Sins of the Fathers

Bowtie sat at the end of the rope, her eyes close and humming softly. Firefly was hovering next to her with an annoyed looked.

"You telling me, you knew where they were hiding and you decided to keep it a secret." Firefly said, clearly angry at the perceived betrayal.

"Yes, Firefly." She said, not breaking her concentration nor her tone as she continued to meditate. "I had a nice chat with my blood. She seems to be stubborn but I know ways to break such habits."

"If Bright Eyes knew you were talking to that filth..." Firefly started but Bowtie cut her off quickly.

'If he knew about my chat, then he would know about yours." Bowtie said, with a calm tone. " If you knew what was good for you, you wouldn't pull on that thread."

"How did you...?" Firefly looked aghast, causing a small smile on Bowtie's face to form.

"You think the air can keep secrets from the earth?" Bowtie said as she started to stand up. "I sense All movement on this world. Everything is so loud that they see no reason to hide. I can barely stand the noise. Now, get ready. I sense them moving their survives to here."

"What so special about this place?' Firefly looked around at the strange building."You think this "Train" is some kind of escape cart or something?"

"Doesn't matter," Bowtie said, stretching herself out. "We kill them before they set a single hoof in whatever that thing is. Is Sparkle set?"

"Yep." Firefly said with a short nod. "She going to cut them off from behind and it should make a nice little kill zone. We should be able to get this done in about six minutes, seven if we have fun with it. Posey got a nice spot over that shop over there, in case we get a couple of stragglers."

"The Captain should be here in a few seconds..." Bowtie paused for a second. "Something is wrong."

Before Firefly could ask what, a lone figure stepped out of the fog she created. It was the yellow pegasi, Fluttershy, meekly getting close to Bowtie

"Where is the rest?" Bowtie asked, peeved. "I can sense them, you know? Did they think I would show mercy if they send their weakest one to die first!?!"

"No," Fluttershy said, trying not to shake too much. "They are behind me. But most of these ponies have done you no harm. Please let the innocent go." There was a small silence before Bowtie rolled her eyes and started to trot closer to Fluttershy.

"When will you whelps learn?' Bowtie said with a smirk. "There is no such thing as innocent. There is only the predator and the prey. You either fight to survive or you lay down to let the animals eat you. Now, they can face their death like honorable ponies or I can go back there and rip them to shreds... after I play with you first."

"You could do that. "Fluttershy said, backing up a bit. "But there is one problem with that."

"What would that be, Feather brain?" Bowtie asked, stepping closer to Fluttershy. She was hoping to catch her off guard and close the distance.

"They're not behind me anymore," Fluttershy said. Bowtie looked confused until she notice that she couldn't sense the survivors on the ground. They were right... She quickly looked up to see a large bubble of ponies just barely glide above her. The bubble popped and they all hit the ground in a scatter. The sudden dropped and all of them hitting the ground in different places threw Bowtie off, she couldn't get a good lock on one of them.

"Head for the train!" A voice shouted, causing all chaos to erupt. There was a mad dash as they all ran to the building. Bowtie was about to get her bearing when a dust clot smack her in the face, Blinding her only temporarily. Firefly started searching for her target and saw a flash of a rainbow. She gritted her teeth a dived after the blur, breaking the formation.

"Wait, Firefly! Stop!" Bowtie shouted as she tried to clean her eyes. "Bright Eyes said we have to take them out together! Don't break formation!"

Firefly ignore the cries as she watched the blur disappear inside the strange cart. She flew above it and was going to summon a lightning bolt to crack open the shell but a large plume of smoke shot out of the tube, causing her to collapse on the roof, coughing and blinded as well. She felt the whole thing surge forward, causing her to roll off the roof. She let a startled cry as she hit the grounds the wheels of the cart started to turn.

"Sparkle!!!" Bowtie shouted. "Get out here! Stop that cart and get Firefly back here!"

Sparkle ran out from the alley she was hiding behind to see that everything was madness. Bowtie was about to clear her eyes when Fluttershy kicked up another dust cloud, Bowtie roared in rage and started to chase after her. Sparkle was going to call out to her when she notice a familiar mane of purple dive in the farthest back part of this so-called train.

"We have some unfinished business, brat!" Sparkle shouted before rushing toward the train. It had at this point, started to pick up speed. Survivors were having trouble getting on and Sparkle was soon chasing after it. She thought she wasn't going to be able to get on when a shadow cast itself on her.

"Need a lift?" Firefly shouted as she grab Sparkle from behind. "I bet I'll kill my blood before you get yours."

"It's a bet." Sparkle growled before being airdropped on the back of the caboose. She started beating the door down as Firefly flew to the front. Back at the plaza, Captain Surprise was watching the chaos and trying to decide if he want to do straight-up slaughter or find his annoying blood. He got an answer when he felt something smack him aside his head. He brushed it off and looked around to see who would be stupid enough when he looked up to see the rainbow one with a bunch of apples.

"Hey! Pea brain!" She shouted before throwing another apple right at his snout. It annoyed him but he wasn't going to be tempted so easily. "I bet this isn't the first time you had seeds and juice hitting you in the face!

"Come here, you little vermin!!!" Surprise shouted, starting to chase after her. Rainbow Dash blew a raspberry and flew in the opposite direction of Fluttershy's path. Posey watched as the two seem;y speed off and gave an annoyed sigh. She realise that she should probably help Bowtie deal with her blood but decided to take a bit. Maybe she would check out this shop for anything fun.

⚡⚡⚡

Firefly was fuming as she beat against the metal door of the front cart. She was going to kill this one on her own, show her she shouldn't have turned down her offer. She flew to be above it when she saw that the pink one was on the roof of the moving cart. She was standing beside something covered in a sheet and was smiling broadly up at her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Firefly shouted over the roar of the wind as now the cart picked up a good amount of speed. She smiled and ripped the sheet off to reveal the thing used against Surprise but it looked different. The end was a lot smaller, thinner with a small opening.

"Trying out my new cannon!" She shouted before she jump behind it and started aiming it at Firefly. "Let it RIIIP!"

Firefly was barely out of the way before it started spitting out pellets of multi-color balls at her. She didn't think it was anything dangerous and as a few smacked against her front hooves and not feeling any pain, decided this was just a distraction. She would just summon an ice spear and rid of this pest. She started to will one when she noticed something was off. The ice wasn't forming fast enough like something was blocking her ability to create it. She look down to her hooves see that whatever hit her was some sort of sticky gunk that was blocking her magic!

"What is this madness!?!" Firefly shouted, trying to free her hooves by chewing on the strange substance. "And why does it taste like blueberry!?!"

"That's my own personal recipe for Saltwater Taffy!" Pinkie shouted as she craked her new weapon. "Loaded into my brand new turret party gun, it s able to fulfill all your taffy needs. Now, let's see how well you fly after being caked in it!"

At the back of the train, Sparkle managed to rip open the door and storm into the cart. Hoping she caught a couple of stragglers, all she found was a mostly empty cart with one exception. The earth pony with the hat was standing at the far end.

"Move, dirt clod." Sparkle growled, starting to summon a couple of fireballs. "I need to burn the failure that is my bloodline.'

'She ain't here.' Applejack said sternly. "And you will go no further."

"Do you have any idea who you are talking to?" Sparkle said, letting her magic build. 'I AM SPARKLE! The burning scourge on this land! The cremator of the weak! My very name made dragons weep and I will not be talked down to by some meddling, weak earth scum who is not fit to lick my hooves!"

"If your so high and mighty, then get past me." Applejack said, steadying herself. "Because all I'm hearing is hot air."

Sparkle's eyes narrowed as she looked a deep breath. With a loud screech, she shot out a large column of fire that came racing towards Applejack. She watched as the fire seem to turn into the heads of wild beasts, consuming everything in its path. Applejack waited till she could feel the roaring heat, then she brought her hooves up and slammed them on the floor. She had learned in her many years of apple harvesting that she sends her force, her strength through the wood and into where it needed to hit. In most cases, she aimed for a branch or the stems of the apples. In this case, she focuses her output on the windows. They shatter in a sea of explosions and with the help of the wind, both the fire and glass came racing backward, toward Sparkle.

Being unaware, she barely had time to summon a shield to block most of the shards that came at her. A few did hit her, causing a few cuts and gashes on her front legs and face. She shook off the pain and started to gear up for another attack but realise the wind had neutralized her range attack.

"Look like you got a few tricks of your own." Sparkle said with a smirk. She licked some of the blood that was oozing off her wounds. "It has been a while since an earth pony made me bleed. But you already use one trick, so what are you going to do now? All you have left is your rope and your hat while I have fire!" She stomped her right front hoof and a fireball incased. "And now, I'm going to have to do this up close and personal."

"Ready when you are, hotcakes." Applejack said, readying her lasso. Sparkle let out a roar and dived at Applejack.

⚡⚡⚡

"This looks nice," Posey said, looking at the gems on one of the dresses in the shop she decided to check out. She figure Bowtie would kill the little runt and she can mop up whatever was left. She started to see if the dress worked with her gem when she notice something out of the corner of her eye. She made a sharp whistle note, causing one of the mannequins to be pushed in the path of the object. With a loud thud, a pair of shears stuck out of the mannequin. Posey rolled her eyes and hummed, causing several items to float around her.

"You know," Posey said, walking towards whatever threw the weapon at her. "It's very cowardly to hide in the shadows while you attack some pony. Why don't you show some guts and come out to play? Or do I need to make you come out?" She heard a couple of steps and turn to see it was Sparkle's blood, looking a little scared. "Awww, did you think you could take me out so easily?"

"I was trying to get that necklace off you." Rarity said, putting on a brave face. "There is no need for us to fight. I don't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me?" Posey said, raising a hoof to her chest and faking offense. 'My dear, I don't want you to hurt me. In fact, why don't I spare you the trouble and have you hurt yourself?" She let out a low hum and shot her gems magic right into Rarity's mind. Her eyes glazed and Posey smiled. "Now I want to take those shears and stick them into your throat. Make a nice gusher for me."

"I...I..."Rarity said in a slow mutter. She picked up the shears with her magic and with a hard tug, pull them out of the mannequin. She float them right to her neck as Posey nodded slowly.

"That's right, get it in there deep." Posey said, enjoying the small amount it took to control this pony. Rarity raised them high in the air.

"I... I... I'm not going to do that." Rarity said before flinging the shears again at Posey. She quickly let out a sharp note that stop the blades a mere centimeter from cutting her necklace.

"How?" Posey said, in complete shock. "Nothing has been able to resist my charms control spell."

"Darling, I was once minded control by an evil book." Rarity said, trying to put more force into the shears but having no such luck. " I've taken a few steps to make sure that never happens again."

"Fine." Posey said, making a couple more sharp notes. Rarity quickly put up a shield as a couple of the shop items came flying at her. But not being trained in shield spells that well, the cash register easily broke her shield. She jump back in time but lost her magic grip on the shears. Posey immediately pushed forward. "I guess I'm going to have to skin you myself." She belted out a loud note, causing several items in the shop to rise. Rarity knew she was going to hate this plan but had to press forward. It was the only way...

⚡⚡⚡

"I said get back here!!!" Surprise shouted at the speeding blur. It had led him to some kind of park in the city, as he felt for the first time since entering this city soft soil. It was here when the blur shot straight into the air and disappear in the fog. "Blasted Firefly." He muttered before hitting the ground, causing it to crack. "Now my prey is going to starve before I can find it. I should go back to help the other..." A single raindrop hit him on the nose, causing him to stop. He looked up in time to see the wave of water crashing down on him. It didn't phase him, in fact, it cooled him off a bit. But before he could enjoy it too much, he felt something fly right under him. The speed it was going cause brought so much wind that it knocked him on his back. He smacked the ground hard, resulting in him getting cake in mud.

He started to get back up when another burst of speed happen right above him. It was fast enough to cause the sound barrier to break. He felt the sound wave smack him hard and his ears started to ring. He fell back into the mud with a splat and was starting to get angry.

"FIGHT ME, COWARD!" He shouted, pushing himself back only for another sound wave to smack him down. He started to crawl away but the mud was too slick for him to make any real progress before the next wave hit him. Rainbow Dash was starting to feel the effect of constantly speeding and slowing down. But she hoped if she could weaken him enough for him to surrender. She was about to do another dive bomb when she saw a chunk of the earth come flying up to her. She dodged out of the way and look to see the Surprise was back of his hooves and looking pissed!

"If you won't fight me ON the earth." He growled, smashing a hoof into the ground. He pulled a large chunk of ground and with a mighty throw, chucked it right a Dash. "Then I will fight you WITH the earth!" She dived and weaved around the incoming pieces and flew back into the sky. She would have to make it rain harder in hopes of softening the earth more. She hope the others were doing better or at least succeeding.

⚡⚡⚡

"Stop hitting me with this shit!!!" Firefly shouted, trying to dodge the next ballet of the taffy bullets. She let her ignorance get the best of her, causing her to get hit one too many times. With every hit, the weight of the taffy made it harder to fly, to move quickly. And now she was struggling to dodge the onslaught of color candy. She tried to psych the pony out but every time she started to nosedive on her target, it result in getting caked in the stuff. It felt like she was wearing a heavy fur coat. She was going to try one more dive-bomb in the hope to catch her off guard. It seem to be working because the little dizz wasn't paying attention. Firefly manage to slip away at the last second and was right above her target. Using the sun, she went in quickly and with great force. She was aiming for the brat's head, hoping to take it clean off as she did to one zebra many years ago. But almost without warning, the brat ducked, causing her to miss. She tried to correct herself but due to the extra weight, she tumbled right into the roof of the train. She expect to bounce off but instead, she made a loud splat and stay in place. She tried to get up but whatever taffy was, it was extremely sticky.

"Well, I would make a joke about you being like a fly on flypaper but... I think I'm above that." Pinkie said, leaning on her now smoking turret.

"You think this can stop me!?!" Firefly shouted, trying to pull herself up. The taffy stretched and then snap, causing a string of it to smack into her face. She bit into the stuff and was meant with a sweet taste. After swallowing the piece and not feeling any ill effect, she quickly started biting into the gunk covering her wings.

"You really shouldn't eat that much." Pinkie said, looking concerned. "I'm pretty sure you're not used to this sugar intake."

"Oh, I'm not going to eat all of it!" Firefly shouted before spitting out a wad of taffy "Because you couldn't go for the kill, I'm going to free myself and I'm going to tear you apart. Because you still think you are above the fight, that you can win with smiles and sunshine. Well, I'm going to show you what smiles give you." She ripped out another chuck of taffy off her wing. It stings for a second and she might have tasted something iron. "It just allows me to kick your teeth in!"

Before Pinkie could respond, a large boom filled the air. They both looked back to see that the last cart was now covered in flames.

"Applejack..." Pinkie said, hoping her friend wasn't in danger. The mad cackling of Firefly snapped her back to her fight. She saw that Firefly had ripped another piece of taffy off her wing. She also ripped some feathers and enough skin to cause an open wound that was now weeping blood. She show no signs of caring as she chewed on it with a deliberate smile.

"And it looks like one of your other friends is going up against Sparkle." Firefly said, chewing slowly on the piece. A small river of blood leaked from a corner of her mouth. "And I can't wait to see how she cooks that corpse."

⚡⚡⚡

"Why...won't you...stay still?" Sparkle said between pants. Although the entire cart was wrapped in flames, Sparkle was starting to get annoyed. Somehow, this farmer was beating her. The damn wind kept her fire spells from reaching her and every time she got closer, the damn lowlife either dodge or tried to kick her. She has been trying to absorb the flames to heal herself but the wind kept it from truly restoring her. She wasn't too wounded but she was running out of energy. This was new to her, due to most of her foes succumbing to her flames.

"What? You ain't use to a real challenge?" Applejack said with a smirk. She was covering up for the fact she was starting to get tired. But she also knew she could keep going for a long time. It look like she was fairing better than Sparkle was. By the rate she was panting, her plan was working. Ponies who burn too brightly burn out quickly and at this rate, she'll keep her from burning the rest of the train and get her restrained. Before Applejack could start on her next move, Sparkle suddenly shot a bolt of fire right at her. She duck just in time, as the bolt smashed into the door behind her. She started to feel the heat coming from behind her, letting her know the door was starting to burn.

"You may have stalled your fate." Sparkle said, her eyes starting to burn with rage. "But everything burns eventually. You are on a large cart that may be able to go fast but the wind still feeds my flames. You will eventually not be able to stand as the smoke collapse your lungs and the heat burns your skin. I've seen better warriors die trying to fight this. You just give in and let my flame consume you."

"You think you can get into my head that easily?" Applejack said, rolling her eyes. "Honey, I fought things that could at least control minds. You are just a bully that needs a lesson in humility." Sparkle's eye twitch slightly and she'd breathe in deeply.

"Fine." Sparkle said, cracking her neck. "I guess I'm going to slow roast you so you understand real pain!" She shot another bolt of fire at her. Applejack decided to jump instead of duck, allowing her to enact her next move. She pulls out another length of rope and with a quick flick, managed to get it wrapped around Sparkle's left back leg. Before she could react, Applejack dived behind the wall of flame behind Sparkle and anchor the other end of the rope to one of the metal frames of the seats.

"You really are a moron!" Sparkle shouted, looking at the rope wrapped around her leg. "You think you can tie me up with rope!?! I burn mountains to cinder and wash my hooves with the blood of the villagers. This will take only a few seconds and then you wil..." She blasted fire from her back hoof but the rope was still there as tight as ever. "What is this magic? Why hasn't it burned!?!"

"Not magic." Applejack said with a smirk. She held up a few more bundles of rope for her to "This is something my friend Rarity helped made. I figured you want to burn it off, so I asked her to see if she had a suggestion. So, this is what I call my fire rope. It's made with fiberglass, which I have to tell you is almost impossible to burn."

Sparkle grit her teeth and started to pull against the rope, feeling it burning against her skin. She never felt something like this, something that she couldn't burn away. She didn't like it, not one bit. But there was something she should burn right in front. She took a deep breath and summon one of her strongest spells. Applejack notice a bit of bright light inside Sparkle's mouth, giving her a brief moment to realize she needed to move. She dived to the side as Sparkle shot a beam of bright white fire. It ripped the cart apart, eating away the metal and the framework. Applejack felt the entire cart shift she saw some of the floorboards falling off.

"IF I CAN'T BURN THE ROPE!" Sparkle said, her voice booming. "THEN I WILL BURN EVERYTHING AROUND IT!" She fired another beam, causing Applejack roll to dodge. She looked to see the back half of the cart was in ruins, the roof gone with the floor slowly breaking away. She needed to move faster...

⚡⚡⚡

Rarity was trying to catch her breath but Posey wasn't letting up. She was currently behind a display shelf while Posey was humming, causing three shears to float next to her. Rarity thought she got a second to rest before hearing a shape note interrupt the humming.

"Oh for the love of..." Rarity muttered before diving quickly away as the shears came flying through the shelf and impaling in the wall. She rolled in hope of diving behind some cover but with another sharp note, she fell a rug suddenly wrap around her like a cocoon. She felt herself get lifted into the air and was thrown across the store. The wrapped-up Rarity crashed into a pile of discarded cloths and rags.

"You know, I think I figure it out," Posey said, brushing some dust off her shoulder. "I figure if your friends wanted to get rid of me, they would have sent the stronger unicorn. But they saw a golden opportunity, didn't they? I mean, you're not the strongest, the brightest, and clearly not the most talented unicorn. It's clear how they see you." She made a sharp whistle note, causing a large dresser to float right above her. "They are probably laughing about how they finally got rid of the weight that was dragging them down. Just a weak waste of a unicorn."

She let out a low note and brought the dresser down on the pile. She smirk as she heard a satisfying crunch and turn away. She got a few steps away before she felt something wrap around her back hoof, causing her to almost trip over. She looked over to see a scarf from the pile must be tangled around her. She tried to shake it off but it was caught on tight. She was about to use her amulet when another scarf shot out and wrap around her left wing.

"What is this madness!?!" Posey shouted, now actively struggling against the make-shift rope.

"Did...you call me... WEAK!?!" Rarity shouted as she rose out of the pile, her horn ablaze. "Let me tell you something, Sweetheart." Posey felt the bounds tighten. "I had to scrap up enough bits to open my first shop. After that, I had to work myself to the bone to make sure every pony got the dress they wanted, to look their very best. I pushed myself to the breaking point sometimes to not only run my shop but to raise my sister because my parent rather travels than stay at home. I have always been with my friend and sure, I could be a little bit overdramatic, a bit high maintenance but I have never been nor will I ever be WEAK!"

Posey pulled against the binds as Rarity closed in on her, her eye glowing deep with rage. "Now, let's see how that pendant works." Rarity said, floating a pair of shears.

"You stay away from me!" Posey scream, trying to get a bite out of Rarity. Rarity was surprised and flinched, causing the shears to shoot out. Posey dodge away from the blades but her necklace got caught and with a swift cut, it broke and fell to the ground. The gem hit the ground and shattered with the sound of glass breaking. Posey's eyes went wide and let out a blood-curling scream that caused Rarity to snap out of her rage and let her go. She dive to the ground and started in vain to try to put it back together.

"It's okay." Rarity said, trying to calm down the panicking pony. "It was a nice necklace but nothing to worry..."

"Do you realize what you've done!?!" Posey shouted. "Do you know what going to happen to me!?!"

Before Rarity could say anything, a cold wind seem to manifest out of nowhere. She was assaulted by a strong scent of sulfur and heard something crash in the back of the store. She didn't see anything but when she looked back at Posey, she saw that she was horrified. Posey was slowly backing away and her eyes were wide in fear.

"Not my fault!" She shouted. "I didn't break it! She did! You can't hunt me! I did everything right!!!"

Posey shot into the air like she was on fire and dived out a nearby window. Rarity was about to chase after her when she felt something hot run right by her, knocking her down. When she got up, she notice a bunch of claw marks around her.

⚡⚡⚡

Firefly had finally chewed off enough of the taffy off her wings that allowed her to fly again. There was a lot that still stuck her to the roof but she figure she can pull hard enough against it to get it off. With a mighty thrust, she launched herself into the air. The taffy hold, causing her to use most of her strength to stay above the train. She looked down to see Pinkie was starting to reload her weapon.

"You might as well give up!" Firefly shouted, riding the currents. "We will win and you will soon be choking on your blood!"

"You really need to stop being so graphic." Pinkie shouted. "Just because we are fighting, on top of a train which I think is kind of cool, doesn't mean we have to be mean to each other." She slammed the taffy gun hard on the side, hoping to speed up the process. The machine made a buzz and started to kick back into motion. Pinkie looked up at the flying Firefly, seeing her struggling against the taffy. Pinkie was about to cover Firefly again when she noticed how far up she was. "Firefly, come down!"

"Ha, I see you have realized your fate." Firefly shouted. "Once I reach the sky, I will destroy this fast carriage and then I will mount your head on a pike!"

"Firefly, seriously! Get down now!" Pinkie shouted, starting to panic. "We are clearing the fog!! If you look behind you..."

"I'll see hoards of dragons, Griffins, and Yaks, right? Because you seem to forget, I fought them all!!!" Firefly shouted, ripping more taffy off her. "I slaughter them by the dozen, their spawn wept my name in rage and you know why!?!"

"Firefly!" Pinkie tried to cut in, begging at this moment.

"Because I'm stronger than all of you. I'm faster than all of you! And I am...!" Firefly shouted as she ripped another string of taffy.

"Behind you is..." Pinkie cried out, tears starting to flow.

"Smarter than all of you!!! So what can you possibly do to defeat me!?!" Firefly shouted at the top of her lungs, her face ablaze with murderous glee.

"THE TUNNEL!!!" Pinkie screamed with all her might. Firefly turn to see that there was a tunnel the train was heading into. And if she was on the roof like Pinkie, she would be fine. But by flying up as high, she won't be able to clear the ceiling. She had about five seconds before her face was going to smash into the tunnel roof. There was a moment before the collision, her eyes growing wide in surprise and she only had a second to respond.

"Oh..." Firefly said, with a surprised look. She hit the wall with a loud crack, her face caving in almost instantly like she was rotten fruit. She hit the tunnel just right so it caught only her head, acting like a blade as it cut it clean off. The taffy yanked the body back to the train with a smack. Pinkie watched as the headless body bounce back and forth before sinking into the taffy, spraying her with blood. Pinkie looked at the scene in shock and took a few steps back before vomiting off the side of the cart.

⚡⚡⚡

"Are you done yet?" Sparkle growled, pulling against the several ropes that contain her. Applejack had tied her to several of the seats of the now damaged train cart. Sparkle had used her major spell in hopes of destroying the pest but the damn farmer kept dodging, causing her to only damage the cart. She gave another tug on the rope but it seem to get tighter.

"Struggle all you want." Applejack said, wiping her hat. "I got a few ribbons in hog tying. You ain't leaving until you calm down and.." A loud crack cut her off and cause the whole cart to shudder. Applejack stumbled and was trying to get her standing when she notice what was wrong. The cart had suffered too much damage and looked like it was about to collapse at any moment. Another crack almost cause her to fall, revealing what was happening. The cart was breaking in half, with only one thing going to soon keep them together. The tied-up Sparkle.

"Oh no!" Applejack cried out. She quickly started working on trying to get the rope undone but due to her hard knot tying, that was easier said than done.

"What are you babbling about?" Sparkle growled. She felt a sudden shot of pain in her side alert her to what was happening. She was starting to be stretched by the two sides and she didn't see this ending well. "Okay! I surrender! Get me out of here!!!"

"I'm trying!" Applejack shouted back. "Why did I double knot it!?!

Another crack filled the air, and the two pieces of the caboose started to drift apart. Applejack abandon trying to undo the knot and was trying to cut the rope. She was halfway through one rope when Sparkle started to scream. Applejack looked over to see that Sparkle was being stretched to her limit.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" She screamed in pain. "I'm not supposed to die like this! I'm a warrior! I'm supposed to die on the battlefield surrounded by fallen foes! I'm not going to die in such a ..." A loud ripping noise cut her off as she let lose another scream of pain. Both Applejack and Sparkle looked to see that her flesh was starting to tear. It sounded like a thick dress ripping at the seams. "I take it back!!! I'll be good! I'll help ponies! I'll rebuild everything I burned down! I'll do anything just DON'T LET ME DIE THIS WAY!!!

Applejack quickly abandon cutting the rope and resorted to trying to kick loose one of the chairs she use to anchor the rope. The cart suffer enough damage that she hope she could break it loose. She hit it with all her force, causing a loud ringing but it didn't move an inch. She was readying another hit when she heard the sickening ripping noise getting louder. She looked to see that wound was getting worst, exposing musal and bone. Sparkle let out a new round of screams as she started to feel her limbs start to be pulled out of their sockets. With a stomach-turning popped, all of them became dislocated in a second.

"MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOPPPP!" Sparkle screamed, trying to pull out of the rope with all her might. "I CAN'T DIE THIS..." A loud crack stopped her and Applejack cold. Applejack didn't want to look as she felt a sense of dread go over her. She slowly turn and gagged at the scene before her. The cart had finally separated but at a horrifying price. Sparkle had been ripped in half by the two sides, her horrified face frozen as her front half was dragged behind them. Applejack fell backward and just watch in silent horror at what had transpired. And she had a feeling that something worst was coming.

⚡⚡⚡

"Not flying so high and mighty now, are you!?!" Captain Surprise shouted as he tossed another boulder into the raining sky. He hasn't seen the little bug in a bit but maybe she was winged by one of his boulders and if he kept throwing them, he might squash or bring them down at least. He shook off some mud off his hooves and started searching the ground for another piece of rock to throw when he felt another downpour on top of him. "I knew you will sip up, scum!"

He threw a large rock from underneath him straight into the clouds, punching a hole in the fog. All it caused was more rain to fall onto him. He shake the access water off and was going to continue his assault on the sky when he notice something odd. The sky seem to be slowly getting higher as if he was getting smaller.

"By the core of the earth! She found a way to shrink me!!!" Surprise shouted in panic.

"You're sinking in the mud, you idiot!!!" Rainbow Dash shouted from the clouds. "Just stay still, I'll get you out!"

"I don't need your help." He shouted, pulling his front leg out of the muck, causing him to sink a little more. He threw it at the sky aimlessly. "I'm an Earth Pony! The ruler of the earth and the strongest of the land! You think I fear something as a little mud!"

"It's not a little mud!" Rainbow Dash shouted again, trying to get closer. "You tore up a lot of the ground throwing those boulders at me! You are standing on a potential sinkhole! So stop moving or you're going to..." She ducked just in time to avoid another sling of mud.

"Shut up, scum!" Surprise shouted. "I don't need your help! I'm the leader of the five earth pony tribes' army! I made the world shake in fear and you think I will ever submit to you!?!" He chucked another glob of mud at the sky, not even getting close to Dash. "So fight me like a true warrior or I will..." He looked around in the pool of mud for something else to throw, not realizing the mud was almost up to his shoulders.

"You need to get out of there!" Rainbow Dash got a bit closer, seeing the trouble that Surprise was in. "The ground is too unstable! You could drown, just let me help you!"

"Never!!!" Surprise shouted before a sudden drop cause him to sink even further. "I rather drown than accept help from a featherback mule!" He attempted to throw more mud but even with all his strength, he didn't have the leverage to achieve the action. The mud was starting to take him in quicker, now that it's reached his neck. Rainbow Dash dive out of her cover and started to race towards Surprise.

"Stay calm!" She shouted. "I can pull you out! Just stay calm!" She was about to grab him by his mane but Surprise tried to bite as she got closer.

"I said stay away from me!!!" He said between snaps. "I don't need your..." There was another drop and he sank completely under the mud, drowning out his last words. Rainbow Dash was shocked for a second before she started digging in the mud.

"No, don't do this!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she dug into the mud. She didn't land in the hope of not sinking into the mud. "You stupid fool, why didn't you listen to me!?! I was trying to save you!!!!" She dug faster into the mud but couldn't find a single tuff of hair. It looked as if the earth had swallowed him whole. Rainbow Dash dug at the mud for a full two minutes before realizing that it was far too late for him. She hovered there for a moment and let out a loud scream of sorrow. She didn't want to kill any pony and not like this, drowning them in the earth. She let out another wail of anguish into the sky, watching the clouds open up before her. At first, she thought she was seeing things but as the clouds of fog seem to fade away, she realizes the spell has been lifted. Which could mean only one thing...

"Oh Pinkie..." Rainbow Dash moaned as she wipe away some tears. "Please tell me you didn't have to."

⚡⚡⚡

"Will you... slow down?" Bowtie shouted for the fifth time as she ran after the one known as Fluttershy. She was starting to get annoyed because of her but Bright Eyes put her in charge of killing the rest of the lot. She haven't failed a job yet and she wasn't going to start now. She jump over a wall and saw the yellow coward dive into a small shop. And due to the fog, she wasn't going anywhere fast. But as soon as she thought this, the fog started to lift.

"What in the name of the earth are you doing, Firefly!?!" Bowtie shouted. "I need that fog, you good for nothing feather brain! How else am I supposed to have the element of..." She was cut off by a bolt of energy hitting her in the chest. "Surprise."

She felt an icy cold feeling spread across her body and didn't take long for her to realize that she was being encased in a block of ice. She tried to get out of it but whatever unicorn was casting this spell was quite strong. In a matter of seconds, she was in a block that was up to her neck. She struggle against it but there was no give. She kept struggling until she saw Fluttershy come out of the shop with the alicorn.

"I should have expected you would play dirty," Bowtie growled. "You couldn't take me in a fair fight so you went running to your pittful little princess. Have you no hon..." She felt some force grab her tongue and pull to keep her from talking.

"I'm on a time limit," Twilight said, limping a bit forward. "The fog is lifting, which is meaning the army will be on us in a matter of moments. I want to prevent any more harm. Just tell me where Bright Eyes is and how I can convince him to surrender peacefully."

Bowtie looked at the two with a confused looked until Twilight released her tongue to allow her to talk. Then she just started laughing like a mad pony. She did this for a full minute, making both Fluttershy and Twilight looked at each other with concern. When she finally stop laughing, she let out a sigh and look at the two with amusement.

"I don't know what is funnier," Bowtie said, shaking her head. "That you think Bright Eyes would ever consider surrendering or that you think he still here."

"What are you talking about?" Twilight demanded, getting closer.

"You see, as soon as he found out about your mentor," Bowtie said, with a cruel grin. "He thought it was time for a proper challenge. He figured we could handle you and your friends, so he had Sparkle create a teleport gate. I guess we aren't playing fair either."

"Where did he go!?!" Twilight shouted, starting to panic.

⚡⚡⚡

Clover was sitting in the castle, cleaning his staff when he felt the wind starting to pick up. It wasn't unusual for this to happen, he was guarding the royal teleporting room. So he smooth his mane back and started the welcome speech.

"Hello and welcome to the Royal Cantorlot Castle." He said in a bored tone. "Would you like a tour of our lovely..."

The sound of a blade cutting across the air was followed by pain spreading across his chest. He looked down to see a large gash across his chest plate. It took his brain a full second to realize what had happened. He tried to scream but another swing of the blade silenced him forever. Bright Eyes watch the head hit the floor with a soft thud and breath in the smell of iron that was fresh in the air.

"I never tire of that smell." He said before breathing out. He looked at the well dress room and rolled his eyes at all the bright colors in the room. Not a single sign of fallen enemies or conquered land. He flings the blood off his blade. "Now, where are those princesses?