Equestria's Demise

by misseljebel

Rating: everyone
Tags: Thriller, Drama, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Cheese Sandwich, Starlight Glimmer, Dark, Main 6
Length: 5836

When a new threat plans to destroy Equestria, it's up to the Mane 6 and some unlikely new friends to stop it.

When a new threat plans to destroy Equestria, it's up to the Mane 6 and some unlikely new friends to stop it.

Published 2016-03-27 00:00:04 UTC
Last updated 2016-08-29 22:50:38 UTC

Chapter 1

It was a bright, sunny day. There was hardly a cloud in the sky. The birds chirped happily in the trees. On Applejack's farm, the pigs oinked and the cows mooed. Applejack was in her barn with her best friends. The barn was a mess.

"Wow, you really let this place go," Rainbow noted. Applejack glared at her, but her happy demeanor quickly returned.

"Well, that's why Ah invited y'all here. We're gonna do some spring cleanin'!" Applejack exclaimed. Her friends cheered and clapped their hooves.

Applejack trotted over to a couple of boxes which contents were spilling on the ground. She picked them up and started to sing.

"Now that warm spring's here, together we'll see cheer, in the springtime sun! Waterin' our flowers, more daylight hours, to hang out 'n' have fun!" She pushed the boxes under a shelf, then watered the flowers on the shelf. The others watched her happily, and she grabbed a broom and started to dust the floor.

"Nothin' compares to bein' with you few, happy as can be! Warm rain soon to come, spring flowers will be sprung, the cold is gone, can't you see?" She threw open the windows, blowing off the dust on the windowpane. It blew in the others' faces and they coughed.

"Spring, spring, spring is here! The butterflies will spread their wings! Winter's passed, we'll have a blast, right here we'll all sing!" Applejack looked at her friends and smiled, and they realized it was their cue.

"Practice new magic!" Twilight said, spreading her wings and moving some crates with the magic from her horn.

"Party ecstatic!" Pinkie Pie giggled, jumping around excitedly, destroying some cobwebs with her matted tail.

"Animals to come home!" Fluttershy opened up another window and a bird flew in. She nuzzled it and it chirped happily.

"Making spring dresses!" Rarity walked over to a blanket and used her magic to straighten it out and wipe the dust off of it.

"Extremely fast races!" Rainbow Dash zoomed around, destroying spider webs and stirring up dust. They all coughed again then glared at her.

"Rainbow!" Twilight spat. Rainbow Dash shrugged.

"Singing in every tone!" Applejack added. They all started to work together to clean up her barn.

"Sun, sun, the sun is out! The grass will be a bright fresh green! The flowers will sprout, without a doubt, how happy it all seems!" They all sang together. At the end, they all laughed and hugged each other.

"Well, now that my barn is all cleaned up, maybe we can all have some fun together?" Applejack asked. They nodded.

"We can go see the little animals now that they're awake," Fluttershy suggested, her voice soft. Twilight nodded.

"That sounds like fun!" Twilight agreed.

"Hey, that means Tank is awake!" Rainbow cheered, clapping her hooves. "Come on! Let's go see him!" With that, she took off out the door. Her friends followed her happily.

They reached the spot Tank always slept. Rainbow crept forward, nosing the ground. That moment, a tortoise popped his head out, a lazy smile on his face. Rainbow jumped up and grinned.

"Tank!" She squealed, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him out. Tank grunted happily and rested his head against her shoulder.
A few bunnies hopper up to Fluttershy, tugging on her tail. She turned her head and gave a sweet smile.

"Hello bunnies," she greeted, crouching down so she was face to face with them. "How'd you sleep?" They chirped, and she grinned. "That's good!"

Suddenly, something hit Twilight. An uneasy feeling, like she was sick to her stomach. It was some sort of panic attack, but it didn't result in hyperventilating. She just felt something bad was going to happen. Something wasn't right.

Pinkie, being the master of telling feelings, looked at her. "What's up, Twilight? What are you scared about?"

Twilight looked at her, blinking her purple eyes. She seemed surprised Pinkie could tell she was upset, when she tried so hard to mask it. She sighed. "I just have a bad feeling about this all," she replied honestly.

"About what, darling?" Rarity queried, edging forward. She looked up at Twilight, noticing she was visibly taller than the others. It must come with being a princess, since the other three were very tall.

"I don't know," Twilight replied, thinking. "I just have this feeling..." Her friends stepped forward, curious gazes on their faces. Twilight looked them in the eyes, taking a deep breath. "This is going to be a bad spring."

Princess Celestia looked out the window. Her majestic mane fluttered, her expression grave. The sun was high in the sky. She watched it as it slowly slid across the sky. She exhaled deeply, an unnerving feeling in the pit of her stomach.

A door just open and Princess Luna ran in. "Sister!" She yelled, panic in her eyes. "I have had a bad dream!"

Celestia swiveled her head to look at her. "Luna, are you alright?" She asked, her face twisted in worry. "What was the dream about?"

"It was Clades." She gasped, her chest heaving. Sweat dripped down the side of her face. "I'm afraid he's going to come."

Celestia nodded slowly, narrowing her eyes. Clades was dangerous. He was a Duplex Maxillam, large, with an evil aura radiating from him. He was hungry for blood, craved power, and was just all around horrible. Celestia couldn't find a single good thing about him. Maybe smart, but he didn't use his intelligence for good.

She stomped her hooves and a guard ran in. He wore a suit of armor. "Yes your Majesty?" He asked, his voice deep and rough.

"Assemble the troops," she ordered. "We'll need all of them, with the strongest of weapons. The fate of Equestria depends on it." Princess Celestia demanded. The guard dipped his head in respect.

"Your Majesty... If you don't mind my asking, what's going on?" The guard asked.

"As my first guard, you deserve to know." She told him. She looked out the window again. It was now night. The moon casting a milky glow on her, the light reflecting in her eyes. "Clades is going to come."

The guard gasped. "The Clades?" He walked, fear in his voice. "You don't mean-"

"Yes, I do," Celestia interrupted. "Unfortunately." She added. She then whipped her head around to face him. "Go assemble the troops now."

The guard nodded and ran out of the room. Some shouting could be heard, followed by some commotion. It was obvious the guard put Celestia's orders as his top priority.

"Sister, will you tell Twilight?" Luna asked. Celestia nodded.

"We'll need the Elements of Harmony to defeat him. There is no other way." She exhaled deeply, visibly exhausted. "I'm afraid there will be a war."

"A war?!" Luna's voice shook with anxiety. "Sister, there can't be!"

"It would be best to avoid it, but I'm afraid we won't have a choice," Celestia responded sadly. Luna flattened her ears to her head and sniffled, looking as if she was about to cry. Celestia used her magic to grab a scroll, and quill and some ink. She placed the scroll on a stand and started to write. Once she was done, she used her magic to send it to Twilight.

Luna approached her, stars thinking in her mane. "Do you think we can stop him?"

Celestia lowered her head. "I sure hope so, my dear sister."

Twilight laid on her bed, reading a textbook on philosophy. Spike was in his bed, reading a comic book. Twilight looked at him, smiling.

"How's that comic book, Spike!" She asked. He looked at her with enthusiasm.

"It's great!" Spike bubbled. "How's your book on philosophy?" He stuck his tongue out at the word.

"It's wonderful," Twilight told him.

Suddenly, Spike's face turned green and he let out a large belch. A scroll popped out, and Twilight used her magic to pick it up. She opened it and her eyes scammed the page, growing nervous.

"What is it?" Spike asked, looking concerned. Twilight jumped up her hooves and cantered around the room, panicking.

"Remember how Pinkie told you I was worried today?" She reminded him. He nodded. "Well, I was right! Clades is going to attack!"

Spike shrugged his shoulders, the worry disappearing from his eyes. "Who's that?"

Twilight froze, staring at him. "I don't quite remember..." She admitted. "But I remember learning about him. He's very evil."

Spike, not knowing who he was, laid back down and yawned, rubbing his eyes. "Yeah, well, wake me up when he attacks." He told her, closing his eyes.

Twilight jumped onto her bed. "Celestia said I can rest until the morning, then I need to assemble the Elements of Harmony." She murmured to herself. She set her book aside and pulled the covers to her chin, her body shaking. She didn't want to admit it, but she was terrified.

Chapter 2

It was the next day. Twilight met up with her friends, nervous about telling them the news. She had gotten up early to read a bit more about Clades, and it wasn't good.

Pinkie Pie suggested they go try the new smoothie shop in town. Twilight was reluctant, because she didn't want to tell them the news in public to avoid panic, but a smoothie sounded good. She decided she would tell them afterwards.

They reached the smoothie place. It was near the outside of town, but still close enough in that it would get business. It had been there for a few weeks, and Pinkie was already friends with the owner, of course.

They walked up to the counter. They had many different smoothies, and different things they could add in, such as a metabolism or energy booster. At the counter was a unicorn, a light yellow color with a darker yellow mane and tail with small white stripes in it. Her mane was up in a ponytail. She had soft purple eyes and a necklace with a sand dollar on it. Her cutie mark was a piña colada.

"How may I help you?" She asked. She had a Spanish accent, and then her eyes landed on Pinkie and they grew wide. "Hola, Pinkie! How are you?"

"I am super fantastically amazing!" She beamed, her voice high pitched. "Meet my friends! Colada, this is Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle! Guys, this is Colada!"

Colada dipped her head in respect. "Hello friends of Pinkie. And Princess Twilight Sparkle! Oh, it is an honor to meet you." She bowed, her voice soft. Twilight's cheeks burned red.

"Oh! You can just call me Twilight," she informed. Colada smiled, tilting her head respectively to the side.

The door flew open, and two ponies walked in. One was a Pegasus, with a deep pink coat and blue, purple and pink striped hair. She had blue eyes and freckles, and she had green bracelets on one of her front legs and one of her back legs. Her cutie mark was a microphone.

The other pony was a light green earth pony was azure colored hair that curled at the end. Her eyes were green and her cutie mark was paper and a quill.

"Eey, Colada, girl!" The pink pony waved her hoof, and the green pony rolled her eyes, a scowl on her face.

Colada waved back. "Hello Reverb and Azure," Colada greeted. The two ponies sat next to the other six.

"The usual," Reverb ordered. Colada nodded and punched the price into the cash register. Reverb looked over and saw Pinkie. "Pinkie gal! What's up?"

"Reverb!" Pinkie jumped forward and hugged her. Her head swiveled over to face Azure. "Azure! I haven't seen you in a while!"

"I've been doing a lot of important work like avoiding ponies," Azure responded bitterly. Pinkie giggled, holding her stomach.

Reverb's eyes lit up and she elbowed Pinkie. "Hey, these are your friends, aren't they? The Elements of Harmony?" She looked at Twilight and grinned. "And the princess of friendship! Heh, Azure could learn a lot from you!"

Azure glared at her. "I don't need any lessons on friendship," she growled. "I am perfectly content all alone."

Reverb snorted. "Yeah, whatever you say." She smiled when Colada handed her her smoothie. It was a pink color, and she took a sip. "Mmm!"

Rainbow stared at her. "What flavor is that?" She questioned.

"Island Breeze!" Reverb answered. "It's my favorite!"

"Hmm, maybe I'll get it," Rainbow thought out loud.

Pinkie hopped up and down excitedly, looking like she was about ready to burst. "I'm gonna get the Mango-Mango!" She squealed. She looked at Fluttershy. "It has mangoes in it!"

Fluttershy wasn't sure how to respond. "Oh, does it?" She murmured.

They each ordered their smoothies. Pinkie was about to get an energy booster, but the others scolded her and told her not to, so she just asked for extra sugar. They got their smoothies and all took sips, their eyes widening in surprise.

Colada smiled nervously. "Well?" She piped up. "How is it?"

"Fantastic!" Twilight mused. Colada smiled happily, and the others nodded in agreement.

"So, y'all just moved here, right?" Applejack started. "Where from?"

"Cloudsdale, baby!" Reverb shouted. Rainbow beamed.

"Me too!" Rainbow told her. Reverb held up her forehoof.

"High hoof, sista!" Reverb yelled, and Rainbow slapped her hoof, laughing.

"I'm from Manehattan," Azure mumbled. Rarity let out a squeal.

"Manehattan! One of the most beautiful cities to ever exist!" Rarity bubbled. She looked dreamily at her. "Didn't you just love it?"

Azure narrowed her eyes. "Oh, yes, I just LOVED all the ponies!" Azure replied sarcastically. Rarity was too amazed to care.

"I am from the Gallopagos Islands," Colada informed. Twilight gazed at her, interested.

"I've never met any pony from the Gallopagos Islands!" Twilight mused. "What's it like?"

"Well, beachy, sandy, hot," she laughed. Twilight chuckled. She then ordered a smoothie to go for Spike.

As they talked, the door opened up and Cheese Sandwich walked in. Pinkie whipped around to see who walked in and she gasped.

"Cheesy!" She squealed, jumping off her seat and rushing up to him, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him. He kissed back.

They pulled back and he walked up to the counter, taking a seat next to Pinkie. She grabbed another straw and stuck it in her smoothie, and they both sipped out of it. Pinkie swished her tail happily.

The happiness almost made Twilight forget about the problem at hand. She drank more of her smoothie, thinking of the right time to tell her friends.

Within a few minutes, they were done. They talked for a few moments, and then Twilight got up.

"We best be going, it was a pleasure meeting you three," she said, giving them a warm smile and trotting out the door. Her friends followed close behind, and the three new ponies waved their hooves.

Once they were outside, Twilight took a deep breath. Her eyes scanned her friends, then she noticed Cheese Sandwich. She didn't want to be rude, but he shouldn't listen to what she was going to say either.

"Cheese," she started. He stared at her. "I'm really sorry, but there's some important business I need to discuss with the girls. I'm afraid you'll have to leave."

Cheese opened his mouth to say something, but Pinkie interrupted her, a grin on her face. "Hey! Whatever you say to me you can say to Cheesy too!" She protested. Twilight rolled her eyes, giving in.

"Fine, I trust you Cheese, but you gotta promise to not tell anypony else." She ordered.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Cheese Sandwich responded, sticking a hoof in his eye. Twilight winced, not knowing how Pinkie and Cheese could not do that without experiencing pain.

She started explaining. "Okay, so you remember how I said I had a bad feeling yesterday? Well, I figured out why. Clades is attacking."

The others stared at her, confused. "Who's Clades?" They asked.

"He's-" she said, but she was interrupted by Colada. She held a smoothie in her hoof, and Reverb and Azure were with you.

"You forgot your smoothie to go," Colada told her. Twilight froze, hoping she didn't hear what they were talking about. Unfortunately, they did.

"Clades?" Azure asked, her eyes wide. "You mean the Clades? The one that terrorized Equestria centuries ago, slaughtering hundreds of ponies and feeding off of their bodies?" The others stared at her, horrified, and Twilight nodded sadly.

"What a horrible pony!" Fluttershy wailed, looking as if she was going to cry.

"Oh, he's not a pony. He's a Duplex Maxillam, or double-jaw. A species of carnivorous creatures that eat ponies. He's the last one." Azure explained, her eyes narrowing. "That we know of, at least. There could be more."

Fluttershy squealed and hid behind Applejack, and Azure smiled sadistically. Twilight stepped closer to Azure.

"How much do you know about Clades?" She asked. Azure glared at her.

"Oh, quite a lot. I've read a lot of history books on him. He's really dangerous." She replied, cocking an eyebrow. "You say he's going to attack?"

"Yes, Princess Celestia told me," Twilight told her. "We six gotta get going to Canterlot to meet her about this."

Rainbow did a flip in the air, clapping her hooves. "We'll take this double-jaw to the ground!" She shouted, her voice cracking. An idea popped into Reverb's head.

"Hey, how about we come with?" Reverb suggested. Colada stared at her, her jaw open in shock.

"I beg your pardon?" She murmured. Reverb flapped her wings, lifting herself into the air and giving Colada a shake.

"Come on, sister! Don't you want to explore? Venture to far off places to which we might never return?" She asked. Colada watched her with concern.

"Now that you put it that way, especially no!" She responded fearfully. Twilight smiled, appreciating Reverb's enthusiasm.

"I'm glad you'd like to come, but we can't just being random ponies along," Twilight informed. "You need to stay here, where you'll be safe."

Reverb grew disappointed, landing back on the ground and crossing her forehooves. "It's not like we're scared!" She shot back.

"I'm scared!" Colada cut in. Reverb glowered at her.

Rarity walked over to Azure, how shrank away angrily from her, not wanting to be close to anypony. "What about Azure?" Rarity pointed out. "She seems to know about Clades a lot more than the rest of us."

Twilight thought for a moment. She knew some things, but Azure knew who Clades was immediately. She could be of use, if she still had those textbooks. "Azure, do you still have those books on Clades?" Twilight asked.

"Yes," Azure mumbled.

"Do you mind if we see 'em?" Applejack asked, smiling at Twilight. The princess smiled back, Applejack always knew what she was doing.

Azure grimaced. "Ugh, that means you have to go to my house," she complained. They smiled nervously.

"Azure! I know you don't like having ponies at your house, but this is all for ponykind!" Reverb waved her forehooves in the air. Azure tilted her head back and groaned.

"Fine!" She spat, then turned and walked toward the direction of her house. The rest of the ponies followed her.

After a few minutes, they reached the outskirts of town. There was a small house, and Azure grabbed a key and unlocked the door, throwing it open. She trotted inside and turned on the lights. The others walked inside, looking around.

"It has been a while since I have been in here," Colada said. Azure lit a candle.

"Yeah, well, I like it that way," she hissed. She then led them into another room. It was a large library. Twilight gasped and looked around, grinning.

"This is amazing!" Twilight gawked. Azure let out a huff and went to grab the history books on Clades. The others waited patiently, and Twilight's purple eyes scanned the books on the shelves. Most of them she had, but some of them she hadn't ever read. She wanted to ask Azure if she could borrow them, but she could tell Azure wasn't the most personable pony.

Azure set the books on a table and opened it up. She flipped to the pages about Clades and tapped them with her hoof.

"Read to your heart's desire," she muttered, turning and walking away to sort her books.

"Clades, Duplex Maxillam. Terrorized Equestria in the Middle Ages. Killed around two thousand ponies. Used his top jaw to catch the pony, then chewed with his bottom jaw located on his neck. About twenty feet in height. Long, slender, large sharp claws. Tried to overthrow the government. Failed and was banished to the underworld." Twilight skimmed through it. Fluttershy let out a wail and leaned on Rarity, looking sick. Rarity pet her hair.

"How in Equestria are we supposed to stop this monster?" Applejack asked, staring at the book in fear. Twilight sighed, but Cheese elbowed her shoulder.

"Well, you all defeated Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, Tirek, is there anypony I'm missing?" He asked, shaking his head. "Point is, you've fought all these big bad guys before, you can totally take on this Clades character!" He looked excited and cheerful, and Twilight felt a little comforted, but she still felt worried.

"Well, how did they defeat him before?" Reverb asked, butting in to look at the book. Twilight flipped a page over.

"Extremely powerful magic," Twilight responded. Reverb punched her shoulder in a friendly way, but it hurt and Twilight groaned.

"But you're the Princess of Friendship, and you're all the Elements of Harmony, so this will be a breeze!" Reverb pointed out. Twilight wasn't too confident though.

"I guess, but we're gonna need even more powerful magic," Twilight responded, worry shaking in her voice. "I'm afraid it won't be that easy."

Reverb wrapped a forehoof around Colada and pointed at Azure. "Well, if you need us, we're here!" She grinned. Colada and Azure stared at her, but they didn't say anything.

Twilight thought for a moment. Reverb seemed so eager, but Twilight doubted she had any experience in fighting monsters. She wasn't sure though. They would need all the help they could get, but she didn't want to put random ponies' lives in danger. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized they would need these three new ponies. Cheese Sandwich could help too. She sighed heavily. They could fight on the sidelines if they wanted.

"Fine, you three can come along, and you too, Cheese Sandwich," Twilight decided finally.

"What?!" Colada and Azure shrieked, looking horrified.

"Yes!" Reverb shouted, driving her hoof in the air. Cheese hugged Pinkie happily, and she giggled.

Twilight grinned, feeling more secure. "Great. It's a pleasure to have you. We leave for Canterlot immediately."

Chapter 3

The ponies sat around talking to each other, discussing their new adventure. Twilight sat off to the side, thinking. If they needed extremely powerful magic to stop Clades, well, which pony had more powerful magic than her new student Starlight Glimmer? Twilight decided she would invite Starlight along too. It would be her first big mission. She just prayed it wouldn't be her last.

Azure walked to the door, opening it up and pointing her hoof outside. "Good, now goodbye," she hissed. Twilight trotted out of her house and looked back at the other ponies.

"I'm going to get Starlight, she needs to come along with," Twilight told them. Pinkie hopped up to her, beaming, her poofy hair bouncing as she did so.

"Oh! This'll be Starlight's first time, right?" Pinkie Pie asked, and Twilight gave a nod.

All the ponies ushered out of Azure's house, and Azure closed the door behind her, locking it. They all chatted excitedly, and Twilight stomped her hooves to get their attention.

"Everypony please get ready for our mission. I'm going to head back to my castle and fetch my pupil." She ordered. Applejack walked up to her, a concerned expression on her face.

"Twilight, ya sure she's ready?" Applejack queried. Twilight outstretched a wing and placed it on Applejack's shoulder.

"You're asking if a pony who went back in time to try to alter history is ready for this?" Twilight asked, laughing. That moment, her eyes grew wide and she stared at the new ponies, who were staring at her back, their jaws dropped.

"What now?" Reverb asked. Twilight flattened her ears to her head and blushed.

She then turned and started to flap her wings. "You all get ready, I'll be right back!" Twilight called, then flew to her castle.

Upon her arrival, she threw open the door and trotted inside. "Starlight?" She yelled, her voice echoing throughout the large halls.

"In here!" A voice came from the direction of the library. Twilight ran inside and saw Starlight reading some books while Spike read his comics. She looked up at Twilight, batting her eyes. "What's up?"

"Starlight, we have a very important mission we need to embark on." Twilight told her.

"Does it have to do with that Clades guy?" Starlight asked. Twilight cocked an eyebrow.

"How'd you know?" Twilight questioned. Starlight's gaze traveled over to Spike, who gave a smug wave.

"Spike told me," Starlight replied. Twilight sighed and got closer.

"I'm afraid he'll terrify all of Equestria and eat thousands of ponies if we don't do something to stop him." Twilight worried. She used her magic to pick up a scroll and a quill. She began to write a list. "I'll make a list of what you need to bring."

Starlight rolled her eyes, and Spike laughed. She stood up and read the list over Twilight's shoulder, her eyebrows furrowed. "Doesn't that all seem a bit excessive?" She asked. Twilight shook her head and handed Starlight the scroll.

"Nope! Also, this'll be a friendship lesson for you, due to the fact there are three new ponies coming along." Twilight informed her. Starlight felt her stomach drop.

"What? O-oh, okay," Starlight responded, her voice shaking. Twilight started to gather her things, Starlight following her.

"Don't worry Starlight, they're super nice!" Twilight said, then paused, thinking. "Well, two of them." She shook her head and trotted out of the room. "Just get ready and we'll go meet everypony!"

Starlight exchanged glances with Spike. "I think you'd better sit this one out," Starlight told him, forcing a smile. He rolled his eyes.

"It's whatever. Besides, I have my comic books and seven hour bubble baths!" Spike responded. Starlight furrowed her eyebrows.

"Don't use up all the hot water in Ponyville again, okay?" Starlight laughed. Spike nodded and returned to reading his comic.

Starlight left, ignoring the list, and met Twilight outside. They both headed over to the meeting spot.

The ponies swiveled their heads when they heard the flapping of wings. There, Twilight and Starlight arrived. Twilight brought her forward, and Starlight's eyes scanned the three new ponies.

"Everypony, this is Starlight. Starlight, this is Reverb, Azure and Colada." Twilight introduced, pointing at each pony respectively. Reverb flew up and shook Starlight's hoof.

"Ah! So nice to meet you, time traveling pony!" Reverb beamed, winking. Starlight glared at Twilight, who blushed, embarrassed and ashamed.

Colada stepped forward, shaking Starlight's hoof. "Nice to meet you," Colada said. Starlight smiled and dipped her head in respect.

Starlight turned to look at Azure, but Azure just grumbled something and looked away. Starlight was taken aback, hurt, but Twilight just shook her head and Starlight caught her drift.

Twilight turned and looked at the mountains in the distance. There rested Canterlot, the magnificent city. "We'll head to Canterlot immediately. We'll talk to the princess and see what we can do."

"This is gonna be awesome!" Rainbow shouted, shaking Fluttershy. Her eyes were wide.

"I-I guess so," she agreed reluctantly.

"Oh, Canterlot! Maybe I can check of my boutique?" Rarity suggested. Everypony glared at her, and she blushed. "Heheh, just a thought..."

"Come on everypony, let's go!" Twilight yelled. She and all the other ponies took off to the train station, where they bought train tickets and headed off to Canterlot.

They sat in the train, talking excitedly. Pinkie and Cheese were cuddling, being their weird selves. Applejack and Rarity chatted about Canterlot, and Rainbow Dash was telling Fluttershy how she was going to go about taking Clades to the ground. The rest sat across from each other.

"So, Starlight, tell them a bit about yourself," Twilight told her. Starlight blushed and rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"Oh, uh, I'm Starlight, and..." She paused, not sure of what to say. She thought there wasn't much to her except the fact she stole ponies' cutie marks and tried to alter history, but that wasn't a very good icebreaker. "I, uh, I do magic and I'm Twilight's apprentice."

Reverb's blue eyes shone with wonder. "Wow, Twilight's apprentice! How did that come about?" Reverb asked. Twilight and Starlight exchanged glances.

"I just saw how good she was at magic and decided to take her in," Twilight replied. It wasn't a complete lie. Reverb flashed them a toothy grin.

"Wow, that's cool! I bet you have to be really powerful to time travel!" Reverb giggled. Starlight blushed deeper, feeling herself start to sweat.

"W-well, what about you? Tell me about yourselves!" Starlight quickly changed the subject. Reverb clapped her hooves together.

"I'm a singer!" Reverb cheered.

"I own a smoothie shop," Colada smiled, dipping her head.

"I'm an author." Azure hissed.

Starlight smiled nervously. "Oh! Sounds lovely." She responded.

About a day passed and they found themselves at Canterlot. They disembarked the train, and the smell of perfume hit their nostrils immediately. Twilight trotted off, turning her head to the large castle.

"Rarity? Pinkie?" A voice came. Rarity and Pinkie looked over to see a familiar pony. She stepped forward and gave a sweet smile.

"Saffron!" Pinkie squealed, running up to Saffron Masala and hugging her. Rarity walked up to her.

"Namaste! What are you doing here?" Saffron asked. She peered over their shoulders to see all their other friends. "And with all your friends?"

"We're on a very important mission!" Pinkie replied. Suddenly and raced over, grabbed Cheese and brought him over. "Saffron, this is my boyfriend Cheese Sandwich!"

"Pleasure to meet you!" He shook her hoof, and she smiled.

"Nice to meet you too!" Saffron beamed, then directed her attention to Rarity. "Have you any special somepony?"

Rarity blushed and shook her head. "Oh! No, not yet." Rarity giggled. "What about you?"

"I have a girlfriend named Starlet Topaz," Saffron responded. Rarity and Pinkie's faces lit up.

"Congratulations!" They shouted, hugging her. She hugged them back, then they drew back.

"I guess I will let you go on your mission," Saffron said.

"Okay! It was nice seeing you!" Pinkie hopped up and down.

"We'll come back and visit you as soon as we can," Rarity told her. Saffron nodded and waved her hoof as they left toward the castle.

They reached the castle. Guards stood in the front, but they dipped their heads and seeing Twilight and let them all inside. They walked down a large corridor before arriving at the large room that held the princesses' thrones. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both sat in front of them, their wants magnificently flowing.

"Oh my gosh! No way!" Reverb jumped in the air, flapping her wings. "It's Princesses Celestia and Luna! I never thought the day would come when I would meet them!" She flew up to them, landing and dropping to the ground. "I grovel at your hooves!" She started to kiss both of their hooves, and the two sisters exchanged glances.

"Twilight, who's this?" Celestia asked, trying her hardest to keep the edge out of her voice. Twilight stepped forward.

"That's Reverb, and these are Colada and Azure. Pinkie’s special somepony Cheese Sandwich is also coming along." Twilight introduced. Colada, Azure and Cheese bowed down, and Celestia narrowed her eyes.

"Twilight, this is a very important mission, you can't be bringing random ponies, they could get hurt." Celestia scolded. Twilight flattened her ears to her head but kept talking.

"Azure knows a lot about Clades and the other two were very eager to come. I figured they would be beneficial to the mission." Twilight replied. She felt awkward objecting the princesses, but she remembered she was a princess too and had every right to express her own ideas.

Princess Luna dipped her head. "Very well. But you must take extra care of them." Luna said. Azure stomped a hoof.

"Now wait just a minute!" Azure hissed, walking forward. Colada watched in fear.

"Azure!" She frowned.

"I am an independent mare who can take care of herself, and I don't need nopony watching over me!" Azure rejected. The princesses looked down at her, but they didn't seem upset.

"Alright, I see." Celestia responded. "But you must realize this mission could put your life in danger."

"I know that! I also know that I can take care of myself!" Azure spat. Celestia sighed.

"Very well. Colada, Reverb, Cheese, if you have any concerns, feel free to back out." Celestia told them. Reverb jumped in the air.

"No way!" Reverb protested.

"I like the way you think!" Rainbow Dash shouted up to her, winking.

Colada's eyes grew wide when she saw the princesses' attention directed at her. She bowed down again. "I-I guess I will go, if my friends are." She agreed in her accent.

“Haha, as long as I get to be with my marefriend!” Cheese wrapped his foreleg around Pinkie and she giggled and nuzzled him. The two sisters smiled.

Princess Celestia's eyes flickered over to Starlight. "Ah! Starlight. So you're going along too?"

"Yes," Starlight answered, nodding. "I feel this will help me with my friendship lessons."

"It will." Princess Celestia dipped her head. She stood up and walked over to a wall full of scrolls, her sister following her. She used her magic to pull out a scroll. She opened it up and gave it to the other ponies. "Clades is from the lava region up past Equestria. I'd say for you all to go there, but you'd better go to the Crystal Empire and tell Cadence and Shining Armor about the situation we're in."

"The Crystal Empire!" Colada's eyes sparkled as her head shot up. "Oh my, I have always wanted to go there!"

"Well now is your chance, but unfortunately there will be no time for sightseeing," Luna told her. She dipped her head, understanding.
Celestia led them to the door. "It's time for you to leave on your journey. I wish you the best of luck." She said. Luna nodded her head in agreement.

Twilight dipped her head at them. "Thank you so much, princesses. We won't let you down." She said.

"We wish you the best of luck." Celestia told them, and they turned and raced out the castle.