Equestria, Masters of Friendship!
The Queen of Shadows
Previous ChapterA lone boat was sailing on a narrow river, surrounded by thick walls of ice.
"I spy something... white." Pinkie said looking up at the sky, where the flurries were coming from, bored out of her mind!
"Would ya try to quiet down for once sugarcube, this aint' easy." Applejack said trying to steer the ship. She jerked the wheel trying to avoid a block of ice, and a loud crash could be heard.
"Ooohhh, I spy something broken." Pinkie said, at least she was with Applejack and not Rainbow Dash who was pretty pissed at the moment.
"Arrrrghhh, If Sensei knows the way to the next golden weapon, why isn't she steering the ship!? Oh we have been drifting aimlessly for miles!" Rainbow asked looking up towards Sensei Celestia who was meditating on the nose of the old ship.
"Sensei's wisdom is beyond my own." Fluttershy answered her distressed friend.
Then, out of nowhere, Celestia came out of meditation. "The most powerful move in spinjitzu can only be accomplished when all four elements are combined. Earth!" she yelled stading one hind leg back with her two front hooves in the air pointing left. "Ice!" she chanted pulling another graceful pose with her wings pointed towards the sky. "Fire!" she continued holding a pose that cupid is usually in,"Lightning!" she finished in somewhat of a lotus pose.
"What happens when the four of them are combined?" Pinkie asked who seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"The tornado of creation, the power to create something, out of nothing." Celestia finished.
At those words Rainbow attempted to do the poses Celestia struck.
"No Rainbow Dash, if done incorrectly, it will lead to disastrous consequences." Celestia warned.
"Disastrous consequences, ya right!" Rainbow mocked attempting tostrike the final pose, but fell over on account of the ship hitting a huge land mass of ice. She watched as the sails were frozen solid.
"Uuugghh, wasn't me." Applejack claimed.
"Did I do that?" Dash asked looking at her hooves like they had just murdered somepony.
"No, we are here." Celestia answered pointing towards the massive temple located on the gigantic ice cube.
The team stumbled off of the ship and cautiously entered the temple. Inside was two golden shuricans floating below what seemed to be a decorative dragon's mouth, but the ponies knew better than that from their last encounter.
Fluttershy reached out to grab them, but was frozen right as she touched the magical weapons. As the blue and white dragon awakened, her teammates carries the poor yellow pegasus out of the temple door. Once they got out of the temple, Pinkie Pie slipped, and the four ninja's crashed into an ice block, at least it freed Fluttershy. Celestia pointed to the next spot on the map as the ninjas looked back to see the dragon's head stuck in the doorway.
Next, on top of a massive rock structure, there was a chain that led to where the nunchucks were. Right before they began climbing, they saw a swarm of skullkin catching up to them! Rainbow would've flew if there wasn't so much lightning. She was a daredevil and all, but she wanted to live to rescue her brother.
"Oh gosh, we're being followed!" Fluttershy told her other teammates of the alarming information. They hurried up, and made their way to the top. Pinkie who made it first, quickly grabbed the nunchucks without hesitation, surprised that there was no dragon to be found. That was until, with one thunderous BOOM! The dragon appeared. It's blue looks and glowing eyes somewhat terrified Pinkie, thank goodness she had a backup plan!
She Jumped off of the platform and began to free-fall until she activated her mechanical wings that she had invented! Once seeing Pinkie fly, her teammates followed suit and activated their wings as well knowing that Pinkie Pie had the nunchucks of lightning!
As Samukai watched them fly away he chuckled, everything was going to plan.
The mares glided to their campsite where they set up a fire and had a lot of fun, and a little celebration. They were dancing by the campfire, the warm flames gave them enough light to see each other, but that was all. Applejack was playing some bongos as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie danced to the beat! While Fluttershy just calmly nodded her head.
"Come on Sensei, join us!" Dash offered to her meditating sensei.
"There is still one weapon left, we must get our sleep." she told her students.
"Awwwee, but Sensei Celestia ya gotta admit we're kicking their bony buts!" Pinkie pointed out.
"Get up here, show us some moves." Rainbow asked her teacher.
She thought for a moment,"I guess I could..." Celestia said standing up,"Now this move is very special."
"But if done incorrectly, will it lead to disastrous consequences?" a shy, timid voice asked.
The whole campsite was filled with laughter. "Fl-Fl-Fluttershy, is that a joke?" Rainbow asked. "A sense of humor, you found it!"
Applejack picked up the music from where she left off, and watched as Celestia showed them some moves. It was then that the quartet of mares found out the hard way that their master did have a sense of humor like Fluttershy. For many more hours they laughed and enjoyed each other's company until they all were so exhausted that they just all went to sleep.
Later that night while everyone was asleep, a slight whisper went through the air,"Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash!" it repeated. The rainbow maned mare knew that voice anywhere, Elusive!
"Rainbow Dash." he repeated.
"Is that?" Rainbow whispered.
"I have to go!" Elusive said, taking off into the woods.
"Elusive, wait up!" Rainbow called chasing her brother. "Slow down, why are you running so fast!?" she flapped her wings and did her best to catch up, since when was he this agile? She ignored her suspicions in her mind as she followed her brother down the old path. As rainbow tore through some bushes, she had finally found it, The Fire Temple! "Elusive!?" she called. As Rainbow approached the temple the doors opened, and in the doorway stood Elusive.
"Rainbow Dash."
"Elusive?" she was getting freaked out by her brother. As Dash finally made it to the entrance of the temple she saw her brother. "Elusive!"
"Don't worry," he began,"I'm right hERE SISTER!" the voice of Elusive had turned into an evil sounding voice, and Elusive's form had been turned into the shadow of an alicorn.
"Nightmare..." Rainbow muttered reaching for her sword located on her back, there was nothing, She must have left it back at the campsite!
"Forget something?" she taunted the much smaller mare.
"You can't hurt me here, you're banished! Trapped in the underworld!." Rainbow yelled.
"And that is why you are going to remove the sword of fire for me." Nightmare offered.
"I don't think so!"
"Are you sure about that?" Nightmare Moon taunted once again, disappearing to show her brother wrapped up in chains with dark crystals on his horn to keep him from using magic. He was being slowly lowered into the giant pit of lava that this temple was. "Rainbow!" he called.
"Elusive!" she tried to fly but she couldn't it was too hot! Pegasi couldn't fly in extreme heat like this!
"If you don't remove the sword, how else will you cut the chains to save your poor little brother?" Nightmare asked convincingly
"You know it's a trap, I can free myself!" he struggled,"Okay, that's tight." he said right before he was lowered faster into the lava pit!
"Tick-Tock Tick-Tock." Nightmare's voice echoed in Dash's took a deep breath before flipping over towards the sword of fire, and removing it from it's resting place in a piece of stone. She cut down her brother with the sword of fire using her fiery spinjitzu, and landed them safely on a platform next to the wall.
"Stay close." Rainbow ordered.
"Trust me, I'm not going anywhere!" her younger brother yelled, terrified.
"You can't hurt me, your only a shadow!" she challenged.
"Even shadow's have their uses." she said with a deep chuckle making rainbow's shadow fight herself! The shadow could land blows, but she couldn't! She was nearly defeated by the shadows, they had even taken her sword when Celestia jumped in and fought shadows with shadows. She used her shadow to fight them! Now they were getting somewhere! Celestia knocked the sword out of one of their hands, and held onto it tightly with her magic. She shot a beam towards elusive, freeing his horn from the anti-magic dark crystals.
"Sister, I see you protect one, but what of the other three?" Nightmare taunted.
"They are safe, far from your grasp nightmare!" Celestia yelled.
"I wouldn't be so confident!" she said creating a beam of light that showed Applejack sleeping. She woke up confused, but then a look of horror came on her face when she noticed that she was staring straight at skullkin feet! She reached for her weapon, but a stupid unicorn general already had it!
"I believe these belong to Nightmare Moon now! Samukai yelled as another general tied up Pinkie and Fluttershy.
The light dimmed bringing them back to reality. "We must not let my sister unite the four weapons! We must keep them apart!" Celestia yelled, trying to escape with the mare and stallion.
Nightmare Moon grew worried and panicked as she yelled,"Awaken guardian of the deep, they're stealing the sword! You must not them escape!" the shadow boomed. At her words the dragon that had bright heated colors rose from the lava. It's red orange and yellow scales blended in perfectly with the lava it rose out of. It let out many roars as it stepped towards the three ponies. The fire dragon knocked rocks down in the entrance so they could not escape the way they came.
Rainbow panicked,"There's no way out, she's taken away all our options!"
"All but one." Celestia said leaping over to a small island in the temple made of rock.
"Sensei, what are you doing!?" Rainbow yelled to her master as Celestia cut off half of the rock that she was standing on with the sword of fire, making it begin to float away.
"No you fool!" Nightmare roared.
"If she is to bring the other weapons here, then I will bring the sword of fire to the underworld, it is my sacrifice to bear." Celestai calmly explained.
"No! It's mine! I shouldn't have come on my own, you don't have to do this! There has to be another way!" Rainbow yelled breaking down in tears. However, all Rainbow Dash saw from Celestia was one final smile before she fell into the underworld. "NOOOOOOO!" Dash yelled.
"Then I will see you there SISTER!" Nightmare spat the last word out with venom.
"It's all my fault," Rainbow cried,"Sensei wont be able to survive for long!" Rainbow cried.
"Forget sensei," Elusive said shaking,"What about us?" he asked looking at the dragon standing above them.
Meanwhile, the other three ninjas were struggling in the ropes that the skullkin used to tie them together. "To the fire temple!" Samukai yelled victorious.
They all cheered until a familiar shadow showed up,"My sister has brought the sword of fire to the underworld, hurry we must unite the weapons before it's too late!" she boomed before her shadow disappeared.
Samukai was quiet for a moment,"Uhhmmmm, Change of plans, To the underworld!" his army cheered once again. Right as the skullkin were about to leave,Kruncha noticed that somehow his knife had magically turned into a stick! He shrugged it off, and followed his troops.
After they sped off into the distance, Applejack sighed,"Great, what now?"
"Now, we get outta here!" Pinkie yelled showing off her stolen knife in her mouth.
"Uhhhhh, Pinkie? You might wanna warn us before ya..." an upside down Applejack was cut off by Pinkie cutting the rope. Thay all fell to the ground before Applejack at the bottom of the pile muttered,"Warn us."
"Let's go!" Fluttershy said as she raced off towards the vehicles with her teammates close behind.
Samukai looked at his speed limit, it was still in green! "Faster!" he ordered,"We need to go faster to cross over to the underworld!" at his words the vehicles sped up immediately.
Fluttershy had trouble keeping up to Applejack and Pinkie Pie who were running towards the vehicles on hoof. She wasn't much of a fast flyer!
Samukai smirked as he saw his minion step on the gas pedal, they sped up at first, but then they reduced down to half speed. "What's wrong!?" he asked looking behind him too see Applejack holding on tightly to a chain, using her immense strength to try and slow the truck down.
As the two other ninja's boarded Fluttershy gave a few swift kicks too keep the skullkin out of her way while Pinkie jumped onto the front. "NNJAGO!" she shouted spinning towards the weapons. They were locked up in chains, she smirked and gave the lock a swift punch! "Okay," she squeaked,"That's why they make keys." As Applejack was using her scythe to distract Kruncha and Knuckal, Pinkie appeared,"Hey Applejack!" she yelled, only to get hit in the throat with Applejack's scythe. She coughed many times but couldn't speak!
"Sorry pardner, didn't see ya there!" She apologized to her pink friend as she wheezed.
"Greetings." Fluttershy said, about to take out the skullkin in the drivers seat when Samukai kicked her away, causing her to land on the front of the truck. Samukai then pushed the skullkin out of the driver's seat, and took the wheel. He accelerated really fast, causing the three ninjas to fly off! Then, when he was at full speed, a portal opened just long enough for his vehicle to sneak through. All that was left on the dead end road were skid marks and some trails of fire.
It began to thunderstorm out as the three ninjas got up and saw the damage, and for the first time since they met her... PINKIE PIE FROWNED!She pulled off her mask and had an upset look on her face. "Weee hasssd dorethdssa thesdfdldjaad." she quietly wheezed.
"You don't need to say it, I know... We've lost." Applejack sighed looking at the empty spot where the portal disappeared.
