Leading the charge.

Chapters

Thoughts and Missions.
Gems and Beginnings.
Uniforms and Motivation.
Donuts and Attackers.
Darlings and Gems.
Cousins and Pink.
Panics and Whimpers.
Contemplation and Onslaughts.
Packing and Apples.
Train rides and Rescues.
Voices and Griffons.
Pancakes and Diamonds.
Wondering and Gardens.
Conversations and Cutie Marks.
Searches and Fights.
Findings and Questions.
Tears and Reunions.

Thoughts and Missions.

Rainbow Dash, A.K.A. Soldier 8194253, flew next to The Princess, as she walked through the seemingly deserted town. She stared straight forward, unwavering from her assignment, but her thoughts still wandered to their purpose for being there.

She had been requested that morning along with a fellow soldier to accompany The Princess on a trip to Ponyville by request of a pony whose name she was not aware of. If it weren't for her understanding that you never question your duty in war, she would have refused right then and there. Why should The Princess take a break from defending the fate of all Equestria just for somepony with a foolish call for her? But she did what you always do when requested as a soldier, and accepted. Now, she found herself still questioning why they should be there.

She was shaken from her thoughts as the flat maned grayish-pink Earth Pony on The Princess's other side growled at a pony who had been staring out their window and jumped back into the house. Rainbow knew nothing of the pony, other then she was Soldier 794113541, she fought alongside Rainbow at the front lines, she had saved Rainbow's life a few times, and Rainbow had saved hers, (but that was typical, due to the fact that every soldier held the others life in their hooves) and her sister was also in the war. That was all she knew. Soldier 794113541 was not very social. It sometimes seemed like she wanted to be, but she didn't know how.

Rainbow immediately switched back to her instinctive soldier mindset as an orchard came into sight. Well....orchard/farm/factory. Smokestacks atop a dull colored barn, spewed out black smog into the already gray sky. An orange Earth Pony with her blond mane in a hair net wearing a camo outfit stood under a sign reading, "Sweet Apple Acres" The Princess walked in front of the pony, and stared down, her typical emotionless expression used. Rainbow instinctively switched her defenses into overdrive, for she recognized The Princess's expression as one she had whenever she sensed a threat, or was trying to process something. She may have only been trying to process the Earth Pony's face made of fear and anxiety, but Rainbow had learned not to take chances when you held other ponies lives in your hooves. "I assume you are Applejack?" The Princess spoke, her multicolored mane flowing gently.

Applejack. So that's her name.

Applejack gulped nervously. "Y-Yes. Y-Yer m-majesty."

The Princess nodded. "Now, remind me again why you called me here?"

She didn't even tell her why she wanted her here!? Why that Flying Feather of a Storm-cloud. I have a right mind to punch her here and now.

"Well.....ya probably won't believe me, but.......early this mornin', Ah met this here pony....she told me she was from another timeline."

The Princess once again stared at her with the some emotionless expression.

Why 'that Flying Feather of a Storm-cloud' is right. She has the nerve to bring The Princess all the way out here, just to tell her some Manticore-Smog like this?! Why that.............Rainbow you Storm-cloud.

In that moment, The Princess nodded, relaxing her expression, causing Rainbow to mentally slap herself, for the expression The Princess currently had was the one she had when she believed somepony, even though she thought what they were saying was unlikely.

Applejack continued. "Well, she said where she was from..........Ah mean...........when, she was from, there wasn't a war with King Sombra."

Rainbow's defenses came crashing down so hard she could almost feel it. It was like somepony had shot her with a mental cannonball. If it weren't for her built up mental stability, she would have passed out right then and there.

Okay. Okay. I can process this.

In some timeline, there is an Equestria without war.

Nope. Still can't process it.

Rainbow leaned over to look at The Princess's expression. It was one she did not recognize, but seemed to have the faintest hints of pain. However, what caught her attention was Soldier 794113541. She looked like she was going to cry. She could practically see the tears welling up in her eyes. Soldier 794113541 shook her head, as if trying to eliminate the pain she felt, then went back to staring straight, her eyes still damp.

"A-Ah can prove it too." Applejack spoke. "Ah can show ya what that pony used to travel through time."

........well.......this just got interesting.

The group walked next to the river at the edge of Ponyville, as The Princess eyed Applejack curiously. "So...let me see if I understand. The pony who told you these things was an Alicorn named Twilight Sparkle, she had a dragon with her, and she said a powerful Unicorn named Starlight Glimmer went back in time and changed something in the past, thus.....thus creating this timeline." Applejack nodded. "That's what Ah understood from it anyways." Rainbow continued to mull over what she had just learned. She still could not process it.

"The map she used is right......" Applejack stopped, to find she was pointing at an empty field. She ran up, searching, looking, but the only things there were them, a mountain with a waterfall, and a river.

THATS IT!!

Rainbow cracked, and flew right into Applejack's face. "WHY YOU FLYING FEATHER OF A STORM-CLOUD!!!!!!" Applejack almost fell over, as the scarred Pegasus showed no respect for personal space. "DO YOU REALLY THINK WE ARE SO STUPID, THAT WE BELIEVE SUCH MANTICORE-SMOG AS THIS!?!?" Apparently, Soldier 794113541 had also had it with Applejack, because she too moved towards the orange pony with an angered expression on her face. "Thou shalt earn the dungeon for thy crimes."

"Wait."

The three turned towards The Princess, who stood over the spot Applejack had pointed, her eyes closed. She finally opened them, and turned to Applejack again. "You said that the pony, Twilight, had mentioned four other ponies, saying that she, you, and those four were friends in her timeline, and had stopped Sombra?" A nod. "Did she happen to mention who those four ponies were?" Applejack nodded again. "Um.....Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and....uh.......oh, Rainbow Dash."

She felt her blood run cold. She was one of the ponies who was friends with Twilight and Applejack, and had stopped Sombra in the other timeline? Hundreds of ponies had been fighting for years here, and hadn't won yet, but in the other timeline, it only took six ponies, including her for that matter, to defeat him in an instant? It didn't feel possible.

"Soldier 8194253?"

She immediately lifted her head at The Princess's voice. She was looking at her expectantly, her multicolored mane flowling as if in an invisible wind. "I believe, if I'm recalling correctly, that your name is Rainbow Dash?"

"Um........yes, your majesty."

"Um...Princess?"

Rainbow turned to Soldier 794113541, who was biting her lip while looking towards The Princess. "Um..... mine name wast mentioned as well. T must beest the name I wenteth by in that timeline, the nickname mine grandmother hath used for me. Mine real name is Pinkamena Diana Pie, but mine nickname wast Pinkie Pie."

She's Pinkie Pie?

She's Pinkie Pie?

She is Pinkie Pie?

How in the name of Cloudsdale is she Pinkie Pie?!

There were two reasons this fact shocked Rainbow Dash. One: She did not seem like a Pinkie Pie in anyway shape or form, Two: They had now found three of the six ponies who had been mentioned to have stopped Sombra, all in one place. None of this felt possible.

The Princess nodded, letting out a sigh. "Are you three concerned in any sense that you were part of the six who defeated Sombra in this other timeline?"

"I think I speak for all of us," Said Rainbow. "when I say I think we feel we need to find out how Sombra was defeated in this other timeline, so that he can be defeated in this one." She turned to Applejack and Pinkamena, who both nodded slowly. The Princess returned the nod, before looking back to the spot where she had been focusing on earlier. "I feel a powerful magic here, one I have felt before. It seems the map that Twilight had used, was connected to something that I knew as the Tree of Harmony, a source of magic deep within the Everfree Forest, which is connected to the Elements of Harmony, a set of powerful gems which have protected Equestria before, therefore meaning the map was connected to them as well. I moved them back to the Tree after the war with Sombra started, for fear they would be used against us. I believe you three should start your journey looking for answers to this other timeline, by going to the Tree of Harmony, and retrieving the Elements."

The three nodded. Rainbow disagreed with The Princess's recommendation that they should look for it together. After all, this pony Applejack didn't seem all that trustworthy. Soldier 794113541 was fine, after all, they had saved each others lives multiple times, but she just felt wary of Applejack. But, she had learned time and time again, never argue with The Princess.

They watched as The Princess flew into the air, and headed back to the city on the mountain. The three stood in silence, before Applejack spoke up. "So......y'all wanna start headin' out?" Rainbow reluctantly nodded, and the group started towards the dark forest, that held a power that would change the course of their lives.

Author's Note

So.......I apologize for the short chapter. I'll try to make it longer as time goes on. I got Pinkamena's archaic speak from the Shmoop Shakespearean translator. I hope you enjoyed my story. Have a pony good time my friends :derpytongue2:

Edit:
Made it more clear that The Princess is Celestia, by putting some visual cues.

Gems and Beginnings.

Rainbow, Pinkamena, and Applejack, all walked through the Everfree Forest. An eerie howl rang out through the dark woods, but the three continued to move forward. "So........" Applejack said as she shifted her saddlebags. "y'all have any idea what this 'Tree of Harmony' looks like?" Applejack looked on, as Rainbow's face switched from one of determination, to painful realization. "I....I don't know." "Ho friends!" They turned to Pinkamena, who stood at a cliff, pointing down into a trench. "I am not sure, but methinks this might beest the Tree" They looked down the trench and saw a dark light emitted from the back of the trench. The three exchanged glances, before starting down the crumbling stairway.

They reached the bottom, and stood staring at a gray-silver Tree, with a single gem in the center, and crowned by five more gems. Each gem was a deep gray, without a single trace of shimmer, yet they appeared to emit a powerful darkness, seemingly eliminating every drop of color in it's path. Rainbow nodded.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure this is it."

"So.....what are we supposed to do now?"

"I doth believeth that we should beginneth gathering the Elements."

Applejack nodded, and pulled open the saddlebags. Rainbow flew up, carefully grasping each gem, one by one, and placing it in the bags. When every gem had been removed, she landed next to Pinkamena with a frown. "Okay, now what do we do?" She placed a hoof to her chin in thought for a moment. "I believeth we should beginneth looking for the other ponies The Alicorn Twilight hadst mentioned." Applejack perked up. This was how she could be helpful; by giving them their first lead. "I think we should, cause Ah know one of the ponies that Twilight had mentioned. Rarity." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Okay, where is this 'Rarity'?" "Last Ah heard, she moved to Manehattan to help with the cause. We should head there." Pinkamena and Rainbow nodded, and the group headed back up the stairway.

The three rode on the train, each staring out the window, with the exception of Pinkamena, who fiddled with her hooves mindlessly. Applejack looked back down at the saddle bags placed next to her. Her thoughts drifted to the gems inside. These gems could be the key to winning a war that had gone on for years.....if they managed to find a way to use them. She then looked up at the Pegasus across from her, and her eyes drifted to Rainbow's chipped ear, and metal wing.

"So........It's gonna be a while until we reach Manehattan, so we should at least do something more than just sit in silence."

Pinkamena rolled her eyes. "And what art thou suggesting we doth?"

Applejack cringed. The grayish-pink Earth Pony had done nothing but scowl the whole time, and it was beginning to freak her out. Her strange way of speaking did not help. "Well, we could talk."

Rainbow scoffed with an offensive tone. "And what are we supposed to talk about?"

"Well........." Applejack had an idea what to talk about, and it would most likely give them a long conversation, not to mention bring the three of them closer, but she was hesitant, due to the fact it would most likely be a touchy subject for both her companions. She decided to risk it. "we could talk about what y'all do on the front lines."

The two soldiers went rigid, staring into the distance.

Applejack immediately regretted her choice of conversation.

Pinkamena eventually shook her head, and resumed fiddling with her hooves, responding with a cold "Just stuff." Applejack looked back to Rainbow, whose eyes were slowly narrowing into a glare. She eventually let out a cold-hearted harrumph that could have frozen a fire, and turned back to the window responding with "That's not important."

Applejack stared forward at the blue Pegasus. She mulled over wether or not she should keep pushing.

Well, Ah'm already off on the wrong hoof. Ah can't dig myself any deeper.

"Rainbow,"

"Soldier 8194253."

"Soldier.......whatever all those numbers were, you don't have to be scared of telling-"

"Soldiers. Don't. Get. Scared."

Applejack narrowed her eyes to a glare. "Now listen here, Ah've had just about enough of your cold scowls and such. Now Ah my sound rude, but Ah don't care if you're a soldier. You are a pony, just like me. You have nothing to be worried about when it comes to telling me things. Ah have never broke a promise in my life, and Ah promise I will not tell a soul a thing you tell me. Do you understand me?"

Rainbow stared in a mix of shook and confusion at the Earth Pony's outbreak. Pinkamena had also looked up from her hoof fiddling to examine the two. The two stared at each in silence, before Rainbow growled. "What do you want to know?"

Applejack sighed in relief. She may have finally found a way into the reserved soldier. "First off....what happened to your wing and your ear."

Rainbow's scowl softened, to the face of a pony who was recalling troubling memories. She looked down at the metal protruding from her side, and placed a hoof to where a sizable chunk of her ear had once been. She let out a sigh. "You really want to know?" Applejack nodded. Rainbow looked to Pinkamena who instantly reeled back defensively. "Ho! Don't behold at me! Applejack wast the one who hath asked, not me!" Rainbow sighed. "Fine."

Rainbow was shaken awake by a loud explosion, followed by the sound she feared the most, the emergency alarm. She shot up from her bed to see ponies running about. She yelped as another explosion rang out through the barracks. She jumped up, desperately wishing she paid more attention to drill training. She pulled on her uniform, struggling as she pulled the fabric over her wings. She slipped on her helmet, and burst through the door.

She screeched to a halt at the sight before her. Fire spread out around her, flames rising up from the multiple crumbled barracks. Ponies flew and ran about as spells blasted through the midnight sky. She shivered both from the cold of the northern nighttime air, and the shock of the event taking place before her.

She was suddenly flung forward, as another bomb landed on the barracks behind her. She screamed as her helmet flew off her head, as she was flung through the air, and finally found herself slammed into a rock. She groaned in pain, tears streaming down her face. She slowly opened her eyes, before widening them at the sight of her barracks, the place her belongings, and her friends, once were, and the flames that now flew up from it's crumbled remains. She felt her tears coming down like a waterfall, but clenched her eyes shut against the torrent.

She lifted up her head, and winced at a throbbing pain. She lifted a hoof to her ear, and froze as she felt liquid streaming down her hoof. She pulled down her hoof into her line of sight, and stared at the red substance streaked across once blue fur. She turned to the rock on which she had landed, and froze in horror at the sharp edge, which now held a chunk of blue, dripping with blood.

She screamed, but was cut off as a form tackled her to the ground. She found herself pinned to the ground by a crystal soldier, who pulled out a knife, an evil demented grin stretching across his face. She pulled her eyes shut, preparing herself for the inevitable fate that awaited her.

She herd a grunt of pain from the soldier holding her down, and felt the pressure on her hooves quickly release. She lifted her head slightly, and saw an Equestrian soldier, a gray Earth Pony with a flat slightly purple mane, had pushed over her attacker, and delivered him an eternal fate. The Earth Pony looked over to Rainbow, and froze.

Her attacker's knife had missed.

Rainbow stared in horror at the sight. The knife had missed her head, but had ended up slicing her wing clean off. The appendage now lay next to Rainbow, slowly losing color as blood dripped from the wound. "We need to get you to a nurse. Now." Rainbow looked up at the soldier, who stood over her, holding out a hoof. "No." Rainbow grabbed the hoof, and struggled to pull herself up. "I need to keep fighting." "I refuse to let you die because of your own stubbornness. You. Are. Going. To. A. Nurse. Now. Is that understood?" Rainbow stared at the pony, pain overtaking her form, before hanging her head, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Okay."

Rainbow stared down at her hooves, while Applejack stared forward with what she hoped was a sympathetic expression. She glanced a Pinkamena, who stared forward with a look of shock, and sympathy. Rainbow's eyes narrowed to a glare, tears still falling, as she looked up at Applejack. "You can't tell this to anypony." Applejack nodded. "Ah promise."

"Um.....Applejack?"

She turned to Pinkamena, who pointed down at the saddlebags. The farmer pulled the bags open, and stared in awe at a single gem, that flickered with a soft orange.

Author's Note

Here is chapter 2! I wish I could've gotten this out sooner, but things happen. I hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter will be Pinkamena's POV :pinkiecrazy:

Uniforms and Motivation.

Pinkamena walked through the streets of Manehattan, alongside The Earth Pony Applejack, and The Pegasus Rainbow. She stared forward, mulling over the events of the day before. The gem had quickly faded back to a deep gray, and had not yet lit up a second time. The three had sent a letter to The Princess as soon as they got to the train station the next morning. The Princess had immediately sent back, that one of them must have temporarily activated the Element that they were supposed to bear, but who, or which Element could not be determined, as she had not witnessed it.

Pinkamena had a suspicion that it was The Earth Pony Applejack who activated it. She had been unable to determine what Element had been activated, but knew it was not Laughter, (probably not) Kindness, or (definitely not) Generosity. That left either Honesty, Loyalty, or the mysterious sixth Element, that The Princess said was Magic.

"This is it." Pinkamena perked up at The Earth Pony Applejack's voice. The three found themselves standing in front of a tall brick building. It had a small wooden sign over the door, hanging by a single rope, that had a picture of a soldiers uniform next to a sewing machine. "The uniform factory?" The Pegasus Rainbow asked. The Earth Pony Applejack nodded. "My friend Rarity always had a knack with the sewing machine. When the call went out for uniform makers, she went off to Canterlot faster then ya could blink."

Pinkamena raised an eyebrow in curiosity. There were multiple uniform makers. Finding this 'Rarity' would be like finding a Crystal Tyrant in an army............that's actually a pretty bad comparison but who cares!? The point was, they would have a hard time finding her. Pinkamena sighed, deciding to go along with it for now, and followed the other two through the door.

The group stepped into a dimly lit room with brick walls, a wooden floor and ceiling, and a single wooden desk. At the desk sat an older Earth Pony mare with a yellow coat, a wavy blue mane, thick rimmed round red glasses, and a uniform makers uniform. She flipped through multiple papers, not once glancing up at the three. "Excuse me, ma'am?" The pony looked up at The Earth Pony Applejack, raising an eyebrow. "Yes? What can I do for you?" "We're looking for the uniform makers room." "Are you all looking for anypony in particular?" The Earth Pony Applejack nodded. "We sure are. Do you have a Rarity here?" The mare stared silently for a moment, before returning to her papers. "You won't be finding a Rarity here, I'm afraid." "What!?" The three yelled at once. "Does 'Rarity' not work here?" The Pegasus Rainbow said, glaring at The Earth Pony Applejack. "Oh, she works here. This is just her week off." "Y'all get weeks off here?" Pinkamena felt a growl rising up, but suppressed her urge to explode. She let out a sigh of discomfort. "Tis alright everypony. We can cometh back next week." The Earth Pony Applejack nodded. The Pegasus Rainbow humphed. Pinkamena followed the two out the door, before turning back to the mare at the desk. "We thank thee for thy time." The mare nodded, and Pinkamena continued out the door.

The Pegasus Rainbow sat on a couch in front of a small coffee table, across from The Earth Pony Applejack, who sat on one of two matching chairs. Pinkamena stood in the kitchen, watching mindlessly as a dish spun slowly in the microwave. The microwave let out a ding, and Pinkamena flipped the door open, pulling out a small bowl filled with assorted vegetables. She picked up the dish, and brought it over to the den, setting it on the coffee table. She plopped down into the second chair, and stuffed a forkful of veggies into her mouth.

The Pegasus Rainbow let out a sigh, sitting up straight. "Of all the Manticore-smog. We come all the way up here to find a pony two of us don't even know, just to find out it's her week off, so we have to wait for her."

"Rarity's a good pony." The Earth Pony Applejack said. "The time'll be worth it if she's gonna help us."

The Pegasus Rainbow scoffed. "Please. I hardly think it's worth waiting a whole week, for somepony who might just be a fake make-believe goose-chase!"

The Earth Pony Applejack reeled back defensively. "Are ya accusing me a' lying?"

"Why, yes. Yes I am."

The Earth Pony Applejack growled. "Ah'll have ya know, It was probably me who activated the Element on the train, and Ah like to think that it was the Element a' Honesty that was activated!"

The Pegasus Rainbow scoffed. "Yeah right, Tirrar."

Pinkamena immediately looked up at The Pegasus Rainbow, who sported a confident smirk. Every Earth Pony, Pegasus, and Unicorn knew what that word meant. She glanced at The Earth Pony Applejack, whose eyes narrowed to a glare.

"Now listen here, Ah Told ya before, and Ah'll tell ya again, Ah never break a promise. And if ya think that ya can just up and insult me like that, then ya got another-"

"GUYS!"

Pinkamena stood up, slamming her hooves on the table. "Neither of you have any reason to be fighting. Yes, things have gone wrong. Yes, we are in a bit of a predicament as of currently. But, that is no reason for us to turn on each other. Things could be worse. We could have not activated that Element. The train could have not made it here in the first place. Rarity could not work there at all! Either way, we have to be positive. I plan to be the positivity and optimism in this group, because neither of you are..........Pinkie promise!"

She stood panting, the other two ponies staring in shock at her outburst.

A slight shimmering sound caught the attention of the three, and a gentle light from within the saddlebags was the source. The three walked over to where it was propped against a wall, and they pulled the flap open. They each looked on in awe, at a single gem, flickering a soft blue.

Author's Note

I immediately regret thinking I could finish this by tonight. It is 12:15. 12:15 sigh. Well, I'm going to another camp tomorrow, so I figured I should get this out now. Enjoy chapter 3 :pinkiesmile:

Edit: chapter previously called Apartments and Motivation.

Donuts and Attackers.

Rainbow walked silently beside Applejack and Pinkamena. Well, Pinkie Pie, as she now insisted on being called. Ever since her outburst the day before, and the next Element's activation, she had insisted on going by Pinkie. She credited it to that she felt that, since all three of them had agreed it was her who activated it, she should start living up to the name she had gone by as an Element bearer, but Rainbow felt like it was something more. Something else weird she had noticed, was that ~~Pinkamena~~Pinkie had seemed a bit brighter colored than usual.

"What did we come out here to do again?" Rainbow looked up at Pinkie's voice. The three stood in the center of town square, surrounded by bustling ponies and stores. Rainbow sighed. "I guess we just, go about our day like we normally would." She watched as Applejack and Pinkie exchanged glances. "Well, Ah guess." Applejack said. Rainbow sighed again. She just needed some time away. Surely they wouldn't mind. "We can meet back at the apartment for lunch. See you then." Rainbow walked down, turning a corner, when it finally dawned on her that she had nothing to do. She flinched as her stomach growled, and decided on getting some breakfast.

She walked through the streets, passing multiple restaurants and shops. She finally stopped in front of a small building wedged between two others, made of wood that had clearly not been sandpapered, a flat roof also made of crumbling wood, and a single sign, (that was simply a piece of wood that had an image painted on it), with a picture of a donut and a cup of coffee. "Donut Joe's breakfast shop." She sighed, moving towards the door. She stepped through to see that the inside was just as dull and bleak as the outside. The walls were also made of wood, along with the floor and ceiling, and the tables were all wooden along with chairs, and a single wooden desk sat at the back with a bell and a single cash register, behind that was a clearly exposed kitchen with no wall between it and the dining room. The whole place seemed completely empty, and were it not for the small amount of ponies in the kitchen, she would have thought the place was empty.

Rainbow sat down at a single booth in the back corner next to the kitchen. She tapped her hoof against the table, looking down. Finally, a blond Unicorn with a scruffy brown mane and a chefs coat came out and took notice of the blue Pegasus. He walked over, levitating a notepad, and smiled at her. "Hello miss. What can I get for you today?" Rainbow kept her head down. "Plain donut. No glaze. Coffee." The unicorn scratched down her order on the paper. "And, how would you like your coffee?" "Black as Sombra's heart." He looked at her curiously, as if questioning her mental stability, before writing it out on the notepad. "Alright then. It should be out in a few minutes." He quickly went back into the kitchen. Rainbow groaned as she became lost in her thoughts. She had been noticing more and more things differently ever since she had been sent on this excursion. Everything from herself, to the ponies around her, all felt....more important for some reason. She sighed, as she remembered how two Elements had already been activated. She knew it was Applejack and Pinkie who activated them. No way could she have activated one. She had just complained the whole time.

She looked up as she noticed her food had been brought out while she was in thought. She stared at the plain donut and steaming coffee. She picked up the cup, taking a sip.

Tastes like Sombra's heart.

Delicious.

She grabbed the donut, and began to slowly nibble on it while staring off into the distance, resting her head on her hoof. The pony who took her order came out of the kitchen, and glanced at Rainbow. He walked over next to her table.

"You okay lady? You seem a little down."

She looked at him, mildly scoffing. "Why would you care."

"Because I'm the manager, Donut Joe, and it's my job to make sure my customers are happy. And you don't look too happy."

She sighed, swallowing her bite of donut. "You wouldn't have time to hear it."

He sat down on the other side of the booth. "I'm pretty sure you can see as well as I can that not many ponies come in here. I got time."

Rainbow stared at him, having the urge to punch him.

Really Rainbow? You were just talking about how you were starting to see things differently, and now your going back to the same old defensiveness as always.

She sighed, setting down her donut. "I'm one of The Princesses soldiers, and a few days ago, another soldier and I were requested as bodyguards for The Princess on a trip to Ponyville. When we got there, it turned out that the information the pony who requested The Princess to discuss, directly involved the other soldier and I. When The Princess realized this, she sent the Pony, the other soldier, and I, all on an excursion of sorts, to find some answers to what the Pony from Ponyville found."

Donut Joe nodded. "Now, why does that make you unhappy? Isn't it an honor that The Princess trusts you for something?"

"Second question first: not really. I kinda had to help, no matter how much she trusted me, or the other soldier. First question second: I.....kinda feel like I'm not being a help. The other two have already given us leads, and all I've done is complain."

He nodded slowly, resting his hooves on the table. "And, what exactly makes you think you haven't done anything?"

She sighed, slouching down into her hooves. "Because I haven't gotten us any leads yet."

He nodded again. "And, how was the first lead found?"

She paused for a moment, thinking back. "Well.......the pony from Ponyville had asked me about my time as a soldier, and after I told her about it, I said she couldn't tell it to anypony. Then she said 'I promise' and it......she found a lead."

"And how was the second lead found?"

"The Pony from Ponyville and I got into an argument, and the other soldier said we needed to be positive, then the other.....she found the other lead."

He nodded again. "Now, why does that make you think you haven't done anything?"

She looked up at him quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"If you hadn't told the first pony about your time as a soldier, she may not have found the lead. And if you hadn't gotten into an argument with her later, the soldier might not have found the second lead. Right?"

Rainbow looked down thinking for a moment. Applejack had no reason to promise anything until she had said not to tell anypony about her time as a soldier. And Pinkie had no reason to say they needed to be positive, until she and Applejack had gotten into an argument. "Yeah. I guess your right."

Joe smiled. "Now, are these ponies your friends?"

"I guess."

"Then you'll be helping. I guarantee it."

Rainbow softly smiled. She began reaching for her money, digging around for some bits. "How much will my meal be?"

"Please, it's on me."

She looked up at him, and smiled.

No, she didn't cry. That was liquid happiness.

Rainbow walked through town, looking for her friends. She thought they would meet for lunch back at their apartment, but they weren't there. She had been looking around for about half an hour now, and was starting to get worried.

She froze as she heard a subtle sound from nearby. Her ears swiveled, and centered in on what sounded like a mix of somepony growling, a southern voice, and somepony whimpering. She moved towards the sound, and turned into a dark alley.

Three mares were cornered by six stallions. Two of the cornered ponies were Pinkie and Applejack.

Rainbow crouched down, eyes narrowing to a glare, as the stallion in the middle chuckled evilly, speaking with a deep, droned, almost mechanical sounding voice. "Our master will be very happy to see you."

She jumped on top of him, knocking him unconscious.

The other stallions reacted quickly. She looked up to see the horn of the one Unicorn beginning to flare, as the two Earth Ponies and two Pegasi ran/flew at her. She flew up quickly, causing their attacks to miss. The Unicorn's spell ended up hitting two of them, leaving one Earth Pony and one Pegasus. Rainbow moved quickly, knocking the Pegasus into the wall. However, she underestimated his strength, and found herself thrust into the ground, suddenly pinned down by the Unicorn. She called on all her strength as his horn began to flare. She threw him off at the same moment that his spell blast. She cringed, feeling a slight pain sting in her real wing, but ignored it, attacking the Unicorn. She quickly threw him against the wall, knocking him out. She saw the Pegasus come up behind, but she quickly directed a powerful buck right at his face, knocking him against the wall. She stood still for a second too long, as she found herself thrust against the wall by the Earth Pony. He slammed at her multiple times, before throwing her down on the ground, but she reacted quickly, ignoring the pain in her chest, and bucked him into the wall, finishing off her competition.

She stood, panting, staring down at the once conscious stallions. She froze as she noticed something. Every stallion was wearing a helmet, marked with the symbol of the Crystal empire. She sat down, resting from the sudden fight, as her friends came up next to her, also examining their attackers. She looked up at them with a strained smile, before turning to a single Unicorn mare.

"Who the heck are you!?"

Author's Note

Here it is everypony! The next chapter of Leading the charge :pinkiehappy: I cannot believe the amount of views and likes I already have for this story, and I thank you all for your support :twilightsmile: Has Rainbow finally found a way to help her unlikely friends? And who is the strange Unicorn mare? That's for the next chapter, which I probably won't get out until next week :fluttershysad: I really do wish I could get these out faster than I do. But I'll keep doing my best. Have a pony good time my friends :raritywink:

Darlings and Gems.

Rarity sat at the couch in front of a coffee table with Pinkie in one chair, Applejack next to her on the couch, and Rainbow Dash in another chair. She smiled at Applejack, remembering their time together as fillies. She hadn't seen her since she left for Manehattan to be a Uniform Maker, and had finally met her again today, along with a soldier named Pinkie Pie. They had invited her to lunch, but had gotten lost. Then they had found themselves attacked by six Crystal soldiers. Luckily, the other soldier, Rainbow Dash, had found them, and quickly taken out their attackers. After calling the royal guard to get the Crystal soldiers captured, they had picked up some lunch at one of the best Middle Equinern restaurants, and had talked all the way to the apartment, Applejack introducing Rainbow to Rarity. The strangest thing though, was that when they got to the apartment, they found one gem out of six that they had for some reason, was flickering a soft red. It had continued to flicker for a little while, before finally dying out. Now, the four of them shared lunch in the small apartment, while Rarity was delivered an explanation for why the three of them were there, and why they were looking specifically for her.

"So, let me get this straight." Rarity said, setting down her curried oat cake. "You all came here, because Princess Celestia sent you to find me and two other ponies, because you, Applejack, were visited by an Alicorn, who said she was friends with us and another pony, and that we bore the Elements of Harmony in another timeline, and we defeated Sombra?"

Applejack nodded, chewing on a marinated daffodil and daisy sandwich. "Yep. That's pretty much the gist of it."

Rarity placed a hoof to her chin in thought. "I'm dreadfully sorry Applejack, but I find this very hard to believe."

Rainbow set down her food, looking at Rarity as if she was crazy. "We live in a world of magic where the very laws of physics are bent on a daily basis, and you find us bearing the Elements of Harmony in another timeline hard to believe?"

Rarity considered this. "You do have a point Miss Dash. But, what exactly is the purpose of getting all of us, if we don't bear the Elements in this timeline?"

Pinkie smiled, resting her head on her hoof. "We figured, that if we were supposed to bear them in the original timeline, we would be able to bear them here, since the last bearers no longer do. That theory seems to be correct, as we've already activated three of them."

"We came here 'cause Ah recognized when yer name was mentioned." Applejack said, taking another bite of her sandwich. "We were worried that we'd have to stay here for a week until you got back to work, but then we found ya."

Rarity smiled softly. "Now, who's the next pony we should be looking for?"

Pinkie instantly perked up. "There's only one left, other than this timelines Twilight. A pony named Fluttershy."

Rarity looked at her curiously. "Did you say, Fluttershy?"

Pinkie nodded, a smile on her face.

"I knew a pony named Fluttershy who used to be a Uniform Maker. She had such wonderful knowledge of sewing, but she couldn't stand up to the long hours."

Rainbow immediately straightened. "Do you know where she is now?"

"Hm, well.......if I recall correctly, she said she was going to be a wool harvester in Appleoosa."

Rainbow instantly shot up, rushing to grab the saddlebags holding the Elements. "Well, what are we waiting for? We need to catch the next train to Appleoosa!"

"Hold on there sugarcube." Applejack said, getting off the couch. "Maybe you should take it easy. After all, ya coulda been hurt a lot worse than ya were in that last fight." Rainbow looked down at where part of her real wing was bandaged. The Unicorn stallion she fought had ended up singeing part of her wing. Rainbow had argued it was nothing, but they still had it bandaged as soon as they got home. Rainbow shook her head, as if clearing it of it's current thoughts. "I'm fine. Besides, we need to find the others as soon as possible. We can't waste a moment." Applejack momentarily glared at the Pegasus, before turning to Rarity. "Even if ya are fine, Rarity's got a job here. We can't just pull her from that on a moments-" "Stop right there Applejack." Rarity said, holding up a hoof. "I won't have you postponing something as important as this, just because I have to sit around sewing drab uniforms all day. We can go as soon as possible." Applejack looked at her curiously. "Well, don't ya still need to make some bits? And can't they fire ya if ya miss too many days?" Rarity chuckled. "Oh ho ho, Applejack, darling. Didn't The Princess ask you to find the other ponies, including me?" "Well, yeah." "Then I'm very sure they'll let me take some days off, if it's by order of The Princess. And even if they won't give me payed-leave, it'll be worth it to help an old friend." Applejack smiled softly. "Why, thank ya kindly Rarity. That's awfully Generous of ya."

"GENEROUS!!"

They looked to Pinkie, who had shot up, and was currently standing on the chair. "ONE OF THE ELEMENTS WAS GENEROSITY!!!!" Realizing this, the three bolted to the saddlebags holding the Elements, and quickly pulled the bag open. But the gems were each as dark as they had been before.

The four ponies sat on two benches in the Friendship Express. Rarity and Applejack on one, and Pinkie and Rainbow on the other. Pinkie seemed anxious, constantly checking the saddlebags that held the Elements. Rainbow also seemed a bit uptight, in the sense that she stared out the window, looking anxiously for the Appleoosa train station. Applejack and Rarity simply talked, sometimes looking out the window for the train station, but quickly resuming their conversation.

Suddenly, the train screeched to a halt, thrusting the four ponies from their seats. They quickly recovered, looking out the window. They realized painfully, that the Appleoosa train station was nowhere to be seen. "Hey!" Rainbow yelled, getting to her hooves. "What's the big idea!?" The group looked up as the door to the engine creaked open, and the conductor stepped out. "Sorry everypony!" He yelled to the crowd. "The train decided to get weak today, so we need to reduce the amount of passengers. So, only those who can pay a twenty carat gem can still ride. All others have to get out." Applejack groaned with a facehoof. "Great. Any a' y'all got a twenty carat gem?" Rainbow shook her head. Pinkamena groaned out a no. Rarity chuckled confidently. "Oh, Applejack. Lucky for you, I got paid last week, and saved four twenty carat gems." She opened her bag, and pulled out four red twenty carat gems, holding one up to each of her friends. Applejack smiled. "Why ain't that kind a' ya Rarity." They each grabbed a gem, and proceeded to walk to the front of the train to deliver their gems to the conductor.

Rarity stopped in her tracks, at the sound of three foals whining.

She looked over to a pair of seats, where an Earth Pony mare with a lavender coat, a ruffled mulberry mane, mulberry eyes, and a grape and strawberry Cutie Mark, held three foals, each crying into her. Rarity walked over to the mare and her foals. "Excuse me, miss?" The mare looked up at her. "Are your foals alright?" The mare nodded, looking down at her whimpering foals. "Oh, they're fine. They just........" "They what, darling?" The mare chuckled with a strain. "Oh, I wouldn't want to bother you with such things." Rarity placed a hoof on the mare's shoulder. "Darling, you will not be bothering me in anyway, shape or form." The mare looked at her for a moment, before sighing. "Well, we had just gotten enough money to do so, but we were on our way to visit their grandfather for his birthday up in Canterlot. We don't have enough gems currently, and they're pretty upset about it." Rarity looked down at the three foals, whose tears had momentarily stopped, and now looked up at Rarity with raw eyes. Rarity looked back up at the mare. "Now miss, I simply must insist that you take these four gems to get your foals and you to their grandfathers party." She placed the four gems down in front of the mare, who quickly pushed them back. "O-Oh no. I-I couldn't. You need those gems to ride." Rarity pushed them back. "Now, I simply must insist. I will not take no for an answer." "Well......." The mare looked at the gems, before taking them reluctantly. "Alright. Thank you for your charity. I hope it's not a problem." "Please, it's no problem at all." The mare smiled getting up with her three foals and walking to the front.

"What was that!?" Rarity turned to see Rainbow looking at her with an angry expression. "Now we can't get to Appleossa!" "Of course we can still get to Appleossa. We.....we can walk." Rainbow groaned, along with Pinkie.

"Um, excuse me, miss?"

Rarity turned behind her to see four, nicely dressed, ponies. The stallion at the front held four twenty carat gems in his hoof. "We would like to offer you these gems, so you can ride. My friends and I were going on a traveling trip for fun, but after seeing how you were so kind to that mare, we decided our trip could wait." Rarity stared at the gems, stuttering. "W-Why......th-thank you sir." He tipped his hat with a dainty flourish. "My pleasure." He then walked off the train with his three friends.

Rarity sighed, as Applejack placed a hoof on her friend. "Why, that was awfully kind a' ya Rarity." Rarity smiled. "Well, as I always say. Generosity is rewarded with Generosity."

The Unicorn mare was interrupted by a light tapping on her shoulder. She looked next to her to see Pinkie, who dropped the saddlebags at her hooves. In that moment, a single gem rolled out, flickering a soft purple.

Author's Note

Hello everypony! We meet the mystery mare at last, and it is the wonderful Rarity :raritystarry: I wasn't going to keep her 'Darlings' from you that long. Next is Fluttershy, and (maybe possibly who knows) the Element of Kindness. Have a good time, and enjoy this chapter :pinkiesmile:

Cousins and Pink.

The four ponies stepped off the train, onto the Appleossa train station. As the train pulled away from behind them, they continued to stand, staring out at the old, seemingly empty, town. Pinkie breathed in deeply, trying once again to feel negativity. She still didn't. She had been trying to feel negativity ever since her outburst at the apartment. The only emotions she had felt since then was happiness, and occasionally, anger. She had become so used to anger, fear, pain, and sadness in her life, that any other emotion seemed foreign and unnatural. Nonetheless, she still made her best effort to live up to her Pinkie Promise of being positive. She didn't even know what a Pinkie Promise was, but she still felt it held great importance, and could not be broken.

She thought back to yesterday, and how after lending four twenty carat gems to a mare and her three foals, and being lent four more, Rarity had activated another Element. Clearly, it was the Element of Generosity. That meant that the Elements of Honesty; Applejack, Laughter; herself, most likely Loyalty; Rainbow Dash, and Generosity; Rarity, had already been activated. That only left Kindness, and the mysterious Element known as Magic. After being told more about Fluttershy from Rarity, they had learned that Fluttershy was a reserved and secretive Pegasus, who would always come to a friends aid. Pinkie had deduced that Fluttershy would be the Element of Kindness, due to the fact that she apparently was incredibly willing to come to a friends aid. Now, all they had to do was find this Fluttershy.

"So......" Pinkie said, breaking the silence. "How are we supposed to find the Wool Harvester place?" Applejack smiled. "Easy! Ah got a cousin who lives here. He's probably seen the Wool Harvester place tons a' times." She started forward, as the other three followed closely.

They eventually came to a small barn in front of an apple orchard just as small. Applejack went up to the door, giving it a sharp knock. They heard a loud sound of falling and crashing items, as the barn itself seemed to rattle. Suddenly the door slammed open, revealing a slightly banged up blond coated Earth Pony, with a brown ruffled and shagged mane, and a slightly torn cowboy hat and vest. He stood panting, before perking up at the sight of Applejack. "Applejack?" She smiled. "Howdy Braeburn." "Cuz!" He leapt onto Applejack with a hug, knocking her off the porch and onto the ground. He then proceeded to tickle her to the point that tears streamed down her face. She laughed uncontrollably, struggling to form words. "BRA-BRAEBURN!!! WE-WE NEED SOME HE-HELP!!!!" He sat up, stopping his tickling onslaught. "We?" Applejack wiped tears from her face, and pointed towards her friends. Braeburn looked towards the three ponies, but his eyes quickly locked onto Rainbow and Pinkie's uniforms. "Soldiers?" He asked, standing up. Applejack struggled to her her hooves as well. "Yes. We're on a bit of a, um........trip. To say the least. Do ya happen to know where the Wool Harvester station's at?" "A' course Ah do." He said with a chuckle. "Ah've lived in these parts my whole life. Follow me." He began walking toward the far end of town, and the four mares followed behind him.

They stood in front of a small wooden building. Well....it was more of a shack, really. It had a small porch, a door that was clearly coming off its hinges, and a flimsy board with a picture of shears painted on it. "This is it?" Rarity asked, looking towards Braeburn. "Yup. This is the Wool Harvester station. Well, Ah hope Ah could help y'all, but Ah gotta get back to the farm." He began to walk off, but not before giving Applejack another hug. "See ya cuz." As he walked off towards the apple farm, the four mares exchanged glances. "So......" Pinkie said, shuffling her hooves. "We just.....go in?" Applejack nodded, and they walked up to the door.

Rainbow pushed the door open, but as soon as her hoof made contact, it immediately fell off, collapsing onto the floor. "Oh, sweet love a' cherries. That door always comes off." The group looked up to see a cream coated Earth Pony, with a thick cherry red mane in a short cut beneath a camo cap held with a brown bow, and a Wool Harvesters uniform. She got up from her desk at the back wall, and came over to the door. She motioned the four ponies in, before grabbing the door with her hooves, and working it flimsily into the doorframe. After it was mildly secured, (but not really) she got up and turned to the four mares, sporting a wide smile. "Now, what can I do for ya?" Her southern accent was thick, almost thicker than Applejack's. "Well," Applejack said. "We were wondering if y'all had a 'Fluttershy' working here?" "We certainly do." She went back to her desk and sat down in front of a small microphone connected to a button. "Ah'll call her up to the front here." She pushed down the button and spoke into the microphone. "Hello? Yes, could you get Fluttershy to come up here to the front? There's some ponies asking for her. Thanks." She let go of the button, once again getting up from her desk. "Ah gotta go into the back for a while, so feel free to sit on those benches while ya wait." She pointed towards a set of benches, before going through a back door.

The four ponies sat on the benches, waiting. After what felt like an hour, the back door pushed open, and a pony walked through. She was a butter yellow Pegasus, with turquoise eyes, a soft pink mane in a short cut with bangs that filed onto the right side of her face, a Wool Harvester's uniform, and mud and dirt splattered on her face and hooves. She wiped some sweat off her brow, before looking around the room. "Um, do you know where Miss Jubilee is? I heard some ponies wanted to see me." Pinkie smiled. "That's us." The Pegasus blinked for a moment, unmoving. "Um, no disrespect intended, but....why would two Soldiers, a Canner, and a Uniform Maker, want me?" Rainbow frowned at her. "You are Fluttershy, right?" The butter Pegasus nodded. "Well, we've been looking for you. Rarity knew you when you used to be a Uniform Maker in Manehattan, and she remembered that you moved on to be a Wool Harvester in Appleossa. So, we came here." Fluttershy continued to stand there, her mouth slowly forming a skeptical frown. Pinkie inhaled sharply. Why didn't they just tell her why they were looking for her? It would be a lot easier. Rarity looked at Fluttershy curiously. "Don't you remember darling? Your friend Rarity from Manehattan?" Fluttershy took a small step back. Pinkie bit her lip as she felt her urge to blurt out their reason for being there grow. They could just tell her, and it would make things so much easier. "Ya sure ya don't remember sugarcube?" Said Applejack. Fluttershy took another step back, her frown growing.

Pinkie felt herself burst, as she shot upward.

"The-reason-we're-here-is-because-Applejack-got-a-visit-from-an-Alicorn-with-a-baby-dragon-who-said-she-was-named-Twilight Sparkle-and-said-she-was-from-another-timeline-where-Sombra-was-defeated-but-a-pony-named-Starlight-Glimmer-didn't-like-her-so-she-went-into-the-past-to-stop-the-event-that-made-them-the-Elements-of-Harmony-so-Twilight-went-back-to-the-present-but-another-timeline-had-been-created-where-Sombra-wasn't-defeated-which-is-the-timeline-we-live-in-which-is-how-Twilight-found-our-Applejack-so-she-contacted-The-Princess-so-when-The-Princess-went-to-Ponyville-where-Applejack-lives-Rainbow-and-I-were-her-bodyguards-so-when-we-got-there-we-found-out-that-we-bore-the-Elements-of-Harmony-in-the-other-timeline-Twilight-was-from-so-The-Princess-said-we-should-find-the-other-ponies-who-bore-the-Elements-which-included-Rarity-and-so-far-we've-activated-four-Elements-those-being-the-Elements-of-Honesty-and-Laughter-and-Loyalty-and-Generosity-so-then-we-found-out-Rarity-knew-you-when-you-were-a-Uniform-Maker-and-she-remembered-that-you-moved-on-to-be-a-Wool-Harvester-here-in-Appleoosa-so-we-came-here-to-find-you-because-you-bore-an-Element-of-Harmony-in-the-original-timeline!!!!!!"

You could have heard a flea blink.

Fluttershy stood frozen by the door, looking at Pinkie as if she was insane. She began slowly backing up. "Um....okay, um....I should, probably....get back to work." She rushed back through the door, leaving it swinging.

Pinkie stared at the door curiously. "Well......that didn't go as well as I thought it would." She looked to her friends, finally noticing that they were staring at her like she had nineteen hooves. "What?" They all pointed at the same thing just above her face. In that moment, Pinkie looked up to see a strand of bright pink poofy mane.

And then she realized it was her mane.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Author's Note

Well, this should be fun. For us. Not necessarily for Pinkie. Anyways, for those of you who neglected my spoiler tag from the last chapter, you would've seen where I said (maybe possibly who knows) Well, this is what it meant. I noticed that it seemed a bit rushed, since an Element was being activated at the end of every chapter. So, this was how I fixed it. The next chapter will be out soon :pinkiehappy:

Panics and Whimpers.

Rarity sat on the single couch along with Rainbow and Applejack, staring with a mix of sympathy and terror at Pinkie, who continued to struggle with her now impossibly poofy (and frankly unruly) bright pink mane. Her efforts were, or course, to no avail. She had been struggling with it all day, but it now seemed to have a mind of its own. So far, she had seen it flail randomly, move as if it was a drill, become a complete and utter pile of frizz, pull multiple random items that had no physically possible way of being in there that they didn't even know were in there out of itself, explode, move in ways none of them knew it could, (nopony's mane should be able to move like that. Noponys!), so forth, so on. Her mane's abilities troubled them, but the one most troubled by it seemed to be Pinkie, due to the fact it was her mane.

Rarity looked around the wooden den. It was Braeburn's home, where he had offered to let them stay in a guest room while they worked out their "roadblock" as it was, with Fluttershy. He had been incredibly suspicious, since they had come to his door with Applejack hauling a crying and screaming Pinkie Pie. Braeburn was out of town on a delivery for the rest of the day, however, so they had the house to themselves.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! AHHAAH!!!"

Rarity looked back down at Pinkie, who had now collapsed on the floor, hooves over her head, screaming as if she was in pain. However, it looked like nothing was happening. "What is it now, darling?" "VOICES IN MY HEAD! VOICES IN MY HEAD!!!!!!!!" "What are they saying?" Rainbow asked, casually reclining against the couch. "RAINBOW ASKED, CASUALLY RECLINING AGAINST THE COU-OU-OU-OOOOUUUCH!!!! AHHAAH!!!" Rarity looked at her friend suspiciously. "AHHHHHHHH!!!! THERE IT IS AGAIN!!!!!!!! WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME!!!!!!!"

Wait.....Pinkie?

"AHHHHHHHH!!!!! IT KNOWS MY NAME!!!!!!!!!!!"

...........oh sweet cheese. Pinkie?

*whimper*

Ignore this. Just...ignore it. Trust me, this is the least of your worries.

"LEAST OF THEM!?!?!?! AHHHHAAAAAHHHHAAHAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

"Well, on that note, I think I need some fresh air." Rarity said, getting off the couch and heading for the back door. "I'll be out in the orchard if you need me." She pushed the door open, letting it close softly behind her. Ignoring Pinkie's cries through the door of, "WHAT DID IT MEAN BY THAT!?!?!?!?!? WHAT'S THE MOST OF MY WORRIES!?!?!?!?" she proceeded forward through the orchard.

Rarity walked through the trees, taking in the refreshing shade, and the comforting smell of apples. She felt the soft grass beneath her hooves, and finally sat down, leaning against one of the many apple trees, relishing in the quiet.

She flinched, as a soft sound caught her ears. They swiveled, searching for the source of the sound. "Is that....whimpering?" Rarity got up, moving towards the direction of the sound. She searched through the trees, until a soft voice was heard. "I *hic* I-I-I'm sorry Rarity. Oh. She *hic* she probably h-hates me. I-I *hic* I should have just *hic* told her I-I *hic* remembered. Oh...." Rarity peered around a single tree, and saw a butter yellow pegasus, wearing a Wool Harvesters uniform. She had her head in her hooves, curled into a ball. She sobbed and whimpered, tears streaming down her face onto her hooves. Her eyes were squeezed shut, so she didn't notice when Rarity came closer. "You remembered?" Fluttershy immediately looked up at Rarity, her eyes raw from crying. "W-W-What are you doing here?" "I was about to ask you the same thing." More tears began to stream from Fluttershy's eyes, as she stuttered. "I-I-I-" "Don't worry Fluttershy. I forgive you. But tell me, why did you act like you didn't remember?" Fluttershy whimpered softly, before sighing as Rarity took a seat next to her. "Oh, Rarity, I was scared. Wouldn't you be worried if two soldiers came to you and said they needed you? I was worried you guys thought I was a spy or something." Rarity placed a hoof on her friends shoulder. "Oh darling, no. Didn't you here what Pinkie said?" ".......the pink pony scares me too." Rarity sighed understandingly. "Yes. To be honest, she scares me too. Especially now." Fluttershy wiped her eyes. "What do you mean?" "Do you remember when her mane exploded? It wasn't supposed to do that. It seems to have a mind of its own now." Fluttershy looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"

Rarity then proceeded to explain all the abilities, that Pinkie's mane now had.

"Oh."

Rarity nodded. "Now, are you willing to aid us in possibly saving Equestria from Sombra?" Fluttershy looked down at her hooves, tears softly welling in her eyes. "What's wrong darling?" She whimpered. "Oh, Rarity, what if I can't help? What if I can't do anything? I'm just a simple Wool Harvester." "And I'm just a simple Uniform Maker. Fluttershy, you are the kindest, most considerate and caring pony I have ever met. And you are a mare of many talents. You will be more help to us than you could ever imagine. Will you help us Fluttershy?" The Pegasus looked up at Rarity, who held out a hoof to her. Fluttershy reached her hoof up, and placed it on Rarity's. "Okay." Rarity smiled. "Thank you Fluttershy." She said, getting up. "Now, come on. It's time you properly meet the others."

In that moment, a scream rang out from the direction of the barn. "AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! MY IMAGINATION JUST RAN AWAY FROM ME AND CAME BACK WITH CAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Rarity stood still, before turning to Fluttershy with a nervous chuckle. "Eh, heh heh. Don't worry. She hasn't hurt anything.

Yet."

Author's Note

And, here it is. The next chapter of Leading the charge. I want to take a moment to thank all of my newfound friends here on FIMfiction. You have all been so nice by making me feel welcome here. You have motivated me, and I greatly appreciate that. Thank you friends :heart:

Contemplation and Onslaughts.

Fluttershy lay atop one of the many apple trees in the orchard. She lay on her back, hooves behind her head, sitting quietly, the only sound being the soft chirping of birds, and the morning clouds against the sunrise brimmed sky. A loud thump came from nearby, but Fluttershy stayed still. She knew Applejack's cousin, Braeburn, was out working at the moment, and his working at the trees did not disturb her. She often came to this very tree to think and relax every morning before she went to work, as it had a perfect view of the sunrise. This time however, she had not come to think, nor relax, as she was still tense. No, this time she came to contemplate the events of yesterday, and her rather strange new acquaintances.

First, there was Rarity. She was less of an acquaintance, and more of a friend, as Fluttershy had known her before. It had been a while though, and they had a lot to catch up on. Rarity was a nice pony, both incredibly altruistic, and reliable, she was a pony you'd be lucky to have on your side. Some of this may have had to do with that if you weren't on her side, she could very easily lose her temper, but either way, she was a nice and generous pony.

Second, there was Pinkie Pie. She was.........interesting. The first time she met her, she was apparently still having a panic attack over her mane, and apparently more than that. However, over the course of the day, she had managed to calm down slightly, and Fluttershy had managed to see more of Pinkie's real personality. She was very curious and observant, noticing even the slightest details. She was so observant, in fact, that she got "hunches" about the exact thing a pony was thinking. And then some. However, that could be attributed to her new...."abilities". Considering that every time she got a hunch, she immediately gained an incredibly terrified/mortified look on her face, and shrank into her hooves, where she could then be heard silently whispering under her breath, "What is wrong with me what is wrong with me what is wrong with me-" Either way, she was a generally nice pony.

Third, there was Applejack. She was dedicated, strong-willed, and honest. She was apparently a canner from an orchard in Ponyville called "Sweet Apple Acres". Something had come up at one point about her being in Manehattan as a filly, but it was quickly shaken off by the reluctant pony. Overall, Applejack was a nice pony.

Lastly, there was Rainbow Dash. She had a tendency to be brash, but her loyalty to her friends was the strongest she had ever seen. Rainbow was energetic, a quick thinker, and an excellent brainstormer. While she did have her low points at times, what with her harshness that often came off as rude, she was a very loyal friend.

There was one thing, however, that even now, she found herself mulling over, trying to process it. That was the whole "Elements of Harmony" thing. She supposed it was probable, but that didn't mean it made any more sense. She had learned that a few of the Elements had already been activated by the other four ponies. She couldn't help but wonder what Element she would activate. Pinkie had mentioned that she suspected Fluttershy would activate the Element of Kindness. She supposed that made sense, seeing as how it was more likely than the Element of Magic. However, she still wondered how they would be able to defeat Sombra. They hadn't even known what the Elements of Harmony were (other than what they knew about the last bearers, of course) before their little journey started, much less how to use them. She found it very unlikely that they would be able to use them to defeat an evil shadow king of dark magic. Still, they needed optimism. And optimism stated, that they would prevail. Fluttershy, nonetheless, found this thought hard to believe.

She shot into the air as a crashing sound rang out from the direction of the barn. She immediately flew over to the barn, and burst through the backdoor. She instantly reeled back at the sight. Ten stallions wearing Crystal Soldiers uniforms, had broken into the barn and were now attacking her friends. Two Unicorn stallions had cornered Rarity, who was struggling against their magic, while trying to hold them in her own, but failing. Two Earth Pony stallions were holding down Applejack, who tried to kick them off, but couldn't get out from under their grip. Four Pegasus Stallions were struggling to hold Rainbow's wings and hooves against the wall, who kept kicking at them, breaking from their grip every so often, only to be caught in it again. Two more Earth Pony stallions were trying to hold down Pinkie, who kept bouncing out from beneath them, and bouncing every which way in the process. Sometimes she landed on the ceiling, sometimes on the walls, everywhere. She was also giggling while bouncing, laughing to herself, "WEEEE!!!! This is kinda fun, actually. HEHE!!"

Fluttershy immediately yelled out the backdoor into the orchard. "BRAEBURN!!!!!! GET HERE NOW PLEASE!!!!!" She turned around, and was suddenly slammed into by two Pegasus stallions. They held down her wings, as she screamed, trying desperately to get out from beneath their grip.

The two stallions were instantly slammed off her and into the wall by a rainbow blur. Fluttershy looked up to see that Rainbow had broken free from the two stallions, since the other two had attacked Fluttershy, and had knocked out the two stallions who went for Fluttershy. As he other two Pegasus stallions attacked Rainbow again, she yelled at Fluttershy. "GO FLUTTERSHY!!!! NOW!!!" "B-B-BUT-" "NOW!!!!!!" Fluttershy reluctantly but quickly shot up the stairway, luckily without being noticed. She cowered against the wall, as banging, crashing, and occasionally screaming sounds rang out from downstairs. She whimpered, softly, as the loud noises continued. Until at las, a final loud thump rang out, and silence over took the house.

Fluttershy breathed heavily, waiting for something, anything, to know if it was safe. Finally, a voice from downstairs came. "Fluttershy? Darling? It's safe now!" Fluttershy let out the breath she was holding in, before getting up and heading down the stairway. She came into the den to see the others gathered in a cluster around Rainbow, who held her real wing while cringing in pain. Fluttershy came closer to see that the bandage that had been there was torn off, and now a gaping wound spread blood across Rainbow's real wing. Fluttershy gasped. "Oh my goodness! That doesn't look good." Rainbow scoffed offensively. "I'm fine. It's just a little scratch." Fluttershy continues to examine Rainbow's wing. "You are most certainly not fine! Oh. That wound could get infected. Or-or, scratched further. Or worse! Oh we simply must get that taken care immediately!" She began to grab Rainbow's hoof to lead her upstairs, but she was immediately swatted away by Rainbow's free hoof. Fluttershy stared at Rainbow in shock and confusion. "I'm. Fine. Okay? Just leave me be." The other three mares shared a glance, and Applejack looked down at Rainbow. "Rainbow, she's right. Yer banged up pretty badly, and we really ought to get it fixed up." At this, Rainbow scoffed again. "I already said. I'm fine." Pinkie shook her head. "Really Rainbow? You aren't fine. Don't you remember all those times when you found me cowering behind a rock or something with less, and you insisted on getting me to the nurse?" Rainbow sighed tensely, recalling memories. "Yes. I remember." Pinkie smiled softly at that. "Well, now you have more than that. That means it's my time to insist you get that taken care of. So let good ol' Fluttershy help you" Rainbow looked between Pinkie and Fluttershy, before finally sighing. "Fine." Fluttershy sighed with relief, as Rainbow got up on her hooves.

"But this doesn't mean I'm hurt. It just means I'm letting you help."

Fluttershy sat next to Rainbow, carefully wrapping a bandage around the last part of her wing. She sat back, looking at Rainbow with a soft smile. "There you go. Now, just let it rest, and it should be fine in a few days." Rainbow looked down with sigh, avoiding eye contact. Fluttershy looked at Rainbow quizzically. "What's wrong Rainbow?" She sighed. "Oh, nothing's wrong. It's just..........thank you Fluttershy. You offered kindness, and I wouldn't even accept it, even though I knew I was hurt. Just....thank you." Fluttershy smiled wide, placing a hoof on Rainbow's.

Suddenly, Pinkie jerked her head towards the saddlebags that held the Elements. "Wait a second....." She got up, heading towards it, and pulled the bags flap open. Pinkie let out a gasp, and motioned the others towards her. "Guys, come look!" The three ponies came over, and looked inside the saddlebags. Fluttershy let out a small gasp, for inside the bags, a single gem flickered a soft pink.

Author's Note

Here it is everypony! The next Element has been activated, and another attack by Crystal Soldiers has come. Let us see how this plays out next, shall we?

Packing and Apples.

Applejack lay, sprawled out on the couch, staring into space. She had no need to focus on anything at the moment. So, she simply thought. She thought over the events of the last few days. Or, more specifically, the events of earlier that day. This was the second time the group had been attacked by Crystal Soldiers. This time, however, they sent four Pegasi to attack Rainbow specifically. Perhaps this was because Rainbow specifically was the one who took out all of their last Soldiers. Applejack recalled how after Rainbow hurt her wing attacking the Soldiers, (again) Fluttershy bandaged her "scratch", which activated another Element. The Element of Kindness. Now, the only pony that was left to find, was their timelines Twilight Sparkle. And the only Element left to activate, was the Element of Magic.

Applejack sighed tensely, as she recalled that the group had decided to leave Appleoosa today instead of tomorrow, because they all had agreed that it was risky to stay in one place too long.

Applejack winced as a thump rang out from upstairs, accompanied by a rather interesting exclamation of pain. Applejack rolled her eyes. She was already done packing, but the others seemed to be taking forever.

Applejack pushed herself off the couch and headed for the backdoor. She yelled up the stairs, "Ah'm gonna be outside while y'all pack if ya need me!" before heading out the backdoor.

She took a deep breath, relishing in the smell of freshly grown apples. She frowned at the scent. It smelled good, no doubt, but whenever she smelled it, it always gave her a sense of emptiness. She shook her head, clearing the thought from her head, as she heard a thump ring out from the orchard. She moved towards the sound, and came into a spot in the orchard where her cousin Braeburn was harvesting apples. "Howdy Braeburn." He looked up towards Applejack and smiled. "Hey cuz. Whatcha doing out here?" Applejack walked closer to Braeburn, looking around at the freshly grown apples. "Oh, just getting some fresh air." Braeburn nodded slowly, before bucking at the apple tree again, knocking down more apples. "Say, ya wanna help me harvest some apples? Ah could use the help." Applejack cringed slightly, looking once again at the tall apple tree. "Ah don't know. Ya know that's not really my thing." Braeburn chuckled. "Come on, cuz. Just give it a chance." Applejack sighed, knowing for a fact her cousin would not let up. She slowly walked over to one of the apple trees, and stared up its not yet harvested fruit. She turned, and very reluctantly, delivered the softest, most wimpiest buck ever. The leaves simply rustled. Barely that. Braeburn just stared at her. "Come on cuz. Ya gotta do more than that." Applejack stared once again at the apples. She sighed tensely. Why, oh why, did she decide to go outside? She turned again, and delivered a slightly stronger knock to the tree. Applejack watched silently as a small set of apples fell from the branches.

Something clicked.

Next thing Applejack knew, she was knocking down apples left and right, knocking every apple down in one hit. She liked it. It felt good. She smelled the apples. She felt the bark against her hooves. She felt the shock go through her legs, and it all felt good.

"APPLEJACK!!"

She stopped, jerking her heads towards Braeburn. He stood panting, finally caught up with her. "Ya can stop now. You got all the apples." Applejack looked around the orchard. Sure enough, the trees were bare of their fruit, but the glorious smell of apples still lingered. Applejack chuckled nervously. "Sorry 'bout that Braeburn. Guess Ah got a little carried away." "Don't worry 'bout it." He said with a small yet strained laugh' likely due to his exhaustion. "Yer all good. Thanks for the help cuz. Ah certainly do appreciate it."

truth

Applejack shook her head for a moment. "What was that ya said Braeburn?" "Ah said, Ah certainly do appreciate it." Applejack shook her head again. "No. Ah mean what did ya say after that?" He looked at her curiously. "Ah didn't say anything else."

truth

Applejack blinked at him. She knew she heard something. "Ah coulda sworn ya said 'truth'." He chuckled humorously. "Yeah. Ah totally said truth."

lie

Applejack looked at him blankly. "Ya did?" He stared at her with a monotone expression. "No. Ah was being sarcastic."

truth

Applejack shook her head again. Surely she was hearing things. "Ah, uh....Ah'm gonna go inside now Braeburn. Ah, uh....think Ah worked myself a bit too hard back there." Braeburn chuckled again. "Ah'm sure ya did. Ah still got more chores to do, so Ah'll met ya inside later." Applejack nodded quickly, before bolting towards the barn. She heard her cousin calling something behind her, but it was inaudible. She didn't turn back to hear it.

As soon as she came to the barn, she bursted through the back door to see the other four mares sitting in the den. "Where were you all that time, darling?" Rarity said. "We've been waiting for you for, like, ages." Rainbow said, reclining against the couch. "Ah was in the orchard. Pinkie?" Applejack turned the bright pink Earth Pony, who simply stared in response. "Ya remember how you've been getting weird stuff in yer head and all now?" Pinkie scoffed. "Yeah. Of course I remember. That kinda thing is hard to forget. Why?" Applejack glanced back outside for a fleeting moment. "Ah think yer not the only one."

Author's Note

Sorry for the late chapter. And sorry for it being short. I hope you like this chapter :twilightsmile:

Train rides and Rescues.

Rainbow stared out the window of the train, watching the trees and hills roll past quickly. The group had decided that, since they had no idea where their Twilight was, they would go back to Ponyville for now since they all agreed that it was risky to stay in one place. She glanced over at Applejack, who also stared out the window, but with a troubled look on her face. Rainbow let out a tense sigh. She was there when Applejack explained the new-found voices in her head. First Pinkie Pie-but that was a lot more than voices-now Applejack. Apparently, she could tell when someone lied or told the truth. More had tested it. Well...more specifically, Pinkie tested it. She didn't believe it, so she kept asking things. Her questions were...interesting. To say the least. That thought out of the way, Rainbow suspected that they wouldn't be the only ones to get voices and abilities. What would the others get? It couldn't have something to do with a pony's interests. Pinkie had no interest in being like...this, ever. And Applejack had never shown any interest in truth or lies. However, Rainbow still couldn't help but wonder: who would be next to get these abilities?

The train suddenly screeched to a halt, throwing everypony forward. Rainbow shot up, looking out the window for what was wrong. She couldn't see anything, but she soon noticed that everypony was getting off the train and looking outside as screams of panic rang out. Rainbow went outside, followed by her four friends, and she now saw what those who had excited the train had seen.

A winged figure was falling from the sky.

Rainbow didn't even think. She just shot up towards it.

Rainbow flew forward, blasting through the air faster than she ever remembered. She loved how it felt. The wind in her mane. The air pushing against her wings. It was all wonderful.

Then, for a moment, she remembered a time she had gone this fast.

She remembered a troubling memory of a time at flight camp when she was a filly. She was racing. She was going fast. She could feel the air pressure closing in around her. She felt it stop. She felt herself stop. She felt herself straighten against her will. She watched as the colt she was racing burst through the finish line, and she didn't. She felt herself frozen. She could remember how she stayed frozen for days on end. She remembered how nopony noticed. How nopony realized she was there because she was too close to the ground. She stayed there for days. And days. And days. And days. Just waiting for the magic force around her to wear off.

She felt her wings lock up, leaving her gliding lifelessly. She winced, trying to will her wings to move before gravity caught up with her. She felt as gravity caught her in its grip, slowing her glide to a halt. Rainbow cringed.

No. No. I won't let you do it again!

She shot forward, catching the figure. She flew back down, resting it on the ground. She stood still, realizing she did not feel exhausted like she used to when she flew. She felt rejuvenated. She felt like she had set free an ability she never had. She felt good.

Rainbow let out a breath, and smiled. She looked up as the Equestrian Emergency Response Team-also known as the EERT-flew in with a stretcher. They came over, and began to lift the figure onto the stretcher. Rainbow finally took a moment to look at the figure she had rescued.

She gasped in shock. Rainbow knew her.

She tried to examine the figure further, but the EERT had already lifted the stretcher into the air, taking it to the nearest hospital. Rainbow ran back onto the train. They had to get moving.

"What's wrong, Rainbow?" She turned to her four friends, and saw Fluttershy watching her. "Change of plans. We are going to that hospital. Now."

Rarity looked at her, curiousity in her voice. "Whatever for, darling?"

"...I know that Griffon. She's my old friend from flight camp."

Author's Note

Here is the next chapter everypony :pinkiehappy: I hope you enjoy it. Edited by Lyric the wandering bard.

Voices and Griffons.

Pinkie Pie sat alongside her four friends, in the waiting room of the Ponyville hospital ER. It had ended up being the hospital that the EERT had brought the Griffon to. Apparently, Rainbow Dash knew the Griffon, who was supposedly named Gilda, from when she was in Flight Camp. She had been insistent that they go to the hospital they brought Gilda to immediately. They tried to get information from the front desk of the ER, but since none of them were blood relatives of Gilda, the ponies at the front desk wouldn't tell them anything. So, the four mares had been waiting in silence. For hours, and hours, and hours. Rainbow was determined that they stay there until Gilda came out. The Element of Loyalty had also been shimmering on and off the whole time they had been there.

Something else that Pinkie had noticed, was that Rainbow had kept flying. The whole way on the train, and even now in the waiting room, she flew overhead. Pinkie had almost never seen Rainbow fly except on occasion during war, and on their way to Ponyville when this whole thing first started. Pinkie wondered if it had something to do with the strange abilities she and Applejack had gained. Pinkie recalled how after careful studying, she had determined that Applejack could, indeed, tell when a pony was lying or telling the truth. It wouldn't be all that odd, if not for the fact Applejack had never had this ability before, and it was determined by a voice in her head that either said "truth" or "lie" whenever somepony said something.

Pinkie looked up at her own, now bright pink and poofy, mane. She rubbed it downwards with her hoof, in what she knew would be a hopeless attempt to straighten it. She was right, as her mane immediately sprung back into its poofy state. Pinkie sighed with exhaustion at the sight. She knew that, most likely, nopony else noticed, but her new abilities-not to mention the voices in her head-drove her crazy. She gave a slight shudder, remembering all the things her mane had done that first day as she struggled in vain against its poofiness. She would never be able to get that image out of her head. She couldn't help but wonder: what, exactly, was she now capable of with her new-found abilities.

Can you be quiet, voice, please!? I can't even hear myself think!

Pinkie, I told you. I can't be quiet. I have to narrate the story.

Well can you narrate the story quieter? You're driving me crazy! Well...crazier. I think just these abilities themselves are making me crazy. AUGH!! Just...please, can you be quieter?

I can't control the volume, Pinkie! I'm just typing things. It's not my fault you can hear me.

Then whose fault is it?

...I...don't...ugh. Can't you just ignore me? The original timelines Pinkie Pie can handle this. Why can't you?

Because I'm not the other timelines Pinkie! I've never had this ability before! How am I supposed to know how to deal with it?

Learn.

...touché.

"AUGH! We've been waiting for HOURS! What is taking them so long!?" Pinkie's thoughts were interrupted by Rainbow Dash, who was getting annoyed, and currently flew in midair with her hooves crossed.

"Now now, darling." Rarity said. "We simply must be patient. We don't even know what exactly is wrong with this...Gilda."

Rainbow groaned. "I don't care. I'm worried about her. She was my best friend when we were fillies."

Pinkie cocked her head at Rainbow. "Do you even remember how you guys met?"

Rainbow jerked her head towards Pinkie. "Well...no. It was a long time ago."

Applejack sighed. "Don't worry Rainbow. Ah'm sure she's fine."

In that moment, the ER doors pushed open. Out of the doors came a female Griffon whose fur and feathers were ragged and disheveled, covered in dirt, and with an almost unnoticeable touch of purple around her eyes and on the tips of her feathers. Rainbow immediately flew towards the Griffon. "Gilda!" She pulled the Griffon into a hug, but she pushed Rainbow away in an instant. "Who are you?" Rainbow stared at the Griffon in shock. "D-Don't you remember me? Rainbow Dash? We....we were friends in flight camp." The Griffon stared at Rainbow for a moment as if she was crazy, before the look on her face changed to one of realization. "Dash?" Rainbow's face immediately lit up, along with Gilda's. Gilda and Rainbow both pulled each other into a hug of excitement.

Gilda pulled back, looking at her friend with a smile. "Where ya been, Dash? Nopony's seen you since some point at flight camp." Rainbow cringed at that. "That's not important. What's important is, are you okay?" Gilda nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just got dehydrated a bit and passed out while flying. I flew here all the way from..." Gilda stopped, taking notice of the ponies behind Rainbow. "Who are these ponies?" "They're friends. Applejack is a Canner from here in Ponyville. Rarity is a Uniform Maker from Manehattan. Fluttershy is a Wool Harvester from Appleoosa. And Pinkie is a soldier, along with me." Gilda looked at Rainbow with curiousity. "Wait...you're a soldier?" Rainbow nodded with a proud smirk. "An Equestrian soldier. Been fighting ever since the call first went out." Gilda glanced side to side, and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Then you'll want to hear this. I just flew here all the way from Griffonstone with news for Princess Celestia. Griffonstone just fell to the Crystal Empire. I was sent here to tell Princess Celestia that Griffonstone wants to join forces with Equestria. I haven't eaten or rested for days cause I've been flying to Canterlot." Rainbow looked at her friend in shock. "Okay. First off, Sombra's a Storm-Cloud. Second, you need some food and relaxation. Stat. Third, you went too far. Canterlot's up north from here." Gilda just stared at her. "Seriously? It's up north?" Rainbow simply nodded. Gilda groaned. "You're right. I do need some rest. And food sounds like a good idea too." "Ah'd be happy letting y'all stay at my farm while we get Gilda here fixed up." Applejack said, coming up next to Rainbow. "We got plenty a' extra guest rooms." Rainbow looked to Gilda with a hopeful smile. Gilda gave a soft smile to her friend. "That would be great."

Author's Note

Here is the next chapter everypony :pinkiehappy: I hope you enjoy it.

Pancakes and Diamonds.

Rarity lay upon her bed, staring mindlessly at the ceiling. The bedroom she was in was just one of-surprisingly-many guest rooms in Applejack's house. It wasn't much. Just a little wooden room with a single bed and a single dresser. It was still a place to sleep, though. That was all Rarity needed. However, she had been unable to sleep all night. She instead had laid awake with troubled thoughts. Most of those thoughts revolved around the events of yesterday. The group had now met a strange Griffon by name of Gilda. Rarity...quite frankly was not sure what to make of Gilda. She couldn't really tell what she was like, seeing as how when they met her, Gilda had been mentally and physically exhausted. Rarity was sure she was nice, though. After all, she had been friends with Rainbow when she was a filly. Surely she couldn't be that bad.

Right?

"STUPID PANCAKES! AUGH!"

Rarity shot up at the sudden outcry, and got up out of bed. She headed towards the door, pulled it open, and went down the hall towards the stairs. She trotted down the stairs to see a very upset Pinkie in front of the stove, with two half-cooked pancakes stuck on her head; one on the top of her head, somehow sinking halfway into her mane, and the other sliding down her face.

"What's with all the ruckus?"

Rarity turned to see that the rest of her friends, including Gilda, had come down the stairs, as Rainbow rubbed a hoof against her drowsy eyes.

"Did somepony get hurt?" Fluttershy said, looking sympathetically towards Pinkie.

The pink mare let out a low groan. "No. But I was trying to make some pancakes for you guys, but I made them too light and airy, so when I tried to flip them, they shot up and stuck to the ceiling! Then when I yelled at them 'STUPID PANCAKES' they fell on my head!"

Rarity blinked. "Oh."

"Don't worry 'bout it Pinkie." Applejack said, walking over to the stove and turning it off. "Ah got some leftover pancakes in the fridge we can heat up." Pinkie gave a tense sigh. "I know. I saw them. But I really wanted to make you guys something myself." Applejack placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "It's alright, Pinkie. Ah appreciate the thought." Applejack then turned to the fridge and pulled open the door. She pulled out a plastic box filled with multiple pancakes, and pushed the fridge door closed with a back hoof. She set the box on the counter, before turning back to the other ponies. "Who wants some?" Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Gilda, all raised their hooves and claw, crying "I do!" in unision. Applejack nodded, popping off the lid of the box with a single pull. She set the lid down, before turning to Rarity. "What about you, Rarity?" Rarity shook her head. "No thank you, Applejack. I'm not really all that hungry." Applejack nodded, pulling out a few pancakes and throwing them on a plate. As Applejack popped the plate into the microwave, Rarity thought it over in her head. She had the unbearable urge to do something...but she couldn't figure out what.

Finally, she realized what she wanted to do.

"Actually, Applejack, if you don't mind, I do have a question." Applejack looked up from pulling a jug of syrup from the fridge. "Do you happen to have any unused fabric? I'm just itching to make an outfit of some sort." Applejack set down the syrup, and smiled at Rarity. "A' course Rarity. Ah think there's some old fabric that we don't really use in the basement. The door's out back." Rarity smiled wide. "Thank you greatly Applejack."

Rarity turned towards the door, walking over and pulling it open with her magic. She walked outside, letting the door close softly behind her. She turned and walked around the barn, looking up at the towering red walls and the smokestacks above. The sky would have been a clear crystal blue, brimmed with the soft pinks and oranges of a morning sunrise, if not for the gray smoke spreading overhead. Rarity let out a sigh of exhaustion. The lack of sleep last night had only served to wear her out more, along with the events of the last few days. To say the least, the events of recent times had been rather interesting. She had planned to just go out on a lunch break for some hayfries that first day. Being attacked by six Crystal Soldiers and having to be rescued by Rainbow Dash hadn't exactly been on her schedule. No, that was an understatement. Being attacked by Crystal Soldiers wasn't on her schedule for any day. And she never thoughht it would be. But now, possibly being attacked was a constant risk. And every moment they spent in one spot, only increased that risk.

Rarity cleared her thoughts as a wooden door in the ground came into sight behind the barn. She stood in front of it, staring down at the wooden boards, and the single round metal handle. She tugged at the handle with her magic, and pulled the door upwards and away from her. She looked down the long stairway, and into the pitch black darkness below. She gulped, and lit a light spell, before slowly descending the stairway.

Rarity flinched as her hooves suddenly hit the dirt at the bottom. She looked around at the dimly lit basement, with shelves holding wooden boxes along the wall, and the various boxes on the floor. Rarity slowly stepped forward, continuing to examine the space around her. "I didn't realize the basement would be this...dirty." Rarity's voice echoed through the dark room, only causing her to shudder more. The cold and clammy air made her coat and mane feel wet and sticky. Rarity cringed as her hoof hit something wet. She looked down to see a patch of mud beneath her hoof. She let out a whimper of discomfort, and lifted up her hoof, shaking off what she could of the wet and sticky mud. Rarity looked around again, hoping desperately that she could just find those old fabrics.

Rarity let out a gasp of delight as a box came into sight with the lid slightly off, revealing fabrics beneath. Rarity smiled as she pulled the lid completely off. She looked inside at the old, dull-colored fabrics, and frowned slightly. "I was expecting some...not as old fabrics." Rarity sighed, as she pulled out a pile of folded fabrics in her magic. "Oh well. I suppose this will have to do."

Rarity stared at the fabrics for a few moments more, until she noticed that something seemed off. She glanced upward, and realized what was off; the light of her horn had grown more powerful, and was shining with a bright sky blue light. Rarity's concentration broke, and the fabric fell from her grip, as her magic seemed to pull her forward. Rarity let out a yelp as the grip went from a pull to a violent drag. Rarity growled a bit as she attempted to dig her hooves into the ground, which only seemed to make her magic pull her stronger. "Augh! What are you doing? I thought I had control over you long ago!" She truly thought she did. She recalled all the times as a filly when her magic would randomly break out and pull her every which way, before stopping and leaving her stranded somewhere in Equestria. Her parents always tried to figure out what it was, but up to this day it was a mystery, even to Rarity herself. Rarity groaned again as her magic continued to pull her further back into the deep basement. Rarity whimpered softly, pressing her eyelids shut.

Why, oh why, did it have to be a rock!

Rarity yelped as her face slammed into the dirt wall. Rarity fell back down on her haunches as she rubbed her throbbing horn. A slight shock hit her hoof, and Rarity looked up to see her horn had lit once more. Rarity groaned with frustration. "WHAT IS WITH YOU!?" Rarity growled again, before something at her hooves caught her eye. She looked down, and saw a single gem, glowing from beneath the ground.

Rarity blinked as another gem lit next to it. Then another, then another, then another. Over and over, Rarity looked up with wide eyes as an array of gems of all different shapes and sizes and colors illuminated beneath the ground around her, a beautiful and wonderful display of diamonds. It was all so gorgeous.

Rarity looked to the box next to her and saw it held a set of shovels. Rarity grabbed one in her magic, careful not to lose the spell that was revealing the gems, and moved it towards the gems at her hooves. Rarity pushed it into the ground, and pulled back. A chunk of the ground was lifted away, along with a set of diamonds. Rarity smiled wide at the sight, and pulled the gems out, setting them next to her. She pushed the dirt back into the hole, and dug the shovel towards another set of gems. She kept going and going, making sure every gem was grabbed.

Oh, this is all so beautiful.

...Wait...why didn't my magic do this before?

"EVERYPONY!"

The group of five in Applejack's living room all jumped as the door slammed open. Rainbow Dash shot upward, slamming her head into the ceiling. Applejack almost fell off the couch from the vibrations. Pinkie's mane shot upward and caught in a giant pile of frizz. Fluttershy screamed and pushed her head into the pillows with her back half sticking out and upward. Gilda simply sat up straight and turned towards the door.

In the doorway, Rarity stood with a giant grin on her face. "You will not believe what I found!"

Pinkie frowned at her mane, while attempting to pull it back down. "Umm...fabric?"

Rarity scoffed. "Well, of course. But, I also found much more than fabric." Rarity stepped into the living room, revealing the assortment of gems behind her. The group gasped with excitement and shock. "Wow, Rarity." Applejack said, getting down from the couch and walking towards her. "How did ya find those? Ah've had that there basement fer years, and Ah've never seen any gems." Rarity levitated the gems and set them down on the small table in front of the couch, as a slight frown grew on her face. "Yes, well, um...that's the thing. You know how when we were fillies, my magic would always go crazy at random, pulling me every which way?" Applejack rubbed a hoof to her chin in thought. "Ah think so." Rarity nodded slowly. "Well...I think I finally found what it is."

Author's Note

Here is the next chapter. I apologize for how long it took to get out. Some things have come up life wise that are delaying my time for writing. For those of you who don't follow my blogs, I am currently on a semi-hiatus. And don't worry about Gilda. We should see more about her next chapter in Fluttershy's POV. Have a good time my friends :twilightsmile:

Wondering and Gardens.

Fluttershy stared out the window of the train, watching in silence as the trees and hills rolled by. She glanced for a moment at Rarity, who was staring at the large wooden box, which she knew was filled with an assortment of gems. Of course, only they, they being her friends and Gilda, knew that. Fluttershy thought back to how earlier that day, Rarity had come into the house carrying the assortment of diamonds. There was no doubt in Fluttershy's mind that Rarity's sudden magical burst, Rainbow Dash's constant flying, Applejack's sudden ability to tell truth or lies, and Pinkie Pie's rather strange...skills, were connected somehow. If only she could figure out exactly how.

Fluttershy shook her head, clearing the thoughts from her mind. She had more important things to focus on. Like the fact that she and her friends would soon arrive at Canterlot, to speak to Princess Celestia. Fluttershy couldn't help but turn to the Griffon sitting in the seat on the other side of the train, who was currently engaged in conversation with Rainbow Dash, who hovered just above her seat. Fluttershy was no foal. She knew that the only reason they were going to Canterlot was because Gilda was sent from Griffonstone with news for The Princess. That news being that Griffonstone had been taken over by The Crystal Empire, and wanted to unite with Equestria against King Sombra.

Fluttershy grimaced at the thought. Not at the thought of uniting with Griffonstone, but the thought of going to Canterlot. Mainly because she was absolutely terrified of going to Princess Celestia. If somepony had told her four days ago that a simple Wool Harvester like her would be on her way to meet The Princess herself, she would have thought they were completely insane.

She looked agin at Gilda, and could almost feel her emotions beginning to rise up within her. She wasn't necessarily angry at Gilda, she was just...extremely skeptical. She had only seen one Griffon before in her life, and that was when she was a filly at flight camp, and she remembered clearly how that Griffon didn't exactly have a lot of friends. Fluttershy had considered at one point making friends with her, because she thought she might be lonely. That was before the history class at her school began studying foreign history. After they did a short study on the limited history of Griffonstone, then the rumors began. Fluttershy never got involved in rumors, they were hurtful to other ponies, and she would never forgive herself if she spread rumors about somepony.

However, it was hard not to overhear them.

She remembered the mean things ponies had said about Griffons. They said Griffons were greedy creatures, who would lie through their teeth long as they could get what they wanted. Fluttershy had shaken them off. She tried to convince herself they couldn't be true. That they were just more of those silly "stereotypes" that the older ponies always talked about.

But, though she regretted it even now, she believed them.

Could they blame me? She had tried to convince herself. After all, all the history of Griffonstone seemed to point towards the rumors being true. Our history teacher specifically said that after the Griffons lost the Griffons Goblet, they became greedy and selfish creatures, and shut themselves off from Equestria.

I have a right to be skeptical of Gilda. After all, the history of Griffonstone clearly points towards all Griffons being selfish, lying, creatures.

But...Gilda was friends with Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy shook her head. She had no proof of that. After all, Griffons would do anything to get what they wanted. Perhaps even fake a friendship.

"GUYS!!"

Fluttershy was shaken from her thoughts as she was pulled against the train window by Pinkie Pie. "Do you guys see what I see?" The pink pony said with excitement. In the seat across from Fluttershy, Rarity let out a gasp. "Canterlot! Oh, it's more beautiful than I imagined."

Fluttershy stared out the window in silent awe as the city came into view. The castle towers rose above the rest of the town, and the small bits of the stained glass windows that could be seen shimmered in the sunlight. It was all beautiful.

The train slowed to a stop, and the doors slid open. Fluttershy got out of her seat, and was almost run over as Rarity headed for the doors. Fluttershy shook her head as she followed. As soon as Rarity stepped off the train, she let out another gasp of excitement.

"Oh, it's simply amazing! We have to check out some of the shops. All the boutiques, and I hear there's some great restaurants on Restaurant Row! Oh, we simply must-"

"Calm down, Rarity."

Fluttershy turned and saw Rainbow Dash had gotten off the train, and hovered just above the ground next to Gilda. "We're here for one reason."

Rarity cleared her throat, suddenly deciding that the patch of dirt at her hooves was very interesting. "Well, yes, of course."

Fluttershy walked across the pristine tile, the clopping of her hooves echoing through the long hallways. She let out a tense sigh. She had been walking through here for what felt like hours. After they had talked with Princess Celestia, Fluttershy had gone off to the little fillies room, and had been unable to find her way back.

Fluttershy thought back to what had happened when the talked with The Princess. When they entered the throne room, she was delighted to see them. At least...she seemed delighted. It was hard to tell with a Princess who had the universe's best poker face. After Gilda had explained how Griffonstone had been conquered by The Crystal Empire, Princess Celestia had simply nodded, and called for her secretary to plan a time for her to organize a way to take back Griffonstone. Than after a long discussion about the progress that had been made with The Elements, that was when Fluttershy had left.

She had thought a conversation about uniting with another country would have been more eventful.

Fluttershy finally came to the end of the hallway and found herself facing double doors. She shrugged, and pushed the doors open. She stepped through and found herself in a garden. Under her feet was a small dirt path that stretched through the flower beds and under the tall trees. "Well, this definitely isn't it." Fluttershy turned and placed her hoof on the door, but stopped as a sound caught her ear. It was a birds chirping. Singing a lone tune that was beautiful nonetheless. "Well..." she said, slowly lifting her hoof off the door. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to look around for a little bit."

She started down the small dirt path, following the song. She heard the tune get louder, and began to quicken her pace. She finally stopped, and looked up. In the tree above her, there was a single canary. It looked down at her and chirped. Fluttershy smiled. It almost sounded like it was talking to her.

The bird spread its wings and flew down to Fluttershy. It perched upon her nose, and chirped again. Fluttershy chuckled softly. "Why hello little one. I liked your song."

Fluttershy could've sworn she saw that canary smile.

The bird chirped again, and spread its wings. It began to fly away from the path and further off into the garden. It stopped a little ways away and turned to Fluttershy. It flew towards her, and chirped again. Fluttershy stared at the little canary. "Are you trying to get me to follow you?"

If she didn't know any better, she would've been sure that bird nodded.

The canary flew off again, and this time Fluttershy flew after it. The bird wove through the trees for a distance, before stopping in a small clearing. Fluttershy landed right in the middle, with the little bird right in front of her. The bird chirped and flew into one of the trees around her.

Fluttershy stood still for a moment in the silent clearing, until a single sound caught her ear. The tree that the bird had flew into was rustling. Then the tree next to it rustled. And the next, and the next, and the next, until every tree around her was rustling.

Suddenly, birds began flying out of the trees. They flew into the air, and circled around Fluttershy. Then squirrels came from the holes in the trees, and bunnies came from the bushes.

Fluttershy stood still, afraid that if she moved they would run away. The animals stared at her, almost...smiling.

Fluttershy blinked, slowly bringing her out to the bunny in front of her. It hopped closer to her hoof, before snuggling against it.

Fluttershy blinked in shock, as the other animals came closer to her. Fluttershy slowly lay down, as a few birds perched on her head, and some squirrels crawled on her back. She smiled wide. All the little animals were all so friendly. She even looked like they were smiling. And all their cute little chatters almost sounded like tiny voices.

Wait...

Fluttershy shot up. The animals stared at her, a few cocking their heads. One little squirrel came up to her, and stared at her, before looking back at the other animals.

What do you think is wrong?

Fluttershy took a step back. No. She thought. That...that can't...

Who knows. I hear some ponies get scared of everything.

Fluttershy began backing up slowly. A few animals moved closer to her. It's all in your head, Fluttershy. After all...animals can't...

Shouldn't we try to figure out what's wrong?

Fluttershy bolted.

Fluttershy ran into the room screaming. The heads of four ponies and one Princess turned as the butter Pegasus almost tackled Rarity. Fluttershy continued to breath heavily, muttering incoherently.

"What's wrong, Fluttershy?" Pinkie Pie said, crouching next to the crying Pegasus.

Fluttershy continued to pant, as her muttering became louder, yet still unclear.

"Fluttershy, it's alright." Rainbow Dash said, hovering over her friend. "Calm down."

"Just tell us what happened, sugarcube." Applejack said softly, gently rubbing Fluttershy's back.

Fluttershy lifted her head slightly, a panicked look in her eyes. "I-I-I...oh..."

"Everything's alright, Fluttershy." Rarity said, gently stroking her friends mane. "Just tell us what happened."

Fluttershy looked up, and whimpered. "I...I think...I think I found the voices."

Author's Note

Hello everypony :twilightsmile: I apologize again for the late chapter. I know I said lat time we would see more Gilda this chapter, and I tried to work in a scene of Fluttershy and Gilda, but it either didn't work from a story standpoint, made the chapter feel bulky, or ended up feeling short and lazy. So, I cut it completly. I hope to have some Gilda soon.

That being said, we are only about 4-5 chapters away from the climax :pinkiehappy: I am really looking forward to writing it, and I hope you all are excited to read it. cough cough King Sombra boss fight cough cough

Conversations and Cutie Marks.

Applejack sat in a small cushioned chair, leaning against the large round table in front of her that was covered in an assortment of papers. A few of them were typed, a few of them were written. Some of them were in pen, some of them were in crayon. Some of them were labeled "TOP SECRET", some of them were labeled "Grocery list". Some of them were covered in numbers and red lines, some of them were covered in doodles and puffy stickers. It was a strange, strange sight. But none of it was quite as confusing as the pink pony rambling next to her.

"Alright everypony." Pinkie said in a deep voice, adjusting the oversized pink Unicorn cap with an off purple mane. "These are the facts as I understand them. One: I am the prettiest Unicorn. Two: My mane is lustrous and fragrant, and it catches the wind perfectly."

lie

She shook her head as she said the last sentence, flipping the fake mane. "I-"

"Uh, Pinkie Pie? What are you doing?"

Rainbow Dash leaned against the arm of her chair. She frowned skeptically at the pink pony, who stood up in her chair with her hooves on the table.

"Making an amusing reference to a popular game that a lot of readers will get and hopefully comment on."

truth

Rainbow just stared.

The Griffon next to Rainbow Dash leaned over to the blue Pegasus and whispered, "What is wrong with her?"

"I ask the same question every day now."

truth

Pinkie grinned a slightly demented looking grin as Rainbow and Gilda stared at her with looks of confusion.

"Ahem, shouldn't we be getting back on track?" Rarity said with a roll of her eyes.

Applejack nodded in agreement. "My thoughts exactly. Ah think it's high time we try an' connect all a' these weird...abilities."

"So why is Gilda here?"

The group all turned to Fluttershy who, as if realizing just what she had said, began to shrink down into her chair.

Rarity cleared her throat. "She's here because one: Now that Griffonstone has united with Equestria, she is a very important part of this."

truth

"And two: She was a key part of when Rainbow got her ability."

truth

Rainbow cocked her head. "I didn't realize I had even gotten an ability."

Pinkie looked at Rainbow with curiosity. "You never noticed?"

"Noticed what?"

Applejack cocked her head. "Ah thought it was pretty obvious."

Rainbow frowned with mild frustration. "Thought what was obvious?"

Rarity cleared her throat. "I'm not sure if you've noticed darling, but...you've been flying almost constantly."

truth

Rainbow reeled back, as if stung, a look of shock and...almost pain on her face. She scoffed, leaning back into the chair. "Yeah? So?"

Applejack frowned. "Well...to be honest, ya didn't fly almost ever until ya rescued Gilda."

truth

Rainbow grimaced, Applejack a mild glare. "That's...that's not true! I-I flew when I first came to Sweet Apple Acres."

truth

Pinkie frowned. "Um...yeeeeeeeeeah. That's literally the only time we've seen you fly before then."

truth

Applejack had never seen a frown so deep.

Rainbow scowled. "SO!? I-It's not like I'm suddenly obsessed with flying or anything! It's not like I've been having the constant need to fly! IT'S NOT!!"

lie

Rarity pursed her lips. "Um...Rainbow Dash?"

"What?"

"You're flying right now."

truth

Rainbow looked down. Sure enough, while she was talking, she had flown upwards and was hovering just below the ceiling.

Rainbow chuckled nervously. "Uh, heh heh. Um..." She sighed, floating down to her chair. "Fine."

Rarity nodded, satisfied, before turning back to the papers in front of her. Now, I'm sure you all have noticed how all the Elements, minus the Element of Magic, have been activated at least once."

truth

The group nodded. "Now, after a bit of discussion," Rarity continued, "we have come up with an idea of who activated which Element."

truth

She cleared her throat, picking up the piece of paper in front of her. "We are all very sure that Applejack," Rarity said, gesturing towards the farm pony, "activated the Element of Honesty."

truth

Applejack nodded. She had agreed.

"Pinkie Pie," Rarity gestured towards the pink Earth Pony, "activated the Element of Laughter."

truth

Pinkie gave a slight strained smile, nodding slowly.

"Rainbow Dash activated the Element of Loyalty."

truth

The blue Pegasus smiled confidently.

"Rarity, myself, activated the Element of Generosity."

truth

"And Fluttershy activated the Element of Kindness."

truth

The butter Pegasus nodded, giving a soft smile.

Rarity nodded as well, setting down her current paper and picking up another. "That being said, I'm VERY certain you're all aware of the...ahem...abilities, that have started popping up."

truth

Applejack nodded slowly as she heard the all too familiar voice once more. She was just about used to it by now, but every so often she would become aware of it. It...really didn't have a pitch. It wasn't really a voice even. It was more of a mental...sense. She could just hear it in her thoughts, every time she heard a statement of any sort.

Maybe if Ah was around somepony Ah didn't trust, or my little sister when she's done something she's not supposed to, this ability would be a bit more handy.

Rarity cleared her throat, continuing. "First of all, Pinkie Pie...what exactly is the extent of your abilities?"

Pinkie slouched in her chair, rolling her eyes with a cringe. "Oh, everything from a mane that suddenly has a mind of its own, can pull things out of itself, and can...move..." she gave a shudder, "in ways that no mane should be able to, a voice that insists on saying ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS VERY VERY LOUDLY!!!" She stood up in her chair, looking upwards. She paused for a moment, before rolling her eyes. "Yes, I know you can't control the volume, but do you have to narrate everything?" She paused again, before sighing. "Alright, I'll shut up." She sat down in her chair, looking back at Rarity. "Some strange...sights/visions/hallucinations of weird ape creatures, and...that's about it."

truth

Rarity nodded slowly, a look of confusion on her face, before clearing her throat, looking back down at the paper. "Ahem, yes, well...uh...Applejack. I believe you can tell truth and lies?"

truth

Applejack nodded. "That, and a craving for apples, but that's the lesser of the two."

truth

Rarity nodded, looking back at her paper. "Um, Rainbow Dash, the flying."

Rainbow nodded slowly, hanging her head a little. "Yeah. You guys are right. I've never wanted to fly since I was a filly. After I rescued Gilda, it was just...I don't know, I just couldn't seem to help it."

truth

Rarity smiled softly. "And of course, myself. After having that magical outburst, I have simply had an overwhelming sense of inspiration. That, and my magic has actually stayed under control now."

truth

Rarity cleared her throat, continuing. "And finally, Fluttershy."

The group turned towards the butter Pegasus, who shrank down into her chair. "If I recall correctly," Rarity said, "you could...understand the animals?"

Fluttershy nodded, whimpering softly. "It wasn't really like they were talking in Equish, it was more like I could just...understand what they were saying. Like, when somepony is talking in Zebrican, but you've learned the language."

truth

Rarity nodded, setting down her paper with a sigh. "Now, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but...I think that these abilities are somehow connected with the Elements of Harmony."

truth

Applejack sat up. "Absolutely. After all, what else could it be? None a' us had any a' these abilities until we started on this whole adventure."

truth

Pinkie sat up with a nod. "Indeed. After all, Applejack activated the Element of Honesty, then could tell truth or lies. That seems like it's connected to the Element if you ask me."

truth

Rainbow Dash stood up in her chair, slamming her hooves on the table. "But why? I thought we were just supposed to, I don't know, be a lot of whatever that Element was! We were never told anything about weird voices, or strange urges! I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THIS!"

truth

Fluttershy sat up. "Calm down, Rainbow Dash. I mean, it was unexpected, no doubt, but...maybe Celestia didn't know."

truth

Applejack stood up further. "How could she not have known? There were Element bearers before us. Wouldn't they have had those abilities as well?"

Rarity placed a hoof to her chin. "Maybe not."

"Huh?" the group said in unison.

"Well, um...have any of you noticed something...different, after we got these abilities? Other than the abilities themselves, I mean."

truth

Pinkie Pie cocked her head. "Like what?"

"Well...we've all been wearing our uniforms this whole time."

truth

Rainbow Dash nodded. "So?"

"Well..." Rarity bit her lip. "Um...goodness, how do I ask this...Did any of you have a Cutie Mark before this?"

The group froze, staring at Rarity. Fluttershy shrank into her seat. Pinkie Pie bit her lip, twiddling her hooves. Rainbow Dash sat down, a blank look on her face.

Applejack cringed. She knew what Rarity meant. And she was positive the others did as well. How could they not have noticed it?

Applejack cleared her throat. "Um...to answer truthfully...no."

The group stared at Applejack, with looks of neither shock, nor confusion, simply...a slight pain.

Rainbow Dash cleared her throat, sitting up. "Same as Applejack."

The rest of the group nodded, some hanging their heads as they did. Finally, Rarity sighed. "Myself as well. However, I'm not sure if it was just me, but...did you all...get a Cutie Mark along with your abilities?"

Once again, the group nodded.

Pinkie gave a tense sigh, lowering her voice to where it lost its previously cheerful tone. "There is no doubt in my mind that these abilities, and these Cutie Marks, are connected. I just don't know how. In fact, what the Cutie Mark looked like, at least for me anyway, was very confusing. It was a set of three balloons. One yellow, two blue."

truth

"Mine was odd, too," Fluttershy said. "It was three pink butterflies with turquoise on the inside."

truth

Applejack nodded. "Mine was three apples."

truth

Rainbow slouched down with a sigh. "A cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt."

truth

"Three blue gems." Rarity placed a hoof to her head. "I don't know about you, but this whole thing is giving me a headache."

truth

Fluttershy nodded, sitting up. "I just have one question; why didn't we tell each other? I know I was too scared, worried you guys might laugh at me or something, but...shouldn't at least one of us have said something?"

Rarity sighed. "I think we were all a bit scared. The stress of this excursion, along with the abilities, on top of getting a Cutie Mark at this point...I'm pretty sure we were all a bit scared."

truth

Applejack nodded. "Now that that's been discussed, about the whole Griffonstone thing...?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, sitting up. "Right. Now, Gilda, what were the full details on what happened to Griffonstone?"

Rainbow turned to her right, but let out a gasp.

The chair was empty.

Author's Note

Hello everypony! Sorry about this being a bit late. A lot of things have been coming up life-wise, and I've been ending up with less and less time to write. And, I know I said I would have Gilda, but the dialogue scene just got so long that I had to move the scene with Gilda to the next chapter.

P.S. Kudos to the one who figures out that reference at the beginning :pinkiehappy:

Searches and Fights.

Rainbow Dash slammed her hoof into the tile floor with frustration. After realizing that Gilda was missing, they had alerted The Princess, who sent them out with a few guards to look for her. They had split up to cover more ground, but Rainbow had been searching for what felt like hours with no luck.

Why would she just run off like that? Was something wrong?

I hope she's okay.

She sighed, walking forward through the seemingly endless hallways.

Everything was going fine. We've activated five of the Elements, Equestria just gained an ally in Griffonstone, and while it is strange that we all just gained Cutie Marks out of the blue, it can still be considered a good thing in all of this. So why would she just sneak out like that?

She groaned, scraping her hoof on the floor as she walked.

None of this makes sense. All those attacks by Sombra's soldiers; how would he even know where we were? And the Cutie Marks...ponies don't just gain them at random. There's always some "moment of realization" or something. None of us had that...

...right?

"Gilda!"

Rainbow was broken from her thoughts as she heard a familiar voice nearby. She sped up slightly, heading towards it.

"I'm...so glad I found you."

Rainbow could've sworn she heard more nervousness in her voice than delight.

"Fluttershy? Wha...what are you doing here?"

Rainbow speed up more as she heard another familiar voice nearby.

"Well...we were all worried about you. Rainbow was wondering why you just snuck off like that."

Rainbow heard a scoff. "I didn't 'sneak out'. I just needed some time alone. That's. All."

It got quiet for a moment. "W-well...we were all worried. W-we didn't know where you had gone."

"Well maybe YOU should stop poking around in others' business!"

Rainbow stepped around the corner and froze. Fluttershy shrank down slightly as Gilda stood to the point of almost knocking her over. Fluttershy whimpered slightly, struggling for a way to respond.

"What's the matter, dweeb?" Gilda said, pushing closer to the butter Pegasus. "You got something to say?"

Fluttershy bit her lip. "W-well, I didn't mean to poke around in y-your business, but-"

"BUT WHAT!?" Gilda pushed into Fluttershy, standing over the now cowering Pegasus.

She whimpered again, tears forming at the edge of her eyes.

"What's the matter? Are you too weak to even talk!?"

Fluttershy struggled against her tears, stuttering.

Gilda growled, lifting up a claw. "You're gonna cry, huh? Well here's something to cry about!"

A slashing sound rang out, accompanied by a yelp of pain.

"HEY!"

Gilda turned from the cowering Pegasus in front of her.

"Nopony talks to my friends like that!"

"Dash!" Gilda smiled for a moment, before a look of fear overcame her face. "Wha...what did you say?"

Rainbow stepped closer. "I said, nopony," she took another step, "talks to," another step, "my friends," another step, "like that!"

Rainbow stood in front of the Griffon, pushing into her face. Gilda chuckled nervously. "You're a joke, Dash."

"I don't think it's a joke when you physically harm one of my friends."

Gilda paused, looking at her friend with confusion. "Seriously? Heh. You're friends with this dweeb?"

"She's not a dweeb, Gilda."

Gilda stood still, unmoving.

"Why did you do it?" Rainbow said, anger in her tone. "Why did you hurt her?"

"Because she's lame. She shouldn't have been poking around in my business."

"She was worried about you, Gilda. We all were. Why did you just leave like that?"

"...I...I-I get stressed, Dash! Okay?" Gilda stammered. "I just needed some time alone."

"Were we the ones stressing you out? Was what we were discussing hurting you?"

"No! What do you think I am? Some flip-flop?"

"No! I was just asking if what we were saying was hurting you."

"...I'm jealous, Dash! You always got all the cool stuff. You were the best flyer in flight camp. You were the bravest. And now you're even in Celestia's Air Force! You were always better than me."

"I'm no better than you. It's not like you had any worse."

"Of course I did, Dash! You don't know what it's like to-"

"No!" Rainbow stomped her hooves into the ground, gritting her teeth. "You do not have the right to say that! You did not EARN the right to say that! If you want to talk about not knowing what it's like, you're not the one who went through THIS," Rainbow exclaimed, pointing a hoof at her metal wing, tears forming at the edges of her eyes, "and continued fighting in the most brutal war Equestria's ever seen, even after physically losing a part of yourself! I did, Gilda."

The Griffon stood unmoving, staring at the Pegasus in front of her.

"And if you still think you can talk about not knowing what it's like, you can leave."

They both stood still, Rainbow with tears on the edges of her eyes, and Gilda on the verge of them.

"But if you'll apologize, not just to me, but to Fluttershy as well, I'll forgive you. I don't want you to have to go. You're my friend, too, Gilda."

"Well obviously not." Gilda scowled, turning away. She started off, about to turn the corner.

Rainbow stepped towards her. "Gilda-"

"No!" Gilda snapped, turning her head towards Rainbow. "Goodbye, Dash."

Gilda turned the corner, no longer in sight.

"I can't believe what that meanie Gilda did to you."

The group sat at the table in the same room from before, with Rainbow Dash holding an ice pack up to Fluttershy's bandaged cheek.

"I mean," Pinkie continued, "I actually cannot believe it!"

"I can." Fluttershy said softly. "I always had a bad feeling about her. I guess now I know why."

"Well...I don't know why she would just do that!" Rainbow said, slamming her free hoof into the table. "She's never been like this. Sure, she can be a little brash at times, but she'd never just attack somepony."

"Well, I have always heard that Griffons are rather rude." Rarity said.

"Those are just rumors." said Applejack. "Rumors are rarely ever true."

"I've heard it too though." Fluttershy said, sitting up slightly. "Maybe these rumors are true."

"Either way," Rainbow sighed, "we need to put Gilda behind us. She left, and...and that was her choice."

The group shared a silent nod of agreement before the door was burst open and a royal guard came in.

"Are you all the Elements of Harmony?"

The group exchanged confused glances before Rainbow responded. "Um...yes?"

The guard sighed with relief. "The Princess requests you in the throne room. She says she has found Twilight Sparkle."

Author's Note

Hey everypony! Sorry this is late. I finally finished the Gilda scene, and...it still didn't come out quite like I planned. Well, what do you guys think? I hope you enjoy.

Findings and Questions.

Pinkie stared straight ahead as the group walked through the streets of Canterlot. Although her combat instincts had dulled slightly over the last few days, she found her head on a swivel. A quick glance to the rear told her that the rest of her companions were similarly alert. They had all been told to be on the lookout; this part of town was much less pleasant. It was the darker side of the city, on the edge of the cliff that held up the bustling capital. Those who dared go to the very edge found a wonderful view, but precious few ponies actually ventured that far. This part of town was practically a hub for crime. With how little criminal activity there actually was in Equestria, that was saying something. The rest of the city was a bustling metropolis, streets lined with the most elite shops and ponies in Equestria; meanwhile, this part was a gathering place for the most cruel operations and ponies in Equestria.

That was why it had surprised them all to learn that the Twilight Sparkle they had been looking for lived here.

Pinkie thought back to the records Princess Celestia had shown them. Twilight Sparkle's school records, from when she was in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. They had all been dumbstruck. Not only did the records list her as a unicorn, but it also said she had no cutie mark. She had also gotten kicked out of the school for not being able to extract enough magic, and that when she could, it was completely out of control.

Pinkie couldn't believe it. How…how could the pony Applejack had seen as an Alicorn, the one who had magic powerful enough to travel through time-as well as knowledge of things that had been and yet not been-have been kicked out of a school of magic?

"Alright. I think this is it."

Pinkie looked up from her thoughts at the sound of Rarity's voice. They found themselves standing in front of a horribly tattered and torn building. It looked like a single tap would make it collapse. On the door was a set of locks, though by the looks of them, they didn't serve much of a purpose.

"This is it?" Rainbow asked, voicing what Pinkie was sure they all thought.

"Well, this is the address." Rarity responded, a slight strain to her voice.

"It looks horrible. How could anypony stand to live here?" Fluttershy spoke up, sounding worried. "In this whole part of town, even?"

"Ah ain't sure." Applejack said. "Whatever the case, we've come this far. We can't just turn back now."

There were a few murmurs of agreement, most sounding strained. With that, Rarity lifted a hoof, knocking on the door.

Surprisingly, it didn't fall off. There were sounds of crashing for a moment. When it stopped, a magenta aura lit around the door handle, and the door pushed open, ever so slowly, with a creak.

"H-Hello? Who is this? I-I don't have any money, if that's what you want."

The voice was clearly terrified. It almost sounded as if the speaker hadn't slept for days.

Applejack quickly confirmed it, whispering under her breath, "That's her voice."

"We don't want any money, darling. We just a have a few… questions for you."

It was quiet for a moment, the only sound being heavy panting.

"I...You don't work for Brass Tacks, do you? I-I gave them what they wanted. I-I don't have to do anything else for you."

Rainbow sighed with frustration. "We don't work for any crime organizations, okay? We're here by order of Princess Celestia. We just want to ask you some questions."

After a brief moment of silence, the same magenta aura clicked open the locks slowly. When they were undone, the door pushed open a little more, revealing the mare's face.

She matched Applejacks description closely. A mane of deep blue with two strips of lighter purple and magenta. Her coat was a soft lavender, her eyes were a pure violet. Even so, her voice matched her, and she looked as if she'd hadn't slept for ages, nor had she ever cleaned herself up. Her coat had grayed- not from age, but from layers and layers of dust. Her mane looked the same way, along with split ends and loose strands, spilling out of a horribly put together bun. She wore a set of jet black glasses, with a few cracks splitting through the lenses, and her eyes had bags beneath them.

Her violet eyes scanned over the group, quickly locking onto Rainbow and Pinkie's uniforms, as a look of terror spread across her face.
"I-I-I didn't do anything wrong. D-Don't arrest me, please. I-I-"

"Darling, calm down. You're fine. We're not going to hurt you, and we're not going to arrest you. We only want you to tell us some details about yourself, all right? You can trust us, okay?"

She stood for a moment, panting heavily, before finally biting her lip and pushing the door open fully. "O-Okay."

The inside was just as big a mess as the outside. It consisted of one room, barely big enough for a whole house, with a single, bare, torn-up cot in one corner, a scratched desk piled up to the ceiling with papers in the other, and one small table in the center covered with ages worth of Chineighse takeout boxes.

Twilight closed the door behind them and took a seat at the table. There were no chairs around it, so she sat on the floor. Hesitantly, the other five mares followed.

Twilight looked down at her hooves, avoiding eye contact. "I-I apologize about the mess. I, um… don't get a lot of company. So... what do you want to know?"

"Well..." Rarity started. "You went to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, right?"

Twilight bit her lip, visibly tensing at the question. "Y-Yes. I did."

Rainbow spoke up without hesitation. "You got kicked out though, right?" Rarity shot a look at Rainbow, who simply shrugged.
Twilight once again looked down. "Yes. They said my magic was too dangerous and out of control… but… when I took the final test to get in..."

Rarity leaned in slightly. "Yes?"

"...they gave me a Dragon egg. They told me to get in I had to hatch it. I was terrified. I had attempted spells before, but never something like that. I tried. I tried with all my heart. But in the end...all I got out was a few small sparks. It turned out that the test was just to see if I had the determination to try. I got in, but… ever since then… I've always felt that it wasn't supposed to happen like that. I've always felt that something went wrong that day. I've spent the whole rest of my life studying… trying, desperately trying, to figure out what went wrong."

"H-Have you figured it out?" Pinkie found herself speaking up. This could be what they needed.

"No. All my work has been in vain. All I've gotten out of it is a few vague readings and many, many enemies."

Pinkie sighed. So close.

"One more question." Rarity said. "What do you know about... time travel?"

With that, Twilight perked up. "Well, I haven't really done any studies on it, but from what I know, there's only one spell capable of it, and that one only goes back a few days. Why?"

The other five shared a knowing glance, before Rarity looked back to Twilight.

"We think we can figure out what went wrong that day."

Author's Note

Derp. Yes, this thing updated. After writing this chapter, I've gotten more of an interest in the story. Especially since we're approaching the climax. I'll do my best to get the next chapter out sooner than it took to get this one. Enjoy!

Tears and Reunions.

Rarity sighed, resting her head in her hooves. She stared at Twilight as she looked down, processing what she had just been told.

"So...let me get this straight," Twilight said. "You, Applejack, met an ALICORN who looked just like me and said she was a time traveler?"

Applejack nodded.

"And that Alicorn also said that she was from a different timeline where we are the Elements of Harmony?"

Applejack nodded again.

"That'd be right."

Twilight shook her head, once again looking down.

"I'm sorry, this is all just very hard to believe. First of all, only Starswirl the Bearded was capable of time travel, and his spell only went back a few days. Second of all, the theory that alternate timelines actually exist is highly improbable. And finally, how to do I know you all aren't just lying to lure me into some sort of trap?"

"What!?!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "Okay, first off, she was an Alicorn. Starswirl wasn't. Second, this isn't just some theory. This something an actual pony actually saw. And third, we showed you the paper that says the Princess authorized us coming here!"

At that, Twilight looked down at her hooves.

"If I've learned one thing, it's that ponies can't be trusted. Not even Celestia."

"Ah'm sorry, but Ah'll have to disagree with ya on that," Applejack said, sitting up. "Ah'll admit there are a lot a' ponies who'll lie, and cheat, and con innocent ponies. But if Ah've learned somethin’, it's that there are still good ponies in this world. And the nice thing to do is to give 'em the benefit a' the doubt."

Twilight glanced up at Applejack with a glare.

"I've given enough ponies the benefit of the doubt to learn that it backfires. I refuse to be taken advantage of again. Besides...Celestia has good reason to arrest me if she wanted to."

Pinkie cocked her head.

"What do you mean by that?"

Twilight whipped her head towards Pinkie.

"Don't expect me to tell YOU. I see what you're trying to do, and I WON'T fall for it!"

Rarity finally lifted her head.

"Darling, we're not trying to get you arrested, nor are we trying to lure you into anything. We're stating fact. Besides, with what we've told you, wouldn't it be worth the risk if it might stop King Sombra once and for all?"

Twilight looked down in silence.

"We're not going to force you. If you don't want to go… we understand."

At that, her friends all turned towards Rarity, each with varying expressions of ‘why would you say that?’

"You have a point, I'll admit that,” Twilight sighed. “Still...I've lost too much to risk being caught again."

Fluttershy tilted her head.

"What do you mean?"

"Why would any of you care? It's everypony for themselves these days."

Rainbow sighed tensely.

"I'll have to disagree you on that. I'll admit, I used to think the same way, but… if there's one thing I've learned from my time in the war, and from what I've been through recently, it's that, like Applejack said, there are still good ponies in this world. And you never abandon a friend."

Twilight stared downwards, a dead expression on her face. Finally, she looked up with a sigh.

"Assuming all this is true… why us? Why us six, of all ponies? Most of us haven't even met each other before this point, yet supposedly we're destined to use the Elements of Harmony together to defeat King Sombra… why?"

At that, the five were in silence, each trying to think of a way to answer such a question. Finally, Rarity spoke up.
"Honestly… we don't really know. What we do know, however, is that over the last few days, we've shared laughs, we've grown to trust each other, we've defended one another, we've helped one another, we've grown a bond… as friends. We also know that we have hope we can defeat Sombra… if we just do it together."

Twilight stared at Rarity, a thin layer of tears forming in her eyes.

"You know… I never did understand ponies like you. Assuming all of what you’re saying is true, that is. You all stand together… each of you putting each other before yourselves… even with everything going on in this world, even knowing how many ponies would take advantage of such a thing… you still hold strong to your friendship… you still hold strong to your friends..."

She took off her glasses, wiping them off with a cloth, before putting them back on with a sigh.

"...how do you do it? How do you hold on to friendship in a world like this?"

To the others’ surprise, Pinkie was the one to answer instantly.

"We didn't, for a while. I'm pretty sure we all used to be like you not too long ago… me especially. After everything that had happened, I honestly thought friendship was just some stupid thing foolish ponies used to try and ignore the world around them. True, I defended my fellow soldiers, but… I didn't do it because of a bond. I did it because I had learned it was just… what you do in Celestia's army. Outside of fighting, I didn't give two bits about them. Now though...I've realized something. I think we all have. It's true there are mean, cruel ponies out there who'll take advantage of a so-called friendship, but it's also true that a real, pure friendship, is a very powerful thing. Worlds more powerful than a fake one."

Twilight looked down, the tears finally falling down her face. She sniffed, looking up.

"Alright… I'll go. Just… give me some time to grab my things.”

The six mares sat in silence, waiting for Celestia to come in. Day court had ran over that day, so it felt like it was taking ages for her to come.

Finally, the door handle lit up with a golden light, and the door pushed open, revealing the Princess who stood with undeniable regality. As soon as the door opened, Twilight sat up straight staring forward at Celestia, unmoving. As she did, tears began to well up in her eyes.

Finally, the Princess spoke, "Hello, Twilight."

At that, her tears broke forth and Twilight ran forward, throwing all manners out the window and falling at Princess Celestia's hooves, crying out between sobs, "I-I'm sorry, Princess. I'm s-so so s-sorry for e-everything."

The Princess immediately sat down, draping a wing over the pony in front of her.

"It's okay, Twilight. It’s okay.”

Author's Note

I had fun writing this one. EMOTIONAL DRAMA!!!! :raritydespair: