“The winds have foretold, that in our darkest hour, a hero will rise from the crowd. A mare with great power, and knowledge in the art of laughter and friendship. It is she, who will combine the now fractured elements from their burning hate and into a powerful alliance. It is she, who will raise an army of brave and heroic ponies, and banish all evil from our now destroyed land, and bring peace back to Equestria.”
- The Prophecy of the Pink Mare.
As the sun slowly made its way across the clear blue sky, a pink figure lay on a grassy hilltop. The pink mare was taking a respite from all the noise that was common in town. Ponies yelling at each other, fillies playing around in the sun and just the general noise from ponies going about their day.
The pink mare was known by the name of Pinkie Pie or 'Pinkie', as her friends would call her, or had called her. It had been nearly a year since her friends had left each other. As the story goes, Pinkie had once been a part of group of six unique friends. Each friend represented an element from something known as 'The Elements of Harmony'.
The first of them, Rainbow Dash, was known for being a friend that you could always count on when you needed her. She represents the element of Loyalty. Then there was Fluttershy, the kindest pony Pinkie had ever known. She had a vast knowledge of animals and loved to take care of them, but wasn't the greatest when it came to being social with other ponies. Fluttershy represented the element of Kindness.
The third pony, was Applejack. She was a honest and strong work pony, who would always be ready to fight by your side. She's a part of the Apple Family, a rather large family, known all around Equestria for their skill in farming. Applejack was the element of Honesty.
The next of the elements is Rarity. She is very beautiful pony that takes pride in her appearance. She also ran a successful business out of her home which made her a well-known fashionista. She held the element of Generosity.
The last but most certainly not least of Pinkie Pie's friends, was Twilight Sparkle. The personal student of Princess Celestia, and the key element that would hold the girl's friendship intact. Twilight represented the element of Magic.
And then there was Pinkie Pie, proudly representing her element. The element of Laughter. Their friendship had lasted for almost 5 years, and it all began the night they defeated Nightmare Moon, but that is another story.
As the years passed, these 6 friends had been on various adventures and each time learned something new about each other, and giving them a stronger bond. But, one day they each went their own path. Agreeing that they would never talk to each other again, because a strong source hatred had cast itself upon them. As their corrupted friendship fell apart, so did the land that they were supposed to keep in harmony and peace.
Three years have passed, since they all went their own way, and as the time went on, the five ponies had each created a kingdom of their own. Equestria, the kingdom these ponies were living in, had now been torn into five different kingdoms. Each of these kingdoms had a furious hatred for each other. There was no doubt that one day, these kingdoms would wage war with each other. As for Pinkie, she was the only one who had yet to start a kingdom, mostly because she did not have hatred for the others like they did.
Rainbow Dash had moved up into the northern Crystal Mountains with the rest of the pegasi from Cloudsdale, after it fell into the hooves of The Royal Empire. Rainbow Dash, who saved most of the population during the attack, had now been crowned leader of the pegasi roaming the cold north. Her province is now known as the New Pegasi Republic, or NPR.
Twilight Sparkle, due to her connections with Princess Celestia, joined forces with them to help bring justice and order back to Equestria, thus forming The Royal Empire. They destroyed everypony who denied their way of life. The Royal Empire lies within the heart of Equestria, the center of everything, having Canterlot as its capital.
To the far east of Equestria's coast, roamed the only empire known for their golden armor and heavy weaponry. They bring more than a few looks on the battlefield. Ruled by Lady Rarity, this is the only empire that is roaming the seas. With their huge battleships and frigates, there was no doubt that they controlled the sea. There is no official name for this empire, but since most of their reputation comes from their raids on shipping lanes and attacks on costal, they had been given the name of the Equestrian Pirates.
In the western province of Equestria, lies the land of enchantment and mythical creatures, all of them controlled by the one and only, Fluttershy. She had taken western Equestria, due to its large animal population, both ordinary and mythical, transformed it into a kingdom. It is said that Fluttershy has overcome her fear for dragons and has raised an army of fire breathing monsters to fight by her side. Whether these rumors are true, no one knew. All Pinkie Pie knew, was that Fluttershy has overtaken the entire west side of Equestria, and it had been a bloody mess from what she had heard. This was something which had surprised her, since she knew how sensitive and kind Fluttershy could be. But of course she had her moments from time to time, where even Pinkie Pie couldn't tell if it really was Fluttershy.
The last of her group of friends was Applejack. She and her family moved down south, where relatives of the Apple family had settled down after the defeat of Nightmare Moon. Applejack had automatically been declared leader of the entire "Apple Kingdom", as they called themselves, since she was the one who had convinced them that non Apple family related ponies were not welcome in their province. Not much is heard about, nor from the Apple Kingdom, since nopony is allowed to enter their territory.
As for Pinkie Pie, she was currently living in Ponyville as she has been for many years now. She lives with the Cakes family who owned Sugar Cube Corner, which was very popular due to it fantastic cakes and treats. Pinkie Pie had moved to Ponyville when she was just a small filly. She was born and raised on a rock farm, which her parents owned. Along with Pinkie Pie, there were three other fillies who had lived with her on the farm, they were her sisters. Each following their own path, once Pinkie's parents passed away. Abandoning the rock farm and leaving it as a memorial for their parents.
Ponyville wasn't under the influence of a kingdom, since Mayor Mare had begged Princess Celestia for Ponyville to be an independent town. They felt they had nothing to do with the conflict which was slowly getting more and more noticeable throughout Equestria. Princess Celestia accepted the mayor's request, but Royal guards would still be around, to keep an eye out for any intruders from the other kingdoms.
Now years later, Pinkie Pie had been living her own life in the peaceful town of Ponyville. She had never really thought about how she would react if a world war across Equestria would break out, and she surely didn't wanted to find out. All Pinkie Pie wanted was for her friends to come back to her, back to their normal lives, as friends, as the Elements of Harmony. If only she knew how to get them back, she would do anything to make it happen.
Chapter I: Pinkie Problems
Pinkie Pie was slowly calming her mind. Letting the chilly breeze pass by, the tall grass tickling her fur, and the warmth of the sun filling her mind with joy. A tall shadow suddenly blocked the sunny light and Pinkie Pie, out of pure instinct, grabbed her sword next to her. Pointing it at the tall figure, she looked up only to see to her surprise... Discord?
"By Celestia, you scared the living pink outta me, what are you doing here Discord?" Pinkie said, lowering her sword back into its original place in the grass.
"Oh, terribly sorry dear. I did not see you there. This tall grass made it nearly impossible to spot you. Though I must say, that by your natural pink color, you should be pretty easy to spot..."
"Discord! I asked what you are doing here."
Discord had stopped talking, as he saw the serious face Pinkie had on. With the help of his magic, he took a rock lying on the ground and turned it into a chair. Pinkie didn't have time for this, she had other things to do... Like napping.
"Well, Pinkie... I was actually looking for you earlier this morning because I wanted to tell you something. You see the thing is..."
Discord had to pause, thinking about how he should tell Pinkie Pie this, without her getting mad at him.
"Come on Discord, what is keeping you from what you are trying to say. Spit it out."
"I'm leaving Ponyville for a while, I have some business to do in the western province. Fluttershy asked for me, and it's been quite a while since I have talked to her, you know... After you girls went your own way? Communication hasn't really been great between us. I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can."
As soon as Pinkie heard that name, a sudden urge to cry swept over her. But she held her emotions back. she had never cried in front of her mentor, and she intended to keep it that way. She didn't quite know how Discord would react if she had started crying. Maybe he would think that she was not worthy of the training he had been giving her since her friends left her.
Discord and Pinkie Pie had not really known each other that well. Pinkie Pie had her own friends at the time. Only Fluttershy had been kind and understanding towards Discord. After their friendship had been shattered, Pinkie Pie had seen that same kindness and friendliness from Discord.
For the first few weeks after their friendship broke apart, Discord had been there for Pinkie Pie. He was there helping her with her depression. He had never seen Pinkie like that before, well only once, and that time it was his fault as he had transformed her. But this time it was worse, a lot worse than he had thought. He had sworn that he would do anything to help her get back on her hooves. He did this by taking care of her and guiding her back to her normal appearance.
"I understand, besides, you two were really good friends, and I know how much she loved you... So uhh, when are you leaving?"
Discord, surprised by her answer, jumped around bursting random fireworks into the air. It was only after a few minutes that he regained enough control to sit down again.
"Well, I'm leaving next week. So we will have plenty of time to practice those combat skills of yours. Though I must say you are getting pretty good at it by now." Discord said, pointing at Pinkie Pie's sword shining in the grass.
"Yeah well, I learned from the best you know. Without you Discord, I wouldn't even know how to hold a sword." Pinkie smiled at him, making him blush a little.
He was like her second father, especially since her parents had passed away years ago. So now Pinkie Pie was an apprentice of Discord, learning how to defend herself in these dark times. She had been training with wooden swords and sticks, learning new techniques every day. They had been training ever since she had gotten over her depression, and Pinkie Pie was becoming stronger every time they trained. Discord was sure that in time, she would become even stronger than he was.
"Oh Pinkie, you're making me blush... Now, I'm going to go prepare for some new training techniques that I've learned. Meet me at the old castle in the Everfree forest, and bring your sword with you."
"You know I always have it with me, in these times you never know who you will meet on the road." Pinkie said with a smile on her face as Discord waved goodbye as he flew off into the distance.
***
Walking through the streets of Ponyville was always a joy for Pinkie, even in these dark times. Not much had changed in Ponyville. The only difference was the massive amount of royal guards that had been deployed there. The ponies in Ponyville still seemed happy enough with the small changes, which had happened. There was no one arguing about and the citizens of Ponyville wanted to keep it that way.
There was only one change which had a major effect on the residents of the town. When the large amount of royal guards had been deployed to Ponyville they needed a place to treat as their barracks. Due to this need the school house had been closed to be converted into a barracks for the soldiers.
Other than that, Pinkie Pie found that Ponyville was a very pleasant place to live. As long as other ponies were happy, so was she. There was still some time before she had to go practice with Discord at the old castle, like they usually did. Pinkie loved whenever she had the chance to train with him. She enjoyed learning new moves and tricks with her sword. Even though she only intended to use her sword when it was needed.
Without Pinkie Pie noticing, she had walked to the very edge of Ponyville, she only had to walk down the small dirt road towards the Everfree forest, and... Fluttershy's old cottage. A chill ran down Pinkie's back, as came to the point where the road forked. Sitting between the two roads was a sign with two arrows, each pointing in opposite directions.
"Everfree Forest, turn left."
"Animal Health Care, Fluttershy, turn right."
It took some time for Pinkie to get her concentration back, but after standing there for a few minutes just staring at the sign she finally managed to decide that it would be best to meet up with Discord at the castle, rather than revisiting old memories which would surely leave her in a poor mood for training.
Pinkie slowly walked through the dark forest, even in the middle of the day the Everfree still had a creepy feel to it. After crossing a small river she finally came to a hanging bridge that separated the forest from the small opening where the castle stood (or what was left of it).
Pinkie came to the front gate and Discord greeted her, on his back was a small knapsack,most likely full of training equipment, Pinkie thought.
"Ahh Pinkie, good to see you. For a second there I thought you'd might have trouble finding your way. Discord smirked as he continued. Shall we begin the training?" Discord said, already on his way inside before Pinkie could answer.
"Sure thing, so... What do you have for me this time, I’m getting bored of just fighting dolls that can't defend themselves.
Discord looked back at Pinkie with a surprised look since this was her first time coming up with a question like that.
"Well, I do believe I know a spell or two to make those dolls more of a challenge for you, But I kind of hoped that we could practice with a bow this time, if that's fine with you?"
"Hmm, never really used a bow before so this should be interesting, sure let's give it a try."
They kept walking for a few minutes, through dusty old halls and large rooms mostly filled with bookshelves, statues, and a few damaged chairs. Finally they came to the dining room, which was the room they usually trained in. This room had a lot of space once they removed the huge wooden table and chairs that dominated the room. On the floor was a large rose red carpet, which, by the look of it had been greatly damaged during the destruction of this place, way back in pony history.
"Now, go ahead and get ready while I set up some targets, the bow and arrows are in my backpack. Go ahead and get used to the feel of it"
Pinkie walked to the little backpack lying in the corner, as she slowly opened it, a few arrows fell and landed on the floor beside her. She pulled out a long and decorated wooden bow, with steel tips on both of its ends to hold the thin string. Pinkie noticed some odd markings carved into the bow, all over it.
"Uh, Discord... What are these markings on the bow?" Pinkie said, showing them to Discord.
"I'm actually not sure dear, I got the bow from a traveler I met a long time ago. I must say that I've never really noticed these markings before, I’ll try and study them some more while I'm gone." Discord said, examining the bow closely before giving it back to Pinkie.
When the targets were finally ready, Pinkie found her spot on the small shooting pad that Discord had placed. With the bow in her left hoof and the arrows in a quiver on her right side, just above her front leg. She took an arrow out and placed it gently on the bow, slowly drawing it back. Pinkie took a deep breath before releasing the arrow letting it fly towards the targets, but instead of hitting any of the targets, it found its way through one of the windows directly above the targets. The air filled with the sound of shattering glass as the shards fell towards the floor.
"Oh dear, maybe I should show you how it's done before you tear this whole place down." Discord said with a rather concerned tone, but couldn't hold back a small chuckle.
"Damn, I’m so sorry Discord I didn't mean to, it just slipped out my hooves and..." Pinkie couldn't continue, tears had started to flow down her face as her emotions got the best of her. Discord watched Pinkie as she made her way to one of the chairs, which was placed up against the wall. A short time after he decided to go sit with her, he knew that they couldn't continue training, not with Pinkie like that.
"Now Pinkie, please stop crying. You know I hate when you do that, why don't you come sit here next to me and tell me, what went wrong back there?"
With the help of his magic Discord created a bench for them to sit on as he waited for her to join him. Pinkie took some time before finally take a seat on the bench, his hand came around her shoulders and the warmth of Discord slowly filled her with joy and happiness again. She cuddled closer to him nearly falling asleep in his arms, after some time she slowly began gain control of her tears.
"Now Pinkie, tell me what's wrong." Discord said, with his arm still around her.
It took Pinkie some time to find the right words to convey her feelings, and her crying didn't help at all. A minute or so she then finally spoke up, as well as she was capable of.
"I'm sorry Discord, I didn't want you to see me crying I know how you don't like it, but I just couldn't control myself. I started thinking about them, the elements... My friends, they meant so much to me and yet they just left me, for what, some stupid argument?" Pinkie's voice slowly had gotten more angry and serious, as she started talking about her friends. It was a mixture of anger, hate, sadness, and... Betrayal, yes, that was the word she had been looking for... Betrayal, it felt so wrong to say about her friends and yet, so right. After all, they were the ones who had betrayed her, not the other way around. Without noticing, Pinkie had started crying again. Not as much as before, but still enough to make tears drip down her pink face.
"Look Pinkie, I think we should skip training for today. I can't train you looking like that, why don't we go home and get some tea and cupcakes, I think it would help?" Discord wiped the tears from her face and giving her mane a quick brush with his hand. She agreed with a weak nod, and as they both started walking away, Discord gave a quick clap with and all the training gear disappeared, the bow and arrows gently flying back into his backpack as he put it on.
***
Walking back through the Everfree forest felt like took forever for Pinkie Pie. Her hooves had started to hurt and all she just wanted to do was to go home, and skip training for a few days. As they kept walking, dark clouds had begun to form above them and, before they noticed, it started raining, not very hard but still hard enough to cause both of them and their gear to get pretty wet. They started walking faster and soon they made it to the wet dirt road that Pinkie had been walking on, not even an hour ago.
"Look Pinkie, we won't make it home without getting incredibly wet and, I know you won't like this idea but... we could crash at Fluttershy's cottage, it is abandoned after all and I really don't want to catch the cold right before I’m about to start a long trip?" Discord looked at Pinkie as they neared the fork in the two roads.
As much as Pinkie hated the idea of staying at Fluttershy's cottage for the night, she knew that Discord was right. Before they'd get home they would already be soaking wet, and most likely have caught a cold. Pinkie had to agree with him, and she did so by giving him a small nod.
They rushed towards the cottage, as the rain had turned into a storm that would be far too dangerous for them to travel in. As they ran, they saw the cottage in the distance just near the beginning of the forest. The windows were pitch black and it gave the usually calming place a dark gloom over it. Both of them took no time to fiddle with the door as they kicked it open, revealing a dark and mostly empty living room.
Discord quickly ignited the cold fireplace with his magic, since both of them were pretty soaked and cold from the storm raging outside. Pinkie made her way upstairs to find some blankets and pillows, only to be stopped by something on the wall which made her heart skip a beat. Hanging there on the wall right next to Fluttershy's room, was a picture of all six of them. A picture which Pinkie clearly remembered. Pinkie took the picture down to examine it further. All six of them where there, Applejack, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Rarity, Twilight and herself. All of them were looking happily into the camera, the Elements of Harmony.
"Pinkie, are you alright up there?" Discord called from the lit up living room.
"Yeah, I’m fine... I'll keep looking for those blankets, could you maybe see if there's any food around, I’m getting kinda hungry?" Pinkie replied, not taking her eyes of the picture she still had in her hoof.
"Sure thing dear, I’ll be downstairs if you need me."
Pinkie folded the picture up and stuffed it into her saddlebags, she then continued into Fluttershy's room to look for some blankets and pillows. Later on she returned downstairs, where the light and heat from the fire gave the living room a comfortable feel to it. Pinkie threw what she had found on top of the couch and walking into the kitchen, only to find Discord working on dinner. He had found some cans stored on the top shelf, it was nothing special, just some beans and vegetables.
After eating the meal in front of the still burning fire, Pinkie finally decided to grab a few pillows and a blanket, trying to get comfortable as she knew Discord would start the conversation first.
"So? Do you wanna tell me what happened earlier today?" Discord said, finally finishing his meal, though he preferred meat rather than canned food.
"Sure. You see, as I was walking towards the castle. I came across the sign that showed the correct path to Fluttershy's cottage, and the thought of her has been stuck in my head since then. I know you've told me, not to mix my training up with my feelings, but..." Pinkie stopped, as she remembered the picture she had found upstairs.
"When I was upstairs, I found this. I was thinking maybe you could take it with you, when you leave Ponyville." Pinkie slowly pulled the picture from her saddlebags, and gave it to Discord.
"But, why? This picture has nothing to do with me. I mean, I know we were friends with them once, but why would I want to bring it with me on my journey?" Discord asked, as he looked from the picture to Pinkie.
"I was wondering if you could... Maybe give it to Fluttershy once you got there, as a reminder to her. That there's still one out of her four enemies, who's actually still her friend." Pinkie struggled not to let her tears get the best of her, but failed badly at just the thought of Fluttershy again. Discord noticed, quickly putting an arm around Pinkie once more.
Few minutes later the two of them were cuddled up near the fire, Pinkie had cried herself to sleep as Discord had slowly stroked her mane. Of course would he bring the picture to Fluttershy, after all you're both my friends and I would do anything to make you happy again. As Discord looked once more at the photo, thinking back to when they had been the best of friends. He slowly fell into a deep sleep, with the picture still in his hand and Pinkie next to him, dreaming back to time where everything was just perfect for him and the mane six.
***
The early light of the rising sun finally came through the small windows, where Pinkie and Discord were still sleeping. Only able to wake up pinkie, as Discord was just tall enough to avoid the beam of light to his face. Carefully sneaking out of Discords arms and into the kitchen to find a piece of paper and a pen, so that she could write a small note for when he woke up, so that he knew where she had went. Minutes later Pinkie laid the piece of paper on the dinner table, as she made her way to the door, taking a final look at her sleeping mentor, dreaming and twitching his leg a little.
Pinkie walked the long road through the small patches of trees and rocks lying here and there, she noticed something strange in the distance, just above the top of some trees. Focusing a little more on what it was, Pinkie finally saw it. Smoke coming from Ponyville, and she was certain that it was not from any of the chimneys, something was burning.
Switching her pace to a gallop, she quickly made her way up the hill just before Ponyville, only to stare in fright... Ponyville was in flames.
