Rise of Ruinous

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: RISE OF RUINOUS

Chapter 6 - Rise Above the Rest

The time: One month after Trixie enrolled in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.

Trixie: Now, let's see.....

The showpony concentrates as she tries lifting up a water tower, in the way Twilight Sparkle did when she soothed the Ursa Minor.

Trixie: UMPH!  Darn thing's so heavy.....

As she strains, Princess Celestia watches, then spots an eidolon (aka image or illusion) of an Ursa Minor walking right towards her!  Trixie spots it and screeches!

P.Celestia: LUNA!!!

P.Luna: *laughing*  Aw, c'mon, sis, she's gotta learn to stay on her hooves!

Trixie smirks, using her magic to tie up the moon goddess like a rodeo calf and puts an apple in her mouth.  Princess Luna's glare was met with Trixie's confident smirk.

Trixie: Point taken, princess.

Princess Celestia laughs a bit as Princess Luna sighs.

*INTRO SEQUENCE*

Nightmare Moon is heading for Sugar Cube Corner.  Along the way, several ponies thank her for helping them sleep, the night mare thanking them back.  When she arrives at Sugar Cube Corner, Pinkie Pie is working the register.

P.Pie: Hello, Nightmare Moon.  What brings YOU here?

N.Moon: Just checking in on Princess Celestia's cake.  *She spots the Cake Twins*  Aw!  *She gets her head down low enough to see them eye-to-eye, which involves her chin almost hitting the floor*  Aren't you two the cutest foals in all of Equestria?  *Pound Cake laughs, then lightly "pounds" Nightmare Moon right on her helmet*  (while melodramatically "fainting"): OH! You got me!  *She ends up on her back, then the toddlers tickle her, the former enemy of Equestria laughing and having fun, much to Pinkie Pie's delight, then she gets up in a knelt position and spots a shape outside.....* Huh?

P.Pie: *Nightmare Moon gets up* What is it?

N.Moon: I thought I saw something outside.

The Mare in the Moon zips outside, looking around fast.  Then she takes to the air, again seeing nothing..... until she looks to the Everfree Forest and spots a shadowy form with a long neck!

N.Moon: H-HEY!  *runs full speed*  Hang-on!

Despite the fact that the form had to be taller than even Princess Celestia, it was able to evade Nightmare Moon.  After a while, the Mare in the Moon skids to a halt, gasping for breath.

N.Moon: Whoa.....  Who WAS that?

She teleports back to Sugar Cube Corner, spotting Pinkie Pie and the twins.

P.Pie: Well?

N.Moon: She ran before..... I could talk to her.  *shrug*  Maybe she knows about who I was, but.....

P.Pie: Or maybe, she's.....!

N.Moon: *She stops Pinkie Pie with a hoof to her mouth* Remember what happened with Zecora?

The party pony nods, then Nightmare Moon takes her hoof off Pinkie Pie's mouth.  The twins begin playing hide-and-seek with Nightmare Moon's tail, the dark mare chuckling a bit.  Later that day, Nightmare Moon stopped off at Twilight Sparkle's library and tells her about what happened at Sugar Cube Corner.

N.Moon: So, I saw a giraffe?

T.Sparkle: *nod* Possibly.  If a zebra lives in the Everfree Forest, it's not that farfetched that a giraffe would live there, too.

N.Moon: But from what I heard about Zecora, this giraffe's kinda the reverse - she's more scared of us than we are of her.

T.Sparkle: Really?

N.Moon: *nod* I was just playing with the twins when I spotted her out the window.  I tried to talk to her, but she just bolted.

T.Sparkle: Poor thing.....  Well, maybe she just needs some time to get used to other ponies.

N.Moon: Perhaps.  I just hope she realizes how nice you all are.

T.Sparkle: She will.

Nightmare Moon nods, smiling and feeling a bit better.  Later that day, the princesses are in Ponyville as the townsponies celebrate Princess Celestia's birthday.  Nightmare Moon looks around a bit, especially near the Everfree Forest.

P.Celestia: You OK, Moon?

N.Moon: Uh, yeah.....

The festivities start as the princesses have a ball.  The shadowy form watches from just inside the forest, sighing nervously.  It retreats into the darkness, pawing at the ground along the way.  Later that week, Fluttershy shrieks out!

Fluttershy: Angel Bunny, what's wrong?!

T.Sparkle: *rushes into Fluttershy's cottage* What-is-it?

Fluttershy: It's-Angel-Bunny!  He-must've-gotten-hold-of-something-bad-and-it's.....

Twilight Sparkle looked at Angel Bunny.  He was breathing wide-open-mouthedly and running a fever.  Twilight Sparkle finds a baby stroller and puts the stricken bunny into it.  Nightmare Moon gallops up, ready to grab the stroller for a high-speed trip to Zecora's..... when out of the forest leaps.....

N.Moon, T.Sparkle and Fluttershy: *GASP!*

Standing before the flabbergasted trio was a giraffe 1-1/2 times as tall as Nightmare Moon, her spots deep red and the spaces between them Miles-"Tails"-Prower-orange.  She approaches the stroller and looks at the bunny, putting a hoof on its head.  Suddenly, she spots Rarity's latest dress creation, decorated with emeralds and heads towards it, plucking three off!

Rarity: H-HEY!  What-the-?!

The giraffe races back to the stroller and - carefully for such a large animal - touches the gems to the rabbit's head.  Fluttershy gasps as she sees the rabbit seem to recover right before her eyes!

Fluttershy: whoa.....

Twilight Sparkle doesn't know what to think about this display as Angel Bunny seems to get completely better just from having three gemstones put to its forehead!  As the ponies make a huge fuss over Angel's recovery, the giraffe seems to disappear back into the forest.

N.Moon: Aw, no!  Not-after-that!

Nightmare Moon takes off after the giraffe, matching the massive equid's speed.  The two zip around trees, over rivers and up-and-down hills before Nightmare Moon spots the giraffe's goal - an abandoned Ursa Major cave.  Nightmare Moon growls and turns into her purple cloud form, reappearing as an alicorn right in front of the cave.  The giraffe gasps, skidding to a halt!

N.Moon: HOLD-IT!  *The giraffe slowly stands up*  What's... wrong?!

Giraffe F: ........*sigh* I just.....

N.Moon: You just what?

Giraffe F: I just don't look like everypony else, I.....

N.Moon: *snort*  Is THAT all?  Look-at-me, do I look like everypony else?  I used to be the Mare in the Moon, sent to the moon as punishment only to be freed every millenium to banish Princess Celestia to the sun and bring about night-time everlasting until I got rebanished to the moon by the Elements of Harmony.  Do I sound like I'm normal to you?

Giraffe F: *bows her head, then looks semi-up* I just don't know if they'd like me.

N.Moon: Oh, PLEASE!  They got me, a zebra and a buffalo herd on their friends lists.  Now, come on.  Please.

The giraffe sighs, then nods slowly.  Nightmare Moon smiles and leads the giraffe back to the town, then the giraffe stops.  Nightmare Moon only needed to see the bridge and she understood, nodding at the giraffe.

N.Moon: *chuckle* OK.

Nightmare Moon emerges from the forest with a sigh.

N.Moon: Stop me if you heard this one.

Virtuna: The only way she'll talk to us is if we stay over here.

N.Moon: *laugh*  Yeah.

P.Celestia: *lands nearby, everypony bowing*  Where is this newcomer?

Nervously, slowly, the giraffe walked out of the forest.

P.Celestia: *gasp* oh.

R.Dash: Wow.....

The giraffe starts to back up until Nightmare Moon put her mane on her back reassuringly.

N.Moon: calm down, k?

The giraffe nods as Rarity smirks at it.

Rarity: You know, I HAD spares.

Giraffe F: S-s-sorry, it was an emergency.

T.Sparkle: How'd'ya know what to use to help Angel Bunny?

Giraffe F: I-I-I'm a crystal healer.

Fluttershy: I see.  Thanks for saving Angel Bunny.

Giraffe F: Y-y-you're welcome, miss.

Virtuna: My cousin's like ya, Miss Giraffe.  He can't stop himself from stuttering, either.

Giraffe F: R-r-really?  A-a-and nopony m-m-minds?

Virtuna smile-smirks and dashes to the front, showing the giraffe her artificial leg.  The giraffe jaw-drops in shock.

Giraffe F: I did n-n-not see that.....

Virtuna: *nod*  And I think I am more different than you.  All you do is stutter a bit, I was BORN with only three legs near the biggest city in Equestria.  I think I'd have just a TIIIIIIIIIIIINY bit more of a problem fitting in.

Virtuna and the giraffe laugh.

Giraffe F: M-m-my name's Corinne.

P.Celestia: *nod* Nice to meet you.

Corinne spots Princess Celestia and bows just like the other ponies do.

P.Celestia: !! Very impressive.

Corinne: Y-y-yeah, I've been p-p-practicing.

P.Celestia: It shows.

Zecora: I wondered who was in that cave, looking for the gems it gave.

Rarity: Gems?

Corinne: *nod* I u-u-use them for h-h-healing.

T.Sparkle: Sounds VERY interesting, Corinne.  Would you want to tell me about it?

Corinne: *looks at Twilight Sparkle..... and smiles* I'd l-l-love to!

P.Pie: Well, we know what to do here, don't we?

N.Moon: *chuckle* Party time?

Some time later, a party welcoming Corinne is in full swing, the giraffe having fun with her new friends.

T.Sparkle (voice-over): Dear Princess Celestia,

Today, one of our newest friends found out the real secret to friendship: Being a friend means seeing past others' differences to find the special pony they are inside.  Once you open your heart, anyone can be a friend to count on.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

That night, Twilight Sparkle and Corinne walk to the library.

T.Sparkle: WOO!

Corinne: P-P-Pinkie Pie sure knows how to th-th-throw a party!

T.Sparkle: *chuckle* That she does.

Corinne: Th-th-thank you so much f-f-for letting me stay with you.

T.Sparkle: You're welcome, Corinne, although I can't see.....

Corinne smiles at Twilight Sparkle, then opens the doors wide.  She then tilts her head into the door and almost army crawls forward until her whole front legs are inside.  She then stands her front half up and drags her back legs inside.  Twilight Sparkle walked in with her jaw on the floor.

T.Sparkle: VERY flexible.

Corinne: Aw, shucks!

Both laugh, then Twilight Sparkle helps Corinne get set up in the main room.  That night, Corinne got her cutie mark, a large crystal shard surrounded by smaller ones, which prompted another of the dormant Elements of Harmony to turn white and glow.....

TO BE CONTINUED