Pony Buster: A timeless journey

Today was Saturday, and Applebloom felt the weekend was needed to rest, though she found being a Pioneer, Hunter or whatever of those three titles was quite interesting.

"Hmm..." Applebloom woke up to a fresh new start. Trotting towards her dressing table, she remembered that in her top drawer, rests the Soul Stone of her new legendary friend, Fan Lihua.

"Heh heh..." Applebloom chuckled as she cradled the precious large marble. "Good Morning Miss Lihua."

"Good Morning to you too Applebloom." A familiar voice came from the window. Applebloom jumped as she saw Fan Lihua poking in from her barn window.

"H-How did you get here?"

"I know the location of my soul stone. I also can remember most of this town, as I went exploring yesterday." Lihua replied as she hopped into her room. "Quite nice resting quarters you have."

"Thanks?"

"Anyway, keeping the stone in your drawer isn't a good idea. You need to keep the stone with you at ALL times." Lihua replied,

"Hmm, alright then, how about..." She grabbed her Pink ribbon, and after tying her hair with it, slipped the marble inside.

"Too loose." Lihua shook her head.

"Then..." She pointed to her schoolbag.

"You don't carry that everyday now, do you?"

"True..." Applebloom wondered,

"Nope." Lihua shook her head when Applebloom decided to hide it in her CMC clubhouse.

"Not into other ponies' property." Lihua disapproved when the marble was suggested into going into the saddlebags used to carry apples "will your family get mad?"

"Be serious." Lihua sighed when Applebloom popped it into her mouth.

"Well where should ah put it!?" Applebloom rasped, losing patience.

"Think about it. Something that you can carry at all times." Lihua noted, and galloped away once again.

Applebloom grumbled through the busy streets of Ponyville, still thinking on what to do with her Soul Stone. Apart from that, she overheard the town cries that the large crack facing Ponyville isn't the only large and hard-to-seal crack, another is facing towards Canterlot too. If Applebloom's job wasn't hard enough, two cracks needed to be sealed up before any enemy strikes through.

"And ah still need to find some bag fer this." Applebloom sighed until some commotion is happening close to the castle.

"Guards!" Flash Sentry called to attention "Fall in for supply requisition! Canterlot now has improved standard issue small leather pouches for carrying small items and foods, and it is magically enchanted so that it's unbreakable! Please replace your old pouch immediately."

"Hmm..." Applebloom noted and decided to stroll towards the orange pegasus.

"I remember you." Flash started as he spotted the filly "you must be... Applebloom."

"That's me!"

"What can I do for you today?"

"Is it okay if you can do me a favor and get me one of those new pouches?"

"Oh no, absolutely not." Flash replied,

"Please???" Applebloom pleaded, giving her cute sad face and blinking twice.

"I would if I could." Flash explained "it's not breaking the law since you asked for permission, but giving Royal Guard equipment to civilians is going to bring up quite a few issues..."

"Sir! All guards have now replaced their pouches!" A guard called out,

"How many have been exchanged?"

"90"

"How many left?"

"910" The guard replied, "I think we over-requested supplies... Again"

"Spike..." Flash growled in frustration, then had an idea. "Miss Applebloom, please follow me..."

"Am ah getting one?" Applebloom looked up in delight.

"That depends. All I can say is however, today is your lucky day."

"Sir." Another guard was speaking with Spike who was sweating in embarrassment with his mistake of ordering too much supplies, again.

"Let's hope Flash doesn't hear about this..." Spike gulped, until a nearby door slammed open.

"Spike!" Flash called sharply.

"Oh crap..." Spike gulped as a very grumpy Lieutenant walked in with a small filly in tow.

"You have ordered 1000 of these pouches when you're supposed to only order 100. I assume you haven't learnt anything when you did the same thing with the standard issue helmets right?"

"Please don't tell Twilight! I don't want to be punished again!!!" Spike pleaded,

"That depends, if these standard issue pouches were sold commercially, how much would they cost?"

"Wait... What?"

"Tell me now, and I'll plead for a lenient punishment in your defence."

"Why's that?"

"Well..." Flash gestured behind him, where a filly beamed sheepishly.

"Yay!" Applebloom jumped with joy as she played around with the Soul Stone before placing it in her newly purchased, standard issue, magically enchanted, small army pouch for 10 bits and a signing of agreement with item warranty such as non-refundable unless in service of the Princesses and Equestria. "Looks just like a marble bag. How's that Miss Lihua?" There was no response however, probably because she was in the middle of a very busy street and that her presence would cause too much attention. Trotting back home, she found the fearsome warrior mare on a tree, munching on an apple.

"Hope you don't mind!" Lihua called, her mouth full of juicy apple

"Mah family needs to make a livin 'ere you know!" Applebloom sighed "and didn't you say you didn't need ta eat?"

"Yeah, but I eat because it's tasty to my senses. Your apples here are very sweet and juicy!" Lihua shrugged,

"You can just ask you know, we're just friends"

"I will remember to ask permission next time." Lihua nodded as she landed neatly on the ground "are you ready to head out to the portal?"

"Yeah, about that, can we do this later? Like, a few days?"

"But..."

"It's the weekend, can't we just take some rest? Ah mean, sure there's two of these massive Chaos cracks like you called it, but it's not doin' anything bad lately! You should take a rest and enjoy the peace too!"

"Well... I can't really, I need to keep a careful watch..." Lihua spoke with a worried expression. "Okay then, you can rest for this weekend, but upcoming Monday, we need to strike."

"Deal!" Applebloom nodded as she galloped off to join her friends, Lihua hopped back onto the tree and continued peering towards the portal

On Sunday, Applebloom had the feeling to ask why her new friend wasn't mentioned in the historic records of Ancient Chineigh.

"Fan Lihua? There's a good reason for that." Flash replied, "she's actually a fictional figure."

"Wha?!" Applebloom jumped, "she ain't real!?"

"Regardless, her character is quite popular when first used in Chineighse opera and all sorts of soaps. An assumption is that perhaps the company that publishes this book thought about it and decided to add it in. They did the same with King Arthur and Lancelot, and the Gods of Olympia. Are they real? That is... It's debatable whether the Olympian Gods existed."

"Touché..." Applebloom nodded,

"If she were to exist however..." Flash continued, "It would be an honour to learn spear techniques from her."

"Ah'll keep that in mind." Applebloom giggled "see you around Mr Sentry!"

"Take care!" Flash waved goodbye,

Near the evening, Applebloom thought it would be a good idea to show her two friends the Soul Stone in the CMC treehouse.

"It looks pretty." Sweetie Belle stated as she cradled the large marble with her magic,

"Man, If only I had my marbles, I'd try to win it off you!" Scootaloo sighed,

"Nuh-uh! This ain't a marble, and it's not a prize." Applebloom raised her voice,

"What is it then?" Sweetie asked,

"Ah can't tell you, it's a secret."

Finally, the night rolled in, and Applebloom was sure making sure she was ready for tomorrow's fight.

"Are you ready?" Fan Lihua asked, as she once again, entered from the window.

"To be honest, ah'm feeling a little nervous for tomorrow." Applebloom replied,

"Listen, I know you're trying to get others to help you, but a Soul Stone is not for show." Lihua continued "I saw you showing it to your friends today."

"Well, what else can ah do this entire day? Ah just can't stop thinkin' about you and the other heroes."

"It would jeopardize my position and identity, and it may cause problems for your community."

"Okay then, at least we can solve things tomorrow right?"

"Yes." Lihua nodded, "sleep well Applebloom, for we fight tomorrow."

"Goodnight." Applebloom moaned with fatigue as she hopped off to sleep, as Lihua hopped back out to scout.

Applebloom found herself stranded and floating in a purple void of energy, similar to what looked like the Dimensional Crack.

"Hello?" Applebloom called "anypony?"

"Do you know what you have done?" A dreaded voice called out "do you know what you have gotten yourself into?"

"Wh-Who are you?" Applebloom called back, acting tough "show yerself."

"It was foolish for a small young child like you to think that being the first Hunter of your world could stand a chance against us. Do you know how many have failed to defeat us?" The dreaded voice continued

"A-Ah'm not afraid of you!" Applebloom replied,

"Your voice says otherwise, but it is too late, as it appears that you have chosen your path. Your efforts to protecting your world will be futile. We will rain death upon you, and the ones you love." Applebloom body was spun to a direction where she could see familiar figures standing in the distance, all her friends and the people she have known. Stabbed, impaled, burnt, skinned, and every other fate, in all shapes and forms that bring death.

"No..." Applebloom gasped as she sees Applejack stabbed from all directions by silhouettes of pike-wielding ponies.

"Do you know that this is the doom that you will bring to your own family?" The voice continued as Applebloom sees Big Mac decapitated by a shadow axepony.

"S-Stop it!" Applebloom yelled to see even a unicorn shadow, setting Granny Smith ablaze,

"Submit to us, and perhaps we shall consider sparing their lives." The voice continued, as Applebloom was now guided to see her two best friends cowering in fear, with a familiar royal guard trying to repel the countless swarming shadows of enemies.

"I... I..." Applebloom covered her eyes, refusing to see the bloodshed of her own friends and citizens, until the image of Fan Lihua appeared in her mind. With still a timid but determined mind, she rose her head once again to give her answer.

"Never!!!" She yelled, "you would kill everypony anyway!!!"

"Clever little filly..." The dreaded voice sighed "so be it then." As if commanded, the black horde of enemies charged with a war cry straight towards the three ponies and horribly spilt their blood. Suddenly, a dark winged creature rose from the corpses of the three lost souls and dived straight for Applebloom, while Applebloom then found a familiar weapon at her feet. Picking up Fan Lihua's spear, She held it towards the approaching creature as a method to threaten it, but it refused to slow down.

"Death will come. To you and your world." The voice repeated as the winged beast drew near.

"Ah..." Applebloom cried, the spear trembling in her grasp. Bracing and waiting to be struck by the beast, a surge of anger and many positive coursed through her body "Ah won't allow it!" And swung the spear downwards just as the beast was up close.

"Argh!" Applebloom woke up in a jolt as an alarm rang through her room.

"Oh... It's Monday. Guess it's time to save the world." Applebloom sighed as she reached for the alarm clock to put it to snooze. One thing she noticed however, that it wasn't her alarm ringing. Confused, she hopped out of bed, and ran down the stairs, finding her sister, brother and grandmother in suppressed panic.

"Wh-What's goin on out there!?"

"Beats me Applebloom." Applejack replied, "Twilight just initiated the guard to sound the alarm."

"What alarm?"

"That we're bein' invaded! By Ponies!" Applejack explained,

"Ponies?" Applebloom's eyes widened.

"Ah'm goin' to be leavin' for the castle soon for an emergency meeting. Ah want you to stay with Big Mac and Granny Smith."

"No, please sis, let me go with you!" Applebloom pleaded,

"And let you get... Killed? Ah'm not lettin' you join mama and papa early!" Applejack refused, "yer stayin, it's for yer own safety!"

"It's not what you think," Applebloom tried to explain "ah actually--"

"No." Applejack interrupted. Applebloom thought for a moment as if she's defeated, then had an idea.

"Okay then, ah'll stay."

"That's mah sister." Applejack nodded, embracing her sister, "look, if ah don't make it... Make sure you take care of Big Mac and our family alright?"

"You won't... Die. Ah'm sure of it."

"That's good to know." Applejack smiled. Embracing one more time, Applebloom went up to her room, while Applejack quickly galloped off to the castle. Back upstairs in her room, Applebloom decided to jump the window, only to see her Big Bro nailing planks to bar the window.

"Big Mac!" Applebloom whined,

"Sorry little sis, but Applejack says." Big Mac sighed, "fer yer own good." And trotted back down the stairs.

"Well played sis." Applebloom pouted, but broke into a devious grin. "But ah still got one more trick." Bringing out her pouch, she pulled out the soul stone of Fan Lihua. "Time to put that pose ah've been practisin yesterday to good use!" Performing her special spin-a-round pose, she raised her Soul Stone to the air.

"Fan Lihua! Ah summon yer presence to save the world!" Applebloom chanted, but no glow came from the stone. Instead, the sound of splitting wood came from her window. Applebloom turned in fright to see all the wooden planks used to block Applebloom's window neatly cut in half and lying on the floor. Through the window, the fearsome warrior mare in yellow and green was standing on the branches of the nearby tree.

"I'm already here." Lihua replied, "it's looking pretty bad out there, a group of those soldier ponies in red uniform. That means their element is Fire."

"Uh, Miss Lihua?"

"Sure, there may be a few weak enemies like Purings and cats, but I have a dread feeling we'll be facing against our own heroes."

"Miss Lihua?"

"We've got to hurry there now, as a Hero Buster, it is your duty to save your town."

"Lihua!" Applebloom yelled,

"Yes?"

"Ah'm sorry... It was foolish of me to take a break. If, if ah had went with you... None of this could ave happened." Applebloom apologised.

"It's alright." Lihua placed a hoof on her shoulder "what's done is done. We can't change the past. Now, we've got to take the fight to them. Are you ready?"

"... Ah'm ready." Applebloom nodded, her eyes burning with spirit.

"Then hold on. I'm going to move pretty fast." Lihua warned, placing Applebloom on her back, the warrior jumped swiftly and quickly from tree to tree, until she landed on the entrance to the farm. With that, she made a quick dash towards the burning town.

In the castle of Twilight, the meeting was getting pretty desperate as the 6 mares were worried about this desperate attack.

"Are you sure we cannot quickly send a message to Princess Celestia? To request for more aid?" Twilight asked,

"I'm afraid that can't happen darling. The dashing lieutenant says that in the enemy ranks, there is a target that is hindering us from even getting out of Ponyville by air."

"Somepony... Using arrows... Shoots down any escaping Pegasi..." Fluttershy whimpered,

"Send me! I can outfly any arrow shot at me." Rainbow volunteered,

"We're not takin the risk." Applejack stopped, "this pony could shoot you down instantly."

"Well, what can we do?" Pinkie asked, Twilight just looked out at the commotion.

"This is a nightmare..." Twilight gulped, "please, Royal Guard. Help us."

"We cannot let our Princess and her friends down!" Flash Sentry yelled, trying to increase morale "we can do this everypony!"

"Yes sir!" Came the response. The Royal Guards of Ponyville were able to at least mount a defence, but without any idea or knowledge of the enemy, apart from the fact that there is some powerful enemy archer preventing an attack from the air, the guards are pretty much grounded.

"Sir, do you honestly think we can pull through?" A guard asked, "these guys are fierce."

"Dang it, I guess there is no choice. Make sure the castle is defended! I'll take the fight to them." Flash replied, and galloped towards the enemy.

"Mister Flash!" A familiar voice stopped him in his tracks. Flash turned towards the voice and his face fell in horror as he saw the familiar red-maned pony from before.

"Applebloom!?" Flash blurted and quickly ran to her side. "What are you doing here? This area is dangerous! Don't you know that enemies are attacking!?"

"Ah know." Applebloom replied, "and ah know how to beat them."

"You know how to... Wait, what?" Flash jumped, unexpected to hear those words from a filly.

"Just be careful!" Applebloom warned "there's a varmint headed straight for you!" Flash took the message and instantly parried the incoming sword strike. Skilfully spinning and twirling his spear, Flash was able to gain the advantage over the enemy and in no less than half a minute, was the swordspony pinned to the floor.

"Surrender, and I may be lenient on your torture." Flash threatened, the spear pointed at the enemy's neck.

"Flash, this may seem a bit brutal but... You gotta... How do ah say this... Neutralize him."

"I beg your pardon?" Flash replied in horror, still keeping his eyes and spear at the enemy. "Are you telling me to... Kill him?"

"Exactly." Another voice came from his right. A curved blade pierced into the body of the assailant and Flash pulled away in fear, realising what had happened. As the body collapsed into light, Flash looked to the right to see the Fan Lihua, standing her spear upright.

"You..." Flash started "do you know what you have done? Even though they are a threat to Equestria, we never take their life!"

"These guys no longer have lives." Lihua explained "they're not even pony. They are just awakened and revived souls solely for battle."

"... It seems you have fought this enemy before, considering that I haven't seen you around from here."

"You're right, I only just came to Equestria a while ago. But I shall explain everything later. Right now, you need to trust me when I say that the only way to stop this enemy is to kill them. If you really want to protect this town." Flash stayed silent at this proposal, staring at Lihua.

"Please Flash, ah know it's hard for you, but you can't trust her, then you gotta trust me on this one." Applebloom added, Flash continued staying silent, and made his decision.

"... Very well, I will lend you my spear." Flash agreed, "but I want a full explanation of what is going on from both of you. Understand?"

"You have my word." Lihua bowed,

"It's a promise." Applebloom agreed,

"Sir..." One of the remaining guards spoke up "are you sure we can trust her?"

"I don't know who you are miss." Flash continued "but, I can tell that you've been through Tartarus fighting against these criminal scums. The eyes of a fearsome warrior. That's why I'm temporarily throwing my trust on you."

"I promise you too, that I will make sure to maintain this trust." Lihua added,

"What is needed to drive back the enemy?" Flash asked,

"I'll need 5 stallions to accompany me. I assume you'll be one of them?"

"Of course." Flash agreed and turned to the crowd "If 4 of you are willing to fight for your loved ones, to protect them and their homes. Ca--"

"No need to ask anymore sir." The guard filled with doubt stepped up. "I'm convinced that you fully trust her, then I'll trust her too."

"So shall we." 3 other soldiers also stepped up bravely.

"You have my gratitude." Lihua bowed "Applebloom, we need to make our move."

"She has to come?" Flash asked,

"Yes. Like I have said, I will explain everything."

"The plan of attack is simple, we are to simply take down the enemy rank by rank. Most enemy hordes used for defence or invasion are split up into 4 different platoons. Each one led by a commander of that group, or as I call it, the Boss. The weakest of the platoon goes first, then they get stronger as we push through." Lihua planned, "My best method is for everypony to focus on a single enemy, one by one."

Encountering the First Platoon, the small pack of Royal Guards seem very motivated to strike right towards the enemy. The team devised a small strategy that works easily. Such as having one guard knock an enemy off balance and the other striking true. Sure, the Guards were reluctant to actually kill, but understanding the fact that these were just reanimated souls in fake bodies, they got used to it. After tripping and defeating every swordsmen along with some weird creatures, the group managed to engage the platoon commander, a female swordsmare wearing a special red leather armor. Although she fought fiercely, she couldn't overpower 6 highly trained fighters with an actual fighting plan and found her neck cut with one slash by Lihua's blade.

The enemies we face not only include just weapon wielding ponies, they also include different types of monsters that were created by Chaos itself. I think I can see Purings and Cats." Lihua continued

"Cats? Ah'm not really sure we should kill them... Perhaps they can be useful?" Applebloom replied,

"Don't let their cuteness fool you, they are quite deadly. You are right about one thing, them being useful. As well as the Purings too."

"Why's that?" Flash asked,

"Only for the heroes. I'll explain later." Lihua replied,

Blowing through the second platoon, the Royal Guard were still standing strong. Likewise, the team employed the same tactic as before, with Applebloom cheering from the sidelines, and no sooner was the platoon commander right in their reach. The Fire General, a mare that wields a weapon similar to Lihua, laughs at them as a taunting gesture, but Lihua, Flash and the other guards are not amused and no later did the guards and Lihua exchanged and shared blows and stabs against the General before launching her into the air, where Flash finished the job with a fierce spear throw through the stomach.

"Ah hope nopony hears about this." Applebloom gulped as she saw the enemy's body turning into a large wisp of billowing smoke.

"In a situation like this, we can say it will be off the books. Also, I'm sure the Princesses will understand that these ponies are indeed not... Pony." Flash replied, "the enemy is no longer in Ponyville, but it won't be long before the 2nd half of the horde comes as backup. We'll need to march out now."

"One more thing, if anypony of you get seriously wounded or injured." Lihua added, and showed the group a large bag chock full of potions. "These potions are of great importance and should be used when in trouble. Some can accelerate repair and regeneration for your physical body. Other can re-energize you back into your optimal condition, or even better. That's all you should know. If you do get knocked down, you must retreat or get somepony to help you retreat immediately."

"Ah'll do it." Applebloom volunteered "ah may not be suited fer battle, but I'll help drag anypony to safety."

"Very well, may we all get this through unscathed." Lihua replied "If we defeat the first two platoons, we will push the enemy out of Ponyville, until they decide to send their final two platoons."

"We'll be approaching the 3rd platoon soon." Lihua replied as she saw another platoon coming from the distance. "It also seems that the 4th platoon will be joining too."

"Prepare for battle." Flash commanded,

"Heh!" One guard spoke "this actually feels like a pushover! We'll get this down in no time!"

"Don't get cocky just yet." Flash warned "the enemy we face may be a far different level of difficulty than Nightmare Moon, Queen Chrysalis, Sombra or Tirek, but we still shouldn't underestimate our enemy."

"... Oh no..." Lihua gulped, using a pair of binoculars to scout the enemy.

"Do you need help with the binoculars again Miss Lihua?" Applebloom asked,

"I know how to use it now, thank you." Lihua shook her head "The 3rd and 4th platoon together are part of a special squadron, the Red Strike. They are quite powerful ponies that are mostly used for attacking. They go in a peaceful village, and leave it burning into ashes."

"Now there's no way in Tartarus that we'll let them do that." Another guard spoke,

"Led by this group is... Bu Lianshi. The personal bodyguard of her Princess."

"Lianshi?" Flash jumped "isn't she--?"

"Her weapon of choice is a powerful one-hoofed crossbow designed solely for her, she is highly and exceptionally skilled at using it."

"So she must be the one preventing anypony from escaping by flight." Flash theorised,

"That is highly likely." Lihua nodded, "she fires quick. Regardless, if we were to defeat her now, it will allow pegasi to fly again."

"But..." Applebloom objected, "we're dealin' with another Hero... Right?"

"Unfortunately yes." Lihua nodded, "but we have overpowered most of these soldiers because we worked together as a team, I have the utmost faith and certainty that we can take her down together."

"Thanks for the compliment." The guard blushed,

"Either way, I'm sure they've noticed that their two platoons have been wiped out and are coming this way, perhaps..."

A long black-maned beauty wearing red-silk armor led her platoon carefully on the dirt path, making their way towards Ponyville.

"Listen everypony." The mare spoke "it turns out our first 2 platoons have been wiped out. It appears this town has initiated a defence and succeeded in pushing us out. Not only that, they seem to know our plan of attack..."

"Attack!" Came a quick command and before the enemy platoon could react, Flash Sentry and the 4 Royal Guards hopped out of the bush, managing to quickly neutralize a third of their total force before quickly assembling a road block. The mare immediately raised her crossbow and fired at the pony wall, but was deflected by a sharp blade as Fan Lihua jumped right between the two groups.

"Bu Lianshi." Fan Lihua spoke in greeting.

"I should have known." Lianshi sighed, "apparently, not all of the heroes have been defeated. You're interfering with the Princess' Plans."

"You should know better Lianshi." Lihua replied, "being her personal guard is not just guarding her, you must also give advice."

"That's the job of an advisor!" Lianshi rebuked, "I protect and carry out her orders!"

"And you seem to have separated from her to attack us and... Oh my, bringing her stallions as backup? Are you sure that's a good idea? We could send assassins to quickly end her first."

"Nice try Lihua, but this was a simple attempt to take this town instantly. A town without the knowledge of our attack, it would be impossible to send an assassin when you're busy defending. I thought this would be a victorious and successful capture, until I heard what happened to the two platoons. Looks like you were behind it after all."

"Surrender, enemy commander." Flash commanded "this doesn't have to end ugly."

"Oh it already has." Lianshi replied and quickly fired an arrow. Flash knew however, that when he said those words, there would be a instant chance that the enemy will strike. With the arrow sailing harmlessly past his head. Flash flew straight up to her and resorted to hoof punching.

"Rgh..." Lianshi reeled back as Flash's hoof knocked her head upwards in an uppercut. "You've got nerve hitting a lady."

"Gender does not matter. If they are an enemy and if they strike first, I will retaliate." Flash replied and threw another punch.

"You've caught me off-guard that time." Lianshi smiled as she blocked his hoof with her own. "You won't get lucky again!" And a sudden jerk of her hind legs knocked the pegasus backwards.

"Say goodbye." Lianshi stated, raising her bow for a clear shot.

"Goodbye!" Applebloom jumped out tackling the crossbow mare to the floor, interrupting the attack.

"Applebloom!" Lihua jumped to her side as Applebloom quickly hopped away to a distance safe from Lianshi's range. "You clearly know that you shouldn't get involved!"

"And let her kill Mr Sentry? Ah prefer him alive." Applebloom replied,

"Well well..." Lianshi chuckled as she dusted herself off the ground. "A little filly. Fighting along with a hero of legend? This will be interesting. You don't mean to say Fan Lihua, that you have given your soul to this little country peasant?"

"Take that back!" Lihua replied, "Applebloom is more than what you think!"

"Oh I'll show what I think of her, of all of you." She continued and pointed her hoof "obstructions in the path of my Princess. Kill them!" With that, the enemy horde charged straight towards the group in full force.

"Uhh... I don't think we can take them all at once." The guard spoke as he readied his spear with shaky hooves.

"That's true." Lihua nodded, "and with Lianshi assisting from afar, we may be sitting ducks." Suddenly, an idea popped into her head.

"Applebloom? Here's a new lesson I'd like to teach you with the stone." Lihua called, "I want you to activate my skill."

"Yer... Skill?"

"Hold the stone, swing your arm upwards and say 'skill activation'."

"Huh, sounds simple." Applebloom giggled. With that, she pulled the soul stone out of the pouch and swung it upwards.

"Skill, activate!" Applebloom yelled, a white wave of energy calmly burst from the stone and as it went through Lihua, a yellow aura surrounded her.

"I can feel your power." Lihua noted to Applebloom and leapt to the sky.

"Lord Strike!"

Lihua brought her blade down to the ground in front of the advancing hoard and it triggered a large shock wave of yellow energy in the form of a sharp projectile that shook the ground and renders every enemy that it passes lifeless. No later was the ground covered in fading and vaporising bodies.

"Woah! That was awesome!" Applebloom looked in amazement, it seems the the guards behind had witnessed the massive attack and were applauding her skill, only Flash was the one that looked unfazed.

"Typical. Heroes can easily activate skills as long as their hunter assists them." Lianshi watched from a tree. "Never mind that, I shall finish you myself!"

"Oh no you don't!" Flash intervened, catching her as she attempted to land and brought her crashing into the ground.

"You should have continued to keep an eye on us." Flash replied, pinning her down "I'm sorry that we have to end this anti-climatically, but we don't have enough time in our hands." Lianshi glared at Flash's face as a forced reply.

"Check-mate" Flash answered back as a fatal blow to the head knocked her out for good. Like the other enemy soldiers, she too either dissolved into light or crumbled like dust. However, where she lied, a large marble rested there. It looked similar to Lihua's soul stone, only that it was Red, had a picture symbol that looks like a flame, and a different picture which would have been the cutie mark of Bu Lianshi.

"That's awkward." Flash stated as he picked the stone up. "Is this the remains of that mare?"

"Sort of." Lihua replied, quickly taking the stone from him. "I can tell you for now that if this thing is still around, Lianshi can come back."

"So..."

"I'll explain. For now, I think Applebloom should keep this in her care." Lihua answered and tossed the stone to Applebloom, to which she neatly caught it using the pouch.

"Funny. This marble feels just like yours." Applebloom noted as she tightened the pouch shut and safely hung it from her sides.

"Well well well..." Another voice echoed. "Looks like somepony's got quite far through my soldiers." The 7 ponies turned to see a blond-maned pony from the distance, unlike the soldiers and the mare named Lianshi, this pony was a unicorn and with her magic, was levitating two futuristic-looking blades, one purple and one blue.

"Who's that?" One of the guards asked,

"Allow me to introduce myself." The mare answered followed with a bow. "My name is Sun Shangxiang. The daughter of the emperor of Eastern Wu State, which makes me the Princess!"

"So that's who that Lianshi woman was talking about. That's the Princess she was guarding." Applebloom mumbled to herself.

"I'm afraid that's far as you go. The Death King demands this town conquered and destroyed." Shangxiang continued,

"Not a chance Missus!" Applebloom replied,

"Indeed, I have decided to protect this peaceful town along with its inhabitants. I will not let you or Chaos control it." Lihua added.

"You talk smart Lihua." Shangxiang spoke, "but I'm afraid you are on wrong side. Why pain yourself fighting us, when you can join Chaos?"

"Never! What nonsense are you spouting from your mouth?" Lihua replied "you are being controlled by Chaos! You are not acting out of your own accord!"

"Enough!" Shangxiang shouted "we come to do battle, not parley! And I shall eviscerate you all!" Levitating her swords to the air, they 'opened' up and emitted a large beam of energy unknown to the ponies and were shaped like the blades, only that it was made by this energy and it's much bigger.

"Everypony fall back! Her blades can burn through skin!" Lihua warned. Shangxiang leapt forward attempting to slice her target with a cross slash, but clashed with the blade of Lihua's spear.

"Wha? Ah thought her weapon can slice through skin!" Applebloom looked afraid but confused about what was happening.

"Every weapon and armor of a hero is unique and powerful. It is no mere sword or body plate." Lihua replied and pushed her back, to which the enemy unicorn performed a back-flip with somersaults to create distance

"Not bad Lihua." Shangxiang landed neatly on the dirt path. "But it will take more than the power of the earth to stop me!" Once more, Shangxiang leapt at the warrior, while Lihua charged too.

"Stay back!" Lihua commanded, "this is my fight between her!" The Royal Guard obeyed as they looked in awe at the two mares ferociously clashing their blades, attempting to look for an attack of opportunity.

"This is bad, they seem evenly matched!" A guard spoke,

"For a unicorn, she is extremely agile." Flash replied, "I don't see her letting her guard down anytime soon."

"There must be some way to help Lihua!" Applebloom asked, "but what?" Then, she remembered something.

"I'm already here." Lihua replied, "it's looking pretty bad out there, a group of those soldier ponies in red uniform. That means their element is Fire."

"That's it!" Applebloom jumped with joy "If all those varmints were fire types, that means she's a fire-type hero too!" And looked to the sky.

"Dang it!" Applebloom yelled in frustration as she gazed towards the clear sky.

"Applebloom?" Flash wondered what was going on with the little filly.

"Mister Sentry, ah have a plan to help Lihua. But ah need it now."

"Anything." Flash replied,

"Ah need a cloud with the heaviest rain." Applebloom demanded "ah plan to rain on Shangxiang's parade."

"But it's a cloudless day." Flash explained "It would be rare to find a cloud. However, I do know one such pony who can help me find one."

"Really?"

"Today's weather forecast." Flash announced "the arrow storm has ceased today and will never come back. Through the minute, a heavy rainstorm will ensue near Ponyville." And with that, he took off like an arrow to the direction of the castle.

Back in the castle, The 6 mares were wondering what was going on, although they saw everything. The appearance of this mysterious mare, how she convinced the Lieutenant and a few other guards to fight for her, and the horror but amazement of how those 6 ponies were able to strike down both groups of enemies and clearing them out of Ponyville. The last they saw of them was heading away from Ponyville towards the direction of where the enemies come from. They didn't however, notice that Applebloom was in the mix of all this. The one who was travelling with the mare and the one that hid herself within the unauthorized dispatched party.

"Dang. Ah sure hope Applebloom's alright." Applejack spoke,

"Relax darling." Rarity comforted "I'm pretty sure you kept her at home in company with Big Mac and Granny Smith, unlike my sister who has to deal with Opal shut in."

"Oh dear... Flash and brave ponies, please be safe." Twilight prayed,

"At your service miladies." A familiar voice came from the balcony.

"Flash!" Pinkie cheered as she saw the orange pegasus. "You're still alive!"

"And so are the others, for the time being." Flash replied,

"Flash, what is going on?" Twilight asked,

"Not enough time to explain, I need to borrow you Rainbow Dash."

"Me?"

"Where is the nearest raincloud? One with heavy rain if possible."

"It's a colossal downpour today in Cloudsdale." Rainbow Dash explained "but I don't think messing with the weather forecast is a good idea."

"It is a matter of life and death." Flash replied "for the safety and victory of her... and us!"

"Her? Who is this... Her?" Fluttershy picked up.

"Flash..." Twilight spoke with suspicion.

"She is the mysterious mare that I assume you have seen." Flash explained. "She may not be from around here or from Equestria for all I know, but she is fighting for us. The Royal Guards owe her, I owe her, I won't let her die!"

"... Very well then." Twilight nodded, "We can allow a small freak storm, but I want to know about everything if we pull through."

"You will, I promise on behalf of Equestria and under your command" Flash bowed,

"Follow me pal!" Rainbow instructed as she soared to the skies with Flash closely behind.

Back to the fight, the team isn't faring very well. Shangxiang managed to knock Lihua off balance and dreadfully wounded her with her two energy blades. As Applebloom was swift to bombard her with potions, the 4 remaining guards ganged up on the enemy. The Princess swirled her two blades around as well as upwards and downwards and easily inflicted damage on each guard.

"Argh!" A guard went as he was severely cut more than 10 times.

"Guh!" Another guard went limp after receiving many slashes to his leg.

"This ain't good, you guys need to get out of here!" Applebloom cried,

"She's right." Lihua nodded, "I'll take over!" And jumped back to the fray, fully recovered while Applebloom and the two unharmed soldiers dragged the damaged ones back.

"Heh. This lot is not worth a challenge." Shangxiang taunted "It's a miracle that they have you. Otherwise, their fight is over."

"Enough! You shall not taunt these ponies any further!" Lihua rebuked,

"Even you drag the young ones as the medic. Your allies really are low in morals, aren't you?"

"Enough!" Applebloom overheard as she was treating the guard's wounds. Leaving them with ample potions, Applebloom stood forward and confronted the Princess. "Ah ain't no young un! It was mah choice to go out in the field. To protect Ponyville, the ones ah love, ah would put mah life on the line for it! So would others who think the same!"

"You've got a lot of mouth little filly." Shangxiang spoke, "I admire that, too bad you don't have the skills to back it up." She threateningly held a blade towards Applebloom "This will be a quick victory for me!"

"Ah may not have skills." Applebloom replied, but as she looked to the ground, she grinned as she saw a looming shadow. "But ah have friends. Friends like Miss Lihua, Mr Sentry and even the guards you've injured."

"Huh?" Shangxiang looked distracted as she saw a very dark cloud towering above her.

"And it's friends that ah have that can do the impossible through uncanny means." Applebloom continued "such as using the weather!" And with that, Flash pounded downward on the cloud, releasing a heavy torrent of water. It was too late for Shangxiang to react and was no sooner crumbling under the horrific downpour.

"Argh!" Shangxiang growled, as she tried to heave herself out of the rain cloud. No matter how hard she moved, the pegasus always made sure the cloud stood over the Princess.

"No!" She grumbled as he two energy blades came to contact with water and short circuited. "My weapons!"

"Water..." Lihua thought to herself as she saw the Fire Princess getting wet and sloppy. "I have never thought of that!"

"She's disarmed Miss Lihua." Applebloom signalled "now let's take her down!" Once more, she swiped the soul stone to the air and chanted "skill activation! Lord Strike!"

"Raahhh!!!" Lihua roared as she brought down her weapon once again, The familiar shock wave of yellow energy with the sound of crumbling rocks and in the shape of a sharp slice projectile was released and sped through the Princess, slicing her in half.

"Ahhhh!!!" Shangxiang screamed in pain as her body faded into light and into non-existence, leaving behind a large red marble. After that, silence could be heard throughout the area.

"Is..." One of the injured guards winced in pain "Is it over?" Applebloom looked at Lihua, then to the air where Flash Sentry landed down. With a nod of agreement from both,

"... It's over." Applebloom smiled, "ah think we just saved Ponyville."

"Well done Applebloom." Flash replied, "your tactic has worked wonders. I believe the credit goes to your quick thinking. It is an honour to say thank you on behalf of Equestria and me."

"And I want to say thank you too." Lihua added, "for saving my life a second time, you have my deepest gratitude."

"Three cheers for Applebloom!" An injured guard chanted in victory "hip hip..."

"Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!" The guards went.

"Let's go home." Applebloom gestured,

"Thank you once again, for your assistance in protecting Ponyville." Flash remarked as they returned.

"No problem!" Applebloom replied,

"But remember our agreement." Flash spoke in a strict tone, revealing a familiar large red marble.

"Wait... What the!? How did you get that?" Applebloom gasped,

"You forgot to pick it up, remember?" Flash replied, "this was what remained of the Shangxiang mare"

"Crap..." Applebloom cursed her memory.

"Now" Flash spoke, "I want to know everything." He turned to Lihua "who you really are and your origin, how you know these things, these... Heroes, certain names I do recall from the books of ancient history. And..." He turned to Applebloom "why you are thrown in this mess"

"A promise is a promise." Applebloom nodded, "this is..." She gestured to the yellow mare.

"I am Fan Lihua." Lihua introduced with a bow "the Turkic Princess of Neighsia."

"No way..." Flash spoke in silence. "That's impossible."

"Ah know it's hard to see a fictional figure in the flesh, but that's actually her." Applebloom replied,

"And those two..." Flash continued "Bu Lianshi and Sun Shangxiang. They were also heroes of ancient Chineigh, weren't they?"

"That is correct." Lihua nodded,

"Hmm... What I'm really confused about, is that one of them was a..."

"When we were revived and rejuvenated, we may have undergone a few changes, from small things such as our previous occupations, power and positions, to the most drastic being age or gender." Lihua interrupted,

"I... See."

"The heroes and I were awakened in order to serve. A dimensional rift has opened where I come from, and we had to close it. This rift however has a mind of its own. It could create its own sort of pony soldiers and capture any heroes it could get its hands on. The ponies who were responsible and has the power for awakening heroes like me banded together to fight back against that rift we call 'Chaos', they were known by 3 titles: A Pioneer, Hunter or Hero Buster." Lihua took a deep breath then continued.

"Unfortunately, the number of Hunters we had were decreasing and declining, whether through discharge from duty or killed in action. It was then we had no more hunters or pioneers but only two ponies that are considered assistants, that took over. They treated every hero with kindness, respect, as if we were equals, allies... And friends, in your term of words."

"It seems you had a pleasant life," Flash evaluated "until..."

"Chaos inflicted a full-assault on our base, with the heroes he gathered. We were taken by surprise and that any sort of resistance was pushed aside or destroyed. A majority of heroes, my allies were captured, killed and assimilated to the side of Chaos. In the midst, we had one more card to play: Escaping." Applebloom winced hearing the story a second time.

"We managed to activate a stable portal that could take us to another dimension, but like I said before, most heroes didn't make it. Roya was killed, I dare say she was assimilated too, and I never knew what happened to Qiuxiang or the rest of the heroes that did." A tear dropped from her eyes "It was... heartbreaking."

"But didn't you say that they also ended up here?"

"Yes..." Lihua nodded, "as such, we were in an unknown world with unknown inhabitants. We were split up and all alone. My instinct was always to keep a low profile and not to be spotted. Eventually, we knew that Chaos would track us down here, sooner or later. I desperately tried to find my allies, to band together and mount some sort of counter-attack against them in order to protect the world we jumped into, yours."

"But if what you say is true..." Flash replied "even if you manage to find your comrades, you would be without a hunter."

"I know, they were our power source, our strategist, our tactician." Lihua nodded "I thought that ponies with such powers could only exist in my world, but I was wrong. They do exist in this world too, and one of them is Applebloom."

"Ah know..." Applebloom looked away in embarrassment. "Now ah know it doesn't feel so good to boast about such powers. Especially if it's responsibility and owning up."

"So that's why you are a part of this scuffle Applebloom." Flash concluded "you are a Hero Buster."

"Yes" Applebloom nodded,

"It is amazing that you have this power but the big matter here is how other ponies will take it, your sister especially." He closed his eyes in deep thinking "I don't know how to explain this."

"Mister Sentry." Applebloom pleaded "please, you can't let Big Sis know about this."

"Hmm..." Flash looked at Applebloom with great concern. "When I saw you at school last Friday, reading those books with great interest and attention. And the day when you wanted one of those pouches... A happy-go-lucky filly, to a mare who perseveres through the darkest truths of life. You really have changed so much within the weekend"

"Ah'll admit that this attack was a surprise to me too." Applebloom continued "but I have seen... Death before, actual death."

"I know that feeling..." Flash sighed, "but since you have now accepted this power... You will be relied on dealing with this invasion, right?"

"No turning back if I join Miss Lihua." Applebloom nodded "ah know that I can't quit or stop. Ah've made my decision and ah know the consequences. Ah'm doin this to help mah friends."

"Applebloom." Flash bowed "I believe you have matured to a strong mare. You are now taking responsibility for your choices, and you want to help others who are close to you."

"So... Am ah okay?"

"Not really." Flash stood up again "I've only said you've grown. As for dealing with the matters at hand, I have to report to Princess Twilight for that. Although you've been very courageous in standing against the enemy, pulling through the attack through Ponyville, as well as help out the injured guards, I still need to brief the situation. This is what I can do however..."