Legend of the Alicorns

by Zelda Spectrum

Rating: everyone
Tags: Spike, Comedy, Adventure, Princess Celestia, Crossover, Alternate Universe, Main 6, Princess Luna, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 5633

The Elements of Harmony must be found to stop an ancient evil from returning to this world.

Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash, two blacksmith apprentices under the same teacher, are one day sent to Canterlot to deliver two special weapons to the Queen, Lady Platinum. However, when they arrive, they experience a tragedy that will lead them on a quest to seek the Elements of Harmony that have been scattered throughout Equestria.

Published 2012-04-21 04:34:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-05-09 13:10:28 UTC

Prologue & Chapter 1

I have decided to add a music system for this story to help with reading experience. This system is completely optional and is not completely necessary to enjoy the story so if you prefer to read without music, then ignore the music links.
Here’s how it works:
********* The blue stars contain the link for the site for the music. Right click the link and hit “open link in new tab”
********* The black stars mean to stop the music until another blue one comes up.
Idea inspired by [Mindblower]. Be sure to check out his stories too.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything in this story. Copyrights of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic belong to Hasbro.

Prologue: Legend

*********

A long, long time ago, the land of Equestria was ruled in a state of chaos. It was ruled by a Draconequus named Discord who sought to make life miserable for earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns alike for his own entertainment.
One day, the two alicorn sisters, Celestia and Luna, decended from the heavens to challenge Discord.
Wielding the Elements of Harmony, the sisters defeated Discord and sealed his spirit away to keep him from returning.
With peace restored, the alicorns returned to the heavens. Since that day, the three tribes have lived in peace and worshiped the alicorns awaiting their return if Equestria ever fell into chaos again.

*********

Chapter 1

*********

“Twilight! Rainbow Dash! It’s time to get up!” Twilight Sparkle awoke on top of her bed still in her blacksmith garments. She had spent yet another night helping her master, Iron Hoof with another task of forging a weapon for the royal guard. Twilight sat up in her bed moaning and rubbing her eyes, she was not looking forward to another day of work after having so little sleep.

When she looked up, she noticed Rainbow Dash’s bed was empty. She walked over to the window and looked outside to see Rainbow Dash flying in the sky performing some tricks. “Rainbow Dash, come on down here, it’s time to start for the day!” she shouted. Rainbow Dash groaned and flew back towards the cottage.

“Do we seriously need to work today; they’re having the Alicorn Festival in Canterlot today.” Rainbow Dash replied, “I was hoping we’d get the day off today.”

“I doubt it. You know we don’t usually go anywhere unless we are sent to deliver something we’ve forged. Plus, the only holiday we get off is Heart’s Warming Eve.”

“But this year the Wonderbolts will be there!” Rainbow protested, “That’s why I was up there this morning! I was going to show them my super cool new moves!”

“No excuses!” Twilight said, “Now get dressed so we can get started.”

Rainbow Dash grumbled silently to herself as she put on her blacksmith garments and followed Twilight downstairs. The cottage they stayed in was very nice, though it wasn’t very decorative. The rooms were very plain with typical furniture. The armory was the only part of the cottage that had any decoration; swords and spears were hung on the walls and in the corners were some mannequins clad in newly polished armor. Their teacher, Iron Hoof, was sitting near the forge working on another weapon.

“Good morning Master Iron Hoof,” Twilight greeted her mentor, “what should we get started on today?” Iron Hoof turned and smiled at the two mares. He was a grayish-blue earth pony with a gray mane, tail, and beard; he had a hammer for his cutie mark.

“Ah, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, good to see you two are up.” Said Iron Hoof. “I actually have an errand I need you to run as soon as possible.” Iron Hoof pause in his work to pick up a sword that was wrapped in a giant cloth. “I need you two young fillies to deliver this sword to Canterlot Castle. As you know, the Alicorn festival is having a Sword Master Tournament; the winner will receive special permission to touch this sword and the sacred Crown of Celestia.”

“But the ceremony isn’t until this afternoon,” Twilight stated, “and the train ride to Canterlot is only half an hour. Why do you want us to leave so early?”

“Because I think you two deserve a little break.” Iron Hoof answered. Twilight and Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened in amazement, they had not had a break from work since they helped the town in Winter Wrap-Up a few months ago.
“You two have been working very hard and stayed up late to help me with any important projects I needed to complete.” Iron Hoof continued, “I think it’s about time I rewarded your hard work.”

“Thank you so much master!” said Twilight with a smile on her face. “Woohoo! Wonderbolts, here I come!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she flew back up stairs.

Twilight walked over to Iron Hoof to take the blade. “What kind of sword is this?” she asked, “I’m sensing a lot of magic in this blade.”

“It is a special sword for the queen, Lady Platinum herself,” Iron Hoof answered, “so don’t unwrap it yet.”

“Thank you again master.” Twilight said as she made her way back upstairs with the sword. Once upstairs, she folded her garments putting them back in her closet and grabbed her saddle bag containing some bits for the train ride and the festival itself. She then walked downstairs with the sword on her back and trotted outside where Rainbow Dash was waiting for her.

“C’mon Twilight, we haven’t got all day!” Rainbow Dash said impatiently, “The train to Canterlot leaves in fifteen minutes and I don’t want to miss any of it”.

*********

As the train came to a stop at the Canterlot Station, Twilight and Rainbow Dash stared in awe at what the Alicorn Festival had to offer. There were decorations everywhere, crowds formed around many different areas where certain activities were taking place, and the restraints were nearly filled with hungry ponies. When the stepped off the train, confetti and streamers suddenly exploded in front of them, startling them both.

“Surprise!” they were both greeted by a pink earth pony with poofy hair and three different colored balloons for her cutie mark. “Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie and welcome to Canterlot’s Alicorn Festival! Were you surprised? Huhhuhhuh wereyawereyawerya?”

“Very!” Twilight finally said, “Though a simple ‘Hello and welcome to Canterlot’ would’ve been just fine.”

“Well, that’s silly; I mean what kind of welcome would it be if I just said that? I mean duh, bor-ring. Ya that’s what festivals are usually like and since the Alicorn Festival was in Canterlot this year I thought maybe I could make the welcomes more exciting and give everyone a surprise when they arrived; I mean who doesn’t like a good surprise, am I right? Anyway, so that’s when I decided to…”

As the pink pony continued to talk in a very fast tone, Twilight and Rainbow Dash sighed with irritation as they walked along the streets of Canterlot.

“Oh I almost forgot,” Pinkie Pie exclaimed suddenly appearing in front of them, “I’m going to give you the grand tour of the Alicorn Festival; doesn’t that sound like fun or what?”

Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at her with a little irritation and confusion. “Wasn’t she just behind us a second ago?” Rainbow whispered to Twilight. “I thought so too.” Twilight whispered back.

“Well c’mon! There’s a lot of stuff to enjoy here and little time to enjoy it all!” said Pinkie Pie suddenly sprinting ahead. Twilight and Rainbow Dash hesitated to catch up. “Over here is the storyteller who tell the Legend of the Alicorn Sisters who descended from the heavens to save us in our time of need and-ooohhh look at that!” she sprinted off again. “Woohoo! Cupcakes, candies, and pies oh my!” said Pinkie stuffing her face with sweets at a desert table. It was covered with lots of sweets from sweet candy to mouth watering cakes.

Before the two visitors could take a bite of the treats they had picked up, Pinkie suddenly exclaimed “Oooohhh look over there!” and sprinted off. She led them to an arena where two unicorns were dueling each othere with Mana Swords. The swords were embedded with gyroscopic balls on the hilt of the swords so the unicorns could use their telekinesis to wield them with ease.

“They always have a competition here at the festival to see who the greatest warrior is!” Pinkie explained with a lot of enthusiasm. “The winner of the tournament gets to touch the Crown of Celestia, which keeps the spirit of mean old Discord sealed away, during the award ceremony over at Canterlot Castle!” Rainbow Dash was happily watching the competitors duel in the tournament when Pinkie suddenly shouted, “Ohohoh; we can’t forget about that place!” running of yet again.

Dash let out an irritated sigh. “Do we seriously have to follow her? This tournament is getting awesome!”

“Come on Rainbow,” Twilight said while using her telekinesis to carry Rainbow away, “We’ll have plenty of time to watch the tournament. Let’s just finish the tour real quick.” Rainbow grumbled to herself as she was carried over to Pinkie Pie who was standing next to a tent that looked like a lottery. Suddenly, a brown earth pony came out loudly ringing a bell in his mouth. Twilight was caught off guard by this and accidently released Rainbow Dash from her telekinetic grim and dropped her on the ground.

“We have a winner!” he announced. “Why, Miss Pinkie Pie, it seems you have just won the lottery; again.” He said with less enthusiasm.

“Ooh, what did I win this year?” Pinkie asked hopping over to the table in front of the tent.

“Well, let’s see here,” he started to pull out three items out of his bag and display them on the table.

The first item was a heart shaped ruby in a golden necklace. “The first thing we have is the beautiful fire ruby necklace.” Twilight and Rainbow Dash stared at it in awe. “It is a beautiful piece of jewelry that will make you the most beautiful mare in Equestria.”

The second item was a diamond ring. “Next, we’ve got a pure diamond ring that you can wear to look ‘fabulous’ as they say; it could even serve as a gift for your very special somepony.”

Finally he pulled out a baby alligator in a glass tank. “Finally, we have this toothless baby alligator that could maybe be used as a pet.”

“Awww, this little guy is so cute,” Pinkie said staring at the alligator, “I’ll take him!” The earth pony was surprised by her choice in prizes.

“You really want that thing as your prize? What about the beautiful fire ruby or the bedazzling diamond ring? Surely those are better prizes than that little runt.”

“Nah, I want this little guy. So can I have him, huhhuhhuh canIcanIcanI?”

The earth pony sighed in disbelief “You are one strange pony Pinkie Pie.” He put the other two prizes back in his bag. Just as he was about to give Pinkie her prize, he turned to see the tank was empty and Pinkie Pie was already halfway to the train station with the alligator clinging onto her mane by its mouth.

“Thanks a lot!” she exclaimed bouncing towards the train station.

“What the-” Rainbow Dash stuttered in confusion, “How did she get over there so fast?”

The brown earth pony grinned and shook head as he trotted back inside the tent. “If you’ve known Pinkie long enough,” he said, “you learn to stop asking those questions.”

*********

Later that day, Twilight and Rainbow Dash were enjoying themselves at the festival when Twilight realized the time. “Oh dear! Rainbow, we need to head to Canterlot Castle! The award ceremony is going to start in half an hour!”

“The tournament’s almost over,” Rainbow replied, “you go ahead, I’ll catch up.”

“Oh, really,” Twilight remarked with a scheming grin, “I thought the whole reason you wanted to come here was to see the Wonderbolts at Canterlot Castle.”

Rainbow immediately shot up into the air at the mention of the Wonderbolts. “Oh snap! I almost forgot!” she exclaimed,

“Race ya there!” And with that, she took off toward the castle.

“Rainbow! Wait for me!” Twilight yelled trying to keep up with Rainbow Dash. A while later, Twilight managed to finally catch up with Rainbow Dash at the castle exterior gasping for air.

“What took ya so long?” Rainbow remarked sarcastically. Twilight gave Rainbow a look of bemusement as they approached the gate. Two guards who stood watch blocked their path when they tried to pass.

“Halt!” one said.

“Who goes there?!” the other finished

Twilight tried to talk while still trying to catch her breath. “We…are…Twilight Sparkle…and Rainbow Dash…we were…sent by…Iron Hoof…to deliver…this sword…to the queen.”

The guards moved aside when they heard the two mares were sent by Iron Hoof

“Our apologies ma’am, we did not recognize you as his pupils.” One said.

“Right this way, her highness is inside waiting for you.” The other finished.

The two arrived in the castle courtyard and stood at the side of the castle entrance, waiting for the queen to make her appearance. At that moment, two pegasi walked out sonding the trumpets to declare the queens arrival followed by a unicorn with a scroll.

*********

“Presenting her most Royal Highness, Lady Platinum!” The unicorn stepped aside as a white unicorn with a white-gold mane and garbed in royal garments stepped out into the courtyard.

After she approached, another unicorn, one who did not look too happy, stepped out. “And presenting her royal highness Princess Rarity, the illustrious blah-la-blah, ya know, excreta-excreta, uh hooray everybody.” He said with very little enthusiasm.

Another white unicorn stepped out and stood next to the queen. This one had a purple mane and three diamonds as her cutie mark.

“Let the award ceremony commence!” the queen commanded. Four of the Wonderbolts walked out carrying a crested chest with a golden crown on top and laid it in front of the queen. Rainbow Dash tried to contain her excitement until she saw the crown on top of the chest.

“What the hay is that?” Rainbow Dash whispered to Twilight.

“That’s the Crown of Celestia!” she whispered back, “That sacred relic is supposed to be keeping Discord’s sealed in that chest.”

“The winner of this year’s tournament is,” Lady Platinum announced, “Eris Bloom! You may approach the sacred crown!” As soon as the guards opened the door the let in the victor, Pinkie Pie hopped in franticly with Gummy still on her mane yelling, “My knees are pinchy! My knees are pinchy!” as she hopped into the castle’s interior. Most of the guards and Wonderbolts stood on alert upon hearing Pinkie while Twilight, Rainbow, the queen, and her daughter all stared in confusion.

*********

A midnight blue mare with silver hair and garbed in a black cloak entered the courtyard and approached the chest. “Heh, heh, heh…” she laughed to herself, “It seems things are going better than I had planned. That chest must contain that which I seek. I shall relieve you of its contents immediately.”

*********

When the guards heard this, they drew their spears and stood at the ready. Two of the guards charged at Eris, but her horn lit up and she swatted them away with her telekinesis and sent the two flying backwards. The Wonderbolts got ready to charge at her.

“Hmph, annoying little flies!” she said, “Do not interfere with me! I am the victor; I have earned the right to touch that crown! I have waited too long to get that crown, AND I WILL HAVE IT!”

Her horn lit up again as she charged a large sphere of energy. The Wonderbolts backed up a little, not knowing what would happen in one of them did so much as brush up against it. Eris released the sphere in their direction. It shot past them like a bullet and struck Celestia’s crown. As soon as the sphere made contact with the crown, the sacred relic split in two and the chest flung open. The ghost of a Draconequus emerged from the chest and circled around it while roaring loudly, striking away any guard or Wonderbolt it made contact with and knocking them unconscious. Twilight was able to put up a barrier with her magic just in time, but she was only able to shield herself as well as Rainbow Dash, Lady Platinum, and Rarity. Lady Platinum and Rarity were caught in in a mixture of surprise and fear at what they were witnessing. After a few seconds, the ghost disappeared without a trace

“Who are you, and why are you doing this?” the queen demanded as the barrier came down.

“Ah, Lady Platinum; so we meet at last.” Eris said with a smirk, “I can’t let you interfere with my plans. If I leave you now, you will only cause trouble later. I simply cannot let that happen.” She charged up another sphere made of dark matter and aimed it at the queen yelling “TO STONE WITH YOU!”

The three mares jumped in front of the queen to protect her. “Over my dead body you brute!” Rarity yelled, snapping out of fear, “I’ll rip you to pieces if you hurt my mother!”

Twilight put up another barrier while Rarity reinforced it and Rainbow Dash stood at the ready. However, when Eris released the sphere, it ripped through the barrier like paper causing the three mares to get knocked back unconscious and the sphere turned Lady Platinum to stone.

*********

“ALL WHO STAND IN MY WAY SHALL SUFFER THE SAME FATE!” she yelled as she laughed maniacally. “Now, to find the treasure that awaits me in that chest.” She walked over to the chest, but to her surprise, the chest was empty! “What?! Empty!? There was nothing in here except Discord’s soul?! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!” She calmed herself and turned away from the chest. “Hmph, well, no matter; I know that the Alicorn’s Sword is somewhere out there. I’m in no rush; now that I have eliminated my competition, I can take my time searching for it.” With that she teleported away, leaving behind a stone queen and a group of unconscious ponies.

End of Chapter 1

If one of the links is not working, let me know.

Chapter 2

***UNEDITED***

Chapter 2

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“Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight found herself in a white room that was completely empty, and yet she could hear voices calling her name.

“Twilight Sparkle, Lady of Magic.”

“Who are you, and how do you know my name?!” Twilight said on the defensive, “Show yourself!”

“Fear not, Lady of Magic,” said another voice, “we do not wish to harm thee, nor are we thy enemy.” Two alicorns suddenly appeared in front of Twilight. One was white with a flowing blue, green, and pink mane and had a sun as her cutie mark. She wore a golden crown and necklace with an amethyst jewel in the center of both. The other was slightly shorter and midnight blue with a dark blue flowing mane and a moon for her cutie mark. She wore a similar crown and necklace, except her crown and her necklace were both jet black with a moon crested on the front of her necklace.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna!” Twilight exclaimed as she bowed before the two alicorns. “Am…am I…” she stuttered, “dead?”

“No Twilight Sparkle, you are not dead,” Celestia answered, “Right now, you are only dreaming. We have a very important task for you.”

Luna stepped forward. “As I’m sure thou art aware, Discord’s spirit has been freed and it will not be long before Eris creates a new body for him. Once he has his new body, he will rein chaos on all of Equestria. Thou must find the Elements of Harmony that have been scattered throughout Equestria as well as their wielders and stop Eris from reviving Discord.”

“But, why me?” Twilight asked beginning to doubt herself.

“Do not worry my little pony,” Celestia replied, “You have greater ability than you think. Time will reveal these raw abilities as you journey to collect the Elements. The wielders of Loyalty, Generosity, and Laughter are closer than you think.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, “Who are they?”

“I wish we could tell you more,” Celestia said, “but it is time for you to wake up.” The two alicorns started to fade away.

“Wait!” Twilight shouted, “I have so many more questions!” But she was unable to stop them; they had completely vanished.

“Good luck Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia’s voice echoed, “the fate of Equestria rests in your hooves.”

*********

Twilight awoke in a hospital bed in a nicely decorated room with some medical equipment and some expensive-looking furniture. Twilight groaned as she sat up; she felt a tiny twinge of pain in her back, but she quickly shook it off. “Oh! You’re awake!” a nurse said as she rushed toward Twilight, “Thank goodness, Master Iron Hoof is here as well, he is in the throne room next door checking on the condition of her highness.”

“He is?” Twilight said, “Thank you so much nurse.” She hurried into the throne room where she found not only Iron Hoof, but Rainbow Dash as well as Rarity and Pinkie Pie with the Canterlot soldiers and the Wonderbolts standing at attention.

*********

“Oh, Twilight! You’re awake!” Iron Hoof said, “Are you feeling all right?”

“Yes sir,” Twilight answered, “I’m feeling better.”

“Excellent. Stand at my side, the Royal Ambassador is about to speak.”

A pegasus wearing royal garments stepped out in front of everypony. “I’m afraid it is as you all have heard, a wicked unicorn named Eris has turned her highness to stone. Our royal wizards have tried to free her of this curse, but they have not been successful. We have reason to believe that Celestia’s crown could break this spell, but Eris has shattered the sacred crown. However, we cannot give up hope, does any pony know about the Alicorn Sisters.”

The mention of the sisters quickly brought Twilight’s attention. She was about to speak up when Iron Hoof stated, “Not much beyond the legends say…They are supposed to return if the world falls into chaos and destruction.”

“Um, excuse me sir, if I may…” Twilight said, “I think I might know more about the Alicorn Sister.”

“Hmph, what could a young filly like you possibly know about them?” the ambassador said with a scowl.

“They came to me in a dream,” Twilight said trying not to show even a hint of irritation, “they said I need to find these special elements known as the Elements of Harmony as well as their wielders.” The whole room fell silent with all eyes focused on Twilight. “They said the wielders of Generosity and Loyalty were close by, but I don’t know where.”

Finally, Rarity spoke up. “Oh yes, the Elements of Harmony, they most certainly do exist. No one outside the royal family knows about them. All I know is that there is one said to be hidden in the Everfree Forest near Ponyville.”

“The Everfree Forest?!” Twilight and Rainbow said in unison, shuddering at the mention of the name.

“Well then we must dispatch soldiers to this forest at once.” Said a mysterious voice; a unicorn with a white tux and blonde mane stepped out.

“Blueblood, since when do you get to make the orders around here?” Rarity asked the unicorn in an angry tone.

“Since just a while ago little sister, considering I am now the king.” Blueblood answered with a smirk.

“What?!”

“Sister?” Pinkie Pie suddenly said, “Wow, didn’t see that coming.”

“And where were you during the ceremony?!” Rarity asked getting angrier ignoring Pinkie.

“Hmph, why would I attend something that is not focused on me?” Blueblood asked rhetorically, “Now if I may, I have some troops to dispatch to Everfree.”

“But soldiers will certainly not do!” Rarity said now showing her anger, “You know as well as I do that only the ones chosen by the Alicorn Sisters can find the Elements of Harmony! The soldiers could search for day and find no trace of the Elements!”

“I see…” Iron Hoof pondered, “If that’s the case, I think we should send Twilight Sparkle.”

“What? All by herself?” Rainbow Dash suddenly asked, “Fat chance of that happening; I’m going with her! Besides there’s no telling what awaits in Everfree!”

“I would be delighted if I could be of any service as well,” Rarity stated, “besides, if you run into Eris, I want to be there to settle the score with her.

“I wanna go to!” Pinkie said, “I’ve always wanted to see what’s outside of Canterlot!”

“If you four have recovered, then by all means go.” Blueblood said.

“Take Celestia’s Crown with you as well,” the Royal Ambassador told the four, “maybe you’ll run into someone who knows how to repair the crown. But you must hurry; it will only be a matter of time before Eris fully revives Discord now that his spirit has been freed.”

“Thank you all very much,” Twilight said bowing before the ambassador and Blueblood, “we won’t let you down.”

“Very well, then.” Blueblood said, taking his place on the throne, “I shall dispatch soldiers to search for Eris, as well as find the bearers. That blasted unicorn has turned our mother to stone and I simply cannot let that go unpunished.”

The four started to head to the train station to board the train to Ponyville, which bordered the Everfree Forest. “Deep within the Everfree Forest, there should be an ancient shrine that was used to worship the Alicorn Sisters.” Rarity told the other three, “It would be best if we search for the first element there.”

“Twilight, wait!” the four turned to see Iron Hoof galloping towards them. “Take this with you. This was originally for Lady Platinum, but I think you may have a better use for it on your journey.” He gave her the sword wrapped in a giant cloth.

Twilight un-wrapped the cloth with her telekinesis to reveal a midnight blue sword with sides that looked like wings and a eclipsed sun in the middle and a white shining blade. Along with it wash a bejeweled sheath that would fit comfortably on anypony’s back. The sword started to lightly glow for a few seconds and the suddenly went back to normal.

“It is the Sword of the Alicorns.” Iron Hoof stated, “Hoof-forged from the feathers of the Alicorn Sisters. My ancestors have been in charge of guarding this blade for generations. I thought maybe the sword would be safer with the queen, but it seems I was mistaken. Be very careful you four, and Twilight; should you ever find yourself in danger, do not be afraid to use this sword.”

“Thank you Master Iron Hoof,” Twilight said, “I shall treasure it and bring everypony back in one piece.”

“Oh, and one more thing,” Iron Hoof stated making his way back to where he came, “I have a few special weapons in my shop made especially for the rest of you, no charge. I have some things I need to take care of here in Canterlot, so help yourself to putting them to good use.”

*********
The train ride back to Ponyville was a short quiet one. Once the train stopped at the station, the four started toward Iron Hoof’s forge. They were making their way to the forge when Pinkie Pie stopped the group at the sight of a sweet shop gasping with delight. “I wonder if they have any gingerbread houses inside!” She immediately ran inside leaving the others to wait outside.

“Dag nab it, Caramel! Ah still can’t believe ya lost the keys to the farm again!” The group’s attention was turned to a group of three earth ponies. The first was an orange mare with blonde hair and three apples for her cutie mark wearing a cowboy hat. The next was a golden-brown stallion with brown hair and a caramel apple for his cutie mark. The third was a BIG red stallion with blonde hair and a green apple for his cutie mark.

“I’m sorry Applejack!” the golden-brown pony apologized, “I know it’s around here somewhere. This is the last place I remember having the key to the farm.”

“A key?” Pinkie suddenly said coming out of the sweet shop with a gingerbread house, “here ya go.” She tossed a small key to the three who stared at her completely baffled.

“How did you do that?” Rainbow asked as she, Twilight, and Rarity walked over to her.

“It was on the floor of the entrance and I stepped on it as walked out of the shop.”

“I don’t think we have properly introduced ourselves,” Twilight came out and said to the earth ponies, “My name is Twilight Sparkle…” She was interrupted by the orange cowpony rapidly shaking her hoof.

“Well howdy do Miss Twilight, Ah’m Applejack. We here in the Apple family sure like makin’ new friends.”

“Well actually-y-y-y”

Applejack stopped shaking Twilights hoof “Ah haven’t seen any of y’all in town, what brings ya, to Ponyville?”
Twilights hoof was still shaking from the hoof-shake. Rainbow stooped her foreleg while silently chuckling to herself. After glaring at Rainbow Dash, she turned to answer Applejack’s question. “We are actually on our way to Master Iron Hoof’s forge to pick up some tools he left for us.”

“Yeah, and once we get those, we’re heading to the Everfree Forest to find one of the Elements of Harmony.” Pinkie intervened.

“Pinkie!”

“The Everfree Forest?!” Applejack stated in shock, “Have y’all lost yer minds or somethin’, what in the name of all things oats and apples are y’all thinkin’?!”

“We are on an official mission from Canterlot to scout the forest for something the palace is in dire need of.” Rarity explained before Pinkie Pie could restate her previous sentence.

“Well no way, no how, am ah lettin’ y’all go into the Everfree Forest all by yerselves.” Applejack responded. She then turned to the two stallions behind her. “Big Macintosh, take Caramel back to Sweet Apple Acres with ya, and can ya make sure he doesn’t lose the key, again?”

“Eeyup” the big red stallion responded. Big Macintosh led Caramel away who was hanging his head. “I said I was sorry.” He muttered with irritation under his breath.

“Look, we appreciate the offer,” Twilight said politely, “but we would rather do this on our own.”

“No can do sugarcube,” Applejack replied trotting in the direction of the forge, “Ah’m stickin’ to y’all like caramel on a candy apple.”

“Especially if there are candy apples in the forest.” Pinkie said hopping in Applejack’s direction. The other three mares just stared at her with raised eyebrows. “What, those things are good.”

The five finally reached Iron Hoof’s forge and proceeded inside. There, next to the forge was a table with a long cloth over it. As Twilight removed the cloth, the group stared in awe at the weapons displayed, each with a unique design and color for each pony.

For Rainbow Dash, there was a rainbow colored spear with the point shaped like her cutie mark, and engraved on the handle was the name Rainbow Dash. “Aaawwww yeah!” the cyan pegasus exclaimed holding it in her hooves, “this is so awesome!”

For Rarity, she found a platinum, diamond encrusted mace that was easy to wield with telekinesis. “Ooh, this craft is magnificent.” Rarity stated, gazing at the jewels encrusted on the mace.

For Applejack, there was a pair of boots that went on her legs forged from pure mythril and a steel grappling hook fresh from the forge. “Boy howdy,” the cowpony said with a smile, “ah gotta remembr’ ta thank this Iron Hoof fella.”

For Pinkie Pie, there was a canon strapped to a pink saddle; inscribed on the barrel was the words Party Canon. “Woohoo! I can use this to throw another party!” the pink pony exclaimed already making out party plans in her head.

Applejack wandered around the room looking at all the weapons set on display. “”Don’t y’all think we oughta take a crossbow with us just in case?” she asked as she started fiddling with a worn, single hoofed crossbow that made a tiny *thwang!*

“Well don’t waste your time with that one,” the cyan pegasus remarked, “that one wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“Well then whadda ya recommend we use?” Applejack asked. Rainbow Dash went to the table and picked up a grass green crossbow that was already armed with an arrow and gave it to the cowpony.

“I think you want this baby! I saw Master Iron Hoof finish forging it a couple of weeks ago. It’s been hoof-forged from fifty-year-old ash. It’s supposed to be pretty powerful.”

“Exactly how powerful is that supposed to me-” Applejack interrupted herself when she accidently pulled the trigger and released the arrow. The arrow zoomed towards four empty barrels aligned in a row. All four barrels were immediately blasted into smithereens upon impact of the arrow. The five ponies stared at the shattered remains of the empty barrels, dumbfounded at the power of the crossbow.

“Woah!” Rainbow exclaimed grinning, “So you think that will work?”

“Yeah, ah think this’ll work out quite nicely.” Applejack said, still in shock at the weapon incredible power. With all their gear collected, the five started their journey to find the first element in the Everfree Forest.

End of Chapter 2

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