The Elements Final Test

        *****

        Rainbow woke up to hear a noise, she looked up and saw the barn door was open, outside of the door was two ponies, one of them she had never seen before, the other was Link, the very link that tried to steal the Elements a week ago.  She flew up and yelled at them, the red unicorn looked around and said something she could not understand, he turned back and started to walk away while Link flew into the air facing her, Rainbow knew a challenge when she saw one, she noticed a helmet on Link but neglected it since she would not wimp out, not now.  She flew into the air and in a couple of seconds doubled her speed towards Link, she didn’t do much damage, Rainbow was knocked unconscious from the blow.

        *****

        Twilight heard shouting outside and woke up, she was still very sleepy so she thought it was nothing, when she made out the words she instantly got up, she awoke all the girls, they ran to the barn door and found Rainbow Dash unconscious near the entrance, she had a huge bruise on her head. They pulled her in and Twilight told Applejack to check on the Elements.  It took about ten minutes for Rainbow Dash to wake up.

        Rainbow Dash said slowly, “Wha?  Where am I?”

        Twilight responded, “Just relax Dash, you were hit pretty hard in the head.”

        Rainbow got up quickly and said, “Wait!  That dirty rotten, are the Elements ok?!?”

        Applejack returned and said, “Twi, the Elements are all in place.”

        Twilight said, “Rainbow what happened?  How did you get this on your head?”

        Rainbow returned, “Twi that dirty rotten Link!  She returned for who knows what, I saw her walking out the door and she challenged me to a dual, so you know, umm, we collided, she had a helmet on so I kinda went a bit far didn’t I.” Twilight grinned nodding yes.

        Twilight said to them all, “Girls, we have to find out why she returned lets ch”

        “AGHHHHHHHHhhhh!” All the Elements in the room ran where they heard the scream, it was Pinkie.  Applejack bust down the door and what they found was something they could not comprehend, the two ponies they had captured were killed.  Pinkie was in the the corner shivering, she had a flat mane and was crying.  When the rest of the Elements walked in all they could do was stare, they had no idea how it happened, it took a few minutes for the Elements to realize that Link must have done this, they were puzzled beyond belief, they had no idea why she would murder two of her fellow comrades.  Applejack felt uneasy, Rarity felt repulsed, Pinkie was in shock, Fluttershy was crying quietly, Twilight was speechless, Rainbow was jittery while trying to keep calm.

        Applejack finally broke the silence, “Twi, what in tarnation are those ponies up to?”

        Twilight looked at her and said, “I don’t know, I just don’t know Applejack, what reasons could they have for killing two ponies, they may not be innocent but they still are living, it just seems so, pointless, it feels like we are walking around in a circle.”

        Rarity broke in the conversation and said, “Just how horrid can these ponies be to murder two other ponies in cold blood like this.”

        Fluttershy squeaked, “Maybe... Maybe they knew something?” They all looked at her in surprise, even Pinkie.

        Twilight said, “Fluttershy your genius!  They must have known something that they didn’t want us to know.  But what could it be?  Why didn’t they just take them instead of murder them though?”

        Applejack, “Twi, I think this will lay unsolved, we really should move the bodies out through, the back of the fields would be a good place to... Dump them.”  She had struggled saying the word Dump.  Every pony went silent staring at her, eventually Twilight nodded.  Rarity refused to touch it even with her magic.  Twilight didn’t want to traumatize Pinkie more nor make Fluttershy help, it ended with Twilight and Applejack and Rainbow dragging the bodies to the field and bury them, the big blue earth pony was a huge task, he was probably more than quadruple their weight.  After the task was done they all went to sleep without any words left to say.

        *****

        They woke up in the morning, Applejack felt weird every morning, there was no rooster to wake her up, they all were tired from the day before, there was a lot to take in the other day.  Rarity has been complaining all week that her mane was freezing and she always cried about doing work, today was the day Applejack and Rainbow would go to Rarities house, the trip was delayed due to the other ponies who tried to steal the Elements, they were extra cautions for the last week.

        Applejack said, “Rainbow, we need to get goin to Rarities place, she’s got all that fancy fabric we can use.” Rainbow grunted knowing she could not avoid it.

        Rainbow said, “Do we have to?  Can’t we send Twi or Rarity out there?” Applejack looked at Dash stern and eventually Dash finally decided it was officially hopeless.  Rainbow and Applejack started their long track to Rarities house, it wasn’t quite far from the farm but it was still a long way out since they had to avoid all the rubble.  The streets were void of any life, they didn’t even hear the small sounds that animals would usually make, it was scaring them a bit.  When they finally arrived at Rarities house it was partially burnt down and it had blood marks all over the wall, it was a horrific site.  They heard a noise in the house and they were instantly on guard.  Applejack slowly walked towards the boutiques door and bucked the door open, the inside of the house seemed empty, all of a sudden they heard a smash in the boutique and knew somepony, or something, was in there.  Rainbow slowly flew in ahead of Applejack, she was curious on what was inside the building, she knocked over the furniture all over the place looking for the noise.  Then they heard a loud, “YOU’R OK!” and Rainbow was tackled by Scootaloo.  Sweetie Bell also walked out from behind the curtains on the other side of the room with a huge smile on her face, Applebloom walked out of the curtains with an even bigger smile.  All of the fillies looked taller, they also looked hungry, they were so thin that you could see their ribs.

        Sweetie Bell broke the silence, “We missed you all so much!  Where is Rarity?”

        Applejack looked at her and said, “Sugarcube, Rarities at the farm, come help us get yer stuff together and we can get back to the barn.”  Sweetie Bell smiled at the sound of seeing Rarity again, she thought of how she would think of her when she sees how much she has grown.

        Applebloom looked at Applejack and said, “Ah knew you would be ok I just knew it!”

        Applejack smiled and said, “Sis, I’ll always be there for ya.” Applebloom felt warm to the heart at her sister saying that, there was much grief on her since the loss of Big Mac and Granny Smith.

        Applebloom looked sad all of a sudden and said, “Sis, Big Mac and Granny Smith are gone, Big Mac and Granny were killed tryin to keep me safe from the guard ponies that were attacking everywhere.” Applejack looked deeply hurt after hearing that, she started to cry but eventually regained her composure and went back to business.

        Rainbow said, “Scootaloo!  You don’t know how relieved I am to see you all!”  Scootaloo blushed at hearing that, her hero actually missed her even after all that has happened.

        Scootaloo said, “Rainbow, you won’t believe what we have been through!  I can fly!”

        Rainbow said, “What?  You can?  You gotta show me some time!” Scootaloo never noticed but Rainbow always acted as if she was her own sister, she always enjoyed Scootaloo’s attention and greatly enjoyed her company all the time.

        Applejack said, “All Right fillies, sorry to interupt, but we need to get back to work, help us gather up some stuff to bring to the barn, things that will help us.” After saying that the filly's started to gather their things in a bag, it wasn’t much, just a few sentimental items they had from after the day it all fell apart.  Applejack and Rainbow gathered a bit of purple cloth, it was one of the few colors left, they also got some white cloth with red stains on it.  Once they had as much as they carried they were back on their way to the barn.  All the filly’s were happy they had somewhere to go, they knew the food was out and it may have become disastrous.

        *****

        They were walking through town when they heard a small chuckle, Applejack and Rainbow immediately dropped the things they were carrying and went into a defensive stance around the filly’s.  As they were preparing they heard a noise around the corner, they only knew of one group of ponies in the town so they were in a ready stance.  Rainbow knew that laugh anywhere, it was that dirty rotten unicorn that had accompanied Link the other day.

        She yelled out loud, “You dirty rotten unicorn!  Show yourself!”  And at the end of the street a red unicorn walked out into the open with a smirk on his face.  Rainbow being stubborn as ever charged him while Applejack yelled for her to stop, Rainbow obviously ignored her.  The red unicorn started to laugh as the distance between him and Rainbow was cut in half, all of a sudden Rainbow was trapped in a red aurora, she started to smash into the walls in hope of breaking the barrier, little did she know he was stronger than the average unicorn.  All of a sudden the barrier started to push her towards him and she saw a huge blue pony behind him looking at Applejack.  Applejack knew better than to charge into battle but she also didn’t want to leave Rainbow behind, she decided that it would be safer to get the filly’s home and get the rest of the girls to help save Rainbow than for her to charge into this battle alone.  Rainbow couldn’t believe what she saw, Applejack ran with the filly’s to the barn, she had no idea what to think of it.  A tear crept down her face, she knew she had made a mistake.  She started to get very sleepy and everything went black.

        *****

        Applejack and the filly’s could see the barn in site, Applejack heard a loud “Whoosh” sound and readied herself for what came next, she was smashed from the group of filly’s, it was Link, she tried to get up but she was being held down.  Applejack yelled for the filly’s to run, she promised she would be alright.  Applebloom cried as she knew she couldn’t help, Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell had to drag her away since she refused to move.  Applejack had a tear for Applebloom, putting her through all of this.

        Link said, “Now now Applejack, you're supposed to be honestly, you shouldn't lie and say everything will be ok,” and with that she smirked.

        Applejack responded, “Ah think we need to settle things, fine, take me where you need to, just leave the filly’s alone.” With that Link frowned.

        Link said, “Now Applejack, I will leave the filly’s alone, for now, eventually their time may will come, they pose a threat if I don’t, wouldn’t want that happening now would we.” Applejack had started to well in a river of tears when she said that, Link got sick of it and knocked Applejack out ending it right there, she picked her up and flew her to the camp they had built.

        *****

        The filly’s ran to the barn as fast as they could while dragging Applebloom.

        Applebloom cried, “I want ma sister back!  Don’t let her die like Big Mac!  You gotta help her, you just gotta!” These cries really hurt Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell, they knew their friends pain, they lost many of their loved ones to.  They also knew they were outmatched in that fight so they didn’t dare charge in, it could have ended disastrous for them.  When they finally reached the barn they were out of breath, they had dirt all over them, and they were covered in tears.  Rarity was the first one out, she was breathless at what she saw, she started crying tears of joy, little to know about the news she was about to receive about her friends.

        Rarity said, “Sweetie Bell!  I’ve missed you so much!  Where have you been?  Oh forget about that just give me a hug!” And with that Rarity embraced Sweetie Bell, while she grabbed her Sweetie Bell tried to tug away and yelled, “Rarity!  Dash and Applejack are in trouble!  Some mean ponies got them on the way back!  We have to help them!”  Rarity only looked at her in confusion, it then started to set in, Rainbow and Applejack were in trouble, she immediately let go of Sweetie Bell and ran back in the barn, she came out with Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie.  They were all in confusion on what happened, Rarity told Sweetie Bell to tell them what had happened.

        Sweetie Bell said, “Applejack and Rainbow were taken by a group of ponies, they must have knew that we were walking that way since they looked pretty well organized, there was three of them.”

        Twilight looked intrigued and said, “What color and what type of ponies do you think they were, do you remember?”

        Scootaloo said, “One was a big buff blue earth pony, he made sure Applejack couldn’t help Rainbow, another was a red unicorn, he was the one who trapped Rainbow, the last one was a Pegasus, we didn’t get a look at her color since we were dragging Applebloom, she had tackled Applejack when we were almost here,” The Elements all looked shocked to hear that Applejack and Rainbow were not only gone, but they were trapped.

        Twilight said, “Well it’s too dangerous to get going out there now, we will just have to wait and see what happens, they may have another trap planned for us.”

        Applebloom cried, “But we gotta save um now!” And everybody felt bad, they knew they could do nothing to help the inevitable but not doing anything bad to.  Applebloom cried throughout the whole night, she wanted her sister back more than anything else in the world, why does she have to lose her sister the day she got her back, she wanted to show off all the new things she has learned.  Scootaloo griefed the whole night over Rainbow Dash, she had missed her with all her heart, she knew that they had a special bond together, she always thought of her as a big sister, her family that she had was a very odd one, they lived on the ground instead of Cloudsdale and they always ignored her, they were always busy and had no time for anything, they never met her friends, never went to anything at school, they were never even home.  She did mess them but Rainbow was the only pony to ever really take care of her and enjoy her company, most ponies always hated her company since it usually had to do with being covered in tree sap, having their things destroyed, or anything that they would try but fail at to get their cutie marks.  Sweetie Bell was with her sister the whole night, she was so happy that she could see her again, she had a feeling that she was never going to see her again so this was one of the few things she wished for, when everything happened she was left alone with the Cutie Mark Crusaders.  Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were some of the school children who were to try to help out the guards, they were killed in the end since they served no use.  The rest of the children were weeded out and eventually were killed or left to starve to death.  It was a terrible sight to see, the survivors after the guards left looted stores, homes, they were so desperate they killed other ponies for things they had, the Crusaders had all hid in the boutique since it was already looted and Sweetie Bell wanted to stay there since it helped her cope with the situation around them.  The morning hit and slowly they all awoke, immediately it was obvious to the Elements that the kids have not eaten in days, they didn’t notice it last night since it was so dark, they fetched some of the apples from the basement that had survived the long wait, most were rotten but some were still good.  Twilight finally got the nerve to ask, “What happened that fateful day girls?” The Crusaders all looked in unison, they started to cry, Scootaloo took the lead.

        *****

        It was a dark and stormy day, me and the Crusaders were hyped up about another attempt at our cutie marks, we were near the school when it happened, we were trying to see if we could be guides in the rain, it failed a lot.  We were guiding ponies around when we heard a loud scream, then more screams, we looked in the direction and saw Canterlot was actually deploying hundreds of pegasi all over, some were heading towards their town, the ones that have gotten to the town were stained red, we had no idea why.  We also saw lots of ponies running our way, we wondered what was happening then we saw it, a guard pony came into the crowd and actually was killing the ponies, his helmet sliced through at least four ponies in the first run alone, me and the girls started to freak out, we started to run away from the group.  The group that we ran from all of a sudden all dropped dead, there was a pony in front of them, it was one of the smaller unicorn guard ponies, he was glowing bright pink, any pony near him just dropped, no marks on their body.  We ran to the Everfree forest and hid there.  We heard the screams for at least two days, lots of crashes, metal on metal, helmet on helmet, some ponies started to rebel but it died down after the fourth day.  After the fourth day the streets were littered with bodies, some were of the Royal Guard, majority were of the ponies, some had helmets on to, they looked as if they were rebelling but merely fell to the shear strength of the guard.  We saw most of the town burned down, we started looking for you all, you were nowhere to be found, we saw the occasional roamer, they were a lot more common in the first few weeks, eventually majority of them died of or were enslaved.  We hid in Rarity’s boutique.  We survived off of what was left for about two months, after that the food ran out.  We then started roaming the town trying to scavenge whatever was left, it was hard and it gave little to reward, but it kept us alive.  Sugarcube Corner was looted before anywhere so anything there should be gone by now.  I tried to fly constantly and had many failed attempts, eventually I got the hang of it, it helped us alot so I could fly around town looking for things, it may have saved our life since were were about seven months in, we have had no food for about a week now, it is all just about gone, thats pretty much our story, well other than you all came back.

        *****

        The Elements all gasped from the horror of the story Scootaloo had just told, they had a idea on how bad it was, but this was far worse that they could have imagined, it’s a miracle that they survived.  The room stood silent for about ten minutes, they had to absorb the story, it hurt the Crusaders to relive the story, it was something they did not want to repeat.

        Twilight finally broke the silence and said, “I’m so sorry girls, if there is anything we can do, just say it.” Forcing tears from her eyes.  The other Elements nodded to that statement, the Crusaders were starting to cry.  They were just happy they were able to see them again, all that was left was to save Rainbow and Applejack.

        All of a sudden a little green fire popped up in the middle of them, a scroll fell out of it.  They all just stare at it, doing nothing.  Twilight finally picked it up and opened it.

Dear Elements,

This is Korve, we found a bottle of dragon fire and sent it to you, we were able to locate you since you’re giving off strong magic signatures, we fear that there may be more than just you in Ponyville, we got readings of a strong magic being used in the least twelve hours, it did not match any of yours so we are informing you before it is too late, remember, you’re our only hope.  Your best bet would be to try to get out of Ponyville, and soon.  If one of you are separated, you have to reunite, your strongest together, use the Elements, wear them all the time, they are what keep you safe.

        The ponies all looked surprised after hearing the letter.  Twilight said, “Girls, we need to put the Elements on and find Dash and AJ, Korve is right, its our only hope.”

        The Crusaders all of a sudden burst out saying, “Korve!  The Commander of the resistance?  You know him!  Where are they?”

        Twilight said, “Girls, first of, yes we know Korve, he kept us safe for the time we were absent, second, they are somewhere near Fillydelphia, third, we really must not focus on him, they sent us here to survive, I doubt we will receive any help.  It’s good to know for sure that he is on our side now though.”  The Crusaders were all hyped to know that the resistance were helping them, or were at least.  The Elements all started to walk into the barns main room where the Elements were held, they slowly put on their Element, Twilight put Dash’s and AJ’s Element in her bag so she could give it to them when needed.  She announced that they were going after the group of ponies that took AJ and Dash.

        *****

        Rainbow woke up in this small cage, just barely big enough for her to stand up in, she had a bowl of food scraps in front of her, she kicked it aside, she saw a big blue pony just outside of the room, he looked as if he was guarding the room, to his right was Applejack, she was still asleep.

        Rainbow said, “Applejack wake up!  Were trapped!”  Applejack slowly got up and looked around, she refused to talk, Dash knew why, she wanted to see her sister again.  Dash got mad and started yelling at the blue earth pony to come over here and face her, obviously he ignored her.

        *****

        Link, “Good job guys, you may not be a pathetic lot of imbeciles like I thought you were.” Shark and Pill smiled, they are used to her calling them names.  The cyan pegasus in the cage was screaming at them yelling nonsense words about when she gets out.  The orange earth pony was sitting quietly in her cage, refusing to talk at all.

Shark said, “Link, what are we gonna do with them?”

Link responded, “Well we can’t kill them yet, we need to get them all.  We need to be on constant watch to make sure they don’t escape or their friends don’t try and rescue them, I can almost guarantee you they will try.”

Shark said, “I guess you're right,”

        Link glared at him and said, “I always am right.”

        *****