Overthrown Book 2: Dulling Armor

The Main Six, now with Purple Horn by their side, were now surely ready to continue their mission to save Equestria. But there were a few new problems that they were facing, even with the new addition. For one thing, Purple Horn was a bit of a recluse and not willing to open up to the Six, especially the ever-so-energetic Pinkie. For another thing, this one being even bigger, Twilight was now deep in thought over what she promised. Why did she lie to Purple Horn? She knew full well that her magic, no matter how many lessons Celestia taught, wasn't strong enough to reverse time or revive the dead. So was she really that desperate to save Equestria that she was willing to put one of the core elements aside to get her way?

Her thought process was interrupted by Pinkie bouncing like crazy and Purple Horn getting annoyed.

"Do you seriously have to bounce?!" Purple Horn snapped.

"I always bounce when I'm in a good mood," Pinkie retorted, continuing her bouncing.

"Do you have to be in a good mood?!" Purple Horn yelled, getting more and more agitated.

"Why wouldn't I?! We're gonna save Equestria from a psychotic psycho pants and essentially prevent a civil war!" Pinkie said her excitement at 100 at this point. "Man! I wonder what the ponies fighting in that war are doing right now."

"Probably being slaughtered like cows in a burger restaurant," Purple Heart stated coldly.

"Dude! Can you please be positive?!" Rainbow Dash said, trying to de-escalate things.

"OK," Purple Heart said with a sarcastic grin. "I'm positive that they're all being slaughtered like cows in a burger restaurant in that war."

"Dude!" Rainbow said, getting annoyed.

"Look, guys," Purple Horn monologued. "I come from a different time, OK? Back in my day, we didn't solve all our problems with cupcakes, diamonds, rainbows, butterflies, apples, and whatever that thing is on Twilight's ass. We solved them with alliances and battles."

"Well, you had to have had a few friends in your corner, right?" Fluttershy asked, just now joining the conversation.

"There was no one to be friends with back then, Fluttershy," Purple Horn stated, getting even more annoyed. "I've seen horrendous things in my time, and I can't wait to see the look on your faces when you all realize that the world isn't all friendship, magic, and musical numbers, because it isn't! Bad things happen in life, and there's nothing you can do to fix them."

Everyone marinated on that idea for a bit. Purple Horn did have a point about how life worked. Of course, they knew all their problems couldn't be solved with friendship. They also knew life wasn't as easy as a song and dance. But Pinkie being Pinkie, she had a rebuttal.

"Look, we know that life isn't all friendship, magic, and musical numbers," Pinkie began, much to Purple Horn's dismay. "But we'd rather go through life thinking that it mostly is than being like you. You don't interact with people, you don't try to form friendships, and you always look like a depressed hippo. I mean, what happened in your life that caused you to..."

"SSSH!"

Pinkie looked around after Purple Horn shushed her. "Is it Scootaloo's army?" Pinkie asked.

"Maybe," Purple Horn whispered, looking around.

Pinkie kept looking to see what the sound was, but then she realized something.

"There is no army, is there?!" Pinkie asked, annoyed. "You just said that so I'd stop talking!"

"Uh..... Maybe," Purple Horn responded, much to Pinkie's dismay.

The seven fillies continued on their quest. Meanwhile, Twilight was trying to comprehend Purple Horn and why he was such a recluse. He was unlike any pony she had seen in Equestria, and that said a lot. She'd been in Equestria for her entire life. But nonetheless, if this pony could help them complete their mission, she was willing to try anything.

They kept walking until they reached the Crystal Empire. The palace was still intact, with the crystals shining as bright as ever. But several guards were surrounding the palace now and they meant business. Twilight expected as much, given the time they were in. She slowly approached the guards, ready to state the business of her and her friends.

"Um, hi," Twilight said. "I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle. I've come to see Shining Armor and Cadence."

"Nice try!" One of the guards said. "But we're under strict orders not to let anyone in the palace now. No family members, no band of misfits, and especially not that purple unicorn there either."

"I got that," Twilight said, getting slightly peeved. "But are you sure you can't make an exception? Times are tough in Equestria right now and we could really use the alliance of the..."

"What part of no don't you get, lady?!" The very combative yelled. "Times have changed, so we can't afford any..."

"Spike! Spike! It's OK! We'll allow it!" Shining Armor said as he approached with Cadence. Their presence filled the room and everyone bowed before the couple.

"Wait, Spike?!" Rarity said, in shock, watching the guard take off his helmet to reveal the lovable dragon that The Six hadn't seen since their time in Ponyville.

"Hi, Rarity," Spike said, dropping his tough-guy demeanor. His crush on Rarity was still as strong as ever, even though he was now a guard.

"Sorry about that, sis," Shining Armor said, bringing his little sister in for a hug. "It's just with the war going on, things have gotten hard and no one trusts anyone anymore."

"That's OK," Twilight said. "As long as you're safe."

"Come on in, and bring your friends!" Cadence said. "We're just about to have dinner!"

"Now she knows how to speak my language," Purple Horn said enthusiastically.

The Main Six, Purple Horn, Shining Armor, and Cadence walked into the palace, with Spike racing after them. It was nice to have the old crew back together again. But the tensions would continue at the dinner table, mostly between Cadence and Shining Armor.