PURPOSE PART 3

"Are you sure there isn't a safer and just as fast way?!" Mudmane exclaimed in a worried tone as wind whipped through his mane.

"Trust me, Mudmane, we'd never make it on time if we did it your way!" Sapphire replied as she looked about herself for any signs of the supply carriage.

"I just think that we could of attached a harness to you or something so I wasn't at risk of-" Mudmane began to say only to lose his grip on the mare and fall off her back only to be caught by the mane by Sapphire who reacted quickly having realized the colt was falling off her leaving the colt dangling dangerously over fifty feet above Maretropolis. "My mane! Ow, ow,ow!" Mudmane cried out as gravity pulled against him creating very painful tension between his head and Sapphire's mouth as the two sailed through the skies.

"Bare with it for a little longer, we're almost there!" Sapphire shouted through gritted teeth as the two neared their destination.

"What did you say?!" Mudmane asked in a confused tone, looked down, gulped loudly, then looked back up at the Alicorn. "Ya know what? I can wait till we're safe on the ground for you to tell me." He added his facial expression and tone clearly showing fear for his life at the moment which overpowered the sheer pain he felt.

Several agonizing minutes later, Sapphire gently put Mudmane down before she landed next to him. "Ya know, if earth ponies were meant to fly, we'd have wings like you!" The colt remarked as he rubbed the back of his head and winced softly as the pain slowly subsided.

"Emerald already explained this to you, walking by hoof would have taken too long." Sapphire replied with an annoyed expression as she looked over at the colt who was still rubbing the back of his head with a pained expression.

Less than twenty minutes ago:

"We'll have to take a lot of shortcuts to make it but I think we can do it." Mudmane remarked as he looked over a map of the city he had placed on the floor moments prior.

"You two would have to run at full gallop the whole time to make it and Sapphire doesn't know the city streets as well as us." Emerald remarked as she limped over to the bed and laid in it, having shown them the location the supply carriage would be just now.

Mudmane looked up at the teen filly with an annoyed look. "Then what would you suggest?" He asked with a skeptical look.

"I don't know! I just know galloping there is going to attract alot of attention and you may miss them at this rate even if you galloped the whole way at full speed. Every minute we spend here is a minute lost!" Emerald retorted with a glare as she turned her head to look over at the two.

"Um, maybe you could fly there?" Chanceybell suggested meekly causing everypony to look at the filly who quickly hid her face behind her mane due to the sudden attention.

"Just one problem with your idea, Bell." Onyx chimed in. "Mudmane don't have wings!" The colt added in an agitated tone causing the filly to squeak in alarm at the colt's sudden volume increase in his voice.

"No, but Sapphire does." Emerald remarked with a smirk. "How much can you carry, Sapphire?" The teen filly inquired curiously.

"Well, back on my farm, I tugged a two hundred pound plow around the family farm." The Alicorn replied confidently unsure of what the filly was hinting at until it dawned on her. "Oh, I get it!" She added with a look of excitement.

Mudmane caught onto this as well and he didn't like the idea one bit. "I prefer to keep my hooves on the earth where they- beeeeeeeloooooooooong!" Mudmane began to say only for his final word to be extended by a panicked cry as the Alicorn scooped him up by diving under him and barely gave him enough time to wrap all four legs around the mare's waist as she rushed out the broken door and shortly after took off to the skies.

Current time:

"You can be very impulsive, you know that?" Mudmane remarked with an annoyed look at the Alicorn who smirked.

"So I've been told…" Sapphire replied as her smirk seemed to widen though she frowned moments later remembering it was Snowbreeze who was often the one to remind her of this.

Mudmane trotted up next to her and looked down towards the city streets. "Jumping from this height should be no issue for me." He remarked as he scanned his surroundings.

"Hope so unless you want me to carry you down." Sapphire replied with a mischievous grin as she turned her head to look at the colt whose ears folded flat with a scared expression.

"No, No! I'm good!" He replied in a semi-panicked voice much to the amusement of the Alicorn who giggled in response to this.

Mudmane however frowned as he looked at the streets once more. "I really hope you're ready for this, Sapphire." The colt remarked aloud in a serious tone which caused Sapphire to frown as well.

"I…" Sapphire began to say only to trail off and sigh heavily.

Mudmane placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. I get it. Nopony is ever ready to take a life and nopony should ever have to but this is a civil war we're fighting here. Even if we were the better pony and spared their lives, I'd bet my tail they wouldn't extend us the same courtesy. They'd ram those spears through our hearts without a second thought." The colt explained and sighed heavily himself.

"Not everypony who serves Stollhoof is heartless." Sapphire remarked softly.

"Maybe not but their fear of that tyrant and what he may do not only to them but their families won't let them hesitate." Mudmane replied in the same soft tone. "And neither should we if we want to protect those we love." He added his tone becoming its serious self once more.

A short silence passed between the two ponies before Sapphire felt compelled to ask. "Does it ever get easier? Taking a life?" The mare's voice was saddened as she asked this.

Mudmane sighed heavily once more in response to this question. "Believe it or not, it doesn't. You just get used to suppressing that sickening feeling in your gut that makes you feel like you're worth less than the dirt you're walking on." The colt responded not looking the Alicorn in the eye as he spoke now. "I have to tell myself everytime we go on one of these missions that I can't hesitate, I can't hold back. Because the moment I show any sign of weakness, these ponies will pounce and unlike me, they won't hesitate." The teen colt added and sighed once more.

"Valuing life doesn't make you weak, Mudmane." Sapphire reasoned her gaze not having left the colt's face as he continued to look down at the streets below.

Upon hearing this, the colt looked at Sapphire with a saddened smile. "I wish I had your optimistic outlook, Sapphire. Unfortunately, that line of thinking will get a pony killed out here." he finished.

Sapphire's expression once more became saddened as she spoke. "When I lose control. It feels like I'm not myself anymore. I've killed ponies while that power has control over me but they've all been evil ponies from the Dark Horn. Still, I keep telling myself over and over that the mare who killed them isn't me…" The Alicorn said as tears streamed down her cheeks now. "But I can't keep telling myself that lie. My Alicorn magic is part of me and as much as I want to deny it, killing those evil ponies made me feel proud, as if I knew deep down it had to be done and I was the only one who could do it, No, I should be the only one who should have to take a pony's life. It's my responsibility as the Alicorn to maintain peace and harmony in Equestria, but when I look back at those lives I've taken… it eats at my very soul, Mudmane! Every life I've taken feels like a part of me that's been ripped away from my soul and I can never get those pieces back!" The mare exclaimed as tears streamed from her eyes now as she looked at Mudmane.

Mudmane put a comforting hoof on the sobbing mare's shoulder as she cried and sighed heavily. "You don't have to do this, you know. I can go down there alone. I may not look it but I'm a very capable fighter." The colt said softly as the mare cried softly, still looking him in the face.

For a moment, the Alicorn considered taking him up on his offer, however instead she choked back her tears, sniffled loudly, and wiped the tears from her eyes before she spoke. "No, you shouldn't have to do this alone. I agreed to this and I can't back out now." She said matter of factly.

"Just thought I'd offer. I had no idea this kind of thing weighed so heavily on you." Mudmane remarked softly.

"I'm not a foal, Mudmane. I know the fight against the Dark Horn won't end with balloons, confetti, and streamers." Sapphire began only to sigh once more. "I just wish there was another way." She finished before looked back down at the city streets.

"Well, you're the legendary Alicorn, right? If anypony in this world can find another way to bring peace to Equestria, it's you." Mudmane stated with a smile which caused Sapphire to look back and smile in return.

Just then, the faint sound of wooden wheels on dirt could be heard by the Alicorn which snapped her attention in the direction of the sound. "Looks like the heart to heart is over, the carriage is approaching." Sapphire remarked aloud in a serious tone.

This remark caused Mudmane to look about the streets for a few moments only to look back at the mare in confusion. "Really? I don't see or hear anything." He remarked aloud looking confused.

"I have much better hearing than the average pony, Mudmane. Trust me, give it a few minutes and you'll hear it too. We should get into position." Sapphire replied, took off from the rooftop, and landed quietly beside a nearby home.

"Guess I'll just have to take her word for it." Mudmane remarked to himself, leapt off the roof and onto a Pergola, and gently springed off it to the ground, and moved to the other side of the street beside another house.

Sure enough, the colt soon heard the faint sounds of wooden wheels on dirt approaching and the now distant view of two ponies clad in royal armor strapped in harnesses who were pulling a large carriage accompanied by a group of six other royal guards slowly came into view.

"It's been pretty uneventful this evening." One of the guard ponies pulling the carriage remarked as they approached Sapphire and Mudmane unaware of their presence.

"I heard the king found some outside help to track down and eliminate those radicals we've been hearing about." The other guard pony pulling the carriage remarked.

"Oh? Really?" The left guard pony remarked in mild surprise as unbeknownst to them, Sapphire and Mudmane had just ambushed the two rear guards quietly leaving them laying on the ground as the two ponies moved up on the midsection of the carriage.

"Yeah, they should have all been either captured or killed by now so it's smooth sailing all the way to the castle." The right guard pony replied as Sapphire wrapped her hooves around the midsection guard's muzzle and quickly dragged him away with barely an audible panicked yet heavily muffled cry as Mudmane did the same to the guard pony on the opposite side.

"You hear that?" The left pony remarked aloud as he looked about himself suspiciously.

"Hear what? Stallion, you are too tense, I already told you, there's nothing to-" The right guard began to say only for Sapphire and Mudmane to swiftly yank the guards who were patrolling beside them away. "Holy buck! We're under attack! We're under-" The guard pony began shouting only for Sapphire to slug the stallion across the face with his hoof which caused him to fall forward unconscious which caused the carriage to suddenly veer to the right and come to a halt barely stopping short of a nearby house.

The left guard pony quickly undid his harness and attempted to make a run for it only to get tripped by Mudmane causing him to fall flat on his underside, skidding a few feet before looking up to see Sapphire and Mudmane approaching him. "The Legendary Alicorn?!" The guard exclaimed in shock and disbelief.

"In the flesh." Sapphire replied with a cocky smirk as Mudmane approached.

"Sorry about this but there can be no witnesses." Mudmane remarked darkly as he raised his front hooves in preparation to crush the temporarily incapacitated stallion's skull.

"No!" Sapphire nearly screamed as she bit onto Mudmane's mane and yanked him back causing him to fall backwards onto the ground.

"What are you doing, Sapphire?! I already told you, we can't hesitate!" Mudmane exclaimed angrily at the Alicorn. "Don't tell me you've been just knocking out all those guards?!" Mudmane exclaimed in realization.

"I don't care! Taking lives isn't the way! You said it yourself, if anypony can find another way, it's me!" Sapphire argued back as the guard pony slowly got to his hooves unsure if he could outrun these two or not but more so in shock that the legendary Alicorn stood before his eyes.

"I know I said that but if we let this guard live, he's going to go tell the king and we can't afford to be raided tonight while Emerald is still recovering!" Mudmane shot back before his gaze shifted to the guard pony who gave him a fearful expression as the colt approached him only to be yanked by the tail by Sapphire.

"I won't let you take another life, Mudmane!" Sapphire exclaimed fiercely after she let go of his tail.

"Then what do you suggest we do about him?! If we let him go he's going to-" Mudmane began to shout back until the sound of the guard pony falling to his hind knees and striking a praying gesture spoke.

"I won't tell anypony, I swear! You two were never here!" He exclaimed as he continued his pleading gesture to the colt and mare.

"I'd be inclined to believe you if not for your tyrant king torturing the information out of you. Face it, Stallion. I'd be doing you a favor. With me, it'd be quick and painless and the king would never find out we were here in the first place. "Mudmane replied with a dark and serious tone as he spoke.

"I already told you, Mudmane! You're not taking another life while I'm around!" Sapphire exclaimed with a glare as the colt looked back at her with a glare of his own.

"You heard me, Sapphire! Even if he's telling the truth, what's the king going to do when this guard turns up without the supplies he's supposed to be delivering! He's going to be dragged to the dungeons and tortured until he talks!" Mudmane reasoned, still glaring at the Alicorn.

"I won't tell them anything I swear! I can disappear! Besides, my mother often told me stories of the legendary Alicorn as a foal, you're my hero! I would never betray the one who will bring peace and harmony to Equestria!" The guard exclaimed his facial expression desperate now.

"You heard him, Mudmane. Let him go." Sapphire said sternly.

Mudmane turned his gaze to the pleading guard then back to Sapphire then once more back to the pleading guard before he looked down slightly, closed his eyes, slammed a hoof on his forehead, and sighed heavily. "I'm going to regret this…" he remarked under his breath before he looked at the guard with a glare. "Get out of our sight and I swear, if I even see one guard approach within thirty feet of our hideout, I'll hunt you down to the ends of Equestria." Mudmane said in a threatening tone. "And trust me, I'm very good at tracking ponies, You won't be able to hide from me." He added darkly.

"Oh thank you! Thank you! I'll disappear! They will never find me, I swear!" The guard exclaimed, stood up to all fours and galloped away in the opposite direction.

"You best hope we did the right thing, Sapphire." Mudmane remarked with a disapproving gaze at the mare who smiled back at him.

"Sparing a life is always the right thing to do." Sapphire replied warmly to which the colt sighed and the two looked at the derailed carriage. "So, what do we do with the supplies?" The Alicorn inquired curiously.

"Normally we'd take what we could and give it to ponies in need but Emerald said this shipment contained refined Poison Joke so even if there's food and supplies in it, we have to assume it's all tainted." The colt explained and sighed. "We're gonna have to torch it." He added dejectedly.

"Why is it all tainted? Isn't the Poison Joke in a secure container?" Sapphired asked, looking confused.

"Generally it is but it's not uncommon for the powder to leak from the container and if any pony were to digest that stuff…let's just say it's not pretty and often results in the death of the pony who consumed the stuff." Mudmane explained grimly.

"But wouldn't setting the whole thing on fire cause the Poison Joke to enter the air and affect nearby ponies?" Sapphire asked curiously.

"We're not gonna torch it here, that would endanger ponies like you said." Mudmane replied as he began to attach one of the harnesses to himself. "Strap yourself in Sapphire, we need to drag this carriage out of town and that's gonna take a few hours." Mudmane instructed.

"A few hours? Just how far is out of town?" Sapphire asked curiously.

"About eight miles that way. We have a bonfire just outside on the outskirts of the city complete with sparkstone for shipments like this that we can't give back to ponies and to burn any evidence of it being here to begin with." Mudmane explained gesturing in the direction the guard had run in several minutes ago.

Sapphire looked up to the sky upon hearing this, the moon was roughly in the middle of the sky now and she needed to be at the royal castle by sunrise or Snowbreeze's life would be in mortal peril. "I don't know if I have enough time to drag this carriage out of town and get back to the castle in time if we go at your pace." Sapphire remarked worriedly.

"If you're implying that I pull this thing on my own, that's impossible. Not even Firmhooves could drag one of these things out of town solo." Mudmane explained matter of factly.

"That's not what I was implying at all, Mudmane, take your harness off and get back to the hideout, I'll take this carriage out of town on my own and burn it." Sapphire said as she walked over to the carriage and began to strap herself in.

"Are you crazy?! I just got done saying that nopony can drag one of these huge things solo!" Mudmane exclaimed incredulously.

"Have you forgotten already, Mudmane? I'm an Alicorn. I'm ten times stronger than the average earth pony." Sapphire boasted as she placed a hoof on her chest with a prideful look.

"Even so, this isn't a two hundred pound plow, Sapphire. This thing weighs at least three hundred pounds and that's without cargo." Mudmane reasoned with a concerned look.

"Look, the longer we spend here arguing, the less time I have to get this thing out of town and burn it, now get back to the hideout and check on Emerald! Luna knows she's probably worried sick about you." Sapphire remarked with a soft smile.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that but you're right about one thing. I should check in on Emerald." Mudmane replied as he unstrapped himself from the carriage. "Are you sure you can lug this thing all the way out of town?" He added with a concerned look.

Sapphire rolled her eyes at this and sighed. "Yes, Mudmane. Watch!" Sapphire boasted and began pulling the carriage though with great difficulty at first but eventually she began to get it to move much to Mudmane's shock and awe.

"Well buck me in the horseapples, guess you weren't bluffing!" Mudmane remarked looking thoroughly impressed before he turned about face and waved. "See ya back at the hideout, Sapphire!" he exclaimed before he galloped off leaving the Alicorn alone now.

"Alright, let's get this thing to that bonfire!" Sapphire exclaimed aloud to herself and ran full gallop in the direction of the edge of town.

At first pulling the carriage was mildly difficult but manageable but now that the Alicorn was halfway out of town, the strain of pulling the carriage was really beginning to take its toll on the Alicorn. "Me and my big mouth… I'm only halfway there and i'm already feeling winded." she remarked aloud in annoyance.

Nearly twenty minutes later, Sapphire had nearly made it to the edge of town. However the Alicorn was quickly realizing the limits of her stamina. In a strange way, it made the mare feel a sense of relief to know even she had limitations like any other pony in Equestria. For the longest time, Sapphire felt isolated from other ponies, even after she met Snowbreeze, the Alicorn always felt there was an invisible barrier between her, other ponies, and even her closest friend. That barrier being the fact she was an Alicorn. The idea that no matter what she said or did, she was always going to be different from those around her. It was at this point that Rarity's words echoed in her mind.

"Don't be so full of yourself! You're no more a myth come to life than I am!"

These words seemed to resonate with the Alicorn now more than ever as she struggled to pull the carriage now, beads of sweat pouring down her from her head. "I…can't…stop…now! I'm…the…only…one…they…can…count…on! Have to…get this…out of…t-towwww…" Sapphire slurred her final words as the effects of overexerting herself finally took their toll on the mare and caused her to pass out.

The mare awoke with a start sometime later realizing she was no longer strapped into the harness and looked about herself in a panic thinking she may have been captured while unconscious but it quickly became apparent that she was laying next to a small bonfire while a much larger one burned loudly from afar. "Wait, I'm outside of town?" Sapphire remarked aloud in mildly bewilderment. "But who-"

"Land sakes filly, what in tarnation were you thinkin'? Pullin that thing all by yourself!"

A thick country accented mare called out as she approached Sapphire. Sapphire recognized this mare however almost immediately. "A-Appejack?! The element of honesty?" Sapphire remarked aloud and sighed as she slammed a hoof on her face and groaned. "What in Equestria do I need guidance on this time?!" The mare asked aloud in an annoyed tone as she attempted to stand up only to feel weak in the knees and immediately laid back down.

"Quick as a whip, ain't ya?" Applejack remarked with a smirk as she sat down next to the mare. "Don't ya worry your head none, I didn't come here to lecture ya. In fact, I came here to help ya." The farm mare remarked as she motioned over to the distant large bonfire.

"You pulled the carriage the rest of the way out here?! I thought you guys couldn't physically interact with the material world?" The Alicorn remarked curiously.

"In any other case, I'd reckon you'd be correct but speakin' as you needed the physical kind of help that only I can offer, I reckon the powers that be, let me lend ya a hoof." Applejack replied as she handed the mare a glass. "Drink up, finest Applecider this side of Apple Acres!" The farm mare boasted.

"But I thought I was the only one strong enough to pull that carriage alone?" The Alicorn remarked in confusion before she took a sip of the drink. "And where did you get apple cider from? I'm pretty sure your apple farm has been crop dust for at least two thousand years." She added skeptically.
"Consarn it all, would ya stop tryin' to apply logic to a magical spirit from the beyond already? It's already somethin' I'm still wrappin' my own head around and trust me, after a while, it'll drive ya bonkers.". Applejack replied with a smirk.

"I can't help it. When I'm presented with something unexplainable, my brain jumps for a logical explanation." Sapphire confessed and sighed.

"I hear ya there. I'm a down to ground pony myself. If somethin' doesn't make sense to me, I try to make it make sense. However, there's nothin' logical about me bein' here other than a greater power sendin' me here to help guide ya." Applejack remarked and sighed softly. "Ya know, its kinda nice, bein' able to feel the dirt beneath my hooves again." The farm mare remarked softly yet with an air of sadness in her voice.

"Where were you before this? I'd imagine the powers that be would let you have the happiest afterlife possible for all the good things you ponies did for Equestria." Sapphire remarked curiously.

"I actually don't remember where I was before I appeared here. All I knew was that I needed to help you along with all the memories I had when I was alive and well the fact that I'm in fact well… six feet under. Kinda funny ain't it?" The farm mare remarked aloud and sighed once again.

"Depressing is more like it. Most ponies don't talk about the concepts of life after death. Some believe we go to some great paradise in the sky if we were good ponies when we were alive or to some horrific never ending nightmare deep underground if we were bad ones but the truth is, we don't know what happens after we die and that very thought can be terrifying to some ponies so most don't like to talk about it. " The mare remarked aloud thoughtfully as she looked up at the starry sky.

"I won't lie to ya, I ain't lookin' forward to vanishin' into thin air and goin' back to wherever it is I came from after we're done here but I know I can't just not help ya or I wouldn't be true to myself. When I was alive, I loved every moment of it ya know. Course knowin' exactly when and how I died is also really unnerving but for some strange reason it doesn't make me feel sad or upset because I know I did everythin' I could for my family, friends, and the ones I love before I died." The farm mare remarked aloud, stood up and placed a hoof on Sapphire's shoulder. "Ya best drink that up and I'd reckon you'll be feelin' right as rain afterward."

Sapphire looked down at the nearly full cup of cider and back to Applejack. "Oh, right. Sure." The Alicorn remarked and downed the remainder of the contents of the cup in one gulp. As she set the cup down she suddenly felt energized, as if the weakness in her legs had vanished and more so, as if she hadn't pulled that carriage at all. "Holy buck! I feel amazing!" Sapphire remarked excitedly as she jumped to all fours.

Sapphire then looked over at Applejack curiously. "So is that the only reason you come to me? To help me pull the carriage out of town and give me this magical pick-me-up drink?" The mare asked.

"Well, there is one more thing. I ain't the beatin' around the bush kinda mare so I'll get to the point. Stop thinkin' you're the only one who can do everythin' on your own cuz ya can't. You may be an Alicorn but you're still a pony. A pony with very real limits even if they're higher than most ponies, ya still have your limits. Your friends are there for a reason, Sapphire. Trust em' and they'll never let ya down." Applejack replied as she turned to look at the mare.

"But there are some things only I can do! I can't ask my friends to fight the dark horn! That'd be suicide for them! It's because I'm an Alicorn that I have to fight them on my own as only my Alicorn magic can match their sheer magical power." Sapphire replied with a look of disbelief on her face at the fact that the element of honesty was asking her to sacrifice her friends.

"There ya go again, thinkin' you can do everythin' on your own! Listen to me sugarcube, you can tell your friends to stay out of your business all ya want but that won't stop em' from tryin' to help ya anyways and it's much easier to accept their help from the get-go than stubbornly turn em' down and end up takin' on way more than you can handle." Applejack replied and sighed. "Consarn ya, ya made a liar out of me, I told ya I wasn't here to lecture ya but here I am, lecturin'" She added with an annoyed look.

"So you're saying it's better to willingly send friends to their deaths and try to stop them?" Sapphire asked with an annoyed look at the farm mare.

"Ya mean to tell me, that you have no faith in your friends?" Applejack asked the Alicorn with a skeptical look on her face.

"Of course I do but there are things they can not do that I alone can!" Sapphire nearly shouted now getting very irritated with the farm mare.

"Your bein' down right thick-headed, ya know that? You're not the most powerful thing in Equestria! In fact, right now, you're the weakest thing in Equestria!" Applejack snapped at the mare.

"Excuse me?! I can pull a freaking three hundred pound plus carriage alone!" Sapphire shot back her temper rising.

"And how'd that pan out for ya?! Last I checked, I had to come and drag your flank plus the carriage the rest of the way out here after ya plum passed out cuz you pushed yourself too hard!" The farm mare snapped as she walked up to sapphire and butted heads with her.

"I had never tried to pull something so heavy on my own before, I made one little mistake! Even if you had never showed up, I would have been able to pull it the rest of the way when I came to!" Sapphire exclaimed as she pushed back against the farm mare.

"How many times do I have to tell ya?! You can't do everythin' on your own!" The farm mare exclaimed once more as slammed a hoof on her forehead and sighed. "I was sent to help ya because the powers that be knew you needed help and guidance. That's what our purpose is, to help and guide you and your friend." She added in a much calmer tone.

"So you can't just go and save Snowbreeze for me?" Sapphire asked hopefully though she expected the answer she got as the farm pony shook her head. The Alicorn then looked up to the sky, taking note that the moon was beginning to set. "If you can't save her, then I have to and I can't waste anymore time here." Sapphire remarked and attempted to take off for the skies only to feel her tail being tugged on preventing her from getting more than a foot off the ground.

"Whoa there, missy!" Applejack exclaimed through gritted teeth as she held onto the Alicorn's tail with all her might.

Realizing that she somehow was going to be unable to get any farther off the ground despite feeling like she should be able to, Sapphire reluctantly landed back on the ground at which point Applejack spit her tail out of her mouth. "You're not ready to face the Dark Horn!" The farm pony stated matter of factly.

"What do you mean by that? I've been handling them just fine!" Sapphire retorted in a slightly offended tone.

"No ya haven't! Don't lie to this pony cuz she knows everythin' you've been through and how ya made it out of every single little scrape. That Alicorn magic of yours isn't as fool proof as ya think it is. Ya think that if ya walk in there and get in yourself neck deep in pony manure that its gonna always be there to save your hide?" The farm mare asked with a skeptical look.

"It has so far unless i've used it recently so I don't see why it wouldn't work if things get bad in the castle." Sapphire replied though less confidently than before. Truth be told, she didn't know exactly how it worked or even how to trigger it. In fact, how was she able to prevent herself from entering her Alicorn state earlier? Usually once its starts she can't stop it but somehow she was able to push the power back. Was she getting better at controlling it or was something else at play that she wasn't aware of?

"Wrong! If you can't control your Alicorn magic, you can't keep relyin' on it to activate every time your tail is on the line! You need to rely on your friends more than that consarned Alicorn magic of yours! That's what I've been tryin' to get through that thick skull of yours!" The farm mare exasperated and sighed. "Friendship is the greatest magic in all of Equestria, greater than any Alicorn magic to ever have existed."

"I know that but unfortunately we lack the elements of harmony to weaponize the power of friendship!" Sapphire replied, looking up to the sky once more, feeling more anxious by the second as the moon drew lower and lower on the distant horizon.

"The Elements of harmony ain't a weapon! Who in tartarus fed you that load of horseapples?!" Applejack shot back looking offended now.

"But all the history books said that they were how you defeated all your major foes. If they aren't a weapon against evil then what were they?" Sapphire replied looking confused now.

"We thought they were weapons at first too but then we realized somethin' mighty important, those trinkets weren't the source of our power, they were merely the catalyst that allowed us to to manifest the magic of friendship into something we could use to protect peace and harmony in Equestria and it never killed anypony either." The farm mare remarked with a smile.

"You don't call petrification, killing somepony?" Sapphire asked incredulously.

"Nope, see, if they were ever freed from that stone prison, they'd be right as rain and no worse for wear." Applejack replied confidently only to frown. "Somethin' we realized far too late…" The farm mare continued and sighed heavily.

"What do you mean?" Sapphire asked curiously.

"Tell me somethin'. Your history books ever tell ya about a certain three characters named Tirek, Cozy Glow, and Chrysalis?" Applejack asked curiously.

—---------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, in an undisclosed location…

"I don't see how this is my problem." A male voice said in a nonchalant manner to seemingly nopony.

"It's your problem because you made a vow to aid the Alicorn when she needed you most!" a female voice said in a stern tone.

The male figure stood to two feet, scratched his back and yawned. "It's been nearly three thousand years since I made that vow, who knows when this Alicorn is going to emerge." The male figure replied with an eye roll and a sarcastic gesture with his right arm.

"Don't play dumb, we both know you can sense Alicorn magic and she's used it more than once!" The female voice exclaimed in irritation.
"I may have felt a tingle or two in the last three years or so but so what, its not like she needs my help. By my count she's already freed a city or two from this Dark Horn cult. A mare who has accomplished so much in such a short time hardly needs my help!" The voice remarked nonchalantly much to the irritation of the female voice who sighed.

"If you don't help her she's going to die and Equestria's last hope for peace and harmony dies with her!" The mare exclaimed dramatically.

The male figure rolled his eyes and sighed. "Must you always be so grim, Princess? Even from beyond the grave you're just as dull as ever." The figure remarked drearily only for his expression to become one of mild surprise as the female's words seemingly sunk in. "Revealing future events, Princess? Isn't that against the rules?" he added with a smirk.

"Potential future events if you don't take action, technically that future hasn't come to pass yet so i'm not breaking any rules unless you don't help her." The female voice was quick to correct herself.

"Always so quick to find a loophole…No wonder you handed the reins over to her when those ran out." The male figure jeered with a grin. "I'm still not sure I'm going to help her though. I mean, you claim she's going to die without my intervention yet she's came back from the brink of death already once so I don't see how she couldn't do so again." The male figure remarked as he levitated a glass over to himself and began sipping from it.

"The dark horn isn't taking any risks this time. One of the leaders is most likely going to make an appearance." The female voice remarked which caused the male figures gaze to snap in the direction of the female voice.

"You don't mean…HER…do you?" The male voice inquired his voice and expression reflecting one of borderline rage.

"I have little doubt they want to stop her here before she has a chance to even master earth pony magic. This could be your chance at revenge." The female voice remarked.

"You always did have a knack for getting ponies to do what you want, didn't you Celestia?" The male figure lowering his face into the light revealing the face of a gray pony with an ivory horn and a goat horn on his head, raising his left hand which happened to be a lion's paw and snapped it, causing the male figure to vanish in a flash of magic and reappear behind the floating apparition that was Princess Celestia herself. "However the god of chaos and disharmony only ever answered to one pony and she's been dead for over three thousand years!" The male figure exclaimed.

Celestia scoffed at this. "Some god of chaos and disharmony. You've been hiding in this cave since you realized she had somehow acquired the ability to siphon magic. An ability similar to Tirek's. Face it, Discord, you're scared of her!" Celestia challenged much to the chargon of the draconequus who glared at her.

"Me? Scared of her?! My dear Celestia, the only reason Tirek was able to overpower me was due to me being caught off guard, a mistake I will never make again!" Discord boasted egotistically.

"Then aid Sapphire! She needs your magical power if she's to survive this encounter!" Celestia exclaimed, the desperation in her voice almost prominent.

"I have little motivation to do so, after all, before that little filly was born, the world continued to spin with so little as a three hundred year race war. Then she shows up and towns are put in danger, the cult which was underground for nearly two millennia suddenly shows up, and enough chaos has been stirred about that it almost makes me proud!" The draconequus remarked with a chuckle. "Maybe the world would be better off without Alicorns, did you ever consider that Celestia?" Discord asked with a curious look at the Princess.

Celestia was quiet for a time and sighed before she spoke. "I have but the state that Equestria and beyond is now in due to the absence of a uniting figure, the Alicorn which represents all three races, The races of pony have all but destroyed one another, towns and cities are ruled by tyrannical figures and the very few cities who have attained peace came at the cost of less wealthy families starving on equestrian streets while the rich eat in comfort! You can hardly call this peace and harmony! Not to mention, the amount of infant Alicorn lives the Dark Horn has taken…it sickens me when I think about it. Does it not sicken you as well?" Celestia stated with a glare at the draconequus.

"Why should I give two bits about the lives of ponies? I'm the god of chaos and disharmony, I did just fine on my own before Flutter-..." Discord began to say only at the very uttering of his one true friend and lover to cause him to choke back tears before he continued to speak. "I did just fine before her and I have done just fine after she's been gone!" Discord finished doing his best to hide the single tear which managed to escape his eye yet this did not escape the Alicorn's gaze.

Celestia's expression softened if only slightly. "Has three thousand years turned that heart of yours to stone? What happened to the draconequus who risked his life to protect the elements of harmony?"

"He died the day she did…" Discord replied morbidly as he looked away from the Alicorn.

Meanwhile, back at the campfire with Sapphire and Applejack…

Sapphire gawked in disbelief at the farm mare. "You mean to tell me those three are why you all died?!" The Alicorn exclaimed in disbelief.

"Just as the power of elements of harmony can turn a creature to stone, the power of disharmony can break them free. It's how Discord was able to free himself the first time though at that point we didn't know how he had managed to break free. The founders of the Dark Horn somehow figured this out and stole the stature of Cryalius, Tirek, and Cozy Glow from under Twilight's nose when she wasn't lookin." Applejack explained and sighed.

"If you don't mind telling me, how did it happen?" Sapphire asked curiously though she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to this question.

"Well, even though I look spry as mare barely in her twenties, this all happened when we were all gettin' on in old age and unlike us, their stone prison preserved their youth so when they broke free, it was as if not a day had passed since they were imprisoned. The attack on Twilight's castle didn't happen until nearly ten years after the statue disappeared so we can only assume it took 'em' some time to figure out how to break the three free of their stone prison." Applejack continued, stopped to collect her thoughts and continued speaking.

The attack was sudden and during one of our yearly get togethers…

Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie sat in the royal dining hall laughing at the latest joke the pink mare had managed to think up.
"Good one Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash remarked as she wiped tears from her eyes due to laughing so hard at her friend's joke.

"What can I say? This mare's got jokes for days!" Pinkie remarked with a smirk.

Twilight, who was also wiping tears from her eyes due to laughing so hard, smiled at her friends. "I'm just so glad you could all make it again this year. I was worried you might be unable to make the trip." The Alicorn remarked looking at each of her friends now each mare's respective age clearly seen on each of their faces, reminding the mare of Granny Smith as she looked at Applejack though not quite as old.

"Darling, don't count this old mare out just yet! I may be less beautiful than I once was but I assure you, I'm still able to keep up with Sweetie Belle and that mare's in her twenties,mind you!" Rarity boasted with a smirk.

"Same here! This farm pony can still manage to buck at least half the orchard before her old legs start givin' her fits!" Applejack chimed in with a smirk.

"Ha, look at you two, acting like a couple old mares! I haven't slowed down at all!" Rainbow Dash boasted as she took off from her chair and darted around the room at high speed and landed back in her chair doing her very best to hide the fact she was out of breath.

"Rainbow Dash, you don't have to try to look cool around us, we all know you're the fastest mare in Equestria." Fluttershy remarked with a smile.

"Especially in bed! Hehe!" Pinkie Pie chimed in followed by a laughing fit much to Rainbow Dash's embarrassment.

"Piiinkieeeee! Not in front of our friends!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed with a deep blush which caused everypony in the room to laugh.

"Speaking of intimate relationships, I haven't seen Discord. Do you happen to know where he is Fluttershy?" Rarity inquired curiously.

"Oh, um, he mentioned that he had to clean up in his chaos dimension. Something about a rogue vacuum cleaner, a broom stick, and a lamp revolting or something." Fluttershy remarked and sighed.

"Probably for the best, especially after last years debacle." Rarity remarked with a less than enthused expression.

"It was an innocent prank and you know it, Rarity!" Fluttershy popped off coming to the draconquss's defense.

"It was hardly innocent, Fluttershy. He plastered lewd photos of Twilight all over the castle walls!" Rainbow Dash chimed in.

"I didn't even know you could use a book like that until I saw those pictures." Pinkie Pie remarked nonchalantly.

"A-Anyways! I forgave him for the prank! I mean, it's Discord and we all know he loves to mess with me." Twilight chimed in with a deep blush, the topic clearly making her uncomfortable and mildly embarrassed.

Suddenly a distant explosion come from outside the dining room much to the Alicorn's annoyance who rolled her eyes. "Rogue vacuum cleaners, huh?" Twilight remarked with a skeptical expression at Fluttershy who could only smile sheepishly as Twilight walked towards the dining room door and opened it with her magic.

"Okay Discord, what's the joke this y-" Twilight began to shout in annoyance only to be cut off by the sight that beheld her. "What the buck?!" Twilight exclaimed in shock which caused the others to get up from the table and rush to Twilight's side and gawk as well.

"Uh, Fluttershy, this is a little extreme for a prank, care to reel your special somepony in before Twilight decides to turn him to stone?" Rainbow Dash remarked in unease as she looked down the hall to see the door leading to the main hall of the castle was blown off its hinges and the distant hall looked to be in flames.

"This isn't Discord…" Twilight remarked aloud darkly before conjuring a magical shield just in the nick of time to block a magical blast thus protecting her friends.

"Oh golly, would ya look at this! Twilight's all grown up and running Equestria now!" A familiar voice exclaimed from down the hall.

"Try not to kill her if you can, I could go for some Alicorn magic to add to my plate after sucking those guard ponies dry!" A male voice who also sounded very familiar chimed in.

"You already drained Celestia and Luna, you don't need her magic you glutton! Besides, I want to take her down at her strongest and so she can feed my new nest I plan on erecting in this castle!" Yet another female voice spoke up in response to this.

"Fillies, this is bad, you all need to run!" Twilight exclaimed as she looked at her five friends.

"We're not going anywhere!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed bravely.

"Haha! You should have listened to her when you had the chance!" A centaur that could be none other than Tirek in his powered up state said as he charged an orb of magic between his horns and fired it at Twilight and her friends.
"Run!" Twilight exclaimed as she conjured another barrier however it was clear that Tirek's powered up state was more than a match for her as the Alicorn's hooves raked along the velvet floor as the blast pushed her back.

The five were forced to turn tail and run in the other direction as Twilight used every ounce of her Alicorn magic to stave off the Centaur's attack.

Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie fled down the hall and into another room looking from the inside as Twilight continued to struggle against Tirek's magic.

"We can't just stand here and do nothin'! We need to help her!" Applejack exclaimed.

"And do what exactly? That's Tirek for pony's sake Applejack! It took the power of the tree of harmony itself to defeat him!" Rarity exclaimed back.

Suddenly in a flash of magic none other than Cozy Glow appeared in the room flying above them. "Golly gee wowzers, what do we have here?" The filly remarked aloud mockingly causing all five mares to snap their gaze up at cozy glow.

"Oh right, the brat turned herself into an Alicorn didn't she?" Rainbow Dash remarked aloud in a scared tone.

"I wouldn't be callin' the Alicorn magic powered foal a 'brat" Rainbow!" Applejack chimed in looking just as scared.

"She's right you know, because I just might get upset and do this!" Cozy Glow replied and fired a beam of magic at the five as she spoke her final two words causing the mares to scatter and barely dodge the beam of magic which cut through the floor and wall as if it were tissue paper.

Suddenly several robbed ponies appeared in the room via magic. "Leave these ponies to us, kill the Alicorn!" One of the dark robbed ponies commanded.

"Aww golly geez! But I was just starting to have fun!" Cozy Glow argued.

"We freed you from your prison, Cozy Glow, we can put you back just as easily as we freed you." The same robbed pony remarked in a threatening manner earning a worried look from the Alicorn filly.

"Okay, fine! No need to twist my hoof!" Cozy Glow remarked with an annoyed look and disappeared in a flash of magic.

"Who are these varmints and what's with the black robes they're wearin'?!" Applejack remarked curiously as she sized up these mysterious ponies.

"I don't know but if they're powerful enough to free Cozy Glow, Tirek, and Chrysalis from their stone prison, they are not to be underestimated!" Rarity remarked as the robbed ponies slowly stalked around the five mares, seemingly waiting for the right moment to strike.

Meanwhile in the hallway, Twilight had barely managed to deflect Tirek's attack only to get blindsided by Cozyglow who launched her through the wall and into the castle garden with a blast of magic.

"You have no idea how good that felt, Twilight! For years I sat in that stone prison wondering where I went wrong! I thought that the magic of friendship was the most powerful magic in Equestria but I realized something in that stone prison, Twilight." Cozy Glow stated as she shot blast after blast of magic at Twilight who could only deflect each attack entirely on the defensive at this point.

"The magic of friendship is nothing if you've got no friends! So while you're out here barely defending yourself against myself and Tirek, our buddies who call themselves the Dark Horn are going to kill each and everyone of your friends till none are left!" Cozy Glow bragged with a malicious grin.

This caused Twilight's expression to become fearful for her friend's lives. "Don't lay a single hoof on them!" Twilight roared as her eyes went blank and began to radiate with magenta collared magic.

(play Epic Music Now)

Twilight's body floated off the ground as a sphere of magic surrounded her, and great torrents of wind began to radiate from the Alicorn's position.

Cozy Glow gawked in shock at this, getting knocked back several feet from the first blast of air that struck her. "What the buck is this?!"

"You call yourself an Alicorn, Cozy Glow?" Twilight asked aloud her voice an eerie echo that seemingly pulsed with power. "You know NOTHING about the true power of Alicorns!" Twilight's voice boomed as magic began to focus into a single point in front of the Alicorn for mere moments before a cylinder shaped beam erupted from the Alicorn engulfing Cozy Glow before she could even react earning a shrill scream from the Alicorn filly.

However when the filly's fate was seemingly all but sealed a green flash of magic appeared showing Chrysalis holding Cozy Glow whose wings were little more than charred flesh at this point having used them as a last ditch attempt to shield herself from Twilight's overwhelming power, leaving them completely unusable.

"You saved me, why?" Cozy Glow asked weakly, the changeling queen merely scoffed. "If you bit the dirt we'd be one less in terms of power and I need your alicorn magic if we are to seize control of this Dark Horn after we're done here. Retreat and recover Cozy Glow, you're not prepared to deal with a true Alicorn." Chrysalis commanded to which with what remained of her strength, Cozy Glow vanished in a flash of magic leaving the Changeling Queen to contend with Twilight.

Twilight however ignored Chrysalis at first, charging forward at breakneck speed towards her friend's last known location. That is until the changeling queen formed an orb of green magic around herself and effectively blocked the Alicorn from moving forward.

"Out of my way!" Twilight's voice boomed in the same eerie echoing tone it had before.

"You Alicorn's think you're so powerful in this state but you've yet to contend with a changeling queen at her full power!" Chrysalis's voice boomed in a similar fashion to Twilight's.

"You've never shown this power before, where did you get it?!" Twilight demanded.

"Heh, so you're in full control of yourself, this is going to make this interesting!" Chrysalis exclaimed.

"Of course I am! Celestia trained me herself!" Twilight exclaimed as she fired a beam of magic pushing Chrysalis's orb of magic back against the castle garden's walls, knocking them over which revealed Tirek whom raised an eyebrow at Twilight.

"I thought she could only attain that power when she had absorbed the princess's alicorn magic into herself!" Tirek remarked curiously as Chrysalis fired a beam of magic back causing both beams of magic to struggle against one another in a form of tug of war which would result in the loser being blasted with the other's full might.

"Use your head Tirek, we've been in that stone prison for nearly forty years and Twilight was still merely Celestia's pupil back then, it makes sense that with time and training she could attain this level of power!" Chrysalis replied in a strained tone to Tirek's remark.

"You never answered my question, Chrysalis!" Twilight exclaimed as their beam struggle continued.

"Very well, I'll humor you before I kill you!" The Changeling Queen boasted. "A Changeling queen is born once every one thousand years, our magic rivals that of Alicorns at our full power but it takes a changeling queen two millina by feeding off the love her subjects bring back to her to obtain this level of power, I had been ruling the hive for over one thousand years give or take a few hundred years when we fought." The changeling queen explained. "And given the fact I was still their ruler after a millina you can guess what I did to the newborn princess of our hive!" Chrysalis added with a malicious grin.

"You're still eight hundred years short, so how?!" Twilight asked as she pushed the beam back towards the queen a little bit.

"Do you recall Grogar's bell? Those lovely unicorns from the Dark Horn recovered it and I used it to gain all the love I would need to gain my true power!" Chrysalis exclaimed as her magic gained the upper hoof pushing Twilight's back to the point the queen's magic were mere feet from touching her orb of magic.

"I should have destroyed that bell when I had the chance thirty-eight years ago!" Twilight exclaimed angrily as her beam of magic erupted forward pushing the beams back to a near stalemate state once more.

"Yes, you should have!" Chrysalis exclaimed as she poured her full power into her magic pushing Twilight's perilously close to her orb of magic now. "Is that all you have, Twilight? Let me know when your horn starts to go numb and then I'll start trying!" The queen boasted despite the fact she was using her full power now.

Meanwhile inside the castle, the Dark Horn unicorns had begun their attack on the six mares however despite their age, these mares were hardly the easy prey these cloaked unicorn's figured them for as one found their face connecting with the full strength of Applejack's apple bucking hooves sending them flying across the room and threw the five inch thick stone wall.

"We may not be Alicorns but we're far from helpless!" Applejack boasted with pride as she looked upon the results of her buck.

Meanwhile while this was occurring, Rarity was locked in a magical beam struggle of her own though sadly she seemed to be losing. "I don't wish to panic anypony BUT A LITTLE ASSISTANCE WOULD BE NICE!" The unicorn began to say calmly only to shriek her final words in dramatic fashion.

"One assist coming right up!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she took off from the ground and began to circle the unicorn whom Rarity was locked in her duel with and soon found themselves between swept up in a mini-tornado the Pegasus has created and flung several feet across the room.

Unbeknownst to the cyan blue pegasus however, she was hovering right in the crosshairs of one of the robbed ponies piercing spells. Fluttershy however did notice this and took off from the ground shoving Rainbow Dash out of the way just in time. However…

Meanwhile in Discord's chaos dimension…

"Honestly, did you three really think you could revolt and I not notice?" The draconequus lectured a lamp, vacuum cleaner, and a broom stick in his home.

Suddenly, Discord's prized picture of Fluttershy fell off the wall and hit the floor with a shattering sound, the glass that held the photograph shattering loudly from the impact. Discord levitated over to the picture, picked it up, and stared at the broken frame for a moment before his ears flattened and a horrified expression appeared on his face. "Fluttershy!" he exclaimed, vanishing a flash of magic so abruptly the frame fell back to the floor with a clatter.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion to the draconequus as he appeared in the very room the mares were in. Discord witnessed the beam of magic sailing across the room towards his lover, raised his lion's paw, snapped his finger to conjure a shield to protect her, only to witness the beam penetrate Fluttershy's chest milliseconds before his shield was conjured into existence.

Fluttershy's expression instantly became one of wide-eyed shock as the beam penetrated her chest and fell from the air like a bird who had just been sniped by a bullet only to be caught by Discord who appeared in a flash of magic to catch her as time seemingly resumed at normal pace once more.

The draconequus immediately conjured a bandage to place over the wound as he held her. The mare's face frozen in shock. "Fl-Fluttershy?" Discord uttered as he gently shook his lover's limp body only to get no response. Discord's sudden appearance had caused everypony in the room, including the robbed unicorns to stop what they were doing and gawk in surprise.

Rainbow Dash was the first to break herself out of her stupor and rush over to Discord's side and look at Fluttershy coming to a horrifying conclusion… "N-No… it can't be! Hey Flutter's stop playing around! Say something, bend a wing, anything!" The cyan blue mare exclaimed as she slowly dropped to the ground and lowered her head.

"Quickly, while they're distracted, kill the rest!" One of the robbed unicorns whispered to his allies only the attacks never came to pass as the last thing the robbed ponies heard before they found themselves each encased in their own little box followed by the appearance of several swords which stabbed violently into each box earning shrill cries from each robbed pony from within the box followed by silence and blood pooling from under each box was a single snap of the draconequss's tail.

Discord's lower lip quivered silently as he gently closed the mare's eyes while tears streamed from his own. He then set her down on the floor as gently as possible and walked past the mares.

"Discord? Is Fluttershy-" Rarity began to ask softly only for discord to snap his finger causing the mare's lips to zipped shut with a zipper as he walked past her without a word into the castle garden where Chrysalis and Twilight's duel was taking place.

"Discord?! What's he doing here?! I thought we had him distracted with those dumb household objects?!" Tirek asked aloud, earning the gaze of the draconequus. Without a word, he snapped a finger and the centaur found himself struggling against a giant beartrap which threatened to chomp him in half if Tirek so much as stopped concentrating magic against the device for a second. "Not enough I see." Discord remarked almost emotionless and snapped another finger this time causing the Centaur to not only be struggling against the giant bear trap but roughly two hundred ballista arrows which had all been fired at once at him.

"Discord?!" Chrysalis exclaimed in shock looking down to her left

Twilight then looked over to see the draconequus as well only for discord to snap a finger causing the Alicorn to vanish into thin air which caused the full power of Chrysalis's magic to blast through the other side of the garden's walls obliterating anything caught in the blast.

"Are you on our side?" The changeling queen inquired in a confused tone.

Discord merely looked up at the changeling queen. "I'm not on anyone's side anymore but right now, at this moment, you're dead." Discord replied and before the changeling queen could react found herself trapped inside a see-through box which fell to the ground with a thud seemingly canceling out the queen's sphere of magic.

"If you think this will hold me, you're dumber than I thought!" The queen remarked as she charged magic into her horn only for nothing to happen. "What the-?! Why isn't my magic working?!" The queen exclaimed in shock. It was then that Discord snapped another finger causing a giant spray can with the words "Bug Spray!" plastered across it along with a metal hose which promptly connected itself to the spraying spout of the can and the other end inserted itself into the top of Chrysalis's box.

Discord walked up to the box as the changeling queen beat on the sides in fury, exhaled sharply on the side so that it left a steamy surface and wrote the following words into the steam in reverse so she could read them:

Rot in tartarus for eternity,
Sincerely, Discord

He then walked away, snapping his tail as he did so, causing the can of bug spray to begin spraying poison into the changeling Queen's box.

Discord then approached Tirek who miraculously was still staving off both attacks he had conjured a few minutes ago. "If you think this is enough to end me, you've got another thing coming! I've got the magical power of both the regal sisters at my command, i'll figure a way out of this trap of yours and once I do-" The centaur began to brag only for Discord without a word to snap his claw hand causing a mouse cursor to appear, rip Tirek's mouth off his face, and deposit it into a trash bin.

"So, you killed Celestia and Luna did you?" Discord asked curiously. I never cared much for Luna but Celestia…" The draconequus said trailing off and snapping a finger on his lion's paw which conjured a giant bow-saw. "Tell me, how durable are those horns of yours? They are how you channel your magic, yes?" Discord asked and for the first time since he arrived, a malicious grin earning a silent fearful look from the centaur. With another snap of his finger the bow saw began raking into the centaur's horns earning an agonized expression from Tirek.

It was at this point Twilight reappeared in a flash of magic though not in her Alicorn state. "Discord, what the buck was that for?!" It was then the Alicorn noticed what the Draconaquss had done.

Chrysalis was gagging and coughing up what looked to be blood at this point against the see-through box while the Bow-saw Discord had conjured up was roughly halfway through sawing through the centaur's horns, his expression one of pure terror and agony.

"Stop this, Discord! You're going to kill them!" Twilight pleaded.

"That's the idea, besides weren't you trying to do the same before I arrived?" Discord asked, glancing over at the two before looking at the Alicorn now.

"That was different! They weren't defenseless!" Twilight defended herself.

"I think you'll change your tune once you find out what they did." Discord replied and began to walk away.

"What do you mean by that? Are the others okay? Answer me!" Twilight exclaimed though Discord did not bother to turn around to face her.

"Our friendship ends today, Twilight Sparkle, for I have lost my reason to remain at your side. Do with them as you like but I advise you not to interfere as they deserve this fate as you'll soon come to realize." Discord replied one last time before vanishing in a flash of magic.

"Lost his reason to remain at my side? What does he mean by-" The Alicorn pondered aloud for a moment until her heart sank into the pit of her stomach as she realized what he meant and dashed to the last place she found her friends…

The dark horn invaded the royal castle with a force of three hundred ponies shortly after Twilight came to us and found Fluttershy's body…

Applejack finished and sighed. "Hope you don't mind me skippin' out on telling ya the rest as I'm sure ya can figure what happened after that."

"Considering the Dark Horn specializes in killing Alicorn's, I guess not even Twilight stood a chance against them…" Sapphire remarked aloud sadly.

"She took a good chunk of 'em with her though, that's for sure!" Applejack remarked with a smirk only to frown afterwards.

Sapphire pondered over what she had just learned until her eyes lit up at factoid missing from the farm pony's story. "What happened to Cozy Glow?" She asked curiously.

"No pony knows, even if she did survive Twi''s attack, she'd be long since six feet under speakin' as she's not immortal. Even Alicorn's don't live forever, nah, I reckon she kicked the bucket at least two thousand years ago." Applejack remarked aloud thoughtfully.

"Wait, how long do Alicorns usually live for?" Sapphire asked incredulously.

This caused the farm pony to give a thoughtful look. "Ya know, I'm not sure but Celestia and Luna were at least one thousand years old before they retired and handed the kingdom over to Twilight.

"That means I'm going to outlive everypony I know…that's a little depressing when I think about it." Sapphire remarked as she folded her ears back with a saddened expression only to notice the farm pony was looking rather see-through at the moment. "Uhh, Applejack?" Sapphire remarked with an uneasy gesture which caused the mare to sigh aloud.

"Time to go already eh? Consarn it, would have liked to at least see what's become of Apple Acres before I poof into nothin'" Applejack remarked in a mildly depressed tone.

Sapphire smiled weakly. "No you wouldn't…" She thought to herself in a sing-song voice as she watched the farm mare continue to vanish before her eyes.

Before fully disappearing however Applejack placed a hoof on Sapphire's "Take my words to heart, ya hear? Your friends are your greatest source of strength and have faith in them to pull through whatever scape y'all have found yourselves in!" The farm mare stated matter of factly before she vanished completely.

"Says the mare whose friends and herself got killed by the very cult i'm going up against." Sapphire remarked aloud in a less than enthusiastic tone. "I suppose she's right though, If tonight's any indication, I'm not as powerful as I've come to believe myself to be. Serves me right I guess, getting a swelled head over being an Alicorn." Sapphire remarked aloud with a smirk and sighed and looked up at the sky.

"Nearly morning. Better get moving but I think I'll make a pitstop first and see how Emerald's doing." Sapphire remarked aloud before she spread her wings and took off towards the rebellion's hideout…

Author's Note

I know its been awhile but here's the latest chapter! Please comment and like and I hope you enjoy!