Equestria on the Brinkby G-MoneyChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 8Chapter 1Equestria on the Brink by G-Money Chapter 1 “So Pinkie Pie, what’s this party for?” “Silly Twilight, don’t you know? It’s been 52 days since Gummy’s birthday! You know how Gummy loves parties!” Twilight glanced at the expressionless alligator, who seemed completely oblivious to what was going on around him. “And what’s so special about 52?” inquired Twilight. “Well,” started Pinkie, “52 is 10 more than 42, and 42 is just such an awesome number – I’m sure you all remember Gummy’s 42-days-after-birthday-party – and you know, since 10 is an even number, and it ends in a 0, and it’s just so super-duper, it’s such a special occasion, and I just had to do this for Gummy! Do you know how many times each year someone is 52 days older than however old they were on their birthday? ONLY ONCE!!” Everypony laughed at Pinkie’s ramblings. The group of friends couldn’t have been having a better time, enjoying themselves in the company of their closest companions. The cake was delicious, the festivities were manifold, and the seemingly endless supply of balloons and confetti emitted an atmosphere filled with summer fun. But not everyone was laughing. Spike stood silently in the corner of the room, rereading a scroll over and over. The baby dragon’s eyes filled with terror and his body began shaking. “Twi-Twilight!?” “What’s the matter, Spike?” “Um…I, uh, I really think you should read this.” “Why don’t you read it for us? I’m sure everypony would love to see how proud the Princess is of all that I’ve learned. I’m sure she’s just congratulating me on learning so many valuable lessons, all because of my best friends. Without my friends, I wouldn’t have had any friendship reports! You should read it so everypony can hear!” “I-I-I can’t, Twilight. You read it.” “Fine,” muttered Twilight as she levitated the scroll out of Spike’s hand and began to read: “My dearest and most faithful student, Twilight: Thank you so very much for all that you have done. I couldn’t be more proud of you; your friendship reports have made me confident that there is hope for the future of Equestria. However, it is with deep regret that I inform you that Canter-“ Twilight suddenly dropped the scroll and ran out of the room. Her friends gathered around the dropped scroll and silently read terrifying news: However, it is with deep regret that I inform you that Canterlot has been overtaken by a gruesome horde, who march upon the Royal Palace as I write this. The entire Canterlot Guard has been wiped out, and Princess Luna and I cannot hold them off on our own. Our fate is inevitable; yours is not. You have strength in numbers. Defend Ponyville. Only with your friends can you save Equestria. It has been been a pleasure knowing you and learning from you, Twilight Sparkle. Your mentor, Princess Celestia Chapter 2Chapter 2 Ponyville was in a panic. Everypony in town was rushing this way or that, frantically grabbing supplies and fortifying the barricade. Twilight had overseen the initial creation of the barricade, but her mind was too mercurial to stay focused on the task. She sat on the balcony of her library, staring at the gargantuan heaps of black smoke emerging from Canterlot. I can’t stay here with the Princess in danger, thought Twilight. If anything ever happened to her... She winced at the thought of what could be happening to her mentor. She knew that she had to save the Princess; without Celestia, Equestria was doomed. Twilight gathered her five best friends into the hot-air balloon. Ponyville would be losing some of its best defenders, but Twilight just couldn’t leave the Princess vulnerable to the invading hordes. “Um, Twilight?” “What’s wrong, Fluttershy?” “Well, it’s just that, I mean, I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave everyone behind. I just don’t feel right leaving behind all those little-bitty animals all by themselves. Not that I disagree with you, of course, but, well, I’m so worried about Angel. What if...what if...what if-” “Don’t worry, Fluttershy! Everything is going to be just fine. We’ll quickly fly up to Canterlot, rescue Princess Celestia, and return before the hordes come anywhere close to Ponyville. There’s nothing to worry about, and once we have Princess Celestia with us, those hordes won’t stand a chance!” “I sure hope you’re right, Twilight,” interjected Rainbow Dash. “If we didn’t need all the chariots to defend Ponyville, I would’ve called you crazy to use a hot-air balloon in a time like this. You never know what could be fired at us, and if we get shot down, we’ll have no way of getting back!” “It’s not ideal, Rainbow, but it’s the best we’ve got. Is everypony ready?” Her friends all gave a nod of consent, and Twilight summoned her magic to make the balloon rise. Before it got far off the ground, however, a familiar voice called up to them. “Big sis, would ya please let me go wit y’all? I’m mighty scared of them critters a-comin’, and I don’t want no scaredy-filly cutie mark! I’d much rather a balloon-flyin’ cutie mark, and I wanna help y’all save the Princess!” “I’m sorry, Apple Bloom,” replied her elder sister, “but Ponyville has an achin’ need for as many ponies as it can afford. We can’t have everypony off leavin’ looking for the Princess, or else them critters’ll run over this whole town! Ah promise ah’ma come back and protect ya, Apple Bloom.” The filly’s eyes welled up with tears as she saw her sister fly away on a grand adventure. She was filled with new hope, however, when she saw her friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle working on acquiring their wall-building cutie mark. She happily pranced over to join them. Little did she know that her sister wouldn’t be returning to protect her. Little did she know that she’d soon become a victim of the hordes. Chapter 3Chapter 3 Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie all let out a sigh of relief as they exited the hot-air balloon and walked into a Canterlot courtyard. “We sure are lucky that that there smoke hid us from view!” exclaimed Applejack. “Yeah, without it, we’d be goners!” added Rainbow Dash. Twilight wasn’t as relieved. “We may have made it into Canterlot unnoticed, but we still have to find the Royal Palace and save Princess Celestia.” Twilight spent a moment taking in her surroundings before pulling out her map of Canterlot. There wasn’t a pony in sight, and a thick black smoke obscured the normally majestic skyline. “According to this map, we’re only a few blocks away from the Palace!” “Let’s make a dash for it before anyone knows we’re here,” suggested Rainbow Dash. “We can’t leave the balloon here alone,” retorted Twilight. “It’s our only way back to Ponyville, and if we lose it, we won’t be able to get back in time to stop the invasion.” “Ooh, ooh, ooh, me! Me, me, me, pick me! I’ll protect Alpha D-71!” shouted Pinkie Pie. “Alpha…what?” asked Applejack. “Alpha D-71!” replied Pinkie. “I was doing a little thinking earlier, and we couldn’t leave our old friend balloony without a name, since he’s our way of getting home! We need to bond and show we care, so how about a name!? First I thought of something normal, like Super Balloon Carrier of Elite Ponies, but then I thought we needed something with a little more pizazz. We are going on a super-secret mission to save the Princess after all, so obviously it had to be something-“ Pinkie squinted her eyes and crouched on the ground, against the side of the balloon. “In-cog-ni-to,” she whispered in an eerie tone while waving her hooves in the air. The other ponies stood with blank expressions on their faces as they watched Pinkie ramble on. Twilight finally spoke up, saying, “We can’t leave anypony alone. Fluttershy, you stay with Pinkie, so that if anything goes wrong there’ll be two of you together.” Fluttershy opened her mouth as if to say something, but instead quietly walked back towards the balloon. Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity began walking down the street towards the Palace. They were surrounded on both sides by four-story buildings with broken doors and shattered windows. It looked like nopony had lived there for months. “Oh, how hideous!” complained Rarity. “All of the fashion, suddenly gone! Oh, how will Equestria fare without such elegance?” “Ah do reckon we’ve got bigger doggies on our hooves, Rarity,” said Applejack. “This can’t be good. There isn’t a pony in sight! What if-“ Rainbow Dash thought aloud, with clear trepidation in her voice. “We can’t think like that, Rainbow. We can only hope for the best,” said Twilight with an air of confidence. Deep down, however, the unicorn was as terrified as the others. “I do hope that we needn’t pass into that smoke,” said Rarity as they passed another empty intersection. “I can’t begin to imagine what it would do to my mane!” “Grr!” “My sentiments exactly, Applejack. It would be most gruesome!” “Ah didn’t say nuthin’, Rarity,” replied the earth pony. Rarity looked behind her to determine the source of the noise. “Well then, would-“ Rarity stopped short, gazing back into the intersection. To her surprise, the intersection was completely blocked off by at least a dozen large, green monsters with sharp claws and drool pouring from their faces. The largest one was at least 8 feet tall, and he was darting towards the ponies, with the other monsters close behind. “Run, everypony!” The four ponies sprinted towards the Palace, but the monstrous creatures were gaining on them. “Maybe we’ll lose them in the smoke,” suggested Twilight. They ran straight into the puffs of smoke, hoping to lose their followers. Even Rarity galloped into the smoke without hesitation, judging her life to be more valuable than her beautifully coiffed mane. Twilight used her magic to clear the dense smoke directly in front of her. Ahead of her was exactly what she had been desperately hoping she would see: the grand doors of the Royal Palace! Applejack was right behind Twilight, and she charged towards the doors at full speed. BAM! The doors shattered under the weight of Applejack’s hooves, clearing an escape for Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. The inside of the Palace was pitch black, but that seemed irrelevant in the face of danger. Twilight used her magic to seal the door shut behind them once all of her friends were in the room. They all breathed a sigh of relief once the door was locked; they had escaped their pursuers. Rarity used her magic to feel around for a light switch, and she eventually found one and illuminated the room. But they weren’t the only ones there. The light revealed hundreds of hideous creatures slobbering idly throughout the room. These enormous green menaces were at least as large as the ones outside, and the light only revealed more disgusting detail. The light momentarily blinded them, but they soon regained their bearing and began advancing towards the four intruders. “We need to get out of here!” yelled Twilight Sparkle as she thrust open the doors through which they had just entered. To her dismay, the creatures that had been chasing them outside were patiently waiting just behind the door. They too advanced towards the ponies, blocking all exits. “We’re doomed!” exclaimed a quivering Rainbow Dash. She could have flown up to the chandelier and waited until an exit cleared, but she wasn’t going to leave her friends behind. If they were going to be eaten by these gruesome monsters, they would be eaten together. The ponies hugged each other as they accepted the inevitable. “Thank you so much for being my friends,” whimpered a tearful Twilight Sparkle. “You ponies have made my life so much fun, I wouldn’t give these last few months for anything.” And the hordes were upon them. The only question on their minds was how they were going to divide their prey. Chapter 4Chapter 4 Twilight closed her eyes and waited. And waited. And waited. Why haven’t they eaten me yet? wondered the unicorn. Just get it over with so I don’t have to go through this pain! She peeked up to see what was taking them so long. Much to her surprise, a luminescent bubble was serving as a barrier between her and the beasts, and it was protecting her friends as well. A wave of magic more powerful than anything Twilight had ever seen suddenly passed through the room, driving the hordes out of the Palace. Twilight looked up in awe at her savior – it was Princess Luna, keeper of the Night! “Thank you so much for saving us!” exclaimed a belated Rainbow Dash. “I thought we were dead for sure!” A chorus of gratitude echoed from the other ponies, but Princess Luna’s countenance bore a shocked expression. “What are you ponies doing here? The evacuation was ordered hours ago!” “We’re here to rescue Princess Celestia!” answered Twilight. “She sent me a letter saying Canterlot was in danger!” “And what is your name? You must be a very important pony for my sister to have personally sent you a message.” “My name is an amalgamation of linguistic compounds primarily utilized to assign distinguishable identities so as to facilitate communication between individuals,” Twlight replied matter-of-factly, too nervous from the recent events to figure out why Princess Luna was quizzing her on simple definitions. “Oh. Well then.” “And just where is the Princess?” asked Rarity. “Her elegance is exemplary! I could learn a thing or two just from looking at her.” Luna looked down disconsolately. “She’s gone… I couldn’t stop them.” The ponies stood still in disbelief. “They’ve taken her back to their land. I can’t go, and I feel miserable. With Celestia gone from Equestria, the sun will never rise here. If I leave, Equestria will be without a moon too, and it will be plunged into perpetual darkness.” Silence swept over the room. Nopony had the courage to speak after hearing the dismal news, but Twilight knew what they had to do. “We have to protect Ponyville, Princess Luna, but once we repel the horde, we’ll go into the homeland of those hordes and rescue Princess Celestia. I promise.” “That is admirable, but I am afraid that your mission will be futile. This enemy cannot be taken lightly.” “What exactly are they, anyways?” asked Rainbow Dash. Luna turned away, as if it would reduce the terror of the dreadful word. “Trolls.” Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were inside the basket of the hot-air balloon, crouching to avoid being seen. From time to time, Pinkie would stick her head out and stealthily look for signs of anything unusual. “Want another cookie, Fluttershy? They’re chocolate chip!” whispered Pinkie. “Uh, no thanks, Pinkie. I’m-I’m not that hungry.” Fluttershy had lost her appetite after watching her friends disappear into the darkness. On top of that, she was worried about all of the animals that she loved so dearly, and she wasn’t anywhere close to comfortable leaving them in Ponyville, right in the path of the hordes. “I should’ve spoken up before we left, Pinkie. I’m really worried about all my little-bitty animals. What if the hordes get them before we get back?” “Don’t worry, Fluttershy! I left Gummy back in Ponyville, and I’m not worried at all! It was more important to help Twilight find Princess Celestia, because she’ll be able to save Ponyville better than everyone else combined!” Pinkie didn’t really believe what she was saying – she just wanted to comfort Fluttershy. She definitely was worried about Gummy and all of her friends back in Ponyville, and she would’ve rather stayed to protect everyone. At the time, though, she didn’t want to let her friend Twilight down; she was starting to regret that now as she looked across the courtyard and saw nothing but the thick, black smoke. “Um, Pinkie?” “What is it, Fluttershy? Want to play a game? Ooh, ooh, I have a great idea for one! How about we-“ “No, look!” Fluttershy pointed to a tree on the far side of the courtyard. At first glance, it didn’t look like anything out of the ordinary, but then a branch began to move. There was no wind. The trolls had spotted the two ponies inside the balloon, and they began to charge. Pinkie Pie screamed as the green monstrosities rapidly approached. Drool was dripping from their mouths, they had their clubs raised high in the air, and they were chanting as they approached the helpless ponies. Fluttershy quickly grabbed Pinkie Pie and began flying upwards. “No Fluttershy, we can’t leave the balloon! We promised we’d protect it! All of the chocolate-chip cookies are in there!” “No Pinkie, I can’t risk our lives like that. I’ve never seen such scary creatures, and they might not be very nice to us.” “But Fluttershy, we promised! Fluttershy didn’t want to leave the balloon behind, but she knew that they were worth more to Twilight alive than dead. She had to save Pinkie and herself, even if it meant losing the balloon. “Fluttershy, put me down!” “I’m awfully sorry, but they’ll just hurt us and, um, take the balloon anyways.” “Not Alpha D-71!” “What?” Pinkie facehoofed at Fluttershy’s ignorance. Alpha D-71 was their only way of returning to Ponyville in time to protect it, and Fluttershy was too scared to fight for it. But Pinkie didn’t have much leverage, hanging 15 feet in the air as Fluttershy flew in the direction of the Palace. Both ponies expected the streets to be lined with more of the monsters, but surprisingly, they weren’t. Instead, the two ponies found a large force shield advancing towards them. “I don’t know what this is, but we have to warn the others,” said Fluttershy timidly. “You mean we’re going to head right towards it!? Are you crazy?” asked Pinkie Pie. “I, I mean we, we can’t risk getting lost out here. You never know when more scary creatures could show up, and if we get lost, we’ll never be able to find our friends and warn them.” Fluttershy flew right towards the force field, which miraculously disappeared just as they were about to pass through. “Fluttershy! Pinkie Pie! What are you doing up there?” called a familiar voice. “Twilight, it’s you!” replied a relieved Fluttershy. “We’re really glad to see you. You see, we were just-“ “Where’s the balloon!?” yelled Rainbow Dash, louder than she had intended. “You see, Fluttershy was too scaredy-waredy when the big bad creepies showed up, and-“ Pinkie began before being cut off. “You encountered the trolls!?” asked Luna. “Yup, we saw them all right. They wouldn’t have been a match for us! I was going to offer them some cookies and we could’ve had a nice little party, but scaredypants here was a meanie-weanie and wouldn’t let me give them any cookies.” “Thanks, Fluttershy.” Twilight smiled at the pegusus, adding, “I’m so glad you got out of there while you still could. You would’ve been eaten alive if you let them get near you! That was smart thinking.” Pinkie Pie frowned at Twilight before turning her attention to Luna. “Oh, I think I know you! You’re the Princess who wasn’t as princessly as the other Princess but still a Princess, right? Did you find Celestia? Did Twilight pick the wrong one? Twilight, I can’t believe you mixed up the princesses! You should know better, being Celestia’s student and all. I mean, really! How could you not know which-“ “Pinkie, Celestia’s been captured. The trolls have kidnapped her and taken her to their homeland, far away from Equestria. We have to go there to find the Princess, and we’re going as soon as we protect Ponyville. Let’s hurry; the hordes are probably already on their way!” The seven galloped down the street as fast as they could, but when they arrived at the courtyard, they saw that the balloon had been deflated and its contents scattered throughout the area. “Alpha D-71!” cried Pinkie. “Oh, darlings! How are we ever going to get out of this dreadful place now? Look at what those ruffians did to our balloon!” cried Rarity. “There are some chariots left nearby,” said Luna. “You’ll be able to take one of those, and Anna Malgamation’s magic should be able to power you back to Ponyville.” “You’re not coming, Princess?” inquired Twilight, purposefully ignoring Luna’s butchering of her name. “No, Anna Malgamation. I must remain here, where I can be safe. If those trolls ever captured me, too, Equestria would be without the light of the moon, and things would be even worse than they are now!” For Ponyville, however, things couldn’t possibly get any worse. Chapter 5Chapter 5 The chariot raced through Equestria, dashing across the midnight sky to reach Ponyville in time to save the town from the path of troll destruction. They were too late. As the chariot approached Ponyville, the ponies saw enormous clouds of thick black smoke rising into the deep blue sky, just like the ones in Canterlot. These ones, however, hit much closer to home. “Sweetie Belle!” cried Rarity. “My sister is in there, with those…those ruffians!” Everypony thought about their friends trapped in the besieged town. Rarity worried about Sweetie Belle; Twilight worried about Spike; Applejack worried about Apple Bloom; Pinkie Pie worried about Gummy; Fluttershy worried about Angel, as well as all of her other animal friends for whom she cared so dearly. Even Rainbow Dash was concerned for Scootaloo, her number one fan. “We…failed,” said Twilight in defeat. The chariot landed about 50 feet outside of the town, but the ponies remained motionless, weeping over the loss of everyone they knew and loved. “We certainly must go in there and save them,” Rarity suggested. “I, for one, promised mother that I’d protect little Sweetie Belle!” “It’s too dangerous, Rarity. We’d all like to go and save Ponyville, but that would be suicide right now. We can’t take down an army of trolls alone, as much as we’d like to. Princess Celestia is our only hope,” Twilight reminded the others. “But who knows what they’re doing to them! They could be in the process of being slaughtered as we speak!” “We can’t do anything about that, Rarity. There just aren’t enough of us to do any good. If we get captured in there, nopony will be around to save Princess Celestia, and all hope will be lost.” “Speak for yourself, then! I am going to rescue my sister.” Rarity got out of the chariot and began walking slowly towards Ponyville. “What in tarnation are ya thinkin, Rarity? None of us ponies would stand a fightin’ chance in there alone with them rascals!” warned Applejack. Applejack knew exactly what Rarity was thinking, and she was just as worried about Apple Bloom. But she also knew that charging into a troll town wouldn’t be enough to take down an entire army. Rarity was too determined to heed her friend’s advice. She continued towards Ponyville without looking back, keeping her head high and quickening her pace. As soon as she was within 10 feet of the nearest building in Ponyville, several trolls emerged from the eerie building, jumping out of the windows and soon surrounding Rarity. Her friends watched with horror as the trolls grabbed her by the hooves and whisked her away towards the town center and out of sight. They sat there and watched as their friend was captured by the enemy. Each one of them bore a heart of sorrow, but there was nothing they could do about Rarity. She was gone, and there was no way to get her back. Twilight activated the chariot again and continued on towards the horizon. Fluttershy staved off tears for as long as she could, but she eventually broke down. Her thoughts drifted to memories in the spa, her beautiful Gala dress – Rarity had been such a great friend to her, listening to her at times when no one else would. But now, she was gone. Pinkie Pie felt the glum mood plaguing the chariot, and she wanted to brighten everypony up. She couldn’t be her normal self in a time like this, especially right after her friend was taken right before her eyes. Still, she could try to cheer her friends up, and maybe changing the topic would get their minds off of Rarity. “So, did Princess Luna tell you how far away they took Princess Celestia? Which direction is the troll land in?” The other ponies looked lost in thought, but Twilight looked up and replied, “No one knows for sure where the trolls live, not even Princess Luna. Only Princess Celestia knew, and she hid the map of locations outside of Equestria deep within the Fillydelphia Archives. We have to go there to find the map.” Not a single word was uttered after that, and the rest of the ride was ominously quiet. They only hoped that they would reach Fillydelphia before the trolls. Chapter 6Chapter 6 Rainbow Dash awoke from a restless sleep with images of Rarity lingering on her mind. She wiped her eyes and looked out into the distance; she saw several skyscrapers lit up on the horizon, providing a sharp contrast to the deep blue night sky. Best of all, there was no smoke to be seen. “We made it! We’ve reached Fillydelphia!” Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie woke up, and smiles quickly came to their faces as they saw the free city. “Whoo-who! Fillydelphia!!!” shouted Pinkie. Twilight parked the chariot on a rooftop parking lot, and she closed her eyes as soon as she was finished. “What’s wrong, Twilight?” asked Fluttershy. “Ah reckon she’d be mighty tired after flying that there chariot all night. She musta used a hay of a lotta magic to get us all the way here from Ponyville. We need to get her rested up so she can find that map for us,” answered Applejack. “Oh no, Applejack,” started Rainbow Dash. “We don’t have any time to nap around. Who knows when the trolls will reach Fillydelphia? We have to find that map before they conquer here, too.” “Twilight taught me quite a lesson ‘while back, partner. If a pony too tired to do a task, she gotta get a lil’ help.” “Ooh, ooh, we get to do another mission! Super-secret map-finding mission time!” Pinkie exclaimed as she put her hoof in the air to salute. “Might ah ask what it is yer salutin’, Sugarcube?” “Captain Applejack!! Who’s going to stay with the chariot this time? Where’s Twilight going to sleep? We should get her a nice hotel. I bet they have all kinds of fancy-schmancy hotels all over Fillydelphia. We could get her a 3-star, or a 4-star, or maybe even a 5-star! I bet she’d really like a 5-star, but I don’t know how much any of those cost. Did any of you ponies bring any money with you?” “Calm down there, Sugarcube. We ain’t leavin’ nopony behind. We stick together, no matter what. Can’t risk leavin’ someponies alone out here to face them nasty critters. Rainbow, you carry Twilight. We’re a-leavin’ this chariot right here, an’ if it ain’t here when we get back, it ain’t here when we get back.” Rainbow Dash grabbed the sleeping Twilight and flung her on her back. Fluttershy stayed close, watching to see if Twilight would fall off. “C’mon, everypony!” called Applejack as she led the others into the elevator. She pressed her hoof onto the button that said “Lobby,” remembering elevators from her days in Manehattan. The elevator doors shut and the contraption slowly began to descend. When the marker above the door read “14,” the elevator suddenly stopped moving. “Uh oh!” cried Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy closed her eyes in anticipation of the horrors to come. The elevator doors opened, revealing a colt dressed up in a suit and tie. His face was adorned with large glasses and a top hat. He stood stoically for a moment, watching four ponies cower in fear while another slept. He stepped in, bemused by this unusual sight. Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief. I guess I’m too jumpy after battling all those trolls in Canterlot, she thought. The doors closed and the elevator continued its normal motion. “Hi there! My name’s Pinkie Pie! What’s your name? Why are you wearing a suit?” asked Pinkie as she smiled at the colt. “You can call me Sir, in the interests of confidentiality. If you don’t mind, I’m currently working on a corporate merger and would prefer if my identity remained hidden. What are you bunch doing in my office building, anyways?” “You see, we just landed on the roof and this is our first time in Fillydelphia, and we’re looking for Princess Celestia’s super-secret archives so we can find a map she made that’ll show us where troll land is.” The colt glanced at Pinkie Pie before redirecting his gaze back towards the elevator doors, which opened to reveal a large lobby filled with sofas, tables, and busy ponies. Applejack noticed the colt walking towards tough-looking guards. “I reckon we better get outta here,” she said as she led the ponies towards the exit. When they got outside, they took a second to gain their bearings. Fillydelphia was huge – there were hundreds of ponies on this street alone, and all of the buildings reached further into the sky than they could see. “I’m surprised so many ponies would be outside at this time of night,” Rainbow Dash commented after looking at the still-dark sky. “It isn’t nighttime, Rainbow,” said Fluttershy from behind. “With Princess Celestia gone, the sun will never rise.” Rainbow blushed. “Oh, right.” Pinkie Pie was watching all of the ponies pass by. “Imagine throwing a party here!” she exclaimed, before turning her attention to a passerby filly in particular. “Excuse me, do you know where we can find The Archives? We’re looking for some secret works written by Princess Celestia herself!” The filly pointed eastward. “It’s about 10 blocks that way.” “Thank you!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she jumped into the air. “Here we are,” announced Applejack as she opened the door of the archives. She walked over to the receptionist’s desk, unsure of how to begin. “We’re, uh, here to look into the hidden archives. Princess Luna told us that there was a map somewhere in here written by Princess Celestia herself, and we need that map to go and find the Princess.” “I’m sorry, but nopony is allowed into Celestia’s Archives. Those are for the goddess herself, and nopony else. No exceptions.” “But-“ “No buts. Now view the normal archives open to the public or leave.” “AH SAID I NEEDED TO SEE CELESTIA’S ARCHIVES, AND Y’ALL ARE A-GONNA SHOW ME!” “Leave now or I’ll call security.” “NO YA AIN’T!” hollered Applejack, just before she jumped over the desk and toppled the receptionist over. She called back to her friends, “Go now! Ya ain’t got much time before they’ll come a-lookin’ for ya!” Rainbow Dash put Twilight down on the ground and darted into the Archives. Pinkie Pie followed close behind before veering off and assaulting a guard, grabbing him by the next and screaming, “WHERE ARE CELESTIA’S ARCHIVES??” “I don’t know, I’m just a guard! Put me down!!” Pinkie’s scowl faded away. “Okay,” she said, letting the guard go and resuming her skipping behind Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash was conducting similar investigations, but to no avail. One guard told her that the only person who knew where Celestia’s Archives were was the Manager, but even she had never entered. Before long, the sound of sirens filled the building. The building flooded with police ponies, armed with stun guns and hoofcuffs. Rainbow Dash began taunting the police ponies. “You won’t catch me,” she quipped as she began flying through the Archives. She returned to the lobby only to find her friends Applejack and Fluttershy already captured. “I’ll save you!” Rainbow dashed towards the police ponies, but even she wasn’t fast enough to evade their advanced weaponry. Twilight woke up completely unaware of her surroundings. Where am I? How did I get here? She found herself in a bustling building with at least 25 ponies in the room, but none of them were her friends. She spotted what looked like an information desk and headed over. “Hi there. I was wondering if you’ve seen a group of-“ “Twilight!” Twilight turned around and was thrilled to see a familiar face – it was Pinkie Pie, although she was wearing a thick mustache and a pair of glasses. “Pinkie, why are you-“ “Shh! I’ll explain outside.” Twilight followed Pinkie out of the building and onto the busy city street, hoping for an explanation. “Alright, so you fell asleep after we landed in Fillydelphia and Rainbow carried you on her back and we went down this elevator but then the elevator stopped and we all thought that it was broken or attacked by trolls but really some guy just wanted to get on the elevator so we let him get on the elevator and he didn’t really talk much but he seemed pretty busy I’m not sure why he was busy but he said something about-“ “Pinkie!! Just tell me where we are and where the others went!” “Oh, them? Well, we raided the Archives looking for Celestia’s Archives, but the police ponies came in and arrested the others,” explained Pinkie. “Why weren’t you arrested?” “I hid in a ventilation shaft. Dashie found out that the manager knows where Celestia’s Archives are, so we should really ask him. Maybe you can explain something and get us in?” Twilight looked down and took in this flurry of new information. My friends are in trouble…but I’m already at the Archives. I can’t waste any time, and the trolls could arrive here any minute. We better get that map while we still can. “Pinkie, take me to the manager of the Archives. We need to get that map. We can save our friends later.” “Okey-dokey-lokey!” “I’m sorry, but nopony is allowed into Celestia’s Archives. She’s the only one allowed in. They’ve been sealed for nearly 1000 years, and I’m not about to change that.” “But please, manager! Without that map, we can’t find Celestia. And without Celestia, the sun will never rise again!” The manager turned and looked out her window. Maybe these ponies really are telling the truth. It’s been nearly 48 hours of darkness. But if this is another one of Nightmare Moon’s schemes, I could be handing over the fate of Equestria to villains. She glanced back at the ponies, and the pink one was now bouncing on her sofa. They sure don’t seem harmful… “Trolls are going to invade Fillydelphia,” Twilight continued, “and Princess Celestia is the only one who can defeat them. Without that map, Fillydelphia will have no hope of survival.” “How do I know that you’re telling the truth?” Twilight pulled out her letter from the Princess, which was still damp from her teardrops. The letter bore the official seal of Canterlot on the center of the scroll. The manager sighed. If I refuse, I could be prolonging the Princess’s imprisonment. But she specifically told my ancestors 1000 years ago that the vault is never to be opened. Perhaps the Princess hadn’t envisioned being captured by enemy forces... “Alright, have it your way. It is with great reluctance that I open the vault, but I fear that it must be done.” “Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank you so much, Miss Manager!! You wouldn’t believe how grateful we are! I promise you won’t regret it!” Twilight was surprised to see herself showing more emotion than Pinkie, but this was Celestia’s rescue, after all. She probably knew Celestia better than anyone else, being her favorite student for all these years. The manager led Twilight and Pinkie into a dungeon far beneath the Archives. After a labyrinth of elevators, stairs, winding corridors, and dead ends, the three ponies finally reached a gargantuan steel door. The manager removed an orb that had been hanging on her neck and placed it on the pedestal before the vault. Twilight and Pinkie watched in wonder as the manager recited some poem from an ancient language, prompting the massive steel door to brightly glow and eventually become translucent. “Woah,” Pinkie remarked, “the door is still there!” “Yes, it never can be opened,” the manager replied, “but we can walk through it. Now, hold on to me.” Twilight and Pinkie each placed a hoof on the manager as she stepped into Celestia’s Archives. The door behind them suddenly turned opaque and was once again a menacing obstacle. The room was cavernous and adorned with several bookshelves and tables, as well as some relics and artifacts scattered throughout. Pinkie ran to one of the bookshelves and quickly grabbed one of the books. “HERE IT IS!!! HERE IT IS!!! I FOUND IT!!!!! I FINALLY FOUND IT!!!” Pinkie Pie couldn’t explain it, but she was experiencing a joy more powerful than anything she had ever imagined. While she was always happy, this was something different; she felt as though she had found something long lost, something that was more dear and precious to her than everything else combined. Her inexplicable euphoria was nearly overwhelming, as if she’d discovered the secret to everything. It was accompanied by major déjà vu, like the book had slipped out of her grasp long ago. “THIS IS THE ANSWER TO ALL OF OUR PROBLEMS!!!” Twilight took a look at the book, but it wasn’t the map they were looking for. It was an ancient book entitled The Five Goddesses, and ostensibly just an old mare’s tale. “Pinkie, this isn’t the map. I’m surprised at you; you’re usually better than me at finding books!” The visibly upset manager grabbed the book out of Pinkie’s hand. “You’re not even supposed to be in here, let alone touching things that don’t apply to you! You said you needed the map, and that’s it. There is very sensitive information in here, and Princess Celestia’s going to kill me just for letting you two in!” “I found it!” called Twilight, summoning them over. The map was spread out over a table, and it seemed to have been used for planning or strategy, as there were pins and markers placed on several points of the map. Twilight surveyed the map thoroughly before announcing where they would be heading. There was an ocean above Equestria; in fact, Equestria looked like an island that covered most of the planet. There was a much smaller island far to the north labeled “Fortch-An.” A handwritten note was scribbled underneath: “troll pit.” There was a city on the northern edge of Equestria called “Los Pegasus,” and it was located right along the ocean. “Perfect! Now we know exactly where to go!” Twilight remarked ecstatically. “If we can find Los Pegasus, we’ll only have to head north and we’ll be in Fortch-An, where they’re holding Celestia!” “Very well then, you have what you need. Now you can be on your way. Do not take anything with you!” ordered the manager. Pinkie Pie was lost deep in thought and seemed to hear nothing of the conversation. She absentmindedly followed Twilight and the manager out of the dungeon and back into Fillydelphia. Chapter 7Chapter 7 “I’ve never been incarcerated before! Oh my…I…I…I didn’t mean to do anything wrong. I just…I mean…” Fluttershy had been whimpering for hours about her lack of morality in the Archives, and she desperately wanted to get out of prison. “Now don’t ya worry now, Sugarcube, we’ll a-find ourselves a way outta this mess,” Applejack reassured her. She had spent over an hour trying to concoct a plan of escape, but none of the plans she thought of were practical. The walls were too strong to smash, the floor was too concrete to dig through, and there weren’t any apples to throw at the guards. Rainbow Dash had spent the first half hour of her prison stay smashing repeatedly against the wall, but it was useless. She too sat dejectedly on the filthy floor, unsure of how she allowed herself to get caught and let down her friends. A guard walked over to the cell and opened the lock with his unicorn magic, much to the surprise of the three ponies. “What’s going on?” asked Rainbow Dash. “The manager of the Archives just came over with a purple unicorn and a pink earth pony,” he explained. “She said that there’s sufficient proof to let you three out, since there’s some kind of urgent emergency to which you must attend.” The ponies were ecstatic. “Why thank ya very much, sir!” exclaimed Applejack. “Those’d be our friends right over there.” Twilight and Pinkie stood in the doorway of the room, happy to see their friends. “Oh, thank you so much for getting us out,” Fluttershy said as she flew out of the cell. “Did you find the map?” “Yes, we did!!” Twilight held the map in front of her enormous smile and explained how Fortch-An was the island of the trolls, and it was just across the ocean from Los Pegasus. Rainbow Dash smirked. “Humph, doesn’t sound too tough! So it’s called Fortch-An…” “Bee!” Pinkie interjected. Twilight felt compelled to correct her. “No Pinkie, it’s called Fortch-An.” “Bee!” repeated Pinkie. “There’s a bee in the prison!” The other ponies looked around, and sure enough there was a bee buzzing about the room. “It is a cute little creature,” commented Fluttershy. Twilight was becoming upset. “Everypony, stop! We don’t have time to be standing here looking at worthless insects!” “Oh, he’s not worthless, Twilight. He’s-“ “Enough, Fluttershy! We have to get to Fortch-An so we can rescue the Princess!” Everypony became silent after Twilight’s outburst. They filed outside the prison, only to see what they had been fearing since their arrival: trolls in Fillydelphia. Ponies, colts, stallions, and mares were galloping down the street in the direction of Twilight and her friends. A thick black smoke was visible in the distance, and it was getting closer by the second. The bright city lights provided a daunting silhouette of the approaching hordes. “Hurry, we need to get out of here!” Twilight exclaimed as she began heading towards the building where the chariot was parked. After a moment, however, she looked back to see her that her friends were not following behind. “Guys, what’s taking you so long!? We’ve got to run!” Her four companions gave her solemn looks before Applejack finally spoke. “Ah just can’t leave these here ponies behind, Twilight. Ah just can’t.” Twilight took in her surroundings for the first time since the arrival of the hordes. Everypony was screaming; mothers were frantically rushing through the crowd in search of their children. Buildings were on fire and statues were toppling. The collective work of generations of dedicated ponies was being destroyed as the city was falling. “We can’t just let them die here,” continued Applejack. “We’ve a-got to do somethin.” Rainbow Dash began flapping her wings and ascended into the air. “I’ll meet you guys back here once the trolls are all gone!” And with that, she flew off. “Rainbow, wait!” called out Fluttershy, whose weak voice was no match for Rainbow Dash’s speed. Twilight lowered her head. “But…but…isn’t saving the Princess more important? If we don’t save her, many more ponies will become victims of the hordes.” Applejack slowly walked up to Twilight. “Ah know, Sugarcube, and we’ll be right on our way as soon as we finish workin here. But we’ve got here an opportunity to help these ponies – a chance to save them all. We can’t just walk away from this and let them be eaten by those varmints.” “Fine,” said Twilight with a sigh. “I still think we’re wasting time, but we can’t go on without Rainbow Dash. While we’re waiting, we might as well help out these ponies.” “Now that’s the spirit!” replied Applejack with a smile. They began walking towards the direction of the incoming hordes. It wasn’t until they had passed seven city blocks that they actually saw the destruction of the trolls first-hoof. “We can be heroes!” blurted Pinkie Pie. “Ah, we was a-finished talkin’ bout that ages ago,” said Applejack. “Could’a used your help talking to Twilight a little earlier.” “Oh, I’m sorry,” replied Pinkie Pie in an uncharacteristically serious manner. “I was just thinking about something.” “Well, no time for thinkin now! We’ve got ourselves a battle to fight.” Fluttershy had been walking with her head down for the entirety of the conversation, but she now looked up and glanced directly at Applejack. “I, I mean you, or, well, anybody I guess, should, um, always think before doing anything major like that, Applejack. We can’t go into battle without a plan of some sort.” “You’re right, Fluttershy,” said Twilight. “We need to come up with a plan before charging to our deaths.” Applejack scowled at Twilight. “Now here here, I thought we already went over that.” “Oh, we did. I’m just saying we need a plan of action. Haven’t you ever read Sun Hoof’s The Art of Ponywar?” “Well, to be downright honest ah haven’t.” “You really should. It details all the necessary strategies for a conflict such as this one.” “And what does it say we should do here and now?” “Well, this would be a perfect time to utilize the Flanking Procedure,” Twilight explained matter-of-factly. “And what might that’n be?” “Bee!” cried Pinkie, who distractedly swatted at the air before realizing that there were no insects in sight. “Basically,” continued Twilight, “if you charge at the enemy head-on, they’ll be able to see you coming and they’ll be ready to kill you.” “Oh dear,” muttered Fluttershy. “There’s no need to worry,” Twilight assured, “because the Flanking Plan is foolproof! We split up and each attack them from a different side! It’ll be perfect with these tall buildings; if we jump from high windows and get the trolls from the sides, they’ll never see us coming! And since we’ll be going from different sides, they’ll have to split up to fight us. Even if we can’t take them on all at once, we’ll be able to chip away at them if they’re divided.” “But won’t we be divided, too?” “Don’t you worry, Fluttershy. We…um…well… You see, that’s a teensy little flaw in the plan. But hey, it says so in the book, so it’s got to work.” “Okay…” answered a hesitant Fluttershy. “Two of us will go on each side of the street and look for a tall building to jump from. Fluttershy, you go with Pinkie Pie. Applejack, you come with me. Let’s go.” The ponies split up into their groups and entered buildings across from each other on the street. They didn’t bid each other farewell, as they expected to see each other again within the hour. They were wrong. Chapter 9Chapter 9 Applejack looked defeated. After returning to the street to meet up with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, the trolls had led a push, forcing her and Twilight to retreat several blocks. With troll reinforcements endlessly swarming the city, it now was impossible to break through their line. “It’s been nearly an hour, Twilight,” said Applejack grimly. “We’re not going to find them in this brouhaha.” Twilight sighed. “I guess you’re right, Applejack. We’ll go back to the chariot and hope we’ll meet up with them there.” “That’s our only option. If they haven’t gone back to the chariot, it’ll be impossible to find them. This here city’s just too big for us to search, especially in this darkness.” “Ironically, the fires actually help us out a bit. As much as I hate to say it, the burning buildings actually make it a little easier to see.” Twilight and Applejack cantered to the building atop which the chariot was parked, and they were thoroughly relieved to see that this section of the city hadn’t yet been overtaken. They entered the building without problem. Several ponies were scurrying throughout the lobby. Applejack looked at them and felt sorry for these poor ponies. She’d have to leave them behind, and inevitably they would soon become victims of the troll hordes. She regretted leaving them behind, but there was no way they could take all of these Fillydephian ponies with them. Saving the Princess is more important, she reasoned to herself. Once we bring her back to Equestria, we’ll be able to free this here city. Twilight summoned the elevator and the two ponies entered, ascending to the rooftop. They held their breath while waiting for the door to open. When it finally did, they found – nopony. None of their friends were waiting for them. For a moment, the two ponies stood in silence. Either their friends had already been killed by the trolls, or they were still in the madness below, clinging to an impossible notion of survival. Twilight slowly walked towards the chariot; to her surprise, a note lay in the seat: Dear friends, I really hope that you won’t be mad at me for this, but I have to do it. The pegasi of Fillydelphia have assessed the situation and realize that victory here is impossible, so they’ve decided to go see if they might have a chance to fend off the trolls at Los Pegasus. Since we were going to be going there anyways, I figured that I would go ahead so I could be there to help the pegagi mount their defense. Again, I’m really sorry if this seems disloyal to you, but I want you all to know that I would never leave my friends. I’m going to help defend Los Pegasus due to my duty to Equestria, but don’t think I’ve forgotten my duty to the Princess or to you. I’ll meet up with you guys as soon as you reach Los Pegasus, and hopefully the city will be secured by the time you get there. I’ll be in the central courtyard every day at noon, so don’t worry about finding me if you want to take your time defending Fillydelphia. I look forward to meeting up with you guys soon so we can go to the troll homeland and kick some troll butt! Your loyal friend, Rainbow Dash Twilight showed the letter to Applejack and then placed it back on the chariot. “Well, at least we know that Rainbow’s safe.” “That’s sure a whole lot better than not knowin’ nothin’ at all, I suppose. But what about Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie?” “There’s no way we’ll find them in a city this big, Applejack. We’ll just have to wait here until they come back.” “And if they don’t?” “Well… We’ll just have to hope they do.” Rainbow Dash graced through the sky with a legion of 58 other pegasi, all of whom were on their way to Los Pegasus. Rainbow Dash turned to the pegasus next to her and asked, “Hey, do you really think that we couldn’t have saved Fillydelphia?” The pony to her right looked over at Rainbow Dash. “Are you serious, kid? There was no way we could’ve saved that city. Did you even look at how many trolls there were?” Rainbow still wasn’t satisfied. She felt like she had made the right decision, but she still didn’t like leaving her friends behind. “Heh, I probably could’ve taken half of them out myself!” The pegasus next to her chuckled. “Ha, you’re pretty funny, kid. We’ll see what you’ve got once we arrive in Los Pegasus.” Rainbow swallowed hard. She was determined to make a good impression, and saving a whole city from trolls would definitely help her resume for making the Wonderbolts. But it would be hard to back up her lofty claim. Her mouth was getting her into trouble yet again. After less than an hour of flying, the legion of pegasi finally saw a light in the distance. But this wasn’t the light they had been hoping for – alas, it was fire. Rainbow Dash looked ahead and saw the whole city on fire; this had to be the work of the trolls. The same fire-bombs they had used on Fillydelphia now lit the Los Pegasus sky. “Darn it!” cried a pegasus from the front of the pack. “They got here first!” The pegasi convened in mid-air to discuss their next course of action. “Do we still go?” “Will it be safe” “Should we turn back?” Rainbow Dash was astonished by her fellow pegasi: “I can’t believe you guys! I’m so disappointed in all of you. We’re supposed to be pegasi, the best of the best. We’re Equestria’s best fighters, and you expect us to GIVE UP? Who are you!? I thought I was surrounded by Equestria’s finest. Equestria’s most courageous! Equestria’s most talented! Which ones out of you chose to come here? How many of you were forced here against your will?” Rainbow looked around and was greeted by silence. “That’s what I thought! We came here tonight because we believe we can make a difference. We believe we can help Equestria. We believe that we can save our comrades! If we don’t go down there and at least try, who’s going to help? Those ponies are down there getting eaten alive by trolls, and there isn’t anypony who’s going to stop them. Not anypony but us. Do you want to be held personally accountable for every single pony who dies down there!?” Rainbow looked one frightened pegasi in the eye, and then returned to surveying the crowd. “I come from a small town outside of Canterlot. It’s called Ponyville, and it’s where all of my very best friends live. I had to go on a mission to Canterlot, and when I came back, I found that my town was taken over. One of my very best friends was stuck there, and I probably won’t ever see her again. Nearly everypony I’ve ever known and loved was in that town, and now…” Rainbow looked up at the sky, raising a hoof to her cheek as if to wipe away a tear. “And now, they’re all gone. They’re gone to me, and my life will never be the same without them. But there-“ she said, pointing downward towards Los Pegasus, “there is a massive city, filled with hundreds of thousands of scared ponies. I’m just one – just one, and look at what the trolls have done to me. If there could’ve been a legion of brave, courageous, strong, super-cool, fantastic pegasi to come save Ponyville when it needed it most, I…I…I would’ve done anything for that. I would’ve done anything for somepony brave and strong to come and liberate my home. My friend Rarity…” Rainbow finally broke down, unable to hide her tears any longer. The other pegasi looked at each other, exchanging glances of both guilt and shock. None of them knew who this pony was, but she was sure making an impression. They each thought about their own hometowns and what they would’ve given for some extra help in Fillydelphia. Anything to let their families still be alive…. But now it was up to them. They were the reinforcing legion, the ones who could save the world. They had the power to make a difference in somepony’s life, and they had a chance to save someponies from the awful fate that they had endured. Emboldened with a spirit of courage, the pegasi descended upon the occupied city. But courage wouldn’t change the fact that Los Pegasus was the principal troll port city. Courage wouldn’t stop the endless ships of trolls headed straight for Los Pegasus harbor. Chapter 10Chapter 10 The legion of pegasi descended upon Los Pegasus. With Rainbow Dash at its helm, the legion fiercely collided into the rear of the troll army’s ranks, taking down an entire platoon in one fell swoop. “Onwards!” cried an enthusiastic Rainbow Dash. “This city is ours for the taking!” A jubilant cheer erupted throughout the swarm of pegasi. They were eager to take back the city. The troll army soon realized the pegasi presence and turned around in unison to fend off this invading force. A taller troll in the middle of their ranks bellowed an unintelligible noise, and the entire army began launching firebombs at the pegasi. The first orb hit a pegasus from behind, surprising her and knocking her to the ground. Rainbow Dash and her fleet watched as the pegasus fell onto the hard dirt, screaming and writhing in pain. Several nearby pegasi walked over and began flapping their wings to put out the fire, but their efforts were in vain. The burning pegasus repeatedly rolled across the soil, violently calling out for help…but there was nothing anypony could do. More firebombs fell upon the fleet. Pegasus after pegasus fell, squirming helplessly as they waited for inevitable death. “We’ve got to pull back!” called out an older, gray pegasus. “Our ranks are being destroyed!” “We won’t last another five minutes in this madness!” screamed another. Rainbow Dash was clearly disappointed in the broken morale of her comrades. “No! We’ve got to fight on! Los Pegasus needs us!!” “This is suicide! If we stay here, there won’t be anyone left to save Los Pegasus! We need to fall back and regroup!” Rainbow Dash defiantly barked back, “I’m going in there, and I’m saving the city!” She darted over the sea of trolls, skillfully maneuvering around the firebombs that now filled the air, and swiftly entered the city gate. Eight others followed her in, courageously storming the occupied city. “That fool!” exclaimed the gray pegasus. “She’s going to get them all killed. Everyone, fall back!” The remaining pegasi gathered around, dodging the firebombs as best they could. The gray pegasus led them away from the city gate and back into forest. The trolls feigned pursuit, but they knew they could not keep up and turned their full attention to hunting down the nine ponies that had entered the city. The trolls still had a sizable garrison in the city, but most of them had left to assault Fillydelphia. Rainbow Dash was relieved to see that there were patches of pavement still visible – in Fillydephia, the trolls had fully covered the streets. She called out to the few pegasi who had followed her, and together they began their offensive against the trolls. “All ponies, begin fire!” called Dash. One by one they descended into the streets, forcefully knocking down startled trolls. Rainbow Dash quickly jumped back into the air, ready to hit another. The other eight pegasi formed a line behind her, and they proceeded to knock down all trolls that had been on the street. “What should we do with them, Captain?” Captain…I like the sound of that. Rainbow Dash thought for a second, unsure of how to follow up the initial strike. “Um…let’s round them up and drive them out of the city. We can’t have them here within the city if anypony is going to be safe.” Her companions nodded, and they began lifting the fallen trolls in groups of two, with three needed for one of the larger ones. They transported the heavy beasts to the forest south of the city, piling them around the sullen trees. “Good work, everypony!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. Now let’s go beat the rest of those monsters and save the whole city!” “Yeah!” replied her enthusiastic squad. The ponies swiftly returned to Los Pegasus. They charged at a swarm of trolls convening in the courtyard; apparently, an alarm had sounded and all trolls were gathering to search for the invading pegasi. “Capture them all!” bellowed a troll from the center of the city square, pointing his torch at the incoming pegasi. Rainbow Dash knocked the torch out of his arm and another pegasus immediately followed up by striking him on the head. The squad had caught the trolls by surprise, and many of the hideous creatures were now flailing on the ground. “Let’s bring this batch out of the city before they get up!” suggested an orange pegasis. The squad lifted several trolls and began flying back to the forest. Rainbow Dash sped over the Los Pegasus rooftops, growing ever confident in her chances to save the city, when – BAM! – a searing pain seized her back, lurching her into a nearby building. Her hooves lost control of the troll, and the other pegasis collapsed under its weight, tumbling dozens of stories and landing with a loud thud on the street below. Rainbow Dash began to fly to help her comrade, but her wings burned with such a pain that she couldn’t move – and she too began falling towards the street far below. Her eyes slowly began to close, but she caught a fleeting glimpse of bright light out of the corner of her eye; the other pegasi were being hit by the troll fireballs as well, and they were falling one by one. She had led them all to their dooms. Two days had passed, but Twilight and Applejack still hadn’t seen any sign of Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy. “Ah’m starvin’, Twilight. We can’t hold out here much longer ‘an this,” sighed a defeated Applejack. “Do you think they’re…” Twilight couldn’t finish her thought, horrified at the notion of what could have become of her friends. She stared down at the empty street, waiting for any sign of motion. Every blur became a glimmer of hope, but each time she was let down when it turned out to be only a passing troll. After the battle ended, Fillydelphia had become nearly deserted. Trolls still wandered up and down the streets, but Twilight hadn’t seen any other creatures. Most importantly, she hadn’t seen any trace of Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy. “It’s a-been two full days, Twilight. We gots to rescue the Princess.” Twilight turned her gaze from the street, sullenly looking back at the chariot. “I suppose you’re right, Applejack. Let’s go save the Princess.” The two ponies entered the chariot, and Twilight slowly lifted it over Fillydelphia with her unicorn magic. As they flew away, they watched Fillydelphia get smaller and smaller, eventually passing over the horizon. As the city disappeared from view, so did their hope. Equestria could only hope that the two remaining ponies would not abandon it as they had abandoned their friends. Chapter 11Chapter 11 It wasn’t long before a light was visible over the horizon. The chariot soared onward through the black-blue sky, continuing its northward journey towards the city ahead. “That thar’ll be Los Pegasus,” announced Applejack. Twilight studied the horizon. There was indeed a light in the distance, but it wasn’t the familiar hue of office buildings and apartments that she remembered from the images in her books about Los Pegasus. No, this was a light that was becoming all-too familiar: the flaming wake left by the troll horde. Its path of destruction was evident by the large conflagration that now engulfed the region. The ponies couldn’t bring themselves to words as they witnessed yet another catastrophic defeat at the hands of the slobbering green invaders. Looking on from above, Applejack saw trees falling left and right to clear a path for the mindless monsters. What would be the next Equestrian city to fall? Twilight surveyed the sky, hoping against all hope to see her friend flying amongst a legion of the brave. But there were no pegasi in sight. There were no ponies visible below, either, and Twilight wondered if everypony had already been consumed by the horde. “The probability of survival for Rainbow Dash is rather high,” she said, trying to reassure herself more than anything else. “She can fly, and she’s always come through before, so we’ve got to trust that she’ll come through for us this time. She said she’d meet us at noon, and we’d be letting her down as friends if we didn’t show up for her.” Applejack hesitated before replying, casting a melancholic gaze at the base of the chariot. “I’d sure like to think that, Twilight, but…we’ve a’got to take a darn good look around us.” Twilight once more scanned the surrounding chaos. The night was illuminated by the flames of the burning city and nearby forest, flames which were lofting large billows of smoke into the clouds. The once-bustling city was now deserted, save for but a few troll patrols. The bulk of the troll forces were headed south, en route to what was presumably their next siege. Their next assault. Their next slaughter of innocents. A carnage that couldn’t be stopped… Twilight snapped out of her defeatist train of thought. “No, we have to hope! We have to trust in our friend. Just the two of us would be unlikely to succeed when invading the troll homeland, but having a pegasus on our side would give us an edge. We need Rainbow Dash!” Applejack sighed dejectedly. “Ah sure hope she’s out there, Twi, but it sure ain’t looking too good. Besides, how would we go about findin’ out when it’s noontime? This chariot ain’t got no clock.” Twilight looked around for inspiration. She recalled reading that Los Pegasus had a great clock tower that shone like a beacon over the city. “If we can find the clock tower, we’ll know what time it is! And then we’ll know when to go to the courtyard to meet up with Rainbow Dash.” She flew the chariot around the decimated city, carefully flying highly enough not to be spotted by the odd troll patrol. After circling several times, they saw a sight that confirmed their worst fears; like much of the rest of the city, the clock tower had been hit by a barrage of troll firebombs and now lay toppled in the middle of a street. “I knew this wasn’t no good,” quipped Applejack. “They done knocked down our houses, they done knocked down our spirits, and now they’ve even gone and knocked down our clocks!” Twilight saw that her friend was right. Everything in the city had been destroyed by the trolls, and her hope of ever seeing Rainbow Dash again was becoming dimmer by the second. But she wasn’t ready to give in just yet. The unicorn flew the chariot in closer to the clock, abandoning the caution with which she had previously circled the wreckage of the city’s skyline. She landed the chariot right on the remains of the clock tower, desperately hoping that it could somehow still function despite the crash. “Why, I’ll be…” expressed a surprised Applejack beside her. Sure enough, the great hands of the clock were still moving, despite having crashed to the ground with the building. Twilight was grateful to see the hands still functioning, but it wasn’t anywhere close to noon. It was still early evening, so they had nearly a day to wait before meeting up with Rainbow Dash. At least, she thought it was early evening. It could’ve been 7:44 AM, with the sun being gone and all, but Twilight Sparkle still had a decent grasp on time. It hadn’t been that long since her whole world had been shattered. “Well, looks like ya were right, partner. By some miracle, this here gadget’s still going strong! Why’nt we get rested up while waiting for noon to come around?” “Yeah, that’s not a bad idea,” replied Twilight as she directed the chariot to a small hiding place beneath some nearby rubble. The two ponies drifted to sleep, hoping that the next day would have brighter news in store for them. Twilight Sparkle and Applejack awoke the next morning after a much-needed night of sleep. Neither one had a pleasant night, and the trolls seemed to torment them even in the realm of dreams. But dreams were all they were – despite being jolted awake in terror by gruesome images of their friends being eaten by dripping monsters, they awoke to find that the trolls had not found them during the night. After re-acquainting herself with the surroundings, Twilight once again flew the chariot towards the collapsed clock tower. 10:12, read the monolithic hands. It was still weird to see the sky pitch-black in the morning. Twilight noticed that it was even darker than it had been when they had gone to bed, since many of the fires had burnt out. Nonetheless, the flames still engulfed large swathes of the city and exuded an eerie glow throughout the empty streets. “Let’s go to the courtyard and wait for Rainbow Dash. I’m sure she’ll turn up soon.” The unicorn spoke confidently, as if her trust in her friend would foretell her arrival. The two ponies flew to Los Pegasus’s central courtyard and waited. “It’s still early,” said Applejack in an attempt to keep up her friend’s spirits. “She’ll a’be here when she said she’d a’be.” Twilight and Applejack paced restlessly through the courtyard. 11:00. No sign of Rainbow Dash. 11:30. “Well, she flew off to help that legion of pegasi, so I’m sure they went somewhere else once Los Pegasus fell,” calculated Twilight Sparkle. “She’s probably already broken away from the group and is on her way to meet us here now.” 12:00. Applejack pondered why there weren’t any bodies lying around Los Pegasus. The streets were relatively clean, save for splotches of blood and green goo here and there. There weren’t any dead ponies in sight. Maybe Rainbow Dash hadn’t come here after all. Maybe she went to help out at a battle far off, and she really was coming back now? Twilight was usually pretty insightful, and if she thought that there was a chance, then it was worth waiting a little longer. 1:00. A loud clack sounded off in the distance, and Twilight instantly hopped into the chariot to get a closer look. But it was just a building that had succumbed to the pressures of other buildings pushing it down – a whole city block had been done in by the trolls, and it was just now giving way under the stress of the combined steel. Twilight scoured the rubble for any sign that maybe Rainbow Dash had been inside, that maybe she’d bumped into it to cause it to fall – but there were no pegasi to be found. 2:00. The courtyard remained empty, lacking any sounds save the breathing of the two waiting ponies. 3:00. Applejack ventured into the wreckage of a nearby grocery store and brought back some food and supplies. “Thought you might need a bit of a pick-me-up,” she said with a smile as she handed her findings to Twilight. But the unicorn just slouched even more, feeling as dejected as ever. “I don’t think she’s coming,” she finally admitted. “This was all a waste of time.” “Now don’t you go sayin’ that, partner,” replied Applejack in an attempt to lift her friend’s mood. “We gave it everything we had, and we didn’t let out friend down. We were here for her all the way, and you done right by me. All we can say is that we tried.” “Yeah, I guess,” sighed the purple unicorn. 3:34. A troll patrol finally wandered into the courtyard, shocked to find two ponies slouched beside a chariot. They bellowed some sort of war cry to call the others and then began to charge. Wielding their clubs high above their heads, they sprinted at the two unassuming ponies. But their loud steps shook the ground as they ran, alerting their would-be prey to their presence. Twilight murmured as she got up. “I think it’s time we get out of here.” “Those beasts’ll pay fer what they’ve done to our friends!” Applejack screamed in a fit of frustration as she entered the chariot. Twilight activated her magic and lifted the vehicle off the ground, having plenty of time to evade the troll pursuers. It was now time for their northward journey towards the troll base, a suicidal thrust into the heart of all that had destroyed her people. The vicious savages who had taken her friends from her had surely come from a well-defended homeland, and centuries of uninterrupted fortification would make it as impregnable as any fortress she’d ever read about. Things could only get worse. Chapter 8Chapter 8 As Applejack followed Twilight up the stairs of the building, she began to feel a sense of panic. This ain’t like me, she thought. A pony like me shouldn’t be gettin’ a-scared like this. Twilight looked back at her companion. “Is something wrong, Applejack?” “Ah, nothin’ much, Twilight. I’m just a little nervous, that’s all. I ain’t never been in a battle before.” “Don’t worry, Applejack. My book back at the Ponyville library explains perfect combat procedure. We’re guaranteed to win!” reassured a confident Twilight. “But Twilight, the stakes are mighty high right now. Ah know we’ve been through a lot together, but ain’t nothin’ ever been like this. If something goes wrong that we might’a not seen, we could be in big trouble.” Twilight glanced pensively downward, trying to remember a paragraph from the tome accounting for alternate outcomes. “I don’t think there was anything about something going wrong, at least as far as I can remember. That must mean that there’s no way anything can go wrong! Just trust me on this one.” “Alright, Twilight. Ah’m going to follow you because you’re mah best friend and all, but I still have the heebie jeebies in mah stomach. Something just ain’t right about ponies fightin’, that’s all.” “Of course there isn’t. This should have never happened, and I can’t believe nopony saw this coming. Once this is all over, I’m sure the Princess will have some pegasi scout the other islands around Equestria to make sure there are no other groups that might come in hurting ponies.” “But how’ll she know that all the land’s accounted for? What if we miss some spots? What if there are a whole lot of islands out there, Twilight, and they just keep a-comin’?” Before Twilight could respond, she reached the top of the stairwell. Using her unicorn magic, she opened the door to reveal an empty rooftop. Smoke filled her nostils; she looked around for the source and soon realized that a plethora of the nearby building were on fire. She and Applejack spent a moment in silence, gazing at the chaos around them. The buildings were being ignited by some projectile thrown by the trolls. Not only were they slaughtering the ponies in the streets, but they were razing the city as well. “Oh Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed. “This is horrible! They’re destroying the whole city!” “And they won’t stop neither. They’ll keep on rolling through Equestria until the whole continent is on fire.” “Then it’s all the more important that we rescue the Princess. I really don’t think we can stop this. We’re just losing time now. These buildings are being burned way too quickly. The rate of incendiary spread compounded by the fleeing panic of the population would be so much more significant than whatever we can do to stop it and the rate at which we’d be slowing them down would be less than the rate of their advance and the amount of Equestria that gets destroyed during the time we spend here against the time we could’ve been over there would be-“ “Alright Twilight, I see what you mean now. This here force is too powerful for 5 little ponies to stop. I’m sorry I didn’t see that before, Twilight.” “Don’t worry about it, Applejack. You were only trying to help.” “Ah know. Ah just hope that ah didn’t put any more ponies in danger by wantin’ to stay here rather than go right away to get the Princess.” “There’s no time to worry about that now, Applejack. We can still rescue the Princess in time if we hurry.” “In time for what? There won’t be nothin’ left of Equestria by the time we get back.” “We’ve got to at least try. If we give up now…” Applejack nodded, understanding the importance of their mission. She and Twilight looked down into the street below, now flooded with a seemingly endless horde of trolls. “Jumpin’ into there would be suicide. There’s no way that’ll be of use to anypony.” Twilight assessed the situation and concluded that her friend was right. Jumping into a sea of trolls wouldn’t slow down the destruction of the city, and it wouldn’t save enough ponies to be worth the time spent. They had to save Celestia, and they had to act fast. “Come on Applejack, let’s take the stairs back down. We’ve got to find the others before they get lost in the hordes.” Fluttershy opened her eyes, but the scene wasn’t any less grim. The buildings around her were still burning, the ponies on the streets were shrieking, trolls were overrunning the city, and she was alone on a rooftop in the middle of the night. The rooftop was illuminated only by the fire of adjacent buildings. Well, she wasn’t completely alone. Pinkie Pie sat beside her, absentmindedly scratching her head. After several minutes of trembling in fear, she finally mustered the courage to gently say to her companion, “Um, Pinkie? Pinkie Pie?” Pinkie Pie continued to scratch her head and stare off into the distance, as if she didn’t realize that Fluttershy was there at all. “Pinkie Pie? I, um, I think that Twilight wanted us to help her. You know, go down there?” Fluttershy tepidly pointed to the madness below. Pinkie Pie finally looked up. “Oh?” she replied in a disinterested tone. “We really need to go, Pinkie Pie. We’ve been out here for 15 minutes, and the others are probably waiting for us by now.” Pinkie Pie stood up and blinked at Fluttershy without saying a word. “Are you okay? You, um, don’t really seem yourself.” “Who, me? What are you talking about? I’m doing just fine,” expressed Pinkie with a nervous laugh. Fluttershy was deeply concerned about her friend, but she had bigger worries on her mind. She walked over to the ledge, afraid to look down. Pinkie Pie eventually was next to her, but Fluttershy couldn’t tell how much time was passing. She was beginning to shake visibly from sheer trepidation. This was all so surreal. Pinkie finally looked at her and said, “Oh, I think Twilight wanted us to go down there and surprise them.” Fluttershy closed her eyes. Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m actually up here!! How is this happening to m- Her thought was interrupted – she felt something hit her back and she lost balance, slipping over the edge and beginning to plummet towards the sidewalk below. “PINKIE! HELP ME!” she cried as she descended ever more rapidly. “Silly Fluttershy, I’m the one who pushed you off! There wasn’t anypony else up there, Fluttershy.” Pinkie Pie didn’t seem bothered by the fact that she was plummeting towards the pavement. “HELP!” “Shh, you’re going to spoil the surprise!” Fluttershy vehemently flapped her wings, stabilizing her fall and levitating safely before hitting the ground. Pinkie Pie, however, continued descending, hitting a troll square on the head and knocking him to the ground. She landed on his back and proudly exclaimed, “Hi-ya! Take that, Mr. Trolly!” Pinkie immediately found herself surrounded by a mass of trolls, each of whom looked like they were intent on eating her. “Oh, you guys want to eat me? Take this!” Pinkie jumped towards one of them with two hooves in the air, knocking him backwards and out of the circle of trolls closing in on her. Fluttershy helplessly floated overhead, too afraid to join her friend in the fighting. Pinkie jumped up to kick another troll, but this time she was grabbed mid-air. One of the larger trolls extended his huge claws and swiped her out of the air, preventing her from hitting her target. The troll grunted loudly, slobbering beads of drool from his hideous face. “Pinkie!” blurted Fluttershy, who overcame her fear at the sight of her friend in danger. She dove towards the troll, pushing him back a step and knocking him off-balance. However, the troll was much larger than Fluttershy and was unfazed by the impact. He tightened his grip on the pink pony with one claw and simultaneously swatted at the yellow one with the other. He struck her directly on the face, rendering her unconscious. The pegasus’s wings stopped moving, causing her to fall right into the claws of another troll. The trolls turned to their commander. “Boss, what do you want done with these?” A massive, green monster extended his hand. “Give them to me. We’ll ship them back to the homeland. I’m sure there’ll be some use for them there.” Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were then loaded into cold, wooden wagons. Those wagons were headed straight for Fortch-An.
Chapter 1Equestria on the Brink by G-Money Chapter 1 “So Pinkie Pie, what’s this party for?” “Silly Twilight, don’t you know? It’s been 52 days since Gummy’s birthday! You know how Gummy loves parties!” Twilight glanced at the expressionless alligator, who seemed completely oblivious to what was going on around him. “And what’s so special about 52?” inquired Twilight. “Well,” started Pinkie, “52 is 10 more than 42, and 42 is just such an awesome number – I’m sure you all remember Gummy’s 42-days-after-birthday-party – and you know, since 10 is an even number, and it ends in a 0, and it’s just so super-duper, it’s such a special occasion, and I just had to do this for Gummy! Do you know how many times each year someone is 52 days older than however old they were on their birthday? ONLY ONCE!!” Everypony laughed at Pinkie’s ramblings. The group of friends couldn’t have been having a better time, enjoying themselves in the company of their closest companions. The cake was delicious, the festivities were manifold, and the seemingly endless supply of balloons and confetti emitted an atmosphere filled with summer fun. But not everyone was laughing. Spike stood silently in the corner of the room, rereading a scroll over and over. The baby dragon’s eyes filled with terror and his body began shaking. “Twi-Twilight!?” “What’s the matter, Spike?” “Um…I, uh, I really think you should read this.” “Why don’t you read it for us? I’m sure everypony would love to see how proud the Princess is of all that I’ve learned. I’m sure she’s just congratulating me on learning so many valuable lessons, all because of my best friends. Without my friends, I wouldn’t have had any friendship reports! You should read it so everypony can hear!” “I-I-I can’t, Twilight. You read it.” “Fine,” muttered Twilight as she levitated the scroll out of Spike’s hand and began to read: “My dearest and most faithful student, Twilight: Thank you so very much for all that you have done. I couldn’t be more proud of you; your friendship reports have made me confident that there is hope for the future of Equestria. However, it is with deep regret that I inform you that Canter-“ Twilight suddenly dropped the scroll and ran out of the room. Her friends gathered around the dropped scroll and silently read terrifying news: However, it is with deep regret that I inform you that Canterlot has been overtaken by a gruesome horde, who march upon the Royal Palace as I write this. The entire Canterlot Guard has been wiped out, and Princess Luna and I cannot hold them off on our own. Our fate is inevitable; yours is not. You have strength in numbers. Defend Ponyville. Only with your friends can you save Equestria. It has been been a pleasure knowing you and learning from you, Twilight Sparkle. Your mentor, Princess Celestia
Chapter 2Chapter 2 Ponyville was in a panic. Everypony in town was rushing this way or that, frantically grabbing supplies and fortifying the barricade. Twilight had overseen the initial creation of the barricade, but her mind was too mercurial to stay focused on the task. She sat on the balcony of her library, staring at the gargantuan heaps of black smoke emerging from Canterlot. I can’t stay here with the Princess in danger, thought Twilight. If anything ever happened to her... She winced at the thought of what could be happening to her mentor. She knew that she had to save the Princess; without Celestia, Equestria was doomed. Twilight gathered her five best friends into the hot-air balloon. Ponyville would be losing some of its best defenders, but Twilight just couldn’t leave the Princess vulnerable to the invading hordes. “Um, Twilight?” “What’s wrong, Fluttershy?” “Well, it’s just that, I mean, I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave everyone behind. I just don’t feel right leaving behind all those little-bitty animals all by themselves. Not that I disagree with you, of course, but, well, I’m so worried about Angel. What if...what if...what if-” “Don’t worry, Fluttershy! Everything is going to be just fine. We’ll quickly fly up to Canterlot, rescue Princess Celestia, and return before the hordes come anywhere close to Ponyville. There’s nothing to worry about, and once we have Princess Celestia with us, those hordes won’t stand a chance!” “I sure hope you’re right, Twilight,” interjected Rainbow Dash. “If we didn’t need all the chariots to defend Ponyville, I would’ve called you crazy to use a hot-air balloon in a time like this. You never know what could be fired at us, and if we get shot down, we’ll have no way of getting back!” “It’s not ideal, Rainbow, but it’s the best we’ve got. Is everypony ready?” Her friends all gave a nod of consent, and Twilight summoned her magic to make the balloon rise. Before it got far off the ground, however, a familiar voice called up to them. “Big sis, would ya please let me go wit y’all? I’m mighty scared of them critters a-comin’, and I don’t want no scaredy-filly cutie mark! I’d much rather a balloon-flyin’ cutie mark, and I wanna help y’all save the Princess!” “I’m sorry, Apple Bloom,” replied her elder sister, “but Ponyville has an achin’ need for as many ponies as it can afford. We can’t have everypony off leavin’ looking for the Princess, or else them critters’ll run over this whole town! Ah promise ah’ma come back and protect ya, Apple Bloom.” The filly’s eyes welled up with tears as she saw her sister fly away on a grand adventure. She was filled with new hope, however, when she saw her friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle working on acquiring their wall-building cutie mark. She happily pranced over to join them. Little did she know that her sister wouldn’t be returning to protect her. Little did she know that she’d soon become a victim of the hordes.
Chapter 3Chapter 3 Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie all let out a sigh of relief as they exited the hot-air balloon and walked into a Canterlot courtyard. “We sure are lucky that that there smoke hid us from view!” exclaimed Applejack. “Yeah, without it, we’d be goners!” added Rainbow Dash. Twilight wasn’t as relieved. “We may have made it into Canterlot unnoticed, but we still have to find the Royal Palace and save Princess Celestia.” Twilight spent a moment taking in her surroundings before pulling out her map of Canterlot. There wasn’t a pony in sight, and a thick black smoke obscured the normally majestic skyline. “According to this map, we’re only a few blocks away from the Palace!” “Let’s make a dash for it before anyone knows we’re here,” suggested Rainbow Dash. “We can’t leave the balloon here alone,” retorted Twilight. “It’s our only way back to Ponyville, and if we lose it, we won’t be able to get back in time to stop the invasion.” “Ooh, ooh, ooh, me! Me, me, me, pick me! I’ll protect Alpha D-71!” shouted Pinkie Pie. “Alpha…what?” asked Applejack. “Alpha D-71!” replied Pinkie. “I was doing a little thinking earlier, and we couldn’t leave our old friend balloony without a name, since he’s our way of getting home! We need to bond and show we care, so how about a name!? First I thought of something normal, like Super Balloon Carrier of Elite Ponies, but then I thought we needed something with a little more pizazz. We are going on a super-secret mission to save the Princess after all, so obviously it had to be something-“ Pinkie squinted her eyes and crouched on the ground, against the side of the balloon. “In-cog-ni-to,” she whispered in an eerie tone while waving her hooves in the air. The other ponies stood with blank expressions on their faces as they watched Pinkie ramble on. Twilight finally spoke up, saying, “We can’t leave anypony alone. Fluttershy, you stay with Pinkie, so that if anything goes wrong there’ll be two of you together.” Fluttershy opened her mouth as if to say something, but instead quietly walked back towards the balloon. Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity began walking down the street towards the Palace. They were surrounded on both sides by four-story buildings with broken doors and shattered windows. It looked like nopony had lived there for months. “Oh, how hideous!” complained Rarity. “All of the fashion, suddenly gone! Oh, how will Equestria fare without such elegance?” “Ah do reckon we’ve got bigger doggies on our hooves, Rarity,” said Applejack. “This can’t be good. There isn’t a pony in sight! What if-“ Rainbow Dash thought aloud, with clear trepidation in her voice. “We can’t think like that, Rainbow. We can only hope for the best,” said Twilight with an air of confidence. Deep down, however, the unicorn was as terrified as the others. “I do hope that we needn’t pass into that smoke,” said Rarity as they passed another empty intersection. “I can’t begin to imagine what it would do to my mane!” “Grr!” “My sentiments exactly, Applejack. It would be most gruesome!” “Ah didn’t say nuthin’, Rarity,” replied the earth pony. Rarity looked behind her to determine the source of the noise. “Well then, would-“ Rarity stopped short, gazing back into the intersection. To her surprise, the intersection was completely blocked off by at least a dozen large, green monsters with sharp claws and drool pouring from their faces. The largest one was at least 8 feet tall, and he was darting towards the ponies, with the other monsters close behind. “Run, everypony!” The four ponies sprinted towards the Palace, but the monstrous creatures were gaining on them. “Maybe we’ll lose them in the smoke,” suggested Twilight. They ran straight into the puffs of smoke, hoping to lose their followers. Even Rarity galloped into the smoke without hesitation, judging her life to be more valuable than her beautifully coiffed mane. Twilight used her magic to clear the dense smoke directly in front of her. Ahead of her was exactly what she had been desperately hoping she would see: the grand doors of the Royal Palace! Applejack was right behind Twilight, and she charged towards the doors at full speed. BAM! The doors shattered under the weight of Applejack’s hooves, clearing an escape for Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. The inside of the Palace was pitch black, but that seemed irrelevant in the face of danger. Twilight used her magic to seal the door shut behind them once all of her friends were in the room. They all breathed a sigh of relief once the door was locked; they had escaped their pursuers. Rarity used her magic to feel around for a light switch, and she eventually found one and illuminated the room. But they weren’t the only ones there. The light revealed hundreds of hideous creatures slobbering idly throughout the room. These enormous green menaces were at least as large as the ones outside, and the light only revealed more disgusting detail. The light momentarily blinded them, but they soon regained their bearing and began advancing towards the four intruders. “We need to get out of here!” yelled Twilight Sparkle as she thrust open the doors through which they had just entered. To her dismay, the creatures that had been chasing them outside were patiently waiting just behind the door. They too advanced towards the ponies, blocking all exits. “We’re doomed!” exclaimed a quivering Rainbow Dash. She could have flown up to the chandelier and waited until an exit cleared, but she wasn’t going to leave her friends behind. If they were going to be eaten by these gruesome monsters, they would be eaten together. The ponies hugged each other as they accepted the inevitable. “Thank you so much for being my friends,” whimpered a tearful Twilight Sparkle. “You ponies have made my life so much fun, I wouldn’t give these last few months for anything.” And the hordes were upon them. The only question on their minds was how they were going to divide their prey.
Chapter 4Chapter 4 Twilight closed her eyes and waited. And waited. And waited. Why haven’t they eaten me yet? wondered the unicorn. Just get it over with so I don’t have to go through this pain! She peeked up to see what was taking them so long. Much to her surprise, a luminescent bubble was serving as a barrier between her and the beasts, and it was protecting her friends as well. A wave of magic more powerful than anything Twilight had ever seen suddenly passed through the room, driving the hordes out of the Palace. Twilight looked up in awe at her savior – it was Princess Luna, keeper of the Night! “Thank you so much for saving us!” exclaimed a belated Rainbow Dash. “I thought we were dead for sure!” A chorus of gratitude echoed from the other ponies, but Princess Luna’s countenance bore a shocked expression. “What are you ponies doing here? The evacuation was ordered hours ago!” “We’re here to rescue Princess Celestia!” answered Twilight. “She sent me a letter saying Canterlot was in danger!” “And what is your name? You must be a very important pony for my sister to have personally sent you a message.” “My name is an amalgamation of linguistic compounds primarily utilized to assign distinguishable identities so as to facilitate communication between individuals,” Twlight replied matter-of-factly, too nervous from the recent events to figure out why Princess Luna was quizzing her on simple definitions. “Oh. Well then.” “And just where is the Princess?” asked Rarity. “Her elegance is exemplary! I could learn a thing or two just from looking at her.” Luna looked down disconsolately. “She’s gone… I couldn’t stop them.” The ponies stood still in disbelief. “They’ve taken her back to their land. I can’t go, and I feel miserable. With Celestia gone from Equestria, the sun will never rise here. If I leave, Equestria will be without a moon too, and it will be plunged into perpetual darkness.” Silence swept over the room. Nopony had the courage to speak after hearing the dismal news, but Twilight knew what they had to do. “We have to protect Ponyville, Princess Luna, but once we repel the horde, we’ll go into the homeland of those hordes and rescue Princess Celestia. I promise.” “That is admirable, but I am afraid that your mission will be futile. This enemy cannot be taken lightly.” “What exactly are they, anyways?” asked Rainbow Dash. Luna turned away, as if it would reduce the terror of the dreadful word. “Trolls.” Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were inside the basket of the hot-air balloon, crouching to avoid being seen. From time to time, Pinkie would stick her head out and stealthily look for signs of anything unusual. “Want another cookie, Fluttershy? They’re chocolate chip!” whispered Pinkie. “Uh, no thanks, Pinkie. I’m-I’m not that hungry.” Fluttershy had lost her appetite after watching her friends disappear into the darkness. On top of that, she was worried about all of the animals that she loved so dearly, and she wasn’t anywhere close to comfortable leaving them in Ponyville, right in the path of the hordes. “I should’ve spoken up before we left, Pinkie. I’m really worried about all my little-bitty animals. What if the hordes get them before we get back?” “Don’t worry, Fluttershy! I left Gummy back in Ponyville, and I’m not worried at all! It was more important to help Twilight find Princess Celestia, because she’ll be able to save Ponyville better than everyone else combined!” Pinkie didn’t really believe what she was saying – she just wanted to comfort Fluttershy. She definitely was worried about Gummy and all of her friends back in Ponyville, and she would’ve rather stayed to protect everyone. At the time, though, she didn’t want to let her friend Twilight down; she was starting to regret that now as she looked across the courtyard and saw nothing but the thick, black smoke. “Um, Pinkie?” “What is it, Fluttershy? Want to play a game? Ooh, ooh, I have a great idea for one! How about we-“ “No, look!” Fluttershy pointed to a tree on the far side of the courtyard. At first glance, it didn’t look like anything out of the ordinary, but then a branch began to move. There was no wind. The trolls had spotted the two ponies inside the balloon, and they began to charge. Pinkie Pie screamed as the green monstrosities rapidly approached. Drool was dripping from their mouths, they had their clubs raised high in the air, and they were chanting as they approached the helpless ponies. Fluttershy quickly grabbed Pinkie Pie and began flying upwards. “No Fluttershy, we can’t leave the balloon! We promised we’d protect it! All of the chocolate-chip cookies are in there!” “No Pinkie, I can’t risk our lives like that. I’ve never seen such scary creatures, and they might not be very nice to us.” “But Fluttershy, we promised! Fluttershy didn’t want to leave the balloon behind, but she knew that they were worth more to Twilight alive than dead. She had to save Pinkie and herself, even if it meant losing the balloon. “Fluttershy, put me down!” “I’m awfully sorry, but they’ll just hurt us and, um, take the balloon anyways.” “Not Alpha D-71!” “What?” Pinkie facehoofed at Fluttershy’s ignorance. Alpha D-71 was their only way of returning to Ponyville in time to protect it, and Fluttershy was too scared to fight for it. But Pinkie didn’t have much leverage, hanging 15 feet in the air as Fluttershy flew in the direction of the Palace. Both ponies expected the streets to be lined with more of the monsters, but surprisingly, they weren’t. Instead, the two ponies found a large force shield advancing towards them. “I don’t know what this is, but we have to warn the others,” said Fluttershy timidly. “You mean we’re going to head right towards it!? Are you crazy?” asked Pinkie Pie. “I, I mean we, we can’t risk getting lost out here. You never know when more scary creatures could show up, and if we get lost, we’ll never be able to find our friends and warn them.” Fluttershy flew right towards the force field, which miraculously disappeared just as they were about to pass through. “Fluttershy! Pinkie Pie! What are you doing up there?” called a familiar voice. “Twilight, it’s you!” replied a relieved Fluttershy. “We’re really glad to see you. You see, we were just-“ “Where’s the balloon!?” yelled Rainbow Dash, louder than she had intended. “You see, Fluttershy was too scaredy-waredy when the big bad creepies showed up, and-“ Pinkie began before being cut off. “You encountered the trolls!?” asked Luna. “Yup, we saw them all right. They wouldn’t have been a match for us! I was going to offer them some cookies and we could’ve had a nice little party, but scaredypants here was a meanie-weanie and wouldn’t let me give them any cookies.” “Thanks, Fluttershy.” Twilight smiled at the pegusus, adding, “I’m so glad you got out of there while you still could. You would’ve been eaten alive if you let them get near you! That was smart thinking.” Pinkie Pie frowned at Twilight before turning her attention to Luna. “Oh, I think I know you! You’re the Princess who wasn’t as princessly as the other Princess but still a Princess, right? Did you find Celestia? Did Twilight pick the wrong one? Twilight, I can’t believe you mixed up the princesses! You should know better, being Celestia’s student and all. I mean, really! How could you not know which-“ “Pinkie, Celestia’s been captured. The trolls have kidnapped her and taken her to their homeland, far away from Equestria. We have to go there to find the Princess, and we’re going as soon as we protect Ponyville. Let’s hurry; the hordes are probably already on their way!” The seven galloped down the street as fast as they could, but when they arrived at the courtyard, they saw that the balloon had been deflated and its contents scattered throughout the area. “Alpha D-71!” cried Pinkie. “Oh, darlings! How are we ever going to get out of this dreadful place now? Look at what those ruffians did to our balloon!” cried Rarity. “There are some chariots left nearby,” said Luna. “You’ll be able to take one of those, and Anna Malgamation’s magic should be able to power you back to Ponyville.” “You’re not coming, Princess?” inquired Twilight, purposefully ignoring Luna’s butchering of her name. “No, Anna Malgamation. I must remain here, where I can be safe. If those trolls ever captured me, too, Equestria would be without the light of the moon, and things would be even worse than they are now!” For Ponyville, however, things couldn’t possibly get any worse.
Chapter 5Chapter 5 The chariot raced through Equestria, dashing across the midnight sky to reach Ponyville in time to save the town from the path of troll destruction. They were too late. As the chariot approached Ponyville, the ponies saw enormous clouds of thick black smoke rising into the deep blue sky, just like the ones in Canterlot. These ones, however, hit much closer to home. “Sweetie Belle!” cried Rarity. “My sister is in there, with those…those ruffians!” Everypony thought about their friends trapped in the besieged town. Rarity worried about Sweetie Belle; Twilight worried about Spike; Applejack worried about Apple Bloom; Pinkie Pie worried about Gummy; Fluttershy worried about Angel, as well as all of her other animal friends for whom she cared so dearly. Even Rainbow Dash was concerned for Scootaloo, her number one fan. “We…failed,” said Twilight in defeat. The chariot landed about 50 feet outside of the town, but the ponies remained motionless, weeping over the loss of everyone they knew and loved. “We certainly must go in there and save them,” Rarity suggested. “I, for one, promised mother that I’d protect little Sweetie Belle!” “It’s too dangerous, Rarity. We’d all like to go and save Ponyville, but that would be suicide right now. We can’t take down an army of trolls alone, as much as we’d like to. Princess Celestia is our only hope,” Twilight reminded the others. “But who knows what they’re doing to them! They could be in the process of being slaughtered as we speak!” “We can’t do anything about that, Rarity. There just aren’t enough of us to do any good. If we get captured in there, nopony will be around to save Princess Celestia, and all hope will be lost.” “Speak for yourself, then! I am going to rescue my sister.” Rarity got out of the chariot and began walking slowly towards Ponyville. “What in tarnation are ya thinkin, Rarity? None of us ponies would stand a fightin’ chance in there alone with them rascals!” warned Applejack. Applejack knew exactly what Rarity was thinking, and she was just as worried about Apple Bloom. But she also knew that charging into a troll town wouldn’t be enough to take down an entire army. Rarity was too determined to heed her friend’s advice. She continued towards Ponyville without looking back, keeping her head high and quickening her pace. As soon as she was within 10 feet of the nearest building in Ponyville, several trolls emerged from the eerie building, jumping out of the windows and soon surrounding Rarity. Her friends watched with horror as the trolls grabbed her by the hooves and whisked her away towards the town center and out of sight. They sat there and watched as their friend was captured by the enemy. Each one of them bore a heart of sorrow, but there was nothing they could do about Rarity. She was gone, and there was no way to get her back. Twilight activated the chariot again and continued on towards the horizon. Fluttershy staved off tears for as long as she could, but she eventually broke down. Her thoughts drifted to memories in the spa, her beautiful Gala dress – Rarity had been such a great friend to her, listening to her at times when no one else would. But now, she was gone. Pinkie Pie felt the glum mood plaguing the chariot, and she wanted to brighten everypony up. She couldn’t be her normal self in a time like this, especially right after her friend was taken right before her eyes. Still, she could try to cheer her friends up, and maybe changing the topic would get their minds off of Rarity. “So, did Princess Luna tell you how far away they took Princess Celestia? Which direction is the troll land in?” The other ponies looked lost in thought, but Twilight looked up and replied, “No one knows for sure where the trolls live, not even Princess Luna. Only Princess Celestia knew, and she hid the map of locations outside of Equestria deep within the Fillydelphia Archives. We have to go there to find the map.” Not a single word was uttered after that, and the rest of the ride was ominously quiet. They only hoped that they would reach Fillydelphia before the trolls.
Chapter 6Chapter 6 Rainbow Dash awoke from a restless sleep with images of Rarity lingering on her mind. She wiped her eyes and looked out into the distance; she saw several skyscrapers lit up on the horizon, providing a sharp contrast to the deep blue night sky. Best of all, there was no smoke to be seen. “We made it! We’ve reached Fillydelphia!” Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie woke up, and smiles quickly came to their faces as they saw the free city. “Whoo-who! Fillydelphia!!!” shouted Pinkie. Twilight parked the chariot on a rooftop parking lot, and she closed her eyes as soon as she was finished. “What’s wrong, Twilight?” asked Fluttershy. “Ah reckon she’d be mighty tired after flying that there chariot all night. She musta used a hay of a lotta magic to get us all the way here from Ponyville. We need to get her rested up so she can find that map for us,” answered Applejack. “Oh no, Applejack,” started Rainbow Dash. “We don’t have any time to nap around. Who knows when the trolls will reach Fillydelphia? We have to find that map before they conquer here, too.” “Twilight taught me quite a lesson ‘while back, partner. If a pony too tired to do a task, she gotta get a lil’ help.” “Ooh, ooh, we get to do another mission! Super-secret map-finding mission time!” Pinkie exclaimed as she put her hoof in the air to salute. “Might ah ask what it is yer salutin’, Sugarcube?” “Captain Applejack!! Who’s going to stay with the chariot this time? Where’s Twilight going to sleep? We should get her a nice hotel. I bet they have all kinds of fancy-schmancy hotels all over Fillydelphia. We could get her a 3-star, or a 4-star, or maybe even a 5-star! I bet she’d really like a 5-star, but I don’t know how much any of those cost. Did any of you ponies bring any money with you?” “Calm down there, Sugarcube. We ain’t leavin’ nopony behind. We stick together, no matter what. Can’t risk leavin’ someponies alone out here to face them nasty critters. Rainbow, you carry Twilight. We’re a-leavin’ this chariot right here, an’ if it ain’t here when we get back, it ain’t here when we get back.” Rainbow Dash grabbed the sleeping Twilight and flung her on her back. Fluttershy stayed close, watching to see if Twilight would fall off. “C’mon, everypony!” called Applejack as she led the others into the elevator. She pressed her hoof onto the button that said “Lobby,” remembering elevators from her days in Manehattan. The elevator doors shut and the contraption slowly began to descend. When the marker above the door read “14,” the elevator suddenly stopped moving. “Uh oh!” cried Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy closed her eyes in anticipation of the horrors to come. The elevator doors opened, revealing a colt dressed up in a suit and tie. His face was adorned with large glasses and a top hat. He stood stoically for a moment, watching four ponies cower in fear while another slept. He stepped in, bemused by this unusual sight. Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief. I guess I’m too jumpy after battling all those trolls in Canterlot, she thought. The doors closed and the elevator continued its normal motion. “Hi there! My name’s Pinkie Pie! What’s your name? Why are you wearing a suit?” asked Pinkie as she smiled at the colt. “You can call me Sir, in the interests of confidentiality. If you don’t mind, I’m currently working on a corporate merger and would prefer if my identity remained hidden. What are you bunch doing in my office building, anyways?” “You see, we just landed on the roof and this is our first time in Fillydelphia, and we’re looking for Princess Celestia’s super-secret archives so we can find a map she made that’ll show us where troll land is.” The colt glanced at Pinkie Pie before redirecting his gaze back towards the elevator doors, which opened to reveal a large lobby filled with sofas, tables, and busy ponies. Applejack noticed the colt walking towards tough-looking guards. “I reckon we better get outta here,” she said as she led the ponies towards the exit. When they got outside, they took a second to gain their bearings. Fillydelphia was huge – there were hundreds of ponies on this street alone, and all of the buildings reached further into the sky than they could see. “I’m surprised so many ponies would be outside at this time of night,” Rainbow Dash commented after looking at the still-dark sky. “It isn’t nighttime, Rainbow,” said Fluttershy from behind. “With Princess Celestia gone, the sun will never rise.” Rainbow blushed. “Oh, right.” Pinkie Pie was watching all of the ponies pass by. “Imagine throwing a party here!” she exclaimed, before turning her attention to a passerby filly in particular. “Excuse me, do you know where we can find The Archives? We’re looking for some secret works written by Princess Celestia herself!” The filly pointed eastward. “It’s about 10 blocks that way.” “Thank you!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she jumped into the air. “Here we are,” announced Applejack as she opened the door of the archives. She walked over to the receptionist’s desk, unsure of how to begin. “We’re, uh, here to look into the hidden archives. Princess Luna told us that there was a map somewhere in here written by Princess Celestia herself, and we need that map to go and find the Princess.” “I’m sorry, but nopony is allowed into Celestia’s Archives. Those are for the goddess herself, and nopony else. No exceptions.” “But-“ “No buts. Now view the normal archives open to the public or leave.” “AH SAID I NEEDED TO SEE CELESTIA’S ARCHIVES, AND Y’ALL ARE A-GONNA SHOW ME!” “Leave now or I’ll call security.” “NO YA AIN’T!” hollered Applejack, just before she jumped over the desk and toppled the receptionist over. She called back to her friends, “Go now! Ya ain’t got much time before they’ll come a-lookin’ for ya!” Rainbow Dash put Twilight down on the ground and darted into the Archives. Pinkie Pie followed close behind before veering off and assaulting a guard, grabbing him by the next and screaming, “WHERE ARE CELESTIA’S ARCHIVES??” “I don’t know, I’m just a guard! Put me down!!” Pinkie’s scowl faded away. “Okay,” she said, letting the guard go and resuming her skipping behind Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash was conducting similar investigations, but to no avail. One guard told her that the only person who knew where Celestia’s Archives were was the Manager, but even she had never entered. Before long, the sound of sirens filled the building. The building flooded with police ponies, armed with stun guns and hoofcuffs. Rainbow Dash began taunting the police ponies. “You won’t catch me,” she quipped as she began flying through the Archives. She returned to the lobby only to find her friends Applejack and Fluttershy already captured. “I’ll save you!” Rainbow dashed towards the police ponies, but even she wasn’t fast enough to evade their advanced weaponry. Twilight woke up completely unaware of her surroundings. Where am I? How did I get here? She found herself in a bustling building with at least 25 ponies in the room, but none of them were her friends. She spotted what looked like an information desk and headed over. “Hi there. I was wondering if you’ve seen a group of-“ “Twilight!” Twilight turned around and was thrilled to see a familiar face – it was Pinkie Pie, although she was wearing a thick mustache and a pair of glasses. “Pinkie, why are you-“ “Shh! I’ll explain outside.” Twilight followed Pinkie out of the building and onto the busy city street, hoping for an explanation. “Alright, so you fell asleep after we landed in Fillydelphia and Rainbow carried you on her back and we went down this elevator but then the elevator stopped and we all thought that it was broken or attacked by trolls but really some guy just wanted to get on the elevator so we let him get on the elevator and he didn’t really talk much but he seemed pretty busy I’m not sure why he was busy but he said something about-“ “Pinkie!! Just tell me where we are and where the others went!” “Oh, them? Well, we raided the Archives looking for Celestia’s Archives, but the police ponies came in and arrested the others,” explained Pinkie. “Why weren’t you arrested?” “I hid in a ventilation shaft. Dashie found out that the manager knows where Celestia’s Archives are, so we should really ask him. Maybe you can explain something and get us in?” Twilight looked down and took in this flurry of new information. My friends are in trouble…but I’m already at the Archives. I can’t waste any time, and the trolls could arrive here any minute. We better get that map while we still can. “Pinkie, take me to the manager of the Archives. We need to get that map. We can save our friends later.” “Okey-dokey-lokey!” “I’m sorry, but nopony is allowed into Celestia’s Archives. She’s the only one allowed in. They’ve been sealed for nearly 1000 years, and I’m not about to change that.” “But please, manager! Without that map, we can’t find Celestia. And without Celestia, the sun will never rise again!” The manager turned and looked out her window. Maybe these ponies really are telling the truth. It’s been nearly 48 hours of darkness. But if this is another one of Nightmare Moon’s schemes, I could be handing over the fate of Equestria to villains. She glanced back at the ponies, and the pink one was now bouncing on her sofa. They sure don’t seem harmful… “Trolls are going to invade Fillydelphia,” Twilight continued, “and Princess Celestia is the only one who can defeat them. Without that map, Fillydelphia will have no hope of survival.” “How do I know that you’re telling the truth?” Twilight pulled out her letter from the Princess, which was still damp from her teardrops. The letter bore the official seal of Canterlot on the center of the scroll. The manager sighed. If I refuse, I could be prolonging the Princess’s imprisonment. But she specifically told my ancestors 1000 years ago that the vault is never to be opened. Perhaps the Princess hadn’t envisioned being captured by enemy forces... “Alright, have it your way. It is with great reluctance that I open the vault, but I fear that it must be done.” “Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank you so much, Miss Manager!! You wouldn’t believe how grateful we are! I promise you won’t regret it!” Twilight was surprised to see herself showing more emotion than Pinkie, but this was Celestia’s rescue, after all. She probably knew Celestia better than anyone else, being her favorite student for all these years. The manager led Twilight and Pinkie into a dungeon far beneath the Archives. After a labyrinth of elevators, stairs, winding corridors, and dead ends, the three ponies finally reached a gargantuan steel door. The manager removed an orb that had been hanging on her neck and placed it on the pedestal before the vault. Twilight and Pinkie watched in wonder as the manager recited some poem from an ancient language, prompting the massive steel door to brightly glow and eventually become translucent. “Woah,” Pinkie remarked, “the door is still there!” “Yes, it never can be opened,” the manager replied, “but we can walk through it. Now, hold on to me.” Twilight and Pinkie each placed a hoof on the manager as she stepped into Celestia’s Archives. The door behind them suddenly turned opaque and was once again a menacing obstacle. The room was cavernous and adorned with several bookshelves and tables, as well as some relics and artifacts scattered throughout. Pinkie ran to one of the bookshelves and quickly grabbed one of the books. “HERE IT IS!!! HERE IT IS!!! I FOUND IT!!!!! I FINALLY FOUND IT!!!” Pinkie Pie couldn’t explain it, but she was experiencing a joy more powerful than anything she had ever imagined. While she was always happy, this was something different; she felt as though she had found something long lost, something that was more dear and precious to her than everything else combined. Her inexplicable euphoria was nearly overwhelming, as if she’d discovered the secret to everything. It was accompanied by major déjà vu, like the book had slipped out of her grasp long ago. “THIS IS THE ANSWER TO ALL OF OUR PROBLEMS!!!” Twilight took a look at the book, but it wasn’t the map they were looking for. It was an ancient book entitled The Five Goddesses, and ostensibly just an old mare’s tale. “Pinkie, this isn’t the map. I’m surprised at you; you’re usually better than me at finding books!” The visibly upset manager grabbed the book out of Pinkie’s hand. “You’re not even supposed to be in here, let alone touching things that don’t apply to you! You said you needed the map, and that’s it. There is very sensitive information in here, and Princess Celestia’s going to kill me just for letting you two in!” “I found it!” called Twilight, summoning them over. The map was spread out over a table, and it seemed to have been used for planning or strategy, as there were pins and markers placed on several points of the map. Twilight surveyed the map thoroughly before announcing where they would be heading. There was an ocean above Equestria; in fact, Equestria looked like an island that covered most of the planet. There was a much smaller island far to the north labeled “Fortch-An.” A handwritten note was scribbled underneath: “troll pit.” There was a city on the northern edge of Equestria called “Los Pegasus,” and it was located right along the ocean. “Perfect! Now we know exactly where to go!” Twilight remarked ecstatically. “If we can find Los Pegasus, we’ll only have to head north and we’ll be in Fortch-An, where they’re holding Celestia!” “Very well then, you have what you need. Now you can be on your way. Do not take anything with you!” ordered the manager. Pinkie Pie was lost deep in thought and seemed to hear nothing of the conversation. She absentmindedly followed Twilight and the manager out of the dungeon and back into Fillydelphia.
Chapter 7Chapter 7 “I’ve never been incarcerated before! Oh my…I…I…I didn’t mean to do anything wrong. I just…I mean…” Fluttershy had been whimpering for hours about her lack of morality in the Archives, and she desperately wanted to get out of prison. “Now don’t ya worry now, Sugarcube, we’ll a-find ourselves a way outta this mess,” Applejack reassured her. She had spent over an hour trying to concoct a plan of escape, but none of the plans she thought of were practical. The walls were too strong to smash, the floor was too concrete to dig through, and there weren’t any apples to throw at the guards. Rainbow Dash had spent the first half hour of her prison stay smashing repeatedly against the wall, but it was useless. She too sat dejectedly on the filthy floor, unsure of how she allowed herself to get caught and let down her friends. A guard walked over to the cell and opened the lock with his unicorn magic, much to the surprise of the three ponies. “What’s going on?” asked Rainbow Dash. “The manager of the Archives just came over with a purple unicorn and a pink earth pony,” he explained. “She said that there’s sufficient proof to let you three out, since there’s some kind of urgent emergency to which you must attend.” The ponies were ecstatic. “Why thank ya very much, sir!” exclaimed Applejack. “Those’d be our friends right over there.” Twilight and Pinkie stood in the doorway of the room, happy to see their friends. “Oh, thank you so much for getting us out,” Fluttershy said as she flew out of the cell. “Did you find the map?” “Yes, we did!!” Twilight held the map in front of her enormous smile and explained how Fortch-An was the island of the trolls, and it was just across the ocean from Los Pegasus. Rainbow Dash smirked. “Humph, doesn’t sound too tough! So it’s called Fortch-An…” “Bee!” Pinkie interjected. Twilight felt compelled to correct her. “No Pinkie, it’s called Fortch-An.” “Bee!” repeated Pinkie. “There’s a bee in the prison!” The other ponies looked around, and sure enough there was a bee buzzing about the room. “It is a cute little creature,” commented Fluttershy. Twilight was becoming upset. “Everypony, stop! We don’t have time to be standing here looking at worthless insects!” “Oh, he’s not worthless, Twilight. He’s-“ “Enough, Fluttershy! We have to get to Fortch-An so we can rescue the Princess!” Everypony became silent after Twilight’s outburst. They filed outside the prison, only to see what they had been fearing since their arrival: trolls in Fillydelphia. Ponies, colts, stallions, and mares were galloping down the street in the direction of Twilight and her friends. A thick black smoke was visible in the distance, and it was getting closer by the second. The bright city lights provided a daunting silhouette of the approaching hordes. “Hurry, we need to get out of here!” Twilight exclaimed as she began heading towards the building where the chariot was parked. After a moment, however, she looked back to see her that her friends were not following behind. “Guys, what’s taking you so long!? We’ve got to run!” Her four companions gave her solemn looks before Applejack finally spoke. “Ah just can’t leave these here ponies behind, Twilight. Ah just can’t.” Twilight took in her surroundings for the first time since the arrival of the hordes. Everypony was screaming; mothers were frantically rushing through the crowd in search of their children. Buildings were on fire and statues were toppling. The collective work of generations of dedicated ponies was being destroyed as the city was falling. “We can’t just let them die here,” continued Applejack. “We’ve a-got to do somethin.” Rainbow Dash began flapping her wings and ascended into the air. “I’ll meet you guys back here once the trolls are all gone!” And with that, she flew off. “Rainbow, wait!” called out Fluttershy, whose weak voice was no match for Rainbow Dash’s speed. Twilight lowered her head. “But…but…isn’t saving the Princess more important? If we don’t save her, many more ponies will become victims of the hordes.” Applejack slowly walked up to Twilight. “Ah know, Sugarcube, and we’ll be right on our way as soon as we finish workin here. But we’ve got here an opportunity to help these ponies – a chance to save them all. We can’t just walk away from this and let them be eaten by those varmints.” “Fine,” said Twilight with a sigh. “I still think we’re wasting time, but we can’t go on without Rainbow Dash. While we’re waiting, we might as well help out these ponies.” “Now that’s the spirit!” replied Applejack with a smile. They began walking towards the direction of the incoming hordes. It wasn’t until they had passed seven city blocks that they actually saw the destruction of the trolls first-hoof. “We can be heroes!” blurted Pinkie Pie. “Ah, we was a-finished talkin’ bout that ages ago,” said Applejack. “Could’a used your help talking to Twilight a little earlier.” “Oh, I’m sorry,” replied Pinkie Pie in an uncharacteristically serious manner. “I was just thinking about something.” “Well, no time for thinkin now! We’ve got ourselves a battle to fight.” Fluttershy had been walking with her head down for the entirety of the conversation, but she now looked up and glanced directly at Applejack. “I, I mean you, or, well, anybody I guess, should, um, always think before doing anything major like that, Applejack. We can’t go into battle without a plan of some sort.” “You’re right, Fluttershy,” said Twilight. “We need to come up with a plan before charging to our deaths.” Applejack scowled at Twilight. “Now here here, I thought we already went over that.” “Oh, we did. I’m just saying we need a plan of action. Haven’t you ever read Sun Hoof’s The Art of Ponywar?” “Well, to be downright honest ah haven’t.” “You really should. It details all the necessary strategies for a conflict such as this one.” “And what does it say we should do here and now?” “Well, this would be a perfect time to utilize the Flanking Procedure,” Twilight explained matter-of-factly. “And what might that’n be?” “Bee!” cried Pinkie, who distractedly swatted at the air before realizing that there were no insects in sight. “Basically,” continued Twilight, “if you charge at the enemy head-on, they’ll be able to see you coming and they’ll be ready to kill you.” “Oh dear,” muttered Fluttershy. “There’s no need to worry,” Twilight assured, “because the Flanking Plan is foolproof! We split up and each attack them from a different side! It’ll be perfect with these tall buildings; if we jump from high windows and get the trolls from the sides, they’ll never see us coming! And since we’ll be going from different sides, they’ll have to split up to fight us. Even if we can’t take them on all at once, we’ll be able to chip away at them if they’re divided.” “But won’t we be divided, too?” “Don’t you worry, Fluttershy. We…um…well… You see, that’s a teensy little flaw in the plan. But hey, it says so in the book, so it’s got to work.” “Okay…” answered a hesitant Fluttershy. “Two of us will go on each side of the street and look for a tall building to jump from. Fluttershy, you go with Pinkie Pie. Applejack, you come with me. Let’s go.” The ponies split up into their groups and entered buildings across from each other on the street. They didn’t bid each other farewell, as they expected to see each other again within the hour. They were wrong.
Chapter 9Chapter 9 Applejack looked defeated. After returning to the street to meet up with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, the trolls had led a push, forcing her and Twilight to retreat several blocks. With troll reinforcements endlessly swarming the city, it now was impossible to break through their line. “It’s been nearly an hour, Twilight,” said Applejack grimly. “We’re not going to find them in this brouhaha.” Twilight sighed. “I guess you’re right, Applejack. We’ll go back to the chariot and hope we’ll meet up with them there.” “That’s our only option. If they haven’t gone back to the chariot, it’ll be impossible to find them. This here city’s just too big for us to search, especially in this darkness.” “Ironically, the fires actually help us out a bit. As much as I hate to say it, the burning buildings actually make it a little easier to see.” Twilight and Applejack cantered to the building atop which the chariot was parked, and they were thoroughly relieved to see that this section of the city hadn’t yet been overtaken. They entered the building without problem. Several ponies were scurrying throughout the lobby. Applejack looked at them and felt sorry for these poor ponies. She’d have to leave them behind, and inevitably they would soon become victims of the troll hordes. She regretted leaving them behind, but there was no way they could take all of these Fillydephian ponies with them. Saving the Princess is more important, she reasoned to herself. Once we bring her back to Equestria, we’ll be able to free this here city. Twilight summoned the elevator and the two ponies entered, ascending to the rooftop. They held their breath while waiting for the door to open. When it finally did, they found – nopony. None of their friends were waiting for them. For a moment, the two ponies stood in silence. Either their friends had already been killed by the trolls, or they were still in the madness below, clinging to an impossible notion of survival. Twilight slowly walked towards the chariot; to her surprise, a note lay in the seat: Dear friends, I really hope that you won’t be mad at me for this, but I have to do it. The pegasi of Fillydelphia have assessed the situation and realize that victory here is impossible, so they’ve decided to go see if they might have a chance to fend off the trolls at Los Pegasus. Since we were going to be going there anyways, I figured that I would go ahead so I could be there to help the pegagi mount their defense. Again, I’m really sorry if this seems disloyal to you, but I want you all to know that I would never leave my friends. I’m going to help defend Los Pegasus due to my duty to Equestria, but don’t think I’ve forgotten my duty to the Princess or to you. I’ll meet up with you guys as soon as you reach Los Pegasus, and hopefully the city will be secured by the time you get there. I’ll be in the central courtyard every day at noon, so don’t worry about finding me if you want to take your time defending Fillydelphia. I look forward to meeting up with you guys soon so we can go to the troll homeland and kick some troll butt! Your loyal friend, Rainbow Dash Twilight showed the letter to Applejack and then placed it back on the chariot. “Well, at least we know that Rainbow’s safe.” “That’s sure a whole lot better than not knowin’ nothin’ at all, I suppose. But what about Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie?” “There’s no way we’ll find them in a city this big, Applejack. We’ll just have to wait here until they come back.” “And if they don’t?” “Well… We’ll just have to hope they do.” Rainbow Dash graced through the sky with a legion of 58 other pegasi, all of whom were on their way to Los Pegasus. Rainbow Dash turned to the pegasus next to her and asked, “Hey, do you really think that we couldn’t have saved Fillydelphia?” The pony to her right looked over at Rainbow Dash. “Are you serious, kid? There was no way we could’ve saved that city. Did you even look at how many trolls there were?” Rainbow still wasn’t satisfied. She felt like she had made the right decision, but she still didn’t like leaving her friends behind. “Heh, I probably could’ve taken half of them out myself!” The pegasus next to her chuckled. “Ha, you’re pretty funny, kid. We’ll see what you’ve got once we arrive in Los Pegasus.” Rainbow swallowed hard. She was determined to make a good impression, and saving a whole city from trolls would definitely help her resume for making the Wonderbolts. But it would be hard to back up her lofty claim. Her mouth was getting her into trouble yet again. After less than an hour of flying, the legion of pegasi finally saw a light in the distance. But this wasn’t the light they had been hoping for – alas, it was fire. Rainbow Dash looked ahead and saw the whole city on fire; this had to be the work of the trolls. The same fire-bombs they had used on Fillydelphia now lit the Los Pegasus sky. “Darn it!” cried a pegasus from the front of the pack. “They got here first!” The pegasi convened in mid-air to discuss their next course of action. “Do we still go?” “Will it be safe” “Should we turn back?” Rainbow Dash was astonished by her fellow pegasi: “I can’t believe you guys! I’m so disappointed in all of you. We’re supposed to be pegasi, the best of the best. We’re Equestria’s best fighters, and you expect us to GIVE UP? Who are you!? I thought I was surrounded by Equestria’s finest. Equestria’s most courageous! Equestria’s most talented! Which ones out of you chose to come here? How many of you were forced here against your will?” Rainbow looked around and was greeted by silence. “That’s what I thought! We came here tonight because we believe we can make a difference. We believe we can help Equestria. We believe that we can save our comrades! If we don’t go down there and at least try, who’s going to help? Those ponies are down there getting eaten alive by trolls, and there isn’t anypony who’s going to stop them. Not anypony but us. Do you want to be held personally accountable for every single pony who dies down there!?” Rainbow looked one frightened pegasi in the eye, and then returned to surveying the crowd. “I come from a small town outside of Canterlot. It’s called Ponyville, and it’s where all of my very best friends live. I had to go on a mission to Canterlot, and when I came back, I found that my town was taken over. One of my very best friends was stuck there, and I probably won’t ever see her again. Nearly everypony I’ve ever known and loved was in that town, and now…” Rainbow looked up at the sky, raising a hoof to her cheek as if to wipe away a tear. “And now, they’re all gone. They’re gone to me, and my life will never be the same without them. But there-“ she said, pointing downward towards Los Pegasus, “there is a massive city, filled with hundreds of thousands of scared ponies. I’m just one – just one, and look at what the trolls have done to me. If there could’ve been a legion of brave, courageous, strong, super-cool, fantastic pegasi to come save Ponyville when it needed it most, I…I…I would’ve done anything for that. I would’ve done anything for somepony brave and strong to come and liberate my home. My friend Rarity…” Rainbow finally broke down, unable to hide her tears any longer. The other pegasi looked at each other, exchanging glances of both guilt and shock. None of them knew who this pony was, but she was sure making an impression. They each thought about their own hometowns and what they would’ve given for some extra help in Fillydelphia. Anything to let their families still be alive…. But now it was up to them. They were the reinforcing legion, the ones who could save the world. They had the power to make a difference in somepony’s life, and they had a chance to save someponies from the awful fate that they had endured. Emboldened with a spirit of courage, the pegasi descended upon the occupied city. But courage wouldn’t change the fact that Los Pegasus was the principal troll port city. Courage wouldn’t stop the endless ships of trolls headed straight for Los Pegasus harbor.
Chapter 10Chapter 10 The legion of pegasi descended upon Los Pegasus. With Rainbow Dash at its helm, the legion fiercely collided into the rear of the troll army’s ranks, taking down an entire platoon in one fell swoop. “Onwards!” cried an enthusiastic Rainbow Dash. “This city is ours for the taking!” A jubilant cheer erupted throughout the swarm of pegasi. They were eager to take back the city. The troll army soon realized the pegasi presence and turned around in unison to fend off this invading force. A taller troll in the middle of their ranks bellowed an unintelligible noise, and the entire army began launching firebombs at the pegasi. The first orb hit a pegasus from behind, surprising her and knocking her to the ground. Rainbow Dash and her fleet watched as the pegasus fell onto the hard dirt, screaming and writhing in pain. Several nearby pegasi walked over and began flapping their wings to put out the fire, but their efforts were in vain. The burning pegasus repeatedly rolled across the soil, violently calling out for help…but there was nothing anypony could do. More firebombs fell upon the fleet. Pegasus after pegasus fell, squirming helplessly as they waited for inevitable death. “We’ve got to pull back!” called out an older, gray pegasus. “Our ranks are being destroyed!” “We won’t last another five minutes in this madness!” screamed another. Rainbow Dash was clearly disappointed in the broken morale of her comrades. “No! We’ve got to fight on! Los Pegasus needs us!!” “This is suicide! If we stay here, there won’t be anyone left to save Los Pegasus! We need to fall back and regroup!” Rainbow Dash defiantly barked back, “I’m going in there, and I’m saving the city!” She darted over the sea of trolls, skillfully maneuvering around the firebombs that now filled the air, and swiftly entered the city gate. Eight others followed her in, courageously storming the occupied city. “That fool!” exclaimed the gray pegasus. “She’s going to get them all killed. Everyone, fall back!” The remaining pegasi gathered around, dodging the firebombs as best they could. The gray pegasus led them away from the city gate and back into forest. The trolls feigned pursuit, but they knew they could not keep up and turned their full attention to hunting down the nine ponies that had entered the city. The trolls still had a sizable garrison in the city, but most of them had left to assault Fillydelphia. Rainbow Dash was relieved to see that there were patches of pavement still visible – in Fillydephia, the trolls had fully covered the streets. She called out to the few pegasi who had followed her, and together they began their offensive against the trolls. “All ponies, begin fire!” called Dash. One by one they descended into the streets, forcefully knocking down startled trolls. Rainbow Dash quickly jumped back into the air, ready to hit another. The other eight pegasi formed a line behind her, and they proceeded to knock down all trolls that had been on the street. “What should we do with them, Captain?” Captain…I like the sound of that. Rainbow Dash thought for a second, unsure of how to follow up the initial strike. “Um…let’s round them up and drive them out of the city. We can’t have them here within the city if anypony is going to be safe.” Her companions nodded, and they began lifting the fallen trolls in groups of two, with three needed for one of the larger ones. They transported the heavy beasts to the forest south of the city, piling them around the sullen trees. “Good work, everypony!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. Now let’s go beat the rest of those monsters and save the whole city!” “Yeah!” replied her enthusiastic squad. The ponies swiftly returned to Los Pegasus. They charged at a swarm of trolls convening in the courtyard; apparently, an alarm had sounded and all trolls were gathering to search for the invading pegasi. “Capture them all!” bellowed a troll from the center of the city square, pointing his torch at the incoming pegasi. Rainbow Dash knocked the torch out of his arm and another pegasus immediately followed up by striking him on the head. The squad had caught the trolls by surprise, and many of the hideous creatures were now flailing on the ground. “Let’s bring this batch out of the city before they get up!” suggested an orange pegasis. The squad lifted several trolls and began flying back to the forest. Rainbow Dash sped over the Los Pegasus rooftops, growing ever confident in her chances to save the city, when – BAM! – a searing pain seized her back, lurching her into a nearby building. Her hooves lost control of the troll, and the other pegasis collapsed under its weight, tumbling dozens of stories and landing with a loud thud on the street below. Rainbow Dash began to fly to help her comrade, but her wings burned with such a pain that she couldn’t move – and she too began falling towards the street far below. Her eyes slowly began to close, but she caught a fleeting glimpse of bright light out of the corner of her eye; the other pegasi were being hit by the troll fireballs as well, and they were falling one by one. She had led them all to their dooms. Two days had passed, but Twilight and Applejack still hadn’t seen any sign of Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy. “Ah’m starvin’, Twilight. We can’t hold out here much longer ‘an this,” sighed a defeated Applejack. “Do you think they’re…” Twilight couldn’t finish her thought, horrified at the notion of what could have become of her friends. She stared down at the empty street, waiting for any sign of motion. Every blur became a glimmer of hope, but each time she was let down when it turned out to be only a passing troll. After the battle ended, Fillydelphia had become nearly deserted. Trolls still wandered up and down the streets, but Twilight hadn’t seen any other creatures. Most importantly, she hadn’t seen any trace of Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy. “It’s a-been two full days, Twilight. We gots to rescue the Princess.” Twilight turned her gaze from the street, sullenly looking back at the chariot. “I suppose you’re right, Applejack. Let’s go save the Princess.” The two ponies entered the chariot, and Twilight slowly lifted it over Fillydelphia with her unicorn magic. As they flew away, they watched Fillydelphia get smaller and smaller, eventually passing over the horizon. As the city disappeared from view, so did their hope. Equestria could only hope that the two remaining ponies would not abandon it as they had abandoned their friends.
Chapter 11Chapter 11 It wasn’t long before a light was visible over the horizon. The chariot soared onward through the black-blue sky, continuing its northward journey towards the city ahead. “That thar’ll be Los Pegasus,” announced Applejack. Twilight studied the horizon. There was indeed a light in the distance, but it wasn’t the familiar hue of office buildings and apartments that she remembered from the images in her books about Los Pegasus. No, this was a light that was becoming all-too familiar: the flaming wake left by the troll horde. Its path of destruction was evident by the large conflagration that now engulfed the region. The ponies couldn’t bring themselves to words as they witnessed yet another catastrophic defeat at the hands of the slobbering green invaders. Looking on from above, Applejack saw trees falling left and right to clear a path for the mindless monsters. What would be the next Equestrian city to fall? Twilight surveyed the sky, hoping against all hope to see her friend flying amongst a legion of the brave. But there were no pegasi in sight. There were no ponies visible below, either, and Twilight wondered if everypony had already been consumed by the horde. “The probability of survival for Rainbow Dash is rather high,” she said, trying to reassure herself more than anything else. “She can fly, and she’s always come through before, so we’ve got to trust that she’ll come through for us this time. She said she’d meet us at noon, and we’d be letting her down as friends if we didn’t show up for her.” Applejack hesitated before replying, casting a melancholic gaze at the base of the chariot. “I’d sure like to think that, Twilight, but…we’ve a’got to take a darn good look around us.” Twilight once more scanned the surrounding chaos. The night was illuminated by the flames of the burning city and nearby forest, flames which were lofting large billows of smoke into the clouds. The once-bustling city was now deserted, save for but a few troll patrols. The bulk of the troll forces were headed south, en route to what was presumably their next siege. Their next assault. Their next slaughter of innocents. A carnage that couldn’t be stopped… Twilight snapped out of her defeatist train of thought. “No, we have to hope! We have to trust in our friend. Just the two of us would be unlikely to succeed when invading the troll homeland, but having a pegasus on our side would give us an edge. We need Rainbow Dash!” Applejack sighed dejectedly. “Ah sure hope she’s out there, Twi, but it sure ain’t looking too good. Besides, how would we go about findin’ out when it’s noontime? This chariot ain’t got no clock.” Twilight looked around for inspiration. She recalled reading that Los Pegasus had a great clock tower that shone like a beacon over the city. “If we can find the clock tower, we’ll know what time it is! And then we’ll know when to go to the courtyard to meet up with Rainbow Dash.” She flew the chariot around the decimated city, carefully flying highly enough not to be spotted by the odd troll patrol. After circling several times, they saw a sight that confirmed their worst fears; like much of the rest of the city, the clock tower had been hit by a barrage of troll firebombs and now lay toppled in the middle of a street. “I knew this wasn’t no good,” quipped Applejack. “They done knocked down our houses, they done knocked down our spirits, and now they’ve even gone and knocked down our clocks!” Twilight saw that her friend was right. Everything in the city had been destroyed by the trolls, and her hope of ever seeing Rainbow Dash again was becoming dimmer by the second. But she wasn’t ready to give in just yet. The unicorn flew the chariot in closer to the clock, abandoning the caution with which she had previously circled the wreckage of the city’s skyline. She landed the chariot right on the remains of the clock tower, desperately hoping that it could somehow still function despite the crash. “Why, I’ll be…” expressed a surprised Applejack beside her. Sure enough, the great hands of the clock were still moving, despite having crashed to the ground with the building. Twilight was grateful to see the hands still functioning, but it wasn’t anywhere close to noon. It was still early evening, so they had nearly a day to wait before meeting up with Rainbow Dash. At least, she thought it was early evening. It could’ve been 7:44 AM, with the sun being gone and all, but Twilight Sparkle still had a decent grasp on time. It hadn’t been that long since her whole world had been shattered. “Well, looks like ya were right, partner. By some miracle, this here gadget’s still going strong! Why’nt we get rested up while waiting for noon to come around?” “Yeah, that’s not a bad idea,” replied Twilight as she directed the chariot to a small hiding place beneath some nearby rubble. The two ponies drifted to sleep, hoping that the next day would have brighter news in store for them. Twilight Sparkle and Applejack awoke the next morning after a much-needed night of sleep. Neither one had a pleasant night, and the trolls seemed to torment them even in the realm of dreams. But dreams were all they were – despite being jolted awake in terror by gruesome images of their friends being eaten by dripping monsters, they awoke to find that the trolls had not found them during the night. After re-acquainting herself with the surroundings, Twilight once again flew the chariot towards the collapsed clock tower. 10:12, read the monolithic hands. It was still weird to see the sky pitch-black in the morning. Twilight noticed that it was even darker than it had been when they had gone to bed, since many of the fires had burnt out. Nonetheless, the flames still engulfed large swathes of the city and exuded an eerie glow throughout the empty streets. “Let’s go to the courtyard and wait for Rainbow Dash. I’m sure she’ll turn up soon.” The unicorn spoke confidently, as if her trust in her friend would foretell her arrival. The two ponies flew to Los Pegasus’s central courtyard and waited. “It’s still early,” said Applejack in an attempt to keep up her friend’s spirits. “She’ll a’be here when she said she’d a’be.” Twilight and Applejack paced restlessly through the courtyard. 11:00. No sign of Rainbow Dash. 11:30. “Well, she flew off to help that legion of pegasi, so I’m sure they went somewhere else once Los Pegasus fell,” calculated Twilight Sparkle. “She’s probably already broken away from the group and is on her way to meet us here now.” 12:00. Applejack pondered why there weren’t any bodies lying around Los Pegasus. The streets were relatively clean, save for splotches of blood and green goo here and there. There weren’t any dead ponies in sight. Maybe Rainbow Dash hadn’t come here after all. Maybe she went to help out at a battle far off, and she really was coming back now? Twilight was usually pretty insightful, and if she thought that there was a chance, then it was worth waiting a little longer. 1:00. A loud clack sounded off in the distance, and Twilight instantly hopped into the chariot to get a closer look. But it was just a building that had succumbed to the pressures of other buildings pushing it down – a whole city block had been done in by the trolls, and it was just now giving way under the stress of the combined steel. Twilight scoured the rubble for any sign that maybe Rainbow Dash had been inside, that maybe she’d bumped into it to cause it to fall – but there were no pegasi to be found. 2:00. The courtyard remained empty, lacking any sounds save the breathing of the two waiting ponies. 3:00. Applejack ventured into the wreckage of a nearby grocery store and brought back some food and supplies. “Thought you might need a bit of a pick-me-up,” she said with a smile as she handed her findings to Twilight. But the unicorn just slouched even more, feeling as dejected as ever. “I don’t think she’s coming,” she finally admitted. “This was all a waste of time.” “Now don’t you go sayin’ that, partner,” replied Applejack in an attempt to lift her friend’s mood. “We gave it everything we had, and we didn’t let out friend down. We were here for her all the way, and you done right by me. All we can say is that we tried.” “Yeah, I guess,” sighed the purple unicorn. 3:34. A troll patrol finally wandered into the courtyard, shocked to find two ponies slouched beside a chariot. They bellowed some sort of war cry to call the others and then began to charge. Wielding their clubs high above their heads, they sprinted at the two unassuming ponies. But their loud steps shook the ground as they ran, alerting their would-be prey to their presence. Twilight murmured as she got up. “I think it’s time we get out of here.” “Those beasts’ll pay fer what they’ve done to our friends!” Applejack screamed in a fit of frustration as she entered the chariot. Twilight activated her magic and lifted the vehicle off the ground, having plenty of time to evade the troll pursuers. It was now time for their northward journey towards the troll base, a suicidal thrust into the heart of all that had destroyed her people. The vicious savages who had taken her friends from her had surely come from a well-defended homeland, and centuries of uninterrupted fortification would make it as impregnable as any fortress she’d ever read about. Things could only get worse.
Chapter 8Chapter 8 As Applejack followed Twilight up the stairs of the building, she began to feel a sense of panic. This ain’t like me, she thought. A pony like me shouldn’t be gettin’ a-scared like this. Twilight looked back at her companion. “Is something wrong, Applejack?” “Ah, nothin’ much, Twilight. I’m just a little nervous, that’s all. I ain’t never been in a battle before.” “Don’t worry, Applejack. My book back at the Ponyville library explains perfect combat procedure. We’re guaranteed to win!” reassured a confident Twilight. “But Twilight, the stakes are mighty high right now. Ah know we’ve been through a lot together, but ain’t nothin’ ever been like this. If something goes wrong that we might’a not seen, we could be in big trouble.” Twilight glanced pensively downward, trying to remember a paragraph from the tome accounting for alternate outcomes. “I don’t think there was anything about something going wrong, at least as far as I can remember. That must mean that there’s no way anything can go wrong! Just trust me on this one.” “Alright, Twilight. Ah’m going to follow you because you’re mah best friend and all, but I still have the heebie jeebies in mah stomach. Something just ain’t right about ponies fightin’, that’s all.” “Of course there isn’t. This should have never happened, and I can’t believe nopony saw this coming. Once this is all over, I’m sure the Princess will have some pegasi scout the other islands around Equestria to make sure there are no other groups that might come in hurting ponies.” “But how’ll she know that all the land’s accounted for? What if we miss some spots? What if there are a whole lot of islands out there, Twilight, and they just keep a-comin’?” Before Twilight could respond, she reached the top of the stairwell. Using her unicorn magic, she opened the door to reveal an empty rooftop. Smoke filled her nostils; she looked around for the source and soon realized that a plethora of the nearby building were on fire. She and Applejack spent a moment in silence, gazing at the chaos around them. The buildings were being ignited by some projectile thrown by the trolls. Not only were they slaughtering the ponies in the streets, but they were razing the city as well. “Oh Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed. “This is horrible! They’re destroying the whole city!” “And they won’t stop neither. They’ll keep on rolling through Equestria until the whole continent is on fire.” “Then it’s all the more important that we rescue the Princess. I really don’t think we can stop this. We’re just losing time now. These buildings are being burned way too quickly. The rate of incendiary spread compounded by the fleeing panic of the population would be so much more significant than whatever we can do to stop it and the rate at which we’d be slowing them down would be less than the rate of their advance and the amount of Equestria that gets destroyed during the time we spend here against the time we could’ve been over there would be-“ “Alright Twilight, I see what you mean now. This here force is too powerful for 5 little ponies to stop. I’m sorry I didn’t see that before, Twilight.” “Don’t worry about it, Applejack. You were only trying to help.” “Ah know. Ah just hope that ah didn’t put any more ponies in danger by wantin’ to stay here rather than go right away to get the Princess.” “There’s no time to worry about that now, Applejack. We can still rescue the Princess in time if we hurry.” “In time for what? There won’t be nothin’ left of Equestria by the time we get back.” “We’ve got to at least try. If we give up now…” Applejack nodded, understanding the importance of their mission. She and Twilight looked down into the street below, now flooded with a seemingly endless horde of trolls. “Jumpin’ into there would be suicide. There’s no way that’ll be of use to anypony.” Twilight assessed the situation and concluded that her friend was right. Jumping into a sea of trolls wouldn’t slow down the destruction of the city, and it wouldn’t save enough ponies to be worth the time spent. They had to save Celestia, and they had to act fast. “Come on Applejack, let’s take the stairs back down. We’ve got to find the others before they get lost in the hordes.” Fluttershy opened her eyes, but the scene wasn’t any less grim. The buildings around her were still burning, the ponies on the streets were shrieking, trolls were overrunning the city, and she was alone on a rooftop in the middle of the night. The rooftop was illuminated only by the fire of adjacent buildings. Well, she wasn’t completely alone. Pinkie Pie sat beside her, absentmindedly scratching her head. After several minutes of trembling in fear, she finally mustered the courage to gently say to her companion, “Um, Pinkie? Pinkie Pie?” Pinkie Pie continued to scratch her head and stare off into the distance, as if she didn’t realize that Fluttershy was there at all. “Pinkie Pie? I, um, I think that Twilight wanted us to help her. You know, go down there?” Fluttershy tepidly pointed to the madness below. Pinkie Pie finally looked up. “Oh?” she replied in a disinterested tone. “We really need to go, Pinkie Pie. We’ve been out here for 15 minutes, and the others are probably waiting for us by now.” Pinkie Pie stood up and blinked at Fluttershy without saying a word. “Are you okay? You, um, don’t really seem yourself.” “Who, me? What are you talking about? I’m doing just fine,” expressed Pinkie with a nervous laugh. Fluttershy was deeply concerned about her friend, but she had bigger worries on her mind. She walked over to the ledge, afraid to look down. Pinkie Pie eventually was next to her, but Fluttershy couldn’t tell how much time was passing. She was beginning to shake visibly from sheer trepidation. This was all so surreal. Pinkie finally looked at her and said, “Oh, I think Twilight wanted us to go down there and surprise them.” Fluttershy closed her eyes. Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m actually up here!! How is this happening to m- Her thought was interrupted – she felt something hit her back and she lost balance, slipping over the edge and beginning to plummet towards the sidewalk below. “PINKIE! HELP ME!” she cried as she descended ever more rapidly. “Silly Fluttershy, I’m the one who pushed you off! There wasn’t anypony else up there, Fluttershy.” Pinkie Pie didn’t seem bothered by the fact that she was plummeting towards the pavement. “HELP!” “Shh, you’re going to spoil the surprise!” Fluttershy vehemently flapped her wings, stabilizing her fall and levitating safely before hitting the ground. Pinkie Pie, however, continued descending, hitting a troll square on the head and knocking him to the ground. She landed on his back and proudly exclaimed, “Hi-ya! Take that, Mr. Trolly!” Pinkie immediately found herself surrounded by a mass of trolls, each of whom looked like they were intent on eating her. “Oh, you guys want to eat me? Take this!” Pinkie jumped towards one of them with two hooves in the air, knocking him backwards and out of the circle of trolls closing in on her. Fluttershy helplessly floated overhead, too afraid to join her friend in the fighting. Pinkie jumped up to kick another troll, but this time she was grabbed mid-air. One of the larger trolls extended his huge claws and swiped her out of the air, preventing her from hitting her target. The troll grunted loudly, slobbering beads of drool from his hideous face. “Pinkie!” blurted Fluttershy, who overcame her fear at the sight of her friend in danger. She dove towards the troll, pushing him back a step and knocking him off-balance. However, the troll was much larger than Fluttershy and was unfazed by the impact. He tightened his grip on the pink pony with one claw and simultaneously swatted at the yellow one with the other. He struck her directly on the face, rendering her unconscious. The pegasus’s wings stopped moving, causing her to fall right into the claws of another troll. The trolls turned to their commander. “Boss, what do you want done with these?” A massive, green monster extended his hand. “Give them to me. We’ll ship them back to the homeland. I’m sure there’ll be some use for them there.” Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were then loaded into cold, wooden wagons. Those wagons were headed straight for Fortch-An.
