Chapters They came from the Everfree
1 - A different kind of Cupcakes
It was a sunny day in the town of Ponyville. As usual, Pinkie Pie, the pink, crazed party maniac, was making all kinds of pastries with enough sugar to fill a small lake. Mr and Mrs Cake, the owners of Sugarcube corner, didn't really mind, as it was how business worked. The customers would come one by one to buy food, and that is how every day was in Pinkie Pie's professional life.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the Everfree forest, Fluttershy was busy feeding her animals. Sure, the forest was dangerous, but it was the best spot to easily collect food for the animals. Whilst trying to give a carrot to the picky Angel bunny, she heard a sound coming from right outside her cottage. Being who she was, she let an inaudible terrified meep, then poked her head out by the window. What she saw was probably the most surprising thing of the week.
There, on the ground, stood a stallion. He was light green, and his mane was hidden by a black hat. She guessed it was a hat, but its shape reminded her of the guards' helmets. The stallion looked around, apparently looking for something. Then something else happened. A bush in the Everfree forest shivered, and out of it came a fully grown manticore. It roared at the stallion, who didn't pay any attention. Instead, he dropped on the ground. Fluttershy thought he was playing dead, a good tactic she used many times to escape the Everfree's creatures.
However, he got back on all four, then crouched. He walked towards the manticore like a spider, very swiftly, making strange cracking noises after each step. When he finally faced the beast, he tilted his head backwards, allowing Fluttershy to see his emotionless eyes. He pointed a hoof at himself, then declared to the manticore "I, am Painis Cupcake." He leaned closer, one or two inches to the creature's face. "I will eat ..." he pointed his hoof towards the manticore, "you." His neutral face turned into a horribly distorted smile.
The manticore stared for a few seconds, before letting out another cry and opening its mouth to chop the stallion's head off. Fluttershy closed her eyes as she heard the horrible screams of the stallion, and the terrifying cries of agony of the manticore. And then it all stopped. After what seemed to be an hour, Fluttershy gathered all of her courage, and looked outside. Where she expected to find nothing, as manticores take their meals deep into the forest, she saw a gruesome event taking place. The stallion was still here. So was the manticore. Except the latter was a bloody dismembered mess the former was feeding on.
The one who introduced himself as 'Painis Cupcakes' then tilted his head towards Fluttershy's cottage, slowly but surely, then let a disturbing smile creep on his face. On one of his teeth, Fluttershy could see a bleeding muscle of the manticore, hanging from his mouth. It was too much for her to handle. She fainted, dropping the apples in her basket, which Angel promptly ate.
Meanwhile, Painis Cupcake finished eating what was left of the manticore, then crouched, and, once again, moved at an extremely fast pace towards Ponyville, all whilst making these strange clicking noises. Fortunately for the townies, it was nap time, so Painis didn't cross the path of a potential meal. Until he arrived at a giant tree. With a door, and windows. Never questioning logic, he took a large bite of the door, chewed for a few seconds, then spat it in a random direction. Wood left a funny taste in his mouth.
The strong sound of wood being chopped down was enough to wake Spike up, since dragons have very developed ears. Going down, wondering who would try to mercilessly destroy the door he took three weeks to build, he found a light green stallion with a helmet of some sort. He had some remains of wood under the lips. "Huh ..." said Spike anxiously, "can I help you with anything ?"
The stallion stared. So did Spike. It lasted for minutes, until the former broke the silence. "I am Painis Cupcake", he said, earning a half-amused, half-worried look from the baby dragon, "I will eat you." A smirk slowly crept on his face. Spike did certainly not like this.
"Hum ... T-Twilight ?" He said hesitantly, turning to the staircase. He tried to walk towards it, but something was stuck on his leg. Looking down, he saw 'Painis Cupcake' trying to bit into his dragon scales. He stood there, speechless, for the longest time. Then, he screamed in a very unmanly way, then proceeded to run as fast as he could out of the library. Painis gave chase, and was catching up with him. "HELP ! THERE'S A MADCOLT AFTER ME !" Screamed Spike. From inside the library, Twilight Sparkle heard the S.O.S. from her number one assistant and, forgetting nap time, went after that 'madcolt' Spike seemed so worried about.
Meanwhile, Spike tried to find a way out. Or, in this specific situation, a way in, as he couldn't risk getting out of town. He checked the area. Every door was locked. Every door, except for ...
"SUGARCUBE CORNER !" He screamed at the top of his lungs, rushing inside the corner street sweet shop, closing the door behind him. Inside, he wasn't surprised to find Pinkie Pie, ignoring nap time, making more cupcakes and such. At least, here, he would be safe. Mr and Mrs Cake were the most prudent ponies in town, and bought a highly secured door, made out of pure iron, a very solid metal. There was no way this crazed stallion ...
A deafening cry came from outside, and soon, one big chunk of the door was missing. Spike could see from the hole, that 'Painis Cupcake' was now glowing red, his brown eyes turned yellow, easily biting through the steel remains of what once was a high security door. "I AM PAINIS CUPCAKE !" He shouted at Spike, who simply covered his ears and closed his eyes, whimpering. "I WILL EAT ..."
"Cupcakes !" Said a high-pitched voice from behind the baby dragon. "I just made them, wanna taste some ?" Said a pink colored mare, with a giant smile on her face, ignoring the cowering Spike and the crushed door. She was holding a plate with her right hoof. Upon seeing it, Painis's glow disappeared, and he simply stared at the cupcakes. Before eating the entire plate in a single bit.
"Nom !" He said. "Now, I will eat ..."
"More cupcakes !" Interrupted Pinkie, opening a door to an attic full of sugar-based goods. Painis simply jumped in and started eating every single thing, edible or not, in the room. As he was feasting on less living food, Twilight entered Sugarcube Corner, to find Pinkie giggling, Spike in foetal position, and a helmeted stallion eating ... food. "Oh hey Twilight !" Said Pinkie Pie, "I just met this really nice and hungry pony !"
At that precise moment, Fluttershy knocked on the open door, then entered. She seemed worried, but calm. However, upon seeing Painis Cupcake, she decided to follow Spike's example instead. "Will somepony explain me what just happened ?" Said Twilight, trying to reason with her traumatised friends. After hearing both stories and unsuccessfuly trying to convince Fluttershy that it was all a dream, she fetched Princess Celestia via one of Spike's letters and asked her to come pick up somepony.
It took eight of the bravest guards to transport Painis's cage, with still tons of food in it. Celestia, after hearing the complete report of the events, headed back to Canterlot. She decided to hide the story from the rest of the population, and assigned 'Painis Cupcake' to one of the unused prison cells under Canterlot. She would ask her sister what to do next, as she couldn't really do anything without any sort of advice in this kind of situations.
They came from the Everfree
After her unfortunate encounter with Painis Cupcake, Fluttershy was placed in the library alongside her animals. She needed the company of fellow ponies to settle down after the events. Who would remain unchanged, after seeing a typical Earth pony violently mutilate, then eat a manticore alive ? Little did she know, it was truly a miracle that she left the cottage, as when the last animal reached town, three shadows entered it, laughing to themselves.
Meanwhile, in the Everfree Forest, a pegasus stallion wandered. His coat was grey, and his mane black. To build on this already D4RK attitude, he had a black beard, and wore a black hat. Nopony could know what his cutie mark meant, but a specialised Homo Sapiens would recognise this symbol as the infamous 'Biohazard', making said Homo Sapiens slowly back away, then, as any curious sentient creature, throw a rock to see if it turned green.
The stallion growled. He was lost in a bloody forest, and on top of that, there was nothing to kill here. Just plain boredom. Eventually, after walking for about twenty minutes, he found an exit, and even a small house. Three voices could be heard from inside, laughing like pigs. "Spies ..." whispered the stallion. But he couldn't just go about and kill them. If he killed three people, the others might escape. He had to wait for ... bigger game. He remembered a thing or two he learned from GentleSpy, a good friend, and slammed the front door with his hoof, leaving a small hole in it. He definitely liked this 'knocking' manner he was teached.
The door opened, and upon seeing him, one of the inhabitants, a pegasus stallion, looked slightly disappointed. He turned to two other stallions behind him. "Yo, 't's not da Flutter coward. Wat d'I do ?" He said in a goofy, uncivilised tone.
"Let'im in. Yo'll see." Said a unicorn, who was busy using his magic to tag the walls. As soon as the newcomer stepped in, the door magically slammed behind him. He didn't seem to care, though. "A'ight, bud, watcha doin' 'ere ? You a bud of Flutter loser ?" Spat the unicorn. He didn't receive an answer, so he pushed on. "Y'know what, I dun care. If ya wanna leave alive, yo jus' giv' us money, or else we buck you up." Still no answer, a simple stoic stare glared back at him.
The grey stallion knew what kind of ponies these were. The kind of blokes who bludgeon their wives to death with golf trophies. Though he doubted any girl ... well, mare, would marry disgusting brats. So he stood silent for the longest time, before asking in the most polite manner he could "Do you have any sort of map to the nearest civilised town ?"
He earned a mix of confused and blank looks. 'Ain't that a little embarassing' he thought, but dismissed it. GentleSpy would care about his manners. But these were just blunt 'manly' stallions. So he asked again, in a tone he preferred "Where's the bloody town ?!"
An Earth pony spoke up. "Wrong neighborhood scum. Now gimme all yo bits !" He was ready to beat the grey pegasus up if he had to. And since he looked skinny anyway, he decided to for it. He spinned, and bucked as strongly as he could. He could already feel the pegasus's pain. Instead, he got pain. A lot of it. Instead of a pegasus chest, it was an Earth pony hoof that broke. "HURT ! HURT !" He screamed. "GET 'IM !" He shouted at his friends.
The pegasus made the first move. He leaped on the grey one ... to stop inches away from a machete. "You prancin' show ponies ..." whispered the latter, before cutting through the former's throat, instantly killing him. Seeing that, the Earth pony tried to crawl his way out, but ended up with a giant sledgehammer head in the face, which bloodily crushed his brain. "It's only gonna get worse, mate." Said the grey pegasus, covered in blood, turning to the cowering unicorn.
"H-hey, 't's a'ight, bro ! I ... huh, di'n' like dem guys anyway ! Huh ..." The unicorn looked around, trying to find an escape plan. It came in the form of a watermelon, which he presented to the maniac facing him. "Y'know, dude, you can 'ave it ! Present ! No fake ! So, huh, lemme go, please ?"
The grey pegasus stared blankly, before spawning a katana, then proceeding to slice both the fruit and the pony in one strike. "Piss off, you bloody fruit shop owner !" He said, before thinking of a way to sign his work. He never left a massacre anonymous, that would be rude. So he took the guts of his victims, then pinned them to wall, forming the words 'CBS was here' with them. "Ah, she's a beauty." He whispered, before leaving the cottage, blood dripping from his fur. He eventually found a map, and went to the nearest town : 'Ponyville'.
Twilight Sparkle decided to relax for the night. Fluttershy just left with her animals, and she was exhausted from sending letters to the Princess and trying to find a logical reason to 'Painis Cupcake'. Just as she was about to close her last book, she heard footsteps above her. Strangely, they were very audible, despite surely being heard from the first floor. Thinking it was Spike, she didn't pay it much attention. But they were muffled, and resembled more hoofsteps. "Anypony up there ?" She asked, not expecting an answer at all. "Spike ? Did you invite somepony to come over ?" Again, no answer. "I need some sleep." She finally said.
But then something hit the floor. Right behind her. So she slowly turned around ... to find a grey pegasus stallion on the floor. "What's up ?!" He said, then got back on four hooves. Before she could say anything, the stallion created a giant double edged axe out of thin air right in front of her. "Let's see how much blood's in ya !" He declared happily, swinging his oversized weapon in the air. She screamed her way out, running for dear life.
The Ponyvillians were used to odd events. However, the local librarian and Element of Magic running away from a grey pegasus wielding a giant axe wasn't a very commom sight. So they tried to find a way to help Twilight Sparkle, each one improvising in his own house. In the end, they all gathered at the marketplace with whatever they could get, and build a giant makeshift boulder out of paper, rocks, and other things. They waited for the pursuer and the pursued around a corner ... and dropped the boulder right under the nose of the former.
They cheered, but not for long, as the edge of a sharp object was soon seen cutting through the giant stone. Everypony gasped, seeing the grey pegasus still alive and smiling like a madcolt. "A little of the old chop-chop !" He declared, readying his axe once again. A single horizontal strike was all it would take to slice at least half of the crowd up. So everypony closed their eyes, waiting for a violent and painful death ...
It nevered happened. Opening their eyes, they saw the psychopath in a golden sphere, struggling. "Bloody hell !" He shouted. Right above the sphere of pure magical energy stood Princess Celestia. And she looked pissed.
"I came to visit my most faithful student ..." she said in a deep, menacing voice. "... to find a merciless monster trying to murder her ?!" The sphere was sent flying to Canterlot, surely to end up in the same highly secured cell as the first 'visitor'. "Now ..." said the Princess of the Sun. "Twilight, did this fool creature harm you, or anypony ?"
That question struck her like a bread slice in an extremely powerful toaster gets fired into the ceiling. "W-well ..." she had no idea. "Not, that I know, it ..." a high pitched scream, coming from the Everfree, interrupted her. "... maybe ?"
They came from the Everfree
3 - ARE YOU READYYYYYY ?!
For the first time in a long while, Ponyville's psychiatric section of the hospital was operational, and used, by Fluttershy, Element of Kindness. The reason to this, is that upon going back to her cottage, she found the bloody corpses of three stallions, who used to bully her. "It will take long for her to recover." Said Nurse Redheart. "Fortunately, the princesses sent their best psychologists for her and posted their most competent guards around the town, mostly by the Everfree. We should be safe."
But Twilight didn't buy it. She saw one of her best friends collapse from mental trauma right in front of her. Whatever was coming next, it was bad. The townfolks were to be warned. So she asked Mayor Mare to hold a speech dedicated to self-defense, and the best hiding spots in one's sweet home. Mostly the latter actually, since almost nopony had any sort of fighting knowledge. It would be held in a couple of hours, just enough time to gather the entire town in one single place.
Meanwhile, in the Everfree forest, a loud voice could be heard, alongside repeated sounds of animals being struck with a blunt object and sent flying across the woods. "BUCK YOU ! BUCK YOU !" Said the ear breaking loud voice, between each punch. "GET BUCKED ! GET BUCKED !" He shouted once again, slamming his right forehoof in a cockatrice's face. "DON'T RUN ! DON'T RUN !" And yet they still tried to outrun the punching atrocity.
'Atrocity' wasn't really the appropriate term. The one responsible for the punching fest wasn't that much of a monster. He looked like a regular light blue Earth pony, except bigger. Way bigger. Almost the size of Princess Celestia. And he was wearing a bandana, and sunglasses. "WHERE THE BUCK AM I ?!" He screamed to a collapsed, nose bleeding bear. His stomach rumbled. "BRB 30 MINUTES I'M BUCKING HUNGRY !" He shouted one last time to a knocked out manticore, before going on his way.
After walking for a small while, he arrived at a small cottage, surrounded by armored horses. "HEY GUYSSSSSSSS !" He said, showing a miserable demonstration of calm and respect. "DO YOU WANT TO BUCK WITH CHOZO TOO ?!"
"... any questions ?" Asked Twilight Sparkle, who just finished her part of the speech. A single hoof was raised. "... yes ?"
"You mentioned hiding under the bed if a creature happened to enter your house. What guaranties that it won't check every single corner of the house, bed included ?" Asked a bunny toothed, glasses wearing young colt.
"Oh ... hum ... you see ..." tried Twilight, aware that she had no answer to that question. Right before she was going to admit it, a bruised royal guard came panting. 'Nice save' she thought. The guard whispered a thing or two in her ear. "Mmh hmm ... yes ... wait, what ?!"
The audience confusingly looked at her, waiting for her to say something. "P-ponyvillians ..." she said, looking for a way to announce this without causing panic. "Please return home, a creature was spotted near Fluttershy's cottage ..." commom gasp, "... and the royal guards weren't capable of stopping it, in fact ..." an armored stallion fell face first on stage. "... It, alone, was able to beat twenty guards up ... please, don't pa-"
Instead, they panicked. A lot.
ChoZo followed the path before him. He just beat sentient creatures up. It was way more satisfying than those mindless thingies at the forest, which couldn't beg properly for mercy. But ChoZo's hooves were never satisfied, so he looked for more wrestling partners. Or harmless victims, whichever sounds better.
He finally came to a small village, where a single open door closed. He looked around before walking to what seemed to be a mansion decorated with the emblem of a white cross on a red background, accompanied by heart shaped symbols.
Twilight saw the scene from the library. "Spike, he's going to the hospital ! What if he punches patients ?"
"You just survived a blade wielding butcher and you're afraid about a stallion beating ponies up ? Nah, I bet he's gonna turn them into zombies." This earned a both disgusted, annoyed and worried glare from Twilight. All in one look. "Come on, why not ?"
Meanwhile, ChoZo knocked on the hospital's front door. Just kidding, he completely obliterated it in a single buck. Inside, a bunch of ponies were gathered. Most of them had bandages. In fact, the only ones who didn't were a white coated mare and a big red coated stallion, the latter standing defensively in front of the former. ChoZo walked forward, each step increasing the terror of the many ponies gathered inside. When he was in front of the red coated stallion, he threw him aside with little effort, knocking him out. Then, he turned to the white coated one, wearing a hat with a red cross on it. He raised a hoof ...
... and pointed it directly at the mare, who closed her eyes in fear of the deadly hoof-hammer. "MEDIC !" Screamed ChoZo. "MEEEDIC !"
Nurse Redheart was confused. That giant of a stallion just threw Big Macintosh into a wall, then asked for help ? No ! She couldn't help ... maybe it would save the other ponies. "H-how may I h-help you ?" She said in an inaudible voice.
ChoZo leaned closer, and stopped right in front of her face. "BUCKING HEAL ME !"
Upon further, inspection, one could notice the giant freakin' spear stuck in the giant stallion's flank. 'He shouldn't even be alive ...' thought Redheart, staring intently at the bleeding skin. In fact, there was a long blood trail, coming from outside, ending in a small pool where the stallion stopped. "It-it will take time ... at least a month, to fully ... re-recover ..."
He frowned. It was it. She shouldn't have said that. She could already feel the terrible hoof making connection with her jaw. She was lost. ChoZo grabbed her instead, then shook her repeatidly in mid-air. "THEN GET BUCKING STARTED !"
Royal Guards were posted all around the hospital. Princess Celestia was quicker than ever, immediately answering Twilight's letter, and sending more guards to help the ones already here. Since there weren't many guards needed on the frontlines, Captain Shining Armor himself was aloud to spend some time in Ponyville. "What happened this time ?" He asked to the nearest guard.
"Sir, the creature calling itself Chozo took an entire hospital as hostage, sir." Firmly said the guard, not loosing sight of the building. "Sir, a stallion was able to escape, sir. His name is Big Macintosh, sir."
"He's one of Twily's friends' big brother. They say he's the strongest pony in town. Guards, stay there, I'm going in."
It was a dark room. The blinds ... were closed. As he walked in, Shining Armor felt a shiver going down his spine. Not because of the dark, but because of what he smelled. A civilian would feel confused, but he felt worried. He would recognise the scent amongst hundreds. It was the smell of blood. He used a bit of magic to make light. His doubts, if they ever existed, were confirmed : there was blood on the floor.
He resumed walking, following the blood trail. Something ... no, somepony was silently laughing. This was creepy. Too creepy. He kept on following the blood trail. Then, he heard something. A mass fell on the floor. Right behind him. He slowly, slowly turned around, to face ... the Element of Kindness. Her pupils were at their smallest, and she was grinning like a maniac. She slowly opened her mouth, then said, without breathing once "If Discord works to create love, then we must deploy a dispenser point deep bass with cupcakes !"
Somewhere in a parallel universe, a black coated pony wearing a red hat felt like somepony just used his non copyrighted work. Then, he resumed eating burritos.
Shining Armor blinked twice. This wasn't Fluttershy's personnality. In fact, she just spoke nonsense. He thought about it. What if this 'Chozo' could control other ponies' mind ? Was he next on the list ? No. There wasn't time. Mind controlling or not, he had to eliminate this threat. So he went on, leaving Fluttershy alone in the dark. At one point, the blood trail ended in a small pool, then went on. So did Shining Armor, soon arriving at a closed door, with lights turned on inside. The blood trail kept going under the door.
He slowly put a hoof on the doorknob, then heard screaming from inside. Loosing any form of hesitation he had, he slammed the door open ...
... to find a giant stallion, about the size of Princess Celestia, with a spear in his flank, a nurse desperately trying to take it off. "FOR BUCK'S SAKE CAN'T YOU GO FASTER ?!" Shouted the former to the latter, earning a faint weep from her.
Shining Armor decided to speak up. "Captain Shining armor of the royal army, madam and mister. I have to ask you both to leave this structure as soon as possible." They obviously weren't listening. "... I am serious, a dangerous being is on the loose. It calls itself 'Chozo', and it could be in this very room !"
Hearing that, the stallion turned around. "WHAT THE BUCK DO YOU BUCKING WANT FROM ME ?!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.
Shining Armor took a step back, then cleared his throat. "Should I understand that you are 'Chozo' ?"
"THAT'S ME. ARE YOU COMING TO HELP ? GOOD. I WANT TWO BUCKING MEDICS FOR ME AT ALL BUCKING TIM- GAAAAH !"
"The spear's out ..." said sheepishly Nurse Redheart. "But ... s-sir, you are now bleeding profusely ! You need immediate medical assistance !"
Indeed, one pony alone surprisingly held so much blood in himself. ChoZo tried to mutter a single 'buck', but he couldn't, and simply collapsed from blood loss. Captain Shining Armor then even surprised himself. He used a lot of magic to sustain the collapsed giant. He then took Redheart, the patients, and, with much more effort, Fluttershy, out of the hospital. He called actual medics amongst his guards, and, with their help, succesfully stabilised ChoZo's state. He ordered the doctors to leave, then decided to try a conversation with this "Chozo".
"You're awake." He began. "Before you start screaming at me, I have one question to you : did you, or did you not cause the death of one or multiple ponies ?"
ChoZo simply stared. Shining Armor could feel his glare through his brills. Then, he said "NO."
Shining Armor studied his face for a while, then decided that he was telling the truth. He paused, then asked "Do you know what happened in Ponyville during the last week ?"
ChoZo thought for a moment, then answered "NO."
"Creatures like you came in town. Except their only intent was to kill. The civilians cannot defend themselves. I have one last question for you : are you willing to help us defend them ?"
"WILL I GET TO BUCK PONIES UP ?"
"... some of them."
"WILL I GET BUCKING MEDICS ?"
"... I'm fairly sure Nurse Redheart will help you in times of need."
"... DEAL"
They came from the Everfree
The cottage was finally cleaned of the blood, organs and tags, and Fluttershy was starting to recover. Things looked brighter for the Ponyvillians. But, as always, the Everfree recurring gag would happen.
This time, what came out of the forest was quite an unusual creature, a stallion again, brown-coated, wearing a tricorne ... with a treasure chest on top of it ... and he wore white shutter shades.
With the previous events, nothing seemed too strange nowadays anyway. So the stallions just got out of the Everfree, just like the other creatures, except that he didn't see the cottage. In fact, he took a completely different path to exit the forest, leading him to the capital of Equestria : Canterlot.
Unfortunately, it will never be explained, how he went from a deep, dark forest to a high mountain. He entered the almost floating city, to be met with two royal guards. "Announce yourself, you who enters this place !" Shouted the guard.
Instead of answering, the stallion positioned himself in front of the guard who spoke, then created a frying pan out of thin air. A tall red hat appeared inside the tool, and the stallion, grinning, declared "Stout Shako ! For two refs !"
The guards looked at each other, then whispered to each other. "Do you think he's one of them ?" Asked the first one.
"I don't know, but it's entirely possible." Answered the second one.
The guards turned back to the joyful stallion, and pointed their spears at him. "Mister," said the guard who spoke earlier, "please follow us, we have questions to-"
CHTONG
"NO !" Angrily spat the stallion after ruining a perfect helmet with a whack of his pan, knocking the guard out. "STOUT SHAKO FOR TWO REFINED !"
Princess Celestia was cautious these days. Multiple pony shaped beings had attacked Ponyville during the last week. She couldn't let her guard down. So she was prepared for the worst, as a guard who obviously didn't value his helmet that much arrived panting at the throne room. "Princess ... main gate ... pan ... pony ... helmet ... help ..." said the guard before collapsing on the royal floor.
She couldn't make much of it, except that many ponies needed help at the main entrance of Canterlot. Since the captain of the guards wasn't here, she had to take care of everything by herself, leaving the royal court to Luna. Which wasn't so bad after all.
She could've teleported there, but she had to know what she was facing. She didn't even fetch a carriage : she just flew to the gate, to discover the most ridiculous massacre of all times.
Her guards were decimated, falling one by one under the terrifying weapon, brutally held by the most extravagant stallion she had seen in a long while : the pan. It broke helmet after helmet, resulting into a soon-to-be helmet crisis.
She watched in annoyance, until the mysterious stallion knocked on a door. The civilians didn't have any head protection. She couldn't let their soft skulls have a misfortunate encounter with the pan. Soon, an alarm, telling everypony that they had to barricade their doors and never open them until further notice, rang loudly across the city.
Celestia landed right behind the brown coated stallion. He noticed it, and immediately turned around, his smile never leaving his face. He presented his weapon, and a tall, red hat appeared once again. "Stout Shako !" He declared, ready to make a fine trade. "For two refined !"
This was bad. From what Celestia saw, declining the exchange would result in problematic consequences. And she couldn't use her magic there, as several houses and unconscious guards surrounded her. She would have to improvise. "I accept." She said to buy time.
The stallion adjusted his shades, and his grin grew bigger, enough to put Pinkie Pie to shame. "Yes !" He briefly said, showing a hoof to receive his part of the trade.
"Unfortunately, I am not in possession of two 'refined'." Calmly stated Celestia, ready to face the consequences. At least, everypony in town would've closed their doors by now. She simply waited for the pan to strike.
Instead, he kept smiling, as he surprisingly said something different than his signature catchphrase. "Ah, no problems, lad !" He happily declared. "Jus' craft some scrap ! Ye surely have some, dinnae ye ?"
"Scrap." Repeated Celestia. Scrap ? What could scrap mean ? Scrap ... scrapped ... metal ! This pony wanted scrapped metal ? Who was she to refuse such a simple request to save some skulls ? But to have scrapped metal, she needed metal. She quickly scanned the area, and picked helmets up from the guards' heads. She handed them to the stallion, who seemingly crushed them under his hooves. Did he trick her ?
No. It was there. As he removed his hooves from the ground, she could see that two pieces of complicated iron pieces were on the ground. "There ya go !" He said, handing the hat to Celestia. She decided to wear it, hoping it would make him leave. Unfortunately, he crushed the newly made pieces of refined metal together, making yet another one of his Faust damned hat.
Celestia frowned. She had an idea of what was about to happen. The stallion put the hat in his pan, and turned once again to face the Princess of the Sun. "Stout Shako !" He inevitably said. "For two refined !"
That was it. The last straw had been pulled. Celestia removed all of her jewelry, and levitated it towards the castle. The stallion took the bait, and galloped after the flying pieces of metal. After a long pursuit, which lead him inside the castle, the golden jewelry fell inside a dark cell. He walked forward, and it closed right behind him.
Inside, he heard a familiar voice. "She's got ya too, didn't she, mate ?" The voice chuckled. "Don't worry. I made plan with the mental defective that can be called my cellmate."
They came from the Everfree
Not a single cerature was seen in an entire week in Ponyville. Well, not a hostile creature, at least, as ChoZo still patrolled the area. Oddly enough, he never was near the forest. This can easily explain how nopony saw it coming. It bounced from the forest up to the now stereotyped cottage. It couldn't walk anyway, as it was just the wooden cutout of a white coated pony. Sentient, for obscure reasons.
It seemed to like the cottage, as it stood in it for a while. Until the guards came back from their nap time. As they always did, they surrounded the cottage, waiting for something to move in the Everfree Forest. Of course, respecting the Element of Kindness's privacy, they never entered the cottage itself. So they didn't notice the front door slowly opening, and the wooden cutout of a pony poking its head out.
It slowly exited the cottage, then sneaked up behind one of the guards. At first, he didn't feel anything. Then, he felt a cold touch. Something solid just touched his back. But he wouldn't scream like a little filly. Instead, he breathed heavily, then slowly turned his head. A pony- no. The picture of a pony stood there. He wanted to alert the other guards of his discovery, but he couldn't move.
In fact, he couldn't do anything. He tried to scream like he swore he wouldn't, but he failed. He felt his body change. First, he didn't feel his hooves anymore. Then, his chest was just a distant memory. His neck was no more. And finally ...
"MeeM !" Cried the wooden cutout of a guard. The other guards turned to him. Where stood a proud stallion in armor, was now a prop. Instinctively, they pointed their spares at the other one, the wooden cutout of a white coated pony. They couldn't identify its gender though. He who once was a guard bounced towards the others, who gathered around him.
As they were about to ask him what happened, they all made physical contact. They were done.
What a wonderful day it was for the Ponyvillians. Sun shined, birds sang, and bouncing props were going from house to house, spreading their shape to everypony they met. They were surprisingly stealthy for loud jumping wooden cutouts, mainly because nopony could scream. Soon, the entire town was wood. Except for ...
"WHAT THE BUCK IS THAT ?!" Angrily shouted ChoZo. "I DIDN'T BUCKING REGISTER FOR THAT BUCKING JOB !"
Before him stood at least a hundred wooden cutouts of ponies. "MeeM !" Cried the white coated one, jumping on ChoZo. As soon as they made contact ... nothing happened. If the original MeeM had eyes, they would be confused. "MeeM !" He cried again in anger.
"WHERE THE BUCK DID I SEE YOU BEFORE ?!" Spat ChoZo, remembering something. This was a MeeM, and it was bucking annoying. The main ways to kill it were to either burn it, or crush it. Fortunately, MeeMs didn't have many influence on other freaks.
But this was an army of MeeMs. So he knew he didn't stand a chance. Even if he did, he didn't have Nataska or the Rape Banner to help him out. His plan was to bolt towards the nearest safe building, which was the hospital. There is, however, always a difference between the idea and the way it's actually done. Being the big, heavy stallion he was, his maximum speed hardly exceeded that of a sprinting turtle.
So he walked towards the hospital, not minding the dozens of MeeMs trying to tackle him. He crushed once again the newly repaired door, allowing the MeeMs inside, who promptly turned everypony inside. Everypony ... ?
Fluttershy woke up in a hospital bed. And she was confused. What happened ... ? She only remembered a horrible stallion devouring a Manticore ... then going to the library with her animals ... then going back to her cottage ... and then ...
They were here. The bullies. Except they were covered in blood, and brutally mutilated. Now she could take it. But she still had to reassure her friends. She was fine. She was about to leave her bed, when what can only be described as a jumpscare occured. Her room's door desintegrated. Well, not really, but close enough. A giant stallion came in, saying words that her mother always told her not to.
"WHAT THE BUCK AM I GOING TO TELL TO THAT BUCKING CAPTAIN ?!" He shouted, until he remembered that Captain Shining Armor was a MeeM too. So he tried to barricade the door instead. Didn't work, as the MeeMs exploited their agility to get past him.
Now Fluttershy was scared. She began to hide under her mane, until she recognised the ponies on the cutouts. Twilight Sparkle. Pinkie Pie. RAINBOW DASH.
And all of sudden she was scared no more. She turned to the only pony she didn't recognise, a white coated one, and she stared at the wood. As she did, her pupils seemed way bigger all of sudden.
The original MeeM, on its side, was scared. MeeMs technically were animals, so The Stare was even more efficient on them. But it would stand strong, for the glory of the MeeM race ! It would take over this village ... then this country ... THEN THE ENTIRE WO-
-snap-
A single wooden cutout, picture of a white coated pony, fell on the floor. Then, more organic masses fell too. About a hundred ponies all collapsed together next to a single prop. The only ones standing, were ChoZo, and the Element of Kindness. "Oh my ..." whispered the latter, turning to the former. "Will they be alright ?"
ChoZo smirked, and gave a small pat on Fluttershy's shoulder, which actually hurt. "B.U.C.K., WAY TO GO ! HEY, WANNA BE MY NEW MEDIC ?!"
Like the others, the MeeM was put in confinement. And MeeMs don't recognise entities by their look, but by their smell. So the MeeM was both terrified and reassured to be imprisoned with beings he knew were very capable of managing themselves.
"Hey Woody ..." Said a voice belonging to the one MeeM identified as Christian Brutal Sniper. "... I have no idea how we all got in that bloody forest ... but we're escaping from this bloody cell." He grinned like a maniac. "And we're making them PAY."
They came from the Everfree
Christian's plan was flawless. And by flawless, I mean that he thought it was flawless. It was quite a simple plan, actually. Step one : use the freak abilities, which technically aren't magic, to break out of the magic proof cell. Step two : mock prisoners on the way out, taunting them on how they will never escape. And step three : kill everypony in that bloody castle.
That sounded about right. Oddly enough, Painis came up with the first step. For an apparently braindead cannibalistic freak, Christian had to admit he had a sense of observation. Demopan accepted for an unusual as soon as they got back home. None of them knew what the MeeM thought about it though. So they took his usual "MeeM !" As a 'yes'.
At the other side of the iron bars, a rookie, Flash Sentry, heard the faint voice of one of the prisoners, saying "You might want to stay away from the door, mate, we're going out." Of course, he simply chuckled, thinking those criminal scums thought they could do anything about their situation. "Your loss, wanker." Said the prisoner once again. Then, Flash Sentry heard the sound of a metalic object being crushed. Then, everything went black.
Things weren't going well in Canterlot. There was a mixture of good and bad news, actually. Good news ! Captain Shining Armor was getting married. To an alicorn princess ! Bad news, his sister, Twilight Sparkle, of Ponyville, was being inexplicably hostile towards said princess. Good news ! She apparently left the ceremony. Bad news : the Captain was under mind control, by the Queen of the Changelings herself, who then used the crazy and stereotyped power of love to defeat Princess Celestia.
That's how badass Romeo and Juliet would've been in Equestria.
But things still looked extremely bad, as the entire city was filled with changelings, spreading terror through town, killing the orphan and the widow, torturing the innocent to death, taking no prisoners, mercilessly slaughtering everything in their way. For some reason, this didn't happen, and the bug ponies casually wandered around, waiting for their queen's next orders.
Like most insects, they had a hive mind. And the message it told them was clear. "STOP THE SIX MARES."
So they rushed. They never disobeyed a direct order from the queen before, and they never would. Upon finding the Elements of Harmony, they surrounded them, then proceeded to take their appearances. They were surrounded. By themselves. They never learned anything about fighting. They were done. At least, they thought, until ...
TCHAK !
Thump.
Something fell on the ground. It was a bloodied face, distorted with an expression of horror and incomprehension. But worst of all, it was the face of the Element of Generosity, required to use the Elements of Harmony. Everypony and everyling paused, for two reasons.
First, Rarity was still standing, sticking with her friends. Second, the face slowly dissolved into green slime. And every single changeling knew what it meant. One of them just got head decapitated with such force, that the head of the poor dear was sent flying to the middle of the shapeshifter legion. And they heard it.
A short laugh. They all turned to its source. Next to the small army stood three stallions and a piece of wood. One of them, armed with a bloodied katana, marched forward. "Everything above your neck is going to be a fine, red, MIST !" He spat, before thrusting his blade inside the nearest changeling, disguised as the Element of Loyalty.
Christian just killed one of the ponies who just got him back in town. And there were still so many. "It's like Christmas morning ..." he chuckled, then grinned like a maniac upon seeing the look of horror on his soon-to-be victims. "Why so serious ?!" He whispered in a surprisingly very audible way, before charging, murdering everything on his way, followed by Demopan who panned everything, Painis Cupcake who ate the 'ponies' alive, and MeeM, who, instead of spreading the disease, inexplicably shot needles out of his seemingly wooden body.
Changelings, besides the hive mind, had an instinct, telling them to either crack some skulls, or run the buck away. It dictated them the latter, as they scattered, still disguised as the ponies Christian wanted to repeatedly kill so much.
Twilight Sparkle saw two things. A gruesome event, featuring the very creature which was sent to the highest security magic proof cell of the entire country. And an opening. A way out. She turned to her friends, who were busy emptying their stomach on the streets of Canterlot, and spoke up. "This is our chance !" She said desperately, going through the fastest way to the Elements. "We must move, quick !"
And moving they did, as they promptly entered the castle ... where more changelings were waiting for them.
This was the bloody BEST day of Christian's life ! He didn't care that the bodies he hacked spontaneously desintegrated, he was just happy to kill. After what seemed like five minutes of fun where it's been twenty minutes of absolute carnage. There wasn't a single changeling standing. They were all either dead, or, if they were lucky, had run away. The blood stayed, though, as the small group of freaks was covered with greenish slime.
But Christian didn't care. There was more to kill. The castle in front of him was full of ponies. He could cut through more guts. And he would. Or, more precisely, he would have, if it wasn't for the pink aura slowly growing inside the throne room. It grew bigger and bigger. Christian didn't really mind it, until it suddenly burst out. Demopan didn't flinch. Painis Cupcake barely noticed. MeeM ... nopony knew for sure. But Christian felt it, as it forced his balance off, and pushed him away from the floor, literally sending him flying. "BLOODY HELL !" He angrily yelled, as he was forcibly removed from Canterlot.
Queen Chrysalis was in a desperate situation. Two thirds of her army didn't respond. It had been killed. She didn't know how, or by what, but it was enough for her to drop her guard for a couple of seconds, allowing that idiot prince and that stupid princess to kick her out of Canterlot, using the power of ...
"Love ..." she growled. Her source of food, the reason she was strong, caused her demise. She didn't want to hear anything about Canterlot for the next five years. That was, until one of her youngest soldiers came in, panting.
"O-O, my queen .. we have f-found the one responsible for h-half of the army ... d-d-dying ..."
At least she would get revenge. She expected to see a pony. She wasn't deceived, as a seemingly pissed grey coated pegasus walked inside her room, another segment of the cave in which the hive resided. She was already thinking of multiple ways to torture him, until she heard some part of his mumbling. "Those pracing showponies ..." he whispered to himself. "I'll get revenge ... I'll get bloody revenge ..."
All of sudden, Queen Chrysalis was very interested into that pegasus. A free will ? Which hated other ponies ? She changed her mind.
She now wanted to know everything about what happened in Equestria during the past three months.
They came from the Everfree
Apple Bloom was bored. So was Scootaloo. Ans so was Sweetie Belle. They just came back from Canterlot, where exciting adventures including very scary bug like ponies happened. Now, they were back in Ponyville, with nothing to do. They could go crusading, but at this point, they were out of ideas.
Until they heard a faint noise coming from outside their clubhouse. They looked out by the window, and saw a stallion. His coat was yellow, and his mane purple. An odd association of colors, but it wasn't the strangest of things about him.
First of all, he was wearing a hat. "And only fancy ponies wear hats out of parties !" Deducted Apple Bloom. Her friends stared at her. "That's what my sister said ..." she admitted.
Another thing about the odd stallion, was that he was floating in mid air. Pegasi could do that with training. But he was just an Earth pony. He held his forehooves on his smiling face, and his two other hooves seemed ... broken. They were perpendicular to the rest of his body, and the end of them pointed upwards.
"I think he's cool." Said Scootaloo.
"I say he's dangerous !" Answered Sweetie Belle. "Also, the grown ups told us to stay away from strange ponies these days ! And the grown ups know what their saying !"
"You're just scared." Teased Scootaloo. "I'll show you. I'm going to get out of this treehouse, and kick this guy's flank back to the forest ! Just like Rainbow Dash would ! Ya-ta !" She mimicked a karate chop towards the stallion's location, where he was no longer.
All three of them heard the same faint noise from before, and slowly turned their heads around. The stallion was right there, still hanging above the ground. They were about to scream like the little fillies they were. But the stallion acted first. "I'm Weaselcake." He cheerfully declared, introducing himself to the three little ponies in front of him.
They simply stared. As their minds processed what they just saw, it always came back to running as fast as possible whilst loudly screaming. Fortunately, the stallion acted first once again, by inflating his own body, turning pink for a couple of seconds, saying "Cake." Once, spawning a single chocolate flavour cake.
This time the Cutie Mark Crusaders' brains proceeded the information differently. This guy turned pink, and pink things are a good sign, unless Pinkie Pie decides that you are an alien taking the form of a pony. Then, he inflated like a balloon, and balloons are funny. Finally, he just gave them cake. This could only mean ...
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS FLYING EARTH PONY STALLIONS WHO CAN TURN PINK AND GIVES US CAKE FRIENDMAKERS, YAY !"
The Elements of Harmony were discussing inside the library. Everything ended well at Canterlot, but they were worried. Princess Celestia admitted three of the creatures which came from the Everfree Forest inside Canterlot, since they weren't blown away by Shining Armor and Cadance's combined spell, and therefore couldn't be considered evil. The one who turned the entire population of Ponyville into wooden cutouts of themselves was given an artificial jungle, the one who tried to eat Spike was given access to the royal kitchens, and another one they didn't see before was given metal junk. A lot of it.
This didn't make any sense, and Twilight Sparkle was having a headache. "Girls," she said, "we need to find where those guys come from, and we need to send. Them. Back."
"BUT I BUCKING LIKE IT HERE." Yelled ChoZo, who happened to be reading a book about medicine, though he didn't seem to understand half of it.
"I know." Casually answered Twilight. "But you don't belong here, and I'm fairly sure you want to retrieve your Nataska, and that ... 'Rape Banner' ... of yours ..." These words actually hurt to say.
"OKAY." He shouted, before resuming his reading.
And then somepony knocked on the door. But nopony noticed. Except for Fluttershy, who opened it. Outside stood Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and ...
"Oh my ..." she said, but nopony heard it. She began to slowly back away from the door. "Hum, girls ... can you introduce your new ... hum, friend, to me ?"
"Sure !" Said Scootaloo, waving to the levitating stallion. He teleported inside, his cocky smile never leaving his face. "That guy's Weaselcake, and he can do all kinds of cool stuff ! He gave us cake !" As to prove her point, Weaselcake inflated, briefly turned pink, and magically spawned a big chocolate flavour cake.
Fluttershy's reaction corresponded to the crusaders' initial one, namely ...
"EEEP !"
The library was now empty. Except for Weaselcake, that is. Strangely, as soon as the yellow pegasus in front of her made that curious noise, the purple unicorn behind her made her horn glow, and both the ponies inside and his three new friends were teleported out of sight.
This left him with sad face for the first time since Weaselpie!, his worst enemy. So he spawned cake and ate it, waiting for another potential friend to show up.
Meanwhile, Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash weren't happy. They had clearly stated that anything coming from the Everfree was to be avoided, mostly now that so much crazy things happened. "You were lucky, Sweetie ! But I won't tolerate it ! This monster could have killed you ! Or messed up your mane ! Or killed you, THEN messed up your mane !" Said Rarity in a nearly unladylike tone. Nearly.
"He's not a monster !" Answered Sweetie Belle. "His name is Weaselcake, and he's been very nice to us !"
"Could've been ah trap. Can't take any chance. Apple Bloom, you're grounded, now go do your homework !" Said Applejack to her little sister, pushing her onto her back.
"But ah already finished them ! And Sweetie Belle's right !"
This left Scootaloo alone with Rainbow Dash. "I'm sorry ..." she said, staring at the ground. Rainbow Dash scratched her face, then thought things through for one of the first times of her life. That Weaselcake guy didn't seem that bad. In fact, he was cool.
She made a decision. "Kid, tonight, we're visiting that new friend of yours. How does that sound ?"
Later that day, the entire town was asleep. Even Twilight Sparkle and Spike, who obtained some of Applejack's hospitality and slept in a barn. Two figures of which you probably already deduced the identity sneaked inside the library.
...
It was Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, for those of you who are slow thinkers. Anyway, they slowly crept inside the tree, making sure nopony saw them, like Rarity. Especially Rarity. As they stealthily entered the library, they witnessed Weaselcake stretching his tongue to grab a nearby cake. That somehow worried Rainbow Dash. "Did I ever tell you that you were awesome ?" Whispered Scootaloo next to her.
"Sure, kid ..." she hesitantly answered. They had very slowly opened a window, and just finished completely entering when they heard a noise behind them as they closed it. Spinning around, they saw the object of their visit floating in mid air. They simply stared at each other for the longest time. Until Rainbow Dash slowly waved. "'Sup ?" She said in her most respectful tone.
Weaselcake didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed as happy as usual. As he did the previous times, he inflated, said "Cake." And made a chocolate cake magically appear. Scootaloo went ahead and took a decent bite from it.
"It'ch good ! Come try chom, Rainbow Dach !" She said in a goofy tone, caused by all of the chocolate pastry currently inhabitating her mouth. The concerned pegasus walked towards the cake, eyeing it suspiciously. Then, she took a small bite.
"That ..." she began, her eyes clearly emitting sparkles. "Is. The. Best. Thing. I. Ever. Ate. Pinkie. Would. Be. So. Jal-"
"What ?!" Came the extremely high pitched voice of the Pink sugar filled abomination, who appeared instantly in front of the cake. Instead of suspicion, she snobbed the cake, then simply licked it. Her eyes almost flew out of her face, as she popped in front of Weaselcake, seemingly very angry. "You aren't just evil !" She said. "You are super hyper mega evil ! You're a ... an Evil McEvil Evilpants ! Are you trying to steal my job, McEvil ?!"
Weaselcake's face became sad for the second time of the day. He just wanted to make friends. Did he do something wrong ? He swiftly teleported to a corner of the library, then proceeded to guiltily look at the floor.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo gave Pinkie Pie an overly annoyed, and somewhat angry stare. "What ?" She said innocently. And she probably meant it.
"That guy wasn't trying to make better cakes than you ! He was just trying to be cool ! I randomly said that because this cake was so good !" Said Rainbow Dash, impressively using a word as sophisticated as 'randomly'. She then pointed a dramatic hoof at Weaselcake. "Now apologize !"
Pinkie Pie was now sad. ... or shocked, as her mane didn't deflate. "Wait ... so he isn't evil ?" Both Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo nodded. "And you still like my cakes ?" Other nod. "AND I'VE JUST BEEN HORRIBLE TO A NEW PONY IN TOWN ?!" Another nod.
The gasp was loud. Not as loud as the repetitive "I'M SORRY !" Though. All in all, everything ended well.
The next day, Weaselcake was publicly introduced to all of Ponyville. And Twilight Sparkle learned a valuable lesson. Don't eat too much cake. It makes you lazy. And lazyness was something she avoided at all cost.
Ponyville now had two guardians.
And it would soon need them, as the space-time liquid grew in size inside the Everfree Forest, spawning not one, but six creatures.
They came from the Everfree
Few approached the Everfree Forest. Even fewer dared to penetrate it. And no matter what anypony says, Fluttershy IS scared by it. In fact, Zecora was probably the bravest being in Equestria. She knew every pathway and trap in it, and it remained the same for a long time. So one can picture her confusion when a flight of manticores thundered towards what she knew was a place they avoided. Despite her knowledge, she couldn't fight off a legendary beast herd, let alone a single one. For the first time of her life, she was paralysed by fear. Said fear turned into shock and hesitant relief as they flew past her.
But the relief slowly died away, as she saw the reason for such powerful beings fleeing their home. The Everfree was rotting right before her. The most mystic and powerful place she was aware of was slowly dying away. Not hesitating a single second, she turned around and ran as fast as she could. She bolted past her house, aware of the numerous things she would have to leave in order to survive. Finally, she saw the exit, alongside Fluttershy's cottage. There was a lot of explaining to be done ...
In the depths of the currently doomed forest stood six ponies : two Earth ponies, two pegasi, a unicorn, and a small alicor, the leader, apparently. "Anypony dead ?" She casually asked, as if it was an everyday formality. Not waiting for an answer, she walked around what she thought was the Everfree Forest. "Except much better ..." She thought aloud. This place was filled to the core with dark magic. She turned to her subbordinates. "Let's go cause some chaos ..."
As they crept through the wood, they couldn't help but to notice the lack of killable things. In fact, the previously lively and dangerous forest was spookier than usual, but also more silent. And it was worrying. Fortunately, as they marched, they didn't notice the small black and purple liquid dripping down the leaves of the withered forest's trees. Space-time liquid in its missing_texture form was known to be dangerous. More dangerous than pure australium.
Nopony was there, nopony knew what would strike them.
"Doctor, why are we leaviiing ?" Asked Derpy Hooves, the local mailmare, in her usual goofy tone. Hidden from anypony's sight stood a big blue box, labeled 'Pony Box'. A brown coated stallion smiled sheepishly whilst opening the box.
"No reason ! Come on, let's go !" He said. And thus they went inside the box, which made a VERY loud noise as it faded away from reality. As it completely disappeared, purple thunder struck its previous location, revealing six mares. "PEELS !" Joyfully said one of them, jumping on a small can.
"I wonder how these got here ..." said the purple alicorn. "But that isn't important. What have we got here ..." in front of her stood Ponyville, her hometown. "I guess we got back after all ... girls, let us politely greet our friends ..." she declared evilly, smiling like a madmare.
Ponyville was now used to its latest inhabitants and guardians. Captain Shining Armor went back to Canterlot with his guards for unspecified reasons. Everything was calm, until an uncommom sighting came into view. The 'evil enchantress' also known as Zecora-that-one-zebra-we-were-all-worried-about-being-a-potential-witch entered the town, alongside the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy. Before they could scream like in the good ole' times or ask any question, they both bolted inside the library, closing the door firmly behind them.
"Oh, hello !" Said Twilight to her unexpected guest. "Zecora, did you have any trouble through town ? Nopony screamed ?"
She shook her head, but not a second later, dozens of ponies outside cried together "The horror ! THE HORROR !" And soon the streets of Ponyville were empty.
"Oh my ... um ... delayed reaction ?" Said Fluttershy, though nopony heard her.
Twilight was about to say something, but was interrupted by Zecora, standing by the window. "By my thumbs !" She declared. "Something oddly familiar this way comes !"
Not bothering to understand what 'thumbs' were, Twilight and Fluttershy walked to the window. What they saw was ... awkward. At the entrance of the town, stood six mares. It would've been an average day, if two of them weren't so ... "Is that ... m-me ?" Whisepered Fluttershy weakly, pointing a hoof at a pale near-white yellow-coated mare with a tall hat, a red mane and a white tail. She was grinning like a maniac, much like her friends. At least Fluttershy assumed they were her friends. She looked horrifying similar to her.
The second one was Twilight Sparkle's business. She was an exact copy of herself. Except for the fact that she had a murderous spark in her eyes, and was an alicorn. This was wrong. The three only known alicorns of Equestria were Cadence, Celestia and Luna, and since it had been proven by Star Swirl the Bearded himself in his 'Guide To What The Regal Sisters Will Kill For Writing' that one becomes an alicorn and isn't born one, she must have passed by the flux of harmony, and accepted by it. That, or she was exposed to intense quantities of chaos magic. Which made perfect sense actually, so Twilight gathered all of the air she could in her lungs, and shouted "DISCOOOOORD !"
Almost instantly, the spirit of chaos appeared right before her. "Why hello, my dear ! I've been waiting for any damsel in distress to beg for help since my reformation !" He joyfully declared, spawning an iron helmet on his own head and a cliché pink pointy hat on Twilight's. "So, how doth my help be requested ?"
"I don't have time for games !" She spat, removing the silly hat, only for it to float back on top of her head. "Ugh ... anyway ... where was I ... ? Oh that's right ... CLEAN THIS MESS RIGHT NOW !" She shouted, pointing her hooves at the six newcomers.
"At your service, ma'am !" He said, before popping out of existence, re-appearing in front of the undesired guests. Not so long later, he crashed through the window, wearing several amounts of bandages which came out of apparently nowhere. "Let your tears fall upon your cheeks, and say 'Thrice welcome, beaten Discord' ! 2spooky4me, sorry but I'm out." He declared dramatically, before slowly fading away from existence.
Meanwhile, the leader of the 'visitors', also known as Brutalight Sparcake, slowly but surely made her way towards the library. Inside, Twilight Sparkle gulped, and called for Spike. "I'll need you to take a letter real quick ! AND I MEAN IT !" Her eye twitched, earning a step back from Fluttershy and Zecora.
Meanwhile, at Canterlot's castle, Celestia and Luna were casually chatting- I mean discussing serious business. "Dear sister," said the latter, "did you sense a trouble in magic all around Equestria too ?"
Celestia blinked. "No, I don't have these powers. Do you ?" She asked.
"No." Answered Luna. "I was simply wondering if you did."
Taking both of them aback, a trail of green smoke came in through a window. "Ah, Twilight must've written to me. I hope the situation in Ponyville is fine ..." declared Celestia, whispering the last part. She ripped the letter open and promptly read it. Her eternally calm gaze became worried for a split second, before turning into a stern look. "Lulu, gather the ones calling themselves Demopan, Painis Cupcake and MeeM. We're heading towards Ponyville right now." On that last word, she teleported away in a shining light of glory, leaving a confused Luna behind.
She looked at the folded paper. On it were written these words :
"Dear Princess Celestia,
I, unfortunately, do not have a friendship report today, however, I am worried because OH FAUST BUCK FORMALITIES EVIL CLONES IN TOWN HELP !"
Not even a signature.