? Lets just swim across.”

“Pinkie, Ah understand ya Pinkie Sense, an' Ah know it does some crazy things, but Ah don' wanna git caught in there,” Applejack pointed towards the other bank of the river, “without us supposed ta be there. 'Sides, tha water's mighty treacherous, an' Ah don' wanna risk swimmin' in it.”

Instantly, she dashed up in front of Applejack, and held her by the shoulders, putting on the best 'begging' face that she knew, “Jackie... its not a Pinkie Sense... I just don't like it...”

Taking a breath, Applejack again spoke, “Pinkie, Ah know ya gotta feelin', but Ah gotta feelin' tha' we should go over there. Its what Ah wanna do, its wha' Sarlaka wanted us ta do, so we're gonna do it. Alright?”

“Applejackie...”

“Pinkie, we're goin' over there, and tha's final! An' Don' call me Jackie!” Applejack said with a slightly raised voice. Shrugging off Pinkie, she continued to walk towards the structure in the distance. At first, Pinkie only watched as the fellow earth pony walked off. She sighed, and trotted to catch up, so that they now walked side by side .

It only took another five minutes to get there, but to Pinkie, with the silence that encompassed the two of them, it felt like an hour. While before, she was begging to stay away from the border gate, she now relished the slowly approaching destination. If nothing else, it would bring an end to the heavy silence that fell upon the two of them. Pinkie knew that she and Applejack were very different ponies, and they only really became friends because Twilight was each of their best friends, but Pinkie never really thought about how distant the two really were. When she thought about it, other than the fondness for apple pie, the two really didn't have that much in common. Not really true friends, but only friends by association.

Pinkie sighed.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she looked on at the structure before her. Calling it a fortress would be an exaggeration, for the checkpoint was less of a fortification and more of a giant archway made into a building. The thing was relatively plain, but still had the typical look of power and strength that a military building would have. The only way to and from Sarlaka's domain to Lord Xavier's was across a small stone bridge, barely enough for two pony drawn carts to fit side by side, which lead to the massive iron portcullis, which dropped from the top of the 'archway.' Standing outside, Pinkie saw a few unarmed and unarmored guards standing watch, with a pair standing outside the gate, about four more on top of the building, and a couple more inside. For how important this placed looked, and how fortified it was, it seemed very lightly defended. She was further surprised that there wasn't any kind of checkpoint on Sarlaka's side, but Pinkie dismissed it as just 'the way things were.'

If it were up to her, Pinkie still would've stopped right here, right now, turned around, and found another way across. However, Applejack was completely oblivious, or more likely uncaring, to her concerns about the building and its inhabitants, so she decided to trust the cowpony's judgment. The pair started to cross the bridge, with Pinkie still nervous about the situation, but surely Applejack knew what she was doing.

Applejack smiled, “Well hiya folks! Ah jus' wanted ta say-”

Suddenly, the two guards that were outside of the gate reacted. It was at that moment that Pinkie got a very important lesson at “first appearances,” for two things happened within an instant. The first was that Pinkie noticed that the guards were indeed wearing some kind of armor, though Pinkie didn't have a clue about specifics. What she did know was that for each guard, they wore a suit of armor that perfectly matched the color of his or her coat. The second thing she noticed was that within a blink of an eye, a several hoof long collapsible spear had appeared from a partially concealed shoulder holder on each of them. In a matter of five seconds and a sentence and a half from an orange mare, their situation went from carefree, to many levels worse than Conflound.

Pinkie heard Applejack gulp.

“Who are you, and what is your business in Lord Xavier the Conqueror’s domain?” one of the guards, who made a point to take an extra two steps closer, asked. He was a simple gray pony with a darker gray mane.

Pinkie heard Applejack whisper, “Leave it to tha' Sarlaka ta leave out tha conqueror part...”

“Well?”

“Mah friend an' Ah are friends of Lord Sarlaka the... uhh...”

“Butcher,” Pinkie whispered.

“Butcher! Lord Sarlaka the Butcher sent us, an' our business is... uhh... is our own!” Applejack smiled nervously, a bead of sweat trickling down her face.

The guards took a few more steps closer to the two, “Lord Sarlaka sent you two?”

“Yup!”

“Without guard.”

“Uhhh... yup!”

“Do you think we're stupid, mare?”

“Huh?”

The gray pony took a few more steps closer, spear now only a few hooves distance from the pair, “You mean to tell me, that Lord Sarlaka the Butcher, ruler of the proud Equis Domain, and one of Discord's greatest generals, second only to Lord Xavier the Conqueror of course, sent two mares barely past puberty to our domain... without giving notice?”

Pinkie looked over to Applejack, who was now sweating profusely, “Well... Ah... uhh...”

“That will not be necessary kind gentlecolts. I am quite certain that you will understand our desperate predicament if we were allowed to disclose such delicate information. However, I must say that I am quite disappointed that you would treat a noble in such a disgraceful way!”

The two guards and Applejack looked over to the source of the most refined and graceful of voices. Pinkie Pie, who had stepped forward, smiled at the group. The guards looked at each other, then back, “And you are?”

Pinkie continued to give a slight, yet innocent grin, “Why, I am Lady Pinkamina Diane Pie of Ponyville, daughter of Rockolous Pie. And this is my humble servant, Miss Jack of the Apple family,” she said with a voice that would put Rarity to shame in terms of elegance and nobility, “And before you ask your next question, yes. We were sent by our most humble of lords on a very important mission that we just cannot allow to be impeded in any way.”

Still smiling with a grin, she reached for her saddlebag, and pulled out the medallion that Sarlaka had given them. The round object was half the size of her hoof, was attached to a gold chain, and was either made of gold, or gold plated. The etching on the amulet depicted the facade of Sarlaka himself with wings outstretched, breathing fire. The other side depicted an image of Discord, sitting atop a throne, with appeared to be situated on a small hill of skulls.

The guard who had been speaking stepped forward, and looked at the medallion, then looked at Pinkie, then back at the medallion. After a few seconds, he stared hard into the pink pony's eyes, looking for something. In a swift motion of his shoulder, the spear retracted back into its compartment, and he smiled at the two.

“My apologies Lady Pie, I did not know a mare of such esteem would grace our humble post today. My name is Attend, captain of this border checkpoint. If we had known...”

Pinkie let out a soft, yet overly dignified giggle, “Oh my good stallion, you worry yourself too much over such trivial matters. You were only doing your job. I will make sure your lord hears of you and your squad's vigilance. And please, Pinkamina will be quite sufficient. Lady Pie is my mother.”

“I'm sure you will tell him Lady Pie when you meet him. I will have an escort ready for your journey momentarily.”

Applejack stammered, “Ya gonna do wha'?”

The guard looked at Applejack, “I am going to allow several of my unit to escort you to Xavier City to allow you to meet with our grace, Lord Xavier, without any mishaps on the road.”

“Now, wait an apple buckin'-”

“We accept, Captain Attend,” Pinkie interrupted, “It is a most generous and appreciated privilege to be honored with an escort.”

“Good.” Captain Attend looked over his shoulder, “Open the gate! Adam. Pam. Please escort these two ladies to Xavier City. They are honored guests from Lord Sarlaka the Butcher's domain, and wish to meet with our lord.”

Two guards on the other side of the gate saluted, and, after the portcullis rose, trotted over to the mares. Slowly, the iron portcullis began to rise, until it was high enough to allow the passage of the four ponies. After about a dozen times declining their offers, Adam and Pam finally let Pinkie and Applejack carry their own saddlebags. They then walked through the gate, and when they past, felt the iron scraping against the stone as it came crashing back down, closing them within Lord Xavier's domain.

With the guards in front of the pair, Pinkie heard Applejack whisper, “Servant?”

Pinkie smiled, “With a hat like that? Yuppies!”

“An' how'd ya learn how ta talk like tha'.”

Pinkie simply smiled larger, “Granny Pie taught me!”

___________________________________________________________________________________

Rarity followed Twilight down the dark, damp, and overall unpleasant complex. It wasn't a cave,though calling it one wouldn't really be too far from the truth. At some point in the past, the walls presently on either side of her were expertly cut gray stone blocks, vigilantly holding back the earth on the other side. Now, the walls were collapsing, many of the bricks now acted as obstacles on the floor, and the earth they used to hold back is now slowly swallowing the tunnel they walked in. She could tell that there used to be intricate carvings on the walls depicting something, but time had worn these masterpieces away, until the sculptures were now unrecognizable. There probably were, at one point, sconces as well to hold torches or some other source of light, but any evidence of such devices had long since faded to nothing.

Ahead of her, Twilight didn't mention anything about any of this. Was Twilight still mad at her for losing her in the forest? Or maybe she just wasn't interested in the architectural and artistic marvels of the ancient hallway. Either way, silence ruled between them, the soft clopping of hooves being the only sound piercing it. It would've been better if Rarity could see where they were going, but the only light in the room was Twilight's horn, and that only cast its light a few feet ahead.

Rarity heard Twilight gasp, “... wow...”

Suddenly, the hall opened up into a truly monstrous cavern, so large, that she felt a strong air current within. Rarity didn't think a room like this was even possible under the Everfree Forest, especially considering that the rest of this place so far was barely holding together. The floor that they stood on went out about twenty hooves into the room, where it abruptly ended with a drop. After that, there was a massive gap that stretched as far as Twilight's light would allow. Rarity didn't dare look down, but could assumed that the gap in the room was much too deep to hope to survive. Looking around, Twilight's magic didn't allow her to see much, but what she did see was the same mundane gray that she saw in the hallway behind them, except this time, there was no sign of any ancient carvings.

Rarity took a few steps forward, and looked around their position. From what she saw, there was no lever, no button, no pulleys, and no other devices of any kind to raise or lower a bridge. Instead, there was nothing. Igniting her horn, she shot a small orb of light out, and let it leisurely fly over to the other side of the room. The orb traveled a good three hundred hooves before reaching what she thought was another platform on the opposite side of the room. The only thing to note on that side was a strange looking box-like object, though it was impossible to tell exactly what it was at this distance. Moving the light around to the sides of the platform, she noted that the room was just as wide as it was long. After a minute of inspection, she still didn't see anything else of note, except for a single hallway on the opposite wall leading into the dark. Afraid of seeing how far down the pit went, she let the light continue to float in place on the far platform.

“What I would give for a bridge right now,” she heard Twilight say as she approached the side of the cliff. Rarity watched as Twilight released a light orb of her own, and settled it near the two of them. Once again Twilight ignited her magic, lowered her head, and held her lowered position as she walked around the edge of the cliff, seeking out something. Eventually, she released the magic, and sighed, “Well, there isn't any invisible bridge. That much I am certain of.”

“Twilight dear, why don't you teleport us over there? It can't be that hard to do it over this short of distance, and with only us two. Hmm?” Rarity asked, hoping for a quick answer. Nodding, Twilight's magic concentrated into her horn, and Rarity felt the sensation of magic envelop her. Suddenly, there was a flash, and they stood at the other side of the gap. “Well, that was relatively simple. Well done Twilight! We'll win Rainbow's bet yet!”

“Not so fast, Rarity. I don't think we even moved. See?” Twilight said as she pointed at the light orb next to the pair, “No offense, but my light spell looked to be much stronger than yours, and considering that the light is much fainter on THAT side of the room than ours, I don't think we moved.”

“Are you sure? Maybe its just a trick of the eye,” Rarity asked. Twilight's horn glowed with magic, and the light spell next to Rarity started to move, orbited her once, and then settled back where it previously floated. Sighing at the realization, Rarity took a few steps forward, so her hooves here only a hoofstep away from the gap. “Alright, so we didn't move, but why didn't the teleportation spell work? Has it ever failed like that before?”

Twilight thought to herself for a minute, “Well... the only times I've ever failed were either when the distance was too great, which isn't an issue here; the target isn't valid, which it obviously is; or when there is magical interference, which is unlikely due to no unicorns being around to counterspell.”

“Twilight,” Rarity spoke, “Is there any other likely reason?”

She shook her head, “Unless Discord himself is here, no.”

“Then there must be some kind of interference then, however unlikely it is.” Rarity started thinking to herself, pacing back and forth along the gap. 'If only Rainbow were here. She'd be able to pick us up in a heartbeat, and carry us over.' Rarity smiled at the thought of her friend. Her thoughts drifted over to Fluttershy as well, wondering how the two were handling themselves. 'Most likely Rainbow is pushing the dear harder than I could ever imagine.' Another thought popped into her head.

“Twilight!” Rarity bounced with a smile on her face, “What about that wing spell that you did to me that one time! We could just fly over!”

The response from Twilight was a slow shaking of her head, “That's not an option Rarity. Even if I remember the spell, which I don't think I do, the last time I used it on you, I was out of it for several hours. If there's another... challenge after this, then I can't use all my magic here. Besides, with this down-draft? I think even Rainbow would struggle here.” Twilight smiled, “Though! We CAN levitate each other! It'd be awkward, but we can do it.”

“And spend all of MY magic lifting you? I'm humble enough to know that even if I could last long enough to get us over, I would be completely spent. Besides, do you want to risk me running out of magic halfway through?” Twilight shivered at Rarity's statement. Rarity continued, “We could just create a bridge out of the stones around here, and levitate THOSE, but that still has the issue of if we could hold out long enough.”

Twilight sat down, and brought a hoof to her chin. She was silent for a minute, until she spoke in a voice that seemed more directed to herself than Rarity, “We're going about this wrong. Every single solution we come up with has the same problem: magical reserves. If not yours, then its mine. The question isn't how to get across, but how to get across while using as little energy as possible.”

Sitting down next to her, Rarity thought to herself. Thinking of plans wasn't her forte, it was Twilight's, and even she was stumped. Rarity would never admit it, but she was way out of league here. 'A simple dressmaker trying to save the world?' She thought to herself, 'A cheesy plot to a bad novel that I, admittedly, would probably read. Its a good thing I have Twilight to lean on, or I would, as Applejack would say, be up a creek without a paddle. I mean sure, Sarlaka gave me that sword and diamonds, but those are used for fighting, though I have gotten fairly skilled in... using...'

Rarity jumped to her hooves, a glowing smile on her face, “IDEEAAA!!!”

Looking at her, Twilight smiled, “Alright, what is it?”

Just as she was going to say it, her smile faded slightly, “Well... I don't think you're going to like it...”

“Rarity, you know I trust your judgment. Just say it.”

Staring into Twilight's violet eyes, she gave a slight smile. Turning her head, she pulled at the straps of the scabbard to her sword, letting it drop to the ground. Taking the object in her magic, she passed it over to Twilight, “Here, I need you to wear this.”

“Uhhh... Rarity?”

Before she could protest more, Rarity had already started to strap the weapon onto Twilight's back. Rarity smiled, “Don't worry yourself dear, I know what I'm doing, though putting that blade on over your saddlebags probably doesn't feel very good. Oh well! This won't be long.”

“... Rarity??”

“Hmm? Oh! These would probably help as well,” Rarity continued to smile as she levitated the bag of diamonds out of her saddlebags. As she pulled nearly every single diamond out of the bag at once, she used another tendril of magic to strap Twilight's saddlebags slightly tighter. Twilight let out an audible squeak as her midsection was constricted. The saddlebags secure, Rarity proceeded to put the various diamonds inside the bags, leaving two out.

“Rarity!?”

“Now this might feel a little weird, Twilight,” Rarity said as her horn lit up once more. Feeling the gems inside the weapon and bags, she took control of them, and effortlessly lifted them all. Twilight again let out a squeak as she was lifted off the ground and carried over the pit.

“Rarity! Put me down right now!” Twilight squealed, flailing her legs under her. After a second, Twilight dropped a few inches, before being stabilizing.

“Twilight dear, if you would stop squirming, this would be much easier. Now could you please do me a wonderful favor and STOP FLAILING!!” Rarity yelled the last two words. Twilight stopped her movements, and held her hooves still, allowing them to hang below her. Smiling again, Rarity brought the last two diamonds in front of her, and inspected them. After only a second, she saw every flaw, every impurity, every microfracture that the two possessed, and with a quick burst of magic, split both with a clean and straight cut. Satisfied, she brought the four pieces under Twilight's hooves, and pressed them underhoof, causing Twilight to instinctively stand.

Slowly, Rarity guided the trembling mare across the chasm. At first, Rarity struggled with the down-draft that filled the room, but it only took a few seconds to adjust to the currents, and after only a few minutes, Twilight was floating on the other side. Rarity released her magic and pulled the four diamonds out from under her hooves, allowing Twilight to fall two inches to the ground. “Are you ok Twilight!?” Rarity yelled across the pit.

“If you ever do that again, I'm going to have Celestia send you to the moon!” was her response, causing Rarity to roll her eyes. Gazing back over to the other side, she saw Twilight looking around, and eventually trotting over to the small box-like object that they had seen before. Inspecting it, Twilight brought her front hooves up so they rested on the structure, and pressed. A loud trembling started, causing Rarity to fall to her haunches. Looking up, she saw that nearly the entire ceiling, barely visible in the shadows the twin orbs created, was dropping slowly. Eyes wide open in wonder, Rarity watched the massive block lower itself into the gap, and after several minutes, stopped. The room now looked as though it were any plain and simple room, devoid of a pit in the center.

Rarity took a tentative step forward, testing the newly made platform with a hoof. Satisfied, she quickly trotted across the span. Finally crossing to the other side, she met up with Twilight.

Twilight glared, “I'm still debating the moon business.”

“Please don't be so distraught darling. I knew what I was doing the entire time,” Rarity said, embellishing the confidence that she held earlier. “I was completely in control of the entire situation.”

“And you can keep that control as you say hello to the moon.”

Rarity rolled her eyes, smiling at her fellow unicorn. “And you can make good on that threat as soon as we get back with my element.” Twilight eventually smiled, and proceeded to remove all of Rarity's diamonds and the sword from herself. After a few minutes, Rarity was reequipped, and the two began to head off into the next hallway. This hall was much more intact than the first one, though the décor was still just as ruined as before. Either way, it made the white unicorn much more confident in their odds of not being crushed by a cave in.

The hall quickly opened back up into another large room, a light casting its glow on the room, though the source Rarity couldn't guess. This space much larger than the previous. If Rarity would to guess, compared to the previous chamber, it was about twice as long, twice as wide, and the ceiling rose to be at least ten stories tall. The walls, ceiling, and floor was made of the same stonework that the previous was made from. That was where the similarities ended though. There were no designs on the walls, no “boxes” with buttons, and definitely no endless pits. The pair walked further into the room, Twilight's horn leading the way yet again. As they entered the cavernous space, there were only three notable features in the room. The first was a large hole that had been clawed out of one of the walls, the hole being easily large enough to fit Sarlaka through, though with his wings spread he would have issues. The curious thing about the passage was that from the way the debries fell into the room, it looked as though this was the exit, and not the enterance.

Pushing that point to the side, Rarity looked at the second notable feature of the room. There was a large iron door, similar in size to the door in front of the main entrance, and had similar designs. The iron door had gem encrusted decorations on it, with the three diamonds of her cutie mark set into the gate. However, when Rarity approached, the door did not, thankfully, grab and force her to open it. Instead, it stayed inert, giving no hint on how to open it.

The final noticeable feature of the room was a small hole near the gate, only about two inches wide, and a little below head level. There looked like there once was an inscription under it, detailing its use, but what it said was now a mystery. Twilight and Rarity both stood in front of this curious hole, confusion in Rarity's eyes. Suddenly, Twilight lowered her head, and pushed her horn into the hole. A grimace appeared on her face, and Rarity looked on at what happened.

Nothing.

“Well I guess THAT'S not the answer,” Twilight removed her horn from the hole, a slight tinge of annoyance in her voice. Rarity continued to look at the hole, and for whatever reason, had a gut feeling to try the same thing. Remembering what happened outside the cave, she decided to go along with the feeling, and not fight it. Standing before the, most likely completely filthy, hole, she took a few breaths, and put her horn in the socket.

At first, nothing happened. Then, when she thought her idea was another dud, she felt the magic in her flow towards her horn on its own, and some of it escape into the stone around the appendage. A moment later, the iron door started to open with a loud scraping of metal on stone as the door ground on the floor. The sound echoing in the chamber, causing Rarity to withdraw her horn, cover her ears, and tightly close her eyes to try and stop the pain. Looking over, she noticed Twilight was doing the same. The blistering loud noise continued for a solid half minute, before it stopped. Opening her eyes, Rarity observed the door from before was now completely open. Gazing inside, Rarity gasped.

On a pedestal inside, sat a white unicorn mannequin, with the Element of Generosity adorning its neck.

The pair of unicorns took only two steps before a loud, animalistic roar blasted through the room. Many magnitudes louder than the grinding door before, Rarity swore her ears started to bleed at the sound. Quickly turning around, she and Twilight looked into the tunnel that they had forgotten about minutes before. A loud booming of feet hitting the ground reverberated through the room, shaking the mares to the core. Rarity met Twilight's eyes as they looked at each other, and nodded. Drawing her weapon, she waited.

The creature pulled itself out of the tunnel, its body barely fitting through. Its fur was a deep violet and covered from head to tail in star-like shapes. Massive claws adorned the ends of all four paws, each claw at least five times Rarity's length. On its forehead, a massive baby-blue star shape glowed. In fact, not only were the stars glowing, but the entire creature glowed with a light shimmer, giving the illusion of transparency. The teeth the creature bore, while not as large as the claws, were still terrifyingly long, and guaranteed to be just as sharp. Its eyes were a curious color: the normally whites of any other creature's eyes were bright yellow, its pupiles blood red.

Rarity lowered herself to the ground slightly in fear, for what stood before her, was a fully grown ursa major.

A very angry ursa major.

Which stood between her, and the only way out.

“I don't suppose you have a water tower full of milk,” was all Rarity was able to say before the creature roared again, and charged.

Chapter 15: Flight and Fight

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Rainbow Dash peered over the cloud she had landed on, gazing at the landscape below. She could make out the terrain fairly well from this altitude, and noticed a literal wall bisecting the landscape, separating the two sides of the land from each other. From this high up, finding ponies, unless they were concentrated in a large mass, was impossible. Of course this worked both ways, potential threats from the ground would find it impossible to spot her from her cloud. Plus her cyan coat helped her blend into the sky, so flying over the ponies below wouldn't be a problem, though her rainbow mane and tail were a minor issue.

Then there was Fluttershy.

Even Rainbow had to admit, the timid mare had flown with exceptional endurance, more than she thought was possible out of her slender frame. But Rainbow was sure that if it came down to evasive maneuvers, the yellow mare wouldn't last very long. Plus, a bright yellow and pink body plastered against a blue and white backdrop would be an easy target for anypony with the capability for attack a pegasus while flying. Adding in the fact that Sarlaka was hated here, the two pegasi were Elements of Harmony, and the ponies across the border were crazy maniacal racists who wanted to kill them, Rainbow knew she needed some kind of plan.

Feeling a body set down next to Rainbow, she spoke, “How you holding up, 'Shy?”

A soft panting escaped from Fluttershy, “Umm... I'm doing alright... I think...”

Rolling her eyes at the white lie, Rainbow looked back down towards the ground, “Stay here and rest for a second. I'm going to check out the fence down there.”

Not bothering to wait for a reply, Rainbow rolled off of the cloud, falling towards the ground. Feeling the wind against her mane, she lets herself free-fall for a few seconds, feeling the bliss of the lurching stomach, the slight sting in her eyes, and the deafening sound of the whipping air. Sadly, it ended all too soon, and she was forced to open her wings, catching the air as her trajectory turns towards the horizon. Back-winging, she gently drops herself on the edge of another cloud, and watches the ground below her.

The fortification appeared to be much deadlier than when she was inspecting it on the cloud above. The grayish wooden wall separating the two sides of the landscape is at least forty hoofs high, and every hundred there is a tower, standing high into the sky, at least half again as high as the walls surrounding them. The towers themselves are much more crude than the towers of Canterlot Castle, but also appear to be built much more for combat than ascetics; massive ballista adorning the tops of each of the squared towers is evidence enough of this. From her bird's eye view, she saw only a single gate, tiny compared with even the smallest of fortifications, only allowing a single pony-drawn cart to pass at a time.

The real strength of this barrier was the amount of ponies guarding it. The amount of ponies that were manning the battlements was simply staggering, Rainbow gave up on counting the amount around the gate upon reaching around one hundred ponies. Each was armed with a simple spear, rising vertically into the air, though there must have been some mechanism to drop this weapon down into ready position. Armor, on the other hand, as not nearly as prevalent, many of the ponies seemingly naked to the elements, with only the most ceremoniously garbed wearing simple robes, potentially hiding some kind of defense underneath.

Rainbow lightly chuckled to herself. For a region hell-bent on keeping pegasi out, they really weren't doing a very good job of it. Making sure that there wasn't any surprises hidden behind any corners, the cyan pegasus carefully took to the air, and made her way back towards where she left her companion. Debating whether to take a quick detour to perform a few aerial stunts, she quickly surmises that that would be the quickest way to become a target, and also spoil their element of stealth. Sighing, she lazily makes her way back to the cloud.

Landing with a soft thud, she notices that Fluttershy is laying on her side, her deep breathing regular and slightly slowed. Watching the yellow pony, Rainbow can't help but let a smile overtake her face. Even though Rainbow had apologized for her pace yesterday, and even slowed it today, Fluttershy was exhausted. Long distance travel was never Rainbow's thing, but at least she was strong enough from all of her stunt flying to make due. Fluttershy on the other hand, considering the timid mare's tendency to stay planted on the ground with her animals, was much weaker than a typical athlete, and was tiring at a much faster pace than Rainbow.

Allowing Fluttershy to rest, Rainbow looked at the mare's saddlebags. The temptation was too strong, and Rainbow found herself searching through the contents, careful not to awaken Fluttershy. Rummaging through the various tools and supplies, she eventually found the phoenix feather that Sarlaka had given her before they left. Admittedly, Rainbow wasn't very good at animals, but she never heard about a single feather of a creature giving such a great gift. 'Maybe that's how some of the Wonderbolts are so fast', she thought to herself. Shrugging her shoulders, she wish she had the time to test out how fast she could go with this baby in her possession, but once again resisting an impulse, she returned the fiery red feather back to its owner.

Hearing a soft muttering from Fluttershy, Rainbow once again turned her attention towards her friend. Nudging the yellow mare, Rainbow smiled, “Hey, time to get up 'Shy.”

“Wha... bu... I wanna... be a tree...” the pegasus sleepily mumbled. Rainbow giggled, and continued her nudging.

“That's nice Fluttershy, but its time to get up.”

Fluttershy's eyes fluttered open, and picked up her head, and looked around, “Huh? Rainbow? Oh dear... I'm sorry. How long was I out?”

Chuckling, Rainbow replied, “Only a few minutes. I checked out the border guard, and its pretty well defended. Walls, towers, and lots and lots of guards.” Rainbow's smile grew wider, “but a pair a pegasi flying high above should be able to get through no sweat.”

“Oh my. Well... if you think we'll be ok, Rainbow...”

Thinking to herself, Rainbow debated bringing up the menacing ballista that she saw on the towers, but decided against unnecessarily worrying the flighty pony before her, “As long as we stay high and fast, we'll be fine.” Fluttershy lowered her head at the word 'fast', which produced a questioning look on Rainbow's face, “Is there a problem?”

Looking up, Fluttershy's eyes grew wide, “Oh... yes... I mean no... I mean... I'm not as fast as you Rainbow... I'm only going to slow you down...”

“Hey now! Don't be so down on yourself,” Rainbow placed her hoof on Fluttershy's head, rubbing her mane slightly, “Besides, you have that feather from that chicken-thing that Scaley gave you. Didn't he say that thing would make you fly faster than me?”

“Well... he did... but I...”

Rainbow opened her wings, spreading them to their furthest extent, “Lets test that theory.” Flapping her wings slightly, she started to hover over the cloud that the two were situated on. Looking past the border she pointed her hoof at a distant cloud on the other side of the wall, “First one to that cloud there gets a prize.”

Standing up, Fluttershy visibly had more confidence in her stance,“What... um... what kind of prize?”

Putting a hoof to her chin, Rainbow thought to herself for a moment. Eventually, she grinned, and shrugged, “Not sure, but when I win, I'll think of something you can get me.”

Both mares, now having smiles on their faces, faced their white and fluffy target. Rainbow was smiling widely, the thought of a race finally giving her the high that she was desperate for. Lowering herself back down onto the cloud, she crouched slightly, her legs acting as springs, ready to launch her high into the air. Stealing a peek to her left, she noticed Fluttershy quickly looking forward, trying to hide her gazes at the cyan mare. Rainbow smiled wider, the thought of Fluttershy looking at her form to copy her stance was cute in some ways, but also fed her ego just a little bit. Rainbow licked her lips.

“Ready...”

The cloud that the pair were about to fly towards was just about two miles away. Doing some simple calculations in her head, Rainbow was trying to judge how fast she should go to maximize acceleration without getting tired too quickly, the best direction she should take to make sure she was on a straight path because of the crosswind she felt, as well as the proper angle of attack to best exploit lift her wings gave her while not sacrificing velocity. Rainbow never was one for math, but when it came to flying, her knowledge was much greater than she let on. Speed was her special talent after all.

“...set...”

Rainbow lowered herself more, giving her wings a slight beat, making sure they were loose and ready to explode with furious movement. Her position was flawless, coming from the years of grueling stunts and races with other pegasi. Stealing a quick glance towards her friend, Fluttershy stood completely still, yet only somewhat lowered. Her back muscles were visibly tense, and the rigid stature the yellow mare took plainly put on display her lack of racing experience. Rainbow knew this would be an easy match, even with the supposed magic leaf thing that Fluttershy had.

Yet, there was something that stirred inside Rainbow. She didn't know what it was, but it tugged at her mind and spirit. No matter how many times in the span of a quarter second that she tried, she couldn't shake it. Taking her eyes off of her opponent, she stared ahead, tunneling her vision so that all she saw was the finish line. The power in her legs and back begging to release their energy, and show off their might.

“...GO!”

She would forever deny it if asked, but that was the first, and only, time she ever threw a race.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Rarity threw her body to the side, barely dodging the massive set of claws that came crashing down on the floor, smashing the stone under it. “Twilight! Any bright ideas!?”

“Working on it!” she heard a voice from behind her yell, determination dripping from it.

Dodging again to the side, Rarity felt her mane make contact with a the gargantuan paw of the monster before her. Before the ursa could recover, Rarity exploited the opening that the failed strike had left. Igniting her magic, she yanked her sword, which had gotten stuck five minutes before, out of the ursa's shoulder. In a furious display of spins and flourishes, the weapon danced across the ursa's chest, cutting multiple gashes all along the beast. A deafening roar, and a tiny trickle of glowing silver blood, was the only response the creature gave in response to the attack. Flicking some of the blood off of her blade, she once again was placed on the defensive, forced to duck down, barely dodging another swipe of razor sharp claws. 'Its just a bunch of dirt clods... its just a bunch of dirt clods... its just Twilight with a bunch of razor sharp and deadly dirt clods...'

The two sides had been trading blows for the greater part of ten minutes now, with neither force delivering a decisive blow against the other. While a massive creature, Rarity thanked Celestia that they fought it in here, where it could barely stand on four legs, and not outside, where it could fight in a more open space and actually move.

Gasping desperately for precious air, Rarity found herself cursing her lack of stamina that either of her earth pony friends had. While magically Rarity felt fine, her muscles were screaming at her, her physical limit being reached and broken at least a dozen times so far this fight. Such was the price for deciding to get up close against the beast, and being forced to dodge attack after vicious attack. Rarity knew that a single good hit would be the end of her, and more than once she was forced to make a quick shield to cushion an otherwise fatal blow. But as long as the ursa was focused on her, and not the unicorn several hoofs behind her, she would accept the responsibility.

Suddenly, a crack of lightning arced through the air above Rarity's head, impacting of the ursa's flesh just below the collarbone. It stumbled, stunned for a moment, giving Rarity time to leap forward, pressing the attack. Pumping magic into her weapon, she maneuvered her steel blade to hover over the exact spot where Twilight had struck. Angling the blade straight, she intensified the power in her horn, and launched the weapon at a blinding speed towards the charred mark. Impacting the scorched flesh, the weapon went deep, eliciting another roar. Rarity smiled, seeing that only half a hoof worth of length was sticking out of the skin, knowing full well that even in a creature this large that that must have hurt.

In her smugness, she didn't notice the violet paw out of the corner of her eye.

She felt Twilight's magical aura encompass her an instant before the paw connected with her side. The magical aura still around her, Rarity squeaked pitifully as she tumbled through the air, slammed into the wall three hundred hooves away, easily hard enough to crack it, and crumpled to the floor. While indeed the three separate impacts were some of the most incredible pain she had ever experienced, the fact that she was able to breathe was a wonder. She was sure she had Twilight's magic to thank for her survival. Getting back onto her hooves, Rarity's head was still in a daze from the triple impact, and she stumbled. Her vision swimming, she coughed violently, spitting blood onto the floor, the sticky red liquid lightly coating her hooves slightly with red.

Hopefully, Twilight's quick spell was enough.

Hearing an explosion, Rarity looked up. Even through her slightly blurred vision, she saw the creature stumble back, hair around its chest either singed or still burning from the previous attack. Down below, the lavender unicorn's horn was still lit, her hooves still planted on the ground for balance. With a flash of light, Twilight summoned phenomenal amounts of energy, and launched it towards the ursa. The ursa was thrown back again, this time from an invisible wall of force slamming into its body. Twilight again lit her horn, preparing for another attack.

Before she could do so, the ursa let out an angry cry, and threw its right paw at the tiny pony. The deadly sharp claws stopped short, and Rarity noticed that the ursa's claw was now enveloped in an aura of magenta light. Confused, the behemoth simply attempted to move the immobilized paw, with no success. Instead of continuing the tug of war, the mythical creature threw its left foreclaw at the pony, only to have that paw immobilized as well. By now, Twilight's horn was letting off light so intense from the massive amounts of magic being dumped into these two spells, Rarity could barely see the scene through it. In a surprise, the ursa decided just to simply fall forward, attempting to body slam the unicorn. Twilight was forced to release her spells as she dove behind where she stood, barely avoiding the several ton ursa major.

Rarity started to limp over to the battle, determined to make some sort of difference. On the way, she noticed her previously discarded saddlebags were spilled open, her supplies, tools, and even the bag of diamonds were all lying on the floor. Grasping the gems with her magic, she removed the twenty six diamonds, most of which were four or more inches in length, from the bag. Ignoring the battle for a moment she focused her magic. Once again sensing very minute flaws in each, she split each larger piece into at least four pieces, until she had nearly one hundred diamonds.

One hundred deadly projectiles.

Coughing again, she tasted copper as she faced the battle again. Twilight was attempting to hold her own, blasting the ursa with a second bolt of lightning, and was honestly doing well, but unlike Rarity before, who was using her agility to avoid the blows, Twilight was spending magic for shield spells to block each blow, spending her precious reserves to compensate for her lack of physical ability.

Rarity launched a gem straight at the ursa, and it bounced off of the thick hide. Cursing to herself, she took another gem, this one much sharper, and shot it towards her opponent. The diamond sunk into the creature's flesh, and while she never saw the final resting place of the projectile, she knew it struck true from the pained howl of the murderous beast. Launching a dozen more, only a couple making it past the layers of fur and skin of the creature, Rarity hastily limped up to where Twilight stood.

“Twilight, what is the plan?” Rarity spoke, softer than she intended.

Twilight never took her eyes off of the now reeling creature, a result of the dozens of armor piercing missiles impacting him, “I have no idea Rarity. I don't how to kill one of these things! I don't even know if these things CAN be killed! The only thing I can think of is just for us to keep attacking.” Twilight charged her horn, firing a ray of light, which burned away some of the fur on the ursa. It was only then the lavender mare looked at the alabaster one. “That was a nasty hit. Are you alight?”

Ignoring the question, Rarity spoke, “At this rate, we aren’t going to last that much-” she stopped because of a ragged cough, more blood spilling out of her mouth. Her vision clouding for a moment and feeling light headed, Rarity looked up, “We need to end this soon.”

Twilight looked at the splotch of blood on the stone below, then up at Rarity, with a face of fear, “Rarity, you're coughing up blood...”

“I know, Twilight. I know. But if we-”

Rarity was interrupted by a paw coming towards the two of them. Fortunately, Twilight noticed at the same time, and the both jumped away just in time, forcing the monster to only crack the stone where its massive paw impacted. Landing, Rarity nearly fell over from the overexertion that the leap required, becoming woozy yet again. Looking up, Rarity launched a dozen more gems at the creature, with varied success, and the result being less painful, and more angering for the ursa .

Sparkling silver streams of blood now coating his fur, the beast sundered over towards Rarity, malicious intent in his eyes. Rarity launched a few more gems, but none of them seemed to phase the creature. Limping backwards, she knew that unless a miracle were to befall the two ponies, they were doomed. The ursa lifted hits paw to strike at the white unicorn, unable to summon the strength to move away, Rarity closing her eyes to welcome the end.

An explosion shook the room and the ursa roared, causing Rarity to open her eyes to see the events unfolding in front of her. Once again, Twilight had taken the front, and, using her magic, was peppering the ursa with successive bursts of force, minor cuts appearing on the beast. Throwing a paw at the unicorn, Twilight was forced to create a barrier to block the blow. However, instead of pulling back as had every time before, the ursa continued to push against the field, straining the lavender unicorn. Hairline fractures appeared on the shield as Twilight was slowly pushed into the floor by the pressure against her protective barrier.

The shield shattered.

Rarity could only watch as the ursa pushed past the failed spell, and, instead of swiping at the mare, grabbed her instead. Still stunned from the destruction of the shield, Twilight didn't resist as she was lifted towards the giant mouth of the monster, ill intent filling its mind. Rarity swore that she saw the creature smile as it brought its captive closer to its open jaws. Taking the opening, in more ways than one, she launched a dozen of her diamond-projectiles into its gaping maw. The ursa bellowed in pain as it nearly fell backwards, the lavender pony still in its grasp.

Recovering from the attack, it howled in rage, and tossed Twilight to the side like a rag doll. Twilight's small frame lightly impacted the ground behind Rarity, and skidded to a halt twenty hoofs later. Thankfully, the toss didn't seem like it was meant to damage, and thus the pony looked as though she would be alright... or Rarity hoped. Watching the ursa slowly move towards her, Rarity came up with an idea.

Taking a moment away from the battle, she gathered whatever gems that were not currently embedded inside the creature, a depressingly high number, and focused her energy into them yet again. One by one, in rapid succession, the gems split lengthwise, getting smaller and smaller in width, until she had several hundred one inch thick, four inch long diamond spikes.

Not a moment too soon, she turned back to the ursa, only to be forced to step out of the way of a paw, one of the deadly claws getting so close, she felt the point slightly graze against her side. Ignoring the new pain, and with a quick burst of magic, she rapidly shot the sharpened gems at a rate of nearly five a second into the ursa. Every single projectile in the spray hit the creature, no real aiming required at this close distance, with nearly every one sinking the creature's flesh. This onslaught caused it to stumble back, crying in pain. Rarity slowly circled the ursa, the silver blood matting the celestial creature's fur in ever greater quantities. For a fleeting moment, Rarity felt sorry for the creature she was taking the life of, and slowed her shots.

In the corner of her eye caught the unmoving form of Twilight.

In the other corner, she saw her sword stuck in the creature's shoulder.

Speeding up the rate of fire on her bullets, she used another tendril of magic to pull the sword out of the ursa's shoulder, the weapon now coated in the creature's blood. Angling the weapon towards the creature, she brought the weapon towards its face, the tip pointed directly at the ursa major's eyes. Pausing for only a second, she brought the weapon down.

Rarity looked away.

Never looking back, she repeatedly brought the blade down on the creature, the remaining gems falling to the ground as she tried her best to tone out the awful sounds escaping the behemoth’s mouth. Feeling a warm liquid hit her back, she heard the heartbreaking sounds of an animal crying in pain, followed by whining, then a whimpering. She continued until only the sounds of the sword impacting flesh remained. It only took a few seconds for Rarity to complete the task, but with the task she was performing, it felt like an eon. Near the end, she looked on as she brought down the final blow, the silvery liquid hitting Rarity one final time.

Wiping her face with her forehoof, and holding back a surge of nausea, she left the weapon in the creature. It was only then that she felt the debilitating dizziness within her again. Nearly collapsing, she used the rest of her willpower to limp her way towards the unmoving lavender mass. It took unbearably long to do so, but she finally dragged her body over to Twilight, and turned her over.

Twilight's eyes shot open, fear filling her constricted pupils. Quickly, she jumped to her hooves, only to nearly fall back down from the apparent light-headedness. Rarity moved to her side, letting Twilight lean on her, though she needed the support just as badly.

A weak smile joining the light coat of silver blood on her face, Rarity finally spoke, “Darling, for such a smart pony, your plans need work.”

“Hey, we won, didn't we?” Twilight responded weakly, “Besides, who needs a plan when you have the two most powerful unicorns in the world?”

“Well dear, I-” Rarity gave out a violent cough, tears forming in her eyes, the intensity nearly toppling over to the normally white unicorn to the ground.

Any smile that Twilight had on her face was replaced with a worried frown. “Rarity, if you're coughing up blood still...”

“Then I most likely have internal bleeding. I know, dear,” Rarity whispered in a monotonous tone. Her smile gone as well, she looked at Twilight, their faces only inches from each other, “Its not like there's anything we can do about it anyways, except hope for the best. Besides, I don't think its that bad.”

It was obvious that her companion was not convinced in the slightest, but Rarity knew when she said there was nothing either of them could do, she was right. Magic that could heal was extremely rare and inefficient, and the only pony they knew that was even potentially capable of helping her was many, many miles away, and even then, Rarity was uncertain if Fluttershy was skilled enough to treat internal injuries. Turning her head to her right, and saw the Element of Generosity still where they left it, almost humorous in that with the walls around the pair now crumbling, the floor cracked in many areas, and the ceiling collapsing in spots the ursa tried to stand straight, the space the element stood was pristine. Igniting her horn, she reached out to grab the-

A massive explosion materialized, the epicenter mere inches from Rarity's face, blasting the two unicorns back.

Tumbling on the floor, the two unicorns finally came to a stop near the far wall, the pair skidding almost one hundred hooves before they stopped. Groaning, the two unicorns somehow stood, the injuries from the blast were surprisingly minimal, with the only pain Rarity felt was on her forehead.

Rarity rubbed her face, “What was that?”

Ignoring the question, Twilight moved so that she looked into Rarity's eyes, “Rarity! Are you alright?!”

“Yeah... I'm fine darling. Only a headache,” she replied, still rubbing her forehead. Looking back at the necklace, she frowned, “Why did my element resist like that?”

“I'm not sure, Rarity. Maybe its protected against magic?”

“Even I know that... ugh... doesn't make sense,” Rarity flinched, the pain intensifying in her head, “Still, just in case that... is the case, I'll just pick it up the earth pony way...”

Rarity saw Twilight nod in the dim light, and the two of them started walking toward the necklace again. “You know, Rarity,” Twilight spoke, slightly more joy in her voice than before, “with how fast we did this, I'm certain that we are going to be the first back, which means we won't lose the bet. Hell, if we're lucky, we'll be able to pick out what the losing pair does. I know I have a few ideas for Applejack!”

“I... ugh...” Rarity stopped her walking, and focused only on the pain in her head, now growing worse. Worse than when the ursa swatted her against the wall mere minutes ago, “Twi... ugh... I...”

Instantly, the pain intensified tenfold, “AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!” Rarity screamed, the pain so intense, she was blinded, a blinding white light being all she could see through the pain. Putting her other hoof to her head, she collapsed onto the ground, rolling on the stone in agony.

Somehow, she heard Twilight, “RARITY!!!”

“AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

“RARITY!!! Oh sweet Celestia, RARITY!!!”

“AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!”

“RARITY!!! STAY WITH ME RARITY!!!

“AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!”

“... Is that... Oh Celestia... No no no no no... please no...”

“AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!”

“... I'm... I'm sorry Rarity...”

“AAAAAAH-”

The screaming was suddenly cut off by a sharp blast of magical force coming from Twilight. As an alabaster unicorn lost consciousness, a lavender one could only collapse, her sobs echoing in the cavern, repeating her last three words through the uncontrollable sobs over and over again.

Chapter 16: Locked In and Checking In

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The trip to Xavier City didn't take as long as Applejack had suspected, their pace much swifter than it was when it was just Pinkie and herself. While before, in Sarlaka's domain, the pair had been traveling on very rough trails that appeared to be very seldom used, Xavier's domain had much better roadways and had passed many random ponies going about their daily work. Even a day's travel outside the capital, cobblestone roads were the norm, while in every other nation, even in Equestria before, the government merely maintained the dirt trails that individual ponies had forged through repetitive use over generations. While the hard stone was starting to make her hooves sore from the constant impacts, Applejack had to admit that it was a far more efficient way to travel. In fact, in just a day's time, the group of four ponies had traveled as far as Applejack and Pinkie had traveled in twice that time in Sarlaka's domain. Because of this, Xavier City was now in view.

Situated on the top of a massive hill, the city was easily as large as Canterlot in terms of land area. The walls of the city stood tall, rising at least as high as the majority of the buildings inside, and were made of the same kind of gray stone that the border checkpoint structure was. There was a single gatehouse, much wider and more fortified than the checkpoint's, which remained open for any ponies who wished to enter or exit the urban center. Applejack saw several guards standing at the gate, though the walls themselves looked lightly defended.

Inside the walls, most of the closest buildings were obscured by the wall protecting them, but many of the farther ones, being situated higher on the hill, had their tops visible. Starting to sense a theme, the buildings all appeared to be made of the same gray stone as the walls protecting them. Adorning the tops of these buildings, a gentle sloping roof with an earthy-red color was another trait shared by most of the structures inside. The earth pony nearly winced at the irony of the ordered and regular fashion of the metropolis, despite the world it was in.

There were two exceptions to these rules. The first, was easily the most curious building that Applejack had ever seen. Standing halfway up the hill, a blinding yellow building, coated with random splotches of deep blue poka-dots, stood at least twice the height as the rest of the buildings around it. Topping the structure, a bright green “W” shaped roof stood, creating an even greater eyesore against the blue of the sky. As for the shape of the abomination itself, it was also one of the most unusual that Applejack had ever seen. Instead of a squared structure, Applejack could tell, even at this distance, the outside walls had dozens of angles, creating a shape that she couldn't begin to describe other than saying it was “weird.”

The second building that stood out from the norm was at the top of the massive hill that the city was situated on. This building was, unsurprisingly, made from the same material that every single other building was made of, the boring gray stone. This place had all the signs of a citadel, with massive towers, large walls surrounding it, and, Applejack assumed, scores of guards.

The quartet of ponies continued their march towards the city, a silent cloud cast over the group. At first, the guards tried to talk to the mares, but Applejack had begun to realize in short time that most of the questions seemed to focus on their business in this domain, what kind of influence the Pie family had, and why would the two travel without proper guard. Knowing herself that she couldn't lie to save her life, she had decided to stay silent on all matters, while Pinkie only answered one or two, with all the others responded with just a dignified giggle. The orange earth pony was getting uneasy, and knew that this hoax could only last for so long.

Finally reaching the gate, the four ponies quickly made their way inside the bottleneck, and into main street. Going along this main path, Applejack truly realized how large this stone city really was. Granted, the city couldn't hold a candle to Manehattan from the past, but compared to Conflound, this city was colossal. Ponies everywhere crowded the streets vying for attention, whether they were trying to sell their crops at market, begging passing ponies for a few coins, street peddling with music, or even just chatting with a longtime friend. It wouldn't have been as unnerving to Applejack if so many of the earthy colored ponies, browns and grays being the most common, weren't staring at Pinkie Pie so much. The orange mare silently thanked the princesses for the guardponies that flanked then in the front and rear, keeping the bystanders at bay.

Slowly but surely, the group of earth ponies made their way up the hill, past the slums that were near the gate entrance, until they hit a second set of gates. Unlike the outer ring, which was perpetually open to visitors, these gates were shut, filtering access to the other side to only the wealthiest and most influential ponies. With their pair of escort guards at hand, it only took a few quick words and the flash of official papers to have the gate opened for the group.

Inside the inner wall, the city seemed to open up completely. The gray stone was still present, but there were many cases where the large buildings were trimmed with a much whiter stone, possibly marble or granite. The estates in this section of the city were enormous compared to the outer section, most being twice as large as the house that Applejack lived in and her barn combined. Even in the cramped confines of the city, vast fields of almost unnaturally green grasses lined the sides of the road, providing a sense of nature in the core of the metropolis. On almost every single estate, there were at least two ponies working the gardens, making sure the flowers growing within stayed in peak condition. If one were to take away the background sight of the intimidating walls, one could imagine being in the countryside again.

Deeper the mares were driven into the metropolis, until they stood at the very reason that this whole city existed in the first place, the citadel. If the building looked imposing before, this monstrosity of a building truly dwarfed everything around it. Another set of walls surrounded the castle, serving as a final line of defense in case an attacker somehow made it this far into the city. All along the walls and the castle itself, small “windows” two hoofs tall and only about four inches wide marred the outside of the otherwise pristine facade, though Applejack didn't know what their purpose was for.

Reaching the gatehouse, the group are stopped by both a closed gate, and a set of four pegasi. While their colors are varying shades of gray and black, the one thing that stood out was their armor. Unlike the guards that they had come across before, who's armor was made to match their coat color, this armor was colored a deep blue, almost the same color as Rarity's eyes. The metal plate was trimmed with a white hue, further drawing attention to the armored ponies. Emblazoned on the chest-pieces was a symbol depicting an earth pony next to two others, and while the details of the pony were hard to make out, one certainty was that this creature wasn't a pony of any race she knew. While bone structure and stature showed that he appeared to be an earth pony, he was unnaturally massive, even compared to Big Mac himself, and seemed to be covered in something other than fur, though it was hard to tell from the emblem alone.

“What is your purpose here, soldiers?” One of the guards at the gate spoke, his voice deeper than his physique, which was quite average, would suggest.

“Captain Attend of the Equis Border Crossing has requested that these two see our Lord Xavier. He says that this one,” the guard that Applejack learned before was named Adam said as he pointed at Pinkie, “is the daughter of the noble Pie family in the Equis Domain. She says she was sent by the dragon Lord Sarlaka for a mission of some kind.”

“I see... did she mention what kind of mission?”

“No she did not. Her servant pony here says that 'their business is their own.'” All eyes tuned towards Applejack and Pinkie. While Pinkie had the most relaxed smile one could ever have, Applejack was doing her best not to freak out at the situation at hand.

With a soft giggle, Pinkie spoke, “I apologize for the misunderstanding that befell our two parties at your encampment yesterday, but when my most humble and diligent of servants, Miss Jack, said our business was our own, she merely intended to express that the mission we are on comes directly from our lord himself, and he would be ever so disappointed in my family if I were to divulge the contents to just anypony, no matter what rank they hold in your military force.”

The blue-armored guard nodded, “I see. Well, if Captain Attend says these two are alright, then we'll set up a meeting, though I must insist that you leave your saddlebags, and any other equipment you have, with us.”

Before Applejack could begin to protest, Pinkie spoke one more in that shrill noble voice of her's, “Oh that is quite satisfactory my wonderful gentlecolt. Neither of us has anything to hide.”

Giving a emotionless nod, the blue armored guard motions to two of his similarly equipped companions. Walking over to the mares, they quickly undo the straps of both of their saddlebags, carefully pulling the two sets of bags off of the backs of the ponies, and take them away to rooms unknown. Satisfied, the guard that Applejack and Pinkie were talking to gave a nod, turned, and with a gesture of a wing, motioned the pair to follow him inside. Not missing a beat, Pinkie started to walk, a surprising amount of grace and poise in her careful steps, while Applejack just walked along as she always did, while five other guards flanked the group on all sides. Behind her, Applejack once again heard the closing of their escape route, the portcullis of the main exit sealing itself shut.

The citadel, while imposing in a military sense on the outside of the structure, was impressive on a whole different level in the inside halls. The dull gray stone was replaced with shades of marble and gold on every surface. The floor was shined to a perfect finish, so that if Applejack looked down, she could perfectly see her reflection in the polished stone tile. The walls were carved by experts hooves, the common theme of feathers adorned every single empty space on the walls. Where there was a spot to fit one, a painting of various ponies, most of them wearing some kind of weaponry, armor, or both, hung from the wall. Upon the ceiling, the designs of feathers were just as numerous, except in various spots, where the marble was kept smooth. In these bare locations, massive murals were created depicting battles, though half a dozen showed Discord in various positive states.

On the floor of the various rooms that the ponies went through, perfectly stitched rugs covered the floors, cushioning the echoing steps of hooves on stone. The furniture in the rooms were just as exquisite, with posh chairs, tables, and other over the top decorations all giving the feel of a vast wealth. Up above, hanging from the vaulted ceilings, massive chandeliers flickered with unnaturally bright light for the candles they held, possibly through either magic, or just the design of the ceiling augmenting the normally soft glow of the lit flames.

While Sarlaka's lair was fit for a king, this placed seemed like it was fit for a god.

Finally, after walking for what seemed like forever, the group of eight ponies reached a massive throne room. The room was decorated exactly the same as the others, except that everything seemed bigger than it should by just a little bit, to which Applejack realized was meant to make the visitors feel smaller. On the other side of the hall, the two massive tapestries hung against the back walls, muffling the echo the stone chamber would normally give off. The pair of art both depicted massive battles in a little too much detail. The one on the left depicted an army besieging a city strangely familiar to the one that they were present in right now. The the one on the right showed the same feathered pony that is on all the guard's seals holding out his hoof to Discord, who was smiling as he shook it. Behind the depicted pair, a massive fire has erupted in what looks like a different city, though the eventual fate of the city couldn't be determined. The throne itself...

Had a very familiar feathered pony sitting upon it.

If Applejack had eaten anytime recently, she was certain that she would've upchucked it all. The... thing... that was sitting in front of her was not even close to resembling the pony in all the murals, tapestries, and statues that she had seen. In the art, it depicted an extremely large, strong, and, all things considered, handsome pony, the brown feathers adoring most of its body where fur would normally be. Its mane was a nearly sparkling silver, while its tail was closer to that of a falcon's than a pony's, though the color was the same as his mane.

The creature before the eight ponies, instead, was every definition of an abomination that one could think of. The dark brown feathers had lost their shine, now looking closer to the color of dirt or fresh manure than anything else. Furthermore, these dirt colored feathers were obviously falling out in large quantities, for there were several bald patches where feathers should have been. While the mane of this pony was still in decent shape, his tail looked closer to a naked chicken's tail now than a proud falcon. His mouth was a cross between a beak and a muzzle, mixing in a terrible way that even the most creative Nightmare Night storytellers couldn't imagine. Finally, his hooves were in terrible condition, looking as though he galloped thirty miles through jagged rocks.

The creature stood itself onto his four hooves, and made his way towards the mares. While Applejack was sure the raised platform the throne room was to blame for him appearing to be at least three times her height, he was still at least as large as Princess Celestia was. Applejack merely watched as the feathered pony made his way towards Pinkie and herself. Initially, he said nothing, simply circling the two mares as he looked at them. Even though recently she had been inspected like this several times in the past few days, something about the way he looked at the two felt... terribly wrong.

Finally, as he circled behind them, he spoke, “For a noble, you wear very little jewelry.”

“As do you, my good Lord,” Pinkie replied without a moment of hesitation, not even looking back towards the stallion. “But if you must know, I did not feel it wise to bring valuables with me on this journey.”

He circled back around to their right, his pace was painfully slow, “Maybe, but most nobles I have met from Sarlaka's realm seek to gloat their fortune in the most... grotesque ways.”

“Well I am not certainly not like most nobles; I like to think of myself as my own pony.”

“Is that why you have such a... curious tattoo adorning your flanks?”

Applejack felt the molesting eyes fixate themselves on her rear as Pinkie continued in an unwavering voice, “It is tradition in my family to have their special talent adorning their side as such; a rite of passage into adulthood if you will. Mine is my ability to bring life to any party my family might put on.”

“Three balloons is an interesting way for a noble to signify a party.”

“Like I said, I like to think of myself as my own pony. Besides, just because I have balloons signifying a party doesn't mean I would demean myself to such levels. And before you ask, Miss Jack's family has been serving the mine for generations, and find it an honor to partake in the same ritual, as her special talent is her ability to... make the best apple dishes.”

“I'm sure...”

Pinkie finally looked at the stallion, and narrowed her eyes, “If you are insinuating that I am lying to you about my status, I would have you know that I find such allegations quite insulting. Besides,” Pinkie pointed a hoof at her side, “do you really think a member of the rabble could afford this much dye on a regular basis?”

The brown pony stopped, and let out a laugh, “I guess not! And what a luscious color you have chosen my fair lady. I do apologize for my behavior, Miss...”

“Pie.”

“Miss Pie. My name is Lord Xavier the Conqueror. Welcome to my home. I hope that you find your stay to your liking.”

Applejack's ears perked at the last sentence, “Wait... our stay? Ah already told tha guards tha' we gotta be on our way!”

“And you will be my dear mares! However, I do insist that you two eat with me at dinner, and stay the night.” He lowered his voice at least an octave, “I insist.”

Pinkie replied, “But my good lord, we must be moving on. I simply must request that-”

He held up a cracked hoof, silencing her, “I will say again... I... insist...”

Applejack felt the presence of another pony behind her. Spinning her head around, she came face to face with one of the dozen guard pegasi that seemed to appeared out of nowhere. Out of options, Applejack looked at Lord Xavier with narrowed eyes, “Fine... one night...”

He ignored the tone in her voice as he started to walk out of the hall towards a door behind him, his voice returning to its normal pitch, “Splendid! Dinner will be in an hour. I hope you two brought your appetites...” he turned, and smiled a devilish smile, “I know I certainly will...”

______________________________________________________________________________________

“I don't know...”

“Oh come on! You won the race, and I know for a fact you want a nice bed to stay in more than anything! Don't lie to me!”

“Umm... well...”

Even with night already falling an hour ago, Fluttershy saw Rainbow's eyes roll as she sighed in frustration. Ever since the race yesterday, Rainbow had been going on and on about how she had gotten a wing cramp halfway through the race, and that was the only reason she had lost. Well, that, and the fact that Rainbow claimed to have had to make a fairly large and time consuming evasive maneuver when a dozen tree sized objects came screaming towards her from the wall below, though Fluttershy didn't see it happen. Being polite to both of these facts, Fluttershy of course had tried to have the prize that Rainbow promised for the winner nullified, but her prismatic friend refused to have any of the sort. As Rainbow had put it, “Stuff like this happens in races, and it doesn't matter. You won fair and square, so you are getting your prize.” Fluttershy sighed, now fully understanding what kind of consequences even winning would have from Rainbow.

Refusing to merely settle on some 'lame' gift for Fluttershy, Rainbow had held off on telling her what she was going to give her for her prize. However, today, Rainbow had started to get excited for various reasons. For starters, The pair had finally made it to the small town just outside of the location indicated where the Element of Kindness was on their maps. The yellow mare wasn't going to lie, the thought of finally landing on solid ground, and not taking flight for several hours appealed to her. However, what Rainbow had planned now was NOT what she had in mind.

Far below the pair, a two story wooden building sat on the corner of, what Rainbow said she had determined to be, two very seldom traveled roads near the border of the town. Indeed, while the pair had been scouting the site, they had not seen more than a couple dozen ponies going down these roads in the last thirty minutes, while the rest of town was abuzz with activity. It was because of this seclusion that Rainbow had stated that she wished to repay Fluttershy: by giving her a proper night's rest and relaxation in an actual bed. In any other situation, the gesture would've been... nice, but here, where any one of those mean ponies would... hurt the two of them if they knew they were pegasi, Fluttershy was scared.

“Well?”

“But... what if we are seen...”

“Come on, Fluttershy! There's nopony around at all, and this place is perfect for what we want. Do you want to spend another night in a weird cotton candy cloud?”

Recalling the horribly unpleasant experience and stickiness that had brought the night they made that mistake, Fluttershy was slowly relenting, “Oh... I don't know...”

“Besides, we're going to be wearing disguises,” Rainbow smiled.

The yellow mare's eyes darted towards Rainbow, meeting her eyes, confusion filling her own, “Wh... what? Disguises?”

“Yeah! Disguises!” Rainbow smiled as she searched through one of her saddlebags. Fluttershy watched as Rainbow's multicolored mane bounced slightly, covering her eyes as she dug through her saddlebags. Watching her beautiful friend, she noticed that her fur was slightly darker than normal, no longer the vibrantly bright cyan that Fluttershy remembered. The chromatic mane and tail, while still displaying the many colors with pride, was starting to blur with each other, no longer separated by hard lines. Looking down at herself, she saw that her own bright yellow coat no longer held its shine, but instead was dull, the yellow turning into more of ochre, the brown of dirt and grime starting to show more and more. She didn't even want to look at the condition her precious mane and tail were in. All she needed to know is that they looked like hell, and needed a shower... or bath... or at least a good hosing down. Bad.

Already making her decision, Fluttershy decided to allow Rainbow to have her victory anyways. Waiting patiently, Rainbow finally pulled out a large, light brown cloak. Smiling, Rainbow handed Fluttershy the garment, and reached into her saddlebags again, and after only a moment this time, pulled out a second cloak, identical to the first. They were almost perfect copies of the one that Zecora typically wore back before Ponyville grew to trust her, the only exception to it being was that it was slightly longer, coming down, most likely, to Fluttershy's hooves and partially covering her tail.

“I packed these babies knowing that we probably would have to go into town for whatever reason while we were here, so hey, if we can't show our our wings, as absolutely awesome as they are, then we should use these to cover them up, ya know?” Rainbow smiled at Fluttershy.

Looking at the cloak laid across her hooves, she couldn't deny that she was impressed by Rainbow's foresight, “Wow... oh, this is just perfect Rainbow!”

“Yeah... I'm kinda awesome like that, aren't I”

Fluttershy giggled at Rainbow's comment, and, looking around at the ground below them, spied a secluded forest area just outside the town. The yellow mare pointed her hoof towards a more heavily wooded section, “Lets go down there, and put these on.”

Smiling at each other, the pair of pegasi carefully took off, and, while staying as hidden as possible, dropped to where Fluttershy had pointed out. Landing, Fluttershy looked around, and it was indeed as perfect as she could have asked for. She couldn't see a single thing from outside the barrier of flora. With all haste, the two ponies began to put on their cloaks. Before they did, however, Fluttershy had also insisted, much to Rainbow's annoyance, that they bind their wings so they didn't accidentally flap them under their cloaks, whether on accident or on purpose. The ordeal took much longer than she had hoped, Rainbow was much more troublesome when tying up her wings than necessary, but in the end, the job was done. Stepping back, the two looked like ordinary traveling earth ponies, even if their coloration was, compared to this world, highly unusual.

Before Fluttershy could step out of the brush, Rainbow held a hoof in front of her, gesturing for the yellow mare to stay put. She watched as her multicolored friend carefully crept herself to the edge of the tiny clearing, and as she carefully moved, Rainbow silently peeked her head out from their safe haven. While Rainbow was looking around, Fluttershy could only see Rainbow's back half, her body behind her shoulders being the only parts still inside the clearing. Fluttershy couldn't help but stare at the pony in front of her, her muscular flank peeking from under the cloak, out in the open for the yellow pagasus to gape at.

She couldn't help but heavily blush, “Oh... my...”

Suddenly, Rainbow pulled her head out from the bushes, and made another gesture, this one, a beckoning of her cyan hoof, telling Fluttershy that the coast was clear. Thanking Luna that her pink mane covered up her bright red face, she followed her cyan friend as they walked out of their cover. Before her, the town stood. In many ways, the town resembled Conflound. The entire town was made of a dark wood, with the only exception being the roofs, which were made of some kind of thatch material, though Fluttershy couldn't be sure. There were very few ponies out at this time, so the whole scouting through the brush Rainbow did was a waste, with one moment being an exception in Fluttershy's opinion. Unlike Confound, however, the village had absolutely no walls for protection, so one could easily just walk in, though the outermost buildings created a barrier, funneling most traffic down one of several major roads.

Fortunately, the roads that they had pointed out earlier were just as dead as they were before, though they did pass a few ponies. Even more fortunate, the small number of ponies that they were forced to encounter didn't pay them any mind, their disguises passing the simple enough test. It only took a few minutes to get to the inn that Rainbow was so determined to stay at, to the point that once they got to the door, Rainbow walked into the building without even pausing, leaving Fluttershy to scramble inside behind the brash pony.

The inside was surprisingly busier than either had expected. While the small room that they were in now, the foyer used for checking in, was quiet, the noises to the left of them suggested that there were several dozens of ponies going about their leisure after a long day of work in the next room. The room they were in currently was kept nicely enough, the décor consisting of the kinds of paintings that you would see in Ponyville hospital's waiting room. The entire room was painted a muted tan, giving it a “cookie-cutter” feel. There was a stuffed chairs along each of the corners behind Fluttershy, most likely forever unused other than in the most unusual of situations. On the far wall, a set of stairs climbed to the second story, where most of the bedrooms most likely were situated. The only other piece of furniture was a large, to the point of being oversized, desk that had a dusty white pony behind it, a wide smile being the only distinctive part of him.

His curly black hair bounced as he spoke, “Welcome to the Magnificent Mare's Manor. My name is Quill. Are you checking in, or just stopping by the dance hall?”

“Just checking in,” Rainbow said as she pulled her hood back, revealing her majestic rainbow mane. “Only for one night though. One room with two beds would be great.”

The smile that Quill was wearing previously fell, “I'm terribly sorry, but the only room we have available has a single, twin sized bed.”

Fluttershy once again was indebted to her pink mane as her cheeks lit up at the news. Rainbow's eyes opened wide, and her pupils shrank, “You... you can't be serious!” Quill slowly nodded, his face twitching slightly. A few seconds later, his eyebrows furrowed up slightly, and the corners of his mouth turned up. The cyan mare's tone was flat, “You're not serious, are you...”

That was all it took for the dusty white stallion to burst into a light laugh, “Oh certainly not! My goodness! What kind of establishment would we be if we had rooms with only a single twin bed? However, I couldn't handle resisting such a joke considering,” he looked at Fluttershy, then back at Rainbow, “what you are.”

“Wha... wha...” Rainbow's pupils grew into tiny pinpricks, “What I am?”

“Of course! The Rainbow mane, the overly confident demeanor, why, It all points to one thing!” Quill paused for a second, letting it all sink it, “Why, you're a clown pony!”

Even with being her best friend since they were both fillies, Fluttershy never knew Rainbow to grow so angry, she attacked a pony. Sure, the brash pegasus had gotten into several fights, but none of those actually got to the point where too much damage was done to either side. Verbally, Rainbow didn't so much more than just yell a little to let out her steam, then she was done. However, what Fluttershy was now witnessing would be something that would make even Chief Thunderhooves blush like a little filly, the crude language that was being flung at the poor, defenseless white earth pony as colorful as the source's mane. For fifteen minutes, the yellow mare could only look at the scene in shock as her red cheeks turned into a pale face. She even swore that the sound from the other room quieted down in fear of the relentless onslaught of the bound pegasus. Fluttershy thanked Luna, Celestia, Discord, and any other immortal beings that wanted to be something resembling gods that it finally ended.

“You got that!? Discord's antlers. Sandpaper. Your flank. Got it!?”

The wide eye'd Quill nodded, “Cr... cr... crystal...”

Rainbow nodded, “Good.”

It was more than a minute before Quill was in good enough shape to continue with his transaction, “Well... uh... I do have a tiny bit of bad news. We only have single queen rooms available, but the couch is a pull out bed, so you should be fine.” Under the cyan pegasus' stare, Quill stammered as he continued, “And because of the inconvenience, I'll be giving you the room for a fifty percent discount!”

Rainbow smiled, though it was one more of anger than satisfaction, “Good.”

Quickly fishing through the drawers of the desk, the stallion pulled out two keys attached to necklaces, “Your rooms are on the second floor, third to the last one on the right. Room Twenty Six.”

Rainbow picked up both, and with another glare, walked off to the stairs behind the desk, and began her ascent. As the timid yellow mare walked by the still shaking Quill, she mouthed “I'm sorry” to him, though she was unsure if his shattered brain could even function at this point. If nothing else, she was sure that he would need some kind of therapy. Regardless, she didn't want to lose her friend, and so with a faster pace, trotted up the stairs.

The last thing she heard before turning the corner down the hall was the opening of a desk drawer, followed by a wavering male voice below, “Well... so much for being three weeks sober...”

A/N: Whew! Longest chapter yet! Not much I can think to say about this chapter, so I'll just say 'honk!'

Remember to comment, and fuel my ego that much more!

Chapter 17: Anticipation and Realization

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Things were not going well.

It was simple. Act like a super duper noble pony from Mr. Dragon's domain, the guards at the gate would leave them alone, and she and Applejack could go on their way like Mr. Dragon said they would. Instead, not only were they taken to the capital city, but were now trapped in the main castle of Mr. Creepy Feather Pony.

Correction, things were going horribly.

The guards on either side of Pinkie tried to look as friendly as possible, though it was very obvious that they held no friendly feelings towards the pair. Unlike the other guards that guided them to the city, these blue armored ones kept completely silent, constantly watching them to make sure that the two mares that they were “escorting” would make it safely to their bedroom. Pinkie was sure that Applejack was thinking the exact same thing when it came to how she felt about their escort... the feeling was a phrase filled with icky words involving ponies and manure.

Regardless, the two walked down the marble hallway, adorned with too much white and not enough color. Sure, there were paintings, tapestries, murals, and a large rug running down the entire length of the hall that brought a little color into the room, but other than these scant decorations, most of the hall was limited to a bleached out white, with only slight hints of gold. Now if she had it her way, there would be a hint of pink on the walls, green ceiling, and the paintings would be happy ones of ponies playing, not of ones with ponies in battle, and some without heads.

Tearing her eyes from the paintings, the pair finally made it to the very very end of the very very boring and very very long hall. A single wooden door made of some kind of dark wood, oak maybe, separated the pair of earth ponies from their bedroom prison. With the rear guards standing much too close for comfort, the lead pegasus took a few steps forward, and, after taking a key out of a cleverly disguised pouch on his armor's belt, unlocked the door. Pushing down on the latch, the door slowly creaked open.

Inside the room, Pinkie was almost surprised that the room they were forced into was just as fancily decorated as the rest of the castle. The endless feathers decorating the walls and ceilings of the other rooms did not stop at the door, and continued throughout the room, covering nearly every single surface. The walls were covered in various paintings, which, thankfully, did not depict battle scenes, but instead depicted either Lord Xavier the Meanie Pants, Discord, or both. Above them, a simple mural of blue and white skies covered the entire expanse of the ceiling, though Pinkie could make out a few cleverly placed tiny birds in the scene. The right wall had two windows, of course barred, that looked over both the inner and outer walls of the city, and would have given them a view of the entire land around the city and part of the city itself if the sun had not gone down while they were inside. To her left, four large beds lined the wall, with bedside tables separating them, and a candlestick on each.

And of course, most everything was white.

Pinkie felt her flank get shoved forward, forcing her into the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Applejack got the same treatment, her stetson falling to the ground as a menacing scowl started to from on the apple pony's face. Pinkie wanted to get the first word of rebuttal in before Applejack could say anything she would regret. Quickly wheeling around, the pink mare gave the offending guards the best glare that she could muster.

“How DARE you lay of hoof on me you insolent peasant!” Pinkie shouted, her voice just slightly cracking through her partially real anger. “When I get back and tell Lord Sarlaka that I have been unjustly treated in a way such as this, you will personally regret this!”

The guard merely looked at the pink pony blankly, “Right. I'll make sure to tremble in my armor later.” With that, the door behind him closed, and she heard the sound of the lock latch itself against the frame of the door. Behind the door, past a hanging mirror on the backside, the laughter of the guards was heavily muffled now, the heaviness of the door doing its job to silent the hall outside.

With a heavy sigh, Pinkie turned around to head toward the nearest bed to at least make herself comfortable until they were brought to dinner. Once she had turned around, she came face to face with Applejack, the orange mare's scowl remaining on her face as she glared into Pinkie's eyes. Pinkie took a startled stumble back as she looked into the earth pony's eyes, pure rage filled them as she bore her glare into her soul, looking as though she was attempting to grab her heart, and tear it asunder.

Pinkie prayed it was against the guards, and not her.

“Pinkie Pie.” Applejack slowly spoke, “Wha' in tarnation was tha'?”

So much for Applejack not being mad at her.

With a refined giggle, Pinkie replied, “Oh my good Miss App-”

“An' STOP with tha fancy mumbo jumbo!”

With a nervous smile spreading over the pink mare's face, she gulped, “Oh... umm... sorry Applejackie! Umm... what's what for silly filly?”

“Don' get smart with me Pinkie. Wha's up with all tha fancy speak, an' tha servant talk?”

“Oh, well, the guards at that one gate place were being extra meanie, like super duper extra, and they were going to do mean things with those spears. I knew that you couldn't be super duper sophisticated like Rarity is, so I decided to do it. As for calling you my 'most trusted and loyal servant,'” Pinkie said with a her noble persona's voice, “I thought that it would be easier for you to be you, than for you to be not you, because you being not you just isn't you! Besides, I got us through the meanies!”

Applejack took a step towards Pinkie, eyes still narrowed, “Yeah! Outta tha fryin' pan, and into tha fire!”

Pinkie sat back on her haunches, and threw her forelegs up in the air, “I didn't know they were going to imprison us! If I had known that, I would've said something like we're delivering something to Sarlaka's second cousin four times removed on his mother's side or something like that! Sure, maybe it wouldn't have gotten us inside, but I didn't know getting inside would've led to this!”

“You don' have tha' sense ta do somethin' tha' clever!”

Ignoring Applejack's insult, Pinkie pointed an accusing hoof into Applejack's face, and continued in even more of a raised voice, “Besides, if it were up to me, we would've just crossed the bubbly wubbly river, and be done with it! But noooo! You had to go and trust the big mean guard ponies that they would be all nice. Well they weren't nice! They were meanies! I did what I could, and if it wasn't for what I did, we'd be DEAD!”

The pair stared at each other, scowls on their faces. Pinkie had never felt this angry against another pony before. Sure, she had been mad when she thought her friends didn't want to be her friends anymore and had decided to ditch her and Gummy's party, but that was more being hurt than actually angry. What she possessed right now was nothing more than pure anger against the earth pony that she traveled with, and frankly, owed her her life because of the pink pony's smooth and fast talking.

Heavy breathing dominated the chamber, neither pony took their narrowed eyes off of the other, the tension brewing in the room only getting tighter and tighter. Several minutes passed, with beads of sweat running down both of their faces, the heat in the room, even with the sun down, still enveloping them both. Looking at Applejack, her mane was completely frazzled, the bands in her mane and tail barely holding the hair together in the hair's disheveled state.

Suddenly, Applejack looked down, and kicked the ground with her hoof. “Ah'm... sorry...” she mumbled, barely over a whisper.

Pinkie raised an eyebrow, even if Applejack couldn't see it, and replied, “You're what?”

The orange mare looked up, and nearly shouted, “Ah said Ah'm sorry! Ok! Ah didn' mean wha' Ah said!” Lowering her voice Applejack whispered, “An' your right after all. If it weren't for your quick thinkin', Ah... Ah don' know wha' would've happened. Ah'm jus' really mad at them, and Ah know Ah'm taking it out on ya, but...”

At the admission, Pinkie's pent up anger lifted, and it was only half a second before Applejack found herself caught in a pink and fuzzy hug. Pinkie felt Applejack tense up for a moment, unsure what to do. However, after a few seconds, the taught muscles in the orange earth pony relaxed, and the pink pony felt a pair of forelegs wrap around her. The two sat there for a few minutes, with nothing being exchanged between them except the warmth of their bodies.

Applejack pulled back eventually, and looked at Pinkie with a smile on her face. Pinkie watched as her friend looked down, spotting something. The cowpony pulled herself out of the hug, reached down, and retrieved her dropped stetson, and, with a moment of hesitation, plopped it atop Pinkie's head. The pair smiled, and turned towards the door, observing the party pony's new attire.

“Ya know,” Applejack started with a snicker, “if tha whole party thing don' work out for ya, Ah bet ya could work at Sweet Apple Acre. Ya can certainly pull off tha part.”

“Yeah, except I don't know how to use a lasso, and I'm pretty sure my party cannon wouldn't lasso cattle very well Jackie.”

Pinkie saw Applejack turn to look straight in her eyes, “Party wha'?”

“Oh never mind!”

“... if ya say so...” Applejack stepped back, leaving Pinkie in control of her treasured possession. Pinkie posed a few times in front of the mirror, going from a series of normal poses, making a different face to each one.

Time seemed to fly by as Pinkie experimented with more and more ridiculous poses, a few eliciting soft chuckles from the mare behind her. From standing on all fours, standing on two hooves, or even standing on her tail and hopping back and forth in front of the mirror, The poses she did made both of them smile more and more. She eventually found herself standing on one of her front hooves, the hat balanced precariously upon her flank, and her tail positioned perfectly so that it appeared her rear had a mustache.

“Ya know,” a friendly voice behind Pinkie interrupted her latest stance, “ya never did tell me where ya learned tha' fancy smancy voice of yours. An' don' tell me ya learned it from Granny Pie, cause Ah know tha' ain't tha truth.”

The outburst caused Pinkie to lose her balance, and, gracefully, she somersaulted forward, the prized earth colored stetson landing perfectly on her head, “Well, I might have taken a few classes in formal etiquette before.” she said, staring at the ground, her pink forehoof nervously pawing at the ground.

“Ouch. Ya parents had ya take tha' when ya were a filly? An' Ah thought mah few lesson with tha Oranges were bad”

“Not really. I kinda took them by choice...”

Pinkie didn't have to even look at Applejack to know she raised an eyebrow at that last comment, “Ya took them by-”

“A few months ago, just after the embarrassing Grand Galloping Gala incident.

“Ya were embarrassed.”

Pinkie almost giggled at the comment, “Oh, I wasn't embarrassed by it, but I really embarrassed... well... somepony else, and I didn't want to embarrass that pony like that again...”

“Oh? Sounds like somepony special. And may Ah ask who tha somepony is?” Pinkie watched through the mirror as Applejack approached her, a sly grin forming on the orange mare's face, “Is it one of us?”

Pinkie turned, instantly feeling heat against her cheeks, “What? How did... I mean...”

Applejack chuckled as she took her hat from the pink pony's head, and returned it to its rightful spot, “If Ah wasn' sure earlier, judgin' by your reaction jus' now, Ah'm certain Ah'm right. So... who's tha special pony?”

Her face on fire, Pinkie turned back towards the mirror. For the first time in her life, she knew how it felt to be like Fluttershy, and she could rightly say that it was not a happy good feeling. “I... umm...”

Applejack grinned wider, “Is it yours truly?”

The red faced mare's face tripled in color, and her eyes widened in shock, “What!? I... I...”

Applejack started laughing, “Ah shucks, ya don' have ta tell me. Ah'm jus' messin' with ya. Not often Ah get ta see tha fearless Pinkie Pie get all flustered up.” the orange pony smiled at her through the mirror, the deep green eyes staring into Pinkie's reflection, as if trying to find out who the pony was by intimidating her mirror self.

The smile that the orange mare had on her face dropped into a frown after a few seconds, “Ah guess tha real important question, though, is how're we gonna get outta here 'nyways?”

As if the universe heard the question, the sound of creaking hinges tore their attention towards the source, a guard now standing in the doorway of their luxurious prison. “Dinner is ready my two noble ladies. Our Lord Xavier the Conqueror requests your presence as his honored guests.”

Any resemblance of smiles that the two mares held before were quickly squeezed out of their faces by the two sentences, and were replaced with serious frowns. Pinkie looked at Applejack, who met her gaze, and together they nodded a simple unspoken agreement between the two. Looking back forward, Pinkie retained her frown.

“Very well. Take us to him.”

____________________________________________________________________________________

Darkness.

That was the first thought that came to Rarity's mind as she started to wake up. Complete darkness. She wasn't sure if her eyes were even open of not, but if they were, the void that embraced her was absent of any semblance of light. She could only remember a few bits and pieces of just before this moment: They were fighting an ursa major, Twilight was thrown across the room, she took it down, then...

Pain.

The memory of the ordeal suddenly flooded back to her mind, and she shot open her eyes in shock. Thankfully, the pain was gone, and now, with her eyes open, she was safe. In fact, it was nighttime in the Everfree Forest, the only light coming from the glow of a campfire nearby, and the soft pitter patter of rain the only sound outside of the errant cricket. From the looks of it, the tent she slept in was on the bank of some kind of lake, though if it was actually a lake, pond, or even a slow moving river, Rarity wasn't sure. In any case, the water was soothing, and it, along with the soft rain, brought a sense of calm to the alabaster unicorn, lowering her frantic heart rate.

“Ra... Rarity?”

Groggily turning her head, Rarity looked out of the open tent doors and made out the form of her fellow unicorn, Twilight. The poor mare had been sitting in the open, and even with the light rain, here purple and pink striped mane was drenched, her fur matted. Even more troubling, was, even in the dim light, Rarity could tell that Twilight's eyes were wide open in either shock or fear. The completely soaked lavender unicorn started to silently mouth something as she slowly shook her head, never taking her eyes off of Rarity. From this distance, Rarity couldn't hear the noises, if any, that were coming out of the unicorn's mouth, and also couldn't read the mare's lips. The only thing that was certain was that the poor mare was so spooked about something, that she couldn't even come over to greet her recently awoken friend.

Rarity started to stand, but felt a throbbing pain in her abdomen that stopped her. A few deep breaths later, and she carefully, making sure not to aggravate the internal wounds more, got herself up onto all fours. Finding her footing, she slowly limped her way towards her friend, the light rain slightly chilling the mare as it slowly started to soak into her protective fur. Rarity was surprised that the pain in her abdomen was surprisingly light considering the sudden shock when she first got up. However, while her abdomen felt alright, her legs screamed at her, pleading to return to to their restful state they were in before she got up. Ignoring the pleas her limbs gave, Rarity made her way towards the scared and wet lavender mare.

Making her way to her friend, she was surprised when Twilight fearfully scampered back, tears streaking undisturbed down her face, apparently afraid of Rarity for whatever reason. Sighing, Rarity got as close to Twilight as she could, and carefully settled herself back down onto the cool, wet grass. Rarity took a moment to enjoy the warmth of fire, the heat cutting through the chill that the drenched grass forced upon her, making the temperature pleasant enough.

Turning towards the lavender mare, Rarity finally spoke, “Twilight... what's wrong?”

Twilight again shook her head slowly, her mouth working uselessly. However, this time, after a few seconds, Twilight started to stammer out a noise, “Rarity... I'm... I don't know... I tried... I... Celestia knows that... what I...”

“Twilight, please. Its ok.” Rarity spoke with the softest and most caring voice she could muster, “Is it something I did?”

Twilight merely shivered, “No! I mean... I...”

“Darling,” Rarity started again, “Its ok. Just calm down. It doesn't seem like my injuries were as bad as we initially thought, your injuries look minimal, we got the Element... right?” Twilight nodded, “Then everything is fine.”

Twilight clinched her eyes tightly and shook her head. Rarity watched as the panicked pony continued this motion for a few second until she stopped, took a couple of deep breaths, and released each in turn. Reopening her eyes, Twilight finally spoke coherently, “Rarity... I don't know what to say... I promise I did everything I could, and even if you can't forgive me, I will do everything to help you...”

Rarity's heart started to hammer against her chest, her ribs feeling the strain caused by the muscle. Even the ursa in the battle before didn't worry her as much as this did, “Twilight... what happened...”

With that question, the dam burst, and Rarity watched her companion completely shatter, the loud and deep sobs emanating from the broken mare. Even in the rain, it was obvious that tears streaking down her face, further matting the once beautiful coat of purple. Twilight's labored breathing and heavy sobbing echoed through the forest, silencing any wildlife around, as if they wanted to watch the scene before them unfold in peace. Even the rain seemed to lighten up a little to allow the distraught unicorn a little comfort. Rarity was still fearful of what was Twilight was talking about, but getting the poor girl to calm down was much more important.

Looking around, Rarity's eyes eventually fell upon a nearby set of saddlebags inside the tent with a handkerchief, most likely already partially used by her friend. Igniting her horn, she brought the han-

Nothing happened.

Frowning, Rarity once again attempted to grab onto the tissues, but was met with the same results. The magic didn't pour out of her horn, she didn't see the tell-tale purple glow around the tissues, the feeling of grabbing the object with her spell was not there. Thinking maybe her magical reserves were low, she attempted to pour as much magic into her horn to do... anything to the handkerchief.

Still nothing.

Rarity's heart rate tripled instantly as it finally registered to her that Twilight was speaking, “-and I didn't know what to do! There was just, oh Celestia, there was so many cracks running down it, and they were spreading to your skull! I... I don't even know what it was that did it! I think it was the ursa's blood, and that it overloaded your magic, but-”

“Twilight...” Rarity squeaked out with a trembling voice, “... why can't I pick up the handkerchief...”

“... I'm so, so sorry Rarity...”

“Why can't I pick up the handkerchief!?”

“Rarity... I...”

Ignoring the pain that shot through her body, Rarity stood quickly, eyes wide as she started looking in all directions for something, anything, to figure out what Twilight was talking about. Her first instinct was to rush over to her saddlebags, and pull out the inside mirror, but a sudden memory of losing it on the first day crossed her mind. Ignoring the pleading unicorn laying next to her, she spotted the water of the lake, and ran towards it with all the speed that her pathetically weak legs could provide. As she got close, she slowed, until she was only five hooves away from the shore. The throbbing of her heart threatened to burst out of her chest as it beat in an unhealthily frantic rate. While when she was running, the pain on her legs was mostly ignored, now each step she now took was a labored ordeal, as if lead weights were attached to each of her hooves as she slowly and methodically took each step towards the water.

After a full minute, she finally reached the shore, her eyes looked straight forward, unwilling to look down at the reflection she knew most likely greeted her. Dread started to fill her being as she stood on the shore, and made her unwilling to look down, but she just had to know. Finally looking down, she closed her eyes before she gazed into the water, attempting to prolong the inevitable. Taking a few deep breaths, and ignoring the begging and crying unicorn behind her, she opened her eyes.

The sight that greeted her was worse than terrifying. The perfectly white coat on her face was slightly singed all over, leaving a spotted darkness where each hair tip was slightly burned away. Her beautiful purple mane, the pride of Ponyville, was similarly treated, the very front hairs slightly singed away, the burned tips standing defiantly against the owner's wishes. Every spot on her fur and mane was completely soaked, matting what was left of the unburnt hair. All over, cuts and bruises adorned her face, making the once most beautiful mare in Equestria appear as nothing more than a simple ruffian who used brute force to solve every problem thrown at her. Of course, all of this was ignored by the fashionista, because her eyes couldn't take their gaze off of her horn...

… or lack thereof.

Right where her beautifully shaped seven inch long horn, quite an average length for a mare her age, would normally sit, instead, was a small one and a half inch long stub, appearing to be perfectly sheered off by a powerful and terrifyingly sharp cutting device.

Throughout the forest, wild birds and docile creatures ran in every direction as the peace of the Everfree was shattered by a blood curtling scream that emanated from the white unicorn's throat.

Chapter 18: Drinking and Eating

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Rainbow was laying back on the couch in their room, as she had been for the past few hours now. Considering it wasn't a cloud, this firm green piece of furniture was quite comfortable, though it could have been because the two pegasi inhabiting the room had nothing but cotton-candy clouds to sleep on for the past few days. She would never tell anypony, but her wings ached due to the constant usage from the past four days of travel. Of course, Fluttershy's muscles probably hurt much more than her's, but Rainbow had to admit, that yellow mare had more in her than both of them thought.

Looking around the room, she took it all in again. The room was a pale green, with the exception of the blue ceiling, intended to give a sense of a calming outdoor scene. Most of the furniture, including the desk, two chairs, and the bed, were a dark brown, further enhancing the illusion of an outdoor feel. The bed itself was, like that flank at the front desk said, a comfortable queen size, and considering how tranquil the yellow pony on it looked, must have been quite comfortable. The bed inside the couch was, hopefully, just as good, but if not, Rainbow probably wouldn't have cared considering how perfect the couch itself already felt. If it was up to the cyan mare, the pair wouldn't leave the room for the rest of the night.

“Grrrrowlll”

Her stomach had second thoughts.

“Hey Fluttershy, I'm hungry. What do we have to eat?” she called out, not bothering to look at the mare she was calling out to.

“Oh... umm... let me see...” a voice behind Rainbow spoke meekly. For a few minutes, the groans of bed springs squeaking and the sounds of rummaging through saddlebags dominated the stale air. Finally, the voice called out again, “Well... umm... we have the canned peas I brought...”

Her stomach twisted, punishing the cyan pegasus for even thinking for a split second about eating something like that. Rainbow turned over, “That's it!? No way!”

“Sorry Rainbow. We... umm... I guess we ate everything else already. We should probably see if we can buy some things in the morning...”

“Yeah, well,” she started, Rainbow rolling over onto her hooves, planting them onto the rug underhoof, “lets go downstairs to that whole dance hall thing, and see what they have to eat there.”

Fluttershy's eyes grew wider, “You mean in the bar!? Rainbow, are you crazy! Its so loud in there, and if one of us gets caught... I mean...”

Rainbow dismissed the skittish warnings with a wave of her hoof, “Oh don't be a scaredy pony Fluttershy! Its a 'dance hall', not a bar! And we aren't going to get into any crazy brawls or anything. We're just going to get something to eat. Alright?”

“I don't know...”

Rainbow walked closer to her companion, “Don't worry! I'll be right there next to you the entire time. Nobody would dare mess with THE Rainbow Dash!”

Fluttershy looked down at her hooves, her voice now even more quiet than before, “But... nobody knows who 'The Rainbow Dash' is here...”

Once again, the cyan pegasus caught herself waving her hoof in the air dismissively, “I don't deal with the minor details like that. That's Twilight's thing.”

“But... knowing who you are is the whole poi-”

“Minor details!” Rainbow said, her voice raising in pitch slightly. Closing her eyes to calm herself, she let them open to view the deep blue pools that were Fluttershy's eyes, “Anyways, I'm going down. If you don't wanna come, that's fine, I guess. Want me to pick up anything for you to eat when I'm down there?”

Rainbow watched Fluttershy as she shifted on her hooves nervously, hiding her face in her mane, trying to decide what to do. “Umm... I don't... I mean... I...”

Before her mind realized what she was doing, Rainbow found herself with both of her forehooves on the jittery mare's shoulders. In response, her friend looked through her mane, only one eye visible through her full pink hair. Giving the best smile she could, Rainbow tried to comfort her counterpart, “Hey, its fine. No sweat, ok? I'll only be a little bit. I'm just going down to get something to eat, and I'll be right back up. I have a key, so make sure to lock up.”

A small smile returning to the buttery pegasus' face, she softly nodded in response. Satisfied, Rainbow gave her a final pat on the shoulders, turned around, and after throwing her cloak around her body, started to make her way towards the door. As she opened it, she yelled a final time in a mock deep voice, “And remember, no talking to strangers young lady!”

Fluttershy responded with her own mocking voice, this one sounding like a filly, “Yes mommy.”

With small chuckle, Rainbow closed the door to their room, and began her slow walk to the stairs. Carefully, she walked down the narrow stairs, until she once again found herself in the modestly kept entryway, where the once 'so laughable you could kick him again and again and again' Quill was slumped over the front desk. Completely unmoving except for his slow breathing, he lay on the desk with an empty bottle of a very sinful drink laying on its side, a light drool spilling from his mouth. Pausing for a second, she watched as he muttered to himself about something unintelligible, only catching the words “candy” and “oregano,” but the subject otherwise unknown, though the cyan mare was completely uncaring. Continuing to walk, she made her way towards the sounds of the crowded dance hall.

The room was very large, the décor sparse, and the wood panel walls giving the hall a rustic feel. The lighting, as expected, was poor at best, with Rainbow needing to stand at the doorway for a few seconds to let her eyes adjust to the sudden dimness of the room. Music came from some unknown source, a peppy song playing as a dozen ponies danced in the center of the room with varying degrees of skill, most of those ponies lacking any degree of competence. Surrounding the forty hoof square dance floor, a ring of tables filled the room, nearly every single one seating ponies in various levels of inebriation. All around Rainbow, half drunken stallions, and a few mares, sat in their spots, talking the night away with their drinks.

Fluttershy was right, this WAS a bar.

Awesome.

Pushing through the large crowd of many stallions and mares, Rainbow eventually was able to make her way up to the bar. Finding an empty stool, she paused for a second, attempting to instinctively fly upon it. Realizing her wings were still bound, she sighed, and instead carefully pulled herself up upon the high stool. Adjusting the cloak that hung around her shoulders to make sure that her wings were not peeking through the protective garment, she looked at the line of ponies at the bar around her. Only half of the stools were filled, while half of those that were filled only contained ponies in the same mental state as Quill in the entryway: passed out from drunkenness. Looking back forward, she and the barkeep locked eyes for a moment.

The stallion looked very similar to a male Zecora. His mane and coat were striped a very light and darker gray, though the stripes on his coat were mainly restricted to his face, back, and legs. His mane was cut much shorter than any typical pony would cut it; the hair buzzed to a length only a few inches long on all sides. His imposing dark blue eyes pierced the gap between the two as they studied her for any tells she might be allowing through her face. However, the most surprising thing that Rainbow found was that for the first time since she and her friends had arrived in this future, she had found a pony with a cutie mark. His mark was also nearly identical to that of Zecora's; a dark gray spiral starting from the center of each of the sides of his flanks, slowly moving outward until it ended with a point. Surrounding this spiral, ten outwardly pointed triangles stood proudly, giving the entire mark the final detail to make certain that it symbolized the radiant sun.

Rainbow smirked, then cleared her throat, “My mighty fine stallion indeed, would you prefer to know what I need?”

The stallion raised an eyebrow, but nodded a reply.

“If you would get me some good and tasty food, it would be quite satisfactory... uhh... dude...”

Narrowing his eyes slightly, he slowly spoke in a low voice, “Sure.”

“Ah yes, thank you most wonderful striped zebra. I will let you know if I further need ya!” Rainbow smirked at her latest rhyme.

“Please stop that, and what specifically do you want?”

“I would... wait... huh?” Rainbow stopped, blinking at the bartender, “but... I thought you zebras rhymed when speaking and everything.”

“Only the ones with mental problems or are the closest followers of the God of Chaos speak so crazy like that, though I guess those two groups are the same thing. Now instead of speaking like a mad pony, could you finally tell me what you are going to be having? Just saying 'food' means I'm going to give you the most expensive thing on the menu.”

“Oh... sorry... uhh...” Rainbow quickly looked around, not noticing any menus to speak of, “do you have any sandwiches? Daffodil if you have them. And just a glass of water for a drink.”

“One fresh daffodil sandwich for the crazy mare.” He turned around to start his way towards the kitchen, but just before he disappeared into the back, he turned back towards Rainbow with a smirk, “And work on your rhymes. Some are worse for wear.”

As the zebra disappeared from sight, Rainbow allowed a smile overtake her face at his comment. Letting her mind wander, she tried to imagine how her other two groups of friends were doing. Twilight and Rarity, while definitely girly girls, were not to be trifled with, and were probably breezing through everything that was being thrown at them. The only thing slowing them down was the distance they had to travel on hoof and their physique; neither which Rainbow really thought would delay them too much. On the other hand, Applejack and Pinkie were probably breezing through as well, Applejack having an unstoppable endurance and Pinkie with impossibly large energy reserves. Of course, with those two, a likely outcome was that either Applejack was going to kill Pinkie, or Applejack was going to kill herself because of the constant talking Pinkie spilled from her mouth.

In any of these cases, Rainbow was starting to regret making that bet with them.

Much sooner than she expected, only about ten minutes, the zebra came back, and plopped a plate filled with a diagonally cut sandwich. Rainbow was slightly surprised that also sitting on the plate was a heaping pile of fresh hay fries. Looking back up at the zebra, she must have been wearing a very perplexed face, because he merely shrugged, “Hey, you're cute, and you made me laugh, so the fries are on the house. The sandwich is still ten cords though.”

Realizing that she left her money in her room, the cyan mare stammered, “Uhh... I kinda left my purse in my room... is there any way I can run up and grab it real quick?”

Shrugging, the zebra sighed, “Eh, don't worry about it. Happens more often than you'd think. I'll just put it on your hotel bill.”

Smiling, Rainbow decided to risk the most pressing quesiton, “So, what's your mark mean?” she asked, pointing a hoof towards his cutie mark.

Looking at the sun shape on his flank, he asked, “What? My tribal tattoo? It just signifies what tribe I am a part of in the homeland. My tribe is the Sun Watchers, one of the largest, and while I live outside the tribal boundries, I'm still loyal to my tribe first.”

Somewhat disappointed at his reply, she tried to smile, “I see... interesting...”

Turning back towards Rainbow, he smiled, “Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm getting called over by some crazy drunkard over there.”

With a mutual nod with each other, the zebra hurried over to the other side of the bar where a patron was summoning him with slurred speech, demanding more drink. Looking down at her plate, she picked up the sandwich with full anticipation on its low quality, and took a bite. Surprisingly, while not nearly as good as something Applejack or Fluttershy would whip together, the sandwich was actually pretty good. Testing the fries, she found that they were favorable as well. In fact, she would've been completely engrossed in her food if her ears hadn't picked up a sound from behind her.

“Umm... excuse me... pardon me... oh, I'm terribly... eep!”

Turning around, Rainbow smiled as she saw a very familiar bright yellow cloaked mare trying, and failing, to make her way through the crowds of ponies. She smiled at how silly Fluttershy looked as the timid mare attempted to apologize to every single pony that she even got near, and to some she even apologized two or three times. Every time she was ignored, and her fruitless quest to get closer to her cyan companion was hopelessly hindered by the wall of ponies. It didn't help that Fluttershy was trying to be extra careful with her cloak, making sure her entire body, including most of her head, was covered like it was a security blanket. Rainbow started to wave a hoof in the air, somehow getting her attention, and after several long minutes, Fluttershy finally sat herself next to Rainbow.

“Hey Fluttershy,” Rainbow smiled as she munched on a hay fry, “Why'd you come down so quickly? No no no, let me guess; your stomach couldn't wait for your food either, huh.”

“Oh... umm... yeah... I got hungry. That's why I came down,” the timid pony said, lowering her head slightly. Fluttershy's mane now covered the majority of her face, but even with the covering and the dim light of the watering hole, the cyan mare could still make out that her friend's face turned a slight shade of red as she spoke.

Rainbow decided to ignore it, “Well, you can have half of my sandwich if you want.”

“Oh don't worry Rainbow. I can get my own.”

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow held out the half of the sandwich she hadn't started on yet, “With all of these hay fries? I won't be able to finish anyways. Come on, its really good!”

The yellow pegasus looked at the sandwich for a few seconds before she turned her gaze back towards Rainbow. As Fluttershy let a small grin grow on her face, Rainbow couldn't resist smiling even wider in response to her timid friend's happiness. Taking the sandwich in her hooves, Fluttershy took a small bite out of it, chewing slowly, apparently savoring the flavor of the sandwich. A slightly larger smile grew on the mare's face as the satisfaction of the tastes the generous sandwich so willingly provided filled her mouth with pleasure.

An idea flashed through Rainbow's head, and before she could think it through, she raised a forehoof in the air as high as she could, “Hey barkeep! Two drinks for us! Hard and fruity!”

From the other side of the bar, the mare could hear the zebra call back, “Two drink, strong and girly, coming right up!”

Smiling, she turned her gaze back towards Fluttershy, and nearly died in laughter at the sight that the yellow pegasus was giving her. In complete shock, Fluttershy's eyes, when one wasn't twitching, were wider than any other pair Rainbow had ever seen in her entire life, including Pinkie Pie's at her finest. The poor, defenseless, and partially eaten half a sandwich that was previously held by the mare now lay unceremoniously on the counter, destined to never be eaten. Fluttershy's mouth worked uselessly at first, as she tried to think of a good response to give to Rainbow.

Rainbow ate another hay fry.

Several seconds later, Fluttershy found her voice, “Rainbow! What are you doing!?”

Smiling, the rainbow maned pony replied, “Just ordering us some drinks to liven things up a little.”

“But... I...”

“Its just one drink 'Shy! Don't tell me that... you...” Rainbow stopped, and blinked for a second, then narrowed her eyes, “... have you ever drank before?”

“Umm... does sipping my dad's wine one time cou-”

“No that doesn't count!” Rainbow nearly yelled as she slammed another hay fry into her mouth. Rainbow spoke again, more thinking out loud than anything else, “We are SO not prepared for a proper 'first time drinking' experience here, but it'll have to do.”

“Rainbow...”

Rainbow turned towards Fluttershy suddenly as she raised her voice, placing a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder, “Alright, Fluttershy! Are you ready to stop being a filly, and become a true mare?”

Fluttershy's face instantly flushed a deep red, “Wha... what!?”

Rainbow rubbed the arch of her muzzle, “Ok, that came out wrong. Very... very... very wrong. No, I did not mean... ugh! What I mean is are you ready to go on your first real drinking binge?”

“I don't know...”

Two small glasses were set in front of the mares, Rainbow smiling at the perfect timing, “Well too bad, because tonight, we are seeing what kind of stuff you are made of!”

Rainbow grabbed her glass with her hooves, and eyed the mare on the stool next to her. Rainbow watched as Fluttershy slowly reached out with her hooves, and took her drink in her grasp gently. Pausing, Fluttershy looked at the liquid inside, swirling it slightly as she watched the sinful essence coat the inside of the glass as if she was inspecting the contents. Rainbow patently watched the whole scene unfold in front of her, fully aware of the fact that the skittish pony in front of her was willing to drink her first drink in a situation like this was an amazing feat in itself. Nearly fifteen seconds after Fluttershy picked up her glass, she looked back into Rainbow's eyes, trying to figure out if there was any way out of this. Giving up, she sighed, and downed a small sip of the liquid.

Engrossed in the sight, Rainbow forgot about her own drink for a few minutes as she watched the scene before her. As expected the yellow pony grimaced at the drink, the burning sensation traveling down her throat until it hit her nearly empty stomach. Rainbow took a small sip of her own drink, and was stunned to find herself, a pony who claimed could drink anything straight, grimacing at the strength of the concoction, the burning in her throat making her giddy with excitement. The two ponies smiled at each other, giggling at the experience. Surprising her again, Fluttershy took another small sip, and in just a few more minutes the two mares finished their drinks.

And their second.

And their third.

And their seventh.

Thirty minutes, and twelve drinks, later, Rainbow found herself holding onto the bar counter as the damn zebra refused to stop spinning the room. Beside her, Fluttershy was doing no better, unless you were counting drinks downed, in which case the two were tied. Instead of just sitting there, Fluttershy was constantly giggling, her face red with an emotion that Rainbow couldn't place, and didn't care enough to try. Of course, it wouldn't have been so bad if Moore Drink-fur-us, as Rainbow had started to call him, hadn't cut them off. He said it was because of something like them drinking grizzly bears under the table, but Rainbow thought that was crazy; she only knew one bear, and he was too busy collecting volleyballs to drink more than once a month.

“Hey Rainbow, would you like to dance?”

Suddenly remembering her friend, Rainbow turned her head, and looked into the blue oceans that were Fluttershy's eyes. There was a sparkle in them that Rainbow had never seen before, a sparkle that gave them the most vibrant of life, enticing the pegasus to gaze into their beauty.

“Sure 'Shy.”

Giggling excitedly like a little filly, Fluttershy hopped off of her stool, somehow not falling over, and proceeded to pull Rainbow along with her, who also somehow didn't fall over. In a strange turn of events, the brash pegasus was being pulled into action by the timid mare, until the pair found themselves in the center of the modest dance floor. The dance floor was nearly empty by now, many of the ponies previously occupying it either leaving for their homes or busying themselves with their drinks, leaving the two pegasi with a large expanse to carry out their intimate dance.

A soft song played as Fluttershy turned towards Rainbow, and smiled. Rainbow was all too happy to return the gesture, and before she could say anything else, found Fluttershy pulling her close, until their heads were resting against each others neck, nuzzling each other. Fluttershy took the lead, and started to dance with a simple movement, settling into merely swaying side to side as they circled each other. Rainbow quickly found herself closing her eyes in the warmth and bliss of the moment, never wanting something this wonderful to stop for anything.

For the first time that night, Rainbow was glad her wings were bound to her body.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Applejack sat restlessly at the dinner table, which was just slightly too large, with the three seated only filling a fourth of its capacity. The chair provided to her never quite getting comfortable enough for the mare to finally get settled and relax. The chair was slightly too high, leaving the poor mare to hunch over a tad too much to have the proper back support when sipping on her soup in front of her. The cushion on the chair itself was just slightly too soft, resulting in Applejack sinking a little too much into the seat, the feeling of envelopment coming to mind. One of the legs was just slightly too short, giving the chair a very annoying wobble whenever Applejack shifted her weight. The worst was the back, which had a cross piece just slightly too low, giving the mare a pain whenever she leaned back after a back-aching sip of her drink. No, this chair was not doing it for the earth pony.

Of course, Applejack wasn't focused of any of these things.

Her mind was too busy watching the scene unfolding before her eyes. Lord Xavier, the grotesque abomination of nature, as Twilight would call him, sat at the head of the table, his chair raised just a little bit higher than everypony else, giving him a sense of power that Applejack saw through easily. His coat of feathers was slightly made up, giving the glancing appearance of having a full coat of feathers, though upon even the most basic of inspections showed he merely dyed his naked skin. He was silent for now, allowing himself a moment to take a drink of the wine before him; his somewhat broken beak forcing much of what he attempted to pour down his throat to merely dribble down his chest. As if by some mockery, his silvery mane actually looked quite good, and was the only redeeming factor of his appearance that Applejack could find.

The food itself was alright. The appetizer before was some kind of salad-like dish, but was made up of a lot of fruits and vegetables that Applejack had never seen nor heard of before, and none of them tasted nearly as well as the fruits that Sarlaka provided only a week ago. She tried it once, and after that one taste, decided that the best course of action would be to pick at the offending dish until it was promptly taken away by one of Lord Xavier's servants. The main dish that she was currently eating was something much more approachable: A carrot, potato, and onion soup. It was alright; the carrots were slightly overdone, the onions seemed a day or two too old, but the broth was perfectly done, and she couldn't ask for better potatoes. Accompanying every single dish so far, wine was given in massive amounts, Lord Xavier was on his ninth glass already. Applejack was pacing herself quite a bit, and was only just starting on her second glass.

The dozen guards lining the walls all around them, watching their every move was unnerving too.

To Pinkie's credit, she had done much better at pulling off the 'noble pony' persona than Applejack could have ever imagined the party pony could. Every single dish had been eaten by the pony without a single complaint about the lack of sugar. Even the weird appetizer dish that was an affront to all things delicious, she ate and appeared to enjoy. The wine was something that Applejack couldn't even begin to understand, for Pinkie was drinking just as much as Xavier was, and she looked like she hadn't ingested a single drop of the drink, meanwhile Xavier looked a little less for wear. While the orange mare was a little peeved at Pinkie at first over all of this, especially in the bedroom an hour ago, she had to admit, the impersonation of a kind yet forceful noble mare had saved them many times so far.

As the bowls for the soup were taken away, and a fresh glass of wine for Pinkie and Xavier were provided, Xavier spoke for the first time since greeting them to dinner, “Well, I have to say my little pony friend, for the rate you drink, and how well you are able to retain your motor skills, you are quite an interesting specimen! What I would give to... study you.”

Pinkie gave a small giggle, “Oh Lord Xavier, you are too much! I admit that I have actually been studied before, and it was quite an interesting experience.”

“Oh? Sounds very... intimate.” Xavier took another large sip of his glass, polishing it off, and licked his beak-like muzzle to gather up whatever spilled wine he could. “So Miss Pie, you absolutely must tell me about what sort of adventure a beautiful mare like yourself is on. What has that insane dragon lord sent you to do? Hmm?”

Pinkie shook her head slowly, “Oh how I wish I could divulge that to you, but alas, I was explicitly told not to tell anypony about it.”

Xavier smiled, “Ah, but you can tell me, for I am not a pony.”

Pinkie uncharacteristically, at least for her persona, raised an eyebrow, “Umm... but you have hooves, a mane, a-”

Xavier slammed his front hooves on the table, knocking over his empty glass of wine, and shot a glare at Pinkie, “I will say one more time, and one more time only, I am not a pony. Got it?”

Applejack saw Pinkie nodding furiously, the shock of the outburst silencing her. For the next few seconds, the entire table was silent, the tension so thick, even a knife would have issues cutting through it. Fortunately, it was then that the servants brought out dessert, and more wine. The dessert was a simple chocolate cake with a white frosting, while the wine was a very dark port, perfectly chosen to go with the rich flavors of the pastry. Xavier immediately took the glass of wine, and downed the entire thing in one gulp. Slamming the glass on the table, he found it instantly refilled, and downed half of that glass as well. Finally, after the servants topped off his glass again, along with giving Pinkie and Applejack their change in wine, they dug into the cake, and Applejack let the mixture of tastes coat her tongue.

She nearly chuckled; of course the taste was slightly off. It wouldn't have gone with the rest of the meal if it didn't.

Ten minutes, and several glasses of port for Xavier, later, and he once again spoke, albeit with a slurred speech, “Soooo Missss Pie. Has anyone told you how simply rrravashing you look!”

Pinkie giggled, though Applejack could tell there was a hint of shock in the way it was forced, “Oh Lord Xavier, you flatter me too much! I am not that good looking.”

“Ooooh! But you arrrrrrre! Misssss... uhhh... Jackle! Isn't she the hottest pony this side of... uhhh... here?”

Applejack, caught off guard for being drawn into the conversation, looked at Xavier, then Pinkie in confusion, “Uhh... Ah think tha-”

“She's jusssst simply...” He ran his tongue across his beak, “... rrrrravishing!”

“Well, then lets propose a toast!” Pinkie interjected, raising her glass, “To beauty... for beauty's sake!”

Lord Xavier shakily raised his glass, Applejack joining them silently in the gesture, and the three took a sip from their glasses of drink. For Xavier, this must have been at least his fifteenth glass of wine tonight that he downed, though Applejack suspected that the number was closer to twenty. Applejack took a light sip from the glass, making sure that her wits were sharp, refraining from drinking more than she was absolutely required do, this being only her third drink, and the second was barely touched. As for Pinkie, Applejack was even more surprised now than she was a several minutes ago, for this small pink pony had been drinking this griffin-pony thing under the table, and was no worse for wear.

As she looked at the pink mare take her sip, Applejack's eyes grew wide for a split second as realization hit her. As Pinkie took a sip of her drink, she didn't actually let any pass her lips at all! However, when it looked as though all eyes were on Xavier, she quickly dumped the drink onto the floor under the table, staining the poor rug underneath. Applejack just looked as Pinkie quickly put the glass back to her lips, then slammed her glass down, as though she had drank the entire glass' contents. Finally, the pink mare met eyes with her orange counterpart, and gave Applejack a wink.

With one final bite, Xavier polished off the dessert in front of him, being the last to finish the piece of chocolate cake. Smiling as much as he could, he let his glazed over eyes fall back upon Pinkie. “Soooo... Pie... how did you... like our little date?”

For the second time tonight, Pinkie's giggle had a hint of wariness in it, “This dinner was quite nice, and while I admit I wish we were not forced to stay against our wishes like so, I think the food more than makes up for it.”

“Oh... you didn't wanna stay with the great Lord Xavier the Conqueror?”

“Well... our mission is very important, but like I said, I am glad that we did have the wonderful-”

“Well... thennnnn I must apologize in the... umm... best way that I know how!” Xavier shouted, standing up from the table, he nearly fell over on his face as he started to walk around the table, towards Pinkie. Suddenly, his face contorted slightly, “Lady Pie, pleasssse allow me the pleasure of letting you join me tonight in my bedroom.”

Pinkie's eyes shot open, and any acting that she had been doing of being drunk was gone, “Excuse me? You want me to... to...”

“I would like to show you the reason they still call an aged griffin like myself “The Conqueror.” he said as he wrapped a forehoof around Pinkie's midsection. Even from here, Applejack could see the fearful shivers that traveled down the mare's spine.

Even with the forwardness of Xavier, Pinkie's voice retained its noble persona, “I must respectfully decline your request to partake in... such activities.”

Xavier nearly pulled Pinkie off of her chair as he pulled her face next to his, her eyes shooting wide in shock. The lord merely smiled, and spoke as though he was whispering to only Pinkie, though his voice much louder in his drunken state, “You know, I've heard that line many times before, and it hasn't stopped me yet.”

Having enough, Applejack jumped up on the table, and readied herself for a charge, “Hey! Ya better get ya hooves offa her, or else Ah'll-”

That was all Applejack was able to say before she felt a hoof slam itself against her side, knocking the wind out of her. She let out a yelp as the hit sent her off tumbling off the dining table and onto the rug below, her hat tumbling off of her head. It wasn't more than two seconds after she slammed onto the floor that she had five guards standing over her, their collapsible spears extended and pointed at her neck and side, readying themselves in case Applejack resisted. From here, Applejack could only see Xavier's legs and Pinkie's bushy tail. The orange mare's breathing picked up as adrenaline flowed through her body, urging her to fight the hopeless and suicidal battle before her.

And she was about to do it too, until she heard the unnaturally stoic voice of a mare nearby, “I see... well Lord Xavier, I suppose that a sta... griffin as experienced as yourself must know a few things. And considering the situation we are in, I see now that it would be most... unwise to reject such a generous offer.”

“I thought youuuu'd seeeee it my way,” Xavier replied.

Applejack saw Pinkie's hooves plant themselves onto the ground, and watch the eight legs of the pair of ponies start to walk towards the door that was behind the chair where Xavier was sitting earlier. Applejack struggled for a second, but a hoof sharply connected with her side, again knocking the wind out of her. Gasping for breath, she could only watch as the pair made their way towards the open doorway, away from Applejack's protection. She was supposed to be protecting Pinkie, and here she was, lying on the ground, failing her. The heat of angry and hopeless tears started to burn the sides of Applejack's eyes as Pinkie was forced into the doorway, the door being far enough away so Applejack could see the entirety of Pinkie's body from under the table. However, before her pink friend could be lost from sight in the dark and terrifying hallways, she turned, and gave Applejack a look that chilled her to the bone.

Applejack had seen Pinkie show many faces in her life; ones of happiness, sorrow, anger, and even depression, but this was a look that she had never seen before coming from her. The look spoke many words, and displayed to the orange mare every thought that her normally bubbly and giggling friend had on her mind.

Fear.

Chapter 19: Strained, Broken, and Shattered

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'Wait,' she thought, 'Haven't I done this before? When have I... oh...'

Opening her eyes fully with a sudden start, she had to will herself to not recoil in shock at the sight her eyes beheld. Only two inches from her, Fluttershy contently slept with a smile on her face as her slow and regular breath caressed the fine cyan hairs on Rainbow's cheeks. Even in the darkness of night, Rainbow could see every feature, every detail of the yellow pegasus's happy face. In her sleep, Fluttershy allowed a deep inhale of air, held it for a second, and released it with a sigh.

“Mmmm...” the yellow mare said in her sleep, the alcohol from before was still potent enough in her breath to let Rainbow know it still held onto the mare's mind. Rainbow went to stand up, but realized that not only were Fluttershy's forelegs wrapped around her tightly, but Rainbow's left foreleg was wrapped around Fluttershy, completing the mutual embrace. Furthermore, one of the sleeping mare's hind legs had found itself comfortably placed in between Rainbow's own hind legs, electing a heavy blush from Rainbow at the immensely intimate position. It was only then that she realized a few physical things about the two of them.

Firstly, Fluttershy's pink mane, usually groomed exceptionally well to the point of perfection, was heavily disheveled, the hair tangled and matted all over. If Rarity would've gotten sight of the state of Fluttershy's mane, Rainbow was sure that the white unicorn would have a heart attack. The second noticeable feature was the amount of matting that Fluttershy's coat had, a heavy amount of dried sweat that coated the mare's previously fine hairs being the prime culprit. Noticing herself now, the cyan pegasus now saw that her own coat was in the same state, her fur matted and caked with dried sweat. The final, and most terrifying thing that Rainbow noticed, was how incredibly sore her muscles were, especially around... her... hips...

'… oh no...'

Rainbow's heart started to speed up, the thought of what had previously transpired caused her to slowly begin to panic. 'What did I... what did WE do!? Oh no no no no... I'm not like that! I'm not into mares... am I?' Rainbow, even in her panicked state, somehow remained outwardly calm, not allowing herself to wake her timid companion. 'Ok ok ok... I can't worry about that right now. What I need to worry about is how do I get out of this? Maybe she won't remember what happened, and we can act like this never happened. Yeah... that's a good idea, right?'

The feeling of Fluttershy's forelegs tightened around Rainbow waist, pulling cyan pegasus even deeper into the cuddle, mere centimeters now separated the two mare's lips. Rainbow flushed even deeper with color as she felt their facial hairs brush together slightly, tickling her face. Fluttershy let another deep breath fill her lungs, again held it in, then let out a content sigh.

“Mmmm... Rainbow...”

The cyan pegasus felt her heartbeat freeze at the latest murmur from her yellow friend... or whatever she was now. Sharp chills traveled down Rainbow's spine, and she started to slightly shiver from them... or maybe it was her fears... or maybe it was for some other reason that she couldn't focus on. Her heart eventually started beating again, but it was frantic, erratic, trying to force the cyan pegasus into action, though whether that action was to run, hide, or return the embrace that Fluttershy was unconsciously forcing upon her was unknown. Eventually, Rainbow decided on the course of action she was best at.

Fly.

In a very slow unRainbow-like fashion, she carefully pulled her left foreleg off of Fluttershy, picked up the sleeping mare's foreleg that was wrapped atop her, and placed it on the bed between the two of them. Even more carefully, Rainbow wiggled herself out from the... somewhat invasive position of her friend's hind leg, until all of her friend's limbs were to herself. Finally, Rainbow slid herself out from under the covers, every inch taking an hour, until all four of her hooves were on the floor next to the bed, and Fluttershy still asleep, none the wiser. Taking the same approach as before, Rainbow clumsily made her way across the room, the effects of the drinks from before affecting her still as well, every hoof of distance taking a week to cross as she slowly walked, until she finally got herself to the opposite side of the room. Looking in front of her, a locked window was all that stood between her, and freedom.

She opened the window, the frame thankfully not squeaking, and felt the chilled night air wash across her mane, providing an invigorating shiver through her body. Putting a single hoof on the frame of the window, she took a final look behind her, and watched the peaceful sleeping mare that she might have... gone too far with. Fluttershy was, thankfully, still sleeping, her petite frame rising and falling with every small breath. Rainbow looked on in shame as she thought about what she might have forced upon her oldest and best friend, something she never, ever intended to do to her. A ragged sigh escaped the torn mare's mouth as the thoughts went through her mind, and what might happen to their friendship now.

Turning back towards the window, she looked into the night sky, the moon overhead illuminating the town below just enough for the pegasus to see her path. Rainbow spread her majestic wings as she mentally plotted her flight path, her destination being a rogue cloud high above the town. Peering outside, she made sure that there were no ponies around that might see her leave the room, the warning that Sarlaka told her and Fluttershy at the top of Rainbow's mind. Seeing nopony, she looked back one last time at the small form of her companion, who by now had gotten herself into a much more relaxed position. Satisfied, she looked back towards her target, and with a strong beat of her wings, took off into the night sky.

Instantly, she soared through the air, the wind bristled through the fibers of every feather of her cyan wings. The thrill of flying filled her soul as her wings went into autopilot, beating with unmatched strength as she gained more and more altitude. It wasn't long until she was well on her way to the cloud that would become her home for the next few hours, until she could sort out all the thoughts that were flying through her head. Until then, she cleared her mind as she flew through the sky, letting her worries flow through her, just like the wind.

Little did Rainbow know, her flight did not go unnoticed.

____________________________________________________________________________

“Rrraaagh!!!”

Applejack slammed herself against the thick door, the strong oak holding firm against her attempts to bash it in with her shoulder. Not waiting for a moment to pause, she ran back to the opposite side of the room, charged, and again threw herself against the closed portal with all her might, and still, the door held firm. Taking a second to breathe, she ran to the back of the room, and tried once more to crash through the doorway, knock out the guards, save Pinkie, and never let that mare out of her sight ever again. Yet, she again failed to break through.

Again.

And again.

Applejack limped back to the back of the room, her shoulder crying in pain with every haggard step. Finally getting into position, she took a moment to rest, completely out of breath, muscles exhausted.

“Pinkie Pie...” she muttered to herself, “Ah'm comin'... jus' please... please hold on,” Again, she charged with all her might, putting more into this next hit than she had the previous two dozen impacts. As she slammed into the door, the sound of the deadbolt straining against the frame of the door was heard by Applejack, but still the force was not enough. Sharp pain was shooting through her shoulder from the final impact, she would have to add it to her list of numerous injuries she sustained previously from her tussle with the guards.

She looked almost as bad as Rainbow did just a few days ago, though while Rainbow's injuries appeared to be only superficial and mostly only affected her appearance for a day or two, Applejack knew hers were definitely worse. Every bone and muscle in her body ached in pain, all the way from her rear hooves to the crown of her head had some level of pain attached to it. Her orange coat covered the bruises that surely were forming all across her body, especially her face. The worst injuries she had sustained were by far on her forelegs, which she was certain were nearly fractured in the two fights she had with the guards as they brought her back to her mockingly extravagant prison.

Applejack hoped that the two stallions she knocked unconscious had her hoofprints forever imprinted on their faces.

Slumping down onto the floor, the orange mare sat back on her haunches, her bare head leaned back against the door as she closed her eyes, her hat lost after the incident in the dining room just a few hours ago. Taking deep breaths, she slowly spoke to nopony in particular, “Ah'm sorry Pinkie... Ah truly am.” She couldn't fight the tears that started to build in her eyes, nor did she want to try, the waterworks were her only outlet for all the negative emotions that had built up within her. As the tears streaked down her face, she narrowed her eyes, and loudly proclaimed to herself, “Ah promise tha' Ah won' give up though.”

Raising herself to her hooves, Applejack ran up to the barred windows, raised herself onto her hind legs, and hooked her forehooves onto the bars on the windows. With whatever strength she had in her, she did her best to pull the bars apart, push them together, or move them in any which way that she possibly could, but to no avail. As she should've predicted, the bars were specifically made to make sure that nopony could simply break them with brute force. Dropping down, she looked around the room for anything that she could use to gain leverage on the bars somewhat. The bed was worthless; the chairs were worthless; the tables were worthless; the candlesticks were... possibly a solution.

Running over to a wooden end table, she looked at the candlestick. From what Applejack could gather from her simple inspections, the decorative pieces were a rich gold color, and were made of some kind of metal, though if the candlesticks were made of actual gold, or were only imitative was beyond her knowledge. The curves all along the decorative piece would provide excellent notches for Applejack to work the bars apart, though the thin nature of the entire candlestick itself might prove problematic.

Tossing the unlit wax candle aside, Applejack grabbed the golden tool with her teeth, and rushed over to the window. Finding herself again on her hind legs, she carefully placed the candlestick in between two of the stubborn bars, until it was firmly jammed into position. Not bothering to release her grip of the candlestick in her mouth, she started to push on the instrument, the extra leverage causing the bars to slightly start to bend. The candlestick started to groan in agony as the pressure built, and her mouth shot fresh pain to her brain as the stick of metal pressed against the sides of her cheeks. Harder and harder she pushed on the tool, until she couldn't tell if the copper taste in her mouth was because of the gold plated candlestick, or the blood that she was sure was spilling into her mouth.

Just when she was sure the bars would break from the force, her candlestick snapped, which sent her face into the the bars of the window. Her orange face met the bars with a loud thud, and she suddenly found herself lying on the floor on her back holding her forehead in agony. There she lay for several minutes, until the sharp pain of the impact began to fade into a deeper throbbing. Finally getting her vision back after such a hard hit, she felt a light trickle running down the left side of her face. Wiping her cheek with her forehoof, she noticed the crimson color of the fluid that came off of it, the newly made cut carved by the sharp break in her previously important tool.

Setting her head back down in defeat, Applejack let her eyes wander the room around her. How ironic that a room that could be considered one of the fanciest of Celestia's Palace now only looked like a prison meant solely to mock her. The peaceful sky mosaic above contrasting perfectly to what Applejack was feeling right now; the birds flying freely in the sky, mocking her plight. The feathers on the walls only serving to remind the orange mare of the monster that she would like nothing more than to toss off the top of the castle that she was trapped in. The fancy bedding taunted her, whispering to her that she needed to relax, forget about her friend, lay down to sleep, and just let what was supposed to happen happen. Of course, this all paled in comparison to the final feature of the room.

The portraits.

The pictures of Discord and Lord Xavier all around here watched as the failure of a pony lay on the ground in defeat, their grins spreading across their faces as they watched. Applejack swore she could hear Discord laughing at her plight, his menacing smile spread across his face as if to say, “Hey! I could get out of here with just a snap of my fingers!” Lord Xavier's paintings told her even worse messages, his toothy grin mocking her as well, as if he was just asking her to try and stop him, and just try and save her pink friend, knowing full well that she was completely helpless, and was in no position to try and stop him. Together, they laughed at her hopelessly dire situation, and her pitiful excuse of an escape plan. Her ears nearly bled with the intensity of the cackling laughter.

“RRRAAAAGGHHH!!!!” She screamed in fury, and with her mouth, threw the remains of the candlestick at one of the paintings. The tool tumbled through the air, the previously blunt object now a sharp and dangerous weapon. After an agonizing few seconds, the ruined candlestick tore into the offending painting, silencing the laughter from Xavier and Discord in the portrait. As the candlestick fell, it left behind a scar on the painted canvas, right where Xavier's grotesque face was, forever marring its image.

Applejack stood, and, with a slight hesitation in her step, walked over to painting, looked at its ruined image, then back down towards the broken candlestick. Slowly, she lowered her head, grasped the weapon in her teeth, and looked back up at the painting. A smile grew on her face, and with a mad dash, she ran to the next painting, one of Discord, and tore through the fragile canvas, silencing the laughter spilling from that one. She worked her way to the next painting, this one of Xavier, and with a simple swipe, destroyed him.

For the next few minutes, the orange mare danced a mad dance across the room, tearing into every image she could find of the two evil creatures. When her task was done, she shifted her focus on the beds, then the tables, then the various feathers she could find, defacing them all, only stopped when the candlestick broke to the point where it was impossible to hold in her mouth. All around her, it was as if a tornado had blown through the room, giving no object mercy, though the speed and viciousness that the true source of the destruction threw at it, a tornado wasn't far from the truth.

A sudden clicking of the door brought the mare back to her senses, and she watched in shock as the door opened. Too far away to try and ambush the guards as she had previously wanted to, she could only look on as the door opened. Light streaming in, Applejack gasped.

It was Pinkie Pie.

Applejack could feel the lump in her throat and fresh tears welling up as she saw her. Pinkie's mane was completely disheveled, to the point that if it weren't for some mysterious force of the universe keeping her hair partially poofy, Applejack was sure that her hair would be completely straight. Her coat was completely matted, the normally bright pink colors darkened in areas, staining the formerly happy color. Her typically grinning friend's face was completely blank, her eyes wide in a state of completely shock. Tears were freely flowing down Pinkie's face, though no other signs of crying could be seen or heard coming from her.

Applejack finally found her voice, “Pi... Pinkie Pie?” she spoke with a heavy tremble, “Ah... are you...”

“He said we can leave now...” Pinkie said in a soft and flat voice, never once showing any sign of any emotion. With those words spoken, she turned, and, with a heavy limp, started to make her way out of the room, four guards following to make sure she stayed on the right path. For a brief second, Applejack paused, completely unable to come up with anything to say or do. However, she eventually settled with the only acceptable option at this point, which was to follow her broken friend.

Hurriedly limping to catch up with her friend, Applejack eventually found herself side-by-side with the pink pony. Never once did Pinkie look at Applejack; her eyes constantly looking forward, and never showing any sort of emotion besides her blank stare. On the other hand, the orange mare was constantly stealing glances at Pinkie, hoping to at least once catch a sideways look, a turned head, anything to show that she was at least aware of her surroundings.

“Pinkie...” Applejack started, “Ah'm so sorry. Ah don't know... Ah...” she trailed off, not quite knowing what to say. A few moments of silence passed before she gathered the courage to speak again, “Is there anythin' Ah can do, Sugarcube?” Again, Pinkie didn't answer. In fact, she didn't even react to anything that was said to her, as if Applejack wasn't even there. Settling on letting her keep her silence, the cowpony looked back forward, and allowed herself to be led by the guards to the main gate.

Several hallways later, the pair found themselves at the same gate that they had found themselves at just that afternoon. Now though, the moon was high, and the hopeful mood that the two were in just a few hours ago was just as gone as the sun itself. Before the pair, their two saddlebags and Applejack's stetson were placed into two separate piles. Slowly, Applejack pulled her saddlebags closer to her, and checked the contents. Rummaging inside for a moment, it appeared, at least upon first appearances, that nothing was taken from them. Satisfied, she took the saddlebags, settled them onto her back, and strapped them on. Looking over at Pinkie, the orange pony noticed that she was having a little trouble getting her's on. With a slightly forced smile, Applejack reached over to help strap the bags onto Pinkie, but was surprised when Pinkie suddenly jumped back, her eyes wide and pupils merely pinpricks as she cowered, shaking a little in fear.

Her heart breaking, Applejack said as softly as possible, “Its ok, Pinkie. Ah ain't gonna hurt ya. Ah'm ya friend, remember?” Reaching out with a forehoof, the orange mare didn't dare move any more as she waited for Pinkie to calm down. Slowly, Pinkie was able to stop shaking as much, and raised her body up from the ground, until she once again stood at her full height. Still doing her best to smile, Applejack nearly tip-toed herself to Pinkie until she was right next to her, giving her just enough space to make sure Pinkie knew she had 'a way out' if she needed. Carefully strapping the saddlebags onto her, she could feel her slightly tremble at her touch, though at least this time she didn't recoil. With a final tug, Applejack placed her stetson on her head, and the pair turned towards the exit, making their way back towards the main gate, and out of the city forever.

The entire time, Pinkie's tears never stopped flowing.

___________________________________________________________________________

A soft moan emanated from the sleepy mare's mouth as she protested against her premature awakening. It was still dark out as Fluttershy exited the realm of dreams and returned to the conscious world. The bed was pleasantly warm, and it begged for the sleeping pegasus to just roll over, curl up into a ball, and go back to sleep. She proceeded to comply with the warm bed's convincing suggestions as she pulled the covers up to her chin, and snuggled back up with her companion.

Except she was alone. Opening her eyes slowly, she saw that the space next to her was empty, though at the same time, she was confused on why she would even think that anypony would be occupying it with her. Sitting up slightly, a dizziness overcame her, and she quickly found herself lying back down on the bed, the room around her swirling every which way. Even more confusing was how all the muscles in her flank and hind legs were sore, even though, as far as she could remember, she had not exerted those muscles at all the past few days.

“Oh my... what happened?” she softly spoke to herself. Thinking back, small bits and pieces of the previous night started to come back to her.

After only a few minutes alone in the room, she had gotten lonely , and wished that Rainbow would be there with her to keep her company. She gathered her courage, and decided to join Rainbow downstairs, even if it was against every instinct that her subconscious was telling her. Wrapped in her protective cloak, she went downstairs and, after making sure Quill was alright, made her way into the dance hall. Noting that it was indeed a bar, not a welcome turn of events in the slightest, Fluttershy was tempted to run back to her room, avoid the crowd completely, and just wait for her friend. However, the thought of joining Rainbow gave her the motivation to continue forward into the gathering of ponies. Eventually, she spotted the beautiful cyan coat of her pegasus friend from under her cloak, and within a few minutes, and many apologies later, she was sitting on the stool next to her. Smiling to each other, they talked about a few simple things, and Rainbow introduced Fluttershy to what she had to admit was a very tasty drink, even if it burned when going down.

Trying to make sure that she didn't disappoint Rainbow, she did her best to keep up with her cyan companion, downing glass after glass of the sinful beverage. Fuzziness filled her every sense, the two getting far out of hand with the amount of drinks they consumed, but in the end, it was worth it. Fluttershy eventually summoned enough of her nerve to ask Rainbow Dash to dance with her, something she never would've had the courage to do in her normal state of mind. After making their way to the center of the dance floor, the pair danced for a while, the time blurring together like her eyesight. Through it all, the music always kept to a slow and steady beat, perfect for the intimate dance that the two shared the entire night.

A sudden memory rushed to her mind, causing Fluttershy's eyes to go wide, “Oh... my...”

It was shortly after the last song had ended, or maybe it hadn't ended, the yellow pegasus couldn't remember, but that wasn't important. The important part is that Fluttershy had whispered to Rainbow that they should probably go back to their rooms, to which Rainbow drunkenly complied. Making their way up the stairs, the pair pressed their sides against one another, giving each other support as they made their way to their room. Stumbling into the room, Fluttershy let Rainbow make her way to the bed to sleep, Fluttershy kicked the door shut, and simply smiled at the perfect cyan mare in front of her. Flopping on the bed, Rainbow turned towards Fluttershy, and smiled goofily at her. Giggling at Rainbow, a phrase that Rainbow once taught her came to mind.

Fluttershy whispered to herself, still in shock at the rush of memories, “Loss of control. Screaming and hollering,... and... passion...”

The yellow mare made her way towards the bed, taking her cloak and wing bindings off as she walked, but instead of pulling herself onto her side of the bed and giving the drunken Rainbow her space, she had climbed behind her, and snuggled close. Rainbow had giggled at the close contact, their warmth being shared even through Rainbow's cloak. Fluttershy's forelegs wrapped around Rainbow as she smiled, gently running her hooves along Rainbow's sides as they spooned, eliciting a pleasant moan from Rainbow Dash, and an embarrassed blush from Fluttershy. She wasn't sure how long this simple playing had gone on, but eventually, Rainbow had rolled herself over, so that the pair now faced each other, mere inches separating their lips.

With a burst of energy, Fluttershy found herself on her back, her wings splayed out on either side of her, the full yellow wings leaving no mystery to how Fluttershy felt about the sudden surge of passion from her love. Rainbow, now straddling Fluttershy's midsection, forcefully ripped the cloak off of herself, leaving nothing but the rope around her wings to restrain her own feathered appendages, her cyan coat almost shining in the dim light. Quickly, Rainbow tore at the rope with her teeth, until she was finally able to bite through the bindings, allowing her powerful wings to spread open to display their full span in earnest. Slowly, Rainbow lowered her face closer to Fluttershy's, the sound of their breathing grew heavy in the dark. Fluttershy's heart raced as Rainbow's lips grew near, the smell of alcohol entering the yellow mare's nostrils, and-

Fluttershy shook her head, her face completely red with shameful embarrassment at the memories that were flowing through her head, the realization of what happened in their shared drunken stooper slowly made its way into her mind. The idea of what she and Rainbow had done earlier that night was terrifying to the mare, and she wasn't sure whether to be scared at what the two mares did, happy that Rainbow would share something that intimate with her, or...

She looked over at the empty bed next to her, and felt an overwhelming sadness. Yes, what they had shared just a few hours ago was indeed magical, but if Rainbow wasn't here, then she must have awoken just before her, and left in disgust. Fluttershy had let her emotions get the better of her in her inebriation, and now had ruined not only the slim chances of the two of them of getting together, but had most likely her life-long friendship with her missing friend as well.

Laying back down on the bed, she turned towards the wall, curled up in a ball, and wished to herself that she could go back to the beginning of the night, and redo everything. If she could, she would stay in her room until Rainbow came back, even if she enjoyed her company. She would refuse the drink that Rainbow offered to her, even if drinking with her was fun. She would refrain from asking Rainbow to dance, even if the moment was magical like no other. She would refuse to go any further than cuddling up with each other...

… even if it felt so right...

Fluttershy's ears perked up as she heard the door to her room slowly open, the rusted over hinges signaling to the yellow mare that Rainbow had returned. Not bothering with looking up, she continued to lay there in her protective position. Softly, as if Rainbow believed that Fluttershy was still asleep, the door closed shut, leaving a nearly silent 'click' as the lock engaged. A soft clopping of hooves against the wood of the floor emanated from behind her as the cyan mare made her way back to bed. Fluttershy was tempted to turn over, and ask where she had been the entire night, but if Rainbow was joining her in bed again, then why bother asking? She kept her eyes closed, and, against her wishes, let out a small smile as-

Strong hooves grabbed her shoulder, and forcefully rolled her onto her back, a small “eep” escaping the surprised pegasus. Her surprise turned to fear as she felt her limbs painfully pressed against the bed, the darkness too deep and the shock too startling for her to make out what was going on just in front of her. All she saw was one... no... three... no... six shadowy shapes all around her, grabbing her legs, pulling them every which way. Before she could make the slightest of sounds, she found a dirty cloth pulled over her mouth, preventing any sound except for the smallest of whines. It was only a few seconds later that she found herself blinded by another dirty rag, and her legs tied to the four posts of the bed, completely defenseless to the souls in the room around her.

The room was eerily silent as she heavily breathed, the only sounds in the room coming from her panicked whining and the heavy clopping of hooves on the floor next to the bed. No words were spoken for nearly a minute as Fluttershy assumed that the ponies or zebra or whatever were inspecting her, the thought of what was to come terrifying her to no end. Finally, one of the attackers, a male voice, spoke.

“Good job boys. Time to fix this feathered problem...”

A/N: I'm sorry...

Chapter 20: Sorrow and Guilt

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The stars twinkled high in the sky as the two ponies walked along the expanse near the Everfree Forest, silence hanging in the air as the two made their way back towards Sarlaka's lair. The moon was still high in the night sky, the pair had set out early, though Twilight knew that any moment now, the sun would replace it in its Discordian way. She had tried to think of anything to say to Rarity to strike up some sort of conversation in an attempt to alleviate the pair from the heavy quiet that smothered them. However, every time she tried, the images of Rarity screaming in pain, slicing her horn off, the panicked wails that escaped Rarity's lungs upon the discovery of her disfigurement, and the shame of her participation in the vile acts always stopped her short. A dozen times she had opened her mouth to try, and a dozen times she closed it, the act of uttering a single word threatening to send tears to her eyes.

It had been this way for the past day now, the endless brown plains on either side of the pair past by without a single wayward thought as they traveled. After Rarity found out about her horn, she had cried her heart out, refusing to be consoled by the very one who caused it. However, after only a single hour, Rarity's tears had dried, her sobbing finished, though her mood never lightened. After a simple few questions to make sure the Element of Generosity was safe, the white mare sat at the edge of the water, and stared off into the distance, never acknowledging either Twilight or her own image in the water.

In fact, Rarity had rejected dinner and also did not join Twilight in the tent that night, settling to simply staring off into the distance. Either she had done this all night long, or had gone to sleep after Twilight did and woke up before the lavender unicorn rose from her slumber, for when Twilight went to sleep and when she woke up, Rarity was in the exact same position. Fortunately, Rarity did accept some breakfast, a simple orange, and after Twilight had broken down camp, the pair made their way out of the forest. Either because of simple absent mindedness, or because she longed to forget what she lost, Rarity had abandoned her sword on the ground when they left, leaving Twilight to carry it with her.

Through it all, Twilight blamed herself. 'If only I were faster,' she thought to herself, 'If only I had told Rarity to be more careful. If only I didn't just let Rarity be the brave one, and take the front. If only...'

“Its not your fault, you know.”

The words broke Twilight from her mental scolding, and she turned towards the cracking, yet familiar, voice. Rarity didn't turn her head towards Twilight, but it was obvious that, at least for now, she was acknowledging her existence; something that the lavender mare wasn't going to complain about. Still, the shock from the sudden words caught Twilight off guard, gaping at the hornless unicorn, she was unable to think of any sort of response.

“Did you hear me? Its not your fault,” Rarity spoke again, still not turning her gaze towards her.

Stammering at first, Twilight finally broke out of her stupor, “But... but Rarity! What makes you think that I would be imagining that?”

“Because, Twilight, its written all over your face.”

Twilight debated asking how Rarity could notice that when she wasn't even looking at her, but decided against it. “But Rarity, I not only let you get up close to that thing, but I nearly FORCED you up there. There I was, standing in the back, hiding behind you, while you were up close!”

“You didn't force me up there, I chose to get up next to it, and let you do what you do best, which is shoot the thing with your magic. You never once hid, and when I was thrown across the room, you-”

Twilight stopped her walking, and closed her eyes, “Rarity, I almost didn't get you enveloped in that shield. I almost failed you. I DID fail you. I should have known that the Ursa was too powerful.”

“Twilight.”

“I should have known that the blood caused issues with magic, I should have been more forceful with my magic and held nothing back, and I should have-”

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!”

Twilight opened her eyes in shock, and saw herself looking into Rarity's eyes. Even with her disheveled mane, the dirtied fur, the destroyed horn, and the various cuts and scratches, Rarity's azure eyes were still filled with a passion that the mare always had within them. This time, that passion was brimmed with a sense of force; it wasn't rage, but, perhaps, disappointment.

Her voice sure carried the tone of a mare enraged though, “I will not, and I will repeat, I will NOT hear you blaming yourself for what happened! It was not your fault that I was hit. In fact, you saved my life, and Celestia help me if you keep denying that fact, I will make SURE you realize it. It was not your fault that I took the front. I chose to be there, because I knew you needed your concentration with those spells, and I knew I could dodge that thing much better than you. It is not your fault that I got that Ursa's blood on me. I was in the front by choice, and with what I did to the thing, I'm surprised that blood didn't get on you as well. Furthermore, it is not your fault that you didn't know about the Ursa's blood thing. Sure you run a library, but that doesn't mean that you can possibly know everything, and if you try to claim that, I will smack the denial out of you.

“Not only that, but after that happened, you saved my life, which would make it the second time that day that you did. Yes, it was an awful decision, and there was no good choice, but if I knew then what I know now, and I could change what happened, I wouldn't do anything differently. Like I said, you saved my life. I should be on my knees thanking your sorry flank, not listening to you feeling sorry for me, because I will let you know, Twilight, it doesn't help me. What WOULD help me is you to stop blaming yourself for what happened to me, because I don't blame you in the slightest! For the love of Luna, just let me thank you!”

After several deep and labored breaths, Rarity lowered her head, her eyes now staring at her hooves, “Please... please just... let me thank you...”

Twilight studied Rarity as she stood there, head down, as if bowing in reverence to her supposed savior. Thinking about what she said, Rarity was correct in a lot of respects. If it wasn't for her quick thinking, a lot of things would've happened in those few minutes to turn a bad situation into a disaster. She did save her friend with that shield spell, she did save her from the magical overload that was spreading to her skull. She had also grabbed the element, Rarity, their gear, dragged them out, all without using magic in fear of whatever happened to Rarity would happen to her. Twilight had done a lot, and Rarity was right

Twilight spoke, her voice somber, “I'm sorry Rarity, but even if you are right, it is still my fault. I could have, and should have done more, and now you are paying the price.”

Rarity never picked her head up as Twilight witnessed the remaining will within her friend shatter at the rejection. Twilight watched as her broken friend turned, and continued down the road, never sparing another glance behind her. Taking an extra second to inhale and release a deep breath, Twilight trotted up to Rarity, who had returned to her silent and stoic march. Catching up, the pair made their way through the bare hills on their way back to their sanctuary.

As they walked, Twilight dared to speak, “Hey Rarity, I was able to save your sword and your diamonds. Do... do you still want them?”

Never sparing even a glance she calmly spoke in a level voice, “Those things are as dead to me as my magic, my dreams, and my entire existence.”

Her eyes grew wide once more as Twilight looked at Rarity, “What? Rarity, how could you say that!?”

“Twilight, my entire life revolved around me using my magic. Sure, my special talent isn't magic like yours, but I use it every day. Without it, I can't make my dresses, I can't find gems, I can't apply my own makeup, hell,” Rarity paused, chuckled a short and hollow laugh, “I can't even use a spoon anymore.”

The lavender mare's ears lowered flat onto her head as she looked again at Rarity, “Rarity, I-”

“Twilight, lets just get back to that damned cave and be done with all of this.”

______________________________________________________________________________

Rainbow paced on her little cloud island in the sky as her mind raced. The sun had not come up just yet, and while the alcohol still flowed in her system, its strength had been mostly neutralized by this point. The dizziness in her head was only slightly present and the stumble in her step was mostly gone. The cyan mare suspected that she had her quick metabolism to thank for her quick sobering, but she also suspected that the massive influx of adrenaline just an hour ago was also to thank. While her sobering had helped with her physical coordination, it came nowhere close to helping her cope with the current situation in general.

Namely, the fact that she had... slept with Fluttershy.

Rainbow winced at the thought, the idea that she did anything like that with one of her friends, especially the most timid and shy one, frightened her.

“Ok ok ok,” Rainbow spoke to herself, still pacing, “this isn't that bad. Its just a one night fling. Everypony's done that before. Sure, I haven't, and I know Fluttershy hasn't either, but... well... ugh! This isn't helping... why do I always have to buck up like this? We were doing great, we were making good time, and I have to go and have drunken sex with her. I am such a buck up...”

Rainbow Dash sat down on the cloud, and brought a hoof to the arch of her muzzle, “Ok, talking down to myself is not helping here. Lets look at this logically, like Twilight or something.” Rainbow paused, and cleared her throat, “First off, do I even like mares? Hell, does SHE!? Of course she does, we had intercourse, but that means that if she does because of that, I like mares too, but don't think I like mares, but then I wouldn't have had intercourse with her, but I did, but then she wouldn't have, and she did, but that would mean that... AGH!”

Collapsing onto the cloud, Rainbow rolled over onto her back, her front hooves covering her eyes, “Why does Twilight have to be so complicated! Or me acting like her. Or... ugh. Forget it. Lets... what would Applejack tell me?

“Well, Ah have to be honest with myself,” Rainbow Dash thought out loud, “If Ah slept with her, then Ah have to love her. At the same time, if she slept with me, then she must love me. An' hell, even if we don' love each other, because we had sex, tha' means that we have to marry, or else one of our father's will kick us to death... or something. But wait, don' that only happen if I get her pregnant, or she gets me pregnant? Or does it? An' what about the whole two mares thing? Ain't that... wait... did I just say ain't'?”

Rainbow Dash picked herself back up, and shook her head vigorously, “What was that? I guess Applejack Me is a bad choice to figure this sort of thing out. Let alone the fact that I now feel like kicking a tree, she's less helpful than Twilight Me, and I didn't even know what Twilight Me even said!” Sighing, Rainbow resumed her pacing, “What would Pinkie say?”

Shaking her head vigorously again, she started speaking quickly, “Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh! You two are together!? That's amazing! You know what this calls for!?!? A party!” Rainbow nearly yelled, her forelegs throwing themselves into the air, half expecting confetti to suddenly appear, “And we have to invite everypony in the whole wide world like Applejack and Twilight and Rarity and Clyde and Martha and that one guard pony who I don't kno-”

Rainbow shoved a hoof into her mouth, halting the endless assault against her ears, her words now muffled by the mass of cyan in her mouth. After a few seconds, Rainbow stopped, slowly looked around, and took her hoof out of her mouth. After removing her hoof with an audible “pop”, she carefully wiped the saliva off of the appendage. A slight blush forming on her cheeks at the random outburst, she sighed, “Ok, that was so much worse than the others, I'm not even going to say the reasons why. Ok, so Pinkie Me wants to throw a party for, well, me; Applejack Me wants me beaten in the face unless we get married, I think; Twilight Me wants... well... I don't even know what she.. or I... or it wants. Hmm...” Rainbow Dash tapped her slightly damp hoof against her chin, “What would Rarity be like?

“Oh my! That is absolutely MARVELOUS!” Rainbow said, drawing out the last word excessively. She took a forehoof, and brushed her mane out of her face with an exaggerated brush, “I never knew that such scandalous love could foster between the two of you! I mean, look at it? Rai... umm... me: athletic, strong, and quick on her... my hooves. Meanwhile, there's Fluttershy: shy, well thought out, and kind beyond belief. This is a match destined for the most romantic of stories, the most glamorous of weddings! Two childhood friends together at last!! Wahahaha!!”

Rainbow stopped as she noticed that she now stood tall on her hind legs with her hooves curled up in front of her and with her wings spread out wide behind her to keep her balance. With an audible groan, she flopped herself back onto her back, the cloud cushioning her fall. “Rarity is crazy.”

She laid there for a few minutes, letting her mind empty as she focused on nothing except the feeling of the fluffy cloud below her, the puffy mass slightly moist to her touch. The vaporous cloud, while made up of water, never truly soaked her coat, merely cooling it. To any other race of ponies, these white masses would feel like nothing more than humid air as they fell through it, but for her, it was as comfortable as any bed. Above her, the wind blew softly, her mane gently blowing the cool night breeze. The wind up here was much harder than at ground level, and was cool enough to send a small chill through Rainbow, though it was a good chill that reinvigorated her.

But the flood of thoughts and memories inevitably came rushing back, filling the mare's mind with a sense of worry, fear, and something else; something very small that she just couldn't put her hoof on. It was an interesting feeling. The worry within her made her want to roll over the side of the cloud, and upchuck her entire stomach, though the fading alcohol might be a contributing factor. The fear made her want to run and hide, something that was completely against her entire being, and something she felt she could never do to any of her friends, though the desire was still there.

That last feeling though made her want to do the complete opposite of what the rest of her mind was telling her body to do. That last feeling was telling her that she had to go back to Fluttershy, make sure that she knew that she was sorry for leaving her, make sure that she knew that she would never run away again, snuggle up next to her, and continue their blissful slumber. Rainbow shook her head, trying to shake out that previous offending thought that was invading her mind, trying to deny its existence, but no matter how hard she tried, the warm feeling remained within her, and continued its weak, yet constant, pull on the mare's mind and heart. It was a small feeling yes, but it was slowly growing by the minute.

Finally, Rainbow started talking to herself again, still on her back, her voice slightly frantic in tone, “Alright, forget my friends, or me acting like my friends, or my friends acting like me acting like them, or whatever. Lets just look at the good and bad about this sort of relationship... or friendship... or mareship... or shipship. I mean, the mare is slow, physically I mean, and probably could never keep up with me if I really tried. I always wanted somepony that could keep up with me and help me with my tricks, and I have to say, Fluttershy isn't that kind of pegasus. Second off, she's quite literally my best friend, and... I don't know... are best friends supposed to have some kind of unspoken rule where they DON'T get together romantically? I'm sure there's a law or something that Twilight could tell me about, though we aren't really in Equestria anymore I guess, so would that make it ok? Grr!”

Rainbow picked herself back onto her hooves, and resumed her pacing yet again, her speech speeding up in turn, “Not to mention the fact that things could get really awkward if something were to happen between the two of us. I mean, Elements of Harmony, friendship, and all that jazz would be hard to maintain if we were to break up. What would happen then? I mean, would they still work? IF I was still loyal, she kind, and we hated each other? Wait... she kind and hating me? Is that possible!? Oh, and of course this is completely ignoring the manticore in the room: the fact that we're both mares. I mean, sure, I don't have any problems with mares that... well... swing that way, but do others? Do our friends? And that's not even considering the fact that I don't even know if I like mares like that. Sure, Fluttershy is great, really great, and kind, and... well... actually...”

She stopped in her tracks, a small smile slowly started to take over her face, the first genuine one she had since she came to her cloud haven. Smiling she continued to monologue, this time is a much smoother and calm voice, “I guess that girl is really great, huh? I mean, I guess it goes without saying that she's the kindest mare I've ever met, and I would guess the kindest one out there period, considering the whole element thing and all. If nothing else, she always makes me smile, no matter how... well... frustrating she can be, which is pretty awesome in itself. Not only that, but I don't think there's another pony out there I get along better with than her. Sure, Applejack is cool to hang out with and compete against, but that's kinda it. Pinkie is fun to prank with and I love her parties, but that's kinda it as well. The other girls too have their qualities, but none of them come close to how close us two are.”

Rainbow grinned wider, a slight blush burning through her fur, “Heh... not to mention how nice that flank is.”

The naughty thought subsided as fast as it came, but the confused mare's smile did not. She looked up, and saw the moon high in the air, lighting the world all around her. “I guess I really don't know what I want, huh?” She said to the moon itself. Looking down, she saw just a short distance away the inn that the pair of pegasi had been staying at. She had been gone for well over an hour now, and considering she really didn't know what time it was and she really didn't want to fly back to the inn while the sun was up, she decided it was time to head back, even if she wasn't really sure what she was going to say to her yellow companion.

Spreading her wings slowly, she gave them a gentle few flaps, making sure that her feathers were all situated in their right places and her muscles were properly stretched after the stressful hour of panicked pacing. With a gentle flap of her wings, she took off from her lofty perch, and soared through the sky. Leveling off, she settled on gliding down, letting her speed keep her aloft, drifting down, and towards the room that the pair were sharing. Light now spilled through the open window she had escaped from, signaling to her that Fluttershy was most likely awake now. Through it all, even if she didn't know what she was going to do about the whole situation that she had gotten the two of them into, a subconscious smile overtook her face as she thought about the mare she was about to confront.

Chapter 21: Atonement and Seeking

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Fluttershy shivered with terror as nothing but the endless expanse of darkness filled her eyesight. She had no idea how long she had laid there in captivity, but she knew it was far too long for anypony to deserve. Her blindfold was placed perfectly on her eyes, so that she could not see even the slightest glimpse of the outside world, the dim light of the moon unable to pierce the offending cloth. She tried to whimper, begging the ponies around to release her, but only a few barely audible noises were produced, the filthy rag wrapped around her face gagging her mouth. These two bindings reeked of sweat and grime, and the thought of where they had been more than once entering the mare's mind, disturbing her even further.

The only sense that she had left was her precious sense of hearing. Possibly because of the removal of her sight, she seemed to be able to pick up every single sound that filled the room. Every creak of the floorboards, every squeak of the bed springs under her, even every breath of her captors filled her ears. She could hear them walking back and forth, inspecting her, as if she was some kind of produce on display at market. She could hear quiet mutters coming from the other things in the room they spoke to themselves, the words never truly forming outside their own respective minds. She still didn't know how many creatures were there watching her, but it didn't matter if there were two, five, or a hundred, they were all just as threatening in her bound position.

An unfamiliar raspy voice finally broke the silence, “I don't get it, why can't we just kill her, and be done with it right now?”

Another voice, just as foreign, entered her ears, the voice smooth to her ears, “Because, Luke, you and I both know that that isn't the way we do things.”

“Oh come on! Really? You're defending a pegasus!? Those things need to be put down!”

“Exactly!” A new voice spoke, the tone much deeper than either of the others, “But I still think you two are both crazy. These abominations of nature need to be punished! Something as simple as taking care of this thing isn't deserving of something so merciful.” Fluttershy felt a hoof poke her clinched wing harshly, enough so that pain shot through the appendage, “I still think we should make her death slow and painful; teach her kind a lesson on how we deal with their vile mutations.”

“And deal with that sort of bloody mess? Maybe if you want to clean it all up, but I am not touching that thing's juices,” The first voice said, disgust all too apparent in its tone.

The second voice, seemingly the leader of the group, came back, the tone slightly harsher than before, “I am aware of both of your sentiments, but that is NOT how we do things. Alright? You both know how we go about dealing with pegasi around these parts, and that is how we are going to do it.”

“Even with only us here? Do we really need to do that sort of formality?”

“Even if it was just me, Luke, we must do it. Remember that. Is that clear you two?”

There was a slight pause, until the other two voices muttered a frustrated sigh in unison, “Fine.”

Fluttershy again tested the bindings tied to her four hooves, only to be be met once again with failure. The thought of being on display so openly embarrassed and frightened the mare more than she ever imagined possible, but here she was, her hooves bound to each of the bed's posts, her bright yellow legs trapped, leaving her completely defenseless to the stallions around her. The sounds of hooves approaching her again stopped her small struggle.

Suddenly, she felt teeth harshly grabbing for the wing closest to the center of the room, attempting to pull it out from its closed position. Panic overtook the blind mare, and she used every muscle she had to clamp it back shut. For several seconds, the battle between the two forces tore at the wing, pulling more than one feather out of the majestic appendage as Fluttershy fought against the inevitable. For the most part, she was winning, her wing staying mostly shut as the stallion pulling it open couldn't get a good grasp onto it. Eventually, she won out, the teeth finally slipping from her wing, and the satisfying sounds of her foe tumbling to the ground with a painful thud entering her ears.

Her small victory was short lived as a sudden force slammed into her stomach, eliciting a muffled scream of pain from the pegasus. New tears started to well up in her eyes, soaking the blindfold in their salty liquid. She did her best to stifle the sobbing she knew was about to come, but she didn't think that she could hold back her cries of pain. Muffled sobs escaped her throat as the sharp pain of the blow faded into a deeper throbbing ache.

A sudden feeling of breath against her ear stopped her sobs, and made her stiffen in fear again. A small whisper from the leader filled her ear, “If you want this to be a painless as possible, you might want to spread those little chicken wings of yours.” The breathing remained in her ear as she shivered in fright. Finally, her will to resist gave in, and slowly, she unfurled her undoubtedly damaged wing. She could feel the smile overtake the stallion's face and he chuckled, “Good girl. Don't worry, I'll be as merciful as possible.”

The presence went away as she felt something tie her wing down, forcing it to remain open and flat against the bed. The presence from moments before returned as something climbed onto the bed, standing over her as it pulled at her other wing. She hesitated for a moment, before letting that wing spread wide, allowing her captors to tie it down. After only a minute, she was completely secured, her wings open, her legs bound, blind, gagged, and hurt.

She couldn't find the tears to shed anymore.

“My brothers!” The voice from the leader cried out in triumph, hooves loudly clopping onto the ground as the captor over her jumped down, “we are gathered here today to grant mercy to this mare. For so long, she has lived with the burden of being a mutant, an abomination, a plague against all that is pure in the world. These feathered growths are not meant for us ponies, for as children of the earth, we are meant to be one with the land, and walk connected with the earth. Wings rob us of that very connection, stealing our unity as a race, and forever tearing us apart. But that is not how it has to be! Us being here is proof of that.

“This mare was born with that plague! For too long, she has undergone much hardship as she was forced to live a life unaware of how those vile growths stole the very essence of her species from her. But should we blame this innocent mare for this crime? No! Just because she was born with those things does not mean that these are her doing. She had no control over whether she was born a pure and honorable pony of the earth or whether she was born a monster.

“However,” The leader paused for a moment, then spoke more quietly, “we have the power to rectify this wrong, for with this blade, we shall cut away this monster, and leave nothing but the beautiful mare that this abomination has hidden within her.”

The soft clopping of hooves on the ground signaled to her that they were approaching her, the terrifying words that the stallion spoke took Fluttershy's terror to a whole new level. She tried to shake herself out of her bonds with a new level of vigor, ignoring the pain shooting through her wings as the bindings around them tugged at the sensitive appendages. Trying to break out, she used every ounce of power she had in her limbs to break the bindings, free herself, fly away from her captors, and get out of this hell that the room had become.

The feeling of hooves pressing her body down stopped her, her mind filled with the sense of defeat. Her heart racing, she stopped moving, scrunched her bound eyes closed, and readied herself for the horror that was about to be impart on her. The feeling of a sharp object, a blade, falling to rest gently on the base of her precious wing, the blade barely touching her fur. For a fleeting moment, she thought that maybe she would be spared from this treatment, even if she knew deep down that the idea of such an act was insane at best. The pressure suddenly built, and the hot pain from the blade as it bit down upon her wing filled her body. The knife quickly started to-

The sounds of hooves roughly impacting the floor on the other side of the room interrupted the act, “Hey Fluttershy, I just wanted t-”

Silence followed, the statement cut off by the sight that befell her cyan friend, but was she her savior, or her potential shared victim. The tension in the room slowly built as the only sound in the room was the breathing of several stallions, and now one mare. She could feel said tension building more and more, the heavy weight of raw emotions growing until she could barely take in breath. She could hear the breathing of the stallions next to her pick up as the knife was slowly taken away from her wounded wing, though she knew that enough damage was done so that blood was trickling out of the wound.

There was another short moment before one of her captors stuttered a reply, “I... I thought there was only one... monster...”

“RRAAAAAAHHHH!!!!”

And that was when the room truly turned into hell on earth.

Rainbow yelled a furious cry as the sounds of wings beating filled the room. It was obvious that the three stallions were caught off guard, as there was no noise other than a shocked gasp on their end as rage incarnate slammed her entire force into one of them. A cracking sound emanated from where the initial impact came from, and with only a stifled cry later, the sounds of a body crashing into the wall next to the bed entered Fluttershy's ears. Sudden shouts filled the room as the other two stallions returned to their senses, and attacked Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy trembled in fear as the vicious battle next to her took place. The simple fact that she wasn't able to either see her friend and cheer her on, hide in the corner and merely observe the carnage, or maybe even help where she could, though even she had to admit that last possibility was unlikely at best, upset her even further. The noises of the stallions varied from combative anger, woeful pain, and even blatant shock. However, their noises were mostly ignored by the yellow mare, who only tuned in on the sounds coming from Rainbow Dash.

The shouts that emanated from Rainbow's throat were filled with so much fury, that it nearly stunned Fluttershy into a frozen shock. If last night's tirade against Quill taught Fluttershy that Rainbow had more anger within her than Fluttershy ever imagined, this brutal display of rage made the point all the more clear. Fluttershy winced at some of the sounds that came from her friend, the rare and short yelps of pain that came from the cyan pegasus telling her that even the agile and quick Rainbow Dash could be hit.

The sudden weight of a body crashing on top of her stopped her mental processes. The weight, as quickly as it came, quickly left as it fell over her and onto the floor with a heavy thump. Suddenly, the room was completely quiet save for the heavy panting of a single tired pony. Fluttershy's mind raced, unsure of who was the victor of the fight. She had only counted two assailants falling to the floor; had the third fallen earlier when Fluttershy was distracted with her thoughts, or had Rainbow been the one to have just crashed into her? Gentle, if slightly haggard, hoofsteps of an approaching pony told Fluttershy that her questions would soon be answered. Soon, the steps stopped just next to the bed containing her bound form, as if waiting for some unknown sign to spring their owner into action.

The cold touch of the blade from before touched her cheek gently, the hot breath of its wielder blowing across her muzzle, sending a chill down Fluttershy's spine yet again. She trembled as the knife moved across her cheek, toying with her emotions as the stallion taunted her, letting Fluttershy know that she was doomed minutes before her death actually came. Right now, the thought of losing her wings seemed like a merciful one compared to what threatened her now. She could only hope that her death was a quick one as the knife pressed against her cheek, somehow not cutting her.

With a swift motions, the knife moved under her gag, and with a swift motion, cut the rag away.

Fluttershy felt her mouth freed, and soon found a hoof pulling away the gag from her lips, giving the mare a refreshing taste of fresh air once more. Yet, she still did not move, and kept her silence as the knife removed itself, and was once again placed on her head, this time near her temple. Once again, the knife pressed down onto her temple, though now that she payed attention, she noticed the cutting edge was not pressed against her skin, but instead, the backside was. Again, with a swift motion, the filthy rag was cut away, returning her eyesight.

The first thing that she saw was a blinding glare of the room's lights, which had apparently been turned on sometime since she was blindfolded. The light brought spots to her vision, and Fluttershy found herself blinking away tears, though these were merely from the sudden shock of the light. After a few seconds, her eyes adjusted, and while some spots remained, she nearly cried in joy at the first sight of the most beautiful creature in the world.

Rainbow Dash.

The cyan mare looked into Fluttershy's eyes as she held a slightly bloody kitchen knife in her mouth, the instrument that was used to harm Fluttershy now served to free her. Her forehead was bleeding from an injury she had recently sustained, most likely from the recent fight, and there was more than one recent, if minor, cut along her face. However, it was the her eyes that Fluttershy focused on, Rainbow's eyes filled with pain and worry for the yellow mare. While Rainbow said nothing, those two orbs told Fluttershy all that she needed to hear to know what her savior had on her mind.

Rainbow's failure.

After another second of the pained look, and Rainbow looked back down, and got back to work cutting away the bonds on Fluttershy. She worked on her wings first, the sensitive appendages being the most likely parts of Fluttershy's body to be injured if she moved too much. As the cyan pegasus went to cut away the bond that was holding Fluttershy's injured wing, there was a noticeable pause in her movements as the sight of the cut at the base and the torn feathers at the tip engraved themselves into Rainbow's mind before she cut away the rope. She repeated the action with the uninjured wing, taking great strides to make sure that she was as careful as possible.

As this happened, Fluttershy looked over at the room, which had very quickly turned from a quint and cozy bedroom, into a warzone. There wasn't a single piece of furniture that was spared: the tables were upended, the pictures on the walls had fallen down, and even the couch was completely destroyed by having a stallion shoved deep into it, the strong wooden frame broken in several places and being the most likely cause of his unconsciousness. The other two ponies were in similar states; one was thrown against some drawers, completely destroying them to the point where firewood was their only purpose, while the final one, being the one that was thrown onto her earlier, for he laid right next to bed, eyes closed, and breathing scant. None of the ponies looked familiar, though with all the ponies that were in the bar last night, it was possible that they were one of the many patrons from before.

With a final cut, Rainbow cut away the last of the ropes binding Fluttershy, giving her the welcome freedom she needed. Fluttershy got up, still trembling from the ordeal, until she was crushed by the hardest and deepest hug that she could ever recall receiving by anypony. The stunned mare just sat there dumbly as Rainbow hugged her, forehooves wrapped around her chest, the cyan mare's heartbeat racing as it became obvious that she was trembling as well. Fluttershy slowly came to her senses, and returned the welcome hug that was being given to her. Rainbow's forelegs stroked Fluttershy's back, attempting to either calm Fluttershy down, herself, or both.

The deep embrace continued until an errant hoof accidentally touched the part of Fluttershy's wing that had been cut, resulting in a pained squeak from her lips. Pulling back quickly, Rainbow looked at Fluttershy, eyes wide, “Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Fluttershy! Here, let me see,” the cyan mare quickly spoke, moving Fluttershy's foreleg out of the way, so that she could see her wing.

Looking herself, she did her best to calm Rainbow, even if she didn't know if she was entirely calm herself, “Its ok Rainbow, I know it doesn't look good, but I don't think its not as bad as it looks. As long as... I don't fly too hard, I'll be alright.”

Rainbow shook her head, “Fine, but if flying too hard is going to mess it up, then no flying for you. Either way, we have to get out of here, now.”

“But... we have to fly to... I mean...”

“Then I'll just have to carry you the rest of the way then.”

The yellow mare's eyes went wide, and she was just about to point out how impossible such an ordeal would be before Rainbow sprang into action. Quickly gathering their supplies, she managed to stuff most of their gear into one set of saddlebags, leaving out the disguises, as well as the can of peas, to make room for Fluttershy's things. Once all packed up, she grabbed onto Fluttershy, and, after cradling the stunned mare in her forelegs, zoomed as quickly as she could out of the window.

Fluttershy hung onto the cyan mare as if her life depended on it. While flying had its thrill, being carried like this through the air was something else entirely. It would've been a magical moment indeed, if not for the reason Fluttershy was here, and the fact that Fluttershy could hear Rainbow constantly muttering a silent scolding to herself.

“Stupid... so, so stupid. Element of Loyalty my flank. I make a promise to protect her, and the first chance of danger, and I abandon her. Stupid... stupid... stupid...”

________________________________________________________________________

The pair of earth ponies walked under the early morning light, though said early morning light consisted of the sun at high noon blazing overhead, coating the world in its radiance. The day was only a few minutes old, and Pinkie could already feel the heat on her face, the sweat on her brow beginning to form. According to Applejack, the structure that the Element of Laughter was supposed to located in was just a few miles from the Xavier City, and they pair would easily make it there before the middle of the day, though Pinkie honestly wasn't sure how they would even be able to confirm that assumption. Regardless, the pair continued on with their travel, determined to make their way to their destination.

At first, their walk had been filled with a one-sided conversation, Applejack doing her best to talk about anything that she could think of to keep their spirits high. She had talked about everything from her family, how the other girls were most likely doing, to even how much they were going to kick the flanks of their friends in the bet they made just six days ago. That last one nearly brought a mocking scoff out of the pink mare, the idea of so much happening in such a short time seemed unreal. Barely a week had passed since the six innocent mares had been dropped into this hell, and since that had happened, they had been attacked by a town full of guards, captured by a dragon, their world shattered as they learned they went centuries forward in time, and now sent on this crazy quest to get their Elements back. This isn't even including the things that happened since then to her and Applejack, and she didn't even know what had happened to the other girls, but if they were faring as well as they were... well... she didn't want to think about it. Though now, at least for the last few hours, the mares had walked in silence, with only the wind to break the tranquil peace.

Pinkie's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the cowpony, “Ah'm sorry, Pinkie.”

She didn't look towards her friend in response, and merely continued to look forward. She knew Applejack was hoping for some sort of reply, but how was she supposed to reply to that? Applejack couldn't just take back what had happened to her with a few words, a simple hug, and then they would go on with the rest of their lives. The mere thought that this was the mare's intention made her angry at Applejack for a split second, but the anger simmered down just as quickly.

Regardless of the silence, Applejack continued, “Ah can't say Ah know wha' kind of thoughts are goin' through your head, Pinkie. Ah reckon tha' none of them are any good, but Ah wan' you to know tha' Ah'm your friend, and Ah'll always be here for ya. An' Ah...”

Pinkie heard Applejack next to her stop in her tracks, the sadness that filled her voice making it all too obvious of what she was about to say, though for whatever reason, whether it was disbelief that Applejack would admit it, or maybe it was as malicious of a reason that she just wanted somepony to suffer with her, but she left Applejack continue.

Applejack's voice wavered as she continued, obvious enough in her voice that pained tears now freely fell, “Ah... Ah'm so sorry, Pinkie!” Applejack finally wailed, an audible thud telling the pink mare that Applejack had collapsed onto the ground in grief, “Ah promised mahself tha' Ah'd protect you, an' look at wha' has happened! Everything tha's happened so far has been mah fault! Ah caused us to get captured; Ah caused us to get locked up. Ah let you...”

Her voice trailed off into a whisper, “Ah didn' do anythin' to stop any of it...”

The only sounds that came from behind her now were the wracked sobs of a mare broken. As Pinkie listened, she felt her shell of silence beginning to crack, each painful breath of air Applejack took as she wept, sending more spidery fractures along the shell. Instead of doing her best to mentally repair her protective shield, she let it crumble, the idea of her burden causing so much unhappiness among others, especially a pony so close to her, was unbearable. A full minute passed, then the shell finally broke.

“He didn't do it.”

Pinkie heard the sobbing behind her slow as her words seeped into the orange mare's ears and raddled in her brain. Several seconds passed as the mare behind her tried to interpret what had just been revealed, the sounds of gears turning and hamsters running on wheels nearly audible as Applejack considered the statement. Eventually, Pinkie heard Applejack settle on a single word, “Wh... wha'?”

Pinkie sighed and turned, letting her eyes fall on her hooves, “Xavier didn't do it, or at least I didn't let him. I knew something bad was up from what he was saying at dinner, and so I tried to make sure that he kept drinking. I was scared that he hadn't drank enough by the time he... he...” Pinkie took a breath to calm herself before continuing, “... he took me away, but I was able to convince him to split another bottle of wine or three, which I made sure he drank by himself. He tried to chase after me after that, but all I did was... well... hop, skip, and jump away, saying that we were playing tag, until he passed out from the drinks. It only took a little running in place and water in my face, dragging that... that MONSTER over to the bed, and two hours of playing tick-tack-toe with myself, and I just walked out.”

She heard the heavy breathing of Applejack as the news hit her. Suddenly, the mare jumped up to her hooves, “Tha's great Pinkie! Ah never heard such wonderful news in mah-”

“Wonderful!?” Pinkie screeched as she looked up, catching Applejack mid sentence in shock, “Just because he DIDN'T do it doesn't mean he didn't try! Oh Celestia he tried. I didn't know how long I could stay away from him, Applejack. If he wasn't so drunk he would've... I mean...”

As Pinkie trailed off, Applejack filled the voice, “Ah'm sorry, Sugarcube. Ah didn' mean ta-”

“And you know what the worst part was!?” Pinkie yelled again, “The entire time that he tried to violate me, he laughed. You hear that!? He LAUGHED! Like a little filly would if she played hopscotch, or a little colt would playing hoofball!” Pinkie's eyes grew wide as she frantically looked around, not focusing on a single thing, “How could somepony laugh at something like that!? Laughing... laughing is supposed to be for fun things, like parties and birthdays and happy songs and games and... and... other fun things! Not something like that. How... how could somepony laugh at that...”

Pinkie trembled as she finally let out the emotions within her, her tears dried up long before, her eyes now, instead, boring down on Applejack, demanding an answer that the mare could never give. Timidly, the orange mare slowly made her way closer to Pinkie, until they were face to face, mere inches separating the slightly frightened face of the orange mare and the angry and panicked face of the pink mare. The two stared at each other, past each other, around each other, until Applejack moved forward, and embraced Pinkie in a hug.

Still, Pinkie shed no tears, but the simple urge to hug her friend back, and then carrying out with the hug, was enough to show herself that she was going to be ok. For the first time since she was forced out of the dining room, she was able to, at least for a moment, clear her mind, and just lose herself in the warmth of her friend. For every second that Pinkie was in the hug, another second of bliss filled her heart. If Pinkie could have, she would have stayed in that happy grasp until hunger, thirst, and drowsiness forced them apart.

Alas, it ended too suddenly.

Applejack slowly pulled herself out of the hug, giving Pinkie the largest smile that she imagined the mare could considering the situation. After a few moments, the two looked towards where they were heading, the foothills of a few low mountains. They turned back towards each other, and with a nod, they turned, and made their way towards their goal. All the while, Pinkie still felt the heavy weight of the traumatizing ordeal firmly on her shoulders, but the weight felt slightly less burdensome, as if Applejack had come over and helped the tormented mare carry the weighty load that she was forced to bear.

Time seemed to fly by as the pair made their way deeper into the foothills, all the while the two of them remained in silence, though now that silence was not that of sorrow, but one of mutual recognition of needed peace after two days of terrifying hardship. As the two walked, seconds turned to minutes, minutes to hours, and hours too flew by, until they came to the exact spot that was on the map given to them by Sarlaka. Applejack paced back and forth, looking in all directions, searching for the entrance to the cave or dungeon or whatever the Element of Laughter was supposed to be housed in. By the minute, the orange mare was getting more and more frustrated, until she threw her arms up in the air, and yelled obscenities at the map.

Pinkie had, at this point, stopped paying attention to the frustrated yells of her friend, and instead was staring off into space, a strange feeling came over her as she looked off into the distance. She had no idea what it was, but from the warm feeling that it was giving her, it came off as an urge to go towards it, to hold it, to do nothing but take that feeling, wrap it in her forelegs, and never let go. The entire world faded as her entire consciousness focused on the single bit of warmth. It was more of a voice, calling to her, telling her to come over, and take it for her own. She heard muffled noises of the outside world, but nothing compared to the want and need to have this... this... feeling in her hooves.

She suddenly found herself wheeled around, until she was firmly locking eyes with Applejack, a worried face painted all over, “Pinkie, ya ok?”

Pinkie shook her head, coming out of the daze that had just enveloped her mind, “Huh? What? What's up, Jackie?”

“Pinkie Pie, ya were just walkin' along, starin' off into space for Celestia knows how long. Ah was gonna snap ya outta it, bu' I didn' know wha' to do honestly. Wha's goin' on?”

“Well...” Pinkie thought, moving a hoof to her curly mane to adjust its weight to sit better on her head, “first I was thinking about how those words you were using just now were pretty naughty, but then... well...” Her face turned serious as she remembered the feeling, “it felt like something was calling to me, telling me I need to run over and give it a great big Pinkie hug.”

Applejack sad on her haunches, brought a hoof to her chin, and thought to herself for a while. After a few minutes of Pinkie watching her, her poofy tail slightly swishing side to side in anticipation, Applejack asked “Say Pinkie, did it feel like some kind of magic spell tha' ya were jus' hit with? Like one of the times Twilight teleported us?”

Pinkie thought to herself, thinking about the last time Twilight had teleported her. Unless she was forgetting a time, the last time she could remember was when the group was in Martha and Clyde's drinking place thingy, and they were being attacked by the mean guards, though in hindsight, they weren't that bad compared to the ones she had seen earlier today. When Twilight had teleported her those two times, the magic had quickly enveloped her, giving a sense of comfort and warmth, as if Twilight herself was wrapping her hooves around her, protecting her from the cruel world all around.

“Yeah, kinda, but Twilight's was much more... I don't know... flowery?”

Applejack stared, “... flowery?”

“Yeah. Like it smelled like flowers. Tulips to be exact.”

“Tulips?” Applejack gave Pinkie a sly smile, “Ya sure tha' Ain't ya admittin' that Twilight's your crush?”

Pinkie frowned deeply, looking at her hooves, “... Applejack...”

“Yeah? Oh... yeah... sorry. Bad timin', Ah know,” Applejack looked down as well, shifting on her hooves slightly, a momentary pause in the speech making the situation that much more awkward. Eventually, she looked back up into Pinkie's eyes, “But other than the tulips part, ya say it was tha same?”

Pinkie shrugged, “Pretty much.”

Applejack shrugged back, “Then Ah say do whatever it wan's ya to do.”

Pinkie blinked, “Are... are you sure?”

“Nope, but Ah ain't gonna let you outta mah sight this time, Ah pro... no... Ah Pinkie Promise,” Applejack attempted to smile, going through the simple motions that a Pinkie Promise demanded.

Nodding to herself, Pinkie turned back towards where the alleged magical source was trying to take her, closed her eyes, and let her mind wander. At first, all she could think of was how odd the request was that Applejack said, and how strangely trusting the orange mare was of something like magic, especially foreign magic. Though she had to admit, being enveloped in magic wasn't that bad, the warm caressing of slight static charge, the heat of the arcane fire from within a unicorn that fueled the magical flame, and the sense of trust and desire that came with all of that were things that Pinkie had to admit were very nice things about magic. How she knew those kinds of terminology for magic she would never tell her friends, at least until she knew it was the right time. Until then, she would just think about the warmth of the magic.

Strangely enough, she couldn't deny that the magic was the best feeling she had felt in the longest of times, amplified especially because of the situation that the mare had been through the past few days. It felt so inviting, invigorating, and she loved the feeling of bliss that came across her as she imagined herself on a snowy day inside a cozy cabin, and instead of a warm fire to snuggle up against, she had the magic aura wrapped around her. Like a ethereal blanket, it would keep her safe from the cold bite of the frigid winter night. Maybe it was this want for this warmth that caused the emotions she had inside of her for the past few months to surface, though the mere thought of acting on those emotions now terrified her, considering what she just went though.

Or they would have, except the memories of the warm feeling kept coming back, stronger each time, forcing the painful memories to the back of her head, and the happy ones of joy and bliss to come and take their rightful place at the foreground of her mind. The happy memories came back so strong now, she had a hard time keeping her breathing in check. She felt like she was nearly gasping for breath, her face slightly blushing at the thoughts of having her own unicorn to wrap her up in a warm magical aura, snuggle up against, listening the fire crackling, the wind outside their cabin blowing, Applejack yelling her name, the gentle sighs of contentment as she and her special unicorn shared a... wait... huh?

Applejack yelling?

Strong hooves yanked the mare off of her emotional high and her happy thoughts, and brought her crashing back down into Discord's world. Looking at the culprit, she saw that Applejack was the one that brought her back, the orange mare's breathing heavy as she gasped for breath. Pinkie was just about to sigh in disappointment when she realized that the sun, once high in the sky, was nowhere to be found. Confusion momentarily sent her brain into autopilot as she shifted her head around, trying to figure out where in Equestria she was. Looking around the area, it appeared that she was now standing in a large stone tunnel, completely devoid of any natural light source, the only light in the tunnel was coming from a simple torch that was staked into the ground next to Applejack. The floor looked like it had once been worked masterfully, though now in its state of disrepair, derbies covered the entire area underhoof, almost completely obscuring the artificial floor.

Gazing further down the hall, just a few hooves in front of her, she noticed two large and thick metal doors in the tunnel, very simple, yet rugged in design, with two notable features. The first, and normally would be the most interesting, feature was that both of the doors featured colossal gems, each almost as big as her. The identities of the gems were unknown to the party pony, but they were expertly cut into the most curious of shapes: balloons. On the doors, six balloons, two blue and one yellow on each door, were expertly placed in a design somewhat resembling her cutie mark, though she noticed there were some... mistakes. The yellow balloons in the center of each design were lower than the two blues instead of higher, while the strings for each balloon were, instead of being colored yellow on the blues and blue on the yellows, were colored exactly the same as the balloons that they were attached to. Though all of this was curious, there was something much more curious about these doors.

Namely, the fact that they were completely ripped off of their hinges.

The doors that once stood mightily against centuries of time, countless intruders, and the various elements that the world could throw at it, had fallen to an unknown, and most likely malicious, force. Pinkie approached the doors, careful to make sure each hoofstep was met with solid floor, until she was right up against the door itself.

“What do you think did all of this, Applejackie?” Pinkie said, tapping a hoof on one of the yellow balloons.

Applejack walked forward, her breathing finally slowing down, and stood next to the pink pony, “Ah ain't got the foggiest clue Pinkie, but whatever it was, Ah hope tha' its long gone. By the way, wha' was all the runnin' 'bout?”

Pinkie turned towards Applejack, seeing the genuine confusion in the cowpony's eyes, “Running? I wasn't... well... was I running?”

Applejack nodded, “Ah'd say for close to thirty minute you were runnin'. Full gallop almost. Don' tell me you don' remember.”

Shaking her head in response, Pinkie looked back down the corridor, trying to make out anything that would give a clue on how or why she ran here so readily and, if it was magic, what was the source of it. As far as the light from the torch went, she couldn't make out anything of apparent significance other than the metal doors.

“Ya think your Element is still in there, Sugarcube?” Applejack spoke softly as she turned back to grab the torch that was stuck in the ground just behind them.

Pinkie nodded, “I know its in there. Don't ask me how, because I sure as sand don't know how.”

“Sure as... huh? Umm... anyways... uhh...” Applejack motioned with her hoof, “shall we?”

With a final nod, Pinkie turned towards the tunnel, and the pair made their way further inside. The tunnel itself was relatively unremarkable. It became quite apparent quickly that the tunnel was artificial in some fashion, for the “cave” never opened up into any caverns, never made any twists or turns, and there wasn't any sign of any natural erosion. In fact, the only remarkable thing about the cave was the amazing length of the structure. Pinkie guessed that they had walked for nearly three miles through the rock and stone, and this wasn't including any distance that they had traveled while she was affected by the magic earlier. It was just an endless tunnel of slightly rough rock walls, a moderately dusty ground, and air that smelled very stale.

This went on for another long mile, until the tunnel's roof gradually lowered, the vaulted tunnel slowly turning more and more into walls and a ceiling, until the vast corridor now was a twenty hoof wide, fifteen hoof tall squared off hallway. Also of note was that the walls and ceiling were now obviously hoofmade, the stone masonry quite simple, with no apparent carving or sculpting to decorate it in any way. It was as if the one who made the tunnel wanted the bare minimum possible, and didn't want to spend the time or bits to make the place homely in any way. Though it looked like there was some kind of discoloration in the walls, as if the area was painted at one point, but it was impossible to tell if that was the case or if it was just the natural color of the material used in the bricks.

The place needed some pink.

They stopped suddenly, the sight in front of the pair confusing the pink mare, for what laid before her was a slightly widened room that had absolutely no significant features, with the exception of the ceiling, the floor, and an object on the far side of the room. The ceiling above them was completely filled with dull square tiles, like the kind the pair should have seen on any normal ruined floor. There wasn't any markings, no signs of decoration, just various tiles. The floor had matching tiles, and they would've went unnoticed completely if it weren't for two things. The first was that they perfectly matched the alignment of the ceiling tiles perfect, so that wherever there was a floor tiles, there would be a ceiling tile just above it. On the far side of the cramped space, there seemed to be some kind of pillar standing just past the tiles, about four to five hoofs high, and that was it, a sure sign that it was important in some way, though to what end, Pinkie had no clue. Of course, the tiles came back to mind as Pinkie noticed that all along the floor next to the tiles, but never on the tiles themselves, there were the remains of pony skeletons.

Shaking the sight of the skeletons out of her head, she looked up to see that Applejack was carefully walking forwards, inspecting the tiles just as Pinkie was just before. She walked up until she was just a step away from stepping on a tile, “Ah got a bad feelin' about this Pinkie. With all the skeletons an' how constricted its feelin', I don' trust it.”

Taking a final second to think, Pinkie watched as Applejack almost hopped onto the tile in front of her and placed every single hoof firmly on the single tile. In an instant, Pinkie's eyes were alerted to the ceiling, which proceeded to completely come down on the cowmare. She meant to yell out Applejack, tell her to jump back, to run away, to do anything to get away, because not only was the small area above Applejack coming down, but the entire area of the ceiling that was covered in the tile-like design came crashing down. Instead, all Pinkie could do was gasp, and watch.

Fortunately, Applejack jumped back almost as fast as she jumped forwards, she was apparently anticipating something like this happening. Just as she cleared the line between the tiles and the normal ground, the ceiling finally crashed down, slamming onto the ground with a echoing bang, and just as quickly, rose back up to the ceiling, resetting itself in only a second, ready for the next victim to walk by.

Pinkie ran over to where Applejack stood, got up right next to her, and screamed in fright, “Applejackie! Are you alright!?”

Instead of being frightened, shocked, or even worried, Applejack gave sly grin, “Heh... Ah, thought there was somethin' odd 'bout this place. Ah have to admit, Ah thought only the tile above me would come down, an' tha' was a little closer than Ah thought it would be, but tha's not a problem,” Applejack turned towards Pinkie, the sly smile still painted on her face, “ain't it, Pinkie?”

Pinkie cocked her head, “Uhh... huh?”

The orange mare sighed, “Think of it this way, why make a trap this complicated if there wasn' some way to get by? Might as well seal off the whole bucking cave if you don' wan' somepony gettin' through. We jus' gotta find out how to get through.” Applejack nodded her head at Pinkie as she finished.

Pinkie nodded back to her, albeit somewhat hesitantly, as Applejack took a step to the side, and tried the next tile to the left. Again, the entire ceiling came down, attempting to squash the mare underneath, but yet again, Applejack was ready, and jumped back just in time to dodge the falling ceiling. After the ceiling crashed to the ground, it went back up just as fast, resetting itself yet again. For a third time, Applejack took a step to the left, and tried the tile there, and met with very similar results, except she was able to clear the ceiling much easier this time, she getting the hang of the motions.

This process repeated itself several times over, and every time was met with similar results. By this point, mostly because only one pony could try traversing the expanse at a time, Pinkie had taken a seat near the entrance, content with just watching the brave and determined earth pony try every single tile that was in the first row twice, Applejack making sure that she didn't miss one the first time though. Once she had completed the first row, she had taken one of the few skulls that were on the ground in her teeth, something Pinkie found very disturbing, and tossed it into the tiled area. However, unlike before, before the skull could even land on the tile, the ceiling came crashing down again, like the place could sense the skull's location in the air. It only took a second before the ceiling crushed the skull mid-flight, turning the poor pony skull into dust.

Pinkie heard Applejack chuckle to herself, “Heh... glad Rainbow ain't here...”

However, something that Pinkie eventually realized, and was sure that Applejack noticed too, was that every time a tile in the first row was passed over, a single tile adjacent to it on the ceiling would not come crashing down, giving a single spot for the pony to jump for refuge, before the tiles would most likely reset themselves, and then repeat the process. However, it was impossible to predict which of the ceiling tiles wouldn't fall, because each tile had a different, random tile keyed to it, and considering there was no room for error, if Applejack attempted the ordeal, she would surely be crushed.

Nearly two hours, three pony skulls, and a can of peas later, Applejack threw her arms up, and wailed, “Ah don' get it! How're ya supposed to get over there safely! Ah mean, it makes no sense, Pinkie!!!”

The last line was yelled so loudly, the final sentence echoed off of the walls, the five words reverberating in the room, entering Pinkie's mind again, and again...

“... it makes no sense, Pinkie...”

“... makes no sense, Pinkie...”

“... sense... Pinkie...”

Pinkie softly spoke to herself, “Twitchy tail...”

Looking behind her from the ground, Applejack raised an eyebrow, “Ah beg your pardon?”

Quickly, before Applejack could try and stop her, she got up to her hooves, her saddlebags still strapped to her back, and bolted past her. After getting a decent enough running start, she jumped, and landed all four hooves on one of the tiles in the first row.

As the mechanism working the ceiling trap triggered, time appeared to slow down as her mind went into overdrive and her instincts screamed at her. Her tail started to twitch madly from the collapsing roof all around, telling her that falling things were about to come down, and she needed to run, and fast. Other than behind her, her Pinkie Sense told her that things were falling all around her, threatening to crush her like the skulls from before.

Except diagonally left and forward.

Leaping to the tile, she felt the very tip of her tail get trapped for a split second under one of the ceiling tiles as the ceiling slammed down, doing its very best to destroy her. For not even a second, her entire world consisted of nothing but her small three hoof square island, surrounded by the trap columns. Just as every other time before, the tiles immediately rose back up to their restful position, but immediately after they were set, the whole process of raising only taking a scant second, they came back down. Again, her Pinkie Sense sent her tail twitching, her mind screaming at her to move, but she found that her way back was now within the danger zone, that ceiling tile now coming down just like the rest.

Forward.

Again, she leaped, barely dodging the trap. This process repeated itself dozens of times, and she went every direction and nearly stepped on every single tile as she went. At several points she found herself heading back to the beginning, effectively heading backwards. At times, she thought that she could possibly jump her way to the end, skipping some of the maze, but that idea was dashed each time by her twitching tail. As she was heading back at one point, over two dozen tiles already stepped on, she spied a glance at Applejack, the awed face that she gave Pinkie basically telling her that she was completely amazed by the amount of laws of nature, physics, and other sciency things that she was breaking.

If only Twilight could see her now.

After a full minute and forty tiles later, she made a leap, landing on her hooves, and waited for another tail twitch, but found none. Confused, she looked around, and noticed in joy that she was no longer in the deadly maze, but was instead on the other side of the room, at last safe from the terrifying ordeal. Even in her heavy panting, she couldn't help but hear the loud whoops from the orange mare across the room.

“Pinkie Pie! Tha' was more amazin' than any stinkin' Sonic Rainboom! Sweet baby Celestia, you dodged fifty three of those darn things! Now find a way to get those dang things to stop so Ah can give ya the biggest hug any pony has ever seen!”

The pink mare, for the first time in almost twenty four hours, gave a small smile.

Turning around, she darted over to the only notable feature on this side of the traps, the small pedestal, and noticed that there was a large button in the center of it. As she fixed her slightly disheveled mane, she inspected it further, noting that there were no other things of interest on the mostly featureless structure. Rearing back on her hind legs, she placed her front hooves on the top of the button, and pressed her weight against it. When she pressed the button, there was a rumbling somewhere above them, though what it was was lost to the pink pony. However, at the very end of the shaking, there was an audible “click” around where the shaking was, and then it all stopped.

Pinkie watched as Applejack, with torch in her mouth, carefully approached the tiles, doubt on her face of the actual effects of the activated device. Timidly, she jumped on a tile, and jumped back, as if the ceiling was going to crash back down on her, however, the two of them noticed that not only did the ceiling not come crashing down, but it didn't seem to react at all. Again, Applejack jumped on the tile, her legs ready to jump back if needed, but no ill effects seemed to occur. Still wary in her steps, she jumped from tile to tile, speeding up her jumps as she got closer to the end, until she was nearly doing a hopping sprint by the time she caught up to Pinkie. True to her word, Applejack dropped the torch on the ground mid dash, and embraced the bright mare in the strongest hug that Pinkie had ever been enveloped in, laughter spilling out of the orange mare's lungs.

Even if she didn't join Applejack's laughter, she couldn't help but to yet again let out a tiny smile.

The two eventually released the hug, the two setting back down on their four hooves, though Applejack kept on laughing, “Have ah ever told ya tha' you were the craziest filly Ah have ever met?”

Pinkie rolled her eyes, “I think everypony has told me that, Jackie.”

“Heh, an' its true every time, Sugarcube!”

The pair started walking yet again as Applejack continued to talk about how amazing Pinkie had performed just a few minutes before, how she was more graceful than even the best ballerina, and while some of those handstands were probably unnecessary, it was amazing nonetheless. The entire time that Applejack gushed about Pinkie exploits, Pinkie found herself internally smiling more and more, though she never really showed it outwardly. However, it was becoming harder and harder to feel angry towards her, especially because it wasn't really her fault at all when it came to Pinkie and... well...

The happiness that Pinkie was feeling just now slowly left her, but fortunately, sadness did not fill her heart like it had been before. Instead, she merely felt neutral, just looking forward as they pressed forward, their time together passing quickly with Applejack's idle talk. She knew that she should have been happier with Applejack, the poor mare was obviously doing her hardest to have her crack even the slightest of smiles, and Applejack had beamed the one time she had seen Pinkie smile, even if it was the tiniest of upturned lips. Alas, how could she?

All her thoughts stopped as the pair walked into a truly massive cavern. Compared to the last chamber, this one was completely the opposite. The entire thing was organic in nature, with not a single sign of worked stone anywhere that the torch could see. In fact, the torch wasn't entirely necessary, for a single hole in the ceiling, about a hundred or more hooves up, shined a greenish light into the cavern. The hole itself, which was actually quite small, obviously did not lead outside, but where there is light, there had to be something. All around the hole in the roof, massive roots of trees above ground penetrated the rock, showing how powerful the might of the natural world could be to even something as strong as stone. Elsewhere on the cavern's ceiling, stalactites filled the area, leaving almost no point on the roof bare.

On the ground, the area was surprisingly bare. While normally stalagmites would be right under where a stalactite would be overhead, there were only a small amount of them standing around, gathering the mineral filled drippings from above. The rest of the floor was filled with dirt that was surprisingly pleasant to walk through, and while it wasn't as comfortable as a standard dirt road on Pinkie's hooves, the dirt was indeed a welcome break from the hard stone floors from before. The final landmark in the room was a single circular shaped raised platform, only about a hoof high, with a small pedestal in the center.

The pair began their walk towards the pedestal, which was actually much farther away than Pinkie had anticipated, the massive size of the cavernous room distorting the actual distance of the platform. It took a full two minutes for the mares to finally make it to the platform, which they pulled themselves up onto.

Applejack proceeded to the stand, inspected it for a second, before looked back at Pinkie, “There's nuthin' written on it. Ya think we're supposed to do somethin'?”

“I don't know. Maybe it means we have to find something?” Pinkie shrugged looking around the cavern as she contemplated the meaning.

Applejack sighed, and started to pull open her saddlebags to get out her climbing gear, “Well, ah know tha' if nothin' else, only way out is up. Not lookin' forward to this...”

Pinkie started to help Applejack put on her claws as she responded, “Are you sure that there isn't another way out? I mean, we really can't see the entire cave thingy from here.”

With a final buckle latching the claws on her forehooves, Applejack stood back up, “Well, all Ah gotta say tha'... oh... oh boy...”

Looking back towards Applejack, she saw that the orange mare was staring off into the distance in the opposite direction that Pinkie was just looking. Following Applejack's eyes, she looked off into the distance as well, and noticed that several figures were emerging from the shadows. Standing on four legs, the pony sized creatures snarled as they approached the pair, their entire bodies made up of many different sizes of wood. Their eyes glowing a hellish yellow, the creatures were crouched slightly, ready to pounce on the vulnerable ponies that they had deemed their next meal. Looking to her left and right, she noticed more were emerging from the shadows, preparing to encircle the two ponies between them.

“Timberwolves...” Pinkie heard Applejack whisper with a waver. Suddenly Applejack looked over at Pinkie, confusion and a slight anger in her tone, “Wait, Ah don' get it! How can Timberwolves even live in here!? There's nothin' to eat, nothin' to drink; how is it even possible!?”

A thought flew through Pinkie's mind, “Applejackie!!! That's it!”

“Ah beg ya pardon?”

Pinkie walked around the mare, and looked Applejack straight in the eye, “Don't you get it Jackie? Perception? Timberwolves living in here? Strange magic at the entrance?”

She finally saw the wheels in the cowpony's head turn, and she slowly nodded, “Ya think they're some kind 'a illusion?”

“Yup! I mean, how crazy would it be if thYIPE!!!” Pinkie squeaked in pain.

The two of them looked to the side, to see one of the more brash wolves had gotten close, swiped at Pinkie, and backed off quickly, apparently startled by the high pitched squeal its victim let out. The two ponies turned their heads to Pinkie's side, which now bore three six inch long cuts, thankfully not very deep, that ran from her rump to the bottom of her ribs. The wounds stung, and the pink mare could see the small trickle of blood starting to seep through her coat, and start to run down her side.

Pinkie looked back up at Applejack, and the pair locked eyes for a moment, the orange mare's eyes wide in shock, “Oh... oh Horseapples...”

A/N: See what I did there? I force you guys to wait a few extra days, so I give you a super extra long chapter. Yeah, I pretty much love you all.

Chapter 22: Ascent and Trials

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Applejack continued to look at Pinkie's side, her mouth slightly agape, as a small amount of blood seeped out of the three wounds. The possibility of the timberwolves actually being able to hurt them had left her mind once Pinkie had brought up the idea that they were illusions, the only conclusion that could explain their survival for so long down here. Of course now, with her eyes wide with shock as she stared at the three claw marks, all of those previous thoughts were tossed to the wayside. She and Pinkie looked back into each others eyes, the shock overpowering the pain in Pinkie's eyes, as they both looked at each other for answers.

The orange mare looked away, and tried to size up their situation. To say that their position was dire would be a grave understatement. The mares were completely surrounded, with at least twenty timberwolves slowly approaching from every direction as the wolves bore their teeth menacingly, growling at their next victims. As they approached, Applejack looked around, desperately looking for any way out of their desperate position, maybe another tunnel she had missed before, possibly some doorway that led out, or even another platform, but none of them panned out to anything. If there was another tunnel, the meager light from above and her torchlight, neither quite reaching the walls of the cavern, showed the way.

The voice of Pinkie broke her out of her thoughts, and Applejack watched as the frightened mare worked her mouth slowly, “... Applejackie...”

Pinkie's blue eyes shimmered, the fear within them all too apparent. It wasn't fair that such an innocent, kind, and fun pony should have so much hardship placed on her shoulders so often recently, the burdens that she had borne too great for any pony. The slight shiver that Applejack had when Pinkie was taken from her in Xavier City now returned in earnest, the terror gripping her heart again. The orange mare watched as Pinkie's forehooves danced slightly, the anxiousness obvious in the pink pony's tells, though the thought that the pony would try to hide her fear was ridiculous at best. Applejack saw Pinkie tear her eyes away from her, and looked at the predators all around them; her eyes darting from creature to creature, trying to find something, most likely a way out, through the wall of teeth and claws.

Applejack's eyes narrowed. This was the mare that she was supposed to protect. This was the mare that she had been doing nothing but failing to protect since the beginning. This was the mare that she was supposed to help find the element of laughter, not to watch idly as she was taken away time and time again by the evil all around her.

That would end now.

“Pinkie Pie,” Applejack said, her voice deep and filled with determination, “get behin' me. Now.”

Pinkie's eyes darted back to Applejack, her trance broken, “Wh... what?”

“Get... behin'... me... now...” Applejack slowly spoke, her stance spreading slightly wider, readying her body for the coming fight, “And find us a way out if ya can.”

Before Pinkie could comply with either request, the first timberwolf charged.

Time slowed as Applejack saw the hulking form of wood and teeth bear down on her pink companion. Pinkie's head slowly turned as she looked behind her, utter terror in her eyes as she saw the wolf coming straight towards her, her body frozen in fright. Applejack's instincts immediately took over, and she quite literally leaped over Pinkie, her belly slightly brushing against the poofy mane of her friend. Planting her forehooves in the hard surface of the platform, she used her forward momentum to pivot her body so that her hind legs, now curled up tight against her body, faced the wolf. The wolf appeared to understand what was about to happen, and tried to escape the coming hit, but it was far too slow.

Applejack's legs shot out like cannons, the years of apple bucking strengthening the muscles in her legs to the point that nothing could withstand a single hit. Both legs connected with the wolf's jaw, a stomach-churning cracking sound emanating from the point of impact. The wolf flew backwards from the force, and with a resounding thud, landed flat on its back, the whimpering cries it let out being all that was needed to tell Applejack that it would not be getting up anytime soon.

She smiled, “One down, twenty to go...”

The rest of the wolves hesitated, watching as their companion squirmed on the ground in pain from the broken jaw. Their hesitation was short lived as they slowly came to, and, with a vengeful growl, three of them started to cautiously move towards the pair, the pack still appearing to be testing the waters. Applejack braced as she watched the three out of the corners of her eyes, all the while making sure that none were able to get to Pinkie. The four pairs of eyes stared down at each other, watching each others movements. The wolves waited for a blink of an eye, a sneeze, or any other kind of slip that would lead to some kind of opening for them to exploit against the pony. Applejack meanwhile was growling, trying to look as menacing as possible, settling to staying on the defense, her body always staying in motion, always moving in response to the circling the wolves were doing around the mares, making sure to place her between them and Pinkie.

Finally, one of the wolves, tired of the waiting, leaped at the orange mare, its hunger clouding its mind as it wanted the first taste of her flesh. Again, Applejack pivoted on her forehooves, reared back her hind legs, and let out a thunderous kick, sending yet another wolf whimpering to the ground. Before she could ready herself again for another attack, a second timberwolf came at her, swiping at her side. Seeing the claws coming at her, she ducked down, the sharp weapons barely passing over her body. Before the wolf could react, she jumped up, and brought a forehoof to the wolf's chin. While her hoof did damage in the uppercut, her climbing claws, which were still attached to her forelegs, dug into the wolf's face, causing it to stumble back in a pained cry. The sounds of the final wolf of the trio entered her ears when all of the sudden, an idea came to her mind. She violently swung her forehoof around, the climbing claws now being treated as deadly weapons, and caught the surprised timberwolf in the side of the face, throwing it away from the mares.

She looked at the claws on her forehooves, “Oh... oh Ah really like these...”

The rest of the wolves paused for nary a moment before they charged the orange mare all at once, their intention to overwhelm the pony with pure numbers. All hell broke loose as Applejack leaped into the fray, kicking out with her hind legs where she could, swiping with her claws at those in front, most were focused on dodging the innumerable amounts of teeth and claws. More than once she found herself catching a wolf with a hind leg, knocking it backwards off of the platform, and more often than not when she swung with one of her climbing claws, she caught the face of a wolf, forcing it to retreat in pain.

That wasn't to say that she wasn't taking hits of her own. While she was definitely dishing out a lot more than she was taking, far too often a stray swipe of the claw got past her flurry of blows, and cut a part of her body. Adrenaline flowing, she noticed none of these, and every hit received always resulted in that wolf being sent flying off the platform from the strong kick or punch from a hoof.

In the chaos of the fight, she lost track of the very mare she was trying to protect, the orange mare becoming cut off from Pinkie by the swarm of attackers. Applejack desperately attempted to find the mare, but was constantly distracted by an errant wolf that wanted to take another bite out of her. She heard Pinkie fighting some distance away, and from the sounds of the howls of wolves in the distance, several of the wolves had broken off from attacking her and had decided to focus on the pink mare. Applejack was worried for her friend, but the sudden appearance of a large blast of confetti in the distance, a wolf's cry coinciding with the explosion, told Applejack that, at least for now, Pinkie was alright.

She let out a sharp cry as another wolf had latched itself on her, digging its teeth into her flank. With a strong kick, she removed the predator, sending him off of the platform, and out of sight. The rest stopped attacking, merely watching the ferocious mare, their idea of her being an easy kill being completely thrown on its head. Still, Applejack looked around, only to see the line of wolves, at least ten, still surrounding her, still determined to make her their meal. She, on the other hoof, could feel her strength beginning to falter, her wounds were starting to get the better of her and the many small cuts and bites were doing enough damage to slow her movements.

This was a battle she couldn't win.

Applejack charged forward as she desperately tried to link up with her friend. They needed to get out of this fight, and get somewhere safe, or at least somewhere where they weren't always surrounded. A swipe from a foreclaw stopped her, the sharp appendages coming within inches of her face. Again, she was forced onto the defensive, focusing all of her attention on the dodging and parrying of the blows against her. Dodging another swipe to her flank, she shot out her legs, but this time missing the wolf, the wooden animals finally starting to learn her moves. Another sign that the battle was tipping in the timberwolves' favor.

A squeak from the other side of the room attracted her attention, the high pitched cry no doubt coming from Pinkie Pie. As a fresh rush of adrenaline ran through her veins, the orange mare watched as the vast majority of the wolves turned their attention to the wounded pink mare, though Applejack herself couldn't see where her companion was. Taking the second of respite, she turned her head up, and her mind racing, came up with a very stupid idea.

With a quick motion, she opened her saddlebags, and brought out the bright orange rope that was gifted to her by Sarlaka. Looking up, Applejack spied a thick root that dangled from the ceiling of the cavern, right next to the hole that the greenish light came from. Applejack did her best to judge how high the ceiling was, knowing that if she was off by the tiniest of amounts that she would miss, and she doubted she'd have a second shot at this.

With a burst of speed, Applejack charged the wolves in front of her, and started to spin her bright orange lasso in the air. Once she got close, she bounded over the wolves in front of her, and allowed her rear hooves to strike the wolves directly in front of her on the heads as she used them to gain extra height. As she soared through the air, she released the lasso, throwing it high above her. The seconds ticked by as she held her breath, watching the brightly colored cord move through the air, going higher and higher. Finally, at the impossible height of the ceiling, the rope looped itself around one of the roots in the air, and pulled taught.

Reaffirming her grip on the rope with her teeth, her jump morphed into a swing, and she shot across the dimly lit cavern. All the while, she kicked in a running motion on top of the heads of timberwolves under her to propel her faster and faster. In front of her, a small circle of wolves were standing around the unconscious form of Pinkie, the malicious intent all but apparent. Dangling from the rope, she reached out as far as she could with her hind legs, and somehow managed to grab the mass of pink, and with new found pain in her mouth, lurched forward, and away from the wolves.

Slowly, Applejack began to lose speed as her swing reached the apex of the climb. With Pinkie still wrapped in her hind legs, the orange mare quickly reached out with her forelegs, and began to quickly wrap the rope around them, coiling the rope around her forelegs. After only two or three full loops around her legs, after which she was forced to let go with her teeth, her swing finally started to reverse itself, sending her back into the horde of teeth. The entire time, Applejack furiously coiled the rope, doing her best to make sure there was as much clearance between Pinkie and the ground as possible. She could hear the snarling of angry predators as she climbed, the rope finally reaching its lowest point.

Fortunately, she didn't feel any timberwolves grab onto Pinkie as they reach this point, and the rope started a second and much smaller accent as Applejack continued to coil the rope around her forelegs. This process repeated itself, until Applejack found her forward and back motion completely lost, leaving the pair of ponies to dangle precariously from the rope. During this, the orange mare continued to wrap the lifeline in her hooves around her legs, slowly climbing the orange rope.

Sweat poured down the mare's face as she climbed, the immense height seemed to never end. Her muscles started to ache even more as she carried not only her own, but Pinkie's weight in only her forelegs. Muscles she never thought she even possessed were strained to the limit to make sure the pair never fell. Adding to this pain, the various cuts and bites she endured during the fight finally started to catch up with her, the throbbing pain finally making itself realized. Fighting for every inch, she climbed more and more, battling gravity itself for all one hundred and fifty hooves of distance with tooth and nail. The entire time, the timberwolves under her howled and snarled, demanding that she give up, drop to the ground, and let their pack feast upon the two.

Fifteen minutes after she initially started her climb, she finally reached the top, the mighty root that the rope was attached to still holding strong. Applejack grabbed onto the root with her teeth, and allowed the pair of ponies to hang from it, her heavy panting of exhaustion through her clinched teeth did not nearly provide enough air for the tired mare to regain her strength. Instead of resting her aching legs or tending to the new and sharp pain in her mouth, she continued to fight against the pain, and slowly slipped the rope from her forelegs, releasing her tether to her rope. Looking to her right, she saw her target: the hole where the light was coming from. At this distance, she noticed that the hole itself was rather small, a little less than three hooves wide. She tried to judge the the distance between the two of them and the hole where the light was coming from; a short, yet harrowing six hooves of open air between them and their destination.

One last time, she looked at the rope she was gifted. 'Ya saved my life,' she thought to herself, 'Ah jus' wish Ah knew ya better.'

Carefully, she started to swing herself back and forth, using Pinkie's limp form as a weight to build up her momentum. Her motions were smooth and regular, her swinging started slow, only to build up faster and faster as her teeth dug deeper into the root that she hung on for dear life. Sharp pain started to shoot through her neck as the entire weight of the two mares was suspended by her teeth. Finally, after a few swings, she released her teeth from the root, and the pair sailed freely through the air.

For a few brief moments, the feeling of how a pegasus in flight would feel began to wash over Applejack. Her body felt weightless, releasing the stresses of gravity against her entire body, giving her muscles a short instant to rest. The slight lurching feeling in her stomach as she reached the apex of her jump, and allowed her to release all control of her flight to fate and luck. Finally, the wind against her face, just like in her leaping swing before, cooled her brow and gave a slightly refreshing reprise against the stuffiness of the cave.

Of course, being an earth pony, this feeling of bliss ended quite abruptly.

Barely making the distance, she reached out with her forehooves, and dug them deeply into the wall, praying to the princesses that they would grip into the loose earth. While her left leg's claws slipped through the earth without catching, her right hoof caught, saving the pair from the long and fatal fall that would've come very shortly after. Of course, the weight of two mares plus the downward momentum they built was now all being supported by a single foreleg, which nature did not design to be pulled in such a way.

“Argh!” Applejack grunted, the painful feeling in her shoulder was very similar to that of her leg being yanked out of its socket, though by the way she could still move it gave her relief from that worry. For a fleeting second, she dangled yet again, her other hoof not yet recovering from the slip. As the wolves below bellowed and the green light from the passage nearly blinding her, she reached up with her dangling hoof, and gripped the earthy wall of the hole, the claw striking true this time. With a grunt, she pulled herself up, until her forelegs were curled up completely with her hooves at her chin. With a quick motion, she reached a foreleg across to the opposite side of the wall, and struck the claws onto the opposite side, bracing her body between the walls.

Taking a few seconds to breathe, she hung from the walls, her forelegs beginning to slightly quiver from the constant strain that she had been putting on them since she started to climb the rope earlier. Soon, she began her climb, pulling herself up as high as she could, until both of her forelegs were bent as much as her joints would allow, then she quickly pulled one hoof out of the wall, extended it up about half her reach, and slammed it into the wall, reconnecting the claws to the earth. Then, she pulled out the other claw, and jammed it into the wall as far as she could reach up, so that her hooves were staggered in height, allowing for her to constantly have pressure on the walls.

She repeated this process for longer than Applejack would care to ever imagine, though from the numb feeling from her forelegs, and the silence of the wolves under her, she knew that it had to have been close to forever and a day. After what felt like ten days of work, she looked down, and while she could only barely see past the pink mane of her unconscious friend, she saw that she only moved a little bit, the going painfully slow, Applejack having to fight for every single miniscule inch of height.

At that moment, she heard slight groaning from below, “Ugh... Ap... Applejackie... wha... what's going o-” The voice stopped suddenly.

Applejack would've replied, but the pain from the climbing had gotten so bad, tears had started to form in her eyes. Instead, Pinkie started again, this time in a panicked tone, “Applejackie!? What's going on!? Why!? What!? I'm... what!?”

The orange mare started to strain as she felt the panicked mare hooked in her legs starting to struggle in her panic, flailing her legs around, trying to find something to grab onto. Applejack's anchor on the walls of the tunnel slipped, sending the pair down a hoof or two, prompting the terrified mare she was holding onto to struggle more.

“Pinkie Pie!”

Pinkie's frantic squirming suddenly slowed, her attention diverted to Applejack. Applejack continued, her voice strained, “If ya keep squirmin'... like tha', we're... both gonna fall!”

“But... but Applejackie! My tail's a-twitching!” Pinkie squeaked. A chill ran through Applejack's spine as the words sank in. Pinkie's tail twitching could only mean one thing...

“Pinkie, ya gotta trust me. Just... please don' move... Ok?”

Applejack felt Pinkie's squirming subside, until it felt like the mare once again hung limply in her grasp, though the feeling of Pinkie's forelegs wrapped tightly around her hind legs told her that the pink mare understood what she was trying to command. Taking an extra few breaths, Applejack hoisted herself up again, grunting at the exertion, and resumed her endless climb. Her entire body was in pain now, her muscles overextended while her cuts still freely bled. However, at this point, unless she wanted Pinkie's prediction to come true, she had no choice but to continue with her climb.

After twenty minutes of torture, she knew that she was getting close to the top of the passageway. The cool wind from above blew through her mane, the chill easing the pain slightly from her overworked body. Pinkie appeared to sense it too, for she gripped onto Applejack's tired limbs even tighter. The orange mare rhythmically continued, unable to excitedly speed up her accent as she wanted, settling to merely keeping the same pace. Another five minutes, and she finally saw the lip of the passage just a few hooves above her.

Even through her exhaustion, Applejack nearly squealed like a filly, “Haha! Pinkie! We're almost there! Jus' another minute!”

True to her prediction, it only took about another minute before Applejack was at the edge of the passage. Unable to focus on anything except for the task at hand, she reached out over the ledge with her right hoof quickly, and jammed the claw into the earth, her weight supported by the hard surface. Repeating the process, she threw her left hoof over the ledge, and again, jammed the claw into the ground. A sly smile on her face, she used whatever strength she had left to pull Pinkie and herself over the ledge. Grunting in exertion, she didn't even make an inch of progress before her muscles gave out, leaving her hanging from her position. After resting for a second, she again put every ounce of strength she had left into the task, but again failed to move more than a single inch.

Applejack tried to keep her breathing even as she spoke, “Pinkie... Ah'm gonna let you go, an' Ah need ya to climb up around me, an' pull me up.”

The air was filled with silence, until a slightly wavering voice responded, “O...okie d-dokie l-lokie...”

As Applejack felt her companion grip her hips, she slowly loosened her vice grip on the mare, allowing Pinkie to slowly pull herself around the orange mare. As Pinkie carefully pulled herself around Applejack, effectively using the orange mare as a living ladder, Applejack was pushed hard against the rock as she felt Pinkie's coat brush heavily against her, the mare trying her best to squeeze herself around Applejack. The cowpony swore she heard a “pop” as Pinkie finally worked her head around her shoulders, and with a step or two on her head, Pinkie pulled herself over the edge, and laid herself on the ground, her breathing frantic and uneven, and some of her wounds still bleeding slightly. Even so, Applejack watched as Pinkie quickly picked herself up off the ground and, after taking a moment to adjust her mane, reached for Applejack, hooking her forelegs under the mare's shoulders. Applejack felt Pinkie put her entire weight into the effort as she pulled her up and over the ledge, and as two collapsed in a heap just next to the tunnel.

As she laid on her back, she finally was able to take a moment to look around the new chamber they were in. While not nearly as large as the previous one, it was still a massive space. The ceiling stood high, about fifty hooves tall, and just like the room before, the entire ceiling took on the shape of a dome. However, the difference was that at about thirty hooves high and two hundred wide, the ceiling finally connected with the walls, which came straight down, and while the entire area looked natural, Applejack couldn't help but feel like this was all pony-made.

The most striking aspect of the entire area was that the vast majority of ceiling was made up of varying sizes of bright green crystals, which emanated a intense glow that matched their own hue. The source of their power was unknown, but considering the intensity and vast amount of crystals, the power source either had to be considerable, or the crystals themselves highly efficient. In the soft glow, Applejack noticed that Pinkie's coat looked less like her namesake color, and closer to Applejack's normal coat color of orange, while she herself looked more of a dirty brown.

“Wow,” Applejack heard Pinkie whisper next to her as the normally pink mare stood up, “This place is... funky lunky...”

Before Applejack could respond, a harsh grinding sound tore itself against Applejack's ears, the terrible sound echoing all around the cavern, amplifying the effect. While still laying on the ground, her ears covered by her forehooves, Applejack looked around, trying to find the source of the wretched noise. Her eyes eventually fell upon an unremarkable, other than its size, metal door that was slowly opening, the bottom of the doorway harshly grinding against the earthy floor underneath. The door moved slowly, making the sound last that much longer, until the entire passage behind it was completely exposed. Inside, Applejack could barely make out what appeared to be the Element of Laughter.

Of course, the forty hoof tall metal construct standing in front of it blocked the view a little.

The being was bipedal, and appeared to take on the image of a diamond dog, the arms affixed with five sharp blades each. The construct was hunched slightly, though the hunched nature appeared to be less of a flaw, and more of a design feature to make the construct feel that much more life-like. Its lifeless eyes looked forward at nothing, as if the thing didn't need to use the actual eyes for sight at all. The construction of the mechanical guardian, while looking piecemeal from the various metal plates that appeared to be crudely riveted on, was more technological than anything Applejack had ever seen in her life. While she wanted to believe that the entire thing was run on magic, but the massive amounts of steam that the thing spewed off in violent jets with each motion suggested otherwise.

Slowly, the metal beast's legs started to move, the rusted over joints in its legs doing nothing to slow it down. Hot steam billowed out of its legs with each movement, the gargantuan monster slowly closed the gap between it and the girls. Applejack tried to roll over and pick herself up, but she never got past getting on her side. Multiple times, she moved her forelegs to pick herself up, but each time, it felt like her legs were made of rubber, and that she weighed several tons. She tried one last time to pick herself up on her legs, determined to protect her friend once more, but was met with failure once more.

Applejack could only watch as the metal being made its way closer and closer to the two, though its lifeless eyes never once gave them even the respect of looking at them. As Applejack laid there, she looked on at Pinkie, the mare's uncharacteristic orange form stood tall, and any sign of fear was replaced with a face of determination. Pinkie quickly turned her head towards the cowpony's tired and broken form, nodded, and walked to stand in between Applejack and their foe. Knowing exactly what the currently orange mare was trying to do, the cowpony tried to pick herself up off the ground one final time, only to quiver and fall before she could even get her stomach off the ground.

“Pinkie Pie...” Applejack whispered, anything louder than that would require far too much effort to allow to escape her lips. She watched as her friend stood between her and their doom, “... no...”

The metal construct only took a single step forward more before Pinkie spoke, the speech was not really directed at anypony in particular, “This entire trip has been nothing but one depressing thing after another. First, I'm separated from all my friends as they find their elements. Then, I'm forced to walk three days before we find anything exciting at all. Then, I find out that the exciting thing leads us to get captured, imprisoned, Applejack getting hurt, and me getting... attacked.”

The construct took another step forward, but Pinkie's voice only grew more ferocious, “Not only that, but then we almost got crushed by a stupid tricky ceiling, get attacked by timberwolves, I get knocked out, Applejack nearly kills herself climbing more than I thought was ponily possible, then to top it all off, we get attacked by some silly diamond dog thingy!? I thought this is supposed to be the place where the Element of Laughter is kept!!”

Pinkie stood back on her hind legs, reached her forelegs into her mane, pulled out a large metal tube, and placed it upon her shoulder, “Well laugh at this you piece of pony manure!!”

Applejack watched as Pinkie moved her right forehoof slightly back, which resulted in one of the most grandiose spectacles she had ever seen. The instant after Pinkie brought her forehoof back, a large jet of flame spewed forth from the rear of the tube, almost singeing Applejack's face with its intensity. The instant after, an echoing thunder rocked the cavern as a large metallic object rocketed itself out of the front end of the tube, and a split second later, impacted against the chest of the machine. The metal object exploded with such a loud intensity, Applejack was forced to look away, her ears nearly bleeding from the sound, until she saw the light reflecting from the walls dim back down to its normal green. The sound of metal falling to the ground caused Applejack to turn her head back around, and see the damage.

To say that the construct was destroyed would be an understatement. The metal being, which moments before was something to be awed at, now was no more than a pile of smoking rubble. While there were larger pieces included in the pile, the construct as a whole was now impossible to identify as anything more than scrap. The metal object that Pinkie had fire had exploded itself inside of the metal being and blown away any working parts of the construct, totaling it. Applejack's eyes slowly refocused onto the pony responsible for the carnage.

Pinkie Pie still stood in the same position as she had been when she fired the object, her chest heaving in and out from the emotional intensity she put into that shot. The only sounds in the chamber now were the echoes of the mare's deep breaths and the settling of metallic fragments. Slowly, Pinkie's breathing slowed, her breaths becoming shallower, until she started to breathe much more normally. Her hind legs finally beginning to tremble, so she unceremoniously placed the the metal tube she was carrying back into her mane, and dropped back down to stand onto a more natural four hooves. Calmly, Pinkie walked over to Applejack, leaned her head down, and started to help her up with her muzzle.

“Wha...” Applejack stammered as she took Pinkie's help in getting to her hooves. Forced to lean on Pinkie for support, Applejack turned to Pinkie, “Wha' in the name of Celestia was tha'!?”

Applejack watched as Pinkie turned her head, their faces inches from one another, and Pinkie smiled, “Oh, just my little gift that Mr. Meanie Dragon Pants gave me.”

Stunned to a whole new level, Applejack worked her jaw helplessly for a few seconds, before nearly yelling her reply, “An' ya kept it in your mane this whole time!?”

“Well duh! Where else would I keep it? I thought of it kinda like your... oh...,” any small semblance of a smile on the normally pink mare's face turned into a deep frown, “... oh no...”

“Wha'? Wha's wrong Pinkie?” Applejack's tone raised slightly, worry in her voice

Pinkie pointed at her head, “Your... your hat...”

“Wha' about my... oh...” Applejack felt her mane, finding the hair naked to the breeze. Looking to either side, she softly spoke, “Where do ya think it went?”

Pinkie suddenly turned around, and, somewhat dragging Applejack with her walked, walked a few hooves back, until she pointed down. Applejack looked down, and saw that Pinkie was pointing down the hole that she had spent the greater part of an hour climbing. Peering as hard as she could, she noticed that at the very bottom, there was a small brown hat shaped object sitting on the floor of the cavern below, surrounded by hungry and curious timberwolves.

Pinkie softly whispered, “Twitchy tail...”

_____________________________________________________________________________

She and Twilight walked in silence, a condition that the two had been in since the day before. After her outburst yesterday, she couldn't bring herself to speak to her unicorn counterpart. How could she? She had no right to speak out like that against Twilight, no matter how stubborn the lavender mare had acted. It still wasn't Twilight's fault, but yelling at her because of it was detrimental to everything. Instead, rather than try and force an unwelcome conversation onto each other, the pair just walked along, barely acknowledging the presence of the other.

But, if nothing else, the two had been making phenomenal time. While it had taken Rarity and Twilight two days to get to the cave where her element had been kept, it had only been about a day and a half for them to get back. Sure, they had actually taken more time coming back if you included the time while Rarity was dealing with her... condition, but the travel itself did not take very long at all, and if her memory of the mountain served her well, it would only be a few more minutes until they would finally make it back to Sarlaka's lair, though it might take a few minutes longer with all the fresh snow that had apparently fallen recently. Once they were back, all she wanted to do was take a nice, hot bubble bath, sleep until they could use the elements on Discord, then pass out forever.

And to think the day had turned out to be a wonderful one. The sky was the purest of blues, the sky cleared of clouds, the sun was burning brightly as usual, and the snow underhoof had a satisfying crunch to it. Sure, the plains below them were dull and brown as usual, but even the dead brown color gave off a strange sense of serenity. If she looked hard enough, she could see the town of Conflound, the town that they had pretty much started this whole debacle a little over a week ago. It felt like ages since that fateful day, where her innocence was still intact, and the definition of a “disaster” was only when Sweetie Belle got her hooves on her dresses, and tried to “help.”

Rarity looked down and sighed, fighting back tears for a brief moment.

Even in the short moment of looking down, she nearly slammed her hornless head against Twilight's flank, for her lavender counterpart had stopped short suddenly. Looking up, Rarity saw that they had indeed arrived at their destination, with the large cave entrance being all that was needed to confirm they were in the right place, Rarity heard Twilight snort in anger, “Oh, I am going to give that dragon a piece of my mind...”

Rarity was inclined to ask what Twilight mean, breaking her day long silence in the process, but before she could, Twilight walked forward yet again, a new-found haste in her stride. Rarity trotted forward to catch up, and side by side, the pair entered the sanctuary. It was just as they had left it, the cave tunnel was dim as the sunlight from outside of cave mixed with the lights from the massive chandeliers inside reflecting a soft glow. The pair continued to march side-by-side as Twilight definitely set their hustled pace, making their way through the tunnel itself, until they finally hit the bend, and made their way into the heart of the lair itself.

Inside, as expected, the place was just the same as it had been when they had arrived just those few days ago. The columns were still grand and mightily held the ceiling above, the chandeliers were still illuminating the room, and Sarlaka's horde still sat in the center of the room itself. Curiously enough, even if this was the home of a massive dragon, it no longer gave the vibe of danger or filled Rarity with a sense of fear. Instead, she felt slightly relieved and the uplifting sense of safety filled her to the core. The familiarity of the place, mixed with the thick stone walls all around them might have had something to do with it. Of course, Rarity suspected that the hundred and fifty hoof long, several ton heavy dragon that was currently napping on his back on top his horde was the biggest factor.

Just as the finished the thought, Sarlaka appeared to awaken from his slumber with a start. With a surprising level of agility, the massive dragon rolled over onto his feet and, with his wings flaring wide to display their full span, snarled at the two for a brief moment. The threatening pose was quickly dropped when he realized who his guests were, and he instead let a smile fill his face, “Well look what the cat dragged in! Looks like I don't have to come to your rescue at after all.”

His response was met with deadly silence as he continued to smirk at the two mares, slowly starting to walk towards them as he continued, “Oh come on, that joke wasn't that bad! I mean, if you two want to be little sticks in the mud, I'm sure I can find a bog that can...”

Sarlaka's voice trailed off as he finally got a good look at Rarity. In any other situation, the face he held then would've been considered comical: his eyes grew wide, his mouth stayed open from being in mid sentence, and his breathing slowed as he took in the sight of Rarity. Under his gaze Rarity felt so small, and turned her head away from him in response to his oppressive glare, the feeling of being judged placed a weight onto her soul.

It was Twilight that interrupted the heavy silence, “You!” She nearly shouted, “What were you thinking sending us there as ill prepared as we were!? HUH!?”

Rarity turned back towards the two, and watched as Sarlaka turned his eyes towards Twilight, shock in his eyes at her outburst, “What do you mean its my fault, Magic? I prepared you perfectly for the simple task you had ahead of you.”

“You sent us to the bucking Everfree Forest for Celestia's sake! I don't think you can properly prepare anypony for that sort of place!”

“Please Magic, do you really think that I would send you somewhere that you couldn't handle? Hmm? The place you call the Everfree is anything but horrifically dangerous in this time. Sure, there are a few manticores and the like still roaming around, but not nearly in the same numbers as there used to be.”

Twilight let out a single disbelieving and mocking chuckle, “Ha! I'm sure if you told that to the ursa major that we had to fight, I'm sure that-”

Sarlaka raised a foreclaw in front of him, motioning for her to stop what she was saying, “Woah woah woah. The ursa major inside the final chamber?”

“No, the ursa major inside our saddlebags.”

Surprised planted on his face, the purple dragon reared up so that he rested his entire weight on his hind legs, which allowed him to cover his face with one of his foreclaws, “Oh that stupid, stupid mare. I told her that spell wouldn't last a thousand years...”

Twilight narrowed her eyes, and glared at the dragon several times her size, “What spell...”

“I... contracted a unicorn several centuries ago, right around the time I built the place, to help, well, build the place. Among several other very powerful spells to make sure that only Generosity could get in, she decided that an ursa major, well... it was only an ursa minor at the time, would be the best final line of defense for the element, and also claimed that she knew a spell to make sure that the ursa would attack anything except an element bearer.” Sarlaka lowered his gaze, “I guess that didn't work out as splendidly as my new breakfast recipe yesterday.”

The lavender unicorn gawked for a moment, “As splendidly as you... you... how dare you! You do NOT make sarcastic jokes about something like this! That... I don't even... I swear, I'm going to make sure you... ARGH!” she finally said, throwing her forehooves into the air.

“Look, just because I'm taking this a little better than you doesn't mean that you are-”

“WILL YOU TWO SHUT THE BUCK UP!”

The two arguing parties turned towards Rarity, the white ex-unicorn glaring at the two of them, malice and hurt in her eyes. “I... I can't believe you two! You,” Rarity pointed at Sarlaka, “are making jokes about my disfigurement, while you,” she pointed at Twilight, “are doing nothing but trying to place blame on who's fault this was. You want to place blame on somepony? Blame it on the ursa! You know, the thing that attacked us in the first place? Oh, and Sarlaka, because you seem to care sooooo much,” Rarity nearly yelled as she stuffed her muzzle into her saddlebags, and threw her element onto the stone floor, letting the necklace clatter to a rest, “the element is safe and sound. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to get away from your yelling.”

Not wanting to wait for a response, Rarity turned tail, and walked out of the cave, not even bothering to see the reactions out of the two victims of her yelling. Instead, she walked out, and made her way out of the cave, traveling back through the dimly lit tunnel. Just getting those words out made her feel better, even if she had to apologize for attacking the two later. She knew she should, and she probably would in a few hours, but just the fact that she was able to lash out at somepony made her feel better in the most primal of ways.

Finally reaching the ledge outside, she laid herself down on the snow, and felt the shockingly cold powder chill her belly slightly. Still, the cool touch was satisfying in a weird way, as though it was reminding her that she was indeed alive and well. That, combined with the warm sun, made sure the rest of her body was at the correct and restful temperature. She closed her eyes, and turned her face skyward, her world turned slightly red as the light fought to enter her eyes, only slightly getting through her eyelids. The chilled breeze whipped her disheveled mane and tail to the side, though by now, she could not care less about what happened to either, the styling of both had failed shortly after she and Twilight left on their adventure.

Still, the thought of her current appearance, even excluding her hornless nature, sickened her. She knew for a fact that her coat was no longer the pristine alabaster that she usually worked tirelessly to maintain. Rarity also knew that the first chance she was able to, it would have to work an entire day just to return her mane and tail to their perfectly styled coil, not to mention the huge amount of washing that she would have to do to get all the dirt, grime, and mud out of it. In addition, her eyes were most likely puffy, her eyelashes must have been wretched, her hooves chipped and scuffed, and her teeth probably have turned a slight tint of yellow. Of course, all of this would have to be done now without magic... something that Rarity wasn't sure if she could handle just yet, though at least now she wasn't bawling uncontrollably at it still was a step in the right direction.

The sudden rumbling of the ground she laid on alerted the mare of the approaching dragon behind her, a confrontation that she wasn't sure if she was ready for. Sure, she knew she had to apologize for the outburst, but not yet. Besides, the dragon deserved it! Either way, Sarlaka was coming and she had no choice but to talk to him, though she would wait until he made the first move. Make him be the one that is forced to strike up the conversation. However, above all else, she needed to maintain control of the conversation and make sure that he knew that she was the one in charge of the conversation.

Before she knew it, the dragon dropped himself to his belly just a few hooves away from Rarity, the sudden crash alerting her to his nearby presence. For several minutes, he just sat there, as if he was working up the courage to finally tell her what he needed to say, but was intimidated by her previous outburst.

Finally, Sarlaka spoke, “Generosity... I'm so...,” he sighed before continuing, “... I never intended for anything like this to happen, especially to you...”

Rarity didn't turn towards him. Instead, she continued to keep her eyes shut, letting the sun's warmth continue to rain down on her., “It doesn't matter anymore anyways. What is done is done.”

“Generosity...”

Rarity smiled, but the face that showed through was just a mockery of her true feelings, “Its funny really, for so long I was blessed with the gift of magic, but I never stopped to think about how an earth pony or a pegasus got by without it. Of course, now that I had it taken from me, I see now that those other races are blessed with other, and possibly more generous gifts, while I am nothing more than a frail, worthless, insignificant, pitiful...”

“Generosity, please... stop.”

“Why should I? I mean, sure, without me, the Elements of Harmony can't defeat Discord, and don't get me wrong, I am going to make sure that sorry flank suffers for everything he's done. But after all of this is done, I am nothing without my magic. All of my talents pertain to magic, and without it, I am nothing.”

Sarlaka didn't speak at first, letting the silence persist, as if he was pondering over what she said. Finally, after several minutes of nothing but the wind to fill the void, he spoke softly, “That isn't true, for a single simple reason.”

Rarity opened her eyes and finally looked at him, her face dared him to prove her wrong, even if she was completely convinced of her point. Regardless of whether he knew that was what she felt, he continued, “The first reason is the idea that just because you lost your magic, that you are worthless. Even if today unicorns are rare, I have lived long enough to meet a substantial amount of the magic users, as well as ones that have had their horns removed for many reasons: through battle like yourself, through magical overload, or even as grotesque reasons as their parent being ashamed of their heritage. In nearly every single case, those unfortunate unicorns found a way through the hardship, and had very successful lives. I have also met pegasi without wings, and too many earth ponies without legs, but they are different, because losing wings or legs is... different than losing a horn.”

A look of confusion took over Rarity's face as she listened, prompting Sarlaka to give a small smile, “You see, Generosity, a horn is somewhat different than, say, a wing. A pegasus' wings are physical parts of their body, that use regular old physics to fly. They move the air down, and the pegasus moves up. Take away the wing, and there's nothing to move the air.”

Rarity rolled her eyes, “Well duh, and without a horn, you can't use magic.”

Sarlaka smiled wider, “Wrong.”

The white mare looked back at Sarlaka, slightly narrowing her eyes, “What do you mean... wrong.”

“You see,” The purple dragon continued, “the magic that unicorns generate is from within them. I don't really know what the source is, possibly the heart or soul or whatever, but the point is, the magic isn't generated from the horn. I guess you could say that the horn is kinda like a wing, but only in the sense that the wing gets all of its power from the muscles in the pegasus' back and chest, while the horn gets its power from the magical pools with the unicorn. As such, like the wings focus the power of those muscles into them, the horn merely... focuses the magic within a unicorn's body, and trust me in that it is nearly a perfect focus at that.”

Sarlaka thought for a second, then continued, “I don't think I'm explaining it well... hmm. Ah! Think of it somewhat like a bulls-eye lantern. Sure, the flame inside doesn't give off much light, and with that light scattered in all directions, it does not do much to illuminate anything. However, when that light is put inside the lantern, the lenses and reflective surfaces inside direct all the light towards a specific point, illuminating it quite well, while keeping the power the same. Think of the horn as those lenses and reflectors. They take the magic inside of you, and without changing the power, focus it onto a very specific point, which, in turn, effectively amplifies the intensity of the magic.”

With that, Sarlaka held out a foreclaw. Inside, a massive and completely flawless diamond shined in the sunlight. Rarity had to hold back a gasp as she looked at the massive rock. It was at least the size of her head, if not larger, and the gem, while uncut, glistened in the sunlight, brighter than any gem she had ever before seen in her entire life. If it wasn't for the fact that she was in the presence of another, she would've started salivating at the valuable object before her.

A short chuckle emanated from the dragon's throat, “I see that little pony likes shiny. I'll tell you what. If you can take it from my hand, you can have it. Sounds fair?”

A confused face was now plastered on her face as she slowly stood, and walked over to the massive gemstone. Almost as soon as she took her first step, Sarlaka pulled his claw away from her, “Uh uh uh! Nope! You have to use magic to take it. That's the rule.”

Rarity looked away, “I just told you that I can't...”

“Have you even tried to use your magic, young one?”

“Well... yes... but...”

“Then try again. Harder this time.”

Taking a deep breath, Rarity turned her head back, closed her eyes, and willed the diamond to come to her, forcing as much as the magic that Sarlaka claimed was inside of her into the gem. Several seconds went by as she willed the diamond to move, only to be met with failure the entire time. Finally, the mare released her breath, and settled into a tired pant that resembled one of a pony that had run an entire mile. “I... I can't...” Was all that the defeated mare could say.

The mare watched as Sarlaka, not moving his claw, lowered his head, so that it was a scant few hooves from Rarity, “Then try again, and this time, put everything you have into it.”

Rarity nodded, spread her legs slightly to gain a better stance, closed her eyes, and again pushed her entire being into the simple levitation spell. She grunted, the strained sounds that came from her throat the same as those that would come from a unicorn that was trying to lift an entire mountain. Rarity could feel her face heat up as her heartbeat sped up in response to the strain she was putting on her body. Finally, after a full minute, a loud “thud” entered her ears, breaking her concentration. She opened her eyes, and saw that the diamond was now on the ground next to where Sarlaka's claw was hovering, the massive gemstone slightly sunk into the snow.

She looked up at the dragon now, confusion once again on her face, “But... I...”

Sarlaka simply smiled, “Told you you could do it. You still have your magic, Generosity. You just need to... relearn how to use it again, though I think I might be able to help with that. Until then I'll keep this safe for you, at least until you can better maneuver with it.” With that, he carefully picked the large rock, turned, and slowly walked back into his lair.

Rarity wasn't satisfied though. “Sarlaka,” she called out, “how... how did you know that I... that a unicorn could do that?”

Sarlaka stopped, and turned his head slightly, though never actually looking in Rarity's direction, “A very, very smart and creative unicorn that I have the pleasure of being in the company of for some time figured it out many years ago.” With that, he left Rarity to think about his statement, as he made his way back into his home to escape the chilled snow on the ground.

A/N: And with that... I just broke 100k... oh dear...

Chapter 23: Decisions and More Decisions

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“Stupid... so... so stupid...”

Rainbow had been whispering the self targeted insults on and off since the morning, when the two pegasi had shot out of the window of the inn. At first, Fluttershy had valiantly tried to convince the mare that it wasn't her fault, that it wasn't either of their faults, but Rainbow had ignored every one of her reassurances. Of course the stubborn rainbow maned pegasus refused to believe that it wasn't her fault. Even if she saved Fluttershy, thank Celestia she did, the fact that it had almost happened was enough to make her stomach churn. What if she had gotten there five minutes later than she did? What would've happened to Fluttershy then? How could Rainbow ever live with herself, let alone how Fluttershy could live like that? One thing was for certain though, she would have never forgiven herself.

And on top of that, she still wasn't entirely comfortable with the fact that she and Fluttershy... well... did it. Sure, she had accepted the truth of the matter, but comfortable with it? Not quite. Not only that, but what that meant for her, and her... sexual preferences confused her further. Of course, she had had this conversation with herself for a long time the night before, but with the exception of a new found admiration of Fluttershy's flank, there wasn't any progress made for her on that subject. Rainbow had decided that if she couldn't think of it after so much time on that cloud to herself, the idea that she would now come up with an answer to that question while flying across the freaking continent with an injured pegasus in her grip was silly at best. Still, she knew that the conversation with Fluttershy about that would happen at some point, and she was totally not ready for it.

Thankfully, for now at least, the mare in question that Rainbow was carrying was content to peacefully nap. Looking down for a moment, she stole a quick look at the quiet and beautiful mare. For everything that she had gone through, the small smile that appeared to be permanently placed on Fluttershy's face always made sure to remind Rainbow that the mare was indeed the Element of Kindness. Sure, Pinkie had that toothy grin every hour of every day, but that was different from this. While Pinkie's was more of a excited and silly smile, this was more of a comfortable and genuinely pleasant smile. It was sad that she always hid it behind her mane, because Rainbow wish she never hid that smile she had.

Rainbow gripped Fluttershy a little tighter at the thought.

It was several more minutes before the cyan mare felt a stirring under her as Fluttershy slowly woke up. Rainbow never saw it, but she felt the yellow pegasus take a large yawn, then slowly tried to wake up, “Mmmm... Rainbow?”

Rainbow smiled, “Yeah, Fluttershy?”

“Do you know how much longer we have until we get there? Or at least stop for the night? I'm getting a little tired, you know... if you don't mind.”

“You're getting tired?” the cyan mare chuckled, “You've been sleeping for hours! How could you be tired?”

Rainbow could feel the heat from Fluttershy's face increase, “Oh... I mean... I didn't mean that...”

“Heh, I'm just teasing you 'Shy. Don't worry about it. But yeah, I'm planning on landing in a few minutes. I think we're getting close to wherever we're supposed to go. According to the map thing, we were supposed to head towards some plateau nearby or something, and considering I can only see that huge one up there,” Rainbow motioned with her head, “that's where I think we're supposed to be.”

“Oh... I see...” Fluttershy trailed off. Rainbow felt like Fluttershy was holding back something, but she was somewhat nervous on what the mare was thinking. Reason being that the cyan pegasus was fairly sure that she knew what the yellow mare wanted to talk to her about, but was still holding out hope against it.

Finally, Fluttershy spoke again, “Rainbow... umm... about last night...”

Crap.

“It didn't mean anything!” Rainbow blurted out without thinking, regretting it the moment she said it.

The yellow mare tensed for a few seconds, but then sagged in Rainbow's grip, “Oh. I... umm... I meant when you saved me...”

“... Oh...”

“I just wanted to thank you for saving me from those stallions...”

Rainbow felt her mood slightly increase at the complement, temporarally forgetting about her earlier outburst, and Fluttershy's deflation, from just before, “Hey, no problem 'Shy. Its going to take more than a few losers to take me down!”

The cyan mare felt Fluttershy giggle slightly, “Yeah, that is pretty true, you are pretty awesome.”

“I am, aren't I?” Rainbow smiled for a few minutes, but the smile slowly faded, until only a focused frown was left on her face, the thoughts of the events of the night coming back full force. “Hey... Fluttershy,” Rainbow said quietly, “about the reason I wasn't there when they came in...”

“Its ok, I know it must have been... umm... awkward to wake up like that.” The yellow mare giggled emptily, “Like you said though, it didn't... it didn't mean anything, right? So we might as well just forget about it.”

Rainbow's heart held a mixed bag of emotions at the depressing words. Fluttershy was giving her an out, a way to avoid this whole 'mistake' that the two had made the last night, and act like that it didn't happen, and go back to what they used to be. Earlier, when she was panicking on that cloud, it was exactly what Rainbow had wanted: a way to stay best friends, while not completely complicating their friendship with each other, or their other friends, with anything weird like a relationship. This was her chance to effectively rewind the clock, and fix everything.

Instead of responding, Rainbow decided to stay silent as she carried Fluttershy through the air, and settled to simply allowing the minutes to tick by with nothing but the wind against their ears to break the horrifically awkward silence. Soon, the pair made their way closer and closer to the mesa that Rainbow had pointed out a few minutes ago. The terrain around it, with the exception for this single blemish in the landscape, was a relatively flat sea of browns and grays. All around them, wilderness expanded in every direction, with not a single village, town, city, or even a cottage in sight. In fact, Rainbow wouldn't be surprised, even if it was somewhat odd, if there wasn't a single soul that lived within sight of the plateau. Looking back in the direction of Sarlaka's domain, she couldn't even see the mountain range that his lair was located in, though if her memory served her correctly, she was pretty sure that she couldn't see those mountains days ago.

The mesa itself was massive in scale. The height that it stood at was as high as most mountains that Rainbow had ever laid eyes on, while the cliffs on all sides were the most sheer of cliff faces that she had ever seen in her life. The reason for putting Fluttershy's element here, where non-pegasi could never possibly get to, was becoming more and more clear by the second. Rainbow wasn't even sure if Twilight, on the best of days, could teleport from the ground level all the way up here. Over a mile and a half high, the mesa was the single largest landmark in the landscape. The top of the mesa was most likely completely barren, but Rainbow wasn't entirely sure considering how much higher the top of the plateau stood compared to her altitude. Though there wasn't anything of note from this distance, the cyan mare was sure the place where Fluttershy's element was hidden was up here.

Beating her wings harder and faster to gain altitude, the strong pegasus finally started to notice the amazing strain that flying for so long with Fluttershy in tow had on her body. The muscles in her back and chest instantly started to cramp up from overuse, and the sudden feeling of muscles burning, pleading for rest entered her mind. Ignoring every single one of these pains, she pushed herself to her limit and, like she always loved doing in Ponyville before, blew past it. The pair ascended, and after several long minutes, and hard fought final hooves of distance, she cleared the lip of the mesa edge.

Rainbow carefully hovered as she set Fluttershy down onto the sandy ground, the yellow mare a little wobbly after not using her legs for several hours, but otherwise was fine. Quickly moving to the side to make sure she didn't land on top of her friend, she finally put her weight on her hooves. Her wings finally giving out, Rainbow found that the rest of her body decided to follow suit, and she quickly found herself on the ground with her wings folded to her sides, and her belly pressed hard against the dusty mesa. Her breathing heavy and haggard, she heard Fluttershy slowly walk up to her, sit down next to her, and, with a hint of timidity, pressed hooves carefully on Rainbow's thick flight muscles on her back.

A sigh instantly escaped the cyan mare's throat as the pleasant feeling of Fluttershy's hooves on her back sent waves of relaxation though Rainbow, the circular motions loosening the tight flight muscles before they could cramp up further. Slowly, the cyan mare let her wings relax, unfurling them from their folded position, until both of her powerful wings lay limply at her sides, her entire body putty to the careful kneading of the yellow forehooves of the Fluttershy. Several minutes of this went by, time blending together until she was certain that she was literally drooling from the relaxing massaging. Still, as much as she wanted the moment to last forever, there was something that Rainbow needed to get off of her chest.

“Hey... Fluttershy,” Rainbow spoke quietly, her voice barely carrying to the yellow mare's ears. Even though Fluttershy nearly stopped, the cyan pegasus knew that she had her undivided attention. Taking a deep breath, she sighed, and felt her face heat up slightly. “I... I didn't really mean what I said earlier... you know... about that night not meaning anything...”

She could feel her friend tense up slightly, the mare's hooves stopping their delicate work as the words escaped Rainbow's lips, but the rainbow maned mare continued, “I don't know what it really meant, or what will happen because of it, or what it means if we acknowledge it happened, or...” Rainbow paused, and let out a slight chuckle, “I know, I know, I'm terrible at this sappy romantic stuff, but what I'm trying to say is... that I don't want us to forget what happened, because it had to mean SOMETHING... right? I'm not kidding you, I'm really confused right now, and before we do anything like that again, I think we need to have a long talk about this after all this Discord stuff is taken care of, but...” Rainbow rolled over onto her side slightly so that she could place a forehoof on one of Fluttershy's hooves, “... I'll think about it... ok?”

She noticed then that Fluttershy was holding her breath as Rainbow spoke. The mare finally let the air out of her lungs and lowered herself to hug Rainbow from behind, moving her yellow forelegs to wrap around the cyan mare under her loosely hung wings, pulled Rainbow into a deep embrace, “I... I think I'll be ok with that...”

Rainbow allowed Fluttershy to hold her like that for a while, until she opened her mouth again, “Hey Fluttershy, could you do me a favor though?”

Rainbow could feel the timid mare's smile grow as she whispered her response, “Anything.”

“Could you keep massaging my back? That felt sooooo totally awesome.”

There was a moment of silence from both of them, until Rainbow snorted a laugh, and the two started giggling like little fillies in school. The pair laughed for a long while, Rainbow's sides splitting in pain at the amount of deep breaths that she was forced to take in between deep laughs. At the end of it all, Fluttershy wiped a tear from her face, and whispered into Rainbow's ear again, “Sure Dash, anything for you.”

____________________________________________________________________________

Pinkie watched as the pack of timberwolves encircled Applejack's stetson, all of them confused about the nature of the strange object that fell in the middle of them. A few of the more curious, and less injured, of the group slowly approached the brown and weathered hat, and with a hint of trepidation, sniffed the cowpony's garment. They must have smelled the scent of the owner, for instantly, one of the wolves grabbed it, and attempted to run off with it. Before the thief could get far, another wolf came up upon its packmate, and with a fluid motion, threw the wooden animal to the ground, forcing the victim's jaws to open and release the stetson. It wasn't long after that that the rest of the pack rushed forward, and the “Battle for the Brown Headpiece” commenced.

Pinkie now, panicking at the sight of this, finally looked up at Applejack, who was still looking down at the initial carnage below, “Applejackie! Give me your claws! I'll go get it for you.”

The sudden talk snapping Applejack out of her daze, the currently brown pony turned towards the mare that she was still leaning on for support, confusion all over her face, “Wha'cha mean your gonna go get it?”

Pinkie took a step back, nearly causing her friend to fall over as she reach down towards Applejack's scratched forelegs, “You're too tired too climb down the big tunnel thingy, Jackie! I know that you love your hat, so I'm going to-”

Applejack swatted Pinkie's hooves away, careful not to catch her with the claws themselves, “Pinkie Pie, Ah know your crazy an' all, but tha' is downrigh' insane! You're not goin' down there!”

The currently orange tinted pony slowly pulled her forelegs back, her face showing that she was slightly hurt emotionally from her companion’s swats, “But... but...”

“Bu' nutin'! Why are ya so insistent on gettin' tha' hat anyways? Can't ya see the pack of timberwolves surroundin' it? Unless a pony was down there, which there ain', ain't either of us is goin' back down there. Got it?”

Pinkie couldn't make up her mind. On one hoof, Applejack was right. Pinkie wasn't stupid; she knew that going down there with all the wolves, even if all five of her friends were with her, was completely bonkers, never mind if she tried to go down there and retrieve it by herself. If the fight with the wolves just an hour before showed anything, its that while confetti was good at distracting and disorientating Sarlaka's meanie guards, it wasn't very good at distracting bloodthirsty timberwolves that wanted nothing more than to gobble her up in one bite. And this was after she told them how tasty of a cupcake she could make for them instead, which was saying something considering nopony had ever turned down a Pinkie Cupcake before.

Of course, on the other hoof, it WAS Applejack's hat, and Pinkie knew how much that hat meant to the pony. She tried to think back to a time where the cowpony was seen without her hat, and other than once or twice, she couldn't remember a moment where the mare wasn't seen without her hat. This was including when they were at the gala for Celestia's sake! That would be like Pinkie without cupcakes! Twilight without magic! Rainbow without wings! Fluttershy without shyness! Rarity without... swoopy hair? Either way, it was wholly unnatural, and if left this way, could likely lead to the downfall of the Princesses, and spell the end to Equestria as everypony knew it!

Oh wait... that happened already. Still, it was weird.

If not for the simple fact that Applejack still had the claws strapped onto her forelegs, Pinkie would already be climbing down the passageway, and well on her way to getting the hat back. Unfortunately, Applejack was, for admittedly justifiable reasons, guarding those claws from the scheming mare. Trying to think of other ways that she could possibly get down, using the exploding launcher thing as some sort of flight tube or something like that was on the top of the list. Trying to scheme for more ideas, Pinkie brought a forehoof to her chin, and allowed the hamsters to run on their wheels.

With a hoof carefully placed on her shoulder, Applejack brought a quick end to the thought processes, “Pinkie, trust me, it ain't worth losin' either of us for. Why don' we jus' grab your element, an' see if we can find a way out of this place from up here. Ok, Sugarcube?”

A few seconds passed, before Pinkie nodded her head in defeat, shame and sadness from earlier that day returning in her heart in full force. Turning her head towards where her element was placed, she jogged over, making sure to avoid the pieces of metal that lay all around, and stopped just before taking the necklace. The piece of magical jewelry was curiously placed on a mannequin that looked very similar to her, but it was... off. While whoever, or whatever, had created this place knew enough about her to know the big details, like her coloration and the style of cutie mark, there were, like the door before, pretty major differences. Not only was the cutie mark off in the same ways as the entrance, but the mane was too purple as well.

Shrugging her shoulders, the currently orange pony slowly removed the necklace, making sure that she didn't drop the delicate artifact, and placed it inside her saddlebags, which were still tightly strapped to her back. The element secured, she turned, and trotted her way back towards her friend, who was slowly, if a little wobbly, limping her way towards Pinkie to meet her halfway. Upon meeting Applejack in the middle, her quickly took her place at the mare's side, and side-by-side, the two started their search of the cavern.

It didn't take long before Applejack finally pointed a forehoof, “Hey, Pinkie Pie! Ah think Ah see somthin' over there!”

Looking at where the mare pointed, Pinkie saw that against the pasty green light, there appeared to be some natural light coming through some kind of crack in the otherwise pristine cavern walls. Slowly, Pinkie making sure that her friend was able to keep up, the two made their way to the crack. It must have been created somewhat recently, some kind of earthquake or other cataclysmic event causing the rocks and crystals to fracture perfectly on a line, though luckily the cavern itself was spared. Inside the crack, more crystals, though not nearly as abundant, gave a small glow. However, the light source that was far more heartwarming came from a small crack above them, the exit about twenty hooves high.

Before Applejack could resist, Pinkie let her instincts take over, and grabbed the cowpony by the tail. With a mighty jump, she nearly scaled half of the distance in a single leap, landing onto a tiny ledge along one of the walls. Her strength not nearly as depleted as her friend's, the now quite pink mare didn't take too long to climb the height of the crevice. The entire time, the pink mare could hear Applejack yelling and screaming about something, a lot of the words definitely not appropriate for any filly's ears, but she ignored them, because she knew that the dirty mouthed pony was such a kidder like that. Like an acrobat, the party pony leaped from one tiny ledge to another, the pink blur seeming to defy physics itself as she jumped with her friend's tail in teeth. Finally, with a last skip off of an outcropping, she jumped her way onto the rocky ground above, and released her potty mouthed friend from her death grip.

Applejack, who had fell onto her after the death defying jumps, her legs unable to hold her up, turned her head towards Pinkie, “Wha'... wha' was tha' for!?”

“Well silly,” Pinkie started, and while her words showed their usual happiness, her tone was mostly neutral, “you were all tired and everything, and I was not tired and nothing, so I decided to do what you did when we were running away from the hydra a while back, and carry you up. Why? You think you can carry me and I can't carry you?”

Her friend worked her mouth uselessly, words not really coming out, before she stammered out a response, “Ah... Ah didn' mean it like that! Ah jus' meant that... Ah... uhh... Ah wasn' ready!”

The pink mare leaned in close, their noses touching as Pinkie brought her eyes right up to Applejack's, “Are you SURE that's the reason?”

“Uhhh... yes?”

Pinkie eyed her a little bit longer, but after a few seconds pulled away, “Okie dokie lokie!” she said, though the tone was still a little off, not as chipper as she wanted the words to come out, but it was good enough.

An audible sigh emanated from the orange mare's lips in relief, causing Pinkie to roll here eyes slightly, the terrible lying job of the Element of Honesty if Pinkie ever heard one. Carefully, the now bright pink mare walked up to her friend's side, and with a gentle nudging of her nose, helped the mare onto her feet. Once again, they found each other walking side-by-side, their sides pressed together as Pinkie helped her friend keep her balance.

The going was slow. Very slow. So slow, that Pinkie would rather watch the grass grow than walk this slow, and there wasn't even any grass to watch grow, so she would have to find grass, plant it, then wait for it to sprout, then watch it. Either way, the pair traveled onwards, Applejack pointing out which way to go the entire time, commenting every so often on how far Pinkie had ran earlier that day when she was in that trance like phase. It was then that Pinkie realized that the pair had not slept the night before, and even if she was the embodiment of energy, she could feel her body getting tired. Still, if Applejack wasn't complaining, then she assumed that they should walk until nightfall.

However, one thought was still weighing heavy on her heart, “Hey... Jackie...”

The orange mare turned her head slightly to the side as to only somewhat meet her companion's eyes, while still making sure they didn't bonk heads together, “Huh? Yeah Pinkie? Wha's up?”

She stopped, nearly causing Applejack to fall down from the sudden stop, “I'm... I'm...” she sniffed slightly, fighting back a small trickle of tears.

Before she could respond, the cowpony that she was trying to talk to turned, and put her orange forelegs around her pink neck, holding the sniffling pony close, “Don' worry 'bout nutin'. There's nutin' to be sad about, Sugarcube.” They held each other like that for several long minutes, which allowed Pinkie to regain her composure and let the welled up tears dry up slightly. Applejack pulled back, holding her at leg-length, and with a small smile, spoke again, “Now Pinkie Pie, wha's got ya all worked up?”

Pinkie took a few deep breaths before responding, “I'm... I'm really sorry about your hat... I didn't mean to knock it off your head and everything when you were climbing. You were saving my life, and I was just knocking hats off of heads...”

The blonde maned pony merely smiled, “Hey, don' get upset over that. It's only a hat. No harm, no foul.”

The pink pony blinked twice, “But... but I thought it was super duper special to you. You wear it all the time, I mean you even wear it swimming! I just thought it was... well... you know... super duper special.”

It was now Applejack's turn to blink, “Wha'? Uh... no? Ah wore it 'cause it kept the sun outta my eyes when Ah was applebucking. Ah mean sure, it was a nice hat an' all, but ah reckon you can find one of those anywhere. If it was so special, why would Ah wear it on all of our crazy adventures?”

“But... but I thought it was, like, the last thing that you had of your father before he died or something!”

For a long while after that, there was a long, and slightly awkward silence, where the two mares just looked at each other, separated by two fully extended orange forelegs on two slightly tensed pink shoulders. A full minute went by, before the orange mare finally spoke, her voice very soft and neutral, disbelieving what she just heard, “Pinkie Pie... my mama and pappy lived in Neighvada... an' they were as healthy as a pair of oxen...”

Again, silence reigned over the two, with only the wind and their breathing to pierce the void. Slowly, a smile started to build on Applejack's face, and Pinkie felt a warm, bubbly feeling that she had been missing out on for what felt like forever now. The feeling slowly grew, starting in her belly, and slowly rising and spreading to her entire body. Finally, the warm feeling spread to her face, and she couldn't resist the smile that slowly started to grow on it. With her smile continuing to widen, the warm and bubbly feeling continued to grow. Finally, she couldn't resist the single small chuckle that escaped her lips.

And the second.

And the third.

Finally, the floodgates broke for both of them as they started laughing at the situation, the cowpony forced to release her friend as she reached for her sides. It wasn't long before the two of them fell onto their backs and, with their sides in stitches, burst out into a stronger wave of laughter. They stayed like that for longer than they imagined they could, but the only things that were certain was that by the time that the laughs were finally gone, the sun had gone down, both were exhausted, and Pinkie couldn't stop smiling.

A/N: If I did my math right, I'm back to being on schedule now. BAM!

Chapter 24: Confrontation and Conversations

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The room was nearly pitch black, the only light in the room coming from a single gas lamp in the bathroom. The quiet breathing of the alabaster mare in the bed next to Twilight was the only sound that broke the peaceful tranquility of the otherwise silent night. The air, despite them being inside a massive mountain, was fresh, and the scents reminded the mare of apples and daisies. The plush mattress and sheets of the bed she laid in were some of the finest linens that the she had ever tucked herself into; the bedding possibly being of better quality of even Twilight's room when she was studying magic incantations under Celestia. In fact, if there was a way to bring her sense of taste into the room, she would assume that it would serve nothing more than to calm her nerves even further, and assist her to join Rarity in a deep slumber.

Still, she could not sleep.

She wasn't entirely sure why this was the case, but her mind just would not settle down. There were so many things that had happened recently to her, that her mind raced through every event and subject imaginable, attempting to dissect, analyze, and piece back together all of conversations, actions, and emotions from since she was called to Canterlot by Celestia to deal with Discord in the first place all the way to now, where she and Rarity were finally safe from the cruel world. They were supposed to be sleeping so that they could be ready for whatever Sarlaka had planned for them. Trying to help them sleep, he had pulled out the stops on the dinner that night. Fresh apples, the best carrot and mushroom soup Twilight had ever had, and a plate of cookies big enough for a party of twenty finished off the meal. From how Rarity looked as she was eating, she taking any semblance of decorum and throwing it out of the window, the white mare made sure that she ate her share of the meal making up for the lack of the other four members of their group.

That's not to say that Twilight had not eaten her fair share. In fact, thinking back, she was certain that if she had some way to visually play back the scene, she wouldn't dare show her face to Rarity or Sarlaka ever again. If nothing else, she was glad that Rarity probably looked just as foolish as she stuffed her face, though the thought of their host just looking on, popping a gem into his maw every few minutes in silent amusement, was a little more than slightly embarrassing. Thinking to herself, Twilight concluded that she would have to eat breakfast with an exceptional amount of formality to make up for the... rambunctious nature she acted in, but all of that was besides the point. What WAS the point was that after all of the things to help her relax, she couldn't sleep, and that her thoughts were going in circles. Sighing in annoyance, she carefully picked herself up, and started to make her way towards the bathroom.

Twilight carefully stepped into the bathroom, and, being as silent as possible, closed the wooden door behind her. She turned up the gas on the lamp with a quick use of her magic, bathing the room in its yellow tinted fire. She slowly stepped up to the counter so that she stood in front of the mirror, turned on the sink, and splashed water into her face. Instantly, the cool and clean liquid did wonders for her, ridding her mind of the fog that was blanketing it, and helping to get out all the pesky tangles and knots on her cheeks and forehead that had accumulated. After she rubbed her face with her hooves for a few moments more, she rested her forelegs on the counter, and simply allowed the water to drip from her wet face and mane as she stared into the sink, not really looking or thinking about anything in particular. Finally, after several minutes of clearing her mind, she looked up, and took in the image of herself in the mirror.

Suddenly, the memories of the last time she was in this position came back to her mind, the thoughts of Pinkie so worried for her, unusually scared that something was going to happen to one of them; the mare scared enough that she wasn't her happy and bubbly self that she always was. Twilight had been so tired that night, that now she barely could remember what exactly was said between the two. All she knew was that it was something about Pinkie being extremely scared about something that was going to happen. In fact, after Pinkie thought that the lavender mare was asleep, Pinkie had specifically singled her out, and asked her in particular to be careful. But why was she singled out? Twilight wracked her mind trying to figure out why Pinkie would be so persistent with her and her alone, when all of them were potentially in danger, but no logical conclusions came to mind. Finally, Twilight gave up, and just settled on the idea that she thought something would happen to her, and was scared to the extent that she was hoping that Rarity would keep her safe.

Twilight chuckled a grim and empty laugh, “Pinkie Pie... you guessed the wrong unicorn.”

Her mood slightly depressed from the last statement, she turned back towards the door and, after turning the gas back down on the lamp, let herself out of the bathroom. At first, she turned back towards her bed to try and get back to sleep, but something stopped her. Instead, the mare slowly made her way to the doorway separating the bedroom to the rest of the lair, and as quiet as a mouse, creaked the wooden portal open. Twilight tip-toed her way out of the room, making sure that she didn't disturb her sleeping companion, and with a last push, closed the wooden door behind her.

The lavender mare let out a breath that she wasn't even aware that she was holding, and with a new found spring in her step, trotted her way down the long and dimmed hall. Even though the lighting was the exact same as during the day, the light fixtures apparently not being turned down at night, the hall had a more somber feel to it, as if the passage itself had its own consciousness and thoughts. Of course the idea of a sentient room was completely ludicrous, but still, the fact that she was thinking these things didn't means she was crazy or anything... right?

Shaking her head, Twilight cleared out the strange thoughts that were invading her mind. Her mind once again focused on the present, she continued to make her way back into the main hall, Sarlaka's hoard piled on her right. Taking a few moments to inspect the room, she realized that for as much as she's been in the dragon's home, Twilight never really went into that much of it. On the left wall, a single passage led out onto the ledge overlooking the valley. On the wall opposite of her, there were two doorways, the one on the left being the main dining area, while the one on the right was that massive store room that she and the girls had used extensively to prepare for their journey. And, of course, there was the passage that she was standing in now that led to the guest bedrooms on this wall.

Other than those four passages, there were three doorways that she had never gone through before; one just to her right on the same wall as the guest bedroom, and two large iron doors on the right wall. Both of these iron doors, both standing just behind the piles of gemstones, looked identical to each other in every respect, and both looked like they were meant to keep something very important safe from any prying eyes. Twilight's curiosity was already in overdrive, so the thought of teleporting into each of the rooms to see what was behind those pesky doors was slowly creeping into the mare's mind. What could be inside? Was it long lost treasure? No, there was lots of treasure right in front of her, so there was no point in hiding other treasure. Maybe a superweapon to defeat Discord? No, that was the elements, and if he had a superweapon capable of defeating Discord, he would've used it. Maybe it was his private bedroom and his study, with nothing of real significance inside? Yeah... that's probably it...

Regardless of what was behind the doors, Twilight decided NOT to incite the wrath of the massive dragon by sneaking in, the warning he gave the girls a week ago about going in those rooms coming to mind. Instead, she decided to explore where the final doorway, the one on the same wall as she was standing, went to. Smiling to herself for her noble restraint, something that half of her friends were lacking, she trotted carefully over the outer edge of the piles of gems, and made her way down the large passage. The tunnel was very plain, the only notable features being the small candles on either side of the tunnel that gave off the same tiny light as the other candles in the hall leading to the bedroom. The ground was much rougher than the finely polished floor of the rest of the residence, and so gave the feeling that this part of the lair was not meant for guests to normally meander in and out of nearly as openly as the rest of the place. Still, Sarlaka never said that she shouldn't go down this way, so no harm, no foul!

The one thing that DID stand out in the place was how hot it was getting. It wasn't a blistering heat like that of a volcano or anything crazy like that, but it was more like a hot summer day back in Ponyville. Very quickly, Twilight found herself wiping her brow due to the sweat that was steadily starting to drip. However, the heat was still bearable, and Celestia's most trusted and best student didn't back down from a little heat.

Twilight frowned for a moment, her thoughts turning towards Celestia, but she forcefully tossed the negative feelings to the side, not allowing herself to go down that mental path

Thankfully, the sudden sight that beheld her made distracting herself that much easier. Before her eyes, a large doorway stood wide open, allowing the mare's vision easy passage into the room. All around her, the surfaces of ceiling and walls were unfinished, the entire area consisting of nothing more than a rough and rocky surface. The floor was in the same state, but it was also smoothed over slightly, so that there was no possibility of anypony tripping or falling on any loose rubble.

However, it was the vast amount of machines and tools in the room that really made the place stand out from the rest of the complex. Various work benches, stools, anvils, grinding wheels, and other strange devices that Twilight had no idea what were, all of which were much larger than the typical pony size, were carefully placed in all parts of the room, filling the large space. Along with those devices, massive hammers, tongs, saws, and even what looked like a few pickaxes were strewn around, many of them appearing to be used fairly recently by the amount of dirt and grime that was caked on a few of them.

Then, of course, there was the large dragon that nearly filled the room. Sarlaka, appearing not to notice the recent entrance of his unicorn guest, was hunched over what looked like some kind of blast furnace. While many of the tools and equipment in the room was fitted for a creature his size, the blast furnace appeared to be sized properly for normal ponies, though why this size difference existed was beyond Twilight. Sarlaka was hunched over, every so often putting his face close to an open hatch on the furnace to blast his flame into the massive oven, using his own flame to build something of an unknown design. Twilight looked around, but found no blueprints or other drawings that could glean any clues as to what that might be though. Still, just watching the impressive display was interesting, and while she felt almost like some sort of voyeur watching the dragon work, there was something about it that forced her to simply sit down in the doorway, and smile.

Finally, after several long of observing and studying, Twilight got back up, and walked over to where Sarlaka lay. As soon as the mare made her way past the doorway, it felt like she had walked into the oven the dragon was hunched over, the heated air emanating from the furnace felt like it was blasting itself against Twilight's face, causing her to quietly gag. Sarlaka either did not notice, or did not care that Twilight was behind him, for he diligently carried on with his work, as if Twilight wasn't there at all.

Finally, when she was right behind him, as he was blowing a large amount of flame into the furnace, she spoke, “So what are you up to?”

Sarlaka quickly raised his head, slamming his scaled skull into the top of of the opening. Groaning in pain, he carefully took his head out of the hatch, the very top of the frame now slightly dented from the impact. He turned his vision towards the unicorn, and while rubbing the top of his head with a clawed hand, spoke, “Do you have to sneak up on your kind host like that? It's very rude... not to mention it hurt!”

Twilight rolled her eyes, “Please. You are an armored adult dragon. I'm fairly certain that hitting your head isn't going to hurt that much.”

“Hey, it hurt more than you think,” he retorted. Turning back towards the furnace once more he breathed a massive amount of fire into the core of the device one final time before he shut the hatch, the top part of the frame not quite closing properly. Scowling at the recent imperfection, he turned back towards Twilight, and with a much calmer face, lowered his head so that they were at eye level, “So what are you doing up so late?”

“Oh... you know... just thinking about things.” Twilight spoke. Sarlaka only moved his claw in a circular motion, beckoning for her to continue the thought, “Well first things first, I guess I should ask about how getting those other two elements are going. You know... Rainbow's and Applejack's?”

Sarlaka didn't even shift his form at all, and merely stared right at Twilight's eye, “I'm working on it.”

The lavender mare moved a forehoof in a circular motion just as he did before, waiting for him to elaborate on the statement, to which he did not provide. After waiting a few seconds, she continued, “You are working on it... how?”

“I am working on it. That is all you need to know.”

Sighing, Twilight tried again, “Ok, well, if you can't tell me that, can you at least tell me where they are?”

“Where they are is not important. Only the fact that I will obtain them is, so that you should not worry about the minor details.”

“You and I both know that the minor details are ALL that I think about.”

Sarlaka smiled, “True, but my statement still stands.”

Twilight groaned, sitting down so that she could bring bring a forehoof to her face in annoyance, “You are not being very cooperative right now, you know that right? Could you at least tell me when you will have them?”

The dragon paused for a second, his smile fading, before he answered, “Soon.”

“Soon?”

“Soon.”

Twilight's calm and patient tone was gone, “Why are you being so evasive about answering these simple questions!? Its not like I'm telling you to tell me anything really serious here! Just a what, where, and when! ”

Sarlaka raised his head up, so that his face now towered over Twilight. Even with this massive advantage in size, power, and height, Twilight steadily held her ground. Finally, he spoke, “Because the answers are not ones that you want to hear, nor do you need to know them, so I have no reason to tell you. Is that simple enough, Magic?”

“Not even close. I mean, come on Spike, I ha-”

“I am not Spike,” Sarlaka interrupted, irritation in his tone.

Silence fell over the two, the only sound that echoed around the chamber was the crackling roar of the furnace behind the massive dragon. Twilight stared up at him, trying to find some sort of answer to any of her questions, but his face revealed nothing. Finally, she lowered her head, and sighed, “Why not? Why can't you be my little Spike again?”

She felt tears forming on the corners of her eyes, but they refused to fall. Instead, she kept her eyes down, almost hoping that the hot tears to fall down her face. After a few seconds of quiet, she heard his monotonous response, as if he read it from a notecard, “I already told you this, Magic. My crimes are too many for-”

“Your crimes?” Twilight looked up, her vision blurring from the buildup of more tears, “What crimes do you think you would have to do to make me renounce you in any way? You told me you killed lots of ponies, good ones even. You said you killed a lot, and you implied you potentially killed many more, but you know what? I don't care! You're still my so...”

Twilight paused, barely choking back the sobs that were in her throat, salty tears were freely flowing down her cheeks now, mixing with the sweat to mat her facial hairs. She had no idea how to say the next word, nor did she know what it really meant to either of them. The surprisingly cold feeling of a claw on her chin forced her to look up, and she looked into the sorrow filled eyes of the purple dragon.

Suddenly, she lunged forward, rearing back on her hind legs as she wrapped her forelegs around his gargantuan snout the best she could, and cried. As she let her heart out him, she felt the gentle strokes of his razor sharp claws carefully petting her back, the light scratching giving her a wonderful feeling even in the situation they were in. She had no idea how long the mismatched pair, a tiny lavender unicorn mare from the past gently nuzzling the ancient and murderous purple dragon, were embraced. Even when she had fianally stopped crying, she held him as close as she could, and he, for his part, kept up his gentle pets, until finally she tore herself away, and looked into his emerald eyes.

“I love you... no matter what. You know that, right?”

After a few more seconds, he slowly pulled his head back, until he was once again a fair distance away from her. He didn't look at her, his eyes focused well above her and he stared off at the wall behind her, though his pets never ceased, “I know, Magic, and I appreciate it so... so much. But... I don't know... I just...” he let out a frustrated sigh, “... I have to be Sarlaka. I know you don't want me to, but please, let me keep this name for a little while longer. I'd rather not have the other girls knowing just yet. I know you don't want to, and trust me when I say I don't want to, but... well... just... just remember what you said, about loving Spike no matter what...”

The urge to ask what he meant by the last statement burned inside her, but she decided for the second time that night that her curiosity would cause more harm than good. Instead, she looked past him, gazing at the machine behind him. When she finally felt that she could talk without the previous moment's sobs catching in her voice, she spoke, “Ok, I have to ask, what in the wide world of Equestria are you doing with that thing?”

“Oh this?” Sarlaka turned his head around to face the furnace, “I'm making something.”

Twilight looked up, and raised an eyebrow, “Making something? Making what?”

He merely gave her a wide smile, “A lens.”

___________________________________________________________________________________

“Ah gonna tell ya right now Pinkie, Considerin' how tired Ah am, Ah don' think Ah'm ever gonna get up tomorrow mornin', if ever again.”

“That's not true silly filly! You're going to have to pee at some point, and I think you don't want to do that while laying down!”

“Pinkie... knowing you... Ah'm sure you could think of somethin' to take care of tha'.”

Pinkie giggled, and Applejack couldn't help but laugh along with her. Her laugh was contagious really, like a string of small bells in the wind lightly ringing their gentle song. The cowpony wouldn't have believed how much she would miss that very laughter when it was gone. Looking back, just a few days ago Applejack was nearly driven to homicidal daydreams by the constant yapping and laughing of the pink pony that now was laying in the dirt a few hooves next to her under the night sky. A few days ago, she wouldn't have given a second though to the prospect of it even being possible for Pinkie to stop being herself, the only other time being when they had that near disaster of a surprise birthday party for her.

But now, Applejack realized just how much that very laughter meant to her. Sure, the two were friends before, but they hadn't really done that much together before this whole trip. Now though, she couldn't think of another friend that she felt closer to in their little group. It was funny really. The two were almost completely opposite of each other, yet here they were, laughing and giggling like they had been friends all their lives. Applejack trusted the mare with any of her secrets, and Pinkie in turn trusted her with nearly anything, though one exception loomed between the two. The orange mare had tried to pry the information out of the ball of pink fluff, but she was resolute in her refusal to tell. All that Applejack was able to get out of the pink mare was that it wasn't her, which helped make the situation a little less awkward, the idea of having to tell Pinkie she “didn't swing that way” was not one she wanted to think about. Still, the cowpony was curious, but she let it drop for now, knowing that Pinkie would tell her when she felt ready.

However, something else was bugging Applejack that really didn't make much sense. It had been bothering her since the two had settled down a couple of hours ago, and was part of the reason why she hadn't told Pinkie that it was time to settle down, and go to sleep just yet. “Hey, Pinkie Pie,” Applejack called out, making sure that she had the mare's full attention, “Ah have a question for ya.”

“Forty-two.”

“For... wait... wha'?”

“Never mind! What's up Applejackie?”

Applejack sighed, trying to collect her thoughts again before continuing. If somepony had asked her a week ago that she would be going to Pinkie about a question of logic and reasoning, she would've laughed that pony out of Equestira itself. Still, she had nowhere left to turn right now, and she had learned that Pinkie was more... knowledgeable than she looked, “Ah've been thinkin'. You know how tha' Sarlaka fellow had us go get our elements?”

“Well duh, that's why we're here, right silly filly?”

“Ya know wha' Ah mean. Well, accordin' to him, he we each had to get our respective elements, like you had to get Laughter, or else... well... somthin' bad would've happened. Right?”

Pinkie nodded furiously, “Mmhmm!”

“Well... then how can he get the elements of Loyalty and Honesty then? Ah reckon tha' somethin' fishy is goin' on with those two elements.

Applejack saw out of the corner of her eye that Pinkie rolled over to her side so that the mare was facing her, and propped her head on a forehoof, “What do you mean?”

“Well... Think abou' it. Like Ah said, he told us only you could get your element, Fluttershy could only get her's, and Rarity her's. Why, then, can Sarlaka jus' go up an' grab the other two? Wouldn' tha' go against everythin' tha' he told all of us?”

Pinkie hummed in thought for a second, “Maybe... he's planning on having you and Rainbow going out and getting those next?”

The cowpony shook her head, “Nope. Ah plainly remember tha' he told us tha' he was gonna get those two for us while we were getting these.”

“So you think that Meanie Dragon Pants is lying to us?”

"Ah thin' tha' tha' idea is startin' to make more sense every day.”

Pinkie sat herself up on her flank, and brought a forehoof to her chin, her the gears in her mind plainly in motion with the amount of thought she was putting into her answer. The entire time, the orange mare patiently waited, hoping that the mare could think of another reason behind why Sarlaka would plan things out this way. Everything about the whole plan, from them picking up the elements, to trusting him in having his lair as their base camp, seemed far too suspicious in her book. Things were not adding up, and no matter what the answer was, she knew that there were a lot of secrets that the dragon was not telling them.

Finally, Pinkie's face lit up like a flash from Twilight's magic, “Ooh! I got it! Maybe he's the most loyal and honest of dragons that has ever existed, so it will let him in!”

Applejack rolled her eyes, “Pinkie, if there’s one thing tha' Ah can tell ya about Sarlaka, its tha' he's anythin' BUT honest an' loyal. In fact, Ah reckon tha' he's one of the mos' disloyal and lyin' ponies... err... dragons Ah've ever met.”

The pink mare didn't skip a beat, “Well maybe he's sooooooo disloyal and sooooo dishonest that he goes around the loyalty and honesty wheel allllll the way, so that he goes all the way past zero on both! That way, he hits negative scores on both, which the universe can't really understand, so it just gives him an infinite score on both, which make him completely loyal and honest in terms of the universe!”

Green eyes met blue as Applejack just stared at her friend, her mouth agape in disbelief. The entire time that she was recovering from the completely absurd idea, pearly white teeth beamed in her direction, Pinkie grinning widely in hopeful anticipation. Finally, Applejack finally found her voice, “Pinkie... Ah love ya, but tha's the stupidest and craziest thing Ah've ever heard in mah entire life.”

“Is it as crazy as me having a rocket launcher that's as big and as heavy as me hiding in my mane for a week without anypony realizing it?”

Applejack blinked for a few seconds, before she slowly laid head back on the ground, “... Point taken...”

The pair of ponies laid there in the dirt for a while afterward, the silent night beckoning both to enter the realm of dreams. The cool wind blew against the orange mare's naked mane, and the desire to have her hat back to shelter her came to the forefront for a split second. Regardless, the chilling bite of the wind and ground were not unbearable, and she knew that sleep would come quickly if she let it. She decided to relent, her eyelids fluttering shut, and she slowly started to lose consciousness, the gentle breathing of the pink mare next to her comforting her from any worries.

With a final yawn, Applejack heard Pinkie's soft voice whisper to her, “You really think that Mr Dragon would do something mean to us?”

The cowpony, barely awake, mumbled her reply, “Ah don' know Pinkie... Ah don' know...”

A/N: Wow, this took a while to post. Blah... blame Gilda for it.

Chapter 25: Operation and Corridors

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“Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

Rarity walked alongside Twilight as the pair made their way towards what was, as Twilight described it, Sarlaka's forge. The morning was starting out to be an increasingly interesting one to say the least. Just twenty four hours ago, Rarity was spiraling further and further into depression and nothing that Twilight could say or do was helping her break out of it in the slightest. In fact, everything that Twilight WAS doing, from taking the blame for the accident entirely, to cursing herself out, was making the entire situation far worse. Just a little over twelve hours ago, Sarlaka had shown her that while her magic was fairly useless right now, due to her being without her treasured horn, her magic was still there. And just a little over an hour ago, she had found out from Twilight that Sarlaka had, apparently, created a new horn for her.

“I am certain, Twilight.”

To say that she was stunned at the revelation was an understatement, the concept of making a functioning prosthetic horn had been deemed impossible in former Equestria a long time ago. Yes, the science of prothetics had come a long way in Equestria, but the best that even the doctors from Canterlot Medical could create was something that was more for ascetics than for actual functionality. Rarity never really followed medical journals that much, she wasn't even sure if even Twilight did, but the last she heard, the research had been dropped because of “Ley-Line Adaptability Complications and Magical Diffusion Desynchronization.” What that literally meant, the alabaster mare wasn't sure, but what she did know is that that was code for “we have no bucking clue why it won't work.”

“But don't you think that you are rushing into the decision a little quickly?”

When Twilight told her what Sarlaka had created, and that he had told the lavender mare that the horn would allow her to actually use magic again, she was filled with a whirlwind of emotions, ranging from confusion to doubt. How could a dragon in a cave over the course of a single night do what the finest Equstrian doctors couldn't do over the course of generations? Sure, Sarlaka was intelligent, the fact that he had been able to keep up this ruse from Discord for so long made that apparent enough, but how could he do it so quickly with such crude tools? Yes, a thousand years had gone by, but from what Rarity had seen from Conflound, society was stagnant at best, and most likely took a few steps backwards compared to Equestria. This was yet another secret that Rarity needed to ask him about, adding to her growing list of questions. However, as long as he was being truthful to the two of them, she'd let it slide... for now.

“Twilight, darling, no amount of time could change my opinion in any way on the matter, so why should we wait?”

Of course, once the gravity of the news started to sink in, that doubt and confusion was quickly replaced with that of hopeful glee. She felt like a little filly why was just told by her mother that her cutie mark had appeared. At the time, Twilight laughed along with Rarity, the pair jumping from bed to bed in exuberant excitement about the surprising turn of events, and the kinds of second chances that this would allow the disabled unicorn. All at once, the various opportunities that had been stolen from her, from the most obvious ones like being able to do fashion once more to even the most minor and potentially overlooked ones like simply opening a door like a normal unicorn, were within reach again.

“But do you even realize how how much the fusion is going to hurt?”

Of course, after the initial high of breaking the news settled down, Twilight had started to have second thoughts about allowing Rarity to go along with this so quickly after learning about it. According to her lavender friend, Rarity was rushing into this situation without thinking about it. Instead, Twilight had said that 'she was responding to an instinctual knee-jerk reaction, and that to properly judge on the weighty decision, Rarity should wait at least a few days, if not a week, before deciding on a course of action. That way, a series of lists could be made on the pros and cons could be created, analyzed, and allow for a reasonable and calculated assessment to be formed. Of course, that's what Twilight was saying, but she wasn't the one that had the pathetic remains of a broken horn attached to her skull.

Which brought them to where they walked now.

“No more than never being able to use magic ever again could. Besides dear, what would you do if you lost your magic?”

It was a cheap tactic yes, turning Twilight's special talent against her like that, but the incessant nagging of the lavender unicorn had been going on for half an hour, and to say that Rarity was starting to get annoyed was an understatement. However, while underhanded, it appeared to have had the desired effect, the lavender mare promptly shut her mouth, and with a saddened look, turned back towards the end of the hall. The two walked in silence now, the soft echos of eight hooves clopping against the dirt below being the only sound to break the heavy stillness in the air. Even though the hall was not too much longer than the others in the cave system, the walk to the forge still felt like it took an hour or more to traverse. Rarity wasn't sure if it was anticipation, fear, or some other emotion that made the trip as long as it was, but whatever it was, it sent the butterflies in her stomach flying in every direction.

“Rarity.”

She stopped, and turned towards Twilight, the lavender mare's voice hushed even in the echoing tunnel. Feeling the need to respond, the snow white unicorn responded in a likewise hushed voice, “Yes, Twilight?”

Twilight closed her eyes, and let out a deep sigh, “I would do the same thing, and would jump on the opportunity to have my magic back in a heartbeat. I just... I don't want something bad to happen to you... not again. Ok?”

The white mare gave Twilight the best smile that she could, walked up until she was right up against her face, and gave her cheek a gentle nuzzle, “I know, dear. I know. You don't have to worry about me. I'm a strong mare, you know that.”

The lavender unicorn indulged in the friendly rubs of her friend for a few seconds longer, until she finally pulled away, a small smile on her face, “Well, lets get this started then.”

Nodding to each other, the pair turned back towards the door at the end of the long hall, the passage somehow appearing much closer now than it was just a few seconds ago, like the hall was responding to her mood. Taking a last second to gather her courage, Rarity took the last steps though the door, and made her way inside.

The forge was exactly as Twilight had depicted it earlier that morning, with all of the machinery, equipment, and other various tools strewn around in various locations, giving a true example of what Rarity liked to call “organized chaos.” However, there were two traits of the room that did not fit with the vivid and detailed description that her lavender friend had given her. The first was that the room was quite cool. Actually, the room was not only cool, but actually had a slight chill in the air, taking the air out of the mare's lungs with a visible fog as a small shiver ran down Rarity's body. Still, it only took a moment to become more accustomed to the low temperature, and within seconds, the crisp air was actually quite refreshing compared the the slightly stale air of the rest of the cave. The other difference was that in the very center of the room was a small bench completely covered in beige pillows, just wide enough for her to lay on. The bench was obviously meant for her, and the lack of actual formal amenities for a kind of operation like this just showcased how ill equipped they really were for this. Still, the fact that the pillows were there showed that Twilight and Sarlaka appeared to be doing their best to comfort her in any way they could.

Slowly, Twilight guided Rarity to the simple bench, and with a helping hoof, gently placed her onto the cushions, so that her stomach and chest were resting on the pillows. Rarity quickly found herself fidgeting on the crude bed, rolling around a little to try and find the most comfortable position that she could, the flat pillows not doing much to help elevate the feeling of the creaking wooden support below her. Still, the alabaster mare eventually found a position that was at least tolerable, and was able to settle down a little bit, her legs nearly dangling on each of the two sides of the bench.

It was then that Rarity noticed their dragon host standing at the edge of the room, and while he was sitting up on his hind legs, his shoulders were slouched and a frown was painted on his face. While the features were tell-tale signs of sadness, it was more likely one of seriousness and focus at the situation at hand, Sarlaka obviously realizing the gravity and risks involved, and worried that he would fail. What caught Rarity's attention more though, was that cradled in his massive claws, was a small object. It was impossible to tell what it was or what it was made from, the object in question was wrapped in a worn olive green cloth, but while it looked absolutely miniscule in his massive claws, she knew that it wasn't nearly as small as the proportions made it look like. She was sure that the object in question was the prosthetic horn, and while she wished that she could get a good look at it before the operation, she resigned herself to the mystery.

The purple dragon lowered himself into a more comfortable walking position, and on three legs, slowly started to make his way over to the two ponies, his large form nearly filling his side of the room completely. The entire time he walked, his face slowly transformed from a frown filled with seriousness and worry, to his signature hardened look he had whenever he was dropping his normal sarcastic facade, and was about to drop a proverbial bomb on the naïve ponies. It wasn't long until he was beside her, taking up the side of the bench opposite of Twilight. Even with his massive sundering form, as he laid beside her, he moved with grace and fluidity, until his body was curled up in a laying position, his head placed just in front of hers, his snout within reach of Rarity's forehooves if she had the desire to touch him.

His voice was nearly as soft as Fluttershy's own when he finally spoke, “I am certain that Magic has asked this same question countless times already, but are you sure you want to go through with this?”

Rarity spoke quickly and flatly, somewhat annoyed that even Sarlaka was asking this of her, “I am certain, and nothing will change that.”

“You don't understand, my little pony,” the dragon replied, his voice still as quiet as a gentle spring breeze, “There are many risks involved in this sort of operation. I have never done it before, but from what I know, if we do not do this correctly, the first moment you try to use your magic, the magic will rebound back inside you, and a feedback will occur within your body, causing you to... well... explode from the overcharge.”

Twilight forcefully brought her forehooves onto the edge of the bench, leaned in close to Sarlaka, and glared at him, her snout nearly touching his face as she began yelling, “And you decided to mention a small detail like this NOW!?”

“It didn't occur to me until just a few minutes ago that something like this could happen, Magic, which is why I am asking Generosity now if she's still alright with this. I am sure that she's ok with the pain if she made it this far, but something like this is something I need to make sure she finds... acceptable.”

Rarity took a deep breath, giving her an extra second or two before giving her answer, “Yes, I am sure.”

“Rarity,” Twilight looked down at her, the unicorn's eyes pleading, “I know you want your magic... but you don't have to do this... are you sure?”

The white mare took a few moments to look at Sarlaka and Twilight before responding, “I am positive.”

Sarlaka nodded back, “Very well. Magic, would you please make sure that Generosity is properly secured before we proceed?”

Rarity watched as Twilight paused for a moment, hesitating at the prospect that was ahead, wanting to further argue with the two, before she finally nodded. With a flash of her horn, the lavender unicorn grabbed four brown and thick leather straps that were under the bench, and slowly wrapped them around Rarity's shoulders, her waist, just below her knees, and the final one strapped her forelegs to the legs of the bench. It was a simple process really, and it only took a few seconds before every single belt was latched and secure around her. The alabaster mare tried to move herself slightly, only to find that she could not move more than about an inch in any direction. Trapped, and at the mercy of the two beings that stood before her, she found that her heart had started to speed up a tiny bit, a quiet nervousness starting to cause trouble with her stomach. Even with her being “captured” by a friend as close as Twilight, the feeling of helplessness and the threat of being so vulnerable were both hard to ignore. Still, Rarity knew that the feelings were unfounded, and with a deep intake of air into her lungs, banished the thoughts to the deepest recesses of her mind.

Rarity turned her eyes towards her draconian “doctor”, and, satisfied at her restraints, he slowly and carefully started to unwrap the olive green rag around the object in his claws. He was slow and meticulous with the wrappings, taking an extra second or two with each motion to make sure his dangerously sharp claws never cut into the cloth or the object that it was protecting. The process already slow, the alabaster “patient” felt like she wouldn't live long enough to see what was inside them, a ridiculously silly fear of dying of old age before it happened flashing in her mind for a moment. Eventually, the rags fell to the floor, and she finally got her first sight of her new horn.

Most prostheses of Equestria were made to match the unicorn that they were to be fashioned to. If a unicorn like Rarity were to have one crafted for her in Canterlot, then it would be specially created with her in mind to match her snow white horn stub, so that one couldn't tell without proper inspection that the horn was indeed fake. While no, the fake horn was not made out of actual boney material, it was typically made out of a blend of synthetic materials that was meant to look and feel similar to actual bone. There were exceptions of course, the poorer off would be forced to choose from mass produced horn prostheses which didn't quite match most pony's colors, while the super rich could afford horns to be created out of the actual horns of sea creatures that were found washed onto shore, already dead of course, and specially enchanted to match the size, shape, and color of the host. But there was always one point in the entire process: to make it look like the unicorn was “normal.”

That final goal could not be further from the truth with the horn that Sarlaka was now presenting to her. In his claws sat six inches of the clearest and purest material that Rarity had laid eyes on before. The structure was flawless, the torchlight emanating off of the walls that shined through it gave no signs of any flaws or any residual discolorations that normally were found in making such a crystal clear material. Indeed, with the exception of the material and the transparent nature of the object, the rest of the makeup of the prosthetic was perfectly made; from the shape and point, down to the simple details of the spiral groove that unicorns normally had on their horns. Those details, along with all of the other minor details, had been looked at, replicated, and reproduced with perfect precision.

Rarity was left speechless, save for a single word, “What...”

“I told you that if you could move that diamond I was holding, you could keep it. Granted, I cut quite a bit off of it, but I don't think walking around with a giant rock attached to your head would suit your fancy.” Smiling, Sarlaka turned to Twilight, “My little nurse, could you please take this, and put it close to her break? I'm not very good with the dexterous movements and such.”

Nodding, if a little slowly, Twilight enveloped the diamond spike in her telekinetic grasp, and moved it over near Rarity, so that the spike and the mare were only a few inches apart. Sarlaka, almost comically looking, put on a pair of jeweler's eyepieces, got down so close to her head that his hot and dry breath washed over her curly mane, and carefully studied the two connecting points. Rarity attempted to turn her head to get a better look, only to find that Twilight had already thought of that, and had used her magic to grab her, making sure that her head did not move during the operation.

Resigning to merely using her eyes, she noticed that he was carefully looking at the connecting parts, every so often touching the diamond, until he finally motioned for Twilight to lift the diamond spike up closer to him. With a chisel, he carefully worked at the end of the diamond, the tool barely removing anything with each hit, until Sarlaka appeared to be satisfied. After a quick double checking, which consisted of Twilight holding the connecting end back close to Rarity's stub, the dragon smiled a toothy grin. One final time, Sarlaka had Twilight lift the connecting piece up to the dragon, the connecting piece now apparently perfect. Pulling out what looked like some sort of gel, Sarlaka generously slabbed the gel onto the end of the diamond prosthetic, so that the entire end was covered.

Sarlaka looked up at Rarity's confused eyes, “Its like superglue, but better.”

Motioning to Twilight, the lavender mare moved the spike for a third, and hopefully final, time near Rarity's head. “Now Magic,” the dragon said, his voice deadly serious in tone, “I do not care what happens, what she says, what you hear, or what you ate for breakfast, do not move the the horn from the connection. Got it?”

Twilight nodded.

“Then let us begin.”

Sarlaka crouched back down so that his face was only inches from Rarity's own, the massive purple scales taking up nearly the entire vision of the mare's world. Rarity felt something extremely icy press itself against the end of her broken stub as Twilight finally pushed the diamond spike into position, the end flush with her broken horn. Somehow, Sarlaka moved his head even closer, so that Rarity could swear she could feel his claw brushing her prized purple mane to the side, but she could make no move to check to see if this was true.

“Last chance to back out,” Rarity heard Sarlaka whisper to her.

“Just get on with it,” She whispered back.

“As you wish... my lady.”

Before she could say anything to question those last two words, she heard him take a deep breath of air though his nostrils, the wind generated from the simple act astonishingly strong, before he opened his mouth, and let out what sounded like a tiny, yet constant flame. Even if it was miniscule, Rarity could feel the unbelievable heat from it instantly, her forehead breaking into a sweat just moments after the flame erupted. For the first three seconds, there was no pain, just the intense heat. However, pain very quickly started to form around where her horn was broken off, the fire feeling like it was cooking the broken bone on her forehead into oblivion. Even as images of the charred remains of what was left of prized horn flashing in her mind, Rarity refused to move as the pain increased with every second as the area where the dragon breathed scorched.

Still, even with feeling the most incredible pain since her horn was so viciously destroyed, the alabaster mare did not cry out. Instead, she gritted her teeth, and bore the intense pain without a single complaint, as if crying out would cause Sarlaka and Twilight to stop the process, and making all of this mean nothing. The pain was strong, but she was stronger, and in a battle of wills, she was winning handily. All she had to do was wait out the fire, let it do its work, and all the pain that she would be experiencing right now would be over, and she would be whole again, able to go about her life as she used to. Indeed, Sarlaka appeared to be running out of air to breathe fire with, and it was only a matter of seconds before he was-

Sarlaka stopped, and took another deep breath.

If the previous fire was hot, this fire was that of a thousand suns burning just two inches from her forehead. The air made a loud pop as it superheated in a blink of an eye to colossal levels. Rarity no longer felt the drips of sweat on her brow, the salty liquid evaporating faster than she could produce it. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her, but Rarity would swear that she heard crackling sound of what was left of her horn breaking under the stress. This pain was much worse than when she lost the horn, the only reason she wasn't crying out now was because she was aware that pain was coming.

Of course, it was soon after this final thought that she lost that internal battle.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”

Over her screams, she heard Twilight's own yells, “STOP IT! STOP IT NOW!!” the mare cried, trying to get the dragon to stop. Still, the pain stayed put as Sarlaka didn't flinch from either of the mare's yelling, his breath steady as he ignored both of their protests as he continued his work of uniting bone and gem into one seamless form.

Still, it didn't stop Twilight from trying to get him to stop, though for her part, she never did release her hold on the mare's head or the artificial horn for even an instant. The room quickly descended into a maelstrom of screams and cries as the diligent dragon continued his important work. Seconds bled into themselves for Rarity, and every single tick of the clock was a second of pain and agony as the feeling of being burned alive localized in her head threatened to drive her insane. For a few long and harrowing minutes, the torture went on, and for the victim of all of it, any cognitive thought was thrown out the window as she screamed.

Though through it all, she never said for either of them to stop.

Finally after five minutes of pain, Sarlaka stopped his fire, and addressed Twilight, who was still yelling at the dragon to stop, “Magic, a gust of wind. Now.”

Apparently not bothering to question the dragon's motives, Rarity felt a strong breeze cut across her forehead, the molten air quickly being replaced with air many magnitudes cooler than before. It was as if heaven itself had graced her, for the chilled air that she mentally complained about earlier now soothed her, forgiving her for her mental bullying. After a few seconds, the pain was low enough that Rarity no longer screamed, though the idea of even opening her eyes now was completely out of the question. For now, she was satisfied with simply basking in the chilled air, the pain from her ordeal, which was definitely still there, slowly started to dissipate into a deep throb, and while it was still painful, it was not nearly as agonizing as the sharp pain from before.

A calming quiet came over the room as Rarity was left taking deep breaths. However, a single line eventually broke that silence, the voice belonging to their host, “Now that, is a lens.”

_______________________________________________________________________________

Fluttershy had her eyes closed, basking in the radiant warmth of the bright midday sun. While yes, technically every time that the sun was in the sky in this future, it had the high noon "midday sun" aspect to it, but the yellow pegasus estimated that it was around the middle of the day anyways, so calling it midday was accurate enough. The small mare had a smile on her face as she sat upright on the cool dirt, her forelegs curled up in front of her, and her wings spread as wide as they could to catch the warming rays. The gash on the base of her left wing still hurt, the wound still not nearly close to being healed. However, after a careful preening session of her delicate wings earlier in the morning, she found that as long as she didn't actually move her wing too much, it really didn't hurt more than a little bit.

She had come a long way since the beginning of their journey. At first, the very thought of flying to where her element was located, not even including the prospect of dealing with all the trials and enemies that would undoubtedly stand between them and their prize, scared her to no end. It was only the presence of her cyan friend that had kept her hooves moving forward. Sure, there had been some bumps on the way, the thought of two nights ago coming to the forefront of her mind, but for the most part, the two had been safe, and the Element of Kindness was most likely directly beneath them. Not only that, but the task at hoof didn't scare her as much as it did a week ago, the usual jitters and the typical loss of her voice not present like it was when they first started. Fluttershy wasn't entirely sure if that was a good thing or bad thing, but if nothing else, it helped keep their pace going strong. And considering how much happier Rainbow seemed when they kept their swift pace up, it was good enough for the time being.

The thought of her cyan counterpart made her smile waver for just a brief second, before it returned just as strongly as before. Their relationship was... an interesting one at best. Before all of this craziness started, Fluttershy had admired her feathered friend more than that mare could ever imagine, at least until recently. Fluttershy had accepted the fact long ago that her sexual preferences tended to lean towards mares. It was something that she knew was a touchy subject, and at first, like most things, the idea of being seen as an outcast had scared her to no end, leading her to hide this important part of herself from her friends and family. In reality, if one of her friends had outright asked her about her sexual tendencies, Fluttershy probably, granted with tremendous amounts of meekness, would be honest about the matter and come clean, but the subject never really came up. Therefore, for better or worse, she never found the need to let any of them know.

That said, she wasn't sure when she really started to see the rainbow maned pegasus in a romantic light. For all of her life, from when the two went to flight school together, until now, the two had always been best friends. Sure, in recent years, Rainbow had gotten close to Pinkie and Applejack, while Fluttershy took more and more time to hang out with Rarity, the two had an unbreakable bond that could only be forged through time. While she didn't know when it was that she started to see Rainbow as more than a friend, she only just consciously realized it just two months ago that her admiration of the strong flier had turned into an infatuation. Instead of acting on it, Fluttershy decided not to tell her and just try to let the feeling slowly fade away, fear of the worst case situation always on her mind.

Of course, the idea of Rainbow not knowing how Fluttershy felt towards her was completely out the window by this point, considering what they did two nights ago. Thinking back more now, she could have sworn that it was Rainbow that had initiated the entire thing, after all, it was Rainbow that rolled over on top of her in the first place. Of course, before that, Fluttershy had been the one to sensually rub her hooves along the soft hair on Rainbow's sides. Then again, Rainbow had been the one to almost flat out tell Fluttershy to join her in bed considering the look she gave Fluttershy, once again putting the blame on her. But before that, Fluttershy had been the one to whisper to Rainbow that they should head back to their room for the night. Of course, before that...

Fluttershy scrunched up her face, willing the mental self argument to end. Deciding that no matter who initiated it, the simple fact was that in the end, while Rainbow had partook in the... activity, there was no doubt that the mare had been quite spooked by the incident. Even if she said she didn't want to forget, Rainbow had been scared to the point that she had ran away from Fluttershy to think for a large part of the night. She had come back yes, thankfully, but still, the simple fact that she had left was telling enough about how the incident had impacted Rainbow.

With that, the yellow mare made a final, if disheartening, decision: she would never bring up the topic of the two getting together ever again. As much as Fluttershy wanted otherwise, as much as she needed otherwise, she would much rather have her beautiful Rainbow be her best friend than risk having her never want to be near her ever again. Resigning to this wasn't a easy feat; many times Fluttershy thought of reasons to go back on this drastic course of action she was making, but every time, the end result of her mental scenarios was the same: the possibility of never talking to Rainbow ever again. It would be hard, harder than facing a fully grown dragon that wanted nothing more than to gobble her up in a single bite, but she didn't care. Of course, if Rainbow initiated the subject, then... well... maybe then...

A sudden and loud snort from behind her broke Fluttershy out of her thought process. Opening her eyes, the startled mare turned, and noticed that the very subject of her affection had still not awoken from her deep slumber. In fact, not only had she not awoken, but she was laying on her back, her forelegs curled up to her chest as one of her hind legs twitched every so often, leaving any sense of decency out the window. Her signature rainbow colored mane and tail were all over the place, the prismatic colors in each blurring together as the tangles made themselves apparent. The yellow pegasus giggled as she noticed that the sleeping pony was murmuring something to herself in her sleep, something, or somepony, in her dream significant enough to bring out the noises.

Finally deciding that she had let the lazy mare sleep in long enough, Fluttershy picked herself up and trotted over to where the chromatic pegasus slept. Standing next to Rainbow, a sudden and devious thought crossed Fluttershy's mind. Fluttershy extended her uninjured wing and carefully lowered the feathered appendage until the longest of her primary feathers started to lightly brush against the mildly wet cyan nose. At first, Rainbow didn't react, but the constant and careful tickling eventually brought out the desired effect when the yellow pegasus' victim started to use one of her forelegs to try and brush the source of the assault away. However, before the hoof could make contact, Fluttershy would pull her wing up, leaving the dozing mare to swipe at nothing but air, until Rainbow slowly settled down, and went back to her loud snores.

Giggling yet again, the yellow mare repeated this process for a few minutes, until eventually, Rainbow flailed around frantically, nearly kicking Fluttershy in the process as she unconsciously tried to attack her tickling assailant so that she could sleep further. The sudden jolting around backfired though, and ended up awakening the pegasus, who's mind was still in a daze from the slumber.

"Who? What? Where are they!? The marshmallow pinatas!! What are... wait... huh?”

The yellow mare did her best to stifle her giggles, being forced to cover her mouth with a forehoof as she tried to contain the snorts directed towards Rainbow. The cyan mare quickly shaken out of the cloud covering her mind, she quickly looked over at the offending mare, pointing an accusing forehoof, “Hey, don't laugh at me! I carried you all day yesterday! Plus, I didn't get much sleep last night,” Rainbow fussed as she slowly got up onto all four of her hooves. Slowly and deliberately, she started to stretch her limbs, “I think I'm allowed a few extra minutes of sleep.”

Still smiling, Fluttershy giggled her response, “Rainbow, its been daylight for hours.”

“... Oh... well... still! Anyways, let me stretch real quick, and then we can go do this thing.”

Fluttershy nodded, and after taking a few steps away to give Rainbow some extra space, decided to watch the rainbow maned mare do her stretches. Fluttershy knew the importance of proper stretches sure, even if she never really bothered to do them that often. Of course, after that crazy day of flying a few days ago, she made a conscious decision to make sure she did a few stretches every morning since: a few extensions of her forelegs, a few with the hind ones, and while she took extra care to not further injure her wing, she did do one or two different pulls on her wings to stretch her back and chest muscles. The stretches were definitely useful, and she was grateful that she didn't pull anything yet this trip, but none of that was anything like what her athletic friend's regiment was.

It was an interesting thing to watch really, looking on as Rainbow Dash loosened her taut and firm muscles for the upcoming day. More of an art rather than exercise, the cyan mare went about a long process of making sure every single fiber of muscle in her body was prepped. Everything from her legs to her back, all the way to the muscles that swayed her chromatic tail back and forth. On the last, Fluttershy did feel a little redness in her cheeks appear as she looked at Rainbow's taught flank, but if Rainbow noticed that Fluttershy was staring, she didn't react to it in the slightest. Instead, the stretching mare merely continued to flex and stretch the toned muscles in the entirety of her body, focusing heavily on her wings.

It took a good fifteen minutes, in which neither of the mares talked to one another, before Rainbow was done. Rainbow gave her wings a final couple of flaps, making sure they were properly stretched, before turning towards her yellow friend, “Alright, lets do this.”

Nodding, Fluttershy took to Rainbow Dash's side, and together, they started trotting around the top of the lonely mesa, searching for the entrance to the cave, cavern, or any other place that the plateau might have been hiding within its structure that could contain Fluttershy's element. The two mares didn't make much conversation, the pair too focused on the task at hand to really think about anything to gossip about. If anything was said between the two, it was related to the job at hoof, and was completely impersonal. It slightly unsettled the yellow mare, her mind always worrying about what her counterpart was thinking, and if any of it was about her, and if any of it was positive.

It didn't take long until Rainbow started fussing about some nonsense like how she wished Fluttershy had some sort of homing device to lead the two to the cave, but the shy mare decided not to take it to heart, even if it was a weird statement. A homing device? What kind of thing is that? Thankfully, it only took a few more minutes later until Rainbow noticed that there was a section on the side of the mesa, about twenty hooves below the lip of the edge, that actually was a hole leading inside.

Looking inside, Fluttershy noticed that, with the exception of the location on the mesa that it was burrowed into, the place was fairly nondescript. There were no distinguishing markings, no colorful banners, nor any special doors leading inside. All there was were the walls, floor, and ceiling of what appeared to only be a naturally occurring cave. It was impossible to tell if this was the case further inside, the light from above refusing to enter past the first few hooves of rock, but from what the yellow mare could tell, the stone was all the same. The earth that made up all the walls was completely unworked, and was exactly the same kind of rock that SHOULD be here, a sandy tan stone that was slightly crumbly if picked at.

Rainbow lazily flapped her wings, hovering at the entrance as she shrugged, “Seems kinda lame for an awesome cave, don't you think?”

The yellow pegasus decided to make a quick landing inside instead of hovering, sparing her injury any stress, “Well... umm... maybe Sarlaka, or whoever hid it, wanted it to look... umm... lame?”

The cyan mare leaned her weight forward, coming up alongside Fluttershy, and softly landed on her hooves, “I guess. Still lame though. I was expecting some massive door, some crazy guard monster, or something to give us some kind of storybook entrance.”

Managing to give her own shrug in response, Fluttershy, after Rainbow pulled out and ignited a small torch from their shared set of saddlebags, started down the long tunnel. Just like the inside, the tunnel was, as Rainbow put it, lame. Just a lot of unworked tan rock that disappeared into the distance as the light gave out. If anything significant was to be gained from the tunnel, it was that it seemed that the tunnel itself was actually spiraling around and down just inside of the walls of the mesa, the tunnel descending deeper into the structure itself. It was as if the tunnel was some kind of very crude spiral staircase, sending the pair deeper and deeper into the bowels of the earth. With not a single word shared between the two, they eagerly kept moving, determined to find their way to Fluttershy's element. It took close to thirty minutes, and what felt like two full rotations around the perimeter of the mesa later, but eventually, the pair found themselves at where the tunnel ended.

A hole, just a little wider than a pegasus' wingspan, sat in the ground just before the pair, and headed straight down. If this passage was a completely natural formation, Fluttershy would now be surprised, because of the sharp angle in the stone as it dipped down, plus how uniform the radius of the opening was, pointed towards a hoofmade design. Otherwise, the way down was extremely boring, with no real defining features about it; the rock was still the same sandy color as before, though if the color or texture changed further down because of the lack of light, Fluttershy couldn't tell. Also just like before, the stone itself crumbled slightly if she struck her hoof against it, an action that she only tried once, paranoia of a cave in on her mind.

Getting down the hole, at first glance, would be a simple endeavor for the two pegasi: just jump, flap your wings, and fly down. Fluttershy knew otherwise though, the steep nature of the hole in the ground prevented a winged creature of her size from getting a good angle to fly. Sure, there were some very strong pegasi, like Rainbow Dash, who could fly straight up or straight down without any issues, but most pegasi, like herself, didn't have the amount of talent and strength that Rainbow had. Hovering would be an issue as well, the small space not allowing the proper amount of air flow to permit ease in the mater, if such an action was possible at all. No, the two would have to stop, think, and be careful when-

“Race you to the bottom!”

Rainbow bolted past the yellow mare without a moment's hesitation, dropping the torch in the process, and after a small smirk over her shoulder aimed the yellow mare, leaped into the air, and dropped down the small hole in front of Fluttershy. Instantly, Fluttershy ran over to the lip of the ledge, peered over the side, and saw the small cyan colored form disappearing into the darkness, the mare's wings firmly clamped to her sides. For a few seconds, the stunned pegasus could do nothing but gawk at the sight, but was quickly pulled out of the trance when she could no longer make out the cyan color in the darkness.

In a flash, and without really thinking, the previously stunned mare grabbed the discarded torch from the ground, and jumped after her chromatic friend. Using the same tactic as Rainbow, the pink maned pegasus kept her wings clamped shut against her sides, a little more tightly than needed out of fear, and quickly picked up speed as her weight carried her down. Her forelegs extended, she rocketed down the hole, determined to catch up to her friend, or at the very least, get to the point where she could see the tell-tale cyan color of Dash's coat. Images of what would happen in a few seconds flashed in her mind, the more prominent ones being how she caught up with a surprised Rainbow Dash, quickly pulling up just in time to prevent the two of them from crashing into the rock and stone below, effectively saving her pegasus.

Of course, the idea of Fluttershy actually saving Rainbow was ridiculous, though what happened next was just as unimaginable.

The next moment happened in the smallest fraction of a second, too fast for Fluttershy to react in the slightest. All the sudden, the cyan color of Rainbow's coat appeared in the farthest tendrils of light, the prismatic mare's wings fully extended to slow her fall. Fluttershy only had time to gasp, releasing the torch from her grip as a result, before she crashed into Rainbow at near terminal velocity, sending them into a wild freefall, the two somewhat hugging each other as they fell. Squealing in fright, Fluttershy attempted to extend her wings, only to find that her right wing was too close to the wall to fully extend, making the feathers useless to stop their fall. Attempting to correct themselves in any way possible, she started to extend her left wing, only to find the wound that she suffered from two nights ago sent daggers of pain through her, her wing instinctively retracting back to her side .

For her part, Fluttershy watched as a determine-faced Rainbow Dash attempted to extend her wings like Fluttershy just tried, only to find that her left wing wasn't able to extend properly, the wall having the same hindering effect on her. Extending her right wing, the pair swiftly found that with only the one wing open, they were sent into a quick tumble, their previous stable fall turning into a blur as they began to spin, every so often slamming into the sides of the hole. Obviously, Rainbow quickly pulled her wing back to her side and used what she could of her left wing to slow their tumbles, until the pair found themselves once again with Fluttershy on top of Rainbow's form. For all of the trouble, the only improvement in their situation was that they were now in the center of the chasm instead of on the edge of it.

Suddenly, Rainbow let go of the bear hug that she had on her friend, Fluttershy grabbing on a little tighter in response, and extended her four legs, the hard cyan hooves connecting with the porous stone, sending fragments and dust in every direction. After a few moments of tearing into the rock with her poor hooves, she started flapping her wings, doing what she could to imitate her signature upside-down flying in the cramped confines of the hole, the saddlebags on her back hindering this style of flight. Still scared out of her mind, Fluttershy heard her rainbow maned friend grunting in response to the immense forces being placed on her legs and wings as she did her best to slow down the pair out of terminal velocity. Not knowing what to do, Fluttershy just opted to wrap her legs around Rainbow's midsection as tightly as she could, bury her face into the cyan hairs on her friend's neck, and scream.

“FLUTTERSHY!!!” Rainbow screamed, her voice strained from exertion and pain, “For the love of Celestia, flap your bucking wings!!”

Struggling to comply, Fluttershy extended her feathered appendages, and instantly felt the wind pulling at the feathers, sending shockwaves of pain from her knife wound. Still, she ignored the pain, and forced her yellow appendages to flap furiously, feeling the the very tips of her yellow primary feathers clip against the sides of the tunnel as they sped down. Fluttershy ignored both feelings, and with her face still buried in Rainbow's neck, flapped her wings as fast as her body would let her, the power behind the feathers giving enough force to slow the pair down, if barely. Her body wanted to just stop flapping her wings and give up, the base of her wing now filling her head completely with pain, but for her friend and protector, her mind commanded her body to continue.

Thankfully, she started to feel the wind whipping against her mane and tail gradually start to let up, a sure sign that their barely controlled descent was slowing. Slowly, she let her hopes rise at the result, the prospect that they were going to make it putting a smile on her face. Just a few more seconds, and the pair would come to a stop, then they could just float down at a leisurely pace like they should have when they first got to the hole itself. Slowing even more, Fluttershy almost let out a little cheer in joy.

Suddenly, the tunnel ended, removing the four forces, Rainbow's hooves, that were slowing the pair down the most from the equation. Whatever place that they dropped into was only a short drop from the exit of the immensely long tunnel, for it was only a few seconds after Rainbow lost her grip of the walls of the tunnel did Fluttershy feel the sudden jolt as they hit a shallow pool of water, her legs shifted just in time to prevent them from being crushed under their combined weight. The athletic mare that took most of the fall grunted in pain as they both hit the ground, the wind knocked out of her. Otherwise, the pair were somehow unharmed. Finally, ending the entire event, the long forgotten torch that Fluttershy dropped a little less than half a minute ago hit the water next to them, plunging both of them into darkness.

Uncaring about being in the completely black unknown, Fluttershy held onto Rainbow's warm body tighter, her small frame still shaking from the ordeal as her wings limply laying on either side of her, her feathers soaking in the water. Even as she lay there on top of her object of affection, her mind was completely focused on trying to slow her heartbeat, only taking a moment to register the tickling feeling of Rainbow's mane on her nose and the oddly satisfying feeling of the chromatic mare's feathers slightly intertwining with her own. After a seconds of heavy breathing from the both of them, the yellow pegasus felt her athletic friend return the deep embrace, bringing a pair of cyan hooves around Fluttershy's lower back, and gripping tightly. It was only then that Fluttershy noticed that Rainbow was shaking just as badly, if not worse, than herself, the idea that her friend being just as scared as her a little disconcerting, but was comforting in a strange way.

Instead of getting out of the water, the pair simply settled to just lay there for a time, allowing each other to just enjoy the protection and comfort of the other. Sure, the feeling of the chilly standing water under them was mildly uncomfortable, but the way that their breathing rhythmically started to become one and their heartbeats subconsciously syncing up in the most curious way, it was worth it. In almost any other situation, Fluttershy would like nothing more than just to stay here, in Rainbow's forelegs, not because of her romantic feelings towards the mare under her, she had already addressed those this morning. Instead, she loved being here because of how safe she felt in the mare's forelegs, her protector's shielding grasp.

“I'm sorry.”

Fluttershy, unbelieving that she heard Rainbow Dash apologizing, lifted her head from Rainbow's neck, and tried to gaze into the mare's dark pink eyes, even if the room was pitch black, “Sorry? Why are you sorry? I'm the one that should be sorry...”

“Hey, don't be sorry for anything, 'Shy. I was the one that decided to not only dive down recklessly, but I decided to start hovering halfway down, thinking you weren't going to dive down with me. It was stupid, reckless, I shouldn't have done it, and almost got us... got YOU killed. That's why I'm sorry.”

The yellow mare didn't respond, simply pulling her friend back into a tight hug, which Rainbow readily returned. Again, they lay there, their breathing, and the occasional drip of water in the distance, being the only sounds to break through the silent void. The shy pegasus wasn't sure how long they lay there, but she relished every single moment of it. If Rainbow was uncomfortable with Fluttershy laying on top of her, easily closer and longer than normal friends would, and with the yellow mare's head buried in the side of her muscled neck, she never spoke out. Instead, the cyan mare slowly stroked her yellow back, every so often running a hoof across some of Fluttershy's feathers, attempting her best to fix some of them after the frantic filly-like flapping. It was all mesmerizing for the receiving mare, and under different circumstances, the moment would be perfect.

Rainbow finally whispered, her voice carrying through the darkness without effort, “Hey 'Shy, why did you dart down that hole so fast anyways? I know we raced before, but I nearly had to beg you last time.”

Fluttershy didn't even bother removing her face from her friend's neck as she whispered, “Oh... umm... I thought that you might hurt yourself... so I was... umm... trying to save you...”

Rainbow stopped her gentle rubs, her voice now filled with slight disbelief, “Wait wait wait. You, Fluttershy, were trying to save me, Rainbow Dash, from falling?”

The yellow mare nodded slowly, wanting to apologize, but was interrupted by the death grip implemented by the mare under her, “You are one amazing mare. Crazy, to the point where I think we should get your head checked later, but still completely amazing.” Rainbow paused for a second before chuckling lightly, “Oh, and do me a favor, and don't tell Rarity about the whole hoof thing I did up there? I don't want to have to try and fight her when she wants to give me a hooficure or anything weird like that.”

Giggling, the pink maned mare snuggled a little deeper into the snuggle, and the two lay there for another few minutes, taking comfort in each others presence. The urge to smell Rainbow's mane and take in the scent momentarily pulled at her heart, but how her companion might react to such an... intimate act stayed her. It was good enough to be like this for now, for even if the chromatic mare didn't share her feelings for her, then at least this would be enough... hopefully.

Too soon, the yellow mare felt her friend fidgeting, trying to get out from under her body, to which Fluttershy reluctantly got off of Rainbow Dash. Once they were on their hooves again, the two fumbled around Rainbow's saddlebags to try and get another torch lit, the darkness not aiding them in this task in the slightest. The action was difficult not only because of the darkness, but also because how the other torches were a little damp now. Finally getting a torch to ignite after several minutes, the two took an second to try their best to dry off, a really fruitless endeavor considering the only cloth they had brought with them on the trip were the cloaks they left behind a couple nights ago. Still, after shaking off what they could, the pair started to walk along the shallow water. It was only then that Fluttershy could finally take a long look around the room.

The area was, just like every single other place the pair had been in this cavernous cave system, bland and uninteresting. The walls and ceiling were made of the same tan and sandy stone that she'd been looking at for the past few hours, though she could tell that it was a little bit darker here and there from being saturated from surface water seeping down into the cavern. Considering the vast room that they were in, and the wide open space it supported, the only thing that appeared to be holding up the cave's ceiling was a single, massive column in the center that soared into the air. The column itself appeared natural in nature, erosion slowly cutting away the stone around it, until only this single pillar, larger than the biggest trees the yellow mare had ever seen in her life, remained.

Continuing to walk along, there were only two other notable features that were significant in any way. The first was the standing water in the entire area that came up halfway to their knees. From what it looked like, at least Fluttershy assumed, water would seep through the ground on the surface when it rained, drain into this cistern, and with no place to drain into from here, it would just pool up, forever filling up the large place. Considering this, and the fact that she wasn't currently swimming, there must have been much more to this cave system than she would ever able to explore in just one visit. Thoughts of Twilight abandoning their mission to spend a lifetime exploring the place flew across her mind for a moment, but to Fluttershy, her only desire was to get her element as quickly as possible, and get out of this dark and damp place.

Which, of course, let to the second of the two notable features of the cavern. Two hundred hooves away, there was a raised platform jutting out from the water, the highest point of it being about ten hooves above the surface. The platform was very plain, the raised structure had a slightly more silver hue to it than the stone walls and ceiling of the room, but that was the only significant part about it, leading Fluttershy to suspect that this material was not naturally from this area, though crazier things have happened before. Of course, on top of the platform, a single pony mannequin stood, wearing the Element of Kindness on its neck. No tricks, no traps, and no monsters. For all intents and purposes, all the pair had to do was walk up to the other end of the cavern, grab the element, and walk out. It seemed too easy, as if-

The ground under Fluttershy's front hoof disappeared, the yellow mare squeaking as she suddenly plunged into a pool of very deep water. Swallowing the urge to panic, along with a mouthful of water, she worked herself back to the surface of the pool, gasping for breath as she broke the surface. Her forehooves gripping edge of the hole that she fell in, she did her best to start to pull herself up, her hind legs kicking in the water to try to give herself an extra boost. It was then that a pair of cyan hooves wrapped themselves around Fluttershy's forelegs, and with a yank, the yellow mare found herself back on “land”. Sure, she was soaked to the bone, her body shivering in response, but she was safe again from the... mostly just unpleasant experience.

Rainbow Dash lightly chuckled, “How about we tread carefully so we don't have that happen again.”

Before either could enact that new plan, a sudden rumbling shook the entire cavern, various small pieces of stone falling from the ceiling, splashing in to the water in ever direction. Attempting to do their best to not fall down from the rumbling, both mares took to the air, Fluttershy wincing in discomfort in the process. For several seconds, the room shook, the idea that the entire place would come down around them entering the yellow pegasus' mind for a moment or two. But, as fast as the entire thing started, the shaking stopped, whatever force causing it to cease its disturbance in the chamber. The pair held their breath for a moment, until they were satisfied that the shaking was done.

Of course, it was right when they let their guard down that it appeared.

Breaching the surface of the water a few dozen hooves away, a great serpentine creature jutted out of what must have been one of the deepest pools of the cavern. It never completely exited the water, the creature keeping about half of its body inside the underwater cavern below, but what was sticking out of the water was at least thirty hooves tall. Its scales were a black olive green, each shimmering scale reflecting the small amount of torchlight that was provided by the small source held by the cyan pony. Even though it wasn't facing the two of them right now, Fluttershy knew from experience that the creature had horrifically sharp and long fangs, and while nonvenomous, considering that it could eat either of the two in a single bite, it wasn't like it mattered much anyways.

The cyan mare gawked, “What... is... that...”

Quickly, the yellow pegasus grabbed Rainbow's face, and pulled it so that Rainbow's eyes were averted, “Rainbow! Don't look at it!” Fluttershy screeched. “That's a basilisk! If you look into its eyes, it'll turn you into stone!”

Her companion was silent for a few seconds, before she grabbed Fluttershy's shoulders forcefully, pulling the mare closer, dread filling her dark pink eyes “A what!? Oh... oh you gotta be bucking kidding me...”

A/N: According to this link (and a lot of other places I looked), the average length of a Fantasy novel is around 120k words... oh boy...

Chapter 26: Secrets and Dogfights

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“Ok, now stand right there, and shoot anything you can at that target right there.”

As she stood in the center of the main hall, Twilight looked on at the rather curious scene before her. Sarlaka had his head lowered next to Rarity, a close position that he seemed to be taking more and more with her lately. Rarity, on the other hand, had a face of sheer determination as she stared at the soon to be victim of her magical assault. The target itself was the mannequin of a pony, not the one that still had Twilight's element on it, situated about fifty hooves away. The objective was for Rarity to hit it with anything, from her sword, a chair, or a bolt of raw magical power, as long as the white mare used magic to do it. For almost any fully grown adult unicorn, the task was a simple one, and for Twilight, she probably wouldn't even have to think about it to complete the task.

Of course, Twilight didn't have the risk of exploding upon trying to attempt it.

Rarity's new horn was, for lack of a better word, absolutely beautiful. The fusion, ascetically at least, was a complete success, the connection point between the diamond horn and what was left of Rarity's old one perfectly melded until it was as if her horn was always made of the gemstone. If Twilight were to get up close and carefully inspect the horn, she might be able to find the connection, but the connection was so seamless, that the lavender mare would be hard pressed to fit even a single one of her finest hairs into it. The diamond horn always appeared to find the perfect angle in relation to the lights of the room, the prosthetic always dazzling in an elegant light show, the wide range of colors and sparkles never failing to draw Twilight's eye.

None of the beauty really mattered, though, when it came to if the surgery was a success in respect to whether it allowed the proper flow of magic from Rarity's body to the outside world or not. Like Sarlaka said, if the connection wasn't perfect, and instead of focusing the flow of her magic to her horn, it blocked and rebounded the magic... well... Twilight just hoped that that wouldn't happen. Trying to prevent an accident like this, immediately upon Rarity insisting that she had recovered from the surgery, Twilight had insisted on analyzing the flow of Rarity's magic, hoping to come up with the answer to their terrible question by a less risky method. Alas, all of the tests and magical probing she had performed on the alabaster unicorn had resulted in inconclusive results, so with all of their options exhausted, they were forced into drastic action.

Of course, that 'drastic action' was Sarlaka's idea.

Twilight was forced out of her thoughts by said dragon walking right towards her, a small grin on his large and scaled face. As he approached, he must have sensed her worries, for he decided to speak in a hushed voice, “Don't worry so much, Magic. I am certain that everything will be fine.”

Twilight looked back at him, “How can you be so sure?”

Sarlaka turned around, and looked towards Rarity as she faced off against the inanimate pony in front of her. Twilight turned her own eyes towards the unfolding scene in front of the two as the dragon continued, “Because the fusion went so perfectly and nothing bad has appeared yet, so I am confident that there won't be a single problem.”

The two gazed on as Rarity stared at the mannequin for a few seconds more, determination in her eye. Spreading her legs slightly, the mare braced herself against the upcoming force the magic would bring. The alabaster mare scrunched her face and the muscles throughout her body tensed as she willed the magic within her to do her will. For the first few moments, nothing happened, and Twilight's confusion started to grow as a result.

“Though... it might be a good idea if you put a shield or something in front of yourself...”

Before Twilight could question the statement, the alabaster unicorn in front of them yelled, the magic inside of her summoned to the forefront of her mind. The lavender pony watched as Rarity's muscles tensed even further, the pressure within her growing harder and harder to contain. Fear started to fill Twilight as she watched, for any other unicorn would've launched whatever spell Rarity was trying to pull off long ago, yet the spell refused to go off, merely building inside of the mare. Finally, after several seconds of tension, Rarity screamed as the pressure was released.

From the tip of her horn, a small shower of sparks spilled out onto the floor.

The room was silent save for the tired pants of the overexerted mare in front of Twilight, said mare's eyes closed as she tried to get her breath back after what was apparently an exhausting ordeal. It broke the lavender unicorn's heart as she saw Rarity's large blue eyes open, and dismay fall across her face as she saw the pathetic results of the ill performed spell, the small twinkles of the magical sparks slowly fading as the spell dissipated into nothingness. The white unicorn's head sagged as her eyes became glued to the floor, shame and despair obviously filling her being. Twilight wished she knew what to say to fix the situation, but her mind turned to how much harm she did the past few days when she was traveling with Rarity when he tried to 'comfort her'.

Fortunately, if somewhat surprisingly, it was Sarlaka that broke the tension in the whole situation as he sundered forward, “That was absolutely amazing! I'm impressed!”

After a second, Rarity huffed, and turned her head away with a flip of her mane, “Don't patronize me. That was nothing short of pathetic; an adult mare like myself doing that? Why, even a filly could create more magic than that!”

Twilight quickly trotted up besides Sarlaka as he chuckled a deep rumble, “Are you kidding? A few hours after fusing that horn to you, and you are already casting magic at all? Please! The fact that you are walking is astounding!”

Rarity kept her head facing away, “You're just saying that.”

Twilight smiled as she trotted up next to the white mare, “Rarity, think about it! I mean, if I went through what you did, I'd be sleeping in bed resting, not trying to use magic!” The lavender mare's smile faltered slightly as she looked up in thought, “I mean, sure, that spell was pretty bad; I mean, I was casting spells like that before I even had my cutie mark, but that doesn't mean... I mean...”

“Point is,” Sarlaka interrupted, “not only did you NOT explode as we had feared, but you are able to cast magic, even if it is simple ones like this, which is very impressive.”

The alabaster unicorn looked back at the pair, a small smile on her face, “Well... if you really think that... then I guess-”

“Shh,” Sarlaka held up a claw and looked behind him, peering towards the entrance. After a few seconds, he turned back towards the two mares, and started to push the two, “Quick, get in the storeroom behind you, close the door, and be quiet. I'll be with you shortly.”

“What do you mean? What's going on?” Twilight questioned as the massive dragon gently shoved Rarity and her towards the doorway in the wall behind them.

“I'll explain later,” the dragon quickly spoke. Finally, the pair of ponies was ushered into the open door, and with various foods and other supplies on all sides of them, Sarlaka smiled, “It's nothing to worry about. Trust me.” Without another word, their purple host gently closed the comparatively miniscule door, leaving the two ponies shut in the storeroom.

Twilight stood at the very entrance of the storeroom, her confused mind sending her eyes to stare off into the distance. In front of her, Rarity was mumbling something, Twilight swearing she heard something about Prince Blueblood or something, though the lavender mare couldn't make out any real coherent thoughts. Instead, the lavender mare just blankly stood there, her mind in a fog from the stunning turn of events for a fair amount of time. In that time, many thoughts went through her mind: Why the secrecy? What was so important to him that he would risk being rude to Rarity of all ponies? Was it a visitor? Who was the visitor?

She had to know.

Ten seconds after Sarlaka shut the pair into the storeroom, Twilight swiftly turned around, and with a hardened and determined face, approached the offending door that blocked both sight and sound. Summoning a quick spell, Twilight covertly created a miniscule scrying lens on the other side of the door, too small for anyone but the most astute of unicorns to notice. Sure, a spell like this was taxing, the powerful unicorn being forced to keep her magic constantly in use, but some things were worth the extra “juice”. Quite quickly, a hoof wide portal began to appear on the door in front of her, giving her a window to view the room adjacent to them.

Inside, their draconian host walked over to in front of his hoard, the dull sheen of his purple scales contrasting perfectly with the glittering gemstones. His walk was slow, as if reluctant to participate in whatever event was about to unfold before him and his cunning spectator. After moving in between a pair of the largest mounds of precious stones, he lowered his massive form down so that he lay on his belly, and after he got himself comfortable, he began to wait. While Twilight couldn't be certain, but from the way he walked and the way that his movements were less lively as they were just a minute ago, when the three were watching Rarity try to use her magic; confirming her assumption that Sarlaka did not want to be here. Unfortunately, with the lack of information given to her, the motives behind his apparent disinterest were unknown to the unicorn.

“What's that?” Twilight heard Rarity whisper behind her.

“Scrying portal,” the lavender mare responded, her voice monotonous as she focused on the subject inside. While she tried to figure out what he was thinking from his body language, his mannerisms hard to discern from the distance, he being a different species, the fact that she couldn't see his face, plus the lack of sound all served to handicap her analysis. Looking around the room, she quickly determined a better angle for her scrying spell, and with a slight adjustment, along with an increase in magical output, she relocated her scrying portal so that it was in corner of the room, close to where the dining room door was. From the upper corner of the room, not only did it give her a much better birds-eye view of the entire area, but it was much less likely that the window would be discovered.

It was only a few seconds after the relocating of the portal until she saw two ponies walk in. Both were obviously male, and while the large amount of metal armor both were wearing hid their actual physical features somewhat, she could tell that the two muscular stallions were exceptionally built. That said, other than their muscles, their frames were average size for fully grown stallions, neither coming quite to her brother's size. One of them, the stallion jet black with a gray and white striped mane, looked somehow eerily familiar, though Twilight couldn't put a hoof on why this was the case. The other stallion though, his coat light brown with a fire-like red mane, was completely foreign to the lavender mare. Both had immensely polished shining silver armor on, though the black colored stallion had a golden trim to his armor, possibly signifying his superiority toward the second, though Twilight was unsure. The two bowed as soon as they got close to Sarlaka, and with what was obviously a simple greeting, started addressing the dragon.

Twilight suddenly felt herself get slightly pushed to the side as Rarity pressed herself close against her side. “Twilight,” she whispered, “that stallion right there, with the onyx coat. That was the pony that Sarlaka refereed to as 'Captain' in Conflound!”

“And what about the other one? The one with the red mane?” Twilight whispered back, trying, and failing, to remember the small details of that morning.

Rarity shook her head, “I don't know, dear.” The two looked on a for a few seconds longer, watching their lips move as they started to discuss something, though whatever it was, was lost to Twilight. Again, the white unicorn whispered to her, “Is there any way you could turn up the sound on this thing?”

Twilight nodded, “Yeah... one second.” She closed her eyes, and willed even more of her magic into the tip of her horn, the colored appendage brightening as a result. After only a second, Twilight heard a small sound coming from the portal, as if it was an actual opening to the room. A minor tweak, and another spell, later, and the volume was raised so that while both mares could easily hear what was going on inside, while the sound dampening spell she just cast made sure that the noise didn't pass through the door into the main hall. The lavender unicorn noted that they entered into a conversation half started, her mind trying to fill in the gaps that she missed.

“-and that is the situation with the militia of Counflound and the surrounding townships, as well as the potential conscriptable population supply,” the captain spoke as he addressed Sarlaka, apparently telling the information off of the top of his head.

“I see...” Sarlaka turned slightly towards the red maned stallion, “and can you confirm these numbers, Lieutenant Wilks?”

“My numbers come out to be slightly lower than Captain Jonathan's, but well within the estimated margin of error,” the Lieutenant nodded.

“Very well. Captain, how about we cut right to the chase then.”

The captain shifted his weight slightly, pulled out a sheet of parchment from a slot on his armor, and laid it on the ground. He cleared his throat, then started, “Very well, Lord Sarlaka. As soon as you sent out the command about a week ago, we sent runners to each of the armies with your orders. As such, First, Second, and Fifth Army are en route to the foot of the mountain as requested. They have pretty much a straight shot here, so they should be here by next week if they travel at a forced march, though they won't be ready for a few days.

“Third Army is still busy engaging the main armies of Lord Delio to the southeast. Normally, they would be clear to withdraw, but considering that they are currently outnumbered about... umm...” Captain Jonathan looked at his notes for a few extra seconds before turning towards his lieutenant, “Lieutenant Wilks, I seem to be missing the numbers. Do you remember what it was?”

The lieutenant took a second to think before giving his answer, “I want to say close to five to one.”

“That sounds correct yes; they are outnumbered about five to one down there, so its going to be near impossible for them to withdraw without heavy losses.”

Lord Sarlaka cleared his throat, drawing attention to himself, “How did we let them get that strong against us, and why weren't they ever sent support?”

“This happened quite recently actually. They must have either drew a lot of green solders from their more peaceful borders or conscripted a lot of ponies in order to swell their numbers, because even with that huge difference of number, we are still easily holding our own. As for your second question, we were in the middle of sending Sixth Army to secure Third's gains, then support them when you sent out the order last week. We weren't sure what you would want to do with Sixth, so to be safe, we had them continue with their current orders to support.

“I see,” the ancient dragon scratched his chin with a foreclaw. After a moment of thinking, he waved the same foreclaw in the air, “Continue.”

Captain Jonathan nodded, and after taking a moment to review the slip of parchment, he continued, “Fourth Army is still fairly far to the north, and are busy with their campaign in the Griffin Territories. Unfortunately, they are too far from our lands to get here in time to be of much use. Still, a bit of good news is that the campaign is going surprisingly better than anticipated, considering the terrain and the fact that their military can fly. In fact, as a real fighting force, they should be dealt with relatively quickly, with the other phases of the Griffin Cleansing scheduled to commence soon afterward.”

“Twilight.”

The lavender mare jumped with her name suddenly being spoken, nearly crying out as she did so. Quickly coming to her senses, she turned towards the white mare who was next to her, a mix of terror and disbelief in Rarity's eyes, and replied, “Yeah?”

Rarity fidgeted slightly, “What does he mean by... umm...” the mare paused for a second, a forehoof pawing at the ground in front of her, before continuing, “... you know...”

Twilight continued to look at the mare's blue eyes for only a second, before turning back towards the scrying portal, “I think... I think its best that we don't think about it right now...”

Thankfully, the alabaster silently agreed with Twilight, even if she did seem to scoot a little bit closer to her. Their sides pressed against each other for comfort, they listened to the conversation again. It seemed that in the small time that they were talking to each other, they didn't miss that much of the conversation, Sarlaka still in the middle of his response, “-if we could prevent further uprising or any signs of significant resistance by keeping the Fourth where they are.”

“I was thinking the same thing my lord, however,” Lieutenant Wilks shifted his weight on his hooves slightly, “if the populace as a whole figures out that we aren't just there merely to take their territory, and they find out we are there to exterminate them, then we could get tied up in a guerrilla war we can't afford for the sort of time that would ensue from that.”

Sarlaka waved his claw dismissively, “By the time they figure out what we are doing, there won't be enough to concern ourselves with anyways. Besides, it won't be too long after we start that they will be beyond their recovery point anyways. I see no point concerning ourselves too much with the major details. Now, what of the Seventh Army and the purging of the Zebra Tribes?”

“My Lord, they have missed their last three scheduled check-ins and reports. In fact, we haven't had communications with the Seventh in about two months. I... I'm going to be frank with you Lord Sarlaka, I'm not entirely certain if the Seventh exists as a fighting force anymore. There might be stragglers here and there, but as a whole, if they haven't broken or deserted by now, I'd honestly be surprised.”

Sarlaka lowered his head slightly and narrowed his eyes, “How sure are you of this?”

Before the captain could reply, Lieutenant Wilks decided to interject, “There is no other explanation that makes sense. The only other possibility is that the general is the worst at communication of any stallion I have ever heard of before, which is not likely.”

“Ugh, this is NOT what I need right now. Are there any other reports?”

Captain Jonathan looked a the piece of parchment on the floor in front of him, double checking the words on the sheet before looking back up, “That's everything, my lord.”

“I see.” Sarlaka rested his head on his claw in thought, and allowed silence rule over the chamber for nearly a minute, before finally looking up, “Alright, here are the new orders. A new Seventh Army needs to be created. Find suitable candidates from the returning armies, and I'll pick from a few of them to be their commanding officers. Until then, conscript as many able-bodied ponies that you can. Untrained ponies are better than no ponies.

“Have the Fourth continued as ordered, and continue with their campaign in the Griffin Territories. While yes, they are our most veteran forces, it would be unfortunate if, after achieving so much, we would give it up so readily. However, as soon as General Leodia is confident that the griffins have been taken care of, have them double time it back to Conflound. From there, I will issue new orders for them. Hopefully they will be here in time for the endgame.

“Have Third Army keep the pressure on the Delio forces, but advise that they need to be cautious. That said, I am giving General Belina free reign on how she thinks she can keep the gains that she made, whether it is removing the populace or going through with a scorched earth policy. On that note, I want Sixth Army to turn around, and head back to the mountain. Make sure General Manda is aware of this as soon as possible, so she can order her troops back here, and also make sure that General Belina is aware that she is not getting the support she probably needs. It could end rather... poorly otherwise.

“As for First, Second, and Fifth, tell them to proceed back to the base of the mountain with all due haste. Things are going by faster than I expected, and I fear that at their present speed, the armies will not be ready for when they are all gathered. I need all speed I can get out of those armies, so they can at least have a day's rest before they are forced to engage. That said, hopefully those three armies combined will present enough numbers to force them to surrender without a fight, though I highly doubt that will occur; stubbornness and shortsightedness is rather rampant within them.”

“Very well, my lord. I will relay those orders immediately. May the grace of our god Discord be with us.”

Sarlaka and the lieutenant replied in unison, “Discord be with us all.”

Both of the stallions gave the purple dragon a deep bow, before turning around and making their way down the long corridor to exit the complex. When both were just a few hooves away from the entrance, Sarlaka called out to the two, “Lieutenant Wilks, can you wait one moment? I have a favor to ask you before you leave.”

Looking at each other, the pair shrugged, and while Captain Jonathan continued out of the cave, Lieutenant Wilks trotted back up to Sarlaka, who had now lowered his head so that it nearly lay on the ground. As soon as the stallion was close to the dragon's head, he spoke with a slightly hushed voice, though loud enough for the scrying portal to pick up on, “Yes, my lord?”

Sarlaka glanced at the entrance of the cave, before turning back towards the comparatively tiny pony before him, “I need you to implement Operation Chaos; quietly.”

“Are you sure? It seems early to do so.”

The dragon's scarred head slowly nodded, “Like I said, things are moving much faster than I anticipated. If we wait any longer, I doubt we will have enough time to properly prepare.”

The last image that the stunned Twilight saw was that of the red maned stallion giving a final quick bow and galloping out of the cave. Deciding it was time to drop the taxing series of spells, Twilight dropped the scrying portal, along with the audio passing through it, leaving only the noise canceling aura around the door. The lavender mare, her eyes wide with shock, turned her head towards Rarity, who was still pressed up against Twilight as she sought comfort, “Rarity... what...”

Shaking her head, the alabaster mare softly replied, “I... I don't know. I mean, what was that we just heard? I mean, I was sure, especially after my horn thing, that we could trust him of all po-... dragons, but now? What are all those armies coming here about? What is this 'Operation Chaos' thing that he whispered to him? And... and what the buck is this... this horror against the Zebras and Griffins all about? Purge!? Cleansing!? That sounds... I don't even know how to think about such awful things. Twilight, how can we trust him now?”

The lavender mare, her head spinning from the complete change of the image she had for the dragon, stammered, “I... I... I don't... I mean...”

Both mares squeaked as the door suddenly opened, revealing the massive face of their draconian host, a large smile on his face. Pressing up against Rarity herself now, Twilight's heart began to race as Sarlaka spoke, “So, my little ponies. Where were we?”

__________________________________________________________________________________

Fluttershy grunted as she quickly adjusted the angle of her wings and darted quickly to the left, leaving the basilisk's whip-like tail to barely miss her small body. She dared to not look back and see how close the strike really came to hitting her, the thought of what would happen if she locked eyes with the massive serpent, especially while flying, flashed through her mind. Instead, she focused on the agile banks and turns that she was forcing herself into, her wings burning at the constant accelerations, plunging dives, sharp climbs, u-turns, barrel rolls, inverted flamingos, and some other moves that she didn't know the name to. Of course, while she did pull off the myriad of maneuvers, gracefulness was not a word that she would use to describe any of them; words like "clumsy", "chaotic", and probably "desperate" were ones that would much better describe what the yellow pegasus was doing.

Taking a split second to take a breather, Fluttershy rounded the massive stone column in the middle of the room, and stopped to use the large structure as cover. Frantically looking around, she finally spotted Rainbow's signature chromatic contrail as her cyan friend darted around the small space, easily using her agility to her advantage as she easily dodged all of the basilisk's lumbering attacks. Again and again, the speedy mare orbited the room, and every time she went around, she would do the same sequence of events: dodge an attack, strike the serpent, and speed away before it could react to her. It was a simple strategy, and yet, it was the most effective one that the timid mare herself could think of.

Though effective, the yellow mare was starting to get worried. Tracking Rainbow's form, she noticed that every time that the cyan mare went around, she turned her eyes towards the serpent, making sure to look at the body of the monster rather than its head. True, this was a suitable tactic for making sure she could strike it, but one slip up...

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy yelled, "Make sure not to look into its eyes! Otherwise, you'll turn to stone!"

Over deafening roars, the smashing of rock, and thrashing of the crazed creature, Fluttershy heard Rainbow respond, "Ya think!?"

Internally nodding to herself, Fluttershy decided that she had been hovering in one spot long enough, and started to climb close to the ceiling on the far side of the basilisk. The yellow mare was no fool; she was well aware that she was avoiding the battle entirely, but what could she do? This wasn't even close to like the situation with the manticore a year ago, the creature back then was only mean because of the thorn in its paw. In fact, it wasn't even like the situation with the dragon, for while ferocious, at least it was intelligent. No, this something much worse than both of those combined, and she had no idea what to do.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the basilisk's tail come at her for a second time, but she once again veered to the left, narrowly dodging yet another attack against her. Sure, maybe she was useless in attacking the thing, but as long as she could keep it-

Fluttershy squeaked as the tail slammed into her side, and sent her tumbling through the air. The entire world became a blur as she rapidly spun around, and she had to fight back a swelling nausea in her stomach in addition to the ringing in her ears. Extending her wings, she attempted to flap them in any way to help her get out of her fall, though because of her panic and disorientation, she was met with nothing but failure. The yellow pegasus, even if she didn't know much about flying, knew that at the speed she was falling at, plus the uncontrolled tumble, she was going to hit the ground hard, and she would be lucky to get out with just a few broken bones.

She wasn't sure how close to the ground she was when another force slammed into her harshly, though not as painfully as the previous, and this force seemed to completely envelop her. She found her tumble suddenly stop from of the new object holding her, though her complete disorientation persisted. Her fall quickly turned upward, and the dazed mare found herself moving up and down, left and right, with the entire outside world entirely tuned out.

And just as quickly as it started, it stopped when she was carefully set onto the ground.

Looking around, she finally got some of her bearings back, though her mind was still in a daze. Rainbow was in front of her, saying something, though the high pitched noise in her head denied her any sounds from the world. Looking past her protector, she noticed that they were apparently behind some kind of large boulder, maybe something that had fallen just recently from the battle. Past that, she every so often caught glimpses of the large creature that they were fighting against, the serpent thrashing about, possibly trying to find where the pair went to. Past that, the cave was still where it was supposed to be, the rocks still that tan color, and a little wet from the light seeping of water through the ground above. Past that, there was the surface, which-

The rambling of her mental thoughts came to a sudden halt when a pair of hooves grabbed onto her shoulders, and violently shook her body. Her eyes turned back towards Rainbow Dash, she saw her yelling something, and while the ringing in her ears persisted, she could hear mumbles through the fog. It must have been painfully obvious that she was not able to comprehend what her cyan friend was saying, for Rainbow kept repeated the same few words again and again, though Fluttershy could never read the mare's lips.

Finally, Fluttershy made out part of what Rainbow was saying, "-shy! Fluttershy talk to me!"

The yellow mare shook her head, her messy mane going every direction, "Wha... what's going on?"

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow cried, and leaped forward to embrace her as deeply as she possibly could.

However, the hug was short lived when the yellow mare let out a cry as deep throbs of pain coursed through her left wing. Just as quickly as Rainbow grabbed her, she let go, horror in her eyes as she quickly pulled away, and inspected her friend. For whatever, reason, for the brief second that the rainbow maned pegasus looked at her, she felt strangely... exposed.

The thought went away when Rainbow spoke again, "Oh Celestia... Fluttershy, your cut opened up again."

Looking down, Fluttershy saw that the knife wound at the base of her left wing had indeed been reopened, most likely because of the rough and tumble of the fight. Wincing, she tried to put on a happy face, "Its... its not that bad. Just a scratch."

Rainbow obviously didn't buy it in the slightest, "Bull! You're hurt, and I don't want anything to happen to you, ok?" Both mares' attention was drawn to the other side of the boulder, where the loud roar of the basilisk echoed through the rocky chamber. After the loud cry ended, the pair turned back to each other, "You stay here, I'll take care of him."

Fluttershy's blue eyes widened in shock, "What? Rainbow! You... you can't take care of that thing alone! Besides, there has to be another way to do this! We don't have to fight this thing! If I go out there, maybe I can-"

"No!" Rainbow's voice started to get louder as she went on, "You aren't going out there again, ok? I'll be fine!"

If there was anytime to be assertive, now was it, "But Rainbow, I can stay away from it, keep my distance. I don't want to-"

"No, I'm not letting you go out there!"

"But Rainbow, why won't you-"

"I CAN'T SEE YOU GET HURT AGAIN!" Rainbow cried, tears building in her eyes as she wailed the last sentence. Fluttershy was stunned at the intensity of the resolution, giving her friend the chance to whisper to her, "I... I can't... just... let me be the one to go out there. Just stay here; I'll take care of everything. Ok, 'Shy?"

Not knowing what else to do, the yellow pegasus settled one a single statement, "Just... don't look directly into its eyes. Use reflections or look out of the corner of your eye at it. It can't turn you to stone that way."

Rainbow nodded and pulled the shy mare back into a deep, yet quick embrace. It was a short thing, only lasting a second or two, but from the force that the chromatic mare put into it, it was one filled with meaning. Before Fluttershy could fully process what it meant though, her friend pulled away from her, the features on the mare's face hardened from the coming battle, the tears gone from her eyes, and with a quick nod in acceptance, she crouched down, and with a jump, darted away to restart the fight.

Fluttershy waded through the knee deep water to watch the spectacle before her through the reflection of the water. Rainbow was heading straight for the basilisk, which, just like when it first made itself known, had half of its body above the surface of the water. Even from here, Fluttershy could tell that the creature was completely unaware of Rainbow’s impending strike, and with its head turned the wrong way, there wasn't even the slimmest of chances for it to turn around anyways. For a few brief moments, there was an almost peaceful silence in the chamber, the only sounds coming from the drips of water coming down from the ceiling, and the various pieces of derbies falling from previous errant attacks.

That peace ended as soon as Rainbow connected with the back of its head.

Stunningly enough, the force behind the strike was enough to send the serpent teetering forward, the creature howling in pain from the surprise. As soon as it got the chance, it lurched back around, and attempted to swing its head at the small bullet-like pony, Rainbow only narrowly dodging the attack. Just like before, Rainbow started to do orbits around the entire room, her rainbow trail almost creating a ring around the entire circumference of the nearly circular chamber. Every time she came around, the basilisk would attempt to strike with its head, with its tail, bite down on her, anything to try and hit the blue blur, but nothing it did even came close to hitting the agile pony. It was like a pony trying to hit a fly, only this "fly" was hitting said "pony" with enough force to shatter bones.

After about thirteen orbits of the room, Rainbow Dash changed tactics, and instead of a long circling of the entire room, she started to fly a tight circle around the creature itself, her rainbow contrails creating a twister from the amount of times she would go around before the colors dissipated. Now, the mare was getting off significantly more hits, slamming a hoof against the scales of the being every second or two now, sending the creature into a frenzy. Its motions were no longer calculated, its attacks no longer organized, and it instead started flailing around in desperation. Rainbow Dash's new tactic was effective, and considering that she was landing hits constantly now, the battle wouldn't last nearly as long as the more conservative route would take.

Of course, this much more brash tactic had consequences.

Without warning, as Rainbow was adjusting her orbit to be slightly tighter, the serpent jutted its tail out of the water, and caught the speeding mare by surprise. Fluttershy brought a forehoof to her mouth and gasped as Rainbow tumbled in the air for a second, righting herself just before hitting the water, the mare slightly dazed from the attack. Trying to get up to speed before the basilisk could get another attack off on her, Rainbow quickly gained altitude and swiftly accelerated. Still, from the slightly more errant path that the pegasus was taking, Fluttershy could tell that her mind was still in a cloud from the hit, and if it was anything like the hit it got on Fluttershy... the yellow mare hoped that she was alright.

Still, even with the temporary mental handicap on her, and even though she wasn't delivering any attacks of her own, Rainbow was still easily dodging all of the creature's swats and slams. A few came close, Fluttershy was sure that a few actually grazed Rainbow's chromatic tail, but none actually delt any damage. It took close to half a minute before Rainbow appeared to have finally recovered from the debilitating hit against her, and she finally took it upon herself to try and strike back at her opponent. Looking back up, she tried to find a weakness in the creature's scales, a soft spot near its belly, anything that would allow her to speed up this encounter.

Instead she locked eyes with it.

At first, it looked as though Rainbow didn't quite understand what had happened, and just proceeded with her attack. It only took a split second for the agile pegasus to dive, bank, kick the basilisk in the snout, and speed away to prepare for her next attack. However, Fluttershy watched as her beautiful prismatic tail started to turn gray, the many wispy hairs turning to a solid piece of stone. Rainbow must have realized something was happening, her tail end suddenly getting much heavier than the rest of her, for she turned her head back to try and figure out what was going on.

Even from this distance, Fluttershy could see the absolute panicked terror that was in the cyan mare's eyes. Her pace slowed as she flailed her hooves around, the motive behind the motions completely lost to the yellow pegasus. Fluttershy herself had a look of terror as she watched the cyan colors of Rainbow's coat start to turn to stone. The transmutation that had started with her tail then went for her rear hooves, created a pair of dead weights for Rainbow. In her state of panic, landing did not appear to be on her mind as Rainbow frantically flailed around, the stone quickly moving past her hips, and traveling through her body, started to transform her forehooves. It didn't take long for the stone to move to her chest, until the only things that were not stone were head and her wings, and those were quickly transmuted.

Rainbow turned towards Fluttershy, and with her last precious second of life, mouthed the words “I'm sorry.” towards her feathered friend, and became a solid piece of stone.

And then she started to fall.

Forcing herself to grieve later, Fluttershy forced herself into a quick flight, forcing her damaged wing into motion, despite the pain. Time slowed as the mare angled herself so that she was on an intercept course for the falling statue. Her heart pounded as she frantically beat her wing, demanding more speed out of the appendages, blood freely flowing from her wound. Yet even with all of the pain, the terror, and grief, she only focused on her single task: to make sure her friend didn't shatter on the ground.

For the second time since coming to the future, she caught the lifeless body of her friend.

Wrapping all four of her legs around Rainbow's form, she immediately felt herself pulled downward, and even with the furious beating of her wings, could not slow the fall fast enough to prevent a hard hit. The panicked mare looked down at the water under her, hoping that it was farther down than it really was, though she knew for sure that it wasn't. She flapped her wings faster, demanding them to slow their fall, though it wasn't enough. Still, what else could the mare do, but try?

And then the pair hit the surface of the shallow water.

Much to the mare's surprise, Fluttershy found herself completely enveloped in water, the place that they hit being a much deeper pool than the normal areas. Her eyes shooting towards the surface, the yellow mare found herself quickly sinking deeper and deeper into the water, her ears started to pop from the pressure of the water around her. Letting go with her hind legs, she did her best to swim to the surface, her hind legs furiously kicking. While their descent into the darkened depths slowed, it still was not enough to save them.

A sudden idea came to Fluttershy's head, one that she could have sworn she was told to her by another pegasus somewhere in Ponyville years ago. Extending her wings, she made the same motions, if a little bit slower than normal, thanks to the water, that she would make as if she was trying to fly skyward. Hot knives of renewed pain coming from her wound, she forced her wings to push the water around her down, hoping that it would be enough to lift the dead weight in her forelegs. Indeed, it seemed that it was not in vain, and as she pulled her wings back up to ready for the next flap, she felt the strange feeling of the water flowing between each of her primary feathers. Once ready, she pushed again with all her might, air bubbles emerging from her muzzle as she grunted, and found herself moving towards the surface.

It was a horribly long process, her lungs making sure that she was painfully aware of the time that she had been down in the depths of the water. Many times, her subconscious willed her to let go of the dead weight in her forelegs, and shoot to the surface for air, but every time, the stubborn mare ignored those thoughts, and instead, at the expense of her own well being, she carried her precious cargo towards the light above. Still, even stubbornness has its limits, and with lungs burning, Fluttershy wasn't sure if she could make it to the surface in time. Another few seconds, and she would be forced to either let go of Rainbow Dash, or risk not making it to the surface herself. Just a few more flaps, and then maybe-

Fluttershy's snout broke the surface of the water, the wonderful taste of air flowing past her tongue as it entered her lungs, instantly subsiding the horrific fire inside her. During her desperate breaths, she found an area of the cavern floor that was only a few inches from the surface of the water. Reaching out with a foreleg, she grabbed the ledge, giving her poor wings a rest. The mare looked down a her injury, and noted with a sense of dismay at the growing pool of red that was forming around her entire body. Her injury had gotten so bad, the thought that she would never be able to fly again entered her mind, but she quickly pushed the thought aside for now; there was a bigger job to do.

Fluttershy quickly looked around the cavern, trying to find the merciless predator, but oddly enough, it was nowhere to be seen. Not taking the momentary break in the action for granted, she wrapped her hind legs around the statue, the pegasus put her other foreleg onto the ledge, and pulled with all of her might, her yellow wings joining in on the effort shortly after. Progress was slow, and many times, she felt like she was going to drop Rainbow into the depths of the water below. It took a lot of effort, and a lot of careful maneuvering, but when all was said and done, the mare had somehow gotten the statue onto the small ledge, her chest heaving from the tremendous effort as she lay on her back, her legs and wings spread out in every direction. Fluttershy looked to her left, and sitting the the sickening red colored water was the terrified face of Rainbow Dash, her form frozen in a state where Fluttershy could not even properly set her upright, a detail that saddened the mare more than she thought it could.

Without warning, the serpent breached the surface of the water just a few dozen hooves away from her, a mighty roar bellowing from its massive jaws. Immediately, she averted her eyes from the beast, putting her hoof in front of her face to make sure she didn't accidentally look into its eyes. Her head turned, she eyed the form of her petrified friend, Rainbow's eyes seemingly meeting her own. Even when a statue, the formerly cyan pegasus' eyes looked into her own, giving the timid mare strength she never thought she had, though there still was the question of WHAT to do. She wasn't fast and strong like Rainbow; she didn't even like the idea of hurting any animal, the basilisk included. Even if the basilisk turned Rainbow into stone.

A thought flashed into Fluttershy's mind. “Just like the cockatrice...” she said to herself.

The sound of water next to her told her that the basilisk was moving towards her, the beast thundering towards her, intent on making her its next meal. With only a second to react, the yellow mare willed whatever confidence she could into her being. Thoughts of her being the only pony between the basilisk and Rainbow filled her mind. The idea of being there for Rainbow in her time of need filled her heart. The feeling of being her mare's protector for once filled her soul.

Fluttershy turned, and with a menacing glare, looked straight into the basilisk’s eyes, “Just who do you think you are!? Huh? What gives you the right to go and turn Rainbow Dash into stone?”

Stunned at the sudden forcefulness of the tiny pony's voice and stance against it, the basilisk actually stopped its charge, and with its mouth slightly agape, gazed back into the yellow mare's eyes.

Fluttershy flared her wings wide, and took a few quick steps forward, so that she was nose to nose with the gargantuan beast. Very quickly, she felt her tail become heavy, and she lost all feeling to her hind legs. Still, she didn't stop, “All we wanted to do was walk up and take that little necklace up there, but you had to be a big ol' bully and start being mean to us. What did we ever do to you? What would your mother say if she found out what you were doing?”

The basilisk, glared harder, and even through the scolding, hardened its petrifying gaze at the mare.

Fluttershy started to find it hard to breathe, the stone prison that was encasing her traveling past her midsection, and starting to constrict on her lungs. Even with the idea that she would very soon follow in Rainbow's hoofsteps, she hardened her stare, the look sending daggers into the serpent's mind, “Why, I can't even imagine how upset she would be to find out her young man had turned into a big bully picking on little fillies. If I found out my colt was being mean like this, I'd have half a mind to put him over my knee, and spank him until he realized how naughty he had been acting.”

Suddenly, the basilisk's hardened glare broke ever so slightly, and a wavering look of despair and regret started to spread ever so slightly across its face.

Unable to move her entire body, everything but her head completely entombed, the mare kept at it, “Now I want you to go over, and turn Rainbow back to normal, before I have to-”

A/N: Yes, the chapter is supposed to end there

Chapter 27: Planning and Reuniting

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Rarity parried the slow moving target, the small lime glancing off of the blunt side of her blade. The horrifyingly foul tasting fruit impacted the steel weapon in her telekinetic grasp, and with only a small bat to the side, the lime changed directions, and missed both her and the bedpost next to her by barely a hoof of distance. Rarity waited a few moments for the same fruit to circle back around in front of her, the magenta aura enveloping it glowing slightly stronger as the lime again stopped in front of her vision. It was only a couple of seconds before the same fruit accelerated, and came flying at her once again. Of course, once again, she parried the projectile.

“Alright! I think that's enough to prove that your reaction time is satisfactory,” A smiling Twilight spoke. “Now, its time to play catch again.”

The alabaster mare sighed, but nodded in agreement. The lavender unicorn, her face still showing a smile, levitated a diamond spike, the ends blunted to prevent any pointy accidents. Rarity gave the mare across from her a nod, and after a small shove of kinetic force, the diamond was released from Twilight's control, and lobbed over towards her. Rarity focused onto the gemstone, ignited her horn, and enveloped the object with her own light blue aura, effectively catching it. It was only a smooth u-turn later that she tossed the diamond back towards Twilight, which she of course caught with what looked like nary a thought. It was a simple exercise, one which was typically used when fillies were just learning how to use their magic. Alas, it was one that her teacher, or maybe Twilight was her magical therapist at this point, had said would work splendidly in bringing Rarity back to using magic at her former strength.

Of course, the reason why they were specifically using a diamond, and maybe not a rock or that accursed lime, was because Rarity couldn't seem to find the strength within her to manipulate anything other than the rare gem for longer than a few seconds. Twilight had theorized that this was because she had to “relearn” how to use her magic, and would have to work her way back up as she reconnected to the magic inside her. Twilight had started to spew off a lot of scientific terms after that, and while most of it went right over Rarity's head, she was able to gather that magic worked kinda like muscles, and if she worked her magical “muscles” enough, she would be able to work her way up to brushing her hair, opening a door, crushing the lime against the wall, or whatever else suited her fancy.

That last one was Twilight's suggestion, after Rarity braved giving a lime a taste that morning, an action much against the mare's warnings.

Silence hung in the air as the two tossed the diamond between them. It had been two days now since that war meeting, but they had not addressed the issue with each other after the initial event. Instead, they seemed to have buried it for now, most likely to their own detriment, and focused on anything but talking about it, though most of the “burying” came from Twilight's side. Four times yesterday, Rarity tried to bring up the subject, but Twilight conveniently had to take care of something that required her undivided attention every time; each one was an obvious excuses to get out of talking of course. And while the alabaster mare was accepting, if barely, of the heavy silence that had fallen between the two, she knew that in the end, not talking about it would only cause the entire situation to blow up in their faces.

For now though, Rarity tossed the hoof-sized diamond between the two of them in their little game of catch. It wasn't long before the lavender mare added a second diamond to the mix, putting even more strain on both Rarity's concentration and her magical strength, but nothing she couldn't handle. After a few minutes, a third. Then a fourth. This series of adding diamonds to their game continued until there were about a dozen gemstones being thrown between the pair, the lights in the room causing them to glitter and glow. To an outside spectator, the scene must have been breathtaking: a pair of unicorns passing eleven diamonds in an endless game of catch, each gem alternating between being encased in a magenta or sky blue magical aura.

Ten minutes later, and while Rarity was still doing well, the alabaster mare was starting to feel the strain of having to focus on so many objects and the constant usage of her magic. It must have shown on her face, for about a minute after it started to actually become painful for her, Twilight took control of all the diamonds, ending the game. The lavender mare smiled, “I think we'll call it for now. I have to say Rarity, your recovery is going much better than I could have ever imagined! Just a few more days, and I think we can start using this exercise on normal objects, granted with far less than this many.”

Rarity nodded, and watched as Twilight went about putting all of the diamonds back into their respective pouches. While she did that, the white unicorn spoke to her, “Yes, well, I am glad all the same Twilight.” Silence hung for a few moments before she spoke again, “But we need to talk about a few things, dear.”

Her friend visibly flinched, before sliding Rarity's sword inside the scabbard to put it away, “Yes, I think we do need to talk a few things, but is there time later? I am feeling really dirty, and I think I need a shower before we do anything like talk about anything of significant-”

Twilight quietly yelped as the sword was forcefully yanked out of her grasp, and pulled back close to Rarity. The white mare watched as Twilight sagged her head, a sure sign of defeat, before Rarity spoke, “Twilight, this is important. Really, really important, and putting it off will only serve to bite us in the flank later.”

The lavender mare sighed, though she never turned around to face her. Rarity was just about to list off all of her arguments on why they needed to talk when she heard a tiny voice in front of her, “Alright Rarity, we'll talk.”

Rarity paused, somewhat surprised that, after all of the attempts yesterday, Twilight actually agreed to the conversation. Taking a few seconds to put away her weapon, Rarity finally spoke, “I know I asked you this before a few days ago, but I have to ask again: after what we heard Sarlaka and those soldiers talking about, how can we still trust him?”

Twilight turned around, so that she faced Rarity, though the entire time, she kept her eyes on the floor, “I... I don't know, Rarity. Really. I want to. I really, really want to trust him, but with all of this going on... I just don't know...”

“You don't know? Twilight, darling, he was talking about wiping out two entire races! I don't know about you, but I can't think of a single reason that would justify a pair of such... such... atrocities!”

Her magical counterpart kept her head down, “There... there has to be some reason why he would do that though... right?”

“No. There's no reason. Trust me, I've tried to think of one, I don't want to think that our only 'friend' in this world is a genocidal monster bent on, as cliché as it sounds, world domination, but as you would say, 'look at the evidence.'”

If anything, Twilight’s head sagged lower, “But... maybe... maybe he was trying to throw off some kind of spy or something? Maybe that's not... happening at all? Maybe he's trying to trick us... into thinking... something...”

Rarity cocked her head in confusion, “Twilight, why do I get the sense that you are trying to find a reason to defend him?”

After a few seconds, the lavender mare shook her head slowly, “No... I'm not. I'm not trying to defend him, I'm just... trying to come to grips with everything. I mean, like you said, our only friend here is starting to sound like the most evil thing in the world, save for Discord himself.” A few more seconds went by before Twilight looked up, and locked eyes with her friend, “You're right though, we can't trust him, not after everything we heard.”

“So then why are we still staying here then? Celestia only knows when Sarlaka will turn on us, which is why we need get out of here the first chance we get.”

Twilight shook her head again, lowering her head back down again, “No, we can't do that, at least not with the other girls away. If we were to leave now, he would know we are on to him, or at least something is up, and when the other girls get here... well... yeah. Plus, he said that he was getting the other two elements for us, so we should probably see if he was at least being truthful about that...”

Rarity listened to her friend trail off, the mare's voice filled with uncertainty. The snow white unicorn, hoping to mitigate any saddened emotions bubbling to the surface, wasted no time getting to her hooves and walking over to her friend. Even with the small amount of time needed to walk the short distance between the two of them, by the time she was right up against her friend, Twilight was starting to shake from the bottled up emotions that were threatening to spill out of her. Rarity sat down next to her and started to run a hoof through the purple and pink colored mane of the torn mare in front of her. Twilight visibly flinched at the initial touch, but soon leaned her entire body against Rarity shoulder as she lost herself in the caresses.

It was funny kinda, even with all that was going on, that Twilight's simple mane style was still perfectly kept, while Rarity's was still a mess by her standards.

“Its alright darling,” Rarity spoke softly, as if she was speaking to Sweetie Belle after a bad dream. “All of this will turn out alright. We'll get the girls, the elements, and make sure that Discord, Sarlaka, and anypony else who deserves it gets what's coming to them. And after that... I don't know, but lets not worry about that part yet. That sound good dear?”

Twilight only responded with a weak nod, which, while was very little, did help to bring a small smile to Rarity's own face. Rarity continued, “Besides, we've gone through bad situations before, who's to say we won't work our way out of this one? Lets just give it a few days, and if we can't think of anything, we'll just throw Fluttershy at Sarlaka. Last I remember, she seems to have a way with dragons, at least when it comes to scolding them..”

Again, the lavender mare gave a weak nod. Giving it another few seconds, Rarity sniffed the air, “Wow. Twilight, I thought I was breaking a sweat earlier, but dear me, I think somepony went a little overboard with the workout, if you catch my drift, because I'm definitely catching a whiff of you.”

“Sh... shut up...” the mare weakly responded.

Gaining traction, the grinning alabaster unicorn continued, “I mean, sweet Celestia, the last time that I smelled a pony this bad, why, I think it was just after Applejack and Rainbow's little stunt at the Running of the Leaves. Nay, I take that back, at least then there were the smells of fall all around to mask it and wind to blow that stench away. This, darling, is something that defiles everything that ponykind stands for.”

Twilight slowly responded, “Liar.”

Rarity gasped dramatically, “A liar? Me? A noble lady like myself? Why, I haven't heard such ridiculousness come out of a pony's mouth since... well actually, it was probably the last time I listened to anything that comes out of Pinkie's mouth, but still. Though I guess somepony like yourself would think that a pony as regal as myself would be untruthful, because ruffians like Rainbow and Applejack never do trust the noble class.” Rarity exaggerated another few sniffs in the air, “And I do say, considering the smell, I wouldn't have imagined saying it yesterday, but I think you have more similarities to those two than I thought!”

“Alright alright alright, I get it!” Twilight fussed as she pulled away from her friend's shoulder, obviously trying to stifle a giggle, “I stink like a mule.”

“Now I wouldn't say that my dear,” Rarity smiled. “Saying you smell like a mule? Considering how you smell, you're giving mules a terrible name.”

Rarity was pushed back slightly as Twilight playfully shoved her shoulder with a forehoof, “Ok, fine. Would taking a shower help me get back to my status as a non-ruffian, oh Great and Noble Rarity?”

“Please, I'm not that dramatic.” Rarity sat back, and held a hoof to her chest, “That name makes me sound like that one pony that visited Ponyville way back in the day... umm... what was her name...”

“The Great and Powerful Pixie Stix?”

“... sounds about right.”

“Well, anyways,” Twilight spoke as she got up onto her hooves, “I guess I'll take that shower then. I'll let you know when I get out so you can have your turn.” Rarity watched as Twilight turned around, and proceeded to make her way towards the bathroom. However, just before the mare passed the precipice of the doorway, she turned her head back towards the white mare, “Hey Rarity, thanks for cheering me up. It... helped more than you'd think.”

Rarity smiled and nodded as Twilight finally went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. The mare's smile instantly fell as she thought about everything that was going on with their lives right now. A prosthetic horn, a diabolical dragon, a villainous Discord, time travel, and she and Twilight were literally sleeping in that diabolical dragon's house. That wasn't even counting the fact that their group was scattered around the entire region facing Celestia knows what, and that they didn't even have all of the elements yet. The possibility that they were only delivering the elements to Sarlaka for his own use, or even to Discord for their destruction both came to mind, which only served to send a shiver down her spine.

The more she thought of it, the more she realized just how helpless all of them really were. For all of their talents, skills, and knowledge, they were almost completely at the mercy of Sarlaka, trusting that he was a friend. Of course, it was that trust that got them in this helpless situation in the first place. It sounded like the right thing to do at the time: get the Elements of Harmony and use them to fight Discord. Now though, the more that she thought of it, the more it looked like they were just pawns that Sarlaka was using to play his little game, whatever that game was. Any sense of control that Rarity could find over anything in her life right now would be wonderful.

Which is why she was making her way to Sarlaka right this second.

It didn't take any time at all for her to find him; as always, he was resting on his pile of gemstones in the foyer. Steeling herself, she marched up to him, her hoofsteps softly echoing through the large chamber. The clopping of her hooves on stone quickly alerted him to her presence, his large eyes opening to look straight at her.

He didn't bother to raise his head before he spoke, “Well well well, what do we have here? The pony lives! I was starting to get worried when I didn't see you or Magic all of yesterday. I hope your training is going well?”

Rarity continued to march right over to Sarlaka, her face stern, until she was only a hoof or two away from him, “You made me a promise, and I intend for you to keep it.”

Sarlaka blinked, “Generosity, I can honestly say that I have absolutely no idea what in Discord's name you are talking about, and for once, I'm not being sarcastic.”

Rarity didn't blink, “You promised somepony, or something, that you were supposed to protect me, specifically me. Now tell me, who did you promise?”

______________________________________________________________________________

Pinkie Pie suddenly shivered violently, the cold air piercing her short body hair, before her shaking subsided again into a low tremble. The mare was trudging ahead passionately, forging a path for both herself and her orange friend behind her. Applejack had started to take on the same responsibility of blazing a trail like the last time they scaled the mountain a few weeks ago, but when Pinkie saw that the snow wasn't nearly as deep this time, as well as how tired her friend looked, she had insisted on taking the lead. Of course, saying that the snow wasn't as bad was very misleading, for while the snow didn't quite come up to her knees, it was only an inch or two below them. Still, if the pink pony could do this for her friend, then she had a duty to try.

The going was slow though, and while all of her friends always told her her energy was boundless, even she was starting to tire from the amazing amount of work that she was performing. If it wasn't for the fact that there wasn't a storm raging around the two of them like last time, she was sure that she would've had to give up the lead long ago. Thankfully, the sky was clear, the wind was mostly nonexistent, and while the snow had a chilling bite to it, the temperature was tolerable enough for now. In fact, that chill actually helped to distract Pinkie from how tired she was, or at least that was what she tried to tell herself.

“So Pinkie Pie,” she heard Applejack say behind her, “Ah've been thinkin'.”

The pink mare giggled, “I thought thinking was Twi-Twi's job!”

“You know wha' Ah mean. Ah've been thinkin' about the bet tha' we all made jus' before we started on this stinkin' whole thing.”

Not bothering to stop, Pinkie just spoke into the air in front of her, “You mean the one that Dashie wanted us to make, and that Twilight thought was crazy, but you, Fluttershy, Rarity, myself, and... oh wait, then Twilight thought it was fun, so we-”

“Yes Pinkie, tha' one.”

“What about it?”

“Well, Ah've been thinkin' about how long it took us to get from tha' cavern an' back...”

“Mmhmm”

“...an' how close the Everfree Forest is to where Sarlaka's cave is...”

“...mmhmm...”

“...an' how fast Fluttershy an' RD are able to fly compared to us walkin'...”

“...mmhmm...”

“... Ah'm startin' ta think tha' we might'a lost tha' bet we made. Wha' do you think, Pinkie?”

“Hmm...” Pinkie thought to herself. After a few seconds, she made a decision, “Applejackie, I'm one hundred and thirty-three percent sure that we completely and totally lost by a landslide of delicious and ripe apples!”

She heard Applejack let out a single chuckle, “Ya probably righ', though Ah ain't gonna lie, the idea of gettin' tha' many apples at once doesn' sound like a completely bad thin'. If nuttin' else, we'd have some good food for once.”

Pinkie nodded furiously, “And maybe we could add caramel to some and turn some others to cider! Yummy!”

The two settled into a pleasant quiet as Pinkie focused on forging a trail in front of them and Applejack focused on, most likely, savoring the thought of those delicious apples that were falling on top of her in her own imagination. Time flew by as the pair made their way up the mountain, so much so that by now there wasn't much more mountain above them to climb. The thought of finally coming back “home” drove the mare to start humming a nameless tune filled with happiness and joy. She hummed loud enough so that Applejack had to have heard it, but unlike at the start of the trip, not once did the mare complain. Indeed, if Pinkie heard correctly, the cowpony behind her was joining in. Sure, the two tunes never matched up right, and if anypony else heard it, they surely would say it was something ugly and mean, but it didn't matter to Pinkie.

Especially considering that she spied the entrance of a very familiar cave in front of her.

Pinkie started to hop up and down, “Look look! There it is!” The mare attempted to gallop the rest of the way, but only made it a few steps before falling onto her face, the snow tripping her up.

A few seconds later, a laughing mare wrapped her orange forelegs around her chest, and with a powerful pull, yanked Pinkie out of the snow, “Woah there ya crazy filly. Come on, let me lead tha rest of tha way.” Without waiting for Pinkie's answer, she was gone with a rush of power, trudging a path through the snow.

The party pony jumped up, and with renewed energy, bolted after her friend. It only took a few minutes for both to get to the entrance of the cave, but when they did, they were laughing and giggling at the idea of finally being safe. If it wasn't for the fact that she was so tired right now, Pinkie would've started to dance with Applejack.

That would have to come later, when the mare least expected it.

Just when Pinkie was about to rush into the cave, she heard Applejack shush her, “Pinkie. Ya hear tha'?”

She stayed quiet, and listened carefully to the noises coming from inside the cave. It was hard to hear what was going on, the exact words were impossible to make out, but it sounded like a deep voice, obviously Meanie Dragon Pants, and a second, more feminine voice. Pinkie couldn't tell who the second voice was, but it was most likely one of the girls. While her identity was a mystery, if nothing else, it was a given that at least one of the groups got back before them, though if it was one or both was still a mystery.

She felt a tapping on her side, and turned to see a devious smile on her friend's face, “Hey, Pinkie, why don' ya go say hi in your special way.”

As what Applejack said slowly sunk into her brain, and the implications of what she meant came to light, Pinkie's small grin grew into a wide and maniacal smile that reached nearly from ear to ear. The orange mare nodded, and before either of them could second guess what they were even doing, or why do it, they were took a page from a typical predator's book, and slowly stalked down the tunnel. Every hoofstep gave a tiny bit of noise, the hard hooves on the stone floor impossible to completely silence, but the turbulent voices ahead served to drown out the muffled clopping.

It wasn't long before Pinkie was able to make out what the two were talking about, a deep rumbling voice leaving no doubt as to its owner, “I am well aware of your displeasure with I am, according to you, breaking my promise, but I am merely asking that you wait until the rest of your friends are here. Its a story they will all want to hear.”

A much higher pitched tone cut through the passage, the voice obviously Rarity's, but the normal regal elegance that the pink mare had grown accustomed to hearing from it was completely gone as she yelled, “You say whatever you want to try and justify your lies, but you made a promise, and by not keeping it, you do nothing but show that you are nothing but a liar!”

Pinkie got to the corner, and looking at Applejack, saw that the mare was motioning to her to go ahead with their plan, “Calling me a liar now I see. Well lets look at that specific promise, shall we? I distinctly remember saying that if you two came back 'in one piece', I would tell you everything. Now, considering that you indeed did not come back in one piece, according to the terms, I technically have no obligation to tell you anything. Now, I am generously offering to tell you anyways, despite you failing to uphold your end of the bargain, but right now you are heavily motivating to go against that thoughtful and courteous proposition.”

While the subject of the conversation appeared very serious, Pinkie knew that with the way the argument was escalating, things could go very badly very quickly, and so she rounded the corner and as quiet as a cat, stalked her prey in front of the various piles of gemstones, “Please. What are you, some kind of lawyer in Canterlot? Why, there's a reason that half of the jokes I know of involve lawyers, and its because of-”

Whatever Rarity was going to say was forever lost, for it was that moment that the party pony struck, “RARITY!!!!!!”

Rarity turned, and the image of Rarity's heart stopping would be ingrained into Pinkie's mind forever, “WHAAA!!!!”

The pair of ponies tumbled across the room, until they were stopped by one of the piles of gemstones. Pinkie looked into the panic stricken eyes of her victim, the white unicorn's pupils reduced to pinpricks, and smiled so wide, her eyes gleamed like the gemstones they were propped up against, “Hiya Rarity! What's up!?”

“... Pinkie Pie? Applejack?” Rarity paused for a second, her face showing a mixture of emotions, before her face lit up like a Hearth Warming Tree, “Pinkie Pie! Applejack! Haha! You're back! You're both back!” the mare squealed, grabbing onto the pink mare so tightly with emotion, that the pair were sent into a tumble, the two rolling around in excitement.

Outside of the embrace, the sounds of Sarlaka and Applejack laughing could be heard. It was Sarlaka who finally spoke, “Wow, I was going to say something when I saw her coming towards you, but I am so glad that I decided against it. I know I said it before, but Laughter, I am so glad I met you.”

Even in the middle of her hug with her friend, the white forelegs gripping her tightly, she responded, “Well I'm glad to meet everypony! Besides, you should thank Applejackie-wackie! It was her idea.”

“Really?” Sarlaka turned towards Applejack, “For one named 'Honesty', you are quite the devious one.”

Applejack acted like she was inspecting her hoof as she spoke as monotonously as possible, “Wha' can Ah' say, Ah have mah moments.”

“Pinkie Pie,” Rarity quietly whispered into Pinkie's ear, the unicorn still buried in the hug, “I'm so glad you two are alright, darling.”

“I'm glad too Rarity. I was worried something would happen to you or Twilight.”

Rarity pulled back as little as she could, and Pinkie could see her look to her horn for a brief second, the appendage having a very strange sparkle to it, before smiling back at her, “Well... things didn't go as smoothy as planned, but I kept my promise to protect Twilight, and I'm alright now darling.”

The pink pony smiled, “Thanks, Rarity.”

Pinkie finally allowed Rarity back onto her hooves, though both of them were slightly wobbly on their legs, “I don't mean to put a damper on anything Pinkie, darling, but do you have your Element?”

“Yuppies!” Pinkie stepped back, and with a swift motion, pulled the artifact out of her saddlebags, and placed it around her neck, the jewelry glittering in the torchlight. Still smiling, the pink pony turned to Sarlaka, “And we have Meanie Dragon Pants to thank for it, though I guess he wasn't the one who got it, so I guess its more we should thank ourselves, but you get what I mean!”

“Yeah.” Applejack looked over at Sarlaka as well, “Though Ah gotta say, givin' tha' crazy mare tha' metal tube thing wasn' the most responsible thin' Ah've ever seen.”

Sarlaka, still grinning from the events before, chuckled slightly, “And spoil the fun of letting you know about it at the most hilarious opportunity? My only regret of giving that mare a missile launcher is that I wasn't there for when she used it!”

“What is this about a missile lauch-” Twilight walked into the room, her mane and coat still glistening from being in the shower. When she walked in, she was carrying a brush, though that was now clattering onto the floor after being released from her magic. Another moment of silence reigned as her mouthed a few words uselessly, before she finally came to grips with the sight, “Pinkie Pie? Applejack?”

“Twilight!” Applejack smiled at the sight of their friend.

“TWILIGHT!” Pinkie yelled as she closed the distance between them in record time, and soon after, made her second pounce of the day, nearly tackling the lavender mare. However, her second victim was much better prepared for the diving leap, and braced herself for the incoming pony projectile. The two collided, and while Twilight stayed on her hooves, Pinkie quickly found herself pressed up against Twilight, the pair both on their hind legs, hugging each other as they kept rebalancing themselves in the awkward position.

Still, even with the obvious discomfort at standing on two legs, the unicorn merrily laughed, “Pinkie! You're ok!”

“Twilight! You're an okie dokie pony as well!” Pinkie laughed, her heart swelling with so many emotions with having Twilight in her forelegs, having the mare's face right up next to her own, and feeling Twilight's wet coat against her own chest.

The moment, as amazing as it was, was all too fleeting.

“So I have to ask,” Sarlaka chuckled, “a pair of ponies as flamboyantly looking as yourselves, especially considering that you came from my lands, must have been taken to Lord Xavier himself. How is my dear friend?”

As if it was literally sucked out of her with a giant vacuum, the warmth in Pinkie's heart instantly disappeared, the mare slowly lowering both herself and Twilight back onto their four hooves. Before the pink mare averted her gaze, she saw, out of the corner of her eye, Twilight's face go from blissful happiness, to confused and concerned. The only sound left in the room was the heavy breathing of the five creatures, and the slow chuckling of the lone dragon, and those sounds faded very quickly.

“Did you meet with Lord Xavier,” Sarlaka asked again, but this time, his tone was cold, calculating, and filled with curiosity. The formerly happy pony felt a single step reverberate through the chamber, most likely towards her, but their host didn't dare take a single step closer. Instead, he let the growing weight of the silence continue to fill the room, stifling any remaining joy that was left over from their greeting just a few minutes ago. Pinkie looked over towards Applejack, who was looking at her forehooves, either unwilling or unable to tell Sarlaka and the others what had happened.

As tears started to fill her eyes, the pink pony looked once more at Twilight, the lavender unicorn's face showing nothing but a growing concern for her, before Pinkie looked back at Sarlaka. Looking into the dragon's cold eyes, she took one last breath, and with her left hoof nervously digging into the cave floor, tried to say what she had to, “Xavier... he... he forced me into his bedroom... and tried to... to... to...”

Behind her, Twilight whispered to herself, “Oh Celestia...”

Any sense of lingering doubt in the dragon's eyes was burned away by the raging inferno that filled both of them. Almost immediately, the furious dragon instinctively flapped his wings twice, the wind picking up the room, and rose to his feet. He turned, smoke starting to billow out of his nostrils, and without any sense of hesitation, marched towards the cave entrance. It was hard to tell through her tear-blurred vision and his hard scales, but Pinkie could see that every fiber of muscle in Sarlaka's body was tense with anger, ready to spring forth in a primal fury.

The only pony that could find any words was Rarity, who's voice, as weak as it was, carried through to her ears, “Where are you going, Sarlaka?”

Sarlaka stopped, and turned his head back to the four ponies, the fires of a thousand suns burning in his eyes. Slowly, and deliberately, he spoke, the cold anger in his voice chilling Pinkie to the bone, “To grant my dear friend, Lord Xavier the 'Completely and Utterly Bucked,' a visit, as well as give him a lesson on draconian justice.”

A/N: Never give your computer a drink. No matter how much it asks, it doesn't want it...

Chapter 28: Freedom and Vengance

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Darkness.

It was the only thing that her mind could focus on. It was a curious thing really, for no matter how much she tried, she couldn't think about anything except for the compete darkness that enveloped her. Sure, she had tried countless times to think of numerous other things: the years she lived in Ponyville, the fun she had with her friends, or even the exhilarating high she got from meeting the Wonderbolts, but none could hold her mind. Even the painful memories, like the times that she broke bones, her first heartbreak, or the burn of her muscles in the times she pushed herself to the limit, were impossible to focus on for longer than a few brief moments. No matter how intently she focused on the thoughts, none of them could pierce the suffocating darkness that felt like it was enveloping her soul for more than a few seconds. Well, all except one.

Fear.

She discovered that she could focus on fear when she thought about the time she went up against Nightmare Moon. Sure her drive to push on, help her friends, and save all of Equestria had steeled her resolve and allowed her to push on, but deep down, every time that night she had a moment of quiet contemplation, she was scared to wit's end. It was only through the presence of her new and now best friends that she was able to continue on and help defeat the evil princess of the night. Still, that lingering fear from that day lived on inside her, strong enough so that every time that she looked back to that day, it fought back the darkness for as long as she wanted. At first, it was such a strong and terrifying emotion, that she did whatever she could to make sure she didn't think of it, but now, fear at least made her feel alive.

Of course, she wasn't even sure if she was alive at this point.

The last distinct memory she had was the sight of Fluttershy on the ground dozens of hooves away, the look of absolute terror on her soft and beautiful face, as the yellow mare watched her final moments. Surprisingly enough, even at death's door, she didn't feel any sort of fear of her own demise. Sure, she had fear in her heart at her last moments of life, it was not fear of her own death however, but fear of what would happen to her precious friend without her. What would happen to Fluttershy after she left the living world was something she didn't want to think about, granted right now, she couldn't if she wanted to. Not for more than a few seconds at least. The only thing she felt when she thought about that final moment was sadness, which was a near impossible emotion to remember.

Was that right? She couldn't remember how to feel certain emotions? Did that make any sense? Rainbow Dash supposed that if she had been here for years, she might have forgotten things as simple as emotions and speech... maybe? Did time pass normally in her thoughts when she was stone? It had felt like only minutes, but at the same time, Rainbow swore that she had been stuck here for at least a year. Both concepts boggled the mare's mind, and she supposed that she would most likely never know anyways. The likelihood of another intelligent creature finding their way safely into the cave, let alone somehow discovering a way to free both her and Fluttershy, was remote at best.

Though hard, given images of darkness kept interrupting her mind halfway through thoughts, the more that she thought about it, the more she realized that she was in the air when she turned to stone. What if she wasn't merely petrified, but actually died when she hit the ground? Even if she somehow didn't break apart, who's to say that she wasn't dead already? It wouldn't be too far from some of the descriptions of the afterlife that she heard of before, though the thought that there wasn't any light at the end of the tunnel, none of her friends and family, and no eternal goddesses to shepherd her to the endless expanse of clouds and paradise was definitely a bummer. Rainbow had to admit, if this was her eternal afterlife, Luna got the good deal. Seriously, an eternity of nothing but darkness and fear was worse than a complete end of her existence, especially since-

Wait... what was that?

Rainbow squinted, or at least she did whatever memories of moving her eye muscles would let her. She was certain that she saw some sort of flash of light, like a beacon, if but for the briefest of moments. The only reason that she even caught it was that there wasn't really anything else to “look” at, if looking was what you could call what she was doing right now. Still, the point was that the light was there, and if she could, she would investigate that mysterious light. Unfortunately, she really couldn't move, the lack of any corporeal body putting a quick stop to that line of thoughts, so she could only wonder. Though while the entire time large bouts of darkness kept interrupting her thoughts, her mind seemed much more clear after that mysterious flash of light, which was a welcome relief to-

Another flash.

Suddenly, Rainbow felt like ethereal chains shackling her legs were released, and while her movements felt muddy and clumsy, as if she were a newborn foal, she moved towards where the light came from. Many times she “fell”, every fall never actually resulting in an actual fall, but always sending her tumbling, until she found herself upright again. The entire expanse was black, the plane disorientating, with up never really actually being in one spot, but actually wherever she deemed it to be. Once, she tried to use this to her advantage, and “fall” towards the light, but the sickening feeling she got in her stomach, or whatever was where her stomach was, stopped her almost immediately. Progress was slow, and as far as she knew, it could be a thousand years before she found the source, if there really was a source.

All at once, a blinding flash erupted from all sides, followed by a deafening crack all around her, sending spots into her eyes and a terrifying ringing in her ears. The sudden burst of freedom that filled her before was completely stripped from her now, and she found herself lying helplessly on the ground, water splashing all around her, her mane and coat completely soaked through from the standing water. Her mind burned from the intense light coming into her eyes, and even when closed, the bright red of light seeping through her eyelids was painful to experience. Still, the thoughts of darkness were purged from her mind, which made her happier than she'd been since she was petrified.

While her vision and strength still hadn't quite returned yet, her hearing slowly started to come back to her. In front of her, the sound of a slow rumbling echoed into her ears, the source unknown, but terrifying to Rainbow nonetheless. Was it the cavern collapsing around her? Was it the basilisk coming to eat her? Was it Discord? While the last was unlikely, the possibility scared her anyways, especially considering how helpless the mare was right now to whatever was there. Rainbow tried to curl up into a ball to feebly protect herself, but her forelegs could barely move, and she couldn't quite feel anything below her chest except a painful tingle.

Slowly, the mare's vision starting to come back, colors swirling together into more of a mess than anything else. In what was a complete polar opposite from the brightness from before, the area she lay was surprisingly dark, her eyes quickly adjusting to the expanse. The only light came from some unknown source, and only let the slightest inkling of light into the dark cavern. Still something was better than nothing, and as the blobs of colors started to coalesce into recognizable shapes, Rainbow finally was able to take stock of where she was. A rock here. A pillar there. She must have still been in the cavern that she was in when she was turned to stone. However, as her vision started to focus, there was one thing that Rainbow identified immediately.

The olive green scales of the basilisk laying right next to Fluttershy's petrified body.

Any depression that Rainbow might have felt over the sight of Fluttershy was overwhelmed by the explosive sense to protect her. “Get back...” Rainbow tried to yell at the monster, but her words only came out as a hoarse whisper. Her next instinct was to jump up, fly over, and beat the sorry scales off of the overgrown garden pest, but again her body betrayed her, and any attempts she made at lifting herself off the ground was met with failure. The best she could do was use her forelegs to pitifully drag herself across the floor.

Making her way a few hooves distance, her voice finally returned to her, and she yelled, if still somewhat weakly, “Get away from Fluttershy, you freak!”

If the basilisk heard her threats, it ignored them all, for the only action that the monster made was to get even closer to the formerly yellow mare. Rainbow could see that there were only a few hooves of distance between the serpent's maw and her friend. The cyan pony had to admit, whatever event happened after she herself was turned to stone, or maybe it was because she did turn to stone, must have triggered something inside of Fluttershy. The mare had her wings flared, her stance was threatening, and that glare that was on her face was... something else. Rainbow had never seen 'The Stare' before, but she had heard enough to know that it was something she never wanted to be on the receiving end of. It didn't matter anymore though, because Rainbow couldn't save her best friend now, when the meek yellow pegasus needed her most.

A sudden cracking sound drew the cyan pony's attention to Fluttershy's form again, and she noticed that there was a massive fissure along the side of the statue's body. Not long after, a second crack split through her form, this one running along her right wing, nearly cleaving the feathered appendage from the rest of the body. Rainbow's heart completely froze at the sight of her friend shattering, and even with all of her former strength and all of her earlier promises to protect Fluttershy no matter what, there was nothing she could do to help. Nothing she could do to stop the third crack, or the fourth, or the fifth. Tears burned in Rainbow's eyes as she watched her mare begin to shatter before her eyes. Finally, fifteen seconds after the first fissure formed, the statue vaporized in a blinding light.

Leaving nothing but the soft and yellow form of her childhood friend.

Before Rainbow could celebrate in any way, the basilisk turned back towards Rainbow. Even if it appeared to have freed the both of them, she couldn't help but have her muscles instinctively seize up as the colossal being looked down onto her. Against her better judgment, she met its gaze. It didn't matter that the thing was a monster, it didn't matter that the creature had tried to kill them before, it didn't matter that she was only a tiny fraction of its size, and it certainly didn't matter that the thing wasn't even a pony. Through all of those things, Rainbow could tell that the thing had the most guilt-ridden eyes that she had ever seen in a long time. And then, as quickly as the thing arrived before the battle, it sunk back into he depths of its ancient lair. The wake of the water rippled for a long time, the waves battering against any objects in their way, until the only two objects breaking the calm water were the small movements of herself and the soft breathing of her friend, finally signaling the end to their battle.

Using all of her might, Rainbow Dash pulled her muscular form across the ground, the chilling water doing nothing to slow her down. Her legs still tingled painfully, but that didn't matter in the slightest. All that mattered was being there for Fluttershy. Her muscles burned with the exertion that she put on them, the freshly freed limbs still ached from the fall down that passage with Fluttershy, let alone with the battle with the basilisk. That wasn't even including how stiff they felt after being encased in, or more likely completely made of, stone. It didn't stop her though, and even if this was harder than pulling off a Sonic Rainboom, the drive to continue was a million times stronger, because the reward before was only being Equestria's Best Young Flyer. This reward, was being with Fluttershy.

Rainbow had no idea how long it took to crawl the relatively short distance, but it felt like an eternity. However, that eternity was completely worth it when she finally made it to the unconscious mare, the yellow pony's chest slowly rising and falling with each tiny breath. Carefully, making sure not to disturb her slumber, Rainbow scooted up next to her, and with the most delicate of touches, embraced her within her forelegs. The warmth coming off of Fluttershy's belly spread through her, and her heart swelled in silent glee at finally being at the end of their ordeal. Not only that, but they had somehow, someway, by the grace of Celestia, made it out alright. Rainbow sighed at the thought, and carefully petted her friend's matted pink mane.

It was several minutes before she felt the muted stirrings of the mare cuddled next to her. Fighting back the urge to completely go crazy with excitement, the cyan pony settled with a wide smile, a tight hug, and more gentle strokes through the wet pink hairs. At first, the yellow pegasus flinched, and tried to struggle to get free, but she must have realized what was going on, for it was only a few seconds later that Rainbow could feel her muscles relax as the timid mare lost herself in the comforting pets.

Slowly, her friend's light blue eyes fluttered open, and a cracked whisper emanated from her muzzle, “R... Rainbow?”

“Shhh...” Rainbow whispered back, keeping her hold on the pegasus, “Its ok now... I've got ya...”

A low rumble echoed through the entire chamber, sending a few small stones from the ceiling into the water below. A quiet 'eep' escaped the yellow mare's lips and she buried her face into Rainbow's chest. Slowly, the shaking stopped, and after Rainbow was satisfied that it was over, she put her mouth close to a yellow ear, “Don't worry, I've got you, 'Shy.”

Lifting her head, Fluttershy shifted her weight slightly so she could look around the room a tiny bit. Confusion painted plainly on her face as she looked back at Rainbow, “What happened?”

The cyan pony chuckled lightly, “I think your creepy stare thing worked, though I think the effect was a little more... delayed than we would've hoped.”

All of the sudden, Fluttershy buried her head into Rainbow's chest, and with heaving breaths, started to sob, all of the emotions of the day finally getting to her. The entire time, Rainbow kept up her strokes, softly 'shushing' the distraught mare. Admittedly, if it wasn't for the fact that the cyan pegasus already had been awake for a while, she would've joined in with the sobs. Fortunately, she was able to be the strong one for the emotion wracked pony.

It wasn't for a few minutes till she heard Fluttershy, through heavy sniffing and coughing, speak, “I thought I lost you forever...”

“So did I Fluttershy... so did I...” Rainbow whispered. A few seconds passed before the rainbow maned pegasus slowly lifted the pink maned pegasus' head, and gazed into those deep azure eyes, “... but I promise I'll never leave you again.”

____________________________________________________________________________

He paced side to side, allowing the harsh clacking of his cracked hooves to send high pitched taps through the small room. Watching his prey in the dimly lit room, he couldn't resist running his tongue across his beak as he savored the way that she squirmed, the way she eyed the door behind him, and the way that even though she was probably trying to plan some sort of escape, the little thing knew full well that she was wholly at his mercy. It was a thrilling game; a game that he had perfected to a special form of art, or dance, or maybe it was sport. Maybe it was all of them combined into one glorious event, but in reality, it didn't really matter. Whatever it was, at this point in the game, any typical brute would just go up to her, destroy her, and cast her off without a single thought.

However, a noble griffin like himself would never lower himself to that savage level.

Finally seeing the perfect time to make his move, he carefully walked over, his hooves suddenly silenced by the massive floor rug underhoof. His sudden change of direction had a exhilarating effect on the small mare in the bed in front of him: she jumped, and in the most adorable way, clawed herself as far back as she could, until she was firmly pressed against the large oak headboard. It took all of his willpower not to laugh to himself, for if he had a gold coin for every time that a pony did that, he could buy another castle.

He slowly made his way closer, until there was nothing left to do but jump onto the foot of the bed itself. Instead of taking this daring act, he decided to twist the game around a little bit, and in mixing things up, he walked around the bed. Sure, it sounded like a mundane action, but he had never thought of simply walking around it before, and he wasn't sure what would happen. Would she try to scramble her way off of the bed, and push herself against the far wall? Would she scoot to the other side of the bed, but stay on it? Would she try and escape through the seemingly unguarded door? The exciting possibilities drove Xavier to anxiously round the corner of the bed, and make his way towards the mare.

Surprisingly, not only did she stay put, but she didn't start to cry in the slightest. Maybe it was because she considered the bed to be her safe haven, and by not invading the precious space, she still felt safe on a subconscious level. An interesting prospect, and one that would need further investigating to prove or disprove, and what better way than with a little conversation?

Xavier finally made it to the head of the bed, the young white filly within reach of his forelegs. Calmly, he sat down on his hind legs, and spoke with a tone so gentle that even he knew it was cruel, “So, my fine young lady, what was your name again?”

The mare, frightened to no end, stuttered as she tried to find her voice. It took a few tries for the small mare's trembling voice to finally form a single word, “S...Sammy.”

“Sammy...” he repeated. With a slow and deliberate movement, he reached out his right hoof, and stroked her rich black mane. She shuttered under his invasive contact, but before she could entirely recover, he spoke again, “That's a very nice name. And I have to admit Sammy, you have the most beautiful mane. The color is just... ravishing...”

The small pony, still obviously scared to wits end, meekly replied, “Th... Thank you. My mommy makes sure I take care of it...”

“Oh really?” Xavier smiled. With a sudden movement, he pushed her slightly to the side as he jumped onto the bed, so that he was pressed up against her. If her shivers of fear were small before, it was impossible to mistake the now violent spasms for anything but sheer panic. Even as insulting as he knew it was to keep the tone at this point, he kept up his gentle voice, “Well, why does mommy tell you to take care of your mane and tail each day?”

This time, the small filly didn't respond with more but a tiny whimper, the fear within her too strong to allow for any sort of organized thought. He sighed heavily. Xavier had thought that the mare was acclimated enough to his presence to not freeze up, but alas, his wish to have some kind intelligent conversation with his partner up until the very end would have to wait for another day. Any other attempts to talk to the young pony would no doubt end in more pathetic noises. Still, if nothing else, he would definitely enjoy this. Slowly, he propped himself up a little bit more, so that he was over her, and-

The room flashed with a bright light so intense, that it momentarily sent spots into his vision. Confused, Xavier turned his head and looked out of one of the two windows of the room, and while it appeared that the glow was slightly more than it should have been for an early evening, there was nothing out of the ordinary that he could see. He was just about to shrug his shoulders and get back to business when he felt a loud roar from outside echo around him, followed shortly by another flash of light, this one just as intense as the previous, but yet green in color. Now curious beyond belief, the griffin jumped up onto his hooves, and nearly galloped to the window he was gazing through.

The sight before him sent him through a mixture of shock, rage, and fear, with three features standing out instantly. The first was that at least half of his castle courtyard was completely ablaze, with the Royal Guard Headquarters being the the epicenter of the inferno. The fire, while not spreading just yet, would obviously start spreading to some of the nearby wooden buildings, as well as most of the landscaping. Of course, other than the headquarters, the stone buildings in the courtyard, including the keep itself, would be safe from the fire.

The second notable feature of the city right now was that there was a second fire raging in what Xavier could tell was the Noble District. Of course, while fires were normal in a city, with the more massive blazes being dangerous, they were usually not entirely devastating. However, considering that this fire appeared to have started right on top of the City Guard Headquarters, and with the size of the blaze, not only was it nearly certain that the building was completely wiped off of the map, but the two fires together looked closer to an attack, rather than an actual coincidence.

Of course, with the third notable feature being the massive purple and green dragon in the skies above, it made his conclusion of an attack that much more likely.

Suddenly, the door to Xavier's bedroom burst open, and a pair of royal guard pegasi rushed into the room. While both were dressed in the best armor money could buy, it was still easy to see that the senior of the two was recently badly burned across his face and part of his side, his wings were somehow spared from any damage. Taking her opportunity in the confusion, Sammy jumped up, and sprinted past the two guards, both of which paid her no heed, and disappeared into the hallways. Xavier was about to go after her when the senior of the two spoke quickly, “Lord Xavier, the dragon lord Sarlaka is attacking!”

Lord Xavier, letting the second mare in a row elude him, looked back out the window, “Yes Colonel Williams, I can see that. My question, is how in Discord's name did his armies get past our sentries without a single warning?”

“That's the thing, my lord,” Colonel Williams stepped forward a few steps, his wings fidgeting in anxiety, “Its only him. He has no army, no occupying force, no supply line, nothing. Its just him, and him alone.”

Shaking his head, Xavier muttered to himself, “Sarlaka you crazy bastard. You have done strange things in your time, but this is something else. What in the name of Discord are you up to.” Xavier took a few more seconds to think before he looked back at the two pegasi, nodded, and together, the three walked out of his room to make their way down the hall, “What are his demands then?”

The colonel shook his head, “We don't know. He just came out of the sky and started attacking us without any sort of warning or demands. It looks like he's here just to kill ponies. Right now though, we need to get you to the safehouse.”

“Colonel Williams, if we are heading to the safehouse, then shouldn't we be heading towards the tunnels?”

“We would, except the tunnel heading directly to it was collapsed in the initial attack. Its like the dragon knew exactly where to hit us to cripple us the most.”

Xavier lost himself in thought as he made his way down the decorated hallways, every hoofstep bringing him closer to safety. Why was he attacking? If anything, that accursed dragon had every reason keep Xavier in power. Sarlaka knew the consequences of such treachery, and the monsters Xavier was keeping at bay. It wasn't lost to him that that was the only reason why the dragon had left him in power for all these years. What had changed?

That was the confusing thing: nothing had changed in the world, at least as far as Xavier was aware. He had no reports from his agents in Sarlaka's ranks of any reason for him to act like this. There were no intelligence reports that proved that the threat of the buffalo had changed in the slightest. Had Sarlaka finally gone mad? Had Sarlaka been mad all along, and finally did something that made it obvious? The motives didn't matter at this point really though. What did matter now was a plan of defense.

“Colonel Williams,” The griffin spoke as the trio moved down a flight of stairs leading to the ground level, “Once we get to the bunker, I need to get in touch with Chief General Alberts. I'm going to need him to help coordinate a proper defense. A single dragon is powerful, but against an organized defense, he's less than nothing.”

The three burst into the throne room, where a dozen of the most elite pegasi of Xavier's Royal Guard were waiting. Upon seeing the three, they moved towards them, and with quick and deliberate movements, brought the three into the center of their ranks for whatever protection they could provide. While the squad exited the throne room and through the final halls, the colonel spoke, “Lord, I'm nearly certain that General Alberts was killed in the initial attack on the Royal Guard HQ.”

“Fine, then get me in touch in Vice General Adams.”

“I saw him die in the fires firsthand, along with Vice General Carrola, Vice General Sexta, Chief Colonels Dion, Scotts, and Ty.”

“That's all of the chief officers, isn't it?”

Colonel Williams forcibly pushed a servant to the side, sending the stallion to the ground, “At least within the region, yes. Everypony else is unaccounted for at the moment.”

Xavier nodded, “Then congratulations General Williams, you are now in charge of the general defense of the city. I want all pegasi that are able to engage Sarlaka to do so as soon as they are organized.”

The group of fifteen burst through the front gates of the citadel, and the newly promoted General Williams pointed up with a hoof, “Already done, Lord.”

Lord Xavier took in the scene all around him. It had been many years since he was on a battlefield personally, but it only took a few seconds of standing in the middle of ensuing chaos to bring all of the memories of his military life back to the forefront of his mind. There was the scrambling of soldiers and officers all around him as they tried to deal with the panic that was quickly taking over every single one of them. There was the screaming of innocents in the city below as they, only somewhat aware of what was really going on, began to run in every direction for some semblance of safety. Finally, there was the feeling in Xavier's stomach, like a lead weight had been dumped inside of him, that came just before the fight or flight instinct kicked in.

With that very battle instinct coming back, he only needed a few seconds to take in the entire scene around him. Flames licked the grounds on all sides of him, devouring the carefully maintained landscaping of the courtyard. To his right, the once glorious Royal Guard Headquarters, a beacon of Xavier's power for all that could see it, was in complete ruins, with nothing more but a pile of glowing cinders left. The griffin couldn't imagine how many of his military leadership charged with defending the city died in that building, but considering he just field promoted the twentieth in command to lead the defense, things were getting a little dire.

To his left, the scene was, ironically maybe, one of calm. There was barely any damage, aside from the small fires that were starting to spread to the area, and all of the buildings were intact. Various guards were spilling out of the many barracks and the mess hall, along with the several nonmilitary ponies that were running about trying to seek cover. From the looks of things, it appeared that, at least at first glance, the vast majority of his pegasi defense force was intact, and considering the scores of pegasi who were now taking to the air in ten-pony flocks until there were at least two hundred pegasi in the air, Sarlaka was in for an unpleasant counterattack.

In front of Xavier was the front gate of the castle, or at least what was left of it, leading to the Noble District ring. The fire in the ring was starting to intensify, with only a few patrols of earth ponies even attempting to put it out. While such a fire wouldn't be that much of an issue on a normal day, considering that the majority of his military was currently either occupied, grounded, or dead, the fire was starting to grow out of control. Of course, even if they got the fire under control, there was no doubt that Sarlaka would just ignite a different area of the city. Most likely, unless a miracle happened, he would lose that entire section of the city.

Finally, Xavier dared to look up, and saw the wretched creature that was causing all of this, his dark purple scales contrasting with the bright orange of the dusk sky above. It wasn't long until the many flights of pegasi were upon him, hitting him the best they could with their collapsible spears in quick strafing runs. Most did not survive even their first attack, for every time that a flock would dive towards him, he would turn, and with the fire of a volcano, torch the group with his breath. All the while, Sarlaka's intense roar was loud enough to drown out even the screams of the city below. It wasn't too long until Xavier City's Air Corps was quickly turned into clouds of little fireflies falling from the skies.

Knowing the dragon was not distracted for long, he and his group of guards started running towards where the secondary passage to his bunker lay, the screams and yells of various ponies all around him. Some calling out orders, some requesting assistance, while some merely hoping that the last moments of their short and violent lives would not be alone. However, even though he was certain that every soldier that he passed knew who he and his squad were and what they were doing, not a single one, neither the brave or the feeble, ever tried to stop any of them.

Their destination was was a small building right next to a small postern gate on the side of the castle that was currently not ablaze. Halfway to the wall, the roars of Sarlaka finally died off, the flocks of pegasi most likely either completely routed or destroyed. It didn't matter which, as long as they held that dragon off long enough for Xavier to get to the bunker. With just a few more seconds, he could-

A blast of green fire scorched the grass in front of their company, the fire quickly turning to a more proper orangish yellow blaze as it fried the foliage. The pegasi guard closed the circle around Xavier, doing their best to do whatever they could do to protect him, even if a direct hit from the flame would mean instant death to all of them. Xavier was about to call for reinforcements when he noticed the sudden absence of any ponies of any kind. Looking around for a moment, he realized that there were no ponies left behind him; the rest either running away, or slaughtered.

A hard crash coming from the direction his troop was heading pierced through the roar of the fire in front of him. Even before he turned his head, Xavier knew what was the cause of the violent noise. His face hardened, he turned back towards the postern gate, and saw Lord Sarlaka slowly walking through the raging inferno he himself created, the fire having no effect on his thick scales. He truly gave off the appearance of a savage dragon of legend: his face was filled with fury, his wings half folded in anticipation, and his stance lowered for agility. All over, dozens of wounds from his aerial battle battered his scales, and while most were minor cuts compared to a dragon, there were several spears that found the small gaps in his nearly impenetrable armor, driving several inches deep into his hide. Many of the metal weapons had snapped off their former wielders upon impact, and now were owned by the dragon, the broken shafts still sticking out.

It was then that Xavier noticed the limp that Sarlaka gave off, the ancient being heavily favoring his right foreclaw, the left shoulder still had half of a four foot spear driven within. Xavier forced a smile, “You know, Lord Sarlaka 'the Butcher', there are more diplomatic ways of meeting with a neighboring lord, besides the slaughter of his populace.”

The dragon shifted his weight, and slightly raised his injured limb, “Don't trifle with me, you ugly freak of nature. You just threw everything you had at me, and here I still am. I seriously doubt a handful of pegasi could change anything now.”

“Please, the insults aren't needed right now. And for the record, I had no intention of throwing anything at you to start off with. As far as I am aware, you were the one that ATTACKED MY CITY!!” Xavier nearly yelled.

“Maybe you should have thought of that before you tried to rape a friend of mine, a certain pink mare.”

“Pink mare? What kind of...” Lord Xavier trailed off, the memory of Lady Pie, the pony that eluded his clutches, coming to mind. Taking a deep breath, he started again, “I see... so I assume that she returned safe and sound. Rest assured that aside from that one... incident, I made sure she and her servant were properly cared for.”

“Properly cared for!?” Sarlaka spat, a tiny jet of flame erupting from his throat as he spoke, “And you even try to call yourself a pony!?”

“I am a powerful and proud griffin, while you,” Xavier yelled, pointing a cracked hoof at the wounded creature, “are nothing but a old, worthless, and pathetic relic of a time long dead!”

As if that was their cue, the fourteen guards around him leaped into action, extending their spears as they charged. Half of their flock was killed instantly when Sarlaka reared back slightly, and swiped his good claw at their group, the powerful muscles almost tearing the ponies to multiple pieces. The rest, however, got through, and with quick movements, each one stuck their spears into his hide. It was obvious that many struck true, for the dragon's violent roars were filled with both anger and pain. Sarlaka swiped with a claw, but the small ponies easily dodged the wild attack, dispersing from the scene. The expertly trained soldiers quickly got back together into a somewhat organized formation, with all but General Williams forming up in pairs.

Xavier watched as the pegasi seemingly danced around the creature, avoiding all of his swipes and bites with expert precision, while still getting off attacks of their own. In a careful ballet, where a single good hit would end their lives before they even could realize it, the remaining seven elite guards alternated their attacks between pairs; no two attacks ever coming from the same side. Blood spilled from the dragon, and while he still held onto his vitality, his attacks were less forceful, his movements slower, and his claws swiping less often. It was then that the pegasi closed their attacks in further, going in for the kill.

The griffin's beak gave its perverse version of a smile: he had been waiting for this moment for far too long.

Suddenly, the monstrous dragon found his second wind, and with a swinging motion of his head, spewed fire in all directions. Xavier took several steps back to escape the wall of flames that erupted from Sarlaka. The green flame, while dissipating a few hooves of distance before Xavier, was so superheated, that it still singed his facial hairs. The flames cleared quickly, and when the griffin looked back, he saw what was left of his personal escort: six burning lumps on the ground around the dragon.

General Williams landed between Xavier and Sarlaka, his heavily singed wings flared in aggressiveness. Sarlaka stared him down for a few seconds, the dragon back onto his four legs, before lowering his wings slightly and falling to a knee. The dark red blood flowed out of the dozens of wounds, some much more severe than others, every single one taking its toll on the great beast. Angry, and seeing his opportunity, Williams yelled, “That's all you got!? I can take you by myself!”

The pegasi launched himself at the enemy, charging head on, intent on driving his spear in for the kill. Sarlaka let forth a narrow jet of emerald flame, but General Williams rolled to the right, narrowly avoiding the vast majority of the fire. His coat still glowing in several small spots from the near miss, Williams banked left, heading straight for the dragon's mouth. Sarlaka threw his left foreclaw at the tiny target, but again, the general rolled, this time to the left, completely dodging the swipe. With nothing left to defend the dragon, Williams banked right, and with all of his force, closed the last few hooves of distance between the two bodies.

With a thunderous hit, General Williams slammed the entire length of the four foot spear into the dragon's side, eliciting a much higher pitched cry from Sarlaka.

Xavier thought for a moment that the battle was over, until the monster turned, grabbed the pegasi with his left foreclaw, and with the pony firmly in his grasp, brought Williams in front of his face, the spear breaking off inside of his body. The two looked at each other for a second, each having the a look of complete hatred in each others eyes.

Then, the dragon let out a final jet of green flame, completely encasing the pony in his grasp in the raging inferno. Xavier could feel the lick of the fire even from where he stood, the heat coming off of his flame hotter than any other fire that the griffin could have even imagine existed on this earth. It was only a few seconds before Sarlaka sputtered the last licks of flame, and when the fire dissipated, the only things that were left of the great General Williams were ashes and molten slag.

As the screams of the city around the pair raged on, Sarlaka turned back towards Xavier, rage still in the griffin's eyes. However, through the hatred, there was a tinge of weakness glazed over his eyes now. His voice still as stoic as ever, the dragon spoke, “Looks like this pathetic relic just destroyed your entire army. What does that mean for you, Lord Xavier 'the Conquered'?”

Xavier, even in the face of his demise, stood strong, “This is my domain, and as Discord always said, I am allowed to what I want in it. If that's taking part in some... earthly delights, why should I be judged by the likes of you?”

The dragon chuckled weakly, “It seems that you can't do whatever you want in your domain anymore, considering that your domain is pretty much mine now. The only question that remains is how do I want to end your pitiful life. Fire seems too elegant of a death for a worthless creature like yourself.”

“You... you wouldn't do that!” the griffin took a step back, “Without me, there's nothing stopping the Buffalo Hordes! I know your armies are occupied in the east, west, and north with the nations all around you. You cannot hope to contend with the buffalo as well. Lets face it Lord Sarlaka, while you may not agree with my methods, you may not agree with my morals, hell, you may want to kill me, but you need me.”

“Oh really? I guess I'll have to find a way to manage.”

With a burst of energy, Sarlaka jumped forward, and with a quick swipe of his left foreclaw, grabbed onto the griffin. Xavier let out a weak grunt as he was picked up, and pulled closer to the smiling face of Sarlaka. As his grin grew wider, the dragon let out a small puff of smoke as he slowly and deliberately spoke, “Oh, and good news: I think I know the perfect way for a vile cretin like you to die...”

A/N: Yeah... I had way too much fun writing those last few paragraphs...

Chapter 29: Admission and Collapse

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“So, let me get this straight,” Applejack leaned forward, her hooves planted on the table to support her weight, “Y'all were jus' walkin' 'round, an' all of tha sudden, Rarity jus' runs off into the forest?”

“Hmm... that sounds about right. It was the most inexplicable thing that I have ever seen,” Twilight levitated a small cup on the table to her lips, sipping the delicious virgin cider delicately. Pulling the cup away from her muzzle, she turned towards the white unicorn to her right, and continued, “Whatever caused Rarity to run to that door like that must have been extremely powerful magic. We're just lucky that it only pulled her to the entrance, and not something worse.”

Twilight saw Rarity focus her entire attention towards the cup in front of her, the faint blue glow encasing the cup in her magical grasp. The lavender unicorn had insisted that she take it easy, but every time, Rarity stubbornly refused. The tea filled cup slowly reached the unicorn's lips, and after a tiny sip, the white mare finally released most of her grip, letting the cup drop slowly to the table, a soft clunk reverberating through the dining room table at the tiny impact. The alabaster mare tried to hide it, and she honestly did hide it well, but Twilight noticed Rarity let out the breath she was holding from the exertion.

Finally, Rarity looked back towards the three, “I do have to say though, while the experience was unpleasant, at the time, all I could do was think about how much I wanted... well... I guess it was the door that I wanted.”

“Thath's weith,” Pinkie said, her mouth filled to the brim with several of the many doughnuts that she had made just half an hour ago. Swallowing what looked like five of the pastries at once, the pink pony shrugged, “I mean, wanting a door? What kind of strange and spooky magic makes you do that?”

Shrugging as well, the lavender mare brought her cup back to her lips, “I have absolutely no idea. I haven't seen anything like it.”

Pinkie and Applejack, curiously enough, eyed each other for a second. After sending some kind of silent message, Pinkie nodded at Applejack, who then turned back towards Twilight, “We have.”

Whatever cider was in Twilight's mouth at the moment quickly found its way onto the table and Applejack, the latter of the two not appreciating the sticky liquid sprayed all over her. Not really caring about the massive faux pas she just committed with the spit-take, Twilight nearly shrieked, “Wait, you mean to tell me that you came across a door exactly like the one we did, and you didn't bother to tell us!?”

“Oh don't be all huffy duffy, silly filly!” Pinkie giggled. She started to reach over towards a slightly cider covered doughnut, the pastry just barely out of her reach, “Besides, its not like we knew that you came across a magnet door until about thirty-seven seconds ago!”

Twilight sputtered, “That's... that's not the point! You could have said something about it too! You waited until we said something to tell us!”

“Well, tha' Ah admit is true,” Applejack slapped her hoof against her blonde bangs in a vain attempt to get out the sticky liquid. “However, Ah also gotta say tha' Ah didn' think tha' it was of any importance 'til jus' now. Ah thought it was jus' some weird crazy thing tha' we always seem to come across.”

“That's true, Twilight, and I would ask that you please never spit out any sort of liquid like that ever again.” Rarity again used her magic, this time to move the just out of reach doughnut closer to Pinkie, who eagerly snatched the pastry. “Pinkie, I know you and dear Applejack haven't had proper refreshments in a number of days, but please control yourself. Those treats will go straight to your flank.”

Pinkie was just about to stuff the sugary treat into her gaping mouth when the words entered her ears. She paused, and Twilight swore that the pink mare glanced in her direction for an instant, before, for the first time that the lavender unicorn had known Pinkie, the mare took a normal bite of the doughnut, chewed it normally, and swallowed like she had a normal digestive system. For a moment, Twilight had to look around to make sure that there weren't any pigs flying around the room, though to her surprise, there were none.

Shrugging, the unicorn looked back at Applejack, “Alright, so I guess that's how you found the cave to Pinkie's element. Woah, wait a second,” the lavender mare looked towards the energetic pony, “Why did you say that wanting a door was weird, if you went through the same thing that Rarity did?”

Pinkie set the baked dessert down, “I so totally did, but my door was different. It didn't make me want the magnet doors. That would be all weird and silly. It kinda made me all loopy doopy, and filled my head with things I normally want, and I guess my legsies just did what they wanted to!”

“Interesting...” Rarity rubbed her chin with her hoof in thought. “That's similar to what happened with me, though when I was under the, I guess it must have been a spell, I was at least partially aware of what was happening around me. Sure, I didn't particularly care what was going on, but for the minute or two I was under its control, I knew what was happening.”

“Two minutes!? Ha!” Applejack gave up on her mane, and took a bite of an apple that was in front of her, “Y'all had it easy. Ah had ta chase after this crazy filly for close to half an hour! Even I was gettin' tired near tha end.”

Twilight rubbed her chin as well, “Interesting indeed. So Pinkie, I'm curious, if you weren't thinking about getting the door, then what WERE you thinking of?”

Curiously enough, Pinkie sputtered, barely swallowing the piece of pastry that was in her mouth, “Uhh... I was thinking about... umm... balloons!”

Rarity raised an eyebrow, “... balloons?”

The pink mare shifted her eyes suspiciously, “Yeah! Balloons. Well, not really just balloons, but streamers, candy, and all the other things that go into a party as well!”

Slowly, eying the mare across from her, Rarity spoke again, “Are you sure that's what you were thinking about dear Pinkie?”

“Anyways, tha' ain't entirely important,” Applejack blurted out, changing the subject entirely. “Wha' is important is this little thing tha' Ah been thinkin' 'bout for a few days now: why do we gotta get these elements?”

Rarity rolled her eyes, “I don't mean to be rude dear Applejack, but because we are the only ones keyed to those doors. I thought this was obvious enough. Besides, even if Sarlaka knew their exact location, its not like that dragon could could fit inside the door to where my element was kept at least.”

“No no no. Tha's not wha' Ah meant. Wha' Ah meant was... well...” Applejack looked to Pinkie, “Ya wanna take tha honors?”

A massive grin formed on the energetic filly's face, and she nodded frantically in affirmation. Turning back to the other two, Pinkie inhaled, and blurted out a long string of words in a single breath, “So Applejack and I were trying to get to sleep a few nights ago when she asked me 'hey Pinkie why do we have to get these elements while Mr Dragon gets the honesty and loyalty necklaces' and I said 'because he's so super duper loyal and honest' and Applejack was all 'wrong' and told me that with us getting our and him getting Jackie's and Dashie's doesn't make sense which makes sense because since we need to sense where since is... sensing... sincerton...?”

Pinkie shook her head violently, “Wow, I think I'm out of practice, but yeah, its silly that Jackie and Dashie aren't getting their elements, when we have to get ours. Wouldn't that be against what he was suggesting with the other three?”

Rarity blinked, “I know that was important dear, but I have to ask... out of practice?”

“Yuppies!”

“You practice!?”

“Every day!”

“But... why?”

Pinkie beamed, “In case of an emergency. Duh!”

“Anyways,” Twilight interrupted, “Applejack, you have a point, and considering what Rarity and I heard from that war meeting about those armies, I'm starting to think something fishy is going on.”

“Ah hear ya there, but Ah reckon there ain't nuthin' tha' we can do 'bout it right now, so if y'all don' mind, Ah haven' had a shower in almost two weeks, and Ah hear there's one with mah name on it.”

Applejack hopped off of her seat, and started to make her way to where their bedrooms were, before stopping. Twilight could tell that she was thinking about something, though whatever was going on in her head was a mystery. Suddenly, and completely out of personality, Applejack turned towards Rarity, “Hey Rares, Ah could use your help with my mane and tail, if ya don' mind.”

The alabaster mare blinked, “... Wait... you, Applejack, are asking me to give you a makeover?”

“Well, Ah wouldn' call it a makeover. More of jus' helpin' me get tha tangles outta mah hair, since Twi' decided ta make a mess of it. 'Sides, Ah ain't Rainbow Dash; Ah ain't agains' any of tha' frilly frou-frou stuff, jus' don' suit me righ'. Anyways, ya gonna help or not?”

“Why, of course I'll help you dear, and I must say, while what happened to your hat is simply dreadful, it presents many unique opportunities!”

Rarity jumped out of her chair, and joyfully trotted towards the bedrooms as well. Twilight could heard the excited gossiping of her unicorn friend through the hall, the words “braid”, “proper”, and even “hooficure” entering her ears, along with what she swore was a slight exasperated groan from the orange mare. Just a few seconds later, it was only her and a curiously fidgeting Pinkie Pie left in the room.

Even though she had been in the dining room for half an hour now, a rumbling stomach told her that she really hadn't eaten anything yet; the mare merely had sipped on her cider every so often because of how engrossed she was with the other girl's stories. Twilight started to hum a nameless tune, and with her magic, started to assemble a wide assortment of food for herself. Two apples, a glazed doughnut, some more cider, and a few pieces of celery. If there was anything that could be said, it was that her plate was a very colorful collection of some very tasty looking delights.

“Hey Twi-Twi,” Pinkie softly spoke from across the table, the pink mare fidgeting her forehooves in nervousness.

Twilight looked up, “Yes Pinkie. You ok?”

“Y... yeah. I'm fine,” The mare stuttered. Taking a deep breath, she continued, “I just... well... I just want to thank you for being there for me.”

The lavender unicorn patted the seat to her left, “You're welcome Pinkie Pie, though I have to admit that I have no idea what in the name of Equestria you are talking about.”

The mare stood up out of her seat, and with a surprisingly deliberate pace, made her way around the table. Twilight was actually starting to feel a tiny tinge of discomfort at how Pinkie was moving, the pace she was taking, and how much thought the mare was putting into her words. Finally, after way too many seconds of Pinkie Pie going around, not over, under, or through the table, the pink pony sat down, but still kept her gaze at the table in front of her. A few more moments later, and she began again, “Earlier today, when I told Mr Angry Dragon Pants about how Xavier... well... you know...”

“Oh... that...”

“Yeah... well... I wanted to thank you for being there for me, Twi-Twi,” Pinkie started fidgeting with her forehooves again, “because I wasn't sure what I would've done if you weren't there to comfort me when Mr Sarlaka Dragon was pressing me on what happened and Applejack wasn't saying anything to help and I guess Rarity didn't do anything wrong but I wasn't sure that-”

“Hey,” Twilight smiled, and softly placed a lavender hoof over one of Pinkie's, stopping the nervous movements. Ever so gently, Twilight began to rub their forelegs together, the unicorn feeling the soft and short hairs rubbing against her own as she comforted her friend, “You know I'll always be here for you, alright Pinkie? All of us will sure, but you are one of my best friends, and if there's anything I can do for you, just let me know, okay?”

A small grin formed across her bright pink face as the mare's mood slightly rose. For whatever reason, Twilight never removed her hoof from her friend's, the long and slow strokes actually being very therapeutic for herself as well. A feeling of calm started to overtake her, and she couldn't help but to close her violet eyes, and let the feeling of serenity swell inside of her. She honestly had no idea what Pinkie was thinking, or even what she was doing, but if it was anything close to what Twilight was feeling, then there was a good reason why Pinkie's hoof felt like it was moving against her own, further aiding in the calming movements.

“Hey... Twilight...” A tiny voice escaped her friend's lips.

For her part, Twilight never opened her eyes to look at her friend, “Yes Pinkie?”

“I may have kinda sorta maybe lied to you a few minutes ago about the whole door wanting thing.”

Even with her eyelids closed, she still rolled her eyes, “I kinda gathered that. I would say you were the worst liar I've heard in a long time, but I think Applejack's got that one permanently covered.”

“Oh... well... like I said, I wasn't thinking about balloons when the door thingy was messing with my brain. I was...” Pinkie stopped for a few seconds to take a few relaxing breaths for courage, before she continued, “I was thinking about a pony that's very special to me.”

Twilight stopped her movements, “Oh?”

If Pinkie noticed Twilight stop her strokes, she didn't bring it up, “Me and my very special pony were in the woods somewhere. It was super duper cold out, with snow and everything, but I was all nice and toasty because my pony was a very talented unicorn, and was using her magic to keep me all warm and fuzzy. We were snuggling up next to each other, and just laying next to a popping and crackling fire, which was really neat.

“The funny thing was that I wasn't all super jumping and silly like I usually am, but that was okay, because when I'm with my special unicorn pony,” Twilight felt Pinkie's other forehoof gently place itself on top of her own, so that her lavender hoof was now held between both of Pinkie's forehooves, “I don't have to be all super excited crazy to be the happiest filly ever.”

To hear Pinkie Pie say those words sent Twilight's mind into overdrive. Why her? Why would anypony, especially Pinkie, be interested in a lame and nerdy pony like herself? She was a librarian for Celestia's sake, and the pony that was interested in her was Pinkie! Pinkie Pie! The craziest and most energetic pony there was ever to exist. IF there was ever a case of opposites, they were it. Sure, her heart was sent aflutter by the feelings, but why, why, why, why, WHY? There had to be some logical explanation to explain why that pink mare was feeling like this. Maybe there was some sort of gas in the place where Pinkie's element was kept that made the mare grow attached to her? Maybe that incident messed up Pinkie more than Applejack thought, and she was actually mentally and emotionally unstable? What if there was some sort of strange effect that the elements were having on Pinkie, and because she was the weakest right now, they were trying to make sure that she was going to stay attached to the group in any way possible, which would be a feeling of lust? What if-

“Umm... Twi-Twi... you're shaking...”

Twilight was pulled out of her thoughts, and realized that she was shivering from both the nervousness and the mental exercise that she was throwing at herself. Opening her eyes finally, the lavender unicorn took a few slow, deep breaths to help steady her thumping heart, before finally replying, “Pinkie... I... we...”

“You don't feel the same way.”

Twilight tried to will the nervousness away and the words to form, “I don't... I mean... I'm not sure that... with Discord... and Sarlaka...”

“Its okay, Twilight. I knew it would be a long shot, with you being as amazing as you are, and me being as random as I am.” Pinkie's hooves stopped stroking Twilight's, her figure slumped, and her voice became nothing but a sad whisper, “I just wanted you to know... just in case... you...”

Twilight's ears flattened in shame, “Pinkie, I'm sorry. I promise its nothing like that. Its just-”

A loud boom emanated from the passageway behind the two of them towards where the foyer lay. The immense confusion that the sound brought broke the conversation, and with raised eyebrows, the two ponies looked at each other for answers that neither held. In unison, the pair jumped up to their hooves, and with a small feeling of trepidation, given their reptilian guardian was out doing something, galloped into the entryway. On one hoof, Twilight thanked the stars for the break in what was quickly becoming a very awkward conversation. On the other though... well... if it was something hostile...

Pinkie and Twilight made it to the foyer, the shine of the gems to her left dazzling in the torchlight, brightening the room even more than the chandeliers alone would normally. To her right, the thumps of what sounded like an extremely large creature reverberated through the floor. There was no doubt in the lavender unicorn's mind as to who it was anymore; Sarlaka was back from whatever mission he put himself on earlier that day. However, something felt... off.

“One step is a lot heavier than the others,” Pinkie whispered, “and I only hear three steps.”

Twilight only had a second to process the mare's statement before she saw what looked like a dead creature walking. Her eye twitched at the sight before her: the dragon that, just a few hours before, had only scars to show of his violent past was now pockmarked with hundreds of fresh injuries. While it appeared that the vast majority were minor, similar to a simple cut on a pony, two dozen looked like they should have taken the dragon down and sent him to death's door. One weapon actually got deep enough to cause the hundred and fifty hoof long dragon to raise a foreclaw and limp in pain. Furthermore, at least ten additional metal shafts, most likely spears, were still sticking out of his body, and while Twilight had no idea how long they were, considering how long some were sticking out and how short some were coming out of his body... the mare just hoped that they just broke off after barely piercing his hide.

“Oh... oh my Celestia...” she whispered

While she stood her ground, Pinkie took a few steps back in fear, “M... Mr Dragon Pants?”

Panting heavily, Sarlaka slowly turned his bleeding head, so that his eyes met with the pink pony. Even though he had shown nothing but friendship, albeit a very unusual one, Pinkie seemed to wither at the stare. Fifteen seconds went by before he scaled being spoke slowly, “Yes Laughter?”

Whatever Pinkie was planning on saying, was swallowed by the fear of the creature before her. Twilight herself wasn't sure what to say; the loving and silly dragon she thought she knew was completely destroyed by the brutal sight that stood before her. Pinkie tried to talk to him, but the only words that came out of her mouth were jumbled, “Bu... wh... I...”

Sarlaka huffed a small puff of smoke out of his nostrils, “Hmph. Fine. Oh, and Magic, could you do me a favor and get these things out of me? They are starting to itch something fierce.”

She nodded, and fearfully approached the creature, careful not to do something that would set off Sarlaka in any way. Finding what was a spear that looked like it was driven the least into his body, Twilight gripped the metal in her magic. The unicorn decided that, like a bandage, fast was better than slow, and with a sudden pull, yanked the broken weapon out of his hide, eliciting a pained howl from the dragon in front of her.

He turned, and glared at Twilight, “You do realize that medical professionals carefully and slowly remove objects out of ponies not because they're paid by the hour, but because there's something called organs inside of those creatures, right?”

Twilight lowered herself slightly, “Sorry.”

Again, she gripped a metal spear with her magic and, slowly this time, pulled the cylindrical piece of steel out of his body, with only a small pained grunt and the slight spilling of blood being his reaction. Even without a more vocal complaint that any other creature would've voiced, it must have been a painful process, each spear causing some tearing of flesh whenever it was pulled out of his body. Five minutes later, there was only two spears left in his body: the one that was embedded in his shoulder, and one particular spear that was obviously dug deep into his side, for there was only a miniscule few inches of shaft left outside of his body. With both Twilight and Sarlaka realizing that these two were going to hurt something fierce, they braced themselves as the unicorn grabbed onto the one in his shoulder, and prepared to pull.

It was that moment that Applejack and Rarity entered the room, “Ah thought Ah heard a... woah...”

Ignoring her friend, Twilight carefully pulled on the weapon, only to find that the spear was not budging, yet painful grunts from Sarlaka told that he still felt the force she was putting on it. She put more power into her tugs, getting a louder grunt every time, until she finally released her magic. The lavender mare inspected the wound, until she said grimly, “I can get it out, but it's going to hurt...”

He never looked at her, “Do it.”

“Alright... on three.” Twilight shifted her weight slightly, “One. Two...” and with a violent yank, pulled the spear out of his shoulder, a pained howl spilling out of throat.

A few seconds later, Sarlaka's howl transformed into a pained laugh, “Wow, I think that one was in the bone. Whatever they put in those spears I need to get a hold of.”

With wide eyes, Rarity looked at Sarlaka and Twilight as the latter gripped the final spear that was deeply embedded into the dragon's body, “What happened to you? You look absolutely terrible!”

Sarlaka continued to grin, though it was more likely that he was gritting his teeth in preparation for the last pull, “Heh... you should see the other guy.”

Without warning, Twilight pulled the four hoof long weapon out of the dragon's side, sending Sarlaka to his knees as a final howl escaped from his throat. The thunderous noise echoed through the chamber, causing more than one pony to place her hooves over her ears in pain. The deafening noise slowly faded into a deep laugh as the pain subsided, “Alright, I admit, I’m lucky to have survived that one. I think I felt that thing tickle my liver on its way out.”

“For Luna's sake, answer us!” Applejack stomped a hoof into the floor. “Wha' happened to ya?!”

It was a few seconds of heavy panting before Sarlaka shakily stood back up, and with a lethargic limp, made his was past the ponies, and towards the far wall with the two locked doors. Just as he made it to the right metal door, he turned, “Like I said before, I was visiting Lord Xavier the 'Completely and Utterly Bucked', and if there's one thing I have to say about pony-griffin hybrids, its that they taste worse than parasprite droppings.”

_________________________________________________________________________

The yellow mare sighed contently, the feeling of warmth against her side relaxing her muscles after the pleasant slumber. It was almost silly that both her and Rainbow, after everything that had happened in this cavern and all the danger that was still present, found themselves calm and relaxed enough to climb onto the platform that her element was sitting and simply sleep. Of course, the irony of Rainbow being the one to initially snuggle up next to her so affectionately, especially after Fluttershy's own decision earlier to not try to push a relationship with the cyan mare, didn't escape the pegasus. Granted, Rainbow didn't actually say anything along any romantic lines before they cuddled together to nap, but it was nice either way. In fact, it was a picture perfect way to end their quest together.

A slight shifting of the body next to her signaled that Rainbow was starting to stir from her own sleep. Cheerfully, Fluttershy leaned her mouth next to the mare's ear, “Wake up sleepyhead. Its time to get up.”

The only response was just a series of grumbles, “Ugh... five more minutes.”

“Oh?” The yellow pegasus giggled, “Don't you remember the last time you tried to sleep in for too long, or am I going to have to remind you?”

“The last time? What happened theEEP!” Rainbow twitched, a errant yellow feather brushing up against her stomach. Fluttershy giggled further as the once lethargic pegasus found herself scrambling to get onto her hooves, “Alright alright alright! I’m up I’m up!”

Smiling, Fluttershy slowly brought herself to her hooves, and together, they did their morning stretches. Just like last time, the yellow mare was done much sooner than Rainbow, the athletic pegasus making sure that every single muscle was ready for intense action. Instead of just idly waiting by while her companion finished, the yellow mare contented herself with a much needed preening session, the feathers on her wings still a mess from the action when they first entered the cavern. It was a painfully slow process, making sure every feather was in its proper place, but it gave herself something to do other than to stare at the toned figure of her friend. A few extra stretches and a few carefully straightening of feathers from Rainbow and Fluttershy later, and the two were ready to take on the day.

A low rumbling from below their hooves vibrated through the cavern, the most likely source being from the basilisk that lurked below. The sounds of several small stones falling from the ceiling were heard splashing into the water all around them. If it wasn't for the fact that Rainbow was right next to her, as well as the fact that she had to get her element from just a few hooves away, there was no doubt that Fluttershy would've flown out of this cavern, and been done with this place. Instead, those two reasons gave her enough nerve to stay, at least long enough to get the job done.

The first order of business? Getting the Element of Kindness.

Considering the piece of jewelry was right in front of the two of them, it was a simple feat really. As Rainbow lit a torch, Fluttershy nearly jumped for joy as she beamed, “I can't believe its right there!”

“Yeah... it seems so... simple...” Rainbow slowly spoke, her voice carrying a tone of disbelief.

Fluttershy brushed up against Rainbow's side, “I wouldn't call that basilisk simple, Dash.”

The mare didn't even react to her slightly intimate touches. Instead, the questioning look was stuck on the her face. Quickly, Rainbow stuck the torch into the ground, flapped her wings, and zipped over to the necklace, inspecting the mannequin around it, “Of course not, 'Shy. That was the complete opposite of both simple and awesome, but think about it. A big bad monster followed by an unguarded treasure? Not quite a typical storybook ending.”

Taking a couple steps forwards, Fluttershy tilted her head, “Storybook ending?”

Rainbow darted to the backside of the mannequin, looking at its backside, “Yeah. There's always a trick, a trap, or some other surprise that's supposed to make the heroes, or in our case heroines, run for their lives. My bits are on the cavern completely filling with water and flooding the place, and I would much like to prevent something like that.”

“Umm... Rainbow, I don't mean to be rude, but... umm... you read?”

“Psh,” Rainbow dismissively flicked her hoof in Fluttershy's direction, “Of course not. Reading's for eggheads, but I've seen plenty of movies, and I know the stereotypes of these sort of things.”

“But... umm... reading can be fun, and it doesn't have to be for only eggheads. There's some fun books out there I think you'd like. I think Twilight would be better at recommending things for you, but I know one or two.”

“Unless its a secret guidebook for getting into the Wonderbolts in ten easy steps, not interested.” Rainbow stopped inspecting for potential traps to gaze off into the distance, “Wow... I think that's the first time I actually even thought about wanting to join those guys since we got zapped just outside of Conch-shell.”

“Conflound?”

“Yeah, that one. Huh.” Rainbow looked off into the distance for a few seconds later before resuming her inspections, “Anyways, I guess it doesn't matter now though, considering I’m just going to have to reform them when this is all over, so forget the guide. However,” the cyan mare took one last look before doing a quick flip in the air and landing right next to Fluttershy, “I guess the stories are wrong, because I don't see anything.”

“Well then lets get the element and get out of here. I’m starting to worry about all of the sha-”

The rumbling came back, violently this time, so that the sounds of dozen of much larger boulders were heard crashing into the water below. Quietly squeaking, Fluttershy bolted to Rainbow's side and pressed up against the cyan mare's warm coat for some kind of protection. The warmth spreading through herself, the yellow pegasus found her heartbeat slowing slightly, the panic inside of her slowly subsiding even as the entire cistern felt like it was coming down all around the two of them. Still, as long as nothing too significant came down, everything would be alright.

It was then that Fluttershy heard a terrifyingly loud crack come from the center column, and the mighty stone structure suddenly split along its entire length by the vibrations. The mare held her breath as she could do nothing but watch the main support for the room begin to crack, the initial split quickly spreading to more areas of the column, further weakening the stone. Finally, the rumbling underhoof came to a stop, and while a fleeting moment of relief washed over her, a sudden split of the column told her that too much damage had been done, and the splitting was not going to stop anytime soon.

The pegasus didn't know how long it was until she heard a whisper next to her, “Ponyfeathers.”

A single particularly large crack reverberating through the cavern brought the two mares to their senses. Quickly, Rainbow left her side, “Fluttershy! Get your element and lets get out of here!”

Not bothering to respond, Fluttershy turned and ran to the mannequin, quickly grabbing the necklace once she got to it. Putting the piece of jewelry around her neck, she flapped her wings and took to the air, Rainbow already a small distance ahead of her due to the pegasus' head start. The cavern shook again, this time caused by the center column's weakened state, sending more stones from the ceiling. The mare was forced to pull off several bits of acrobatics to avoid the falling stones, and as a result was reminded of her wing injury from before. The fresh blood flowing out of the injury slowed her down slightly, but the surge of adrenaline flowing through her veins pushed her on, and the pain was overwhelmed by her survival instinct.

The yellow mare was forced to bank right, dodging a boulder twice the size of herself. Coming out of the sharp turn, the mare nearly panicked as she lost track of the rainbow contrail that her friend was leaving behind. The mare quickly gathered her wits, and zoomed off into the distance. Even if Rainbow had left her in the dust, an action that was completely understandable, Fluttershy still knew the way, and with a sharp turn to the left, made her way towards where the ceiling tunnel was. A sudden explosive shattering from behind her pierced all the other chaotic sounds, and she didn't even need to turn around to figure out that the final bastion holding back the ceiling broke, and the column fell.

Sounds of the collapsing cistern filling the air around her, the yellow mare pulled up sharply, and at a perfectly vertical climb ascended the tunnel. She pulled at the air with whatever strength her wings could muster, the very tips of her primaries scraping against the stones on either side of her. As much as the adrenaline was giving her strength, the sheer wing-power needed to perform such a climb for such a long period was beyond her means. At this point, it was only her momentum that was keeping her soaring upwards, her wings only serving to slow down her rate of deceleration. Her only hope at this point was that the length of the tunnel was shorter than she-

It was as if déjà vu itself slammed into her full force, for all of the sudden, a body smashed into her, threatening to send her into a death spiral. Instead however, strong cyan hooves wrapped themselves around her body, and with a sudden surge of speed, the two accelerated. The regular beating of Rainbow's wings, along with the mare's strained grunts, propelled the two faster than Fluttershy herself could have sent herself alone. It was all that Fluttershy could do but to hold on for dear life as small stones fell on all sides of the two of them. Good fortune must have been with the pair, for not once did a single boulder larger than a hoof fell through the narrow passage, an event that would've resulted in certain death.

Suddenly, their vertical climb stopped, and with a painfully sharp lurch in her stomach, the two leveled off into a swift and nearly horizontal flight. Their slow right turn was a reverse from their earlier travel down the passage, the spiraling climb a dizzying reminder on how much further they had to go before they made it to the exit. Of course, with Rainbow Dash flying at top speed, it wouldn't be long at all. The echoes of crashing and crumbling behind the two of them started to grow louder, Fluttershy unable to do anything except grip onto her savior harder, and pray for the best.

Fluttershy was suddenly thrown out of the strong cyan grip of her friend, a short squeak from Rainbow being the only warning given. Eyes wide in fear, the yellow mare didn't have time to right herself before she hit the ground, rolling head over tail as she tumbled across the cave floor. Through the tumble, the yellow mare made out the sunlight of the outside world, and with a sudden extension of all of her hooves to stop herself, barely stopped before she fell down the ledge at the cave entrance. Before she could do anything else, as if she hadn't gone through enough yet, she was washed in a cloud of dust from behind her, the fine dirt filling her lungs and sending her into a coughing fit.

While she hacked and gagged, the rumbling from behind her slowly dissipated, the collapsing structure finally settling onto itself. Even when the coughing fit ended, the mare could do nothing else but groan as a headache started to form, not to mention the wing injury she had reopened again, the idea of a scar marring her pristine coat forming there more likely than ever. Still, even with aching muscles, watery eyes, and a dysfunctional wing, thanks to Rainbow, they were alive and safe, and that was all that mattered.

“I... I can't believe that we made it. Thanks for saving me, Dash,” the yellow mare was able to say through the lingering hacking gasps. However, when nothing but silence replied, she turned, “Rainbow, are you-”

Fluttershy stopped when Rainbow wasn't next to her.

A feeling of complete fear felt like a stone was dropped into her stomach, a whirlwind of panic sending the mare into a frenzy, “Oh no... no no no no no...”

The pegasus looked all around her frantically, the rainbow maned pony nowhere to be seen. The area where the cave entrance used to now only consisted of a covered ledge about the size of a king sized bed, with the former cave entrance completely blocked by collapsed rubble. While it was possible that Rainbow fell off the ledge like she almost did, with every passing second, that possibility was more and more unlikely, the idea of Rainbow not flying back up impossible. Still, she checked over the side of the ledge, and was greeted with nothing but the grays and browns of the dying world below.

Her body still reeling from both the tumble and the discovery that her friend was missing, the timid pony turned, and slowly approached the rubble, unable to accept what she potentially might find under the rocks below. It didn't make it any better that the rubble was so deathly still. Several times, she tried to call out, but every time, her voice caught in the back of her throat in emotion, leading to nothing but a muted whimper.

Finally, the mare found her voice, “Ra... Rainbow?” When there was no response, she started to pick away at some of the looser pieces of stone, never really putting much effort in the dig in fear of finding the tell-tale wisps of rainbow hair. Again, the mare called out quietly, “Rainbow Dash?”

If she hadn't called for the mare so lightly, she never would've heard the response from under the rubble, “... ugh...”

“Rainbow Dash!”

In an instant, the mare sprung into action, throwing her hooves into the rubble in front of her. Again and again, she maneuvered her forehooves around the pieces of stone, both large and small, and threw each one in kind off of the cliffside. It only took a few moments of frenzied digging for one of her hooves to crack from a stone, but even through the newly bleeding wound, she kept at the digging. Sweat poured from her face from both the intense manual labor and the panic of finding her broken friend, the mare trying to do anything but think about what she might find.

A final and exceptionally large boulder was removed, and Fluttershy saw the top of Rainbow's head, the chromatic mane caked in more red than normal. Motivated to new levels, she continued to removed the stones, more and more of her friend being revealed with each removed rock. A few more stones, and another hairline split in her hoof later, the entirety of Rainbow's upper body was revealed, the mare laying unconscious on her back, the saddlebags the pegasus once wore torn to shreds. Fluttershy pressed up against the single large boulder that was on top of Rainbow's lower body, and with all her her might, pushed against it. Several seconds went by, with not a single inch of progress being made. Finally, the mare stopped her pushing, and gasped for breath in defeat. Instead of trying to free Rainbow, the mare was forced to settle with making sure her friend was even alive.

Surprisingly, with the exception of the dozens of minor cuts and scrapes, the darkened discoloring of the mare's coat, and the single large gash on top of the cyan mare's head, Rainbow didn't look that bad. This was especially true considering she had gone through a literal cave in. Sure, a few new patches of the mare's coat were gone, the old patches from weeks ago finally not being too noticeable, but there wasn't any external injuries that could be seen. Carefully, Fluttershy knelt down and carefully felt the cyan mare's midsection, her touches light enough not to cause any additional internal damage. As she pressed against the mare's chest, she could feel a few places where ribs were fractured, but each was minor, with none, thankfully, puncturing any organs.

Another groan stopped the mare's inspections, “...ugh... Fl... Flut...”

“Shhh...” Fluttershy whispered, “I'm here Rainbow...”

At the sound of her quiet voice, Rainbow's eyes flew open, the pegasus suddenly alert to the situation around her, “What happened!? Where am... oh...” Rainbow looked down, and saw a boulder pinning her to the ground. Frantically, Rainbow pushed at the stone, doing her very best to simply shove the massive rock out of the way, but was only met with the same results that Fluttershy before was met with. After several seconds, the mare collapsed back into her laying position in both pain and resignation, “Heh... figures...”

“Dash!” Fluttershy squeaked.

The cyan mare looked over, her eyes slightly glazed over, “Hey 'Shy.”

“Oh Rainbow. You're... you're going to be alright. We're going to get out out of here, and be on our way back to Sarlaka's home, and sit by the fire and do everything that will make you happy, alright?”

“Fluttershy... umm...” Rainbow looked down at her waist, and the boulder that was pinning her to the ground, “I don't think I’m going anywhere anytime soon.”

“I... I...” The yellow mare was too shaken to cry any tears. Instead, she, as gently as possible, stroked Rainbow's side. A few precious seconds went by before she could speak, “Don't try moving Rainbow... don't... I... I can get you out... I can...”

“You can't do that, and you know it,” the cyan mare's voice rose in pitch slightly with her final words, the pain obvious in her voice. “You have to get help, 'Shy. This thing isn't going anywhere anytime soon.”

“Oh... okay,” the timid mare nodded her head. “I'll see if I can find some ponies nearby who can-”

“NO!”

Rainbow closed her eyes and grunted in pain from her sudden outburst, her forelegs crossed across her fractured ribs. Fluttershy could barely watch as the once powerful and seemingly invincible pegasus winced with every breath she took. Finally, the daggers of pain finally becoming slightly bearable, Rainbow opened her deep magenta eyes again, the slight glaze from before gone, “No, you can't. Even if they could get up here... they'd... they'd only try to kill us. Remember the inn? You... you have to get Scaley.”

Fluttershy shook her head, her once bright pink mane now reduced to a dull and tangled mess, “No... Rainbow... it took us a week to get here, and that was after we were rested up in Sarlaka's cave. Now...” Fluttershy lifted her wing, the knife wound still oozing from its recent reopening, “I... I don't think I can-”

“Yes you can 'Shy. Yes you can. I know you can. You can do it.”

“But... Rainbow... I... I can't...” Fluttershy's tears finally let loose in full glory, “I... I can't lose you again! Not again...”

Rainbow reached up with a foreleg, placing the scuffed appendage to Fluttershy's cheek. The frightened mare leaned into the comforting hoof slightly, “You aren't going to lose me again, alright? I promised you that before, after we were freed. Remember? Oh, and don't forget this.”

The trapped pegasus lowered her hoof for a second so she could look to her left, and opening what was left of the saddlebag, brought out a bright red feather with her teeth. Slowly, she reached out as much as she could, and with Fluttershy leaning forwards slightly, carefully placed the feather in her matted pink mane.

Smiling, Rainbow Dash rose her foreleg towards her again, and whispered, “There, now you have that phoenix feather thing. That will give you the extra speed boost you'll need to get there extra quick.”

The emotionally broken mare nodded, unable to speak anymore, merely settling to lean herself back into the cyan pegasus' affectionate touches. Through blurred vision, Fluttershy saw the physically broken mare in front of her manage a smile, “Hey, I'll make you a deal: while you go and get Scaley, I'll think about what we're going to do on our first date, and I promise it won't involve any basilisks. Sound good?”

If it wasn't for the awful situation that brought upon the statement, Fluttershy would've been the happiest pony in the whole world at those few words. Instead, the sincere vow brought nothing more than a small smile and a single nod. With the pegasus unable to do anything else for Rainbow, she leaned down, and with the most careful of touches, wrapped her forelegs around her friend, to which Rainbow reciprocated. The two only stayed in their embrace for a few moments, before Fluttershy lifted herself back up to her four hooves. Not another word was shared before the pegasus turned, and with renewed determination, flapped her wings and took to the skies.

A/N: If anyone makes any references to the movie 127 Hours, I will hunt you down...

Chapter 30: An Unwelcome Visitor

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Pinkie Pie's eyes gleamed in the gentle torchlight as the trio of ponies made their way down the hall, “Of course I’m not fibbing Rarity! Why would I fib about something as super sparkly as that?”

“Because Pinkie, darling,” the mare on the opposite side of Applejack flipped her hair to the other side of her head, “it's not a real horn, merely a fake. A sham. Something that I only have out of necessity. In fact, it's not even really me.”

“Please!” Pinkie rolled her eyes as she continued to literally bounce down the hall. “You can't tell me that your old horn was as amazing as this one!? I mean, sure, the old one was the original, but this one is special! Its sparkly and shiny and positively superb! And its totally you! Just ask Applejackie!”

Applejack looked at Pinkie, her ears twitching at the mention of her name, “Huh? Wha'? Oh yeah, Ah'm gonna have to agree with Pinkie on this one Rares.”

The white unicorn looked at Applejack, and even if Rarity was good at hiding what she was thinking, confusion showed through those blue eyes of hers, “You do?”

Applejack nodded, “Eeyup. Ah gotta say that that thin' looks mighty fine on ya. 'Sides, if Ah may voice mah opinion, Pinkie is spot on when she said it suits ya.”

Looking down, Rarity hid her face with her hair slightly, but even with the concealment, Applejack saw the small smile forming, “You're just saying that...”

“Think 'bout it Rares. Your special talent is doin' all those crazy things with those gems, righ'? Well, now your horn itself is a gem. Ah can' think of a more fittin' horn for a unicorn with a talent like yours.”

The excited mare to her right seemed to float as she nodded in agreement, “And it's shiny!”

For her part, Applejack rolled her eyes, “An' yes, Ah reckon its shiny.”

“Well then, why didn't you two dears tell me before how much you liked how it looked?”

If it wasn't for the fact that she was walking, the orange pony would've brought a hoof to her face in frustration, “Rarity, that's wha' Ah have been tellin' ya for the past two days since Pinkie an' Ah got back. In fact, Ah thin' that's all Ah have been tellin' ya.”

The alabaster mare looked back into Applejack's eyes, “I... guess I've been so worked up over everything, I couldn't imagine anything except my own image of myself, which I am not going to lie, I still think I will never look as good as before. Regardless, I have ignored you two too much, and you are both owed an apology. Do you accept?”

Pinkie stopped her hopping, causing Rarity and Applejack stop as well. Applejack watched as the brightly colored mare brought a hoof to her chin, and with a overly dramatic 'hmm', acted like she was thinking heavily on the subject. Finally Pinkie shook her head, “Nope!”

Applejack could swear she heard Rarity cock her head in confusion, “Wha? No?”

“Of course nope you silly filly! Me accepting your apology would be saying you needed to give one! No apologies needed here, so I shouldn't accept any of your apologies!” Pinkie stood on her hind hooves, and threw out a forehoof in a sort of mock punch, “So take that you nasty fake apology! We don't want you here anymore!”

“Well,” the orange mare chuckled. “Ah'm gonna have to agree with Pinkie yet again. No apology needed.”

A dainty giggle escaped Rarity's lips, “Then I take back my apology then. Oh, and I must ask, do you know what Twilight has been up to for the past two days? Ever since a little bit after Sarlaka came back in his... injured state, I haven't seen that mare at all other than late at night when she goes to bed, and even then, its like she only sleeps for a few hours.”

“Ah can' say tha' Ah know. All Ah know is tha' she's always mumblin' 'bout some book she found when she was tryin' to find somethin' to help with Sarlaka's injuries. Ah didn' catch any of what she was mumblin' other than tha' though.” The mare turned to Pinkie, “Ya know anythin' 'bout it?”

“Oh... umm... no...” Pinkie's previously bright mood quickly soured as her head turned away slightly, “I haven't spoken to her in a few days either...”

The three ponies stood next to each other, a silence slowly starting to creep over the group as the mood soured started to spread to them. Out of of the corner of Applejack's eye, she saw the confused face of Rarity as she tried to dissect the situation and find out why the previously excited mare in front of them was now so downtrodden. Of course, the party pony in front of her didn't appear to be in any kind of giving mood at the moment, so the best that the unicorn could do would be blind guesses. Rarity was smart though, and given enough time, Applejack was certain that the designer could figure out what was going on.

Of course, that sort of time wasn't needed, since Applejack already knew what was wrong.

“Hey there,” she approached Pinkie and smiled, “Ah'm sure it'll all end up alrigh'. Alrigh'?”

Slowly, Pinkie nodded. A smile still on her face, Applejack heard the unicorn behind her finally speak, “I don't mean to be rude, but can somepony tell me what's going on?”

Applejack place a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder, never facing the mare behind her, “It's a long story, Rares. Ah'll explain some of it a little later, if Pinkie says it's alrigh'.”

A few seconds went by, before a loud and exasperated shout broke the three out of their standoff. Their previous subject forgotten for the time being, the three only took a moment to glance at each other before they all ran in the direction of the voice, the shout coming from the direction of the foyer. The three mares passed through the door in front of them, the foyer filling Applejack with a sense of discomfort from the recent memory of their draconian host bleeding all over the floor, and they soon passed into the tunnel leading to the dining room. It wasn't too hard for Applejack to pull ahead of her friends, her body being the most fit of the three, though she had to admit that she almost wished that somepony else would get there first.

The three mares burst through the doorway, only to find a very disgruntled looking lavender unicorn sitting at the table with a small spread of various books open all around her. Before the orange mare could speak, the angry unicorn ignited her horn in a powerful glow. A wind started to pick up all around her, the spell that Twilight was trying to summon obviously requiring a vast amount of energy. The breeze quickly intensified by several magnitudes, until in only a few seconds time, Applejack was forced to lower herself slightly to make sure she wasn't sent flying across the room.

Over the swirling wind, the blonde maned mare heard Rarity yell, “What in Celestia's name is she doing!?”

“Ah have no idea!” she yelled back, her hooves slowly slipping on the ground as the wind threatened to push her over.

“Maybe she's trying to turn into her final form!” Pinkie Pie squealed.

Applejack felt Rarity bump into her as her friend lost her hoofing, “Pinkie, tha' doesn' make any sense at all!”

As quickly as it came, Twilight's horn sputtered out, small sparks erupting from the tip as the spell she was attempting quickly died off. A soft groan emanated from Rarity throat in exhaustion just as a much more agitated one spilled out of Twilight's in frustration, “How does that make any sense at all!? Come on!”

Twilight started to ignite her horn again when Applejack yelled, “Twiligh'!” Unfortunately, the lavender mare didn't seem to respond, and the tell-tale glow of magic formed around the mare's horn, a slight breeze starting to pick up again in the room around all of them. Again, the orange pony called out, “Stop tryin' to blow us away you crazy pony!”

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie appeared right in front of Twilight, and with the softest of touches, placed a single hoof on the mare's shoulder, “Twi-Twi...”

“Ahhh!” Twilight scrambled back in shock, tumbled over the bench she was sitting on, and very quickly found herself on her back. Unable to think of anything to do, Applejack watched as Pinkie just settled to watching the fallen unicorn lay on the ground, heavy pants emanating from the lavender mare's throat. Twilight opened her eyes to cast a single glance upon Pinkie before the earth pony averted her own gaze, and with heavy slow steps, turned, and made her way back join her two friends. It was painful to see the normally happy pony in such a saddened mood, but Applejack had no idea what to do.

Rarity took a slow step forward, “Pinkie Pie?”

With a slow turn, Pinkie cast her blue eyes onto Rarity, the look she gave was one of the most pitiful that the orange mare had ever seen. Pinkie didn't need to say anything for Applejack to know exactly what she was thinking.

Before Rarity could completely change course with what was going on, Applejack took a few steps forward, “Twilight, wha' in the name of apples are ya yammerin' about!?”

Slowly the lavender unicorn caught her breath, and her heart was obviously still racing, she was finally able to stand. Twilight took an extra second to calm her nerves one last time, “It doesn't make sense! It won't let me go back. Every single time that I try, and trust me, I've tried more times than even I am proud of admitting, it's never worked! Sure, it's complicated, but something like this is nowhere near crazy enough to-”

Applejack's orange hoof soon found its place inside of Twilight's mouth, the yammering unicorn still trying to speak through the appendage. Slowly, she felt the jaw motions slow, until they stopped completely. A moment later, Applejack removed her hoof, and before Twilight could even try to start again, she spoke, “How 'bout ya start from tha beginnin'.”

Twilight took another few breaths, “From the beginning. Right. Well. After Sarlaka got back two days ago, I wanted to help him get better faster, so I looked at some of the books that he had in the back of the storage room to see if there was some kind of healing spell that I could find, or if there was anything to speed up the natural draconian healing process.”

Rarity cocked her head, “Books in the storeroom? Twilight, I don't recall more than one or two in there.”

“That's because we didn't really look in the entire place. In the very back, there's half a library worth of books in there. Not really on shelves or anything, but in crates and containers.”

“Ah see...” Applejack made her way to the other side of the table, and making sure there weren't any cups of cider near Twilight, sat down across from the lavender mare, “So is tha' what's goin' on? Tryin' to fix up Sarlaka? Maybe ya need him in tha room to complete tha spell?”

“Oh! No no no. I never found anything like that in any of the books there. As I feared, since adult dragons are highly resistant to magic, there was no real effort in creating healing spells for them. Sure, maybe a unicorn with my power might be able to affect a dragon half of Sarlaka's age, but with his age, even if there was a spell, I don't know if I could even use it on him.”

“Alright... but then dear,” Rarity, who had joined both Applejack and Twilight at the table, looked at the small spread of open books before the group, “what are all of these for?”

“Well, while I didn't find anything about healing dragons, I found a particular book that was written by Star Swirl the Bearded himself!”

“Star Swirl the Weird?”

“Star Swirl the Bearded, Rarity. He's an ancient unicorn that created a lot of very important spells, including spells pertaining to Amniomorphology!”

Applejack raised an eyebrow, “Animal-phony?”

“Amniomorphology. Anyways, that's not important. What is important is that one of his last discoveries was in the field of Choronology, or the study of time. From what I read, he theorized that time wasn't just something you could travel one way through, but something you could stop, slow down, and even go backwards in.”

“So you can join Rainbow and Pinkie in pranking ponies by stopping time.” Rarity flicked her hair to the other side of her head, “Darling, I’m not sure what you're getting at.”

A smile on her face, Twilight was nearly bouncing in her seat, “You're missing the point! While I guess that's true, if we could go back in time, that would mean-”

Pinkie, who had at some point sat next to Twilight, spoke in a soft voice that barely broke through, “We could go back and defeat Discord before any of this ever happened.”

“Well Ah'll be a monkey's uncle,” Applejack smiled as she stamped a forehoof into the table, “Twilight, we don' have to worry about gettin' any of the other elements at all!”

The lavender mare's smile faded, and with a sudden lack of enthusiasm, slammed her head into one of the open books in front of her. With a heavy sigh, she mumbled just loud enough the orange mare to hear, “Except I can't get it to work.”

Rarity leaned forward, “Could you speak up dear?”

“It doesn't work. I cast at least three different kinds of time manipulation spells, casting each at least a dozen times, and each time, the spell fails! It just doesn't make sense!”

“Darling, while I don't doubt in the slightest that you are the most talented unicorns I've ever met, but maybe you aren't casting it right?”

Twilight raised her head, shaking it as she came up to face her counterpart, “That's what I thought at first, err... the casting it wrong I mean, but then I realized that these spells require such a large amount of energy, that even if I were to somehow cast it incorrectly, which I know I’m not, then something would still happen. For instance, instead of going back in time, I would maybe... slow it down instead, or go forward, or flash through a dozen points in time at once! Anything! But I’m just... stuck... here!”

Applejack leaned back, put a hoof to her chin, and tried her very best to wrap her mind around the whole concept. Her brain whirred in motion, until it finally spat out her conclusion, “Ah don' get it. Ya mean somethin' is... blocking ya?”

Twilight raised a hoof to rebuke the idea, only to just as quickly lower it in thought. There was an awkward silence for a few moments as the unicorn thought about the theory, “I... guess that's possible. In theory, if there's a spell that is interfering with my soul's chonostreamscape, or cosmic clock if you will, then I guess that it would prevent me from traveling through time at will. However, the amount of power that would be required to not only cast and sustain such a spell, let alone keep it covert enough to remain undetected, is astronomical! I’m not even sure that Princess Celestia can... could do it.”

“Maybe Discord is doin' it then.”

The unicorn shook her head, “I doubt it. If he could do something that powerful, why would he bother? It would be much easier just to kill us or turn us into gibbering idiots. But that's not even the strangest thing though!”

With a stifled sigh, Applejack spoke, “Wha' is then?”

Dramatically, the frustrated unicorn waved her hoof across the table, eventually settling it so that it pointed straight at Applejack, “You are!”

Completely caught off guard, Applejack looked behind her, almost expecting somepony to be sneaking up on her. Obviously, there was nopony behind her, so she turned her head back around to look straight into Twilight's eyes, “Me? Me how?”

Dramatically yet again, Twilight slammed her hoof onto the table in a fit of passion, “Your hat is how!”

“Umm... sugarcube. Ah have no idea wha' your talkin' about in the slightest. Could ya actually start makin' sense?”

“Twilight, darling, I am going to have to agree with dear Applejack here.” Rarity fidgeted in her chair in a vain attempt to get a little more comfortable, “You aren't making any sense at all.”

“Ugh!” The lavender mare brought a hoof to her face, “Alright, how do I explain this... okay. Rarity, when we were sent forward in time, the elements were left behind, right?”

“Well of course, dear.”

“According to these books,” Twilight lifted a few books into the air with her magic, the sparkling magenta aura around each bringing them all to attention, “there's two kinds of time traveling spells: permanent ones and temporary ones. The permanent time traveling spells sends a pony permanently into the past or future, but the catch is that not only is it exponentially more demanding of a spell the farther from your starting timeline, but you can't bring anything that isn't physically a part of you. The temporary spell, on the other hoof, is not only much less demanding, but you can also bring other objects with you! However, the catch is that the spell only lasts for a few minutes, an hour at most. Not a month! So naturally, what we went through had to be the permanent kind of time traveling spell, which is why the elements didn't travel forward with us.”

Applejack nodded, “Because those things were only bits of metal.”

“Not exactly, but in this situation, its close enough. Well, if that's the case... then why did your hat come with you?”

“Well... umm... maybe 'cause tha thin' is made of wool, which is part of a creature?”

Twilight shook her head, “No. Remember, it has to be a living creature. Sure, the wool came from a sheep, but when it was removed, it's no longer part of that creature, so it shouldn't have come with us when we were sent here!”

“Huh... Ah got nutin'.”

Rarity leaned forward, “So let me get this straight. When we were sent forward in time, permanently as you say, all of the dirt and grime on our coats was completely removed because it wasn't a part of us, so that we were cleaner than we had ever been our entire lives. Do you think we could do that again if we get filthy again?”

There was a moment of silence while the other three ponies just stared at the alabaster mare. The orange pony's mouth moved slowly, words never forming in her throat, no matter how many she wanted to say. Pinkie Pie continued to be uncharacteristically quiet as well, her face showing a slight downtrodden look as if Twilight had literally took that pony's pet alligator and stole it from her. It was a depressing sight, especially considering the mare that was the subject of it. Twilight, for her part, was mimicking Applejack, her jaw working uselessly as she tried to form works.

For better or worse, it was that moment that Lord Sarlaka walked into the room, “I see that someponies are doing a bit of light reading. Make sure to do it in adequate light. You don't want to hurt your eyes.”

Their former line of conversation interrupted, Applejack looked up to see the wounded dragon walk through the doorway that the ponies had passed through just a few minutes ago. Taking a closer look, the mare could see that even in the two short days that Sarlaka was able to rest, many of the more superficial wounds were mostly healed up, the scales covering the healed over hide in the majority of places. Furthermore, while the many severe wounds were still visible, the worst of them had appeared to have been well on their way to healing up nicely. Not only that, but the dragon's limp was mostly gone, and while the injured right foreclaw was still slightly favored, it was only a little bit.

Slowly, the dragon made his way to the head of the table, and with a sigh, released his weight, causing a hard thud as his body hit the ground. Out of the corner of her eyes, Applejack saw the slightly trembling figure of Rarity, the mare either angry, scared, or both at the same time. The orange mare stole a glance over to where Twilight was sitting, and saw that, while Rarity was shaking in anger or fear, the lavender unicorn appeared to be sagging just like Pinkie was just a few seconds ago. Twilight looked positively defeated, but why the mare looked as defeated as she did was an entirely different question entirely. As for Pinkie... well... she was relatively unchanged, her eyes giving the table in front of her far more attention than it deserved.

As for the dragon, Sarlaka closed his eyes, and released all the pent up tension in his body as he relaxed. It was an interesting sight to see his serenity, and if it wasn't for the fact that the image of the monstrous creature standing there after slaughtering so many ponies two days ago was burned into Applejack's mind, she would've thought that there was a side to him that she needed to get to know better.

The orange pony scrunched up her face. Of course, all of that was a lie. In fact, everything about the dragon was some form of lie, stretch of the truth, or convenient inconsistency. His dealing with the elements were lies. His introduction to the six of them started with a lie. His somewhat peaceful facade he had tried to put up at first was a lie. His friendship to them was surely a lie. All lies!

Sarlaka finally sighed for a moment, before beginning in a monotonous tone, “The silent treatment, I see? That's fine. I didn't want to talk anyways. At least I can-”

“Wha' in the name of Celestia is wrong with ya!?”

The dragon, startled at the sheer force of the voice, blinked for a few seconds, “Honesty, I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Applejack nearly jumped onto the table from the intensity of her yelling, “Ya know wha' Ah'm talkin' 'bout! Firs' off, no matter wha' Lord Xavier did, tha' doesn' excuse you to go an' kill 'im. Not only tha', but with how ya looked when ya came back, Ah reckon that ya killed a lot of other ponies while you were at it, so don' you dare try an' say that you didn' kill nopony else. An' even if you didn' kill nopony else, that monster didn' deserve death, he migh' have deserved to be imprisoned forever, bu' nopony deserves death.

“Second, wha' is this I hear 'bout ya moving all of your armies all across of Equestria, or whatever this place is called now, committin' genocide!? Ah can' think of a single damned reason, good or not, that ya could have for doing such a thing, other than tha' you are the most evil creature tha' Ah could imagine ever has existed. Ah would've never imagined Discord himself doin' this, but you, you apparently have no problems with killin' everythin' that ya can get your dirty claws or army on.

“An' don' even get me started on how stupid your little excuse for not givin' us the Elements of Loyalty and Honesty is. Ya make us run 'round like a bunch of chickens findin' all of tha elements, an' ya say tha' ya can jus' go and get ours, jus' like tha'? Ah think tha' there's no other way to put it than by saying tha' your story makes absolutely no sense, an' ya thinking tha' we would fall for it is laughable at best. Wha' are you hidin'? Hmm? Plannin' on killing us like everypony else that you've killed? If you think we'll go down that easily, you've got another thin' comin'!”

Applejack was heavily panting when she finished, the amount of energy she put in her fiery rebuke stronger than she imagined putting into it originally. The rest of the room was deathly silent, the ponies and dragon still trying to recover from her long tirade. While the orange mare couldn't see the ponies around her, she could see that Sarlaka was trying his best to speak, multiple times failing. Inwardly, the mare felt two things: satisfaction that he put that scaled monster in his place, and fear that he would finally say 'buck it', and torch the four of them.

Surprisingly enough, it was Rarity that recovered first, “You know what, dear Applejack is right. All of the things you've done have been acts of cloak and dagger. While I admit, you were very generous in giving me a new horn, and many of the things you've done have appeared to be nice at face value, a great multitude of your actions are undoubtedly deplorable. That is not bothering to mention how many times you have promised to tell me very important details, and went against your word. I think it is time for you to drop the facade, and come clean, Sarlaka.”

The room went silent for a moment before the dragon, now with a neutral look on his face, turned towards Twilight, “Magic, do you feel the same way?”

Twilight never met his eyes. Instead, she made sure to turn her head away, “I... agree with my friends.”

Sarlaka looked to Pinkie to find any sort of difference in opinion against the ponies, but from the way that the mare was looking away, he knew that none of the ponies were going to join his side. A few more tense seconds passed and the fear that the dragon would finally show his true colors and turn on them grew more and more as the dragon thought to himself. Sarlaka gave the statements a few final thoughts, before he sighed, “You ponies really want to know what's really going on?”

Not expecting that kind of response, Applejack merely nodded slowly.

“Alright. Well... where do I begin,” the ancient dragon brought a foreclaw to his chin in thought. Several agonizing seconds passed as the information Applejack sought was about to be revealed to her. “Alright. Well, many centuries ago, I-”

Sarlaka looked up, his fin-like ears perking up as if he had heard something from elsewhere in the cavern. The pony's host sat eerily still for a few seconds more, before the most horrifyingly look of sheer dread, and possibly fear, formed on his face. Quickly Sarlaka turned his head back to the girls, and while standing back up, spoke in as much intensity as a whisper could make, “Ponies, into the storeroom, now!”

Instantly, Rarity retorted, “Oh no you don't, not that again. I expect answers to our questions, and don't think that simply throwing us into that room again will get you out of any of this.”

The purple dragon shook his head, “No! Its not like that, its-”

“It's wha'? Huh? Is it tha' ya jus' got a visit from another murderin' general from one of your armies?” Applejack stared down the dragon many times her size, “Ah already told ya we ain't stupid!”

“Keep it down!” Sarlaka motioned his foreclaws down, as if he could physically push the volume of their voices down. “There isn't much time! You need to-”

“To what, you big brute? Shove us away so that you can plan the deaths of more innocent ponies, zebra, and everything else out there? Dear Applejack is right, and I have half a mind to-”

“Shut the buck up, you stupid ponies!” Sarlaka yelled in a whispered hush, stopping all protests from the two mares. Rarity instantly slammed her jaw shut as if her mind finally registered that the thing she was previously threatening had scales that were as big as her. Pinkie and Twilight, who had remained silent for the entire exchange, jumped at the hostile outburst, Twilight in particular shaken to the point that her eyes wide as saucers as she stared at the dragon. As for herself, Applejack mimicked Rarity, and made sure to shut her mouth, and keep quiet for fear that the creature before them would resort to more... physical ways to make sure they did what he said.

The situation now firmly in his control, Sarlaka moved his head towards the storeroom, “Now will you four please get in there.” The four mares nodded, and with all due haste, made their way to the storeroom. Before they could make it the last few hooves of distance, a gentle foreclaw swept the group into the room, eliciting more than a single yelp in surprise. Finally, they were inside, and with a sigh, the dragon spoke again, “And Magic, cast any and all protective and concealment wards you can, and don't you dare drop them till I give the signal.”

All of them inside, Twilight nodded towards the dragon, “O... Okay...”

“Good. Under no conditions should you leave this room until I return. I promise that I will keep this as short as possible,” and with a short nod, the dragon shut the door to the dining room, leaving the mares with nothing to look at except the four walls of the storeroom, plus whatever wares were inside.

“Did... did he just shove us into here!?” Rarity shouted in shock, her eyes ablaze with anger as she turned towards Applejack.

For her own part, she wasn't any happier, “Ah reckon he jus' did, Rares.”

“Why... the nerve of that creature! I never! We're not going sit here and take that from such a ruffian, are we?”

“Of course not!” Applejack turned towards the lavender colored unicorn, “Twi, ya with us?”

The unicorn flinched at the attention that was drawn to her, her head quickly snapping to face the orange pony. While her movements were quick, her response was not, and for several seconds the mare shifted her eyes between Rarity and Applejack. Finally, she sighed, “Yeah, I’m with you. Just give me a few moments so that-”

“Oh Sarlaaaaaaka? Lord Sarlaaaaaaaaka? Where aaaaaaaaaare you? Don't you want to play?” a mock-playful voice echoed through the entire chamber.

Any thoughts of confronting their host were instantly squashed as the voice entered each of their ears, the source of the words leaving no doubt as to who the owner was. While Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity became statues at the voice, Twilight's horn went into overdrive, an intense glow emanating both around the horn and the walls of the room as dozens of spells were frantically cast. Applejack had no idea what any of the spells were, the nonmagical pony unable to identify any of the spells the mare was shooting off as well as incapable of reading any of the dozens of runes that blinked into existence on the walls for the short moment they were visible. Thirty seconds of furious casting, and the powerful unicorn was done, save for a pair of spells, which she cast on the door to the foyer.

“Wha' is tha'?” the shaken and bewildered pony whispered.

Rarity slowly stepped forward, “Scrying portal.”

Not entirely sure what 'scrying' meant, Applejack did know that the window-like object had a view of the entire main chamber. For now, there was only one thing of note in the room. Sarlaka was standing tall, his wings folded to his sides as he stood over the glittering gems his hoard. It was obvious that he heard the voice as well, though why he wasn't either hiding with them or taking any sort of fighting stance slightly confused Applejack. What was that dragon thinking?

Applejack felt a hoof carefully placed on her back, the mare jumping at the touch. Turning quickly, she saw the frightened, yet reassuring, face of Pinkie smiling at her. It was only then that the orange mare realized that she was violently shaking in fear, only the gentle touch of her friend making that fact known to herself. Slowly, the mare took in a deep breath, held it for a few moments, and released the breath, along with a lot of the pent up fear and emotion. Pinkie kept up her smile, and after Pinkie let her hoof drop back down, the two squeezed up next to Rarity and Twilight, and once again peered through the portal.

There was nothing for a minute or two, enough time so that Applejack almost questioned whether all of the anxiety over everything was warranted. Of course, before she voiced those concerns, that voice returned, “Sarlaaaaaaka? Why won't you talk to me? Hmmm?”

The dragon narrowed his eyes, “What do you want?”

Suddenly there was an audible 'pop', and in the center of the room appeared a notoriously familiar draconequus. The God of Chaos looked as though he was genuinely smiling in happiness, “Oh can't I just come and visit my good friend? My compatriot? ¿Mi amigo?

“I've called you many things, Discord,” Sarlaka deadpanned. “My God. My liege. My omnipotent ruler. My excrement. Never my friend.”

“Oh don't be so much of a spoiled sport.” Discord popped out of existence for an instant, only to appear laying down on a pool lounger on top of one of the larger piles of gems. The draconequus stretched out his limbs in relaxation, “Anyways, what's wrong with chatting? There's just so many marvelous things to talk about! The weather. Local pony gossip. What you did in X-Town. By the way, love what you did to that place! I mean sure, it was a little messier and blunter than my MO, but to each their own. Besides, the dramatic entrance made up for it in spades! A massive creature of old swooping in to exterminate the population, wipe out the military, kill the lord of the realm, and destroying half the city in the process? Why, I couldn't have asked for more!”

“Destroyed half of the city?” Pinkie whispered, sorrow in her voice.

Applejack softly placed a forehoof on Pinkie's back, stroking the soft hairs to comfort the troubled mare. Never once did any of them stray from the sight of the conversing creatures in the foyer for long. If possible, Sarlaka's glare was even less amused than at the start of the conversation, “I had my reasons for ousting Xavier's soul from his body. Besides, he was weak, and he outlived his usefulness by at least twenty years. The only reason he was still in power was because I allowed it.”

“This is certainly true,” Discord propped himself up on his elbow as he licked an ear of corn in a waffle cone, “Either way, nice to see you working off that flab that's been building up over the years!”

“Discord, I will ask again, what brings you here? Give me your reason, or begone.”

“Oh, come on Sarly! Don't tell me that not only am I not your friend, but you don't love me anymore.” The draconequus popped again, Sarlaka did not even flinch when he found himself holding the bridal gown wearing Discord in his foreclaws. Behind a veil, Discord batted his eyelashes, “Have you gotten over the honeymoon period of our relationship already?”

Sarlaka just glared.

“Is it because I threw a tornado at your army in the Zebra lands?” Immediately, Sarlaka's eyes got wide, and Discord put a single claw to his mouth, “Oops! Did I let that one slip?”

The dragon threw the creature in his arms, the creature merely flipping through the air and landing on a dirt bike, sunglasses over his eyes. With fury in his own eyes, Sarlaka pointed, “You! You killed them!?”

“Oh come now, Sarlaka! I didn't kill them. I merely put them...” Discord smiled as he put on a second pair of sunglasses over the first, “... under the weather! Yeeeaaaah!”

To Applejack's surprise, even with the several deep injuries still not quite healed, Sarlaka took a threatening step forward, “Why!? You yourself told me to invade the Zebra Tribes!”

Discord's bike made a loud noise, and with incredible speed for something that moved on land, ramped the machine off of one of the piles of gems. The bike flew, and with a terrible crash, exploded against one of the several columns along the foyer. As the fire and smoke cleared, all that was left was a flying draconequus playing yo-yo with a oversized spork, “Because Sarlaka, where's the fun in that? You winning goes against everything I stand for!”

“You told me to do it! You said that the 'chaos will be splendid'. And how is destabilizing an entire nation not chaotic!?”

“Tisk, tisk, tisk. And here I thought you of all beings would see the big picture. See, you were doing exactly what I told you to do, but too well! Chaos is a wonderful thing, but even in chaos, you need to find a proper...” he thought to himself for a second, before eating the spork yo-yo in a single bite, “balance.”

Sarlaka glared, “What do you mean?”

Discord turned away from Sarlaka, “Lets put it like this, my precious little dragon lord. Right now, I have the power to turn off gravity, turn the sun into cotton candy, or maybe even turn the ground into chocolate pudding! Can you imagine how brilliant any of those pranks would be? The delightful screams of ponies, zebras, griffins, and all the others would be everywhere at once... but then they would all be silenced forever. Where's the chaos in nothingness? I mean, I guess you could argue that nature without ponies would be chaotic too, but that's not a fun kind of chaos.”

Sarlaka narrowed his eyes, “I seriously doubt after what the late Night Princess did to you that your power could even come close to performing any of those feats.”

“Oh, you'd be surprised at what I can still do.” Smiling, the draconequus turned towards the dragon, drinking something from snifter glass. With a snap of the fingers, he turned Sarlaka's entire hoard into piles and piles of stuffed pony toys, “Anyways, what if instead of doing any of that, I set up a bunch of evil, intelligent, greedy, and downright ruthless rulers for various territories I draw out, make sure they all hate each other, make everypony's living conditions barely livable, and let them do whatever they want? Now that game is downright hilarious! Sure, chaos is sacrificed for a little bit of order, but in the long term, the possibilities are endless. I mean just think about it: villages exterminated, crops burned, entire civilizations brought to their knees by civil revolts over and over again! Why, its a wonder I didn't think of this earlier!”

The dragon took one last look at what remained of the many piles of gemstones before he looked back up at the God-like creature that was in front of him, “What do you want?”

Discord rolled his eyes as he reached into the snifter, and the remaining liquid turned into a sock puppet that looked very similar to the purple dragon. “What do you want, what do you want, what do you want,” the draconequus mocked in Sarlaka's voice. Lowering the puppet, he smiled, “Really? You are that forgetful? Its not what I want from you, my draconian loon, its what you want from me!” His smile remaining steady, Discord snapped his claws. A sparkling flash bloomed from his talon, and with a smile, the creature tossed an object that had appeared.

“Is tha'...” Applejack, flabbergasted, whispered.

Pinkie whispered back, “The Element of Honesty...”

“How did he get a hold of it? I mean... I don't...” Twilight stuttered.

“I guess that explains how Sarlaka was going to get at least one of the other elements,” Rarity slightly nudged Applejack.

Sarlaka caught the piece of jewelry, and after inspecting the artifact, looked back up, “Where is the Element of Loyalty? The deal was on giving me both of them.”

“I am altering the deal. Pray I do not alter it any further,” Discord's voice was deep as he looked at Sarlaka with a frown on his face. A few seconds went by before the God of Chaos smiled again, “Besides! This way is far more fun!”

Sarlaka gripped the necklace in his claw, agitation on his face, “How is any part of this fun? I need those elements.”

“You see! That's the best part!” Discord disappeared, only to reappear sitting on top of Sarlaka's head, his feet dangling down just between the dragon's eyes. For a moment, Sarlaka was cross-eyed before he stared off into the distance. Smiling, Discord continued, “Its like a game you see. You obviously need the elements for something? So that got me thinking: why would Lord Sarlaka 'the Butcher' need the Elements of Harmony?”

Discord teleported again. This time, he appearing just in front of the dragon's head, his arms crossed, “He must be trying to get the Elements of Harmony to their bearers so that they can use them on me.”

Sarlaka chuckled, “Please. You are the embodiment of chaos sure, but even you aren't that insane. I was the one who told you that the bearers had fallen into my lap. Besides, you know what I am planning, and why I need all six of the elements for it.”

“Yes yes. You've told me how you were going to make sure that the bearers of the Elements were not only killed, but removed from existence forever, ensuring my dominance of this world until the end of time, yaddy yaddy yadda. It's a very sound plan, however, there's two problems with it. The first, is a certain yellow pegasus mare.”

Sarlaka raised an eyebrow, “Kindness? What do you mean?”

Discord floated down, and strangely enough, actually acted like a normal, nonmagical creature for longer than a few seconds, “You see, when I was on my way over here, I saw a pegasus flying in the direction of your cave. Naturally, I was surprised, and when I took a look, I realized that the lone pegasus was very familiar to me: Fluttershy.”

The god of chaos bent down, and out of the thousands of pony dolls, pulled out one that looked identical to the real Fluttershy. Holding the doll up to his face, he smiled as he combed the toy's tail, “It was somewhat interesting really, a mare like that on her own, its like-”

“Wait,” Sarlaka interrupted, “she's alone?”

Rarity tensed up next to Applejack as Discord continued, “Why yes. The mare was all by her lonesome, a risky move even for the most combat ready stallion I might add. Of course, from the way she was frantically flying and the way that she kept dipping in her flight, it didn't look like she had much of a choice, but that is all besides the point.”

Discord approached Sarlaka and held out the Fluttershy doll in his clenched paw, a maniacal grin on his face, “What's stopping me from ripping her out of the sky right now?”

“Because,” Sarlaka sighed, “the plan that you just said that you remember-”

“Do I really look like a guy with a plan?” Discord grinned wildly, and the doll he was holding burst into flames, “or at least one that ever followed one in all of his existence?”

To that, the dragon didn't say anything. The two parties, as well as the four ponies, were silent for several seconds as the God of Chaos let that final implication stew in their minds. Several times, Sarlaka looked like he was trying to voice some sort of opinion, some sort of rebuke, or even some kind of snarky response. Each time, however, the dragon stopped short, and remained silent. The only movement in the room on the other side of the portal was the heavy breathing of their dragon host, the flexing of the dragon's free claw in agitation, and the flames that burned the Fluttershy toy.

“Still,” Discord smiled, the fire around the toy suddenly going out, with no apparent damage against the toy in the slightest, “if you were trying to usurp me, I should at least give you a fighting chance. Don't you agree? Hmm? So here's the deal, not only will I let the pegasus live, but I'll also give you the Element of Honesty as we agreed on as, as well as letting you keep... her.”

Sarlaka looked down at Discord, the draconequus tiny compared to the dragon, “And the Element of Loyalty?”

Discord teleported right up next to Sarlaka and nuzzled his cheek in a mockingly affectionate gesture, “Not quite yet, but no worries, I'll give it to you when the moment is just right. The only thing I ask is that when I give it to you, you let me watch you deal with those six ponies, at least as long as you are intending on remaining loyal.”

Chuckling, the dragon smiled, “And if I’m not loyal?”

The God of Chaos sank down slightly, so that he was now running a single claw down the purple dragon's scaly neck, slowly inspecting the various wounds and tears in the nearly invincible scales, “Then the moment I give you the element will be marvelously entertaining to say the least. However, I do ask you of one additional thing in return, my most favorite lord.”

“Oh, and what would that be, my omnipotent ruler?

A second later, Discord somehow wrapped his right paw completely around the dragon's thick neck as he violently grabbed onto the dragon, lifted him off of the ground completely, and with a sudden surge forward, slammed the dragon into the back wall, causing the entire mountain to shudder under the impact. Applejack jumped at the sound, the shaking nearly sending Rarity onto her side. Slowly, the chamber stopped rumbling, and with the exception of a few fallen shelves close to them, Pinkie and Rarity were alright. Applejack didn't bother checking on Twilight before she peered back into the portal.

Neither party had moved, Discord because he was finding joy in the new activity, and Sarlaka because of the paw firmly against his neck. The dragon's head was forced to face straight up because of the angle he was braced against the wall in, and after he let go of the necklace in his right foreclaw, he tried to blindly get a grip with either of his claws on the small creature that was choking him to death. No matter how much he tried though, every time that he would come close to gripping Discord, the draconequus would easily dodge the lumbering attack, the monster smiling the entire time he was slowly killing the dragon. If it was possible, Applejack could have sworn that he was Sarlaka's purple face turn a shade bluer.

“Applejack! Help me!” Rarity whispered as she was holding an enraged Twilight back, the lavender mare was somehow holding the scrying portal in place as she attempted to burst through the door in front of them. Quickly, both Applejack and Pinkie joined in on the grapple, but even with the three mares working together, it took all of their strength to hold Twilight back. Tears streamed down Twilight's face as her eyes glowed white, and while Applejack had heard stories of the unicorn's power when the mare was completely unhinged, she always feared seeing that kind of immense power firsthoof. It was only the mare's habitual sustaining of the dozens of wards and spells that kept her from blowing the three of them away in a fit of fury.

After nearly three minutes of holding the dragon to the wall, Sarlaka stopped trying to get out of the death grip, the dragon's foreclaws going limp, his wings unfurling under their own weight, and his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he started to lose consciousness. Discord, still smiling in glee, dug one of his talon's claws into one of the deeper wounds the dragon sustained two days prior, the pain pulling the dragon slightly out of his stupor. Pulling himself closer to the dragon, the draconequus smiled wider, “My favor is simply to have fun, no matter what you decide to do.”

The draconequus laughed, and with a snap of the claws, he teleported away, leaving Sarlaka to limply fall to the ground. Furthermore, the transformed pile of toys turned back into the previously luxurious hoard of assorted gems. A split second later, and the mares released the struggling unicorn from their grip, and Twilight burst through the door in front of her, all of the spells she was maintaining dropping, and tore through the foyer towards the dragon. The other three mares followed at a trot, and watched as Twilight galloped towards Sarlaka, and in the last few steps, skidded to a stop right next to his face. The mare, still panicking, looked into Sarlaka's eyes as she looked for some kind of response.

Twilight leaned up against Sarlaka's cheek with her forehooves, and with all of her strength, nudged it, “Please wake up. Please? Don't do this to me,” the mare cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

There was a muffled groan in response, the dragon in front of all of them cracking open a single eye in response to the persistent shoving. Still not entirely alert, Sarlaka's only movement was a single claw reaching out in front of him. The object barely in his reach, he gripped the Element of Honesty, and brought it close to his chest. Slowly a small grin formed over his face. “You know, its rude to spy on others,” the dragon coughed.

Through tear soaked eyes, Twilight let out a single chuckle, and hugged his snout as tightly as she could, “You stupid stupid dragon. Loyal to the bitter end.”

“If you say so, though I don't feel very loyal for keeping you girls out of the loop.”

“Umm... Sarlaka...” Rarity kicked the ground a little bit with a hoof, “I don't want to ruin the mood, but what was that about when you said you had some kind of... plan for us?”

Still grinning, Sarlaka raised himself up slightly, moving a foreclaw so that he was comforting the grief stricken lavender unicorn in front of him, “Some stupid story I made up for that accursed creature. Pretty much any excuse I can think of to keep him from trying to get to you mares. Would've rather had him given me Loyalty's element as well, but its not like its the first complication in the plan so far.”

“Well then.” Rarity continued to kick the ground under her, “I think I owe you a sincere apology. It was wrong of me to assume that, after all you have done for us, myself especially, that you were simply going to turn on us.”

“Me too. Ah reckon tha' if mah family were with us righ' now, they'd be fussin' at me righ' now.” Applejack nodded, a small smile on her face.

Sarlaka looked down at the ponies before him, “There is no need for apologies. I am a being of many secrets, many of which can be misunderstood as... oh...”

The dragon stared off into the direction of the cave entrance, a look of dread once again on his face. Confused, the four ponies looked over at the same time, only to see the completely wrecked image of Fluttershy in front of them. Her mane was completely destroyed, eyes were bloodshot, ribs were slightly showing through her coat and skin, feathers were completely out of sorts, and her coat was closer to a large mass of tangled hairs than anything else. That wasn't even mentioning both the cracked hooves that were slightly bleeding on the rug she stood on and the horrifying gash on her left wing that had obviously been bleeding for quite some time, the mare's normally yellow coat spotted generously with red all along the mare's side.

“... Kindness?”

The five could only look as the mare in front of them trembled on her hooves, somehow standing in the face of all of the physical strains. Fluttershy moved her mouth, the mare's voice so quiet with exhaustion, that if the room wasn't as quiet as it was, none of them would've heard the three words.

“... its... Rainbow Dash...”

Her message delivered, Fluttershy lost the will to stand, and with a quiet thud, collapsed onto her right side as her body gave out. His injuries and near death forgotten, Sarlaka leaped into action, and after dropping the Element of Honesty to the ground, jumped over the four mares around him to carefully scoop up the broken pegasus on the ground. Like a child, he gently picked up the weak yellow creature, and with determination in his eyes, he looked back at Applejack and the other three, “Stay safe you four, and hide if anypony comes. I'll be back as soon as I can.”

Applejack watched as Sarlaka dropped down, and while cradling Fluttershy in his right foreclaw, he ran out of the cavern on three limbs, the vibrations of his steps on the ground slowly fading as he left the cave, until they stopped completely. For the mares, there was nothing to do, except look at the tunnel that the two just left down, and wonder what had just happened.

A/N: Enjoy the 4th longest chapter I have written to date, because the next couple are going to be shorter... unless short chapters are your preference!

A/N #2: I can't tell you how many times I messed up it's and its. Seriously. If I a few are still messed up, I don't care.

Chapter 31: Recovery

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Fluttershy huddled close to the scaled chest of the dragon that was carrying her, the wind that was whipping against her the entire time drowning out any other noise that could have been heard. The speed that the dragon was capable of, let alone able to sustain, was mind boggling. Once, a few hours ago, the yellow mare had dared to look in the direction he was carrying her, and to her utter shock, had seen through watery eyes the standard “mach cone” that began to form at near Sonic Rainboom speeds. Sure, technically Rainbow had broken through the barrier twice before, but maintaining that kind of speed for a long period of time was, as far as Fluttershy was aware, something the cyan mare was never able to do. Of course, at this speed, the dry air was torture to her eyes, and she was forced to look away soon afterward.

It was a terrible trip to say in the slightest. Even in the best of health, flying at this height, Sarlaka's a cruising altitude being almost twice that of most pegasi, for such sustained periods would have been debilitating for any pegasus. Of course, Fluttershy was anything but in the best of health, and several times she found it somewhat difficult to breathe in the thin air. Each time, she refused to voice any concern in fear that any delay would be too long of a wait, but every time it happened, the dragon noticed, dropped his altitude, and slowed down just enough for the pegasus to recover. Then, after ten minutes or so, he would rise again, pick up speed, and tear through the sky like no other creature in the world could.

Now if only they had been able to pick up some sort of food, the yellow mare not having much in several days now, even with her entire journey back. Taking only a couple days, she had gone faster for longer than she could have ever imagined, and had turned a week long trip into a two day one. Of course, the sacrifice was that she didn't stop for anything, forgoing food, sleep, and basic medical care of her damaged wing to maintain that speed. She had been a little luckier with water, the clouds that she passed through providing just enough for her to survive, but either way, she was feeling woozy from malnutrition.

Suddenly, Sarlaka banked to the side, and the pair suddenly started to fall from the sky in a controlled dive. Fluttershy's stomach lurched as a sense of weightlessness overtook her, the tiny mare squeaking as they accelerated slightly more. Daring to suffer the pain that looking forward would bring her, the pegasus peaked out from her spot, and peered through the protective arms of the dragon. What she saw sent a flurry of emotions though her, for what she saw was, after only flying until around midnight, was the shadowy form of a familiar mesa in the ocean of the black earth.

“Kindness! Hold on tight, alright!?” Sarlaka yelled over the deafening wind.

Not bothering to try to even yell back, she just nodded into his chest, hoping that he would be able to feel her head bobbing. Whether he could or not was lost to the mare, or maybe it didn't matter to him how she even answered, for within only a few seconds before they would slam into the side of the mesa, the dragon deftly tilted his entire body upright. Sarlaka, his body now oriented vertically, backwinged fiercely, the mare in his grasp feeling his chest muscles working furiously to slow the two's speed down from nearly supersonic to nil in just a few seconds. With a few more strong strokes, the dragon's feet and left foreclaw grabbed hold of the stone mesa, placing the two right in front of the former cavern entrance.

Shifting his weight slightly, as well as making sure he had a good hold of solid stone, Fluttershy felt Sarlaka moving her in his right foreclaw, and as gently as a creature that disproportionately larger than her could, placed her onto the tiny ledge that was left. Immediately, she hobbled over to where Rainbow was, the darkness making finding the wounded pegasus somewhat of a challenge. However, even with only an inkling of moonlight to light up the place, the walled in ledge plus the large draconian body behind her blocking out most of the light, the small space meant that there wasn't many areas she could look, so it only took half a minute to find the mare.

Fluttershy nearly broke out in tears when she saw the shattered form of her sleeping friend, the boulder obviously still placed right where she was forced to leave it. It was hard to tell from both the darkness as well as the thick cyan hair that covered most of the mare's body, but it was still noticeable enough that the skin underneath had grown deathly pale all over her face, while across her chest her skin had started to become slightly discolored with black and blue. The mare's breathing was slow and shallow, and upon closer inspection, Fluttershy heard the heartbeat inside Rainbow's chest beating furiously as the organ did its best to make due with whatever blood it had access to. Finally, and possibly most alarming, was how cold Rainbow's skin was, the pegasus' body nearly as cold as ice. None of these signs were good ones by themselves, but together, it painted a very grim picture.

As softly as possible, the yellow pony nudged Rainbow Dash, “Hey Rainbow, its... its time to wake up.”

A too soft groan emanated from Rainbow's mouth as she too slowly stirred. Blinking slightly, the broken pegasus turned towards the ragged Fluttershy. The cyan pegasus' eyes were completely glazed over in both confusion and exhaustion, “Oh... hello 'Shy. Is it the real you this time? I don't...wanna talk to the... fake one again. She keeps leaving me...”

She decided not to question what that statement was supposed to even mean, “Yes Dash, its the real me this time, and I promise I’m not going anywhere.”

“Oh... well that's good.” Rainbow gazed off into nothingness for a few seconds, before her eyes focused back onto Fluttershy somewhat, “Oh, hello 'Shy. Is this is the real you, or that fake one again?”

“Yes Dash, its... umm... its the real me still...”

“Oh... well good. You're much prettier than that fake one anyways,” Rainbow managed a half-smile half-wince. The wounded pegasus attempted to raise a foreleg just like before, but could barely lift the appendage more than a few inches off of the ground.

Fluttershy took hold of the foreleg into her splintered hooves, brought the cyan leg to her face, and rubbed her cheek against the cold hoof attached to it. Faking a smile, the yellow mare whispered, “I look terrible Dash, and you know it.”

“Nah, you look beautiful, like... umm...” Rainbow scrunched up her face a little bit, “... like... I'm not sure... it's hard to think...”

“That's... that's ok Dash. Oh!” the yellow pegasus continued to force a smile as she shifted her mane to the other side of her head, revealing a bright red feather tucked in her ear, “You were right Dash, the feather really did help me get there extra quick.”

Rainbow Dash winced as her breathing got painful for a moment, “I knew my 'Shy could do it...”

The two were silent for a few seconds before Sarlaka spoke in a hushed tone, “How is she?”

The first response that he got was the pained coughing of their wounded friend. The coughs were a deep, uncontrolled, and painful hacking that worried Fluttershy to no end. The coughing continued, turning to heaves as Rainbow turning her head to the side as so to face the ground next to her. Finally, near the end of her fit, bits of bright red blood escaped her mouth, blood spilling out of her lungs. Thankfully, the terrible coughing ended, allowing Rainbow to finally lower her head back down to the cold and hard ground. As if she was answering Sarlaka, Fluttershy could only manage to lower and shake her head in despair.

Rainbow turned slightly towards Sarlaka, though her eyes weren't even close to facing the dragon's direction, “Oh, hello Scaley. I didn't expect you to... to be here. I thought you were... busy dancing with... those mushrooms again...”

Sarlaka forced a downcast chuckle, “I was, but when I heard you were here, I told them that I had to leave to see the most awesome pony ever.”

“Oh... that's cool I guess...” Rainbow trailed off for a second, her mind obviously stuck in a haze, before looking back up, “Hey, did you know that Fluttershy and I totally did it?”

Even with Rainbow in such a situation, Fluttershy couldn't help but to blush furiously at the very private information that was just freely revealed. Burying her face into the cyan leg in an attempt to possibly hide herself from Sarlaka, all she could hear was a genuine chuckle, “No I did not. How was she?”

“She was... totally awesome...”

“That's good to hear,” Sarlaka chuckled one last time, “Why don't we get you out of here, and you can tell me all about what kinds of activities... other than that that you two did while you were out? That sound good?”

Rainbow lifted her head for a second, before placing it back down on the ground in pain, “Alright, but I just... just... want to warn you... that... you better keep your claws off of her... cause she's mine...”

“I'll make sure to keep that in mind,” Sarlaka smiled. Fluttershy took a few steps away as the dragon reached forward with his free foreclaw, grabbed hold of the massive stone that was pinning Rainbow to the ground, and carefully pulled it away. Unsurprisingly, Sarlaka lifted the object with relative ease, though the grunt from the cyan mare told that it was a painful process nonetheless. As soon as the stone was clear, the yellow pegasus ran back up next to her friend, and did a quick assessment of her lower body.

Thankfully enough, it looked like the stone had not actually had its entire weight on top of Rainbow, but was mostly supported by several other stones that were on either side of the formerly pinned mare. Not only that, but because the boulder was partially supported by other objects, it appeared the the blood flow to her lower body had not been cut off any significant amount. Finally, even with the rock on top of her, it seemed that her hooves were mostly free, the two cyan objects very much uncrushed.

Of course, that was where the positives ended, and the long list of negatives began. Massive bruising was spotted all along her lower body, the blemishes made obvious by the various scrapes and patches of her coat literally ripped out. Both of Rainbow's legs were broken in at least a dozen places each, the hope of Rainbow ever having full functional use of them ever again an impossibility. That wasn't even mentioning the broken pelvis, possible damage to her digestive reproductive systems, potential kidney hemorrhaging, minor muscle tearing, and her shredded prismatic tail.

Fluttershy felt a hoof on her cheek. Looking back towards Rainbow's face, she found that the mare had somehow found strength to lift the leg up to her face. Again, the yellow pegasus wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow's so that to support the weak appendage, allowing the cyan hoof gently caress her cheek. Giving a small smile, Rainbow whispered, “Hey, guess what?”

The yellow mare couldn't help but to tear up at the critical condition of her friend, “Y... yes Rainbow?”

“I figured out what we're doing for our first real date together...” Rainbow closed her eyes in her attempts to think. Even in all the pain, she smiled, “We're going gorgon hunting...”

The tears instantly dried up in confusion, “... what?”

Rainbow laughed, holding her side with her other forelegs, “I... I guess my jokes aren't very good right now. I actually... why don't we... how about...”

“Shhhh...” Fluttershy leaned in close to Rainbow Dash's ear, “How about you just rest for now, and you can tell me later.”

Nodding, Rainbow lowered her foreleg, and appeared to enter a state of uncomfortable rest. Obviously sensing a lull in the conversation, Sarlaka reached into the cave awkwardly, and taking care to be as gentle as possible, maneuvered his foreclaw so that it was next to Rainbow. Fluttershy, after taking a few steps back, knew what was about to happen, and with both of them bearing saddened frown, Sarlaka picked up the shattered pegasus.

Instantly, Rainbow opened her eyes wide in pain, “AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!”

Fresh tears spilling out of her eyes, Fluttershy wished there was another way to bring the mare back to Sarlaka's home. Unfortunately, there was no other way, and doing the only thing that she could think of, she beat her wings, and slowly flew towards where Sarlaka had curled up his foreclaw to protect the chromatic mare from the impending trip. She landed close to Rainbow, and with the most careful of movements, snuggled up so she and Rainbow were pressed up next to each other. With one foreleg, she hugged her mare softly, hoping not to further aggravate the broken ribs any further.

With the other foreleg, she gently began to stroke the blood-crusted prismatic mane of her friend's, doing whatever she could to help the tortured pony. It appeared to have worked, at least a little, for while Sarlaka had begun to take off, bringing with it a lot of shaking and jolting movements, Rainbow seemed to have calmed down, the screaming cry slowly diminishing to occasional grunts of pain. Soon, they found themselves at the edge of Sonic Rainboom speeds, and with the yellow mare gently stroking her patient's mane, the cyan mare quickly faded into unconsciousness. Sighing, she was thankful that Rainbow wouldn't have to be awake in agony for the entire trip back, one that would take at least until after sunrise; a seven hour trip.

Fluttershy just prayed Rainbow Dash would wake up at the end of it.

A/N: Nope, can't think of anything here, so insert a funny joke.

Chapter 32: Departure

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Fluttershy woke up with a start, a strong bout of turbulence jolting the golden mare back into consciousness. As soon as she realized what was going on and where she was, her mind became instantly alert, and she looked down at the cyan pegasus to make sure the mare still lay in her lap. Through the entire flight, Rainbow Dash continued her deep slumber. Fluttershy had tried to stay awake for the entire trip out of a sense of obligation to the mare in her forelegs, but after two days of flying back to the cave from the mesa, plus an entire night of riding Sarlaka to and from the mesa, her body had just decided to call it quits. A quick look around didn't tell her much about how long she had been asleep; the only clues given to her were that Sarlaka was still flying with them in their clutches and that the sun had apparently risen above the horizon.

For as peaceful as Rainbow looked right now, the yellow pegasus knew that she had to risk waking the mare to check how her patient was doing. Nudging the cyan mare slightly, Fluttershy frowned when Rainbow didn't stir in the slightest. Again, Fluttershy nudged the mare in her grip, but even still, she noted that there wasn't a groan, shift of weight, of even a change in breathing to signal that the wounded pony realized what was going on. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that Fluttershy could feel the speedy heartbeat of the mare next to her, she would've assumed that Rainbow had...

No. She shook her head to clear her mind of the terrible thoughts that were starting to form. Rainbow Dash had promised that she would never leave her ever again, and if there was one thing that defined the pegasus more than anything else, it was that the mare was loyal to the bitter end. Sure, Applejack was the honest one, but sometimes one can break a promise simply because of inability, and Rainbow would never admit defeat. She would fight and fight and fight, until she had nothing left to give, and even then, she would still try her best to protect her friends.

A familiar lurching in her stomach took over, a much more subtle one this time around, and Fluttershy found the three of them slowly descending towards what must have been the dragon's mountain cave. Taking a small peek through the gaps between the dragon's claws, she was able to make out what must have been the landscape around Sarlaka's mountain, though through the narrow slits in his claws, it was hard to tell. Sure, she was able to see a smallish looking town down there that could have been Conflound, but it was impossible to tell from this height. Fluttershy knew from experience that at this height, everything but the most familiar of details tended to look the same, a lesson in navigation that she had been forced to learn in flight school. All she knew was that the dragon was descending in his version of a landing maneuver.

Either that, or he fell asleep in the middle of the flight, though that theory was not something she wanted to think about.

A deep and rumbling voice silenced that second suggestion, “Make sure Loyalty is secure Kindness. We're landing in thirty seconds.”

Like the last time they landed, Fluttershy nodded into Sarlaka's chest as if he could see her head motions. Not entirely sure how to 'secure' her most precious of cargo, the yellow mare decided to shift her body slightly, so that she now was snuggled up alongside the mare. With as much care as she could possibly give, she wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow's midsection, careful not to aggravate the mare's cracked ribs. Finally, as a final thought, she wrapped her right wing around her in a protective fashion, the left in too much pain to even try and move it much. Fluttershy would've given anything for Rainbow to hug her back with strength and vigor, but such fantasies would not be granted.

Just as Sarlaka had told her, only half a minute after his initial warning and she felt him touch down onto the snowy ledge outside of his home. His landing was much smoother than his landing at the mesa the night before, though whether the reason was because of Rainbow’s injuries or because of the much more familiar landscape Fluttershy wasn't sure. Immediately after touching down, Sarlaka began to rush into the cavern before the three of them, his steps quick, but surprisingly graceful. The entire time, Fluttershy closely gripped the mare in her forelegs, protecting the cyan pegasus so dear to her from whatever she could, as if holding her could actually protect her from anything at this point.

The light from the outside world dimmed as they continued on, and eventually, she felt them make the familiar right curve that opened up to the cavern inside. The yellow pegasus felt the scaled arm wrapped around both her and Rainbow loosen its grip, and together they were placed in the center of the foyer. The chandeliers above cast a gloomy glow onto the trio as Sarlaka slowly stepped away, leaving Fluttershy alone to hold her broken friend against her body.

A weak yet racing heartbeat felt against her belly, Fluttershy again slowly nudged her friend, “Rainbow Dash... we made it... you can wake up now...”

It was then that the rest of her friends, the ones that she had completely ignored the day before when she first returned, made their appearance. A voice that undoubtedly belonged to Twilight echoed throughout the room, “You're back! How are Fluttershy and Rainb... oh...”

Stunned to silence, her four friends behind her just watched as she cradled Rainbow Dash's broken body against her own. Nothing in the entire world mattered anymore except for the mare in her forelegs, her hooves running through the the blood stained prismatic mane that her friend possessed. Discord didn't matter. The elements didn't matter. Her friends didn't matter. Even her own life didn't matter. All that mattered was the mare of her dreams in front of her.

Fluttershy tried to think of something to say, anything to mention to her friends, whether it was reassurances that Rainbow would be alright or for them help her with anything. Every time though, the words would get caught in her throat, and she found herself swallowed in the stifling silence that had wrapped itself around them all. Besides, deep down, the golden pegasus knew that there was nothing that anypony could do to change anything.

“Fluttershy,” she heard Applejack say as she took a timid step forward, “Wha' do we do? Ah don' mean to put the pressure on ya, bu' you're the best with all of tha' doctor stuff...”

The yellow mare didn't respond, merely continuing to support her unconscious mare in her forelegs. A few seconds later, she heard her lavender friend speak, her friend's voice elevated with panic, “Fluttershy, please. We don't know what to do. What can we do to help her?”

Choking back a sob, the pegasus shook her head, “N... Nothing. There... there's nothing we can do...”

The silence that was merely suffocating before was now more painful than ever. Fluttershy fought the tears and emotions that threatened to take over at her simple explanation, and she could just feel her friends' horrified looks cast on her with the new information. It was true though, the bruising of her lower body, the racing heart rate, along with the chilled skin all pointed towards Rainbow sustaining massive internal blood loss. Of course, even if that wasn't the case, there was no chance that at least a few of her internal organs had not sustained damage; this damage was easily enough to result in a much more slow and painful death.

Sarlaka's determined voice boomed behind her, “Like Tartarus. There's always something we can do,” and without saying anything more, he was heard moving away to the back of the room. Shortly after, the sounds of three sets of hooves galloping away entered her ears as well, a single lone friend left to hold watch over the pair. Even if it was one of her best friends, it was as if a voyeur was peeking into Fluttershy's and Rainbow's most intimate of moments, an unwelcome set of eyes and ears to observe their every move.

A door opened to another room with a loud bang, and even across the large foyer, Fluttershy could hear her companions as clear as a bell, “Wait! There's that phoenix feather that you gave her! Phoenix feathers have always been used for their healing properties in Equestria!”

“I am aware that they were Magic, but it won't help.”

Suddenly, the mare in Fluttershy's grasp started to stir, a hushed gasp escaping Fluttershy's muzzle as a pair of clouded-over eyes looked into her own. Even in the terrible state that Rainbow was in, a small and pained smile formed on her face, “Hey Fluttershy... what's up...”

Fluttershy forced a smile, “Not much Rainbow... we... we made it back...”

“Why won't it help us!? The healing of those feathers is legendary!”

“Because that feather a fake Magic; a placebo. The last phoenix left this world seven hundred fifty years ago. I made the whole thing up to help Kindness keep up with Loyalty if needed. That thing Kindness holds is nothing but a few bits of plastic I melted together.”

Rainbow chuckled, “Heh... they're being loud, aren't they?” The broken mare winced in pain for a few seconds, before opening her eyes again, “Hey 'Shy... I... don't feel my hind legs... why can't... why can't I feel my legs? And it so cold in here... and...”

“Shh...” Fluttershy put a single forehoof on Rainbow's lips to silence the mare. “Please Dash, conserve your strength... you'll... you'll need it...”

“A what!? Then... then what do we do!?”

“... Generosity. I need you to get some bat guano, a pair of frog legs, and the purest and largest amethyst you can find in my hoard. Go for purity over size. Honesty, I need you to find me some goat milk and brown sugar. Magic, find a large bowl. I will need you to mix everything together.”

“Hey... Fluttershy...”

The yellow pegasus' attention was brought back to the mare in front of her, “Yes, Rainbow Dash...”

Rainbow reached up, and gripped the yellow foreleg that was helping hold her cyan head up with her own foreleg, “I figured out what... what our first date would be...”

Tears welling up in her eyes, Fluttershy forced a sad smile, “H... have you? That's... wonderful...”

“Heh... promise... promise not to laugh?”

“Of course I won't laugh Rainbow Dash...”

“Where's the bat guano!?”

“Next to the eye of the newt.”

A massive and genuine smile erupted from Rainbow's face as she thought about her plans, “Alright, this is going to sound really, really silly, but I’m going to invite you to my place, and, I know this sounds crazy, but I’m going to cook something up for you. Yeah, it'll be something really simple, like spaghetti or tacos, and we'll probably end up ordering pizza because what I make will be terrible, but I’m going to at least try. I think I have a cookbook somewhere in my house... maybe...”

Rainbow closed her eye as she continued, her face still beaming, “Then, once we're done, I'm going to take you someplace quiet; someplace where we could be all by ourselves. My first idea was some grassy hill or something like that, but that sounds really lame and way too cliché for us. Instead, I’m going to take you high up onto the highest cloud I can find the sky, far away from Ponyville, and just lay there with just you and me there. We could just talk and stuff, nothing crazy like I normally tried to do on all of my failures of dates before. Finally, with Ponyville and the Everfree Forest in the distance, we'll watch the sunset. Its really not something I would do normally, I usually would try to do something fun or exciting like race or wrestling or something 'cool', but for you, I’m going to do all of that, and more, because... well... you deserve it...”

Fluttershy's battle against the onslaught of emotions inside of her finally was lost, and she had to fight just to speak, “That... sounds absolutely amazing Rainbow Dash. I’m sure that I’m going to have an... have an absolutely wonderful time...”

Rainbow's smile never went away, but a light, yet sad, chuckle escaped her mouth, “Sorry I won't be able to take you on it...”

The yellow mare continued to cry, unable to even imagine trying to respond to that comment. How could she? Tell her longest and closest friend, more than a friend now, that she was right, and that she didn't have much time left? Fluttershy wouldn't even be able to make it through the first three words of that sentence. Sure, she wasn't Applejack, but the idea of lying to her mare instead was out of the question as well, especially since even Rainbow knew for certain what her fate was. The only thing the yellow pegasus could manage was to dip her head slightly lower, and rest it on Rainbow's in a tight embrace.

“Alrigh'! Tha's everythin'! Twi, get to stirrin'!”

“Wait! We still need the amethyst! Rarity, where is it?”

“Sarlaka needed to grind it up into a powder. There! Here it is!”

“Alright. Everypony stand back. This could get messy!”

A groan emanated from Rainbow's throat. It was a groan of exhaustion and discomfort, “Hey... Fluttershy...”

She did her best to swallow her sorrow for a moment, “Y... yes Dash?”

“They're... they're being really loud in there,” Rainbow cracked open her eyes, a sad smile painted on her face, “Could... could you sing me something? Something... something soft and slow, cause I'm... I’m... feeling... really tired all... all the sudden...”

“Is that it? Is there anything else it needs?!”

“... Yes. One final thing. Heh, I've been killing ponies for over a thousand years now. Fitting that the first one I save is more painful than any of those murders.”

Fluttershy, letting out a single sob, quickly nodded to the mare in her forelegs. She watched as Rainbow slowly relaxed her body, let her eyelids slowly close, and rested her head in Fluttershy's lap. For whatever reason, while admitting Rainbow's fate to the mare was impossible, the sobs in her throat too quickly stifling any words she could try to express it in, singing to her was something else entirely. It was as if the yellow mare was merely singing her to sleep... and nothing more. Fluttershy allowed her own eyes to close, and with the most angelic of voices, she began to sing.

“Hush now... quiet now... it's time to lay your sleepy head...”

“What do you mean by tha-”

“ARGH!!!!”

“...said hush now... quiet now... it's time to go to bed.”

“SWEET CELESTIA WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!”

“Heh... I... told you that a dragon's eye had healing properties before... well I’m giving Loyalty that gift that I didn't give her before you all initially left.”

“But you said that it was a myth!”

“Every myth... has got to have a shred of truth in it... right?”

“Driftin', off to sleep... the exciting day behind you.”

“... Twi... wha' are we doin'?”

“... Just... just put it in. Hurry!”

“Driftin', off to sleep... let the joy of dream land find you...”

“There! Come on everypony. Lets get this to Rainbow Dash!”

“Right. Sarlaka, darling, are you coming?”

“Give me a second Generosity. Its... not everyday I carve out one of my own eyes...”

“Hush now... quiet now... lay your sleepy head...

Suddenly, Fluttershy felt very much crowded, the sole pony witnessing the entire scene before, now joined by the rest of her friends. A giant mixing bowl, levitated by her lavender friend, was pressed up close to Rainbow's face. A magical aura encompassed the entirety of Rainbow's body, and while Twilight tipped the bowl's contents into the mare's throat, she magically worked the muscles to force the cyan mare to swallow as much of the liquid as she thought Rainbow as able. Several seconds of the force feeding ensued, until most of the liquid had disappeared down the mare's throat. Warily, Twilight took a step back, and watched.

Fluttershy, for her part, never moved away. She simply waited until her friends had backed off enough so that she could continue her singing to her most loyal of friends.

“said hush now... quiet now...”

The yellow mare slumped down, completely defeated as she felt Rainbow’s breathing slow to a stop. In her final moments, Rainbow Dash's heart raced as it did its very best to do its essential job, keeping the mare alive for a scant few more seconds as it sent increasingly useless blood through the cyan mare's body. Finally, the stresses put on the powerful organ were too much, and the mare's heart ceased to perform its most important of duties. Fluttershy began petting Rainbow's chromatic mane, as if the mare in her forelegs was just a little filly going to sleep, as the most wonderful mare's soul departed her body.

Never breaking above a whisper, Fluttershy spoke, “It's time to go to bed.”

A/N: I'm giving you this chapter early, because the last one was so short. Enjoy!!

Editor's Note: And now you all have depression!!

Chapter 33: Never Forgotten

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It's not true.

It can't be true.

Can it?

Pinkie just sat there, her mouth agape at the scene that she had just witnessed. What had she just witnessed? Two minutes ago, the most depressing thing in her life was that her heart was so terribly misplaced in a mare that didn't like her back. One minute ago, Fluttershy was sitting on the ground holding Rainbow Dash as the rest of her friends did anything and everything to try and help. Now, Fluttershy was still sitting there with Dashie in her lap, but all of her friends had rejoined them and were just standing there in silence, tears streaming down all of their faces. Sarlaka, who was holding his bleeding left eye, or if she heard them in the other room right, what was left of it, was the only one that didn't appear to be completely devastated. Dashie... Pinkie didn't want to think about what just happened to Dashie.

As for Fluttershy, Pinkie couldn't see the mare's face, but she was certain her mental state was just as bad as, if not worse than, the rest of her friends. Since the yellow pegasus finished her song, she had remained silent, resigning herself to gripping the body of their friend tighter and rocking back and forth. Soft sobs emanated from the grieving pony, the noise being the only sound to cut through the silence in the room. Pinkie wasn't sure what had happened to them while the two were gone, but from some of the words that the two had shared, it was obvious that they had become something... more.

Pinkie picked herself off of the ground, and with the most timid of steps, braved the distance between herself and the mourning mare. Each step was a heavy one, and in the ten seconds that it took to bring herself next to her most shy of friends, the pink pony almost turned tail three times. Thankfully, she made it the distance between them, and with the most gentle of touches, placed a forehoof on Fluttershy's back. Stroking the terribly tangled and knotted hairs, she squeaked out the quietest of voices, “Fluttershy... it's... I’m...”

Fluttershy shook her head in apparent denial, gripping the mare in her forelegs tighter. The normally happy and lively pink pony unsure what to do, turned her touch into a backrub, the long and slow strokes hopefully doing something to soothe the mare in front of her. The yellow pegasus continued to shake her head, as if willing the reality of the situation away. Of course, as soon as Pinkie suspected this was the case, she wished that Fluttershy had that power.

A full minute passed before Pinkie once again had the courage to speak, “Fluttershy... I’m sorry...”

Suddenly, a pair of weak limbs wrapped themselves around Pinkie's midsection, and with renewed sobs, Fluttershy buried herself into her pink chest, the grieving pony never moving from her sitting position. Sitting down next to the yellow pony, Pinkie wrapped her own forelegs around the pegasus and did what she could to comfort her. Of course, in their position, she couldn't help but to peek at the previously strong and athletic pegasus that was in Fluttershy's lap still.

In reality, Rainbow Dashie didn't look terribly bad. She had many minor cuts and patches of hair missing here and there, as well as a few bruises that Pinkie could see where skin showed through. Despite all of this, and the splotch of blood caked on her colorful mane, she looked surprisingly serene. Fluttershy's choice in song was appropriate, the mare looked more like she was asleep than actually... actually...

Mistake. Big mistake. Looking at Dashie was a big, terrible, stupid mistake, for no sooner that the thoughts of her friend now gone entering her head after looking at her body did her emotions break loose, and she found herself mimicking Fluttershy by burying her face into her and gripping the pegasus tighter to find some sort of comfort. Feeling the tears flow stronger, she herself began to sob, and together, the two distraught ponies cried for their friend now past. The world around them disappeared, and for a few brief moments, both ponies lost themselves in the emotions that boiled over.

All too soon, the world around her returned, and while Pinkie never looked up, the royal purple dragon quietly spoke, “We... we don't have much time. We need to plan... delay... do something... anything.”

Several moments past before the muted voice of her lavender friend break through, “What do you mean? Delay what?”

Thunderous steps rumbled through the room, “We have to prepare for Loyalty's return. I’m not sure when it will be, but-”

“Wait, what!?” Rarity squeaked, “Rainbow's coming back!?”

Sarlaka snorted, “Please, Generosity, don't be foolish. Being blunt, Loyalty is a dead, and nothing can change that fact. However, because she died, the Element of Loyalty was or will be soon reborn into another pony somewhere. We need to figure out who that pony is before Discord does.”

“But Sarlaka, how are we ever supposed to find this supposed pony, and what about Rainbow Dash?”

“I have no idea how we are going to find him, or her. Normally the element will take the form of the bearer's cutie mark, but considering there aren't any cutie marks anymore...” There was a heavy sigh before Sarlaka continued, “I have to look either way. As for the former Loyalty, she is useless to us now.”

“Useless? useless!?” Pinkie fell back in shock as Fluttershy broke away, stood, and faced the dragon before her. The pink mare looked on as the pegasus in front of her, wings flared at their widest despite her terrible wound, took on the second dragon in her life in a shouting match, “Who are you calling useless? Huh!? How in Celestia's name could you consider Rainbow to be useless!?”

“I did not mean like that, Kindness. I meant that she, as an element bearer, has no capacity to aid us any further.”

If anything, this caused the usually sweet and gentle mare to get angrier, her wings twitching and sharply fluttering in agitation, “Oh, so is that all we are to you? Just tools for your use!? Are we nothing but the elements we embody? I guess it makes sense now why you call us by our elements, and not our actual names, because you don't give a BUCK about any of us at all! That's all you see us as, weapons to use against somepony more powerful than you, so that you can take control!

“That mare,” Fluttershy pointed at the body of Rainbow Dash, “was more than just some tool for you to use! She was THE Rainbow Dash, a mare filled with hopes, dreams, wonder, and she was...” Fluttershy choked up for a second on the emotions bubbling to the surface again, before continuing, “and she was the mare of my dreams... and...”

If it wasn't for the fact that Pinkie couldn't see them, she would've claimed Fluttershy's eyes suddenly flared red in anger, “You have no idea what I am talking about!? Do you!? You don't care for us at all!”

Sarlaka, a claw still over his bleeding eye socket, lowered his head slightly, “You are wrong. I do care; I care deeply for every single one of you ponies. However, there is much to do, and I do not have the luxury to stand idly by and mourn the loss of Loyalty. By all means, I encourage the rest of you to just that, but while you mourn her loss, I have to make sure that the new Element of Loyalty does not meet the same fate as former Loyalty before she even has a chance to fight for herself.”

Can't breathe.

Can't see.

Can't feel.

Can't move.

Can't fly.

Can't hear.

Can't smell.

Can't exist.

That was the only conclusion that she could come up with. It was a stupid and lame conclusion, but a conclusion nonetheless. She was never good at this sort of stuff, it was more the role of Twilight to think about these things. However, for the second time in just a few days, or at least she thought it was a few days... Celestia damn all of this time mystery garbage! Why can't this sort of thing just make sense for once. Seriously!

She tried to sigh, but of course, none of the muscles really existed here, so all that happened was... well... she wasn't sure exactly what happened when she tried to sigh. Did her mind, thoughts, whatever, only register it as a sigh, but nothing really happened? Did she just imagine everything that everything was? Was there some sort of transcended plane that she had found? Has she just gone insane?

She placed her bits on that last one.

Where was she anyways? Last she remembered, she had, well, she didn't remember what she was supposed to remember. Did that make sense? Not remembering to remember what to remember? Either way, it didn't matter. What mattered is that this place... was very odd. All around her, there were the twinkling stars illuminating the space around her, no other word for the area around her really making sense. Granted she really couldn't see the star-things, the whole no eyes business not making sense, but she could still 'see' them.

She 'grumbled' noiselessly in annoyance. Why does the afterlife always have to be complicated? All completely unfamiliar to her, she couldn't help but grow even more irritable. Why couldn't things just be normal, and make sense like they were supposed to? Strange things like this never happened in Equestria... alright that was a lie; this sort of thing happened all the time to her back in Ponyville, but that wasn't the point. The point was, if only she could see, feel, and be herself, everything would-

In an instant, she suddenly found herself slamming onto the 'ground' below her, a mild pain coming from her face from the impact. Confusion reigned over all of her thoughts now. If there wasn't any sort of place to fall to, how did she hit something? That wasn't even mentioning the fact that she didn't have a body to fall with! Right? She quickly looked around to make sure everything was as confusing as earlier, and gasped.

She saw a cyan wing at her side.

Rainbow swiveled her head around frantically, the mare finally realizing that her vision was actually vision again. Not even bothering to further inspect the area around her, she took a few looks at her body, and to her complete shock, it was perfect. Of course, her body was there, but it was more than that. There was no pain, the headache was gone, her wings and legs felt stronger than ever, and all of the small cuts and scrapes that adorned her sides before were also gone. Not only that, but her cyan coat, the hairs recently being torn out of her in clumps in so many occasions that it had almost become some kind of sick joke, was completely pristine of any imperfections. No, it was more than that... she looked like she just had a spa treatment on how good she looked!

Sighing, the cyan mare looked around her, and tried to figure out where she was. Just like before, the entire area around her was like the moonless night sky, stars all around her twinkling in the darkness. But it was different than a normal night sky, because the stars were literally everywhere, including below her hooves. It was like standing in the middle of the calmest lake in existence, the water reflecting the lights of the stars above perfectly. Of course, she wasn't standing in water, because that much water being calm over that much space was impossible!

Plus she hopped up and down a few times to look for ripples, but that was only to double check.

As elegant as this place was, she found herself becoming bored very quickly. Unlike what Twilight liked to try and tell her, just looking at the stars, even with a telescope, was boring. It was one of those 'seen one, seen them all' sort of situations. Nothing exciting happened. Sure, when that meteor shower happened a few months ago, that was awesome, but that was different. Just sitting here doing nothing, looking at the starts was more of a Flutter-

Rainbow blushed. Alright, maybe she'd watch the stars if she was with a certain pony...

Wait, what was that?

In front of her, a dull glow started to come towards her. Fuchsia in color, the mass of color slowly became bigger and bigger as it approached, and for a split second, Rainbow thought about running from it. However, for whatever reason, whether it was a subconscious sense of bravery, the fight part of her fight-or-flight instinct winning out, or even because maybe she was more curious than scared, Rainbow stayed planted where she stood, and let the amorphic cloud of magenta come towards her.

It was a curious thing, for as soon as the cloud got to her, it didn't settle in any one area. Instead, it continued to circle the cyan mare, Rainbow being forced to continuously turn her head to track the cloud. Several times, the urge to jump the mass of color almost overtook her, but each time, she decided that attacking an unknown creature which looked like it had almost no mass would be a bad idea. This was less because she wasn't sure as to if this thing was dangerous, but more because she wasn't sure how she would even pin the thing when she started to grapple it, the thought of whether it was possible to put a cloud in a headlock or not crossed her mind for a moment.

Suddenly, the cloud stopped in front of her, and slowly, the mass started to coalesce into a much smaller size. Where before the cloud nearly took up an area many times the size of Rainbow's body, the fuchsia gas was now only two or three times the size of Rainbow. Another curious thing was that the mass was slowly changing shape, or gaining one, so that it became more and more shaped like a pony. It was a slow process, but several minutes passed, until finally, a figure just slightly smaller than Rainbow herself came into being.

Granted it wasn't actually a pony, but whatever it was, it appeared completely similar to how a pony was supposed to look like. The most prominent things were the colors, the bright fuchsia coat standing out against the orange mane and tail in the most curious of ways. The pony was undoubtedly a pegasus, the large magenta wings outstretched, as if the thing in front of her was able to take off in flight. The bone structure and facial features of the thing in front of Rainbow definitely pointed at a mare, thought the muscle tone in the legs, back, and chest regions pointed at more of a very strong athletic build like herself, rather than a pony like Rarity.

“Rainbow Dash.”

The female pitched voice that came from the pony-thing startled Rainbow, the cyan mare's wings stretching instinctively in readiness as she jumped back. As soon as she jumped, the thing in front of her giggled lightly in a laugh that had to be a little too friendly to be... well... friendly. A few more moments passed before Rainbow narrowed her eyes, “Who are you? What is this place? How did I get here?”

The entity giggled into her hoof again, “So many questions! Are you sure you aren't Twilight? She's the one that usually asks all the questions. Though I have to say, I’m slightly upset that you don't recognize who I am!”

Rainbow took a few steps closer, and with the most detailed of inspections, did her best to identify the thing in front of her. Obviously, if it was taking the form of a pony, it must have been a pony, or at least was a pony before. Not only that, but it had to look like the pony that she was before she became this thing. Of course, the lack of a cutie mark made things a little more difficult. The fuchsia coat reminded her of that Ponyville schoolteacher that she saw every so often, but that pony was an earth pony, not a pegasus, and the mane color was totally off. The orange mane reminded her slightly of Spitfire from the Wonderbolts, though while that fit the description of a pegasus, there weren't enough words in the Equestrian language to say how different Spitfire and this pony were. It was then it hit her.

“I got nothin',” Rainbow sighed.

“Oh come on! It's not that hard! Think... purplish coat...” the pegasus in front of her beamed at the hint, even if the clue was the most useless hint that was ever given. Rainbow continued to give the most confused of faces as the mare in front of her kept smiling, “... orange mane... was only a filly when I knew you...”

Rainbow shrugged.

The entity in front of her groaned in frustration, “Really? I meant that little to you? Come on! It's Scootaloo! Scootaloo! SCOOTALOO!! ”

Blinking, the chromatic mare sized up the discolored pony for what had to be the twentieth time, trying to figure out how this completely wrong pony in front of her could have been Scoots. It looked as though all of this inspecting was starting to get to the supposed Scootaloo, for the mare in front of her was starting to shift her weight from hoof to hoof in nervousness. Though to her credit, if there was something that was a positive trait, the mare in front of Rainbow never said anything to try and stop the inspections.

Finally, it clicked, “Oh! I got it!”

It was as if a switch was flung, for whatever annoyances the mare in front of Rainbow was feeling seemingly evaporated instantly, “Really!? You remember!?”

“Of course I remember Scoots,” Rainbow nodded, “You're lying. You aren't Scootaloo.”

Fake Scootaloo worked her jaw uselessly for a few seconds in stunned shock, before squeaking, “What?”

“Yup!” Fake!”

“Why in the name of whatever god or goddess you want to swear to would you think I was a fake!?”

Rainbow pointed a hoof at her, “Because you're the wrong colors!”

For a few seconds, the magenta mare before Rainbow blinked, the mare once again driven to stunned shock. What felt like several minutes past as the gears in Fake Scootaloo's mind turned furiously as she tried to fully comprehend what the cyan mare had just accused: that the mare that she was trying to impersonate didn't look even close to what she had formed into. The entire time, Rainbow kept her hoof pointed at the imposter in front of her.

“I'm... I’m the wrong colors?” Fake Scoot's eyes were wide in confusion. “That's... that's not right! I know I was these colors!”

“Nope!” Rainbow nodded. A second went past, before she lowered her outstretched hoof and rolled her eyes, “Well, I guess you technically have the colors right, but they're backwards. You were orange with a purple mane.”

“That's it?” Fake Scootaloo sat down on her flank, and put a hoof to the bridge of her snout, “I've been an incorporeal blob for hundreds of pony generations, I’m lucky I remembered that I was even a pony at all, let alone that I was these colors. Really though, I’m Scootaloo. Promise.”

“Oh yeah?” Rainbow smiled, “prove it.”

The wrongly colored pony in front of her closed her eyes and groaned, “You're really going to make me do this, aren't you? Alright... but you better remember that the only reason that you are getting a millennium old spirit do this is because it's you, and this is important...”

“Rainbow Dash!!!” Fake Scootaloo yelled loudly. It was as if a switch was flipped on, for the mare in front of Rainbow who before somewhat normal, if somewhat confused, was now literally hopping around Rainbow like a little filly would, “You're so awesome! I can't wait until you teach me how to fly! I would give anything to be your assistant! I'd even throw out a half eaten apple that you ate for you just so that I could hold something that you held as well! Why, I might even make my own fan club dedicated to you with it's own rainbow mane hat as a uniform just to show everyone how super amazing The Rainbow Dash really was! She's so cool, even though she's completely full of herself most of the time, I wish that-”

“Alright alright alright!” Rainbow rolled her eyes so much, she felt a slight tinge of pain, “It's you, just please stop!”

Scootaloo stopped hopping, and giggled a little bit, “Heh, glad you finally saw the light, Rainbow Dash.”

The mistakenly magenta mare started to slowly walk to where she was standing before, “As for your second question that you asked, where we are, this place is... well... there isn't really a good way to put it that you would be able to understand.”

Rainbow was about to retort when Scoot, who had stopped and turned back to Rainbow, put up a forehoof, “And not because you aren't smart enough or anything, but it's because there isn't really a good analogy for this sort of place, at least in terms that a living pony would understand. I guess the best way to look at it is... well... a waiting room of sorts. You are in the bridge between the Earth and Heaven. See, right over here-”

“Wait wait wait,” Rainbow jumped a step forward, her wings flared wide at the bombshell that was just thrown at her, “I died!?”

“Correct. Anyways, so this is like a bridge between Earth and Heaven, and when-”

“I died!?”

“Yes. But like I was saying, this place is.”

“As in... I’m dead!?”

“Yes! You bit the big one! Bought the farm! Went to a better place! Kicked the bucket! Took a dirt nap! You just became a five course dinner for a family of worms because you are dead! Dead! Dead!” Scootaloo took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds. Finally, she released it, and with a heavy exhale, sheepishly smiled, “Sorry about that. You were getting a little annoying.”

For her part, Rainbow's eye was twitching, “I... alright...”

“Good! Anyways, like I was trying to say, this place is like a bridge between Earth and Heaven. Think of it like a waiting room. You kinda sit here for a while, until you are finally ready to move on with the afterlife. One of those 'I’m finally ready to give up all the ponies and possessions in my mortal life' sort of thing.”

“I... see...” Rainbow’s eye was still twitching. Finally, a few moments later, and the cyan mare finally came to her senses, and decided that if there wasn't anything she could do about it, at least for now, she might as well figure out what the hay was going on, “So... I have to ask. How long do ponies typically stay here, or how long until they finally leave this place?”

“Well,” Scootaloo turned away from her, and gazed at the stars all around, “That's a simple question with a very complicated answer, because it's very different for each pony. Some ponies, mostly infants and stillbirths, never actually come here. They never had any earthly attachments, so they don't have anything to give up. Some, like myself, take a few mortal years to get over all of the things they leave behind, and realize that even if they left something behind, it'll all be alright in the end.

“Some don't leave for a long time. Most of these are ponies like you; ponies who died early in their lives, but long enough to grow attached to somepony. These ponies typically can't get over those they left behind, and don't leave this place until their mate joins them. This can take dozens and dozens of years for ponies, and even longer for some other species that are especially long lived. There's nothing particularly wrong with these ponies at all though, and when their mate joins them, they have the benefit of truly realizing what being a soul-mate means.”

Scootaloo looked down, and sighed, “Of course, the saddest cases are the ones that never come to accept that they are dead. I really can't speak for them entirely, but most of them just can't wrap their minds around the idea that they no longer have a mortal body, and that they no longer exist in the mortal world. Sadly, these scant few endlessly walk this void, never able to find the happiness that the afterlife would bring them. Sure, after a few hundred years, some finally see the light, but most of these lost souls never do. It's... a depressing thing to think about.”

Slightly unnerved from that last group, Rainbow shifted her weight slightly, “So... how long am I going to be here? Until 'Shy and my friends all join me I guess?”

“That's... a complicated question.” Scootaloo turned back towards Rainbow, and smiled, “See, before you died, Dragon Freak gave you some sort of healing drink thing. Sure, you died, but it already started the process of repairing your body before you did, and it's still working now as we speak. Apparently, in a few minutes, you'll be back to your old self again, if not better... or something like that. It's really confusing, and I never did understand fully anything that blasted unicorn tried to explain me.”

“Weird.” Rainbow took a few steps forward so that she was standing right up next to Scootaloo, they both sat, and together they gazed off into the void. It was weird, standing next to a mare that, the last time that Rainbow saw, was barely tall enough to reach her chest. Now, not only was the pegasus almost as tall as herself, but the thought that Scoots was, kinda, fifteen hundred years old now. Yeah, it was weird on so many different levels.

“So, I have to ask,” Rainbow fluttered her wings in anxiety, “I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but why did you come see me? Why not my family and other friends as well? We really could've kicked off something crazy.”

Scootaloo leaned her head over slightly, and rested it on Rainbow's shoulder, “Those who have already moved on can only come visit those in this realm one at a time, and there wasn't enough time to let more than one visitor, so your parents had me come.”

The cyan mare lowered her ears a little, “Oh... I got ya...”

“Oh! No no no!” Scootaloo pulled back, and looked at Rainbow with the widest of eyes, “It's not like that! Your parents just knew how much I admire you, and because they couldn't decide on which one of them should go, they just let me say hi instead. They did want to see you, but they said something along the lines of 'we waited a long time for our baby girl, we can wait a little longer,' or something like that. By the way, your parents? Wicked awesome!”

Rainbow fluttered her wings again, this time to try to alleviate the rise in temperature that just suddenly occurred, “That's it? Just coming to say hi?”

The magenta pegasus took a step forward, and settling back next to Rainbow, leaned her head back onto the cyan pegasus, “No, there's something I need to tell you.”

“And that is?”

Scootaloo sighed, “Demand answers out of the blasted dragon. Don't let him change the subject on you either. He has one hell of a story, and he needs to tell it, not just for your sake, but for his own.”

Subconsciously, Rainbow leaned her head on top of Scoots', closed her eyes, and together, the two pegasi sat there enjoying the company, “Great, a boring story.”

Scootaloo chuckled lightly once, “Don't worry, it's not an entirely boring one; has lots of exciting twists and turns in it.”

“Alright then.” Rainbow sighed, and even with the growing temperature of the room, was surprisingly relaxed. A smirk grew on her face, “Hey Scoots, when did you get all sweet and affectionate?”

Another light giggle escaped Scoots' throat, “I could ask the same of you: the speedy and spontaneous Rainbow Dash getting tied down by the cute and timid Fluttershy? I guess somepony does have a soft side.”

“Please, I've always had a soft side, I just hide it in my sheer awesomeness.” Rainbow fluttered her wings again, “Geez, is it just me, or is it getting really hot in here all of the sudden?”

“Heh, told ya that you only had a little bit of time here,” Scootaloo continued to smile as she stepped away, and walked in front of Rainbow. Silently, the two stared into the each others eyes. “It was nice to see the greatest and most awesome pegasus ever again finally. Just... well... no offense, but I hope we don't see each other for a very long time.”

By now, Rainbow was starting to feel dizzy from how hot the place was, and if it wasn't for the fact that she didn't see any flames, she would've sworn that she was on fire. Gasping for breath, the cyan mare nodded, “O... okay Scoots...”

Still smiling, the fuchsia pegasus suddenly burst into a million miniscule particles, the cloud suddenly shifting from the fuchsia to a more orange color. As the Rainbow's vision started to blur, all around her, a voice echoed, “There we go. That's better. Oh! One last thing. Tell Spike that that one incident way back in the day? I completely lied to him about it, and it was awesome. He'll knows what it means, and it'll embarrass him to no end.” It was then that Rainbow fell to her side, and as the mare gasped for air, her vision turned white.

“-which makes you the biggest jerk ever!”

“A jerk? Is that all you think I am? If killing thousands makes me a jerk, I guess that makes Discord a pretty little princess then.”

“How can you even dare mock any of us!? We're out there in danger every day, when all you do is sit here and just watch everypony suffer! You didn't even try to help us! Not really.”

Sarlaka frowned, “You really think me flying for half a day straight at a near sprint is not trying?”

Pinkie watched as Fluttershy turned her head, and with tears streaming down her face, looked down at the ground, “No. It wasn't trying. You had so many chances to help us. You could have come with me and Dash to help us fight off those terrible ponies. You could have been there to protect us from that basilisk. You could have been there right when the cave collapsed to help her when she could have still been saved.

“No. You didn't do any of those. Instead, you sat on your scaled flank, and bathed in your gems like the greedy dragon you are. You were too afraid to leave your treasure to help us, and we were the ones who payed for it. So go ahead, try and claim that you did your best, but we'll always know that you did nothing, and Rainbow Dash was the one who payed for your laziness.”

There was a few moments of silence where nopony spoke. For ten minutes, Fluttershy and Sarlaka had been having a back and forth in their little blame game, most of the yelling coming from the yellow pegasus. The entire time, the rest of the ponies didn't have the heart, or maybe it was the courage, to interject at any point for either side. Even Sarlaka, who's words were defiant as always, was spending more and more time with his eyes...eye... to the ground in front of him, an obvious tell that his own words rang hallow even to himself.

Pinkie closed her eyes tightly, and tried to will everything around her to go back to the happiness they had a month ago. Was it really only a month that they had been in this terrible world? They had been in this timeline for so long that Pinkie had grown accustomed to the endless noons of the day and three second changes between day and night. So long, that Pinkie was reaching the end of the party supplies she always carried with her 'just in case'. So long, that she didn't remember how long it was until Twi-Twi's birthday... at least according to their old calender at least. So long, that she wasn't sure that she could remember the faces of her parents anymore.

That last one was mostly her own fault, and it saddened her even more because of it.

Clinching her eyes tighter, she tired to think of anything of the old world. She tried to remember Sugarcube Corner, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, the day that Mrs. Cake announced she was pregnant, Gummy, her sisters, or even ice skating. None of it came to mind more than a foggy mist, the faces and words in her memories blurred in the short amount of time that she was away. It didn't help that her ear was doing all these funky things, her knee was giving her a near painful muscle spasm, and her eyelids were contorting in strange ways. It was as if... if...

Pinkie opened her eyes in surprise, and then it happened.

Her left ear flopped in all directions.

Her knee twitched in strange ways.

Her eyes, no matter how hard she tried otherwise, fluttered uncontrollably.

Slowly the gears in Pinkie's mind started turning, and each time, she came up with blanks. Why would, of all of her Pinkie Senses, would THAT one happen? It didn't make sense really, especially since she was inside. Thinking for a second, she was certain that the eye flutter happened last, so there was certainly no door opening to watch out for, but that didn't help at all. Why would she have to look out for-

Pinkie slowly turned towards the cyan mare behind her, and whispered, “A beautiful Rainbow...”

Apparently, she had said that line right when there was a lull in the argument, for Pinkie suddenly could feel the nine eyes on her. Usually, she loved being the center of attention, that sort of thing came with the business of throwing parties. Now though, especially considering the nearly violent argument that Fluttershy and Mr. Dragon had been having, she felt a very much not Pinkie Sense shiver down her spine. Still, she stood, and continued to gaze at the mare on the ground in front of her.

Softly, a voice from behind her broke the silence, “Pinkie, dear, what was that?”

The cyan mare's chest rose.

The pink pony jumped back in startled surprise the sudden movement. However, as soon as she jumped back, Fluttershy sprang forth, literally flying the entire distance to Dashie. The yellow pegasus scrambled to place Dashie back onto her lap, and with frantic movements, began to stroke the pegasus' chromatic mane once again. Softly, Fluttershy squeaked, “Ra... Rainbow Dash!?”

“Ugh...”

And then, a miracle happened.

Dashie fluttered open her eyes.

Everypony in the entire foyer was stunned to silence as they watched Dashie slowly gain consciousness. As soon as the strong pegasus got her bearings, she immediately locked eyes with the yellow mare's eyes above her. Pinkie refused to tear her eyes from the scene before her, but she knew exactly what the rest of her friends were doing by the way they voiced their emotions. Applejack was stunned beyond belief, a thud from her flank hitting the rug below her telling that plainly enough. The alabaster unicorn's only reaction was to stand completely still, a small gasp being the only reaction out of the, most likely, wide-eyed mare. Twilight was muttering something along the lines of 'Impossible'. As for Sarlaka, his only reaction was to breathe that much heavier in dumbstruck silence.

Fluttershy was at a loss, her foreleg no longer moving in its quickened strokes through Rainbow's mane. Pinkie could only guess at what the shy mare's face looked like, but it was probably a wide-eyed look of complete disbelief. Slowly, a smile started to form on the cyan mare's face, “Hey beautiful. Why'd you stop?”

“Ra... Rainbow!?”

“Yeah 'Shy?”

Rainbow continued to smile as Fluttershy uselessly tried to grasp at any sibilance of coherent sentences, “But... how can you do... when did you... how in the name of... but you were... how did you!”

Rainbow Dash threw her head forward, and with a muffled gasp from the golden pony, locked the surprised pegasus' muzzle in a passionate kiss.

Instantly, if for just a moment, the entire mood of the room did a complete u-turn. There two of her best friends were, one just coming back from the dead, displaying their feelings for each other right in front of them all. As Pinkie's grin started to grow from ear to ear, literally, she stole a look at the rest of her friends behind her. The cowpony was sitting on the ground, a small grin on the mare's face as she slowly nodded her blond maned head. Rarity's eyes were wide in a slight amount of shock, the alabaster mare silently whispering the words 'oh my' to herself as she must have been slightly scandalized by what she saw.

Looking at Twilight, Pinkie locked eyes with the mare for a second, Twilight curiously enough looking right at Pinkie instead of at the scene. Both mares, at the same time, averted their eyes to look back at the escalating kissing session in front of them, the pink mare trying her best not to think about the small blush that Twilight wore. It was for the best not to think about her. If anything, she should think about how Dashie was back, and apparently with a new pastime: smoochin'!

Oh, and apparently Fluttershy had another pastime as well: smoochin' back!

“Wow... this is getting hot!” Pinkie giggled as the two pegasi started to wrap their forelegs around each other. Just after the mare's words entered their ears, the two pulled apart gasping for breath. Both of the mare's faces were slightly flush as they slowly glanced from one pony to another in their little audience. For her part, while the mare's face was as red as Applejack's cutie mark, Fluttershy didn't try to hide in the slightest.

Instead, she softly spoke to her mare, “Hey Rainbow.”

“Hey 'Shy.”

They both giggled a tiny bit, before Fluttershy spoke again, “So, what happened? How are you... back?”

Rainbow was still laying her head in the yellow mare's lap, the cyan pegasus enjoying the small pets to her mane that had just returned, when she responded, “I have no idea. It was really weird though. It's kinda fuzzy, but I swear I saw...”

Rainbow's eyes opened wide, and without warning she jumped to her hooves, nearly toppling Fluttershy over in the process. After making sure the timid mare was alright, the cyan pony took a few steps forward, before frowning, “Are you really Spike?”

Slowly, Pinkie turned her head to face the dragon behind her. As her head turned at its stunned speed, she noticed that Applejack and Rarity both were in the same state of mind, their mouths agape in confusion. If it wasn't for the fact that it would have been the most inappropriate time ever in the history of ponykind, maybe, Pinkie would've giggled at the sight of the two of them. Strangely enough, Twilight didn't seem nearly as phased about the information, though it WAS Twi-Twi.

Sarlaka... Spike... Spilaka sputtered, “What... how... I mean...”

“Alight Scaley,” Rainbow took off, and like a pegasus that hadn't died just a few minutes before, literally landed on the dragon's snout, “it's time to spill the beans! Who are you, and what's your story?”

For a few desperate seconds, Mr. Shady Pants shifted his uncovered eye from pony to pony, trying desperately to find a way out of the obviously uncomfortable situation. Applejack had a face that screamed 'Tell us now, or else.' Rarity's face was one that had been on the alabaster mare too much lately; it was a determination and seriousness that told everypony that that mare meant business. Twilight's face was more accepting than anypony else. Well, except for maybe her own, which still wore that smile she had from a few seconds ago.

Out of the corner of Pinkie's eyes, she saw Twi-Twi nod.

“Very well,” Mr. Undercover Dragon Agent sighed, “I promised Generosity that I'd tell her the full story. Might as well tell all of you ponies. Give me a few minutes though... I kinda need a bandage for this eye here...”

A/N: I think I handled Scootaloo quite nicely, and I'll punch anyone who says otherwise

Chapter 34: Past Life

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All of the ponies readied themselves in silence in the foyer as they waited for Sarlaka's, if she should still call him that name, tale. Applejack and Rainbow had already pulled a dozen or so pillows out of the guest bedroom for them all to rest on, and they were just started to settle in. Rarity had to admit, it was somewhat strange that after such a short amount of time between the two events, they had all mostly gotten over how Rainbow had quite literally died and then came back from the dead. It was most likely the sudden revelation that Fluttershy and she were in some kind of romantic relationship, whether official or not, that distracted all of their attention.

The alabaster mare rolled her eyes; of all of the ponies to get together, she never would've suspected those two. They were night and day, north and south, hot and cold, and regardless of what all of those magazines tried to say about 'opposites attracting,' it didn't tend to work out. If Rarity knew before that those two were interested in mares, something that actually came as a little bit of a shock to her, she would've assumed that Applejack would've been in the cyan mare's eye.

Looking over at where the two pegasi were snuggled up together however, Rarity sighed, and smiled slightly. She wasn't one to judge, and if the two wanted to get together, she would support them to whatever end she could.

Thinking about those two really put her mind into overdrive on what other romantic pairs might spawn from their little group. Applejack, for all appearances, wasn't interested in any relationship at all with anypony, or at least one with one of them. Sure, the mare was much more friendly to her friends, but that was just the way Applejack worked. Twilight was acting a little weird recently, and Rarity wasn't quite able to place what the mare was thinking, but maybe it was knowing a thing or two when pertaining to certain secrets of their dragon host that was irking her. If nothing else, Twilight didn't outwardly seem to have her eyes on anypony.

Pinkie Pie... now that was a pony that Rarity could say a few words about. The mare obviously had something constantly on her mind, and it was causing her to be in quite a funk recently. Normally, Rarity would've attributed it to the traumatic episode that the mare went through a few weeks ago, but that probably wasn't it. Pinkie, as downtrodden she looked when it was mentioned, wasn't showing any typical signs of lingering depression as a result of it. In fact, the mare had appeared to have returned to her usual peppy self, with the few exceptions all taking place after Sarlaka came back from killing Lord Xavier.

Her thoughts were drawn back to the dragon laying slightly on his side in front of her. She knew that the story he was about to tell would be an interesting one to say the least, especially if Rainbow's claim of his real name was true. All signs did point at it, and assuming it was true, Rarity wasn't sure what the result of it would be. Would they continue as the two normally have been over the past few encounters: a mutual respect? Would he open up more with the girls, treating them more as friends and less as, as Fluttershy bluntly put it, tools for his use?

Would he open up more with her, assuming he still felt the same way for her as he did centuries before?

Thankfully, the thought provoking creature interrupted her mental process, a claw slightly playing with the eyepatch he was now sporting, “Thank you both, Magic and Kindness, for the bandage job. I really don't think black goes really well with my scales, but it'll have to do. That said, Laughter... where in Discord's name did you get an eyepatch large enough for me?”

Pinkie, who had settled beside Applejack on a pillow, smiled, “Oh, I leave them around in case of emergencies of course!”

The dragon blinked, “I... I’m not even going to question that one. Anyways,” he settled a little more atop his hoard, and with Twilight nestled up against his stomach, he looked up, “where should I begin?”

Applejack immediately spoke up, “Ah reckon ya should start at tha beginnin'.”

He smirked, “Fair enough. I'll start... well... how about I start right where you all left off.. so to speak.”

Spike watched in absolute horror at what he had just seen: his surrogate mother and five of his best friends were turned into nothingness by the god of chaos. As he blinked in terrified awe, Discord's voice filled his ears, “Well that's not what I wanted to happen. Oh this is simply marvelous! I love it when I surprise myself! It's not every day that I get to cause chaos and mischief against me! I should tell my favorite princesses of my wondrous discovery. I'm sure they would love to hear it. Though the only question now is what color accordion I need.”

With a snap of the fingers, Discord quickly teleported away, and left the rest of Ponyville to crumble under the lawlessness he had created. For a few minutes, Spike just stood there, silently hoping that what he was witnessing was merely an illusion, and that some kind of trick would unfold, and the girls would end up perfectly fine. That's what always happened to them. They always started off poorly, but things ended up alright in the end. That's what was going to happen now... right?

Slowly, his small arms trembling at his sides in fright, he stepped forward, “Tw... Twilight?” He softly stuttered, his voice cracking heavily. The only signs that the girls were ever there were the six pieces of jewelry on the cobblestone road.

“Twilight?” Spike again said. The dragon looked to all sides of him in a frantic fashion for no real reason; the panic starting to seep into his voice as he started to assume the worst out of what happened to the mare. Slowly, he finally made his way to where the Elements lay, and with heavy emotions spilling out of his eyes, he fell to his knees. Trembling heavily, as he picked up the golden tiara that was before him, the headpiece perfectly pristine as normal.

Finally, the emotions filled his voice, “TWILIGHT!?”

For several seconds, the dragon knelt on the ground, his mind completely blank of any thought except for what happened to the lavender mare that was stolen from him. However, his instincts finally kicked in, and with haste, he moved to run away, far away, from this terrifying place.

Just as he took his first step, he stopped, and looked back behind him. Sitting on the ground still, were the other five pieces of the Elements of Harmony. With a flash of brilliance, or at least some form of intelligence, the baby dragon came up with a course of action. Hot tears burning out of his eyes, he quickly ran back and gathered up the scattered pieces of jewelry. It was hard to hold all six of the artifacts in his tiny claws, but considering the possible implications of just abandoning them, he couldn't just leave them in the middle of the road.

Finally, with all of the elements in his claws, he turned around, and with no real destination in mind, he ran away in the slim hope that somepony could help him out. Of course, against the God of Chaos, who could help any of them now?

“So...” Rarity interrupted, the mare slightly fidgeting with her forehooves, “you really are Spike... aren't you?”

The dragon nodded, “I used to be him, yes. However, if it is alright with all of you, I would prefer that you refer to me as Sarlaka still.”

Rarity continued to fidget with her hooves, “But why would you call yourself that, even to us? If you just told us who you were, we would have trusted you, if you had told us who you were... we said so many awful things to you. I said so many awful things to you! If you had just told us you were Spike, we would've trusted you.”

“Maybe that is true, but after all the things I have done, all the ponies I have killed, I never wanted you to see your Spike like that. I never wanted you to see Spike as a monster,” the depressed dragon lowered his head to the ground, “... like I am.”

There was a minute of silence where nopony knew what to say. Rarity couldn't see the other four ponies to her left, but Twilight was hiding her eyes in Sarlaka's side, as if she was upset or ashamed with some unsaid point. Either way, it was up to her to say what they needed to say... what she needed to say. Slowly she stood up, and with the calmest and most elegant walk she could muster, made her way to where Spike held his scaled head, the mundane battle wounds on his snout from a few days ago barely visible even after the short amount of time.

Finally, with his single eye tracking her progress, she moved to where the tip of his snout was, and with a soft smile, placed a single forehoof on his nose, “I could never see my little Spikey-Wikey as anything but the kindest and most noble of dragons.” With Spike thoroughly stunned, she trotted past his snout, and headed next to where Twilight lay. With a beaming smile on her face, she slowly settled herself down, and rested her head on his belly, the dragon's scales warmer than she was suspecting.

“So wait a second,” Rainbow interjected, somewhat ruining the touching moment she managed to create, “let me get this straight. You just ran away?”

Spike narrowed his eye slightly, “I was but a baby who had just watched his mother and best friends get utterly destroyed right in front of his very eyes. What would you do if the same thing had happened to you? Kick Discord in the face? Go ahead and try that, and let me know how it goes, you know, if you aren't turned into a piece of candy first. I at least had enough sense to grab the Elements before I ran. Any questions?”

Rainbow slunk back, “Nope... I’m good.”

“Good.” The dragon took a deep sigh, the dragon's stomach now pressing up against Rarity as he took in a large amount of air into his lungs. Finally, he released the breath with a little puff of smoke, “Anyways, where was I?”

Rarity felt Twilight slightly nudge him, “You had just ran away with the elements in your claws.”

“Right! Anyways, so there I was, running out of town like the little baby dragon I was...”

Spike sprinted through the center of town, avoiding ponies, sheep, and floating house debris alike. His heart was thumping against his ribs as he ran, the complete set of the Elements of Harmony in his arms. Several times, he had nearly tripped over his own two feet, but thankfully, he was able to get his balance back each time. The small dragon imagined to himself that if he tripped, Discord would be right there to catch him, take the elements, do something terrible to him, declare victory, and then laugh like every villain tended to do.

He wasn't sure where he was going, but wherever it was, he wanted to make sure that it was away from Ponyville. Maybe he could hide out with the Apple family, though that was still probably way too close to Ponyville for comfort. Zecora was in the Everfree Forest, and nopony ever went there unless they had a really good, or really bad, reason. Of course, Discord wasn't anypony, and considering who he was, how likely would it be that he would just waltz right into the forest, burn everything to the ground, take the two of them, and make them dance to disco for their entire lives? No, the Everfree was still too unsafe. Maybe he could run away to where the griffins lived? Sure, they were a pretty nasty race, memories of Twilight's iteration of the friendship report inspired by Gilda's visit coming to mind, but maybe if he went to their nation with the Elements of Harmony, he would be treated better.

Either that, or he would be the main course of the Empress' dinner that night.

He closed his eyes, and tried to think of something that would help. The Buffalo weren't very organized, but they were very strong and incredibly loyal. Maybe he could hide out with them! No... they would just all be caught in the crossfire. He couldn't take the Elements to any of the major cities of Equestria; doing so would only cause the cities to be wiped off of the map or turned into jello or something. The various dragons of the world didn't have a nation to speak of, but maybe he could go to them? Sure, the last dragon he'd seen was a little less than keen to interact with him, but maybe if he instead of eating the gems, he offered the Elements as part of his hoard? Of course, if he did that, how would he get the-

“Oof!” Spike, with his eyes closed, ran into somepony. Completely caught off guard, he tumbled forward, taking the small pony that he tripped over with him. Together, the two rolled on the ground for a few more hooves of distance, before coming to a stop under whoever he tripped on. He heard a groan coming from the pony on top of him, but right now, his thoughts were on the Elements and their safety.

Quickly, he started struggling to get out from under the pony on top of him, eliciting a yelp of pain from her, “Hey! Watch those claws Spike! That hurts!”

“Huh? Sweetie Belle?” Spike stopped struggling to look into the filly's bright green eyes. As soon as he got back to his senses, he started struggling to get out from under her, “Sweetie Belle, could you move? I’m kinda stuck.”

“Oh! Sorry Spike,” the white filly rolled off of him, and after standing, pawed at the ground timidly, “I was just trying to find-”

“Sweetie Belle!” Spike heard another filly's voice, this one's much rougher than Sweetie's, come from behind him. Without even turning to look, from the tone of voice, as well as the distinct squealing of wheels, he knew that it was Scootaloo, “There you are! Hey Spike! What's going on? What are these?”

Spike's eyes grew wide, “Don't touch those! Those are-”

“Scootaloo! Sweetie Belle! Oh, Hi Spike,” a third voice cut through the noise, alerting Spike to the final Crusader's appearance.

“What are you girls doing out here?” Spike started to gather up the jewelry that he had dropped from his impact, “Don't you know how dangerous Ponyville is right now?”

“You don't have to say that twice.” The orange pegasus rolled her eyes, “I just had to run away from my family, or should I say a bunch of dancing buffalo wearing tutus. Seriously! What's going on? Hey!” Scootaloo hopped over to where Rainbow's element lay, “Oh my gosh, this one has Rainbow Dash's cutie mark on it! Is this her's? Can I have it!?”

“No!” Spike snatched the element away from Scootaloo, “This is very important!”

“Are those the Elements of Harmony, Spike?” Sweetie Belle cocked her head as a fish flew by behind her.

Spike blinked, “You... you know what the Elements of Harmony are?”

“Of course! Rarity told me all about how she used one of them to defeat Nightmare Moon!” Sweetie beamed. However, a second later, her face fell slightly as she looked to either side, “Say, where is my big sis anyways?”

“Uhh... that's not important right now.” Spike looked at the three fillies around him, “What is important is that I need to get out of Ponyville with these things.”

“Why do ya gotta get outta here, Spike?” Apple Bloom cocked her head to match Sweetie Belle's position.

“Who cares!? If you need to get out of here quick, hop on!” Scootaloo ran over to where she had stopped her scooter, and strapped on her helmet, “Get in the wagon, and I can take you wherever you need to go.”

Spike was about to object when he heard a titanic explosion rock the earth under him. All four of them turned towards where the explosion came from, and gasped as they saw Canterlot Castle, always known as a symbol of the Princess’, now Princess's, power, shatter under a powerful shockwave. The entire structure now nothing but rubble, fell from the sky, and made its way towards the bottom of the waterfall below. The rubble suddenly scattered and broke up again, a second earth shattering explosion rocking the earth several seconds after.

“Alright,” Spike ran over to the wagon, “lets get out of here.”

“Yeah...” Sweetie Belle squeaked, “That's probably a good idea.”

Apple Bloom jumped into the wagon shortly after the other two, “Ah secon' tha'.”

“Alright! Hang on everypony, because we are about to turn up the speed! First stop, anywhere but here!”

Just as they were about to take off, Spike's eyes widened, “Wait! We need to stop at the library really quick. I have to pick up a few things!”

“Ugh. Alright. First stop, the library.” Scootaloo, even through everything that was happening, rolled her eyes, “Just letting you know, that line doesn't sound nearly as awesome as the first one.”

Scootaloo's little wings picked up speed, the feathered appendages buzzing in the air, and with a release of the scooter's break, the group of four rocketed off in the direction of Spike's home: Ponyville Library.

“Wait up, hang on a sec,” Applejack interrupted as she waved her forelegs in the air frantically.

Spike rolled his eye, and looked down at Rarity and Twilight, “I'm going to have to get used to these interruptions, aren't I?”

“Listen to the dear. She might have a valid reason.” Rarity softly chided, a smile on her face.

Spike chuckled, “Alright alright. What is it, Honesty?”

Applejack put her forelegs down, and went to straighten her hat. Of course, her hooves met nothing but air and blonde hair, so after grumbling for a second, she started, “Alrigh', so you and the Cutie Mark Crusaders jus' off an' left Ponyville withou' tellin' anypony? Why didn' ya tell any of their parents or family? Ah understand you were a baby back then, bu' Ah know ya weren' stupid. Not tellin' nopony is jus' downrigh' irresponsible.”

“Lets see,” Spike started, “Scootaloo's family, as I told you, were turned into a bunch of tutu-wearing dancing buffalo, so there no point in trying to tell them that we were leaving. Sweetie Belle's parents were out of town somewhere, and I doubt they ever made it back to Ponyville. Considering Rarity was her guardian at the time, she had nowhere to go and nopony to take care of her anyways. As for Apple Bloom, her older brother had the mind of a dog, quite literally, and her grandmother was too busy tap dancing to take care of anypony. If you really want to nitpick, I guess I didn't ask your dog or Rarity's cat, but I’m sure that they were in better hooves not being in the care with those two.

“And while yes, I guess we could have told somepony, I think almost every single pony in that town was completely insane by that point.” Sarlaka reach a foreclaw around to his side, and started to stroke Twilight’s back lightly, “Regardless, at the time, I was scared that Discord would realize he left the Elements of Harmony in the middle of the road and come back to get them. I was also afraid that if we told somepony where we were going, that pony could tell the God of Chaos where we went. Granted we weren't sure where we were going, so there wasn't much we could tell anypony, but my point remains.”

“Well,” Applejack crossed her forelegs, “Ah still don' like it.”

“Come on Applejack, this story is boring as it is,” Rainbow groaned as she leaned up further against Fluttershy and yawned. “Don't make it any longer than it has to be.”

Fluttershy nudged her unofficial marefriend, “Be nice, Dash.”

“... alright, but only because you said so.”

“Anyways!” Spike said loudly, drawing all of the other pony's attention to him. “Am I allowed to continue?”

Twilight nudged Spike, “Be nice, Spike.”

“... only if you call me Sarlaka.”

“Be nice... Sarlaka.”

“No. Anyways, as I was saying. We got out of the town, and were traveling through the southern part of the Everfree Forest to try and get to the Princess's old palace to hide in. Before you ask, we didn't have any reason, except that it was somewhere to go. While we were traveling, we continued to hear explosions coming from Canterlot, but we couldn't see the city after a few minutes of leaving the town. After a few days there was one final, and much louder I might add, bang, then everything went quiet. We knew something had happened, but without seeing the city, we weren't entirely sure what it was, so we continued on without stopping.”

“I'm so bored!”

“Sweetie Belle, if you don't stop complaining, I’m going to tie you up, and leave you here!”

“But I’m bored! I thought this was going to be a fun adventure, not a lot of walking!”

“I don't care what you thought it was going to be, I’m grabbing the rope!”

“Scootaloo, you couldn't fasten a knot if your life depended on it.”

Spike groaned as he brought his free claw to his face, the other claw pulling along the wagon, “Do they always argue like this?”

Apple Bloom sighed as well, the filly having to trot every so often to keep up with Spike's determined pace, “No. They usually get worse and start wrestlin'.”

“I just wish that scooter didn't break so quickly. If only Scoots actually took care of the thing.”

“I'm so hungry!”

“That's it! Sweetie Belle, get over here!”

“No!!!”

“Ugh,” Spike started to rub the bridge between his eyes, “What I would give to be able to cast a silence spell right now.”

“No kiddin'.”

Before either of them could do anything about the now tumbling fillies behind them, Spike heard something shattering the trees above them. The violent crashing sounds silenced the fighting fillies long enough for them to get up, and approach Spike and Apple Bloom. All around them, there were rustling noises from the treetops.

The small dragon attempted to take a step back, only to find his path blocked by the three frantic fillies behind him. Swallowing his fear, he did his best to at least look as brave as he could. He couldn't be there for Twilight, Rarity, and his other friends, but at the very least, he could be there for these three. Of course, the Elements of Harmony in the wagon were the number one priority, but the fillies were a close number two.

“Girls,” Spike said as he spread his arms wide, his voice containing a slight waver, “Whatever you do, stay behind me, alright? I'll do what I can to protect you. If all else fails, grab the elements, and run as I hold it off.”

“What!?” Sweetie Belle squeaked. “You can't take on an Ursa Major!”

Scootaloo lowered herself lower, “Or a dragon!”

Apple Bloom did her best to cower behind the other two girls, “Or a hydra!”

“Quiet! Its not nearly as big as any of those. We should be fine, as long as we stay quiet, remain calm, and-”

A sudden crash from their left caused every one of them to jump in startled fright. As quickly as they could, the fillies behind Spike scrambled to place him between them and the sound. Spike took a step forward, and growled at whatever was behind the bushes, trying to look as menacing as possible. He might not have been the most intimidating of dragons, but he would make sure that whatever was behind those bushes would pay for anything that it would do to hurt any of them.

The creature behind the plants burst forth, and Spike had to do his best not to abandon the fillies right then and there, for out of the bushes was none other than... than...

“NIGHTMARE MOON!!!!” the three fillies behind Spike yelled at once, and with more fear than the little dragon thought was possible, bolted away from the ancient evil in front of them.

Spike, even though his heart will filled to the brim with terror, leaped at the creature before him. The purple dragonling charged, yelling a battle cry as he knew he ran towards his death. A few steps away from the navy blue alicorn, and he jumped at her.

His desperate attack never landed, for he suddenly found himself being levitated off of the ground just short of his target. He knew that his time was up, and even as he struggled, he watched as his life flashed before his eyes. It was sad that there wasn't much life to view, but distinct moments came to pass: the first memory of Twilight, the day he learned how to breathe fire, how happy Twilight was when she graduated from the university, the moment he truly considered Twilight his mother, leaving for Ponyville, meeting Rarity and the other girls. All of them cherished memories. Sure, the Elements were still in the wagon behind him, but at least the girls had gotten away safely.

But... there was something off. Something weird. Instead of rending his flesh off his bones like he was expecting, she was just standing there, eyes fluttering closed before they opened again. The princess' appearance was completely off. Instead of the jet black coat and snake-like eyes, she bore a navy blue blue coat with completely normal eyes. Her breathing was ragged, and while Spike couldn't see it, he had been subject to enough of Twilight's spells to feel that the alicorn's magic was incredibly weak, to the point that every so often it would flicker out of existence for a brief moment. The final clue that something was up was that Nightmare Moon kept having to catch her balance.

The dragon looked on as the princess of the night staggered once more, “Please... help us...”

Releasing her magic, the alicorn abruptly dropped Spike, collapsed onto her side, and slipped into unconsciousness.

“Wait a second,” Twilight looked up, “you met Princess Luna?”

Spike smiled, “At the time, we had forgotten that she was good, and we thought she was Nightmare Moon. Of course, when she collapsed in front of me from the battle with Discord, I began to suspect that she wasn't as evil as we thought. It was quite a pain to convince those three Crusaders of that fact, but once I was able to find them, and get them to talk to the Princess, they came around. Of course, the fact that Luna tended to yell everything she said and refer to herself as 'we' didn't help.”

“Wow...” Fluttershy thought to herself, “I never would've thought you would've met her...”

“How else would have I known what exactly happened in the battle over Canterlot?” Spike smirked.

“Oh... I just... I mean...”

Spike waved a claw dismissively in the air, “It doesn't matter. Regardless, it was her that first suspected that you six weren't actually dead. Of course, she initially thought that you were merely teleported to another part of the planet, and so dedicated herself with trying to both find you six and reconnect you with your Elements, as well as evading Discord the entire time. Meanwhile us four were charged with keeping the Elements of Harmony safe for when you all returned to us.”

“Oh my,” Rarity brought a forehoof to her mouth. “That doesn't sound very safe for any of you, especially with Discord after the Elements. I cannot believe she had a bunch of children do that.”

Spike brought the claw that was petting Twilight's back, and began stroking Rarity, the calming pets putting a small smile on her face. A deep, yet friendly voice entered her hears, “Actually, we were safer than you'd think. First off, Discord was after Princess Luna, the monster most likely thinking she had the Elements. Second, she placed a lot of long lasting enchantments on us to hide us from any magical locators and spells. I suspect without those, Discord, or in the later years his agents, would've found us without too much trouble.

“Regardless, it was five years until we saw the Night Princess again, and when we-”

“Five years!?” Rainbow sprang to her hooves, sending Fluttershy toppling to her side in surprise, “You were traveling around for five years!?”

“Much longer actually. It was around five years until we just saw Luna again, and told us that she had not found you six. She had done everything in her power that she knew, from casting the most powerful locator spells she knew, to actually trying to physically search, but always came up short. Of course, this was because you weren't in existence, but she didn't know that. At the time, her only conclusion was that you all had been killed. She had actually gotten over the whole yelling thing by that point, but... well... lets just say that she didn't sugar coat the news any.”

Fluttershy pleaded with Rainbow with her eyes, nudging the cyan mare slightly with her head. The prismatic pegasus looked down, and with a smile, settled back to laying next to the yellow mare, and let the timid mare lay her head back down on her cyan neck. Rainbow nuzzled Fluttershy lightly, “Sorry 'bout that.”

Applejack looked down in despair, “So... wow... how did Apple Bloom take it?”

Rarity looked down as well, “And Sweetie Belle...”

Spike never stopped his comforting strokes against her back, “About as well as you think. Even Scootaloo took the news hard. Apparently she was really fond of you, Loyalty; more than you think. Platonic of course, but still. They were all in shambles for a long time. I’m not entirely sure why, maybe it was because I had subconsciously accepted Magic's death long ago, but I was not nearly as broken up as the girls were. I was sad of course, but I was able to be there for them. I was their rock...”

The purple dragon looked behind him, and gazed at the back wall, “And they were mine.”

Rarity turned her head, and saw what their guardian was looking at: a large and heavily worn painting between the two locked back doors. It appeared to have been a masterpiece at one point, but with the years that it had been neglected, the main colors and many of the major lines faded with time. From what she could see, there was a pegasus, a unicorn, and an earth pony all gazing into the distance at some unidentifiable object. However, with the connection that was just made, it was obviously more grown up versions of the fillies, the three memorialized in the painting for possibly the majority of Spike's lifetime.

Rarity laid her head on the dragon's massive side once again.

There was a few more seconds of silence before Spike turned back around, and faced the rest of the ponies. With another heavy sigh, he continued, “Anyways, after Luna broke the news, she told us that she was going to go searching for the new bearers of the Elements of Harmony. As she carried out that task, us three were charged with hiding the physical jewelry. We really weren't sure what or how we should do this, so we were sorta guessing how to do it. Regardless, we thought that even if we didn't know how best to hide them, we might as well at least hide one of them. So only about a month after Luna gave us the task, we found a nice spot for the first one.”

Spike looked straight up, “You have got to be kidding me.”

Scootaloo merely beamed back at him, “No! Seriously! Its a great spot. There's a cave up there that is crazy deep! In fact, it looks like that somepony had dug out most of it already, so it goes a long ways down. It's absolutely perfect!”

To respond, Spike pointed skyward, “Do you see how gargantuan that plateau is? Its not particularly inconspicuous.”

“Great,” Scoots rolled her eyes as she fluttered her orange wings in annoyance, “it looks like somepony has been listening to our little dictionary a little too much.”

“Hey! I take offense to that!” Sweetie Belle took a few steps closer, standing nose to nose with Scootaloo.

“You should!”

“Alrigh' alrigh'! Lets not get our horseshoes in a bunch,” Apple Bloom used her forelegs to push the two parties apart. After the two separated mares grumbled for a second, the farm pony took a few steps forward, and looked at the massive natural wonder in front of her. A few moments past before she sat down on her flank, “Considerin' tha' nopony lives 'round here, ah reckon this is as good of a place as any. How are we gonna go 'bout makin' sure tha' it can' jus' be found with spells an' such?”

“Well,” Sweetie Belle got out of her little moping session to step forward, “I've been working with a few of the spells that were in Twilight's books that you grabbed from Spike's house a few years ago, and I think I've figured out one that can make it so that it'll make the cave undetectable magically to anypony except Luna and an Element Bearer... assuming that she's a unicorn."

Apple Bloom raised her eyebrows in surprise, “Ya can do tha'?”

“I think I can. Fairly certain at least.”

“That's... actually pretty cool.” Scootaloo fluttered her wings agains, this time in excitement.

Spike looked down from the mesa and smiled, “Sounds like a plan to me. So... which should we put here? Rainbow's?”

“NO!!”

The purple dragon had to take a step back from the intensity of the the yell that Scootaloo threw at him. The orange pegasus' eyes were wide in a generous amount of fear, the mare clutching the necklace that she wore around her neck. The lightning bold jewelry was as pristine as it had ever been as it hung on the pegasus, “It's... it's all I have left of her...”

The group was silent for a few seconds as the mood around them turned south. However, Apple Bloom nipped it in the bud fairly quickly, “Fluttershy's would work just as well here.”

Unfortunately, Spike couldn't let the subject drop that easily. Looking at his chest, he held the tiara that he had fashioned into a necklace, “You know, it is our task to hide these things... and we'll have to give them up eventually...”

All four of them, ponies and a dragon, looked down at the pieces of jewelry they were wearing. Each had their special significance to each. Spike was wearing what used to be his mother's element, the Element of Magic, the magenta star adorning the headpiece standing brightly against his green scales. The Element of Loyalty was in the charge of Scootaloo, who wore the bright red bolt of lightning as if it was her own. Apple Bloom wore the Element of Honesty, the orange apple gem bringing the mare memories, both good and bad, of her innocence years ago. Rarity's former element, the Element of Generosity, adorned Sweetie Belle's neck, her snow white coat making her look so much like her sister. The final two elements, Kindness and Laughter, were possessed by Spike, who had made the initial promise to keep the elements safe.

Taking a few quick steps towards Spike, Scootaloo smiled, “Let's not worry about that right now. I still have to show you girls this wicked awesome cave.”

“Scootaloo, what are yoouuuuuuuuuauaaaahhhh!!!!!!”

With a pair of powerful wings, the spontaneous pegasus took off, and with a screaming dragon on her back, tore through the air, making her way towards the top of the mesa.

“So squirt finally learned how to fly,” Rainbow smiled warmly at the thought. “Thought she never would. That filly always had the smallest chicken wings.”

“At twelve years old?” Spike snorted a little bit in humor, “I hope every filly knows how to fly when they are that old.”

“Wai',” Applejack thought out loud for a second before replying, “You said tha' at tha' point it was five years since ya'll left Ponyville?”

Spike nodded, “That is correct, Honesty.”

“Wow... she's two years younger than Apple Bloom.” Applejack chuckled.

“Two younger than Sweetie as well,” Spike stroked Rarity's back a little harder. The purple dragon looked off into the distance, his mind in the past, “Scoots and Sweetie were always gifted ponies. Scootaloo had a knack for flight, just like her heroine, while Sweetie Belle was the most gifted unicorn I had ever seen with magic. Well, second best unicorn,” the lavender dragon looked at Twilight, a cheerful smile on his face.

Rarity looked up at the massive dragon's face, “Sweetie Belle, my Sweetie Belle, was that skilled in magic?”

“Incredibly. There were a few instances that I would like to forget of course, the filly liked to use us as test subjects, but she was very skilled indeed. In fact, unless I was specifically talking about Magic, every time I mentioned a unicorn to you, like the one that knew about unicorn horns, I was referencing that mare.”

“Oh! I almost forgot!” Rainbow's happy smile turned into a devious grin, “A certain orange pegasus told me to ask you about a certain embarrassing incident that you had with her.”

Spike whipped his head around to face Rainbow. Reflexively, Fluttershy ducked her head down under his eye, but with the cyan mare to lay next to her, she stayed steady. With a slight amount of urgency in his voice, the dragon stuttered, “You... you saw her?”

Rainbow nodded, “Talked to her too. How else would've I known about all of this stuff?”

“How is she? How are the other girls? Are they alright. Do...” Spike looked down slightly, and lowered his voice, “do... do they know what I've done?”

The mares all around him were silent. It was a few seconds before the chromatic pegasus replied to the dragon, “They're all fine, but... I don't know about that last one.”

“I... see...”

Again, the group were sent into an uncomfortable quiet, the mood of the room souring at the dragon struggling with his emotions. Rarity pressed herself a little harder against Spike's side and nuzzled his hard scales. It was an interesting feeling, his hardened and course scales against her soft cheek, but in a way, it was comforting. The fire in him warmed her core, and pleasantly relaxed all of her muscles. In a way, it was like-

“Hey!” Rainbow cut off her thought process. With an accusatory forehoof, she pointed at Spike, “You got me off subject! Scoots told me you'd try that. So like I said before, spill the beans!”

Obviously thankful for the change of subject, the purple dragon cocked his head, “Which incident are you talking about in particular, little one?”

“I'm... umm... I’m not sure...” The cyan mare blinked a few times, before pointing at Spike with renewed vigor, “She said it was embarrassing though, and that she apparently lied about what she said. Scoots told me to say to you that... well... it was awesome.”

“What? What was-” Spike stopped for a moment with his jaw hanging, before groaning and shaking his head, “Geez. Even from beyond the grave, that mare knows exactly what buttons to press to get to me.”

Pinkie cocked her head, her poofy hair bouncing slightly in response, “Whatcha mean?”

Spike brought a foreclaw to his face, and pinched in between his eyes, “I'm definitely going to regret telling you ponies this, but after we hid the first Element, we realized that we weren't going to be so lucky with where we would hide the Elements every time. Not only that, but it was not a very good idea to hide all them in easy to find landmarks, just in case they were found. At the same time, we had to make sure that the bearers, or at least Princess Luna, were able to find the necklaces we hid.

“With that, Sweetie Belle found a spell that could most likely be repurposed into a sort of... magnet for you ponies. We could hide the Elements wherever we wanted and as hard as we wanted, put this spell at the entrance, and as long as the bearer of that particular artifact was near, you would almost be forced into the cave.”

Twilight perked up, “That's an amazing idea!”

“Indeed. However, while on paper the spell was flawless,” Spike winced slightly, “the first field test was... interesting...”

Spike sat next to Scootaloo on a fallen tree, both him and the orange mare furiously blushing in embarrassment. The dragon wasn't sure what to say about what had just happened, except that it was easily the weirdest thing that had happened to him in his entire life. If it wasn't for the fact that the mare next to him remembered the same incident as well, judging by the completely beet red face of the pegasus next to him, he might have passed it off as some sort of illusion or implanted memory.

No, this was the real deal.

“I said I was sorry!” Sweetie Belle squeaked. Quickly, the mare pulled an open book in front of her face, quickly reading the script inside, “When I tried to hit the rock, I didn't imagine that changing the focus, range, intensity, and duration of the spell would make the targeting weird!”

Shakily, Spike nodded his head, “Okay...”

Scootaloo nodded as well, “Right...”

“Instead of being all mopey and stuff, you should be thanking me really.” the curly maned mare forced a smile. When neither Spike nor Scootaloo replied with more than more stares at the ground, Sweetie's smile faltered a little, “At least I reversed it when I did... right?”

His blush even deeper, Spike scratched the nubs on his back, the spots where his wings were starting to punch through. “Yeah... that's...” the purple dragon fidgeted slightly, “... that's... yeah.”

Scootaloo brought one of her outstretched wings to her side, and with a single hoof, began trying to fix her feathers. As soon as she made contact with the feathers though, she shuddered, and pulled her hoof back to her lap, “Did you... you know... at least figure out what you needed... because... I’m not doing that again.”

“I think so,” Sweetie Belle thought to herself. Immediately, she went from a near frantic concern for her friends to a more academic pondering, “With what information I was able to gather, which was a lot considering the situation, I think I know what I need to do to adjust the targeting parameters. Maybe if I were to interweave it with a Farsight spell, I can counteract the chaotic nature of the spell.”

Spike nodded,“Sounds like a good idea...”

“Of course, if I do that, I might have to augment the power, though considering how powerful the Want it Need it spell already is, I don't think I'll need to make it that much more powerful, especially after what we saw it did to you two...” Sweetie Belle pointed a hoof at the heavily blushing pair sitting on the log before her.

Spike peeked at Scootaloo for a moment, before quickly averting his eyes again, “Yeah... sounds like that makes... sense...”

Scootaloo nodded, “Yeah...”

For a time, the three stayed where they were, caught in the center of a maelstrom of awkwardness. Sweetie Belle had an awkward smile on her face, as though if she held the smile for long enough, it would result in a complete change in the mood around them. As the snow white mare stood before the two, Spike could just feel the orange mare to his right fidgeting at the most uncomfortable thought processes. He knew that from the way that she would, ever so often, peek at him when she thought he wasn't looking. Furthermore, she, for the fifth time since Sweetie Belle broke the spell, reached for one of her outstretched wings to try and fix the rustled feathers, only to pull her hooves away at the slightest touch.

As for the little dragon, he was in a very similar situation as Scootaloo, at least in mood. He looked down at the log next to him, and with a single sharp finger, started to carve a senseless doodle on the slightly rotting tree. Several times, his mind was drawn to what happened just a few minutes ago, but every time, he changed the design in a way so that he had to think about it yet again. Even while his mind was taken off of that... mortifying memory, he couldn't help but to be completely aware of the two lumps on his back that seemed to itch more and more every second.

“So yeah, I just wanted to let you two know one thing,” Sweetie Belle's voice cut through, a devious tone in it. Spike looked up slightly, and saw a sly grin on the mare's face, “You two making out like that? Cutest thing ever!”

Instantly, both Spike and Scootaloo looked up, furiously red faces fully restored on each of them as they shouted together, “Shut up!!”

Sweetie's grin never left her face, “Although, I do have to admit that my favorite part was when Spike started to run his claws through your wings. The noises you made Scoots were totally hot.”

“Shut up!!”

“And it was soooo adorable when you tried to do the same to Spike, but he didn't have any wings, I just wanted to squeal!”

“SHUT UP!!!!”

“Seriously, it's a match made in heaven!” Sweetie's voice squeaked slightly like it did when she was younger. An even larger grin formed on the torturer's face, “I can't wait to tell AB all about it.”

“IF YOU TELL APPLE BLOOM, I'LL KILL YOU!!!!” Scootaloo yelled, wings flared now in agitation and fury.

“Tell me wha'?”

“GAH!!” Both Scootaloo and Spike turned quickly to look behind them, only to both lose their balance on the log, and tumble to the ground in heap together. As Sweetie Belle howled in laughter above them, the two tangled up friends looked into each others eyes, blushed furiously once more, and quickly, albeit clumsily, got to their feet. The two looked at the red maned mare in front of them, the mare showing her incredible confusion by way of a tilted head and a furrowed brow.

A few seconds later, Apple Bloom closed her eyes, and shook her head, “Ya'll ponies are crazy. Here ah thought Spike was tha only sane one here other than me, but Ah guess Ah'm wrong on tha'.”

“Aw, don't mind them, AB,” Sweetie Belle cheerfully trotted up to the completely confused mare, and with a singing laugh, placed a foreleg around her shoulders. “So, did you find anyplace that looks nice?”

The yellow mare's former confused face quickly changed to a much happier one, “Eeyup! There's this nice cave with a gian' hole in tha ceiling. It's absolutely perfect!”

“Great! Then lead the way!”

As the two mares began to trot away, Apple Bloom's voice cut through, “So Sweetie, did ya figure out tha' spell?”

Spike swore she saw pure evil in the white mare's eyes as she peeked at him and the pegasus standing way too close next to him, “Oh yes. Definitely.”

Very soon after, the two mares in front of them walked off, leaving the mortified pair alone. The two looked at each other at the same time, met eyes, and quickly turned away with an even heavier blush. Slowly, Spike began to make his way towards the direction that his other two companions, and began debating how to get revenge on that accursed unicorn. Of course, that thought process was cut off by a question that was hounding the dragon for a while now.

“So... umm... Scootaloo?” When Spike didn't receive an answer, he whispered a little louder, “Scoots?”

“Y... yeah Spike?” a trembling voice replied.

The little dragon took a deep breath to calm his nerves, before he closed his eyes shut, and spoke, “Umm... I was curious if... well... was my kiss... I... well... my kiss was... you know... good?”

A sudden shouting startled the lavender dragon, “What!? No! Ew! Just... No! Don't even! Blegh!!”

“Phhhahahaha!!” Rainbow rolled onto her back, her forelegs holding onto her ribs as she rolled around the floor next to the cushion. “Was I good!? Oh that's... that's too rich! ”

“Ra... Rainbow,” Fluttershy attempted to chastise the mare, only to fail at containing a laugh or two of her own against a muffling forehoof.

Spike rolled his eye, “Yes yes, laugh it up. It's not like that blasted unicorn didn't at every chance she could. I still don't know how AB didn't find out. Of course, at least now I know I’m awesome at kissing. I may die content now.”

However, the dragon's words fell on deaf ears as Applejack and Pinkie, winking at each other, began singing, “Spike and Scootaloo, sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

“Oh, for the love of Discord no!” Spike coughed as he waved a claw frantically in the air. “Please, those girls were like sisters to me! Just the thought of that... incident, let alone anything further...” Spike stuck his forked tongue out of his mouth as he made a 'blegh' sound.

“Come on girls,” Rarity said in the most elegant voice possible, “let us not focus too much on accidental incidents in his... his...” the alabaster mare lowered her head, and giggled into a forehoof, “oh Celestia, I almost got through all of that without laughing.”

“Anyways!” Twilight tapped a hoof on a particularly large gemstone. “As much as I want to hear about his... romantic adventures, I think there are important matters to talk about.”

Spike nodded his head, “Right! So let's be done with this subject, forever.”

It was a few seconds before all of the other mares, save Twilight, were able to settle down enough so that a proper decorum could be restored in the room. Granted it was partially Rarity that caused such a ruckus, but the opportunity to take a small jab at Spike, even if it was something so juvenile, brought back memories that, while so fresh, were actually centuries past. Just seeing the dragon she was leaning on squirm at their teasing brought a sense of calm and normality to the mares. Rarity especially appreciated the comforting teasing, the jests being her way of bringing the two closer after so many divides had been erected between all of them.

The alabaster mare leaned her head back against the dragon's side: closer emotionally at least.

“Ah gotta ask,” Applejack spoke up, the first of the mares to pull herself together enough to form a proper thought and speak it. “Ya were hidin' Pinkie's element righ' there, righ'?”

Spike nodded, “Very astute, Honesty. Yes, we were hiding the Element of Laughter.”

“Tha's wha' Ah though', but when we got there, the door tha' was on the ground was wrong. Pinkie's cutie mark was tha wrong colors, an' the design wasn't righ'.”

Spike, from his laying position, shrugged the best he could, “It had been a long time, and while I knew Laughter a little bit, the other girls weren't especially close to her. Furthermore... well... I'll just come out and say it: we forgot exactly what it looked like... no offense Laughter.”

“Psh,” Pinkie rolled her eyes, “I sometimes forget what it looks like myself!”

“Umm... Mr. Sarlaka,” Fluttershy whispered, ducking her head down.

The large dragon lowered his head until it rested on the ground, and did his best to smile, “Yes little one?”

Rainbow placed a comforting hoof on the yellow mare's back, and with a sigh, asked her question, “I was just wondering, if you don't mind, why you put my Element with a basilisk?”

“A very good question, to which I do not have a very good answer. Short answer? We didn't mean to. There wasn't a basilisk there when we got there, so my best guess is that sometime before, or shortly after, we planted the Element at that mesa, a clutch of basilisk eggs was laid, and from there, the beast you were forced to fight a few days ago was born.”

“I see.” Fluttershy smiled, “Thank you.”

Applejack tapped the ground, “An' wha' 'bout tha timberwolves?”

Spike shrugged, “Must have moved in sometime between the door collapsing and you getting there.”

Pinkie raised a forehoof, “Ooh! Ooh! What about the weird puzzle thingy!? And the big mean metal monster diamond dog steam thing?”

“Slow down Laughter, one question at a time,” the purple dragon chuckled. Slowly, he began using a claw to pet both Twilight and Rarity, alternating between the two mares every few strokes, “Both of those were AB's design. That mare was a genius when it came to building things.”

The alabaster mare tapped the dragon's side, “And what about that dreadful ursa major?”

Spike sighed and rolled his eye for what must have been the hundredth time, “That was all Scoots' and Sweetie's doing.”

All of the mares just blinked that response. It was hard to judge which mare was the most stunned at the strange revelation. Even Pinkie Pie, a mare that tended to live on the wild and spontaneous side, had her mouth slightly agape at that response. Several times, Rarity tried to figure out how to voice her confusion, but every single time she thought she figured out a way, those seven words the dragon said would come back to her mind, rattle her brain around, and leave her stunned every time.

Finally, the yellow pegasus, leaning on an equally confused cyan pegasus, squeaked, “Wha?”

“Hmm,” Spike hummed, “of all of the ponies that would come to her senses first, I’m surprised it was you. I would've bet on Laughter over there, but I guess I was wrong. Just goes to show that you should never bet bits on anything that you aren't completely certain of. Anyways, I’m getting off track.”

The massive dragon cleared his throat, “It was another four years until we found a suitable position to hide another element. Of course, this would be the very first element that was of a pony that was incredibly dear to us... err... no offense Laughter and Kindness. Anyways, Sweetie Belle volunteered to give her's up and hide Generosity's element, said that it was fitting to willingly give up the Element of Generosity. At first, Sweetie had planned on a simple few traps like the last cave, but Scootaloo and Apple Bloom really wanted to go nuts. While AB began to set up the craziest trap-puzzle I have ever seen, Scoots wanted to do something... well... original...”

“This... is a bad idea.”

“Come on Spike! You say that about every idea I have!”

The dragon sighed as he walked down the path with the three other ponies. Once again voicing his reservations, his voice slightly cracked as he spoke, “No Scootaloo, I don't. When you decided to try and make a snowball out of powdered sugar, I said it wouldn't work, but go for it. When you wanted to try and surf on top of a river serpent, I said you better be careful, but go for it. When you insisted to try and teach me to fly with these two wings that aren't even the size of my hands, I said you better be there for when I fail, but let's go for it. No, those ideas might have been flawed, but this... this is a very bad idea.”

“No way! This is better than a bad idea. This is the best idea I've ever had!”

“I concur!” Sweetie Belle skipped alongside her three friends, her horn brightly shimmering with a pale blue aura as she levitated the object behind her.

Spike looked at the white mare, “Umm... with what point?”

“That this is a good idea of course!” Sweetie Belle beamed.

Spike turned towards Apple Bloom, who was eying the creature behind them carefully as she walked, “AB. Please help me talk some sense into these two fillies!”

Apple Bloom looked back towards Spike, then back at the creature, then at Spike, then at the creature one final time, before she sighed, “Spike, Ah gotta agree with Scoots and Sweetie.”

“What!?”

“Ah know Ah know, but jus' look at him!” Apple Bloom pointed at the ursa minor that was tailing the four, the normally ferocious creature slowly and happily walked along the path as the ponies and dragon walked in front of it. In any normal day with normal circumstances, the ursa would've taken a swipe at the group long ago, doing its very best to snuff out the four's collective existence. However, there was one difference in the situation that changed the entire nature of the encounter, turning the monstrous creature into the most docile of pets.

Sweetie Belle hopped a few times in excitement, “I still can't believe that all it took was some good ol' extra cheesy mac and cheese to get this guy to be so sweet!”

“Ah told ya tha' Granny Smith's ol' fashion cookin' would do tha trick!” The yellow earth pony giggled, “And here Spike though' tha' we were all crazy.”

Scootaloo did a quick flip in the air, “We should name him! How about... Midnight Thunder?”

“You three are crazy.” Spike rubbed the bridge of his snout as he spoke, the stresses of the day getting to him, “How about we get to the cave as soon as we can. From there, we can figure out about feeding him, naming him, and anything else then.”

The yellow mare did a single skip, “Ah'm sure Ah can think of somethin' for the feedin'!”

“Apple Bloom, you are a mad genius,” Scootaloo bumped her with her hip in excitement.

Spike was silent for a few minutes as he listened to the two mares jabber on about all these outrageous plans for that monster. Some were actually good plans, like making a slight scent of macaroni and cheese in the chamber so that it would see the cave as its home, while some... weren't as amazing. The dragon shook his head at the thought of trying to get that ursa minor to hang glide, let alone getting two dozen together to form the “Ursabolts.”

That last idea was Scootaloo's.

The purple dragon hung back slightly to get closer to where Sweetie Belle was. Softly, he whispered, “Hey, Sweetie Belle.”

“Yeah, Spike?”

“I'm just making sure that you know what you're doing. I know you have a Friend-Foe spell ready for when we get this guy in place, but this still seems... risky.”

Sweetie Belle, giggled, and shook her head, “Oh Spike, you worry too much! Of course the original spell wouldn't last that long, but Twilight made some notes and equations on how to augment the duration. It's not going to be a fun spell to cast, let me tell you, but I know I can do it!”

Spike sighed, “Sweetie, I know your plan, and looked at your notes. I don't think it's a good idea.”

The alabaster mare's previously happy-go-lucky demeanor changed instantly to a much more serious one. Her skip turning to a normal walk, the mare slowly took a deep breath, held it, and then released it, “Spike... I could say so many things about how you were going though my things, but I’m going to let that one go. That said, you saw yourself how meticulous I was with the calculations for spell's preparation. I thought of everything.”

“No, you didn't.” the dragon shook his scaled head. Turning his head fully towards Sweetie Belle, he looked right into her eyes, “You are assuming you are as powerful as Twilight was.”

She stopped walking, “... What?”

Spike stopped as well, “Sweetie, you are a powerful unicorn, the best, but Twilight was the freaking Element of Magic. For Luna's sake, her cutie mark was magic! No matter how powerful you become, I don't think you could ever match her power. You have to-”

Sweetie Belle held up a hoof to silence the dragon. On her face, a scowl was forming as the dragon's words entered her ears. A few moments later, her face as hard as diamond, she glared at Spike, “Two things. First, this is my sister's Element we are hiding. Not your sister's, mine. I will do what I please with that Element, and you sure as Tartarus won't stop me. Second, there is no way you can compare me to Twilight. Sure, Twilight was the Element of Magic, but we have no idea what my cutie mark was supposed to be. Maybe it's supposed to be magic as well! Besides, I think you would be surprised at how much power I actually have.

“So Spike,” The alabaster mare snorted a puff of air in anger, “While I love you more than anypony else, will you do both of us a favor, and shut the everliving buck up.”

Stunned, the dragon slowly nodded, and watched as the formerly cheerful pony trotted away in a fit of anger, the mare trying to catch up with her friends. The dragon wasn't sure what he was planning on doing while just standing there, but the sudden rumbling of heavy footsteps behind him made him quite aware of the creature they were practically towing behind them. With a heavy sigh, Spike got on all four limbs, and began to trot forward as well, the dragon making sure he caught up with his friends as quickly as possible.

“Obviously,” Spike shook his head and sighed, “and unfortunately, I was right, and the spell didn't last long enough. Don't get me wrong, I imagine that with how much power that blasted mare put into that spell, the Friend-Foe spell lasted a solid thousand years, and if you mares, or any other bearers if you were all dead, actually came to the cave within a reasonable time-frame, it would've been satisfactory. However, none of us expected it to be fifteen hundred years until you all decided to show up.”

“But... but why?” Rarity looked up at the dragon's emerald eyes, “I'm sure Scootaloo would try something as crazy that, but why would Sweetie risk doing that?”

“Because, little one,” Spike closed his eye, and took a deep breath, “it was the last and only thing she had left of you. While she was willing, if reluctant, to give it away, she wanted to make sure no enemies of ours came and simply took it.”

“That's... mighty noble of her,” Applejack nodded.

Spike opened his eye and nodded in kind, “Indeed. Foolish maybe, but noble nonetheless.”

“So you hid Fluttershy's element in the mesa,” Twilight closed her eyes in thought, “Pinkie's in that mountain cave, and Rarity's in the Everfree Forest cave. Which element did you hide next?”

The massive dragon stopped his backstrokes against both her and Rarity, and with a heavy breath, closed his eye. A few seconds later, he softly spoke, “It was eighteen years after we first left Ponyville. We were traveling through the White Tail Woods on our way to the coast. Scootaloo had this crazy idea that she wanted to hide Loyalty's Element in one of those high up cliff side caves she knew existed in that area. That mare had this crazy complex of traps and monsters and false doors that only the 'greatest and most awesome pegasus ever' could hope to navigate, never mind that we weren't sure if the new Loyalty would have been a pegasus or not.

“However,” Spike hung his head slightly, “there were... complications...”

The three ponies and one dragon were galloping through the forest under the hot afternoon sun, the sounds of shouting and yelling piercing the foliage behind them. Branches of trees and fronds of ferns blocked their path at every turn, and every time they came across another area that was a little too thick for them, the ponies would find their bodies a little more cut up than before. Even Spike, his scales starting to harden slightly more than they were when he was a child, felt a dozen cuts and scratches across his face as he ran on all fours, his short and only partially useful wings flapping as he ran.

“How did they find us!?” Sweetie Belle used her magic to throw up a few walls of vines and branches behind them.

Scootaloo took to the sky slightly, making sure to stay as close to the ground as she could, and flew over a particularly dense cluster of plantlife, “Maybe Luna's enchantment wore off, maybe that damned innkeeper five days ago sold us out, or maybe these freaks were just lucky today. Either way, I’m not staying to find out which.”

Gasping for breath, the dragon bashed his way through the wall of plants in front of them, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom following the path that he was clearing for them. His ears twitched, and he suddenly stopped, the sounds of hollering and laughing emanating from in front of their path as well now.

Spike's heart began to race faster: they were trapped.

It was obvious that at least the yellow pony heard as well, “They've got us trapped!”

“Then we'll just have to fight them off.” Scootaloo smirked as she lowered herself next to the white unicorn, “Been a while since we've been in a proper fight.”

Sweetie Belle merely nudged Scootaloo's side with her own, “Bet you I can get more than you.”

“One who has the least cooks for the next month?”

“Your on.”

Immediately, the pair tore through the brush in front of them, Scootaloo quickly taking to the skies while Sweetie Belle ran, a massive series of spells being cast on both her and the other two ponies as she did. Spike was able to identify them all, most pertaining to shields and perception, but a select few on Sweetie Belle herself the dragon knew would help her spell aim.

His thoughts were stopped as he felt himself pushed backwards, his body tumbling into a hole inside of a rotted out stump. As quickly as he could, he scrambled to his four feet, and saw Apple Bloom putting some sort of moss-like cover over the entrance. His eyes wide, he attempted to climb out of the crevice that he was placed into, only to have Apple Bloom forcefully shove him back again.

“AB,” Spike yelled, a small amount of tears forming in his eyes, “what are you doing!?”

The yellow earth pony never took her eyes off of her task, “I'm making sure that you don't get hurt, Spike.”

Spike took a few steps forward, so that he was nose to nose with the mare, “But I can help! I’m a dragon for Celestia's sake!”

With only a small amount of the hole left uncovered, Apple Bloom reached her head forward, and caught the dragon in an affectionate nuzzle, “Yes you are, Spike. You are a dragon, but you are still only a baby dragon, and I can't let something happen to you, so just stay here, alright?”

With hot tears streaming down his face, Spike pulled away slightly from the nuzzle, “No! I can fight. Please... let me fight...”

Apple Bloom shook her head, and with the sounds of yelling closer than ever, the mare leaned into the nuzzle again, “Just be quiet, and stay safe. We'll come and get you when we're done. I love you, Spike.”

Before the dragon could try and argue otherwise, the earth pony took one last patch of moss, and placed it over the last opening to the outside world. Soon after, as the sounds of yelling got closer yet, the patter of a set of hooves galloping away. The urge to call out to his friend again was strong, but the mare's final words filled his mind, and so as he backed away from the entrance, the dragon stayed silent. A minute later, the sounds of dozens of hooves galloping across his position filled his ears, his pursuers hot on his friends' trail. However, as much as he wanted to fight, he stayed where he was, and with a clamped mouth, heard the group run off into the distance.

All the while, a small and lonely dragon gripped his mother's tiara around his neck, and sobbed.

The room was deathly quiet for a full minute, the only sounds coming from the collective breathing of the various mares in the room, and the increasingly haggard breathing of the dragon in front of them. Spike had, at this point, lowered his head, and with the weight of the memories at the forefront of his mind, his former smile had turned into the deepest of frowns. Rarity was doing her best to try and comfort the titanic dragon, but considering what she was being told, salty tears were threatening to form in her own eyes.

In the corner of the room, the small yellow pegasus, the mare pressing herself deeply against her cyan counterpart, softly whispered, “So wha... what hap-”

“They never did find my hiding spot,” Spike interrupted. “It was many hours until I finally had the nerve to leave my hiding spot, the stupid coward I was. By then, night had fallen over the woods, and trying to find my sisters was next to impossible. Of course, when I finally did find one... well...”

“Scootaloo! Apple Bloom! Sweetie Belle! Anypony there!?”

The purple dragon wandered around the forest, calling out for any of his lost friends. The darkness of the crescent moon night made seeking for the mares that much more difficult. Fearful that foes from the afternoon before might hear his calls, he was yelling much softer than normal, the dragon almost certain that nopony could hear his yelling if they were close. Still, Spike hunted for his mares, and prayed.

Signs of a massive series of battles were everywhere that the dragon looked. Every few minutes, he would find a scorch mark on the ground, a few crossbow bolts lodged in a tree, or maybe even a dead body of a pony or griffin lying on the ground. Fortunately, so far, while he had found about a dozen bodies of his pursuers, there was no sign of his friends. The small dragon hopped over a log, and hoped that his fortune would be strong, and he would find his friends were fine, and were merely looking for each other, and that was why they hadn't come back for him.

Out of the corner of the dragon's eyes, he noticed a strangely white object which drew his attention. Instantly, his heart sank, for lying on the ground was the form of a white coated and purple maned unicorn. As fast as he could, he sprinted to her form, tears flowing heavily down his face as he neared her body. Marring her coat were the wounds of dozens of cuts and scorch marks, obviously signs of dozens of glancing blows done to her. However, the only thing that the dragon was concerned about was how the mare's neck was twisted in a very... unnatural way.

“Oh no no no. Sweetie Belle!?” Spike wailed, teardrops falling from his eyes as he skidded to a halt. He moved to nudge her, but stopped when he saw her neck again. Instead, he cried out again, “Sweetie!? Oh Celestia, Sweetie Belle!? Talk to me, please!”

By some perverse form of luck, a soft and haggard groan emanated from the white mare's throat. Spike ran in front of the mare's face so that she wouldn't have to try and turn her head, and slowly but surely, her eyes cracked open. Pupils wide, her eyes settled onto Spike, “Hey Spike... Apple Bloom told me she hid you. Did the bad guys find you?”

“No...no they didn't...”

Sweetie Belle coughed lightly, a few speckles of crimson liquid escaping her mouth, “That's good. That means... that they didn't get... your element...”

“No they didn't Sweetie.” Spike leaned his head close to the mare, and gently nuzzled her, “Where are the others? AB and Scoots? Do you know... what happened to them?”

Tears began spilling out of the mare's eyes, but her voice remained level, “I... I saw Scootaloo get hit with a few crossbow bolts... and fell hard into the forest somewhere. I haven't seen her since. As for AB...” Sweetie Belle stopped for a second, her voice catching in her throat, “... I don't know... but I don't think she's in any better condition.”

Sweetie let out a sad chuckle, “Kinda fitting though, considering that we've been together from the beginning, I'll be staying with them.”

“Don't say that. Just... don't.” Spike felt his own tears streaking down his scaled face, soaking the white mare's facial hair, “You're going to make it, you'll get better, and we'll just hide again. Everything will be alright, just hold on.”

“Spike,” the mare sadly, yet calmly spoke, “I can't feel anything below my neck. I think... I my neck is... well...”

Sweetie Belle closed her eyes, “You have to go on without me. Run, hide, fight, do whatever you need to to make sure that your Element is safe. They probably have Scoot's and AB's Elements, but we can't... we can't let them have any more. But most importantly, keep yourself safe. Yes, you'll be forced to fight, and yes you'll get hurt, but please keep yourself safe. Don't do anything stupid, alright Spike?”

Slowly Spike nodded his head, and pulling away a little bit, he looked into those bright green eyes, memories of their last encounter before this terrible nightmare started coming to mind, “Sweetie... I’m... I’m so sorry. If only I was bigger, stronger, older, maybe... maybe...”

“Shh...” Sweetie Belle smiled again, “You have nothing to be sorry about, and don't you dare blame yourself. Just... do me a favor?”

“... Anything...”

Sweetie Belle's tears flowed much harder now, but she somehow managed to keep her voice even, “Can you... can you stay with me for a little while longer? I... I don't want to alone... when it happens.”

Spike settled down so that his face was up against her's, and placed a comforting wing over her body, even if she couldn't feel it, “Of course... my dearest friend.”

For the longest time, the two lay there, snuggled up together in a final embrace. Painfully slow, Sweetie Belle's breathing became shorter and more strained, the mare fighting for every breath that she took. For every minute that past, Spike's heart crumbled that much more, his entire life shattering before his very eyes. Slowly, the life in the white mare faded away, until there was almost nothing left of her.

Shakily, a voice whispered, “Sp... Spike...”

Spike nearly lost it with how weak the voice was, “Yes Sweetie Belle?”

With her final moments, the mare closed her eyes, and smiled one last time, “You... would have been... the best... brother-in-law...”

Rarity's mind was blank. What had she just heard? All this time, she had assumed that Sweetie Belle had had a long and happy life after she was zapped into the furture. Now... now that image was completely shattered. That sentiment seemed to be shared by all of her friends as well, the rest of the ponies as still as statues at the violent and tragic ending of the dragon's early history. There weren't any words that could describe what the mare was feeling right now, but something close to absolute shame and guilt over not being there for her little sister was one of them, and she was sure Applejack was feeling the same way.

“I'm sorry,” Spike suddenly rose, nearly sending both Twilight and herself onto their sides. His voice cracking slightly, the dragon turned towards the back of the room, “I... I need to lay down for a while, or plan, or something. I’m... I’m sorry...”

And as fast as the dragon could, he sundered over to the back of the foyer, and with incredible swiftness opened the magically locked door on the right. Without even taking a final wayward look behind him, he slammed the door shut, and left the six mares silent in their own thoughts.

A/N: I'm partly sorry about the super long chapter. I couldn't find a single good place to cut it shorter, so here you go. Next chapter will be a while considering how long this one was, so blah.

Chapter 35: Dual Reassurances

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Twilight softly nudged a gemstone on top of one of the larger piles, the pure ruby slowly tumbling down the mounds of wealth as it gained speed. At several points, the fiery red stone bounced higher as it hit a particularly high bump in the dragon's hoard. Faster and faster the stone tumbled, until the speed it picked up was actually pretty decent. At the end of the pile the ruby continued to travel a little bit longer along the gemstone floor as it bled off speed, the ruby fighting to continue it's movement. Of course, the laws of physics could not be denied, and eventually, the ruby lost it's gyroscopic effects, and fell over, ceasing its movement. The lavender mare sighed, and eying a sapphire, nudged it too down the pile, and watched as it tumbled away from her.

It had been a boring day so far, and while she should have been grateful for a lull in the action, she couldn't help but to be saddened by the turn of events that caused all of it, especially considering what all of her friends were doing. The brightest shining light of their group was by far Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Those two had left the cave as friends, and apparently something in their journey had brought them together, and made their relationship... well... a relationship. Yes, Twilight was happy for them, and yes, it was wonderful news, but the fact that they spent the rest of the day before and today snuggling together in the bedroom was... well... she never thought that she would ever hear Rainbow call somepony her “snoopy poo.” It was sweet, but left a strange taste in the lavender mare's mouth that either made her want to smile, gag, or both.

Applejack was currently in and out of the pantry and dining rooms as she, as the farm mare put it, 'took stock of our inventory of supplies.' That was easily decoded as 'I don't wanna talk right now.' It made sense really. When Twilight found out that Spike had been 'killed' by Sarlaka, which felt like ages ago, she was completely devastated, and couldn't help but cry until the next morning. When Applejack found out that Apple Bloom had been killed, rather than living out her life in peace as they all assumed, it must have brought the same emotions to the forefront, and if this was the mare's way of coping, so be it.

As for Rarity, the mare... well... she had been doing what she could to busy herself in her own way. While Applejack was merely busying her mind with menial tasks, Rarity was doing her best to further reconnect with her magic, and possibly in the most violent way possible. The last time she saw the unicorn, she had taken her sword outside with her to work off some steam, and the sounds of grunting and yelling just outside the entrance had been heard ever since. Sure, in the end it would probably end up for the best, any recovery Rarity could attain would be spectacular, but the reasons behind the mare's drive were... less than stellar.

Twilight sighed as her thoughts went to the last of the mares of their little group. If there was one thing for certain about the mare, it was that Pinkie Pie was actively avoiding her. Sure, Twilight had seen the normally peppy mare on several occasions over the past few days, but those were mostly either forced conversations or all of them were together as a group. It wasn't lost on the unicorn as to the reason behind the shunning, and in reality, it pained her more than anything that she could easily just go up to the mare, and explain what had happened, and solve all of it with only a few words. However, every time she thought she had the courage, she chickened out.

The lavender mare stood, and looked towards the door that Spike had left through, he being the final member of their strange party. Ever since he told them how his early life came to pass, he had become a recluse in his room, shutting out the others' attempts to talk to him. So long ago those horrifying memories were created, and yet, he hurt just as if the events had happened just a day ago. For as powerful and mighty of a creature he was, he still had the most tender of hearts.

Slowly, Twilight found herself sliding down the mound of gems that she was standing on, and upon reaching the bottom, began to walk towards the door before her. She had no plan in place for what she was going to do when she got there, nor did she have an idea what she was going to say when she got in there, but she knew that she had to be in that room, and that was final. Twilight hoped that the words would come to her when they needed to, because she soon found herself grasping the door with her magic, and lightly pushing it open.

Looking into the room, it was somewhat sparsely decorated. The theme of a natural cave floor, albeit with a very glossy sheen, continued throughout, while various tapestries hung from the ceiling, adorning the walls with supposed tales of exploits long past. Dozens upon dozens of intricately made paintings lined the walls where the tapestries did not cover, the artwork on most showing only a slight bit of age. In addition to these, various gem encrusted golden vases lined the walls, giving a sparkle to the entire room.

However, it was the common theme that was the most remarkable of the points of interest. Every single piece of art, from the largest of the throw rugs to the smallest of the candlesticks, was adorned with elements of the three races of ponies. A candlestick would carry a pair of flared wings, the stick carved with the swirling spiral of a unicorn's horn, and the head of an earth pony molded onto the center. Meanwhile, the vases would carry each of the races facing each other, all of them touching hooves in the middle in an attempt to show unity. Even the tapestries carried this theme, for while the ones in the foyer and dining room bore the tales of battles long since past, these showed more peaceful and orderly times, such as the day Equestria was founded.

And in the center of all of these, was a grieving dragon, gazing off at a painting much like the one in the foyer, the only difference being the various colors showing the three familiar fillies was in much better condition.

Slowly, Twilight made her way closer to her dragon from so long ago. Considering how still he was, she was caught by surprise when his deep voice filled the room, “Why does it hurt?”

Catching her breath, she took a few steps closer, “What do you mean?”

There was a slight pause before his voice returned to him, his voice angry this time, “It's been so many centuries since they died. Why... why do I still blubber like a filly whenever I think about what happened!?”

By now, Twilight was right up against Spike's side, the numerous purple scales creating the most powerful armor nature could create. Yet, as she rounded his great form, every few hooves, she saw a damaged scale here, a scar there, as well as more recent stab wounds near his legs. Each wound was a memory; a tale of a time where he was forced, or at least decided to on his own accord, to turn to violence to solve his problems. Sure, many of these blemishes were caused by self inflicted acts of noble intentions, but those were not nearly as common.

She made her way to his front, and began to climb over one of his colossal forelegs. Every single inch of his foreleg was blemished in some way. In most cases, it was a minor scratch against the incredibly hardened scales. However, there were more than a few instances where she saw an area that had a lucky hit piece under a scale, a cut that went through a scale, or even an area where it appeared that an entire scale was removed from an incredible impact.

Finally, she found just the perfect place near the crook of his elbow to curl up into, and with a smile, began to snuggle up into it. It was as if the spot was made just for a pony her size, and it didn't take long for Twilight to get comfortable. Looking up, she looked deeply into his single eye, the other so violently ripped out by his own hand just the day before. It suited his face in some kind of perverse way, the eye patch matching the many cuts, gashes, and scars on his face.

Suddenly, the words came to her, “Because even though you've suffered so much hardship, so much pain, those three are the only wounds that have never truly healed. They're still open wounds, and it hurts every day because of it. Like you said, they were your sisters, and the cut of losing a loved one runs deeper than any other...”

Spike merely blinked at her, the large emerald eye meeting her amethyst ones. Slowly, he settled his head down, further cradling the mare, “You sound like a magazine.”

“Hey, it's true,” Twilight nudged him playfully. Giggling together, the two snuggled up closer, finding comfort with each other. It was still only late afternoon, but all the stress in the world was starting to get to the little mare, and she found her eyes fluttering closed. With a soft smile still on her face, Twilight softly whispered, “I love you, Spike.”

She felt his warm breath wash over her back, his face curled up against her, “I love you too... Twilight.”

Pinkie was bored.

Well, bored really wasn't the right word. Sure, she was bored, but that was more a final result of a series of events caused by a lot of conflicting feelings that she was feeling right now. She honestly just wanted to have some alone time, a strange thing for the mare, but obtaining such solitude was harder than she thought it would actually be. When she first tried to find a place to herself, her first choice was the bedroom that they were staying in, but Dashie and Fluttershy had pretty much taken over that room for themselves, and as much as she was happy for them, she really really really was, seeing the two together right now wasn't going to help with what she was feeling. Add in Applejackie traveling between the pantry and the dining room, and... Twilight in the foyer, that left one last option.

The boring old forge.

Sure, the forge was an interesting place at first, with all of the cool tools and equipment. She was sure that given the right inspiration and time, she could pull together a pretty amazing party. Scratch that, she could pull off the greatest party that this boring and brown world had seen in a dozen years, if not more! However, that required a certain amount of inspiration, creativity, and joy that she was severely lacking at the moment. So, instead of of turning the dozens of hammers into that cake she had been planning on making a few months ago, she merely sighed, and humored herself with stacking them end on end, until a tower literally reaching the ceiling was made, though the question on why Mr. Dragon Pants would have pony sized hammers wasn't lost on her.

Slowly, she got herself up on her hooves, and began walking. As much as she wanted to be alone, she needed to talk to somepony about all of the conflicting emotions going on inside her. It wasn't only the ones for a particular pony either, but all of the emotions brought on by that sad sad story that Mr. Dragon Pants told them yesterday. The worst part about it was that even after the huge explanation, she still had no idea what happened to either of her families, the Cakes or the Pies. Rainbow Dashie would know what to say. Sure Dashie knew Scootalooie pretty well, but compared to Rarity and Applejackie, she was the only one right now that she felt comfortable talking to. Well... she could talk to...

Oh... right... Dashie was with Shy-Shy still.

By now, she had made her way to the entryway, where the flickering chandeliers brightened the room by many magnitudes more than the forge. Thankfully, Twi-Twi wasn't in the room; not that Pinkie didn't want to see Twi-Twi's face, but she wasn't sure if she could, well, FACE her. Granted it didn't matter really, since Dashie was preoccupied with her special somepony, there was reason to not go back into the forge and spend the rest of her long and lonely day wallowing in her thoughts.

And that was exactly what she was about to do, when she heard a grunting through the tunnel leading to the snowy ledge outside. At first, the pink mare didn't think anything of it, and fully intended, yet again, to make her way back into her solitude, but something propelled her legs forward. She wasn't sure what it was; maybe it was the thoughts of companionship, maybe it was the thought of being there for at least one of her friends, or maybe it was just because she wanted to find some way to further forge their relationship, but she continued anyways.

Despite all of the sour emotions, Pinkie giggled: she left the forge to forge a friendship.

So down the tunnel she went. It was funny really, she had passed through this tunnel so many times, and she assumed that it had been passed through by countless other ponies, but the lack of decoration in it was in stark contrast with the rest of Mister Dragon Pants' house. The foyer was heavily decorated with tapestries, the walls and columns having a glassy finish, and the various gems in the center providing a very shiny complement to the chandeliers above. However, this tunnel was nothing but natural earth and stone, the stark browns of the natural rocks creating a uniform blend of earthy colors. It could use some... pink.

First chance she had some significant down time, she was going to change that.

Walking past the initial bend in the tunnel, she saw the alabaster unicorn in front of her, the mare's artificial horn shining in a light blue tint through a fog that had enveloped the mountain. All around Rarity, several dozen diamonds, most around the size of Pinkie's ears, swirled, several shooting from place to place as the mare continued to force the stones to do her bidding. At the center of it all, the powerful mare levitated her sword, the weapon surprisingly not having any sort of magical aura around it, and with powerful discharges of magic, Rarity swung the weapon through the air. Each time, her horn would ignite brighter, and with a strained grunt, Rarity would unleash her magic.

Pinkie was outside now, and with a muffled sigh, gently placed her flank on the cold snow, and watched the elegant unicorn, in quite the literal sense, work her magic. It was a breathtaking scene: Rarity's completely white coat matching the snowy mountain ledge perfectly, and add in the fact that the heavy mist that was all around them, and the blue magical aura was that much more pronounced. It was only her mane, tail, and cutie mark that stood out in the endless field of white, making the graceful unicorn pop that much more. The only other object around that stood out, other than Pinkie herself, was the cold gray of the steal sword...

That was heading straight for her face.

Time slowed as the deadly device headed straight for her, a muffled gasp from Rarity entering the pink mare's ears. Slowly, too slowly for her liking, she slumped herself back, and bent her head backwards in the most uncomfortable fashion. The blade was too close and too fast for her to dodge it in time, but as her chin pointed skyward, she knew she had to try. Finally, the mare slipped on the snow, and with her body completely surrendered to gravity, she dropped that much faster. Just a few widths of a hair away, the sharp edge of the weapon passed across her chin, the blunted edge lightly slapping against her. Finally, Pinkie's head slammed onto the powdery snow behind her, her chest quickly rising and falling in fear as a few wisps of dark pink hair of her mane floated down onto her face.

Gasping for breath, she heard Rarity galloping towards her, “Pinkie! Are you alright!?”

Pinkie didn't answer, the mare too busy replaying that last second of her life in her mind again and again, and how close that sword came to her. It was only when the cold wet snow began to soak through her back that she finally let out the lightest and most nervous giggle, “Heh... that was almost a big whoopsie...”

As Pinkie rolled herself onto her side, Rarity walked closer, and assisted her, “Indeed it was, darling. My sincere apologies. I should have been more careful of my surroundings.”

Taking a deep breath, she got back her nerve, “No problemo! I was just coming to ask if I could... um... watch.”

With a second thought, Rarity smiled back, “Why, of course, Pinkie. I would love the company.”

The two smiled at each other, and as the pink mare settled herself better onto her side, she watched as her friend took a few steps back, gathered her gems and bladed weapon back into her magical grasp, and began anew. Just as before, her movements were as fluid as the river that once flowed through Ponyville, her steps as graceful as the best Equestrian dancers. With every swing, the unicorn put her entire being into the exertion, the deadly blade that threatened her just before slicing through the air with nary a resistance. Every so often, Rarity would do a quick few skips to the side and swung to her opposite side, as if fighting multiple foes. All the while, the gems around her either shot through the air at invisible targets, or acted as shields against imaginary attacks.

To any outsider to their tight group, her moves would've been flawless, but Pinkie knew something was throwing the mare off. Every so often, there was a hesitation in her swing, a slight step out of time, or a gem that didn't quite spin right. If pointed out to said outsider, that pony would most likely attribute it to a simple mistake in her execution, and tell the white mare to work on those steps. Pinkie knew better. Pinkie knew that there was something bothering Rarity, something clouding her thoughts from the drill in motion, and it was these thoughts that needed to be addressed.

“Hey Rarity?” Pinkie spoke, her voice a lot quieter than she expected, “is something wrong?”

Rarity stopped, the gems and sword in her grasp simply standing idle in the air. After a sigh, the mare shook her head, “Nothing. I’m alright.”

Pinkie cocked her head, “You sure? You don't seem alright. You look like you got a somethin' somethin' in your head that's bothering you.”

“I'm perfectly alright, I assure you,” the mare spoke, never facing Pinkie.

The pink pony looked for a few more seconds at Rarity, before she lowered her gaze and began to stand, “Okie dokie lokie. If you say a nothin' nothin' is on your mind, then nothin' nothin' is on your mind. Just know that if you have a somethin' somethin' you wanna tell your Auntie Pinkie, then I’m willing to tell you all about how you're silly for thinking it, even if you are older than-”

“Why did he say that?”

Pinkie looked back up, and saw that Rarity was looking straight at her, the previously levitated items now scattered across the cliff-side, dropped from the air without a thought. Despite the harsh tone of voice she carried, there were no tears in the unicorn's eyes, though her eyes bore the look of desperation, begging Pinkie to give her an answer. Slowly, the earth pony took a single step back, “Who said what?”

In an instant, Rarity's hostile demeanor was curbed, and the alabaster unicorn took a step back, and lowered her gaze, “Why did he... why did Spike say Sweetie's last words... the 'you would have been the best brother-in-law'? I know he had a little crush with me when he was younger, but... I mean... why?”

The pink pony aggressively shook the remaining snow off her her vibrant fur, the chilled powder flying to each side. Once that pesky task was completed, the mare walked up to the white mare in front of her, and with the smallest, yet most genuine smile she could form, placed a forehoof on Rarity's shoulder, “That's an easy peasy one, Rarity. Even I know the answer to that, and so do you.”

Rarity thought to herself for a moment, and let out a gentle smile, “I... I see...”

The pink mare giggled slightly, hoping that the happiness was contagious, “And seeing is believing, right?”

The alabaster mare blinked for a few moments before Pinkie's giggle had it's desired effect. Softly, a light laugh escaped Rarity's own mouth, “I have no idea what you mean by that, darling, but if you say so.”

“I do say so! That's why we have to stay upbeat and happy!” the pink mare smiled. With that, Pinkie began to make her way back into the warmth of the cave, leaving behind both the snowy ledge, and the snow colored mare behind-

“Also, I do have to say,” Rarity interrupted her thoughts, the mood from the unicorn shifting much more positive from the much more pleasant conversation, “while I do find the blossoming relationship between dear Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash simply adorable, I think the little thing you have for a particular unicorn takes the cake, so to speak, when it comes to opposites attracting.”

As fast as a bolt of lightning, Pinkie turned her head back towards Rarity, her blue eyes wide with shock, “Wha... what do you mean? I don't know-”

“Oh don't be a fibber Pinkie Pie.” Rarity had a smile on her face as she gently teased the pony in front of her, “I see the way you walk around Twilight, the way you sneak a peek at the mare when you think she's not looking, how you tend to mellow just slightly when she's around, and how you seem... envious of what our two pegasi friends have together. Why, it might as well be written all over your face.”

“... my face?”

“Indeed! Oh, look at all the wonderful things that are blossoming in our little group of friends. First, Fluttershy and Rainbow. Then, you and Twilight, then... well...” Rarity giggled to herself, “I guess Applejack and I are going to have to break that little string of couples getting together, but it's simply wonderful! So... when are you going to tell her?

With those last words, Pinkie's face fell even further, the thoughts of the events in the dining room a few days ago entering her mind. Slowly, she closed her eyes, “I... she said no.”

The soft crunching of snow signaled her friends approaching presence, “She said no?”

Pinkie turned her head away, “Well... no, but she might as well have. She was so scared when I told her, I thought she was going to shake out of her own skin.”

There was a moment of silence, before Pinkie felt the gentle touch of an icy cold hoof on her shoulder. Looking up, she gazed into the deep azure eyes of her magical friend, a much more reassuring smile now on the mare's face, “Pinkie, darling, if she didn't say no, then she didn't say no.”

To that, Pinkie scrunched up her face, “Whatcha mean?”

“I know you aren't that experienced in love dear, but if there's one thing I know I’m good at, it's that.” Rarity pulled alongside Pinkie, and nudged her flank with her own, “There could be so many reasons she could have been scared. For starters, imagine starting a relationship in a world like this! I for one couldn't imagine doing it myself. Sure, Fluttershy and Rainbow were able to get past it, but think about how hard it would be, especially with what we are trying to do! So don't think that it is impossible.”

Pinkie looked at the pony to her left, “So... what should I do?”

“Well first,” Rarity smiled even more, “don't give up hope on her. She's a little bit of a scardy pony, as you would put it, but she has a good heart. And second, give her some time. Maybe after all of this has blown over, ask her again.”

Smiling now, the pink pony replied, “You think that'll work?”

“Darling, I'm sure of it.”

A/N: I can't think of anything clever here... so... um... yay?

Chapter 36: Rise of a Titan

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Slowly, her wondrous dreams began to recede back into the void, the vivid imagery fading into the furthest recesses of her subconscious mind. Shifting her body slightly, she desperately tried to keep the dream going, doing her best to prevent her awakening. As Twilight began to stir more and more, she did whatever she could, from continuing the story with her own thoughts to trying to imagine that she was actually still asleep, to force the dream's continuation. Alas, all of her attempts failed, and she was thrown out of the land where everypony was a book filled with an average of five syllable words, to the world where everypony was subjected to Discord's rule.

A small frown formed on her face for just a moment from the lack of, literally, living tomes, but the frown was quickly shifted as soon as she realized where she was: Spike's forelegs. The scaled appendages that protectively covered her changed her downcast look into a much more upbeat smile, and with a sigh, she snuggled into the embrace a little more. While she knew she had fallen asleep almost as soon as she initially snuggled into her little crook yesterday afternoon, Twilight wasn't sure what he had done during that entire period. Of course, between the two most likely options, Spike either falling asleep with her or staying awake to guard her through the night, she wasn't sure which would've been more sweet. Either way, both possibilities warmed her heart in a way that she hadn't felt since she first came to this wretched world.

“I see you find it comfortable there,” A deep and rumbling voice chuckled from above her.

Twilight poked his foreleg slightly, never opening her eyes, “Oh hush you. It's nice and warm here.”

“I'll remember that the next time you try and tell me I'm a cold-hearted monster.”

“Oh, I never said anything about your heart,” Twilight finally looked up, locking her eyes on his. “I just said that you have a warm foreleg.”

Spike smiled even wider, “Hmm... I guess you speak the truth. In that case, I'll keep THAT in mind the next time you ask me to do you a favor.”

“I'm sure you will,” the lavender mare giggled, breaking her gaze as she snuggled up a little deeper into the crook of his elbow. Blissful thoughts ran rampant through Twilight's mind; images of her and her dragon tending to the library again, just like old times, began to blanket her mind. Granted that in her head, the inside of the library she tended to was much, much, much larger than her little tree home could ever dream of becoming, but the idea was there nonetheless. The thoughts of her tending over the library, instructing her little... err... very large number one assistant to aid her with organizing the near infinite books in the structure brought an even larger smile to her face. The huge number of books would have a variety of subjects. ranging from magic, art, history, engineering, Equestrian family trees, Zebra horticulture, Griffin mili...

Twilight's smile was instantly erased at the thought, her lips turning down the moment she thought of the feathered race, and the significant information she overheard regarding their fate by Spike's will. Even though she heard it from Spike's own mouth just a few days ago, she couldn't believe that he would do such a thing to anypony... or anygriffin in this case. Still, facts were facts, and if he was doing this sort of thing, that meant... meant... she didn't know what it meant, but it wasn't good! But... why would he do such a thing?

“Spike...” Twilight whispered, her voice a little quieter than even she was expecting.

She felt the dragon around her shift his weight a little, “Hmm? Yes?”

“Why did you...” the lavender stopped herself, unsure on how to ask the question. Allowing herself a few seconds to think, she restarted, “You never explained why you are doing all the terrible things to the griffins.”

There was an awkward pause, a pause formed from his inability to answer her question in any satisfactory way. Slowly, he sighed, “It is... a complicated and very unfortunate situation.”

Twilight rolled to her side, once again looking at Spike, “Try me.”

“If I... had refused to attack the griffins, effectively driving them to extinction, Discord would've suspected that I was against him, and had me... dealt with.”

The mare groaned, “He already DOES suspect you are against him! Even if that wasn't the case, that's not a good enough reason.”

Spike used his free claw to rub the bridge of his snout in slight frustration, “Of course he thinks I’m out to get him, but not any more than he thinks the next lord out there is. The whole situation is dumb I know, and it certainly isn't just, but I've told you before that I was not proud of what I have done or am doing. Everything I've done as Sarlaka was because of the plan that-”

“Yeah, well,” Twilight huffed, her agitation slowly growing, “your plan stinks.”

She wasn't sure why she was doing this, choosing right here, and right now, to start this kind of argument with him. Right when they had finally began to reconnect with each other after the long concealment and secrecy, she drops this sort of bomb on him. Seriously, was she intentionally trying to sabotage the relationship between her and her... what? Friend? Brother? Son? All three? She knew Spike had already admitted towards that third option, and she was well aware of the irony behind him thinking of her as that as he cradled her like a filly. Maybe that was the true reason behind the scolding, the fact that she considered him her so-

“It was not my plan.”

Twilight's thoughts came to a crashing halt as her mind refocused back onto the world around her. Curious, she cocked her head, “Not your what?”

“I said,” Spike sighed, “that none of this is, or has ever been, my plan.”

If anything, the lavender unicorn cocked her head even further, “So I did hear you right. What do you mean 'not your plan'?”

Spike looked off into the distance, “After my sisters... left me, I was alone for quite some time. I don't remember too many of the details of my solitude very well, a side effect of my decade long depression I guess, but what I do remember is after a fair amount of time, Luna found me again. When she heard that the Elements of Honesty and Loyalty were stolen, she was... well... for lack of a better word, furious. She demanded that I hand over yours as well, and fully intended on scolding me for losing those two.

“Heh, that emotion ended real quick as soon as she realized that my sisters had died protecting them.” Spike closed his eyes for moment, reliving the memory, “It was strange, being comforted by Princess Luna. She had always shown herself as a cold pony, or at least one that really didn't understand emotions in the slightest. That... wasn't entirely inaccurate, but wasn't accurate at the same time, for while she never tried to show her emotions outwardly, she felt them so much... so very much...

“Anyway, she had returned to inform me that she had not found the new bearers yet, but she was not giving up hope. Even if she had already used every single divination spell ever created to find them, obviously coming up empty-hoofed, she was going to physically search every corner of the globe in her hunt. She had no idea how long this would take, so she placed a few more enchantments on me, these being much longer lasting spells, and advised me to take your Element, leave Equestria forever, and never set foot near the former kingdom until she told me to.”

Twilight nodded, “Yes, you kinda explained that second part at the first dinner we had with you, or at least you did cryptically. You said she was looking for one hundred years? You... you wandered that long?”

“Of course not! You take me as some kind of grumpy hermit?” Spike chuckled to himself for a moment, before finally relaxing again, “After the first two years, I settled down, found a nice little cave, and finally began to make myself a nice hoard to call my own. I probably should have kept on the move, but I was tired... I just wanted to finally rest.”

Spike sighed, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. A few seconds later, he began anew, “But like you just said, a hundred years eventually passed, and by that point, Luna finally returned. I have to say, I think she was a little surprised when she saw how much I had grown. Sure, I wasn't nearly as big as I am now, but I don't think I would've been able to fit inside any normal pony's house by that point. That was when... well... when she told me that she had no idea what happened to the Elements of Harmony; the bearers I mean. Obviously something strange had happened, and we theorized many different scenarios, and actually, the idea of time travel came to mind at some point. However, with no evidence towards one theory or another, and no way to prove or disprove any of our theories, we could only guess.

“So she decided to completely abandon the idea of using the Elements,” Spike sighed. “Instead, she decided to come up with a much more... long term plan. Princess Luna had been forming a resistance group throughout her travels, and while this movement had barely numbered one hundred at that time of our discussions, it was slowly growing every day. She planned on utilizing this as a tool against Discord, but it was obviously much too small, and even if it was large, a simple horde of typical ponies would never be enough.”

Twilight frowned, “Let me guess: that's where you came in.”

The large dragon nodded his head, “Indeed. Luna told me that I should infiltrate Discord's organization, and make sure that I got on his good side, move up the ranks if you will, and make sure that I was his favored commander. After that, I was to make sure that I did everything with the power of my position to aid her in her in her attempts to destroy Discord once and for all.”

“That's... a pretty risky idea,” Twilight began to rub the royal purple scales, each scale showing their wear from both violence and time. They were so thick and strong, she wasn't even sure that he could feel the soft hoofstrokes she was giving him, but in nothing else, it calmed her. Softly, she continued, “How could you two be sure that it would've worked?”

“In short, we didn't.” Spike darkly chuckled, “For all we knew, Discord could have recognized me the moment I walked in declaring that I wanted to join his cause. He probably would've destroyed me right then and there. I probably wouldn't have even felt the blow, so I guess I could think of worse deaths.”

The lavender unicorn's hoofrubs quickly turned into a hard slap, “Spike! Don't talk like that. It's... unsettling.”

“Well, I’m still here, so it didn't happen, and so you don't need to worry.” Spike smiled, and lightly scratched her back with a claw, “Like I was saying, I joined Discord, and while the ponies I was serving with were a little suspicious that a freakin' dragon was joining them, they quickly came around when I proved my worth. As Luna took her sweet time gathering her rebellion's strength, I rose through the ranks.”

The dragon smirked lightly, “Kinda funny that after one hundred years, most of which I was serving in Discord's forces, I was only a colonel when Luna finally made her move. I can't tell you how many times that I was passed over for a promotion in favor of somepony else, even if I was the more qualified one there. If it was fair, I would've been general of all of his armies by the time Luna struck.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes, “You sound a little too upset over that.”

“Err...” Spike shifted his eyes a little, “It was because I would've been able to distract more forces! I swear!”

“Uh huh...”

“Anyway, back to the topic at hand, which is much more important than that minor detail,” the dragon not-so-subtly tried to change the subject, “I was in command of the left flank of Discord's line when he and Luna decided to have their little go at each other.

“It was a battle to end all battles, so to speak. In fact, it actually happened right outside this little cave here,” the royal purple dragon pointed towards the direction of the entrance of his home with his thumb. “Funny how things seem to come full circle like that. The battle was intense, with nopony pulling any punches. In fact, if anypony was pulling any punches, it was my contingent, for I instructed them that we should keep in reserve for the pivotal moment to strike, so that in one swift push, we could crush them, and carry the field.”

The unicorn frowned, “Did you?”

Spike shifted his weight, “Well... kinda. My original intent was to keep my forces out of the battle entirely, allowing Luna's army a larger numerical advantage. However, when I saw her fall and her forces beginning to route as a result, I decided to make sure that I cemented my place at Discord's side, and used my forces to sweep the field. That... well... while I had been calling myself Sarlaka ever since I joined Discord a century prior, that was where I got the title 'Sarlaka, The Butcher', and was hailed as some sort of perverse hero.”

“That's...” Twilight couldn't find the words. Instead, she took a deep breath, and decided to just lay her head on his foreleg.

“Yeah. Not many words to describe that one, is there?”

“... so what happened next?”

“Next?” Spike frowned, “Nothing nearly as eventful as that. I was promoted to Brigadier General immediately after, and given this entire cave as my lair. It wasn't long after that, even in pony terms, until Discord finally decided, after turning the original lord of the Equis domain into a boneless mass of... well... pony, that I-”

Twilight's pupils shrank, “He did what!? Why!?”

Spike stretched his neck to work out a kink in the muscles, “He... kinda removed the bones from the Lord's body. As for why? Well, Discord knew that Luna had eradicated most of his powers, but he never really knew how much. So, because he was bored with the way Lord... I don't remember his name... Talcon I think... bored with how Lord Talcon was running the place, he chose him.”

“That's... that's...”

“Crazy? No duh. But yeah, Lord Talcon did not survive the experiment, so I was given the domain, and since then, I've done my best to carry out every one of Luna's contingencies that she came up with as they occurred. Sure, I had to ad-lib a little bit here and there, but for the most part, everything has been unfolding as she predicted might potentially happen, and what I should do in those cases.”

“You mean,” Twilight's eyes widened slightly, “even us getting teleported to the future?”

“Well, not exactly, but we did have one ready for if the new Elements of Harmony ever did show up, as well as if the Element's themselves became ponies, so I've been doing my best to adapt those two into what we have here right now.”

“Th... the Element's became ponies!?”

Spike chuckled, “That one was my idea... yeah... I hadn't had much sleep when I suggested that one.”

“What could've you possibly implemented from that idea!?”

“Well, that's why I have a hoard of nothing but gems!” Spike looked at Twilight with a smile. “If they ever became ponies, there wouldn't be any more physical jewelry, so they would need some sort of focus, right? So I just had gems instead of gold, and there we go! No shortage of magical focuses!”

“I see...”

“It's a good thing too, because if I had chosen the sterotypical gold that most dragon's have, I wouldn't have collected diamonds as massive as the ones Rarity needed, as well as never learned the skills I needed to forge her sword and horn.”

Twilight nodded slightly, “I guess that's true.”

“Twilight,” Spike lowered his head, so that it was level with her. The sudden mood shift nearly gave Twilight whiplash, “I will not lie to you, there were over a hundred times that I could have made a move against Discord; a hundred times that I had a shot at ending this a thousand years before you even arrived, but each time, I stopped myself. Why? Because if I failed in my rebellion, and the Elements did eventually appear, as you girls did, who would be able to look after them, protect them, and make sure that they could find the Elements that my sisters and I hid, let alone the ones that Discord stole? Imagine if you had arrived outside of Conflound, and instead of me, the lord of this domain was Lord Talcon, or Lord Xavier, or any other of the typical tyrannical creatures ruling over the domains. How differently would've things turned out?

“So for those reasons, I did what I had to. I murdered thousands to make sure that I was Discord's favorite. I slaughtered the dragons to extinction, brought the other few nations of the world to their knees, and I brought down the hammer that is now destroying the griffin race as we speak. All three times...” Spike paused for a second to calm himself, “... all three times I desired nothing else but to say no, and sacrifice my life to save millions, but I didn't. I didn't because not only do I want to protect you girls, but because I trusted, and still do trust, Princess Luna and her plans.”

Before Twilight could get another word in, Spike began to lift himself up. With a small 'eep', Twilight felt herself being carried by the large dragon, “Speaking of which, I have a surprise for you and the rest of the girls. It's not quite the normal present one gives to another, but I think you will like it nonetheless.”

Twilight was going to protest against how he was carrying her like some sort of child, let alone how he was abruptly changing the subject, but she quickly realized that any protest would fall on deaf ears. How could she protest against him? It's not like he couldn't do what he wanted anyway, and while she had some sway on some more minor issues, something like this... nope, she was going to be carried. With a frown on her face, she felt him cradle her through the room, and with a light touch, open the door to the main foyer.

Inside, the mare was surprised to see three of her friends, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash, all talking to each other about some sort of unknown subject in the room. She only had a chance to hear some words pertaining to how Rarity was right about something the mare had said before they hushed their conversation, and watched her transportation lumber along. The entire time, while she couldn't see it, she knew that he had the biggest smile on his face, and she knew that he was enjoying this more than she would ever want him to.

“Good morning ladies,” the blasted dragon continued to smile. “I hope you didn't miss me yesterday. I had... issues that have now been somewhat taken care of.”

“Oh we're completely stupendous Mr. Dragon Pants!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, a beaming smile on her face. It was a welcome change to the despondent Pinkie of late.

“Ah reckon ah'm doin' alrigh'. Thanks for askin',” Applejack smiled, albeit with a lot less outward enthusiasm when compared to Pinkie.

“Yeah, I’m alright too,” Rainbow dismissed with a forehoof. “I'm starting to get a little bored though. You have anything to do in here?”

“Do? Well... you could make something in the forge,” Spike grinned wider. Slowly, he narrowed his eyes slightly, “Though I think with the help of a certain kind pegasus friend of yours, you should always be able to be... doing things with each other.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow, “Who, Fluttershy? Of course she and I do things together, but what do you mean by us doing things with each... oh...”

Light giggles escaped the pink pony's mouth as Rainbow's face became much more akin to the color of an apple, “That's... that's mean! Shut up! Just... shut up!”

For her part, the cowpony chuckled, “Well, Ah gotta say, now Ah have two reasons to like ya'll together. First bein' of course tha' mah two best friends found each other. The second, and much more fun one, is tha' it's sooooo much easier to make fun of ya.”

Spike laughed as he watched Rainbow Dash fall into a muffled series of grumbles and potential death wishes towards the rest of the group. Still with a smile on his face, he stretched his head, “So where ARE the other two girls? They finally decide to escape this cold and dark cave? Pity... I had something to show you all.”

“As if, they're just in the other room. Give me a sec,” Rainbow smiled as she recovered from her previous embarrassment, and darted into the dining room. A few short seconds later, muffled sounds of a minor scuffle began to enter Twilight's ears, and with confusion mounting, she couldn't make out what was going on in there. She swore she heard something about a strawberry turnover, but that couldn't be it. Of course, all her questions were answered when Rainbow flew back into the room with two passengers in her forelegs.

A beaming smile on her face, she gentle placed the two mares on the ground, “Alright! Got them!”

Rarity turned her attention to Rainbow, a noticeable barb in her voice, “Really, Rainbow, you could've just asked us to come in, and we would've. You didn't have to physically assault us!”

“Psh, don't be so dramatic,” the chromatic mare smiled. Quickly, she turned, and gave the yellow pegasus a quick peck on the cheek, “Sorry about that.”

The shy pegasus sighed, “It's... it's alright.”

“Good! Now that we're all here, what were you supposed to show us?”

The dragon chuckled, “Well, I can't ever say that you aren't quick about any task that is thrown in your direction, especially if it's something you are motivated towards. But I am getting off topic. Yes, the little surprise. Please, follow me.”

Slowly the rest of the ponies in their little group filed in behind Spike, his massive form completely filling the tunnel as he passed through to go outside. Correction, he had to scrunch down slightly, and nearly crawl to make sure that he was able to get through the comparatively small space. In this much more confined area, he truly looked like a massive dragon, as if he ever looked like anything but.

Finally, the dragon made it out of the tunnel, and for the first time in over a week, the blazing sun entered her eyes. It blinded her for a second, before clearing. As her vision returned she looked, “Now what's so... woah...”

“Come on! What do you mean by... woah... yeah... woah is right.”

“Oh... oh my.”

“Well... Ah think... huh.”

“Wow... I... wow.”

“Darling... what... what is this?”

Spike smiled as he looked over the ledge, for down below was a sight to see. A huge gathering of ponies was being created, most of them giving off a slight sparkle in the sunlight, reflecting the suns rays back onto their eyes. It was impossible to count how many ponies there were, their individual forms turning more into a mass of shades from this distance, but Twilight could tell that, with the massive space that they took, there must have been tens of thousands.... if not more, all of them busy setting up thousands of tents.

The entire time, the dragon continued to smile, “Your army.”

A/N: So I went back and looked at the second chapter (Arrival) yesterday... and all I have to say is damn. Anyone reading this has dedication reading through that garbage!

Chapter 37: Transfer of Power

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“Woah.”

There weren't many other words that could possibly describe the scene that Rainbow was presently looking at. She had never before seen so many ponies gathered in one place, the only other instance of seeing such a huge crowd was at a Wonderbolt exhibition many years ago, and even then, maybe not even there. Not only that, the thought that every single pony was under Sarlaka's command was... well... pretty crazy. There were thousands down there, every single one of them formed up into a hundred little groups, segregating certain collections of ponies from each other. Why? She had no idea. She didn't even have an idea of what the entire concept of an army was! Sure, there were pony wars in the distant past... err... the distant past of her timeline, but those had been far removed from modern history. In fact, if her memory served her right, there wasn't a pony war since back when the three pony races had not formed Equestria yet, and instead, shared only animosity between each other.

Or maybe it was when Nightmare Moon rebelled. She wasn't very good with history.

“Hmm... that's very interesting...” Sarlaka scratched his massive chin with his free claw, the voice interrupting her thoughts.

Rarity took a step forward, her steps quick and abrupt, “Interesting!? What's interesting!? Maybe that there's a giant army out here!?”

“Hmm? Oh, of course not,” Sarlaka waved his claw dismissively at the mare, as if he was completely unaware of her frazzled tone. “You already admitted to overhearing that conversation I had with my captain a week ago. No point in you trying to act surprised now. No, what's interesting is that I only see the First, Second, Fifth, and the newly conscripted Seventh Armies. Now where is Sixth Army? Hmm... oh! Maybe I can get answers from them.”

Rainbow saw Sarlaka turn towards his right, and when she followed his gaze, observed a group of about twenty earth ponies trotting up the snowy ledge. All of the stallions were extremely muscular, and while not bodybuilder levels of bulked up, each could probably take her to the cleaners if it was just a test of strength. Also, each was armored in some sort of metal cuirass and helm, though whether they were made of steel, iron, or some other kind of metal was completely lost on the pegasus. With the exception of the two in the lead, their armor was a mundane sheen, and while it reflected the sun overhead, it did not have a particularly high gloss that, say, a gemstone inside Sarlaka's hoard would have.

Now the other two, those two in the lead were a completely different story. These two lead stallions were, somewhat surprisingly, actually a little bit smaller than their apparent bodyguards, though they were still very toned and fit. The one on Rainbow’s right, closer to the cliff wall, had a completely black coat with a gray and white stripped mane like a zebra. Granted the stripes flowed in the direction like Twilight's sole pink stripe, so he was definitely not a zebra by any definition of the word. Rainbow was curious on why he looked so familiar, until she realized that this was the same stallion that had led the guards in the mare's initial capture in Confloud almost a month ago.

The gut instinct to dash forward and slam her forehooves into his face surged through her for a split second before reason returned, and her muscles relaxed. Trying to knock out a high ranking officer of Sarlaka's military, especially considering that military was here to help them, probably would not get on their collective good side.

The second stallion, bearing a light brown coat and a fiery red mane, she did not recognize. He appeared like he was a higher ranked stallion as well, though not quite as high of a rank as the first one, for while both of their armors were heavily glossed, the former's had a much more regal gold trim to his.

As soon as the group of soldiers got close to Rainbow's little group, they bowed at Sarlaka's feet, as if the dragon was their god or something. It was a little funny, and the prismatic mare wasn't entirely successful in stifling her snickers at the sight. If any of the stallions heard her humored snorts, they did not show it, for none gave her any sort of look. A few seconds later, they rose back to their full height, and while the main group of stallions stood fast, the captain and the other higher looking officer took a few steps forward.

“Lord Sarlaka,” the captain earth pony addressed the dragon. “First, Second, and Fifth Armies have arrived and are at your disposal as you see fit. Further, Seventh Army is completely filled out to the standard seventy-five hundred strong, and is awaiting approval of a list of officers I will submit after this report.”

Sarlaka calmly set down Twilight, the mare quickly joining the rest of her friends near the cave entrance. Turning slightly towards the captain, the dragon smiled, “Very good, Captain Johnathan. I must inquire though, what is the status on Sixth Army? I distinctly remember me telling you that General Manda was to make all due haste to the mountain as soon as she got the order to recall.”

“Indeed you did, my lord.” the stallion nodded, his face neutral. It was a little disconcerting with how calm the stallion and dragon were acting considering with what they were talking about. “However, they were also farther away from the mountain than the other three armies, so they needed a little more time to get back here. Still, as long as the weather holds, I do not expect them to take longer than another day; two at most.”

Sarlaka nodded. “Excellent. Once again, you have exceeded my expectations.”

There was a silence after that. At first, Rainbow attributed it to one of the parties delving into his mind to relay another bit of information to the other, or maybe Sarlaka was going to tell the mares what their duties were going to be during the battle, or maybe Captain Johnathan was going to tell the dragon the battle plans, or something! Instead, the howling wind continued to be the only sound to break through the quiet lull in the conversation, the situation became much more awkward with each passing second that they stood there. Rainbow herself, used to the fast paced lifestyle of being an athlete, was absolutely dying. She needed to get out, fly around a little bit, go for some kind of run, or, if she wasn't allowed to burn off some energy, at least let her have some time with Fluttershy! Instead, there they all were, idling away the day as they didn't know what to say.

Finally, Captain Johnathan shifted his weight again, pointing towards the mares with his shoulders. “So... when are you planning on taking care of them? Just give the order, and I'll do it myself.”

Sarlaka let out a heavy sigh, squared himself fully to the captain, and brought himself to balance on his hind legs. From this position, he was tall. Very very tall. His voice, when he finally spoke, was a serious rumble that almost shook the mountainside. “Change of plans, Captain Johnathan. I have decided to blatantly rebel against Discord and his pathetic rule. Further, I fully intend on using the Elements of Harmony to send that monster back into whatever hole he crawled out of. I hope I can trust you to obey the will of your lord.”

While all of the stallions, curiously save for the second in command, looked shocked at the news, Captain Johnathan was outright furious at the prospect. He narrowed his eyes, and glared at the colossal dragon. “This is some kind of sick joke, right?”

“Of course not,” Sarlaka spoke as he glared back with his single eye. “Why would I joke about something like that?”

This statement merely served to further enrage the stallion. “What? No... NO! I will not allow you to do this! Discord is our god, and I will stop you! Soldiers, engage Lord Sarlaka!”

Captain Johnathan waited for a few seconds before he turned around, looking at the still ponies behind him. “What is the matter with you soldiers!?”

“I think that they are more inclined to follow their lord than some lowly earth pony that thinks he has the entire world figured out. You think that just because you favor Discord, that your life will end up grand. I can tell you from centuries of personal experience that that prospect is laughable. Now...” Sarlaka continued, taking a few threatening steps forward, “the question is, now that you are aware that you are alone in your little crusade against me, what are you going to do?”

Captain Johnathan's gaze shifted a dozen times at least, his glares alternating between the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony, the massive Lord Sarlaka, and the two dozen stallions he had assumed would back him up in his attack. Rainbow caught his eyes more than once, and every time she looked into them, she saw the same thing: foolhardy desperation. He truly believed in Discord, and was desperately trying to find a favorable solution to the dire situation he was now placed in. The chromatic mare knew that such ponies were the most dangerous out there, for they were the ones that would do something off-the-wall crazy. All it took was the slightest of forces in any direction to set off the powder keg.

That ignition came from the sudden cough from her marefriend.

“NO!” the stallion yelled as a collapsible spear shot out of his armor, the spearhead gleaming in the sunlight. A fire in his eyes, he looked at all of her friends. “I won't let you! That's not going to happen!”

In a flash, he rocketed towards Fluttershy, and Rainbow saw out of the corner of her eyes, the yellow pegasus crumple in fear. The stallion was quick for an earth pony. Very quick. All at once, her friends reacted. Applejack's muscles in her legs tensed up as she prepared to intercept the hopeless charge. Twilight's horn ignited as it prepared one of many of the deadly spells she was capable of. Rarity ignited her own horn as a dozen razor-sharp gemstones emerged from her saddlebags, as well as her weapon emerging from it's scabbard. Pinkie had somehow pulled a literal cannon out in front of her, and was about to press a large button that undoubtedly meant 'fire'. As for herself, her wings flared out, and she prepared to fight to the death.

Of course, it was Sarlaka who surprisingly, given his size, acted first. The massive wing he possessed extended outward, forming a massive wall between the mares and the violent stallion. There was a dull 'thunk' as Captain Johnathan slammed into the large wing, the spear puncturing through the skin-like material. While it did look quite painful, Sarlaka didn't let out a single noise to register any sort of pain or discomfort. Instead, with speed that a pegasus would be proud of, the massive dragon turned, reached, and snatched the earth pony captain in his claws. Slowly closing his wings, Rainbow finally was able to see the scene with her own two eyes: the jet black stallion in the clutches of the dull purple dragon.

Sarlaka merely narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, that isn't going to happen. Any final words?”

The captured stallion had no fear in his eyes, just fury. “Your time on this planet is almost up! Defying Discord is defying the will of your god, and will only bring you torturous misery. I relish the—”

It was there that Sarlaka threw the stallion to his left, the former captain sailing through the air, and into the abyss of the valley below. The black stallion's form quickly became nothing more than a small black speck blemishing the rest of the landscape, the only way that she was even able to track his form was from the shine his still glorious armor gave. It took a while, a full thirty seconds or more, before the black speck stopped its movement's downward, a small cloud of dust forming around it as it impacted the ground below.

“You always were long winded,” the dragon chuckled darkly. As soon as he uttered those words, he turned back to the stallions still on the ledge. “Lieutenant Wilks.”

Rainbow's attention, at least for now, was now returned to the only other stallion of note in the group. The red-maned stallion, apparently Lieutenant Wilks, trotted forward, until he was about level to where the former captain had been standing. Slowly, he nodded. “Yes, my lord?”

“Lieutenant Wilks,” Sarlaka spoke, “I am promoting you to Captain of the General's Council, and giving you all the privileges and duties of the position. Your first order is to make sure that the generals understand my new intentions, and that Operation Chaos is beginning. To the best of my knowledge, the only general that might have had an issue with this was General Debora, and considering I recently learned that Discord removed that problem for us via a giant tornado, there shouldn't be any dissent from the rest of the high ranking officers. As for the Seventh Army situation, do you think that you could lead those troops yourself when the time comes?”

“I think I can, Lord Sarlaka.”

“Good, then I am giving you acting command of the Seventh Army as well. Pick whatever officers you trust to get the job done for your own army, and consider all of them pre-approved. Unless you have any questions, you are dismissed.”

The stallion gave a slight bow. “Of course, my lord.” He turned, and with a surprisingly neutral walk, considering all of the responsibilities and burdens that had been placed on his shoulders, as well as the recent circumstances behind his promotion, he rejoined his entourage. The group of soldiers turned and, albeit somewhat hesitantly at first, filed in around the now Captain Wilks, and together, the group began to make their way down the mountain.

“Heh... sorry about that.” Sarlaka's voice drew not only Rainbow's, but the rest of her friends' attention as well.

“Umm... wow...” Rainbow tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat, her brain slightly frazzled by the violent turn of events.

“You... you...” Applejack blinked, “... you jus' threw 'im? Jus' like tha'?”

“Sadly. Personally, I would've preferred to have squished him, but I don't think you ponies would've liked to have seen the end result of that, so I think this is a fitting enough end to him.”

Rarity moved to take a step back, but changed her mind. “I think dear Applejack is saying... that you just killed a pony... without even a second thought in the matter.”

For his part, Sarlaka had now faced the mares, and gently, he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Yeah, like I said, sorry about that. I was pretty sure this meeting wasn't going to go well, for I was well aware that Captain Johnathan was a fanatic. Still, I’m surprised that he decided to go violent in front of me. I guess, sometimes, in the heat of passion, even the best of ponies can fall... literally in this case.

“But anyway, we must discuss another, and much more important, matter. Are you ladies ready to take command of your military?”

Needless to say, that proposition took Rainbow by surprise, any idea of potentially leading an organized attack against another military was well outside of her expertise. Sure, she was no stranger to combat, and the recent weeks only served to make her better at it, but that was definitely much different from coordinating two armies! Twilight might be able to handle the organization part, but what experience did they have in actual strategy and tactics!? None!

Applejack was the first one to stammer out a response out loud, “Wha'!?”

Sarlaka, upon both hearing and seeing the mares' reactions, laughed heartily to himself, a laugh that broke the prismatic mare out of her stunned stupor, and planted a glare onto her face instead. The dragon continued to laugh until he finally was able to speak, “Didn't think so. Don't you little ponies worry though, for I was able to find some suitable... replacements for you mares.”

Twilight cocked her head. “Replacements?”

“Indeed! Look exactly like you six actually.” Sarlaka nodded, a smile still on his face.

Rarity joined Twilight with confusion. “How exactly?”

“Well... alright, so maybe they don't look exactly like you girls. Fake Laughter is a much darker pink, her color more akin to magenta. Fake Loyalty has seven colors in her mane, Fa—”

“Really? You put seven in there?” Rainbow rolled her eyes.

Sarlaka waved his claw as he rolled his eyes. “Yes yes, seven. I thought that RAINBOW Dash would have, well, every color in the rainbow in her mane and tail. Guess I was wrong about indigo. Anyway, Fake Kindness has a much more curly mane and tail, much more like Laughter's own. Finally, Fake Honesty has a dirty blonde mane. Close, but not quite.”

“Umm... what about Twilight and Rarity?” Fluttershy asked, her wings twitching slightly in nervousness.

“Those two? I got them right. Maybe their manes are a tiny bit off, but no, I got them right. Well... except that the actual mares that I used aren't actually unicorns, and are instead merely wearing fake horns, but there aren't many unicorns left for me to work with, so I had to make due with what I had.”

“Wow! So there's, like, another me!?” Pinkie jumped up and down; Rainbow could swear that she heard a springing-bounce noise at each little hop.

“Heh, kinda. Like I said, it's not perfect, but it's close.”

“Hold up.” Rainbow finally had to urge to fly up a little bit, her wings taking her weight off of her hooves. “What are we going to be doing while all of this is going on?”

Sarlaka looked straight into their eyes, his violet eye shifting to each of them as he spoke, “You girls are to remain inside the cave, out of sight, and stay safe. No matter what happens out there, what you hear, see, or anything, you are to remain in that cave until either Captain Wilks or I personally come to tell you otherwise, hopefully with the Element of Loyalty in our possession.”

Rainbow lowered herself to the ground. “That's it? Just hide like a bunch of fillies?”

“Yes, Loyalty, hide like a bunch of fillies. Your safety far outweighs anything else that could possibly happen.” Sarlaka pointed down into the valley behind him as he continued, “Every one of those ponies down there knows, or at least soon will know, the stakes that this battle holds, and each and every single one of them would throw down their life for any one of you. They are fighting for the slim chance of a return to the world before Discord, where peace and harmony were a reality, and not just some small fairytale that they were told of when they were young. Don't be a fool or a hero, and try and do the fighting yourself. You only serve to insult them if you do.

“Twilight.” Sarlaka looked down at the mare next to him, and gave a small smile. “I am so sorry that I was never able to complete your gift before I could give it to you, but I guess half done and two and a half weeks late is better than not giving it to you at all. Your gift is in the final room, the one you have never gone into. The door is unlocked, so don't worry about trying to unlock it.

“As for me, I think it is finally time for me to go now. I pray that I survive to see you when this is all over. However, if it is my fate to... well...” Sarlaka placed himself back onto all fours, lowered his head low, and smiled, “...just know it was the greatest privilege knowing you six delightful mares.”

“You're leaving?” Fluttershy trotted up closer to his head. “Where are you going?”

Sarlaka chuckled. “Why, I’m going to be with Discord, and stand by him as I fight against Harmony's Coalition.”

Applejack was the one who trotted up now. “Say wha' now? Ah though' you were gonna figh' with us?”

The dragon continued his dry laugh as he explained, “Sadly, I can't do that, at least not at first. I have to make sure that I am next to Discord. How else am I going to obtain the Element of Loyalty from him?”

“Spike...” Twilight trotted closer, and with tears welling in her eyes, gave the gargantuan dragon a hug around his snout. A few seconds past before Fluttershy came up, and with the most beautiful of smiles, wrapped her forelegs around his face the best she could. It wasn't long until the rest of them, even Rainbow herself, came up close, and joined in on the group hug. All the while, there were collective laughs, sniffles, jokes, and at least one “fat-face” joke against the dragon's head.

Rainbow might have been responsible for that last one.

Sadly, even for the athletic mare, the hug was broken, and Sarlaka got up onto his hind legs, and opened his massive wings. Those massive panels, other than the tiny hole from former Captain Jonathan's spear, were completely flawless flying surfaces. A smile on his face, the dragon turned his body around, and from personal experience from her own flying, she realized that he was preparing to jump off of the cliff-side. It was then that a sudden thought flashed through her mind.

“Wait!” Rainbow cried out.

The sudden call visibly stunned the dragon, for he had to do his best not to fall down the ledge from his earlier preparations. Finally, after nearly tripping over his own feet, he regained his balance, and turned his head to face her. “Yes, Loyalty?”

She cleared her throat, then spoke, “It's been killing me since you started doing it, so I gotta know. Why do you keep doing that?”

“Hmm? Doing what, Loyalty?”

Rainbow took to the air again, and pointed with a forehoof. “That! You keep calling me 'Loyalty', Fluttershy 'Kindness', and so on. Why? Why not just call us by our names? And don't tell me that you were trying to keep up that whole 'Sarlaka not knowing our names' thing, because we told you who we were pretty quickly, and you still didn't call us by that. Not only that, but you still are calling us that!”

Sarlaka gave an embarrassed grin, “Honestly? With the exception of Twilight and Rarity, I completely forgot what your names were. The Elements you embodies I remembered sure, but not your names.”

“You're kiddin' me,” Applejack deadpanned.

“Nope. Keep in mind that it's been about fifteen hundred years since I had seen any of you, and with the exception of Twilight, I didn't even know you ponies for even a year. That's a long time to try and remember the name of four mares you only knew for a few months.”

“So...” Pinkie snickered, “what your saying, is that means every time you called me 'Laughter', you were—”

“—trying desperately to remember your name after you told me, yes.” Sarlaka smiled. “Well, technically, I started to remember your names around the time you ponies left for your little adventure, but let's face it, calling you by your elements was pretty cool, wasn't it?”

He was met with nothing but silence.

“Hmm... I guess not. Oh well, at least I’m a hundred and fifty hoof long dragon, so I guess I get all of my awesomeness from that.” Sarlaka turned, and with a final smile to say goodbye, he jumped off of the ledge. At first, it appeared to be a terrible takeoff, much less graceful than even an inexperienced pegasus, but it was only a few seconds until his purple form appeared over the ledge once more. With the most gentle of flaps, he sped off into the distance and slowly shrank from their vision, his destination being the spot right next to the God of Chaos himself...

A/N: Cue dramatic music.

Chapter 38: The Ancient

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Applejack watched as Sarlaka faded into the distance, the mass of purple and green slowly shrinking into the bright blue sky. After their heartfelt goodbye, she wasn't sure what they were going to do next. She wanted to fight of course, the idea that others were going to take on the burden of battle while she sat idly by and watch rubbed her the wrong way, but what could she do? The military Sarlaka had formed up in the valley below numbered in the tens of thousands of ponies, Discord had himself and Sarlaka to fight all of those ponies, and what did she have?

A pair of climbing claws.

“I can't believe that freak forgot my name.” Rainbow slowly glided to the ground, her wings twitching in slight agitation after landing.

Rarity smirked. “Why? Because you're the greatest pegasus that has ever lived?”

“Yeah! Not only that, but... wait a second.” The multicolored pegasus turned her head around, looking at the dressmaker standing next to her. “That's sarcasm, isn't it?”

With a giggle, the alabaster unicorn exaggerated a roll of the eyes. “Oh, I would NEVER do something like that, Rainbow Dash.”

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up, but at least I... um...” Rainbow thought to herself, before shrugging. “Whatever, I got nothing. Laugh it up as you please.”

“Anyway,” Applejack interrupted, rubbing a forehoof against her temple. Even after such a heartfelt and touching goodbye, her friends always found a moment to jab at each other. “Twilight, wha' could've he meant 'bout you finally gettin' your gift?”

Pinkie beat Twilight to the punch, speaking before the unicorn, “Maybe it's because Twi-Twi never got her gift from when we got our gifties?”

“Thank ya Pinkie, but tha's not wha' Ah meant. Wha' Ah meant is, did he give any clue on wha' it would be? Some kind of battery to further power your magic?”

Twilight shook her head. “While that would be an amazingly useful device, no. He never gave any sort of indication on what he could possibly be giving me. Besides, if it was any sort of device, why would he even bother giving it to me 'partly complete'?”

“Hmm... good poin'.”

“Umm...” Fluttershy quietly spoke up, “if you don't mind me asking... why don't we just go in and find out?”

“I agree with Fluttershy.” Rarity flipped her hair to the other side of her head. “As much amusement as we are getting out of guessing, there's really no point to it, is there?”

All nodding in near unison, Pinkie deciding to nod at at least five times their speed, the six ponies began to make their way back into the cave complex. Thinking back, this was the very first time the six of them had actually been together, without any sort of outsider observing or participating in their conversation, since the night before they had all ran off to do their quest. At first, Applejack was amazed at how long it had been since they simply sat down and talked to each other as they usually did. Of course, that was when the orange mare nearly tripped over herself.

It had only been two weeks since they left the cave for the Elements.

The idea was mind blowing at first. She had gone countless weeks without seeing her friends together for that amount of time. In fact, during Applebucking Season, she almost went that long without seeing ANY of her friends, let alone all of them put together. The concept was most likely magnified from the terrifying amount of things they all had to do. She and Pinkie alone had to deal with Xavier, travel to that one cave, battle a horde of timberwolves, fight that weird diamond dog robot Apple Bloom had apparently made, come back, and dealt with all the drama that came with it. All in all, it felt like almost eight months, if not more.

“Applejack, darling,” Rarity spoke up, snapping the orange mare out of her own mind. Rarity trotted a little bit faster, and very quickly, made her way to join her friend at the front of the group. “I'm... I want your opinion about something.”

Thankful for the interruption, Applejack spoke, “Of course, Rares. Whacha be needin'?”

The alabaster unicorn thought to herself for a moment, making sure to gather her thoughts, before she began, “So Discord is coming to attack that army outside, right?”

“Well, technically he's here to attack us, not the army, but sure.”

“True. Also, as far as we know, Spike is going to be on his side, right?”

“Actually,” Twilight trotted besides the two others, making sure her thoughts were known, “Spike told us that he was only going to act like he was on Discord's side until he had the Element of Loyalty. After that, he's probably going to leave, and give the Element to Rainbow.”

The alabaster mare sighed heavily, but if she was showing any emotion other than simple analysis, she did a good job hiding it. “Right right, but in the beginning, he's going to be on his side, or act like it at least. On our side, we have the very large army, but on theirs they have Discord and Spike, right?”

Rainbow now joined them. “Why would Discord come alone? Why wouldn't he bring any jerk-wads to try and help him?”

It was then that Rarity stopped, and stamped a forehoof into the ground. The sudden stomp forced Fluttershy to accidentally bump into the unicorn's side, and nearly caught Pinkie off guard as well. Sighing even heavily this time, her agitation no longer well hidden, she glared at them. “You get what I’m saying. Discord and Spike versus army. Right? Right. Anyway, even if we discount Spike, assume that he's not going to end up helping either side in the end, Discord doesn't bring an army, and everything else you could possibly think of... what chance does our army have?”

To that statement, Twilight stopped walking, and thought to herself. In fact, that statement made Applejack think as well. What DID that, albeit huge, army have against Discord? He had taken down the Elements of Harmony once, defeated both of the princesses, and completely destroyed Luna and the army she had apparently thrown at him. Not only was there no super powerful artifacts or alicorn princess on their side, but now they had a fully grown dragon going against them as well... kinda.

“Well...” Twilight thought to herself as she began walking again. The rest started to follow the unicorn mare as she spoke, “Pretty good, actually.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Pretty good? Twilight, I think you need to get your brain checked, because I think the whole 'Sarlaka is Spike' thing did a number on you.”

“No no, hear me out. Like I said before, Spike isn't going to be trying to help Discord. If anything, he's going to do what he can to help our side. At the very least, he's going to be a wash when it comes down to it. Best case, he's actually an advantage for us.”

Rarity nodded. “Right, sure. We'll go with that.”

“Right. Anyway. Now, what does Discord not have now that he had when he did all of those other battles?”

“Umm... an army?”

“Not quite, Rainbow.”

“His youth?”

“Rarity, I don't think Discord actually ages.”

“Chocolate rain?”

“...Pinkie, why would that change anything?”

“Because! I haven't seen a single drop of it since we got here! Duh! I mean, we've been here for how long? Seen how many clouds? How many times have we seen chocolate rain? None! So... no chocolate rain!”

“...I’m surprised to say that that might be the closest answer yet...”

“The powers Luna took?”

“Right!” Twilight smiled nodding towards the yellow pegasus to her right, the pair beginning to cross the hoard of gems. “Remember, Discord lost a lot of his powers when that happened. He's not nearly as powerful as he used to be.”

“Sugarcube,” Applejack shook her head, “ya heard wha' he was sayin' to Sarlaka—”

“Spike.”

“Right, Spike. Anyway, you heard wha' he was sayin' to him when he came here. He said tha' he was able to do all of those crazy things if he wanted to, like reversin' gravity or somethin'.”

Twilight slipped slightly on a ruby, but caught herself before slipping too far. “Sure he did, but I personally think he was bluffing. Besides, other than that, there's one more advantage he's giving us.”

“Ooh ooh ooh!” Pinkie hopped over and in front of them. “Is it... umm... uhh... umm... eh, I got nothing.”

“...Alright then. I'll just tell you girls. He WANTS us to have a chance to win.”

Rainbow blinked a little bit, a little bit stunned at what Twilight just said. “He... does?”

“Correct. Think about it, not only is it the only thing that explains all of his behavior, from giving Spike the Element of Honesty to not killing Fluttershy when he had the chance, it—”

“Wait, what!?” Rainbow jumped back, her cyan wings beating heavily to keep her aloft. “What do you mean he was going to... you know...”

Twilight stopped, her violet eyes bore into the pegasus for a few seconds, complete confusion contained in them. It was a few seconds before a wide-eyed realization washed over the unicorn. “Oh yeah. You weren't there when Discord... uhh... yeah... heh heh heh...”

Sadly, this only served to send the yellow pegasus, eyes bulging and wings partially extended in fright, into a semi-catatonic state. Slowly, as to make sure not to frighten her mare any further, Rainbow softly settled down next to her, and gently nuzzled her side. Applejack was a little amazed at the sight, the brash and spontaneous Rainbow Dash gently putting a protective wing over her friend's back, whispering comforting words in an attempt to settle the terrified mare's nerves. Even more surprising was that Fluttershy seemed to be reacting quite positively to the words, and slowly but surely, her yellow wings began to fold, her eyes shrank back to their normal size, and the hyperventilating pegasus slowly returned to her normal demeanor.

Applejack chuckled slightly; those two, as much as they were the strangest couple she had ever seen, tended to work together.

“Sorry about that,” Twilight's ears were flattened against her head. “I didn't mean to scare you. I just meant to say that while he talked about doing it, he didn't go through with it.”

Taking a final look into her marefriend's eyes to make sure she was alright, Rainbow raised her head back up to look at Twilight, “So... he didn't do that... because he doesn't care if he loses?”

“Don't be silly, Rainbow.” Twilight waved a forehoof in the air dismissively as she slid down the final pile of gems between her and the closed door. “It's obvious he wants to win, but I think he's just bored, and thinks of this as some kind of game to play with us.”

“Like when he corrupted us, but still gave us the Elements?”

“That's right, Rarity. Like I said, he might want to win, more than anything else I suspect, but he wants to have fun with it.”

“Huh... Ah never thought of it like that,” the orange earth pony finally said. It was the last thing that she was able to say before she had to stop, and looking up, peered at the massive iron door in front of her. Unlike most of the other doors in this place, those being wooden ones with small metal plates holding the boards together, this door was completely made of metal. The door itself was as plain as it could be, the only changes in the texture of the entire object being one that strengthened it's structural integrity, rather than aesthetics. Considering that the only other iron door in the entire cave system was the one just nearby, this was another room Sarlaka had not intended the mares to enter without his permission.

Twilight sighed. “Well... here goes nothing.” Her horn ignited with a deep magenta hue, and with a powerful pulse, she grasped onto the door handle, and then—

“Wait!”

The sudden cry broke the unicorn's concentration, the magic flowing through her horn and into the door broken as a result. All of the mares, Twilight included, searched for the source of the call, only to find Rainbow Dash zooming to the front, and hovering between the group and the mysterious portal.

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity shouted, a slight snarl actually forming in her voice from frustration. “What in the name of Celestia are you doing?”

The chromatic mare didn't even bat an eyelash. “Oh come on, can't we have a super awesome reveal? Like they have in the stories and such!”

To that, Twilight cocked her head. “You read?”

Rainbow was about to respond, when Fluttershy interrupted, “No she doesn't. She should though. That reminds me though, could you maybe recommend a few books for her?”

A literal sparkle appeared in the mare's eye, “Why, I would love to recommend a few books for Rainbow. I think I can come up with a few that would—”

Rainbow landed onto the ground, “Focus here, ladies! Come on! We're supposed to be in suspense over what is on the other side of this door!”

“If ya wanna do this whole shin-dig, fine.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Let's jus' get on with it.”

Rainbow nodded. “Fillies and... umm... well... more fillies!”

Applejack felt Rarity bump her side into her own, a smirk on the unicorn's face. “The mare has a talent for these sort of things.”

“Hush!” the cyan pegasus reprimanded. Taking to the air once again, she spread all of her legs wide. “Since about two weeks ago, we've been wondering what Twilight's gift was going to be. Applejack's was some claws and a rope. Rarity's was her sword and a bag of gems. Fluttershy got the weird fake feather thingy. Pinkie got the... actually... I have no idea what she got.”

“I got a explosion rocket shooting cannon thingy!”

“...I’m just going to say that you got a cannon. Pinkie got ANOTHER cannon. I got that dragon's eye... which sounds much creepier saying out-loud than in my head. Anyway, we all got our gifts, but Twilight, the one pony that is closest to the dragon, has yet to get her's. Finally, after years of waiting—”

“Years? Really, Rainbow?”

“Quiet, Applejack. Weeks of waiting, that stinkin' dragon finally coughed up the goods. So now, without further adieu, I give you... well... Twilight Sparkle's gift from Sarlaka!”

Applejack rolled her eyes so heavily in response, she was afraid that they would be pulled out of her eyes. She heard her lavender friend sigh in response, and with an extra second to focus, the unicorn ignited her horn yet again. The magenta aura enveloped the door handle, and with a gentle push, opened the door.

It wasn't a sight they were expecting.

In complete contrast to the rest of the cave complex, the room was sparsely decorated. The walls were merely the bare earth, none of the walls or columns having the shining gloss that the rest of the cavern's walls had, though the ground was worked just enough to make it level. There wasn't a single piece of decoration to augment the place, forcing all eyes onto the only object in the room.

That object, in the center of the room, was the massive statue of an alicorn. Her wings were outstretched, as if she was in flight, each individual feather perfectly detailed down to the individual fibers building each feather. The statue was massive, at least twice the height of any of the mares, though the sheer presence she gave off made her look so much larger. The face she had on her was one of sheer ferocity, the glare powerful enough to make even the hardiest of stallions question his courage. Her eyes stared off into the distance, trained on some unknown entity.

Princess Celestia.

Rainbow Dash's wings gained a mind of their own, and with her wings beating softer and softer, she gently lowered herself back down onto her hooves. “Whoa...”

Applejack noticed that the mood of their entire group instantly dropped like a lead weight. Of course, Rainbow had stopped flying, but Fluttershy's wings too seemed to lose some of their life as well. Applejack literally felt the warm happiness escape her being as she looked at the terrifying statue. Rarity was slightly behind her, but while she couldn't see the mare, she could tell from barely audible mutters that she was feeling the exact same thing that the rest of the mares were feeling.

Because she was behind her as well, she wasn't able to tell what Twilight was doing, but that was probably for the best.

“I... umm...” Fluttershy took two tentative steps forward, before stopped alongside her friends. “I never thought Princess Celestia could look so... so...”

“Mean?” Applejack offered with a hushed tone. It was strange, for while there was nopony there to shush them or anything, it just felt... right to speak in such a low tone. Maybe it was out of some sort of reverence towards the Goddess, maybe it was to be sensitive to Twilight, or maybe it was out of some other reason that Applejack couldn't guess at. Either way, everypony walked softer, spoke quieter, and even slowed their breathing in the princess' presence.

The yellow mare shook her head lightly. “Scary.”

Pinkie took a few steps forward as well. “She told us that she couldn't defeat Discord without the Elements...”

“And yet, she fought anyways,” Rainbow finished for her, stepping closer to Pinkie's side.

“It must have been the most terrifying thing,” Rarity whispered, her head lowered slightly, “fighting that monster over the skies of Canterlot as the city came crashing down around them. She and Luna both must have known that there was no way to win. Yet, they fought to the bitter end. I can't imagine what the poor dear must have been think—”

“Twi-Twi?”

All of the four remaining ponies turned to look at Twilight, the lavender unicorn slowly making her way towards Celestia's statue. Each step echoed though the chamber, the sound of the hard hooves pounding against the hard stone floor sent shivers up and down the orange mare's spine. It was an eery scene, watching and listening to the Princess' student walk closer to her petrified body. It was enough to make more than one mare slip into quiet tears.

Applejack wasn't even ashamed that she was one of them.

The lavender mare finally brought herself to the Princess Celestia's hooves, and just stood there, gazing into the alicorn's eyes. Almost a full minute of quiet remembrance passed, the five ponies being the only audience to the event. Twilight took one more step forward, and lifting a single forehoof, carefully stroked Celestia's chest. For some time, student and teacher, one of flesh and blood, and the other of nothing but stone, stood, with nopony daring to say a single thing to interrupt.

It was only when Twilight pulled away, turned, and began to make her way out of the room when Applejack was able to find her voice, “Twilight!”

The unicorn stopped, but never turned back around to face her. Instead, she just raised her voice slightly, “Yes, Applejack?”

“Sugarcube.” Applejack took a step towards her friend, before she stopped. “Where you goin'?”

There was a moment of contemplative thought, before a heavy sight escaped the unicorn in front of her. The lavender mare turned, and even though it was Twilight in front of her, Applejack was a little frightened at the sheer anger that was in those eyes. Eyes that saw injustice, and wanted to right that wrong.

Slowly, yet ever so sternly, Twilight's anger flared as she spoke, “To find vengeance.”

A/N: First, I just broke the 200k word mark, so yay for me. Second... filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler...

Chapter 39: Perspective

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She took a deep breath.

The soft spray of cool falling water splashed onto her yellow coat, the liquid literally gliding down her sides. The droplets tickled her folded wings for just a brief moment as they fell between the delicate feathers, before they splashed onto the tile below. The hot shower was doing wonders for the mare, the action of getting clean always brightening up her mood. Of course, by this point, the shower was much less for actually getting clean, and much more for therapeutic reasons, the soap next to her rear hooves long since abandoned after its utilization.

She released the breath.

The desire to turn off the steaming water danced at the very edges of her mind, especially considering that Rainbow was just outside in the bedroom waiting for her to finish. Things between the two of them had been going swimmingly. Almost too swimmingly. Fluttershy found herself nearly in shock sometimes over how just two weeks ago, the idea of being any more than close friends with her Rainbow was only a dream. Now, they had grown into a full blown romantic relationship, if with a strange and rocky start. Yes, the pair had had their rough spots, the whole incident in the hotel in that one backwater town being the most vivid of them, but overall, they were doing well.

She took another deep breath.

Her wing was something that Rainbow was worried about every single day. Every few days, the prismatic-maned mare had checked on the wound, making sure that whatever muscles that were cut were growing back well, making sure that Fluttershy was stretching the wing the proper ways to promote healing, and making sure that there wasn't any sort of permanent damage to any nerves. Fortunately, all things looked good so far, and while there had been some muscle damage, she was already well past the point of actual permanent damage, a possibility that had scared her countless times.

She released the breath.

Though she was more terrified than ever before when she was tied up in that hotel, she was really scared now as well. All of the things that she had seen and heard over the past few days, especially when it came to the army still gathering just outside the cave, had absolutely frightened her. She was glad that Spike had gotten that army together, because she wasn't sure that she was able to fight. How could she? She had been able to talk that one basilisk into submission sure, but that was a completely different situation! There's a difference between staring down a misguided creature and fighting a living god.

She took a very, very deep breath.

At least Rainbow would be there to help her. Sure, she wouldn't be able to steel herself enough to fight, but maybe Rainbow would be able to fight for her. It sounded selfish personally, but what else did her friends expect her to do? Twilight was amazing at magic, Applejack was the strongest pony that she knew, Pinkie... was Pinkie, and Rainbow was the fastest and most amazing pegasus she had ever seen! Even Rarity had that amazing looking sword with her. Fluttershy didn’t have anything! All she had was that fake phoenix feather that—

A loud banging was heard through the door. “Fluttershy! You've been in there for thirty minutes! Are you alright!?”

Fluttershy forced a worried giggle out of her throat. “Alright Rainbow, I’m getting out now!”

True to her word, she turned the lever for the water with a hoof, shutting the water for the shower off. She allowed herself to drip in the shower for a few seconds, savoring the last little bits of warmth the lingering steam brought her, before opening the shower door. A blast of cold air took her by surprise, as it always tended to do, and she quickly made her way to the towel on the rack. Gripping the soft cotton cloth in her mouth, she draped it over herself, and using her uninjured wing to aid her, began the long process of drying off the vast majority of her coat.

Oh how she wished she was a unicorn for at least a few minutes.

Content with leaving her coat partially damp, she gently placed the towel back on the rack, and began to make her way towards the door to the bedroom. With a soft, delicate move, she opened it with her teeth, and made her way into the warm chamber. There, her sweet and lovely Rainbow was laying on their bed, idly playing with a few strands of red hair as she waited.

Looking up, Rainbow smiled, and jumping to the floor with a few flaps of her wings, approached her. “Hey! Look who's all clean!” She continued to smile as she got up against her, and lightly nuzzled her cheek. It was a move that she happily returned. After a few lingering moments of comfort, her marefriend pulled back slightly, and looked right into her eyes. “Alright, I know it's annoying every time we do this, but let's check on that wing of yours.”

The yellow pegasus frowned, and with a heavy sigh, extended her wing to its fullest extent. Quickly, Rainbow walked over to the wounded joint, brought her head close, and with the keenest of eyes, inspected the wound. They were silent for several seconds, the yellow pegasus eventually starting to feel the constant strain, her muscles not nearly as strong as a pegasus like Rainbow Dash.

However, it wasn't too long until Rainbow finally pulled back, a smile firmly planted on her face. “Well, it's obviously not healed up completely yet, that's for sure, but in another day or two, I think you'd be ready for any typical flying that you might need to do.”

A sigh of relief spread through the mare. “Good. I’m tired of this thing opening back up every time I fly.”

“Yeah... me too.” Rainbow smiled. Motioning with her head, the pair began to make their way out of the bedroom, and into the passage that connected to the foyer. “So, you ready to kick some flank?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Of course not, Dash. You know that I hate the thought of fighting. I just... can't imagine myself doing anything like that.”

The prismatic-maned mare cocked her head slightly. “What are you talking about? From what I can gather, you were amazing against that basilisk, and that's loads harder than anything we're going to find out there.”

The yellow mare's breathing became a little bit quicker and more shallow. “The basilisk was just scared, and really didn't mean to do what he did. He was just protecting his house. This is different! This is... this is scary...”

Rainbow smiled. “Fluttershy, I don't think that—”

“Just in case we don't make it,” Fluttershy interrupted, her breathing slowing slightly, “I just wanted to tell you... that I love you Rainbow. So much. I just wanted to tell you... in case...”

“Hey,” Rainbow whispered. The pair stopped in the end of the hall, and with a gentle touch, the cyan pegasus playfully shoved Fluttershy with a forehoof. “Don't talk like that. We've been through worse. Tartarus, I died! Twice! Didn't even slow me down!”

It didn't matter what Rainbow said, for the yellow pegasus continued with her more and more frantic rambling. “But Dash, it's not just you and me just fighting a misguided basilisk anymore! It's you, me, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, Spike, Discord, Lieutenant Wilks, our army, Discord's followers, the city of Conflound, all of th—”

She was silenced with a kiss.

As the kiss continued, she felt the frantic breathing of her marefriend begin to calm down, the flighty pegasus losing herself in the intimate moment. A light, satisfied moan of happiness escaped the yellow mare's throat... oh wait, that was her own throat. She let her lips linger on those soft lips for a few more seconds, savoring the light taste of of her mare's lips. Sure, the kiss was initiated by Fluttershy's constant worrying, but why shouldn't Rainbow enjoy the amazing feeling?

And amazing it was.

Of course, the sad thing about kisses is that they eventually have to end. With a final deep sigh, Rainbow broke off the deep kiss, and pulled away. She noticed that Fluttershy, like the adorably blushing pegasus she was, still had her eyes shut from the earlier passion. A light chuckle escaped Rainbow's throat, and as the timid pony's eyes fluttered open, and Fluttershy soon found herself blushing even harder.

The cyan pegasus' chuckled died off, and her smile became much softer. “I love you too, 'Shy. Just... don't worry so much. You say that it's more than just us two now, but that's the great part of it. It's not just me looking out for you and you looking out for me now. Pinkie, Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack are all going to be watching our backs too.”

Fluttershy timidly nodded. “I... I guess that's true...”

Smiling wider, Rainbow spoke with a humored tone, “Heh, sure, they'll probably just slow me down as I kick flank, but I'll make sure to let those ponies have a little bit of the action.”

Rainbow was finally able to get a giggle out of her marefriend. “I guess that's true.”

“It IS true! No guessing about it!” Rainbow motioned with her head, and together, the pair began to make their way into the foyer. Their silence was short lived, however, as Rainbow had to ask, “Hey 'Shy, you wanna grab a bite to eat?”

“Umm... I would love to, Dash, but I’m going to go check on Pinkie.”

The speedy pegasus' ears flattened to her head slightly. “She still in her little funk?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Yeah. I've tried talking to her, but she's still upset over something. I haven't the clue as to why though.”

“I got you...” Rainbow trailed off. Shuffling on her hooves slightly, she began again, “You sure you don't want me there?”

Again, Fluttershy nodded. “I'm sure. Go ahead and get something to eat. Everything will be alright.”

The thought of food brought another smile to Rainbow's face. Giving her marefriend a final kiss on the cheek, she turned, and made her way to dining area. She seriously had debated going against Fluttershy's suggestion and to check on Pinkie anyway, the pink pony has been in a really big funk recently for whatever reason. However, Fluttershy was much better with the whole 'touchy-feely' sort of thing, so she was sure Pinkie was in good hooves. Right now, Rainbow had a much different goal in mind, one that was much more suited towards her strengths.

Food.

Stepping her way into the dining room, she found the table strangely empty. Almost every other time that she had come in here, another pony had so kindly took it upon herself to set up a few things for the rest of them. Today, there was only a single small plate on the table, with only a single pony sitting in front of it, the alabaster mare instantly recognized as Rarity. Rarity apparently hadn't realized that Rainbow had walked into the room, the mare instead idly munching on her meal. The pegasus had no idea what the mare had been eating, most likely something something really 'slimming' or silly like that, but to each her own.

The idea to scare the mare out of her hair crossed Rainbow's mind for a moment, but she decided against it. Flapping her wings, she flew up next to Rarity, she softly landed in the seat next to the unicorn. “Hey Rares. This seat taken?”

Rainbow swore she saw Rarity's eyes widen for just a moment in shock, before the settled back down into a genuine smile. “Why, Rainbow Dash! Please! Sit!”

Grinning back, Rainbow let her wings flap once or twice more before she folded them back to her sides. She was about to start the whole random set of greetings when she stopped for a moment, and after thinking for a second, spoke, “It's been a while. Since we've talked I mean.”

“It has, hasn't it,” Rarity said. She thought to herself for a moment, before continuing, “In fact, I’m pretty sure that we haven't even had a moment to talk to each other in private since starting this whole mess.”

“Yeah... pretty much.” The cyan pegasus rubbed the back of her neck. Trying to think of something to talk about, Rainbow decided to pick the gigantic elephant in the room. “So... I like your new horn.”

Rarity shifted her weight a little. “Thanks. I'm afraid it clashes with my coat, but everypony keeps telling me otherwise.”

“NO!” the chromatically-maned mare shouted a little too loudly. Shifting slightly, she lowered her voice, “I mean... uhh... it doesn't clash with you at all. Actually, it goes really well with your cutie mark. I mean, it's not a set of sapphires or anything, and your horn is more clear than blue, but it looks similar... kinda?”

The alabaster mare blinked. “...Thank you, Rainbow Dash.”

“Yeah.” Rainbow chuckled to herself. “Too bad you won't really be able to use it anytime soon.”

Crossing her eyes, the unicorn looked at the very tip of her diamond horn. “Oh, I do hope that you are right, darling. Sadly, I fear that you may be sorely mistaken.”

“I meant other than to create homemade kabobs.”

“Goodness no!” Rarity shook her head as she spoke. “I mean I fear that, despite what Spike hopes to try and achieve, we are going to have to fight this one out ourselves.”

“Geez! First 'Shy, then you! Why are all you ponies out to think that we're going to fight?” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I bet my left-freakin' wing that we won't do anything but twiddle our hooves around in boredom.”

“You're on, though I think we should just stick with a few bits instead of actual body parts,” Rarity said as she stuck a hoof out in Rainbow's direction. Smiling wider, Rainbow spit in her hoof, and bumped it into Rarity's.

The cyan mare nearly burst out laughing at the face Rarity now gave her now slightly moist white hoof. Shuttering slightly, Rarity was somehow able to regain enough composure to keep her voice level as she spoke, “Yes... but regardless of the outcome, you still owe us for the first one.”

Rainbow scrunched her brow together. “First one?”

“The first bet dear! The one you yourself came up with! I’m almost surprised you forgot about that thing. Just goes to show that you indeed do have a selective memory.”

“I don't remember ma—” Rainbow stopped, her mouth slightly agape as the gears in her mind finally hit the proper connection, the memory now flooding her head. Her ears lowering slightly, the pegasus groaned as she spoke, “Ponyfeathers.”

“Oh don't be so downcast. Somepony had to lose, and it just so happened to be you and your dearest Fluttershy. I'm certain that I'll think of something that isn't too degrading to the both of you, but now is not the time for that sort of thing.” Rarity chuckled as she scooted herself away from the table, and onto her hooves. “How about I grab you a few things for you to eat, and we can catch up with each other. It's been far too long, dear Rainbow Dash. Is there anything in particular you might want from the pantry?”

She thought to herself for only a second, the craving in the cyan pegasus' mind too strong to deny, until she decided on a suitable treat.

“Carrots.”

Rarity giggled at the somewhat random request. “Carrots it is.”

Turning towards the pantry, Rarity's mind was in furious motion about the matching dresses she was going to make Rainbow and Fluttershy wear. It would have to favor the brighter colors of Rainbow's mane, especially the red and yellow, so that it flowed with Fluttershy's coat that much better. And the lace, oh sweet Celestia would she put so much frilly lace on the dress it would make even herself gag. Sure, making Fluttershy and Rainbow wear matching dresses and taking them to some kind of formal ball, if those even existed in this time, wasn't really much of a thing the timid pegasus would mind.

Dash's reaction, on the other hoof, would be worth it.

As she pushed her way through the door, an audible creaking coming from the hinges, she saw Applejack already inside. The mare was carefully holding a tray of various fruits, vegetables, and some bread atop her back, the mare looking for even more foods to place on there. Looking at the tray, Rarity noticed that it was a lot of food that was on the tray, way too much for just one mare. At first, it appeared that Applejack didn't notice Rarity's presence in the room, which was somewhat surprising considering the noise opening the door made.

Rarity made her presence known immediately after. “Applejack, darling! Why don't you come join me and Rainbow? We're having the most delightful conversation about what dear Rainbow and Fluttershy are going to have to do now that they lost that bet.”

Applejack turned slightly, making sure not to drop the tray on her back. “Bet? Wha' bet?”

“Seriously? Did nopony remember it?” Rarity spoke as she rolled her eyes. “Remember? The bet that Rainbow had us all make just before we left? Which ponies were going to get back last loses?”

It took a second of thinking before recognition flashed in Applejack's eyes. “Oh! Yeah, Ah remember now. Ah'd love to jab at Rainbow, ya know tha', but Ah gotta take this to a certain grieving unicorn we both know and love.”

Rarity's smile fell instantly, a frown now forming on her face. “I see...”

“Yeah...”

“...So... how is the dear doing?”

“Honestly?” Applejack began, setting the tray on one of the shelves so that it wouldn't fall, “Ah ain't sure. She's not as angry, tha's for certain. Ah think she got most of tha' out of her when she blew tha' mannequin to the moon an' back.”

The alabaster mare fidgeted slightly. “Yeah... that wasn't pretty.”

“Wasn' pretty?” Applejack smirked. “Scared the cutie mark off of me personally. Took a while to cool off after tha', but now? Now she's jus'... well... she's jus' in tha' funk tha' she's been in for the past three days. Tried to talk to her and everythin', but nothin' Ah say gets to her. Now she won' even let me tha' room except to give her food.”

“I see.” Rarity thought to herself, looking up to the ceiling in thought. After a few seconds, she looked back at Applejack, and began again, “Do you think that I should talk to her, or at least do you think it'll help?”

Applejack shook her head. “Probably would help, but not righ' now. Let's give Twiligh' another day or two to settle a little more, then we'll see what we can all do together.”

Rarity levitated the tray the orange mare had placed onto the shelf, and gently placed it on the earth pony's back. With another flash, she grabbed a single carrot that was on the shelf as well. “Sounds good. Please give Twilight and Pinkie my regards.”

“Ah'll do jus' tha', Rarity,” Applejack said as she turned around, and made her way out of the pantry. No matter how often she did it, it was strange talking to Rarity in such friendly terms. The two were more likely to bicker over the most senseless things than to cooperate with each other in more friendly ways. That wasn't to say that the two weren't friends, Applejack loved Rarity dearly, but if it wasn't for Twilight, the two probably wouldn't have ever gotten to know each other.

It was the same situation with her and Pinkie Pie, if not more so. Before this entire thing began, the pair were friendly, sure, but like with Rarity, it was more because of association than actual friendship. That had shown even more when the pair began to make their way towards Pinkie's Element, and the vast amount of annoyance that she felt the entire first half of the trip. Was it fair? Of course not, Pinkie was a completely lovable pony that had so many thoughts and feelings past the initial blast of enthusiasm, but the inner workings of a mare with complex emotions was sometimes hard to see.

Well, at least until recently.

Applejack thought this last point as she made her way into the foyer, and found both Pinkie and Fluttershy laying next to the metal door to the room Twilight had encased herself inside. Pinkie of course had the longest face that the orange mare had ever seen from of her. The frown was a deep one, the sides of her lips sagging as far as her face would allow, or at least a normal pony's face. As for Fluttershy, the newcomer had a frown as well, though it was most likely due to concern for her friend rather than actual unhappiness.

“Hey 'Shy,” Applejack whispered, attempting not to disturb the mare inside the enclosed room. “How're ya doin'?”

“Oh... umm...” Fluttershy paused for a second. “I'm doing alright. Rainbow is getting some food right now, and I’m not hungry, so I decided to come say hi to you and Pinkie. That's not a problem, is it?”

“Of course not.” Applejack got up closer, and with a careful movement, slid the tray onto the floor next to her, and sat herself down. “Ah for one welcome the company. Not tha' Pinkie here ain't good company, but... uhh... Ah mean it's good to see ya. Haven' talked to ya much.”

“Oh, don't worry. You've been busy, and... umm...” Fluttershy blushed slightly, “...I've been a little occupied.”

Applejack nudged the yellow pegasus lightly. “Ah sure you have been, 'specially after the lights go out, if ya get wha' Ah'm sayin'.”

To that, her yellow friend's face flushed even more red, a quiet stutter escaping the mare's lips as she spoke. Wh-wh-what? Oh... no no no. Dashie and I haven't... we weren't... at least not since... oh dear...”

“Ah'm just teasin' ya Fluttershy.” Deciding to file that small bit of personal information under the ever growing amount of things to tease Rainbow with, Applejack again nudged the mare. “Don't go havin' a panic attack on me. Ah don' think RD would like tha' one one bit.”

“Oh, okay. Umm... how's Twilight doing?”

“She's sad,” Pinkie suddenly injected herself into the conversation.

The orange mare nodded. “Yeah. Really sad. Can' say tha' Ah blame her though. Sugarcube jus' had her entire past thrown righ' into her face a few days ago. Can' imagine how Ah would've takin' it.”

“But you did,” Fluttershy said, before lowering herself slightly. “I mean... have something like that happen to you, with Apple Bloom when Spike told the story.”

“That's... differen'.” Applejack sighed, before sliding her way down to her belly. “Don' get me wrong, when Spike told me 'bout Apple Bloom, it hurt. A lot. But, wha' Twilight's goin' through, it's different. When Spike told me about AB, tha' was it. He told me, an' it was over. Sure, Ah didn' like it, but Ah didn' have her body thrown righ' into mah face like Twi did. Ah mean, in a way, she's sittin' on Princess Celestia's grave righ' now. Ya get wha' Ah'm sayin'?”

Fluttershy lowered herself to her belly as well, meeting Applejack's gaze. “But... that's a good thing, right?”

“Good? Ah don' understand wha' you're sayin'. How is this good?”

“Umm... how do I say it.” The pegasus was quiet for a few moments before she began again, “With Apple Bloom, yes, she's... umm...gone, but Princess Celestia, she's just trapped in stone, right?”

“Ah don' see your point, but yeah.”

“Well... if the Elements of Harmony can turn Discord into stone, couldn't they also turn Celestia back from stone?”

Applejack paused, and thought to herself for a few seconds. That was true. Very, very true. Why couldn't they turn Celestia back? That was the same thing as turning a creature into stone, right? There wasn't any difference... maybe?

She shook her head. “Ah reckon tha' tha' migh' be true, but considerin' Twi hasn' mentioned it at all, tha' idea doesn't look too good. 'Sides, even if tha' was true, we still can' do it until Sarlaka gets RD's Element.”

Fluttershy sighed. “I guess that's right. Maybe after all of this we can try.”

“Ah think tha's an idea. Hope you're righ', 'Shy. Anyway. I got some food for both us and Twilight. Was jus' about to bring her share to her. Ah'll be out in jus' a sec.”

“I'll take it to her.”

Both Fluttershy and Applejack turned their heads, and looked at the still downcast pony to their right, Pinkie already getting up to put the tray on her back. Her face was serious, determined, and lacked all of the happy and perky traits that the cowpony had grown to love about her.

With a sigh, Applejack spoke, “Ya sure, Sugarcube? Ah was jus' gonna take it into her, and come righ' out. Nothin' fancy.”

“I'm sure,” the slightly depressed mare responded.

Receiving a nod from Applejack, Pinkie finished putting the tray on her back, and with a little help from Fluttershy and Applejack opening the door, she made her way into into the dimmed room.

Inside, it was a depressing sight. The lights were dimmed, the walls were bare, and with the exception of the massive statue in the center, there wasn't a single object in the chamber. Twilight herself was laying on one of the hooves of the statue, not really looking at anything, her gaze focused more on the back wall than anything else.

“Hey, Twi-Twi,” Pinkie whispered, her voice still traveling through the entire room clearly. She slowly began to make her way across the empty room, her hooves sending a sharp echo with each tap they made against the hard stone underhoof. Swallowing a sock in her throat, she wasn't sure why she was so nervous with the situation at hoof. It was only Twi-Twi... right?

Still, the silence was unnerving.

Swallowing the second sock in her throat, the pair of hoof-wear now in her stomach, she began again, “I was just bringing you some yummies.” Carefully Pinkie set down the tray of goodies, and waited for Twilight's reply.

Silence.

Pinkie was now swallowing a pair of shoes. “Twi-Twi, you've been in here for a very long time. I think it might be a good idea to come out and talk to your friends.”

Silence.

High-Top boots now. “We're starting to worry about you. Do you... do you maybe wanna talk to us? Please?”

Silence.

Pinkie waited a few more seconds before releasing the air in her lungs. She wasn't sure what to do. She knew her friend was hurting, that was for certain, but what could she do to help? Was there anything she could do to help? The two ponies did have an awkward rift between them, and it wasn't getting any better by just standing here, begging for the magical mare to come out. Perhaps it was time to let Twilight remain in her solitude, and think. Turning, she intended to do just that.

Until a single bout of inspiration came to her head.

Her body facing the door, she began, “For a few days now, I've been thinking about the world... well... the old world I mean, where we were able to go outside and do nothing but have fun every day and night. Thinking back, I’m starting to get scared, because I can't quite remember as much as I wanted to of the ponies I loved. I don't mean loved... romantically, but I mean family and friends, friends outside of you and the other girls. The Cakes I remember somewhat, but a lot of the details I took for granted I don't remember. Even my family...” Pinkie's eyes blurred with tears, “...my own family... I... I can't remember their faces at all.”

There was still silence in the room, but now that she had traction, Pinkie wasn't as nervous as before. Tears threatening to fall, she chuckled. “It's funny in a sick way. Back when we were in Ponyville, I never gave a second thought towards my family back on the rock farm. I always assumed that 'hey, I can talk to them whenever I wanted, so why do I have to make the effort now?' Heh... I guess the saying that we don't realize what we have until we lose it is really does mean something, huh? If we didn't come here, in this crazy and wacky place, I wouldn't give a second thought to my family. Now? I... I would give up parties forever to see them again.”

Pinkie knew that Twilight wasn’t going to say anything, but right now, it didn't matter to her. What mattered was that she finished her thought. “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that you aren't alone here when it comes to grieving. We've all lost ponies we've loved, friends we've neglected, and family we... left on bad terms with. Just remember that you can talk to any of us, not necessarily me. I know the rest of them would be more than happy to talk to you... if you don't like talking to me.”

She began to make her way out. Even if Twilight didn't hate her, it wasn't the time to linger over the mare, especially after that last line. It didn't matter to Pinkie though, she said what needed to be said, and even if Twi-Twi didn't come to her, she would surely talk to one of her friends. Applejack or Rarity would be great ponies to—

“Wait...”

Pinkie turned back towards her, a very confused face on display. Twilight herself wasn't sure why she called out to the mare in front of her, but whatever the reason, it was too late to take it back now. It must have shown on her own face how troubled she was feeling, for the longer that the two looked at each other, the lower and lower Pinkie's mood seemed to drop.

Finally steeling her resolve, she whispered, “Please... don't go...”

There was another few seconds that the pair looked at each other, neither really knowing what to say or do. The entire time, the last three words seemed to replay in her mind, the desperate and somewhat pathetic plea teasing her, mocking her, every time it replayed. She must have looked like a fool, making such a silly request, not only because of the situation she was making it in, but because she asked the one mare that she had been so terrible to recently.

It was those reasons that caused Twilight to widen her eyes as Pinkie turned, and headed back towards her. The way she walked, the slow and careful steps were so... so... uncharacteristic for the normally excitable mare. Was Twilight the cause of all of this? Was that one encounter in the dining room that much of a bad memory for them, or was it more the tolls of this terrible, terrible time beating the happiness out of the mare in front of her.

She wasn't sure which she would rather want.

Caught in her thoughts, she was taken by surprise when she felt the soft hairs of her friend brush up against her, Pinkie laying down right up against her side. Instinctively, Twilight shifted, allowing some of her weight to press against the pony next to her. With a deep sigh from both of them, they just lay there, enjoying the company.

The silence reigned, allowing the unicorn to think about what was going to happen. There was going to be a battle, that was certain, but past that, she wasn't sure what was going to happen. Would they triumph in the battle, destroy Discord, and save all of Equestria? Would they barely scrape by a victory, suffer a terrifying amount of deaths, and barely survive? Would they lose, but stay alive to fight another day?

Would they all die, and forever give control of the world to Discord, allowing him to reign in a world of chaos?

A shiver traveled through her, and flew through Pinkie. Twilight lightly rested her head between Pinkie's shoulders, and sighed. “Spike... please... please be safe...”

Wind whipping against his face, Sarlaka few across the landscape, eyeing the ground below. This was one of the very useful traits about him that most other commanders couldn't match. He was able to fly high in the air, and scout out the terrain for possible choke-points, troop movements, ambushes, and other logistically important information. Sure, being a pegasus would confer the same advantage, but there really weren't that many pegasi outside of the small flight corps that could fulfill this sort of role effectively.

That, and being a heavily armored dragon helped with survivability as well.

From the looks of things, the Harmony Coalition was still encamped in the valley ahead of him, meaning that there wasn’t' any sort of natural barriers between that military force and him. No mountain passes, no river crossings, and no sneaky underhanded tricks. Just large fields and plains. Sure, there were a few lakes between the two, but they wouldn't be much of a threat to actual movements.

He banked left, and with a leisured glide, began to make his way back to where he came from. Slowly, his body fell from the sky, the heavy scale armor easily supported by the massive panels of skin stretching in his wings. It was slower than flapping his wings, sure, but it would allow him to save his strength and energy, and considering the amount he required to eat, any amount of energy he could save would be well worth the extra minute or two.

Several minutes later, he carefully flew to a small hill overlooking the plains all around him, and with a few heavy beats of his wings to slow his movements, landed onto the outcropping with a thud. It was an ironically calm and pleasant day, considering what was about to happen. The wind was still, the sun was bright, and he swore that if it was a little quieter, he'd be able to hear the sounds of actual wildlife around him.

With a loud 'pop', that calm ended.

“Are we there yet?”

Sarlaka sighed heavily. “For the last time, what does it look like to you? Does it look like we arrived yet?”

Discord giggled, a devilish smile on his face. “Oh please, don't be so mopey, my little dragon friend. I’m just so terribly bored!"

“Then why did you come? You could have waited in your little castle,” Sarlaka said with another exasperated sigh.

“Because that's even worse! I do have to say though, your idea of bringing these insane friends with us?” Discord pulled out an umbrella, and used it to shield himself from the sun. “Totally makes up for how long this is taking.”

“If you say so, Discord.”

“Oh, I do say so!” The draconequus rolled back and forth on his feet. “Anyway, how does it look out there? Any super amazing surprising things that require my observations? I could certainly use some excitement.”

Chuckling slightly, Sarlaka turned his head towards Discord. “Unfortunately for you, it looks like they're not going to be pulling any sort of tricks or traps of any kind. Instead, they are hedging their bets on a brute force approach. Assuming that, we should arrive early tomorrow morning, and as long as things stay the course, we should be ready to fight the afternoon of the day after.”

Discord and Sarlaka both turned, and watched the area around them. On all sides, row after row of ponies pressed forward, their curiously ordered march thundering past the two creature's perch. Every single one had blank eyes, their minds corrupted by the chaotic creature above them. Sarlaka knew their capabilities—they were highly skilled, would never run or surrender, and stubbornly hard to put down.

The God of Chaos smiled. “Marvelous.”

A/N: Yes yes, I know it's late. Sue me (please don't really).

Chapter 40: Beginning of the End

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“Let's see... now where did I put that satchel...”

Rarity was muttering these words to herself as she continued to gather the assorted supplies she might need for the upcoming battle. Captain Wilks had come in a few hours before to let the six mares know that the main battle was going to start soon, and as such, the girls should be ready to deal with anything. She had already found her sword—the weapon always placed near her bed every night before she went to sleep. However, she was strangely unable to find the bag of diamonds that she also used on a near daily basis. She had been searching for these diamonds for the greater part of an hour now, but no matter how much she searched and no matter where she searched, there was absolutely no sign of them.

For but a moment, the thought of just abandoning them completely and using some of the various gems in Spike's massive hoard instead had crossed her mind. Rubies, sapphires, and other similar gemstones weren't nearly as hard and durable as diamonds, but they would definitely work with the task at hoof. However, she decided against that idea as soon as she thought of it, the thought completely ludicrous in her eyes. This was not just because of Spike's threat a few weeks ago of what would happen if she did “steal” from the dragon's hoard—and the fiery consequences of his territorial instincts—but because those diamonds were a gift from him to her, and she'd be a mule for thoughtlessly tossing both them and his feelings aside like they meant nothing.

After checking under the sack of flour for the fifth time, Rarity frowned to herself. “I guess I can check the bedroom again.”

A heavy sigh signaling to nopony in particular her exit, she walked her way out of the pantry, and into the foyer. The rest of the girls were off doing whatever they could do to get ready for the upcoming battle as well. Rainbow had been even more anxious than Rarity had ever seen her before, and while the pegasus still touted the idea that they weren't going to be getting into any sort of fight, Rainbow had started to prepare herself nonetheless. Rarity had seen the pegasus sparring with Applejack a few hours ago in an effort to make sure both of their fighting skills were sharp. Of course, considering how hard the two were going at it, it looked like they were trying to kill each other in the process. As for the cowpony, when she wasn't sparring with Rainbow, Applejack was making sure that her climbing claws were as sharp as she could get them.

Twilight and Pinkie were inseparable recently, and while it wasn't for the romantic reasons that both Rarity and Pinkie were hoping for, their contact with each other seemed to have been very therapeutic for the unicorn. As much as Rarity had been hoping for a happy ending like Fluttershy and Rainbow had gotten, the party pony had insisted what she had with Twilight now was good enough. Sure, Twilight was still being quiet, but her constant companion was more than happy to speak for her. As for Fluttershy... well... Rarity had no idea where the mare had gone today, only that as soon as Wilks had informed them about the impending battle, she had mysteriously disappeared into parts unknown. However, the last place Rarity had heard that Fluttershy had been hiding out in was the bedroom.

It was that room that Rarity was currently entering.

Opening the door, she was surprised to find Fluttershy now nose-to-nose with her—the mare apparently walking out of the bedroom at the same time Rarity was walking in. Both ponies jumped back in shock—Fluttershy eliciting a small “eep” as she fell onto her back. It was a few seconds before both ponies calmed themselves a little and giggled in response to their slight overreaction—Rarity bringing herself back to her hooves as she laughed.

She hooked her forehoof around Fluttershy's, and with a pull, helped the mare back onto her hooves. “Fluttershy, darling, I’m sorry so terribly sorry. Are you alright?”

Fluttershy gave a much heavier sigh, ending her giggles. Looking down, the timid pony looked at her injured wing to make sure that something bad hadn't happened to it from the fall. “Oh, it's alright, Rarity. And I’m alright as well.”

“Well good! Please, darling, join me. I haven't seen you in the longest time,” Rarity spoke as her smile widened. “Besides, maybe you can help me find the satchel of diamonds that I lost.”

“Oh... umm... I think I saw it somewhere in here...” Fluttershy trotted quickly behind Rarity, and began to aid the unicorn in her search.

For a few minutes, the two ponies looked around the room, letting the silence blanket them while they hunted for the satchel. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence—at least at first—and the two were perfectly content with just keeping each other company. Besides, considering that they were trying to find the gems, she was alright with them just working to make sure that they were putting their entire effort into looking for the bag.

Of course, five minutes later, and Rarity couldn't handle the silence any longer. With a quick look at the pegasus on the other side of the room, the unicorn spoke, “So Fluttershy, are you ready?”

“Umm... ready for what?” Fluttershy said with more than a little bit of shakiness in her voice.

Rarity ignored the nervousness in the mare's voice. “Why, for the upcoming fight we're going to have to take part in.”

Fluttershy must have been holding something in her hooves when those words entered her ears, for the sound of something being dropped onto the ground suddenly reverberated through the chamber. Her voice now much more shaky than before, she stammered, “B-b-but I thought that Rainbow said we weren't going to have to fight...”

“Well, yes she did. However, I've been trying to tell her that I’m certain we're going to have to fight something at some point. I would be surprised otherwise.”

“Oh... umm... oh dear.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Fluttershy visibly shrink a little closer to the ground, the mare whispering, “I don't think I’m ready...”

Rarity shrugged off her friend's response to her just being a little nervous. “Me neither I guess, but what's got to be done has to be done, right?”

There was a very noticeable pause in the conversation—along with the sounds of very heavy and quick breathing—before Fluttershy responded, “I... I guess...”

It was then that she realized that Fluttershy's 'just a little nervous' emotion had quickly become 'full on fear'. Rarity's head whirling around, looked at the mare at the opposite side of the room, and saw that—in all honesty—Fluttershy didn't outwardly look that frightened. Sure, there was the minor trembles and the quicker breathing, but not the completely paralyzing fear that had plagued her before they came to this time. Curious.

Still, Fluttershy's reaction brought Rarity's entire attention to her friend's mood—the unicorn realizing that she stepped over a line at some point. Taking a few steps forward, she spoke softly, “You alright, dear?”

Fluttershy closed her eyes and shook her head vigorously, her pink mane swishing from one side of her head to the other. Opening her eyes again, she looked straight down. “No...”

Covering the rest of the distance between them quickly, Rarity made her way to Fluttershy's side. With a smile on her face, she spoke with the softest voice possible, “Neither am I, I suppose. I don't think any of us is really ready. I know Applejack, for example, is doing her best to prepare by sparring with your dear marefriend, but I suspect it is mostly to try and calm her nerves before what's to come. Alas, like I said, what must be done must be done.”

The shaken pegasus nodded slowly, an audible gulp coming from her throat. “I just... I know everypony is looking to each other for help, and I know it's going to be dangerous, but I don't see how I can be any help at all. I just... I’m scared.”

“Well,” Rarity pressed her side a little harder against her friend, “in that case, just make sure to stay behind Rainbow Dash the entire time. She's more than capable of taking care of herself, and I know she'll do anything to keep you safe.”

Again, Fluttershy nodded in response. Softly, her trembling voice broke through a little, “Do you really think that everypony will be alright? I don't like thinking about everypony that is going to... umm...”

Rarity cut her off before she could say anything more, “Fluttershy, it is as Spike said. Ponies are going to... well... give themselves up to save Equestria, but we are going to be alright. We are much too strong for anything that could even dream of fighting against us, especially if Rainbow is helping you out! Why, not a single thing I can think of stands a chance against us six!” Rarity said as she nudged the pegasus again.

The unicorn hoped that Fluttershy didn't see through the white lie.

She suddenly found the mare against her move, and after stumbling slightly, Rarity turned to her left to see Fluttershy's wide eyes. “But... what about you? You talk about how much Rainbow can help me, but who's going to look after you? Who's... who's going to be your protector?”

She thought to herself for a second—the mare not entirely sure how to answer that question. It was true, while Fluttershy did have Rainbow looking after her, there really wasn't anypony there to guard—to be blunt about it—her little white flank. Sure, the rest of their friends were going to look after each other, that much was for certain. However, considering it was a given for all of them, it wasn't special solely for her. Twilight and Pinkie—if subconsciously at least—were most likely going to look after each other, Rainbow would look after Fluttershy, and Applejack... well... Applejack was strong enough to look after herself well enough.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a slight glitter of light from next to the fireplace. Pausing her thoughts of the impending battle for a moment, she slowly walked over to where the shining object was. As soon as she got close, she nearly let out a filly-like squeal, for finally she had found the bag of diamonds that she had been searching for for the past several hours. How it got to be right next to the fireplace she'd never understand—she attributed it to Pinkie playing with them or something.

Looking at the single gem that was hanging out of the knocked over bag, she found the answer to the question that was hovering over both her and Fluttershy for the past several seconds. Slowly, she turned back to Fluttershy and locked eyes with the mare, the pegasus' face filled with either confusion, concern, or maybe a mixture of both. Igniting her horn, she lifted all of the diamonds out of the bag, and allowed them to float in the air in front of her face—a smile growing on her lips the entire time.

As her eyes gazed at the dozens of gemstone spikes circling in front of her, she sighed. “My noble protector is currently out performing a duty that is so much more dangerous than our own. Therefore, I'll just have to think of him as I protect myself.”

The bright sun above bore down on him, yet the eternal heat of the day had almost no influence on the dragon. Behind him, past the dozen rows of pegasus ponies, a near endless field of dead or dying grasses stretched on, eventually merging with a mountain range that jutted out of the earth. On the near side of one of those mountains—or maybe the valley below at this point—the ruins of the destroyed city of Canterlot lay, along with the bones of thousands of ponies long dead. Past that, the plains continued on into the northern domains, whose rulers were unknown even to himself, while the earth fell into the sea in the south.

To the dragon's left, he could barely make out the town of Conflound over the horizon. The town had been mostly stripped of its stallion population—the ponies used to form part of the new Seventh Army—in preparation for the battle. While that would give the Harmony Coalition a large numerical advantage, and with it a fighting chance, it also meant that if Discord won, there would certainly be dire consequences for the settlement. Assuming that Discord didn't decide to turn the town into a smoking ruin—whether in revenge for the conscripts or just for the sheer humor of it—many would die from the starvation following the inevitable failed harvest. Past Conflound, the former domain of Lord Xavier lay. If Sarlaka was correct, the lands in that former domain were still in pony hooves, but it was only a matter of time until the Buffalo Horde crushed the disorganized remaining military, sacked or razed Xavier City, and after that, steamrolled over into his own domain.

In front of him, the vast force of the Discordian 'zombies'—as he liked to call them—were nearly filed up and ready. It was only the left wing that needed to finish getting into formation, and that would only take a few more minutes. Past those forces, both sides were most likely already engaging each other in minor skirmishing actions—each army both screening the other as well as attempting to instigate a premature charge. It wouldn't stop either side from a full blown attack of course, and neither side would charge headlong into a disorganized attack, but it was an amusing little game before the actual storm. Past the somewhat disorganized lines of skirmishers, Harmony's Coalition was lined up with the fake Elements at the heads of various positions of command. Most likely that entire force was already formed up due to their speed and efficiency of completing the task—the skill was one he had forced his armies to practice more than most others—and was merely waiting for the impending charge. Past that, lay the mountains that housed his lair, as well as the true location of the all important mares. Past that... well... it didn't really matter what was beyond those mountains.

To his right, Discord stood, a slightly crazed smile on his face.

“Before I initiate this attack,” Sarlaka looked straight ahead as he spoke, “I must ask you one single solitary question, Discord.”

“I already told you that I would marry you, my dearest Sarlaka. I’m flattered that you finally asked.”

The dragon ignored the sarcastic comment. “Not even a week ago, I told you that the Elements of Harmony had formed up a massive army outside my cave, and were going to lead it against you and myself in a bid for freedom in the name of the former Princesses. However, as completely out of the blue this situation must have sounded, you never questioned it once. You just told me to get your forces—though I think you called them your 'asylum clowns'—together, and march on them. Why?”

Discord laughed. “Oh really, is that important in the end? Why can't I just not question things?”

“Because it is what any normal creature, sane or not, would do,” Sarlaka mumbled to himself, yet loud enough so the draconequus could hear him.

“But why should I?” Discord floated up to Sarlaka's head, and rested an arm on the top of his snout. “You're my most trusted lord out there, you said there is an enemy army that is attempting to usurp me, and it is lead by the Elements of Harmony themselves? Why, that's all the reason I need. Of course, the fact that I’m completely bored out of my mind might have something to do with it, so why question it at all?”

“If you say so.” Sarlaka sighed, and with a flick of his claw, he brushed Discord off of his head. Raising his right arm high, and his voice booming across the landscape, Sarlaka ordered for the attack to commence. “All forces, ch—”

“Wait,” Discord interrupted, “don't order the attack quite yet.”

Silencing himself, Sarlaka glared at the vile creature next to him as he lowered his claw. Slowly, he took a deep breath, counted to three, and released the air in his lungs with a puff of black smoke. He continued to look straight in front of him as he muttered, “And what, Discord, is missing?”

“I'm not entirely sure...” Discord brought his own claw to his chin, and thought to himself. Out of the corner of the dragon's remaining eye, he could almost see the gears in the Discord's mind spin. Seconds turned into nearly a full minute as the draconequus thought to himself, until he smiled. “Ah, but of course! How could I forget something so simple?”

With a snap of his fingers, the sun instantly became obscured, and a heavy downpour started across the land.

A scowl now on his face, Sarlaka turned towards the now overly smiling creature. “Really? You would rather do this fight in the rain?”

Lightning cracked overhead, outlining Discord's smile. “Oh come now. You can't expect me to actually pass up an opportunity like this? Hmm? Two armies—one fighting for harmony, one fighting for chaos—soon to be locked in combat with each other for the glory of victory over the other. Stormy skies above, the two sides clash in a battle that will be told for generations. It's a storybook staple right before our eyes!”

“...I really do hate you.”

“Oh come now, what kind of battle would you like instead? Hmm? Maybe we can compromise.”

“A dry one.”

“Ah, never mind the compromise then.” Discord floated a few feet into the air, leaned back, and cradled his head in his claws as he continued, “Anyway, can we get on with this whole battle thing? I’m so terribly bored with waiting.”

“Very well,” Sarlaka muttered, his eye facing back to the front. He raised his right claw once again, and again with a booming voice, shouted, “All forces, charge!!”

A/N: I did a quick count. Only six more chapters to post... and for me, there's only 4 left to write (I wrote two more already)

Chatper 41: Raging Tides

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As much as his face didn't show it, Lord Sarlaka hated battles. The sounds of bodies slamming into each other from the impact of charges were heard all around. The sounds of ponies yelling out screams of rage and anger entered his ears as they fought against their foes. The sounds of stallions' cries of pain as they met their bloody end raddled his mind. Even the distinct lack of sounds during quiet lulls in the action as the two sides backed off for a moment, only to have them come crashing together was terrifying. All of these were awful, with almost every single sound being the end of a life.

The worst sounds, though, were the soft thumps of pegasi crashing into the ground—the vast majority alive and fully aware until the point of impact.

A few hours ago, Sarlaka had taken to the darkened skies above the field of carnage. He was not there to join the fight, but to scout out what the status of the battle looked like, braving the growing thunderstorm around him as he did so. So far, while Discord's army was definitely pushing hard on Harmony's Coalition's left flank—their recently conscripted Seventh Army apparently had been positioned there—the vast majority of the battle line had been fairly stable. If anything, the sheer weight of numbers on Harmony's side had been pushing Discord's forces back slightly, though considering how much more powerful those “zombie ponies” were, it wasn't much of an advantage. However, considering Seventh Army's failures, this push might be a fatal flaw in their plan—their left flank almost becoming dangerously exposed.

The swarms of pegasi were still clashing in the skies, though it was obvious that the numbers on both sides had been thinned tremendously. It was hard to tell from here, especially considering the rain that was pelting against his scaled face, but from the looks of it, Harmony's Coalition was dominating in this contest. He attributed it to the superior training and numbers of their forces. Sure, each of Discord's pegasi was stronger and hardier than any typical pegasus, but these augmentations weren't enough to save his air forces from their destruction.

Besides, it really didn't matter how strong you were really; you weren't going to fly if you were missing a wing.

As for the small skirmishes on the far edges of the field of battle, there really wasn't that much to speak of. There was no possibility of either side routing from the field, there was no actual siege weaponry to speak of on either side to lob at enemy columns, and there was no naval battle off the coast for him to try and command at the same time. All in all, it was a fairly typical battle—except for their lack of routing—that dealt more with a battle of attrition than anything else.

Which meant that Discord's forces had the edge.

“I'm bored. Did we win yet?”

Sarlaka could only groan at the creature next to him. “Does it look like we won?”

“Well... maybe the heat of the day is getting to me, and I'm imagining the swell fight in front of me!”

“Discord, you made a massive thunderstorm. It is not hot at all.”

The draconequus waved his paw in boredom as lay in his lounger. “Details, details. So... did we win?”

Pinching the bridge of his snout, Sarlaka continued, “We are only about an hour into this thing, and from the looks of it, we are in a deadlock. Normally, I would say the battle will not end until one side loses their nerve and breaks, but considering that Harmony's forces have nowhere to rout to, and your zombies do not have the mind to run, I do not see that happening. Instead, I suppose that this will only end when one side completely crushes the other. And that,” Sarlaka sighed, “might take a long while.”

Discord stretched his legs a little. “So, basically, you're telling me to be patient?”

“Exactly.”

“I see...” the draconequus mumbled as he lay himself back down on his lounger. Sarlaka looked back up, and was just about to further inspect the army's situation when the loud voice perked back up again. “I'm still bored. Seriously, Sarlakielaka, why can't I just go in, shoot a few world-wipe meteorites, get this over with, we all go home, and Miller Time?”

“That is something that I would not advise,” Sarlaka spoke as he looked around the battlefield. A terrible and large crack of lightning streaked across the sky, followed instantly after by a half dozen brightly burning dots falling to the ground. It was somewhat difficult to get a good look from the ground, but considering his height, he was able to get a fair enough view—at least as far as the rain allowed. Not only that, but everything had appeared to darken even more in just the last few minutes.

“Before the battle started,” Sarlaka began again, “I was able to see that the Elements of Harmony are not only commanding their army, but are actually on the field of battle itself. Normally, I would just send some reserve pegasi flights to take down one or two of them so the threat of the utilization of the Elements was removed, but considering you decided to turn on the rain, I lost track of them.”

Discord was too busy digging through a bag to respond right away. It took a few seconds, but eventually the God of Chaos found what he was looking for, and pulled out the umbrella-hat. “I see. This is supposed to stop my world-wiping meteorites of doom... how?”

“Because,” the dragon sighed to himself for what felt like the hundredth time today, a headache slowly growing, “if you were to start dropping pieces of the mountain or something equally as ridiculous on parts of the army, the Elements would know that you were here, and would just run away. You know fully well that Magic knows how to teleport, and all she would have to do is get close to her friends, and everything we do today would be worthless.”

“Fine fine,” Discord fussed, throwing himself back onto his lounger. “It doesn't really matter anyway. Soon, it won't be an issue, and in a few minutes, I'll be able to go bang-bang boom-boom all day long without that petty reason for you to worry about.”

Sarlaka turned to him, his brow scrunched together in confusion. “That will not be an issue? What do you mean?”

“Why, it's rather simple really. The Elements of Harmony are still in your lair.”

The dragon was glad Discord had closed his eyes, for even if it was for a split second, the blind would've been able to see the shock and fear that flashed through Sarlaka's eyes. He did his best to return back tho his former demeanor, his tone slow and each word calculated as he spoke, “What do you mean they are in my lair? I scouted earlier, and I saw them on the battlefield just an hour ago. I saw Magic leading the army with my own eyes!”

The grotesque monster rolled back over to his side, barely able to contain his laughter behind the talon over his mouth. “Heh... eyes?”

“Yes, with my own two—” Sarlaka stopped, and with a heavy sigh, began again, “You are nothing but a child. Yes, I saw them my my own EYE!”

Ignoring the correction, Discord stood, and walked towards Sarlaka. “Yes you did, except you didn't. What you saw out there was simply a collection of decoys.”

Fear welling up more, Sarlaka's voice nearly caught in his throat as he slowly muttered, “Decoys?”

Discord rose himself so that he was level with the dragon's height and patted the top of Sarlaka's head. “That's right! Decoys.”

The draconequus turned himself, so that his gaze fell over the thousands of dying ponies in front of them. The lightning cracked again, outlining his widening smile. “That's why I sent some... friends to go say hello to them.”

Applejack nudged a ruby off the top of one of the larger piles, and watched as the gemstone slowly built up speed as it rolled down. She wanted to see just how far it would travel, as well as see if it would break her individual record that she had set a few minutes ago. Faster and faster the gem rolled, until it had picked up a fairly healthy speed. Unfortunately, it was prematurely stopped by the cyan body of Rainbow Dash, the mare inconveniently laying right in the middle of the little path that Applejack had claimed for her own devices.

Rainbow turned towards the ruby, then looked at Applejack. Both times, Applejack saw the pony shooting daggers out of her eyes in annoyance. It was somewhat understandable—this wasn't the first time the multicolor-maned mare had been hit by a gem—but it was still a massive overreaction to the impact. Of course, just like the last few times, the mare merely took a deep breath, ignored the annoying act, and slumped her head back onto her crossed forelegs. A few seconds later, Applejack heard a heavy exhale from her, and assumed that she was attempting to get some shuteye again.

A few seconds later, Applejack knocked a sapphire down the pile, and just like the previous gem, it knocked against the pegasus.

“RRRAAHHH!!!!” Rainbow picked herself up onto her hooves, and glared at Applejack for a second. The mare looked down at the gem at her hooves, snarling at the offensive device. Cyan hooves wrapped themselves around the gem, and with a mighty heave, she threw the sparkling stone across the foyer. The sound of the deep blue stone striking the floor on the opposite side of the room reverberated through the nearly empty room, the sound echoing through the chamber. A few seconds later, the only sound was the heavy breathing of the angry pegasus in front of the earth pony.

“Rainbow, darling, really? Could you be so kind as to settle yourself down?” Rarity groaned as she lowered her head back onto her folded forelegs. “I am trying to relax over here.”

Rainbow Dash snorted again in annoyed fury as she now faced the unicorn, a hoof pointed in Applejack's direction. “Relax!? Gee, that's nice! I would like to relax as well, except that freakin' pony up there keep throwing rocks at me!”

“Rainbow, I'm sure it was an accident. Why don't you just relax and... umm... try to take in the atmosphere of the room around you. There are a lot of little details in the décor that I hadn't noticed until just today.”

“Oh trust me, I tried. I really really tried to do that, except that I already did just that, remember!? This is the second time that I decided to look around and say, 'Ooh! Look at all the pretty rocks.' I was stuck here for a few hours after Sarlaka beat the ever-living Tartarus out of me. Remember that? I was stuck in that cage over there!” she yelled as she pointed at the birdcage-like prison against the wall, the door long since ripped off of the hinges.

Rarity was about to say something, before she cocked her head in confusion. “Huh... how did I miss that thing? I would've thought Spike would've gotten rid of that thing days ago. Hmm...”

Just quickly as she got off track, the mare shook her head, and got back to the subject at hoof. “Look, that isn't the point. The point is that you shouldn't be throwing your anger at dear Applejack, or anypony at all! Just try to relax.”

“I AM RELAXED!!”

“Rainbow Dash, please,” Twilight nearly whispered as she looked at the mare. “I know that you're getting stir crazy. I'm starting to feel the same way, but we can't be fighting with each other right now, especially since we'll probably need to use the Elements in the near future.”

Rainbow's anger seemed to instantly evaporate as the words entered her ears. Those ears folded flat onto her head instantly after as she looked at the rest of her Element-adorned friend, and then touched her bare neck.“Yeah... the Elements...”

Fluttershy lightly nudged her head against Rainbow's side, and tried her best to give a smile. “Don't worry, Rainbow. Spike is getting your Element now.”

Rainbow used a forehoof to carefully stroke Fluttershy's mane in response. “Yeah... I'm sure he is.”

“Ya don' think tha' he's gonna try an' get it?” Applejack spoke, her brow furrowing as her confusion mounted.

The formerly angry pegasus shook her head as she replied, “No. That's not what I meant at all.”

“Then what did you mean, dear Rainbow Dash?”

“Well... Discord has my Element, right?” The rest of the ponies nodded in response. “Well... how can we assume that Scaley's just going to be able to just waltz on over there, beat the snot out of Discord, and get it without worry? Who's to say that he won't lose? What if he tries... and fails?”

“Because he... umm...” Twilight mumbled, her voice trailing off as she thought about what Rainbow said. The rest of the girls also went quiet, imagining the implications of that as well. They had assumed that it was a sure bet that Sar... err... Spike was going to get the Element of Loyalty from Discord no sweat, but not getting it was definitely a possibility. What was their backup plan?

Dread filling Applejack's mind, she realized there was no backup plan—it was either this, or nothing.

Rarity shifted uneasily “Spikey won't fail.”

Rainbow took a step forward. “But what if he does?”

Twilight lowered her head as well. “He... he won't...”

The pegasus looked now at both of the unicorns. “But what if he does!? Are we just going to sit here, and pray that another massive dragon with close ties with Discord comes along, and decides to help us!?”

“N...no...” Rarity shrunk back a little. “I... I don't think—”

“Alrigh', alrigh'. Let's not get our tails in a bunch. Ah think tha' we shouldn' worry 'bout it for now. Jus' figure it out when the time comes. Ya know?” Applejack intervened. “Look, Ah know it ain' somethin' pretty to think 'bout, but there's no sense in thinkin' 'bout it now. Too late to go 'bout an' change our plan now. Migh' as well go through with this plan, and see where it takes us. If we do fail, then we'll figure out wha' to do then. Alrigh'?”

Fluttershy looked up at the pegasus. “Please... Rainbow... just calm down...”

Rainbow looked down at her marefriend, and with a deep sigh, Applejack could see her try to calm herself down. Whether it worked or not, was not entirely known. “I'm calm. I'm just worried.” Taking another second, she turned towards the entrance. “Hey girls, I'll be right back.”

“Right back?” Pinkie scrambled to her hooves. “What do you mean you're going to be 'right back?'”

She stopped, but didn't turn. “I'm going to get some fresh air.”

“RD.” Applejack lifted herself onto her hooves, the mare nearly slipping back onto the ground as a gem slipped from under her. Fortunately, she didn't fall, and instead, she slid herself down the pile of gems to the bottom. “Wha' are ya plannin'?”

“Nothing!” Rainbow turned towards the her, and glared, the powerful wings flared with emotion. A few seconds passed, the tension between the two growing with Rainbow's annoyance, before she finally closed her eyes, folded her wings, and whispered, “Sorry. I'm calm... I'm calm... I'm calm. Look, all I'm doing is going out to get some air. I promise. I'm not going to do anything stupid.” She opened her eyes. “Alright?”

“Alrigh'. Ah ain' mad at ya, Ah jus' don' want ya to do anythin' dumb,” she whispered back. A smirk on her face, she shoved her friend. “Ah also wanna get a piece of the action, ya hear? So don' go tryin' to take all of them on on your own.”

“Yeah yeah, I'll only do that if you're too slow.” Rainbow smiled as she did a few quick beats of her wings backwards in response to the shove—her hooves finally landing back down on the ground a good ten hooves distance away. A grin was still on her face she turned back towards the entrance. “Well, you only get some if you... oh... hey?”

Confused, Applejack turned towards the entrance as well, past Rainbow, and found herself looking at six visitors, none of which she recognized from the times that Captain Wilks came to check on them. The front-most two were a pair of unicorns, both stallions, with bright white coats akin to Rarity's. The first had a bright blue mane, similar to the color of a clear day's sky, while the second had a dull yellow mane. The fact that they were unicorns in the first place was a surprise in itself, for Sar... Spike had made clear that unicorns were extremely rare in this world, bordering on extinction.

The third creature, standing just behind those initial two, was a massive griffin. It—Applejack could never tell what a griffin's gender was just by looking at it—stood twice as tall as any of the girls, and was the typical brown with white feathers. Both of the massive wings were flared wide, adding to the already large appearance of the flying creature. Compared to Gilda, it was at least another head taller, and much much more muscular, at least when it came to its four standing limbs.

Next to these three—on their right—was a minotaur whose massive size dwarfed even the large griffin next to him. His large size, along with the brown hair covering the vast majority of his body, reminded the cowpony of a large grizzly bear that she had seen Fluttershy with once or twice a few months ago. On top of his head, two large horns, both about the size of his head, stood high above his head—the very points of each sharper than Applejack's climbing claws could ever hope to become. However, the most striking aspect of this creature was not any of his physical aspects, but the massive sword at his side. The massive weapon was easily the same size she was, and while the shape showed it was a typical weapon of war, the thought of such a giant weapon being wielded by the minotaur was... unnerving.

Finally the last two were a pegasus and an earth pony—the only “typical” ones out of the whole lot of them. The pegasus mare was a dull gray with a mane and tail to match, while the earth pony stallion was a dull tan with a darker brown mane and tail. Other than their dull colors, these two could actually fit in Equestria normally—at least physically—and there wouldn't have been a second look cast in their direction. There were no other striking things about any of these creatures that Applejack could make out.

Except that each had a dull, blank look to all of them—their emotionless eyes appearing to have no life behind them.

Rainbow took to the air, and with crossed forelegs, yelled out, “Hey! What's up guys? Did we win yet? I hope you guys left me a few jerks to—”

The two unicorns charged their horns, and within an instant, two vibrant green rays blasted their way towards the pegasus.

Time slowed to a standstill as the powerful magic streaked towards Rainbow. A scream was heard from behind Applejack as Rainbow Dash's reflexes kicked into action, the mare acting more on instinct than anything else. With a powerful stroke of her wings, she slowly began moving slightly higher into the stale air. The twin lines of emerald approached closer and closer to their target, the deadly bolts traveling much too quickly for even Rainbow to get out of the way. However, just before the point of no return, the pegasus grunted, tightened her muscles, and forced her body to contort in a semi-horizontal position mid-ascent. It was in that instant that the bolts reached where the mare just a second ago.

Other than the very tip of her tail, they completely missed.

Time seemed to speed back up as Applejack tracked the crisscrossing streams of magic across the room, until they impacted the far wall blocking Celestia's room. As soon as the twin spells impacted the stone, the entire wall surrounding the epicenter literally turned to dust, leaving nothing but a twenty hoof wide doorway with a large pile of sand on the bottom, the statue of the alicorn now in plain view. The opening went all the way from the floor to the ceiling, with almost perfectly “carved” edges along where the new opening was.

It was as if the former wall was never there.

Rainbow finally landed on the ground, and took a single wayward look at the tip of her tail, the multicolored hairs now an inch or two shorter than they were moments before. As she inspected her tail, Applejack galloped over to where Rainbow stood, and after planting her hooves on the ground next to her friend, glared at the hostile creatures in front of her. In response, their formerly emotionless glare turned much more malicious—their blank eyes narrowed.

Soon after, the pair of ponies were joined by the rest of their friends. Twilight's horn was ignited, ready to release its potent energy the moment that any other action was made. Rarity's sword was now in the air, along with every single diamond spike that she had been holding in the bag at her side. Pinkie—while unarmed—was growling like a wolf as she lowered her stance, and readied herself to pounce on any of them. Even Fluttershy—the mare as timid as a butterfly—had appeared next to Rainbow, and was glaring in the direction of the fiends.

Rainbow didn't hesitate to respond as she let a devious grin overtake her face. “Oh, so that's how you wanna do this? Awesome. I was just itching for a bad reason to stretch my wings.”

As if they had rehearsed it, all six of the mares charged the monsters in front of them at once.

Sarlaka just looked at Discord. “You are more clever than I thought.”

With a smile, the draconequus did a quick little backflip in the air, and crossed his arms. “You think so? I was afraid that you would find out that I was throwing them at your lair, and it would spoil the reveal. I'm glad that I was able to hide it from you enough.”

“Indeed you did. Considering how much I value intelligence and how much you seem to lack planning, I'm surprised you were able to pull off something so sly on me.”

“Oh dear Sarlaka, my friend,” Discord patted him on the side of his head, “you would be surprised with the amount of things that I have up my sleeves... well... metaphorically of course. Oh! By the way, I almost forgot to give you a little something-something that I promised you.”

With a snap of his fingers—and a small flash of fire—the Element of Loyalty floated in his hand.

As Sarlaka blinked in shocked confusion, Discord let out a loud laugh. “Oh Sarlaka! You should see your face! It's hilarious! It's like you just saw a ghost or something. Anyway, here you go! Have fun with it.”

With a flip of a talon, he floated the shining necklace over to the dragon. Sarlaka was almost too stunned to lift his claw to catch the precious artifact, the necklace nearly slipping out of his palm. Nearly taking a stumble from lifting on of his legs, he quickly readjusted his stance, so that he was now sitting up on his hind legs. For a few moments, the dragon did a quick inspection to make sure that it was the real thing, and not some kind of illusionary magic or a wooden prop.

No. This... this was the real thing.

“What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?” Discord asked, his voice filled with mock sympathy.

Sarlaka looked back up at the chaotic menace. “You're giving it to me? Just like that?”

Discord smiled wider. “Just like that.”

He clinched his claw tight, securing the Element in his protection. Looking back up, he looked straight into the eyes of the malicious creature in front of him. A thousand thoughts ran through his head at once—his desire to get back and protect the girls being number one on his list of priorities. He wasn't sure if they could take on whatever was just thrown at them by Discord, but he didn't want to take that chance—Discord's goons wouldn't stand a chance against him. Still, there was the simple problem of Discord standing next to him.

Discord scratched his cheek. “So, did you decide to join me, or try and—”

With a deep breath, Spike torched the air where Discord was floating with the hottest flame that he could muster. For several long seconds, he relentlessly expelled all of the air in his lungs to fuel the dragon fire. Longer and longer he blasted the God of Chaos, until the heat from the flame began to turn the ground below into molten glass—the dead grass long since turned to ashes. If Spike wasn't fireproof, he was certain that he himself would've been completely incinerated in moments just by standing nearby. Finally, he was forced to let up the flame, and with a deep inhale, the flames cleared.

Instead of what he hoped would remain—a pile of nothingness—he was greeted with the spitting image of Discord wearing swim trunks around his waist, sunglasses over his eyes, and sunblock on the top of his nose.

Through the superheated haze, Discord took his sunglasses off, and smiled. “Just what I was hoping for... more chaos.”

A/N: I self edited this chapter, so all the mistakes are my own. I also edited this just out of the hospital, so if there are mistakes, sue me.

Chapter 42: Fighting

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Twilight fed as much of her power as she could into the lightning blocking the other two spells, the sparks of the three electrical bolts dancing on all sides of her. As the spells began getting slightly closer to her, she put more and more energy into her own bolt to try to shore up her defensive. The smell of ozone filled the air around her as her entire vision was blocked out by the hot white lances of energy. Her eyes flared white for but a moment, before she pumped another pulse of magic into her horn, turned her head, and redirected the trio of lightning spells into the ceiling.

Upon their impact, the roof partially collapsed under the power—several boulders falling all around her. A few of them fell towards her, forcing her to dump more of her magic into a shield spell in an effort to block the rocks. When the cave-in finally settled, a huge cloud of dirt and dust filled the air around her general area. Fortunately, the dust all around her blocked her foe's vision. Unfortunately, her barrier above her didn't block out the dust around her, forcing her to fall into a coughing fit from the inhaled dust.

Twilight was surprised at these unicorns' power. Sure, she was much more powerful than either of them—only the most versed unicorns in Equestria could dream of matching her blow-for-blow in a contest of pure strength—but this was different. Spike had made a distinct point before to mention that unicorns were rare in this world. Because of this, Twilight had mistakenly assumed that any unicorns she would come across would be on par with many of the weakest magic users, and only capable of the simplest of cantrips. Alas, in her assumption, she never accounted that any unicorn capable of magic would be taught combat spells exclusively and extensively in this world. This focused nature in that particular subset of spells leveled the playing field significantly.

Of course, there was also the fact that the two were double-teaming her—alone they couldn't come close to fighting her, but together, they were more than a even match.

With the dust slightly clearing and the combat involving her reaching a natural pause, Twilight stole a chance to check on her friends. Applejack and Rarity had taken the initiative to double-team the massive minotaur to Twilight's left. Of course, from the looks of the battle, it was less of a double-team and more of the minotaur throwing an unrelenting offensive against an off balanced Rarity while Applejack did her best to distract the him in an attempt to save the unicorn—with mixed results. Greatsword in hand, the monster forced Rarity to dodge and parry constantly—never allowing the visibly exhausted mare a single opening in the onslaught of attacks.

Looking around the trio, Twilight noticed that Rarity's dozens of diamond spikes were strewn around the battlefield, each forgotten in the chaotic battle. If their roles were switched—and Twilight was the one fighting the minotaur—she would not only use all of those gems, but also the thousands of gems in Spikes hoard as weapons. Granted that even if Rarity was able to focus her mind enough to pull that feat off—parrying so many attacks looked treacherous enough—she definitely didn't have the free time to stop and think about that plan herself. Therefore, Rarity was stuck in a permanent defensive, with Applejack doing her very best to get in a minor hit or two with her claws when the minotaur wasn't careful about his flank.

Right above her, she noticed that—in the strangest match-up between any of them—Pinkie was in a fight with the pegasus. If Twilight had to guess, the pegasus mare and the earth pony stallion had traded combatants to try and take down Pinkie quickly, and then allow for a double-team somewhere else. Of course, considering that it was Pinkie Pie that the pegasus was fighting, and the fact that Pinkie was currently riding said pegasus, that plan failed before it was even thought of.

It was a strange thing to look at really. If she didn't know better, she would never guess that the two were in a battle, and more like one of Rainbow Dash's rides she sometimes gave her friend. Violent turns and flips continued to dominate the aerial display, with the pegasus trying his best to dislodge the pony and Pinkie doing her best to prevent such a long fall. Sadly, while it would be simple for the party pony to just smash the pegasus on the head and end the fight right there, the ensuing fall would be... problematic.

A loud screech brought her attention to the ceiling near the right wall, and she saw Rainbow Dash and the griffin in the closest thing to aerial combat you could get in this room. The pegasus, hoping to use her smaller size and agility to her advantage, jumped from pillar to pillar while she got in several small hits. Each individual strike was a minor one—barely even phasing the avian creature—but together they were still doing something. In turn, the griffin was doing his very best to track Twilight's speedy friend, and get a sizable hit off. At first glance, it appeared that the griffin was only successful in this endeavor once or twice, but considering his size and strength, each shot was probably worth more than a dozen of Rainbow's.

Of course, it was also beginning to appear that Rainbow was starting to tire. Yes, the athletic pegasus had endurance rivaling that of a dragon, but she had probably been flying at top speed the entire battle. Not only that, but with the constant stops, twists, and turns only added to the immense amount of stress that she was putting on her wings. Meanwhile, the griffin was happy enough to slowly move in a leisured pace, conserving his strength for the end of the battle. Hopefully, Rainbow would still be able to keep up by then.

Even with a hard fought battle in the sky, the rainbow-maned mare still found time to help out where she could in the final confrontation: Fluttershy and the earth pony. The poor yellow pegasus was so determined when the battle started just a few minutes ago—coming to Rainbow's side with a furious rage—but now that things were underway, her fearful side was starting to get the best of her. She was constantly forced to run and dodge her way away from the stallion attacking her in earnest. Normally, a pegasus could just flap her wings and get her flank out of the way if she desperately needed to, but considering it was Fluttershy, the mare's wings were probably paralyzed in fear.

Thankfully, whenever the stallion would get to close or force Fluttershy into a corner, Rainbow would find a way to get to her, give the pony a few lumps, then dash back off to her own duel. It wasn't the best strategy, but consi—

Twilight's thoughts were interrupted when she noticed the twin glows of red beads of magic heading her direction—the dust from before long since settled by now.

With a quick flash of her own magic, she put up two barriers, both barely angled towards the ceiling. The two red beads came into contact with the magical surfaces, and with the gentlest of taps, ricocheted up and off into the upper corners of the room. Fortunately, Rainbow's and Pinkie's respective battles were nowhere near the final impact points, for upon slamming into the walls, two massive fireballs washed over the surfaces nearby, leaving only a scorched surfaces at their final resting points.

Attempting to turn the tables, Twilight immediately launched a dozen electric-blue orbs at both of her opponents—half going to each unicorn. The unicorn to the left shot a few electrical sparks off—the red hot shards impacting the missiles, causing them to burst forth in a brilliant flash of energy. The second unicorn did the same to a few of her missiles, but was forced to dodge at least two through non-magical means—a distinct sign that Twilight was wearing down his endurance.

However, Twilight was too busy stammering to capitalize on the opening. “But... but you can't dodge those magical missiles! It's impossible!”

The unicorns didn't care about the laws of magical spells though. Instead, the two launched another pair of lightning bolts against Twilight, who was again forced to shoot her own sparks of electric energy at them. Just like last time, her twin bolts “broke” both of theirs into dozen of smaller branches, enveloping the space all around Twilight. Unlike last time though, she was starting to feel the strain of having to cast powerful spell after powerful spell, and despite her desires to the contrary, she felt the beginning symptoms her waning magical reserves. As a result of this, the diverted spells slowly came closer and closer to her—she was beginning to feel the hair on her coat stand on end.

Thankfully, they stopped their spells, letting Twilight give her horn a moment of rest. That moment was only for a mere second or two, for Twilight again attempted to go on the offensive, casting a—

“Wooooohooooo!!!!”

The yell attracted all three unicorns' attention. Up above, Pinkie was still riding the pegasus mare, but Pinkie had now viciously gripped the mare's wingtips in the crook of her hooves, and was forcing the pegasus into a steep dive. At the last second, she yanked at the longest primary feathers—certainly a particularly painful action—and forced the pegasus to level her dive. Of course, the dive caused the pair to have a tremendous velocity, and Pinkie intended to utilize that velocity.

On the minotaur.

In a display of skill that Twilight would never imagine the pink mare to ever summon, she forced the pegasus' flight to slam right into the side of the brown-furred monster, sending all three tumbling to the ground. As soon as the hit occurred, she knew that the pegasus was down for the count, while the minotaur was probably only dazed from the impact. However, what she didn't know was what happened to Pinkie.

That question was quickly answered when the mare popped herself out from under the pegasus' unmoving body, and landed in front of the minotaur. With a widening smile, she pulled a large blue cannon seemingly out of nowhere, and slammed her hoof against the unlit fuse—somehow causing the thing to fire. Instantly, the monster was hit by the blast, thrown against the back wall, and knocked unconscious.

The minotaur was powerful sure, but if you were to take a full complement of party provisions at point blank range, you wouldn't look too good either.

Now was the time to capitalize on the situation. Charging another spell, Twilight threw several dozen bolts of purple energy at the unicorn opposite of her, forcing the stallion to dodge and block every one. Some landed close to their mark—some actually grazed the unicorn's white coat—but none got a solid hit against the spellcaster. Thankfully, the other unicorn, the one to the left of her, never made a move against her while she was distracted with the spell.

Twilight whirled around, readying herself to block the next oncoming attack from the second unicorn, only to find that he had begun to shoot lightning not at her, but at the trio of victorious ponies next to her. Rarity was quick to respond, using her sword as a sort of lightning rod, and with a slight angle, diverted all of the electricity with a simple twist. A flurry of spells later, she fired her previously discarded diamonds at him, forcing him to attempt both a barrier and his lightning. He was only partly successful, for while—

Crack!!!

All of the ponies turned their heads towards the source of the noise, only to find Fluttershy standing over a unmoving earth pony who was lying on the ground, his neck twisted in a strange way. The yellow mare was breathing heavily over his body, a look of malice in her eyes. Even the zombie-like opponents looked stunned at the act the pegasus just committed.

Twilight took a step forward. “F-F-Fluttershy!?”

Fluttershy looked up. “What? He's just asleep.”

As the world began to make a little more sense again, Twilight and her opponent went right back to firing spell after spell at each other. Lighting, fire, bursts of raw magic, and even just blasts of air were flung at each other. Her breathing was becoming more and more ragged, but it was obvious that in this battle of attrition, she was going to come out on top. Of course, if she kept getting distracted by her thoughts, she was going to come out of this battle with more than one or two scorch marks on her flank.

From behind her, she could hear the trio of her friends—with Rarity most likely at the helm—combating the other unicorn. Twilight did a quick few sidesteps to observe the battle out of the corner of her eye, and noticed that while the alabaster mare was the one doing the heavy lifting in the confrontation—her sword and diamond spikes keeping the unicorn on the defensive—Applejack and Pinkie were doing most of the actual damage from the sides. With this sort of onslaught, it didn't take long for Twilight to see the exact moment that the unicorn foe lost the battle—the unicorn's first failed spell. Soon after, a startled yell echoed through the chamber, and the unicorn was tackled by Applejack, and quickly became a bloody mess by her hooves.

Her attention now fully focused on the unicorn in front of her, she redoubled her focus, and threw everything she had at the pony in front of her. Dozens upon dozens of spells were launched in his direction, and while his efforts to evade and block them were impressive, he was losing ground, her spells getting closer and closer to hitting with each second. Finally, the unicorn was forced to resort to a barrier completely encasing him in a dome—a near perfect defense, but a spell that would drain his magical reserves very quickly.

It was then that Rainbow's yell pierced through the chaotic noise. “Rarity!!!”

Twilight paused her onslaught to whip her head towards the yell. Rainbow was charging towards the white mare, chasing after the griffin in between the two. Tracking the griffin, nopony was able to react in time before the creature bowled into the snow-white unicorn—a soft yelp escaping her lips as she was grabbed. The sound of Rarity's sword clattering to the stone floor entered Twilight's ears as she watched a now screaming mare forcibly taken through the entryway passage, and out of the cave.

“Rarity!!!” Twilight yelled. She ran forward, and after she grabbed Rarity's dropped sword in her magic, she localized whatever magical reserves she had into one solid blast of arcane energy, and sent it towards the sole remaining unicorn. The magic tore through the barrier he was emitting like a hot knife through butter, and the ensuing recoil was so heavy on the stallion's mind, that he was blasted into a comatose state. Twilight continued to run through the passage, and with her friends joining her from all sides, she took the left turn—her hooves skidding slightly on the slick ground—and made her way outside.

The five of them skidded to a halt at the edge of the ledge, and gasped at what they saw.

Twilight's coat instantly became drenched, for apparently a typhoon had formed while they were inside the cave, making it difficult to make out specifics the battle below. However, it was still possible to see the thousands of ponies on each side fighting to the last on the plains below. Details were hard to come by, but with how many there were, she was glad that she couldn't see every strike and charge performed by each side. She wasn't very good with combat strategies—she didn't even know anything about the most basic maneuver—but from the look of things, their side was heavily outnumbering Discord's side, so that was probably a sign that they were winning.

Above the rest of the battle, what looked like over a hundred pegasi were flying in flocks. It was impossible to tell which side each flock belonged to, so Twilight could only pray that they were winning there. Every so often, two clouds of pegasi would violently merge, with more than a few bodies falling to the ground. It was terrifying to watch—even more so than the battle below—for she could actually see individual ponies meet their end as they impacted the ground. She hoped that they weren't actually dying, and were merely injured, but from a fall from that, that hope was insane at the very best.

A nearly deafening roar shook through the mountain, causing the lavender mare to nearly fall off her hooves. Quickly looking into the sky again, she noticed a massive dark shape against the clouds, one that looked eerily similar to a certain dragon of hers. A flash of fire later, and she saw the outline of Discord in the air next to him, his semi-draconic appearance unmistakable. While at first it looked like they were merely flying in circles around the other, it shortly became obvious—especially from the various wing-overs and barrel rolls on Spike's part—that there was much more to the battle than could be seen from here. Like the flocks of pegasi, every so often, the two forces would meet, leading Spike and Discord to lance out in a violent thrashing of limbs before separating, do their little aerial dodges, then repeat the process.

And right off of the edge of the cliff, halfway down to the plains below, was the griffin that carried Rarity.

There was terrible flash of lightning in the sky before Rainbow landed next to Applejack. “AJ, you ready!? We gotta go!”

The mare nodded. “Ready as Ah’m ever gonna be.” With that, Rainbow grabbed onto Applejack's body with her four legs, beat her wings as hard as she could, and together, the pair took off down the cliff.

Not missing a beat, Fluttershy extended her wings, and began to follow. “Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness...”

She watched as the timid pony chased after the pair of ponies who were pursuing the ponynapping griffin. Gasping for air after the previous battle, Twilight ignited her horn, intent on following...

...and caught a glimpse of Pinkie in the corner of her eye.

Keeping her horn ignited, she waved the mare over. “Pinkie, come here. I think I have enough power to get us both down there.”

Pinkie went to take a step forward, but then planted her hoof back on the ground. With a small smile, she shook her head, and said, “Nopey dopers. You go on and teleport just yourself. You'll need your power for when you get down there.”

Eyes widening slightly, she shook her head. “But... but what about you? I can't leave you up here all by yourself.”

Pinkie didn't even pause to think. Instead, she took a step forward, placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, and winked. “It's me, Twi-Twi. I'll find a way. In fact, I'll probably be down there before even you get down there yourself.”

Twilight wanted to protest, and force the excitable pony to join her. However, she knew that what Pinkie was saying was right, no matter how terrible of a prospect it was. Not only that, but they didn't have the time to argue anyway. Therefore, she took a few steps back, brought Rarity's sword near her, nodded, and with a flash of light, whisked herself down the cliff. In as much time as it would take to blink an eye, she traveled the entire distance from the top of the cliff to the bottom of the plains below, reappearing on the desolate battlefield.

The first thing that she noticed was—even through the hurricane—was the terrible smell of blood in the air. It was a smell that was as distinct as it was strong, and the thought of all of the ponies dying to cause it to be this pungent made her gag. The second thing that she noticed was the nearly unbearable chaotic noise that was behind her. Even through the sound of the rain pelting down all around was already deafening, the noise of yells and cries pierced through the rain as if it wasn't even there. Twilight shook her head, and attempting to have a focused mind, gazed at the air above her.

In front of her, she could see the various approaching bodies of her friends and the griffin, their trajectories leading them straight for her. Twilight spread her stance slightly—her hooves sinking slightly in the mud—and with a small glow, readied her magic. She tracked the leading dark dot, and with narrowed eyes, readied the ball of flame that she was intending on firing at him. Closer and closer the griffin came, until he was just reaching the farthest reaches of her range.

It was then that she saw Rarity's form—the mare still most likely still screaming.

Twilight quickly stifled her spell, the thought of turning her fellow unicorn into a burnt crisp not a desirable one. Instead, she thought to herself in rapid bursts. She obviously couldn't fire any of her area-effect spells, for Rarity would be caught in the blast. She couldn't throw up any of her small rays or missiles, because even though it would only affect the griffin, she couldn't risk Rarity getting hit by a wild shot. Teleporting Rarity out of its grasp, while normally an option, was probably too taxing of a spell to attempt at this point, especially considering the speed and distractions all around her. Mentally dancing on her hooves, she just wished she could just grow wings, waltz on over there, and just grab Rarity out of the griffin's clutches.

Twilight blinked. “Oh... duh.”

She waited a few more seconds until the pair were just staring to fly over her position. Her grin turned to a concentrated glare, and she once again flowed the magic into her horn, and brought forth her spell. A magenta magical aura that was produced encased the captured unicorn perfectly and completely. With a smile, and a slight tug, she put a little bit more magic into the spell, and activated the telekinesis spell that she had gathered forth. As expected, Rarity literally froze in the air—as if she hit a brick wall—leaving the griffin to speed away from his former prisoner empty-hooved.

The griffin, confused for a moment, hit the brakes hard to stop himself as fast as possible. He quickly turned around, and with frantic eyes, tried to figure out what the heck just happened to his captive. His head turned for a few brief moments, before his eyes finally fell onto Rarity's floating body, as well as Twilight. She could see the griffin's angry glare bore down on her, and with a few flaps of his wings, he tore back down onto the spot she was standing in. Twilight quickly moved to put Rarity back down on the ground, and turning her head back towards the approaching creature, she readied the offensive fire spell that she had intended to use just moments before. It would be close, the griffin's speed surprisingly swift, but Twilight was certain she could get the spell off before she herself was in range of the spell's blast.

Suddenly, a rainbow blur tore through the edges of her vision, and slammed into the approaching griffin with bone-shattering force. The two parties—three if you include Applejack as well—tumbled out of the sky, a screech of the griffin's wail causing Twilight to wince. While Applejack and the griffin didn't have the most graceful of landings—the two more falling on their backs than anything else—Rainbow Dash landed squarely on her hooves. After only a second, she jumped back into the air, and with a dexterous front-flip, slammed her hooves into the avian creature's center.

He attempted to take a swipe at Rainbow, but by the time the talon even got close to where she was standing, the speedy mare was gone. Soon, she returned to where she was standing, giving another terrifyingly strong impact against the griffin's stomach. The monster attempted another swipe, but this time he connected squarely against Rainbow's left foreleg, sending the pegasus staggering to the side. Standing back onto his legs, the griffin got back up, and attempted to strike back at Rainbow.

He was quickly stopped by a pair of orange hooves diving into his face, sending him back into the mud.

Unlike Rainbow, who was much more inclined to stick with quick kicks and jabs, Applejack was much more content to grapple with the griffin. This was a tactic that he could not contend with, as his arms and legs were too long and inflexible to pull the comparatively smaller pony off of him—as well as the ground too slick to get a good grip to roll away. This futile effort was complicated even further by Rainbow Dash's re-entrance into the fray by way of a diving tackle, sending all three into a small roll across the water-soaked ground. The sounds of smacks, slams, and splashes of repeated impacts erupted, until after several seconds, the two very brown ponies stood up, looked at the twitching body of the griffin, and bumped each other's forehooves together.

As Applejack and Rainbow Dash walked back over side-by-side—Rainbow now distinctly favoring her left forehoof, Twilight went to check on Rarity. Trotting over, she helped the unicorn up. “Rarity, you alright?”

Rarity stood up, albeit shakily, and after she checked her chest to make sure her Element was still in place—a slight frown forming when she saw her now very very brown flank and legs—she slowly spoke, “Yes... yes I think I am...”

By now, Fluttershy had caught up, and with a worried look in her eyes, she stood on Rainbow's other side, aiding Applejack in supporting the mare. Twilight grabbed Rarity's diamond-augmented sword, and levitated it over to the owner. “Here. You kinda lost this.”

“Thank you, darling. I don't suppose that you got my diamonds as well?” Twilight shook her head. “Well then, I guess we have to go back up into that cave any—”

A loud whistling noise from above interrupted the conversation, and before either of the mares could look up, a deafening crash was heard to their left. Turning their heads, they peered through the cloud of mud and water that was still falling around the massive object.

Spike.

Twilight's breathing stopped at the sight. Other than his short and heavy breathing and a twitch here or there, he wasn’t moving. His wings were stretched limply across the ground on either side of him, both heavily marred by hundreds of puncture wounds, turning the once beautiful panels into frightfully ragged surfaces. All over his body, dozens of deep cuts and tears of his scaly skin released the vital blood from his body, his normally royal purple body now a mixture of purple and red. What was most disconcerting though, however, was the terrifyingly large and wide gash across his entire left side—the wound spilling blood at a frightening rate.

Hopefully, it was mostly rainwater making it look worse than it was.

“Sp-Spike?” Twilight whispered. Slowly she began to walk forward—her mind too shell-shocked to move any faster. When he didn't respond, her slow walk transitioned into a trot, which then quickly shifted into a full on gallop. “SPIKE!!!”

All of a sudden, a green barrier appeared in front of Twilight, the mare nearly slamming her face into the magical shield as she stopped. Shifting her eyes left and right, she desperately sought out the malicious unicorn that created it. It was only then that she realized both that the rain pelting her until now had stopped, and that she could hear a familiar chuckling.

Turning around, she was able to see her equally terrified friends' faces before—with a flash of light—Discord appeared in front of the ponies on the other side of the dome-shaped shield hovering a few hooves in the air. He looked like he had several nasty looking cuts and bruise marks on his scales, but other than one or two on his left side, it was nothing that major. Sadly, it was fairly obvious that the battle in the skies earlier was fairly one-sided.

In the palm of his paw, he used his magic to twirl the familiar Element of Loyalty, the rain sizzling into vapor as it hit the aura around the artifact. “Well well well. Look who we have here! I think I found my lucky ponies! Could've sworn that that little group of nasty things I sent at you would've roughed you up a little more, but oh well!”

Twilight kept her eyes on the monster as he circled closer to her. As her friends approached, she muttered, “Discord. Let us go... now.”

“Oh my!” Discord brought his mismatched arms to his mouth in mock-fright, his magic lifting the Element of Loyalty slightly over his head. After a few seconds of quivering, the draconequus lowered himself down to the ground, and rolled his eyes as he spoke. “Seriously now, Twilight Sparkle. Really? That little threat is all you can muster in our grand final encounter? No flashy magic tricks? No special contingency plans? Not even a pie catapult? I just took down that little dragon friend of yours over there while trying to think about if I left the ice cream in the oven at home, and you think threatening me is going to save the day? Why, I barely even broke a sweat fighting that pathetic little—”

Discord's speech was cut off by a massive bolt of magical energy slamming into the side of the magical barrier. Twilight's arcane missile—if the barrier wasn't there—would've burned right into the monster's face. Unfortunately the powerful shield was unyielding, and with just a few seconds of time later, the only signs that Twilight even did anything was her heavy panting, and the gentle water-like ripples spreading outward from the point of impact.

The God of Chaos could only cackle in excitement. “Oh! Oh that's the Twilight I know and love! Even when the chips are down and all seems hopeless, she's always making sure she's fighting until the bitter end. Now, let's stop these shenanigans and get this party started! The guests of honor? The ponies in front of me! The number of guests? Si... err... wait...

“One... two... three...” he pointed at each in turn with a finger on his paw, “...four... five... five? No six? Where's the last one?”

“Raaaaawr!!!”

Pinkie Pie appeared out of nowhere, and with a loud chomp, bit down hard on the arm the monster was pointing with. As her teeth sank into his skin and fur, she clamped her jaw as hard as she could, establishing a near vice-grip on him. As she held on, snarls of anger escaped the mare's muzzle—Pinkie Pie seething with anger. However, it was quickly apparent that the simple head-on attack was completely foolhardy, for his face showed no pain whatsoever. Instead, the only thing that her attack ended up doing was revealing her presence to him.

With a flick of his other arm, he quickly pulled the pink pony off of his arm with his magic, and began slowly flipping her in the air. “Ah yes, Pinkie Pie. So nice of you to join us. I was afraid that I was going to have to send a team of bloodhounds after you or something. Glad you could be so kind as to skip the whole game of 'hide and seek.'”

Again, a spell blasted against the shield, and again, Twilight's magic was completely ineffectual against Discord's barrier. A light bit of fear sinking into her belly, she yelled, “Let her go!”

“Aw! Don't be a spoil sport, Twily-Wiley! She's my absolute faaaaaaavorite of you six!” Discord gasped, a quickly widening smile forming on his face. “Do you think I can keep her!? Can I? Please please please please!? All I want to do is play with the little pony! I'll take good care of her, I promise. Look, I'll show you how sweet I can be to my little Pinkie Pie pet.”

Twilight slammed a forehoof against the shield. “Put her do—”

Crack!!

“AAAAIIIIEEEEE!!!!”

A/N: I always feel like I don't do fight scenes justice...

Chapter 43: How All Things End

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“AAAAIIIIEEEEE!”

“PINKIE!”

Crack!

“Oops!” Discord chuckled lightly to himself as he twirled the screaming Pinkie Pie in the air with his magic—the pony's rear legs bent in several unnatural directions. “Look at that. Seems that I broke her wee little legs. Hmm... I guess that's why mama Discord never allowed me to have pets when I was just a child. Oh well!”

With a light flick of his talons, he threw Pinkie Pie away from him, sending her body tumbling limply through the rain-filled air. It only took a few seconds for the mare to hit the ground several dozen hooves away from them, but to Twilight, it felt like she hung in the air forever. Eventually, the mare hit the ground—a dull “thump” signaling the event in earnest.

Twilight pressed her face closer to the forcefield to get a better look at her friend's fallen body. Thankfully enough, Pinkie was not entirely motionless, though whatever movements that she did make were small and shallow—more akin to involuntary twitches than actual conscious movements. Even through the sounds of the battle around her, as well as the noise of the rain against the barrier, Twilight was able to make out the hushed sobs of the broken mare as Pinkie desperately attempted to cope with the pain.

Twilight sharply turned her head back towards the draconequus, and charged her horn with whatever magic she had left—which sadly was not much at this point. “How could you... DO such a horrible thing! You... you monster!”

Discord looked straight into Twilight's eyes, and bore a mock-face of hurt as he raised his paw to his heart. “Me!? A monster! Why Twilight, my dearest and most lovable unicorn, I'm hurt from such accusations! I would never intentionally cause pain and discomfort to anypony ever!

“Besides,” Discord said as he lit a cigarette—a small smile forming on his face, “I don't think we should get into the business of calling each other names, now should we? I'm sure I could go on for a few hours calling you pesky little names. Instead, don't you think what we should be doing is deciding which one of you little mares should be my next pet? Hmm? And don't you worry, Twilight Sparkle; I'll make sure that you get to see how much fun your friends have being my pets.”

Flicking the cigarette butt away, Discord looked at Applejack. “Should I take Honest Applejack? That could be incredibly fun for everypony I'm sure. I'm certain a feisty one like her would be able to entertain me for a solid few seconds at least. And look! She has cute little metal claws thingies and everything! I wonder how many clones of herself she could fight at once on her own. Now that would be an interesting fight! Of course, I just went through playing with an earth pony already, so I think I should expand my horizons and all that good fun. Don't you think?”

Applejack scratched her forehoof into the muddy ground in readiness of a charge—a crack of lightning piercing through the heart of the storm. “Why don' ya come a lil' closer, and Ah'll show ya wha' Ah think.”

“Heh, I'm sure you would. Next, we have the graceful and generous Rarity,” Discord happily said as he turned his head towards the unicorn—Rarity still pointing her augmented sword at him. “So much grace. So much poise. So much... potential! I can see it now, place her onstage for everypony to see. In one corner, we put this finest specimen of unicorn with her little sharp toy of hers. In the other, I find another minotaur with another sword or whatever—I'm sure I'd think of something. Turn off their pain receptors, throw them at each other, and let's see what damage the unicorn's body can take!”

Rarity shot her sword at the barrier at that last comment—the weapon uselessly ricocheting off of the shield, forming nothing but a large ripple to join the millions of tiny ripples from the pelting rain. Still, even with the failed attacked, she growled, “I dare you to try.”

“Ooh! I'll keep that one in mind.” Discord's eyes slowly turned, and fell upon Rainbow Dash. “So what do we have here? Loyal Rainbow Dash. I remember you best of all of you ponies. You were probably the easiest to corrupt the last time I was before you. All I had to do was promise to give you back your wings, make some ridiculous little fib about that one pegasus city, and you were off to speeding your way to betrayal! Why, with how desperate you were to get your wings back, I wonder how you'd feel if I were to take those two things away from you permanently.”

Her cyan wings flared as wide as she could, Rainbow yelled, “If you think that I am just going to let you take us without a fight, you've got another thing coming!”

“Oh trust me, I completely expect quite a fight from such a brash and unruly pony like yourself.” Finally, his gaze fell on Fluttershy—the mare almost shrinking at the look. “And finally, we have the sweet and kind Fluttershy. Such a gentle little pegasus, its such a pity that a small pony like you would get caught up with all of these hooligans in their petty grudge against me. Why, I feel so bad, I'm almost inclined to let you go... though not quite. Instead, how does chaining you up, and forcing you to watch as I play with hundreds of your favorite fuzzy creatures sound? Hmm?”

Fluttershy gulped to herself, but kept her stance steady. “I'm not afraid of you... you big dumb meanie!”

“Oh dear! Those be a-fightin' words. Best not say what you can't follow up with.”

Discord became quiet for a moment as he looked along the line of multicolored ponies in front of him. As he inspected the five mares in front of him, he sickeningly licked his gray lips in a mock sense of desire—the action sending shivers up and down Twilight's spine. More than once, he stopped on one of them, paused, then continued on. One final time, he looked upon the group, taking an exorbitant amount of time to look at each up the mares. His gaze finally fell upon the most timid of their incomplete group.

He smiled. “We have ourselves a winner.”

None of the mares had any time to react before Discord lifted his paw in front of him, grabbed Fluttershy in his magic, and began to pull her towards him. A startled squeak passed through the pegasus' lips as she was lifted against her will, and brought towards the forcefield in front of all of them. At that moment, Rainbow took to the air, and with the speed of a mad pony, beelined it towards Fluttershy. Just before Rainbow was about to reach her mare, Fluttershy passed seemlessly through the barrier, resulting in nothing but a loud thud of Rainbow's body slamming into the barrier.

“No!” Rainbow cried out as she bounced away from the forcefield. Again and again, Rainbow slammed her body against the barrier, desperately attempting to somehow get past it. Of course, it was an fruitless cause, and the only thing she succeeded in doing was to give herself a few extra bruises on her face.

Discord began laughing loudly and maniacally, slowly spinning the petrified Fluttershy head-over-hooves in his magic as he did so. “Oh look at that! Looks like somepony might be a tad upset over me taking her little pony friend, or maybe it is more than a friend. Hmm? If that's the case, then I shouldn't let you miss any of the action, now should I?”

Too quickly for anypony to react, he grabbed Rainbow Dash in his magic as well, and forced her body through the shield as well. Discord smirked as he inspected her. Then, he spun her around, licked the pegasus' back, and stuck her to the forcefield.

“Let her go!” Rainbow yelled as she uselessly struggled against the glue-like substance.

Ignoring her, Discord brought Fluttershy right next to his eyes. As he did so, she quickly began to hyperventilate in complete terror. Discord—loud enough to let all of the ponies near him hear—whispered, “You were the only one to resist my corruption last time around. I will have fun making sure that you pay for—”

“RRRAAHH!”

Suddenly, a massive boulder close to the size of a carriage slammed into Discord's head. The massive stone didn't break upon the impact, and instead sent the draconequus stumbling to the side as it followed through with all of its force. A moment later, he stood back up, and with a confused face, blinked a few times at Fluttershy—the mare bearing the same face of confusion as he did. Just as Discord was about to speak, the massive body of Spike slammed into his side, sending both he and the God of Chaos flying to the side.

Instantly, Discord's concentration broke on the spells levitating Fluttershy and keeping the barrier surrounding the rest of the mares, releasing all the mares from their respective prisons. Only taking a brief moment to make sure that Fluttershy was alright—Rainbow Dash and Rarity were making sure of that well enough—Twilight turned her eyes towards the growing battle between Spike and Discord.

To say it was brutal was definitely sugar-coating what she saw. Discord was still apparently dazed and confused from the initial hit, for Spike was completely laying into the monster with everything he had. Spike gripped the draconequus by his legs, and with powerful swings, Spike slammed Discord on the ground from one side of his body to the other—cracking the ground every time the body hit. A dozen times this must have happened, until he finally slammed Discord into the ground in front of him, leaving a large crater on the ground. Finally, Spike raised himself onto his hind legs, and with as much strength as he could, stepped onto the God of Chaos again and again—the crater quickly becoming a massive sunken footstep shaped pond.

That situation taking care of itself satisfactorily enough, Twilight ran her way over to Pinkie Pie—the mare still barely twitching on the ground. As soon as she got near, she quickly planted her hooves into the muddy earth, bringing her face close to where the pink mare lay. Pinkie was a gruesome sight to say the least—her muscles were spasming, her eyes were wide open in shock, and her normally pristine coat was now marred with swaths of brown. That wasn't even counting the quickly escalating hyperventilation and the three places where each hind leg was bent unnaturally. Pinkie's blue eyes—her pupils dilated completely—remained transfixed on some faraway object as the mare lost herself to the pain.

Carefully, Twilight moved a forehoof closer to Pinkie's head, only to retract it before she touched the terribly wounded mare. “Pinkie Pie...”

Pinkie's pupils contracted slightly, and those deep blue eyes slightly turned towards her. “T-T-Twi-Twi?”

This time, when Twilight reached towards the pony next to her, was able to brave the sight, and slowly began to do what she could to brush the water-lodged ball of the pink mane. “Shh. I'm here now. You're going to be alright, okay?”

Pinkie moved her head slightly, so that she was looking into Twilight's eyes a little straighter. Despite how much better the earth pony was looking, she still did not look well in the slightest, the rain pelting the mare's face hiding any potential tears the mare may have been producing. However, Pinkie still was able to summon enough strength to feebly lift a foreleg, and fiercely gripped onto Twilight's own foreleg. Those eyes—the deep blue oceans of color—focused on her even more, and with it, a small smile formed on her face. This eventually culminated into a muted giggle, a giggle that only lasted a few seconds before it was replaced with a pained grimace.

Slowly, Pinkie's grimace faded, bringing back the smile. Softly, she whispered, “Thanks, Twi-Twi.” Pinkie grimaced again slightly, before once again settling back down. “How did you get out of the bubble thingy? Did you beat Discord?”

Twilight smiled, and chuckled slightly at the question. “Not yet, Pinkie, but we will. Until then, Spi—” Twilight stopped, thought to herself, then began again. “Mr. Dragon Pants is kicking his furry flank.”

Even through the terrible noises of Spike and Discord fight—as well as the two armies fighting each other—Twilight was able to hear Pinkie giggled lightly. “Good.”

The pair were quickly joined by the rest of their friends—Fluttershy apparently no worse for wear. Their group finally back together, they looked back onto the quickly escalating fight before them. By now, Discord had regained his composure slightly, and was doing his best to teleport away from Spike's attacks. This was largely successful—instant dodges easily faster than the oversized forelegs of the purple dragon. Not only that, but it seemed that whatever injuries Spike had sustained before this second round of fighting had taken its toll on the dragon, for his movements were less accurate with every swing and swipe. Add in the fact that Discord was a tireless God, and in the battle of time, the draconequus would be the sure winner.

That wasn't to say that Spike wasn't doing a bad job. Quite on the contrary, for every three misses he threw, he was able to land a terrifyingly strong strike against the monster before him. Each hit served to send Discord off balance, leading to even more successful attacks later. A left. A right. A flash of lightning. A spinning strike with Spike's tail, and Discord was sent a few hooves to the side—Spike only needing to take a single step to reach him again. However, no matter how many times that Spike landed bone-shattering blows against the monster, it seemed that with the exception of a few scuffs of dirt and mud, Discord was no worse for wear.

Discord attempted to strike back with a bluish ray spell of some kind, but it was somewhat blocked by Spike's foreleg—the limb in question now sporting a great deal of frost on it. Immediately after, Spike used the same foreleg to backhand the draconequus with an earth-shattering blow, sending the monster flying away into the middle of the battlefield—his final impact shrouded in the darkness of the constant rainfall. Quickly, Spike leaned down, picked up something, and—after pulling himself back onto his hind legs—threw the object at Twilight.

Twilight instantly wrapped her magic around the object, and noticed that it was the Element of Loyalty. An easily recognizable booming voice reverberated across the landscape immediately after she caught it. “Go! Take it!”

As quickly as possible, Twilight nearly flung the Element at Rainbow, the cyan pegasus agile enough to fly up, and catch the necklace on her neck. The clasp behind her locked in place, and when she landed, she now matched the rest of her friends in apparel. Now sporting a beaming smile, Rainbow did a quick hoof pump. “Aw yeah!! Now let's get this party started!”

“Good! Now, start charging them up, for Discord can ready his spell before yo—AARGH!!” was the only thing that the mares were able to hear. Their attention now turned back to their protector, they saw his eyes were now wide in shock, his body frozen, and his breathing now shorter. Before any of the mares could say anything about what was going on, Spike fell to all fours—his wings laying on the ground limply—and the girls saw the reason.

Discord with red blood all the way to his taloned-arm's shoulder.

Swallowing their sorrow for a moment, the six gathered closer to Pinkie, and now in formation, began to power up the Elements of Harmony. As they did this, Twilight was still able to make out what was going on in front of her. Discord began to walk forward—his steps taking him on top of Spike's barely rising back—and eyed the six mares devilishly.

With a widening smile—and an exceptionally large flash of terrible lightning—Discord began to speak to the mares, “Oh... oh you think that you can just use those Elements on me? You failed terribly the last time that you tried. What makes you think that you'll succeed this time? Hmm?”

Discord began charging a spell into his paw—a frighteningly familiar sickly-green aura beginning to form—the rain sizzling into vapor upon contact with the growing power. With a final few steps, Discord slammed his hoof into Spike's snout—forcing the dragon's entire body to collapse into the mud—then hopped onto the ground in front of him. “Why, the only reason you even came close to winning this time was because this useless excuse of a lizard basically did everything for you. Next time though, you won't have his help, I'll have the Elements, and I'll know exactly how you six will return.”

His spell nearly ready, he pointed his paw towards the mares, and cackled in maniacal delight. “I'm going to send you buffoons so far into the future, there might not even be ponies left to save!” His spell finally charged, all of the magic focused onto the very tip of his finger, and launched it at the girls.

Except just as the spell was fired, Discord suddenly slipped, and his spell flew wild. Instead of striking the easy target that even a filly would be able to hit in her sleep, the spell sailed off into the clouds above, before eventually dissipating as it lost its focus. Surprised, the draconequus looked down, and found a serpent-like tongue wrapped around his leg.

Looking up slightly, he saw Spike grinning widely, his tongue slowly retracting back into his mouth. With a widening smile, he chuckled weakly. “I win.”

Discord looked down at his leg for a moment, then to Spike, then to his leg again. Finally, he looked back at Spike, and gave a slight grin of acceptance. “Heh, funny. If it wasn't for the fact that my impending doom was just around the corner, I would probably have a really good pun to say.”

Spike looked at the monster before him with his single eye. “Maybe you... could say that you... just got licked...”

To that, the draconequus looked towards the girls. “That was worse than all of the puns that I've ever made put together.”

Finally, Twilight felt the colossal spell reach its peak charge, and with a flash of blinding light, she launched it at the monster in front of them. As the spell impacted, the magic exploded, and just as second later, the world went white.

A/N: As much as Discord loves saying puns, he hates hearing them.

Chapter 44: Final Farewells

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Just like the last time that she had powered up the Elements, Rarity's vision went completely white with energy. She felt both the magic inside of her and the magic of the Elements flow through her entire being, desperately working for a way out of her body. Finally, as if Twilight herself commanded it, the magic poured out of her, and rocketed its way towards where Twilight floated. Rarity wasn't entirely certain if it was the same feeling for the rest of the girls, but she had a fairly good guess that this was the case.

Unlike the last time that they had used the Elements, Rarity was able to make out the deafening sounds of the massive discharge of energy from the de facto leader of their group. More and more magic surged out of the mares and the artifacts, and unerringly raced towards the monstrous Discord in its path. While just moments before Rarity was a little worried that the draconequus would once again fire off a spell to derail their efforts, once they got their own spell off, she knew that there was no way he was getting out of this situation. The explosion of power only lasted a few seconds until the energy started to clear up. Just like that the light cleared, and the unicorn was able to see what had happened.

There Discord stood—his paw held high above his eyebrow in salute—in all of his statuesque glory.

Rarity's body was just beginning to lower back to the ground after the world changing attack when the energetic whoops and hollers from Rainbow Dash entered her ears. “We did it!!! Yeah!!!”

Applejack landed the very tips of her hind legs onto the ground, and quickly moved to correct a slight stumble in her step. “Ah reckon we did, Sugarcube!”

Twilight charged her horn up—how the mare had any magic left in her at all, Rarity would never know—and quickly took Pinkie's entire body into her magical grasp so that the mare didn't have to land on her hind legs. Now floating in the air, Pinkie lethargically grumbled, “And good riddance, you meanie.”

Fluttershy flapped her wings in earnest and excitement, and in her glee brought Rainbow into a tight hug. “Oh, I’m so happy everything's alright!”

Rarity didn't bother to say anything. Instead, she immediately began galloping through the muddy ground. With the sky now completely clear of any rain and clouds, she raced towards the largest member of their little group. Faster and faster she ran, until she found herself right up against Spike's side. She began to come up to his face, and as she bent down on the horrendously soggy ground, she began to hear the rest of her friends beginning to run closer to join her as the mares realized that Spike was still hurt.

Placing her head close to his snout, Rarity whispered, “Are you awake?”

The once fearsome and awe inspiring dragon in the mud before her let out a pained cough, he never opening his eyes. Again, and a tiny bit more urgency, Rarity asked, “Please, darling, are you awake?”

This time, Spike opened his eyes, and even though one of them showed nothing but a light red color of the socket behind it—the eyepatch covering the ruined eye long since lost in the battle—his other socket still bore the deep emerald eye. Still, as wonderful as it was to see her friend awake, his eyes were only half open in a sure sign of his slowly draining strength. “Yes... yes I am...”

By this point, Twilight had come up next to Rarity, and placing herself on the ground next to the formerly white mare, began stroking his deep purple snout. “Be still. We'll find you some ponies to help you out, alright? Just... just be still, Spike.”

Spike groaned with a little bit of pain, but quickly fell into a much more quiet demeanor. “Spike... Spike... you know, for the first time in over a thousand years, I think... I think I like being called that name again...”

Slightly confused about what he meant by that, Rarity was just about to ask when she heard Rainbow interrupt their conversation. “Hey, girls, do you hear that?”

Rarity perked her ears up a little bit, trying to hear whatever Rainbow had just mentioned. Swiveling her ears around her in an attempt to pinpoint any out-of-place noises, she eventually looked at Twilight in confusion. The unicorn locked eyes with her shortly after, and with a shake of the head, Twilight turned back to the pegasus. “Hear what, Rainbow? I don't hear anything.”

“Exactly,” Rainbow said as she hovered slightly above them. “There aren't any noises. The battle... it stopped...”

The alabaster mare took a second to look up and around, and realized that Rainbow was right. The battle that was once raging in earnest just a few minutes before had completely stopped. The sky itself was still filled with pegasi, but none were actually trying to kill each other anymore, and larger groups were now only flying around in wide orbiting circles for unknown reasons. Down on the ground, it was hard to see over the mud and the body of Spike, but from what Rarity could see, the few ponies closest to her had stopped attempting to get to the enemy, and were now confusingly trying to figure out what happened. Indeed, for all appearances, they didn't have any idea what was going on either.

“I think...” Fluttershy started, a frog in her throat at first. Softly, she coughed a few times into her hoof, before she lowered herself down onto the ground, and began again. “I think it's the same reason that the rain stopped. Since Discord is now trapped in stone, he doesn't have control of his magic anymore, including—”

“—those 'zombie pony' things,” Applejack finished for her, instinctively reaching for her hat, even though the headpiece wasn't there.

Spike tried to shift himself slightly on the ground, but didn't move more than a few inches before giving up and laying back down in the large puddle his body had created—a puddle that Rarity mentally noted was just made of the rainwater. “Very astute...”

Everypony was silent for a time, each trying to process the information that was being bombarded into their minds right now. Rainbow Dash had now joined Fluttershy—the pair leaning up against one another for both physical and emotional support. Applejack had walked over to the airborne Pinkie, and was doing her best to check on her legs as Pinkie was attempting to do little flips and turns as her energy returned. As for Rarity and Twilight, they were merely laying with Spike, doing their best to keep him calm and happy.

However, there was another thought that was on her mind at the time. One that she couldn't keep silenced any longer. “So... now that Discord is gone, does that mean you are now the ruler of all of—”

“Wooooow!” Pinkie interrupted with a surprising amount of energy, causing all of the ponies to look in her direction. Pinkie was now pointing slightly into the sky. “Look! Look! What's that!?”

Rarity followed the mare's hoof, and found that it pointed towards the cave that the ponies had started this day. They weren't able to see the entrance from this angle, but what they were able to see was a blindingly bright ray of pure light breaking through the entrance of the cavern. Considering the way that the entrance tunnel was curved and how the mares weren't able to even see inside from here, it must have been a force of tremendous power.

With a sudden burst of intensity, a luminous object came into view, and with speeds that even the likes of Rainbow Dash could only dream of, rocketed high into the sky above. Higher and higher the ball of energy climbed, until it became a daytime star in the sky. Apparently reaching its apex, it slowly began arcing across the sky, slowly moving more and more until it moved in front of the sun itself. In fact, near the end, Rarity—water filling her her eyes—was forced to look away from the physically painful sight.

However, she heard Twilight begin to stammer, “Is... is.... is that...”

Rarity—still with tears in her eyes from looking at the sun—could almost hear Fluttershy nod her head. “Yes... yes it is...”

After another few seconds, Rarity was finally able to get the tears out of her eyes, and was finally able to will herself to look back up into the sky. High above, she couldn't make out where the object from before went, but if she had to guess, it was in front of the blazing sun. Putting a hoof over her eyes to block out whatever light she could, Rarity again did her best to look into the blinding light. Looking into the sun wasn't the best idea she'd had, yet the curiosity of what was going on got the better of her, and she braved the pain.

The sky flashed brighter for just a moment, before the alabaster unicorn saw that the sun was now obscured by something else. It was a massive object that was almost as bright as the sun, and was slowly descending towards the girls. It only took a few seconds for the object to gently flap her wings to stabilize her slow fall, and with the most elegant of steps, brought her four hooves to the ground. Her mane blowing despite the still air, Princess Celestia looked around a the six ponies, inspecting the situation before her.

The princess, eyes wide in apparent confusion, began. “What... how... how are you six... what's...”

Her eyes then fell upon the massive, barely moving dragon in front of her, and her ears folded flat against her head. “So... your voice wasn't a dream then...”

Spike's eyes flew open, and with a face of complete confusion to match Celestia's—along with a little bit of shock to match the six mares—he gathered the strength the stammer, “You... you were able to hear me?”

Princess Celestia took a few steps forward, her voice slightly hushed. “Every word. For so long, everything was quiet. Dark. Then one day... I thought I heard a vaguely familiar voice. Spike's voice.” She lowered her head, shook it slightly in what was either despair or exhaustion—it was hard to tell—before she rose it again. “I heard him... I heard him speaking to me for so... so long. Nothing specific usually, but just... talking. Is... is that true?”

By this point, Spike's eyes had lost the burst of energy they had just had, and they slowly closed to their half open state. “I tried to talk to you every day I could. I admit.... it was more for me than anything else, but... well... why not talk to you?”

“How long,” Princess Celestia instantly asked, not pausing to even acknowledge any of the other ponies.

“How long?” Spike coughed a few times as a tiny amount of blood still oozed from the terrible wound in his back. “If you meant how long I... I had your body in my possession, nine hundred seventy-three years, give... give or take a few months. If you meant how... how long I had been talking to you, I would say closer to seven hundred, but that day is a little less memorable to me than the first. As for if you meant how long it has been since I talked to you last... umm... I believe it was two weeks ago.” Spike paused for a few seconds—taking a few shallow breaths—before finishing. “I apologize for... for not talking to you for so long. I was... kinda busy trying to save the world and all.”

Celestia's eyes were wide with awe at this, but still, she said, “Spike... there is absolutely no reason to be sorry, my most cherished of friends.” The Princess turned away, took a long look at the world around her, then smiled. “And yes. It does seem you were saving the world.”

“Yeah... yay... for me...”

Finally, the alicorn turned back to the girls, and with the most genuine of smile, looked at the six mares before her. Each time the princess looked in her direction, Rarity wasn't sure whether she should bow before the regal pony, greet her, weep, or maybe try to motion towards Twilight in some way. Alas, Rarity found her muscles frozen, her tongue swollen, and her eyes slightly glazed over.

Before anypony else could say anything, Princess Celestia looked over to the other unicorn of their group, and gave the largest smile she had ever seen out of the Princess. “Twilight Sparkle...”

It was then that at last Twilight found her legs, for she instantly sprang to her hooves, and with a speed that even Applejack would approve of, tore towards her mentor. So caught up with emotion, Twilight instinctively released Pinkie from her magical grasp to focus fully on running to her second mother. Fortunately Rarity was able to gather her wits in time to catch the mare before she hit the ground, the pink pony's eyes growing a few sizes larger upon the sudden two inch drop. Twilight then leaped off of the ground, and with tears in the young mare's eyes, wrapped her muddy forelegs around the perfectly white alicorn's neck, and cried.

The two stayed in their mutual embrace for a long time. Long enough for Rarity to bring Pinkie closer to her, sheathe her sword, and then turn back to Spike to begin to stroke his snout in an attempt to try and do what she could to comfort his pain. As she did all of these things, she did her best to give the two—student and teacher, daughter and mother—the peace and privacy they deserved. It wasn't much, but it was the best she could do.

Princess Celestia's regal voice was the first one to return. “I missed you so much, my most faithful student.”

“I missed you too,” Twilight sobbed

Lowering herself onto the ground—the mud now completely tarnishing the alicorn's white belly—she gently nuzzled Twilight's cheek with her own. “You know, for all the times that I heard Spike speak to me, I never felt so thrilled as the first time I heard your voice, even if it was the most hateful thing I have ever heard you say.”

Twilight pulled back a little, and folded her ears against her head. “You... you heard that?”

“'For vengeance' is a fairly bold thing to say, Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia giggled a little bit before she nudged the mares chin with a forehoof. “Though I won't lie, if I saw you encased in stone like I was, I probably wouldn't have bothered with just saying it, and would've just gone straight to showing Discord what I meant.”

“Heh, I’m sure you would've, Princess.” Twilight smiled even as she kept her ears folded to her head. Standing back onto her hooves, Rarity saw that the unicorn quickly found herself stumbling over her hooves, and nearly falling back on the ground—Celestia's massive wing suddenly supporting her was now the only thing to stop her from falling. “Whoa... I feel... weird...”

Before Celestia could reply, a dull thud was heard to Rarity's right. Upon looking over, she saw that Applejack had fallen to a sitting position—though from the way she was swaying back and forth, she probably should've laid down instead. Somewhat slowly, Applejack said, “So do Ah, Sugarcube...”

As she began to feel a strong sense of light headedness herself, Rarity carefully used her magic to set Pinkie down on her side, so that the mare's weight was not on her broken hind legs. Softly, Pinkie squeaked, “What's going on?”

Princess Celestia carefully picked Twilight up onto her back, and with careful steps, began to walk closer to the rest of the mares. “I remember that recently, Spike told me that Discord's magic mixed, fused, or somehow morphed the Elements' magic, forcing you mares to be shunted into this time. Did he tell you this as well?”

Considering that Twilight was not one to comment right now—the mare too busy trying to get her bearings from atop Celestia's back—Rarity spoke up the best she could. “Well... I think he did say something about how Discord's magic interfered with the Elements' magic or something similar to that, but it was so long ago.”

“If that is correct, my most generous of ponies,” Princess Celestia drew near, and with a gentle shift of her weight, lowered Twilight onto the ground, “then with Discord's spell gone, the spell interfering with the Elements' protective spell is no long binding you mares. It must be an unnatural feeling indeed to have such a long lasting spell broken.”

“No... that's not it...”

Rarity looked at Twilight—the mare's head now perked up slightly again. “What do you mean, 'that's not it'?”

Twilight pulled herself a little bit closer to Spike, before she joined Rarity in her careful strokes. “Well... it's only half it. Remember Rarity, the day Discord first visited Spike in his cave, I discovered that one spell that was blocking us from traveling through time? The one I said Discord couldn't have been the source of? Well... what if that spell WAS the spell that Discord shot at us long ago, and now that he's gone, the Elements are trying to fix what happened... and bring us back?”

Fluttershy tumbled slightly, but was caught by Rainbow. Of course, Rainbow wasn't able to support both of their weight for long, and they both soon found themselves lying on the ground with the rest of the mares. “We're... we're going home?”

“Good,” Spike muttered, his voice catching Rarity off guard slightly. Rarity's forehoof no longer on his snout, he continued, “You mares are allowed to leave this Tartarus of a world, and return to your own.”

Before Rarity could reply, a new voice—one belonging to Captain Wilks—appeared. “Lord... Lord Sarlaka?”

Spike shifted his eye slightly, so that he looked past Rarity. “Captain... it is good to see you made it. How went... how went the battle?”

Rarity turned around, and saw that Captain Wilks, even though he seemed wary with the presence of the massive unknown alicorn nearby, kept his stance steady. “We... well... we were barely holding our own, but all the sudden, they just... is that statue over there Discord!?”

“Captain, I need you to pay attention, and pay attention well. I need you to go to the Generals, and let them know that Discord is defeated, and that I am claiming his throne. As my first act as ruler, I am immediately stepping down, and placing Princess Celestia—the being standing right next to you—in my place. Do you understand what I am saying?”

He looked at the dragon long and hard, before slowly nodding. “I'll... I'll make sure it gets done.”

“Good. Now go. You are no longer technically in my service.”

Captain Wilks snapped to attention, and saluted anyway. “It was an honor serving under you, my Lord.”

Spike did his best to nod himself. “And it was an honor to know you, Captain.”

As quickly as he possibly could, Captain Wilks turned, and galloped away from the group to tell the various generals of Spike's request. Smiling to herself, Princess Celestia watched him run off. “Pity, I was hoping that I wouldn't have to be the one in charge this time around.”

Spike snorted in humor. “Please, I don't want to even rule over a garden anymore. Besides, if I were to try to do that, it would be difficult to make sure you take your place peacefully, now wouldn't it? No, my time with you ponies is done.”

“But darling... what about yourself? I thought you would want to be there with us? I thought you wanted to be with... well...” Rarity trailed off, before placed her hoof back on his snout, and resumed stroking his massive scales, this time with a little more force

Spike weakly coughed a few times, before smiling slightly. “Of course I would like that... especially the second part, Milady. However... I don't think I am... going to able to do that. I think I am... I am going to... to see my sisters soon... instead...”

“See your sisters soon? What do you me—” Rarity stopped moving, and felt her body chill as the implication of what he said just started to seep into her. She scrunched her eyes close, and more rapidly than she probably should've considering her dizziness, she began to shake her head in denial.

Twilight went with a much more vocal approach. “What!? No! You can't! I won't... I won't let you!”

“It's not a simple matter of whether you allow me go or not, Twilight Sparkle,” Spike quietly reprimanded. “I am a relic of more terrible times, and I would... only serve to remind ponies everywhere... of the absolute terror that Discord brought to everypony... everyday. Not only that, I am... a mass murderer to boot, regardless of whatever noble... yet stupid intentions I had when I com... committed those crimes. No, this is for the best.”

Twilight shook her head. “That's not true...”

“Besides, young Twilight, it doesn't matter too... too much anyway, now does it? If you go back, you will change the past, and none of this will even happen, now would it? You will change the future, I will... I will cease to exist anyway. Of course, even if the future doesn't change, then at least... at least you'll never see me ever again, so why worry? What is the point?”

Tears had started to pour out of the lavender unicorn's eyes by now—an action shared by Rarity. “The point is I don't want to see you die...”

Softly, Spike managed a strained laugh. “No mother does... want to see their son die I mean. Do not... do not worry... Twilight. I... I at least.... at least was able to... to finally redeem myself...”

Twilight bent her head down, bringing the bridge of her muzzle against the dragon's snout, and began silently sobbing into his scales. Rarity was able to keep control of her emotions—albeit barely—and so she leaned forward, and planted the most heartfelt kiss that she had ever given anypony to his cheek. Leaning back, she smiled to the dragon before her, and whispered, “You have done more than redeem yourself, my sweet prince.”

Spike blinked once, before his smile grew a tiny bit. “Prince Spike... does not quite roll off the tongue very well.” The dragon lethargically closed his eyes, and let his smile disappear. “However... I think I like how it sounds anyway...”

Silence fell over the entire group. After that line, Spike didn't move—his smile and gaze no longer reacting to anything that Rarity said before. Twilight herself continued to sob into his scar-filled scales, staining the purple shards with her tears. Rarity's eyes had long since clouded over completely with salty tears, so that her vision was impaired from being able to monitor Spike's breathing. However, from what she could see, at best, his breathing was shallow... too shallow to be anything except ominous of his end. However, she quickly found herself lowering her head against his snout—both to comfort him and because of a sudden strong wave of dizziness.

“I think the time draws near,” Princess Celestia whispered, her words carrying a double meaning that the alicorn may or may not have even been aware of.

As if to confirm it, a dull thump of Applejack hitting the ground on her side entered Rarity's ears. That made every single mare now lying on the ground—Rainbow and Fluttershy long ago had fallen to the ground. Rarity couldn't blame any of them, for even though she was now laying down with her forehead against Spike's snout, she almost found herself somehow losing her balance and falling over. Instead, the mare did her best to focus on her position, for she absolutely refused to remove her contact from her prince.

Softly, she heard Twilight whispering to Spike. “Spike... I'm... I'm sorry that I couldn't... that I couldn't save you. Just know... that I love you very... very much. I'm sure that you will be remembered forever as the hero you deserve to be remembered as.”

Spike's eyes opened halfway, and with a small intake of air, the dragon deadpanned, “I am not dead yet, Twilight. Geez. At least... at least wait until I stop breathing to bury my broken corpse.”

Rarity couldn't will herself to look up at Twilight's face—the dizziness was forcing Rarity to focus her entire being on the spot her head was touching—but she could just imagine the look of shock and confusion that was on the unicorn's face. Slowly, a small chuckle that sounded more like a snort mixed with a throaty sob pierced through the silence. The chuckle slowly transformed into a giggle, which then transformed into a full blown laugh, with all the over-the-top snorts and gasps for air to go along with it.

The bad joke wasn't deserving of even half of the reaction, but considering everything that was going on, laughing was better than anything else they could've done.

A wind began to pick up around her, sending her already ruined mane and tail into a frenzy. Twilight must have felt it too, for her laughs began to die down as the mare braced for the magic that would most likely soon form.

It was then that Princess Celestia's voice was heard over the growing winds. “Oh, and girls, before I forget, please don't tell anypony about how you ponies went to the future like this. Even myself. I know it will be hard, but it is for the best that nopony knows what happened here. And Twilight, if you do have the urge to tell me... just mention my attempts to pickle onions. I'll understand what it means.”

Those last few words were the last things that Rarity heard before the world once again went white, she felt herself slightly lifted off of the ground, and taken away from Spike. Before Rarity could even try to voice her objections to being taken away from him, she was gone, never to see the older dragon again.

A/N: Here's to hoping that them "going back" doesn't look like deus ex machina. Also, only one last update until this story is done. Damn...

Chapter 45: Full Circle

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The violent wind—accompanied by the blindingly intense light—slowly began to die down, though the spots in her eyes remained where they were. The light was the first thing to go, and even though Twilight still couldn't see anything around her, she could tell that she was laying on a cobblestone road of some kind. The wind itself never seemed to die away, though the more she thought about it, the more she realized that the wind was probably no longer magically created, and much more likely to be a natural wind.

A soft and pained squeak to Twilight's left told her that Pinkie was laying right next to her—the squeak most likely from the pain of her hind legs. Twilight attempted to blindly reach for the mare with a foreleg, but Pinkie was apparently just out of her reach. Thankfully, other than that single noise, the mare didn't make any more complaints, so hopefully that meant that she was in a more comfortable position. The unicorn was sure that the rest of her friends were nearby, but was obviously not as worried of their present condition like she was with Pinkie's at the moment.

Twilight was just about to say something when her vision returned. She barely had time to shove one of her forehooves into her mouth to stifle a scream, for before her, the six of them were charging the Elements of Harmony, and were about to shoot them at Discord.

“So!” Discord shouted. Though the still-present spots in her eyes, she was able to see him point a taloned arm at their past-selves. “You want to send me back to my stone prison? But I have so much more fun to have! Why don't we all have fun together and see how YOU like a stone prison!”

Twilight wanted to warn the girls, but a completely dry throat stopped her warnings. Instead, the draconequus pointed a single finger at the mares, and with a sickening laugh, shot a green ray of energy at them. Upon impacting the growing pink orb of energy around their doubles, sparks danced off of the magic, and the orb shifted to a mix between green and pink. As the two incantations began to intertwine and disrupt each other, they began to grow in intensity. Finally, the Elements of Harmony went off, and with a flash of light—Twilight barely able to blink before she went blind again—their doubles were gone.

Leaving the Elements of Harmony to clatter to the ground.

“Well that's not what I wanted to happen.” Discord said in disbelief. Three seconds later, he turned away, and began to joyfully prance in the air. “Oh this is simply marvelous! I love it when I surprise myself!”

As he said this, Twilight ignited her horn, took the six Elements in her magic, and with a tug, quickly yanked them over to her. Quickly, yet quietly, she latched the girls' respective Elements to their necks, finally placing her own tiara on her head to finish the set. Not bothering to wait for anything, she nodded to the other girls—her friends nodding in response—and began to charge up the Elements.

As they charged the magic, Discord continued on his little rant. “Not every day that I get to cause chaos and mischief against me! I should tell my favorite Princesses of my wondrous discovery! I'm sure they would love to hear it. Though the only question now is what color accordion I need.”

As if they were already charged and ready to fire, it didn't seem like they took nearly as long to charge the artifacts to full power. Either that, or Discord's monologue made the time seem to go by faster than she thought, for it was only a few seconds later that the Elements were fully charged. With almost too much pleasure in the action, Twilight focused the magic within the artifacts, and fired at the monster before her.

Discord had already raised his paw in the air in preparation to teleport away when he stopped. “Hmm?” he said as he turned, and saw the massive spinning maelstrom of rainbows coming towards his face. “Well... now that's just weird...”

As soon as the words passed his lips, the multicolored magic impacted his body, causing a startled scream to pierce through the loud magic. It was impossible to make out what was going on inside of the magic, but what Twilight could see was that Discord seemed to be trying his best to get out and away from the magical attack. He twisted and squirmed in his futile attempts to get away, but in the end, it was all for naught.

When the smoke cleared and the light finally disappointed, the frightful statue of the terrified God of Chaos teetered over to the right, and with a final gust of wind, it blew over, and crashed to the ground, thus ending the premature end to Discord's reign.

As the ponies found themselves slowly floating back to the ground, Twilight saw Rarity activate her horn, and once again take on the responsibility of carrying Pinkie. Shortly after, the five ponies—Pinkie obviously not touching the ground—touched down on the cobblestone. Rainbow Dash instantly collapsed onto the road, and with a loud sigh, allowed her wings to go limp. “It's over... it's finally over...”

Applejack too fell to the ground over the weight of everything as well. “Ya can say tha' again, Sugarcube.”

Fluttershy didn't completely collapse to her mud-stained stomach, but she allowed herself to sit down, and stretch her wings wide to bask in the sun. “Oh my goodness it feels so good to have the real sun back. How long were we gone anyway? Gosh... I think I lost count of the days!”

Twilight leaned onto her side, and smiled. “I actually did the math just before that last little fight. Twenty-five days and twenty-four nights we were gone.”

Rarity leaned towards Twilight, her white coat almost completely brown like the rest of the mares. “Almost a full month? That... wow... it felt like so much longer than that.”

Twilight reached over, and patted her hoof on Rarity's back. “I know, right? Felt like almost a full year, doesn't it?”

“Almost an entire month without parties...” Pinkie contemplated this to herself. After a few seconds, she slowly shook her head. “I feel like I'm about to go crazy.”

All of them started to giggle at that comment. As Rarity laughed to herself, she reached forward, and touched a forehoof to one of Pinkie's floating forelegs. “Pinkie, darling, I think I can speak for everypony when I say that I think we all would love to help you pull off a massive party in celebration of all of this.”

Rainbow rolled over to her back, and stretched her wings. “Oh yeah! I can go for that!”

“Ah reckon tha' Ah can... oh... oh no freakin' way.” Applejack trailed off as she slowly picked herself off of the ground, and slowly began to walk over to the other side of the road.

Fluttershy looked over a little bit, but didn't bother to stop basking in the sun with her outstretched wings. “Applejack, what is it?”

“Ah though' Ah saw... ah ha! Ah did!” Applejack sat herself on her flank, and quickly put something on her head. Whirling around quickly, Twilight saw that the apple farmer was once again sporting her signature Stetson. “Ha! Ah knew tha' sucker wouldn't leave me forever!”

Twilight giggled slightly. “Whatever spell Discord shot at us must have affected your hat as well, and so when it was broken on us, it was broken on it too.”

Applejack was literally skipping in giddiness now. “Jus' goes to show that ya have the best of friends in the strangest of things.”

Rainbow looked up from her cobblestone bed. “You're insane.”

The cowpony closed her eyes, and with a beaming smile, cantered along the road. “Nope! Ah'm jus' happy!”

“A little too happy to be—”

“T...Twilight?”

Twilight's head snapped to attention at the small voice, and she quickly found herself looking in every direction to find its source. It didn't take long, for out from behind one of the corners of a building, came the small purple body of the one being in this entire world that she would sacrifice everything she had, just to have him in her forelegs again.

Spike.

Twilight got to her hooves, and slowly took a step forward. Already, she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes again. “Spike...”

That was all it took for Spike to come running towards her. “Twilight!!”

And she came running towards him with all the strength she had left in her legs. “Spike!!”

The two met in the middle, and with an excited squeal, Twilight rolled over onto the ground, and snuggled up close to her little baby dragon. Tears freely flowed from her eyes as she closed them shut, and like a mother with her infant child, she curled up around him, and laid her head against his own.

As happy as Spike was before to see her, Twilight could feel Spike slightly squirming in her tight embrace. “Twiliiiiight. You're embarrassing me.”

Giggling a little bit at his youthful voice, she slightly released him from her grip, though she made definite care to make sure that he was perfectly wrapped in her body. “Sorry. I just... I just missed you so much...”

“Uhh...” Spike blinked. “Twilight, you do realize I saw you less than an hour ago, right?”

Again, Twilight found herself giggling through her tears. “Sorry... it just... heh... it felt like a thousand years to me.”

There, the two were content to embrace in silence. Even after his little outburst, Spike was happy to snuggle up with Twilight, and happily rest in her care. The entire time the two relaxed, Twilight wasn't sure what to say to him. Should she tell him how much she loved him like a son, like the older Spike did? Did this Spike feel the same way? Would it weird him out too much? Should she even care if it did?

Feeling a slight shift, she looked down, and smiled at his small face, and decided it didn't really matter right now. Right now, all that mattered was being there with him.

Finally, Applejack finally interrupted their little moment. “Well, if ya'll don' mind, Ah gotta make sure Apple Bloom and the rest of mah family are alrigh'. Ah'll make sure to check on the rest of ya'll later.”

Rarity instantly popped back to her hooves, and looked in all directions frantically. “Oh dear! I should make sure that Sweetie Belle is alright as well! Oh the poor dear must be worried sick!”

Pinkie giggled lightly, doing her best to spin herself around in her magical bubble. “I should probably make sure that Gummy and the Cakes are alright as well.”

“Oh no you don't, darling.” Rarity pulled Pinkie closer to herself. “We're going to get you to the hospital for those legs of yours. After I get you settled there, and I make sure that Sweetie Belle is alright, I'll see what I can do to bring Gummy to visit.”

“Aww... but hospitals are booooring!”

Fluttershy closed her wings, and slowly got to her hooves. “Oh dear... I wonder where my Angel Bunny is. I'm sure he's so scared and lonely.”

Rainbow Dash thought to herself for a while—the mare staying silent for the entire time. After almost fifteen seconds of contemplative quiet, she finally rolled over, and stretched her wings. “Well... I really don't have any family to check up on, but I guess I could see if the Squirt is doing alright. I'm sure she'd appreciate the one-on-one attention from yours truly.

“But... uhh...” Rainbow took a step towards Fluttershy, before taking a half step back. Considering how close the two already were, Twilight thought it was a little cute to see Rainbow blushing up like she was at the next question. “Hey... Fluttershy. Maybe after I see Scootaloo, and you make sure your animals are alright... you maybe... kinda... wanna hang out later? Maybe tomorrow or something? Your place around noon maybe?”

Fluttershy giggled lightly, before taking a step forward, and kissing Rainbow Dash on the cheek. “That sounds wonderful, Rainbow.”

“Hey now, unless your givin' kisses to the lot of us, let's try an' keep it civil, alrigh'?” Applejack smiled as she got close to the two pegasi. With a smile on all of their faces, she gave the two mares a giant hug. The hug was quickly joined by both Rarity and Pinkie—the party pony mostly just floating and touching them with the very tips of her forehooves.

Finally, Twilight worked her way out from her snuggle with Spike, ran over, and gave her friends a massive group hug. “I love you girls so much.”

“Love ya too, Sugarcube.”

“Twilight, darling, I feel the same.”

“Oh Twilight, you know we all feel the same way.”

“Yeah yeah, same here egghead.”

“Well I love everypony, so I guess that counts as you too, Twi-Twi!”

Slowly breaking out of the embrace, Twilight smiled at the five of them. “Be careful girls, we just saved the world and everything. We're probably going to be attacked by ponies everywhere trying to thank us.”

To that, Rarity rolled her eyes, though she smiled all the same. “Please, darling, they didn't do anything for us when we saved them from Nightmare Moon. How do you think this is any different?”

“Hmm... good point.”

“Anyway, Pinkie's legs aren't getting any better on their own, so without further adieu, ta ta!”

“Yuppies! Bye bye girls! See you later!!”

With that, the two mares departed. A short trio of goodbyes later, and Twilight watched as the other three of her friends headed off into the distance as well. Smiling to herself, she watched as each of her friends went in opposite directions. She quickly lost sight of Rarity and Pinkie—the two heading further into the town center as they headed to the hospital. Applejack was the next to disappear from her sight, for she turned down a back alley to try and get to her orchards quicker. Finally, after a few minutes, the brownish forms of Rainbow and Fluttershy faded into the distance—the deep blue of the sky drowning out their forms.

From behind her, she heard Spike's hind claws clicking lightly against the cobblestone—the sound of him scratching his head accompanying his approach. “What was with that weird and complicated goodbye? And why was Rarity carrying Pinkie like that? And did I just see Fluttershy kiss Rainbow? And what was with Rarity's horn looking like it was clear or something? Twilight... why do you girls all look like you have been rolling around in mud all day?”

For what felt like the thousandth time that day, Twilight giggled to herself. “Well Spike, let's just say that after a long, long, long bath, a nice lunch, and maybe a little book to relax myself, I'm going to have to write the strangest Friendship Report to give to Princess Celestia in my entire life.”

Epilogue

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“...Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight said to herself. With a flourish of the quill, she nodded to herself as she finished signing her name. “Done! Ha! I thought I was never going to get this one done.”

Twilight read over the letter one last time in an attempt to find any mistakes she might have made. Satisfied with how it turned out, she used her magic to roll up the scroll, and after picking up a wax stamp, she sealed the scroll tight. After sealing the letter, she looked at it, making sure that every single little detail of the outer package was sufficient to send to royalty.

Setting down the quill, seal, and rolled up scroll, Twilight took a few steps towards the window, and looked out over the streets of Ponyville. The unicorn had suspected that the week after defeating Discord would be an insanely crazy one—despite what Rarity had suspected—and it did not fail to deliver. Parties, royal ceremonies, a key to the City of Ponyville, and countless other prizes and honors were showered over the six of them. So much so, that even Rainbow was starting to tire from the incredible amount of attention.

And then, it suddenly died off.

It was almost silly how quickly the ponies got over their victory against Discord. It was as if the ponies were on some kind of drug, and eventually the effects ended, leaving behind the good feelings. After days and days of celebrating, ponies everywhere just... stopped showering them with praise. The gifts stopped. The honors no longer came in. Invitations to be guests of honor were retracted. Even simple voices of thanks no longer were thrown in the mares' direction. Now, with the library as quiet as it had always been, it was as if nothing had ever happened.

Which was exactly how Twilight had wanted it.

The soft thumps of light steps approached Twilight, and upon turning her head, she saw Spike stretching his arms. “Hey Twilight. Did you finish that letter yet?”

Smiling wide, Twilight took the sealed scroll in her grasp, and levitated it over to Spike. “I did, and it's ready to be sent.”

Looking at the scroll for a second, the small dragon eventually shrugged to himself, and after a deep inhale, incinerated the scroll with his magical flame, sending the letter to Princess Celestia in Canterlot.

Twilight's eyes were transfixed by the small amount of green flame that came out of his mouth as the dragon began to speak. “I still don't understand why you didn't want me to write it down for you. You and I both know that it's a ton easier for me to write it for you, rather than you to try and write yourself. You were so secretive about it too. Really sketchy.”

The unicorn shook her head lightly—attempting to get out the image of an older Spike out of her mind. “Sorry, Spike. It's just... it was just a much more personal letter than I usually have to write. I just wanted privacy. I hope you understand.”

To that, Spike laughed once. “Please, don't say sorry to me! I was able to get a lot of extra napping time as you wrote that thing. Write as many as you want yourself!”

“Oh really? Lots of extra time?” Twilight approached her baby dragon with a coy smile. “In that case, I can assume that you have plenty of energy to help dust the tops of the shelves today.”

Under her gaze, Spike took a step back, and began sweating lightly. “Uhh... I didn't mean it like that. What I meant was that... uhh... I've been so busy taking care of the library doing other things, that the letter... I mean... I was so—”

It was at that moment that there was a hard knock at the door.

“Oh! Look at that! Somepony's at the door! I better go get that now before they catch a cold or something!” Spike quickly said as he scrambled to get to the door as quickly as possible. Twilight couldn't help but to giggle lightly at his antics. It was something that she would never get tired of, and even though it could be slightly annoying at times to have him constantly attempting to slack off, she loved him for it.

Spike opened the door, and instantly began wearing the widest smile. “Oh, hi Rarity!”

“Hello, Spikie Wikie,” Rarity said as she took a few steps in. Leaning down to nuzzle the much shorter dragon—an action that brought an even wider smile to his face—she continued. “Are you ready for our little outing?”

“Yup! Just about! I just gotta make sure that Twilight is alright with it.” Spike said as he looked towards his caretaker, pleading her with his large emerald eyes.

“Oh I don't know...” Twilight slowly and dramatically said as she allowed her eyes to look towards the tops of the shelves. “I was really hoping to get those shelves clean, and I thought that today would be a perfect day to—”

“Oh come on, Twilight!” Spike ran over, clutching his hands together in a pleading fashion. “Please?? I'll do them tomorrow, and I won't even complain once! Please please please!?” Spike pleaded as he continued his puppy dog like begging.

“Hmm!!” Twilight hummed to herself, acting like she was thinking. Behind Spike, she could see Rarity doing her best to stifle a snicker. She let the little dragon sweat it out for another second or two before she finally looked down. “Oh all right, but only because I can't say no to those eyes of yours.”

“YES!!” Spike yelled as he pumped his fist into the air in celebration. Turning towards Rarity, he slowly began running back towards the kitchen. “I'm just about ready, Rarity. Let me just grab one or two more things.”

“Please, take your time, darling. Don't rush on my behalf.” Rarity called out as he passed through the doorway. As he left the room, she shook her head. “That little guy is going to hurt himself someday by running backwards like that.”

The two mares were silent for a few seconds, neither one really sure what to say to the other. Rarity's silence was probably because of some sort of mix between awkwardness and embarrassment, while Twilight was mostly because she wasn't sure how to approach the topic at hoof. However, considering that this was the third time this week that the two had gone out to do something together, and especially considering that she was basically his mother, she had to talk to her about it.

It was with that thought that Twilight cleared her throat. “Soooo...”

Rarity looked at Twilight, and scrunched her brows together. “Soooo?”

The lavender unicorn took a few steps forward, before she sat herself down on a cushion. Beckoning Rarity to join her, she continued. “It's only been a week, and you two have gone out together a few times already. Does that mean... you know...”

Rarity lightly shook her head, though Twilight could easily see the goofy grin the mare had on her face. Still, Rarity did close the gap between them, and joined Twilight at the table. “I'm letting the dear go at his own pace, and I am only doing things that he himself wants to do, when he asks, and not a second sooner.”

Twilight waved a forehoof in a small circle—motioning her friend to continue. “And that means...”

Rarity sighed. “He hasn't asked me to do or be anything yet, and frankly, I don't expect him to ask for our... relationship to be any more serious than a simple friendship for some time. However... when he does ask... well...” Rarity trailed off, a blush showing through her white coat as she did so.

Twilight rolled her eyes, though she still kept a smile on her face. “I don't want to sound harsh, but you do realize that this isn't the Spike that saved us a dozen times, the same Spike that basically confessed that he loved you. This is the normal Spike—the baby dragon that might have nothing but a childish crush on you, right?”

Rarity sighed again, but this time, it was heavier, and filled with more thought. “I am aware of all of that, Twilight Sparkle. However, that is the Spike that I want to know and love... err... the Spike we have here I mean.”

“And you do realize,” Twilight leaned forward, “that this Spike is around the same age as Sweetie Belle, right? He won't really be an adult for at least five years or so, and even then, he'll still be more of an adolescent by dragon years for at least another fifty, right?”

With that, her friend lower her head to the table, and with a gentle thud, Rarity's head met the wood. “I am aware of all of that Twilight. I am aware I am trying to basically get together with a child, but... well...” Rarity lifted her head, and gave a miniscule smile. “I am willing to wait those five years, if it means I'll be with him.”

To that, Twilight shook her head. “Rarity, you are one insane pony, and if you do anything to hurt him, I'll make sure that you get what's coming to you. However, as long as you don't do anything stupid, I’m completely alright with this.”

Rarity gave a more genuine smile, and with a little bit of enthusiasm, took one of Twilight's forehooves between her own. “Don't worry, dear. I won't let you down.”

A loud thud was heard in the direction of the kitchen, and after both mares turned towards the sound, they saw that Spike had accidentally hit the doorway with the side of a bright red wagon. Grumbling to himself, she situated the wagon so that it would pass through the doorway this time, and with a pull, he got through. Inside the wagon, a fairly large picnic basket was situated—much larger than what Spike could've normally carried—with what must have been all of the necessities required for a nice lunch at the park.

With a final few steps, Spike stopped in front of Rarity, and bowed. “Milady, I am ready to depart.”

Rarity bent down, and once again nuzzled the dragon. After a few seconds, she pulled herself back, and after standing up from the table, beamed at Twilight. “Splendid! Anyway Twilight, we really haven't had the time to chat to each other since... well... I can't even remember! Feels like ages ago! We should set up a spa date or something soon to catch up. I am going to especially need help working on ideas for those dresses that Rainbow and Fluttershy are going to have to wear!”

Twilight got up, let a slightly devilish grin take over her face, and led the pair to the door. “Agreed. Don't worry, we'll think of something together.”

“Indeed. Until then, darling, Ta ta!” Rarity called back as she and Spike left the library. Together the two began to make their way down the road, and started to talk about random things. Twilight couldn't really tell what they were talking about—it wasn't polite to eavesdrop anyway—but what she did know was that once you got those two going, they could go on and on for hours on end. Sometimes, what they talked about wasn't even things that made sense, and were just things that were nonsensical confusion mixed with laughter and giggles.

Which brought the thought of her next duty of the day to her mind.

As soon as the pair were out of sight, she stepped out of the library, and pulled the door shut. Activating the magical identifying lock—and making sure the door was secure—she turned towards the road, and with determined hoofsteps, began to make her way further into town.

“Thank you for your time, Councilor Mighty Pen,” Princess Celestia said with a cheerful voice. “I'll make sure that your citizens get the relief that they require.

“Thank you, your Highness.” The stallion slowly bowed in honor of the Solar Alicorn, before he turned, and made his way down the long hall of the Throne Room.

Celestia turned, and was just about to ask her scribe who was next on the list of visitors that would need to be tended to, when she spotted the distinctive sparkling gray cloud of Spike's breath. Her smile growing wider at the implications, she only had to wait for two seconds for the magical cloud to approach, and coalesce in front of her. As soon as the scroll formed in front of her eyes, she grabbed it within her magic, and with a gentle tug opened the wax seal.

Upon first glace, she was slightly surprised at the most glaring aspect of the letter. “Hmm... it seems that Twilight Sparkle wrote this herself. Curious.”

Regardless, seeing how she had a minute or two before the next guest was due to arrive, she felt it was enough time to read the Friendship Report.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I apologize that I did not send this letter before. With all of the parades and ceremonies commemorating our victory against Discord, I have not had the time to sit down and actually write this. Thankfully, since things have appeared to have died down, I was able to clear my schedule, and was able to find enough time to write this for you. I know this is a somewhat unorthodox letter compared to my other reports on my findings on friendship, but it is one that I need to say more than any other before. Before you ask, the main reason I sound so cryptic is because many details involve, as I was instructed to write, you pickling onions.

“Scribble Down,” Celestia said as she continued to look at the letter before her.

Turning his gaze up, her scribe cheerfully looked at the alicorn's face. However, his demeanor dropped the instantly the moment he realized how serious she looked. “Yes, Princess Celestia?”

She stood from her throne, rolled the letter back up, and looked at him. “Who is the next visitor, and what are his grievances?”

Scribble looked at the parchment on the floor in front of him, and after a few seconds, he gave his answer. “It looks as though the next visitor is Master Lion Heart of Los Pegasus, and he is requesting an audience to ask for permission to build a stadium in the middle of the city. He seeks your council because he needs royal permission to build such a large structure in the middle of the city.”

Celestia continued to walk down towards the doorway out of the throne room. “Inform him that I must delay his appointment by an hour. Tell him that as an apology from myself, he can get lunch anywhere in the city, and to bill the Canterlot Treasury.”

Nodding, Scribble wrote down the order. After writing down the decree—giving it to a messenger to deliver shortly after to deliver—he looked up. “Princess... is everything alright?”

She stopped for a second, before turning her head around. “Everything is alright, Scribble Down. I just... received a message that I was surprised to have received. Rest assured, there is no cause for concern.”

After seeing her scribe bowing in acknowledgment, Celestia made her way through the doorway and into the hallway. Quickly navigating her way through the labyrinth of halls, she quickly sped up until she was just shy of an actual trot. Several times, she ran across servants and soldiers, and many times it looked as though they had something they wanted to say to her. However, each time they must have seen the look she had on her face, and therefore, only said a polite hello, and gave a deep bow before allowing their princess to continue with her business.

It only took a minute or two for her to finally make it to her bedroom—the alicorn using her magic to swiftly turn on all of the gas lanterns in the room. She shut the door behind her, and with slow steps, carefully made her way towards the desk against on the left wall of the room. She gently sat herself down, and after getting herself comfortable, carefully—as if the scroll she was carrying was some sort of precious artifact—she laid out the parchment onto the desk in front of her.

Quickly, she scanned the letter to find the spot that she had left off, and after finding her place, continued to read.

Time is a curious thing really. We always are looking forward to new events in the future, hoping that our lives will constantly grow better with the next day before us. We always look back to the past, hoping that what decisions we made were the right ones, as well as regretting decisions that we so desperately wish we could change. However, how often do we ponies look at the present, and look at who we are today? Sadly, not often enough.

In the past week, I have gotten a new view on the world around us, and how precious my friends are to me. We have fought the greatest threat ever known to all of Equestria and gone on many journeys that you could not even fathom; journeys that I sadly cannot even imagine how to begin telling you about. Such journeys have shown me that my friends and family, each and every one of them, are precious, and that in an instant, they could be extinguished from this world.

Applejack was working up a sweat in the heat of the day. Scratch that—working up a sweat was an understatement. Sweating like one of her pigs after a day of rodeo practice in the summer was closer to what she felt like right now. However, she couldn't stop to try and relax under the cool shade of one of the apple trees around her. She had taken long enough of a break this past week with all of the traveling. Instead, she had a job to do—the trees of her dozens of orchards weren't going to buck themselves after all.

Straightening the Stetson atop her head, she approached the next tree in her route. The trunk was thick and the branches strong—the tree was one of the larger of her orchard. This was a double-edged sword, for on one hoof, the bigger trees required a much more powerful kick to shake loose the apples on the branches high above. On the other hoof though, the larger the tree, the larger the number of apples, which meant more money for the farm.

She quickly took a swinging step forward with her right foreleg, and swinging her tail around, forced her flank to begin to turn. Turning on her forelegs, she pulled her hind legs tightly against her belly, and allowed the momentum of her previous forward motion to carry her flank around, and bring her hind legs to be right where they needed to be to deliver the powerful kick against the tree. Just as her hind legs were right on target, she launched them like they were a pair of tightly coiled springs, and sent a powerful slam against the old wood. The kick sent a huge vibration up the tree, shaking the branches above violently.

Suddenly, dozens and dozens of apples began to fall into the baskets below—success.

Just as she was about to celebrate, she heard a voice scream in terror. “Applejack!!”

Applejack turned towards the source, and her eyes went wide. “Apple Bloom...”

Immediately, she took off in the direction of the filly's scream, despite her hind legs being a little bit numb from the hard kick from a few seconds ago. While far away, the yell didn't seem to come from outside the orchards, which came at a slight relief to the mare. Of course, that relief only lasted until she heard the filly's scream once more. This served to double the mare's speed, and with her heart pounding against her chest—her Stetson only barely staying onto her head at the galloping speed—she tore across the property.

Cresting one of the many hills in the various orchards, she saw that Apple Bloom was in one of the largest trees in Sweet Apple Acres. From here, it looked like the small filly had been climbing the grand tree, but something—whether it was a broken branch, a case of vertigo, or maybe even just that Apple Bloom looked down and got scared—was preventing the small child from climbing down. For now, the filly seemed safe, but who was to say that the painfully thin branch wouldn't break in the next few minutes, and send the filly to the ground?

Applejack wasn't going to take that chance.

Without even bothering to yell to the filly above her, Applejack did a galloping leaped high into the air—her Stetson finally flying off from the action. As quick as a squirrel, the cowpony climbed the tree, pulling herself higher into the air by use of the branches on all sides of her. It only took her a few moments to climb the tree, and with a quick motion of her head, grabbed Apple Bloom's neck, and threw her atop her back. That task achieved, she quickly leaped away from the tree—careful to avoid any roots jutting out of the ground—and hit the ground with a slight tumble. All in all, the entire ordeal only took fifteen seconds. However, to Applejack, it was still far too slow.

Apple Bloom slowly slid off of the mare's back, and with a downcast look, slightly kicked the ground. “Applejack, Ah'm sorry tha' Ah—”

She was silenced by a pair of orange forelegs wrapping themselves around her neck. “It's alright, Apple Bloom. It's alright...”

From the way the small filly tensed up, Apple Bloom wasn't entirely sure what to do, especially considering how completely caught off guard by the strong emotions she was. Therefore, all she did was to close her eyes, return the hug, and embrace her older sister. However, after a few seconds, she opened her eyes again, and frowned. “Applejack... you're shaking.”

Applejack never released the small child. “Ah... Ah was jus' so worried 'bout ya...”

Thankfully, that dreadful and terrifying moment of losing my friends and family never came to pass, but the memories of how desperate of a time we were faced with lingers in my mind, as well as all of my friends' minds. I think it is through these memories that we allow ourselves to branch out, and take risks that we would never consider taking before. I truly believe that it is this hardship that allowed our friendship to blossom even more than before; and in at least one particular case, something much, much more than any of us could have imagined.

Rainbow Dash felt the soft and warm body against her side slowly breathing—one of Fluttershy's forelegs wrapped across her chest. The entire time she lay on her back, she looked into the ceiling, and focused on nothing but the slow rise and fall of her marefriend next to her. She had to admit, it was a nice change of pace to simply relax in bed with Fluttershy, instead of flying around and having fun or being forced to participate in another one of those stupid parades that it seemed every city this side of Equestria was intent on holding last week. Sure, Rainbow was fine with the attention, but she was sure that Fluttershy was done with them as soon as the prospect of the first one entered her ears.

It was hard to be a good marefriend and do a proper give-and-take when everypony was forcing them to do the excitable sort of things.

A soft yawn tickled Rainbow's neck, and with a slight shifting motion, Fluttershy snuggled closer. Allowing a wide grin to form on her face, Rainbow leaned her head to the right, and kissed the top of Fluttershy's pink-maned head. “Good morning, beautiful.”

“Morning? But... isn't it the afternoon?” Fluttershy whispered as she slowly woke up from her little nap.

Smiling wider, Rainbow used the foreleg wrapped around Fluttershy's neck to pull the mare even deeper into the snuggle. “True, but I like the saying. There's something about it that says 'hello' in just the right way.”

Fluttershy silently laughed to herself over the comment, and after shifting her wings slightly, fell back into a blissful silence. Rainbow was completely alright with this idea, and decided to join Fluttershy in a little bit of an extended double nap—easily one of the overactive mare's favorite activities. The only sound in the room was the light breathing of the wonderful mare against her—Fluttershy's small breaths causing the short hairs on her neck to dance in response. It was an interesting feeling, but definitely a good one.

The short stint of silence ended when Rainbow heard Fluttershy's voice again. “Umm... Rainbow Dash... I was... umm... I was just wondering...”

Rainbow leaned over, and nuzzled the top of the pegasus' head again with her cheek. “Yeeeessss?”

“Well... I was curious if... umm...well... there's going to be the Butterfly Migration in a few days, and I was hoping that you would go with me, if you wouldn't mind that is.”

“Butterfly Migration? Hmm...” Rainbow mock-thought to herself for a second, allowing a small amount of suspense to build within her marefriend. It was possibly a little cruel sure, but in the end, the speedy pegasus knew that there was only one thing that she wanted more than anything, and it was to see her little pegasus smile—no matter what. “Alright! That sounds a little strange, but I can't knock it 'til I tried it. I'd love to go.”

Fluttershy squealed lightly in excitement, and with new-found enthusiasm, leaned up, and kissed Rainbow deeply on the lips. The kiss lasted no more than a few seconds, but to the now flush cyan pegasus, it felt like an hour. As soon as their little kiss ended, the two snuggling ponies locked eyes—Rainbow Dash gazing into those deep pools of turquoise—and traded smiles.

It was then that she decided it was a good time to bring up her own proposition. “Hey Fluttershy, I know it's a little far off, but I was curious if you wanted to do something as well.”

Shifting slightly, Fluttershy moved herself back under Rainbow's foreleg, and once again used the cyan leg as a pillow. “Hmm? What is it, Rainbow?”

Rainbow turned away slightly—almost regretting asking. Almost. “Twilight told me that in five months, there's going to be this wicked awesome Dragon Migration. Now, I know you don't like dragons, but apparently they're going to be really really far away, but it'll still look really cool. Wanna watch it with me?”

After a only a few seconds, Rainbow noticed that her marefriend had grown almost completely stiff. “Umm... I... oh... oh dear... umm...”

“We don't have to if you don't want to,” the cyan pegasus quickly retracted, hoping she didn't say anything too crazy with the prospect.

However, the next response threw her off completely. “Well... if you promise to stay by my side the entire time... I think I'll be alright with going...”

Rainbow shifted her weight, so that she was now looking straight at her mare. “Whoa... really?”

Once again, those perfect eyes opened up, and gazed back. “Really, Dash.”

Satisfied, Rainbow Dash pulled Fluttershy deeper into the embrace again, and with a deep sigh, the two drifted off into something that the athlete had only dreamed of doing in the past—a triple nap.

I think that the hardship, as terrible as it was when we faced it, will end up being one of the greatest things to ever happen to any of us, at least when it comes to how it affected how we see the world. I cannot speak for all of my friends, but I can guarantee that when it comes to myself, I see the world in a completely different way. Before, while I was friendly to most of the ponies around me, I was content to just be acquaintances with many of the residents of Ponyville. A simple “Hi” while I walked down the street was enough for me. Now? I find myself trying my absolute hardest to not only see the best in everypony, but to see the grand and wonderful potential that each pony has hidden deep within them.

“And that is why you shouldn't eat limes with the rind still on them!” Spike rolled his eyes as he finished talking—the dragon happily riding on top of Rarity's back as the two made their way closer to their picnic spot.

“Huh... I knew that fruit tasted funny when I tried it. I guess I could give those things another try,” Rarity said as she thought back to that one moment in the Everfree Forest. “Just goes to show that even the most cultured of mares has a lot to learn about the most simple of things.”

Rarity quickly became lost in thought as she walked down the cobblestone road—the pair slowly making their way to the park in the outskirts of town. A few minutes ago, the unicorn had offered to let Spike ride atop her back as they walked—a request that the little dragon was all too happy to accept. So as they walked, she lightly had her horn alight as she pulled the wagon filled with food behind the two of them.

“Say... Rarity...” Spike started before trailing off, breaking the unicorn out of her thoughts.

“Yes, darling?” Rarity said, turning her head slightly so that she could see the him out of the corner of her eye.

For his part, Spike seemed somewhat awkward as he thought about the question—the dragon taking longer than she would expect to gather his thoughts together. Finally, he finally blurted out, “I was curious, what happened to your horn?”

Rarity looked up, and crossed her eyes so that she could see the very tip of her diamond horn. “My horn?”

Waving his hands in the air, Spike quickly began to backpedal. “I mean, I didn't mean that there was anything bad about your horn! I think it looks great! Definitely suits you! Just... what happened? How did you get it? I mean... I never saw a unicorn with a horn like that before.”

“Oh... well...” Rarity trailed off as she thought to herself, the mare desperately attempting to come up with a suitable answer while still not revealing what had actually happened. The more and more she thought about it, the less and less she was sure of the words that she needed to say. How easy and satisfying it would be to just up and tell the dragon what actually happened, how grand of a prince he would become, and how amazing of an adventure they were forced to go through.

Yet, she knew she couldn't.

Finally, the mare settled on being as vague as possible. “It's... well... the most generous and amazing gentlecolt gave it to me after I tragically lost my own.” Rarity continued to keep her eyes forward, yet she smiled wide. “I owe him a debt I'll never be able to repay.”

“Oh... I see.” Spike's voice dropped in enthusiasm as he let her words circulate within his mind. “He must be... he must be an amazing stallion, huh? Perfect even.”

Instantly realizing where she went wrong, Rarity stopped in her tracks, turned around, and gave him an affectionate nuzzle. “Oh Spike, you should know that there's no pony, dragon, zebra, monkey, or anything else in this entire world that would mean more to me than you do.”

“R... r... really!?” Spike stuttered, the muscles in his body tensing slightly at the admission.

For her part, she continued to nuzzle his cheek. “Really.”

“Really really?”

“Really really really with a cherry on top!” Rarity pulled her head back slightly, beaming towards the dragon. “Now, are we going to keep saying 'really' to each other all day, or are we going to find the perfect spot to enjoy this picnic?”

Spike jumped off of Rarity's back, and with determination in his eyes, he nodded. “A picnic sounds great!”

To that, Rarity giggled once more—her voice lighter and cheerier than ever. “I think so too.”

Those possibilities within us all makes me think back to my family too, and how many opportunities I left behind with them when I took to learning under you. Sure, I do not regret a single thing that I have done in my life, yet there is so much more that I could do. Yes yes, I did say just a few paragraphs before that I learned to not constantly look back at the past and wish for something else, but what I am doing here is different. I’m looking to all the opportunities that I am going to take advantage of today. I know that many of my friends feel the same way, and are taking action now to mend whatever fences that they have broken in the past, and fix any links in their relationship that they allowed to rust and wither away.

A quill sticking out of her mouth, Pinkie muttered to herself, “Your daughter... Pinkamena Diane Pie.”

The pony spit out the offending object, and with a wide smile across her face, she looked at the letter she finally finished. “There! A perfect letter for the perfect mommy! Now all that's left is to mail these suckers. Ooh... I hope that I have enough postage. I think I left the majority of my stamps in Mr. Dragon's cave...”

Pinkie slowly and carefully turned herself around, and with deliberate steps, used her forelegs to pull herself along. Her hind legs were slightly elevated off of the ground—the mare forced to instead pull herself along with the use of a set of wheels instead. It was definitely not what the mare had been hoping for in her first few weeks back from the trip, but it was much better than what some of the doctors initially feared they would be forced to do to her nearly ruined legs. Compared to that, the itchiness of the little sling that strapped her belly and flank to the little device was nothing.

Of course, the agony she went through when resetting those bones, even with painkillers, was traumatic in itself.

Pushing the memory out of her mind, she continued to look for her stamps. However, no matter how much she looked and how many times she checked in the drawers of her desk, they were nowhere to be found. Groaning to herself, she once again checked under her bed—a location that was incredibly hard to look under. She wheeled herself over, and carefully lowered her head down—the wheels forcing the mare to keep her flank in the air as she did so.

Nothing.

Frustrated now, the pink pony turned towards Gummy, and sighed. “I don't suppose you might know where the stamps are, Gumster?”

In response, the tiny alligator slowly blinked.

“In the sousaphone case?” Pinkie questioned as she scrunched her forehead in confusion. “Now why in the name of Equestria would there be stamps in there?”

Wheeling herself around—cursing once to herself after getting stuck on the corner of her bed—she quickly made her way to the closet that she kept all of her random things in. Opening the door, she carefully began to pick up the assorted junk inside, digging her way to the large prize at the bottom of the pile. It was slow going—it was very hard to pick up more than one or two things and set them on her back without going over her wheel's weight limit—but eventually she got the the large case on the floor. With a flick of her nose, she opened the latch, and looked inside.

Pinkie gasped. “Gummy! You were right! There were a few stamps in here! I thought these had escaped for good after last Hearth's Warming Mailing Extravaganza! You are the super smartest gator this side of Equestria!”

She picked the postage booklet up in her mouth, and with the most careful of steps, backed herself out of the closet. Her room was now a mess because of the large amount of clutter now in it, but she'd deal with it later. Right now was the time to make sure that her letters got out! So with that, she pulled herself over to her desk, and with careful peels and licks, got the stamps of the envelopes. The envelopes all ready to be mailed up, she picked them up in her mouth, put them in the little card carrier on her wheel-device, and with a few strong pulls, wheeled herself out of her room and into the hallway.

Pinkie looked at the stairs.

“It's alright Pinkie,” the mare muttered to herself as she readied her mind for the task. “You're a strong mare. Sure, the stairs are long and treacherous and would hurt a lot if you fall again, but you insisted on staying upstairs, and the Cakes made super sure that they were safe this time...”

With careful steps, she began to pull herself over the ledge. Looking behind her, she lined her wheels up with the little tracks that Mr. Cake had built for her, and making sure that she was super duper slow, she took each step down. It was slow going—each step taking over a full second to traverse—but this time, she wasn't stumbling or panicking over the out of control speeds. No, this time she was taking the stairs at her own pace, and at this pace, there was no way she could—

As if she jinxed herself, she stumbled on the last step, and fell onto the floor at the bottom of the stairs.

Groaning to herself, she slowly pulled herself back up—the fact that her flank kept trying to roll down the rest of the stairs wasn't helping any—and took a few stumbling steps forward. Thankfully, the fall was nothing major, and only resulted in a little bit of dizziness more than anything else. Checking her rear legs, she was thankful that the casts held, and she didn't have any agonizing pain shooting up her legs this time. Instead, it looked as though everything was secure and in place.

After making sure that the letters were still in the little carrier, Pinkie began to make her way to the front door. With a gentle push, she made her way outside, and then onward to the mailbox. It was short trip, but it still took a solid minute to get there.

“Here we are,” Pinkie said to herself as she pulled herself in front of the pink mailbox. Pulling out each letter individually, she muttered to herself some more, “Let's see... one letter for papa... one letter for mama... one letter for Inkie... one letter for Blinkie... and one letter for Pinkie!”

Satisfied, she closed the mailbox, and raised the little flag to signal that there were letters to be sent out. Not even a second later, she opened the mailbox, stuck her face inside, and pulled out the final letter she put in there. “Oh look! A letter for me.”

Quietly, the mare giggled to herself as she put the letter into her little carrier, and began the process of wheeling herself inside.

There is so much more I can talk about: how saving the world changed how the world looks at us, how our local fame is changing how we are treated, and even how, with everything going on, I nearly went insane over how I missed a simple Friendship Report (you can thank Spike for calming me down after that little freakout). For now, I have some extremely urgent business to take care of: business I cannot delay any further.

“It's alright Twilight,” the mare thought to herself as she stood outside the building. “It's alright. There's no reason to be stressed, scared, hyperventilate, or begin shaking like a leaf during the Running of the Leaves. No reason at all.”

She raised her hoof up, and with a little bit of trepidation, went to knock on the door.

Instead, she lowered her hoof back to the ground. “On the other hoof, there are a lot of things that could go wrong. What if I didn't hear her right before? What if everything changed? That's not to mention all the signs that nopony is inside anyway! What if... argh! Why do I have to think so much!”

Again, Twilight lifted her hoof to knock, but again found herself stalling in the position, unsure if she should go through with it. Alas, the thoughts of what she had just written to her teacher in her mind, she realized that there was no turning back, and with a little bit of hesitation, she knocked.

She was actually taken aback a little at how much noise the simple action caused—Twilight's stress had apparently translated to how hard she knocked. However, instead of pulling a Fluttershy and running away after embarrassing herself, she thought about imitating Rainbow Dash, and stuck to her guns. Of course, when it came to the subject at hand, Rainbow was one of the worst ponies to go on—especially if the few hints of the stories she heard over the last few days of how the two got together were true. Alas, she could only hope.

A few more seconds went by, and there was no answer. She was tempted to knock again, but as Rarity would advise her to do, she decided to wait a little bit longer. Of course, how long to wait was the question.

With all the time, Twilight began to think, “Thirty seconds? A full minute? More? Oh, why do these sort of things have to be so complicated! There wasn't even a good book in my library to go off of. Maybe if I act like Applejack. I can just stand there, stand strong, and be completely honest. Well... not entirely brutally honest, for that might be a little over the top and sudden, but kinda honest. Well... more than kinda honest...”

Twilight sighed. “Get it together Twilight. Just act like yourself. That's who she wants to see anyway.”

Before she could analyze the new plan, the door opened, and she was greeted with a pair of slightly surprised blue eyes. “Oh! Hiya, Twi-Twi! I’m surprised you're here! Especially considering that the Corner is closed.” Pinkie leaned forward just a tiny bit, and looked at the unicorn suspiciously. “You aren't trying to steal my recipes... are you?”

“Uh... no?” Twilight scrunched her brow slightly. “I just wanted to... uhh... say hi. Yeah! Hi!”

“Oh, well, then come on in!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she took a few steps back, wheeled herself around, and walked back inside. Twilight couldn't help but to stare and pity the mare for a second. However, that wasn't the right mindset to have, so as she walked in—closing the door with her magic—she squashed that train of thought.

Pinkie stopped in the middle of the room, and with slow steps, began to spin herself around. “So like I said, it's interesting to see you here, Twilight.”

Twilight had begun to walk around Pinkie, and try and get in front of her, but she stopped at the comment—the bakery was already starting to feel a little toasty. “Yeah... interesting... he he he...”

“Yuppies!” Pinkie smiled, but said no more. It was a little awkward—Pinkie wasn't nearly as talkative as Twilight was expecting and Twilight had absolutely no idea what to talk about—so Twilight was forced to look around the room aimlessly. It was futile, and she was well aware that she was only making the meeting more painful by not saying anything, but what could she say? Seriously—if her tongue was any more tied, it would be in a literal knot right now.

Pinkie was the first one to break the silence. “Sooo...”

“How're the legs?” Twilight blurted out, mentally scolding herself as soon as she said it.

Pinkie looked back at her legs, and even though Twilight couldn't see the mare's face, she could tell she looked glum. “Pretty much as broken as they could get, but the doctor says that they'll heal up in a few months. 'Til then, I’m forced to use these annoying wheel things.”

Twilight grinned back awkwardly. “That's nice. I’m... umm... I’m glad that you'll be completely better soon.”

There was a painfully long pause before Pinkie replied. “Well, maybe not completely better. I mean, the first doctor had said that I would never be able to walk again because of how bad the breaks were. I think he's wrong, but... umm... most of the doctors say I won't be able to jump around a lot or run as fast as I used to, but that's alright. There's a lot of fun things to do that don't involving jumping and running.”

This was turning into a complete disaster. “Great,” Twilight thought to herself. “Way to completely ruin any potential chance at having a nice mood. Good going, Twilight. Real friend. Why don't you just go and crush her heart a little bit more. I’m sure she'll love that.”

Apparently Twilight was thinking for much longer than she thought, for Pinkie was looking at her again with those large and wonderful teal eyes. “Sooo... umm...”

“Screw it.”

“Hey... umm...” Twilight looked down as she started, her voice much smaller than she intended, “you remember a few weeks ago... I mean I guess it's not really a few weeks ago, but more in the future, but it was... I mean... it was kinda a few weeks ago, but not really a few weeks ago, because it wasn't in the past and—”

She looked up, and saw the confusion in those eyes.

Twilight sighed, and decided to skip to the important part. “I mean... I was hoping that maybe... now that everything is alright... well... kinda alright... that you'd like to do something together? Maybe we could go on a long walk in the park and dinner or something?”

“Umm... Twi-Twi...” Pinkie gave Twilight a pained smile as she rocked herself back and forth once—the mare's wheels squeaking. “Walk around the park?”

Instantly, Twilight's face flushed in complete embarrassment at the terrible faux pas. “Oh my Cel—I didn't mean... I mean... oh dear. I mean... I... I...”

However, despite it all, Pinkie smiled. How the mare smiled—despite all of the screw ups, accidental insults, and reminders of dreams strained and crushed—Twilight would never know. Pinkie took a few steps forward, until the mares were just inches from each other—Twilight able to feel the heavy breathing of the pony in front of her with the way the hair around her lips moved.

Suddenly, yet slowly, Pinkie leaned forward, and gave Twilight a kiss on the lips.

It was short—very short—but still sent butterflies flying in every direction of the unicorn's belly all the same. Before she could say anything though, Pinkie blushed, and whispered, “I'd love to sit in the park though, as long as you don't mind bringing a something-something so that I can rest my legsies on.”

The unicorn was silent for a few seconds longer—her mind still attempting to reboot after what Pinkie had just done. Eventually though, the mare's mind finally registered what the pony had said, and with her face easily matching Pinkie's mane—as well as the Pinkie's face—she finally gave a genuine smile. “Sounds great.”

I promise I will send another letter soon, and in it, I will have something a little more concrete for you. Until that letter comes in, I bid you the best in your governance, and I hope that we can see each other soon.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

Author's Notes:

First off, I would like to say that "HOLY SHIT IT IS DONE!!!"

Second, I would like to thank my older brother for editing this sucker the entire time. He's been more eager to have this thing done than I am I think!

Third, I will be uploaded the outline to this story as an update tomorrow, so you can see how I built the story. It'll be in picture form, so it shouldn't add in stupid word count, and won't lose the formatting.

Fourth, if you like what you read, go read my much better written story, "Luna's Dreamscape Journey". It's silly fun.

Lastly, I would like to thank every single one of you readers for everything. You have all been amazing for all the support and love that you have given me this entire time. To all of those that have been with this story since the beginning... holy shit how did you put up with my shitty writing at the beginning? Seriously, it was garbage! I do not envy you! To all those who jumped on halfway through, be happy you didn't suffer through those terrible original first chapters. And to all of you, you are all great for having stuck with this story for a full year as I grew and actually became semi-competent with writing. Sure, I still have a lot to learn, but I feel I am actually able to write a sentence without sounding like a total idiot.