“Alright, let’s stick together. We don’t know how long this cave is,” said Applejack.
Inside the cave, the sound of dripping water reminded the ponies inside to stay sharp. They had a lot of visibility with Rarity’s magic, but the ceiling was way too high to be illuminated. The cave had one way in and one way out, if something surprised them from behind, it was all over. After almost one hour, deep inside the cave, everypony was feeling uneasy.
“This cave seems to get darker and darker,” hinted Fluttershy.
“AAAAGGGHHH” shouted Rarity, “Did anypony saw that?”
“It’s just the shadow of a rock Rarity,” Applejack sighed.
“Great, now we’re starting to see crazy illusions. What’s next? Giant spiders?” Rainbow Dash said sarcastically.
Coincidentally, the sound of distant steps alerted everypony, they all prepared themselves for the worst as the sound got closer and closer. But what came out of the shadows, was something that nopony expected.
“Scootaloo?” shouted Applejack. “But how, why, what?”
“It’s so good to see other ponies!” smiled Scootaloo.
“How in Equestria did you get over here?” questioned Applejack.
“I was passing by the Everfree Forest when the blizzard started, I tried to make my way back to Ponyville but I got lost. Until I heard a loud noise.”
“That’s when all the snow collapsed under our hooves!” acknowledged Pinkie Pie.
“And that’s when I discovered the cave too, so I climbed down here to escape the weather.” continued Scootaloo. “It was so cold that I had to come all the way down here and-”
“I knew you were going to be fine Scoots!” Rainbow Dash hugged the little Pegasi.
“Thanks,b – but can you stop hug-”
“Rainbow Dash! You are squeezing her too hard!” hinted Rarity.
“Oops, sorry,” Rainbow Dash released Scootaloo. “Anyways, did you find anything by the end of the cave Scoots?”
“I actually didn’t get too deep in there. I started to feel uneasy.”
“Don’t worry, we are all feeling the same way,” said Fluttershy.
“No, it’s something else, as much as I wanted to keep going, something tells me to go back,” explained Scootaloo.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get to the end of this cave together,” promised Applejack.
“But what about the Clock Tower?” remembered Rarity.
“Something weird is going on inside this cave. We need to check it out,” claimed Applejack. “Look at all these torches, look at what we are feeling right now. This place is not normal. I say that we should go to the end of this place, maybe we’ll even find an answer to this blizzard!”
“We are supposed to be looking out for survivors AJ,” argued Rainbow Dash.
“And for a solution to this blizzard,” pointed Applejack.
“Or, we can just split up. Some of us can go to the Clock Tower, while the others explore the end of this cave,” advised Rarity.
“Don’t you remember what I just said? We need to stick together!” exclaimed Applejack.
Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were observing the heated conversation from far away, suddenly Fluttershy realized something.
“Wait, where’s Scootaloo?” she yelled.
Everypony looked around, but Scootaloo was gone.
“Where did she go?” said Rainbow Dash.
“She didn’t come through here,” mentioned Fluttershy.
“So that means,” Rarity got the chills. “Scootaloo went deeper inside the cave?”
“Well, at least now we know where we are going,” told Applejack.
------OO------
“Crystals?” said Fluttershy.
“Crystals!” repeated Rarity. “Strange, I don’t recognize them.”
“They look just like any other crystal to me,” muttered Applejack.
Rarity’s magic suddenly started to fade away.
“Uh, Rarity? Are you okay?” asked Fluttershy.
“Yes, but I don’t know what’s going on with my magic!”
Darkness.
“Great, now what do we do?” wondered Applejack. “I’m surprised that none of us thought of bringing a little light.”
“Welcome, little ponies,” said a deep and familiar voice.
Suddenly, all the torches inside the cave lighted up, revealing the end of the cave. A large room with a couple of wooden seats surrounding a big stone table at the center.
“What in Equestria is this place?” exclaimed Fluttershy.
A dark shadow appeared at the other side of the room.
“Sombra!?” observed Rainbow Dash.
The long defeated Sombra was not the same, he put his body back together piece by piece, he was looking like shattered glass.
“Finally!” shouted Scootaloo, trapped inside a crystal beside Sombra.
“You get him out of there right now!” raged Rainbow Dash.
“Are you causing all this blizzard?” asked Applejack.
“Maybe, why don’t you come here to find out?” answered Sombra.
“Darn it! If only Twilight was here we could use the Elements of Harmony!” said Applejack.
“Alright, that’s it!” Rainbow Dash took off.
“No! Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy protested.
Rainbow Dash flanked Sombra from the right side, just as she was going to kick him, a dark crystal blocked the attack. Sombra teleported behind her and with one punch, Rainbow Dash was sent back to her friends.
“Fluttershy, take care of her!” ordered Applejack as she charged Sombra.
“I shall go too!” shouted Rarity.
Sombra summoned more crystals to block Applejack, but she charged right through them. As Applejack and Rarity got closer, Sombra launched a lot of small crystals in their direction. Rarity cast a shield spell and blocked everything.
“Can your shield stop this?” Sombra cast a shadow spell, wich passed right through Rarity’s shield, immobilizing Applejack and Rarity.
“Surprise!” Pinkie Pie appeared behind Sombra with her party cannon, aiming it at his face.
Sombra teleported behind Pinkie Pie before she fired and grabbed her leg with one of his shadows, throwing her into the wall.
“Alright, now, where’s that other pony-” Sombra got surprised.
“How dare you!” Fluttershy kicked Sombra in the stomach with all her force, sending him to the ground.
Fluttershy took the opportunity to break the crystal and release Scootaloo.
“Go! Just get out of here!” exclaimed Fluttershy.
Scootaloo never saw Fluttershy so angry before. But he had no time to think, he quickly made his way to Applejack and Rarity.
“How can I release the both of you?” asked Scootaloo.
“No! Just get out of here!” protested Rarity.
Applejack only nodded, Scootaloo finally decided to exit the room. Fluttershy was still fighting with Sombra, after getting hit, he summoned more shadows to catch Fluttershy, she almost evaded the attack, one shadow managed to grab her mane. Sombra wasted no time and teleported in front of Fluttershy, making eye contact.
“I won,” Sombra cheered.
Fluttershy just sat there, completely distracted by Sombra’s illusion.
------OO------
“Princess Celestia! Please take a look at this picture!” Mayor Mare explained.
“Sombra? But how?” Princess Celestia gasped.
“He looks a little bit different,” pointed Twilight.
“This photo was taken by a Pegasi, she coming to visit her parents in Ponyville today, this picture was taken between Sweet Apple Acres and the Everfree Forest,” said Mayor Mare.
“Sweet Apple Acres?” Twilight started to get worried. “That’s where my friends went!”
“This is not good, we are going. Now,” affirmed Princess Celestia. “I’m going to tell Luna, she’ll take care of our barriers.”
Scootaloo was running as fast as possible to the exit. She knew that the mane 5 was in deep trouble.
“Where can I find help? This blizzard is going to kill me if I leave the cave,” Scootaloo thought. “What if Sombra succeeded on his plans? What if Fluttershy got defeated and Sombra was coming after me? What if-”
She shook her head.
“No, stop thinking about such things! Just stay focused,” exclaimed Scootaloo, closing her eyes.
Just as she said that, something bumped into her. It was Princess Celestia and Twilight.
“Scootaloo? What are you doing here?” asked Twilight.
“There’s no time to explain! Your friends are fighting Sombra down there, go help them!” explained Scootaloo.
“Alright, you can stay here,” said Princess Celestia.
“Just be careful!” advised Scootaloo as she saw the two Princesses charging deeper into the cave.
It didn’t take long until they reached the room where Sombra was.
“Alright Twilight, go take care of the Elements of Harmony, I’ll keep him busy,” announced Princess Celestia.
Twilight looked around, Rainbow Dash was unconscious and Pinkie Pie was still awake, but very hurt.
“Rainbow Dash? Come on wake up!” yelled Twilight.
“Eugh, what happened Twilight?” said Rainbow Dash with a weak voice.
“Good, just stay here. I need to get the rest of us together,” she answered.
Princess Celestia flanked Sombra and hit him on the head with a laser. He teleported behind Celestia and tried to grab her with one of his shadows, but she was quicker and defended the attack with a magical shield. Princess Celestia quickly prepared another spell and launched a powerful laser into Sombra’s direction, hitting him directly to the ground.
“Now Twilight!” exclaimed Princess Celestia.
Twilight managed to get her friends together just in time. The mane 6 launched the rainbow-colored attack and destroyed Sombra once again.
“This time, I’ll take care of his fragments,” commented Princess Celestia.
Everypony celebrated.
“We did it!” yelled Pinkie Pie.
“Well of course,” said Rarity.
“Awww yeah!” cheered Rainbow Dash.
“That’s good,” calmly said Fluttershy.
“Thanks for the help,” said Applejack as she approached Twilight. “How did you found us anyways?”
“We tracked Rarity’s magic,” explained Twilight. “But I don’t know anything about this cave.”
“I remember this place, from a long time ago. It was part of a small group of ponies with great ideas and this cave was their meeting place,” described Princess Celestia. “A lot of inventions were discussed here. But as time passed, this place started to get abandoned.”
“You did it!” exclaimed Scootaloo, entering the room. “The blizzard outside disappeared!”
“Wait, if it was Sombra behind all this storm, then why didn’t Princess Celestia realized it earlier?” wondered Twilight.
“By the looks of it, this room has magical barriers wich camouflages magic, they are very rare and were cast a long time ago by the same ponies who attended this place. I imagine that’s how Sombra cloaked his magic,” responded Princess Celestia.
The sun was shining and the birds were singing. The feeling of summer was back. Everypony exited the cave and looked up at the blue sky.
“This is so much better!” happily said Rainbow Dash.
“Indeed,” affirmed Rarity.
“The air is so refreshing,” smiled Fluttershy.
Twilight saw Princess Celestia in the corner of the entrance to the cave.
“Yes, we did it. You can stop the barriers now,” mumbled Princess Celestia.
“What are you doing?” asked Twilight.
“Just telling Cadance and Luna about our success. I must say, Ponyville has a lot of surprises. I should visit you more frequently.”
“I know right?” giggled Twilight.
“Alright, who is ready for another picnic?” exclaimed Applejack.
“Are you kidding me? I haven’t eaten anything last time. Show me what you got!” teased Rainbow Dash. “Care to join us, Princess Celestia?”
“Of course!” Princess Celestia’s eyes sparkled.
After being teleported to the top of the ravine, everypony walked back to Ponyville through the green fields, as they took a moment to admire the sunset.
Chapter 1: Journey to the Unknown
“Another beautiful day,” mumbled Princess Celestia.
She got up from her bed and prepared for the day ahead of her.
“The carriage is ready your highness,” said a Royal Guard after knocking on her door.
She quickly exited the room and headed downstairs to the kitchen.
“Apple?” asked Princess Luna at the other side of the table.
“Sorry, but I’m in a hurry to visit Ponyville today.”
“Bussiness?” Luna smirked.
“Kind of, it’s more of a friendly visit.”
“And you want me to take care of Canterlot while you’re there?”
“Yes. But don’t worry, I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Not one minute more.”
“Promise.” assured Princess Celestia.
She headed outside where her carriage was set. Princess Celestia wasted no time and ordered the two Pegasi to take off.
Ponyville is only a few minutes away, while on her way there, Celestia realized that she didn’t tell anypony besides Mayor Mare that she was visiting the town.
“I should tell Twilight too, I have not seen her in quite some time,” she thought while picking up the quill and scroll.
After a smooth landing, she exited the carriage to greet Twilight Sparkle. She could barely reach her student because of the huge crowd of ponies around her.
”Got tired of your paperwork or something?” Twilight giggled.
“Actually, I have some business to take care of with Mayor Mare. But I’ll make sure to visit you later. After all, you are a very dedicated student.”
“Then good luck. If you need anything, you know where to find me.”
Most ponies decided to follow Princess Celestia to the Town Hall. And suddenly, Twilight heard a familiar voice behind her.
“Twilight?” greeted Rarity.
“Oh, hello again Rarity.”
“You didn’t forget the picnic right? After you received the message from Princess Celestia, you just sprinted back to the center of Ponyville. We were supposed to hang out today.”
“Right, right. Sorry for taking too long.”
Both mares headed back to Ponyville Park, where her friends were laying down under the summer sun.
“There she is!” shouted Pinkie Pie.
“Did it really take that long to greet the Princess?” said Applejack.
“She was a little bit late, you know how it is,” explained Twilight.
“I don’t think one hour is ‘A little bit late’ sugarcube.”
“At least she is here. Now come on, let’s just eat already!” said a very hungry Rainbow Dash.
------OO------
“Thanks for helping me with all this paperwork Princess!” exclaimed Mayor Mare.
“Don’t worry, we all need a little help from time to time.”
“You don’t come here to Ponyville that often, so it's nice to have you here on such a fine day.”
“I just don’t like to interrupt my student too much. But I do visit her from time to time. So I might as well help you out with the assignments.”
After two hours or so, Princess Celestia finally finished her part of the papers. She got up from the comfy chair and took her time to look out the window.
“The weather has been getting weird outside, did you noticed it?” said Princess Celestia.
“What do you mean?” Mayor Mare looked outside the window. “W-where did that come from?”
The bright and blue sky turned into a big, gray and scary storm. A little bit of Snow started to fall from the clouds. It didn't take a lot of time
until the picnic back at Ponyville Park was interrupted.
“What in Celestia’s name is going on?” shouted Rarity.
“I don’t know but we need to get out of here!” said Fluttershy
“Come on, to the Town Hall!” ordered Twilight.
“I didn’t even get to enjoy the food…” said Rainbow Dash, disappointed.
The mane six rapidly entered the Town Hall, it was already filled with a lot of other ponies.
“Well, so much for our picnic,” mumbled Pinkie Pie.
“Everypony’s day was ruined,” admitted Fluttershy. “Good thing I have a basement especially made for hibernation. My animals should be safe there.”
“Some weather pony is gonna pay for my apples if this weird storm doesn’t disappear soon!” muttered Applejack.
“Calm down everypony, Princess Celestia is here at the Town Hall, she can help us.” acknowledged Twilight.
Princess Celestia was still inside Mayor Mare’s office, looking out the window. Mayor Mare just got back from talking with a couple of assistants.
“The weather ponies didn’t say anything about this,” explained Mayor Mare.
“I don’t think it’s their fault, how is the temperature outside?”
“I heard it’s about -60 Celsius, or -76 Fahrenheit.”
“What? The ponies must be freezing out there, hold on.”
Princess Celestia started to cast a telepathy spell.
“Luna, we have a problem,” declared Celestia.
“Indeed, we have a problem.”
“What?”
“This blizzard came out of nowhere!”
“Wait, are you saying this weird blizzard is happening in Canterlot too?”
“Yes, was it you?”
“Of course not, let’s call Cadence.”
“Princess Celestia? How is this happening anyways?” Twilight joined the conversation.
“I have no idea, but we need to secure the ponies first.” she replied.
Princess Cadance was maintaining the shield around the Crystal Empire just like always. But she noticed that the storm outside was getting vigorous, suddenly a voice started talking with her.
“Cadance? Are you there?” Princess Celestia questioned.
“Yes, but why are you calling me-”
“Is there something happening at the Crystal Empire right now?” Luna interrupted.
“Well the storm outside the barrier is getting worse but-”
“Focus on keeping that barrier up,” Luna interrupted again.
“Apparently, this blizzard came out of nowhere and it’s taking over all of Equestria,” told Princess Celestia. “We need to set up barriers around major cities, just like the Crystal Empire.”
“It will take a lot of magic to keep it up, we can’t help everypony!” replied Luna.
“I know, but do we have any other ideas?”
Silence.
“Ok then, for now, let’s set up the barriers. Cadence protects the north, Luna the east, Twilight the South and I’ll help with the west and center, got it?”
Princess Celestia’s horn started to glow and a pink dome formed around Ponyville. Other domes were also summoned to protect other populated cities around Equestria.
------OO------
“Are you alright my dear?” spoke Rarity, looking at Twilight.
“Yes, but I need to maintain the barriers now.”
“Great, what are we going to do?” asked Applejack. “Just wait until the storm passes?”
Suddenly, Princess Celestia appeared on the balcony beside Mayor Mare.
“All of the highly populated locations in Equestria are on lockdown.” declared Princess Celestia. “Twilight, please join us on the balcony.”
The young Princess made her way up the stairs.
“Meanwhile, I want everypony to stay calm, the barrier should help with the cold,” continued Celestia.
Twilight sat down beside her old teacher. Now she had a better view of the ponies around her. Some were scared, while others patiently waited for the Princess’s words.
“First of all, we don’t know what is causing this blizzard. But until then, we need to find the other ponies that didn’t make it to Ponyville in time,” Celestia turned to Twilight. “Do you have any ideas?”
“Well, what about a search party?”
“Are you crazy? Anypony can die in minutes out there!” shouted a random stallion.
“Yes, but with a couple of talented Unicorns we can cast some type of thermal spell on a few ponies and send them out,” Twilight replied. “Besides, our answer to stop the storm could be out there!”
“If somepony wants to volunteer, raise your hoof please,” Mayor Mare pleaded.
The Hall went quiet for a moment. Five raised hooves appeared in the distance.
“We are going together!” the rest of the mane 6 shouted.
“Then it is time. Everypony can go home now, try to keep yourselves from freezing. Even with this barrier is still very cold outside,” Celestia commented. “Volunteers, come with me to the barrier.”
After one hour, everypony was covered with spells, winter clothing, and equipment.
“I’m ready!” exclaimed Twilight, finally reaching the group.
“Oh, sorry Twilight. But you have to stay here this time,” admitted Princess Celestia.
“What? Why?” she frowned.
“Are you forgetting about the barriers? If you go out there, the magic will drain faster.”
“Oh, right. Sorry girls.”
“Nah, don’t worry about us,” said Applejack. “We’ll be back with a solution to this blizzard and of course with a few survivors too, just you wait!”
“I’ll open a small part of the barrier, good luck!” Celestia commented.
“Good luck indeed!” shouted Mayor Mare.
After they left, Princess Celestia couldn’t help but notice the sad expression on Twilight’s face.
“I know how much you wanted to go. But don’t worry, you know how strong they are,” hinted Princess Celestia. “Let’s go to your Library, maybe we’ll discover something there.”
------OO------
Outside the barriers, the mane 5 had little visibility, after only a couple of minutes, the ponies decided to stop by Applejack’s farm.
“This is going to be harder than I thought,” said Applejack, opening a map of Equestria on top of the table.
“Wait, where’s Big McIntosh and the others?” commented Pinkie Pie.
“Don’t worry, they made it to Ponyville before the blizzard got worse,” responded Applejack. “Anyways, let’s plan out where we are going next, any suggestions?”
“Celestia’s barrier is not covering all of Ponyville, what about the Clock Tower?” suggested Rarity.
“Wait, what about Scootaloo?” exclaimed Pinkie Pie. “Did anypony saw her back in Ponyville?”
“Actually, Princess Celestia gave me a list of ponies who are currently missing back in Ponyville,” said Rarity as she levitated the list in front of her. “I don’t see Scootaloo’s name in here.”
“Let’s start searching for Scootaloo by the Clock Tower then,” stated Applejack. "She often goes there."
“Do we really have to pass by the Everfree Forest?” stuttered Fluttershy.
“Aww yeah!” shouted Rainbow Dash.
“It's the fastest way, come on, we better start going now before it’s too late,” said Applejack.
Everything was white and cold, the colorful landscape of Equestria was not the same anymore. The silhouette of distant buildings started to fade away, it took them way much longer to get to the entrance of Everfree Forest.
“Are we there yet?” questioned Fluttershy.
“Nope,” answered Applejack.
“We should’ve brought less stuff on our bags, it’s starting to weigh us down,” pointed Rarity.
“What?” screamed Rainbow Dash. “I can’t hear you over this damn blizzard!”
Suddenly, the snow beneath them collapsed. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash quickly grabbed her friends before it was too late. And now, a huge ravine confronted the ponies.
“Welp, that was a close one,” admitted Applejack. “Where did this ravine even came from? I don’t remember any ravine around these parts of Ponyville.”
Pinkie Pie looked over the edge, it was so dark that you couldn’t see the bottom of it. But something else caught her attention.
“Do you see that?” Pinkie Pie pointed to a black spot on the side of the ravine.
“Yes, but I’m not sure what that is,” said Rarity. “Should we investigate?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll check it out,” Rainbow Dash dropped her gear and disappeared in seconds.
“Well, at least she is going to get back quickly,” told Applejack.
Just as Applejack finished her sentence, Rainbow Dash was back.
“It’s a small cave, I looked at the entrance and there’s a lot of torches inside, they are all turned off, though.”
“A survivor?” wondered Fluttershy.
“I don’t know, but that looks suspicious. I don’t think it’s a survivor.”
“I didn’t saw anypony inside, why would this old cave have so many torches like that?” said Rainbow Dash. “And remember, that cave was hidden under the snow.”
“Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, can you two carry the rest of us to the entrance of the cave?” suggested Applejack.
“Hey, who made you the leader of this expedition?” questioned Rainbow Dash.
“Nopony, it just happens that I have the map and good ideas to keep us away from trouble,” explained Applejack.
“Can you two stop blabbering at each other?” interrupted Rarity. “Let’s head over to the cave already, we don’t know for how long the Princesses can maintain the barriers!”
“Whatever, but I’m not carrying Applejack,” ranted Rainbow Dash.
------OO------
Back in Ponyville, Princess Celestia and Twilight were browsing through all the books inside the Library as quickly as possible.
“You were looking for this book?” asked Spike.
“Yes, thank you, Spike. Anyways, maybe it's the Windigos?” proposed Twilight.
“The winter spirits? I don’t think so,” answered Celestia.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Well, I don’t sense their magic anywhere.”
“So do you have any ideas?”
“Honestly, no. I have no idea.”
“Some magical artifact?”
“I already told you, I don’t sense any magic in this weather.”
“Well, I got nothing then.”
“Don’t give up Twilight, there’s a lot more books to look through.”
“Right.”
Back in the Town Hall, Mayor Mare was also trying to figure out what was going on.
“Here’s the weather report from the last seven days,” said one of the assistants.
“There’s nothing unusual here,” Mayor Mare commented. “ What caused this blizzard to come out of nowhere?”
“Mayor! Look at this photo!” shouted a second assistant.
“Wait, is this who I think it is?” exclaimed Mayor Mare, “I need to talk with Princess Celestia now. Where is she?”
“In Twilight’s Library, searching for a solution to this blizzard,” shouted another assistant from across the room.
Mayor Mare quickly sprinted to the Library, scaring other ponies on her way there.
