Shadowblade's Revenge

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Lost
Chapter 2 - War
Chapter 3 - Frostbite
Chapter 4 - Darkness
Chapter 5 - Will Things Ever Be Right?
Chapter 6 - Victory!

Chapter 1 - Lost

When she gained consciousness, she was no more alert than she was when she was out cold. She winced as she tried to sit up, but she just couldn't move. She moaned in agony and rubbed her sore head, feeling the bump there from her concussion. She struggled to even keep her eyes open. She wanted to live to see the light of day again. She tried to recall what happened after the fight, but she remembered nothing. She only remembered the kick that the last one standing threw directly at her head. With effort and pain she slowly sat up. She looked around, barely conscious. She couldn't recognize where in Equestria she was. Maybe she wasn't in Equestria at all. Maybe she wasn't even alive. After a few minutes, she realized she was in a cave - a large, dark, cave. The ground was damp, and the cave was completely empty. She was the only living thing in there. All alone. She sat and listened to the sound of the strong winds that blew outside of the cave. She gazed at the moonlight. She'd been gone for a week. She would do anything to be back at home, but she wasn't at home. She was completely lost. She had little strength left, but she stood up on all fours, listening to the echoes in the darkness. She began to trudge out of the isolated cave on her broken legs and into the desert aimlessly. Determined to get home, she wasn’t going to stay in that cave for one more minute. She remembered her crash to the ground after her failed stunt and waking to find a bunch of stallions with knives standing in front of her. She remembered every detail about the dozen jerks she fought. Those miserable stallions fought her and left her like this for no reason whatsoever. But she wasn't one to go down fast, and fought them off for a good long time. She had a natural fighting ability - or at least that's what she'd always thought. She thought of her friends, Rarity, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack. She ran her hoof through her tangled rainbow colored mane and wondered if they worried about her. Part of her knew they would; they were the best friends a pony could have. But after all she'd been through, her mind wasn't straight; the other part of her said that her friends weren't the slightest bit worried and worse, didn't care what happened to her. Rainbow Dash kept walking, intent keep going until she reached Ponyville. But at her physical condition, she couldn't go much further. Her injured legs couldn't handle it anymore. Rainbow's broken body gave up on her as she fell to the desert floor. She completely blacked out.

Twilight Sparkle paced back and forth uneasily in Pinkie's room at Sugarcube Corner.

“She's been missing for a week now.” Twilight said. Her friends shared her concerns. All of them kept to themselves, and there was silence in the room for several minutes. Even Pinkie Pie was quiet. Fluttershy stifled a cry.

“Oh, I hope something horrible hasn't happened to her!” Fluttershy said, almost silently. Pinkie Pie had absolutely no idea where Rainbow was. She could just be on a vacation, but Pinkie suddenly felt very worried about what could have happened to her. She started freaking out like never before. “OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH WHO KNOWS WHERE IN EQUESTRIA SHE IS?! SHE COULD-” “Alright Sugarcube, calm down. Ah’m sure RD’s fine. What's the worst that could a' happened?” Applejack said shakily. She was as concerned as the others, but she wanted to stay on the bright side rather than think about the long list of possibilities of what really could've happened to her.

“AJ's probably right. Rainbow's - just taking a vacation.” Twilight said, her voice as unsure and shaky as Applejack's. “You don't know that.” Pinkie said in an unusually quiet voice. Rarity agreed.

“Pinkie's right. Rainbow wouldn't just leave us without a word. As much as I’d hate to say it, something must have happened to her.” She said sadly, but still with the flare of drama she uses in most of her words. The five friends looked at each other in more silence. Pinkie Pie stood and walked downstairs, coming back up a few minutes later with some cupcakes. This time it wasn't to cheer everypony up. She began to nibble on one nervously. Twilight spoke.

“I don't know what to do about it. I've told Princess Celestia about it and she said she'd send out search parties.” She sighed. Pinkie Pie muttered glumly, “Woohoo. Parties.” Pinkie, more than the others, was obviously not herself.

“Well, if the Princess doesn't get any results, Ah say we go look for 'er. Who cares how long it takes?” Applejack said. The others nodded. Pinkie stuffed the remaining cupcakes into her mouth. The idea of actually finding Rainbow Dash instead of sitting around made her ecstatic. All of the sudden, Spike rushed into the door, holding a scroll.

“Ah, Spike! Read that scroll. Has Celestia gotten any results?” Twilight said. Spike replied, “Well, no, actually. Here's what it says:

My dearest Twilight,

I am sorry to report that none of my patrols were able to find your friend, Rainbow Dash. However, I have high hopes that she is somewhere alive and safe. I'm sure she will be found eventually if not soon. I am truly sorry that she has gone missing but I am doing all that I can and will continue doing so. I wish you the best of luck in finding her or whatever you choose to do.

~Princess Celestia

“I sure hope we find her.” Spike finished. The five friends glanced at each other, all with the same thoughts inside their heads.

“Well, no time to waste. If we're going to search for Rainbow we better start soon.” Twilight decided.

“Can I come?” Spike asked.

“No, I'll need you to stay just in case Rainbow comes back.” Twilight replied. Spike was hesitant, but he agreed.

“Alright.” All except for Pinkie Pie went down stairs and out the door, headed to their homes to get anything necessary for their quest.

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes. She looked around. She was still in the desert, and she guessed it was mid-afternoon. The sun shone brightly as Rainbow stood up, still very injured. Two figures were approaching.

“Oh, not again.” She muttered weakly. She heard voices. They were mare voices.

“Wait. Do you see that pony all alone over there?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, shouldn't we go see him, or her?”

“I thought we were trying to get home. Dunno about you, but I don't really love being lost in a desert.”

“Are you saying we should leave that pony all alone?”

“Okay fine, but this better not take too long.” The two mares came closer.

“Hey dude, are you okay?” One asked. “No.” Rainbow answered hoarsely. She didn't know what else to say. The ponies finally came close enough to Rainbow so she could see them. “What happened to you?” One questioned.

“I got in a fight.” She answered. “Aw, man, how'd you get in a fight?” The other asked. “I don't really remember.” Rainbow said, still in lots of pain. One introduced them both. “Well, my name is Octavia, and this is my friend, Vinyl Scratch.”

“I'm Rainbow Dash.” Dash said. “Man, you look awful. Is anything broken?” Vinyl Scratch asked. “Legs, a couple ribs, and my wings. Probably more but I’m not sure.” She answered immediately. “And you're still walking?” Octavia asked, puzzled. “Hardly.” Rainbow said. The three walked north. “How did you guys get lost?” Rainbow wondered. “It was Octavia's fault!” Vinyl said abruptly. “My fault? If you hadn't yelled at that taxi driver for losing his directions, than maybe he wouldn't have kicked us out.” Octavia protested. Rainbow nodded, stifling a laugh as she listened to the two friends argue. A few seconds later, she was silent with a dead serious look on her scarred face. Vinyl noticed right away. “Whoa, what's wrong?” Rainbow held up a hoof to silence her and whispered, “Look behind you.” Vinyl and Octavia turned around. The three were now facing twelve stallions. “Oh, not you again!!!” Rainbow yelled. “Hey look boys, it's that lame mare we beat up yesterday.” Said one. They pulled out their knives. “Why are you doing this?” Octavia said, putting on a brave face.

“That’s classified information.” Another answered. “Come on guys. We can take ‘em.” Rainbow said. “Hah. Sure. Us, only the strongest men in the army.” One said. “We’ll see about that.” Dash challenged. The three mares raised their hooves, preparing to fight as the stallions closed in. Rainbow Dash started the fight with a swift kick to one of the stallion's chest. The rest was total chaos. The mares stood back to back on their hind legs, punching recklessly and dodging the stallions' knives. By the end of the battle, the stallions were on the ground, not dead but too injured to be able to do anything ever again. Rainbow of course was still injured, but luckily none of them had taken much damage. “Is everypony alright?” Octavia asked. “Yeah.” Vinyl answered. “Not much worse than before.” Rainbow replied. They walked away from the bloody mess from their successful brawl. They were off the find a way home. Little did they know that they were only two miles away from Canterlot.

The five friends left Ponyville with high hopes that they would find Rainbow Dash. They decided to go to Canterlot before searching elsewhere. (Which was a smart idea on their part, considering that Rainbow was two miles away from there.) Twilight was in the lead, Fluttershy was in the back. Applejack ended up taking the back just to keep watch to make sure no one was behind them. Of course it took lots of convincing Fluttershy that it was safer in the middle, because after the past week she figured anything could happen. After they reached Canterlot, the search was pretty easy. However, the 200 other stallions that began to chase Rainbow presented a huge battle. Pinkie spotted three figures walking around in Canterlot. She was able to make out a certain rainbow colored mane. “LOOK! IT'S DASHIE!” She yelled with excitement. The others immediately followed Pinkie's line of vision, also to see Rainbow Dash and two other ponies. “Who are those two?” Twilight wondered. Applejack shrugged. The five dashed over to their location, but not fast enough. Rainbow had told Octavia and Vinyl Scratch to evacuate everypony from Canterlot while she held off the 200 stallion army. Rainbow charged at the stallions, still on her broken legs. Her friends followed her, trying to catch up with her. Applejack was almost to Rainbow, but it was too late. She had already impacted the group. The others fought madly. The 6 had been in fighting experiences before, so they were no strangers to battle. One stallion held a knife high up into the air. He had Rainbow Dash on the ground. Just as he brought his knife down to stab her, a pair of strong legs bashed through his skull. He fell to the ground. “Ya alright partner?” Applejack asked, helping Rainbow up. She shook her head viciously. They continued fighting. Fluttershy wanted to run away. “Fluttershy! You can fight! Do it for Rainbow!” Pinkie yelled, barreling herself ferociously into one of them and wrestled with him, which was very successful. Fluttershy started to fight. Twilight stood back to back with Rarity. They were two deadly punching machines, and also using magic to their advantage. After it was all over, Twilight sighed at the sight of Canterlot. They scanned the area for Rainbow. Pinkie, again, was the first to find her. “DASHIE!!!” Pinkie Pie's horrible scream told the others her location. They ran over to Pinkie as she grabbed Rainbow's limp body. They all stood there, speechless at the sight of Rainbow Dash, who had pretty much drowned in her own blood. There was a long, mournful silence, which was stopped by Pinkie Pie when she heard an agonizing moan. “Dashie?” She said hopefully. “Hi.” Rainbow managed to say. “Oh, thank heavens you're alright.” Said Rarity. Twilight was shocked at her injuries. “Oh my gosh, Rainbow, you look horrible! ” She said. “We best be gettin' ya to a hospital, sugarcube.” Applejack said. So she carried Dash on her back to the nearest hospital. Luckily the only damage done to Canterlot was on the streets. They rushed in immediately. Some doctor guy saw them walking in and said, “Hello, what can I do for you today?” Twilight replied. “We've got a very injured friend here.” “Oh my. That's very severe. Do you have any idea what’s broken?” The doctor asked. Rainbow answered in a hoarse voice. “Legs, ribs, wings, and I'm sure most of my other bones.” She tried to sound tough but her voice was much too shaky. Fluttershy cried. She just sat there and cried. Rainbow Dash was put on a hospital bed and rushed into a room. “

Oh m-my I f-f-feel so bad f-for h-h-her.” Fluttershy managed between sobs. “Relax, Sugarcube. Rainbow'll be alright.” Applejack said, trying to lift Fluttershy's spirit. “She had me scared there when she was unconscious.” Said Rarity. “Me too. I'm really glad she's okay.” Twilight agreed. Pinkie stared at the floor, in silence, completely lost in thought. “Pinkie, ya alright?” Applejack asked. “What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine.” She replied uneasily. Before anyone could say anything else, the doctor came out. “She'll be fine. But she most likely won't be able to fly again.” He said. “Rainbow, not flying again? That's basically her whole life gone!” Twilight said. “OH NO! OH POOR DASHIE, NEVER FLYING?” “Alright, hold yer horses. He said 'most likely'. He didn't say she'd never fly again, We just gotta hope she's gonna recover well.” Applejack encouraged. Fluttershy was about to speak, but failed. Several hours passed, then Rainbow walked out of the room, covered in bandages. More white on her than rainbow kind of creeped her friends out. “GAAAH! It’s a mummy!” Pinkie Pie yelled. “Hi guys.” She said. “Is it okay to hug her now?” Pinkie asked. “No. She’s far too injured.” The doctor replied quickly. “Maybe two or three weeks from now. If she is lucky she will recover in that time.” “Three weeks? I can't wait that long!” Pinkie complained. Silence filled the room. Fluttershy was still crying, but then everyone else shed a few tears. Even Rainbow found a few tears streaming from her eyes. She wouldn’t want to ruin her tough pony reputation, so she stopped herself immediately and said, “Who needs all this sappy stuff? Can we just get ice cream?” Her friends smiled and nodded. The six friends were out of the door, out to enjoy the wondermous taste of ice cream.

Chapter 2 - War

Applejack sat in the ice cream shop with her friends, watching Rainbow Dash, who was much more herself. But she wondered: why were those stallions there? And what would they have to do with Rainbow? She decided to ask her later and just relax. She listened to the conversation that started between her friends. “So Rainbow, who exactly were those stallions?” Twilight asked. “I don't really know...” “WHY DID YOU LEAVE?!” Pinkie demanded.

“I crashed after this awesome stunt that wasn't so successful and then when I woke up a group of stallions surrounded me. I didn't recognize them.” Rainbow Dash explained. Applejack figured that since that subject was already brought up, she would ask a question.

“Why'd they be after you in particular? Wha'd you ever do to make them wanna kill ya?” She asked. “Beats me.” Rainbow replied. She shrugged and continued licking her ice cream. “Who were those two other ponies with you?” Twilight asked. “Their names were Vinyl Scratch and Octavia. They were lost too, so together we found Canterlot and they went to evacuate everypony while I distracted the enemy. I'm sure glad I had your help.” Rainbow said. “Will she ever be able to fly again?” Fluttershy asked quietly. “What's that Sugarcube?” Said Applejack. They turned their eyes to Fluttershy as she repeated her question. “I said, will Rainbow Dash ever be able to fly again?” They turned their eyes to Rainbow. She frowned. “I don't know.” “Let's take our minds off a' this. Wouldn't hurt to have some cheerful conversation, would it?” Applejack suggested. “That's what I was just going to say.” Rarity agreed. “Mmm, this stuff is good!” Pinkie said as she licked her 20 scoops of ice cream. The place had some interesting flavors. Twilight had blueberry, Rarity had cherry, Applejack had apple (who would've guessed), Fluttershy had strawberry, Rainbow Dash had rainbow flavor (again, who would've guessed), which was a bunch of different flavors in one, and Pinkie Pie had one scoop of everything. “I really wanna go home now.” Rainbow said. “Me too. Plus, Spike probably is wondering where we are. We should get going.” Twilight agreed. “And I need to hop around to burn off those calories!” Pinkie added. Applejack rolled her eyes. They walked out of the ice cream shop, heading back to Ponyville.

Princess Celestia looked out of her castle windows, looking at the wrecked streets of Canterlot. What had happened? Who had done this? The questions raced through her brain. She still felt bad about Rainbow Dash's being lost. She felt bad for Rainbow, and of course her friends as well. She sighed. A voice made her jump. “Your Highness! We've found the villains!” A guard said as he rushed in. “Good. Who were they?” “A familiar enemy...”

Applejack was the last to hop off of the taxi. The 6 friends first walked to Twilight's house. “Good to be back.” Rainbow muttered. AJ nodded. When they walked into the door of Twilight's house, they saw Spike pacing back and forth. When he saw them he stopped immediately and ran over to them. “Oh, you're back! I was so worried when I got a letter from Princess Celestia talking about all the wreckage in Canterlot! Did you find Rainb-“ He stopped when he saw Rainbow, all covered in casts and bandages. “Oh no! What happened?” Spike asked, shocked. “Ehh, long story.” Rainbow said. Spike suddenly received a letter from his green fire breathing stuff. “What's it say?” Twilight asked. Spike read the letter.

My dearest Twilight,

MEET ME IN CANTERLOT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

“Really? Really? We just got back from there! Must be an emergency.” Applejack said. She sighed. Just back and forth all day? “Sorry to leave so soon, Spike, but we need to go.” Twilight said. “Okay.” Spike said. He didn't want them to leave him again. He sighed and watched the 6 friends dash off to Canterlot.

“We came as fast as we could!” Twilight said as they entered. “Good.” Celestia answered. “All of you were in that fight, correct?” She asked, pointing out of the window. They all nodded. “I'm sure you have no idea who the assailants were.” They all shook their heads. Celestia sighed. Princess Luna burst into the room. “Celestia! The enemies are launching a full scale attack!” She yelled urgently. “Just who are these here enemies? And wha' do they want with us?” Applejack asked. “Many years before you were born, these enemies were normal ponies. They lived normal lives, and there was nothing bad about them. But one day, they attempted to overthrow me. I don't know why. The guards and I stopped them and I banished them from Equestria. Now they have grown larger in number and have come to get revenge.” Celestia explained. Since that day was a day for burstin through doors, a dark stallion dashed in. “Celestia! We meet again.” He said evilly. Applejack stared with hatred into his dark blue, bloodshot eyes. “I won't be here long, I don't wanna kill you right now. But don't worry, I will later. I'm just here to officially declare war on Equestria! And my army will get so huge that you won't be able to stop me!” He yelled and ran away. The two sisters sighed. “Should we use the Elements of Harmony?” Twilight asked. “Yes.” Celestia managed to say. So much stress was placed on her in just one afternoon. “What about everpony else? They'd better get to knowin' Equstria's gettin' involved in a war.” Applejack said. “Luna and I will take care of that. You just do your part and we'll cover the rest.” Celestia said. She led them to the Elements of Harmony. “Here, get out there. Good luck.” She said. The 6 friends were off to save Equestria... again.

“This is perfect! She's sent those mares to stop my army. Ha! She sent them to their death! Alright squad! They will be distracted with the rest of the army, so we, the strike team, will sneak into Canterlot Castle and finally bring an end to Celestia's rule while the diversion team distracts her!” Said the leader. Cheers came from the squad. “We will rule Equestria!” He yelled. “Sir! I have a question!” One said. “Whaddaya want?” “I just wanted to know why we want to rule Equestria? I kinda forgot, ya know since it's been so long and you've never really succeeded and-” “One more word and I'll cut your throat! I don't remember. But that's beside the point. No more questions.” He answered. It was beginning to get dark outside. All, so far, was going as they planned.

“Come on, ya'll!” Applejack shouted. They ran to the army with the Elements of Harmony. There were about 400 stallions charging towards them. They all got in position. The stallions laughed. They didn't think these ponies could last a chance against them. They began to work the awesome magic of the Elements. Rays of rainbow colored light spread through the army. Each stallion fell to the ground, dead. Their thoughts were completely wrong. Soon after they took down the enemies, Pinkie Pie ran off (to who knows where), and returned in a few seconds with an easy button. She pressed it. “That was easy.” It said. Applejack rolled her eyes, stifled a laugh, and wondered where she got that easy button. Pinkie never failed to make someone smile. “We'd best be getting' back to Canterlot Castle soon-“ Applejack was unable to finish her sentence because a gag was placed over her mouth. AJ took off her Elemental necklace and threw it to Pinkie, who had collected the other ones, because she was the only one not captured by the warriors that crept up behind them. Each of their legs were bound together with chains. They were dragged away. Pinkie hid the Elements of Harmony and as about to get help when two warriors seized her and took her away.

When Applejack woke up, she was locked in a cage, all alone. “Hello?” She said. The only answer was her echo. “Is anypony here?” She asked. “Applejack? Oh I'm so glad to hear a friendly voice. Where are we?” “I dunno, Rarity. Are you in a cage?” Rarity didn't answer. Rainbow Dash did. “Um, yeah, we're all in cages. I really wanna get outta here so I can show those jerks who's boss!” “Oh, good, you're here, too.” AJ said. “Can anypony hear me?” said a hushed voice. “Hardly. Speak up!” Applejack replied. “I said, can anypony hear me?” Fluttershy said a little louder. “I can.” “Oh, Twilight. Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked. “Yes. Are you?” Twilight said. “Yes, I guess so.” She answered. “Okay, so we're all here except Pinkie Pie. I do hope she hid those Elements and went to get help.” Rarity said. “Help? How could I get help of I was captured?” Pinkie said. “You're here! Did you hide the Elements?” Twilight asked urgently. “Yup! I hid them where nopony in Equestria could find them!” She said. “Any a' ya'll gotta plan?” Applejack asked. Silence followed. “Yeah. Does anyone know where we could find a cannon at this hour?” Rainbow asked. Twilight sighed. Applejack worked at her lock for a minute. Then she walked out of her cage and grabbed the keys on the wall, unlocking each of the cages. “How did you-“ Rainbow began. “Ah found a paperclip in mah cage and picked the lock.” Applejack interrupted. “Wow, it was rather unintelligent of them to just leave a paperclip there.” Twilight said. The 6 ponies walked out of the small room and out of the base. It was easy to sneak out because it was night time. The guards were easy to avoid, considering that they were asleep on the job. It was cold outside. Applejack looked behind her to see Rainbow Dash lighting a stick of dynamite. “Where'd ya get that?” She asked. “Found it in there.” Dash answered mischievously. Once it was lit, she threw it into the base and giggled. They all stepped back and waited until the base exploded. The base was too big to be exploded by one stick of dynamite, but there were plenty of explosives in there, each exploded by the explosion of the dynamite. Once they were done watching the fireworks, they began to walk back to Canterlot, which was very far away. They could see it in the light of the moon which was particularly bright that night. Applejack's walking quickly turned into a run. The others' speed surged as well. After a minute, each mare was engaged in a full sprint, because they knew they had to get to Canterlot ASAP. The stars shone at their full brilliance. The skies were clear and the moon was luminous. After an exhausting hour of sprinting, they arrived at Canterlot. It was calm and nothing was going on. It was quiet. A little too quiet.

“Don't worry, Celestia. I'll be a good ruler. Far greater than you ever were.” The leader said. “Why are you doing this?” She asked. “I don't really remember. It's been such a long time that I can't remember. But I do hate you, and that's all that matters to me.” “You're despicable.” Celestia said as 10 warriors locked her in a cage. “I try.” He replied with an evil smile. “What are you going to do to me?” She asked. “Well I was going to kill you but another idea just popped into my head.” He said. He grabbed a dark gray staff and brought it down hard on Princess Celestia's head. She blacked out.

Celestia woke up. “You are at my command now. Whatever I say, you must do.” The leader said. “Yes, sir! I'm at your command, sir!” Celestia replied. She was now an evil minion just like every other guy in his army. Most of them were never evil at first. “Let 'er go!” Applejack shouted as she burst through the doors with her friends. She kicked the staff out of his hoof, but it was not broken. Applejack also dealt him a stunning blow to the face. “How are you still alive?” He yelled, holding back his pain, but then whispered to Celestia, “Pretend that you're good.” “Yes, sir.” She whispered in reply. The 6 were engaged in battle, taking out all of the stallions in the room. The leader hid. “Princess! Are you okay?” Twilight asked. “I am fine, Twilight Sparkle. Thank you for helping me.” Celestia said. “No prob!” Rainbow Dash responded. “GUARDS! KILL THEM!” Celestia yelled. They were all taken aback by her words. “What are you doing, Princess?!” Twilight asked, shocked. “Oh, nothing.” She answered as if it was no big deal. Each pony was seized by two strong warriors. “Stop! Don't kill them!” The leader called, getting out of his hiding place. “I have a better idea.”

The 6 had no way of escaping. Celestia couldn't do anything about it, and Luna left before any of that had happened. They stood in the room and listened to the poisonous words of the leader as he spoke just what they feared. “As the ruler of Equestria, I hereby declare that these 6 mares are banished from Equestria! Guards! Take those exiles away!” He said.

“Sir! Where do you want them?” A guard asked. He thought for a moment. “I know exactly where.”

Chapter 3 - Frostbite

Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack sighed simultaneously. “You need to find her.” Twilight said. Drukoh, the kind eskimo pony, nodded. He went outside to search for the mares' friend. He felt bad for them. They told him about banishment from Equestria, and how evil took over. Drukoh searched many places in the mountain, but did not succeed in finding Pinkie Pie.

“Hello? Pinkie Pie? Are you there?” He called. No answer. After a long search, he headed home.

Drukoh walked inside of his house and hung up his coat.

“I'm sorry. I couldn't find her.” He said, but to rise hopes of her at least still being alive, he added, “It's possible she was taken to a different place.” Fluttershy fell to the floor sobbing.

“Well I'm gonna believe she's on this mountain! I'm goin' out to get her myself!” Rainbow Dash decided. “No!” Her friends yelled. “You can't do anything until you get those casts off. But luckily that time is today.” Said Drukoh, who happened to be a medical expert. “Yesss!” Rainbow said, almost sounding like Napoleon Dynamite. Drukoh undid her bandages and casts and made sure nothing was still broken. “You've healed well. You'll have to wait a few days, but you will be able to fly again.” Rainbow's spaz level went higher than Pinkie Pie's to know she'd be able to fly again. After a while of spazzing, she suddenly stopped and stood still. “Well, now I'm leaving.” She said, heading towards the door. “No, Rainbow, you can't go out there alone.” Twilight said. “Yer right, Twilight. Rainbow can't go alone. Ah'm goin' with 'er.” Said Applejack. “Then I shall go as well. No matter how cold.” Rarity agreed. “Me too.” Fluttershy said, standing up. “Then we will go.” Twilight concluded. Drukoh didn't know them very well, but had picked up on their personalities enough to know he couldn't do anything to stop them, so he just said,

“Be careful, and good luck.” The five friends left to find Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie began to slowly gain consciousness. When she blacked out before, she had been under an old storm shelter that was lame but better than nothing. She knew she would Pinkie Pie woke up. She opened her eyes. She could not see anything except white. “Dashie? Twilight? Fluttershy? Applejack? Rarity? Is anypony there? Help!” She screamed. She only heard her echo repeat her. “HELP!!! Somepony! Anypony!” No answer. She trudged along the mountain, blinded by the snow. She shivered in the blizzard. Pinkie didn't know where her friends were, or if they were even alive. She only knew one thing: She wouldn't last long in the storm.

“You have to find her, she's our friend! Please!” Twilight said. “I'll do my best. But this mountain is huge. I can only hope that I'll be lucky enough to find her. You sit there and drink you're hot chocolate and I'll take care of the searching. I'll be back in a few hours.” Said Drukoh, the friendly mountain pony who let the friends stay in his warm home. “If he doesn't find her I'm going out myself.” Rainbow Dash said. “No ya won't, ya don't even know this mountain. We can't lose you, too.” Applejack replied. “Oh I do hope she's alright. Life would be just miserable without her.” Said Rarity. Fluttershy barely held back from crying. The five drank from their pints of hot chocolate, worried about their friend.

Drukoh walked through the snow with his Eskimo coat. He wanted to find those mdie if left out for too much longer. But she was too weak to call for help. But she stayed awake, for her life depended on it.

“Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash yelled as loud as she could. She was furious that she couldn't find her lost friend. “Pinkie, are ya there?” Applejack asked. “Oh I'm so angry I could just scream!” Said Fluttershy. Rarity sighed. “Me too.” They all ran as fast as they could (which wasn't very fast in the snow), searching for Pinkie and calling her name. Pinkie Pie heard voices, familiar voices, the ones she was yearning to hear. “Over here.” She managed quietly. “Did anypony hear that?” Twilight asked. “Hear what?” Applejack said. “Oh, nothing. It was probably something in my head.” “Help.” Pinkie said again. Twilight heard the voice. “It's a small voice, can't tell what it's saying.” Her thoughts were interrupted by Rarity's victorious yell, “I found her!” They all rushed to Rarity to see Pinkie Pie, barely living. Applejack carried Pinkie on her back to Drukoh's house.

When Pinkie was all warmed up, the first thing she did was throw her arms around Rainbow Dash. “I never got to hug you in the hospital.” She said. She hugged them all multiple times.

“I think we should head down the mountain in the morning.” Rainbow said, yawning. “They've taken over Equestria. There are probably hundreds of them now. What can we do now?” Fluttershy said. “We've fought off more bad guys than all steps you've walked in you're life.” Rainbow said. “Ah agree with Rainbow. We gotta save Equestria.” Said Applejack. Suddenly someone knocked on the door. “Come in.” Drukoh said. Two stallions held spears and wore armor. “By the order King Shadowblade, identify yourselves!” They said. Rainbow Dash and Applejack killed the guards with their own weapons. Pinkie closed the door. A few seconds later, the door was knocked on again. “By the order o-“ They were interrupted by the spears that cut through their bodies. A few seconds later, another knock. RD and AJ nearly stabbed the stallions standing there, but stopped shortly before cutting their throats.

“Sorry 'bout that. There've been evil guards comin' this way and we thought ya'll were one of 'em for a second.” Applejack said. “Oh it's okay. Is this the right address? You ordered pizza, right?” “No, sorr-“ Twilight was interrupted by Pinkie. “Yup! That's right!” She said. She took the pizza from them and paid for it. She rushed back inside, grabbed two cups of hot chocolate and gave them the warm drink. “Thank you. Have a nice day.” They said and traveled down the mountain. “What kinda pizza is it?” Rainbow asked. “I didn't know what everypony liked so I just got two pepperoni pizzas. That's okay, right?” Pinkie said. They all nodded. They ate the pizza. They loved the pizza. They could eat the pizza forever. But sadly that wasn't an option so they decided to lounge and relax for a while. “Well, that was an interesting day, was it not?” Rarity said. “You can say that again.” Rainbow Dash said, yawning. “Well, that was an interesting day, was it not?” Rarity repeated. They all laughed. It was mostly over-loud, nervous laughing because of what they’d been through the last two weeks. They soon fell asleep.

Pinkie woke up and yawned. She was up before everyone except for Drukoh, who was already up making pancakes and hot coffee. “Good morning, Drukoh! How'd you sleep?” Pinkie asked. “Good. You?” Drukoh said. “Good!” She replied. Applejack woke up. “Mornin', Pinkie.” She muttered tiredly, rubbing her eyes. Not long later the others woke up.

“So what's for breakfast?” Pinkie asked. “Pancakes.” Drukoh answered. Once he finished the coffee and pancakes, they all sat down at a table. “Are we headin' out this mornin'?” Applejack asked. “Yes. We need to go back.” Twilight said. “Good. I'm looking forward to kickin' those guys' butts again.” Rainbow said, yawning. There was a knock on the door. Drukoh looked out the window and saw a score of men by his door. “See that cellar door?” He asked. They nodded. “Get in it now.” He said. They did as he said. Drukoh opened the door. “Good morning gentlemen.” He said. “By the order of the King, we need to search your home.” One said. “Be my guest.” Drukoh replied.

The six friends hid silently in the cellar, listening to the footsteps of the soldiers that searched Drukoh's home. “They aren't here!” One said. They left. Once the door was closed and the soldiers were gone, Drukoh said, “You can come out now.” They all climbed out and continued their breakfast. “That was close.” Twilight said. “Indeed.” Rarity agreed. Pinkie Pie finished breakfast first. When the others finished, they all stood. “Thank ya kindly for yer hospitality.” Applejack said to Drukoh. “Oh, no big deal.” He replied. “Oh, but it is a big deal. We'd all be dead if it weren't for you.” Rarity said. “Thank you for everything. Good bye.” Twilight said. The six walked out of the door. Pinkie turned and waved at him.

“We should get to the bottom of the mountain by sundown.” Twilight predicted. “I hope earlier. I wanna get down there.” Rainbow said. They traveled down the mountain for a few hours, freezing. Pinkie stumbled upon a cave. “Hey girls! Look!” She exclaimed. They walked into the cave and began to warm up when Pinkie heard a growling noise. “Did anypony else hear that?” She asked. “Hear what?” Fluttershy asked. “That growl.” Another growl came. “There it is again!” Pinkie said. “I hear it.” Rainbow said. “Me too.” Said Applejack. “I hear it as well.” Rarity said. Out of the shadows a creature came. It was a very unusual creature, because it was made of rocks. After the chorus of screams that came after its appearance, the rock monster made its first blow, aiming a punch at Applejack, who jumped onto its fist and lassoed its head. It pulled its head back and broke AJ's rope. Twilight and Rarity used magic to pin him against the wall. Pinkie knew there was no time to waste so she offered the rock monster her friendship. He quickly revealed a kind side. “Hello. My name is Ariek. I apologize, I just have my ways of defense.” It said in a deep, gravelly voice. They began to enjoy some conversation, temporarily forgetting about their urgency to leave.

“Sir, they are very strong and resourceful, but can be tricked if you are clever about it. They are very close friends and to break them apart would be impossible. You can only beat them in a battle with your best soldiers. They must be greatly outnumbered, sir. They left my house a few hours ago. They're going back, sir.” “We'll have a nice surprise waiting for them. Good job.” Said one of the commanders. “Yes sir! No problem sir!” Said Drukoh. He smiled at his deception toward those 6 ponies, who were definitely fooled by his hospitality, and he was able to learn lots about them and report them to the commanders. He was a spy.

Surrounding the cave were dozens of other rock monsters, all heading towards the 6 friends. “Ariek? Are these guys good?” Pinkie asked, frightened. “No.” Ariek answered, running towards the other monsters. He hurled himself into them and fought them. He said one word. “Run.” They did as he said. “Ya know, I never thought I'd say a rock is awesome, but a rock is awesome.” Rainbow said. Applejack was of the same mind. “Ah'd think you were crazy if Ah didn't think the same thing.” There was silence as they continued down the mountain. Pinkie thought about Equestria. Surely after all of the darkness that had taken over, the beautiful world she knew would no longer be the same. Pinkie saw that her thoughts were true as they arrived in Ponyville. Darkness had consumed it, and she figured the rest of Equestria shared the same fate. Rainbow Dash flew up into the air to get a view. She saw many familiar faces heading towards them. “Hey guys! Everypony's coming towards us! And they've got really angry looks of their faces!” Rainbow reported as she quickly landed next to her friends.

“They're under a spell just like Princess Celestia! We can't hurt them, we just need to make them good again!” Twilight said. The other ponies came closer. They all held deadly weapons in their hooves. “It is absolutely impossible to face them. They are armed and we do not have our Elements.” Rarity said. They all slowly backed up, moving away from the friendly members of their community, which were now their adversaries. “We gotta fight! There's no way out of this!” Rainbow yelled. “Ah'd like to agree with ya, Dash. But we don’t have weapons. We ain't gonna stand a chance if we fight.” Applejack said. They retreated and tried to find a headquarters. Luckily, they didn't have to do any work. A perfect base waited not to far from there.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle paced uneasily around their HQ. “You guys need to stop worrying. They'll be fine.” Scootaloo tried to make her friends calm down a bit. “Ya heard those guards announce that mah sister and 'er friends are banished from Equestria! Ah can't help but worry!” Apple Bloom said. “Aren't you worried about them, Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle asked, puzzled at how laid back Scootaloo was. “Yes, but it's them. They can do anything. They'll be okay.” Said Scootaloo. “Intruders!” Said a member of the E.R.A. (Equestria Rebel Alliance). The three friends sighed. Several troops rushed towards the entrance of the base. Their fancy security device thingamajig scanned the intruders and the computer said, “Access granted. You may enter.” The three little fillies were shocked to see the familiar faces that entered.

Pinkie Pie walked into the base with her friends. To her relief, all faces were friendly.

“Commander Macintosh! We've got visitors.” One said. Applejack was the first to speak when Big Macintosh appeared. “Big Mac! Thank Celestia yer alright. What's goin' on here?” Because Big Mac didn't like to talk much, some other guy answered. “This is our rebellion. The E.R.A., which stands for the Equestria Rebel Alliance. We're trying to stop these crazy lunatics who took over.” The 6 nodded. “Applejack! Yer okay!” Apple Bloom ran up and threw her arms around her sister. Sweetie Belle did the same to Rarity. Rainbow Dash spotted Vinyl Scratch and Octavia. “Hey guys! What's up?” She asked. “Everything out of the ordinary.” Octavia answered. “We heard you were banished, dude. What'd you do to make them kick you out of Equestria?” Vinyl asked. “Oh, we destroyed most of their men and tried to defeat the leader.” Rainbow said as if it was no big deal at all. “They turned Princess Celestia evil and it was all chaos from there.” Pinkie came up behind Dash. “Hey, aren't these the ponies that helped you when you were lost?” She asked. “Yup. Pinkie, this is Vinyl and Octavia. Guys, this is Pinkie Pie.” She said, introducing them. The other four came too. Rainbow intro-ified them. As they continued exploring the base, Twilight stopped to ask a soldier a question. “Big Macintosh is your commander, so I assume your leader is a general.” He answered immediately.

“No. She's not a general. She's a princess.”

Chapter 4 - Darkness

Rarity was shocked when she heard that Princess Luna was the leader of the army, but also relieved, because there was no way that the evil forces they were facing could could stand a chance against them with her as a leader. Everyone in the room bowed as Luna entered. “We need to take action as soon as possible. We cannot let the enemy make another move.” She said urgently. “Princess Luna! How can we help?” Twilight asked as the six did an awesome heroic-ish approach. It almost looked rehearsed but they tried to keep it natural. “I'm glad you're all here. The war will be much easier to win with you and the Elements.” Luna said. “Um... about that...” Rainbow Dash began. “We kinda lost 'em.” Applejack finished. “What?! You cannot lose the Elements of Harmony!” Luna shouted in her traditional royal Canterlot voice. She was angry, not particularly at them, but with their greatest weapons in the hooves of the enemy, desperate measures would be required. “I believe Pinkie Pie knows exactly where they are.” Said Rarity, immediately drawing Luna's alertness and attention. “Pinkie Pie? Is this true?” Luna asked. “Of course! You think I'd hide the Elements and not know where they are?” She said. “Where are they?” Twilight asked. “I would show you and get them if I could get to Canterlot!” Pinkie said.

Princess Luna, Rainbow Dash and a few pegasi from E.R.A. headed to Canterlot, with Pinkie riding on Luna's back, which slowed her down, but she still was able to fly well. They needed a distraction to get past the ponies in Ponyville and neighboring cities and towns that had turned evil, so Rarity, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Applejack lead a group of soldiers to fight them. Rarity didn’t hesitate to started fighting immediately. She kicked one in the face with both legs as she out of fashion mode and into fight mode. She shouted out orders to different soldiers. “You guys charge that group and don’t stop no matter what! You guys corner them over there!” She continued commanding the troops as she fought, and her other friends did so as well. Rarity rarely saw this side of herself. She wasn’t exactly used to leading an army. She thought it would be easy, but the ponies in Ponyville were stronger than she thought. Soon, Rarity and Applejack were surrounded by enemies. They exchanged glances and knew they had the same idea. AJ and Rarity linked their front legs together and Applejack, on her hind legs, lifted Rarity up, who kicked the soldiers with her hind legs as Applejack spun around. The enemies were down. The fight was soon over.

As the pegasi landed in Canterlot, they began to sneak behind buildings to avoid the sentries posted on the streets. As they moved, Rainbow Dash spotted containment camps where the remaining good ponies in Equestria were being kept as the leader, Shadowblade, turned them evil with his staff. “Princess Luna!” She whispered. “Rainbow Dash what’s wrong?” Luna asked, her voice also hushed. She followed Rainbow’s line of vision and gasped. “He’s using that staff to turn all of the ponies evil.” Rainbow said. “I see. It seems the only way to turn everypony good is to destroy the staff.” Luna replied. The continued sneaking until they heard Pinkie’s voice. “Here they are!” She dug them out of the ground and grabbed the Elements. But soon after she had her hooves on them, she was robbed of them. They were stolen by Princess Celestia.

Rarity looked upon Ponyville in disgust. Her home. All destroyed. They had several hostages. They didn’t kill anypony because they knew there’d be some way to get them back to normal. Then she remembered. Before they were banished, they all ran into the room with the evil Celestia, several evil guards, and their enemy, Shadowblade. He had a long, dark gray staff in his hooves. The staff. That was it. That’s what Shadowblade used to turn everypony evil. “Girls!” She called urgently. “Rarity! What is it?” Twilight answered quickly as she rushed to Rarity with Applejack and Fluttershy. “Do you remember the staff that Shadowblade held?” Rarity asked. They all nodded. “That’s how everypony became evil. He used the staff.” She explained. “Are you sure?” Twilight asked. Rarity shrugged, but then nodded. “Could he have done it any other way?”

“Rainbow Dash! Get the others back to Ponyville! I’ll take care of Celestia.” Princess Luna ordered. She ran off to face her sister. “You heard the princess! Let’s get back to Ponyville!” She yelled. A few of them grabbed Pinkie Pie and they took off. The skies were very quiet, and after a shockingly clear and enemy-free flight, they landed in Ponyville. Rainbow and Pinkie ran to their friends right when they saw them. “Did you find the Elements?” Fluttershy asked. “Well... we found them... but Princess Celestia came and took them so Princess Luna ran after her.” Rainbow explained. “Aw fiddlesticks. Ah really thought we’d be successful this time.” Applejack said, disappointed. “Don’t worry, Applejack. We shall have victory. I’ve had enough of those scoundrels pushing us around. I say we get to Canterlot with our soldiers and finish them!” Rarity decided confidently. “What about the Elements? We don’t have them.” Fluttershy said. “Don’t worry about that. We’re the only ones that can harness their power. They won’t be able to use them. And we’ve fought without them before.” Twilight said. They all nodded. “Let’s go back to the base before we go.” She added. The six ran back to the base to prepare for battle- hopefully for the last time.

Princess Luna dashed after her sister at full speed, crashing into her and tackling her. Both princesses were on the ground, and after a minute of grappling, they both got up and began to fight with all of the magic they knew. Luna didn’t want to fight Celestia. Her own sister had turned evil, but still she had a hard time fighting her. After a minute she realized this is probably what Celestia felt when she became Nightmare Moon. They were evenly matched for a while, but as Luna began to use more advanced magic, Celestia took hers to the limit, eventually getting the upper hoof. Luna was on the ground. Now she didn’t know what to do until a familiar figure came came forward. Princess Cadence. Relief flooded over Luna as she got up once again. With the two working together, Celestia was down quickly, and the Elements were again theirs. Cadence and Luna both extended their wings and began to fly back to base.

“Sir, our troops are back. They’re saying we’re going to battle in Canterlot. Are we going to leave?” One of the captains asked. “Eeyup.” Commander Macintosh answered. “Should I prepare my squad, commander?” “Eeyup.” “I’ll get right on it, sir!” At that the captain left. Big Macintosh stood up. He was about to prepare for battle when his sister and the others approached. “Big Mac! We gotta get goin’. Luna went to fight Celestia so you’re in charge of the army. We’re goin’ to war.” Applejack informed. Big Mac nodded and was off. “You’re leaving already?” Sweetie Belle was furious. (As well as Apple Bloom, who was doing the same to Applejack) “You can’t leave!” She said as she ran up to Rarity. Rarity put her arm around Sweetie Belle and said, “Don’t worry, little sister. We will return. I promise. Everything will be alright.” She tried to encourage her sister. But Sweetie was worried. “But what if they aren’t? What if you don’t come back? What if-” “We will be fine. Everypony will. I have to go.” Rarity said. Sweetie Belle reluctantly let her leave. As the six were heading out, they had their whole army right behind them and ready to march off to war.

They marched at a quick pace to get to Canterlot, and the six managed a bit of conversation. “Well, ya’ll ready to fight?” Applejack asked. “You bet!” Rainbow Dash answered confidently. “No. I’m never ready to fight. I don’t like fighting.” Fluttershy spoke her opinion. “I personally am not much for fighting either, but I am very ready to finish off these villains. When they stopped marching, the six were puzzled at the size of the enemies’ army. Rarity looked back at the army to compare their army with the opposing army, there. Every last pony in the army was gone. “You girls are seeing this too, right?” She asked. She looked at her friends, who nodded. All six of them gazed at the empty space where their army was. “Well, looks like we’re on our own. Let’s fight!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “Woah, nelly. No way! You even lookin’ at the size a' their army? It’s huge!” Applejack said. “Yes. Even if we had our army, we’re still greatly outnumbered.” Rarity added. The six friends just sat there, pondering what to do, remaining a safe distance from the enemy. “I’ve got an idea! We should go up the mountain. Maybe Drukoh can lend us a hoof.” Twilight decided. “Alright let’s go!” Pinkie exclaimed, optimistic as usual. The six friends began to hike up the snowy mountain at the quickest pace they could manage. There was a hideous blizzard going on there, as usual, which really slowed them down. Not to mention there were three feet of snow on the ground. The one thing they had to their advantage was that the mountain was not really steep. Rarity thought to herself the word ‘hurry’ over and over again. She didn’t bother speaking, considering nopony would hear her over the storm. But in their haste, it took a surprisingly short time to get up the mountain. They approached Drukoh’s house as soon as they spotted it. Twilight was about to open the door when Fluttershy said, “Wait! Look at those guards!” She was peeking through the window, and her friends did the same. “Ya think he’s gettin’ arrested or somthin’?” AJ asked. “No. He’s talking to them, but he’s not being interrogated. You can tell by the look on his face.” Twilight observed. “Well it’s not like he’s evil. Oh wait nevermind. He is.” Rainbow said. She changed her mind so quickly because she saw the guards handing Drukoh a sword. The six chose that time to take action. They stormed into the house. They began easily annihilating the guards in the room. Rarity had adrenaline bolting through her. She fought like a mad-pony even when there were not many guards, quickly taking down everypony except for Drukoh. They immediately began to interrogate him. “Why did you trick us?” Twilight demanded. Drukoh remained quite calm. “To tell you the truth, I was hoping you would all come back. I was a spy, but I liked you guys from the moment you arrived here.” “Oh yeah? Why should we believe that?” Rainbow asked harshly. “Just listen to me. Now, once you left, a commander came and asked me about your personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. I didn’t want to tell, because you guys had such a good effect on me, but I had to. Because if I didn’t he would have killed me. I wasn’t originally with them, they forced me to be their spy. If you need me, I will happily help you stop them. This is the honest truth, I swear it.” He explained. Rainbow was still skeptical, but the others, closely observing the look on his face, knew he spoke the truth. “Very well.” Twilight said. “But-” Rainbow began, but was interrupted by Rarity. “Rainbow, trust him. He is good.” Rainbow Dash hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Well, if you’re willing to help, our army’s gone missing, and I know they didn’t just run away. Shadowblade did something to them. Could you investigate?” Twilight asked. “Don’t think we’re forcing it upon you, it requires sneaking past enemy lines and will be very dangerous.” Rarity added. “I’ll do it, if it means ending Shadowblade’s cruelty.” Drukoh agreed. “But they probably already turned our army evil.” Rainbow Dash said, bringing up yet another difficult situation. But Drukoh already had an idea. “I can take care of that. You didn’t think I lived alone on this mountain, did you?”

Luna and Cadence were back at the base to find it was empty. “They must have gone to battle.” Cadence said. “Yes.” Luna agreed. “We should go back to Canterlot. They may need our help.” The two princesses left the base and began to fly to Canterlot. “We need to get the Elements to the girls. Then we will win.” Luna said. “But where are they? I was looking down on the way to the base and didn’t see them, and I don’t see them anywhere now, either.” Cadence said. “I hope they’re okay.” “Yes. It would be a horrible loss if something happened to them.” Luna agreed. They landed in Canterlot and immediately started to look around. A huge army would be easily spotted so after the first few minutes they began to fear something happened to them.

Shadowblade laughed madly. “It’s finally ready! They will be gone for good! There’s no way they’ll make it back to Equestria after this!” He stared at his teleporter, which he had finally finished after lots of work. There was no way the six could get back after he teleported them to an alternate world. He was sure this time because he had already tested it two of the ponies that remained good. He began using his computer to locate the six so he could shoot his teleportation ray at them. He started working more hastily when he heard hoofsteps. He knew he would be in trouble if he didn’t locate the six in time.

Rarity watched as Drukoh and his army of fellow eskimo ponies began to prepare for battle. She ran her hoof through her mane, which, to her disappointment, had not been combed for quite some time. She stood without a word and continued watching as Twilight, Rainbow, and Applejack gave the army orders to the three teams the army was divided into. “Squad one, you will break into the containment camps and free the ponies who are still good. They may be of some help to us.” “Squad two, Ah’ll have you investigate our missing troops and find out Shadowblade’s plans. Ya’ll gotta be real quiet.” “Squad 3, go kick butt!” The soldiers saluted. Rarity smiled. Finally, things were working out. The army left, one squad after another, each pony prepared to do their jobs. The six were alone, and as they thought things were going great, Rainbow Dash was struck by some ray and she disappeared. They all gasped. And just before Rarity could say anything, the same happened to Applejack, then Pinkie Pie, then Twilight. Rarity and Fluttershy were alone. Both were speechless. After a minute Fluttershy disappeared. Rarity shut her eyes and prayed she was dreaming, but then she disappeared, too.

When Rarity woke up, she could see nopony but heard Rainbow Dash freaking out. “No! No! This can’t be happening! I can’t fly! My wings!” Rarity looked at her hooves she let out a shrill, blood-curdling shriek. “I don’t have hooves!”

Chapter 5 - Will Things Ever Be Right?

Fluttershy didn’t exactly feel normal. Hearing Rarity scream and say she didn’t have hooves, and Rainbow Dash yelling that she didn’t have wings, made her very scared. she looked at her back which wasn’t normal, and saw no wings. She looked at her hooves. No hooves. She heard a distant voice saying, “Fantastic! I’m human again!” “Again? You were like this first?” Said another voice. “Yes. And now I’m back to normal! And I’ve been here before! We’re in Rome. 79 A.D. to be exact.” “What are these things? What happened to my hooves?” “Those are hands. And if you look down, those are feet.” “Why am I standing on two legs?” “Because humans stand on two legs.” Fluttershy listened to the voices, trying to gain more information on humans, but there was no more talking. “H-hello? Is anypony there?” She

asked. “Fluttershy darling, are you alright? It’s so good to hear your voice.” Rarity said. “I’m fine. Did you hear those voices?” Fluttershy asked. “Yes, I can’t believe we’re humans!” Rarity said. “He said we’re in Rome at 79 A.D! What’s Rome at 79 A.D?” Pinkie Pie asked. “Ah dunno, Sugarcube. Has anypony seen Twilight or Rainbow Dash?” Applejack said. “I’m here!” Twilight said. “Me too!” Rainbow Dash said. Fluttershy stood up, stumbling a little, unused to standing on two legs. She moved towards her friends’ voices, and her friends did the same. After a few seconds they were all standing face to face. Fluttershy was about to faint at the sight of her friends. Humans. Who’d ever believe it?

The Doctor clutched his sonic screwdriver in his right hand. “Well, Ditzy, what do you think of Mt. Vesuvius?” “Mt. What?” Ditzy replied, still confused by the whole ‘human’ thing. “Mt. Vesuvius. The most dangerous volcano to ever erupt. And we’ve time traveled to the day of the eruption!” “You make that sound like it’s a good thing.” Ditzy said. “Well, really it’s not that bad. We’ll just watch it erupt and then we can jump into the TARDIS and be completely safe. Wait. No, we don’t have the TARDIS.” The Doctor said. “Um, excuse me, but do you know what’s going on?” Fluttershy approached and asked. The other five arrived and stood next to Fluttershy just before the Doctor explained. “You were all ponies before. Well, this is planet Earth, far from Equestria. We’re standing in front of Mt. Vesuvius in Rome, at 79 A.D., which is a time. I’ve got some good news and some bad news. Mt. Vesuvius is deadly and we should run because in a minute, it will erupt. When it erupts, it will take less than 30 seconds for us all to be destroyed by an avalanche of lava and various pyroclastic materials. So we get to have fun running for our lives.” The Doctor was said this as if he was going to a really fun amusement park. Rainbow on the other hoof was not as enthusiastic. “Oh yeah great. WHAT’S THE GOOD NEWS?!” The Doctor replied immediately. “That was the good news. The bad news is we don’t have the TARDIS so we probably won’t escape in time.” Fluttershy was about to faint. Twilight changed the subject to avoid more conversation of them dying. “Well... we haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash.” “I’m the Doctor, and this is my assistant, Ditzy.” He said. Ditzy nodded a greeting, but, oddly out of character, she didn’t feel like talking. Fluttershy wouldn’t accept death as an answer. And, looking at her friends, she knew they had the same thoughts. “I h-have an idea. We can r-ride on the d-d-dragon.” Fluttershy suggested, summoning all of her courage. Even though she was afraid of dragons, she would rather face a dragon than lava. All at once they thought this: ‘Well that’s nice. A dragon followed us here.’ “But he’ll kill us.” Rainbow said plainly. “Well, we can do it without the dragon noticing.” Fluttershy recommended, getting a bit more confident. Her friends nodded, admiring Fluttershy’s bravery and cleverness as they always do when she comes through in times of crisis. “I’ll consider it a good thing and a bad thing that a dragon came with us.” Twilight decided. “It’ll be really dangerous. Fantastic!” The Doctor said. He was smiling with excitement. They prepared to sneak onto the low-flying dragon’s back as Rarity said, “Why must we always choose between certain death and probable death?” “Ah dunno, Sugarcube. But it’s kinda fun sometimes if ya think about it.” AJ replied, lassoing her rope around the dragon’s tail. The eight climbed grabbed the rope and held it tightly, which Fluttershy discovered was easier with hands. But she still wanted to be a pony again. They looked behind them to see the eruption, which was pretty cool besides the fact that it was destroying half the Roman Empire.

Shadowblade sat there watching Luna and Cadence as they destroyed his teleporter. Once they had done a good deal of destruction, he spoke. “Well, great job destroying their only way of getting home. I appreciate it, really I do. I didn’t feel like wrecking it myself.” The terrible truth hit the two princesses. Both had the same thought: how could they have been so stupid? “Guards! Kindly show these ladies to their doom, will you?” Shadowblade ordered the guards standing next to him. The six guards replied in unison. “Yes sir!” They saluted and charged at Luna and Cadence, who easily took them out by simple magic and some kicks. The two dashed out of Canterlot Castle to try and make a plan to get the six back.

The dragon landed and everything went much more smoothly than Fluttershy had thought it would. Mt. Vesuvius was no longer a threat to them, but there was the matter of the dragon, who had found out they were hitching a ride on his tail. “I’ll get working on a teleporter to get back. Come on, Ditzy.” The Doctor and Ditzy went to make a teleporter, leaving the six in the midst of the dragon. Fluttershy had no idea what to do, so she started to climb up the dragon’s back. The other five were distracting the dragon so Fluttershy could do whatever she was going to do. Rainbow Dash found a knife lying on the ground. She picked it up and threw it to Applejack, who caught it by the blunt side of the blade. “AJ! Get the knife to Fluttershy!” Rainbow yelled. Applejack nodded and tossed the knife to Twilight, pointing to Fluttershy.

Understanding, Applejack’s gesture, Twilight handed the blade to Rarity. “Get it to Fluttershy.” She said. Rarity dodged a fireball from the dragon just before it incinerated her. She threw it to Pinkie Pie, who was closest to the dragon. “Here, Fluttershy!” Pinkie said, tossing the knife up to her. Fluttershy, who was hanging from the dragon’s wing, caught the blade and climbed up the dragon’s neck. Her friends continued to distract the dragon when Fluttershy was on the dragon’s head. She heard Rainbow Dash yell, “Stab him!” Fluttershy was hesitant, she didn’t want to kill an animal but knew she had to do it or it would kill her friends. She brought the knife down into the dragon’s skull. The dragon fell to the ground, making it easy for Fluttershy to get down. They all high-fived Fluttershy for stabbing the dragon and walked to where the Doctor and Ditzy were.

The Doctor was finished working on his teleporter to Equestria. “Well, we did it, Ditzy. We made a teleporter! Brilliant!” “We did it? I didn’t even do anything. I don’t even know what you’re doing!” She retorted, still confused with the whole situation. Just as their new friends approached, they were both struck by some death-like ray. Fluttershy gasped to see that they looked completely unaffected, but weren’t. Shadowblade had turned them evil through the teleporter. The two evil ponies jumped through the teleporter, but the Doctor cut some of the wires as they left, breaking the teleporter. Now the six were truly stranded. They didn’t know how to fix the teleporter. So how would they get home?

Fluttershy didn’t know what to do until she heard Twilight speak. “I can try to fix the teleporter. It’ll take some time but I think I can repair it.” Being a super-smart-smarty-smart- pants, as Pinkie Pie would say, Twilight was perfect for the job. Fluttershy was happy that they were able to come up with a solution so quickly, but Rainbow dashed up, panting. She spoke urgently between breaths. “Guys! Romans! Attacking!” Fluttershy frowned. Romans? Why now? “Twilight, you fix the teleporter, we’ll cover ya. Come on ya’ll!” Applejack said. Fluttershy hid behind the broken teleporter in fright, only to be dragged away from it by Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy was hesitant to step into battle. She watched at first as Rarity smashed one in the face. After a minute she jumped into battle. She knew she had to help her friends. She heard Pinkie Pie, who had an idea, yelling over the fracas. “Rainbow Dash! Applejack! Get to the other side and fight the leader guy, we’ll fight the others!” The two ponies nodded and were off. They flipped over the Roman soldiers and sped through the army to get to the general. Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity were surrounded by soldiers. The three of them stood back to back and fought like never before. Pinkie took a spear to the shoulder. She screamed and fell in pain. Rarity and Fluttershy immediately dropped down to help her, but knowing that they were surrounded, Pinkie Pie chose to remain stoic and keep fighting. She pulled the spear out of her shoulder and stood up. The three continued their brawl.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash were battling the general with the spears they picked up from dead soldiers. The battle was quick and easy for the two, who were not exactly seasoned warriors like the Roman general, but they could put up a good fight. They quickly ran back to where the others were to assist them. When they were back together, they noticed that the Roman archers were taking action. “Well what now?” Rainbow asked, completely open to ideas. “There’s nothing to hide behind so retreatin’ wouldn’t do us any good. Ah say we charge ‘em recklessly.” Applejack suggested. Fluttershy nodded. There were no better ideas. They all ran towards the army, getting showered with arrows. They didn’t stop because the arrows hit them in the arms and shoulders and a few in the legs, but luckily, none of them were hit where any vital organs are. They threw themselves on the army, soon joined by Twilight, who had finished the teleporter. The six beat the crap out of the remaining soldiers. After it was done, they all yanked the arrows out and fell on the ground, extremely exhausted from the battle. “Well that was fun.” Rainbow muttered quietly.

After a while they got up, ready to go home. “Wow. Great job fixing it, Twilight.” Said Fluttershy. “Thanks, Fluttershy.” Twilight replied. The six stepped through the teleporter. They were finally saying bye to Rome. The teleporter worked.

Shadowblade smiled. The six were gone, and their army turned evil. Everything was going his way. He was looking outside a window when he saw another army, fighting his. He grabbed his staff and dashed outside, hitting everypony that he saw. In a matter of minutes he had turned them all evil. “Sir! They ambushed us!” Said a guard, panting from running to tell the news. Shadowblade was not tired of fighting. He followed the guard to the place of the attack. Same as last time, he turned them all evil. Another squad, turned evil. His army was now bigger than ever. But when he went back outside to see if anypony else was there, he saw something impossible. Completely impossible.

The six dashed towards Canterlot. Fluttershy could scream out of excitement. She had hooves and wings. She was a pony again. Rainbow Dash was flying, clearly enjoying having her wings back. They ran extremely fast thanks to the wonder of adrenaline. Fluttershy was ready for Equestria to be fixed. It was almost over. She kept telling herself that they’d win, but she stopped when she saw the size of Shadowblade’s army.

Chapter 6 - Victory!

Twilight was happy to be home; she saw her friends were, too. But she was horrified at the sight of the army. As usual, Rainbow was about to charge. And, as usual, Applejack stopped her. “You know we ain’t gonna stand a chance alone against that army, Rainbow. Ya best not even think about it.” Twilight was so excited to make the world good again, but there was always something to get in their way. “Why can’t they be fair once in a while?” Rarity asked. Applejack agreed with her. “Yup. It’s really too bad. Things were startin’ to go right for a spill, an’ now it’s all wrong again.” Pinkie Pie shrugged. “There’s gotta be somepony who’ll help us.” “I see Drukoh’s army! They’re evil!” Twilight said, also irritated with their bad luck. “I’m so frustrated, I could just scream.” Said Fluttershy. “Go ahead, Fluttershy.” Rainbow muttered. “Hey. We can help you.” Twilight heard a familiar voice. Deep and gravelly. Twilight gasped, then smiled. Ariek was back, with a few friends. About 50, to be exact. Pinkie Pie screamed with enthusiasm.

Shadowblade’s army was worthy of beholding. Everypony in Equestria (except eight) was in the army, and they all had gone through tough training to become better fighters. Shadowblade rubbed the scar that ran down his face and thought for a moment, still trying to remember why he hated Celestia. Then he remembered. (Flashback ripple effect) He had four best friends as a young stallion. They did everything together. But one night, they were at a party and got really drunk. He remembered them doing several crazy things, which ended up killing a pony. They were put in prison for it, and they had no intention of doing anything wrong. When Shadowblade explained to Princess Celestia what happened, she forgave them. He still liked the Princess. But his friends didn’t. They held a grudge against her from that day. Eventually it rubbed off on him, especially after it happened again. After several years, he had grown to hate her. He eventually protested against her rule with his friends, threatening to assassinate the princess, and they were banished. He sighed. Perhaps it all was just a big misunderstanding, but it was too late for that now. He was the King of Equestria. He had an army. He had everything in his control. He liked being his sinister self. He would never want to go back to his old life.

Twilight looked at the enemy’s army compared to theirs, and though there were 45 well trained enemies for every rock monster, she was pretty sure that they could win. She compared them. Pro: The army had confidence and faith in winning. Con: They were greatly outnumbered. Pro: Rock monsters are stronger than ponies. Con: The enemy had well trained soldiers. Things looked pretty even. Realistically, the enemy would probably win, but Twilight chose not to look at it that way. She looked at her friends. All she could think about was the same she thought about in this kind of situation: They are so awesome. Twilight knew they would win. They had to. The six of them together were capable of pretty much everything. Both armies were ready. The final battle was about to begin.

Cadence stifled an explosion of excitement when Luna pointed out the six and their army. The two alicorns dashed towards the six as fast as they could. “Girls! You don’t know how glad I am to see you!” Candence exclaimed, hugging Twilight. Luna smiled at them, handing them the Elements of Harmony. “AWESOME!” Dash yelled. The final battle was finally going to start. Seeing the size of the army horrified them, but they knew they had to fight if there was any hope in saving Equestria. The enemy had archers, melee fighters, and quick-working healers. They had tons of tactics and strategies. The good army came together at last second so their strategy was to recklessly attack and hope for the best. They all knew if they worked together they could win. Twilight knew her friends’ strength. They had hope. They had faith. They were ready.The battle started. “CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

AAAAAAAAARRRGGEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Everypony (and every rock monster) screamed. Twilight was hesitant to fight against such overwhelming odds, but she didn’t let anything stop her. She fought hard. Really hard. She glanced to the side only to see Rainbow Dash getting hit in the head by none other than Shadowblade. Her confident war face turned into an evil smile. Next was Pinkie Pie, then Applejack, and then Rarity. Fluttershy was hit last, and the five immediately tackled Twilight. She wrestled with them but didn’t stand a chance against all five of them. Shadowblade stopped the five and gave them orders. “Give her to the commander. He will give no mercy.” Rainbow Dash spoke. “Sir! With your permission, we’d like to dispose of her personally.” Shadowblade rolled his eyes. “I suppose you can go but make it snappy!” “Yes sir!” The five shouted in unison. They carried Twilight off. Twilight sighed. Killed by her own friends. Once they were away from the army, they put her down. “Well, Sugarcube, get on up. We got enemies to kill.” Applejack said. Twilight was puzzled. “What?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Just look at that pony! She thought we were actually evil!” She stifled a laugh, as well as Pinkie Pie, who found it especially funny. Twilight sighed, smiled, and walked to her friends, who were ready to go back to battle. “Are we just going to charge them recklessly like last time or some up with a strategy?” Rarity asked. “I think we should go after Shadowblade. If we break the staff, all of the ponies he ever turned evil will be good again. None of my spells will work on it. We need to use the Elements.” Twilight said. The six had their elements on already so they dashed off to fight Shadowblade.

Luna and Cadence saw that the monsters were getting weakened because they didn’t kill when the evil army did lots of that. They were not going to kill, only knock out because most of the ponies in the army were normally good, so if they died it wouldn’t work out well when they were good again. The two princesses fought harder than before, rapidly taking down the enemies. Which was very convenient for Twilight and the others, who had to keep their focus on Shadowblade. From a distance they saw the six confronting him.

Shadowblade was ready to fight the six. He was disappointed when he saw the ponies could endure his staff. It all came down to his fighting ability. As long as the staff was in his hooves, it was unbreakable. But if it was taken away, the six could break it. He held his staff extremely tight. The six approached. It was finally time to end Shadowblade’s tyranny.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were all alone. They left the base when the army didn’t come back. They had to find somepony who would help them. “They could be anywhere now. We’ll never find them.” Sweetie Belle moaned. Scootaloo’s reply was clearly uneasy. “We’ll find them soon guys, don’t worry.” “Ah’ve got every reason to worry! Mah sister and her friends are out there! Anything could happen!” Apple Bloom shouted. The three friends had no idea what to do. Their aimless trek through Equestria was not as successful as they hoped. “What are we gonna do?” Said Scootaloo. The three were just about ready to give up. It took them a minute to realize that they’d walked all the way to Canterlot.

To say that Shadowblade was hard to beat would be a gross understatement. Pinkie Pie had started the fight by blasting him with her party cannon, catching him off guard so the others could attack. Twilight was desperate to break the staff, but she figured out by the way that he clutched his staff so closely and carefully that they probably could do nothing until he no longer had it. They tested the Elements. She was right. They had to take it from him. He was really strong and dealt each one of them ridiculously hard blows, but they had to endure the pain. They punched and kicked and fought hard, but they would need help if they were going to get the staff.

The three were shocked to see they walked so far. They looked around for a few seconds. “Look!” Scootaloo yelled, pointed at the six and Shadowblade. They were livened by the sight of their compadres. The bolted in their direction, but stopped shortly and observed their friends from a closer distance. “It looks like they’re trying to take that staff away from that creepy looking guy.” Sweetie Belle observed. “Ah think they need help.” Apple Bloom said. They snuck up behind Shadowblade as he wrestled the six and snatched the staff right out of his hooves. By the time he saw who took the staff, Twilight and the others already had the Elements working, and he watched as his precious staff shattered into a million pieces. He was utterly shocked. The look on his face was apparently funny enough to make Rainbow Dash fall to the ground laughing. Twilight rolled her eyes and cried tears of joy along with her friends. Shadowblade had gone running away with four other men. The four who were evil anyway. Five enemies left to hunt down, with all of Equestria turned good. Apple Bloom barreled herself into Applejack, as well as Sweetie Belle, who had Rarity on the ground. After the sisterly reunion they all went to see everypony else. Twilight rushed to Shining Armor and Cadence and hugged them both. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” She said. She was relieved to see Celestia, who she ran up to and hugged. “Twilight Sparkle, I’m glad you’re alright. Are your friends okay?” Celestia said. “Yes. Shadowblade survived along with four other ponies, but they ran away.” Twilight replied. “We need to hunt them down before they try something else. I thank you and your friends for again savin Equestria.” Celestia said, and she walked away to see her sister. “Wait!” Twilight called. “Yes, Twilight?” Celestia asked, ready to listen to whatever Twilight had to say. “I’d like you to give credit to three fillies, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Without them we wouldn’t have stopped Shadowblade.” Celestia nodded, smiled, and left. Twilight headed to her friends. “Without you girls, Equestria would be overtaken by evil. Thanks for always having my back.” She said. “No prob, Twi.” Rainbow replied. “You deserve tons a’ credit too, Sugarcube.” AJ said. The six gathered for a group hug. After a second, they were stopped by Shining Armor. “Twiley! Cadence and I just talked to Princess Luna, and it looks like you, you’re friends, me, and Cadence are going on a trip!”

Shadowblade and his friends were moving quickly to get to a place where they could plan a scheme that nopony in Equestria could stop. Their secret base, which was on the borders of Saddle Arabia. They were riding skateboards because they needed a break from running, and they had a long way to go. Skateboards were the nicest mode of transportation they could afford at the moment.

Rainbow Dash landed and reported. “There’s 5 of them riding on skateboards and they’re goin’ to Saddle Arabia!” Shining Armor nodded. “We’ve got a long trek ahead of us, guys. We should get going.” He said. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Cadence flew at the same pace as Twilight and the others, who were running. They knew they could rest after it was over and didn’t stop. Saddle Arabia was a long way away, but they ran quickly. In a matter of hours, they were all gasping for air as they arrived at the border of Saddle Arabia. They stood right in front of the base, ready to finish off the evil ponies once and for all.

Shadowblade was speechless for a few seconds when he looked out of the window. “Guys! Look out that window! Am I imagining things?” His compadres shook their heads. “No. Unless we’re all imagining things.” One said, furious at the sight of the eight ponies outside. They were beginning to walk inside when Shadowblade smiled. “Slash, go get those swords! Time to give these ponies the worst and last day of their lives!”

When they entered the base using the willy-nilly barging strategy, the first thing they saw was five really tough ponies, each armed with two twin swords that were sharper than something that’s really really sharp. But there were lots of swords in the base so they grabbed some before the enemies could act. Now it was time to kick butt (hopefully for the last time). Shining Armor and Cadence were both fighting Shadowblade, Rainbow Dash fought the one called Slash, Pinkie Pie fought one named Inferno who had a moustache like Hitler’s, Rarity fought one called Nuke, Fluttershy fought one named Necrofury, and Applejack fought named Boltblaze. Twilight was moving from enemy to enemy helping her friends when they needed. She was supporting Fluttershy. The two ponies fought madly against Necrofury. When Fluttershy had Necrofury under control, she rushed to Pinkie, who was getting a bit distracted by Inferno’s moustache. As they fought, Twilight glanced to the side to see Rainbow and Slash in a lock with their swords which they had obviously been in for a long time, but Dash took the upper hoof and took him down, burying her swords into Slash’s shoulders. She continued to fight Inferno but before she knew it Pinkie had Inferno unconcious. Fluttershy had won against Necrofury. Twilight went to Rarity, who was pretty evenly matched with Nuke. Four swords against two was overwhelming for Nuke, who was down pretty quick with two ponies on him. Boltblaze was fighting Applejack for a while but Boltblaze hit Applejack in the head with his sword hilt, knocking her to the ground. By the time Twilight had her eyes on AJ, it was too late. She had been stabbed in the stomach. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" She screamed, catching the attention of her friends. Cadence and her brother had Shadowblade was on the floor with a sword piercing each limb. They stopped what they were doing, tackled Boltblaze, and crowded around Applejack. They all held back from crying at the sight of her wounds. While everypony else watched AJ, Twilight disposed of the dying enemies. She decided instead of killing them just to lock them inck their own prison. Twilight took the key and destroyed it with her magic and, just to make sure they never escaped, made a forcefield around the cage that was impossible to penetrate. She ran back to her friends to check on AJ. Cadence grabbed Applejack. “I’m going to get her back to Equestria. Do you know anyone who could help her?” She asked. “Yup! We know this awesome zebra named Zecora that lives in the Everfree Forest. She could totally help Applejack!” Pinkie said. Cadence nodded and left the base, heading to the Everfree Forest. The other seven left, walking at a very brisk pace. “That would’ve totally been awesome if Applejack wasn’t dying.” Dash muttered. The others nodded in agreement. “I’m glad this is all over. Ever since Rainbow Dash disappeared everything has been crazy.” Twilight said. They all kept moving, silently praying that Applejack would be okay.

Home never looked so welcoming to Twilight before. They all went straight to Zecora’s house when they got back. When they opened the door, they were very relieved at what they saw. Applejack was bandaged up and Zecora had things to speed up the healing process. She would be better in just a few days. Pinkie Pie was the first to run in and hug Applejack, but she didn’t barrel herself into her because of her wound. Twilight and the others also went in, and then Cadence and Shining Armor would have to leave. After they said their goodbyes, they went to Sweet Apple Acres. It was cider making season, and Applejack was not at all up to the task, so the cider making process went pretty slow that year. The six were hanging out and relaxing on a couch. “Well I’m glad we can finally rest.” Twilight said. “Me too, wars aren’t fun at all!” Pinkie agreed. “I’m excited to nap.” Rainbow murmured, yawning. “I am definitely looking forward to relaxing.” Rarity said, confirming all of their urges to rest. “Ah can’t wait ‘til tonight. Ah don’t remember the last time Ah slept.” Applejack added. “Me too. I just want to relax in my house with my critters.” Fluttershy said, smiling at how peaceful that sounded. Twilight was happy it was all over. They had saved the world again, and earned a good rest.