With the permission of creator Marshall Ruffy, I humbly present…

The War of Harmony IV, a novelization

It was a foggy day as I stood in the camp miles away from Canterlot. The golden splendor of the castle as preparations were being made. Preparations to finally end years of war and bloodshed unmatched in Equestrian history. I heard the clip-clop of hooves rushing about outside my tent; the battle would be soon. It was when the tent flap opened and I turned to see who had entered that my curiosity grew.

“Element of Generosity,” Luna said to me cordially. She always had an awkward way of greeting ponies. She had not changed much over the years, perhaps her title, but she was still a proud alicorn mare. When Spike entered after her words, I immediately was on guard. Paranoia told me they had something planned.

“Rarity, you understand the gravity of the situation better than anyone at the moment.” Yes, but I don't think you need to tell me that, Luna. She then paced a bit, turning to me to continue.

“ I need you to go to the Everfre-”

“Absolutely not!” I interrupted her. Running now would solve nothing and I refused to. I glared, putting my hoof down literally and metaphorically. Luna sighed, her eyes taking on a pitying look. Spike himself could only cross his arms and stare at me incredulously.

“Rarity, we’re all tired of this, and there’s a simple reason we need you to head there,” Spike reasoned with me, his eyes pleading me to reconsider. Spike had grown over the years the wars had gone on, becoming a deadly warrior. Then again, we all had become deadly in our own rights. I was skeptical of this, the only thing there for me were my memories and failures.

“Generosity, what we are doing still has a chance to not end in bloodshed. You know that more than anypony that there is still one that can stop this.” Was she really bringing her up? The fool that was my friend that felt by mere obligation to stand by and watch that tyrant buck everything up?

“Then simply tell me where she is, I will solve the matter and bring a surrender quickly,” I stated adamantly. There was no reason to deny this of course, deny it, however, she quickly did. Luna was quite resolute in her point.

“Generosity, you are not ready to meet her. War has tempered you, but it has weakened you.” She paused. I had nothing to say, of course, simply staring back at her. The meaning of her words were quite obvious to me. War had made me stronger. It had also taken away things that I could never get back.

“I am sending you to the Everfree to find the strength to save her. In your state, you will more than likely fail.” I nodded; I would do as they ask and keep my doubts to myself. No doubt Spike agreed with Luna completely on the matter, so it would be a losing battle on my end. I knew what lay in that forest, and from experience I can say this…

‘It’s never as simple as it’s said.’

-----------------------------------------A few days later.------------------------------------------

The Everfree was quiet today. The only sound was the clip-clop of our hooves and the occasional bird call. The beaten path that we were following was not a well-traveled one as ponies preferred to stay clear of the Everfree in general. It wasn’t hard to understand why, the unnatural forest was a weather mare’s nightmare; the forest did not bend to pony hooves, its clouds and fauna completely wild and untamed. Today’s weather set by the pegasi was due to be sunny, but the Everfree denied such, its rain clouds dotting the sky. It created quite a moody outlook for the forest, a sharp contrast to the colorful duo of ponies walking its path.

During my thoughts, my eyes scanned the surrounding foliage for danger. It was not uncommon to hear of ponies being attacked in the Everfree due to it being filled to the brim with dangerous creatures. Things such as timberwolves, cockatrices, and manticores were the norm of the Everfree’s habitat. My thoughts however began to drift away from my surroundings to something else.

Pinkie Pie, my dear friend and the element of laughter... it felt so good to be with her and talk to her again. I trotted up to the mare, her mane and tail was a darker pink in contrast to her coat as a whole which was quite a light pink. You may ask why I pay attention to such details, but my former job as a dress designer required such an eye for color. Physically, Pinkie had quite some muscle, but her unhealthy eating habits kept her from being completely fit.

‘Faust help me understand how she manages to stomach so much in the first place and still keep her image’ I thought to myself with jealousy. And her personalit-

“Rarityyyyy!”

*knock knock knock*

I shook my head, my thoughts disrupted as the pony in question knocked on my head.

“Yes, darling?” I asked, putting on a smile and trying not to dread the coming question.

“What’re you thinking about?” She asked with a quirk of her head, her eyes searching me for the answers she craved.

“A lot’s on my mind right now darling… but my thoughts were on you recently.” My head turning to look at hers, a thin smile graced my lips as she smiled back.

“It’s been awhile since we’ve actually been able to talk, I just wish Fluttershy would’ve come with us.” Her voice saddened at this, but she honestly couldn’t blame Fluttershy, though. There have been some horrific things happening these last few years, but I won’t be like her. That when everything is finished, everypony may be at peace.

“ I can’t blame poor Fluttershy. Things haven’t exactly been the best for anypony lately.” That was quite the understatement.

“ Yeah, I just thought that she wouldn’t give up on everypony like that. Doesn’t she care?” I turned to look at her my mouth opening to say something, but stopping. What could I truthfully say?

‘The world’s changed, she deserves the truth and not the lie,’ I thought and decided to myself.

“ Pinkie I- “

*Crack*

I turned, my eyes scanning. Pinkie stopped as well, her eyes scanning the opposite direction. We were both silent; there was no telling if there was anything stalking us, and talking would not help us find out. It was only when I turned to her that I realized we had both made the mistake of looking away at the same time.

“Hit the ground, Pinkie!” I pulled the energetic and jittery mare to the forest floor and above us soared our predator, a timberwolf. When another howl sounded, Pinkie’s gasp alerted me that the wolf did not hunt alone. Timberwolves were magical entities, literal wood given life due to magical cores inside of them. They attacked and preyed upon many different creatures, but as ponies, we were unlucky enough to be its quarry. My eyes focused onto the disgusting creature, its green eyes staring back into mine.

“Rarity…” Pinkie started.

“I know,” I finished for her. Our backs to each other, the wolves had us in a situation where running meant turning your back, and doing so might as well have been suicide. Fighting was the only option, and with that in mind I had no trouble charging the wolf hooves ready. The wolf must’ve been used to its prey not fighting back. It’s wooden jaw cracked and broke under my hooves as I smashed it in with a buck that would make Applejack proud. It retreated, whimpering. While waiting, my ears twitched a bit as I registered the sound of Pinkie engaging her wolf, but what alarmed me was the surge of heat I felt. The wolf in front of me reformed its jaw quickly, its magical energy not yet depleted, and its broken jaw now seeked to tear my throat out. It was mere beast, though, no match as I dodged its poorly aimed fatal blow. I, however, did not dodge the scratching along my coat. It left marks, bits of blood that would have to be cleaned up later. I glared in anger, and for a moment the wolf knew true fear in the shape of a mare.

I approached the wolf, eyes ablaze and heart hardening for what was about to done when the most bizarre thing occurred…

“Blaghhhhhh!” Pinkie shot past me with flames shooting out of her mouth as tears dropped from her eyes. The timberwolf stood no chance against the flames and was burned to cinders. It was only when she turned to me to say something that I realized that my jaw had dropped in surprise.

“Hehehe!” She giggled and I quickly closed my jaw blushing before shaking my head and asking.

“How-” I was rudely interrupted.

“Simple!” She held up a bottle of what looked like… Hot sauce?

“ Hot sauce, darling? “ I asked in the most confused tone I think I’ve ever used. I was no scientist or bookworm like dear Twilight, but that didn’t just… but then a realization came as I remembered this was Pinkie Pie.

“ Mhm! Good stuff, too!” She looked ready to drink more, but saved it on the basis that we might “ Run into more timberwolves, silly!” I couldn’t find the ability to argue with that logic. We continued on down the path, the previous conversation between the two of us forgotten.

Any attempts to further converse were silenced by the fact that our scuffle seemed to attract more attention. More of the timberwolves prowled the path to our destination and it was in our best interest to avoid further discussion. Luckily the packs were spread out quite a bit and were small enough not to be any major threat. It was actually in the midsts of one of our scuffles with one that me and Pinkie conversed.

*Pant, Pant*

“Wow Rarity, you haven’t slipped at all, huh?” Pinkie chattered out, the sweat pouring down head as the two of us stood side by side against the remaining timberwolf.

“ Unlike other ponies, I never had a chance to,” I replied heatedly, a frown on my face as Pinkie reminded me of some not so sweet memories. I charged towards the Timberwolf eager to avoid the conversation further. It swung an overhead swipe at me, and I easily ducked it, my other hoof smacking the other paw that was coming towards my right side. It was then that Pinkie blindsided it, knocking the creature on its back. I seized the opportunity and channeled the gem I had in my saddlebag, drawing upon its power. I shoved my hoof straight through the timberwolf’s chest, and it let out a pained whimper as I tore out its magical core. It dissipated in my hoof and along with it, the timberwolf ceased to live. I idly rubbed my leg; punching through wood would leave a lingering ache there...

“Wow, Rarity! That was really cool!” Pinkie gushed as she looked at me. I had an embarrassed smile, crossing my hooves and replying.

“ It wasn’t raw strength, dear. I have my trusty gem to thank for that.” My head turned to look at the dying red glow inside my left saddlebag. It was an Attack Gem, they often substituted for weapons in a pinch, but they really couldn’t compare to one. Speaking of the gems and how they substituted for weapons, my thoughts began to drift to my most recent o-...

“ Pinkie, what are you doing?” I asked as she patted her hooves all over the remains of the timberwolves.

“ Getting the-*Grunt* spoils of our labor, Rarity!” she said, pulling a bag of bits out of the remains of a timberwolf. This would normally incite a discussion between the two of us about why there were bits inside a timberwolf. However, I’ve had this conversation with dozens of ponies already, and Pinkie was no stranger to that. I accepted the bag of bits, putting it in my saddlebags for later.

We continued on, a few words between us as we walked but no substantial conversation. At least, until we, ( and by that I mean I ) found something that quickly drew the attention of Pinkie.

“Bouncy~, Jiggly~,Crystals!” She exclaimed loudly, her body moving to match her descriptive words stopping at the last one.

“ No ordinary crystals, Pinkie. These are Restoration Crystals!” I exclaimed with a smile. these were quite rare! While limited in the amount they could be used, they had an amazing ability to heal anypony who harnessed their energy. Unfortunately, such crystals were rooted to the ground and could not be moved; any attempts to would cause quite the explosion. The physical characteristics were described by Pinkie. The crystals themselves were simply three orbs stacked on top of each other.

“ Oooh! Oooh! Lets try it out!” Pinkie reached out her hoof and grabbed the top most orb, the area flashed bright! Blinking, I looked myself over, all my scratches were gone, along with my fatigue!

“ Can we-” Pinkie started to speak.

“ No Pinkie,” I interrupted, giving a stern look putting my hooves on the ground firmly.

“ Awww…” Pinkie trusted my judgement enough not to ask why, but we wasted enough time here already.

“ Lets just get to the Trees of Harmony already, darling. I’ve had enough of this dreary pathway.” I stated simply, walking past Pinkie hoping to get there SOMETIME this morning. Skipping past a few more timberwolf encounters darling, we saw our destination. There in the large clearing, the multi-colored trees of harmony stood. I let a brief fill of satisfaction flow into me. We were finally here.

Author's Note

If you note inconsistencies in the writing between this story and the show. You are not mistaken, probably. The creator had made the story of this universe before the Tree of Harmony was a thing. That is all, enjoy your reading.