Darkest Equestria

The time had come for Pinkie's training to begin, and surprisingly, it seemed like Trixie would be joining her.

"Are you sure you are ready to move around?" Pinkie asked worriedly, looking at Trixie's wounds.

They had healed over nicely. Any scabs were gone, and the deeper wounds had faded into scars. She seemed steady on her hooves, if a little uncoordinated at times, but otherwise Trixie seemed well. It was at the point that Pinkie was sure that they were better healed than her own wounds. Which was surprising considering that Trixie's wounds were worse than her own at the time of injury.

"The great and powerful Trixie cannot be held back by mere wounds." Trixie puffed up, her cloak and hat almost seemed to glimmer. Though from what unseen light source, Pinkie could only guess. It was night out today, which was as confusing as it sounded. Dammed three-day, three nights schedule!

"That's good to hear, but are you sure?' Pinkie asked again.

"Of course, the great and powerful Trixie does not need to restate herself." Trixie grabbed her prized skull and straightened her hat. "As Trixie's one and only friend, she will make sure to tell you the truth."

"That means a lot to me." Pinkie said with a smile. "Not a lot of honest ponies left, you know?"

Trixie turned her head away with a huff. "Trixie does tend to be a standout when considering the rabble."

"Rabble?" Pinkie balked. "Are you calling me rabble?"

"How could you-"

Pinkie giggled, and Trixie stopped.

"Trixie thought you were serious for a moment." Trixie said. "Do not trick her in such a way."

"It's all in good fun." Pinkie said. "Well, it seems like you're in good spirits, so why don't we head out to the training grounds? Just make sure that you watch yourself, ok?"

"Trixie advises you to do the same." Trixie said.

They made their way out of the hospital. While there was no official release from the hospital, Redheart had given the go ahead that the wounds would continue to heal. Pinkie was happy to be back into the action soon. Over the last week, the new arrivals had started expeditions of their own out into the forest. It was yet to be seen how many ponies would return.

As for the training to be done, it was taking place in segments. Twilight had the whole thing lined up in order to train ponies while sending the ones not training back into the forest. Finally there was some organized semblance of working towards the goal, and Pinkie couldn't be happier because of it.

The makeshift training hall came into view ahead. Located in the center of town, the old town house building had been turned into a factory of war. Ponies were outside of it looking over weapons, and the sounds of clacking training swords came from within.

"Wow, this place looks awesome!" Pinkie said as she approached.

"Trixie agrees that it has its own barbaric charm."

Ponies turned as they saw them approach. Most paid them no mind. It was a rag tag assembly of sell-swords and mercenaries. Not exactly promising heroes, but it was what had come to Ponyville. With these ponies, they would have to make do.

Pinkie approached the double doors to enter the town hall and opened them with a hoof. They creaked open, sounds of clamor coming from within.

The circular interior of the town hall had been turned into a stage for learning the art of killing. Ponies were lined up in the center while Shining Armor stood on stage. He was yelling at them, and the few ponies listening struggled to comply with his demands. None of them were ponies Pinkie had seen before surprisingly. She thought that she was supposed to be here with Baldwin, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Trixie, but it appeared that they were missing. Besides Trixie of course.

"Where are the others?" Pinkie asked.

"Trixie wonders that as well." Trixie was eyeing the blades skittishly. "This place is not to her style."

"Not really mine either." Pinkie said. "Not enough pink, or ponies I know. A real shame."

The sound of hooves behind Pinkie made her turn. Applejack was standing there, fully suited up in her plate armor. Rainbow Dash was by her side, mask covering her face and eyes scanning the sidelines. It seemed that Bon had made good on the deal and not gone after Rainbow again. That was a relief.

"Applejack! Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie cheered. "Nice to see you two here!"

"You as well sugar cube." Applejack said. "Now, where is our instructor? I'm keen to see if he can actually teach me anything."

"Hey Pinkie." Rainbow nodded.

Pinkie smiled at their presence. "And hello to you as well! I think Shining Armor is over there, but he seems busy."

Shining Armor was currently slapping a recruit's sword, sending it flying out of hoof. The recruit picked it up again, only for another slap to send it flying away.

"Seems like he's having fun." Rainbow said.

Pinkie looked out over the crowd. Baldwin was supposed to show up as well, but he was nowhere to be seen. For such a big stallion he was always so hard to find. He never seemed to be at the tavern, abbey, hospital, or anywhere else. The stallion was a shadow.

And as if summoned, Baldwin came striding out from behind a wooden pillar. Why was he even back there? She decided not to question it.

"Baldwin!" Pinkie said. "How are you doing, friend?"

"As the thread winds on, so do I." Baldwin said.

"I'll take that as good." Pinkie said. "Great, we are all here!"

The group had gathered loosely together in front of the doors. The scars of the past few expeditions had healed, time had passed, and lessons had been learned. Pinkie looked over all of them, glad that they had all showed up. Sometimes it was hard to get something like this organized, but Twilight always seemed to have it covered. She really had it covered actually. All these ponies being trained and organized was an impressive undertaking.

"Trixie is wondering what a swords pony could possibly teach her." Trixie said. "But she supposes that it is worth a shot."

"A sword is always there for you. Can't go wrong with it." Applejack said.

Trixie turned her head away from her. "An interesting thought."

Now that Pinkie was thinking about it, had Applejack ever apologized to Trixie? Considering Trixie was bedridden for a couple weeks it was possible that it had been done.

Applejack narrowed her eyes but said nothing. "It sure is."

Pinkie was already not having a good feeling. Whenever they got together like this, tensions always emerged, and it seemed like she could do nothing much to quell them. She could try though.

"Why don't we go talk to Shining Armor?" Pinkie started walking towards the center of the training hall. "Let's get this party started!"

The others followed behind her. According to Twilight, they were supposed to have the training hall all to themselves for a couple hours, but the presence of ponies in the middle made her question if something had gotten mixed up.

As they approached, Shining Armor saw them. He held up a hoof with poise, and Pinkie couldn't help but stop in her tracks.

"Recruits, you're done for today. Get out of here." Shining Armor gestured to the ponies on the training floor.

Looking as if an alicorn had saved them, the trainees brightened. They struggled to pull themselves out of the training hall, their bodies soaked with sweat. Wooden training swords were picked up and neatly placed in racks. Then, they stumbled past the group. Pinkie had not really expected that a bunch of mercenaries would ever pick up after themselves.

"Come forward." Shining Armor gestured to them. "We have all met before, so I won't waste any time with introductions."

"So, when do we start?" Something told her that it would be best not to question Shining Armor. Back at the Golden Oak Library he seemed almost nice. But now, his expression and words left no room for argument.

"When I say so." Shining said. "Now line up and draw your weapons. Let me get a good look at you all."

Applejack fell into line easily enough. Rainbow fell in soon after, though she looked a little uneasy. Baldwin came into line. Trixie meandered a bit, taking time to glare at Applejack before stepping into line. Finally, Pinkie took the center, a wide smile on her face. She wondered what they were going to learn. Everypony drew their weapons, a mess of steel coming to bare its fangs. Standing side by side with allies all holding such steel, Pinkie felt more emboldened than ever.

Shining Armor walked the line with a critical eye. His gait was slow, and he stopped in front of each of them to take a good look. He must have walked it ten times before Pinkie was starting to get a little worried. Her hooves jittered, anxious to move. Just when she thought she was going to break, Shining Armor spoke.

"Much better than the last lot, I'll say that." Shining Armor said. "Though some weapon choices are a little... unorthodox."

Pinkie hid her scythe behind her back with a guilty smile.

"It is clear you each know how to handle a weapon just from your stance, however, there is much to improve." Shining Armor said. "Pinkie, are you self-trained?"

"How did you know?" Pinkie asked.

"Your stance is full of holes, your weapons are strange, and your armor barely protects anything. I don't even know how you can fight with those things, but if Twilight is correct, somehow you can do it." Shining said. "I'll take a good look at all of your fighting styles soon, and we will get started on improvements."

"Trixie does not understand how you can help her." Trixie said. "She is a user of great and powerful magic, not swords."

"You have a dagger, don't you?" Shining asked. "We will work on that. As for magic, I'm sure Twilight can teach you something."

"Twilight? What does she know of magic?" Trixie asked.

"My sister used to be a great magician, before the world went to... whatever this is." Shining eyed his surroundings with contempt. "It's her special talent. Just ask sometime, I'm sure she will be able to help with something."

Trixie looked doubtful, and her lip curled.

"Don't knock it till you try it!" Pinkie nudged her.

"Very well. Trixie will talk to Twilight. She was meaning to investigate her powers with Twilight anyways." Trixie said. "As well as Pinkie's strange power."

"Strange power?" Rainbow asked. "You mean the Pinkie sense?"

"So, you know of it as well?" Trixie asked. "I don't know what it does, but Twilight told me that-"

"Attention!" Shining Armor clapped his hooves together. "You will be learning to fight, and to do that, you must never lose attention! You have experienced the forest, and any lapse in concentration there could end up with you dead and the forest stronger because of it. I might not be teaching you how to survive the forest, but I will be teaching you how to fight it. We start now, show me your techniques."

Shining Armor stepped back and grabbed a weapon off of a rack. It was a simple thing, literally just a wooden stick. If anything, it was smoother than most wooden sticks, but it was just a wooden stick.

"Who wants to go first?" Shining said.

"I'll go!" Pinkie jumped forward. "What do I do?"

"Come over here." Shining pointed to a training dummy. "Attack like you were attacking a pony."

The training dummy was a pony-shaped mannequin. Now that Pinkie was looking at it, she could have sworn it was one of Rarity's mannequins from her abandoned boutique. Well, she isn't using it anymore now. Still, the sight of it made her a little nostalgic. Pinkie wondered what Rarity was doing now, and Fluttershy. The two ponies had disappeared a long time ago, and she hadn't seen them since.

"Attention!" Shining smacked her flank with the stick.

"Ouch!" Pinkie yelped.

"Attack!"

Pinkie took the hint and jumped towards the mannequin. She swiped her scythe across its neck, shredding cloth and revealing wood beneath. It carved across the wood, but a scythe was not really made to cut through the stuff. Pinkie stepped back, looking to see Shining Armor's reaction.

He did not look impressed.

"Put a bit more effort into it." Shining said.

"Alright!" Pinkie swung her weapon again. However, she wasn't really feeling it. She wasn't fighting for her life or another's. It was just a mannequin.

"That was the saddest strike I have ever seen." Shining said. "You are quick on your feet, but clearly you lack motivation to get better. You lack any ranged weapons, and it's really a mystery how you are still alive after what you have gone through."

Pinkie rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I know right?"

"It's not a joke. If you want to survive, you are going to have to get better. You clearly have some kind of skill with your weapons, but you need more. I'll speak to you in a moment, step back in line."

Pinkie couldn't help but drag her hooves a little as she waddled back into line. That didn't go as she expected.

"Next." Shining said. "Applejack, why don't you go?"

She stepped forward, and the mighty strike of her great sword cleaved deep into the mannequin. Shining Armor nodded in appreciation, and gave her a few tips on how to swing, but didn't have much to say.

Rainbow Dash was much the same. He had a few tips for knife play, but the use of metal wings was beyond him as a unicorn. He gave her praise on the use of her wings, which Rainbow Dash seemed to eat up.

Baldwin smashed the training dummy into the ground with a single strike. Shattered wood and scraps of cloth went flying across the room from the force of the blow, and Pinkie was sure that the repair bill on the floorboards was going to come out of Twilight's pocket. Hopefully Pinkie wouldn't be around when she got that news.

"You strike with the force of ten ponies and your technique is impeccable, but you seem inaccurate. You second guess each swing." Shining said. "Why is that?"

"My sickness blinds me. Seeping rot makes it hard to see." Baldwin said. "It is something that I must live with."

"You are sick and can still swing that hard?" Shining raised a brow. "I would have loved to see you when your eyes were good."

Pinkie couldn't help but agree. The stallion was impressive, and she would have loved to see him in his prime. She always wondered why ponies from Saddle Arabia never visited. Then again, ponies from Equestria never really visited there as well.

And then, Trixie went. She stood before a new training dummy, eyeing it. She looked at her prized skull and raised it.

"Melee weapons only. No... whatever kind of magic that is." Shining Armor said.

"Trixie does not wish to use her dagger. It is merely an implementation for her spellcasting."

"What kind of spellcasting requires a dagger?" Shining Armor asked.

Trixie glanced at her prized skull. "Nothing..."

"Then hit the mannequin! Hit it like you mean it!" Shining yelled. "You think a monster is going to let you cast whatever spell you want?"

Spurred the the sudden shouting, Trixie stepped up to the mannequin and lashed out with her dagger. It looked like a quick strike, but Pinkie was pretty sure that knives weren't supposed to slash into a target sideways. No cut was left after Trixie finished her slash. Despite there being no visible damage, Trixie backed away with her head held high.

"That was terrible." Shining Armor said.

"Trixie does not perform terrible actions. She performs actions precisely as she means to." Trixie said.

"No. That just sucked. Do it again." Shining Armor crossed his hooves.

Trixie frowned.

"Come on Trixie! You got this!" Pinkie cheered.

Trixie lashed out again with her dagger. This time, a thin line appeared on the mannequin. She stepped away, looking smug. "See? The great and powerful Trixie can even use her dagger!"

"I've seen enough." Shining Armor said. "Get back in line, we have a lot of work to do. Some more than others."

And so, their training began.

Pinkie stumbled out of the training hall, every muscle in her body aching. On her back was an old javelin. She had been tasked with learning how to throw the thing. Pinkie didn't see the point, but Shining had insisted she have a ranged option in combat.

"Trixie?" Pinkie rasped. "Are you alive?"

"Trixie... cannot... die." Trixie walked with her head down. "She did not know how much goes into wielding a knife."

Everypony seemed exhausted by the training. Clashing blades and absorbing knowledge was a strain on both body and mind. Sweat soaked their coats, and they all walked with stumbles and exhaustion. It was a band of the weary, finally having completed their task.

And then there was Baldwin. He looked unphased as ever. He lifted his heavy blade easily.

"How are you completely fine?" Rainbow asked. "This is ridiculous."

"There is no burden I cannot bear." Baldwin said, voice betraying neither pride nor fault. It was a voice of complete apathy. As usual.

"How did you get so strong?" Rainbow asked.

Baldwin looked to the sky, his mask shining in the moonlight. "Stay on this path, and you too shall become stronger than you will ever imagine."

"That doesn't mean anything." Rainbow growled. "Tell me what you actually did."

"The strongest sword is tempered in the heat of flames." Baldwin said. "Adversity and existence are one in the same. Accepting that to live is to suffer will grant you power beyond comprehension."

"Your words are more confusing than the hymns of vestals." Applejack said. "But they do have meaning. You are strong Baldwin."

Baldwin gave her a nod. "And all of you are strong as well. I must meditate on what happened today."

"Wait!" Pinkie gasped out. "We still have Daring Do's training."

"What?"

After training with Shining Armor, there was supposed to be training with Daring Do. Survival training for the forest that is. Looking at the exhausted ponies before her though, Pinkie wasn't sure if they were up to it.

Then, a voice that would echo in Pinkie's nightmares came from behind her.

"Thinking of skipping out?"

Pinkie turned.

Standing before her was Daring Do in all her rugged outlander glory. Beneath that cowl of a hood, the faintest bit of a smile could be seen. It was not a smile that was happy in a traditional way, but it was a smile that was certainly happy. For it was able to inflict pain.

"Now, I will teach you how to survive." Daring Do said. "And if you don't listen, you're dead."

"This is going to be great." Rainbow whispered.

"Let's get this started." Daring Do said.

And once again, their training began.

It didn't end until the next day. When Pinkie was finally lying in bed again, she released a breath of relief at the training being over. Too much knowledge was crammed in her head, too much new information. Her mane was coated with sticks and leaves, and her body was sore. As the training had progressed, there was less and less conversation as they focused solely on surviving the day.

Every pony that didn't have a place to stay resided at the tavern, so Pinkie had been one of the few ponies to walk home. Now completely alone, Pinkie took a moment to breathe and think.

Her gaze traveled over to where her box of bits had been. Its absence caused a hollow feeling in her gut. It would pass through. The pain in her limbs would pass. Her exhaustion would pass. It would all pass.

But the hollow feeling of what she had lost never did pass.

Now that she was alone, her thoughts nearly escaped her. Her mind went back to that dream she had in the hospital. Of that beautiful world. A world of what could have been.

Maybe, maybe that world was just a little closer now. With all the relationships she had been forging, all the friends she had been making, it almost felt similar to how everything used to be. A little. A smudge perhaps.

There would be more to come, but Pinkie felt more prepared for it than ever before.

Let it come, she would be ready.

And with that, Pinkie slept easy. Not in that dream world, but it was not in a nightmare either. But for now, that was okay. Eventually, that dream would come.

And when it did, it wouldn't be in a dream anymore.

Twilight Sparkle was pouring over her notes once again. Her quill moved in a frenzy, noting bit amounts and poniesshe had hired. The growth had been explosive, and all the increasing numbers were pleasing to the eye. Except for the bit cost, that was going to become a problem very soon. Her pockets were deep being the former Princess's student, but they weren't bottomless.

A stream of moonlight coming in from above through a circular window caught her discerning eye, and Twilight couldn't help but look towards it. The moon felt oddly vibrant tonight, as if was rejoicing. Its pale form cast soothing moonlight over the tortured land. The usual oppression of the overcast clouds had been banished, leaving the moon to release its ethereal radiance upon the world.

The sight of the moon, bare of its former prisoner, had Twilight wondering about the past. Before she could escape into her thoughts however, she heard the snore of Spike up on the second floor. She really should be going to bed, but as always, her curiosity burned brighter. Knowing that sleep would not find her until she slaked that thirst, Twilight stood and walked towards the shelves.

The books in this library had proved to be full of impressive information. Ancient information that Twilight couldn't even find in the Canterlot archives. It made her wonder just who this library formerly belonged to, and why it had been abandoned for so long.

Twilight found the book she was looking for. The distant memory of Pinkie saying, "It was under E!" echoed through her mind. It was exactly in the place they had left it when they gave up on going into the forest ten years ago.

"The Elements of Harmony, a reference guide." Twilight read the title aloud.

The elements were really no more than a fairy tale. Twilight had believed them to be real all those years ago. She had been right about the return of Nightmare Moon, but not the elements of harmony. Apparently, they had the power to restore balance to the world and were the most powerful artifacts of magic known to ponydom. Alas, they were never found. The fate of Nightmare Moon was never known, and Princess Celestia had vanished.

What most ponies didn't know however, is that Princess Celestia had a sister. Twilight had learned this from an old fairy tale book. That sister was Nightmare Moon.

Despite knowing that the elements weren't real, Twilight couldn't help but crack the book open again. She looked through them, noting the different ones.

Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, and Loyalty.

Apparently, the elements would have used those aspects of harmony to power their magic. It seemed so silly now that Twilight was really thinking about it. Why had she ever believed in this foal's tale? The world was a brutal place. She had personally sent ponies to their possible deaths. Those aspects were dead to the world. Even if the elements did exist, who would even wield them?

Well, Twilight could think of one pony that could embody the aspect of laughter.

Pinkie Pie.

It was impressive how the pony was able to laugh through anything that came her way. Inspiring even. She lifted up others around her and would do anything to keep a pony laughing.

Twilight had received a skilled bounty hunter into her service because of Pinkie. She had heard Pinkie had paid an impressive sum of money to stop the bounty hunter from killing Rainbow Dash. Apparently, she had just laughed it off.

Pinkie was an asset to the cause. It felt weird to think of another pony that way, as an item or a tool, but Twilight felt herself thinking that way more and more. It was hard not to with all the expeditions and training sessions she was managing. Not to mention the efforts in starting to reconstruct the town...

Twilight shook her head with a sigh. She remembered Pinkie's attitude, and a tired smile slowly crawled across her face. They would win yet, they just needed to keep going.

She took one last look at that old foal's tale and put it back on the shelf. Maybe it wasn't real, but Twilight still appreciated the message behind it.

As long as they kept harmony in their hearts, nothing could ever beat them.

But as the faces began to blur together, and ponies became pieces on a board, Twilight couldn't help but wonder…

Was all of this even worth it? The elements of harmony weren't real, most ponies were terrible, and it only seemed like she was losing more and more the longer she tried to do this. No real progress was being made, and it seemed like this would go on forever.

If she wanted to realize her dream to bring back Princess Celestia and the harmony of Equestria, she needed to make a move. Something more than skirmishes in the woods. She needed to work harder, research more. Clearly, she wasn't doing enough. Pinkie was risking her life out there, getting cut to pieces, and all she was doing was studying. Twilight could do more, she knew that.

Twilight turned away from her bed and went back to the books. Sleep could wait. There had to be something she could use in all this. Some scrap of knowledge she overlooked, some obscure fact about the Everfree or old castle that had been forgotten.

There just had to be something...