What Happened to Them?

"Anything yet?" Asked Sapphire. Twilight shook her head. "I wouldn't be surprised if Tirek got the princesses to. Looks like we're going to have to do this on our own. Of course that's going to be hard without the rest of the elements of harmony here."

Sapphire, from hanging out with Twilight as fillies, began to look and find fighting books, defense spell books, healing spell books, anything that seemed essential. They only had one shot at saving the girls and Spike. Twilight grabbed a few ropes, learning that from Applejack. Paint grabbed a few weapons in case they really needed them, something Rainbow would do.

Right as they were about to leave, Paint stopped and Sapphire turned towards her. "What's wrong, Splash?"

Paint didn't look up. "What if- what if we're too late? What if we get there and they're all lying there, dead? I- I just c-can't" she began to choke on her words. " I can't lose Dash again, it's bad enough I missed half of my own sister's life. I don't want to see her dead." She began to cry, tears pouring out endlessly. Sapphire pulled her into a hug.

"I know how you feel, the thought of losing someone you just got back is the most terrifying idea in the world. But, Splash, you think you're going to lose Rainbow Dash, THE Rainbow Dash. You know she holds on, and all you have to do is have faith in her, in Twilight, and in yourself. Now come on, we have to save them."

~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Tirek walked in to see the friends sleeping, except for Rainbow, who was still badly injured. "Any smart comments for me today?"

Rainbow didn't want to, but she knew that if she didn't take the beating, one of her friends would definitely be hurt next. "You think you can make me back down?" She said, cocking a little attitude. Tirek chuckled. "You're a special mare, Rainbow Dash, you truly are. Too bad that will soon fade away, just like your life." He took her out, tied her wings, and called in his men. It was the same stallions as before, but this time they carried weapons. Pocket knives, baseball bats, and ropes.

She looked terrified, but she gulped it down. As the stallions got Rainbow ready for her next beat down, Each of the friends woke up, with the same reactions as the first one.

They took the ropes and tied her up to a pole tightly, then punched her in the face. As one stallion was punching Rainbow, the other one took the bat and WHACK on the stomach, WHACK on the throat, and an even harder WHACK right on the head, causing her to be knocked out. They continued to beat her, and the longer this lasted, the more her friends thought she wasn't going to be able to escape, even if Tirek was defeated.

Of course, Tirek was laughing about this. He knew that Rainbow was the loud mouth of the group, so he was already prepared for her. He even had a little surprise for ALL of them. Tirek turned to the terrified mares and dragon. "Oh don't worry, she's not dead... Yet. But I do have a surprise, not just for Rainbow here, but for all of you. In fact, here she is!" He pointed to the door, where a pink, deflated-maned pony stood. "Come on Pinkie, it's your turn."

~~~~~~~~~~~

The three flew through Ponyville, asking if anypony knew about Tirek and where he would be. Then, an idea hit Twilight. "I think I know where he is, but we have to hurry!"

They all flew as fast as they could to the Canterlot castle, where they knew Tirek would be. When they arrived, however, the city was torn to bits. Homes and businesses were on fire, many ponies were lying dead, and the survivors were either crying over a dead pony, or trying to get out.

The three looked terrified, but tried to focus. They had to find the others, life in Equestria could be the worst life ever, but Twilight, Paint, and Sapphire WERE going to save Equestria and defeat Tirek once and for all. After flying for a few minutes, they finally reached the castle. "What do we do now? We can't just walk through the gates like nopony's business!" Whispered Paint as they looked at the guards surrounding the castle gates. "Maybe I could pretend to be a guard, and sneak in to see what's going on. It shouldn't be that hard since the armor covers up most of their bodies." Said Sapphire as she shrugged.

"That's a great idea and all, but where are you going to get the arm-" Twilight cut herself off as she heard a noise and two stallions groaning in pain. She looked over to see Paint standing over two guards who were lying on the ground. "Oh, was I not supposed to do that?"

After Twilight and Paint dressed Sapphire in the armor, she flew there the gates holding a piece of paper, acting as if she was giving a message to Tirek. When she reached the doorway to where most of the commotion was coming from, she saw Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, and Applejack watching something in horror. She turned her head to see a unconscious, beaten Rainbow tied to a pole and... Pinkie? This can't be right, why would Pinkie want to hurt Rainbow and her own friends? Sapphire quietly rushed out of the castle, luckily making a clean get away.