My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: Legacy

MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC: LEGACY

A next generation fanfiction series by SnowyZo3

Chapter 7: Appleoosa

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The air inside the buffalo tent was musty and smokey, with various items believed to be spiritual scattered around the fire put in the center. Standing before the ponies and Strongheart was the village shaman, Wind Whistler stood before them as an elderly buffalo with a headrest covered in feathers, and the skull of a longhorn centered above his wrinkled face. He took a long drag on his pipe before blowing a ring of smoke upwards and passing it to the chief.

"The spirits foretold of your arrival..." He croaked finally. "And of how you come by a strange pony with a blue box."

"That was The Doctor." Amethyst spoke up.

"Indeed, my child. As for you, it has been foretold that it is you, and you alone that can stop the suffering of both the buffalo and the settlers." He said, taking a hoof full of a brown powder and casting it into the fire. It erupted into a green conflagration that caused everypony to back away slowly from the heat's intensity. Deeper inside the flame, they could make out a purple, cloaked figure, shaped like a pony.

"This is He Who Hears Drumbeats. He has broughten a curse on our land during the Darkening of the Sun." Wind Whistler continued.

"He means da eclipse, right?" RB whispered to Amethyst.

Ignoring the interruption, the elder continued. "Upon his arrival, he vowed to take this land for himself. Those who tried to stop him, as you know, were turned to stone."

"We've seen this before. Discord and Nightmare Moon, they turned our friends and families to stone too!" Amethyst explained.

The elder shaman took a moment to take this new information in. "Yet, word has already spread of your victory over this, 'Nightmare Moon'. A herald from a Cheeropony tribe told us of news in the land of Fillydelphia, where you defeated her, and then you arrived as she finished her tale."

"Cherropony?" Golden Harvest asked.

"They're pegasi with similar customs as the buffalo. They form clouds here in the desert." Moonlight told them.

"Correct, Dark One." Wind Whistler answered. "She will lead you to Appleoosa." He waved a hoof at a buffalo standing at the entrance, who then let in the Cherropony Wind Whistler spoke of.  She was a pinto coated pegasus, with brown eyes, a black braided mane and tail, and garments similar to what the buffalo wore.

"It's an honor to meet you. I'm Spirit Storm." she greeted them. "Shall we be off?"

"In a moment." Wind Whistler answered. "I must warn you ponies. He Who Hears Drumbeats is not the least of your worries. I foresee those who help you becoming injured, greater conflicts beyond this one, and one of you may lose someone you hold dear."

Everypony shuddered at those words as the visions he had depicted themselves in the fire: Ponies lying on the ground, writhing in pain, Discord attacking Canterlot, and a single, bloodied hoof being stared at from a blurry, first person point of view that slowly faded into nothing before the fire suddenly flickered out of existence.

"H-he's kidding right? Just some spiritual Mumbo-Jumbo right?" Sunbeam asked nervously.

"He's serious." Moonlight said solemnly.

"Let's not try to think about that, and focus on helping everypony here." Amethyst suggested.

"Amy's right. Come on, y'all!" Golden Harvest agreed, her southern droll becoming slightly more noticable as she spoke. "We have to get to Appleoosa."

"I like your spirit, Goldie!" Surprise smiled, getting up from her seat, following the earth pony out. Their other friends, including Spirit Storm, followed suit.

"How far is Appleoosa from here anyway?" Sunbeam asked.

"By flight, fifteen minutes. If we walk, it should take forty." Spirit Storm answered.

"Then let's get moving." Amethyst announced as the seven of them began the trek to the frontier town.

"Im still thirsty..." Surprise groaned.

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Back in Ponyville, Miracle's group had found themselves behind FlimFlamart, the premier  retail chain superstore in Ponyville ever since they bought out Bargain Barn.

"So where's this shed anyway?" Eight Bit asked.

"Over there." Bran Muffin pointed at a tool shed, big enough for at least eight ponies. He quickly trotted over to open the door, only to be whacked in the face by the handle. Inside stood two earth pony colts his age. One was brown with a dark brown mane, green eyes, and a sack of gold coins for a cutie mark. The other was a spitting, genderbent image of his silver maned mother, but with a silver medallion for a cutie mark.

"Sorry, loser. This spot's taken." Richard sneered as Bran Muffin picked himself up.

"Rich? Silver Medal? What're you doing in my clubhouse?" Bran asked.

"Your clubhouse? I don't see your name on it." Richard teased.

"Then what's this?" Blue Skies asked, finding a pile of objects like board games and empty soda bottles scattered around a sign that read "Bran's Clubhouse" in crude painted-on letters.

"Just useless crap me and Silver cleared out before hiding in here." the bully answered. "Now go find your own spot before you blow our cover."

"There's barely anywhere to go! Discord's still making sure he got everypony, and Faust knows when he'll be back." Miracle said.

"Not my problem. Go find your own place to hide." Rich said coldly.

"Rich, maybe we should..." Silver Medal suggested before a glare from the other pony cut him off. "....never mind."

"That's what I thought." Richard said, turning back to the group.

"This is my own place! You just took all my stuff out of it!" Bran almost shouted.

"Huh, pretty observant for somepony who's grandma's a RETARD." Rich retorted.

That did it. Something in Bran's mind snapped and before anyone knew it, he had tackled Richard and the two began fighting each other.

"Guys, cut it out quiet down before we get..." Sonnet started to say before stopping abruptly.

"Something wrong, Sonnet?" Blue Skies asked before turning around to find himself with a statuefied Sonnet and a draconequus standing over them.

"Before you get caught?" Discord asked, before a hoof to the face from the sudden appearance of a Royal Guard.

"You kids get outta here. GO!" he shouted as the group made a run for the other end of the alley. Discord tried to bypass the guard and lunged for them as they ran off. The guard tried to stop them, but an elbow from Discord sent him into a dumpster.

Richard did some quick, self-centered thinking and shoved Bran Muffin down, letting Discord use him as bait before the guard recovered and distracted him again.

"Rich, what was that for?!?" Eight Bit called out.

"Take a hint, lady. It's survival of the fittest!" Richard called back, galloping back down the alleyway. At the end, a second guard with three smaller sillouettes behind him was motioning for them to hurry up. Miracle looked back, noticing Discord had overpowered the guard saving them and transformed him into stone.

"Dammit! Hurry up!" Cyclone yelled as Discord inched closer to the runners.

"Is there really a point to this? I' just going to get you eventuall..." he started before the top of a trash can hit him on top of the head. A dazed look washed over his face as he collapsed to the ground.

"What the..." Eight Bit mumbled before turning around to find a small filly with a white coat complemented with green eyes, a curly yellow and brown mane, and a bluejay cutie mark, sneaking out from behind a trash can.

"Did I get him?" Songbird asked.

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"I've been through the desert with a horse with no name..." Surprise sang, repeating the chorus for the umpteenth time in a row.

"Cut it out! That song's giving me a headache!" Sunbeam complained.

"But I can't help it! The last time the writer had it playing, it got stuck in my head!" Surprise answered.

"What is she talking about?" Spirit Storm whispered to the goth filly.

"It's better that you didn't know." Moonlight answered before posing a question of her own. "So what's the situation like in Appleoosa?"

"The ponies have a stockpile of water already, but it's being rationed out to conserve it." the Cheropony explained as they entered the town.

Ahead, they could see a long line of townsponies  lined up in front of the water tower, water being handed out one jug per pony. Watching over the line was a hay-colored earth pony with a golden mane and green eyes. He also wore a brown vest displaying a golden star proudly, with a matching ten-gallon hat.

"Sheriff Braeburn?" Spirit Storm called out to get his attention.

"Spirit, what took ya? Y'all went to Thunderhooves'  village three hours ago." Braeburn asked.

"Yeah, well she has ta bring your second cousins back with her." RB stated as she and Golden Harvest walked up. The town sheriff perked up a bit at the sight of his family.

"Howdy, RB, Goldie." he half-smiled. "What bring y'all and yer lil friends down here?"

"They're here to help." Spirit Storm stepped forward, smiling.

"Well, that's great and all but we've dealt with droughts before, an after all that's happenin up in Ponyville..." Braeburn started before Amethyst cut him off.

"No, Sheriff Braeburn. We're here for the other problem." Amy spoke up.

His face became serious after she finished. "Y'all sure ya can handle it?"

"Positive." she nodded. The sheriff gave a hesitant look before motioning for them to follow him towards the town. After a short walk, he stopped in front of a large building with sheets draped over the windows.

"Last chance ta back out." Braeburn offered. No pony chose to opt out of going inside. "Alright then."

He opened the doors, allowing the seven of them in.

"Oh my Faust..." Sunbeam gasped.

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“I should beat the buck out of you for that!!!” Dubstep threatened Richard as he slammed him against a brick wall.

“Get your hooves off me, Dumbass!” Richard fought back. The two tussled for a minute before Eight Bit pulled the two of them apart with her magic.

“Enough you two! We don’t have the time for this.” she said, keeping the two of them apart. Meanwhile, Blue Skies, Silver Medal and Metronome were praising Songbird for her quick thinking, while Miracle and Dayliht stood close to each other.

“Are Mom and Dad okay?” Miracle asked her younger brother.

“Mom was gotten by Discord, and I don’t know about Dad.” Daylight answered, looking back at Cyclone as he inspected the knocked out draconequus.

“Captain Cyclone!” a voice called out. Everypony looked up to the sight of Princess Cadence landing behind them. They each quickly bowed as she walked up and shook the guard’s hoof. “Great job in defeating Discord.”

“Thank you, your highness, but it was really that little filly over there that did the most of the work.” Cyclone admitted. The younger alicorn princess walked over to Songbird, kneeling down to the filly’s level.

“Did you now? Well, I must thank you for what you did here today, little one.” Cadence congradulated her.

“T-thank you, Princess!” Songbird squeaked out.

“I’ll take care of this big lug, your majesty. You can lead them to the rendevouz point.” Cyclone said, getting ready to lift Discord over his back,

“Of course. Come along everypony.” Cadence announced as she led the group of younger ponies away from the alleyway.

Once she was gone, Cyclone walked up to the still unconscious master of chaos, ready to carry him back to Canterlot in chains for his return to causing mayhem. There was just one thing bothering him. How did Discord return to his old ways? He heard that one of the Elements of Harmony users reformed him a long time ago. But this was not the time to focus on that. Just as he pulled out a pair of hoofcuffs, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Cyclone completely unfrozen, but he looked different. He had a horn with a sickly green magic glowing around it. The same color highlighted his eyes.

“Cumulus, what the...”

“Here, let me help you with that.” Cyclone smiled, knocking the guard onto the ground as he transformed into his true form: The queen of all Changelings.

“Chrys...” Cyclone tried to choke out before being turned to stone. After the deed was done, Discord opened his eyes, and sat up while simultaneously cracking his back.

“Wow, I thought you’d take forever in getting him off your back.” Discord commented.

“Oh, shut up.” Chrysalis snapped. “We’ve still got those ponies to round up before they all escape. HE told us to let nopony escape.”

“Yes yes, I know.” Discord yawned. “All part of the plan and all.”

“Them go after them!” the changeling ordered.

Discord snapped his fingers, as a pair of sunglasses and a leather jacket appeared upon him. “I’ll be back.” he said in a fake Germane accent before disappearing.

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Everywhere they looked in the room, cots covered the floor, each one taken up by an ailing stallion, mare or foal. Doctors and family members of the sick crowded around them, doing anything they could to try and help them, but these weren't just any kind of epidemics. Each ailing pony in the room were turned into statues, only they were still conscious. Some were only turned halfway, or the stone only covered their bodies in blotches of grey slate.

"Some varmint did this to all of 'em, including the buffalo y'all probably saw before 'em." Braeburn solemnly stated.

Golden Harvest slowly walked up to one of the closer cots, where a bright yellow stallion with blotches of stone over half of his body, closing his mouth shut. "You poor thing..." she murmured quietly.

"The ones we saw turned to stone in Ponyville and Fillydelphia were fully turned. Why aren't they?" Amethyst asked Braeburn.

"Ah ain't exactly sure." Braeburn whispered. "We had the town brainiac try and find out why when this all started, but he's over in the corner now." He gestured to an older pony with his lower half turned to stone.

"And he did the same thing with the river? The buffalo said something about it drying up?" Sunbeam asked.

"Eeyep. We tried sendin' some scouts out with the buffalo but got the same result." Braeburn regestured to everypony afflicted by the statuefying curse.

"There's only one thing he wants before he ends all this." Spirit Storm stepped forward.

"Oh yeah? What's he want?" RB asked.

"He said somethin' bout gettin' rid of the Chosen Six, whatever that means. And every hour he don't get what he wants, he attacks anypony out on the streets." Braeburn said before the clock tower began chiming out two o'clock in the afternoon. Outside, everypony either walking around or lined up for water at the water tower dropped anything they were holding and made a break for the closest buildings, slamming the doors shut behind them. Only two ponies remained, locked out from any building, begging for anyone to let them in.

"C'mon, Morton! Let us in!" a stallion cried out, banging on the saloon door.

"And get frozen too? Fat chance!" the bartender called back.

"Oh come on, Morton!" he pleaded.

"Oh, horse apples! Here he comes!" a mare cried out, trembling.

Out from the desert, a cloaked figure with a thick brimmed, desperado's hat over his head walking into town. The pleading for help and attempts to pry open locked doors became more loud and forceful as he slowly walked closer to them.

"Our mother, Faust in heaven, hallowed be thy name..." the mare began pleading as she dropped to her knees in defeat.

"Thy kingdom come." the cloaked pony finished, slamming his hoof to the ground. A fissure of sickly purple cracks emmited from his hoof step, spreading out until it reached the ponies locked out from the safety of their own townsponies. Once it touched them, the cracks jumped from the ground onto their hooves, spreading all over their bodies. A dry sounding groan came from the lips of the stallion as stone began forming in a lightning shaped pattern all over his body, paralyzingly him. The mare just sat there, mouth agape as the cracks caused a similar result to her. And just as soon as it started, the cracks disappeared, and the ponies fell over on their sides, frozen in place, but still conscious of the fact that this happened to them.

"Dammit, that makes twenty-nine..." Braeburn cursed, turning away from the window.

"Wait what's he doing now?" Sunbeam whispered.

All eyes were on the cloaked pony as he stepped up to the mare he froze. She whimpered in fear as he brought a hoof to her face...

...and repetitively tapped four times on a patch of her face turned to solid stone.

A passing gust blew the hat off his head, and the cloak around him blew open, revealing a blue unicorn stallion with a blonde mane, golden eyes, and a cutie mark depicting a snare drum overlapping an hourglass.

"Hey, isn't that Metronome's dad? I thought he went missing." Moonlight pointed out.

"You know He Who Hears Drumbeats?" Spirit Song asked.

"Yeah but that's not his real name." Amethyst replied.

"Then what is it?" the Cheropony asked again.

"The Master."

End of part 7