Friendship is Destruction

Chapters

Cutie Map Conundrum
Ponyville Peril
Canterlot-of-Screams

Cutie Map Conundrum

Twilight frowned as she trotted inside the castle of friendship. It had been quite awhile since she'd stepped inside here. Being the new ruler of Equestria was so busy that she hadn't visited Ponyville since the shift in leadership. She had recieved a letter from her friends that the cutie map had been trying to summon her for the whole day. In any other situation she'd have to either decline or ask Starlight to go with them if her former student wasn't doing her principal duties at the school. But this was the cutie map, and if it was calling her specifically then the mission could be disastrous without her. She trotted through the halls of her old home, nostalgia hitting her deep in the heart. She only wished Spike had come along to feel this with her, but he'd stayed behind to try and keep things going while she was away. She was taken from her thoughts as she entered a room all too familiar to her. There it sat, the cutie map. And around it, all of her friends sat, laughing and chatting. Something so simple and common, and it made Twilight's eyes tear up. Only Twilight's chair was empty, and next to it sat Starlight, who noticed her old teacher first. "Twilight! You're here!"

Twilight smiled as the purple unicorn raced up to her. "Starlight! It's great to see you!"

Pinkie tackled Twilight over and giggled, her hair bouncing. "Twilight you're here! I've gotta catch you up on all the parties you missed!"

Applejack dragged Pinkie off, smiling just a little. "Now calm down Pinkie, I'm happy to see her too but this isn't a social call."

Rainbow Dash flew over quickly and hovered over Twilight, excitement gleaming in her eyes. "Are you kidding me? An adventure is the ultimate social call!"

Rarity trotted over gracefully, wearing a beautiful purple dress. "Indeed it is! But a serious one nonetheless."

Twilight tilted her head. "That's a nice dress Rarity, but what's the occasion? Nothing too special is happening."

Rarity made what only could be described as disbelieving beatbox noises. "As if I wasn't going to look great seeing our greatest friend again! And a journey is about the dress not the destination!" Twilight decided not to correct that statement.

Fluttershy stayed in her seat and smiled shyly. "I think it's a beautiful dress, Rarity. Especially because we won't be going anywhere, so it won't get ruined."

Twilight raised an eyebrow "Huh? What do you mean by that, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy ducked her head ever so slightly. "Well, um... You see-"

Rainbow Dash zoomed in front of Fluttershy, interrupting. "The map says the problem is right here in the castle!"

Twilight frowned and approached the map for a closer look. Her, Fluttershy's, Applejack's, Rarity's, Rainbow Dash's, and Pinkie Pie's cutie marks were all hovering around the castle on the map. "That's a little strange..."

Applejack stepped forward. "We thought about going without you, with you being ruler and all, but the moment we began to speak about it, your mark started glowing brighter. Like it was waiting for you."

Twilight blinked in surprise. "That's very strange! I wonder what the problem could be..." She put a hoof on the table and gasped as it started to vibrate. In a flash, a ball of light floated from the table and flew down the hall, the cutie marks following it. Twilight felt a rush of adventure she'd not felt in a long while and smirked just a bit. "Come on girls! Let's go!"

They all took off after the light and eventually came to a familiar room. It was the room that housed the portal to the human world and Canterlot High. The ball of light went just inside the glass and the swirling purple light in the mirror slowly faded to red. The ball then disappeared and the cutie marks swirled in a circle around it. Starlight frowned. "Isn't that the portal to Canterlot High?"

Twilight looked thoughtful. "It was, but... Now I'm not so sure. When leading to the human world, it was glowing purple. Call me crazy but maybe the ball of light changed the destination?"

Rainbow Dash looked excited. "A new world to explore and we all get to go this time?! Heck yeah, let's go!"

She went to zoom in but Applejack gripped her tail with her teeth and pulled her back down. "Now hold on Dash! We have no idea what's waiting for us in there! We need to prepare!"

Rarity shook her head. "Usually I'd agree, but how do we prepare for something we know nothing about. We should just go in quickly and get a grip on our surroundings as fast as possible."

Pinkie jumped up and down. "Maybe they've never had parties there and I can throw a party for a whole entire world!"

Fluttershy eyed the portal nervously. "Red glowing usually means bad... Maybe we should prepare."

No one seemed to notice Fluttershy speaking and Twilight simply nodded. "Alright let's do this."

Fluttershy sighed. "Why do I even bother?"

Starlight looked from the portal to Twilight. "Fluttershy is right. Red glow usually means something bad. As a precaution, if you aren't back withing 48 hours I'm going to get Celestia and Luna. I'm sure if it meant getting you all out of danger, they wouldn't mind coming out of retirement for a day."

Fluttershy smiled and mouthed 'thank you' to Starlight, who winked back at her. Twilight was about to argue, panicked that if the former rulers needed to save them, they would think she was failing as leader, but sighed, knowing Starlight was stubborn. She couldn't help a slight smile. "Agreed. Now is everypony ready?" Everypony nodded except Fluttershy who gulped and eyed the portal worriedly. Twi looked at the portal and took a deep breath. "Let's go!"

With that the Mane Six ran through the portal. "Good luck, and be careful!" Starlight called after them, as they faded away from sight.

Author's Note

This is my first time writing a fanfiction in years. Any pointers or places I could edit would be appreciated!

Ponyville Peril

Twilight opened her eyes slowly and gasped in awe. They were standing where her castle was... Or at least where it would have been if it was still here. They were back in Ponyville, no doubt about it. But instead of the bright blue sky, the sky was red with dark purple swirls scattered throughout. The moon was blood red and the sun was blue, both up at the same time. Stars in the sky were black and few in numbers. Twilight looked away from the sky and at the town. It certainly wasn't abandoned, but almost nopony was outside, and the ones that were out were dragging their hooves and hanging their heads in sadness, but creepy smiles plastered on their faces. The buildings were all the same color, but darker shades, a couple buildings looked destroyed forcefully. Twilight took a couple steps back and stuttered. "I-I don't understand. Why is everything so... Dark..?"

"Twilight you're gonna wanna see this!" Twilight turned at the sound of Applejack's voice and ran to her and the mirror. "Look!" AJ put her hoof on the mirror and pushed. "The portal is closed!"

Twilight felt her heart pound. There was something wrong about this place and now they were trapped here. Pinkie Pie made a whining sound, and Twilight was so unused to hearing something like that from Pinkie that she jumped in shock. She turned wondering what was wrong then covered her mouth, seeing what made Pinkie whine. Sugarcube Corner was torn apart, and the parts that weren't looked like they'd been burned. It was as if it was set on fire and most of it collapsed. Twilight put a hoof on Pinkies shoulder. "I... I suddenly don't wanna party anymore..." Pinkie sniffled.

Rainbow Dash suddenly landed next to Twilight, Fluttershy not far behind. The usually quiet pony was sobbing and Rainbow Dash had a hoof around her. "Guys, something is really messed up here. Applejacks farm is in ruins and the sign says 'Sweet Orange Orchards!' And Fluttershy's cottage is... It's filled with animal bones..."

Twilight felt her heart twist and went to say something but heard a familiar cry. She turned her head to see Rarity outside of what used to be her boutique. It was as if it had been sliced in half, and everything inside was smashed, the clothes in shreds.

Twilight looked around at her friends, all of them clearly in emotional pain, and took a deep breath, teleporting them all around her. "Guys, I know this is all a lot to take in, but this isn't out home! The castle isn't here and the sun isn't blue back home. The farms sign should be evidence enough that this isn't where we come from. It's another world. Back home, everything is still fine."

This seemed to calm her friends a bit and Twilight felt a rush of relief. "Alright Everypony, this alternate world seems very dark and strange so I think we should lay low."

"Indeed you should!" Twilight squeaked in surprise and turned around to see who spoke. There stood a familiar gray pegasus with crossed eyes. Except her hair and eyes were not golden, but orange, and she wore glasses, making her crossed eyes look a little bigger. Her cutie mark were three lightbulbs.

Rainbow Dash looked confused. "Derpy? Is that you?"

Derpy frowned. "Derpy? Is that my name where you come from? How fascinating. But yes AND no. I am not Derpy. More accurately I'm this worlds counterpart to your mistaken mare. My name is Smarty Hooves. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances, but you need to hide immediately. Follow me."

Rainbow Dash flew in front of her with an accusing expression. "You can't be serious! How in Celestia's name do we know that this isn't a trap?" Smarty flinched as soon as the name 'Celestia' was spoken but kept her composure. "Would you rather stay here and get attacked, arrested, or killed?"

"Arrested?! What in the Sam hill for?!" Sputtered Applejack.

Fluttershy's eyes widened. "K-killed?!"

Twilight felt her alarm rising but tried to hide it for her friends. "I say we follow her. She's the only lead we've got."

Rarity nodded. "Yes, the faster we figure things out the better. I want to go home."

Pinkie smiled wide. "Yeah, then we can have a huge par-tay!"

Twilight noticed something in Pinkies eyes. It seemed Twi wasn't the only one trying to hide how she felt. Smarty straightened her glasses. "The longer you're out in the open, the more danger you're in. Now come along."

The girls silently followed the alternate mare they knew. When they reached their destination, Twilight felt a tear go down her cheek. It seemed there was one good thing about this place. "Golden Oak Library?"

Smarty nodded. "Yes. I'm the owner, actually." She opened the door and stepped aside. "Come in, wipe your hooves."

Twilight's heart twisted a little as she looked around inside. It was exactly as she remembered it. "It's so beautiful..."

Smarty smiled a bit. "Why, thank you! I try to keep it well maintained despite the state the rest of Equestria is in. This place is special to me and-" she stopped noticing the emotion in Twilights face. "Oh dear. Is something wrong?"

Fluttershy spoke quietly but just loud enough for Smarty to hear. "When she moved to our Ponyville, she lived in this library. There was a battle and we saved Equestria, but the library was destroyed in the fight. It really hurt her."

Smarty's eyes softened a bit as she looked at Twilight. "That must have been very hard. I'd say to stick around and enjoy the familiarity, but unfortunately we have no time for pleasantries. You six are in grave danger."

Twilight looked even more confused than before. "But why? What's going on? Why would we be in trouble?"

Smarty sighed. "If I overheard you correctly, then I am at the conclusion that you're from an alternative world or reality where Equestria is in a much better state of being. While I'm happy a world as such exists, if I'm recognizing you as the ponies I think you are, you're in deep peril."

Applejack adjusted her hat, frowning. "Why? Is the 'us' that live here important?"

Smarty looked a little uncomfortable. "To make a long story short, yes, that is the case. And if you are found by the tyrants of this world, you'll either be thrown into prison with only enough food not to die, be tortured, or just be destroyed on the spot."

Rarity shuddered. "This is very, er... Helpful information. But it doesn't provide much insight to this world. Where are the other us? Who are these tyrants you spoke of? Why is the fashion here so horrible?"

Smarty Hooves raised an eyebrow at the last question but ignored it. "Listen, I'd love to give you the answers, but I'm not a huge part of these things other than giving shelter to those who wander, needing help. I think the Defenders would better explain this all."

Fluttershy tilted her head. "The Defenders? Who are they?"

Smarty chuckled a little. "The most amazing ponies I've ever met, that's who. They defend as many ponies as they can from our rulers. And even though they're a small group, they're doing their best to stand up."

Rainbow Dash elbowed Pinkie. "Ha, who does that sound like to you?"

Twilight looked thoughtful. "And where can we find these... Defenders?"

Smarty tapped the side of her glasses, thinking. "If I remember correctly... Then the last I heard, they were sneaking around Canterlot, surveying the area and trying to find a way in. But I wouldn't suggest going there unless you're extremely quiet. So I wouldn't bring the pink one."

Pinkie Pie, who was about to fire a party cannon that she seemed to pull from nowhere, stopped dead and chuckled, trying to hide the cannon behind her. "Hey, I just wanted to liven things up!"

Twilight laughed a little at Pinkie, but it didn'tlast. She looked back at Smarty. "Alright, I hate to do this, but until we know more, we should only take the quietest of us to Canterlot. Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, you two stay here."

Rainbow Dash looked annoyed. "Hey! I'm sooooo not loud!" She then realized she'd shouted and looked more annoyed. "Ugh, fine."

Twilight looked at Rarity. "You keep an eye on them while we're gone." Rarity nodded and Twi turned to Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, I know how you get scared sometimes, but the more silent we are, the better. Are you okay to come with?"

Fluttershy gulped and took a deep breath. "I... I think so, yes. Anything to leave this place."

Twilight looked to Applejack. "Applejack will you-?" Before she could finish, Applejack drew an invisible 'X' over her mouth with her hoof, giving a wink. Twilight nodded, and looked out the window. For the first time, she saw the Canterlot of this world in the distance. The colorful castle and buildings now black, grey, and red with dark clouds above the city. "Good. Alright Everypony. Let's go to Canterlot."

Canterlot-of-Screams

Twilight groaned in annoyance as they snuck around Dark Canterlot. Her, Applejack, and Fluttershy had been sneaking around for awhile and not only could they not find these 'Defenders' but they couldn't find any other pony as well. It seemed like either everyone stayed inside or... Something worse was going on. There seemed to be no entrance into the castle either. Fluttershy tapped Twilights shoulder. "M-Maybe be should turn back... This is looking like a lost cause..."

Applejack shook her head. "We can't give up now! We've spent so much time already here, we may as well finish!"

"Applejack is right," Twilight said, determined. "We haven't even checked the hedge maze or the sculpture garden yet! We need to cover there first, and if we don't find anything we'll head back."

Fluttershy opened her mouth to argue but just frowned, her tail dragging dejectedly as she followed. Soon enough they arrived at the sculpture maze, all the statues seeming to have been destroyed. Twilight looked at the ruins of the statues with pain in her heart when she heard a scream. She turned to see Fluttershy having what looked like a panic attack. Twilight ran over as fast as possible. "Fluttershy, what's wrong?! We have to be quiet or-" She stopped when she saw why Fluttershy was screaming, her blood going cold. "Oh... Oh Celestia, no..."

Toppled over onto the ground was the statue of discord, the stone sliced into chunks and pieces in many places. Discord mouth was twisted in what looked like a horrified and painful scream, but his eyes were a mystery, because the rest of the face looked like it'd been bucked in and shattered, a crater where his eyes should have been. Applejack tried to cover Fluttershy's face with her hat. "Fluttershy, please don't look at it. It's gonna be okay."

Fluttershy hugged Applejack. "D-Discord told me he could see, hear, and feel everything while encased in stone! Oh Celestia, please don't let him still be alive in that stone!"

"Well I sure hope he is!" Applejack laughed.

Twilight gasped and glared at Applejack. "Excuse me?! How dare you say that!"

Applejack looked horrified. "Twi... That wasn't me." The three friends turned around to see something truly shocking.

It was Applejack. Or at least they had the same body and mane shape. But the color of her mane was a bright orange, almost red. Her eyes gleamed red in the shadows against her grayish orange coat. Her cutie mark seemed to be a blood orange. "Well what do we got here? Y'all look very familiar and I don't reckon that be a coincidence!" She laughed a loud and mocking laugh, then smirked. "The name is Blood Orange. Y'all looking for something in particular?"

Twilight didn't know what to say, but finally shook off her shock. "We um... Are looking for the Defenders?"

Blood Oranges eyes went dark then she smirked wider. "Oh I know them! If I was a nice pony I'd show ya to them right now!" Without warning she quickly threw a lasso out towards them. "But I ain't a nice pony!"

The lasso landed around Fluttershy's neck. She tried to let out a scream but the rope suddenly tightened and squeezed her throat, so she couldn't make a noise or breath. She tried to fly away, but Blood Orange was very strong. Twilight quickly used her magic on the rope to loosen it a bit, but with the evil pony's pulling, she could only loosen it enough for Fluttershy to take shallow breaths. Applejack looked angry. "How dare ya treat my friend like that ya coward!" She went to tackle Blood Orange when from the maze garden came a song.

"Hush now, quiet now,
It's time to rest your weary head.
Hush now, quiet now,
It's time to go to bed~!"

Twilight groaned, feeling her magic grip on the rope faltering as her eyelids became heavy. Applejack stumbled and tried to fight it, but fell over, instantly asleep. Twilight kept balance for a moment but saw someone exiting the maze. It looked like Fluttershy but her hair was baby blue, and she had a strange symbol on her throat, her eyes seemed sad and glowed blue as her hypnotic song finally made Twilight collapse. Fluttershy was wheezing and closing her eyes as the rope pulled, when out of nowhere three figures dropped from the sky. Two tackled Blood Orange, freeing Fluttershy, while the third attacked the other blue haired Fluttershy, or whatever her name was. But it was too late. The song had done what it needed to do, and Twilight fell into sleep...

_________________________

Twilight sat up in bed with a yell. "Fluttershy! Applejack! No!"

"Woah partner! Calm down there!"

Twilight looked up, breathing fast. There stood what looked like Apple Bloom. But her hair was dark blue and her eyes and bow were light blue. Her cutie mark was the CMC symbol, but instead of an apple, there was a Blueberry on the mark. Her coat was a grayish blue and she was about the age of Twilight somehow. "You've got a nasty bump on your head there. Must of hit it when you collapsed."

Twilight looked confused. "I... I don't understand. Where are we? Who saved us, Apple Bloom?"

The familiar pony frowned. "The name is Orange Blossom, unfortunately. And me and my friends Cutie Bell and Scootz saved y'all. We're the Cutie Mark Defenders."

Twilight smiled a bit then remembered something, looking panicked. "My friends! Are they okay?!" She sat up more and groaned in pain.

Orange Blossom held her in place. "Stay in bed! You need rest! And your friends are alright. Scootz is caring for the pegasus and Cutie Bell is helping um... That pony that looks like my deranged sis? Care ta explain that?"

Twilight nodded and did her best to explain her story, giving details about their own world and how they got to this point. "I know it sounds unbelievable but it's true! Oh, I wish we'd never come here!"

Orange Blossom looked patient. "I can't say I blame ya. But I do believe you. You and your friends appearance are too eerily similar to our tormentors."

"Thanks for believing and saving us Apple Bloom- er- Orange Blossom." Twilight smiled, but couldn't help but eye Orange Blossom's cutie mark.

She noticed Twilight's gaze and sighed. "Ya wondering why I'm an adult and why my cutie mark is a Blueberry if I'm named Orange Blossom?"

Twi looked a little embarrassed. "A little bit. But you don't have to tell me if it's personal."

Orange Blossom chuckled. "Naw it's fine. Well ya see, my family has been farming Oranges for generations upon generations! It was something the family was so very proud of! Then I was born. They thought it odd that I had blue hair but shrugged it off. But as I got older, they saw I hated oranges. I hated the taste and everything about 'em. Couldn't grow 'em either. But I loved blueberries. The moment they found out I wanted to run a blueberry farm someday they started forcing me to dye my hair orange and banned any other food for me to eat except oranges. It was torture. But my sister... She was kind. She built me and my friends a treehouse so I could get away and brought me different food in secret every day. But then you- well this worlds version of you, Aurora Sparkle, she befriended Blood Orange and some other ponies. Then they all began to change, acting foul and angry, and hurting others. Then one day they went to Canterlot... And our princesses disappeared. They rule now and do terrible things to anyone who steps out of line. I'd like to think my sister is still inside there somewhere but I've seen her be ruthless. She used to be so honest and caring... One day me, Scootz, and Cutie Bell escaped and found a strange flower. We decided to set up camp there and made a wish. A wish that we were old enough and strong enough to take back Equestria and save the world. And the flower dropped it's last petal, making us older. Unbelievable I know, but that's when we changed our name from Crusaders, to Defenders. And we've been helping ponies wherever possible ever since. Smarty Hooves is sort of a informant."

Twilight took a moment to let everything Orange Blossom said sink in. "Wow... This is all so much..."

Orange Blossom looked sad. "I'm sorry you and your friends got torn from your happy world into this mess. We'll take you all to Ponyville soon and try to get you home."

Twilight looked up, wishing she could see the stars of her world instead of the ceiling in this sad dark world. "I hope my friends are doing better than we are..."