Once a Hero

by Meadow Dreamer

Rating: everyone
Tags: Dark
Length: 12742

Rainbow Dash's memories are wiped and Discord is determined to use her to conquer Equestria once again.

Equestria is in grave danger.

Discord has gone rogue again. But, this time he is determined to play seriously.

The crystal heart is his first target, and Celestia sends the 8 most loyal and skilled ponies of equestria including Rainbow Dash.

The mission seems to lead to success, until only one of them return.

Rainbow Dash, the element of loyalty is announced to be dead.

But is she..?

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2016-02-23 15:22:47 UTC

1. Awake

The ground shook and crumbled beneath her, explosions went off with a deafening BOOM. The air was filled with magical blasts and debris. She manuevered her way through the magic beams.

She saw Silver Streak, a comrade, scream and fall. She did not stop, her target was right in front of her, she would not let Silver's sacrifice go to waste. With the last burst of her energy, she collided with her target.

She breathed heavily trying to catch her breath. Tightening the grip on her target, the Crystal Heart. She muttered something about needing a holiday under her breath as she turned on her radio to contact Canterlot.

"This is Rainbow Dash, calling in for a report on the mission"

A Few Days Later

Canterlot

Twilight thought Pinkiepie couldn't possibly be more hyperactive than her 'normal' state. She was wrong. Pinkie was bouncing, talking, laughing, and turning cartwheels somehow at the same time. Twilight vowed she would someday examine Pinkiepie. She had a good reason to be excited, though. Today was the day, Dash and her troops were returning from a dangerous mission. Normally they would be worried, but Princess Celestia had informed them that Dash has called back confirming the mission's success. The pink baker was already planning a huge "welcome home from a big dangerous mission" party. Applejack was chatting along, adding that she should definitely add apple cider as it was Rainbow's favorite drink. Rarity was asking Fluttershy if her dress looked fine. Twilight smiled, she couldn't wait to meet the cyan pegasus again.

They arrived at the Canterlot throne room, where Celestia promptly greeted them.

"These are certainly hard times, but it is good to have you girls by my side"

Celestia remarked, making Twilight blush. The pink mare interrupted their conversation to ask when they were arriving. Celestia replied smiling that they would be crossing into Canterlot fairly soon.

The room was filled with Pinkie's chattering and even the guards couldn't help but crack a smile.

The door burst open with a loud CRASH. Pinkiepie looked around eagerly to see her energetic rainbow friend. She gasped in shock. The others followed suit, their gazes locked on the figure that had just come through. She was a gray haired pegasus coated in blood. They would recognize her anywhere, she was one of the few ponies that Rainbow looked up to.

Daring Do(a.k.a A.K Yearling), was bleeding and wounded badly as she limped into the throne room. Celestia yelled for the doctors and they came running through the open doorway.

"Wha.. Wha.. Happened?"

AppleJack managed to choke out. She feared the answer. The distressed mare groaned, clearly straining to speak. She managed to say a few words before collapsing into a coma.

"was... a...Trap . ..urgh .. .Only Survivor.. . .... all. agh..... Dead . ... .."

A silence filled the entire room. Twilight felt the world crumble. Her Friend..., She... couldn't be..No...it..wasn't..possible.. Fluttershy passed out.

"Naaaah, That has to be a joke, right?... right??"

Pinkiepie's smile faltered, her poofy mane deflating. AppleJack tried to comfort her, but her tears blurred her eyesight.

"Girls... I...I...I'm so... sorr.."

Celestia choked mid-sentence. She had sent 8 of Equestria's most skilled ponies including Rainbow Dash, Silver Streak, Midnight Star, and even Daring Do. All those other 7 ponies were most possibly dead. She choked back a sob.

She would not let this be forgotten any time soon. She would make a holiday for the most loyal ponies of equestria. Yes.. She would do just that. She swallowed the tears failing miserably.

The room once filled with laughter minutes ago, now was filled with sobs.

The same day

Somewhere in the Crystal Mountains.

The pegasus woke up. Her head was throbbing and her stomach was grumbling as if she hadn't eaten anything in days. She shook off the dirt and tried to remember what she was doing. To her surprise she couldn't remember anything about her past. Heck, She didn't even know her name.

She was trying so hard to remember anything that she hadn't noticed something was behind her.

Discord supressed a giggle. My, wasn't it funny the way she scrunched her face up? As if that was going to help. No, it wouldn't. She had woken up far earlier than he had expected though. He had underestimated her physical abilities. No matter, he could complete the task right now. He carefully examined the memories he was about to put in the confused pegasus. Ah, yes... It was truly an art. The memory wasn't entirely false, her name would still be Rainbow Dash. But, that would probably be the only unchanged thing beside some minor details. This was going to be good, he could already tell. Starting the procedure he summoned a spell to channel the memories into the unsuspecting cyan pegasus.

Rainbow Dash blinked. Ah, there it was. Rainbow Dash, that was her name. She was unsure, as why her memories were gone for a moment but she remembered everything perfectly now. At least she thought so. She should probably ask Discord about it, maybe he would know the reason. Come to think of it, her stomach was also killing her. She felt as if she hadn't eaten in days. She turned and saw Discord.

"Say, I am hungry. Why don't we get to your place to grab some food?"

She asked, as if visiting the lord of chaos for food was completely normal. Discord grinned and replied if she wanted hayburgers. When she agreed, he snapped his claws and summoned them out of thin air.

Rainbow Dash smiled. It was nice having Discord for a friend. She bit down on her hay burger with great gusto.

Discord watched the rainbow mare gorge herself, then she grinned at him. He grinned back. He could feel her strength being restored.

The plan was working great by far. Yes, he could already feel it.

"We are going to be best partners, You and I"

2. Plans and Tales

The Crystal mountains

The sun was setting, coloring the entire west sky a crimson red. Rainbow smiled. She liked that color. It was the first color on her mane, the color of her eyes and the color of blood. It was as if the sun was bleeding over the entire sky. Which wasn't too far from what she was planning to do. She smirked at the thought of Celestia falling before her. She couldn't wait to start the plan.

"This is sooo lame"

She commented, rolling her eyes.

"Ugh, Why do we need their help anyway?"

Discord couldn't help but crack a smile. Rainbow Dash seemed almost as motivated to bring down Equestria as he was.

"Now, now Dashie, You know exactly how well my two attempts at conquering Equestria alone went"

Rainbow gave him a quizzical look as if something had just occured to her.

"How did Equestria even manage to beat you two times anyway?"

"Well, there are these 6 ponies called the Elements of Harmony and they turned me to stone. They basically defeated almost every threat to Equestria"

"Then shouldn't they be able to stop us this time too?"

"Nah, that's impossible now beacause they've lost a memb.."

Discord suddenly wished he hadn't brought up the Elements of Harmony. He should have said "I was arrogant" or something. He muttered something along the lines of "his big mouth".

"Weeeell?"

Rainbow was watching him intently. Her rosy eyes felt like it was boring into his soul.

"You say they've lost a member?"

She asked again for confirmation and when he nodded she grinned.

"That's awesome for us isn't it?. What happened to him?"

"or her, of course"

She added quickly.

"Uh.. who..? Oh, that pony? Eh.. She.. Oh, not saying it's a mare `could be a stallion too , uh... disappeared! Yes, That's it!"

Discord cursed his brain silently. He made a mental note to make a list of prepared answers sooner or later. Rainbow looked at him with a "Are you hiding something from me?" stare. Discord gulped and did his best "I'm going pretend to look at something interesting behind you and whistle innocently" look.

Rainbow gave him one last stare and turned back to the sunset. The Crystal castle loomed in the distance. She had no interest in the building though. The Crystal Heart was the first thing they needed to get, and it had slipped from Discord's grasp. It was supposedly in Canterlot somewhere.

"How do you think we should get the Crystal Heart?"

Rainbow Dash asked Discord. He smiled knowingly.

"You'll go to Canterlot to retrieve it, of course"

Next day

Canterlot Hospital

"How is she?"

Celestia asked the doctor as she hurried through the hallway with the Mane 6. Well, half of the Mane 6 anyway. Pinkiepie was still sobbing when Twilight asked if she would come to the hospital to see Daring Do, and she said she was staying behind. Fluttershy was staying behind to keep her company.

Applejack reached the door of the room named "Emergency Patients". Inside Daring Do was stretched out on her bed, and her gaze instantly landed on the new arrivals. She looked in a much better condition than she was in a day ago. Celestia asked if she had the strength to answer questions. Wearily but surely she nodded. She spoke to the doctor to get her stuff. The doctor reappeared and laid out a hooffull of items, explaining these were with her, when she got here. Daring Do brightened at the sight of her pouch and proceeded to pull out a shiny object. Celestia gasped as she realized what it was.

"The.. Crystal Heart *cough"

Daring Do's voice was still weak as she held it out to the princess. Celestia nearly broke into tears again. The lives of 7 ponies were sacrificed to get this priceless artifact. She deeply regretted not sending more backup.

As if reading her thoughts, Daring Do whispered quietly.

"It might have took 7 lives to claim it, but at least it saved all of Equestria"

She smiled slightly. Celestia ordered her personal guards to put the heart in the most secure vault in the castle. The vault could only be accessed by a princess. The guards bowed deeply and left, cautiously carrying the artifact.

Celestia sat down on a nearby stool. Applejack, Rarity and Twilight followed her example.

"Tell me, exactly what happened on that mission, Do"

Daring Do sighed as she started her story.

We arrived at the Crystal Empire as the sun was beginning to rise. The mission was evidently important and we had taken the first train to the empire.

"Greetings! Welcome to the Crystal Empire"

Shining Armor greeted us with a warm welcome. Once the greetings were done, he immediately started talking about their positions and strategy, while moving to the castle. Spitfire leaned in and whispered in my ear.

"Wow, I thought X-Ray was the best at strategizing. But this dude is close"

"I heard that, Spitfire"

X-ray, a brown stallion I've come to respect for his insight and ingenious strategies grumbled as Spitfire and Fleetfoot chuckled.

"So, when is he expected to attack?"

Silent Mist spoke out from right behind X-ray causing him to jump in alarm. Mist had a bad habit of moving soundlessly and X-ray wasn't used to his subtle appearances just yet.

"Well, There is leaked information that his attack would be next week."

Midnight answered for him, he was a personal student of Princess Luna and close friends with Silver.

"Yep, that's right and that is why we're planning to move the Crystal Heart to Canterlot. Your mission is to transport the Crystal Heart on its way to Canterlot."

"So, where is it now?"

I spoke up.

"It's under heavy guard in the main tower"

Shining Armor answered.

"So, how exactly do we get it back to Canterlot? On the train? Not all of us has wings y'know?"

Midnight answered Silver's question. He pulled out a small gadget.

"This is a teleportation device. We are going to use this to teleport the Heart and us back to Canterlot"

Spitfire let out a exaggerated sigh.

"Then why are we here to protect it, if all it takes is a press of a button?"

Midnight Star retorted back with a annoyed tone.

"This gadget is powered by the moon and only can be activated when the moon is most closest to the land"

He strained to keep a level tone. He added that this period happened to be starting tomorrow and lasted 3 days by sheer luck.

"So, we are going to outsmart Discord and transport the Crystal Heart tomorrow, 5 days before Discord arrives!"

He finished with a smug look. Spitfire groaned again and spoke in a bored voice.

"Care to remind me, why we're here if Discord isn't coming in 5 days"

Midnight Star facehoofed.

"Safety Reasons, Spitfire. Safety Reasons"

Spitfire opened her mouth and was quickly muffled by Fleetfoot. She flashed an apologetic smile.

"So, tomorrow night huh?"

Rainbow remarked.

"This is gonna be easy! We're awesome!"

We believed her, she was Rainbow Dash after all.

Oh, we were terribly wrong. we thought we've outsmarted Discord. We still thought that as we trotted to the Crystal Heart's holding tower the next night. Midnight was explaining how to use the device and everything suddenly exploded.

It happened so fast. Midnight and Fleetfoot burst into flames and the rest of us panicked. Discord appeared right behind us laughing. Spitfire tried to take revenge of her colleague and flew straight at him. The rest of us ran(or flew) towards the Crystal Heart. Rainbow had picked up Midnight's device.

Judging from the sounds behind us, Spitfire had met the same fate as her Wonderbolt partner. Discord was slowly closing in, Silent Mist was the slowest of us and was turned into a block of granite. X-ray tripped and was promptly vaporized.

I veered off course and managed to hide in a nearby tree. Rainbow Dash and Silver streak was still heading for the Crystal Heart and I heard Silver scream and fall. A split second later, I saw Rainbow smash into the holding chamber.

I heard her calling in for mission report on my radio as she attached the device to herself and the Crystal Heart and promptly activated the device. She instantly seemed to realize something was wrong. She wrenched the device off the Crystal Heart and she disappeared. Discord seemed to have gone away, so I lassoed the Heart and flew all the way back. I met some difficulties on the way, but not that major.

Princess Celestia broke the silence first.

"Well, we'll leave now. Thanks for your service, Do"

Celestia spoke and got up and motioned for the girls to come with her. When they reached a private room, Twilight commented.

"It seems as though this was all a trap"

Celestia looked at her curiously.

"Why do you think that way?"

Twilight counted off the reasons on her hoof.

"Well, the leaked information was probably planted by Discord himself. Also, Rainbow noticed something about the device and pulled it off the Crystal Heart. I can only assume Discord switched the devices when Midnight Star fell"

"And Discord could have just turned everypony into cement with just a snap of his claws, he was toying with them"

Applejack added. Rarity nodded in agreement.

"The only way Discord could be beaten is by the Elements of Harmony, but Rainbow's.."

Rarity spoke. Wow, Things were really looking bleak weren't they? Celestia grimaced at the thought. It wasn't completely true, through. Celestia and Luna's power together would act as an alternative Elements of Harmony. A thought suddenly occured to her.

"What do you girls suppose the device Discord switched in did?"

Rarity scoffed.

"It probably killed Rainbow in the most horrid way possible, It is Discord we're talking about"

"He's really serious this time, isn't he? Ah've never seen him hurt a pony before"

Twilight frowned at Applejack's remark. If Discord was really serious, they were in some deep trouble. Even Canterlot would be in danger, if that were the case.

"Do you suppose, there could be another Element of Loyalty?"

Twilight spoke quietly. She hated to say such a thing, but Equestria's safety was at a risk.

"Why, Twilight! How could you ever talk about such a horrid thin.."

"She's right, Rares"

Applejack interrupted Rarity.

"Ah'm sure Rainbow would have done the same thing"

Celestia nodded sadly. Rarity was looking at them with a shocked face.

"But, that's ridicu.."

Rarity was interrupted, once again by a royal guard galloping towards them. He caught his breath for a moment, then spoke in an excited tone.

"Apologies if I'm interrupting but, It's... It's Rainbow Dash, she..she's flying towards Canterlot right now!"

3. Reunion

Canterlot

Rainbow Dash landed on the path leading to the castle.

The guards were watching her, jaws gaping as the cyan pegasus landed and trotted towards the castle gate. She smirked as the guards saluted and opened the gates. To her dismay, a guard stepped in her way. In an annoyed tone, Rainbow asked what he was doing. He looked at her suspiciously.

"It's the normal procedure ma`am. Checking if you are a changeling or not"

Rainbow relaxed as she let the guard perform a simple scanning spell on her. He confirmed her identity and she passed through.

She barely took 5 steps before being stopped again. Annoyed, she looked up at the figure. Immediately she felt her lungs crush as the purple allicorn hugged her. She struggled to breathe.

"Dash! You..You're back! We..We though you were dead!"

Ah yes, Discord had mentioned her. This must be the element of magic, Twilight Sparkle.

Behind her, an orange earth pony and a white unicorn rushed to catch up. Rainbow recognized them from Discord's description.

Ah, yes. They were definetely the ponies Discord described. What was the orange one's name again...?  Apples something?

Dash gasped for air. Twilight flashed an apologetic smile and let her go. She said with as much emotion she could muster.

"Uh.. I'm glad to see you too Twili-"

She caught sight of Celestia, slowly trotting towards them. Her voice caught in her throat as she felt hate build inside her. She struggled to keep her tone level as she muttered to Twilight.

"I...I really need to see a doctor, like right now."

Applejack and Rarity soon joined the group reunion with tears on their faces.  After a few "I missed you" and "You're back!"s, Rainbow found herself in a hospital ward, being tended to her various wounds.

She smiled. All was going according to plan.

Last night

Crystal Mountains

"You'll go to Canterlot to retrieve it, of course"

"What?!"

Rainbow exclaimed. Discord was looking at her with a amused expression.

"You remember that missing member of the Elements of Harmony, I told you?"

"Yeah.. but what does that have to do with this??!"

Discord grinned smugly. This was just too perfect. All he had to do was explain his devious plan to the pegasus.

"I'll disguise you with my magic, so you look just like the missing pony! She  disappeared during a battle. So, you can just go in the castle, pretending to have come back alive."

Rainbow's expression brightened. That made much more sense.

"That's awesome! Why don't we cast your spell now?"

Discord pretended to cast a spell. Rainbow looked down at herself eagerly and frowned.

"Uh... I'm still me..?"

"No, my dear. Only to you, It seems that way."

Rainbow shrugged. Discord probably knew more about spells than she did.

"So, do I leave for Canterlot ,like now?"

"There's one last thing, I'll have to add the wounds in your disguise. You are coming back from a battle after all"

Rainbow looked at her body, which was without any bruise or cut and nodded. Discord got ready to cast a real spell. This time to put fake injuries on Dash's body.

"I'll add some bruises firs-"

"Wait! But, the doctors will find out the wounds aren't real! Then, they're gonna get really suspicious."

Rainbow interrupted. Discord hadn't thought of that. His ingenious plan, had a critical fault in it. And he couldn't think of a way to fix the problem. He regretted healing her up, after he knocked her out earlier that week. His thoughts were interrupted by Rainbow Dash.

"Well, If the doctor's can't be fooled by fake injuries. There's really one simple solution. To make real ones."

Rainbow grimaced. Her face was grim. She picked up a sharp crystal next to her. Discord's eyes widened.

"W..Wai-"

She brought the crystal down on her left side with a muffled scream.

"A...Agh.. Th..That hurt more than I thought it would.."

She winced. She was bleeding from a large gash. She raised the crystal again. Discord just stood and watched in shock, while the mare wounded herself again and again. It was almost as if she was more determined than him to conquer Equestria.

He smiled inwardly. He had picked the right pony to partner with, all right.

2 Days After Rainbow's Arrival

Canterlot

Rainbow stepped out of the Canterlot hospital. She flexed her wings and prepared to take off. She was itching to fly after being stuck in bed for so long. She hovered just above the ground, savoring the feeling of not having to put her weight on her hooves. She prepared to fly up.

A pink furry blur collided with her. Rainbow barely had time to utter a single word before Pinkie chattered away happily. The rest of the group gathered around her in a group hug. Well, her disguise seemed to be working. After what seemed like an eternity of hugs, sobs, smiles, they pulled back. Rainbow Dash chatted along with her "friends" as they trotted along the paved road.

"Say, Twi. I have something to ask you. How `bout after we get some donuts?"

Rainbow Dash asked Twilight as Pinkie launched into another conversation about having a "Rainbow Dash is back" party. Applejack remarked that she had already hosted that party yesterday at the donut shop. Twilight was curious as what she would ask her. She began to ask her what it was when she heard the distinct grumbling of Dash's stomach. Twilight smiled as they headed towards Joe's Donut shop.

Pinkie was arguing that there was nothing wrong with hosting the exact same party twice. Applejack sighed and explained that it was not that she was hosting the exact party, it was that she was hosting it the very next day. She complained that she was too tired to bake more pies and that they would probably be out of party supplies. Pinkie laughed as she pulled a box full of supplies from her mane.

"I'm never out of party supplies!"

As they entered the shop. Rainbow felt something under her hoof crunch. She looked down at a piece of paper. She picked up the object and inspected it. It was a party streamer. She gasped as fuzzy images flooded her mind.

"Come on, Pinkie. I'll be back, before you know it"

She struggled to pry off the sobbing party pony.

"Pinkie promise..??"

Pinkie sighed as Dash nodded. She let go and stuffed pink streamers in Dash's mane.

"Be back quick, safely!"

Rainbow stumbled back. Applejack caught her before she could fall to the ground. Fluttershy cast her a worried look.

"Umm... Rainbow Dash?..  Maybe you should.. get back to the hospi-"

Rainbow regained her balance. Those images.. It must be a side effect of the spell that Discord cast to disguise her. But, they... they seemed so real. They didn't make any sense. She decided to ignore it for the time being.

"I'm okay, Fluttershy. I just got out of the hospital, remember? I think I slipped on the streamer"

Fluttershy relaxed.

"Somepony forgot to clean up after the party yesterday, didn't she?"

Rarity remarked staring at a nervously twitching Pinkie. Pinkie tried her best to turn invisible. Twilight laughed.

"Come on, I'm having a chocolate donut"

After the snack, they decided to break up for the night. Twilight turned to leave, when Rainbow called her to wait. She turned to see Rainbow galloping towards her.

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot, what is it Dash?"

"Hey, uh.. Mind if I see the Crystal Heart?  I risked my life on it, you know."

Twilight didn't see why not. After all, If anypony should get to see it. It was by no doubt Rainbow Dash.

"Sure, why not?"

"Awesome!!"

Rainbow whooped with delight as Twilight turned towards the Canterlot vaults.

The vaults was an underground system with the best security in Equestria. The tunnels were always patrolled by guards and a series of gates were remotely controlled. There were different classes of rooms in this place, ranging from low security to maximum security. The Crystal Heart was in the maximum security vaults, in the deepest parts of the tunnel. Only few items were kept in these vaults, she had only heard folk tales about each item, such as Starswirl's journals on dark magic and King Sombra's old crown. Guards bowed respectfully as she and Dash passed.

She approached the room where the Heart was kept. Fitted with enchanted metal doors and magic dampening spells, It was impossible to use magic thus making the vault impossible to break in. This also meant less guards would be guarding it, due to the unhealthy properties of the magic dampeners. At the moment, there were only two guards.

Twilight trotted past the two only guards. Only the princesses were allowed in this room, not even the fancy royals could enter. The guards looked at Rainbow Dash. They began to move in her way when Twilight spoke up.

"She has my permission as the Element of Loyalty and head of the mission who brought back the Crystal Heart"

The guards hesitated. Rainbow Dash was a known hero of the nation and the princess of friendship herself was with her. They decided she could be allowed as well. After all, she had retrieved it. The guards moved to the side for Rainbow to pass.

Twilight waited as the metal doors slid open, recognizing her magic aura. The Crystal Heart was kept in the middle of the room on a pedestal. It was truly a magnificent artifact. The light reflected off it's sides, shimmering in all the colors of the rainbow. Twilight gazed at it dumbstruck by its beauty. After a few minutes Twilight tore her gaze away from the Crystal.

"So, did you get your fill?"

Twilight asked Dash as she turned around, expecting to see a awestruck pegasus. She froze in shock as she saw Rainbow Dash slowly lowering the unconscious guards to the ground. Rainbow grinned as she noticed Twilight stammering, she was clearly in shock.

"Oh, I got my fill, all right"

Twilight broke out of her trance as she selected the right spell to knock the cyan pegasus out. Her horn glowed to life as Dash launched herself directly at her. Her horn crackled, then fizzled out.

The magic dampeners

Crap

Her head exploded in pain as a hind hoof slammed in her face. It was quickly followed by two short jabs and a punch. Twilight blacked out.

Rainbow Dash put the artifact in her pack. She moved Twilight and the guards to the far corners of the room and closed the metal doors. They won't be getting out anytime soon. She trotted out of the maximum security vaults calmly, and continued out the hallway. The guards stopped her to ask why she was alone.

"I'm not allowed in the maximum security vaults, so I'm just getting back home"

The guards nodded and made way for her as she waited for her exit to open. The metal gate slid open and the night air rushed in. Rainbow Dash stepped out and flexed her wings.

"Ma`am. We'll have to check your bag. It's just security protoco-"

Darn it.

Dash bolted.

The guards blinked and yelled for backup as they flew in pursuit.

"She has the Crystal Heart!"

"After her!!!"

"Contact the general!"

She was faster than them. But, they were vast in numbers. Rainbow knew she would be surrounded in mere minutes. She grimaced and landed in the Canterlot streets. She zipped between houses, hoping to lose them.

She turned a sharp left through the houses and instantly made two rapid turns. She had lost the guards, for now. All she had to do now was to get out with the Crystal Heart. Suddenly, a barrier formed around the entire town.

She was trapped.

Shining Armor had arrived on the scene. He had cast a barrier spell on the town, so nothing could get out. It was just a matter of time before the guilty mare was caught. It wasn't long until a yell sounded from an alley as the guards found the cyan pegasus. She attempted to escape, but she was soon cornered. She put up quite a fight, but was eventually restrained.

Shining Armor dropped the barrier as he trotted towards the cowering pony. She glared at him as he approached her. He was shocked at how much hate and loathing those magenta eyes could hold. He managed to whisper in a low tone.

"Why..? Rainbow Dash.. Why?..."

She didn't reply and lifted her wings, revealing her bare back. Shining Armor's eyes widened as she shakily got up. She didn't have the bag with her. Then... that meant.. the Crystal Heart was not with her. He gasped, his tone rising.

"Whe...Where's the Crystal Heart?!"

The guards were escorting Rainbow Dash away as she grinned at him.

"Where d`ya think?"

Earlier that day

The Barren Wastelands

Discord checked the time. He grumbled. It was past their promised meeting time. He would rather not use the help, but he knew he needed more backup for his plan.

"I am here, Discord"

Discord snapped his fingers and a table appeared between them.

"So, Right to business. I need your help to conquer Equestria."

"And... What'ss in it for me?"

"The Crystal Heart, You can have it."

Discord heard a sharp intake of breath. The Crystal heart was filled with the love of the entire empire's citizens. He knew that was an offer that would be hard to refuse.

"I thought the Crystal Heart was in Canterlot now?"

Discord chuckled. He expected the response.

"It's going to be delivered into my hands soon, by a friend"

Discord neglected to mention the details. If the offer was declined, mentioning his "friend" 's identity would have a serious impact on the plan.

"So, what will it be?"

A long silience passed.

"Very well, I'll agree to help you on the terms that I receive the Crystal Heart"

"I assure you. The Heart is in my hands"

Discord got up, the table disappearing.

"So, What's the plan, Discord? What can I do?"

Discord grinned. Things were going smoothly so far.

"Just one teensy weensy job for now."

It was time to begin the second phase of his master plan.

4. Alliances

Canterlot

Shining Armor was having a very bad day. He was resting in his quarters, when a guardspony rushed in to alert him. His mind reeled at the unbelievable news.

'Rainbow Dash?... A Traitor?. Impossible!'

But, if Rainbow Dash was really on the loose, he'd need all the help he could get to catch her. He ordered for all the guards to move out and corner the pegasus.

Shining Armor arrived a few moments later, and cast a barrier spell. He smiled. Nopony would be escaping today.

Sure enough, the cyan pegasus was quickly cornered. After making sure there was no way for her to run, he dropped the barrier.

He approached the trembling mare, sure that this was some sort of misunderstanding. All doubt instantly vanished as he met her gaze. He stumbled back a few steps, surprised by the hate in her eyes.

Then it hit him.

The bag.

The crystal.

It wasn't there with her. She even taunted him, when he demanded where it was.

She had been thrown in the holding quarters of the castle.

The questioning was scheduled the next day. Shining Armor waited for Celestia to appear. Princess Celestia had told him she would participate in the questioning. He had not objected, and was waiting for her to finish her "Sun Raising" duties.

A few minutes later, Princess Celestia stepped out into the hallway. They trotted in silence to the questioning room. They took their seats on each side of the triangular table.

Rainbow Dash was already seated, restrained and under guard.

Celestia broke the silence.

"So, Rainbow Dash. You managed to disarm the vault security guards, outsmart Twilight Sparkle, steal from Equestria's most secure vault, outfly the entire royal guard-"

"Injured some, too" muttered Shining Armor. Rainbow smirked and he barely restrained himself from blasting her.

"and to top all that off, you managed to send the crystal, presumably to Discord, through Shining Armor's barrier spell."

Rainbow smirked. "I guess he needs a lot more work on his barrier spe-"

"NOW, WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS WHY YOU DID IT!!!"

Rainbow flinched. Shining Armor couldn't help but flinch slightly himself. He had never seen Celestia use the Canterlot voice. It seemed to bring a wave of fear to anypony that might stand in her way.

Rainbow Dash cowered. She was obviously scared. He didn't blame her.

"I DO NOT USE VIOLENCE VERY OFTEN, BUT I CAN MAKE EXCEPTIONS, RAINBOW DASH!!"

Celestia's horn glowed, and a aura formed around the terrified pegasus, lifting her off her seat. She glared at Rainbow Dash and issued one final warning.

"THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO TELL US THE TRUTH!!"

The aura brightened. The cyan pegasus spluttered.

"Please! No! I...I'll tell you!"

The Previous Day

The Barren Wasteland

"So, What's the plan, Discord? What can I do?"

Discord grinned. Things were going smoothly so far.

"Just one teensy weensy job for now."

"And.. What's that?"

"I'll just need one of your bravest minions."

Chrysalis pondered the request. Knowing Discord and his plans, the changeling won't make it back to the hive. But, the Crystal Heart was an irresistable request. After the invasion on Canterlot failed, her hive was constantly low on food. The Crystal Heart could sustain her hive for a very long period of time. And if the plan succeeded, the entire land would be theirs.

"Fair enough, any requirments?"

Discord snapped his fingers and a scroll materialized.

"He'll need to be a very good actor"

Last night

Canterlot

Rainbow turned a sharp left through the houses and instantly made two rapid turns. She had lost the guards for now. Suddenly, a barrier formed around the entire town. Dash smiled. They had expected this. She hid in a nearby bush and held her breath. A moment later a sharp cry sounded and the guards rushed past her hiding spot. The barrier dissipated.

Nice

Grinning, Rainbow Dash took off to the dark night. They had planned to meet at the Crystal Mountains and she had a long flight ahead of her.

Present Day

The Canterlot Questioning Chambers

A green flash illuminated the room. Shining Armor and Princess Celestia were speechless. In the place of the once cyan pegasus, a black changeling cowered.

Shining Armor weren't exactly on friendly terms with the changelings. He despised their existence. Discord must be siding with Queen Chrysalis again. Well at least he'd get to kick the changeling's flank again.

Celestia was partially relieved. She had been in shock that the Element of Loyalty would betray her country. Surely, there was a more plausible explanation this changeling could offer. She had a few questions, though.

"Now, I'll start asking you questions. And you'd better answer them honestly, uhm.."

Celestia trailed off. The trembling changeling answered for her.

"I...It's Si..Silk"

"Well then, Silk. Can you care to tell me how you managed to get in?"

Silk readied herself for a lie she had been practicing for hours now.

"Discord placed a temporary spell that would fool the scanners. It wouldn't fool advanced scanning magic, though"

"And.. the disappearance of the Crystal Heart?"

"My colleagues were waiting and they made their escape disguised as normal citizens"

Celestia sighed. Well, the Crystal Heart was in Discord's claws. She had one more thing, she wanted to ask the creature.

"Where is the real Rainbow Dash?"

"I.. I.. can't tell yo-"

Silk trailed off, noticing the murderous look in the usually calm princess's eyes.

"CaptivesomewhereintheCrystalEmpire"

She blurted out. Celestia sighed in relief. At least, she was alive. She would send a search party to the Crystal Empire. She put the questioning to a stop and let Shining Armor take care of the changeling. Silk gulped as she saw Shining Armor glance at her with a very malicious glint in his eyes.

As soon as the Changeling was taken back to it's cell. Shining Armor leaned in and whispered in Celestia's ear.

"Uhh.. Princess Celestia, what were you going to do to her..?"

Celestia chuckled.

"It was only a simply levitation spell. She probably thought it was going to suffocate her"

She had better alert the Elements of Harmony. No doubt, they would volunteer to join the search party. She would let them. In the meanwhile, she and Luna would have to keep Discord and the changelings at bay.

Same day

Residential Area of Canterlot

Twilight was feeling better. Rainbow's blows had shocked her more than it had hurt her. She had been considerably calmed down by the recent message from her brother that the Rainbow Dash was a fake. She, and the rest of the mane 6 had volunteered to join the search party for Rainbow Dash and they were heading to board the train for the Empire. They were waiting on Rarity.

Fluttershy had spotted Rarity first. She was struggling up the stairs with loads of baggages. Applejack let out a exasperated sigh.

"We are goin` on a search mission, Rares"

Rarity scoffed.

"It doesn't matter where we're going. I simply must take my clothes"

"I reckoned as much"

Applejack mumbled and helped her load the bags in the train. Twilight smiled. Ever since Rainbow Dash had  left for the mission, life in ponyville had been very boring. She was glad to go on an adventure with her friends for once.

They soon arrived at the Crystal Empire and was shocked to see it.  The empire was in very bad shape. Recent fires have left scorch marks on the walls, and the houses seemed to have at least one hole in them.

Twilight gulped.

This was going to be a long search.

A few hours ago

The Crystal Mountains

Rainbow Dash landed on the mountains. She trotted into the caves. Only few ponies knew about this cave, so naturally Discord had used the cave as their hideout.

"I'm coming in!" Rainbow called in.

As she trotted into the main room, she noticed the changeling queen. She nodded a quick greeting. Chrysalis's pupils widened.

"What is she doing here?! Is this some sort of trap?"

She yelled at Discord as the other changelings shared uncomfortable glances. Discord calmly chuckled as he gestured to the confused pegasus.

"Chrissy, this is Rainbow Dash. She is a good friend of mine"

Chrysalis opened her mouth to object. Discord winced. He should have explained the affair with her before she arrived. He quickly silenced Chrysalis with a quick shush.

"Say, Dash. Why don't you go out and rest a bit"

Dash shrugged. She set the Crystal Heart on the table and trotted outside. She did need the relaxation.

Chysalis raised her eyebrows.

"Discord, did you corrupt her..?"

"No, I just replaced her memories in my favor"

"You do realize that memories cannot be erased completely don't you?"

"Yes Chrissy, I am aware of that fact"

Oblivious to the conversation happening inside the cavern, Rainbow Dash stretched her sore wings. She noticed trains arriving. It must be the search party. The changeling did her part well. So far, the plan had been executed perfectly.

Only one more ally needed to be awokened. Then, Equestria would be at their disposal. Rainbow smiled at the thought.

Her gaze turned to the Crystal Castle. It was badly charred from a fire. Almost as if the tower was turning dark.

She chuckled at the thought.

It wasn't far away from the truth.

6. Caught

The Crystal Castle

With a loud 'Thunk', the cyan pegasus collided with the pillar and slumped to the floor, unconscious. Blood trickled down her hooves to the floor.

Twilight turned to confront the attacker, and almost ran into her brother. Shining Armor's horn was smoldering. The guards were spilling into the top floor behind him.

"We came as fast as we could, how are the others?"

Shining Armor motioned for the guards to bind Rainbow Dash. Twilight hurriedly stood between them and the unconscious mare.

"She's alright now. Discord was decieving her with his tricks. I don't know about the others, though"

Shining Armor visibly relaxed. The guards drew back and focused on untying the others.

"They are just knocked out, sir. No serious damage was done."

Shining Armor nodded.

"Very well, We'll proceed to Canterlo-"

Something on the ground caught Shining's eye. A red cone shaped object was sparking on the crystal floor. A dark mist was swirling around it.

"Sir..? Sir?!"

Shining Armor froze as a outline of a pony began to show in the mist. Deep laughter echoed. He would recognize that voice anywhere. He panicked

"Everypony! Evacuate the Castle, NOW!"

The royal guards were trained to avoid panic at all costs. But, so was Shining Armor. The sight of their captain panicking was enough to make the bravest guard shudder in fear.

"Grab the unconscious ponies! GO! GO! GO!"

The entire group scrambled for the stairs, pegasi immediately taking to the sky. Twilight was about to take off, when she noticed her brother was still standing. She decided to wait for her brother.

Five earth ponies picked up the unconscious mares, and put them across their backs. Shining Armor was the last one to leave the floor, with one blast of energy at the mist for good measure.

Twilight hurried down, she had recognized Sombra's voice also, and she was scared. The crystal heart was nowhere near them. There was no way they could defeat them.

Shining Armor noticed that the five earth ponies were significantly slowed down by their knocked out passengers. He checked his back nervously.

All the mist seemed to contract into a small dark ball at the tip of the tower. He gulped and urged the  guards to move faster.

There was a loud BOOM as the ball exploded outwards in a wave of dark magic.

Twilight shut her eyes, as Shining Armor constructed a barrier spell.

The wave collided.

A roaring noise echoed in Twilight's ears as she fainted.

A few hours later

Canterlot Hospital

Twilight woke up in a white room. Shining Armor smiled weakly.

"Feeling better, Twily?"

"Yeah, I guess"

Twilight groaned as she sat up.

"So, I guess your barrier worked?"

"Yeah, It did. But.. Twi, I could only protect you and me from the wave. Soo-"

Twilight felt a hammer smash her stomach. Shining Armor avoided her gaze.

"No.. No.. NO..!"

"I..I'm really sorry, Twi"

"So.. Are they all.. De-"

"Nono, not like that. They've been.. taken"

A terrible thought occured to Twilight. What if they were all wiped of their memories. What if they came back as villains? Like Rainbow did?

Wait.

Rainbow.

What if Discord didn't know she was back to normal?

Twilight gulped.

Rainbow Dash was their only chance.

Around Midnight

The depths of the Everfree

Applejack was the first to wake up from her coma. Apparently they were in some sort of cage. She tried bucking the bars, but they were too strong. A cluster of trees and bushes surrounded the outside of the cage.

"Looks like we're in the middle of the Everfree"

Fluttershy muttered. Her chest was still sore, from where her former best friend had bucked her.

Rarity wasn't whining about the dirty cage for a change. Applejack almost missed the dressmakers constant whining. Pinkie was oddly silent, her mane flat instead of her poofy self.

"Pinkie, darling.. Are y..."

Pinkie twitched as she rocked back and forth. Tears welled in her eyes as she whimpered.

"I miss my Dashieeee....sniff sniff "

Applejack moved in to comfort the pink pony. Fluttershy reached through the bars and felt the ground.

"It's dry, it must be the Appleloosa part of the forest. Maybe I could call the bi-"

"Forget it Flutters, Sombra, Chysalis and Discord are around here. We can't get any help from the outside"

Applejack slumped against the walls of the cage.

"Uh.. I can help"

Rainbow Dash emerged from a bush with a hopefull expression.

Applejack snorted.

"Yeah, we're not gonna fall for that, twice."

Rainbow Dash approached the cage. Her expression turning to one of genuine sadness.

"I.. Applejack, I'm really sorry about what I've do-"

"But being sorry won't change anything would it?"

Rainbow hung her head, lost for words.

"We trusted you, you were our friend Dash. And you betrayed us"

Applejack continued, coldly.

Rainbow was now right in front of the bars. She tried again to convice the stubborn farmer.

"I.. Discord was decieving me.. It.. I.. didn't.. He.. Look, I'm really sorry. Please.. trust me.."

Applejack turned away.

Rainbow turned to Rarity.

"Rarity, I.. I'm speaking the truth! I didn't mean anythi-"

Rarity ignored the pegasus's pleads. Rainbow was practically begging now, tears flowing from her eyes. She could barely string the words together to make a sentence.

"Pinkie, I.. you trust me.., right?.. I Pinkie Promise that's the truth! Please..?"

"Dashie.. I.. I... really wanna trust you, but.. I really can't. I'm really sorry for this!"

"Don't be"

Applejack remarked coldly.

Heart breaking, Rainbow Dash turned to her best friend. She would understand, she would trust her.

"Fluttersh-"

"No"

That single word stabbed Dash's heart like a knife. Rainbow stumbled, tears blurring her vision, before backing away  from the cage.

A minute of silence passed before Pinkie opened her mouth.

"She.. seemed really sorry. Maybe she was really under a spell? "

Applejack sighed.

"I really want to trust her, Pinkie. I really do. I'm just.. scared that... that.."

"That your heart just couldn't take more, and you're afraid she'd betray us again."

Rarity finished for her.

"Yes, Exactly"

Somewhere next to the Cage

Rainbow wiped her tears in the stream flowing by. They didn't believe her. She didn't blame them.

Rainbow made sure, her eyes looked normal. She trotted to the meeting, Discord had arranged for that night.

"Ah, there's the mare herself"

Discord nodded with a grin as the pegasus arrived. Chrysalis still seemed wary of the mare, and watched her every move with suspicion. Rainbow noticed a new member of the group.

"Thank you for my release"

Sombra commented. Rainbow still wasn't used to Sombra speaking in a normal voice. He had claimed he only used his demonic voice for theatrics.

"Uhh, You're welcome. I guess?"

Rainbow grinned back, trying to press the urge to punch the king is his face.

She asked Discord casually.

"So, What are we gonna do with the captives?"

Chrysalis answered for her.

"He is planning to corrupt them, and change them to our side"

"Then there would be nothing that could stop us!"

Discord laughed. Sombra leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"You really need to work on your evil laugh"

Chrysalis groaned.

"Like yours is any better. Your voice sounds horrible"

Rainbow gulped. Discord was planning to corrupt her friends.

She had to save them.

But how..?

Next morning

The Cage

The ponies were forced awake by the icy water. They opened their eyes to see Discord gloating ouside the cage.

"What do you want, Discord"

"Oh, nothing special. I'm just here to tell you your schedule for today."

Discord suddenly reappeared in a secretary's uniform.

"We have Mind-sweeping courses after lunch. Applejack will be first, Fluttershy is ne-"

"Wait, wait. Mind sweeping?"

Rarity exclaimed.

"Oh, yes. Mind sweeping. You'll be helping me by the end of the day"

"So, Rainbow Dash is.. she..?"

Discord chuckled.

"Yes, yes. She's wiped. She's completely evil now, if you hadn't noticed."

The ponies exchanged glances. Rainbow was telling the truth. And if she was trying to break them out.

She had only a few hours to go.

It didn't take too long for Rainbow to burst out of the woods, after Discord left.

"Girls! You gotta believe me! Discords planning on corrupting all of you!"

"We know. He's planning on it after lunch"

Fluttershy muttered.

"It's sure good to have you back, Rainbow. We honestly though you were gone for good"

Applejack smiled weakly.

"And I'm sorry for not trusting ya earlier"

Rainbow sighed.

"I don't blame you. But, we really need to work out our escape plan."

Pinkie's mane inflated a little bit.

"Okie-dokie-lokie"

Canterlot

Celestia paced nervously. Twilight watched the princess anxiously.

"She'll have to be back soon"

Celestia checked the window for the 137th time. Finally, a blue alicorn soared through the window and landed.

"Did you find anything..?"

Celestia asked nervously.

"I think they may be in the Everyfree forest. I saw a few changelings here and there"

Luna replied.

"But, the Everfree is enormous!"

Twilight exclaimed.

"Well, it's a start"

Celestia nodded grimly.

The Cage

"We'd need a diversion"

Applejack exclaimed after a few minutes of discussing. The others agreed.

"If only I had my party cannon, I could create a party diversion!"

Pinkie was almost back to her normal self. Fluttershy giggled.

"I could create a diversion"

Rainbow Dash added thoughtfully.

"But, that would mean you'll be left behind, darling"

Rarity frowned.

"We are not leaving you"

Applejack agreed. Rainbow objected.

"I have to, It's the only chance we've got"

Fluttershy opened her mouth to object. But, Rainbow Dash cut her off.

"Besides, nopony can create a diversion as big as my Rainboom"

An unexpected voice suddenly joined the conversation, causing the others to jump in alarm.

"Now, to that I must object, I'm sure my spells have more effect"

7. Last Chance

Rainbow jumped a good few feet in the air and hovered. Applejack had been the only one to notice the zebra's approach, and the others flinched. Fluttershy practically cowered in fear.

Zecora laughed.

"There's no need to fear, It's only me that's here."

Rainbow spluttered, obvious disbelief showing on her face.

"What are you.. How did you...?!"

Zecora grinned. Then stepped aside for a couple more figures to step out from the woods.

"Long time no see, Dash."

X-ray stepped out of the woods. Dash's already gaping jaw unhinged farther as Spitfire, Fleetfoot and Soarin stepped out behind him.

"Wha... How.. You guys are supposed to be.. uh.."

Spitfire glanced at Zecora.

"It's a Long story"

Rarity interrupted.

"I am sorry for interrupting, but we're stuck in a cage here!"

Zecora chuckled and pulled a bottle of grey liquid from her bag.

"You may want to step away, this liquid can ruin your day"

The ponies in the cage stepped back from the cage as Zecora spilled the entire contents of the flask at the bars. A hissing sound was made as the bars melted away. After the sizzling sound ceased, Zecora gestured to them to get out.

"Gosh, thanks Zecora. How'd you find us anyway?"

Applejack asked the zebra as Pinkiepie bounced out of the cage.

"I know the forest like the palm of my hoof, I felt something wrong here, that's enough proof."

Rainbow still hovered above the ground. She scanned the woods. Discord had gone to the Crystal Empire with Sombra, so Chrysalis and her army was the only enemies around. She felt a hoof tap her shoulder.

"I heard you were evil for a few days"

Spitfire said, chuckling. Dash blushed and looked away.

"Yeah.. I kinda was.."

Dash whispered, almost to herself. She felt a warm hoof on her shoulder. Dash turned to see the orange pegasus smirking.

"You're lucky I wasn't there. I would have beat you into a rainbow pulp"

Rainbow grinned, her quiet behavior quickly vanishing.

"O, Really? Is that a challenge?"

X-ray looked around nervously after called out at the group.

"Come on, we've got to go!"

Zecora nodded as the group.

"Where are we going?"

Pinkie asked as the group quietly moved into the woods. Fluttershy worried.

"Oh, I hope its somewhere safe.."

Fleetfoot answered her.

"We're heading for Appleloosa, its the nearest town from here"

"Is that a.. safe town? I mean it's a countr-"

Applejack cut in on Rarity's worry.

"My cousin's there. It's safe enough. Besides, we just have to hold on untill Canterlot sends backup"

"Oh, yeah.. right"

Rainbow muttered. She dreaded meeting Princess Celestia. She was certain that the princess would forgive her. But, confronting the princess after all her crimes... Well.. It wasn't a comforting thought.

Canterlot

The doors to the Canterlot throne room burst open as Twilight rushed in with an excited look.

"I've just got a message from Appleloosa, they've managed to escape"

Twilight skidded to a stop as she noticed the grim look on Princess Celestia's face.

"Thank goodness, we're gonna need all the help we can get"

"I'll go to escort them back to Canterlot" Shining Armor got up.

"No, you're needed here, remember?" A dark blue aura surrounded Shining Armor before he could run out the doors.

"Actually, he needs to go. The message states that Chrysalis is hot on their tracks"

Twilight continued after laying the message down for the others.

"And, I'm going too"

Cadence sighed.

"I guess this means I'll be going as well"

Appleloosa

Braeburn was very surprised to see his cousin and some other ponies running out of the forest.

He was even more surprised when he noticed the rainbow pegasus. He had been told that she had betrayed Equestria.

"Uhh.. Umm..? Care to explain, cous?"

He managed to spit out a sentence before the forest erupted with changelings.

Braeburn came back to his senses.

"Y'know, that can wait until later"

Braeburn quickly lassoed the nearest rock, and threw it at the swarm.

The changelings in the rock's path were squashed.

Fourteen down, a few hundred more to go.

The changelings stopped in front of the town awaiting orders from their queen.

Chrysalis emerged at the front, smirking at the group. The townsponies began to gather at the entrance of the town, carrying various weapons.

"Really? You think this poor country town can take my army?"

The ponies were hopelessly outnumbered by the changelings. There was at least a few dozen changelings for one pony.

"I'll spare your pathetic town, if you hand over the ponies"

Chrysalis chuckled.

"I am not giving up my cousin" Braeburn growled as he held up the lasso.

The towsponies murmured agreement.

"Oh, Rainbow Dash"

Rainbow flinched as Chrysalis called her name.

"You really seem to be quite good at betraying. I thought you were the Element of Loyalty?"

Rainbow growled.

"You know, If you back down right now. I'll spare your friends a short painless de-"

A loud rumbling noise interupted Chyrsalis. She looked around in anger.

"Who.. DARES.. INTERU-"

An entire herd of buffalo crashed into the swarm as a small agile buffalo ran up to them.

"Strong heart?"

Rainbow gasped in surprise.

"Aaaat your service!"

Braeburn grinned and charged, the entire town following suit.

"FOR EQUESTRIA!!!!"

The others joined in the fight. Rainbow Dash smiled.

"Yeah, for Equestria!"

Canterlot

Celestia checked the sun.

"It's noon. Come, let us go"

Luna followed her sister as Celestia spread her wings. They took off in the direction of the Empire.

Luna had wished she would never have to see him again. But, the deed had to be done.

Celestia noticed her sister's nervousness.

"It's going to be fine, Luna. We'd done the same a thousand years before"

Luna sighed. She remembered the fight clearly. She even still had nightmares about it. She had been corrupted and turned against her sister.

Celestia knew what Luna was thinking. Celestia was able to repel the corruption in her sister. But, the damage was done. Luna had turned against her a few years after the fight.

"I.. If the fight goes like the previ-" Luna stopped as her sister silenced her.

"No, Luna. You are must stronger now. He will not corrupt you this time"

They landed on the large flat space where the Crystal fair used to be hosted. He was waiting for them.

"Haven't seen you in a thousand years, Celestia"

Sombra chuckled.

"You too, Nightm-"

"Why you impudent fo-"

Celestia restrained Luna from charging the corrupted pony. He would just erupt in mist.

"We know your moves this time, Sombra"

"Well, so do I"

Everfree forest

"How long?"

Shining Armor asked impatiently.

"A few more hours, captain"

"They'll be fine. They are strong enough to last a day" comforted Cadence.

"But.. It's an entire army of changelings!"

Twilight exclaimed nervously.

Cadence smiled. The trait of nervousness seemed to run in the family. She put a wing around Twilight.

"They'll be fine, Twilight"

"But, what if they..."

Cadence sighed.

"Don't wo-"

"If that happens , Equestria is doomed"

Shining Armor spoke grimly.

"We'll have to pray, we're not too late"

8. The Finale

Appleloosa

The entire townsfolk charged at the changelings with knives, ropes and pitchforks. The changelings  were no match for the ponies in hoof to hoof combat.

Unfortunately for the ponies there were at least a few dozen changelings for each pony. The changelings that dove down were overcome by the ropes and flying ones were constantly bombarded by apple pie.

Each pony struggled to keep up with the vast amount of bugs and a few of them stumbled, or took hits and a swarm of changelings dove for the fallen pony.

Fortunately, the constant charging of the buffalo tribe made it impossible for the changelings too stay in one place for too long. The fallen ponies often got out, seriously hurt or joined the fight again.

The fight raged for a couple hours after Braeburn sounded retreat. The ponies scrambled to cover behind the haystacks and switched to throwing pies.

Chysalis snarled.

The pies were soft and getting hit would leave bruises at the most. But, the amount of flying pies blocked her army's vision and made it difficult it for the army to advance.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was streaking from one changeling to another, knocking the bugs out with a swift buck. On her way to her tenth victim, she briefly looked down.

Twilight was trying to shoot the changelings that got to close to her. Applejack was by Braeburn's side knocking out changelings with her stones. Pinkie was blowing raspberries and throwing pies at the swarm and Rarity was levitating haystacks to build the walls. Even Fluttershy was tending the injured, occasionally freezing a changeling whenever it got to close.

Rainbow smiled as she bucked the changeling.

It was good to be fighting alongside her friends.

Another hour passed and only the mane six and a few others were left standing.

Chysalis cackled. The ponies were completely surrounded.

"Now you pathetic ponies have nowhere to.."

A green smoke cloud suddenly exploded outwards, blinding the changelings.

Zecora threw down the now empty jar and ran. The ponies followed her lead, Braeburn throwing a few stones for good measure.

"I got a message from Shining that they're almost here!"

"Ah thought they needed a few more hours! Not that Ah'm complaining" Applejack yelled back.

The bush in front of them exploded in a purple light as a white unicorn popped into existence.

"Twily!"

Shining Armor quickly surveyed the scene. Cadence arrived in a similar fashion.

"We had to teleport ahead with my allicorn magic. The guards are still a few hours away"

"Uh.. I'm not trying to be rude but.. There's a entire army of changel.." Fluttershy started.

"It's alright. We've defeated them before. I suppose it won't be any different."

Shining started moving towards the infested town.

"We'll take care of Chyrsalis. You girls have to take out Discord. Keep moving that way, and the guards will find you"

"Shiny!"

The stallion turned.

"Be safe"

Cadence sighed.

"Honestly I'm more concerned for you girls. Discord is bound to have something up his sleeves"

Spitfire saluted Dash.

"We'll stay here. Hope we see each again alive, soldier"

Zecora nodded as she brandished a wicked looking staff.

Twilight nodded and took off into the woods.

The Everfree

A hour passed and the group met with the guards. Discord was in the Barren Wastelands and he seemed to be waiting for them, explained the guards.

"That sucker has something up his sleeve" Rainbow growled as they neared they're destination.

"The princesses.. You think they're all ri..." Rarity asked.

"They've fought with their foes in the past and they've won. I see no reason they'll fail this time" Twilight assured her.

"Besides, we've got our fight to worry about."

"What is there to worry? We get there. Blast him with the elements, Blow a raspberry in his face, Go home, Party!"

"I'm just worried. Discord is just waiting for us. Something fishy is going on.." Twilight sighed.

"Come on! There's nothing to be worried about! We're the main characters! Surely we won't die or anything!" Pinkie bounced around excitedly.

"Ah don't have the slightest idea what she's goin` on about" Applejack groaned

The group soon approached a open clearing.

Twilight cautiously walked out to the middle of the sandy wastelands.

"This looks too orderly for Discord's liking" Rarity commented, poking at a rock.

A deep laughter echoed around them as the sand melted into mismatched colored glass.

"Well, then. I hope this change will suit me better." Discord materialized out of thin air.

"You're going down for good, this time!" Rainbow yelled at Discord.

Twilight's horn glowed and the Elements of Harmony appeared around their necks. A glow surrounded the ponies as they slowly lifted up.

Discord stared at the scene, amused. He popped a bag of popcorn into existence as he munched on it noisily.

"I think you're missing somepony, Twilight" Discord leered in a mocking voice.

Twilight turned and looked back in confusion. She gasped as she noticed the struggling pegasus.

"Rainbow Dash! Wha..What's wrong...?!" Twilight yelped. Discord chuckled behind them, clearly in a relaxed mood.

"I don't know! Somethings keeping me from using it!" Rainbow was clearly struggling with her element.

Discord laughed as he glided down to the ground.

"That's because you sweared loyalty to me, when you were.. *chuckle.. disoriented" Discord gloated. "That's the reason I chose you as my victim, you're the Element of Loyalty"

The others gasped as the truth sunk in.

"You cannot break your loyalty to me. It is your Element and you're bound to kee-" Discord disappeared as Rainbow tried to buck him off.

He reappeared in front of the ponies. "It was all planned from the beginning, Chrysalis and Sombra are mere pawns"

He grinned at Twilight and snapped his fingers. Two moving images appeared next to him.

The first image had Celestia and Luna in it, stepping over the defeated body of King Sombra. The second depicted Chyrsalis and her army scattering in panic as a force wave rolled out.

"Once I get rid of all of you, there will be no one that can oppose my reign" Discord made a crunching gesture as the images dissapated.

Rainbow Dash growled. "So, that's what we are to you? Just mere Elements? Pieces of rock?"

A blue aura surrounded the enraged pegasus as she lifted up.

"Wha..How.. No! What?!" Discord stammered, clearly in shock.

A beam of pure magic shot up into the clouds. Discord slowly backed away, but a glowing ring surrounded the ponies and Discord.

"Nooo! How...! This doesn't make any sen-"

"Look at me!"

Discord flinched.

"Turn around and look at me, you mismatched monster!"

Discord turned around to confront the cyan mare.

"You're a real smart guy, but you made one big mistake"

Discord gaped, speechless.

"Nopony is perfect"

The beam of pure energy descended and started to reduce Discord to stone.

"Applejack can occasionally lie"

Discord thrashed wildly as his lower body solidified.

"Rarity can be selfish at times"

He could no longer move his arms.

"Pinkie can be depressed"

His perfect plan was reduced to rubble.

"Fluttershy can be assertive"

Tears formed in his eyes as he realized the end was coming.

"Twilight can fail spells"

His face froze mid-scream as he saw the pegasus turn around and aim.

"And I CAN BETRAY YOU!"

Rainbow bucked at the solid form of Discord with all her might, cracking the stone and toppling it over.

"That's for Silver Streak!"

Thump

"That's for Midnight Star!"

Thump

"That's for Silent Mist!"

Thump

"That's for the Crystal Heart!"

She repeatedly stamped on the statue until she reduced the entire thing into rubble.

She felt the energy drain from her body as she slumped to the ground, tears blurring her vision.

She struggled to get up and spat on the broken pieces.

"And that's for Equestria"

Rainbow smiled as she blacked out.

5. Confrontation

Noon

The Crystal Empire

The day was reaching its hottest point. Shining Armor decided the search party could take a break. He shot a signal flare from his horn. Soon, the search party was gathered. No sightings of Discord or Rainbow Dash, yet. Shining Armor sighed.

Twilight motioned for her friends to gather around her. She muttered in a low voice.

"The Crystal Empire of all places. I have a bad feeling about this"

"Ya don't reckon it has anythin` to do with Sombra?"

Fluttershy's eyes widened.

"Oh.. my"

"What is it, darling?'

Fluttershy gulped.

"Uh.. The Crystal Castle. It was locked, when we tried to search it. We though it was Shining Armor"

"But, Shining Armor never locks the door to the castle!"

Twilight gasped with revelation.

The Crystal Castle.

Rainbow must be trapped there. It was the place she first disappeared, after all.

Applejack hurried to tell Shining Armor, while Twilight began to move in the direction of the Castle.

"Shouldn't we.. uh.. wait for the guards?"

Fluttershy said nervously.

"Rainbow's in trouble. Besides, Applejack alerted Shining Armor. He'll follow up soon"

Applejack galloped to catch up with them.

"He's gonna follow us in a minute"

Fluttershy was relieved. She looked back to see the guards getting up.

They reached the stairs and started to climb.

Twilight groaned as she remembered the vast amount of stairs she had encountered last time.

That moment

Top of the Crystal Castle.

Rainbow was waiting. It seemed they had finally decided to take the bait. She would have to get ready for them.

She took a red object out of her bag and placed in on the ground. It glinted in the sun's rays.

Sombra's horn

The Crystal Heart was no longer here, and Sombra had been saving his strength. He was ready to make a comeback. Well, almost ready. He needed one last thing.

A single drop of an enemy's blood would do. One of the Elements of Harmony would do just fine.

She rummaged in her saddlebag to take out the ropes. Her hoof caught on something unexpected. She pulled it out, curiosity getting the best of her.

A propeller.

Confused, she inspected the object. She had no idea why it was in her pack. After a while, she placed the propeller on the floor, unsure what it was. She listened to the distant sounds of climbing stairs.

They're getting close.

That moment

The Throne Room

Twilight summoned dark magic, as she opened a staricase leading down. Twilight hated having to use dark magic, but it was a neccessary to getting up. Twilight's eyes returned to normal, as she abandoned the spell quickly.

They trotted down carefully. Twilight has been here before, and the other elements were relying on her.

Shining Armor and the remaining search party entered the throne room right behind them. A few guards were hurt before Shing Armor realized they were blocked by some kind of a barrier.

Shining Armor inspected the problem. He grimaced. It would take quite some time to break through.

A few minutes later

Top of the Castle

The horn crackled a second time. The Elements must have passed through the door at the bottom of the stairs. It would take another few minutes for them to get up.

The barrier holding Shining Armor out would last another few minutes as well. She smiled.

It would be over before they even managed to catch up.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Twilight panted as she neared the top floor of the castle. The gravity spell did not work for multiple ponies, so they ended up walking all the way.

Applejack was the first to get up on the platform. She whispered excitedly.

"She's here!"

The others quickly stepped up on the floor. A multicolored pegasus was sprawled on the ground. Fluttershy quickly moved toward the fallen pegasus, Rairty following close behind her.

Twilight quickly performed a advanced scanning spell, and confirmed she wasn't a changeling and was perfectly healthy.

Wait, Healthy?

Her eyes widened as she noticed the bandage on the pegasus's wing. She read the small printing on the fabric.

Canterlot Hospital

Twilight's heart nearly stopped.

"Fluttershy! Rarity! Get away from Rainbow Da-"

Too late.

The "unconscious" pegasus swept her wing across the ground. Rarity and Fluttershy lost their balance. Rainbow's hooves slammed into their backs, then quickly produced a rope and tied them up.

"Unexpected?"

Rainbow grinned as she grabbed another coil of rope from her bag.

"Bring it on, eggheads"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Shining Armor cast the last bit of his spell and the barrier broke. He hurried through the throne room to the passageway. The pegasus guards flew straight down, carrying few guards down with them. The process repeated itself. Shining Armor could hear a distant shriek.

They were in trouble.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Rainbow dodged the projectiles. A frying pan whizzed past her snout and a pot nearly knocked her off balance. The pink mare had an uncanny accuracy, and judging from the sounds of crunching metal behind her, she was hurling them with a lot of force, too. Rainbow dodged a bowl and reared back to knock out the baker.

Her hind legs caught in a loop as she lost her balance. She quickly turned to see another lasso bearing down on her.

Maybe she had underestimated them. She'll have to step up her game.

She grabbed the lasso and pulled. The orange pony stumbled, and Rainbow kicked her across the room. She crumpled, groaning as a bruise blossomed. She turned and ducked instantly. A beam of magic passed right above her.

Twilight cast spell after spell. Rainbow nimbly dodged them all. Without the constant danger of being caught in a lasso, she could move much freely than before.

Narrowly avoiding a flying spoon, the cyan mare charged Twilight. She shut her eyes. She quickly sent a telepathic message to Shining Armor alerting him of the problem.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Shining Armor was surprised when a message from Twilight got in his mind. She told him about Rainbow Dash attacking them, Fluttershy and Rarity, Applejack being down. And to get there quick

He tried to send a message of his own.

"We'll get there, soon Twi. Hold on a little more!"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Twilight heard a thud and she opened her eyes.

A well thrown baking pin collided with Dash's hind legs. She yelped as her legs gave away beneath her. She struggled back up, and surveyed the area.

Nopony was bleeding yet. Only bruises were made. Dash searched for a sharp edge that could be used as a weapon.

She snapped her attention back to the pink pony. The baker was approaching her with a frying pan in her mouth. Dash kicked out. Not expecting the kick, Pinkiepie stumbled and Dash took the chance to land a blow.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

The guards had all arrived at the bottom floor and Shining Armor opened the door.

More stairs

Celestia *Damn** these stairs.*

They began ascending the stairs. Shining Armor tensed as he heard sounds of a fight above.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Rainbow readied to strike, as the baker helplessely raised a hoof to protect herself. Twilight tried to cast a spell to somehow stop her, but the two ponies were too close together. She was afraid she might hit Pinkie.

Right before the punch made contact, Rainbow yelped as her hooves contracted beneath her. She fell to the floor, tightly bound in a rope.

"It's gonna take more than one blow to throw me out of a fight, sugarcube"

Applejack grinned, tightening the rope even further.

Rainbow struggled. The rope was strong. She noticed the propeller on the ground beside her. It wasn't very sharp, but it would do. She slowly edged her way toward it.

Applejack trotted over to Pinkiepie to inspect her leg. Twilight hurried to check if Fluttershy and Rarity was still unconscious.

A small slicing noise echoed and Applejack turned around, confused. Her vision went black as she saw a cyan hoof hurtling towards her.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Shining Armor cursed the stairs.

From the looks of it, they were barely halfway to the top.

The sounds of fighting ceased above them.

He gulped and hurried upwards.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Rainbow Dash dispatched Pinkiepie in the same manner. Then turned to confront the allicorn.

Twilight gulped. She readied herself for a fight. She was powerful, but she had no experience in combat.

Within a minute, Rainbow had Twilight on the floor bound. Twilight was too tired to cast any sort of spell.

"Rainbow, why.. why are you doing this?..? I thought we were friends..!"

Twilight whimpered.  Rainbow hesitated, confused. Discord's spell to disguise her as the Element of Loyalty must be still working. She chuckled.

"I am not your friend. I tricked all of you into thinking that I was the Element of Loyalty"

It was Twilight's turn to be confused. What was she saying? She gasped as realization hit her.

"Rainbow! Listen to me! You've been tricked by Discord! You are the Element of Loyalty!"

Rainbow stumbled back, clearly confused. That couldn't be right.

"What are you talking abou-"

She faltered as her mind reeled.

"What is she doing here?" Chysalis glared at her with hatred.

"Pinkie Promise that you'll be back soon!" said the pink mare as she boarded the train.

Discord avoiding her gaze when she asked about the Elements.

The mysterious memory loss in the Crystal Mountains.

She tried to rid her mind of these stupid memories.

"Nonono.. You're trying to trick me!"

Rainbow yelled at Twilight. One drop of blood was all it would need. She picked up the propeller and raised the blade. Twilight's eye's widened.

She started to bring the blade down.

They had called her Rainbow Dash.

Discord had said she was disguised as the Element of Loyalty. But, they had still called her Rainbow Dash. Then.. that meant..

She hesitated. Twilight tried for the last time.

"Rainbow.. Please.."

Rainbow shook her head. It was probably just a coincidence. It had to be. She raised the propeller again. Twilight shut her eyes.

As she brought the sharp edge down slowly, Rainbow noticed something written on the propelle blader. She squinted to make out the writing.

Tank

The propeller clattered to the floor, narrowly missing Twilight. Twilight opened her eyes to see the pegasus trembling.

Waves of memories crashed into Rainbow's mind. She stumbled back clutching her head. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had done.

Rainbow buckled to her knees.

"Twilight, I... I.. No... No!. I...!!!!" She stammered.

Twilight smiled weakly. Rainbow was back.

Rainbow fumbled to untie the ropes as tears streamed down her face.

Twilight opened her mouth to say something to comfort her, to tell her that it wasn't her fault.

"Rainbow, I know you didn't mean the things you've done"

Rainbow wiped her tears and opened her mouth to reply, when a blast of magic hit her directly. She was thrown to the other end of the room.

Her head collided with a pillar and a trickle of blood ran down her forehead. She heard Twilight yell out in surprise.

Well, at least I deserved that.

Rainbow Dash blacked out.