Overthrown Book Three: Truths Untold And Friendships Refold

In a mysterious cave, Applejack was sound asleep in a comfy bed of a hidden base. She was dreaming about what life was like in the good old days when all she had to worry about was getting the apples ready for sale at Sweet Apple Acres. It was her, Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom, no one else. However, she was dreaming about a time when the town business mogul Filthy Rich tried to take her family's farm and she had to defend it by drinking a potion she was given by Twilight. Suddenly, she woke up with a jolt.

"Filthy?!" Applejack yelled, waking the rest of her friends up in the process. They all looked around in amazement at the base.

"Where are we?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I don't know, but I'm loving this place," Purple Horn said while drinking the supply of cider that was carefully stored away.

Suddenly, three ponies walked into the room, looking disheveled and battered from a battle they most likely had. The first one was Cheese Sandwich, who Pinkie had met on Rainbow Dash's birthday and threw parties that made Diddy's look like a kid's birthday party. The second pony was Derpy Hooves, a pony who never knew what went wrong when she messed up a task, yet somehow managed to get a job as a mail carrier. Lastly, there was the grumpy donkey, Cranky Doodle Donkey, another Pinkie Pie associate who was berated and harrassed constantly by her, but only forgave her when she reunited him with his love. The seven ponies looked at the three warriors with amazement and shock. Were these the reinforcements they needed?

"Uh... OK," Pinkie said with a tone of uncertainty. "Cheese, nice to see you again. Threw any good parties lately?"

"Only battling parties," Cheese said.

"And Derpy," Pinkie said, turning to Derpy. "I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you were a mail carrier now."

"Yeah, well, Moondust Bloom banned mailing items across Equestria," Derpy said. "He said it disturbed his peace."

"That's outrageous! I was expecting a package this Tuesday," Rarity said in a pouting tone.

"Sorry," Derpy retorted.

"And Cranky, it's also lovely to see you again," Pinkie said.

"You too kid," Cranky said, before turning to Purple Horn, who was still chugging down the cider. "You know, I've heard stories about you, Purple Horn, and I respect you. But I'll tell you now, legend or not, it's just common decency to ask before you drink up all of the cider."

"Well, it's a good thing I don't give a fuck," Purple Horn said, unphased by the confrontation.

Suddenly, Cranky kicked the cider jug Purple Horn was about to slam down, causing cider to go everywhere. Purple Horn, unphased by being put in his place, grabbed another one that happened to be nearby.

"So," Rainbow Dash said, perplexed by the situation they were in. "You three live in this bunker?"

"Four, actually," Derpy said.

"Oooh! Who is it?! Who is it?1 Who is it?!" Pinkie asked, with her signature energy up to one hundred. "Is it Bon Bon?! Please tell me it's Bon Bon!"

"She's dead," Cheese Sandwich said, bringing Pinkie down a notch.

"Fuck!" Pinkie yelled. "Now the killing starts in the war?!"

"By the way," Purple Horn said, pointing at Twilight. "Steer clear of her! You can't trust her as far as you can throw her."

"Dude, I'm sorry! But now isn't the best time to be arguing about this!" Twilight snapped.

"That's right," Cranky said, with a sense of hopelessness in his voice. "Ever since Moondust Bloom got into power, ponies have been dropping dead left and right, including allies we made. Big Mac, Zephyr Breeze, Lyra Heartstrings, even Vinyl Scratch."

"Don't forget Spike, Cranky," Cheese Sandwich said. "Ever since he took that job guarding Shining Armor and Cadence, we haven't even gotten as much as a letter from him."

"He's dead too," Purple Horn said, pointing to Pinkie. "Miss Mouthy Pants over here made sure of that."

"Hey, hey, hey," Pinkie said, getting defensive. "We don't know if he's dead yet. He could still be alive."

"If he's alive after the work Scootaloo did to him, well then he's probably wishing for death," Purple Horn griped sarcastically.

"Come on, Pinkie. What happened to Spike?" Cranky asked.

"OK! Look! He mouthed off about Scootaloo and got blown to bits," Pinkie said. "But he would want us all to fight to save Equestria. That's why we do what we do as heroes."

"No can do," Cheese Sandwich said. "Moondust Bloom is way too powerful for us."

"Wait! I have an idea," Twilight said. "Bon Bon might be dead, but her spy gear must be around here somewhere."

"Moondust destroyed it," Cranky said.

"Fuck!" Twilight yelled.

"After he killed her," Cheese added.

"Fuck!" Twilight screamed. "Well if that's out the window, can you at least tell us who exactly brought us here?!"

"I did," a familiar voice said, as she stepped into the room, revealing it to be Starlight Glimmer. "Don't make me regret it."

"Purple Horn! That's the pony we told you about!" Pinkie said.

"The unpaid intern?" Purple Horn said with amazement. "The one who took a town's cutie marks and then was taken under Twi's wing?"

"Oh, is that what Pinkie said?" Starlight said with a laugh. "I'd prefer student worker."

"Can we focus please?!" Purple Horn asked, getting annoyed. "How do we save Equestria and stop the war and rise of the tyrannical ruler?!"

"Well, we have these," Twilight said, pulling out the Elements of Harmony. "Celestia gave me these before she died. If we can combine them, I think they can become so powerful that they turn Moondust Bloom and Scootaloo into stone, just like Taurus and the other villains we've faced over the years."

"I don't know, Twi," Starlight said, skeptical. "Moondust Bloom is unlike anyone we've faced since we met each other."

"But it's at least worth a try, right?" Twilight said, still holding on to hope. "I made a promise to Celestia that I'd save Equestria and that's what I intend to do. Who's with me?"

Everyone thought for a moment. Suddenly, the silence was broken by Applejack.

"We've been through a lot together, Twi," Applejack said. "All six of us. This won't be any different. We're in."

"Ditto!" Cheese Sandwich said.

"If it helps save Equestria from that psycho, I'm ready to do whatever it takes," chimed in Cranky.

"I've never been more passionate about this than anything," Derpy said.

"Starlight? How about you?" Twilight said, with anticipation.

"Let's fucking go," Starlight said.

Everyone was so pumped about the possibility of getting Equestria back to how it used to me. It would take work and there was definitely a risk of death. But if it saved the country they loved and brought back friendship, it would be worth it. However, Twilight noticed amid the celebration that Purple Horn looked rather depressed.

"I'm not coming," Purple Horn said.

"Why not? If it's over me lying, I'm sorry," Twilight asked, with concern.

"It's just that many years ago, I faced Moondust myself," Purple Horn said. "He... Never mind."

"Come on! You can tell me," Twilight said. She genuinely wanted to know what was going on. How did Purple Horn know of Moondust Bloom?

"I... You... FUCK!" Purple Horn yelled, running out the door. "THIS IS WHY I DON'T WANT FRIENDSHIP! THERE'S NO ONE TO TRUST! NO ONE! Goodbye, Twilight!"

Purple Horn rushed out of the cave, with tears in his eyes. The rest of the group looked in concern and shock at how the vibe suddenly switched.

"What just happened?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Aren't we supposed to be celebrating?"

"I'll go talk to him," Starlight offered.

"He just needs time alone, Starlight," Twilight said.

"No, Twi," Starlight said. "I can't leave him like this. Give me like four hours to try to see what's going on."

Twilight nodded and Starlight began her journey to find Purple Horn and see what was going on.