Filly Twilight's merry and crazy adventure

Filly Twilight's merry and crazy adventure Chapter 3

The four fillies were about to try out something else when they heard somepony approaching. To keep Twilight's current condition a secret they hurriedly told her to hide in the nearby bushes.

Moments later two fillies have appeared, a grey and a pink coated earth pony. They were Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the meanest of mean bullies in town. Once they saw the CMC, cruel smirks were formed on their faces.

"Oh, look Silver Spoon! The Cutie Faileur Crusaders!" Said Diamond in an arrogant and condescending tone, then she continued: "What lame idea did you come up today to get your Cutie Marks? Not that it would matter, since you didn't get any yet again!" Laughed she cruelly with her cohort in tow.

While the trio did their best to ignore their nasty remarks, Twilight in the bushes heard everything and with every passing second, she felt angrier and angrier.

"Those two are laughing at the misery of my friends! I can not and will not let it continue! But how should I do it?" Mused she with frustration, then as she looked around she noticed something. "It shall do just fine." Thought she, as slowly a wicked smile crept onto her muzzle.

As the Crusaders and the bullies squared off they suddenly heard a voice shout: "Leave them alone!" Then somewhere behind the two mean fillies, they noticed a purplish flash of light. Confusedly, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon slowly turned around, only to come face-to-face with a spider, one nearly as big as THEM.

The two bullies reacted as any sane person would when seeing a huge spider so close to oneself. They screamed at the top of their lungs.

In reply, the oversized arachnid hissed, prompting the duo to scream again and run away in fright. After they were out of sight, the trio cautiously returned their attention to the spider, but now it was suspended in a magical field. Then Twilight came out from the bushes, her horn lit, with a small smirk.

"Sorry girls, but seeing how those bullies treated you, I felt I had to do something." Admitted she sheepishly.

"What is with the spider?" Asked Apple Bloom a bit worriedly. The others looked at the purple filly, the same question running through their heads.

"I just used a size-modification spell. This spell is a type of transformation spell." Explained she calmly, then continued: "I felt that since they seemed so fond of intimidating others that they should get a lesson at how it feels. They weren't so smug, weren't they?" Asked she a bit mischievously. The others looked at each other, a little unsure, but then they remembered their cruel words. Suddenly they didn't felt so bad for them. After Scootaloo recited how scared they were the four shared a few laughs, then set out to continue their misadventures.

They completely forgot about the spider, that slowly crawled away towards the town.

Sometime later, the four fillies restocked and set out to try out more things from the books. Some went better, some worse, and while they had a lot of fun, their Cutie Marks still have not appeared.

"Sorry girls, that it haven't worked." Said Twilight apologetically. She hasn't wanted to let her friends down.

"Don't worry Twilight. Even if we don't get our marks, still it was the best crusading we had yet! Right, girls!?" Asked Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom nodded in agreement. When Scootaloo didn't answer, they turned to her and saw that she was intently reading some of the books, while silently mumbling to herself. Then, before anypony could've asked, her eyes lit up and looked at the other fillies with barely contained excitement. "Girls, I think I've got an idea." Said she with enthusiasm. The others came closer, curious of what did their stunt-pony friend had in mind.

She leaned closer to them and excitedly began to explain her plan. As they listened, their eyes kept widening and when the orange-colored filly finished, they stood there, frozen in shock. It lasted until three whole seconds, then just as eagerly like her, they shouted in stereo: "THIS PLAN IS SO AWESOME!" Then they giggled sheepishly from being so loud and in a less deafening volume Apple Bloom continued: "Well, ah reckon we all agree to Scoot's plans, right?" The fillies nodded, their smirks never leaving. After that, they set out to get all the necessary materials for their "special project".

After two hours of work, the crusaders and co stood in awe and joy, looking upon the results of their efforts: Another golem. However, it was different than any of the others, because they made it together, all of them adding something to help out.

Twilight helped to organize and oversee the working process, also helped to gather the necessary resources for them. Then the crusaders used their newfound skills to create something truly great. Apple Bloom made some potions, that she mixed with the clay, then Sweetie started to work with the enhanced clay, skillfully manipulating it to give form to the golem.

It looked like an alicorn, it could match Princess Luna in size, it's body had a grey color, while its mane and tail had a light brown tone. The wings alone were masterpieces, the feathers blend in smoothly, yet each of them was distinguishable, while the construct's horn was long and pointy. The mane was long and straight with a few curling locks here and there, reaching the golem's back, framing swan-like neck and face, that had a calm and completely neutral expression, not unlike one would find on Pinkie Pie's sister's, Maud Pie's face.

Once most of the features were finished, Scootaloo began to carve various rune patterns onto it, while Sweetie helped out to ensure that her friend's work does not ruin the appearance of the golem. The golem's Cutie Mark was a rune circle that surrounded the symbol of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Also if the onlooker would watch enough carefully, they could see a small six-pointed star, blending into the circle of runes so smoothly, that a superficial glance could miss it. But it was there.

Now, it was time for the final touch, to charge it up. It stood in a rune circle, the four fillies facing towards it, as the Crusaders each stood on a rune pattern. Twilight started to focus, magic forming on her horn, then small beams of magic did shot towards the runes beneath the trio. The runes lit up and began to draw on their magic, then the different steams of magical energies were combined into an orb of multicolored lights. Then it was launched towards the golem and upon impact, instead of blowing it into bits, the magic was absorbed into it.

For a few moments, the four waited anxiously, to see if it worked. For a second they feared that it hasn't worked, but then the golem's eyes started to glow in a silverish-white color. The construct turned towards them with wings spread then closed to its sides, it stood there waiting for the orders of its masters (or rather mistresses).

Scootaloo was the first to regain her bearings and with a triumphant smile she shouted: "We did it!" It broke the stupor on the other three, who quickly found themselves smirking as well, simply enjoying the moment.

Once Apple Bloom was able to calm down from her hype, she turned to the others and asked: "So what can this fella do?" This caught the others' attention and Twilight, as she picked up a piece of parchment began to explain: "Let's see, it act mostly like any other golem, following only our orders, but we should avoid giving orders that contradict with one from the rest. However, it can defend itself if threatened, unless we tell it otherwise. What isspecial about it is for one, that thanks to how we made it and the charge up it can use the skills of all three pony tribes, just like a real alicorn could, even if it is not that powerful like a real one is." Said she matter of factly.

After taking a breath she continued: "It has the physical strength of an earth pony, plus the fact that its body was made from a more durable material. With its pegasus magic, it can fly, walk on clouds and control the weather. It also can use unicorn magic, however, it can use only simple spells, because lacking the intelligence for more the complicated spellwork."

"Besides those, it can be recharged if we touch it and command to start to absorb our magic and then tell it to stop once finished. It also can repair itself if damaged. Finally, it can turn invisible if commanded and if we tell the chant "Golem, golem, come to me!", it will teleport to us." She finished as the golem disappeared and then reappeared right next to them. She rubbed her neck sheepishly, realizing that she accidentally just said the chant out loud.

The trio watched their creation in awe, then Apple Bloom spoke up: "Girls, even if we will not get our Cutie Marks for it, I still think, that this was our best crusading!" Said she happily.

"Yeah! Today was very awesome and even if I don't get a Cutie Mark for it, I would like to keep working with runes, they are just so much fun." Exclaimed Scootaloo excitedly. "Also I think you too should do so with your potion and golem-making skills, you are very good at them."

Then Sweetie added her own two bits, with a smile on her face: "I agree and without Twilight's help, we could've never got this far." Upon her words Twilight blushed and smiled, unable to say a thing. Sweetie then turned towards her two fellow Crusader and continued: "And I would like to do this with you girls. It is always much more fun to do something together, and look at what we have accomplished with our combined skills. It would be so good to keep doing all these things with my best friends!" Finished she, pointing towards the still motionless golem.

At that the three fillies, still feeling the rush of their accomplishment put their hooves together, then suddenly a white light enveloped them. Twilight watched them with wide eyes, as the trio slowly descended. They rubbed their heads as the phenomena passed, noticing that Twilight still looking at them, her eyes filled with amazement. As they followed her line of sight their own eyes too widened. Why? Because their flanks were not blank anymore!

All of them had the same magenta-colored shield, with a different symbol on it: Apple Bloom's had a crystal vial, shaped like an apple. Sweetie's had a stylized, very detailed unicorn golem. At last but not least on her shield, Scootaloo had a single rune. But as they looked at it, they could've sworn that whenever they glanced at it again, it seemed JUST a little bit different.

For minutes they just stood there, inwardly a little afraid that it was only a wonderful, yet cruel dream that at any moment could end. But as the seconds passed, they slowly realized that it was real. THEY FINALLY GOT THEIR CUTIE MARKS! Then they erupted in near earth-shaking cheers. They soon pulled a still slightly dumbfounded Twilight closer and they started to laugh in pure joy and happiness. It appeared to be contagious, because she soon joined them, glad that her friends were so happy.

Once they were done celebrating (at least momentarily) they were curious what more they could learn. Twilight was going through the books, while the Crusaders kept glancing at their marks and fantasizing about the cool things that they could do. Soon she looked up from the books with a small frown, then she began: "Okay girls! I have good news and bad news. Which one I should begin with?"

"Let's start with the good news!" Said Scootaloo enthusiastically. The others after a moment nodded in agreement.

"Okay, the good news is that there is a good deal of information in these books about your unique talents, so you will have help to keep expanding your skillsets. Moreover, your Cutie Marks suggest that your special talents are mixable, a path that wasn't much, if at all explored, meaning that you can open up new possibilities and make things never seen before!" Said she excitedly. This made the trio start to cheer again.

However, her next words soon put an end to it: "But! I am afraid you won't be able to use most of the things from these texts because you don't have enough magic to use them." Said she morosely.

"What! Why?!" Demanded Scootaloo and Apple Bloom at the same time, while Sweetie Belle was saddened. The purple unicorn quickly continued: "Because I will not be always around here to provide the power to it.

Sweetie still has to grow and train to increase her reserves if you want to work with the more advanced stuff. Not to mention that for the two of you, the matter of materials is an issue, since some of the potions and runes may require very specific reagents. Ones that from what I could discern is you either would need a LOT of bits to get them, otherwise, your only choice is to go and gather them for yourselves. It means that you should go on very long journeys and spend a good deal of time to find them, not to mention the possible danger on those journeys. I highly doubt that you would be allowed to go on your own, neither would you have somepony to accompany you.

The trio nodded since all of that was right. It didn't mean that they had to like it. Apple Bloom brought up that maybe Zecora could help them, but given their past experiences with potions, it was unlikely that she would be comfortable with them experimenting with uncommon and quite possibly dangerous magical stuff.

But soon Twilight's face appeared from behind a book, her excited smile from before returning: "Girls! I think I have found something!"

Upon hearing that, the three turned towards her. She quickly started to explain: "One of the books seems to be about the Everfree Forest and according to it the forest is an incredibly vast site of many rare materials, that could be used!" The Crusaders cringed at that, being well aware of how dangerous that forest is, but before they could voice their concerns she continued: "I know that it looks bad, but the book says that with a simple potion we could keep away most of the hostile things in there."

Once they heard that the fillies cheered, then rushed to begin the preparations.

The four were cautiously making their way through the forest, the potion that hid their scent worked well, on their journey only twice did some creature appeared, intending to turn the fillies into its next meal. Luckily, as extra caution, they made some potions, that smelled horribly and helped to chase away the furious predators. And where that failed, their powerful golem made sure that the beasts understand, that the four will not become food anytime soon.

During their trek, the Crusaders gathered a great amount from various plants and some minerals to work with. When they felt they did enough gathering, they decided to go to the Ruins of the Royal Pony Sisters and began to have fun with their newfound special talents. The excitement caused them to forget about Fluttershy or what their sisters would think about them going into the forest. They had way too much fun and don't want it to end.

As they were having fun, Twilight curiously picked up a new book. It was black, adorned with symbols on its cover that had a faint dark purple glow. It also had no title. Unable to resist her increasing curiosity she opened it and started to read it. After a few minutes, a big smile made its way onto her face and quickly went to show her friends her latest finding.

"Hey, Twilight! Did you found something interesting?" Asked Sweetie Belle, she was surrounded by several small statues and some smaller golems. The others too looked up from their works and approached the purple unicorn.

"Definitely, from the looks of it, this is a journal that contains a lot of magical knowledge!"

Seeing their surprise at the journal part she elaborated: "While there are many spellbooks, they are usually either are collections of spells or are guides in a specific branch of magic. While both are great sources of knowledge, journals like this are rare and precious." After taking a breath she continued: "It is because these books are unique, made by the author. It may contain the personal notes of the author in regards to the subject, maybe giving an entirely new perspective or some minor trick, that the one who wrote it developed to give a personal touch to the spell. They also tend to contain knowledge about many different themes, some tomes like this with a special spell could contain entire libraries' worth of information. And from what I was able to discern, some of the stuff in this book is incredibly powerful, yet most of it I can understand and I am pretty confident that we will be able to do them!" Finished she, with barely contained excitement.

The Crusaders for a moment looked at each other a bit hesitantly, but their confidence from the success of the day, and lead by their own rapidly growing curiosity they finally decided to give it a try. After all, what's the worst that could happen?

Sometime later the fillies watched with mixed feelings the four vials of dark purple liquid.

"Are you sure that this is safe?" Asked Sweetie Belle worriedly.

"Don't worry Sweetie, we looked through the recipe to the letter." Said Apple Bloom reassuringly, then continued: "And I am sure that Twi cast that spell on the potion correctly, right Twilight?"

Twilight nodded as she did a final check to the potions and the steps. Said spell Twilight did cast in a separate room, while the others waited outside, in the case the spell is dangerous or doesn't turn out as it was supposed to. She also absentmindedly pondered why did the spell require her to think angry thoughts while casting, it felt strange but the potion looked exactly as it's supposed to be according to the book. So it was possibly nothing important. To get angry she thought to the times when she found in a library, that somepony returned a book with some kind of damage. Such a thing was unforgivable!

Then with some hesitation, the four took a deep breath and sent down the strange concoctions in one go. As they suspected it felt terrible, but after a few seconds, they started to feel as warmth spread through them.

As they slowly regained their bearings, Scootaloo decided to try and see if it worked as they hoped. She started to flutter her wings and her eyes widened as she slowly rose from the floor and hovered in the air. Soon a huge grin appeared on her face and she started to laugh: "It works! It really works!" Exclaimed she excitedly.

The potions were meant to increase the physical abilities of the ponies, but more importantly, it also empowered the ponies' natural magic. In Scootaloo's case, it empowered her pegasus magic and it reached the point where she could fly easier and faster than anypony at her age.

The three watched as Scootaloo started to get the hang of it, as she made a strong thrust with her wings to launch herself forward, feeling ready to awe her friends with some tricks... and proceeded to collide headfirst with the opposite wall.

The potion gave power behind the magic of the ponies, not actual skill in how to use said magic. There was a reason why everypony had to learn how to use their natural gifts as they grew up.

The others rushed to see if their friend was alright. Scootaloo slowly stood up while groaning, a hoof pressed against her forehead.

"Oh my, what the hay did hit me." Said she, rubbing her head in an attempt to lessen the pain.

"It was that sneaky wall there." Said Apple Bloom cheekily and the three burst out in giggles, to the great annoyance of Scootaloo. But soon they stopped and set out to test their newfound strength, this time with some caution. Once they felt, that they could control their power without breaking something, the fillies began to work with the more advanced stuff.

While they had a lot of fun and made good progress with their practice, they soon found themselves low on materials. It was time to put their new strength to a real test.

The Crusaders and Twilight were walking through the forest, looking around for the various reagents which they needed. Shortly after they left the ruins they had run into some trouble with some wild animals, but together they were able to scare them away rather easily.

However, they soon noticed a faint sound, that after some listening recognized as a whimper, or something close to that. The fillies' curiosity got the best of them and cautiously moved towards the source of the sound. After a little trekking, they arrived at a clearing, and what they saw greatly surprised them.

It was a timber wolf, a ferocious predator completely made of wood... and it was at the size of a puppy. The young timberwolf was sniffling around frightfully, indicated by its trembling and how it glanced around every so often. But before they could've even fully registered what was going on, one of them made a step backward and stepped on a twig.

The four froze and with fear looked at the small timber wolf, which first tensed and cowered from the sudden noise, then following its instincts started to growl towards the bushes. The fillies exchanged a few glances, then slowly stepped forth, their eyes trained on the small canine. Once noticing their greater numbers it slowly began to backing until its rear bumped into a tree. The timberwolf tried to appear intimidating, but even the fillies too could see, that the pup was scared.

Apple Bloom slowly started to walk towards the wolf, her every move was followed by the pup's suspicious gaze. Scootaloo was about to step after her friend, unclear if to follow or stop her, but a sideways glance from Apple Bloom told all the three to stay back and leave it to her. The fillies complied but were still worried for their friend's safety.

Apple Bloom then turned back her full attention to the wolf and softly spoke: "Don't worry, I will not hurt you." The wolf's glare clearly showed it's distrust regarding her words.

Apple Bloom very slowly reached into her saddlebag, stopping for a second, when the wolf's growl got louder, but then resumed her search and soon pulled out a doggy-treat, cautiously showing it to the pup. For seconds none of them moved, their eyes locked in a staring contest, then the wolf glanced at the treat. When it saw that the filly hasn't moved, the pup made a few hesitant steps and slowly sniffed the offering.

After another short staring contest, the young timberwolf cautiously took the treat and ate it. It stood motionlessly as if awaiting some poison taking effect, but it never came. Then Apple Bloom fished out another treat and held it out as well, this time it was eaten faster.

Finally, the pup took a more relaxed posture, now examining the filly curiously. Apple Bloom then stepped forward and with great care reached out and began to pet the small wolf. It tensed for a moment, then relaxed and let her continue.

It continued like this for minutes, until the pup was fully calmed and not growled, even when the others came closer.

"How did you knew that it would work?" Asked Sweetie quietly.

"I recalled a few times when Winona was scared and acted similarly, so I knew what to do to calm it down." Explained Apple Bloom.

"I think you did a good job with him." Said Twilight, impressed by her friend's bravery and skill.

"Him?" Asked Scootaloo with confusion.

"Yes, he is a male timber wolf pup." Said she calmly. After looking back at the pup, the others too started to notice his distinctive features (I don't have to go into further detail, do I?).

"But what did a timber wolf pup was doing here alone?" Asked Sweetie Belle, then worriedly looked around, expecting a pack of angry timberwolves to appear from the bushes. The others too looked around, but nothing has happened.

The Crusaders looked at Twilight who seemed to be pondering.

"If I recall correctly, amongst wolves if the food is low members of the pack may disperse to find another place with less competition, maybe the same is true with the timberwolves and this one had to leave." Theorized the purple filly.

The fillies looked sadly at the pup, who seemingly understood what she said because he looked to the ground distraughtly. As she watched, Apple Bloom's eyes suddenly grew determined and spoke: "Girls, I can't leave him here alone! I will bring him back with me!" Declared she with a serious look.

"But Apple Bloom, that's very dangerous!" Exclaimed Sweetie with shock.

"And with how territorial dogs can be, it may take some time until Winona will grow comfortable to his presence." Added Twilight.

"Besides Winona, what will you do with your sister! She won't be too fond of the idea of a timberwolf pup staying at your farm!" yelled Scootaloo.

"I know it girls, but the poor thing is all alone, I must do something!" Declared she firmly. The others looked at the sad little wolf and couldn't help but give an "Oohhh..." and then Scootaloo spoke up: "Okay, I see what you mean." Said she, then "And you can count on me if you need some help!" Stated she with a smirk. The others nodded, ready to support their friend.

As this was happening Twilight began to think and she smiled as she got an idea: "Girls, I think there is something that could help." Said she. The Crusaders looked at her and she began to explain: "I think there was in one of the books a spell that can make things simpler."

"What kind of spell and how will it help?" Asked Apple Bloom a little unsure.

Seeing her doubts Twilight quickly started to explain: "It is called the "Familiar Spell", it can strengthen a bond between a pony and an animal or a being that is not sentient. It will create a mental link between the pony and the familiar, so you can better understand each other and work together."

She gave them a few moments to process what she said and then continued: "And don't worry, this spell doesn't affect your wills. It can only be done if both sides agree and wish it to work. It's also completely safe, I promise." Finished she, doing her best to reassure Apple Bloom.

The said filly looked at the small timberwolf, their gaze locked and she knew the answer. "Okay, let's do this!"

Soon Twilight was reading the book regarding the spell. All preparations were made, Apple Bloom and the timberwolf, who she named Root, since the spell required a name, sat together, Apple Bloom doing her best to keep him calm. Then Twilight began casting, a magical glow surrounding the two. Then the glow surrounding them began to reach towards each other and connecting them.

As it was happening, Apple Bloom felt her mind open up and a warm feeling spreading through her being. She barely noticed as the glow slowly faded out, as the two looked into each other's eyes, both feeling a deep understanding towards each other. It was a little strange, but also nice, knowing that they would be there for one another, a warmth felt when surrounded by friends and family.

Apple Bloom began to pet her new familiar, while he licked her face vigorously, simply enjoying the moment.

Soon they resumed their trek, the fillies, and timberwolf braving through the forest. Suddenly roars and the sounds of fighting came from ahead of them. They paused for a moment, but after an exchange of glances, they continued, confident that they could defend themselves if needed.

It didn't take them for too long to find the source of the noises, they saw a huge snake fighting a manticore of all things, the reptilian wrapped itself around the feline, it's wings and scorpion-like tail tightly pressed against its body. The manticore did best to bite at or shake off the snake, but the beast's hold didn't budge and with a lightning-fast strike sunk its poisonous fangs into the neck of the manticore.

The manticore still tried to fight off the snake, but its poison took effect quickly, and soon the feline beast's trashing ceased, it lay on the ground with spasms rocking its body until even that too ceased, signifying the manticore's death.

Once its prey stopped moving the snake slithered off the corpse and, to the surprise of the fillies, it turned its eyes away, towards the form of a smaller manticore, which appeared to have been injured, looking at the snake with fear.

The fillies watched with horror the transpiring events, but as the snake moved towards the vulnerable little manticore, Scootaloo felt that she can't stand idle any longer and jumped into the clearing with a shout, gaining the attention of the two animals. The other fillies jumped after their friend as Sweetie cried out: "Scootaloo! What are you doing!?"

The pegasus filly didn't take off her eyes from the snake, which watched them angrily, not about to let them take its meal while answering: "I will not allow that snake to kill that manticore too!" Said she with finality. The snake hissed angrily and sprung forward, intent to devour the annoying filly with one bite.

Luckily Twilight quickly formed a bubble shield around them, that easily held back the predator, then with a grunt, she expanded the shield to push back the snake. The small manticore watched curiously as the fillies fought with the beast, unsure why were ponies trying to protect it.

When the shield was lowered the snake lunged for another strike, but Scootaloo already took out from her saddlebags a piece of rock with glowing symbols on it and with as much strength as she could muster swiftly threw it straight into the open maw of the beast, surprising it and causing it to halt its attack for a moment.

Scootaloo looked coldly at the beast and quietly uttered one single word, which would seal the snake's fate: "Boom!"

The effect was near-instantaneous, the snake's eyes widened as its body seemed to inflate, then was torn apart by the explosion from the inside. Everyone else watched with shock and a little fear the demise of the snake.

Slowly Scootaloo's expression turned from cold to compassionate and looked at the manticore, seeing it tense from the attention being directed at it, as she softly spoke: "Don't worry, I don't want to hurt you."

As she cautiously began walking towards it, the manticore first looked at her with suspicion, but looking into the filly's eyes it could see that she meant her words and it calmed down a little. Scootaloo reached the manticore and when it didn't attack when she put a hoof on its back, the others too came closer and started helping their friend attending the injuries of the manticore.

When they were done and all made a step backward, the manticore was surprised as the potions that they used healed its wounds and looked at them gratefully, especially at Scootaloo.

The fillies turned towards her and Twilight asked: "Okay, what will we do now?"

Scootaloo looked at the small feline then back at her friends and spoke determinedly: "I can't leave it here. Could you use the same spell that you used with Apple Bloom and Root, on us?" Twilight was a little surprised and when they wanted to object, they followed their friend's gaze towards the dead adult manticore. Seeing her point Twilight nodded and soon she once again used the Familiar Spell on Scootaloo and the newly named Windclaw. For a few minutes, Scootaloo was petting and playing a little with her new companion. The timber wolf and manticore first looked at each other suspiciously, but upon their soul-partners' encouragement soon they began to play together. Once they all felt comfortable they resumed their walking with their new friend.

After their eventful trip, the fillies were on their way back to the ruins, when the sound of laughter reached their ears. They paused for a moment, but after everything that they encountered and overcame in the forest, they were confident that if it turned out to be dangerous, they could defend themselves, so began to stealthily make their way towards the source of the laughter.

Soon they peeked through some bushes, watching with bewilderment the group of dragons, who were grinning and were gathered around a red and orange dragon, who was much taller than Spike and appeared to be the leader, holding something in his claws. They decided to listen to their discussion.

"That was a close one, but we actually did it!" Said one of the dragons with a feral smirk.

"Yeah! Glad that Spike is not here with his pony friends to mess it up for us again!" Said another dragon.

"Huh, I don't even want to hear his name again!" Growled the leader known a Garble, then continued: "But now we have our prize and nothing can change that! Ha ha ha!" Laughed he cruelly as he held up a red and yellow egg.

The Crusaders were shocked by their words, heard from Rarity about their run-in with these dragons. As they looked at the scene Twilight silently spoke: "I think that's a phoenix egg!" Said she worriedly. Sweetie glared angrily at the unfolding events and she knew that she will not let those dragons get away with that egg. A quick glance at the others showed that the others felt the same way.

Sweetie jumped forward with a battle cry, the others right behind her, gaining the attention of the dragons. First, the dragons were shocked by their sudden appearance, but Garble quickly shook it off and growled out: "Ponies again?! If I never see a pony again, it still would be too soon!"

"We will not let you harm that egg."Said Sweetie Belle with an angry scowl. "So you can put it down and leave... or else!" Threatened she with an edge in her tone.

The dragons for two whole seconds just stood there blinking, then burst into laughter. One of the dragons managed to say between the bouts of laughter: "Oh, she will hurt us! What should we do?!" The others fell into another fit of laughter from the mockery. The fillies only glared annoyedly, but not dignified the insult with an answer.

When one of the dragons got some hold on his mirth looked at the fillies a little more thoroughly and spoke to his cohorts: "Hey! I think that purple pony reminds me of one of those adult ponies who helped that miserable Spike to escape from us!" Exclaimed he. One of the others looked at what he meant and nodded in agreement.

"Ponies look all the same! Who cares?!" Said Garble to his buddies angrily, then turned towards the ponies with a mocking smirk: "You say that you will take this egg from us by force?! Hah, you and what army?!" Shouted he arrogantly.

Upon hearing his words, a definitely wicked smile made its way onto her face and calmly began: "Well, I don't bring an army" as she talked, her horn started to glow, her smirk growing wider as she continued: "but I think THIS will be more than enough." Finished she with a calm and cold voice, as in a magical flash the alicorn golem appeared and after Sweetie gave the command, it flew towards the dragon gang, while the light in it's eye-sockets glowed brightly in fury.

After shaking off their shock, the dragons tried to fight against the golem, but their fire proved ineffective against it, while their claws had no better luck. With some magical blasts and magic enhanced kicks, the alicorn construct made quick work with the dragons and Garble found himself laying on his back, being hit by one of the magic blasts, one of his clawed hands still held the egg. That was swiftly changed when Sweetie's magical aura surrounded the egg and with a gentle, but firm move pulled it out from his claws and levitated it to herself. After a quick check of it, she sighed then turned her attention back to the beaten dragons.

As the dragons slowly stood up, Garble wanted to start ranting, but when Sweetie's horn started to glow again and the golem made a threatening step towards them, the dragons decided to cut their losses and made a tactical retreat (aka running away in fear while screaming).

Once the fillies were sure that they weren't coming back, Scootaloo stepped up to Sweetie and with a huge grin exclaimed: "Sweetie! That was AWESOME!"

"You sure showed them, Sweetie!" Added Apple Bloom, while sporting a smirk of her own. Twilight nodded in agreement.

Sweetie blushed from all the praise and stammered: "I was just so angry with what they planned to do and badmouthing Spike and the ponies in general, that I had to do something." The others gave her nods of understanding.

Then the fillies turned their attention to the rescued egg, contemplating what to do with it when it started to shake and fracture. After a few seconds, the egg hatched and the newly born baby-phoenix looked up at the white unicorn filly. Soon the little phoenix began to rub its small head against Sweetie's fur.

For a few minutes, the fillies and their companions simply watched in awe, then looked up and saw Sweetie Belle looking at them pleadingly, with big puppy eyes (especially towards Twilight). It was clear to everyone what she wanted and soon they gave in and one spell later Sweetie had her own familiar.

She thanked to Twilight, then began to nuzzle the small phoenix, bearing the name Dawnfeather, or just Dawn for short. Once they were done they made their way back to the ruined castle, to some rest before looking into the chest for the next part of their adventure.

As the fillies were once again going through the books for something fun to do when Scootaloo suddenly called out: "What the hay is that?" The others began to approach their pegasus friend, curious about what she has found. The four looked at the book together in confusion, on its page was the depiction of a curved and pointy horn, besides it were some instructions of what Twilight figured out was a complex ritual, but the book was vague about the purpose of the ritual.

"What do you think Twilight?" Asked Sweetie nervously. The other crusaders also looked at her, if she could figure out what this spell was about. After some further pondering the purple filly looked at her friends and spoke: "Hm, some of the formulas resemble the ones used at summoning, however from what I can make out of it, it doesn't have any parts that would deal with time or space manipulation. It's strange." Said she while thinking of this mystery.

"Time and space what? I think I can't follow it" Admitted Apple Bloom. Potions were one thing, but this kind of stuff was way beyond her grasp.

"The most common spell that deals with time-space manipulation is Teleportation, picking something or somepony from somewhere in the world and by bending the space, and sometimes time too, moving the subject to a different location without it having to pass the distance between the two points instantaneously. Summoning is dealing with reaching through the fabric of time and space to bring something to our location, maybe even from a completely different dimension. Since this ritual has nothing to do with this kind of thing, this spell clearly is not a summoning spell." Finished she.

The others nodded and Sweetie asked: "But then what does it do? Isn't it dangerous?" Asked she, unsure. Scootaloo decided to add her opinion: "Well I think if we want to know it, we have to do it." Said she, then seeing her friend's distress moved closer and put her hoof reassuringly onto her shoulder: "Don't worry, if something nasty decides to attack us, we will defeat it, together!" Said she. Her words comforted the white unicorn, the others nodding in agreement (because what could go wrong by casting a spell with an unknown purpose?).

Soon enough, they gathered the necessary materials and drew the circle and the necessary symbols, as the book instructed. When all was done, they stood around the circle, the book with the illustration in the middle of it.

To help with the spell, the Crusaders offered their help at powering the spell, with some magic channeling runes for the non-unicorns. It was something that Twilight was grateful for because this ritual required a lot of energy to work, which would've drained even her rather great magical reserves.

The Crusaders closed their eyes in concentration, as Twilight began to cast the spell, letting the magical energy flow through the four of them, their familiars sitting back and watching curiously. Also because their eyes were closed, they didn't see the dark magical aura, that Twilight conjured up and channeled through all of them, the four shuddering a little in discomfort, but kept calm and stayed focused. Then they directed their combined power towards the circle, more precisely to the book.

Suddenly a pulse washed over the fillies, causing them to stumble backward and open their eyes, at which point the effects of using dark magic were gone. Shaking off their disorientation, they turned towards the circle.

Above the book, a red curved horn floated, held up by dark purple magic. They watched, as the shadows in the room started to move on their own, drawn towards the horn and gathering into a quickly expanding shadowy mass. As it began to twist, slowly taking the vague shape of a pony, a new phenomenaon started to manifest in the form of a dark blue cloud, mixed with patches of shadow and what looked like glimmering diamond dust. Soon this second amorph mass too coalesced into a pony-like form.

The fillies and their companions, who jumped to their sides watched as slowly the form of the two shades became more distinct and detailed, a few more seconds later the transformations were finished. Within the circle sat two ponies, seemingly trying to regain their bearings.

The Crusaders watched with shock and a bit of fear, as they recognized the two before them, while Twilight was curious and a little confused. One of the newly appeared ponies was a male unicorn with a grey coat and pitch-black mane and tail, the red horn from before sat on his forehead. He was no other but King Sombra, the tyrant of the Crystal Empire and master of dark magic. The other was an alicorn mare, her fur black as the starless night, her ethereal mane and tail dark blue, with glimmering lights. She was Nightmare Moon, the dark alicorn of the night.

The two soon noticed each other and both gave signs to their surprise: "What is this? It wasn't supposed to be like this!" Shouted Sombra in disbelief while looking at the alicorn. "Where are we! What has happened to us!" Exclaimed Nightmare Moon, seeing the dark unicorn. The CMC also couldn't believe their eyes, not just because two of the villains, who Twilight and her friends defeated were here... But they seemed to be at their age.

The two dark ponies soon noticed the other fillies' presence, especially the purple one with the star cutie mark, "I remember you! What have you done to us?! What do you planning, Twilight Sparkle?!" Demanded Nightmare Moon, eyeing said unicorn with suspicion.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Shouted she in surprise. She recalled what she heard about her adventures in Ponyville and recognized the dark alicorn before her, but still was just as flabbergasted as the others.

But soon a voice drew their attention: "Interesting. I did not expect anything like this." Said Sombra calmly, who until now silently observed the fillies' interactions. "Who amongst you did the ritual?" Asked he with curiosity.

After sharing a quick glance with her friends Twilight slowly began: "Well, I have begun casting the spell to start it, but we all added our magic to it." Explained she awkwardly. Hearing it, Nightmare turned towards Sombra angrily and demanded: "Sombra, how is this possible!" She stood ready to defend herself if the unicorn decides to try something.

"Eh, mister Sombra?" Began Sweetie hesitantly, also feeling awkward calling somepony so young looking mister. "How is it that you're alive? From what I heard you were blown up to pieces." Finished she unsurely. Sombra looked at her for a moment, then "I will explain it, but first I would like to hear about how you ended up acquiring that chest." Responded he, while gesturing towards the chest. Then he turned his attention towards Nightmare Moon, "I also would like to hear your story. I can feel in you Princess Luna's magic, yet you are clearly not her."

After some hesitation, the CMC and Twilight explained how they ended up in the ruins and even about Twilight's condition, while Nightmare reluctantly told her own story. Once they were done they looked at him and Nightmare spoke: "Now that we are done, it is time for you to speak!" Said she threateningly. Sombra simply nodded.

Sombra took a breath and began to explain: "You see, one thousand years ago, before my battle with Celestia and Luna, I made a security measure, in the case, they succeed in taking me down and my curse on the Empire don't work. It was not easy, but with my dark magic, I was able to protect my horn from being destroyed." Seeing their bewildered expression he elaborated: "It was admittedly not a pleasant thing, but all things considered, it paid off."

Then he resumed his explanation: "Then, before my death, I channeled what magic I still had, and bound my essence to it and then the spell I beforehoof placed within my journal, I sealed my horn into it, so not even the power of that damned Crystal Heart could reach it. I left in the book instructions, so if I would fall, somepony could be able to bring me back, using magical energy and shadows to reform my body. I even placed on the page a little spell, that compels the one who is reading it to cast it.

"Then how did it brought us back? And why are our bodies so young and small?" Asked Nightmare confusedly. The four also were curious about that.

"At first I too was confused about that," Said Sombra, "but after I learned of your defeat here and some thinking, I am confident, that I found the answer." Nightmare snorted, annoyed that he brought up her defeat.

"I think, when the Elements hit you, they purified Princess Luna of all her dark powers, removing it from her. However, this dark energy was not erased, but separated from her and was left here, unnoticed by anypony. When our little friends here began the ritual, which was meant to reform my body, the spell somehow sensed the residual negative energies and started to channel some of the spell's energies into the residual essence of Nightmare Moon, bringing you to life, as an entity completely separate from Princess Luna. And since I designed the spell to only bring me back, the divide of energy caused that the spell was not been able to fully restore my body, neither yours's." Explained the dark unicorn.

After that, everypony was silent, until: "Then what's now?" Asked Scootaloo, looking at the two former villains (she wasn't sure if they still counted as one).

After some thinking, Sombra finally spoke: "In my current form, my power is greatly limited by my colt aged body and any attempts to change that are out of my reach for quite some time. So for the time being I will have to live as a simple unicorn colt, even if a little stronger than average." Nightmare looked with wide eyes at him, silently asking "are you crazy!". The look from the others told that they had similar thoughts. "Do you have any better idea, shall I remind you that your powers are just as diminished as my own, miss dark alicorn filly?" Shot back Sombra dryly.

She really wanted to come up with a witty retort, but she had to realize that he was right about their situation. She had no choice but to hang her head in admission.

"Ehm, don't want to intrude, but how do you plan to live in Equestria, while you wait to regain your powers and restart your villainous schemes when you stuck out as a banana tree in Sweet Apple Acres? Not to mention that we can just tell it to anypony before you could try something nefarious?" Asked Apple Bloom cautiously. The others nodded in agreement, ready if the two dark ponies may try something, their timberwolf and manticore companions standing beside them.

Sombra kept his calm demeanor as he spoke: "I am sure you would, but then you should explain how we returned in the first place. If you try to tell your sisters about us, you have to explain that you messed around with dangerous dark magic. I am sure, that it would be a really interesting conversation." Said he, with a smirk on his face.

The four had to admit that he was right, but they weren't too happy about it: "Okay, we don't tell it to anypony." Said Sweetie demurely, but Scootaloo quickly picked up: "But we will watching you and if you try something, we will stop you!" Declared she with narrowed eyes.

Under different circumstances, the two villains would've laughed at such an attempt to intimidate them, but with their powers diminished, it would be a bad idea to start a fight with them. The young manticore besides the pegasus, which growled at them also doesn't help their situation (not to mention the golem), so Nightmare spoke: "Noted." Said she, while keeping her eyes on the feline.

After a few minutes of silence, Twilight finally spoke: "I think we should go back to Ponyville. If they truly want to live a normal life, they will have to find a place to stay and this place is not the safest place, with your magic being weakened and all." Explained she, still unsure about the whole situation.

The two had to admit that she was right, so after packing away everything, the group began their trek back into town, unaware, that their adventure was still far from being over.

After a while, the group reached the edge of the forest without any problem. However, as they got closer to Ponyville, Twilight noticed that Apple Bloom slowed down and had a sad expression, while kept looking towards what appeared to be the local graveyard.

"Apple Bloom, are you okay?" Asked she, as the filly in question looked at her.

She tried to give a forced smile, but it was clear that her act wouldn't fool anypony and soon the others too were looking at her with either worry (from her friends) or curiosity (from the former villains). In the end, Apple Bloom gave a tired sigh and began to speak: "It's just... This is the graveyard where my Ma and Pa were buried and... never got to know them so well. I was still very young when they passed and when I am so close to this place I can't help, but think of them or at least what little I can recall, but it's not too much." Finished she, at this point trying to fight back tears.

She was quickly engulfed in a group hug by her friends and after a few seconds of hesitation, the two former villains too were pulled in (they liked it or not). At first, they weren't sure why they were doing this. For a thousand years, their hearths held nothing, but hatred and bitterness, intent to have their revenge, regardless of who they have to destroy to achieve it. So why? Why were they suddenly feeling sympathy for this filly, who they have just met? It probably had something to do with their new forms, but regardless of the reason, they felt sympathy (and were not too happy about it).

After a few minutes, Apple Bloom was able to regain some composure, looking at her friends gratefully. While this was happening, Twilight was deep in thought, trying to come up with something to cheer up her friend. Suddenly, she remembered one of the spells that she had read, bewildered when she first examined its purpose (now that she knew who owned the books before, it was more understandable). As she was pondering on it, weighing the pros and cons, all of a sudden two dangerous-looking ponies appeared and began to approach the little group, while sporting cruel smirks.

"Sorry if we disturb your little hugfest, " Began condescendingly the one on the right wearing dark robes, while the smell of blood could be smelled even from where the group stood, "But I am afraid you will have to come with us."

"You will help us with a little "project" of ours, " Took over the other, who (for the sake of convenience and simplicity) looked mostly like the other, wearing similar dark robes, "It's so hard to find proper guineapigs these days. But don't worry, we will have plenty much "fun"." Finished the pony with a disturbing smirk, one that was quickly mirrored by the other pony.

The Crusaders did their best to not show their fear, but some of it showed through, while their familiars growled towards the dubious duo. The two former villains felt a mix of disgust and anger, having some ideas of what those two planned for them. Nothing good, that's for sure! During all this, Twilight watched the would-be ponynappers with a calculating gaze.

After a few seconds of pondering, Twilight smiled at the two shady ponies and spoke in a cheery tone: "I think we can come to an agreement." Her friends were shocked by her words, looking at her with wide eyes, while the sinister ponies sported smug smirks, amused by her apparent belief that they had a say in this matter. However, before anypony could've said something about her words she continued in the same, cheery tone: "And don't worry, your help will be most appreciated!" The two were confused by her words but had no chance to answer, because her magic suddenly surrounded their heads and bashed them together, knocking them out cold.

Once Twilight was sure that the two were unconscious, she turned towards her friends. "Well, it was over rather quickly." Commented Nightmare, impressed how easily the two were incapacitated by the purple unicorn. The others nodded in agreement, can't deny the truth in her words. Twilight then turned towards Sombra, who upon noticing it asked: "May can I help you with something?"

"Yes! While I know that these two are clearly evil, but there is any way to find out just how much evil they actually are?" Asked she a little hesitantly. Sombra could feel that she was planning something, so instead of saying that it should be obvious, he actually thought about her question, then after some pondering his horn glowed with dark magic, directed at the would-be foalnappers. As he kept doing this, his expression turned into a slight scowl until he stopped his spellwork and looked at Twilight with a serious expression, while the others looked at him curiously: "I used a spell that allows me to scan a pony's soul, to see if they did something nefarious, since such actions tend to leave marks on one's soul." Explained he, then after taking a breath he continued: "From what I saw, they are some of the most cruel and evil ponies who I've met, and that includes myself, and that says something!" Finished he, his words deeply shocked the others.

"That's great!" Exclaimed Twilight, getting incredulous looks from the others. "It means that we can go along with my plan without having to feel too bad about it!" Said she, then immediately began to drag the two unconscious ponies towards the graveyard. The others then moved to catch up to her and Scootaloo asked: "What do you mean Twilight? What plan?" The others were silently listening, just as curious as the orange pegasus.

"After what Apple Bloom said about her parents, I remembered that in one of the books I have read about a spell that can help us out!" explained she excitedly, while Apple Bloom looked at her with a mixture of doubt and hope. "What kind of spell and how could it help with something like THAT?" Seeing her friend's distress, Twilight quickly elaborated: "It is called the "Resurrection Spell", it can bring back the spirit of dead ponies, reuniting their souls with their bodies." Seeing their shock and their soon coming objections she quickly continued: "I know it sounds evil and dangerous, but it says that if it is done correctly, then there won't be any problems and what happened with Apple Bloom's parents was a mistake and intend to fix it." Said she, determined to help her friend feel better.

"But even if it would work, wouldn't they become zombies with rotting bodies and stuff? Not to mention that it would go against the laws of nature?" Asked Sweetie Belle, having doubts about her friend's plans, even if she too wanted to cheer up her friend. Twilight already expected these questions, so she answered while kept dragging the two unconscious ponies: "If it shouldn't be possible, then why was somepony able to create a spell with this purpose. Also, you don't have to worry, I have read that once the ritual is finished, they will be alive, their bodies healed to the point, where they look like when they passed, any illness or other thing health-problem they possibly had also will be removed." Explained she, as they reached the entrance of the graveyard.

While the CMC was processing what was told to them, Nightmare Moon was surprised that Twilight would come up with something like this and that she was ready to carry out the deed. However, she had no intention to stop them, since those two were evil, even by her own standards, so she felt no pity for them. In fact, she thought that Equestria will be better off without them. She still was curious why (unlike the Twilight she fought) was she so calm and undisturbed by all this. "Probably it's just the side effect of her recent usage of dark magic affecting her and making her more comfortable with using it. Yes, that's probably the case!" Concluded she.

"But why do we need these two?" Asked Scootaloo, pointing at the mature evil duo. Hearing the question, Sombra decided to answer this one (while pondering the same thing as Nightmare): "Because one of the most crucial parts of the resurrection ritual is the proper sacrifice. To bring back two ponies to live, two others must be given in return. Life for life. It's that simple and given how complex the ritual is, offering a simple animal wouldn't be enough, so a pony is needed for the sacrifice, or in this case two." Finished he calmly.

When the Crusaders looked at her with shock and horror, Twilight swiftly began: "I know that it sounds bad, but this is for a good cause and these ponies wanted to do very bad things to us and probably did to others as well. In the end, every good pony wins!" Said she, hoping that she could convince them. "Look, I will not do this if you don't want it. I promise!" Added she, meaning every word. After many seconds of exchanged glances and thinking, finally, Apple Bloom looked at Twilight with determination: "I agree." While she was still shaking, she made up her mind and nothing would change it, while Root gently nuzzled to her, trying to show his support. The other two-thirds of the CMC was surprised, but quickly shook it off and agreed, sticking with their friends, no matter what.

The group soon reached the two graves, where Apple Bloom took a breath to steel her nerves, then they set out to dig up the graves and begin the preparations. When the two hog-tied ponies regained their senses, first were confused about what happened, then they recalled the purple filly's words. They also became aware that they were bound, in a graveyard, right before two freshly unearthed graves, surrounding them, circles and various symbols were drawn. Then they looked up and saw the younglings were done with the preparations.

"Hey! What's going on! Let us go at once!" Demanded the two soon-to-be sacrifices, unsure of what was going on, but knew that something was going on and not in their favor. Seeing that their captives were awake, Twilight turned towards them with her smile from before returned: "Sorry, but I am afraid we can't do that. It would be more complicated to do the ritual if you were allowed to move and try to leave before we could be finished." Said she cheerily. "Also, you can stop trying to use your magic in an attempt to escape, as we made sure that you can't use it." Added she, more as an afterthought. This prompted the two to look at each other and saw that black crystals were protruding from their horns. To their growing horror, they realized that she was telling the truth when they tried and failed to use their magic.

Seeing the growing fear on their faces, Twilight quickly added: "Don't worry, I can assure you that your sacrifice will be for a good cause, more than what you planned to do with us!" Finished she, at the end with an audible edge in her voice. The two tried to further protest, but their attempts were stopped, when Twilight stuffed some rags into their mouths with her magic. After that, she turned away from them and rejoined her friends and they slowly began the ritual.

Twilight and the others in the group with horns began to build up a great amount of magic, that slowly began to change color from the various colors of their respective magic's, to the familiar black, green, and purple of dark magic. Then the dark energy washed over the hornless members of the group, their own magic being added to the ever-growing mass of dark magical energy. More and more power was gathered, then Sombra and Twilight began to weave the energy, as the symbols around them started to glow. The two shady ponies struggled in vain to free themselves, their attempts growing more desperate, as they finally realized how dangerous these fillies and one colt were. But it was too late already. Slowly, the dark magic crept on them, draining their life energy and transferring it towards the two pony corpses. Soon, there was nothing left of the two evil unicorns, but bones and their robes. On the contrary, the corpses of Apple Bloom's parents were laying on the ground unconsciously, their bodies restored perfectly, slowly breathing.

Tears of happiness fell from Apple Bloom's eyes, as she watched the sleeping forms of her parents. As the group stood there silently, just enjoying the moment Scootaloo suddenly asked: "Why did they not yet wake up?"

"Because the connection between their bodies and souls is still fresh and it requires some more time to complete the merger. They are sleeping it through since experiencing such a process while conscious would be excruciatingly painful. But don't worry, a few hours and they will wake up without any issue, maybe a little hungry but nothing too bad." Explained Sombra calmly, getting nods of understanding from the others (well, most understood).

However, Sombra and Nightmare Moon soon noticed that the CMC were covered in a dark aura, while their eyes started to glow, the happiness on their faces slowly giving place to wicked glee. As the two former villains began to get nervous, they heard a voice speak up: "And this is just the beginning, I have so many fun ideas of what to do next!" Turning towards the voice, they saw it was Twilight who spoke, the same signs of dark magical corruption apparent on her, even more than with the CMC. She sported an evil smirk, her horn already glowing, ready to cast more dark spell. Sombra and Nightmare slowly started to back away from the four corrupted fillies, with the feeling of foreboding growing by the second.

On the other side of Ponyville, a familiar blue-coated unicorn mare with a magician's hat and cape was approaching the town, plans of confronting Twilight Sparkle to once and for all prove her greatness and powerfulness running through her head, unaware of the danger ahead.