The Lazarus tower

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was a completely normal day in the small town of Ponyville with the sun shining and the citizens trotting around, minding their own business. Looking closely one could see a googley-eyed mailmare chasing letters that were stolen by a soft spring breeze, or a trio of fillies causing shenanigans in a never-ending quest to find their special talents. Overall nothing seemed out of place on this sunny day, perfect for a long nap in the shade of a tree.

Still there was one lonely cloud floating on the sky that usually, on a day like this, would have had a certain rainbow maned pony keep it company.

Rainbow Dash, the best flier in all of Equestria, winner of the Best Young Fliers Competition and the owner of other boastful titles that may or may not have been made up by her, was trotting around a huge tree that was the Ponyville library.

Dash held a book in her hooves and peeked through the windows in a suspicious manner. Nopony had seen Twilight Sparkle, the famous librarian of Ponyville, in three days, which wasn’t actually that out of place. The studious mare had a habit of losing track of time in her research for magic.

Usually Rainbow would have just shrugged the whole thing off as another crazy egghead project that Twilight was doing, but there was one small thing bugging her.

Yesterday she had discovered that the “Daring Do” book she loaned from the library was overdue for a whole day! At that moment she had expected the hyper-organized purple unicorn to bust through her door demanding that she would return it immediately and face the horrible punishment of paying fees.

Needless to say, Rainbow wasn’t too excited about paying fees for some dumb book she forgot to return (after all there was some important napping that needed to be done) but when Twilight was nowhere to be seen after a full twenty-four hours she had gotten worried and decided to investigate.

Dash hesitated in front of the door however. She knew that she was basically going to knock on the door and say “I brought you this overdue book that you forgot about and now i’m gonna pay the fees like an idiot when I could have just gotten away with it.” Still there was that cursed thing called guilt that just wouldn’t leave her alone.

“Maybe I could just sneak in through the window, put the book back where it belonged and claim that I never loaned it in the first place?” she thought while rubbing her chin with a hoof.

Her thoughts were interrupted however by an orange, hat wearing earth pony who had noticed the cyan Pegasus sneaking around the library.

“Howdy RD! Whatcha sneaking around for?”

Dash jumped into the air in surprise and quickly hid the book she had in her hooves.

“What overdue book? I’m way too awesome to do something stupid like forget to return some book!”

Applejack just stared.

“Um…okay ah never said tha…”

“AND even if I DID forget something like that, I would never think of a way to secretly return the book by sneaking through the window like some lame burglar.”

At first Applejack just stared some more, but then she burst into laughter.

“And here ah thought I was a bad liar!”

Rainbow Dash had unintentionally spilled the beans and shrugged in defeat.

“Ugh…fine, that’s exactly what I was thinking of doing, I forgot to return this book in time and…”

Applejack stopped laughing and took on a expression of disbelief.

“Hold on a second there! That book is actually overdue, and you loaned it from Twilight’s library?”

“Umm yeah?”

“And she hasn’t hunted ya down like some hungry wolf after the cattle?”

“Nope.”

“How long has it been overdue?”

“One day”

Applejack’s expression went from concerned to pure horror.

“Woah…this is serious, we better go check on her fast!”

Both mares knocked on the door and waited, yet there was no answer.

“Hey Twi? I understand you’re probably working on some egghe…um… super important magic research thingy but…”

Rainbow stood silent for a while before finally blurting out,
“IhaveanoverduebookthatIloanedfromyou!”

Then she hid behind Applejack, expecting the library door to explode with purple magic of vengeance. Yet the door remained unexploded and, most importantly, closed

“Now ah don’t like the idea of breaking into other ponies’ houses but if Twi is in trouble…it looks like y’all’ll have to go ahead and complete that master plan of yours by sneaking in the library thru, the window.”

Rainbow Dash was secretly glad that the purple unicorn wasn’t probably home and that she wouldn’t have to hear a speech about how important it was to be organized or how she was too lazy sometimes.

The library was unusually quiet however and not even Spike, Twilight’s dragon assistant, answered to the door. Dash flew up to the window and tried to open it with her hoof, but the window was locked.

“Its like one hundred degrees out here and she doesn’t keep the window open? Jeez!”

So she did what any rational stuntpony would have done: she flew up, took some speed and crashed right through the window.

“Holy horseapples!” Applejack shouted when she heard the loud crashing noise above her. “Ah swear, if that was Dash crashing thru the window im gonna…”

Then the door suddenly opened revealing the sky blue pegasus standing in the library with a smug grin of victory on her face.

“Not even a scratch! Coated with pure awesomeness, i’m pretty much indestructible.”

Applejack couldn’t help but facehoof.

“You know Twi’s gonna be pretty mad, not to mention ya having an overdue book on ya.”

“No she won’t”, Dash answered. “there’s nopony home.”

Applejack looked behind Dash at the library. The place was a complete mess with, books all over the place, various magical items scattered on the table and even Twilights bed laying upside down on the floor.

“Look what ya did to this place! The books are ruined, those magic thingies are broken and ah don’t even know how ya managed to get Twi’s bed down here!”

Dash shook her head

“Believe it or not, the place was like this when I crashed through the window. Now either Twilight is having some crazy feng-shui decoration going on…”

Dash narrowed her eyes and whispered,
“…or there was a struggle here!”

Applejack walked inside the library and sure enough, she noticed the sings of battle: scorched spots on the walls that were caused by some offensive spells that were cast during the epic fight.

“Y’all ain’t kidding! Something bad happened here all right…something bad happened to Twilight!”

“I searched the whole library and there is no sign of Twilight or Spike anywhere.”

“That must mean that…they were captured?”

“Yeah and that means we have some ponynapping jerk flank to kick!”

Dash was about to speed out of the library in anger when she was stopped short by Applejack’s teeth grabbing her tail.

“Why does everypony keep doing that when i’m about to leave in high speeds? Ugh, I might have to cut my tail hair shorter if this keeps happening,” Dash mumbled to herself.

“We keep doing it because ya always speed out without thinking first! How do ya know who’s behind all this?”

Dash held up her hoof and Applejack noticed she was holding a obsidian key with a mysterious symbol of a circle and a crescent moon around it.

“C’mon give me some credit AJ! I got this case breaking clue that I found under Twi’s bed and i’m pretty sure it’s not a part of the decoration.”

“How is that key gonna help ya find the culprits?”

“Duh! I just try this key in every single door in Ponyville! If it opens a door i’ll find the captors! This won’t take long; they don’t call me the fastest flier in Equestria for nothing.”

“But if the key is here, how are the captors supposed to get behind that locked door?”

“…oh yeah…"

Dash landed and crossed her forelegs.

"What do you suggest then? Sit here and cry, while Twilight is locked up goddess knows where?”

“Ah reckon we ask the princess about that there key.”

Rainbow Dash took a closer look at the key and noticed the moon symbol.

“Wait, don’t tell me you think Princess Luna is behind this only because this key happens to have a moon symbol on it.”

“Ah reckon i dont fully agree with ya but ah know we should tell them about this whole Twilight being captured thing, she being the protégée of Celestia and all.”

“With the goddess of the sun helping us, somepony’s going to be real sorry for this.”

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Rainbow Dash had agreed to fly to Canterlot and inform the Princess since she was faster than any train. Besides the princess would probably teleport them back when she told her what had happened.

Soon enough, Applejack noticed a flash of light close to the library and saw Rainbow Dash and Princess Luna appear, but what surprised her was that Celestia had not arrived.

“Princess Luna? Ah was expecting for Celestia to investigate this…um no offense.”

“None taken, Element of Honesty” Luna answered and Applejack saw she was holding the key from before.

“I’m afraid my sister won’t be of help in this matter. However, the Element of Loyalty has told me everything… including a surprisingly detailed account of her stunt involving a window.”

Applejack gave Rainbow Dash an annoyed look.

“This key is…shall I say, a ghost from my past, and, if my suspicions are correct, I know where your friend Twilight Sparkle has been taken to.”

Rainbow Dash was about to take off once again.

“Then spit it out princess and I’ll go teach these so called ponynappers a lesson or two on how to treat my friends!”

A crowd of ponies started to gather around the group when they noticed the Princess of the Night herself was visiting the town.

“Hold on element of loyalty, this isn’t such a simple matter…but we will not discuss it here in the open. I will explain everything inside the library.”

“Look you can just call us by our names you know.”

The group had settled around the table in Twilight’s library to escape from the stares of the passing ponies. Luna placed the key on the table and sighed.

“Excuse me your highness, but every moment we spend sitting around is a moment we could be spending saving Twilight.”

Rainbow Dash fidgeted around her seat, eager to get into the action of saving her friend. Only problem being that she first needed a direction to charge at.

“You are right Element of…umm, miss Dash, we should get to the point right away…”

Luna opened a scroll on the table which showed an island with a huge tower made of obsidian in the middle of it.

“Long ago, when I was taken by the malevolent spirit known as Nightmare moon, I tried to surpass my sister in many ways during my early stages of jealousy. Mostly I sought to find some way to defeat her and we all know how that ended…”

Luna stayed silent for a while thinking about the darkest hours of her life but then she continued.
“One of the most important things for me at that time however was to control something that even the goddess of the sun couldn’t control… and that was death itself!”

Lighting flashed behind Luna.

“Pretty cool effect huh? Anyway, as i was saying, I was attempting to find a way to bring ponies back to life, which required a huge amount of magical study, a lot of testing and A LOT of dark forbidden magic.”

Luna pointed her hoof to the picture on the scroll.

“That is why I built this research facility, the Lazarus Tower, on a remote island: to hide it from my sister."

Luna floated the key in front of the two mares with her magic.

“And this is a key to one of the gates that leads to the research facility, the same research facility where resurrection was studied over a thousand years ago. I am certain that whoever has captured Miss Sparkle is after the power to bring somepony back from the dead.”

“But what do ya reckon they captured Twilight for?”

“The answer is quite simple: Twilight Sparkle is the element of magic and probably the only unicorn alive who could have enough magical power to bring the dead back to life, if such a thing is even possible.”

Rainbow Dash stood up from her seat.

“Great, so you know where Twilight is! Why don’t you go there and use some of those goddess powers to kick that ponynapper’s flank and come back with Twilight by lunchtime?”

“As I said, Miss Dash, the research facility was meant to stay hidden from my sister, and it did until I returned from my banishment and told her about it.”

“Are you telling me that huge tower has been there for a thousand years and nopony had any idea of its existence?”

“That is correct. You see, I shielded the island with an ancient rune spell that prevents alicorns from entering it. The only way for an alicorn to step on the island was to use Nightmare Moon’s dark magic which, at the time, I had. After your group banished the spirit of Nightmare Moon however, even I cannot enter the island anymore.”

“How are we supposed to get there then?”

“The island is still accessible by mortals. In times past the weather surrounding the island has prevented ponies from entering it, but it seems somepony has finally found out where it is and is about to use Miss Sparkle to bring back the dead in my old facility.”

Suddenly Luna pulled out a map of the facility and pointed her hoof to the central chamber.

“The rune which prevents me and my sister from entering the island is located there. Somepony must enter the island and erase it. My sister and I will take care of the rest.”

Suddenly Luna’s voice lowered and she spoke in a dark tone.

“But do not be mistaken. The island is ridden with dark magic, failed experiments, deadly weather and…suffice to say the island is completely unpredictable. Who knows what a thousand years of dark magic flowing freely has done to the nature there.”

Luna closed the scroll and sighed again.

“Once you helped me correct my past mistakes by freeing me of Nightmare Moon. It seems yet another ghost of my past cannot be defeated without your help…I do not expect you to accept but…”

“We’ll do it!” Rainbow Dash and Applejack said in unison.

The princess of the moon raised her head and smiled.

“Then I must once again thank you…” Luna sighed in relief.

“Thank us when Twilight and Spike are back here sipping tea and that island has been erased!” Rainbow dash answered.

“Very well, you will be given all the help I can provide.”

“We should probably go tell the others…” Applejack said to Rainbow Dash

“I am afraid that is not a good idea.” Luna whispered.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“Whoever captured Twilight defeated her, the Element of Magic, in a duel of spells. Needless to say, that pony is extremely powerful in magic and, more importantly, extremely dangerous. My point is that whatever happens, that pony must not find out that you are on the island until you erase the rune!”

“Shucks, the only pony who could have stood against that jerk was probably Twilight.”

“Exactly. You have no chance against such magic, so you must complete this mission in secrecy.”

“You mean we have to sneak into the tower unnoticed and erase the rune and after that you and Celestia will take care of the rest?”

“Yes that is the plan. It isn’t exactly easy to stay hidden in a group, so iI suggest that only the two of you go.”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash stood silent for a while thinking about the suggestion. Luna had a point. Twilight had lost to this mysterious villain so the pony was clearly extremely powerful.

Normal methods of taking out this villain would probably end up in injuries or, even worse, somepony could die. Secrecy seemed to be the only way, unless they could dig up a new Element of Magic out of nowhere to challenge the captor. It was one of those rare cases where less was more: less ponies running around, more of a chance to remain unnoticed.

“Ah don’t like it…but ah guess if we were to keep a low profile, we can’t bring much ponies along can we?”

“Pfft! Don’t you worry about it. I’m the master of sneaky sneak stuff! Besides I don’t want to carry Rarity around when she passes out after the first sight of some dark magic thingy.”

Both mares broke out in laughter while Luna packed the needed maps and the key into a saddlebag.

“So it is settled then? You needn’t worry about packing or preparing, for the Royal Court of Equestria will provide you with everything you need!”

Chapter 2

After all the good byes and numerous "good luck" wishes including some offensive "if you don’t come back, can I have your stuff?" comments, Applejack and Rainbow Dash stood on the Canterlot Castle balcony. They were fully equipped and ready to go on yet another dangerous adventure that included dark magical powers.

"Ah don’t feel too comfortable wearing all this fancy stuff."

Both were wearing hooded dark blue capes, complete with golden brooches shaped like the crescent moon. They were also wearing saddlebags and harnesses that were holding a blade. The blade’s handle was decorated with the stars and the moon of the beautiful night sky. The blade itself was magical, shining white as if it were made of moonlight.

"C’mon Applejack, this is cool! I heard Luna’s night guard scouts get to wear this stuff. And look."

Rainbow Dash pulled out the blade with her teeth and swung it around.

"It’s like I’m swinging light around!"

"Hey! Careful there, sugarcube! These ain’t toys!"

"That is correct Miss Applejack. I hate to make you carry weapons, but the island is unpredictable and one should prepare for everything."

Luna entered the balcony carrying some kind of map with her magic.

"The capes i have given you will hide you in the darkness from any unwanted eyes, but they will not shield you from danger or hide you in the light."

"Thank you kindly your majesty."

"It is the least I can do until the rune has been erased...now i have brought this map to locate the island once more. You will not be able to enter it by conventional means. The only way to get to the island is by teleportation."

"That means..."

"Yes, once I teleport you there, your only hope of returning is to complete the mission...are you ready to make the jump?"

Now that the mission was about to begin, both mares were hit with the gravity of their task.
They weren’t so excited anymore, especially when there was no way to escape the island if things went south. Still, they weren’t the type of ponies who backed out at the first sign of danger, and certainly not the type of ponies who would leave their friend to die.

"Ok let’s do this, but your majesty..."

"Yes?"

"Don’t you EVER build another freaky dark magic tower!"

Luna giggled at that and answered slyly.
"Well, I was always a fan of freaky dark magic towers, but I guess I can let it go."

The time had arrived. The sun was rising in the distance and the two ponies stood there watching it, knowing that the next time they’d see it wouldn’t be so soon.

"You know, Dash, we’re completely crazy for agreeing to this..."

"Hey! It takes a little bit of craziness to be an awesome stuntpony."

Applejack turned to Dash and looked her in the eyes.

"Promise we will both come back?"

Dash stared back and answered in a surprisingly serious tone.

"I promise."

Then they shook hooves on it, Applejack style, which included some good ol’ farm spit.

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A bright flash later Applejack and Rainbow Dash stood on the infamous island of the Lazarus Tower. The ground was as Luna expected: riddled with black grass that used to be green. In the distance they could see the tip of the tower looming over the island. The whole island had an atmosphere of dread, as though even the grass itself would jump off the ground and attack them.

"Oh hay! Out of all the places in the world she had to be captured here!"

"Ok I’ll take a little flight and scout around."

Rainbow Dash was about to take off when once again her tail had to meet the fate of being grabbed by somepony.

"Seriously? This is getting old!"

"Ya can’t fly around like some showpony around here! The weather will do a number on ya. Besides, we’re supposed to stay hidden remember?"

Dash landed with a look of disbelief.

"Wait...I can’t fly here?"

"Ya can...but not above the tree line. I reckon you stay on the ground for now."

"Ugh. This mission just got a lot more boring...it’s not too late to back out is it?"

"C’mon Dash, this is serious! Twilight’s out there and she needs our help!"

"Yeah, I know, I know. I’m just joking around. Lets get moving then."

In front of them they could see a wall, and on it was an obsidian gate decorated with the symbols of the night sky. Behind the gate was an overgrown path that, they presumed, lead to the tower. Surrounding the path was a twisted looking forest with mysterious vines sticking out of the ground.

"Dash look!"

On the path they could see a dark green orb levitating around as if it were looking for something.

"Ah bet that there orb is some kind of a drone looking for intruders."

"And we are the intruders."

"Yeah...we better get moving. I think we should avoid the path and go throu the forest."

It didn’t seem like the two ponies had a choice between being caught immediately or going through some twisted forest that looked like it would just consume anypony who dared to venture there. Applejack and Rainbow Dash walked away from the gate and followed the wall for a while.

"Clearly this wall wasn’t designed for the best flier in Equestria. C’mon AJ, I’ll give you a lift."

Suddenly Dash grabbed Applejack with her hooves and lifted her off the ground. Naturally AJ eeped in surprise.

"RD, next time, tell me before you just go ahead and grab me like some apple off the ground!"

"And miss that expression on your face? No way."

Their bickering was cut short though when they landed on the other side of the wall and were meeted with the sight of the forest. The whole place was completely unnatural. Some of the trees were massive while others were small like bonsai trees. Most of them seemed to have twisted faces, that of course looked like they were looking right at the mares.

"Whoa nelly...Ah don’t think we can sing those faces away."

"Lets just put on the hoods of our capes and try to uh...sneak past the trees?"

So the two hooded figures made their way past the black forest in silence. They couldn’t feel the stares of the trees on their backs anymore. It was as if the forest wasn’t aware of their presence.

"Hey Applejack." Dash whispered suddenly startling the earth pony when the silence was broken.

"What?" She hissed back at the rainbow maned-pegasus.

"Do you think the trees can hear us, like do the trees have ears or something?"

"How should ah know?"

"Well I kinda remember, back when we went to Appleloosa, you were telling stories to some tree and..."

"Pardon me but that wasn’t some tree, that was Bloomberg. And he was an apple tree, not some common tree rubble."

"Did that tre...uh Bloomberg have ears of some kind?"

"Of course he did! He was a proud member of the Sweet Apple Acres tree family!"

"How do you know that? What if you were blabbering to that tree but he couldn’t even hear you?"

"Don’t ya question traditional Apple family knowledge! We have known these things since the day when my granny came to Equestria."

"There’s gotta be some kind of proof...ouch...some kind of...uff... stop that!"

Rainbow turned around and both mares realized they had gone from subtle whispering to a full blown argument. Needless to say the trees had noticed and had begun to move towards them. Dash noticed the rude tree that interrupted their conversation. It was a small bonsai tree; however its bigger cousins were closing in, roots moving like snakes.

"Run!"

They both shouted in unison and immediately galloped towards a gap that lead to the path in the line of trees. The gap was suddenly closed by vines when they arrived. AJ wasted no time and pulled out her sword.

"If these here trees think they can hold us, they got another thing coming!"

She swung her sword and, sure enough, the moonlight blade cut through the dark vines with no effort. More vines popped up from the ground to replace the fallen ones. Rainbow Dash took her blade as well and joined Applejack in the attempt to cut past the vines. The progress was slow, and it didn’t help that the vines were full of spikes.

The trees closed in, their twisted faces moving unnaturally. Rainbow saw them coming and decided to try to hold them off, however desperate it might be.

"Im gonna keep them busy!"

AJ wanted to protest, but she knew if she stopped cutting the path for a single second they would be doomed. Dash stood behind her, holding her moonblade up in the air, and snarled at the attackers.

"Any of you want to be turned into firewood? Just step right up!!" she said between her teeth.

Sure enough the trees were hesitating after seeing the moonblade cut through the tough vines with ease. Still one of the attackers decided to try its luck and swung its arm like branches at Rainbow. She reacted with lightning speed using her wings to dodge the swing and her blade to cut the branch with no ease. Another branch was on its way however. This time she wasn’t so lucky, the branch left a nasty-looking cut across side.

"RD, you still alive and kicking back there!?" Applejack managed to blurt out between her teeth and continued with the desperate cutting.

"Yeah! yeah! I’m not telling you to hurry up or anything but PLEASE HURRY UP OR WE DIE!!"
She shouted when another branch swung above her head barely missing.

Applejack couldn’t stand the fact that her friend was fighting for their lives while she had the simple job of cutting some damn vines. Filled with new found anger she swung the blade relentlessly around going on a full vine massacre. The path was finally starting to form even though going through it would leave them with some scratches. AJ didn’t have the luxury of time however.

"IT’S OPEN! THE PATH IS OPEN!"

She shouted and immediately saw a streak of Rainbow speed towards her. Both ponies struggled to get through with the vines cutting them on both sides. Finally they managed to squeeze out of the clutches of the forest and they both lay down on the path. The forest gnarled behind them and it seemed the trees could not follow them on the road.

They lay there panting for a while. The night had fallen, even though the stormy clouds above them covered the moon and stars.

"Ok Applejack, you win..."

Rainbow said between her breaths and Applejack turned her head to look at the mare.

"...the trees do have ears!"

Applejack chuckled and soon enough both ponies were laying there laughing the night away. The laughter was interrupted however when they saw a familiar green glow approach.

"Oh no no no! It’s the drone!" Rainbow Dash hissed.

"We can’t go back to the forest."

"Quick get to the side of the road and hide under your cape!"

The two friends galloped as close to the forest as they dared and lay low in the black grass hiding under their capes. Sure enough the capes of the night princess blended with the dark night glow; the two ponies were practically invisible. Laying between certain deaths, the two mares were nervously sweating, peeking under their capes, and watching the green orb float right in front of them. The orb suddenly stopped and floated in place as if it had smelled something or somepony.

Then it started to slowly move towards the hiding mares, who were close to panicking.

"We’re doomed, we are so doomed." Rainbow mumbled to herself when the orb approached.

She swallowed nervously when the green ball from hell was floating right above them. Just when they were about to charge back into the forest a branch swung right above their heads hitting the orb. The branch bursted into green flames immediately when it touched the ball of magic and the trees gnarled behind the mares. Satisfied that nothing was out of place, the orb made its way back to the path and continued on its patrol.

The two friends stood up after they were certain that the orb was long gone.

"Them capes won’t hide us from that thing... we just got lucky some dumb tree decided to give it a piece of its mind."

"Did you see how close that was!? We almost died twice!"

"Yeah it almost scared the apples off my flank..."

"Speaking of your flank...AJ you look terrible."

Dash looked at Applejack and noticed how they both were covered in scratches caused by the miraculous escape through the wall of spiked vines. RD got the top price of injuries from the ordeal, though; she had a long nasty cut on her side. The capes, however, were undamaged.

"Whoa nelly Rainbow! Those trees sure did a number on you, let me take a look at that..."

Digging into her saddlebags Applejack pulled out some bandages and proceeded to play medic for Rainbow Dash. She stared at her wound in silence for a long time.

"Umm Applejack, this is getting kinda awkward."

"Oh, shut up, I’m gonna patch you up is all."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"Ugh, I should have listened to Fluttershy when she told me how to use these things...now first I hafta use some disinfection liquid?"

Applejack pulled out the bottle and proceeded to splash some of the liquid on the wound. Rainbow Dash eeped.

"GAH! Warn me before you throw some medical stuff on me!"

"And miss the look on ya face? No way."

Applejack snickered and Rainbow just shrugged.

"Haha...really funny."

Applejack tied the bandage around the wound and pulled out some apples from her saddlebag as well. She couldn’t help but feel guilty for letting her friend fight alone even when she knew that there was no other way.

"Look I’m sorry ya had to take one for the team. Next time when we’re in a life threatening situation you let me play the hero ok?"

Dash took a bite of her apple and smiled.

"Sure thing AJ."

Then she looked around the path and noticed the forest had fallen silent once more.

"We can’t stay on the path... It’s back to the forest for us, only this time we stay quiet under our capes, no matter what!"

As they snuck through the forest they managed to find cover under a rock formation that at the moment didn’t look like it was about to attack them. The formation created a comfortable hiding spot so the two mares could finally rest. Applejack digged through her saddlebags again and pulled out a map of the island, courtesy of Luna. She pointed her hoof at a village located on the map.

"This is where we’re going... Luna said that it’s where the researcher’s families used to live before the island was abandoned."

"You think theres still somepony living there?"

"I reckon there’s someTHING living there. Luna was sure that nopony could have survived there for a thousand years. The village is most likely abandoned."

"Whoa. Are we going to some creepy abandoned ghost town?"

"Uhuh. The village is connected to the tower by a tunnel system that we are going to use to sneak in."

"A tunnel system? Why would they build something like that?"

"Umm well it’s actually the old sewer tunnels."

Rainbow Dash winced.

"Oh, great, like the scratching of tree branches wasn’t enough. Now I’ll be covered in sewage waste."

Applejack held her hoof up.

"Now ya realize that all the failed experiments and all the other nasty dark magical things were thrown down to that sewer?"

"The sewage waste is probably going to attack us isn’t it?"

"Eeyup."

Rainbow just took another bite of an apple and sighed.

"But at least we can sneak in unnoticed."

The night passed outside, accompanied by the casual noises of twisted creatures, typical for a dark island of doom. Applejack agreed to keep watch, feeling guilty for the whole "leaving your friend to fight" thing, and leaned on the wall of the rock formation. Rainbow Dash dreamed next to her, once again soaring through the skies with somepony called Spitfire that Applejack had probably seen in some kind of a poster.

Sudden flashes of light outside however grabbed her attention, not the fact that there were flashes outside but that the flashes were purple in color. Applejack sneaked to the entrance of the rock formation and looked for the source of the lightning. In the distance she could see it. The purple lightning was coming from the top of the tower. There was only one unicorn Applejack knew of that could be behind the purple colored magic.

"Just hang in there Twi..."

Chapter 3

MEANWHILE...

Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes. She felt tired, like she had been exercising for hours. Of course she didn't know what exercising for hours felt like, having never done anything like that, but this was probably pretty close to that feeling. She attempted moving her hooves but noticed that something was preventing her from doing that. Twilight was strapped to a machine with weird rings around her horn that were drawing her magic. She remembered there was a fight. Somepony had entered her library and captured her.

"Hello!?" She shouted, but her voice echoed from the obsidian walls with no answer.

It was obvious that she had gotten herself into some big trouble, not to mention Spike was missing as well. Something heard her however when she noticed a figure rise up from the corner of the room. The figure, clumsily, made its way towards her, and Twilight could finally see it in the light.

"Huh? Guess Spike was right, there ARE zombie ponies."

Then she realized that there was an actual zombie pony approaching her and she had no means of escape. That observation was followed by some desperate screams of "HELP!".
The creature came closer and Twilight could smell the rotten flesh on its face. It was just about to take a delicious piece of purple meat out of Twilight when she heard a voice speak.

"Uhh, you naughty little experiment! You wouldn't take a little bite of my new friend, would you??"

The monster turned its face to the direction of the voice and gnarled in response.

"No, she won’t taste like grape and you can’t eat any of her body parts. She needs them all." The mysterious voice said.

"YES I really, REALLY need them all!" Twilight hysterically screamed. The zombie retreated in defeat.
After the creature was gone Twilight narrowed her eyes and attempted to get a glimpse of the owner of the voice. She recognized that the voice was feminine so whoever had just saved her was probably a mare or some other creature with a female voice. With zombie ponies running around, you never know.

"Hello? Who are you!?"

The mysterious figure approached the machine. Finally Twilight could see who was behind everything!

"Rarity!?"

"YES it is I! Rarity, the fashionista of Ponyville! For too long the fashion world of Equestria has evolved with lightning speed! New designs become old in mere hours, and I am left with unsold attire filling my precious store shelves! But now I shall complete my master plan of RESURRECTING OLD FASHION!"

Twilight stared at the white mare dumbfounded. There she was with her white coat and purple mane, complete with the diamond cutie mark. Only she didn't sound like Rarity. The elegant accent wasn't quite there and resurrecting old fashion was probably Rarity's worst nightmare.

"You’re not Rarity, are you?"

"Aww, you figured it out already? I was hoping I could mess with your head a little bit more."

The white mare trotted around the machine observing the various gauges attached to it.

"Hey! Don't ignore me! Who are you really, where am I?"

Suddenly the impostor moved right next to Twilight and patted her head.

"Don’t you worry your little purple head about that! Let’s just say I’m your new best friend who really needs your help resurrecting some ponies."

The impostor was clearly completely insane. Trying to get anything rational out of her would probably be a waste of time, so Twilight decided to just play along for now.

"What kind of a friend ties their so called "best friend" to some creepy machine?!"

"Now, now I wouldn't want you to live with the guilt of knowing that you ran away when your best friend needed you. This way you don't have to choose!"

The mare giggled like Twilight had just asked a really stupid question. Great, here she was at the clutches of some crazy pony who had the ability to look like one of her friends.

"Wow...well... wasn't that awfully nice of you." Twilight said with extreme sarcasm in her tone.

"Well, I am an awfully nice mare!" The impostor answered with extreme honesty in her voice.
Suddenly Twilight remembered that Spike was still missing.

"What did you do with Spike?"

"Little dragon guy? He didn't have some silly magic in his head like you do. So I just asked him nicely, with a hint of magic, if he wanted to be my new friend!"

She trotted out of the chamber humming to herself like she was casually skipping around a forest meadow instead of running around a creepy black chamber. Soon she returned however, followed by the purple dragon himself.

"And he said yes! Here is my new assistant Spike! Say hello Spike."

"Hello."

Spike answered with a monotone voice like a robot. It didn't take a genius to see that he was clearly under some mind control spell, not to mention that he's heart shaped eyes were staring into nothingness the whole time. Now the disguise of Rarity the captor had chosen made a lot more sense.

"Spike it’s me! It’s me, Twilight! Help!"

"He knows who you are, silly!"

Suddenly the mare began to jump around in joy while Spike just stared some more.

"It’s so much fun to have two new friends here! Living in a tower for over a thousand years with zombies is not too exciting..."

Twilight’s ears perked at that. Had she really been here for over a thousand years? That was impossible! Only the royal sisters were known of having the power of immortality. Maybe it was just another thing the crazy mare had come up with.

"Was that a figure of speech?"

"Huh?"

"When you said you have been here for over a thousand years, did you actually mean it?"

"Of course I meant it! Would I lie?"

Twilight wanted to mention that a moment ago the impostor had tried to introduce herself as Rarity but kept her mouth shut about it. She looked around the chamber. Bones and rags were scattered on the floor. There were some obsidian tables with numerous different magical items that, Twilight thought, she had seen in some history books. The whole room was topped off with some good old fashioned prisoner wall chains, complete with pony skeletons hanging on them, to give it that nice "creepy dungeon" feel.

"Why would you stay in a place like this for a thousand years?"

"Oh, Twilight, you of all ponies should know why! We aren’t so different, you and I!"

"Yes, except you’re not strapped to some weird machine. You actually know who I am. I didn’t brainwash your personal assistant and you know where we are, and finally I’M NOT COMPLETELY INSANE!"

Twilight was tired of playing along and she had let that last sentence slip out. The white mare was unfazed however and kept her creepy grin.

"Lets put it this way: if Celestia gave you an important project that would help everypony, would you agree to do it?"

"Of course I would."

"See? We aren’t so different!"

"Are you saying that Celestia told you to do this?!"

"No...well kinda... but like I said, you don’t need to worry about that! Just lay down on that nice little machine and borrow some magic for your friend!"

The imposter turned around and trotted towards the door.

"Come along Spike! I have something I need you to do."

"Anything for you Rarity." Spike answered and floated behind the impostor.

"No Spike! She’s not Rarity! Come back here!"

Twilight tried to shout after him but the dragon was already gone. The door was shut behind him leaving her, once again, alone in the dark room, with her thoughts.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The sun was shining high up in the sky as the morning arrived. It was the most beautiful sight imaginable, with the rays of light dancing on the clouds. Too bad Rainbow Dash and Applejack couldn't see any of it, for they were trotting on a cursed island covered by stormy clouds. Luna had warned them about the unpredictable weather surrounding that speck of land in the middle of nowhere but the two mares had forgotten about it. Naturally the weather decided to remind the ponies of its existence by launching an attack of rain and wind on the ground.

The two friends made their way through the forest and arrived at a clearing. The weather had turned the ground into muddy goo, and advancing was providing itself to be more than just a little bit difficult. Luna’s capes gave them some cover from the weather however, turning out to be surprisingly water proof.

"This place could really use some weatherponies!" Rainbow Dash shouted through the rain and wind while pushing herself forward in the mud.

"And some pest control, and a tree expert and some dark magic banishment team and..." Applejack answered, but then decided to go with the best solution. "They should just blow this whole island up!"

"You can say that again!"

Applejack tried to raise her hoof to take another step, but it wouldn't budge.

"Uh oh..."

"What do you mean "uh oh".?"

Rainbow Dash turned around and noticed that her friend was stuck in the mud.

"Looks like the mud got the better of me!"

"Don't worry, I got you!"

Dash reached her hoof to grab Applejack but noticed that she was stuck as well.

"Uh oh!"

"I know!"

The ground was turning into a swamp unnaturally fast, as though it were alive. The mares began to sink into the ground.

"AJ we have no choice! I’ll have to fly us outta here!"

"In this wind? Keep on dreaming, sugarcube."

"Is that a challenge? I’m serious Applejack, I can pull this off if I have to!"

"I’m serious too! Ya’ll just get flown off somewhere by the wind!"

"Its either that or we drown in the mud!"

Dash tested the wind with her wings. Applejack was right. The wind was relentless, and any pony foolish enough to fly on a weather like this would get carried off by the wind. However, Rainbow Dash wasn't just "any pony". She was the fastest flier in all of Equestria so she decided to give it a try anyway (After all, what kind of a future Wonderbolt would lose to some wind?) She took off from the mud but immediately regretted the idea. The wind grabbed her like a rag doll, tossing her high up in the sky.

"RAINBOWWWwwwwww..." She heard Applejack shout in the distance as she attempted to regain control of her flight.
Damn, this wasn't how it was supposed to go. Applejack was down there in the mud by herself, and she had left her there. What if she thought Rainbow had abandoned her to save her own flank? Rainbow gritted her teeth.

"I won't leave my friends behind!"

It took all her strength, but finally she managed to regain some control. The wind was tossing fallen branches and other debris at her, but Rainbow didn't let up. She was going to get down there, grab that orange earth pony and fly her to safety, no matter what. She swooped down towards Applejack. Rainbow Dash winced in pain when the cut she received yesterday opened up again with the wind ripping off the bandages.

"HEADS UP AJ!" She shouted and grabbed Applejack from the mud, leaving a rainbow colored streak behind. The additional weight made controlling her flight surprisingly less difficult, but she was already exhausted. Fighting the wind had sapped her energy.

This was it. They would drown in some mud in the middle of nowhere unless a miracle would save them.

Dash scouted around the wind looking for that miracle. There it was! To others, it would have been nothing more than an old stone building, but to Dash, it was the only thing that could save them from certain death.

She sped towards the building in a desperate race for life, noticing that the first floor of the building had already sunk halfway in the mud. The second floor window acted as an improvised door when the blue pegasus crashed right through it, still carrying Applejack in her hooves.

Both ponies fell on the floor,Rainbow Dash panting heavily. Applejack wasted no time. She got up on her hooves and galloped next to her. Rainbow looked at her with a smug grin on her face.

"See...phew...I told you I could pull it off..."

"Oh hay Rainbow! Ya almost got yerself killed!"

"Nah...I did the opposite...I got us..uh..saved?"

Applejack sighed and hugged her friend.

"Ya sure did sugarcube...I just hate seeing you get hurt like this. Here, let me play doctor for ya again.

Applejack reached for her saddlebags and noticed that the cape had once again defied the forces of nature by remaining undamaged. She pulled out the bandages and proceeded to patch up her rainbow-maned friend.

"Now ah hope this is the last time I’ll have to use these."

"Believe it or not, AJ, but I hope so too...Ugh, I could really go for some water right now."

Applejack took out her canteen from the saddlebag and gave it to Rainbow.

"I guess I owe ya another one...I mean ya saved my life...If ah can repay ya somehow I will."

Rainbow Dash put down the canteen after greedily drinking its contents.

"I dunno...I could always use a barrel of Sweet Apple Acres cider."

Applejack chuckled at that and stood up.

"Ah think ah can do that but you just rest now ya hear? I’ll go take a look around this here building we stumbled into."

With that Applejack examined the room. The worn out toys littered about the room and the small bed in the corner gave away that she was in a foal’s room. A quick look through the window, opposite to the broken one, gave away something even more interesting. Outside Applejack could see the silhouettes of ruined buildings.

"Rainbow! There’s buildings outside! Ah think we’re in the village!"

The only answer she got however was the soft sound of snoring. Rainbow had fallen asleep under her cape. Applejack decided to let the blue pegasus have her well earned sleep and turned around to take a closer look at the village.

She squinted her eyes and noticed pony-shaped figures walking around on the abandoned streets. Applejack had heard her share of ghost stories but these ponies didn't look like the ones wearing sheets. These ponies looked like walking corpses that had escaped from the local graveyard.

Applejack quickly decided that this wasn't where she wanted her friend to sleep, and she proceeded to shake her friend awake.

"Rainbow, there are zombie ponies all over the streets.”

"Whu...huh?!"

"Shh! Ah don't think they know we’re here, and I would like to keep it that way."

Both mares trotted over to the window, and Rainbow took a peek outside.

"Whoa...that’s freaky...we gotta get outta here."

The ponies were interrupted however by a squeaking noise, and they turned around in horror. The door to the room was open.

At that moment they waited for the flesh hungry, creatures to flood right through the doorway to feast on them, yet nothing happened. They stood in silence staring at the doorway.

Applejack had pulled out her moonblade in panic, which illuminated the room with a faint light. Then the mares saw it. A ghost filly walked right into the room.
They could see that she was clearly a spirit of some kind and not one of the walking dead. The filly noticed the light of the moonblade and tracked its source.

She stared directly at Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Both ponies were certain that they were doomed when the filly suddenly spoke in a ghostly voice.

"Hello, are you the foalsitters? I’ve been alone here for so long..."

Applejack quickly put her sword back into its sheath.

"We’re, uh, we are actually..."

Rainbow Dash noticed Applejack’s failing attempt at lying and decided to take a hold of the situation.

"Yes! We are your totally awesome foalsitters!"

The filly squeed in happiness and proceeded in jumping around the room.

"Yay! Finally I can have somepony to play with!"

Both mares just collapsed on the floor and sighed in relief.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Applejack and Rainbow Dash followed after the filly trotting around the building. The house was a complete mess. Parts of the floor were missing and the entire first floor was flooded with muddy goo. Both ponies were at loss at what to do next. This little ghost was probably the only creature in the village that could lead them to the sewer entrance. Should they just ask her where it was right away? Or would she figure out that they actually werent "totally awesome foalsitters" and call for the hungry adults outside for help?

Suddenly a loud grumbling noise interrupted the group. It was Rainbow Dash's stomach. The flight had taken its toll.

"Hehe...umm...I guess I missed lunch today."

The ghost turned around and smiled.

"Its funny, I never feel hungry...oo oo! I know! I can cook you something Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow hoped that the kitchen was down in the first floor, flooded with mud. It wasnt.

If the cooking was anything like Sweetie Belles cuisine, this would be the most life threatening situation they would face yet.

"I always wanted to be a cook! But usually theres nopony here to cook for."

Rainbow Dash and Applejack sat around the rotten kitchen table. Dash watched as the ghost filly approached the cupboard and shruddered. She was going to die by food poisoning caused by some thousand year old food. The filly reached for the pan and then...nothing. She tried again, nothing, the pan remained unmoved. The ghosts hoof passed right through it. Rainbow sighed in relief.

The ghost however was depressed. Her only chance of showing off those amazing cooking skills had slipped away. Rainbow moved in to comfort her, only to find out that her hoof passed right through the ghost. She pulled it back quickly smiling sheepishly.

"Dont sweat it kid, we can move those pans for you, just tell us what to do."

Rainbow wasted no time in pulling out some apples from her saddlebag.

"And dont worry about the ingredients, we got that covered too! Applejack here is one of the best bakers i know! Atleast when she hasn't over-worked herself to submission."

"Applejack gave Rainbow Dash an annoyed look. The ghost sniffed.

"Really? Youll do that for me?"

Applejack took the pan and smiled.

"Of course! What kind of foalsitters would we be, if we didnt help ya out? "

Applejack moved in to inspect the kitchen stove. It had a furnace under it, probably meant to heat it. Luckily the mares had prepared, and brought matches with them. Wood wasnt too hard to find with all the ruined furniture laying around. Soon the ancient kitchen stove was heating up.

Rainbow Dash had brought some caramels with her (even tough she was told to not take anything useless) so Applejack decided to cook up some improvised caramel Apples. She melted the caramels on the pan and stuck a wooden stick on one of the apples.

"Now all ya'll have to do, is roll the apples in the melted candy like this."

She rolled the fruit in the sugary goo giving it a nice caramel coating.

"Oo! Can I try it too?"

"Sure thing, sugarcube."

She reached her ghostly hoof to grab the apple and then...nothing. The hoof passed right through. The ghost smiled sheepishly.

"Whoops, heh, I guess I can just watch for now"

Rainbow Dash decided to take a closer look at the cooking ponies and took a step forward, however the floor boards squaked dangerously underneath her.

"Hoo boy! thats not good" She said and then the floor gave away.

"RAINBOW!" Applejack screamed when the floor boards hit the muddy goo of the first floor. The blue pony however floated above the hole flapping her wings.

"What are you screaming for Applejack? Everythings fine."

Applejack sighed in relief.

"Phew I forgot that your a pegasus for a moment there."

The ghost filly looked at the broken floor with a sad expression.

"The first floor is so muddy now..."

Rainbow Dash perked up.

"You know, I bet there's something wrong with the pipes. Maybe we should go take a look at the sewers?"

She winked at Applejack who couldn't help but feel uncomfortable about lying to the filly.

"Eww I don't wanna go there its smelly! But if you really think you can help, its right outside! The building with the huge sing that says "sewers"."

Rainbow Dash felt like an idiot for not thinking of that.

"Well I dont want to explore "smelly" sewers with an empty stomach, how about we settle down for that lunch?"

Soon the three caramel apples were complete and the group sat down on the table. Applejack had forgotten, however, that the ghost filly could not touch the apple, let alone eat it. The ghost decided to float next to the table and watch the two ponies eat instead.

"I know! I can sing while you eat!"

"Yeah! That would be great"

The ghost took on a pose and began to sing a bittersweet tune.

We say good bye for now! But do not look so down!
No parting last's forever. Wipe off that sad frown!
No matter how lonely you feel! No matter if things seem dark.
For i'll be always there with you! I'll always be in your heart!

You may travel the highest seas! Or climb the tallest mountains.
Feast in the halls of kings and drink from royal fountains.
But there's always one thing you should know and ill say it now.
No matter how lonely you feel, you'll never be alone!

Leaving your home behind, do not be afraid.
The night may fall, a storm may come, and all the light may fade.
But take on a merry smile, when you face that foul weather.
Through love, no matter what, we'll always be together.

The song ended and the two mares sat there in awe.

"My mommy used to sing it when she had to leave"

"...Where is your mommy?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"She left one day and told me to wait for her and i've waited for so long now..."

Applejack couldn't help but feel sorry for the little ghost. She reminded her of her little sister. She walked to the filly and spoke in a comforting voice.

"You don't hafta wait anymore sugarcube...we are here for ya..."

The filly looked at Applejack in disbelief.

"I don't have to wait anymore? I can go?"

"Yes sugarcube you should go after your mommy, I bet she's waiting for ya right now."

Applejack winked at the ghost and smiled.

"And you know how tough it is to wait for somepony."

The ghost smiled tears forming in her eyes.

"Heh I know, thank you Applejack."

Suddenly the ghost began to glow, illuminating the room with a bright light, that blinded the two mares. Then she was gone. Applejack felt tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Applejack, what's wrong?" She heard Rainbow ask in a concerned voice.

"Ah don't know its just I cant help but think of Apple Bloom. What if she was left alone to wait for her family for such a long time? What if she waits for me and ah don't come back?"

Rainbow Dash gave her friend an affectional hug. "Apple Bloom is safe with Big Mac and Granny Smith in good old Ponyville. And I promised we would both get back."

Rainbow looked Applejack in the eyes with determination "And I ALWAYS keep my promises."

Applejack wiped her tears and said "Ah know...it's just this place. Everything seems so hopeless."

"Thats why we'll have to hurry up and erase that rune."

Rainbow Dash was right, and Applejack couldn't help but wonder why she had suddenly felt so sad. Was homesickness getting the better of her or was the cursed island playing tricks on her mind? Maybe she was afraid that her sister would face the same fate as the ghost filly. It didn't make sense though. Ponyville wasn't located next to a dark magic tower and Apple Bloom would always have the rest of her family even if she wasn't there.

Then again, being stuck in a muddy town full of zombie ponies would probably take a toll on anyponys mind. She pulled herself away from Dash, readjusted her hat and sighed.

"Okay RD...we hafta keep moving. Twilight is still out there and we have wasted enough time as it is. Ah reckon we go back to the window and try to locate this sewer entrance."

Rainbow Dash agreed and they moved back to the window overlooking the town. The flesh hungry ponies continued their clumsy antics. Walking across the muddy streets ignoring the horrible weather around them. Rainbow Dash scanned for the sewer building with her eyes. She could see the worn out sign that read "Sewers" in front of a simple stone building placed conveniently right in middle of the biggest herd of zombie ponies.

"Rainbow Dash, what do your pegasus eyes see?" Applejack suddenly asked attempting an shakespearian voice.

Rainbow Dash turned her head around in confusion.

"What?"

Applejack smiled sheepishly.

"Oh its just something ah heard in a movie once. And when I saw you scanning the village with such concentration... Ah couldn't help it!"¨

Rainbow Dash ignored the comment and decided to get to the point.

"Ok, I can see the entrance right there in the middle of the village but its swarmed with zombie ponies. And to top it all off, our old pal is back and he brought some friends with him."

Applejack peeked out of the window as well. She could see the green orbs had returned. The orbs floated around the streets in their usual manner, looking for any unwanted ponies that had made the mistake of sneaking on the island.

"Ah bet they noticed the flash of light the ghost filly made when she disappeared and came to investigate." Applejack sighed.

"Yeah that cuts out the plan of flying there, those things will fry us the moment they set their little drone eyes on us."

Applejack took a closer look at the sewer building, the roof had a huge hole in it. She could see an inn, two blocks away, right next to the sewer entrance and a path formed in her mind. With a little effort they could jump from the window of the inn into the hole and right inside the sewer building.

She pointed her hoof at the inn.

"If we can get in that inn, we can jump over them zombie ponies and get right inside the sewers."

"IF we can get in that inn, any ideas?"

Applejack thought of their options. The street was out of the question. They didn't have the power of burying underground and they couldn't fly there without getting noticed. But they could do something close to flying. They could walk across the rooftops.

"Ah reckon we craft a makeshift bridge out of these here furniture and use it to sneak across the rooftops."

"Thats crazy! How do you know the roof wont collapse under our weight?"

"Ah don't."

"Whoa thats like super dangerous!"

"Ah know."

"What are we waiting for then?"

They searched the building for a "bridge" and sure enough they found a nice sturdy plank in one of the beds. After testing that it could hold their weight they returned to the second floor window. The rooftop of the second building was right in front of them and needless to say it didn't look too safe. The wind was still quite harsh although not nearly as strong as before. Still one of the mares had to hold on to the board while the other crossed.

Applejack decided to be the test pony of the new bridge crossing system and she took careful steps across the plank. In the midway she heard Rainbow Dash hiss behind her.

"Applejack, don't move"

Applejack looked down and to her horror saw one of the green orbs float from behind the corner of the street. It moved right underneath her and Applejack pulled her hood over her head hoping that it would be enough to hide her. Of course the damn thing stopped and fidgeted around as if something was wrong. Rainbow didn't waste any time, she grabbed one of the toys from the foalsroom and threw it out of the window.

The toys splashed in the mud somewhere in the village and luckily the green orb made its way to investigate. Rainbow Dash wiped sweat off her brown.

"Ok the coast is clear, go, go, go"

Applejack hurried to the other side and held the plank in place.

"I got it, get over here" She hissed at Rainbow.

In most cases Rainbow would have just used her wings to get across. She didn't want to risk getting tossed around by the wind again however, so she went with the bridge instead. Soon both ponies were on top of the second building. They would have to get across this rooftop to reach the second floor window of the inn.

"Im gonna say it to ya right now Rainbow, DONT crash through that window." Applejack whispered.

Rainbow took a look at the window. It was still there but the hinges were hanging by a thread.

"Nah, I don't think that window can put up much of a fight anyway." She snickered back at Applejack.

The ponies crawled across the rooftop making sure that the pressure to the roof was as small as possible. Applejack carried the makeshift bridge on her back. Years of working on a farm making it effortless.

Suddenly Rainbow halted and listened to something.

"You hear that?" She asked.

"Hear what? C'mon Rainbow"

"No it sounds like somepony is scratching somet..."

Suddenly a hoof came through the roof and grabbed Rainbows leg. She fell right through the roof.

"RAINBOW!" She heard Applejack scream behind her when she stumbled on the floor.

Then she saw the attacker. A pony with a face of rotten flesh jumped on her its jaws chopping air furiously in an attempt to take a bite out of the pegasus. Rainbow held the monster back with her hooves and kicked the creature. The zombie flew off to the corner of the room.

She stood up panting, adrenaline flowing through her veins, and pulled out the moonblade. The zombie made another charge and growled hungrily. Rainbow Dash waited until the last moment and stepped aside. She made a swift swing with her blade and the cut the monsters head right off.

Black colored, blood like substance, spilled across the room and the zombies lifeless body tumbled on the floor. Applejack was about to jump down to help her friend but she saw that the sky blue pegasus had taken care of the problem.

"Rainbow Dash! Are you okay?! Here grab my hoof, ill pull you back up!"

Rainbow Dash didn't answer however. She stared at the lifeless corpse that had almost killed her.

"I killed it, I killed it Applejack! You saw it attack me, I had to kill it!" She answered in panic.

"Ya'll cant kill something thats already dead Rainbow! Now get over here, ill help you up!"

Rainbow stood there silent, still staring at the corpse in disbelief.

"Ya want to have nightmares for the rest of yer life? Stop staring at that thing, and get over here!"

Rainbow Dash shook her head.

"Yeah, your right Applejack, it wasn't a pony anymore..."

She felt guilt, guilt for killing a monster that tried to eat her face. It wasn't a pony anymore but she knew that it used to be one. It used to walk around this town talking to its friends. It used to laugh and tell jokes. It... no... He used to be a normal pony with a family and friends just like she was. And she had ended his life.

Rainbow shook her head again.

That wasn't the pony who had lived a normal life, that pony had died long ago. That was a monster created by dark resurrection magic. The magic she had come to end and... maybe she should just stop thinking about it too hard.

Rainbow Dash flew back up on the roof and Applejack hugged her immediately.

"Phew! I thought you were a goner for a second there! Are ya okay?"

"Yeah Applejack... lets just...lets just get moving ok? Im a little shaken thats all."

"We better hurry up then. I bet that racket the zombie made attracted a lot of unwanted attention."

The mares quickly placed the bridge between the rooftop and the second floor window of the inn. They decided there was no time for safety when they could see a green glow flow through the hole in the roof. Both mares trotted across the board at the same time and Rainbow Dash reached the other side. She pushed the window open with ease. At that moment the board decided to quit however and it announced its resign with a loud cracking noise.

"Jump!" Rainbow Dash shouted through the wind.

Applejack leaped towards the window and just barely managed to get a hold of the window frame. Rainbow Dash pulled her in and they collapsed on the floor.

"Whoa nelly...Almost died twice again...but we made it." Applejack said from between her breaths while checking that her hat had made it through the ordeal as well.

"Heh wouldn't have it any other way..." Dash snickered and stood up.

The room with the window that lead to the sewer building was right in front of them. The door however was closed. Dash bashed the door with her hooves but it wouldn't budge.

"Great its locked..." Dash said and slumped on the ground in defeat.

"Ah bet if the key is still here its in the lounge of the inn. Lets see...the room number is 13"

Applejack turned around, the stairs were right behind them. She could see that the inn wasn't flooded with mud.

"All right i'll go fetch it being the fastest and all" Rainbow dash sighed. Before Applejack could protest she was already gone downstairs leaving a rainbow colored streak behind her.

Rainbow Dash arrived downstairs holding her moonblade between her teeth. There was no sign of zombie ponies. She made her way to the check in and began a frantic search of the key. Something caught her eye however. A brass cannon that was right in the middle of the inn. It was probably just for decoration so she continued her search. She couldn't find the key on the wall however but she noticed a pony skeleton behind the counter.

"Could it be..." She whispered to herself.

She searched through the skeletons rags and sure enough there it was. Room number 13. She was about to make her leave but turned around suddenly. The cannon was still there, unfired calling for her with a pleading voice. She turned back at the stairs.

"Nah I really shouldn't, the dumb thing wont probably work anyway..."

She flapped her wings and... Flew right next to the cannon with an excited smile on her face.

"...Then wheres the harm if I try it out?"

She lit the fuse with glee and waited. A moment passed and nothing happened.

"I knew it...its probably better it didn't f.."

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!

The entire building shook, Rainbow Dash flew backwards and the cannon blew up the entire northern wall of the inn.

Rainbow lifted her head from the debris.

"That...was...AWESOME!!!"

The zombies outside however had noticed the giant explosion and turned their heads at the rainbow maned pegasus.

"Ohhh right... thats not good."

Applejack waited for the blue pegasus to return when she heard the huge boom. Immediately after that she saw Rainbow Dash speed back up the stairs...Followed by a horde of flesh hungry zombies.

"Rainbow WHAT THE HAY?!"

"No time, lot of zombies, have to escape!"

She turned the key into the lock in panic.

The door didn't move.

"Applejack its not working! ITS NOT WORKING!"

The zombies stumbled up the stairs when Applejack suddenly facehoofed.

"Of course...why didn't I think of this before."

She turned her rear at the door.

"Stand back Rainbow. Im gonna introduce this door to Bucky McGillycuddy and Kicks McGee!"

Then she bucked the door and sent it flying off its hinges, right through the window in the room.

"Opened the door AND the window with one buck? pretty efficient if ya ask me"

"Yeah Applejack, your're awesome now LETS GO!"

The zombies were practically gnawing at their tails when they galloped to the window. Without a second thought, they jumped right through it, into the sewer building.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Twilight Sparkle was awaken by the sound of excited hoof steps. She looked around her and confirmed that she was still strapped in the machine and that she still felt tired. The door to the chamber slammed open however and inside marched the Rarity impostor with a huge grin on her face.

"TWILIGHT SPARKLE!" She shouted suddenly.

"Ugh, Yes its me. Im still here...did you finally realize that you're out of your mind and decided to release me?" Twilight answered wearily.

"Nah, I have better news! We have a visitor on the island!"

Twilight thought about that. Then she figured out it was probably just another "joke".

"Yes you do. Its me right?"

"No! Its not you! Look, let me riddle you this. One of my little pets was found dead in the village!" The impostor said happily.

"Oh thats cute. Why should I care?"

"OH but this is the exciting part! Somepony had cut his head clean off! Guess what I found in the cut?"

"Let me guess, blood?" Twilight answered in a voice that told the hearer "I couldn't care less".

"No!...well...yes. But thats not the point! What I found...was moondust!"

Twilight perked up at that. The only way moondust could have made its way into the cut was that either somepony ran around throwing moondust at dead corpses or the zombie's head had been cut off by...

"A moonblade?" Twilight gasped.

"YES! I knew you were smart! Heres the next part. Who is the only pony you know of with the power of the moon at her hooves?"

Twilight felt hope. The only pony she knew of that had the "power of moon at her hooves" was none other then Princess Luna. Had she come to rescue her?

"Its...Princess Luna?"

"Yes, yes, yes! She's here! She's finally here! She came back, just like i knew she would."

The impostor jumped around the room in excitement.

"At first I thought it was just somepony who had sneaked on the island but THEN she blew up an entire wall of an inn! Nopony normal could possibly be that powerful! And it wasn't caused by unicorn magic, i would have noticed that."

Twilight thought about it. So Luna had come to her rescue? But why hadn't she found her yet? Surely an alicorn could detect her magic from far away. The impostor probably had some kind of a spell that shielded her presence. But why had she blown up a wall? Maybe she was looking for her.

"So Luna is really here?"

"Yep! Well she's not exactly Luna, the only way she could have arrived was that she was still in control of the power of Nightmare Moon!"

Something ticked in Twilights head.

"Nightmare Moon? SHE told you to wait here?"

The impostor pulled her face close to Twilight. She could feel the crazy mares breath on her face.

"I know I shouldn't tell you, but I'm so excited, I'll tell you anyway!"

She pulled back from Twilight and began.

"So a thousand year ago Luna and I had a plan. We searched for a way to control death itself.We had so much fun testing!"

Suddenly she stomped her hoof in anger.

"But all that was ruined! Your precious Celestia had no sense of humor...or science. She banished my Luna to the moon...well maybe she had a sense of humor. The Moon Princess stuck ON the moon? Thats pretty funny." She snickered to herself.

"Heh! Dont tell Luna I did that."

She quickly regained her composure.

"Anyway, she told me to never stop my work on this project. No matter what. So many ponies were suffering because of death and I had to fix it! Luna was gone though so I thought of just quitting but then I found out she was only banished for a thousand years! So I just waited for her return and now we can finally finish our project!"

Twilight knew better. Luna had returned as Nightmare Moon but the spirit had been banished by her and the Elements of Harmony. The impostor thought that Luna had come to finish some dark project that Nightmare Moon had started. In reality, Luna was probably on her way to save her and kick this crazy mares flank. Frankly she wanted to see the look on the captors face when that happened, so she decided not to tell her about it.

"So I waited and everypony else began to die... but I tried bringing them back to life!" The impostor said and sighed.

"Yeah, I can see how well that turned out." Twilight answered.

"Well sure they're a little rotten...and very, very hungry. But I think I did a pretty good job!" The impostor smiled.

She proceeded by moving close to Twilight again.

"You would think that waiting alone for a thousand years would turn you completely insane! But look at me! I turned out just fine!" She said and grinned at Twilight.

"If by "fine" you mean completely crazy then yes! You turned out to be very, very fine!" Twilight blurted at her.

"Oh don't be like that Twilight! We we're having so much fun telling stories!"

"So you waited for Luna? Why did you capture me then?" Twilight asked.

"Oh when i found out that a thousand years had passed I had to prepare! I needed somepony super magical to power our project! So when I found out that your special talent was magic I couldn't think of a better volunteer. And besides I can get some payback on Celestia too, after all, you are her protégée."

Twilight ignored the "volunteer" part. This pony had been appointed to run a project by Nightmare Moon. Surely she wasn't just some random science pony but a trusted friend of Luna's from the past. She seemed to be very loyal as well, having waited for a thousand years. She had also somehow defied mortality by surviving for such an ridiculously long period of time. Now Twilight was really interested in who this pony was.

"Could you please tell me who you are? Maybe I can help you out with your project." Twilight asked in a pleading tone.

"Tsk tsk Twilight! Story time is over and I have to prepare for Luna's return! Catch you later!"

Then she skipped out of the room. Twilight thought of calling after her but she knew it would be pointless. The door was shut and Twilight was alone again.

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The floor of the sewer building had collapsed so the two mares fell right into the sewer tunnel. The sewer turned out to be a huge natural cave. A ravine was flowing across the tunnel system, carrying unrecognizable matter.

The ponies would have fell right into the disgusting stream had it not been for the flying skills of Rainbow Dash. She carried herself and Applejack to the narrow rocky road next to the ravine. The zombies who we're stupid enough to leap after them weren't so lucky and they fell right into the sewage waste.

"Have a nice swim idiots!" Rainbow Dash mocked after them.

"Phew Rainbow Dash. The sewer tunnels...we made it."

They scanned their surroundings and noticed a waterfall of mud (which Rainbow Dash named "the mudfall") just above the ravine.

"That explains why the village didn't sink into the ground in a thousand years. The mud just flows down here."

"Well there's something you don't see everyday! I guess they turned this underground ravine into a sewer system?" Rainbow Dash gasped. Then she held her nose with her hoof.

"Ugh, and it smells the part too..." She said.

The hole, which they used to enter the tunnel, gave some light to the area. The tunnel grew darker further in however. Applejack pulled out her moonblade and used its glow, to light the way.

"Ah guess these things serve another purpose, besides cutting." She stated and began trotting forward the narrow road.

It had clearly been a thousand years since anypony had walked in the sewers. The road had been left unattended and the ground was rocky and slippery. Both mares felt as if the whole damn thing could collapse in the ravine at any second. Rainbow Dash was at the ready to catch Applejack if such a thing was to happen however. The sewage matter had spilled on the road as well and their hooves were soaked with the waste.

"Eww...you know Applejack, my hooves are so dirty that when we get back I'm gonna ask Rarity to take me to that spa and get me one of those hoofacures. After all this, I don't even care what the other ponies are gonna think about that." Rainbow Dash said.

"Whoa! That has to be some nasty waste on yer hooves, to make YOU stop caring about what other ponies think of ya!" Applejack chuckled.

"Heh. Yeah, its THAT BAD, I think I even saw some of that goo on your hooves moving..."

Applejack let out a yelp and shook her hooves in panic. Rainbow Dash bursted into laughter immediately.

"Hahaha! That was priceless! You screamed like a little filly!"

"Rainbow Dash! Don't you joke about these things! You know that there's something twisted in these sewers. I thought you were being serious!" Applejack answered angrily.

"Im sorry Applejack. I know, its just that hehe...I just couldn't help it" Rainbow Dash snickered. Then she suddenly perked up.

"Applejack the sewage waste is moving!"

"Haha I get it Dash, really funny." Applejack answered.

"No I'm serious! The goo you just shook off...Its moving"

Sure enough, the disgusting goo in front of them began too move. It shaped itself into a twisted slime pony and began to move towards the mares.

"Uhh, I think you made it mad Applejack" Rainbow gasped.

"No it was YOU who made me throw that thing on the wall!"

The creature advanced but it didn't look too threatening. Applejack moved in with her moonblade. Rainbow Dash took a closer look at the creature. It seemed to be swelling, as if it was filling itself up with something. Then it dawned on her.

"Applejack wait!"

But it was too late, Applejack swung her blade at the creature cutting it open. A huge cloud of black gas erupted from the cut overwhelming the ponies.

"Whatever you do don't...cough...breath..." Rainbow Dash managed to say before she passed out on the ground.

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"Oh Rainbow Dash how do you do it? How are you so awesome?" Spitfire said and sat next to Rainbow enjoying some well earned Sweet Apple Acres cider.

"Oh its not that hard after the first triple sonic rainboom somersault corckscrew moves. All you have to do is pull off the Rainbow Dash comet flash, you know, the move I invented thats the most awesome and difficult flight trick ever made?"

"How could I forget when you pulled it off for the first time? Princess Celestia named you the of Minister of Awesome and gave you the Knighthood of Coolness." Spitfire gasped in awe.

"Not to mention you naming me the captain of the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow Dash added.

"Oh Rainbow Dash...you awesomeness is just so...I...I..." Spitfire said and threw herself at Rainbow.

"OH kiss me you FOOL!!" She said.

"Kiss you? Wait...THIS IS A DREAM!"

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and saw absolutely nothing. Darkness surrounded her. She reached for her moonblade and was glad that the goo had no use for it. She pulled it out and illuminated the room. Dash was in a tunnel laying next to rags and bones of dead ponies. Noticing the corpses she quickly stood up in panic kicking the bones away from her.

"Ahh! Im not joining you things just yet!"

Then she remembered what had happened. They were both hit with poisonous gas and knocked out. The creature had probably dragged her to the corpse pile, thinking she was one of the failed experiments, thrown down there to die. Applejack was nowhere to be seen.

"Applejack! Applejack!!" She called for the orange earth pony. There was no answer.

"...This is bad." She said to herself.

She knew that sitting there and doing nothing wasn't going to bring Applejack back. And it was unlikely that the skeletons would give her directions. So she moved out with careful steps all the while shouting out for Applejack. The tunnel had turned into a maze but Rainbow didn't give it any thought. Applejack could be in trouble so there was no time to waste at thinking which direction she should take.

She had a promise to keep, she had to find her and get them both home. Rainbow Dash sped up to a gallop frantically calling out for Applejack.

"Applejack!!"

Then she heard it. A voice she never wanted to hear. A voice straight from her nightmares.

"Rainbow..."

It was a faint whisper that sent chills down her spine. Turning her head she could see it.

A zombie approached her, a zombie with an orange coat rotten flesh dripping off its face.

"Oh no, no, no...Applejack its me, its me Rainbow Dash," She said.

"Rainbow...you..." Applejack gnarled in response.

"Shh...Don't talk, everything is going to be fine" Rainbow assured her, tears forming in her eyes.

"I...I feel so cold Rainbow..."

"No, don't say that Applejack. Im gonna get you out of here and we'll get back to Ponyville..." Rainbow said between her sobs.

"...and we'll drink some of that apple cider, and everything is going to be just like before."

"Why didn't ya... keep your promise?"

Then Applejack leaped towards her, mouth open, ready to take a bite out of the pegasus. Rainbow Dash held her back with her hooves. She couldn't bring herself to kill her zombified friend.

There was no other choice though when she felt herself slipping. She shut her eyes and swung the blade hearing a disgusting voice of metal cutting flesh. The earth pony fell on the floor.

"Im sorry! Im so sorry!" Rainbow cried.

But Applejack had gone silent. The blue pegasus knew too well that her friend was gone. She had broken her promise and was left alone on a cursed island.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Applejack trotted forward. She woke up in a corpse pile and noticed that Rainbow Dash was missing. Naturally the orange mare moved out to look for her. She noticed that the air around her had changed, something was wrong but she just couldn't place it. Her thought were interrupted however when she heard hoofsteps behind her. She turned around and saw a silhouettes of ponies clumsily walking towards her. The moonblade was at the ready though and Applejack stood there ready to take on the attackers.

When the zombies walked into the light however, she dropped the sword.

"Apple Bloom?" She gasped.

Her entire family, Apple Bloom, Big Mac and Granny Smith we're there, all of them walking dead ponies. Applejack trembled but then she remembered Rainbow's words. She picked up her sword again and held it up high.

"No! This doesn't make any sense! My family is back in Ponyville! Not in some sewer tunnel on some island! Yer just playing tricks with my mind!"

Applejack was furious at this mockery of her family. She charged at the zombies and swung her blade at the smallest one taking it out with one swing. The big one tried to grab her, but applejack ducked and bucked the creature right on its face A disgusting crunching sound later the big zombie lay dead. It wasn't long until the last one lay on the floor as well.

As she had suspected it wasnt her family. The zombies melted on the ground. They were made of the same goo she had seen flowing in the ravine. The slime slithered away in defeat.

"And dont ya ever try to diguise yerself as one of my family again!" She shouted after it.

After the slime had gone Applejack was worried. What if the goo had tried to trick Rainbow Dash to let her guard down as well? Surely the blue pegasus could see right through it. Applejack's thoughts were interrupted however. She heard crying in the distance. Sure it could have been another trap but she didn't want to risk leaving her friend to die.

She galloped the maze, hoping that her friend was all right. Turning around a corner however she could finally see the rainbow maned pegasus. Rainbow Dash was crying, and to her horror Applejack could see that the slime was wrapping around her body.

"Oh no you dont!" She shouted and swung her blade at the slime. The goo hissed when the moonblades light touched it. It slithered off Rainbow, escaping to the depths of the cave. Applejack lowered herself down next to the pegasus and lifted her head up with her hooves.

"Rainbow Dash! Talk to me. Are you all right?"

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes slowly.

"Applejack? Im sorry.. I thought...I thought you were gone..." She whispered.

"Well I'm here now sugarcube, and don't worry, I'm gonna take care of ya."Applejack said and hugged her friend.

"Ugh...i feel so tired..."

"Dont worry about it, just hang in there ok? I got ya."

Applejack lifted Rainbow Dash on her back and began to move. The slime had somehow drained all of her friends energy and had she arrived a moment too late...She didn't want to think about it. All that mattered right now was getting out of that cave as soon as possible.

Of course the sewer slime had noticed that the more subtle ways of killing its prey had failed. The small parts of goo slithered back to their master, informing it of their failure. The ravine erupted and flooded into the cave maze.

Applejack heard the approaching doom and galloped faster. It was hopeless, she had no idea where she was going so she simply took the paths that didn't sound like a flood of death was about to flow down on them. Applejack was getting desperate there was no way she would get away from this one. The maze was probably endless and the chances of finding the exit was probably one to million. Then she turned around the corner and there it was. A narrow staircase leading to a door.

"Huh? Guess i was wrong." She said to herself.

Then she turned around, a huge mass of sewage waste was rolling towards her, body parts sticking out of the disgusting slime. Wasting no time she galloped up the stairs. The slime however formed a whip and grabbed Rainbow's tail. Rainbow fell off Applejacks back on the stairs and she quickly turned around and grabbed her. The slime approached fast and Applejack had no choice, she pulled out her sword and swiftly cut off the tip of rainbows tail hair.

The slime was left with strands of Rainbow colored hair while Applejack grabbed Rainbow, raced trough the exit and slammed the door shut behind her at the last second.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

They were finally here. The Lazarus tower. Applejack checked herself and Rainbow Dash for any unwanted slime that might have slipped through the door with them. Satisfied, she lay Rainbow on the floor and tucked her under her cape.

Immediately after removing her cape, Applejack noticed that the room they were in was extremely cold. A staircase lead to a platform made of stone that lay in the middle of the area. She decided to take a closer look at the room. The room turned out to be a chamber. A huge white crystal hung from the ceiling illuminating the room with unnatural white light. Applejack could see the waves of cold air radiating from its surface.

Then she reached the top of the platform. The walls were filled with disgusting pods made of purple matter. Inside the pods she could see shapes of ponies while the pods themselves were frozen solid. It seemed like they had arrived in to a cryo chamber of some kind.

“Whoa nelly...” Were the only words she managed to say.

A grumbling noise behind her made her jump. The one guilty for the noise however was Rainbow Dash and Applejack sighed in relief. She returned down the platform to the blue pegasus.

“Good morning Rainbow Dash! May ah welcome you to The Lazarus tower! Temperature outside yer cape is cold as hay and creepy pods will greet ya on your way in.”

Rainbow Dash turned her head to look at Applejack.

“Applejack...Im sorry, I let you down and...you saved my life.” Rainbow answered wearily.

Applejack put her hoof in front of Rainbows mouth.

“Don’t mention it RD. Lets just say ya wanted to let me play the hero this time . Just like we agreed.” Applejack chuckled and then she hugged her friend.

“...Heh, sure Applejack...” Rainbow whispered and hugged her back.

“Now ah think we should get something to eat after all that running around sewers” Applejack said. She went through her saddlebags pulled out the canteen and some apples.

Rainbow Dash ate greedily like she hadn’t eaten in weeks.

“Ahhh, thats the stuff!” She said, after gulping down some water from the canteen.
Then she slowly stood up, feeling revitalized. Applejack took her cape back from the blue pegasus.

“Nothing gets you back on yer feet like an good old apple!” Applejack stated proudly.

“But ah still think we should rest a while before we start exploring this here tower. Ah don’t want to be tired if we meet something like that slime again.” She continued.

Rainbow Dash agreed and they set up camp right next to the platform. Applejack went through the map again and located the chamber they were supposed to reach.

“Now we just go gallop through this hallway and we should reach that chamber with the rune.” She said while pointing at the map with her hoof.

“Wait, did Luna tell you how to erase it?”

An awkward silence fell among the mares.

“Darn, Ah knew we forgot something.” Applejack said and stomped her hoof.

Rainbow Dash facehoofed instead.

“Ughhhh....We can figure that out when we get there.”

At that moment both mares were alerted by a flash of light on the platform. They could hear two voices talking, one of them sounded monotone and bored. Rainbow Dash nodded her head towards the platform. Applejack shook her head as an answer. Dash sneaked up to take a look at the owners of the voices anyway. Applejack sighed in defeat and followed.

“Here we are Spikey! I feel so tired but don’t worry! One of my friends here will help me feel better!” One of the voices said.

Rainbow Dash peeked on the platform and gasped.

“What the hay? Is that Rarity??” She whispered at Applejack.

“...And Spike?” Applejack answered.

“Rarity has some explaining to do.” Rainbow hissed but she was stopped by Applejack.

“That dosn’t sound like Rarity at all. And look at him...”

Applejack pointed her hoof at Spike.
“He looks like somepony hit him in the head with a two by four.”

“Duh, thats what he always looks like when Rarity’s around.” Rainbow Answered

“Ah still think that pony is not Rarity. Ah reckon Spike has been brainwashed. And do ya honestly think Rarity could be behind all this?”

Rainbow Dash thought about it for a moment.

“...Umm...yeah?” She answered with an unsure voice.

The two were interrupted however when “Rarity’s” horn began to glow. Dark blue magic enveloped one of the pods and ripped it off the wall. The pod levitated in front of her.

“Here he is Spike! Say hello to Mr.Pony”

“Hello.” Spike answered in a bored voice.

The unicorn touched the pod with her horn and it began to melt. The purple ooze melted away revealing a completely normal stallion. He opened his eyes in confusion.

“Wha...huh?” He said.

“Hi Mr.Pony! Just stay still I have something I need to borrow from you!” “Rarity” answered to him.

Suddenly she pierced the stallion with her horn. The stallion screamed in pain while black colored slime poured all over him. Then the slime was drawn back to the unicorn leaving the stallion as an empty husk on the floor.

“Thank you Mr.Pony! I feel so much better now!” She said.

Spike looked at the corpse but he kept his robot face.

“Aww don’t worry about him Spikey! I’ll just resurrect him and send him back to the village to be with his family. All his friends are waiting for him there already!”

Spike answered by staring.

“Good, Ok, I think Im gonna finish the project myself! And when she gets here it will be all done! You know what that means, I have to drain all her magic to do it.”

Then she scratched her chin with her hoof.

“Too bad Twilight has to die. I was really starting to grow fond of her. You won’t mind me killing her right?”

Spikes face twitched but he remained still.

“I knew you’d understand Spikey! Now lets get going.”

A flash of light later Spike and the unicorn were gone.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack stared in horror with their jaws open.

“Ok...” Rainbow Dash said.

“That is NOT Rarity.”

They walked over to look at the pod. The purple slime was already slithering into the nearby sewer entrance

“Oh hay! Did she drain that poor pony’s soul somehow?” Applejack said.

“Yeah and then she talked about resurrecting him and sending him back home...” Rainbow reasoned.

“You...you don’t reckon that all the zombies in the village...came from here?” Applejack asked,

“It...it looks that way.” Rainbow answered in a quivering voice.

“That means the ponies in those pods are the villagers?”

“Yeah...I think she’s been keeping them here in some kind of a stasis. Then she drains them and brings them back as zombies.” Rainbow said.

“And sends them back to the village as if nothing happened?” Applejack questioned.

Applejack thought about that.This pony had captured all the villagers and kept them here as her personal fuel. For what reason, she could not imagine.

“I don’t know about you RD, but ah think there’s something mighty wrong in that pony’s head...”

“And she’s got Twilight...”

After the shock of witnessing a ponys death had passed over them. They remembered what the unicorn had said after the draining.

“Wait a minute! Twilight! She said something about killing her” Rainbow Dash gasped.

“Yeah, ah think we’re running out of time here. We have to get to that rune.” Applejack answered.

Rainbow Dash took off from the ground and flew around helplessly.

“No, no, no there is no time! She said shes going to kill her NOW. Not after we get some rune! Where could she be?!”

Applejack thought back to the night they spent in the forest. She had seen purple colored lightning flashing from the tip of the tower.

“Ah saw her magic flashing from the top of the tower one night...ah think she’s being held at the highest point of the tower...”

“Highest point of the tower? Got it!” Rainbow said and was about to speed out of the room.

“Wait Rainbow! We have to get the rune!” Applejack shouted.

“Ok you get the rune, I’ll go save Twilight! Its the perfect plan!” Dash answered.

“But you don’t even know how to..!”

Applejack attempted to hold the pegasus still, by using her old trick of grabbing her tail with her teeth. Then she remembered that she had cut the tip of Rainbows tail hair off a moment ago. Rainbow sped across the room and through the door leading inside the tower. Applejack stared after her helplessly.

“...get there.”

Applejack shrugged and sat down in defeat.

“...Oh Horseapples.” She said.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Rainbow Dash flew frantically around looking for the staircase. Twilight was about to be killed so there was no time lose. Then she stopped. She should have asked Applejack where the staircase was. She turned around only to find out that the door she had entered the hallway was nowhere to be seen.

"Darn, I should have asked her how to get up there...guess I'll just have to wing it..." Chuckling at her own lame joke she decided to open every single door in the hallway.

She opened the first door and gasped. Behind the door was a towering monstrosity of flesh. A pony made of hundreds of different body parts. Surely this horrible monster would consume her in one...Rainbow slammed the door shut.

"Not that way."

She moved to the next one and opened it. Behind the door were stallion copies of all her friends. Surely they would use their masculine viles and shipping powers to seduce...Rainbow slammed the door shut.

"Man, theres some weird stuff in this tower..."

After a couple of more doors she finally came across the staircase. There was one problem however, the walls of the staircase were littered with the green orbs.

"Oh you gotta be bucking kidding me!" She said after quickly shutting the door before the orbs could react.

It seemed that there was no way for her to get upstairs. The tower had no windows so she could not fly up there from outside. The orbs were probably patrolling the sky anyway, not to mention the horrible wheater made flying outside impossible. Rainbow Dash was startled by a voice. It came from a room next to the staircase. She sneaked over to take a look inside. The room had a pipe in it that read "waste disposal". The pipe came from upstairs and went further down the tower. There was a hole on the side of it, probably meant to throw the waste of this floor in it. She could hear the voices of the crazy pony and what sounded like...

"Twilight?" Rainbow gasped. She took a look inside the pipe. It was full of filth but the voices were definately coming from above her.

"...Oh Twilight...of all the things I'll do for you..." Rainbow sighed. A normal pegasus could have not fit inside the pipe but years of training made it possible, yet not easy, for Rainbow Dash. She crawled inside and began to fly upwards. The pipe was filled with...lets just say, it wasnt nice.

"Urrgh...Im...Im gonna throw up..." She said to herself while speeding towards the voices.

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Applejack galloped across the hallway. She was running as fast as she could, Rainbow was foolish enough to go and try confront the crazy pony. The only thing that could save her and Twilight now was the removal of the rune.

"Dammit Rainbow, always moving without thinking first...its up to me now...The rune chamber, the rune chamber...aha!"

She came across the door of the rune chamber. Applejack bucked the door in without hesistation and inside she found a huge pool of water.

"What in tarnation?!? A pool...A POOL? Luna gave me directions to a POOL?" Applejack said and stomped her hoof on the ground. After that She took a closer look at the room.

A huge crystal hung from the ceiling illuminating the area. This time it wasn't freezing the area though.
She walked to the edge of the pool and saw golden symbols glittering under the water.

"Could it be..." She said before dipping her head in the water to take a look under it.

She saw the rune. A huge circle full of markings and symbols. The entire bottom of the pool was covered in them. It was simple, she had to dive down there and...do something about it.

Time was running short so she threw her hat to the shore and jumped down to the water. Applejack gasped when she hit the water. The water was cold, freezing cold but there was no other way. She dived down to the rune.

Applejack attempted to rub off the rune. Nothing happened. She decided to attempt a underwater buck but it was no use. The rune remained undamaged. Frustrated she stomped on the rune. Then in the corner of her eye she could see movement. Applejack shruddered and slowly turned her head to take a look at the giant figure that was speeding towards her.

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"Well Twilight it has been fun! But Im afraid I have to say good bye...for now. Dont worry! I'll resurrect you too after all this is over."

Twilight opened her eyes and saw the impostor standing in front of her. She shruddered when she saw the devilish grin the impostor had on her face.

"What are you talking about?" Twilight asked wearily.

"Oh its just that I want to finish our project for my Luna. But to do it, I need to drain all your magic. Surely you understand Twilight!"

Twilight winced. This crazy mare had finally come to kill her. She didnt lose hope though. Luna was probably on her way as they spoke. All she had to do was buy some time. Surely Luna would arrive at any moment now.

"WAIT wait! Just tell me about this project of yours! I...I can help you YES help you and you...you wont have to kill me!?"

Suddenly the impostor pushed her muzzle next to Twilights.

"Sure thing Twilight! I was just afraid that if i told you, you'd find some way to stop me but theres not much you can do about it now anyway since soon you'll be dead!"

She gave Twilight a little kiss for some reason and hopped around the room.

"Twilight, Im going to cure death! DEATH! Nopony could cure death but I'm going to do it!"

"How?" Twilight asked after getting over the shock of being kissed by a crazy pony.

"Its simple! Im going to charge this tower using your magic so I can send my resurrection spell all over the world!" She stated proudly.

"Your resurrection spell? You mean...your gonna turn all the ponies into one of those monsters that attempted to eat my face!?" Twilight gasped.

"Monsters? Oh dont be like that Twilight! They arent monsters! Sure they are little on the hungry side but noponys perfect! I know that everypony will be so happy when all the dead rise back to have fun with the living!"

Twilight couldn't believe it. This pony was about to bring all the dead ponies back with her "resurrection spell". Basically she was about to start the pony zombie apolcalypse of Equestria.

"There you go Twilight! My plan! Pretty cool huh?" The impostor said and approached Twilight.

"But now, I'm afraid, I need all of your magic. Do you know what that means!?" She said.

"Umm...you decide that your plan is crazy and you wont attempt to kill me by draining all my magic?" Twilight said sheepishly.

"No silly! That means you DIE!"

Twilight closed her eyes as the impostor was about to impale her with her horn. She wasn't going to scream in front of this crazy mare. She wasn't going to beg for her life. She was going to die like a mare! Then she heard a thump and a sound of crashing.

"AAH! No! I'm too young to die! You can have my collection of Starswirl the Bearded quills! My rare copy of "Dangerous spells that lead to adventures" She shouted melodramatically. Nothing happened though. She opened her eyes. The impostor was nowhere to be seen and in the shadows stood a figure of a mare.

Twilights eyes sparkled with hope. It was most definately Luna! The goddess of the night had finally arrived to save her from the crazy impostor. Using her godly powers she would rain vengance upon this ponynapper ending Twilight's suffering once and for all!

Finally the mystery mare approached from the shadows and Twilight could finally see her rescuer. The heroic, the all powerful...

"RAINBOW DASH!?"

"Twilight! Phew...I made it just in time." The rainbow-maned pony said.

Twilight squinted her eyes. It was definately the sky blue pegasus only she looked beat up and dirty.

"Rainbow? How? Why? And...what happened to you?" She asked.

"Don't ask...just don't. Cause then I'd have to actually think about what this stuff is, and I really dont want to know!" Rainbow answered while she unstrapped Twilight from the machine.

Twilight collapsed on the floor exhausted.

"Uh...I don't think I can walk..." She said.

Rainbow lifted Twilight on to her back.

"Dont worry. I'll get you out of here." Rainbow said.

Twilight glanced around the room.

" What happened to the impostor." She asked

"Oh I just gave her a little nudge thats all."

Twilight saw a pile of tables and other magical equipment laying on one corner of the room.

"A little nudge huh?" Twilight whispered.

"Look, as much as I hate to admit it, I wasn't called "Rainbow Crash" for nothing."

Then the pile shook violently. The tables burst into flames and a glowing unicorn of magical fire lifted from the ashes. The unicorn had a coat of almost black dark green and a bright green flaming mane. Her eyes were completely white and a emerald aura was around her. Rainbow Dash's jaw hit the floor as she watched the unholy creature before her.

"That...is..so...AWESOME!" She gasped.

"You dare attack me!? You dare spoil my moment of victory? THE MOMENT I HAD BEEN WAITING FOR A THOUSAND YEARS!?" The unicorn boomed and the ceiling of the room shook.

"I shall kill you slowly! I shall tear you to pieces in..." She boomed but was suddenly interrupted by Rainbow.

"WAIT!" Rainbow shouted.

Both unicorns looked at Rainbow. Rainbow slowly raised her hoof and pointed at one of the skeletons hanging on the wall.

"He did it." She said sheepishly

Twilight facehoofed and the green unicorn stared.

"Rainbow...that is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard. You cant possibly expect this to..." Twilight whispered.

"What...BONEY! HOW COULD YOU!?" The green unicorn gasped suddenly.

Rainbow stared at her dumbfounded. Then she regained her composure

"Uhh..Yeah! He totally just walked over and bucked you! I saw it all happen, what a jerk that pon...skeleton is!" She said while smiling sheepishly.

"You're right! I should just attack him instead and let you two just leave. I mean, its obivious he did it!" The green flaming unicorn stated.

Rainbow sighed in relief and began to trot towards the door. Suddenly a ball of green flame flew towards her and she barely dodged it. She sped out of the door in panic. The green flaming unicorn followed after them in fury.

"LIKE HAY HE DID IT! COME BACK HERE!" She boomed behind them.

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Applejack watched in horror as the gigantic purple zombie seapony approached her through the water. The monsters jaw was open with huge white fangs sticking out of it. Applejack swam for the shore while the monster gave chase. She was losing the race as the creature got closer and closer.

Thinking quickly she unstrapped all of her equipment getting rid of the extra weight. The cape floated on the monsters face while it chewed on the saddlebags. This gave Applejack just enough time to reach the shore and scramble out of the pool in panic.

She lay there on the shore panting for a while before standing up and shaking off the water. The white light of the crystal hanging on the ceiling illuminating her. Then she saw her hat laying on the floor and put it back on her head.

"Atleast you survived...phew...Darn! that monster just took all my stuff..." She said to herself.

The situation was hopeless. Not only was the rune guarded by a sea monster but it also seemed to be indestructible. She looked around the room. A broken wooden crane lay on the shore. Applejack trotted over to inspect it. The crane was apparently used to lower ponies down to the bottom of the lake. That meant there must have been a cage of somekind that would protect, the pony that was being lowered, from the monster.

Applejack looked around for the cage. Then she glanced at the bottom of the lake. There it was with a skeleton of a pony inside it. So the crane itself would be of no use to her but maybe she could use the parts of the crane. She saw the rope the cage used to be attached to and grabbed it. Then she looked at the crystal hanging on top of the room.

"Uh..well if ah can't destroy the rune itself, maybe ah can destroy the surface its on. Its a long shot...but its time to put those lassoing skills of mine to use."

She tossed the rope and sure enough it wrapped around the chain that the crystal hung from. Applejack gave the rope a pull. Nothing happened. The crystal didn't budge. She gave the rope a couple of more pulls but to no avail. The crystal remained in place.

Pulling the rope would not do. Applejack was left with only one choice. She had to climb up on the crystal and buck the chain in hopes that it would break. It wasn't the safest of plans, the rope was old and could break under her weight. Falling would mean death. This time she didn't have equipment to distract the monster with, if she fell into the water.

She attached the other end of the rope to the knob of the door (Since It was the only thing she could tie it to) creating a makeshift rope bridge. Climbing up to the rope she gave it a little test. The rope wobbled dangerously and Applejack swallowed nervously. She adjusted her hat and took a step on the rope.

"Allright...lets do this."