Chapter 1 - The Eyes of Chaos
She was in that cold, dark, endless void again. It made her scared and she felt alone. She was again on the verge of tears. As always, there was no sounds and no light. Not until the dim glow in the distance appeared. At this point, she always felt a huge power flowing in her veins. It made her feel that if she'd reach the light, she'd be able to do just about anything. The divine light would make her a god, capable of anything. But always, as she tried to reach that light and it grew bigger and stronger, something stopped her. She didn't know what it was or why, but it always happened. She reached out to the light, and just when she was about to touch it, she froze, and something pulled her further from it. She never saw what it was that pulled her away, but it felt familiar and somehow pleasant, even though it pulled her away from what she wanted the most. She felt frustrated, as she never got to touch the light. And always, as she was pulled further from it, she felt the magic in her veins weaken, until she was again just a regular old unicorn again. And as the coldness grew stronger again and the loneliness in her heart grew unbearable, she was suddenly embraced by her.
Of all things, in this dream, it was always Princess Celestia that appeared in the end to embrace her, and when she did, Twilight felt her warmth transferring into her and her loneliness faded to nothing. She felt loved, and she felt no need to become a god. The light in the distance was barely visible anymore, and it felt pointless.
"You don't need a power such as this", she always told her and smiled, and Twilight always cried at this point, tightening her grip of the princess, feeling ashamed of ever even trying to reach the light. Usually at this point the dream would have kept going on for a short while, but it all faded away quickly as a faint, alien sound intruded her dream.
"Wake up", the voice said, sounding less alien this time.
"Wake up, Twilight", the voice said, sounding more familiar.
He sounded nervous. More nervous than usual. Twilight opened her eyes and was blinded by the brightness for a few seconds. Then a blurry image of the familiar purple dragon appeared in front of her, with a worried look on his face.
"You need to get up, Twilight"
"But it's saturday", she replied as she yawned and rolled over, turning her back to the dragon.
Spike was unamused.
"This is important. You have get up."
She closed her eyes and mumbled "I'll get up in a minute."
"No, you need to get up now. The Royal Guard is here."
It took a few seconds for the words to actually sink in her head.
"...The Royal Guard?"
She sprang up nervously, jumped out of her bed, and hurried downstairs. She knew that the princess wouldn't send the Royal Guard to her on casual business. And for official, she'd be there herself.
She almost tumbled down as she ran downstairs to see four royal guards in their golden armor standing at the door.
The guards immediately noticed her. The apparent captain of the group, judging by his uniform, greeted Twilight with a formal salute.
"Twilight Sparkle, we are here on behalf of her royal highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria, to retrieve you. It's a matter of national safety. If you are ready, please, come with us."
She stood there dumbfounded. What could be so important, especially since Celestia herself couldn't show up? She was quiet for a second, until she snapped back into reality from her thoughts.
"Is she alright?" She quickly asked.
"The princess, she's alright?"
"Yes, she is.", The captain replied.
Twilight immediately felt a weight fall off from her shoulders.
"Oh, thank heavens. Of course we'll come, let us just grab some---"
She was interrupted by the captain.
"The princess insisted we'd only retrieve the Keepers of Harmony. No one else." The guard said, sounding stern as he did and glanced at Spike who had descended downstairs on Twilight's trail.
She looked over her shoulder at Spike and hesitated for a second.
"Well, okay... I guess. Spike. You'll just have to wait here. I'll let you know everything as soon as I can, okay?"
"Of course. I'll wait here. Just let me know if you need anything", he replied eagerly.
"Good. Thank you, Spike."
She turned back at the guards.
"I'm ready. Let's go."
"Good. This way, Miss Sparkle."
The guards escorted her outside the library, to a carriage in where she was placed next to the captain of the guards.
They took off lightly, and rose quickly upwards.
"There has been an incident in the royal castle. We need you and the rest of the keepers of harmony in there. Her highness couldn't leave the castle for security reasons. That's why we were sent to get you. The other keepers of harmony are being retvieved as we speak."
Twilight was confused.
"What kind of incident? What's happened?"
"Unfortunately I'm not completely aware of the situation either - I just follow orders. The princess however assured us that there is no immediate danger."
"Good. I guess."
She didn't know what else to say. She clearly wasn't going to get any more information from the guards.
She sat there, watching the scenery. The normally short travel to Canterlot never felt so long. After what felt like hours, the carriage landed in the middle of the royal gardens in Canterlot Castle. She hopped down from the carriage and noticed that there was already several other carriages on the lawn outside the castle, indicating that others had already arrived. She was greeted by more guards, who walked with her through the garden inside the great hall. She felt relieved as she saw her friends and princess Celestia, standing next to her throne. The alicorn noticed her presence.
"Ah, you're finally here. I'm terribly sorry for the crude awakening, but this is a matter of great importance."
"What's going on? The guards didn't tell me anything."
"That's because the didn't know anything. So far the only ones who know about this are me and Luna. And soon the six of you. I couldn't risk this information reaching the citizens. They would most certainly panic and cause even more damage. Follow me, to the inner sanctum."
Twilight felt an uncomfortable twist in her stomach. The Inner Sanctum was a sealed hall, far under the city. After they had defeated him and turned him into stone, Celestia had placed the statue of Discord in the inner sanctum, and sealed the room with her magic.
They walked down on the large corridor leading up to the sanctum. In the corridor outside the sanctum was several of her royal guards. They all greeted when she appeared.
The large door in front of them was open. Not only open, it had clearly been destroyed. Almost as if it would've been melted open. Inside the sanctum Twilight saw what she had feared the most. The statue of discord was gone. Almost immediately she saw the red color in the corner of her eye, and rose her head to see the wall on her left.
On the wall were large, red letters that spelled crudely
"THE REIGN OF CHAOS IS UPON US"
She then noticed the four body bags in the corner of the room.
"They were guarding the sanctum last night. Whatever it was, it came from outside the sanctum. And it was powerful. My guards are no pushovers, yet they were slain before they even could set the alarms. And magic like this isn't something that comes by every day. This was done by an incredibly powerful unicorn."
"Or by an alicorn."
Princess Luna stood at the doorway, walking towards them.
The princess glanced at her.
"But there are no alicorns in Canterlot other than me, you and Cadence."
"Not that we know of", Luna continued.
"What if there is someone else? We never found Chrysalis either, did we?"
Celestia shook her head slowly.
"No, sister. This magic isn't Chrysalis'. This is something else. But it matters not. The most important thing now is to find out where Discord is. We cannot leave the castle. Discord is sure to return here eventually. I need to protect Canterlot. If the city falls, we have no chance against him."
She turned her head towards Twilight and her friends.
"That's why I'm sending the six of you to find him."
"But where should we even start looking?", Rarity asked.
"Equestria is huge. Way too big for us to even start looking for him. He could be anywhere."
"If there's one thing that Discord can be counted on, it's leaving clues. Everything's a game for that lunatic. Even last time he gave you clues. There's something we haven't noticed yet."
Pinkie started jumping up and down excitedly.
"Oh! I know! The last time he said he'd make Ponyville 'the chaos capital of the world!' Maybe that's where he's hiding!"
"...And he sure has some unfinished business with us, doesn't he?" Applejack added.
Celestia nodded in agreement. "This is our best lead. You must return to ponyville immediately. If you find him, destroy him at any cost. He's too dangerous to be contained anymore"
Rainbow looked confused.
"Why don't you just send a huge army in there?"
"I need as much soldiers as I can to protect the city. And Discord isn't stupid. If an army were to march to ponyville, he'd use the chance to attack Canterlot. We need to be as discreet as possible. And if the news of Discord's escape were to reach the ears of the citizens, it'd cause chaos. They're disgruntled enough as it is."
Twilight knew full well what the princess meant. Lately there had been several incidents all around Equestria that had shook Celestia's popularity in the eyes of the ponies. First the food aid sent to Phillydelphia after the storm had disappeared on the way there, and the soldiers that were sent there to help had reportedly been terrorizing and plundering in the storm wrecked city. Then there was the explosion in the rainbow factory in Cloudsdale that killed eight workers, and it happened right after the inspectors of the Equestrian Weather Ministry had left it. These, and several other incidents all around Equestria had happened, and by dumb luck they had made it look like Celestia and her government were to blame.
Twilight watched her mentor as she explained the situation, and she couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She knew that Celestia had been under huge stress lately, and as if it wasn't enough, now Discord had escaped. She also knew that not only would the news of his escape cause panic among the nation, but it would yet again make Celestia look responsible. The press would no doubt blame her for neglecting the security in the castle.
Celestia told them about her plan. They were to return to Ponyville to retrieve the elements of harmony, and then proceed to track down Discord. The identity of the culprit behind his escape was of secondary importance, as nothing indicated that he or she would pose any immediate threat to the safety of the ponies, unlike Discord. Celestia herself were to remain in Canterlot with Luna to keep an eye against Discords possible attack against Canterlot. Discord was imprisoned by them centuries before, and he was no doubt eager to return the favor to the alicorns. As strong as the royal guard the Equestrian army was, if he were to attack Canterlot, they'd be the only thing besides the keepers of harmony to stand a chance against him.
"We must hurry. The guards will escort you back to ponyville."
Twilight sat next to her friends in the carriage, watching outside silently and thinking while Pinkie Pie tried to lighten the mood with her crazy antics. She felt Fluttershy shaking slightly as she sat next to her. She had been silent since they were briefed by the princess at the castle. Applejack looked serious and Rainbow was boasting about how she'd snap Discord's neck with one hoof. Rarity remarked about Rainbow's brutality, and the two of them started arguing about it. Twilight really couldn't focus on her friends shenanigans, as she tried to focus on what's happened.
Their orders were clear.
"Gather the elements of harmony. Defeat discord."
She made it sound so easy. The last time they faced Discord they barely managed to defeat him. And even that was simply because he underestimated them. Discord might be insane, but he is by no means stupid. He'd be prepared. He wouldn't let them catch him off guard this time.
But she was worried about something else. Something wasn't right. Whoever it was that set Discord free must have had some kind of motive. And no one that strong could be so stupid as to think that they could work with Discord.
There was something strange going on, but she couldn't quite wrap her head around it. It just didn't make any sense. Why would anyone in their right mind set Discord free, even if they did have something against Celestia, or Equestria in general? What good would it serve to plunge all of existence into eternal chaos?
Maybe there wasn't any logical reasons. Maybe the culprit was just as insane as Discord is. Maybe they just wanted to end everything.
She was snapped out of her thoughts, when the carriage landed. Pinkie was already jumping around the cart cheerfully, spouting on about going on an adventure together again. Sometimes Twilight felt that the pink pony didn't fully realize what was going on. This was one of those moments. Once again Pinkie seemed to be outright excited about the situation. In a way she felt sorry for her, thinking that if anything ever would go wrong, Pinkie couldn't handle it. Then again, something in her exaggerated optimism and naiveté was equally cheering and made the whole gang feel a bit easier about the task at hand.
"Easy, Pinkie. We need to plan things first. We can't just rush things.", Applejack tried to calm Pinkie, as she hopped down from the cart.
Rarity descended from the cart gracefully and continued soothing the over-exited pink pony right after Applejack.
"I need to agree with Applejack, dear. We simply cannot go after that beastly creature, not without proper accessories. I have a magnificient cape I've been wanting to test, and it'd be perfect for this occasion."
Behind her, Rainbow imitated Rarity as she spoke, doing her best impression of her. Rarity noticed Pinkie's and Applejack's suppressed laughter and turned back at Rainbow and started preaching about the cyan pegasus' lack of manners. Fluttershy was still in the carriage, clearly gathering her nerves to join the rest of the ponies. Twilight noticed how she was unusually quiet, even for herself. She finally hopped down and they started heading towards the library, accompanied by Pinkie's singing and the fighting between Rarity and Rainbow.
Pinkie's high pitched voice and her surprisingly dark lyrics lulled her into a slight trance as they traversed trough the town. Her words were the only thing twilight was focusing in.
We sprint around, searching high and low
We come around, having fears and doubts
But in the end we'll all come through
For even if there' a storm about to brew
Friends always help you out, it's true
We must find what we're seeking for
We can't stop, no matter how far we go
It's the fate of the world in our hoofs
We can't let it burn away our homes
It'd leave behind only crying foals
We need to save their lives
We need to bring about their smiles
To let the sun rise and shine bright
Even if there's no hope or salvation in sight
We must stand up for those who can't and fight
Twilight felt lightheaded. Unreal, even. It was like she was dreaming.
Her thoughts were blurry and she couldn't focus on anything. For some reason her thoughts kept returning back at her dreams. The dim light in the darkness was distracting her. She had seen the light in her dreams for years, and she never quite understood what it meant. She just knew that the light was full of power, and she wanted it. She wanted to fill the emptiness with immeasurable power. But Celestia always stopped her. She always pulled her back into the darkness. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. She always saved her. She didn't need to fill the emptiness with such power, as long as she had other ponies in her life.
That's what she thought that the dream meant.
The strangely hypnotic and upbeat singing was stopped suddenly as they reached their destination, and Twilight snapped back into reality.
At the library they were greeted by Spike, who immediately prepared tea and snacks for the ponies and joined them in the library afterwards. Twilight explained the situation to him, and he was getting increasingly worried as she went over the details.
"So... He killed those guards? It's not like him. I mean, last time he got free he didn't kill anyone. It just isn't like him. Sure, he's evil and insane, but he never seemed like someone who'd just go around killing folks."
"He isn't exactly predictable, Spike.", Twilight explained, "And it was certainly he who had smeared the wall with their blood, there's no question about that. And as said, someone else freed him. It's likely that whoever it was, they were the ones who killed the guards. Discord was propably the one who maimed the bodies afterwards. You should've seen it. There was barely anything left of them"
"Maybe it's good I didn't. But you're right. Discord isn't the most sane creature around. It happens when your trapped in stone for a few centuries." Spike muttered. "But who would be crazy enough to free that lunatic?"
"I don't know. That's all that I've been thinking since we found out what happened.", Twilight stated.
"I think it's like an conspiracy or something" Rainbow interrupted them.
"A conspiracy? Really?" Applejack asked Rainbow, not sure if the pegasus was serious.
"Yeah! Like, someone high up plotted this whole thing! There's something to be gained in all of this, and when we found out who's the one to gain anything from this, we'll found out the real culprits!"
"But that's just it, Rainbow. No one could possibly gain anything from freeing him. And who of the 'high ups' do you think could be behind this? There's no one except the members of the royal family and the higher officers of the guard in Canterlot that could be behind this, unless it's somepony we don't know of."
"You're such a killjoy, Twilight. At least I have a theory."
"Well, whoever it was, it's just as the Princess said. We need to focus on Discord for now. He's a bigger threat than the one who freed him. Frankly, I'm surprised he haven't shown up yet. He's not the kind who'd just lay low, waiting for his opportunity. We need to plan this right. And I think I know where and how we should start.
Pinkie, I'll need you to stay with me. I'll have something else I need the rest of you to do. Rainbow, you need to go and get us something from Cloudsdale. The rest of you, I need you to pay a visit to a friend."
Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity were heading to the Everfree forest just outside of Ponyville. Twilight had said that it would be good if they'd get in touch with Zecora, for she might have some information or some other way of helping them. The Zebra knew Everfree forest better than anyone else, and if anyone would know a suitable hiding place for a draconequus in there, she'd be the one. They travelled onwards on the very same route they had been using for so long, yet it felt somehow different. It was as if someone was watching them. The eerie sensation grew stronger as they neared Zecoras home. They quickly realized something was terribly wrong. A pillar of thick, black smoke rose beyond the trees in front of them. They stopped for a second and stared at the smoke in sheer disbelief, when the silence was stopped by Fluttershy gasping.
"She could be in trouble! We must get to her, quick!"
The three of them rushed towards the zebra's house, just to find it in ruins. Whoever had done it, left nothing intact. The tree in which she lived was cut down and burning, her home consumed by the flames. There was no sign of Zecora to be seen. Fluttershy flew up and tried to scope the nearby area, but to no avail. Zecora was gone. She descended back to the ground. Applejack noted how she was trembling and biting her lip just to prevent herself from crying. She didn't say anything.
Applejack noted the hoofmarks on the ground. She recognized them to be that of a zebra. And following them were multiple other hoofmarks. She looked at Rarity, who nodded in agreement, and the three of them started running after Zecora. It was clear that she was in trouble. As they galloped through the thickly grown trees and bushes, Rarity couldn't help but wonder out loud what everyone was thinking.
"What if we're too late?"
"We wont be. She's fine. If they'd want her dead, her body would've been at her house."
She didn't believe it herself either. She just wanted to calm Fluttershy, who had already been scared before they even knew that Zecora was gone.
Fluttershy stumbled on a tree root and whimpered as she fell down.
Rarity quickly stopped and turned around to help her up.
"Fluttershy, are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?"
Fluttershy stood up, ashamed of her weakness. Everyone else had the courage to put their life on the line to track down a god of chaos, when she couldn't even focus in running because of her fear.
"You two should go on without me, I'm no good when I'm so nervous. I can go back to Twilight and tell them what's happened"
Applejack knew that she was right. Fluttershy was on the verge of panic, and if she'd break down, they'd have to tend to her too, on side of tracking and saving Zecora.
"Okay. You go and tell them. But we need you guys. Please, fly as fast as you can, Fluttershy. We need to save her. They're after her for a reason. She must know something"
Fluttershy nodded in agreement and uttered a feeble "thank you", as she rose upwards and disappeared into the sky.
Applejack and Rarity continued the tracking deeper into the dark forest.
Fluttershy flew towards the edge of the forest, where she'd turn towards ponyville. If she'd be fast enough, she could reach Twilight and the others before they'd leave. They were planning to search the mountains for any sign of Discord, for it was an ideal location for him to make a temporary base of operations, as it was secluded enough, yet still close enough of both Ponyville and Canterlot.
She already saw the silhoutte of Ponyville on the horizon, when the sky suddenly blackened over her. She glanced upwards, only to see a gigantic creature blocking everything else. And the creature was looking back at her. She was nearly petrified from the sheer horror, as she looked deep into the eyes of chaos.
Pinkie was jumping around the library, spewing her obscure nonsense, as Twilight was examining the map of the mountains. She tried to find out about the caves in the mountains. She heard the bell toll in the distance. Rainbow was late. She was meant to fly directly back at the library after she'd reach Cloudsdale. If things got heated in the mountains, they might need the help of the pegasus ponies living in there. She had come up with an escape plan in case everything went wrong. Pinkie Pie's chatter somehow felt calming. Even when they were facing a terrible foe and their lifes and the fate of the entire kingdom of Canterlot was at stake, the pink pony still kept on spewing her nonsense. She knew Pinkie could be trusted to act seriously if they needed her to, so she wasn't worried.
At least they had their own embodiment of chaos with them.
Fight fire against fire, they say. Maybe if the elements fail, Pinkie could outdo him in a duel of sheer chaos, she thought to herself, smiling at the idea.
Suddenly Pinkie stopped her singing and frolicking, and froze next to a window. She stared far into the treeline of the Everfree forest.
"Twilight..? I think there's something fishy up there."
"Sorry Pinkie, I don't have time for your games right now."
"I'm serious. I think that's Fluttershy over there. And she's with Discord."
The map fell from her hooves to the floor, and she quickly ran to the window, nearly tripping in her own books that were scattered all around the library.
In the far distance, over the treeline of Everfree, Twilight saw a yellow pegasus, flapping her wings in mid-air, and next to her was a shape much more massive than she was. It loomed above the pegasus like a flying whale. There was no mistaking.
Discord was with Fluttershy.
Fluttershy was too scared to scream. Normally she'd be too scared to even fly, but she had already forgotten she was in mid-air. She just flapped her wings instinctively. She gazed upon the creature she was so horrified of and trembled in fear, as the monster spoke in his demonic voice.
"Fear not, Fluttershy, my kind and tender friend, for I will not hurt you, for today, I'm not a fiend.
I want you to send a message, to tell the Keepers of Harmony, and Celestia especially;
I have no intention of wreaking havoc this time, no, I'm here to rewrite history, I am but a mere revolutionary. I assure you, I will get my revenge, and all of Equestria shall be covered in the blood of those wretched alicorn sisters.
For when I finally choose to emerge, I will crush their skulls between my fingers.
You will all be subjected to the beautiful creation of my likening, a world where there is no gods, and no masters or nothing else as frightening.
I will free the world of their tyranny, and chaos will loom.
And the time for anarchy will come, not now, but soon.
I want you to tell them that searching for me is pointless, you're just wasting your time.
It is not me that you want. Find the Zebra. She's still alive.
You know where, and you'll know when, She'll lead you after them."
The creature then flapped it's wings and rose upwards, and flew towards the mountains. The sunlight hit Fluttershy again. It blinded her as she slowly started descending to the edge of the forest. She hit the ground softly. Then she fell down on the grass, crying like she had never cried before. She couldn't feel her legs, they were too weak to carry her. Not only was she scared, but she also felt relieved. She stared right in the eyes of Discord, who could've killed her immediately if he would've wanted to. But she lived. She still had the chance to see her friends. She saw in her head their faces as she kept reciting Discord's words in her head.
"You know where, and you'll know when."
Twilight and Pinkie both ran out of the library and headed towards the Everfree forest. Twilight prayed that they wouldn't be too late. The sight of the mauled guards at the Inner Sanctum flashed in her mind. She bit her lip and fastened her pace. Pinkie was silent and looked serious. Twilight had problems keeping up with her. She had forgotten Pinkie's physical prowess. She was so used in her hyperactive and carefree spirit, that she had forgotten that this was the same pony who had on numerous occasions shown speed that rivals that of Rainbow Dash herself.
Pinkie noticed that the unicorn had difficulties in keeping up with her. That's why she didn't run as fast as she could've. On her own, she could reach Fluttershy faster. But she was smarter than ponies around her thought. She already knew that even if she'd reach Fluttershy on her own and she was with Discord, there was nothing she could do on her own. And if they'd find her mauled by the beast, she'd need medical attention. And of the two, Twilight was the only one who'd have any knowledge on first aid. If there was anything left to save.
Rainbow Dash flew towards the library when she saw Twilight and Pinkie running towards the Everfree further in the distance. She looked towards the direction they were heading, and saw a flying figure in the distance, heading towards the mountains. Too far away to actually see what it was. She headed towards the two, and quickly caught up with them.
"Where are you going? I thought we were supposed to see at the library. And did you see that flying thingy? Are you chasing it?" She quickly started questioning them.
"That was Discord. We saw him from the library. He was on the edge of Everfree, and he was with Fluttershy." Twilight responded, panting.
Rainbow instantly felt an immense fear taking over her. Fluttershy was her oldest friend, and she was one of the most important ponies in her life. Just the thought of losing her caused immense pain. She had never been good at coping with emotional pain. Without saying a word, she quickly accelerated and left a trail of dust behind her as she disappeared into the distance. As she flew towards Everfree, the only thing she could think of was whether her friend was still alive. She hated herself for even thinking of the possibility that she'd be dead.
She quickly arrived at the edge of the forest, and she immediately noticed a yellow blob on the field. She knew it was Fluttershy, but she didn't see her move. She flew to her, calling her name and hoping for any response. She felt relieved as she noticed that she was crying and shaking. She was still alive. She grabbed and held her in her hooves.
"Thank Celestia you're alright, I was so worried."
As soon as she realized who had grabbed her, Fluttershy hugged her back and started crying out loud. The fear had held her from doing so, but knowing that she wasn't alone, she knew it was safe to break down.
Rainbow was crying out of relief. For a moment she had already thought that it was too late. She then remembere that Fluttershy was supposed to be with Applejack and Rarity. Knowing that the two of them would never leave her behind, the fear struck her heart again.
She lifted the sobbing, yellow pegasus and looked her in the eyes.
"Fluttershy, I know it's hard, but I need you to listen to me. Where are Applejack and Rarity? Are they alright? "
Fluttershy quickly remembered her mission. She was supposed to get help for them. She wiped her tears and responded.
They're... Zecora's in trouble. We found her house destroyed and there were hoofmarks... They went on to track them and I was coming to get you guys when I saw...
Tears rose to her eyes again, but she continued.
"You need to go help them. I'll go get Twilight and Pinkie."
"They're already on their way. I'll head into the forest to help Applejack and Rarity. I'll need you to wait here for Twilight and Pinkie. Tell them what happened. Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine, I'm just a little shaken up. Please, go. I'll be fine", she responded to Rainbow, giving her a small smile.
Rainbow hesitated a second and took off to the forest.
Fluttershy was still shaking. She sat down and decided to wait for Twilight.
She kept reciting Discord's words in her head. She didn't understand them, but she was certain Twilight would get more out of them than she could.
Applejack and Rarity ran deeper in the forest, when they suddenly heard voices coming from the distance. They headed towards them, and arrived to a small meadow, in which they found several ponies dressed in matching dark robes, gathered around a beaten zebra that was barely alive anymore.
"Hey, what are you doing!? Get away from her!" Applejack shouted to the group as she ran towards them with Rarity.
Zecora saw the two of them and tried to lift her head, only to have it stomped on.
The ponies around her immediately attacked them, surrounding them quickly. Zecora tried to stand up, but her legs couldn't carry her.
"No, Applejack, you must get out of here! You need to go find---"
Zecora's voice was quickly cut off when one of the ponies next to her kicked her in the head again.
Applejack's anger exploded when she saw the two ponies beating Zecora further.
"What are you doing!? She's already down! She can't even fight back!" She shouted desperately. She knew they were outnumbered, there was about eight ponies standing around them. But she knew that Rarity was no slouch. She might be a fashion diva, but she could hold her own in a tough situation. They might just be able to hold them off until Fluttershy brings backup.
"Rarity?"
"Yes, Applejack?" Rarity responded, knowing what the earth pony was about to suggest.
"I think we might need to use a little force with these guys."
Rarity smirked impishly at her friend.
"I agree, dear. These ruffians clearly have no manners. It's about time someone teaches them some."
Applejack smiled back at her.
"That's what I thought. Shall we?"
"After you", Rarity replied.
Applejack quickly jumped towards one of the ponies around them, taking him by surprise and knocking him over. The remaining ponies immediately attacked them. She quickly jumped on the pony she had just knocked down and hit him in the head with her hooves until she was forced to back down by the other ponies that were attacking her. She dodged their attacks and backed down until she couldn't retreat anymore. She was in between a large tree and four other ponies. She backflipped against the tree and pushed her backlegs against it, and propelled herself against the ponies, managing to get through them and hitting two of them hard enough to send them flying. She landed behind them and wasted no time. She quickly drew near the surprised ponies and and delivered a massive two-hoof blow against one of them that sent the target flying backwards. She the proceeded to kick a the pony standing next to her, hitting him straight in the head. The two ponies that fell over when she flew past them had gotten up at this point and were running towards her. She tried to dodge them, but they managed to knock her down on the ground.
Rarity elegantly dodged an attack and slided behind the attacker, grabbing his robes with her magic and pulling him down on the ground. Two ponies quickly surrounded her and one of them charged at her, forcing the unicorn to throw herself on the ground to avoid the attack. The other pony next to her noticed that she was defensless, and stomped the unicorn with his front legs. Air escaped from her lungs and she gasped for air, as the pony prepared to attack again. Rarity rolled over and the attacker's hooves hit the ground. Rarity quickly stood up and turned towards the pony that had just stomped her and struck him in the head with the side of her front leg. The pony fell down, recoiling in pain and Rarity ran a bit further to concentrate on her magic. Her horn started to glow, as did the large rock next to her. The rock was heavy and she didn't have much time, but she needed to use her surroundings, and there was nothing else around them that she could use to fend of the attackers.
Meanwhile one of the ponies who had knocked Applejack over leaped on top of her, attempting to strike her head. But he underestimated the earth pony's strength and failed to keep her down. She kicked the attacker away from her, just to be struck in the head by the other pony next to them.
Rarity noticed that Applejack was in trouble, so instead of using her magic against her own opponents, she hurled the boulder she was levitating against the two ponies attacking Applejack, knocking them down on the ground. Rarity didn't have enough time to use her magic against the enemy rushing towards her, who managed to strike her down, and who was quickly joined by two other ponies, all of which proceeded to beat the downed unicorn mercilessly.
Applejack stood up and rushed towards Rarity, but she was struck down from behind. One of the ponies she thought she had already knocked out had managed to get up and was joined by one of the ponies attacking Rarity. They were both pinned down, taking blows and unable to counter or escape.
Suddenly the ponies beating Rarity flew away from the unicorn, when a rainbow-colored beam flew against them. They stood up to see a cyan pegasus in front of them, and before they realized, she vanished. She was way too fast for them, and she struck one them in the head. The other one tried to kick her, but she again vanished and reappeared behind him, grabbing the pony who was still recovering from his attack and flew upwards, spun around and came crashing down on the other one on the ground. The two ponies lied on the ground immobile, and Rainbow flew to aid Applejack.
The ponies beating Applejack didn't even have the time to react to Rainbow's attack, as they were blasted away. Rarity joined Rainbow and Applejack despite being in a pretty bad shape, and they helped Applejack up. They were now facing the group in front of them, still outnumbered. Applejack and Rarity were in a bad shape. Rainbow was strong, but the situation looked bad.
The remaining six enemies gathered in a group and were about to attack, when suddenly their attention was drawn towards the forest, from where the sounds of Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy were heard. The attackers then retreated, grabbing with them the two unconcious members of the group. They quickly disappeared into the forest. Rainbow, Rarity and Applejack quickly ran to see whether Zecora was still alive or not. She was still breathing, but unconcious.
Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy arrived at the scene, noticing that there had been a fight. Pinkie ran to see Zecora better.
"Applejack! Did you beat her up!? Why'd you do something like that? Oh! Was she an evil enchantress after all? I knew my song must have been---"
"Easy, Pinkie. We didn't do this to her. We saved her." Applejack interrupted.
"Then who did?" Twilight asked them while she sat down next to Zecora to give her first aid.
"We sure don't know, but there was a lot of them."
Rarity was brushing herself clean from the dust.
"Yes, there was about eight of them, all dressed in these ghastly, dark robes. They apparently had something against Zecora, as they were beating her mercilessy when we arrived, even though she was in no shape to resist."
Twilight stood up and watched the unconcious zebra.
"She's badly beaten, but she'll live. We need to get her to the hospital. She needs more medical attention than I'm able to give her."
A green flash lit up the library for a second, when Spike received a response to Twilight's letter to the princess. She had explained her the situation in a letter earlier. Celestia had agreed that Zecora was in danger, and it wasn't safe to keep her in the Ponyville's medical center. They had decided to transfer her to Canterlot Castle's private hospital wing for intensive treatment. She was their only solid lead, and too valuable to lose.
Altough Twilight was more certain about Discord's whereabouts than before, seeing that he had fleed towards the mountains, there was still too many unanswered questions hanging around to be ignored.
Twilight sat at her room, trying to put the pieces together. Whoever they were, the attackers wanted Zecora dead for some reason. And regarding the identity of the one who set Discord free, they were the only suspects so far. But if they did it, it'd make sense that they'd have the same goal as Discord. But if that's the case, then why did Discord want them to save Zecora?
But she was more confused about Discord's message than anything else. She had written it down with Fluttershy, and she couldn't understand what Discord was up to. Planning and waiting wasn't his style. Twilight's lack of sleep and frustration were creeping up to her. She tried to write notes, but the letters were starting to get blurry and she couldn't concentrate on what she was doing. As she was writing, she accidentally knocked her ink down on her notes.
Spike was startled when she heard Twilight's frustrated scream. He knew not to bother her when she was acting like that, but he had to. Twilight had been up for nearly three days straight. He climbed upstairs and as he arrived into Twilight's room, he noticed the broken ink bottle on the floor next to the door, and the ink stain on the wall next to it. Twilight was busy scribbling something down, and she didn't seem to notice Spike's precence.
He hesitated for a second before he opened his mouth.
"Umm... Twilight? Are you okay?"
"No! Do I look like I'm okay? Someone set Discord free and tried to kill Zecora and nothing makes any sense, Spike!" She yelled at him, making the purple dragon flinch a bit.
"I'm sorry. Look, I know that you're busy, and what you're doing is important, but I think you need to rest a bit. You're been up almost three days. You need to sleep."
"I don't have time to sleep. You know me. I can't sleep in a situation like this."
Spike knew that she was right. Twilight was a brilliant pony and a magical prodigy, but she had her flaws. She was at times anxious and neurotic, and she seemed to lose her mind over every single obstacle she couldn't fix instantly. He still remembered how Twilight refused to sleep for days because she feared for a catastrophe that never happened.
"Yes. I know. Can at least bring you some tea to calm you down? You have to admit you're acting a bit... cranky when you're tired."
She wanted to yell at the dragon for his inconciderate blurt. As if she'd have the luxury to act nicely when the whole kingdom was in such danger, but she swallowed her anger. She didn't have time for arguing.
"Yes. I'd love some tea."
Spike smiled at the unicorn, not that she'd notice it. She didn't even raise her head to face him while they talked. Spike went downstairs to prepare the tea for Twilight. As he left, Twilight bit her lip to contain her frustration.
A while later Spike brought her the tea. Neither of them said anything as he served it to her. As he left the room, he stopped and turned around.
"Twilight, I'm goin to bed. Please, try to get some sleep."
"Yeah, I'll try", she lied to him. "Good night, Spike."
"Good night", he replied, knowing that in the morning he'd find her either snoring at her desk, or still awake and even more cranky and tired than she was now.
Twilight was glad that he left, she didn't like to be disturbed while she was trying to concentrate. She sipped the tea and looked at the flickering flame of the oil lamp at her desk. She heard Owlilicious' faint hoot somewhere behind her.
Spike was right. The tea was calming.
Maybe she should close her eyes for a moment.
Twilight woke up in the darkness, feeling weightless. She quickly realized that she was floating. She then noticed the familiar dim light in the distance. She headed towards it and felt it's power growing stronger. Stronger than she had ever before felt it. It was like it had made her a god already.
Something woke Spike in the middle of the night. He yawned and looked outside. It was still a few hours until sunrise. He felt uneasy for some reason and decided to go and see if Twilight was still awake. He walked upstairs quietly, not wanting to wake her up in case she was in bed after all. He felt more anxious at each step he took. Something felt terribly wrong. As he neared the Twilight's room, he noticed a faint glow in the hallway leading to it. He finally stopped at the doorway and peeked in the room. His jaw dropped. Twilight laid on her desk, and her eyes were wide open. And they were glowing brightly along with her horn. He noticed that she was shaking slightly. Was this because of the stress and staying up for days? Or did she fail in a spell of some sort? He had never seen anything like it. And never before had he felt the magic around her so strong. As a dragon he could sense magic differently, but he had never felt anything like it. It sent shivers down his spine and he felt fearful.
Like an animal does, when it faces a beast stronger than itself.
