Alicorns are not so Rare

     The dark journey through the Everfree Forest was surprisingly quick. No pony spoke. The Princesses led them through the thick trees. Eventually, Celestia turned to the younger ponies. "We will be in the men's territory soon. We will try to reason with the men first, but if that does not work, you will need these." She pulled six familiar objects out of her saddle bag. The Elements of Harmony.

     "Aww, yeah! Element time!" Rainbow cheered. The others stayed at her for a moment. "Uh...heh, heh..." The Elements of Harmony were put on quickly and then the party moved deeper into the Everfree.

     Suddenly, they stepped out into a clearing. The night sky shone above them. There were huge bonfires and many tent-like huts. Upon closer inspection, Twilight discovered the cloth like coverings of the tents looked like skins. She suddenly felt very uneasy and warm. Stifling really, but she couldn't leave. There would be no element of magic! It did seem to be getting very hot though, and she felt like she was going to be sick. What sort of creature uses skins like that? Twilight tried not to think about it and looked over at her friends. They seemed fine, even Fluttershy. They must not have seen the skins yet.

     "I am Celestia! Princess and guardian of your Sun! I demand to see your leader!" The element bearing ponies were startled by the loud voice of the princess. A single figure exited one of the tents. It walked on two legs, and wore clothes of more skins.

     "I see no sun," he said in a growling voice, "I am Chief Mathias, leader of this clan."

     "THOU MAY SEE NO SUN, BUT SURELY THY TINY BRAIN WILL RECOGNIZE MY MOON!" Princess Luna roared, using the Royal Canterlot voice. The man frowned.

     "What do you stupid horses want?" he asked, unfazed. Rainbow snorted.

     "No one speaks to the princesses like that!" she shouted, preparing to pounce on the man. Someone grabbed her tail and held her down, probably Applejack. She pouted and sat still on the ground. No one ever let Rainbow pounce.

     "We wish to recover our kin," Celestia stated diplomatically, "We have reason to believe you have kept them imprisoned." Mathias leered.

     "Maybe we have your pony friends, and maybe we don't. You have no proof," he said, just as a shadow passed over him. He looked up at the dark sky. Suddenly, a burst of colored light exploded above the clearing, and a figure swooped down to the ponies, landing next to them.

     "They've got proof alright, Mathias," the pony said in a confident voice, "They've got me." Twilight ran up and hugged the pony, her uneasiness about her surroundings temporarily forgotten.

     "Chroma, you're okay," she cried, "Is...is it true? Are you really a princess?" Chroma turned her multicolored eyes to Twilight, then to Celestia and Luna, who were staring at her.

     "Yes, Twilight. It's true, but we have no time for reunions. I can take you to the alicorns. We will fly though, so the Earth ponies and unicorns will need to be carried."

     "Oh, no you don't, little alicorn," Mathias roared, "We will never let you get anywhere." The man's words fell on deaf ears as the ponies prepared to leave. Twilight put up a force field to keep the men away so they could take off.

     "Rarity, we shall take thee," Luna said, "Climb unto our back." Rarity did so, even though she did not want to fly.

     "Hey AJ, I'll carry you, but just this once," Rainbow said. She leaned in close to Applejack. "I don't think Fluttershy will be able to carry anypony. That's why I'm doing this." AJ rolled her eyes.

     "Pinkie Pie," Chroma addressed the pink earth pony, but found her floating several feet off the ground, held up by balloons, "Nevermind..." She instead turned to Twilight. "Twilight, I will carry you..." She noticed the odd way Twilight was staring at the men. "Twilight?" She walked over to the mare, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "Twilight,we need to go, now."

     "Their tents...They're covered in skins..." Twilight whispered. Chroma sighed.

     "Yes, I know, Twilight," she said, "but they must do it. They require it for warmth and protection." She used her magic to lift the unicorn onto her back, but it was a bit difficult, seeing as they were about the same size.

     "Let's go," Celestia said, "Chroma, my sister, you will need to lead the way." Chroma nodded and took off. Twilight lowered her shield as they approached the edge of it. The men below shot at them. Pointed sticks whizzed past the ponies, but the men could not get a good shot. Chroma led them away from the camp and deeper into the Everfree forest.

     When at last she came down to land, about a miles's distance had been covered. Everypony followed Chroma as she landed, trying to make as little noise as possible. "Quickly!" Chroma said, "Follow me!" She pushed a patch of shrubbery out of the way, revealing a small, dark hole. "This is how I escaped, so the men do not know of it." The ponies started through the hole. It tunneled down into a large cavern. "Come on. We need to move quickly."

      Eight ponies rushed through the damp dark corridors. Rarity slipped and fell, and AJ had to cover her mouth to keep her exclamations quiet. She kept going, though she kept trying to wipe the mud off her white coat.

      The ponies came to a huge cavern. It was so dark that they could not see anything. Twilight sent a light spell across the room to illuminate the cavern. The shadows cast by the light were odd and unclear. It was not bright enough. Celestia and Luna cast there own illumination spells. The three balls of light cast enough light for the ponies to clearly make out what this giant room contained.

       "Who are you? You do not look like men."

       "They are equines! Ponies!"

       "I am Celestia. Goddess of the Sun and princess of Equestria." Celestia's booming voice echoed.

       "And I am Luna. Goddess of the Moon and also a princess of Equestria."

       It was quiet for a minute until one of the trapped ponies yelled, "They've come to rescue us. Our oppression is over!"