Rise of the Earth Pony Rebellion

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Rise of the Earth Pony Rebellion - Chapter 3

Applejack was galloping towards the park as fast as she could. Her mission was to find her friends and bring them to Canterlot in order to stop this pointless fighting...or was it to HELP provoke the fighting? Applejack wasn't entirely sure how she should handle this. Shadow Flare's points were reasonable and understandable. He has a good reason to think this way, and so should a lot of other ponies. But she knew that her friends weren't the way Shadow Flare had described them...well, not ALL the time.

Eternal peace did sound good...and if her friends weren't going to be harmed then what did it matter? Being an Earth Pony's not THAT bad. The ability to casts spells and soar through the skies aren't necessities...are they? Applejack knew that Fluttershy wouldn't mind. She's always on the ground anyway. Rarity probably wouldn't care too much. It might affect her gem hunting a little, but she's done it a thousand times! Surely she knows where those fancy gems would be. But then she thought about Twilight and Rainbow. The two loved their powers more than anything. How would they cope without them?

'...What do Ah do? Is this right...or wrong?'

"HEY! APPLEJACK!"

Applejack stopped and turned back. A flash of bright colors zoomed right towards her. Of course, it was Rainbow Dash.

"How come you left so quickly? We could have gone together, you know? Maybe even make a race out of it."

"Oh, uh, Ah'm sorry, sugarcube. Ah'm not sure why I did that." Applejack slightly lowered her head and began trotting towards her destination. Rainbow Dash stared at her worryingly. She flew towards Applejack and levitated by her side.

"Is there something wrong, AJ? You're not acting like yourself."

"No siree, Ah'm as fine as Ah'll ever be!" Applejack forced a smile on her face. Rainbow stared at her with complete indifference, realizing her obvious lie.

"You can't fool me, Applejack. I may not be an Egghead like Twilight, but I think I know when the Element of Honesty is lying." She floated in front of Applejack and landed on the ground, blocking Applejack's path. "Now tell me, what's wrong? You know you can tell me."

Applejack lowered her head realizing she couldn't hide her true feelings. Being the Element of Honesty can be tough sometimes. She thought for a moment, and tried to find the right words to say...but couldn't. 'Ah don't wanna worry her.'

"Ah...Ah..." Applejack began.

"Yessss?" Rainbow Dash replied.

"Ah-Ah'm sorry, Rainbow...but Ah can't tell ya."

Rainbow Dash slapped her hoof on her face, disappointed. "If it's about that Shadow guy, don't worry. We can stop him. We've dealt with bigger, badder villains before. What's one little Earth pony gonna do?"

Applejack said nothing, she just looked at the ground with no expression on her face. Several seconds passed. Rainbow Dash made an awkward expression on her face. Finally, Applejack said, "Let's just go git the others already."

"I thought you'd never ask!" Rainbow Dash replied, completely ignoring the conversation. "Shall we race? Or are you too CHICKEN to?"

Applejack started to lighten up a little. "You're on, sugarcube!" The two galloped towards the park.

After galloping a long distance, Twilight finally made her way to the train station. It was, surprisingly, empty. She slowly made her way towards the ticket booth. "Two...tickets for...Canterlot, please..." she said, out of breath. The stallion at the counter stared at her for several seconds then finally handed her two tickets.

"On Canterlot business again, eh, Twilight?" the stallion asked, sarcastically.

Twilight was still huffing and puffing. "Important...bus...iness..."

"I see." he snickered. "Well, don't worry about payment. You're always welcome to a free ride."

"Thank...you..." Twilight said giving him a light smile.

"The train'll be here in about twenty minutes. Relax until then."

"Will...do..."

Twilight walked towards where the train would be and collapsed on the ground.

"I really should workout some." she said, taking in a deep breath. "How does Rainbow Dash do it?"

"Beats me." Spike said. He jumped off of Twilight's back. "But everything'll be okay, Twilight. Try to relax a little and catch your breath." He patted her on the head. "I'm gonna go use the little dragon's room before we go. I knew I shouldn't have had all those gems yesterday, I was wondering when it'd finally catch up to me." he said holding his sides. Twilight stared at him, disturbed by what she heard. "What?"

Twilight shook her head. "Nothing, just go. But make it quick."

Spike nodded and ran towards the bathroom. As Spike left, Twilight decided to take a little nap. She slowly closed her eyes and entered the dream world.

Several minutes passed. Twilight was out like a rock.

"Twiiiiiiilightttttt..." a voice called out.

Twilight didn't hear the voice, however, she was still lost in her dreams.

"TWIIIIIILIGHTTTTT..." the voice said again louder this time.

Twilight was again unaffected by the voice.

"Oh for Celetia's sake, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!" the voice yelled right in Twilight's ear.

Twilight jumped and then let out a startled scream. She turned to see who disturbed her slumber and was surprised to see Shadow Flare there. He wore a confident smile on his face as if he was invincible.

"You! What are you doing here? And how do you know my name?"

Shadow Flare stepped back in surprise. He looked devastated. "You WOUND me, Twilight Sparkle! How could you not remember Shadow Flare? The Fierce Flame! The Arcane Alchemist! The Scholar of the Shadows!" he asked dramatically.
He then looked at Twilight Sparkle and noticed that she was not amused by his act.

"Heh heh, anyway... You were at my show, weren't you? Didn't you hear me say where I was from?"

"Canterlot..." Twilight answered.

"That's correct!"

"But that doesn't mean I know you..."

"So it seems..." Shadow Flare sighed. "We don't personally know each other. I just know you from the Canterlot library. However, I would still know you even if I didn't see you in the library all the time. After all, who doesn't know about you, the Element of Magic? You and your friends have become legends."

"Oh... I guess I am a little popular, aren't I?" she said, blushing.

"You're more than just 'a little' popular, my lady," Shadow Flare reassured, "The stories of you defeating Nightmare Moon and Discord are truly the stuff legends. So...anyway, what brings you here, young Twilight Sparkle? Going to Canterlot, perhaps?"

Twilight was nervous. "Um, yeah, I, uh...wanted tooo, uhhh..." She tried desperately to think of a lie. "Oh, yeah, I just wanted to visit the Canterlot libraries to look for a book to read. I've read every book that Ponyville has to offer, so I was wondering if Canterlot had anything new to offer!" She wore a bright smile on her face...perhaps a little TOO bright.

"Oh? Is THAT all?" Shadow Flare sneered. "Let's not play any games here, Twilight Sparkle. You're not going there to get a book..."

"I'm...not?" Twilight questioned. 'Oh NO! He caught me!'

"Of course not, you're coming to help me with my rebellion...aren't you?"

'Whew...' Twilight thought. "What rebellion?"

"Oh, come now, Twilight Sparkle, I saw you at my speech. You were accompanied by the Elements of Honesty, Loyalty, and Laughter, were you not?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, I guess I was..."

"So what did you think? Are you with me...or against me...?"

"I, uh, I-I..."

Before Twilight can finish her sentence the train came rolling by on the tracks. 'Thank Celestia!'

"Well, it's been fun, Shadow Flare, but my train's here, so I gotta go. Nice meeting you! Bye!" Twilight hurried towards the doors of the train, opened them, and then closed them with a loud THUD! Twilight looked out the window to see if Shadow Flare had followed, but, to her relief, he just stood there looking at the train. He then turned towards where Twilight was which caused her to hide. After a few seconds passed, the train began to move.

"Well, that was a close one..." she finally said. She walked towards the train seats and sat down. "Okay, I just need to cool off and take a chill pill. Soon, this whole mess will be straighten out." She looked out the window and peered through the grassy plains of Equestria. "I can't help but feel I'm forgetting something." Twilight admitted.

Back at the train station, Shadow Flare glared at the train as it continued to turn smaller and smaller.

"Fool," he snickered, "I can't let a worm like you ruin everything I've worked so hard to fulfill..."

"Twilight! Twilight! Where are you!" Spike called, walking out of the bathroom.

"And I'll make darn sure that you won't..."

TO BE CONTINUED