From the Ashes of Hope

by Zelda Spectrum

Rating: teen
Tags: Original Character, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Pipsqueak, Tragedy, Adventure, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark
Length: 13958

All hope is lost

The world has fallen into chaos and ruin. Both the Elements of Harmony and the Alicorn Sisters have vanished, the different tribes of the world fend for themselves, and an unknown evil rules with an iron fist. At this point, there is no hero to rise up against this evil and all hope is lost; or so we thought...

Published 2012-06-07 03:04:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-01-27 17:11:38 UTC

Chapter 3

The Shadows scour the land in search of innocent prey. They feed on any signs of resistance or hope.

Chapter 3

*********

“Where am I?” A pony woke up in a dark room hanging from chains bound to her forelegs. There were a few candles scattered around to give the room light, but it was not very helpful. Suddenly, the door to the room opened and the Nameless entered. Her aura made her easy to see in the barely visible room as she entered.

“Ah, you’re awake!” the Nameless said, “Good. Now the fun can begin.”

The pony gasped and tried to use its magic to escape, but could not conjure up anything.

The Nameless laughed at this display. “Don’t even try to get out; you still have that Anti-Magic ring on your horn.”

“So then what are you going to do?” the pony asked, its voice feminine, “Are you going to try and kill me?”

The Nameless laughed again. “Oh no, I’m not going to kill you yet; I won’t make it that easy.” She lifted her foreleg and a rune appeared on the bottom of her hoof. “Instead, I’m going to make you suffer!”

The Nameless thrust her hoof into the pony’s chest and the pony let out a blood curdling scream. Sweetie Belle awoke in a cold sweat.

*********

What was that? Sweetie Belle thought, another vision, they’ve been getting more frequent lately.

Sweetie Belle stared at the Element of Magic. The visions she had in her dreams seemed to only appear when she was around one of the Elements. Every time she fell asleep around one of the Elements of Harmony, she felt like she was in another pony’s point of view, experiencing the same pain they endured.

She rubbed her eyes and walked toward the entrance of the cave where she found Fido standing.

“Have you been up the whole time?” she asked.

“Huh,” he turned and met Sweetie Belle’s gaze, “oh, no; actually I woke up an hour ago. I’ve just been sitting here watching the cave just in case.”

“Are you still afraid that Prince Caesar will come looking for us?”

“Yes actually; if I know Caesar, he may still be searching for you to try and collect that bounty.”

Sweetie Belle let out a disappointed sigh and cursed under her breath. “I was hoping that by showing him the Element of Magic, he would understand my reason for being her.”

“I doubt it,” Fido remarked, “Caesar isn’t exactly the understanding type. Plus, revealing the Element of Magic probably would have confirmed a rebellion and you would’ve been in deeper trouble.” His eyes suddenly turned to the sky. “Get down!”

*********

He pulled Sweetie Belle back and hid from the entrance of the cave behind a boulder. The two carefully peeked out from the boulder to see something flying in the sky. It had the form of a unicorn, but its wings were clearly made out of magical energy.

“Is that the Nameless?” Sweetie Belle whispered.

“No, but it’s just as bad.” Fido answered.

“You don’t mean-”

“Yes, it’s the one of the infamous generals of the Nameless’ army, Blood Moon!”

As the pony got closer to the eclipse, they could see its blood red coat and jet black hair flowing in the wind as it flew by and its soulless white eyes. The two hid behind the boulder again to avoid being seen. They sat in hiding for a few minutes before Sweetie Belle spoke up.

*********

“Is she gone?”

“I will check.” He slowly and cautiously peeked from behind their cover and looked around in the sky. “I don’t see her, I think it’s safe.”

Sweetie Belle peaked out to see for herself, Blood Moon was indeed gone. “Good, that was close.”

“There’s no telling what she would’ve done to us if she had seen us.” Fido commented. The two sat in silence for a while. Sweetie Belle then got up and put her body suit and cloak back on.

“I need to get back to Alcatraz before anypony notices I’m gone.” She told Fido, “Oh, and again, thanks for help out in the bar.” She started away from the cave.

“Wait!” Fido spoke up. Sweetie Belle stopped and turned to look back at Fido. “Whatever kind of crazy plan you are working on, I want in.”

Sweetie Belle was taken aback by this statement. “But if you get involved, there’s a chance you could get killed; or worse, wind up facing the wrath of the Nameless.”

“Well it’s better than working in the mines.” he stated, “Besides, I think the world has suffered from the Nameless long enough.”

Sweetie Belle paused for a moment then agreed. “Ok, if that is the case, follow me. ”

==================================

*********

After a couple of hours of hide and seek with the griffon scouts that were now scouring the land, the duo came upon the docks of the Griffon Lands. The docks had about a dozen ships that were tied down with extra security just in case another 'natural disaster' decided to occur unannounced. As Sweetie and Fido slowly approached the docks, they saw it was crawling with guards.

"Well, those griffons sure are persistent." Sweetie Belle commented.

"So which boat are we going to use to get out of this place?" Fido asked.

"This way." The cloaked unicorn began to lead Fido along a few rocks and bushes to hide them from the patrolling guards. As they approached two large ships on the right side of the port, the duo noticed three guards standing idle guarding one of the ships.

“Let me guess,” Fido whispered, “those guys are guarding the ship we need to get out of this place.”

“Something like that.” Sweetie Belle answered silently. She looked around for something to distract the guards until her gaze came upon a group of barrels stacked upon one another. Making sure she was well hidden, she used her telekinesis to knock over the barrels on top, causing them to make multiple THUDS impacting the ground, catching the guards’ attention.

“Quickly, check the cargo!” The middle one said as they flew over to the barrels strewn about.

The unicorn and the dog used this opportunity to sneak past their position undetected. Sweetie Belle led him to past the giant ship that was being guarded and lead him down to a small boat with a big cloaked figure.

“THAT’S what we are taking to get out of this place?!” Fido whispered loudly, “A small, second-rate Dingy?!”

Sweetie Belle shushed the dog before turning to greet the figure on the boat. “Hello again; sorry to keep you waiting.” The figure turn to reveal the head of a minotaur, partially concealed under his hood.

“Hello again, stranger,” he greeted, “you took a great risk coming to this land it seems. Guards have been swarming these docks for the past few hours. They told me there was a big reward for turning in a pony and diamond dog that fit your descriptions.”

“Well if anyone asks, you have not seen us.” Sweetie Belle said levitating a satchel full of bits. “This is the money for the trip back to Alcatraz and to keep us hidden; you can count it if you need to.”

The minotaur held the satchel in his hand and smiled. “No need, I trust you.” he said. As he set the satchel aside, Sweetie and Fido took a seat in the boat as the minotaur prepared to transport them back to Alcatraz.

===========================

After the boat arrived back on shore, Sweetie Belle and Fido approached the Great Wall of Alcatraz, which outlined its border. The main entrance was heavily guarded and the wall was crawling with guards and search lights.

“How did you manage to get out of Alcatraz when security is so tight?” Fido asked looking at the wall.

“Over here,” Sweetie Belle led him to a section of the wall that had some rocks in a pile. “Behind that rock pile is a hole in the wall. It’s the only weak point I have found in the wall’s security, we just need to wait for the right time to get through.”

The two hid in a nearby bush a waited for the right time. A few guards patrolled the top of the wall and a search light waved by a few times. A few minutes passed before Sweetie Belle finally found an opening.

“Now!” The two immediately dashed to the wall. Sweetie Belle used her telekinesis to move the rock pile and reveal the hole in the wall. It was big enough for Fido to squeeze through with little room to crawl on his paws and knees. Fido entered first and Sweetie Belle followed after, covering up the hole with the rocks behind her.

“So what do we do now?” Fido asked once they reached the other side of the wall.

“That is the tricky part.” Sweetie Belle replied, “I live all the way in what used to be Ponyville, and that is a five-day trip from here. I will have to teleport us to Ponyville to get us there safely.”

“Is that possible?” Fido asked.

“Well, sort of.” Sweetie Bell replied, “It took quite a bit of concentration for me to travel that distance, and teleporting with someone is going to make it harder; but I will give it a try.” She ignited her horn and prepared the teleportation spell. It took more concentration than she was used to, but within seconds, the two were gone in a flash.

==========================

The two reappeared outside the ruined Ponyville. Nothing much had changed in eight years except that there were a few factories in town that sent smoke up into the sky. Sweetie Belle felt a little dizzy from the effect of an extra member traveling with the teleportation. Shaking off the dizziness, they cautiously entered the ruins to avoid being seen by any guards. Their trek was interrupted when they heard the constant cracks from a whip and a loud, harsh voice.
“Come on you weak foals, faster! Carry it faster!”

The two hid behind the remains of a house to see where the voice was coming from. It was coming from a jet-black pegasus with a orange mane. She too had soulless eyes similar to Blood Moon’s and she had a mane cut that made her long hair look like fire. She was using a whip on four earth ponies and two pegasi who were struggling to carry a big, long, wooden beam. The ponies were covered in dirt and scars, and they had blood trickling down their bodies from the now wounds the pegasus’ whip had opened up.

Sweetie Belle grabbed Fido and pulled him behind cover to make sure they were not spotted by the jet-black pony.

“Who in Tartarus is that?” Fido asked, appalled by what he just witnessed, “I’ve never seen HER before.”

“That is Whip Lash,” the unicorn answered, “She is another one the generals of the Nameless’ army. She is stationed here in Alcatraz along with General Death Rose. She mainly tortures the ponies here for her own benefit.”

“That’s horrible!”

“I know; she is ruthless, and has no moral. Anypony who has tried to stand up to her has either been killed by her whip, left to wrath of the soldiers, or left to suffer and rot.”

Fido glanced back at Whip Lash nervously after hearing how heartless she truly was. “So what do we do?”

“We…” Sweetie Belle staggered in her words, looking down at the ground. “We wait for her t-to pass…then we move.” She sat and hung her head. She felt horrible letting Whip Lash torture ponies like that, but she knew standing up to her would be suicide.

The duo sat and waited for the sounds of the whip to diminish. After they were gone, the unicorn and the dog continued to sneak around avoiding the guards. The soon came upon a big tree that had been scarred with burns, robbed of its leaves, and the majority of the windows had been shattered and barred with wood.

Sweetie Belle looked around to ensure that no guards were present’ then she ran to the door of the tree and knocked on the door in Moore’s Code.

‘C –M –C’

The door then opened and the unicorn led Fido inside.

*********

“Welcome back Sweetie Belle.” said a serious, yet welcoming British voice. The two turned to see a young white stallion with brown spots and a brown mane. He wore a red scarf on his neck and an eye-patch on his right eye that barely revealed the scar behind it.

Sweetie Belle removed her body suit and cloak and laid them in a corner along with her saddle-bag. “Hey Pip, is Apple Bloom here?”

“Ah’m right here.” She turned to see a yellow earth pony with a red mane and a cowboy hat that was burnt on the edges and some on the top. “Now who the hay is this Diamond Dog, and what is he doing here?” Apple Bloom asked pointing to Fido and eyeing him suspiciously.

“Oh, well my name is Fido, and I wish to join the rebellion I hear you are starting.”

“He is the one who saved me when Prince Caesar tried to capture me,” Sweetie Belle added, “I assure you, he can be trusted.”

“Wait a minute. He saved you from Prince Caesar? So does that mean…”

“The plan for the alliance with the griffons did not go as well as we hoped. In fact, Prince Caesar just sees us as bounties to stuff his wallet.”

Apple Bloom cursed under her breath. “Now how’re we s’possed ta find Applejack and the others?” she mumbled to herself, “Now we’ll be lucky ta even set hoof in the griffons territory.” She stood for a minute deep in thought before finally speaking up again. “And so ya say that this Diamond Dog saved ya from the prince?”

“Yes Apple Bloom,” the white unicorn answered, “if it wasn’t for him, I’d be in the hands of the Nameless. I owe him my life for that.” Apple Bloom paused for a moment.

“Fine, he can stay. But Ah still don’t trust him; if he makes one wrong move, Ah’ll be there ta buck ‘im back ta wherever the hay he came from.”

“Thank you Apple Bloom.” Fido said with a smile. “So what do we do now?”

“Now we need to plan out our next move.” Pip answered following Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle into the basement. Fido followed after them to find the basement with shelves of books and maps. In the center of the room was a medium sized table with a map of Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom sitting open for all to see.

*********

The three ponies gathered around the table to discuss what to do next. “Okay, so the plan for a griffon alliance didn’t work,” Pip said, starting up their meeting, “Big Macintosh said he is willing to help us out in our struggle, we’ve decided going to Canterlot is too risky, even if Shining Armor is still alive; so what do we do now?”

“Maybe we should try another kingdom,” Sweetie Belle commented, “Maybe we should try getting allies in a different race.”

“Ah, think we’ll jus get the same result.” Apple Bloom replied straight to the point, “Let’s face it, we’re probably nothin’ but prizes to the other kingdoms.”

“Well it never hurts to try.”

“Wait a minute,” Fido interrupted, “what is this ‘Canterlot’ I’ve nothing about?”

“Yer kiddin’ right?” Apple Bloom asked bluntly.

“Well, you may know it as the Central Region of Alchatraz,” Pip answered to Fido, “but we’ve decided against going because we are hopelessly out-mared. Going there would be suicide without more help.”

“Do you have a map of The Crystal Empire and the Frozen North?” Fido asked.

“Yeah, right here,” Sweetie Belle answered, pulling it out from the shelf, “why do you ask?” Fido took the map, opened it, and began to analyze it. After a few minutes of reading the map, he set it down on the table pointing to a specific location close to the edge of the map.

“If you’re looking for help on infiltrating Canterlot, I think I might know someone who can help.”

End of Chapter 3

If one of the links is not working, or you have any suggestions for music, please let me know.

Chapter 4

For so long, the Diamond Dogs were considered our enemies, but we never thought one of them would become our ally.

Chapter 4

*********

“Who exactly are you thinking of?” Pip asked, “Are they a pony or a Diamond Dog?”

“Actually,” Fido answered “it’s a dragon.” Everypony looked at him in confusion. It was highly unlikely for a dragon to be
found in the Crystal Empire. Even though the land was enriched with gems, the Diamond Dogs had mined so much of them that they could only be found in the underground mines beneath the once peaceful kingdom, the last place a dragon would think to look for gems.

“He is actually a purple and green Earth Dragon who helps us out in the mines. Let’s see, what was his name? I have such a terrible memory when it comes to this. Sam, Semore, Stanley…”

“Spike?!” Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom said in unison, both shocked at whom the thought it might be.

“Yes, that’s it, Spike!” Fido said in realization, “He’s helped us in mining and cave-ins. In fact, I owe him my life from a cave-in two years ago.” He turned to see the shocked expression of the two mares.

“So Spike is alive?” Apple Bloom said to herself.

“I take it Spike is an old friend of yours?”

“He is;” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, “we've known him since he and Twilight moved to Ponyville. He has had a crush on my sister ever since he met her. But we thought he had been killed when the Nameless took over.”

“Well he is, in fact, alive and healthy.” Fido stated smiling, “When he collapsed on the border the Frozen North, I gave him food, water, and shelter; he looked like he had run a marathon. He has told me all about his time in Ponyville and with his friends. And trust me; he never stops talking about Rarity. He is worried sick about her and he hopes to see her again.”

“You’ve got to take us to him!” Sweetie Belle said beaming with happiness.

“Hold on a minute,” Apple Bloom spoke up, “We can’t all go; if we do, the Diamond Dogs might suspect a rebellion and make it harder ta find Twilight and the others.”

Sweetie Belle agreed with Apple Bloom. “I’ll stay here and help the other ponies; it will also give me some time to study up on magic.”

“Pip, Fido, and ah will head to the Crystal Empire ta look fer Spike.” Apple Bloom added, “Since Fido knows the land better than we do, we should have an easier time finding ‘im.”

Sweetie Belle used her magic on a small tree in a flower pot to grow some apples. Since the soil outside was hardly fit for any living plant, they had to rely on the apple tree in the flower pot for food.

“There, that should be enough food to last about ten days.” She told the three, “The Crystal Empire too far to reach on foot, so you should be there in at least two if you hide on the train.”

“Thanks Sweetie Belle” Apple Bloom replied, “is everypony ready?”

Pip had filled his saddle-bag with food, maps, parchment, quills, ink containers, oil, a lantern, and some cloaks. “Ready when you are Apple Bloom.”

“Ready to go.” Fido answered.

“Alright, let’s move out!”

=============================

*********

The trio set out to the north, carefully eluding the guards in order to get out of the town and onto the train docked at the station. In order to avoid being mistaken for slaves, and elude the guards on board, the three hid in the cargo car near the caboose. The Great Wall's border ended between Galloping Gorge and the Frozen North; so in order to reach the Crystal Empire, where Spike was said to reside, they would have to exit the car when the train came to a stop at the Wall.

The train set off as soon as the group got settled in the cargo car. Pip ignited the lantern after closing the door so they all could see in the pitch black car. The ride was long an quiet as no one said a word. Finally, after sitting around for fifteen minutes, Fido broke the silence. “So, is your friend always so serious?” He whispered to Pip, inaudible to Apple Bloom.

“No, she wasn’t always this serious,” the spotted stallion responded, also inaudible to the yellow mare. “She used to be so happy with her friends, always trying to look for her cutie mark.”

“So what happened?”

“The Nameless happened.” Pip answered letting out a disappointed sigh, “When It and its army came to Equestria, she and Sweetie Belle were affected by it the most. Scootaloo betrayed us by using Anti-Magic Rings to keep Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and our princesses from using their magic; then she blew up most of the library with bombs she had planted ahead of time.”

“Wait a minute, Scootaloo? As in, Captain Scootaloo?” Fido interrupted.

“Yeah, that’s the one. Do you know her?”

“Hardly, all I know is she sometimes comes by the mines along with General Mammon to ensure there is no rebellion among us. She just sits around watching us while Mammon tortures us and hordes most of the gems we have worked so hard to mine out.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Pip said with sympathy.

“Well, it’s hard for us, but what can we do?” There was another moment of silence. “So this Scootaloo used to be your friend?”

“Well, I barely knew her, but she, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle had formed their own little group called the ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders’ and were always hunting for their cutie marks. They were inseparable, but that all changed when Scootaloo nearly destroyed the library.”

“So the Wielders of the Elements were killed in the explosion?”

“We don’t know, all we found were the remains of the Elements themselves. Sweetie Belle still believes they are alive, but Apple Bloom…” Pip paused, “she is just not sure. She seems to have been scarred the most from their disappearance.”

“So how does she tie in with the Wielders of the Elements? Did she know them personally?”

“Yes she did. And the truth of the matter is,” Pip paused again, “the Element of Honesty…was her older sister.” Fido was taken aback when he heard this.

“What?!” he loudly whispered. Pip immediately shushed him hoping Apple Bloom did not hear.

“Yes, it’s true. Just don’t mention her older sister around her; she gets angry at the mention of her or Scootaloo.”

“Well, I guess that answers my question on her serious mood.” Fido remarked, starting to feel sympathetic for the yellow mare.

“Yeah, and what’s worse is that she has sworn to take revenge for her sister. I’ve heard her threaten to tear the Nameless apart if she ever saw It.” Pip looked at Apple Bloom with concern. “I worry about her sometimes.”

Fido caught the look on Pip’s face and spoke up with a smirk. “You like her don’t you?”

“I-uh-wha-what?!” Pip babbled. The question caught him off guard and his attention turned to Fido. “W-Why in Equestria would you assume that?”

Fido raised an eyebrow at him. “I’ve seen you shooting glances and worried looks at her ever since I’ve been here. I’m a dog, I have strong senses; plus it doesn’t take a scientist to tell your feelings for her.”

Pip stuttered a bit before replying. “Okay, so I have a crush on Apple Bloom, so what?”

“Why don’t you just tell her how you feel?”

“Are you crazy?! We are in the middle of a world crisis! We can’t be distracting ourselves with relationships at a time like this! Besides, she’d just shoot me down anyway, so what’s the point?”

“Okay, point taken. Though I’m pretty sure she will catch on to your feeling eventually.”

“What makes you say that?” Pip asked turning his attention back to Apple Bloom. She looked up at the dog and stallion and noticed Pip was looking at her.

“What’re you lookin’ at Pip?” she asked in a serious tone.

“Huh, oh-I was, I-I just spaced out for a minute.” Pip replied snapping back to reality.

“Well don't get distracted. Remember why we're on this train ride; Spike is out there somewhere an' if one of us get's distracted, we're done for." She then went back to staring at the floor with an agitated face. Fido couldn't help but let out a small chuckle only audible to Pip. The young stallion got up and moved next to some crates, that were not to far from Fido, while mumbling angry to himself.

“Young love,” the diamond dog said to himself, “thou art truly one of the greatest mysteries I will never understand.”

=============================

*********

After two days of travel, the train came to a stop at the northern border of the Great Wall. The two ponies and the dog quickly hopped out of the car and hid amongst the snowy terrain of the border of the Frozen North to avoid being too easily spotted. Apple Bloom and Pip immediately threw on their cloaks to blend in with the darkness and the blizzard around them. The two ponies tried to find a spot in the Wall that they could use to slip through the wall undetected, but this section of the wall was in perfect condition.

“Great, so there’s no way we’re gonna get through the wall and we just wasted our time comin’ here. Got any more bright ideas, Diamond Dog?” Apple Bloom asked coldly.

Fido ignored the comment from the yellow earth pony as he cracked his knuckles and flexed his arms. “Well, like I always say;” he replied, “if you can’t find a door, make your own.” With that, he started to dig into the ground.

“That’s quite a clever idea!” Pip remarked, “We dig under the wall to the Crystal Empire so we can get past the Great Wall to avoid drawing any unwanted attention.”

“How’re we gonna know where we’re goin’ if we’re underground?” Apple Bloom questioned.

“Don’t worry about that,” Fido answered, “I have been doing this for years, so I have developed a strong since of direction.”

Apple Bloom looked around the the area and found a boulder that was a big as the hole Fido was digging. She walked over to the boulder and started pushing it towards the hole, moving it with very little effort. “Well, if we’re gonna go under it, we’ll need this to cover the hole to avoid suspicion.”

“Alrighty then, if we’re going to get to the other side quickly, I will need one of you to hold the lantern while I dig.”

“Pip, that’s yer cue.” Apple Bloom quickly said. Pip nodded to her and ignited the lantern.

“Gah,” he said cringing as his taste buds hit the handle, “Ah, fogoh howl ahul dis ting tahs!”

“Quit whinnin’ Pip,” Apple Bloom told Pip, “It’s not that bad, ya get used to it. Now let’s go!”

“Howhay Ahle Vwoom.” Pip said in dismay. He was not looking forward to carrying it through the tunnel and enduring the taste of metal the whole period of the trip underground. Once Fido started to dig towards the wall, the two earth ponies jumped into the hole and sealed it with the boulder.

===========================

*********

As the dog continued to dig through the tunnel, the two ponies began to start shivering from the cold of the Frozen North. "H-Hey F-F-Fido h-h-how much l-longer unt-t-til we g-g-get there?" Pip asked, shivering.

"We are almost there," Fido answered, "Just try to put off the shivering for a little while longer."

"K-K-Kinda hard ta do w-when we're in the F-F-Frozen North." Apple Bloom retorted. Fido once again ignored the harsh statement from Apple Bloom and continued digging.

To the ponies’ surprise, they were able to reach the other side of the wall, they assumed, in as little as fifteen minutes. The Diamond Dog in front of them was digging through the tunnel the whole time without any sign of wearing out. When they finally saw light, it was light from ignited torches and lamps. The entered a room with torches and lamps mounted on the wall, the smell of burning embers in the air, and an elevator shaft located a few yards in front of them. The group suddenly felt a rush of warmth and relief as they saw enchanted firestones planted all around them giving off heat. As Fido sealed up the newly created tunnel with a nearby boulder, he introduced the two earth ponies to the new area.

“Welcome to the Crystal Mines,” Fido stated, “It is south of depressing, east of dangerous, on the border of freezing, and just below the Crystal Empire.” They stepped onto the elevator and Fido pulled a switch on the wall of the elevator downward, causing them to descend deeper into the mines.

“What did you mean by ‘dangerous’?” Pip asked out of curiosity. Suddenly, as the trio was reaching the second floor, they heard a constant rumbling followed by booming sounds off in the distance. “What was that?!”

“The answer to your question.” Fido answered with a concerned look. As the three stepped off the elevator, they saw diamond dogs with lights, first-aid kits, stretchers, and mining equipment running off towards the sound that was heard a few seconds ago. “It sounds like we’ve just had another cave-in.”

“Ah take it cave-ins happen a lot in these here mines?” Apple Bloom asked a bit concerned.

“More than you know.” The green vested dog replied, “If I had a gem for every cave in we’ve had in the last eight years, I’d be the richest dog in these mines.”

“Come back here you mutts!” a new voice suddenly yelled. Fido cursed in a loud whisper, grabbed the two earth ponies, and dived behind some nearby barrels. Three diamond dogs turned around in fear to see a dark green unicorn mare with a bright yellow mane. Her eyes were completely white and her mane was straight like it had just recently been soaked by water.

*********

“Where do you think you’re going?!” the mare yelled, using a levitation spell to tower over the dogs.

“P-P-Pardon us, G-General Mammon; w-we were just going to help with the recent cave-in.” the small one tried to explain through his stuttering and quivering.

“Y-Yes, u-us Diamond Dogs h-have to stick together. W-we always look out for our b-b-brethren.” The tall one added.

“I don’t give a flying feather about your loyal instincts!” Mammon shouted, scaring the dogs even more, “Get back to your post and bring me more gems, or do you want to end up like every other dog that has denied my orders?!” Mammon’s horn flared a gold color and she summoned several daggers, made purely out of diamonds, around the dogs.

“Y-y-y-y-yes, General Mammon! W-w-whatever you say General Mammon!” All three of the dogs took off in the direction they came from, eager to get away from the unicorn with soulless eyes.

“That’s what I thought.” Mammon cackled as she floated off in the direction of the fleeing diamond dogs.

*********

“Was that the Nameless’ General you were telling me about two days ago?” asked Pip who managed to get a glimpse of Mammon before she left.

“Yeah, it is,” the green vested dog answered, “ain’t exactly ‘Miss Nice Filly’ is she?”
Apple Bloom walked out from behind the barrels letting out an annoyed sigh. “Let’s just find Spike n’ get outta here okay?”

“Uh, right.” Fido said coming out from the hiding place, “follow me; he’s just down this way.” He was beginning to lead them down a northeastern tunnel when he suddenly stopped. “Oh, before I forget…” He turned around and grabbed two rusty collars from one of the barrels they were hiding behind. “Put these on.”

Apple Bloom eyed the collar suspiciously. “What the hay’re we s’possed ta do with these?”

“Put them on so the others will think you’re work horses,” the dog answered, “this way, we can get to Spike without causing suspicion.”

“Fine.” Apple Bloom said bitterly. The two ponies slipped on the collars and proceeded to follow Fido down the northeastern tunnel.

============================

Fido led the two earth ponies down multiple passageways watching carefully for any sign of a possible cave-in that might occur. While passing through, they spotted quite a few crystal ponies that were being used as slaves in the mines. They were all dirty and covered in injuries. Their hooves were chipped and bruised from digging up gems in the ground and walls. None of the crystal ponies could feel any joy from such torture, resulting eliminating the crystalic effect from their coats. Some of them looked like they were dehydrated while others looked like they were on the verge of collapsing.

Only a few the trio saw had actually collapsed from exhaustion. Those that had collapsed were subjected to multiple beatings from the Diamond Dog masters. Apple Bloom made multiple attempts to attack the Diamond Dogs, but was immediately stopped by Pip, who told her that attacking the dogs would just be suicidal.

“Don’t worry, we will be able to save them,” Pip told her, “but right now, we need to find Spike without drawing any unwanted attention or this will all be for naught.” Apple Bloom just stared angrily at the ground, cursing the Diamond Dogs under her breath.

“We’re here!” Fido finally said, approaching a room that was slightly brighter than the tunnels. Fido picked up the pace as he entered the room. “Hey Spike, did ya miss me?”

“Jeez Fido, when you were taking a vacation, I didn't think you’d be gone for an extra three days.” came a familiar, yet slightly darker voice, “did you order the cider with alcohol this time?”

“No, actually, I ran into some pony at the bar; and it’s some pony you might be familiar with.”

*********

“What are you talking abo-” Pip and Apple Bloom stepped into the light removing their cloaks. They managed to make eye contact with the purple and green dragon sitting at a table in the middle of the room. The dragon was now the size of a full grown stallion and he was now more muscular than he was eight years ago. “I…It can’t be…”

*********

“Spike!” the two earth ponies shouted in unison. They immediately ran to Spike and tackle-hugged him. The three spared a moment to let loose a lot of laughter and tears of joy.

“Oh Spike, we thought you were dead.” Apple Bloom said after the moment ended.

“I thought the same thing about you guys.” Spike replied, “After I fled from Ponyville, I wasn’t sure what to think. When they came for us in the basement, an explosion blew open the door allowing those…things to come in and capture us. I was the only one who managed to escape from them, and all I could think to do at the time was run for my life. I had never been so scared in my life! I just kept on running north as fast as my tiny legs could carry me until I collapsed in the Frozen North.

When I woke up, I was here in the mines with Fido helping me back to recovery. I’ve been working in these mines ever since that day.” He paused. “I kept hoping that you, Twilight, and the others were still alive and would come to end this nightmare; but when I heard that Scootaloo became Captain of the Nameless’ Special Forces, I began to give up hope.”

“Yeah, she can have that kind of effect on you.” Apple Bloom said dryly, “Ah swear, sometimes ah can still here her voice tautin’ me…” Apple Bloom suddenly paused. Wait a minute.

*********

“Yes I know this is the best place in the mines for gems,” came another familiar voice, “but you need to go and give the dogs in the eastern region a visit.”

“Oh come on Scootaloo! I want more gems!” came the voice of Mammon. Apple Bloom caught Mammon walking down another tunnel with a orange mare clad with purple armor and a purple mane out of the corner of her eye. The mare had a long flowing mane similar to the style Rainbow Dash used to have and familiar light-purple eyes.

“Sorry Mammon, but it’s the Queen’s orders!”

“You traitor!” Apple Bloom said with hatred, starting to dash towards the two mares.

“Apple Bloom, wait!” Pip yelled trying to stop her.

“AH’LL KILL YOU!!!!”

End of Chapter 4

If one of the links is not working, or if you have suggestions for music, please let me know.

Chapter 5

Somepony once said ‘A true friend will never abandon and never betray.’ Sadly, that statement does not apply to everypony.

Chapter 5

*********

“AH’LL KILL YOU!!!!” Apple Bloom darted towards the two ponies filled with anger and hatred. She then tried to pounce Scootaloo, but the orange pegasus nimbly dodged the incoming attack without even looking at the cowpony, sending Apple Bloom face first into the dirt wall. When the cowpony turned around, she had three diamond daggers pointing at her.

“Well, well, well, long time no see Apple Bloom.” Scootaloo said with a grin, “It’s good to see you again, old friend.”
“Ah wish ah could say the same fer you.” Apple Bloom retorted coldly. Scootaloo waved a hoof to Mammon, telling her to put away the daggers. With a grunt, she made the daggers disappear.

“I didn’t actually think you would have survived the explosion in the library, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised; considering the Apple Family is known for their strength and stamina and the fact you were farther away from where the bombs were planted.” Scootaloo paused, “Tell me, is Sweetie Belle still with the living, or did she turn in the explosion?”

“She’s fine,” Apple Bloom answered, “but ah wouldn’t go lookin’ fer her if ah were you; she’s probably as eager to kick yer traitorous flank as ah am!”

“Right,” Scootaloo rolled her eyes, “so what brings you down here? Surely you’re not a slave to these dogs; you’re will power is too great.”

“If ya must know, ah’m here lookin’ fer Twilight and the others.” Scootaloo tried to contain her laughter, but to no avail.

“You actually believe the Elements of Harmony are still alive?” she asked, ending her laughter, “Believe me Apple Bloom, if they were alive, we would have tracked them down by now. They are dead. No pony could have survived that explosion standing in the middle of the library, not even a pony with the stamina your sister had.”

Apple Bloom became enraged at this statement and tried to pounce the pegasus again. “YOU BI-” she was interrupted by a kick to her stomach sending her back against the dirt wall.

“I have had enough of your bickering you little brat,” Mammon scolded, “and I will NOT tolerate such sailor talk in my presence!” She re-summoned her daggers and pointed them at Apple Bloom. “I don’t think anypony will miss a rude little brat such as you. Now die you filthy peasant!”

Pip, who had been watching the display, quickly reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a slingshot. Picking up the nearest stone, he quickly armed it, mentally calculated the trajectory of his shot, and released. The stone hit Mammon’s horn, interrupting her flow magic for a few seconds and dropping the daggers.

Apple Bloom took this opportunity to deliver a blow to Mammon along with a kick. She then turned around to try and attack Scootaloo yet again, but just as before, the pegasus dodged the blow with little effort. Apple Bloom managed to recover quickly this time and turned back to Scootaloo with a battle stance.

“Who the devil dares throw a rock at the Great Mammon?!” the green unicorn yelled, enraged. She traced the path of the rock back to Pip who was rushing over to try and help Apple Bloom. Mammon used her telekinesis to pick up one of the daggers and launch it towards the brown-spotted stallion. Pip, however, saw the dagger coming through the corner of his eye and dodged the dagger by turning his body and sliding on his back. The dagger zoomed by, barely splitting a hair on his neck.

“No pony throws a rock at me and gets away with it!” The general picked up the remaining daggers and pointed them at Pip. “NO PONY!!!” She launched the daggers at the stallion, aiming for his head and chest, but he quickly dodged and weaved through every one of the crystal blades. As he was dodging them he managed to find another rock near his right. He rolled to his right picking up the rock with his teeth and jumped up onto his back legs and hurling it from his teeth. The rock hit Mammon on the side of the face causing her to stumble a bit.

“Oh, it’s on now punk!” Mammon roared. Her horn began to glow a bright golden color as she prepared to use another spell, but before she was able to cast it, she was surrounded by a sudden burst of green fire.

“Try it again, and you’re just going to get burned!” Spike said, stepping into the battle along with Fido, who was now carrying a steel mace.

Meanwhile, Apple Bloom was still busy fighting Scootaloo not too far from the others. She swung her fore-hooves wildly at the orange mare trying to land a blow, but rather than fight back, she just kept dodging the blows with very little effort.

“Gee Apple Bloom, I thought all that hard work in Alcatraz would have made you stronger, but I guess I was wrong.” The pegasus taunted. Apple Bloom grew angrier and punched harder trying to hit her purple maned target to no avail.

“Don’t you dare talk ‘bout that place like it’s some sort of gym,” Apple Bloom retorted angrily, “y’all have no idea how much we’re sufferin’ ‘cause of yer betrayal!! Ah’ve waited eight long years to avenge mah sister an’ her friends, and ah’m not gonna let it slip by! Yer gonna pay fer what you’ve done, ah’ll kill you if it’s the last thing ah ever do!!”

Back at Mammon’s battle, Mammon extinguished the green flames by summoning several aquamarines and turning them into water.

“Whadda ya say we teach this general what happens when she tries to kill our friend?” Fido asked Spike as he readied his mace.

“With pleasure!” Spike answerd getting ready to charge.

“Hmph, it looks like I’m going to have to leave this section of the mine after all.” Mammon pouted, mumbling to herself. “Hey Scootaloo, it’s time to go.” As Scootaloo heard this, she jumped over the raging Apple Bloom and hurried over to Mammon as she summoned and blew a silver whistle.

“Aaaaahhhh!” Fido yelped as he covered as he covered his ears and fell to his knees.

“Come back here!” Apple Bloom yelled turning around and running toward Scootaloo, “Ah’m not finished with you yet!”
“I’m afraid you’re revenge will have to wait for another day,” Scootaloo said, “I can tell when the odds are not in our favor. Besides, I think you have bigger problems to worry about.” Mammon raised a fore-hoof to the ceiling a created a new tunnel with a blast of magic. Using her magic, she quickly levitated herself out of the mines and up to the surface. “See you guys later.” Scootaloo said with a smirk. With that, she opened her wings and launched herself up the newly formed tunnel and flying to the top.

“She can fly?!” Apple Bloom said, becoming even more infuriated at Scootaloo’s method of escape. She looked up at the escape route and yelled, “YOU DAMNED US ALL TA HELL JUS’ TA GET A PAIR OF USEABLE WINGS?!?!” Suddenly, the group heard the sound of barking quickly approaching.

“There’s no time,” Fido said, getting back on his feet, “that was a dog whistle Mammon used just now! The guards will be here in a matter of seconds; we need to find a place to hide.”

“Quick over here!” Spike told the others, leading them to a set of dusty wall lockers, “They won’t think of finding us here!” He had to lead Fido, who did not seem to hear him, towards one of the lockers.

“Come on Apple Bloom!” Pip yelled as he ran to hide. Silently swearing, the yellow cowpony kicked up some dirt and ran to hide in one of the lockers.

===============================

*********

For the next five minutes, guard dogs filled the room searching for any sign of foreign life. Finally, one of the guards spoke up to another dog in silver armor.

“We are wasting time sir! There’s no one here!”

“Silence!” the dog barked, “I’ll decide when we stop the search; that is not for you to decide! Besides, why else would General Mammon use the whistle to summon us here?”

“She could have just used to toy with us and watch us search for someone who isn’t real.”

“I said-” the high-ranked dog paused, “Grr, you’re probably right. She’s been doing this for years; I should know this trick by now; back to your posts!” The guards immediately exited the room doing as they were told. The dog in silver armor sighed as he, too, exited the room. “I swear, I’d like to give that General a piece of my mind!”

After waiting another minute, Fido finally whispered loudly to the others, “They’re gone.” They all stepped out of the lockers, double-checking to make sure there was not a single guard still around. “Finally, I can hear again.” Fido stated, playing with his ears, “I swear that dog whistle is going to make me go completely deaf one of these days.”

“So what do we do now?” Spike asked.

“Now, we need to return to Ponyville to determine our next move.” Pip answered. “However, now that both Scootaloo and Mammon know what we are up to, we will have to be especially careful.”

“Well, so much for traveling under the radar.” Spike remarked. The two earth ponies and put their cloaks back on when the juvenile dragon caught something out of the corner of his eye. “Hey wait a minute, what is this?” He walked over to the object to find a wrinkled piece of paper.

“What is it?” Apple Bloom asked as she, along with Pip and Fido, gathered around Spike.

“It looks like some kind of letter,” he answered, “from Scootaloo.”

“What?! Lemme see that!” Apple Bloom snatched the paper out of Spike’s claw and laid it on the ground to get a better look.

*********

Dear Apple Bloom,

It sure was good to see you again; I just wish we could’ve met under different circumstances. As much as I would have loved to stay and chat, I have duties that I must attend to, so I will leave you with this piece of information. It turns out I was wrong about all of the Wielders being dead. A few of my soldiers have reported one of the Wielders has been seen in Canterlot recently, but they have not been able to track her down. They reported an earth pony with a blonde mane trying to snoop around Canterlot; does that description sound familiar to you? Luckily for you, Death Rose is keeping guard in Baltimare for at least twenty days. If you really do intend to seek out the Welders of the Elements, then you had best make haste in doing so. I will give you ten days before I decide to alert the Queen of your plans and fifteen days before I tell Death Rose of your presence in Canterlot. That seems like a sporting chance doesn’t it? Be warned, I am not going to give you another save of grace like this again, so I suggest you abuse it. Also, I we should happen to meet again, I will not hold back like I did with this last battle. Now you might want to get to the surface as soon as possible; that train will return to the Great Wall in about half an hour.

Your former friend,
Scootaloo

P.S.: Tell Sweetie Belle I said “Hi”.

“What do you make of it Apple Bloom?” Pip asked, reading the note over her shoulder.

“Whadda Ah make uv it?” Apple Bloom asked, as if Pip had just asked a stupid question “Ain’t it obvious? It’s clearly a trap. She’s jus tryin’ ta git our hopes up so we waltz into whatever trap she’s layin’ fer us.”

“Maybe we should get back to Ponyville and inform your friend about this.” Fido offered.

“Sweetie Belle?” Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at the dog, “Why? Everypony knows they’re dead, so Ah don’t see the point uv doin’ so.”

“But what if that note is true?” Pip questioned, “We might be able to reunite with your sister and-”

“DIDN’T YA JUST HEAR ME?! AH SAID THEY’RE ALL DEAD AND THEY HAVE BEEN FER THE PAST TEN YEARS!!! THE SOONER WE ALL ACCEPT THAT AN’ GET IT THROUGH OUR THICK SKULLS, THE BETTER OFF WE’LL BE!!!” Everyone fell silent. Pip wanted to apologize for bringing up Applejack, but nothing came out. All he could do was just stare at the fuming yellow cowpony, clearly at a loss for words.

She let out a heavy sigh and massaged her forehead. “Look, ah’m sorry Pip, but Scootaloo’s been against us from day one. Surely anythin’ she says ta git our hopes up is a trap to git us caught by the Nameless or even killed.” She began to calm down, but she was obviously still cross.

“I’m just saying that I think we should ask Sweetie Belle’s opinion on this before we make any big decisions about this.” Pip said, “After all she deserves a say in this since she is part of the team.”

Apple Bloom let out a defeated sigh. “Fine, but Ah’m still against this whole ordeal. Now let’s get back up ta’ the surface so we don’t miss the train.” With that, she threw her disguise back on and started back in the direction they came, leaving the guys to stare at her for a few seconds.

“What was that all about?” Spike asked.

“I’ll explain on the way.” Pip answered as the three followed the angry cowpony.

===================

“Wow, so Ponyville is in a worse state than I thought.” Spike stated speechless. He had been listening to Pip’s story the whole way back to the elevator and even he began to lose hope of ever seeing the Elements of Harmony again.

“Yeah, and it has been that way for the past eight years.” Pip answered.

“Well, now I can see why Apple Bloom thinks this letter might be a trap.” When group arrived at the elevator, everyone fell silent as they rode to the top floor. Since the elevator was not very big, Pip decided to wait until they got of the elevator to continue talking to Spike and avoid angering the cross mare in front of him.

“So where exactly is the train station again?” she asked Fido, “We only have 'bout ten minutes b'fore it leaves.”

“I’ll be able to tell you once we step outside to get our bearings.” The dog answered as he led them to a set of wooden stairs only a few paces away from the elevator.

*********

When they got outside, it took the group a few second for their eyes to adjust to the semi-darkness of the eclipse. Fido looked around the snowy terrain to the Great Wall a good distance from his left and the shattered, dull remains of the Crystal Empire to his right.

“Alright, if we keep a low profile and avoid being spotted through the blizzard,” Fido pointed towards the Great Wall off in the distance, “we will reach the train station not too far from here.”

“We had better be careful,” Pip warned, “the train station is most likely to be crawling with guards.”

“Oh fer Luna’s sake, we don’t have time ta be sneakin’ around, the train leaves in ten minutes!” Apple Bloom retorted, “Ah don’t care if’n we have ta fight, if we can’t git on that train, we’ll be stuck here fer Celestia knows how long!” With that, she took off towards the wall with the others in pursuit.

“Apple Bloom, wait for us!” Pip shouted as he chased the cowpony into the blizzar. The train station came within sight quickly as well as the guard dogs stationed there. Before she could even think about speeding up and engaging the guards, Pip managed to catch up and tackle her. He then dragged her behind a snow covered boulder to make sure they were out of the guards’ sight. Spike and Fido quickly caught up.

“What’re you doin’ Pip?! If we don’t git on that train we’ll never make it back ta Ponyville in time!”

“Getting on that train won’t matter if the guards see us!” Pip shot back, “If we get caught, we’ll just end up in the Nameless’ clutches; we need to use stealth!”

“Well then how do ya propose we do that?” The cowpony peeked out from cover to see two guards blocking the entrance to the station, “There’s no way ta git ‘round those two!”

“Leave that to me.” Fido offered. He pulled a small, palm sized gem out of his pocket and threw it in an angle towards the guards. The gem reflected some of the light from the eclipse's perimeter, giving the guards enough time to see it before it landed in the snow. They quickly made their way to the area where the gem had landed and started searching for the beloved new item. “Alright let’s go!” Fido told the group in a loud whisper. They made their way past the guards quickly, but quietly. They started sneaking around the station to the storage cars expecting to see some more guards, but to their surprise, the car was left unguarded.

“Where are the guards?” Spike asked in confusion, “I thought they would be hanging around the storage car to keep it safe.”

“I guess they thought it was safe enough it didn’t need to be guarded.” Fido stated, “My kind isn’t exactly known for the best security.”

“Well let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth and hop on it already.” The yellow mare said. Before any one of the boys had the chance to stop her, she quickly made her way to the car, opened the door, and hopped inside. She then signaled the others to get inside. The boys just shrugged to each other and joined Apple Bloom in the car, shutting the door behind them.

Pip soon pulled out the lantern from his saddlebag, lit it, and put it down in the middle of the floor as it illuminated the majority of the car. As soon as everyone got situated, they heard the train whistle blow and the car began to move. They were on their way back to Ponyville.

====================

*********

The next two days were rather uneventful, considering the group was stuck in storage the whole time. On the second day, the group was awoken when they felt the train coming to a stop. Pip quickly got up and slightly opened the car door to see why the train had stopped. He saw the train had arrived at the station of the ruined town of Ponyville and slaves were being transported on and off the passenger cars.

“Guys! We’re here!” he told the others. Putting his cloak back on, he put the lantern back in his saddlebag and join the others as they snuck out of the car and hid by the side of the station, closing the car door quietly. The quickly made their way past the side of the building and headed back into town. Spike was shocked at the sight of his old home in ruins, but he did not let that distract him too much from getting back to the library.

The population seemed to be scarce on the streets while the few factories built in Ponyville continued to send smoke into the sky above. When they finally reached the library, Apple Bloom tapped ‘C-M-C’ on the door in Moore’s Code.

No response.

She tried again.

Still no response.

Starting to get worried, Apple Bloom tried the door handle, but found it was still locked. She then picked up a small rock on the ground near the door and opened it up to reveal a spare key. She then used the key on the door to hear it unlock with a click. She then put the key back in the fake rock and put it back on the ground.

The group quickly made their way inside to find Sweetie Belle sleeping in the middle of the room with her back to the door surrounded by a few books.

“Sweetie Belle?” Spike stared in awe at how much the filly had grown. Apple Bloom walked over to the sleeping unicorn to slowly wake her up when she saw her fidgeting and murmuring in her sleep.

*********

“N-no…no…no-lease-no…”

“Sweetie Belle?” the cowpony picked up her pace a little and slowly began to shake her to try and wake her up. She looked like she was holding something in her forelegs. “Sweetie Belle, wake up!”

“NO!!!” Sweetie Belle woke up in a cold sweat. She looked down as she heard metal hitting the floor to see the Element of Generosity had landed next to right back leg. She picked it up with her forelegs, pressed it against her chest, and began to cry.

*********

“Sweetie Belle, are you okay?” The yellow mare asked in a calm, motherly voice, putting a hoof on Sweetie’s shoulder. The unicorn turned around to see her friend looking down at her with concerning eyes.

“Apple Bloom!” she exclaimed, embracing her friend with tears streaming down her cheeks. “Oh Apple Bloom, it was horrible, it was so horrible.” She said between sobs.

“Shh, it’s okay Sweetie Belle.” Said Apple Bloom with the same motherly tone; stroking the unicorns back like a mother comforting her scared foal. After a few minutes, they ended the embrace. “Did ya have another one of those ‘Special Dreams’?” The unicorn nodded. She seemed to have calmed down a bit. “What happened?”

“I was…I was…” the unicorn stuttered, “I was Rarity.”

End of Chapter 5

If one of the links is not working, or you have suggestions for music, please let me know.

Chapter 1

I have decided to add a music system for this story to help with reading experience. This system is completely optional and is not completely necessary to enjoy the story so if you prefer to read without music, then ignore the music links.
Here’s how it works:
********* The blue stars contain the link for the site for the music. Right click the link and hit “open link in new tab”
********* The black stars mean to stop the music until another blue one comes up.
Idea inspired by [Mindblower]. Be sure to check out his stories too.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything in this story. Copyrights of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic belong to Hasbro.

*********

You’re aware of how some stories start out happily, well, this is not one of those stories; in fact it’s quite the opposite. There was nothing happy about when “they” came to Equestria. They came without warning and destroyed everything we held dear. When they struck, they hit us hard. We were unable to strike back when they invaded the border of Equestria. Within a matter of minutes, they wiped out any method of resistance we could conjure up. We tried to use the Elements of Harmony to stop them, but even they turned out useless. For when the elements locked in battle with these mysterious beings, they disappeared without a trace. Even our princesses were nowhere to be seen, and my best friend has betrayed us. To this day, the world has fallen into chaos and ruin, and this time, it seems there is no beacon of light to give us hope.

Chapter 1

The sun and moon stood still in the center of the sky in a permanent eclipse. Recent earthquakes had torn the land apart and left the earth jagged and unbalanced. There was no sign of any plant life or vegetation. Any trees that had not been knocked down by an earthquake or burned by a wildfire started to decay. Structures had been torn apart, burned, or completely destroyed by these natural disasters. Some buildings were lucky to have survived and only suffered a few structural damages that could easily be repaired. This is what was left of the land of the Griffons.

One building in particular seemed to still be standing despite the fact it was on a Cliffside. It was an old bar that never seemed to be short of customers. In this tavern, a diamond dog was sitting at the bar ordering himself some cider. He wore a green hooded vest with worn khaki pants. His coat was a salt and pepper color and had some hair on his head that was threatening to shroud his eyes.

*********

“Hey Fido,” the griffon bartender greeted, “what’ll it be tonight?”

“The usual,” the dog answered, “no alcohol.”

The bartender was quick to fill the order and soon Fido was able to enjoy his cider for a while. “So, how has life in the mines been lately?” the griffon asked.

“Same thing every day,” Fido took a sip of his cider, “jewels have been scarce for the last seven years. Ever since the calamity overtook, we’ve had more trouble finding jewels than ever before. The cave-ins are more frequent, there have been about twenty cave-ins in the last two weeks. Ever since the Nameless took over everything, life for us has just gotten worse.”

“We’re not exactly doing so hot either,” the bartender said, “trying to find food in the Celestia-forsaken wasteland has become quite a chore. Hunting has not been so easy with all the animals dying, and the only way to get any fruit or vegetables is by using magic. I mean, you have no idea how hard it was to find someone to grow some apples for this cider.”

“Well, at least someone is trying to make the best these hard times.” Fido remarked turning to see a table of different creatures playing poker. The bartender let out an exasperated sigh.

“Yeah, our prince is sure cheering us up by gambling with other creatures.” He said with obvious sarcasm, referring to the griffon wearing a steel breast plate and a helmet to his side. “He comes here to get away and gamble instead of trying to rule his kingdom. It’s no wonder this land is in such turmoil.”

“So, you guys still think you can beat me?” the prince said with a smirk. The table contained him, a Minotaur, a teenage dragon, a diamond dog, and a goblin. “Well, I’m going all in!”

“Fold.” The dragon said defeated.

“Me too.” The goblin did the same.

“I got two pair.” Said the minotaur.

“Three of a kind” the diamond dog stated proudly. The griffon prince then threw down his cards and smiled evilly.

“Full House suckers!” the others bowed their heads in defeat as the prince collected all the bits in the middle of the table. “Ha ha, come to papa,” his attention turned to the goblins cards. “Wait a minute, you have a strait flush! Goh, you do this every time!! I can’t even enjoy my victory because you make it too easy!! You little-” he started to choke on his rage.

“Hey Caesar, don’t yell at him,” the dragon said, “just because he’s a little slow doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the game.”

It took a while for the goblin to process, but suddenly, he jumped onto the table unsheathing his dagger. “How dare you call me that! I oughta-”

The goblin was interrupted by the sound of hooves clopping against the floor. Everyone’s attention turned to the entrance as a hooded figure entering the tavern and walking up to the bar. The figure sat next to Fido but did not remove its hood. Fido’s eyes went big along with everyone in the tavern. It was a pony.

The bartender tried not to stare. “Welcome stranger, what can I get for ya?”

“Magick-Apple Cider,” the pony answered, “no alcohol.” Fido could obviously tell it was a mare from the feminine voice, but the pony appeared to be wearing a full body suit under the cloak. At the table, Caesar huddled everyone at the table together.

“What is a pony doing here?” the dragon whispered, “I thought any ponies that were still slaves in Alcatraz.”

“Probably another escapee trying to get out again, it’s not she has any place to go.” The minotaur remarked.

“Well, rumor has it that there is a small rebellion trying to form amongst a couple of ponies.” Caesar grinned, “If she is one of ‘em we’ll be heroes. She’s likely to have a large bounty on her head.”

“Oooohh, we’ll be rich.” The diamond dog said.

“Is she wanted dead or alive?” the dragon asked.

“Doesn’t matter,” Caesar answered, “as long as we turn her in, we still get our money.”

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” as the group sat back down, the mare approached them.

Ha, this is just too perfect! Caesar thought, that reward is as good as ours.

“I’m looking for the Griffon Prince; I have important business to discuss with him.”

“I am Prince Caesar, heir to the throne.”

“I see, well I have come here to ask for your aid; I am in need of-”

“WATCH OUT!” Fido suddenly yelled at the pony. As she turned around she saw the goblin take a swipe at her with his dagger. She nimbly dodged the blow and immediately jumped away from the group. The goblin was suddenly enveloped in a redish-purple aura and thrown against the wall.

*********

“What the-she’s a unicorn!” Caesar exclaimed. Blasted dog, he ruined the bait! “Get her!” The others picked up weapons beside their seats and charged for the unicorn. The diamond dog attempted to tackle her, but she dodged the dog and bound him to the floor using her magic. The minotaur was just about to bring down his axe when he received a telekinetic shot to his stomach sending him back to the other side of the tavern. Before the dragon could react, he was turned into a block of ice, thanks to the unicorn.

Where did the other one go? The unicorn thought noticing Caesar was no longer with the group.

“Ha!” the prince pulled back the hood of the robe from behind and placed a ring on the unicorn’s horn. “An anti-magic ring should keep you from getting away!” He then grabbed the pony by the throat as she tried to remove the ring to no avail.

“Wait! Don’t kill me! I can help you!” the unicorn shouted as she was lifted into the air.

“Yeah, you sure can, by getting me lots of money!”

“I know about your kingdom; I know it has been in distress for a long time, but I can help you bring it back to the glorious land it once was!”

“Shut up!!” Caesar howled in rage, “Don’t you dare act like you know about my kingdom! You have no idea what we’ve been through, the hardships we faced, and what I’ve done to try and save it!”

“But if you’ll just listen to me, I can help you!”

“You little foal!!!” he began to raise his sword, “I’ll silence you once and for all!!!” The pony closed her eyes expecting to meet her end.

*BAM!*

The blow never came. When she opened her eyes, she was sitting on her rump with Caesar unconscious beside her and Fido holding the anti-magic ring and a massive club.

“I don’t know who you are,” he said with a smirk, “but you seem to have a knack for getting in trouble.” The duo turned to see the minotaur and goblin recovering and the minotaur was freeing the diamond dog from his bonds. “Uh oh, looks like we’ve over stayed our welcome!” He grabbed the pony and bolted toward the nearest window.

“What the hay are you doing?! Are you crazy?! We’re on the edge of a cliff!” but her warning came to late as Fido leapt out the window and the two started falling down the Cliffside.

“I trust you know a flight spell or teleportation spell of some sort!” The unicorn fired up her horn and in a flash, the two appeared safely on a road on the Cliffside.

“Follow me,” the unicorn said, “I know a cave near here where we can rest for a while.”

*********

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The two finally took refuge in the cave the pony mentioned. For now, they were safe.

“Okay, now that we are safe, what did you mean you could bring this land back to its former glory?” Fido asked.

“I was hoping to receive the prince’s help for an important task,” the pony answered, “but since all he sees me as is a bounty, this will be harder than I thought.”

“Why would you want help from the griffon prince?” The unicorn paused before answering.

“I’m looking for the Wielders of the Elements of Harmony.” The dog was taken aback by these words. What surprised him even more was the crown she pulled from her cloak. It was a purple studded crown with an amethyst star on top.

“The Element of Magic!” the dog exclaimed, “I never thought I would actually get to see it! Then you must be the famous Twilight Sparkle!”

The pony shook her head. “I’m afraid not, but I am looking for her, as well as the others.”

“The wielders of Generosity, Kindness, Laughter, Honesty, and Loyalty, correct?”

“How do you know all this?”

“I do a lot of reading whenever I get the chance.”

“Well,” the unicorn continued, “as you know, I have come from Equestria, or as it is now known, Alcatraz. However, I have been trying to search for the wielders of the elements; the Element of Magic here is the only lead I have right now. After tampering around with some magic, the element has been able to reveal that one of the wielders is possibly in this land. The element has been reacting more since I arrived here.”

Fido gave the unicorn a confused look. “Wait a minute, if you are not one of the Wielders, then who are you?”

The pony removed her garments to reveal a white coat with a purple and pink mane. “My name…is Sweetie Belle.”

End of Chapter 1

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Chapter 2 Sweetie Belle's Backstory

The day they arrived, was the end of our happiness. Equestria became our Hell.

Chapter 2

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It started out as just a regular day for us; I could not wait to see Scootaloo and Apple Bloom again to try and find our cutie marks. After breakfast with my older sister Rarity, I tried to help her clean up, but she insisted she do it herself. Anyways, we met up at our clubhouse in Sweet Apple Acres to plan for what kind of crusading we were going to do.

“Ah’ve got an idea,” Apple Bloom said, “What if we tried ta’ get our cutie marks in bakin’? Ah’m sure Pinkie Pie could give us a few pointers.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” I said, “and who better to learn it from than Pinkie Pie?”

“Or how ‘bout animal training?” Apple Bloom asked, trying to think of things they had not tried.

“I don’t know, I can’t get anywhere near Opalescence without getting a swipe from her claw”. I stated.

“Don’t worry, we’ll see if we can work with Winona. Whadda’ you think Scootaloo?” Scootaloo was staring at the floor with a blank expression. “Scootaloo!”

“Huh, oh yeah we should try those first.” Scootaloo was obviously distracted by something, but we didn’t know what it was. At first I took it to be from lack of sleep, but as the day went on, I got more and more curious.

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Well, the crusading did not go as well as we had hoped. At Sugar Cube Corner we burned everything we tried to make.
Scootaloo kept getting distracted, causing either the food to get burned or make a big mess. We tried taking Winona to the park to teach her some new tricks, but we may have been doing something wrong. We tried giving her commands, motioning her, and even demonstrating the command, but all she did was just wag her tail and bark happily at us.

Around lunchtime, we decided to have a picnic in the park. Rarity had made us a lunch before I left, so we sat down and started to enjoy the sandwiches she made. After a while, I noticed Scootaloo was getting distracted again; this time I was curious.

“Hey Scootaloo,” I said, “are you feeling okay? You haven’t even touched your Daisy Sandwich.”

“Huh?” she snapped back to reality, “Oh, well, I guess I’m not that hungry.” Just as I was about to ask her what was troubling her, Winona started growling and barking at the sky.

“Winona, what is it girl?” She wasn’t the only one who was acting up. All the animals in the park started to run or fly in the opposite direction Winona was barking.

*********

Dark holes started to open up in the sky sending strange objects down towards the earth. When they landed, we finally managed to see what had landed, but we couldn’t believe what we saw. What popped up were these strange black creatures with yellow markings, each with a different shaped body. When they landed, they started to attack and destroy everything around them.

Horrified at what we saw, we ran back to town as fast as our hooves could carry us. However, when we got there, we saw that Ponyville was being attacked by the same creatures. Ponies were running for their lives as the creatures destroyed anything they looked at.

“Let’s find Twilight,” Scootaloo shouted to us, “she should know what is going on and how to stop it!” We took off towards the library to find it covered by a barrier. We saw Spike take a peek out of the windows and then disappear from it. Seconds later, Twilight came out the door and opened a small portion of the barrier.

“Girls, quickly, come inside!” she told us. We wasted no time getting into the library, after which Twilight closed the barrier and the door. Inside were Twilight’s friends along with anypony who made it in. This included the Apple Family, Cheerlee, Angel Bunny, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

“What’s going on?” I asked in fear, “What is happening to Ponyville?”

“I’m afraid we are unable to answer that question.” Luna said.

“Indeed,” Celestia remarked, “I have never seen creatures like these before. I would assume they came from Tartarus, but I cannot be certain. They caught us off guard at Canterlot and we were unable to repel them. Shining Armor and his soldiers have evacuated the citizens and are fighting these creatures, but I am not sure how long they will hold.”

“However, not all hope is lost; I brought the Elements with us.” Celestia ignited her horn and the Elements of Harmony floated out of a saddlebag she was carrying and onto Twilight and her friends. “I need you to wield the Elements once again and stop this new threat.”

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight started, “We would be more than happy to-”

“Wait a minute, where is Scootaloo?!”

As soon as I said that, a ring flew out of nowhere and landed perfectly on Twilight’s horn. Everyone looked around the room trying to find out where it came from. Soon after, rings landed on Celestia, Luna, and Rarity. Outside, we heard the barrier dispelling itself; Twilight tried to fuel it back up, but the ring on her horn prevented her from summoning even a spark of magic.

A bright red light suddenly shot up into the sky. We looked out the window to see what the source of the light was. It was a flare! Apple Bloom the noticed that the window leading to the balcony was open.

“The window is open! They might’ve gotten Scootaloo!” Before we could move to the window, however, the creatures outside began to swarm into the library. Twilight and her friends got ready to fight when another creature entered the library. This creature had to be at least as tall as Celestia. It had the shape of a unicorn with flowing golden-pink hair. Its body was covered with runes and it had a golden-pink aura around its body. It had no face and wings made out of runes and energy.

*********

“Well, well, well,” it said, “so these are the Elements of Harmony. It’s a shame to finally meet you when you’re so helpless.”

“I’ll show you how helpless we are!” Rainbow retorted as she charged at the creature. A bolt of energy shot from the creature and hit Rainbow Dash, sending her back. She struggled to get back on all fours while pain shot through her rib cage where she had been shot.

“Big Macintosh,” Twilight yelled, “take everypony down to the basement now!” Big Mac did as he was told and lead everypony, except Apple Bloom and I, down to the basement and locked the door behind him.

“Who are you,” Luna asked the creature, “and what business to you have wrecking havoc on our kingdom?”

“Me? Oh, I have no name. I am everything and I am nothing. As for my motivation, I have none; I have come just to take my rightful place as ruler of this world.”

“Equestria has no place for one vile such as you!” Celestia said, “Leave now, or we will have to use force!”

The Nameless chuckled wickedly. “Oh, you are in no position to threaten me. As long as you have those Anti-Magic rings on your horns, you can’t use your magic against me. Isn’t that right…Scootaloo.”

“That’s right. Without their powers, the princesses are practically harmless.”

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing; I didn’t want to believe it at all! Scootaloo was siding with the Nameless!? She stood beside it with a slingshot beside her.

“By the way, I must congratulate you on your work.” The Nameless said to Scootaloo, “I was beginning to think you would fail.”

“It was way too easy,” she replied, “they were just sitting ducks and so easy to fool.”

Why Scootaloo? Why would you do this? How long have you planned this? Since when have you ever been good with a slingshot? I thought we were friends! All these thoughts filled my head as I tried to comprehend what was happening through my tears.

“Oh, and I assume you’ve set up all those explosives in this place.”

“You doubt me? Of course I did.”

“Then would you care to do the honors?” The Nameless tossed a pad with a button on it down at Scootaloo’s hooves.

“With pleasure.”

“But Scootaloo,” I said between sobs, “we’re your friends!”

Scootaloo turned her back to us before speaking again. “Not anymore.” With that she mashed the button with her hind leg. There was a deafening explosion, and then my world went black.

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When I awoke, Apple Bloom was laying beside me still unconscious. All that was left of the library was some burnt books, debris from the explosion, and some singed wood. The door that leads to the basement had been blown apart. Apple Bloom woke up shortly after. We were in shock at the scene of the library. However what we saw in the middle of the room broke our hearts.

In the middle of the room were the Elements of Harmony, or at least what was left of them. The Elements were either split in half, or had the jewels inside shattered. Right beside the Element of Honesty, was a cowboy hat that was burnt on the edges. Apple Bloom sat beside the hat and cried.

I ran outside to see what happened to Ponyville. The town was in ruins and the sky was stuck in an eclipse. I saw the outside of the library was still in one piece; aside from all the broken windows and slowly decaying leaves. Somehow, the explosion seemed to have left the outside of the library intact while only scarring the interior. We were captured soon after by the creatures that attacked Ponyville earlier. They didn’t kill us, they enslaved us instead; along with every living pony in Equestria. We later found out that Big Macintosh and the others were not dead either, but they were enslaved along with us. I don’t know what happened to Scootaloo or how we are still alive; but you call this living? We are slaves to these demons, forced to work to feed their benefits. Whether it is working in the or factories, we must work without rest or be flogged by them.

A few months after we were captured, I found that some of Twilight’s spell books had been spared from the attack. Since that day, I have poured myself into studying magic, probably the same way Twilight did as a filly.

Apple Bloom and I have done what we can to keep the ponies happy. Apple Bloom’s quickly developing strength helped out in jobs we were given, and she helped the ponies with team work. I would use my magic to make our jobs easier and avoid the creatures whip. I would also sing to the other ponies to raise their spirits, which eventually lead to my cutie mark; a wand with a treble clef on the top. Apple Bloom had received hers too; it was a steel hammer. Even though we had discovered our special talents, it was hardly anything worth celebrating.

Eight years have passed, and nothing has changed. Apple Bloom and I have been thinking of a plan to overthrow the Nameless and her empire. Everypony thinks the wielders of the Elements are dead, but Apple Bloom and I have not given up hope. I have a feeling that they are still alive and they are out there somewhere and they will bring back the Equestria we know and love.

End of Chapter 2

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