The end of magic

Chapters

Chapter 1: Modern Manehattan.
Chapter 2: A suspicion
Chapter 3: No win situation.
Chapter 4: Civil Unrest.
Chapter 5: Deals with a changeling.

Chapter 1: Modern Manehattan.

Smoke floated down the streets, snow meeting it halfway and then gently touching down upon the ground on this cold Manehattan morning. Ponies busily scurried across the roads, always seeming to be in a hurry. All except for one lone Stallion by the name of Scroll Seeker, looking bewilderedly around, as if he had no idea where she was. Manehattan was a big city, and nopony paid him any attention. His pale blue mane hung down his head, blowing gently in the wind. He was a unicorn,his horn poking through his mane, and his bright blue eyes His fur was a light tan color, and his cutie mark a spark of blue. This always confused him, he never understood what it meant. Everypony else seemed to get it, they said it “suited his personality.” He took a long look around the city in amazement. He had heard that Manehattan was “modernizing,” but didn't expect anything of this scale. Loud clangs rang throughout the streets, as colossal machines ran all throughout the city. Smog floated all throughout, and the city was very dark. But he had places to be, and couldn't hang around here. All the ponies around him rushed busily through the streets, dressed in the finest fashions around. He felt rather out of place, being from the rural town of Hoofington, where these new fashions and wondrous machines hadn't taken much hold as of yet. He walked along the roads, which seemed to have recently been changed to sett paving, as some streets were still being changed from the old cobble. This change seemed to be for the carts, now becoming quite popular. The higher class ponies rode in carts across town, elegantly dressed in elaborate dress. He could smell the smoke on the air, coming from the large factories which had recently popped up around the city. He wore nothing but a simple scarf, striped in alternating shades of light and dark blue, and a small pack. He felt very underdressed for such an elegant part of town. He continued down the road, doing his best to remember his instructions.

“Head down the main road, then turn past the Carousel Boutique.” he thought.

As he passed by the Carousel Boutique, he looked in the display windows with awe. Grand fashions were on display, all sorts of large hats, elegant dresses and suits, and accessories galore. “All designed by the famous Miss Rarity herself!” read a sign in the window, as if everypony didn't already know. Miss Rarity was the most famous fashion designer around, having created stores all throughout Equestria. He continued past the store, and looked down the street, seeing his destination ahead. A large brick apartment building, which was a bit beaten up, but nothing too bad. He headed inside, and a rather heavy-set, red, aged earth pony was inside at a desk. He wore circular spectacles, and had a short light brown mane. He seemed quite bored, and looked at him with a look of indifference. He tapped his hoof lightly on the desk, seeming utterly bored.

“Hello, sir?” said Scroll Seeker.

“What?” asked the stallion.

“My name is Scr-”

“I don’t care about your name. Why are you here?”

“I’m a new tenant, in room 7.”

“I need documentation first.”

“Of course.”

Scroll reached into his bag, and produced a small sheet of parchment. He handed it to the stallion, who scanned it over, not really checking anything. He filed the paper away, and handed him a key.

“It’s the first room on the second floor, right side.” said the stallion. “Now leave.”

Scroll headed along, leaving the rude stallion at his desk, and went to his new home. The room was quite bland, but it was to be expected. He couldn't afford to take anything with him from Hoofington, so his rooms were bare. But right now he didn't care. He could finally pursue his studies. He emptied what little he carried in his bag, and went through his belongings. A notebook, a key to his apartment, a pouch full of bits, a set of quills, various jars of ink, and a small pendant. He checked to make sure he had everything, but was in a bit of a hurry. He was hurrying back out the door, levitating his things into his bag. He couldn't be late, after all. The stallion in the lobby was still sitting lazily, until he noticed Scroll. His eyes widened, and he stared at him, but said nothing.

“Excuse me, do you know where-” said Scroll

Scroll stopped speaking. The stallion shot him a look of “even if I did, I’m not going to bother explaining it to you.” Scroll had had just about enough of this, but said nothing. Another mare was walking into the lobby, and he decided to ask her.

“Hello, do you know where the Manehattan library is? I’m in a bit of a hurry to a meeting there.”

The mare walked right on ahead, not even acknowledging him.

“If you’ll leave quicker, I’ll tell you.” said the stallion.

“I’m not too keen about hanging around you either, you know.”

“Just turn right from here, and look for the third building on the left side of the street, across from the statue of Topaz the Magnificent.”

Scroll took his leave, not wanting to wait around here any longer. But before he headed to the library, he walked back to the Carousel Boutique. He wanted to look his best before meeting his mentor, and she had mentioned something about working out a deal with Miss Rarity herself for him. He thought this was all ridiculous, fancy fashions and whatnot, but gladly went along with her wishes. He had no idea what to buy, however, and the mare running the store seemed knowledgeable.

“Excuse me, could you give me a bit of advice on what to buy? I’m not too knowledgeable in the latest fashions.” said Scroll. “My name is Scroll Seeker, and I was told my mentor worked a deal out with Miss Rarity for me.”

The mare nodded, and took him to the back of the store, in front of a mirror.

“We already had something picked out for you, actually. Miss Rarity made you something rather simple, but it should be fitting.”

She grabbed a suit from a small closet behind her. Inside was a suit, which ran up to his flank, and down to his hooves. It was of very high quality, and more comfortable than it looked. She looked at his scarf as well.

“That’s a nice scarf, it actually works quite well with this.” she said.

He reached for his bits, but was stopped by the mare.

“Miss Rarity said to give it to you for free, as a favor for your mentor.”

He smiled, and thanked her. He wished that his mentor, who he had not even met as of yet, would not have bothered herself with such an arrangement for him, but he was a bit low on bits, and appreciated it greatly. He hated being the center of attention, but at least the story wasn’t very busy. Miss Rarity was the famed element of generosity, after all. He headed towards the library, and reached the statue. The library was a rather dark and rough building, but very large, and he could barely imagine the knowledge inside. He had no time to look through the books yet though, first to meet his mentor. Scroll looked around the library, in awe of its gargantuan size. Books of every subject lined the walls. The room even smelled of books. It was very quiet, as he would have expected, and not too crowded. His hoofsteps rang throughout the room, and he tried his best to walk quietly, to not disturb anypony. He was told to meet with her in 900, whatever that meant. He began to head to the stairs, when he saw a small sign on the wall, reading “elevator.” Next to it was a small room, with doors that opened or closed. This seemed quite fascinating, and he went to go see what it was about. He stepped inside, and several other ponies crowded within. Not knowing what to expect, but not wanting to draw attention to himself, he simply waited for said elevation to occur. The doors slammed shut, and he looked around curiously. Suddenly, steam began to flow throughout machinery all around him, He began to panic, but tried to keep calm. He had no idea if it was working right, but no one else seemed nervous. The room finally began to elevate, and he tried his best to stay calm. He took heavy breaths, and shut his eyes. The room stopped, and he froze. His eyes shot open, to see the other ponies busily scattering from the elevator, leaving him standing with a couple others. He quickly left the room, not wanting to be in that horrifying device for another second. He looked around to see himself alive and well, or at least he felt like he was still alive, on the second floor. He needed to be on the third, but happily took the stairs. He looked at each numbered row, having no idea what these numbers mean, but they seemed to be organizing something. He saw 900, and headed towards it. Inside was a mare, older than him by quite a bit, but looking quite young. She wore a simple cap and coat. This had to be her, he just felt it.

“Pardon me, but are you Miss Sparkle?” said Scroll.

The mare simply nodded, her head deep in a book. She then seemed to snap out of it a second later, and turned to look at him. She had various books scattered all across the floor, about all sorts of subjects, from Equestrian history to Zebrican mythological figures.

“Ah, hello!” said Twilight Sparkle. “You must be Scroll Seeker. I’m glad to finally meet you.”

She seemed to be looking him over, in a judging sort of manner. She glanced at his horn, and seemed to analyze it. She quickly went back to the books, and started to float them back to their locations, but stopped midway. She then grabbed the books and put each away by hoof and tooth, which took quite a lot of effort. He didn’t question it, but it seemed very odd. He got a closer look at her, and noticed some oddities. For one, her cap wasn’t on quite right. she seemed to keep it in a particularly odd manner, centered on her horn. Her mane seemed very messy, and she seemed very tired.

“Now then, shall we begin?” she asked.

“I’m ready whenever you are.”

She glanced out to the center of the floor, and seemed to look over the ponies gathered there.

“Perhaps we should take this...elsewhere.” she said.

“Um...if you say so.” he said reluctantly.

“Follow me.”

She headed out from the books, and towards the center of the room.

“As long as we don’t get on that infernal contraption.” he said, glancing at the elevator.

“You don’t trust them either?”

“Not at all.”

The two headed down the stairs, and he followed her wherever it was they were going. She lead him back out of the library, and started to head down the street, away from where Scroll had come from. He trotted along, when something felt off. The ground beneath his feet darkened, and he slowly looked up in awe of the massive contraption above him. What looked like a very fine sailing ship was flying high above him, covered in propellers and a gigantic balloon. Twilight stopped, and gave a soft giggle.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.” she said.

He vacantly nodded, still staring at the ship.

“How could anyone get used to something as insane as this!” he thought, but said nothing.

She led him into another large building.

“I figured we could continue this privately in my home.” she said.

They entered a similar lobby to before, and headed to the stairs. On the third floor was her home, and they entered. The room was quite elaborately furnished, though not in a style of her own. She wandered about the house strangely, as if she had no idea where anything was, including herself. She eventually decided on a white couch, sprawling herself across it, and invited Scroll to sit somewhere as well. He tried his best to sit elegantly on the other one nearby, but ended up falling over. Twilight chuckled playfully.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m not as stuck up and prudish as those other ponies. Now, let’s get to business. I figured we would begin with some levitation practice, see if you really have any talent.”

She emptied several small orbs from a pouch, and rolled one around on her hoof, the rest sat on the floor. She bounced the orb a bit on her hoof, then her horn began to shine. An aura grew around the ball, and it hovered. Seconds later, it shot towards Scroll. He instinctively caught it using magic, and Twilight merely observed. He hovered it for several seconds, before Twilight looked back to the rest of the orbs.

“Very good, but we aren’t done yet!” she exclaimed.

She flung several more his way, which he caught with ease. This astounded her. He had quite a bit of talent for someone new to magic. Perhaps he was the one she had been looking for. Still not quite convinced, she grabbed another pouch, this one full of sand. She carefully untied it magically, and flung it at him, sand spraying towards him. He tried to wrap it all in a magical aura, but making one this large in an instant was quite difficult. He closed his eyes, focusing purely on the magic. A large field spread from his horn, but he had no idea if it would be enough. His question was answered by the feeling of sand pouring down his back. He looked around him, and found the floor covered in sand.

“Uh, sorry about that.” said Scroll.

“No problem, to be honest, I wasn’t expecting you to be able to do it, I just needed a judge of your skill. Let me go get some more materials, and we can do some more practice.”

She headed down a hallway, and began searching through a closet. This gave Scroll a second to look around the room. All sorts of oddities were sitting on shelves, but what intrigued him the most was a golden headpiece, with ornate designs all around it, and a six pointed purple gem at the top. He had no idea what it was, but it had an aura of magic surrounding it, he could feel it from here. He felt and energy that seemed very similar to Twilight Sparkle’s, but also a very different one. It seemed quite valuable, and one of those energies was most likely a protection spell. She came back, with various quills, inks, and papers. She saw he was looking at the headpiece, and she explained.

“I see you’ve noticed the element.”

“Element?”

Twilight seemed to be remembering something while she explained to him.

“A very powerful magical artefact. Not very useful now, but there are six in total, and when all are gathered, they are incredibly powerful.”

He changed his focus from the element to her.

“Just who is this mare?” he thought. “Where did she learn such powerful magics, and why would she be trusted with such a powerful artefact? Why was she teaching him, of all ponies? Surely there was somepony else worthy of such magic.”

“Shall we continue?” she asked.

He nodded, and she levitated a quill and inkpot towards him. She took a quill and inkpot of her own, and began to write. She didn’t write any words, rather the entire alphabet in capital and lowercase.

“Copy my writing as exactly as you can. No hooves, no teeth. Just magic. this should improve how precisely you can use your magic.”

Twilight magically levitated the sand back into its pouch, and resealed it. She looked around the house oddly, as if she had no idea where she was. She rarely spent time at home now, she was always at the library. It was Spike’s house more than hers, she only came home to sleep, and she didn’t get much sleep. Rarity had provided her with such elaborate furnishings, but she didn’t feel comfortable here.

“I’d better check on how Scroll is doing.” she thought.

Scroll finished the copying, and was looking at various pictures on the wall. One was of a tree, but with doors and a balcony. Inside one of the windows he saw books.

“My old home, back in ponyville.” she said, also looking at the picture.

She heard knocking on the door, and went to go open it.

“That must be Spike and Rarity.” she said.

“You mean Miss Rarity? Like, the famous fashion designer? The very same that provided me these clothes?”

“Yes, she is one of my closest friends.”

“Skilled with magic, and friends with ponies like the grand Miss Rarity?” he thought. “Heh, maybe next I’ll find out she knows Celestia...”

Rarity and Spike both came in, looking quite worried. Scroll was so struck with meeting Rarity, he hardly even noticed there was a drake beside her.

“Twilight, Celestia needs to see you.” said Spike.

“What for?” said Twilight.

“We don’t know, but she requested your presence immediately.” said Rarity.

Rarity was dressed in a fine, elegant dress, in a truly extravagant fashion. But he expected no less from her. But he didn’t have much time to look her over before he was rushed out of the room by Twilight, as everyone headed out.

“Then what are we waiting for, go!” said Twilight hurriedly, grabbing her bag.

“Darling, relax.” said Rarity. “Rainbow will be willing to take us to Canterlot, I’ve already arranged it.”

This didn’t calm down Twilight at all, and she hurried down to the streets, everypony else following her. A rainbow maned mare waited outside, whom Scroll was left to assume was the “Rainbow” that Rarity had mentioned. She was wearing goggles, which were strapped to her head, above her eyes.

“The Whirlwind is docked just up ahead.” she said.

They followed Rainbow to a skydock, or at least, that’s what the sign outside said. This meant another elevator to get to the top, but at least he was prepared this time. Everypony crowded in, and he waited for the inevitable. Whatever was wrong with the stairs, he still had no idea. That is, until he realised how long they had been going up, and how much more time the stairs would take. He tried his best to figure it in his mind, to keep his mind off of the fact that he was shooting into the sky on a platform. It would take much longer, and these busy ponies everywhere would no doubt hate wasting time. The steam powered doors shot open, and he gladly left the elevator. He was on the top of the building, and quite high in the sky.

“The Whirlwind is in slot three.” she said, and headed in that direction. He hadn’t even looked towards the docks yet, he had hoped “skydock” meant something less literal. Gigantic ships were held in place on the edges of the dock, floating off the ground by use of a large balloon device. The slots were each numbered, and he looked to the third. A large sailing ship was docked here, with propellers and a large balloon. The design of the ship was rather strange, with a large multi-color lightning bolt on the side. The words HMS Whirlwind were emblazoned on the side. He looked it over, and was more terrified of technology than ever. But he rushed on just as everypony else, Twilight seeming to do so more out of being in a hurry than desire to ride on it. Rainbow took the helm, and strapped on her goggles.

“Hold on tight, the Whirlwind is the fastest ship you’ll ever see!” Rainbow exclaimed with pride.

The propellers fired up, steam billowed from the engines, and the ship began to take flight. It floated straight up, the propellers and balloon lifting it away from the ground. Rainbow pushed a lever straight ahead, and the engine fired up, propelling the ship forward. The propellers died down, enough to keep the ship hovering, but not going any higher.

“Even though it’s the fastest ship around, it’ll take us awhile to get to Canterlot.” said Rainbow.

“Scroll, we can continue your training while we wait, if you would like.” said Twilight.

“That would be great, anything to help pass the time while we fly.” he said, while looking at the ship worriedly.

The two of them headed belowdecks, and into a small parlor. A couple of plush seats were within, and they sat down.

“Animation spells would be a nice start. Don’t worry if you can’t do them yet, I just want to see your skill, so I don’t waste time on the basics.” said Twilight.

Animation spells were one type he was not too skilled with. He would try his best though. She gave him another quill and inkpot, and paper, just as before, but wrote nothing.

“Animate the quill to dictate what I speak. Tell me when you’re done and I will begin.”

“Um, I really don’t know what I’m doing.” he said embarrassedly. “Animation spells aren’t my forte.”

“Just try your best, I’m sure you’ll get it.”

He focused his magical energy on the quill, and began to mentally command it. He thought of various simple tasks for it to do, and mentally acted as if he was speaking to it. This required intense concentration, and the whirr of the machinery tried its hardest to distract him.

“Listen when spoken to. Move in letter formations. Move in the letters of words that are spoken to you. Only write on paper provided for you. Do not-”

His spell faded, he couldn’t keep his concentration up any longer. The quill jumped up, and seemed ready to write. What he didn’t expect, was that it would write on him! The quill jumped at his face, and wrote “Dunce” on his forehead. He swatted the quill away, and quickly smudged the ink before it solidified. Luckily, it would wash off quite easily. Twilight gave a slight chuckle, and undid the magic on the quill, the quill fighting back the whole time.

“Looks like we will have to work on that some more.” she said, seeming to expect this.

She gave him a textbook she pulled from her pack, titled “A brief history of magic.”

“This book contains many different types of spells, and the basics of spellcasting. I have something to talk to Spike with, I’ll be back soon. In the meantime, I’d like you to look up animation spells, see if you find anything helpful.

A light knocking was heard on the door, and Twilight opened it, revealing Rarity on the other side.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything, but I thought I should properly introduce myself to our friend Scroll Seeker. My name is-”

“Rarity.” he interrupted, still absorbed in his book.. “I know.”

She was taken aback by this display of rudeness, but remembered he was rural, and lower class. She, on the other hoof, had adapted quite well to city life, and was in the upper echelons of society.

“Yes, well, I suppose everypony does nowadays. I figure that by now you have heard I am your benefactor, and that I sent you the money to pay for your new clothing and furniture?”

“Furniture?” he asked, still keeping one eye on the book.

“It must not have been delivered to your home as of yet. Surely you didn’t think you were expected to live in an empty apartment?”

He honestly had thought that, and didn’t see the notion as too odd.

“You remind me of Twilight when we were younger. Although I suppose Twilight hasn’t changed much. Always having your head in a book.”

He had no idea how to picture Twilight as younger, as she seemed young now, but she assumed Rarity didn’t mean foal age. He was left to assume they knew each other as fillies, and decided to leave it at that for now. He didn’t feel right around Rarity, she seemed...Pompous. She was famous, and she knew it. It wasn’t in what she said, but how she said it.

Twilight re-entered, and Rarity took her leave.

“So how do you know Miss Rarity?” Scroll asked Twilight.

“We met a long time ago, back when I was still a young mare. Long before she was famous. She was in charge of decorations for the summer sun celebration. You could say she had a talent for fashion all along, as she immediately tried to get me dressed up in all sorts of fancy clothes.”

He took that answer as good enough, it answered what he wanted, and even told him a bit more about her and Rarity’s relationship.

“So about that dragon.” he said.

“His name is Spike, and he’s one of my oldest friends. Celestia gave him to me, after I hatched his egg as part of a test.”

“So not only does Celestia need to see you, but you know her personally?”

“I’ve studied under her for most of my life, actually.”

This was mindblowing. He’s learning from the student of Celestia! He might as well be her student, this was nearly as good.

“I need to leave once more, to speak with Rainbow and Rarity.” she said.

Scroll barely even noticed her leave, too entranced with the idea of learning from a student of Celestia.

Twilight headed up, and Scroll opened up his book once more. He noticed Twilight took some things from her bag, as it was quite a bit smaller and not quite as lumpy. She came back soon, but wasn’t carrying anything. He didn’t want to poke any further into her personal business, so he didn’t ask. He noticed the engine dying down, and went above to check what was going on. He looked out, and saw a glorious, expansive city infront of him. The ship had been stopped at a skydock, and everypony got out. He noticed an awful lot of royal guards around. They must have reached Canterlot. It was getting quite dark, he hadn’t noticed below decks. Spike let out a yawn, and Twilight stretched out a bit after getting off of the ship.

“Luna is overseeing the city now, we’d best greet Celestia in the morning.” said Twilight. “But I’m sure we would be welcome at the palace.”

They headed through the city,the snow covered cityscape and streets just as beautiful at night. The streets were just as busy as in Manehattan, and industry had taken root here as well. They reached the palace, and spoke to the gate guard. He seemed to recognize Twilight, and let them in. The sky above them darkened even further, as Luna descended from the sky.

“Hello Twilight Sparkle, I’m afraid my sister is asleep at the moment.”

“I figured so. I had hoped we could stay here for the night, and speak with her in the morning.”

“Of course, we have plenty of accommodations for my sister’s student and friends. But please, do not wake her. She needs her sleep in these tough times.”

Luna rose to the sky once more, without explaining what she meant by “tough times.” Everypony else followed Twilight, who seemed to know where she was going. She led them to the guest chambers, where they took up lodging. Scroll got his own room, which was extravagantly furnished in royal style, as to be expected in the palace. Scroll took some time to process what had happened today, and quickly slipped into sleep.

Chapter 2: A suspicion

The sun peeked into his windows, and Scroll awoke. He let out a deep yawn, and slowly got up, got dressed, and headed out. Heading out the door, he and Twilight were the only ones awake. She was coming down the hallway, leaving the royal library.

“Ah, good morning.” she said.

“Morning. I’m guessing Celestia is up, if the sun is?”

“She should be, but we should wait for the others.”

“We could at least visit her, I’d definitely love to meet a princess.”

“I suppose we could visit with her, if she isn’t too busy.”

The two of them head off towards the throne room, where Celestia awaited.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed, excitedly running off towards her.

It truly was the mighty Celestia, in her solar glory, sitting on her throne. She seemed just as awe-filled as he had imagined, although a bit less formal.

“It’s good to see you again. I’ve been worried.” she said.

“About what?”

“I’ll explain when Rarity and Spike are awake.”

Almost as if on cue, Rarity entered.

“Please, don’t allow me to hold you.”

“No, it is important you hear this as well.”

“I’ll go wake Spike up.” said Twilight.

She headed to his room, and knocked on his door a few times. No response. She tried louder, but still nothing.

“Let me give it a try.” said Rarity. “Oh, Spikey-Wikey! I would be ever so delighted if you would wake up so the princess can speak!”

This seemed to be the key, and spike awoke almost instantly after Rarity spoke.

“Rainbow is going to be difficult to wake.” said Twilight.

“Let her rest.” said Celestia. I’m sure you all are hungry, I shall have my cooks prepare a breakfast immediately.”

She clapped her hooves together, and the kitchen started up in a blaze of cooking. Various greens and apple dishes were being prepared. Flowers and vegetables of all sorts were being chopped, in a flurry of cutting knives. The scent wafted throughout the palace, truly exquisite. Rainbow could be heard awaking from her room.

“There’s no way Rainbow would sleep through a meal.” said Twilight.

Rarity, Spike, Twilight, and Celestia all shared a small laugh. Rainbow walked in, looking around.

“I smell food, where is it?” she said.

“Cooking, It will be done soon.” said Celestia. “But while it cooks, I have a rather important message for you all.”

Celestia took a much more serious tone.

“I’m sure you all know about the recent technological advances that have occurred. But, I fear these changes are not all good. My subjects are getting more and more reliant on this technology, and the old ways are fading. Most unicorns here in Canterlot have completely given up on magic.”

Celestia looked directly towards Twilight, her regal attitude becoming subdued.

She hung her head low, and seemed quite distressed.

“Excuse me for a moment, please.”

She headed off into the halls, and stayed back there for quite some time. She came back, seeming a bit more collected.

“Twilight, I have a mission for you and your friends. Your apprentice, as well. I’ve never trusted Prince Blueblood, and I suspected he may have been up to something. Normally I would say he was too incompetent to pose a threat, but something just didn't seem right. I've heard from Trottingham about an uprising. This is where you come in. I need you to find out what Blueblood is up to. You are the only ponies I trust with the job.”

“I don’t know about this.” said Rainbow, rather bluntly. “This seems less like protection of Equestria, and more like paranoid spying.”

“I understand your concerns, but please, trust me. Something horrible is going to happen. I can feel it.”

“We’ll do our best.” said Twilight.

“I’m staying out of this.” said Rainbow. “I’m not a spy.”

“Please, at least think it over.” said Celestia. “Maybe you can consider it while eating, breakfast is finished.”

A large table was hauled out by several chef-ponies, and more carried various foodstuffs with them. The food was laid out, quite an extravagant spread for breakfast for six. Various pastries, and all sorts of sweet apple dishes. Jellies and jams of various different fruits were in jars across the table. Emeralds and rubies on a platter were placed before Spike, along with some sapphires, amethysts, topaz, and various other gems. Even the legendary Chimicherrychanga, the creation of the magnificent gourmand Pinkie Pie, was being served. Cider from the reserves of the palace was brought, which seemed to have matured quite a bit. It was obvious Celestia was trying to convince them with a decadent meal and a bit of hard cider, but it was working nonetheless.

“So, will you do it?”

“Princess, you can try to buy my affection with all the cider you want, I’m not getting involved in this political junk.” said Rainbow.

Rainbow finished her meal, and head off.

“Come get me when Equestria is actually in danger.”

This seemed very odd to Twilight. Rainbow was the most loyal pony she had ever met, it wasn’t like her to leave her friends like this. Celestia was acting quite odd also.

“I’m afraid I don’t want to get involved in this either, you highness.” said Rarity, as she head off with Rainbow

“Surely my most loyal student will help me, right?” said Celestia.

“Of course, I trust your judgement.”

“If Twilight is coming, I’m coming too.” said Spike.

“And what about you, young apprentice?”

“I don’t feel like I should get involved, but I trust Twilight. I’ll help you.”

“Then it is settled. You two will be heading to Trottingham, where Prince Blueblood is located. Tell him you have come to visit, I’m sure he will be compliant when he hears Auntie Celestia’s students are coming.”

Twilight nodded, and finished her meal. Scroll took a big swig of cider.

“It will take us quite a while to get all the way to Trottingham.” Scroll said.

“Yeah, and Rainbow was our ride here.”

“Don’t worry, I can arrange an airship for you, it’ll take some time though, so why don’t you have some fun in town?”

“I suppose I could show Scroll around Canterlot.”

“I’ll send a message through Spike when it’s ready.”

Spike chomped down on a amethyst, and let out a fiery burp.

“Whew, I’m stuffed!” said Spike. “I’ll come with you guys, it’ll be nice to see Canterlot again, after living in Manehattan for so long.”

The three of them headed out, to see Rarity and Rainbow taking off in the Whirlwind.

“You’re really going to go through with this? Doesn’t this seem wrong?” said Rainbow.

“I have to trust Celestia.” said Twilight.

“I don’t want you going into danger.” said Rainbow.

“Then come with me! What about your loyalty? What about Princess Celestia?”

Rainbow had a pained expression on her face. Twilight had brought her element into this. She eventually gave in.

“...You’re right. I couldn’t go on letting you get hurt out there. If something really is going on, I want to be there with you. I don’t want to drag you into this Rarity, but are you coming too?”

“What else would you have me do? I can’t walk away now, can I? But I’m doing this for you all, not these games of Royalty.”

“I’ll go tell Celestia she doesn't need to get an Airship for us.” said Spike.

Spike walked off back into the palace, to tell Celestia of the news.

“It’s been a while, Twilight.” said Rainbow. “But you still look the same as ever.”

Rainbow, on the other hoof, looked quite more mature. She still had her young, happy-go-lucky attitude, but with a dash of willful determination, and understanding her limits. Twilight looked her over for a little while, this being the first time she had seen her in a long time.

“It’s just been so busy. I’ve spent most of time working on spells, and the library might as well be where I live, now. Somedays I wish I would have stayed in Ponyville. But, we really should get moving.”

Spike returned to the group, after informing Celestia. He had changed quite a lot as well. He was quite a bit taller, slightly above Twilight’s head. Scroll looked him over with curiosity.

“For a dragon, he doesn't seem very aggressive.” Scroll thought.

Spike seemed to have matured a lot, no longer as carefree. He was rather quiet, and only spoke when necessary. But he stayed just as loyal to Twilight as ever. Scroll could see it in his eyes, the way he looked at her. Twilight meant the world to him, and he would protect her at any cost.

“So, are we all prepared then?” asked Rarity.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” said Rainbow.

They headed through the city, taking it in as they went. The city was not quite as industrial as Manehattan, with a more mercantile focus. Traders hauling all sorts of good came in on boats, trains, and airships. A statue of Princesses Luna and Celestia was the centerpiece of a fountain marking the center of the town. Various shops lined the streets, selling all sorts of goods, from the wondrous to the mundane. The skydocks were up ahead, and they all packed into the elevator, and shot into the sky once more. They boarded the Whirlwind, and Rainbow took the helm. The engine fired up, the Whirlwind came to life in a glorious exhale of smoke from the engines. The ship launched into the air, free in the skies. Twilight reached into her bag, and grabbed more materials for practicing magic. Quills, paper, the usual.

“We need more practice with animation spells.” Twilight said to Scroll.

She once more wrote on the paper, and asked him to copy by animating a quill. He focused his hardest, giving it instructions .But nothing happened. The spell didn’t backfire, it just didn’t work.

“Let me help with that.”

The two of them spent a good portion of the day practising. Rarity and Spike waited around with Rainbow, who was piloting through particularly clear skies, meaning easy flying.

“Do you really think there could be trouble?” Spike asked.

“I doubt it. Blueblood is a coward, he doesn't have the guts to do anything. He only became a lord because of his birth, he’s no leader.” said Rainbow.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” said Rarity. “Feuding nobles can be dangerous, and after the way he treated me at the gala, I wouldn’t put him above any act of evil.” Rarity said with a grudge.

The three of them caught up with things, and were soon joined by Twilight and Scroll, done with practice for now. Scroll felt a bit out of place here, but also felt welcomed, and almost as if he had known them as old friends. The sun was high above them, and it was truly a beautiful day. Trottingham could be seen off in the distance, a rural town,mostly agricultural, not yet industrialized. It would still take some time to get there, and the five of them chatted idly while waiting. Eventually, the Whirlwind reached the town, and landed down on a flat plain of land outside the town.

“Well, I suppose we should get going.” said Rarity. “Although I’m not too enthusiastic about seeing Blueblood again...”

“Just please, try to act nicely towards him. We need to seem like we’re really just here on a visit to Trottingham.”

The ponies entered the village, and looked around. The buildings were small and old, but provided shelter for the people here. Most homes were still made from wood, with some stone incorporated into the homes of the rich. A few stores and businesses were scattered around. The palace was up ahead, where Blueblood would be. Everypony hoped Celestia was paranoid, but nopony could be sure. The palace was just ahead, and they entered.

Chapter 3: No win situation.

In contrast with the rest of the village, the castle was rather opulent and plush. Blueblood was indeed inside, his long golden mane hanging down his shoulders. He sat down in an elaborate throne, one much too dignified for someone of his standing.

“Greetings. Twilight. I see the beautiful Miss Rarity is with you.” He said, giving her a charming look.

Or, at least, it would have been if Rarity wasn’t still filled with rage from the last time they met. But she didn’t say a word.

“So, what brings you to my fabulous estate?”

“We thought we would see the town, and Celestia said you would be more than willing to accommodate us.” said Twilight.

“Why, of course.” he said, taking a slightly more serious tone. “You’re welcome to stay for as long as you like, being Celestia’s visitors. The guest rooms are behind us, through the hallway on the right. Please, enjoy your stay.”

This didn’t seem right. Blueblood was never this respectful. But, so far, nothing glaring has stuck out. It would seem suspicious if they just waited around all day,and they were most likely to get information at night anyway. If this was something worth keeping secret, it wouldn’t be discussed in broad daylight.

“Come on, let’s go see what’s around.” said Rainbow. “I know I could use some food.”

“Everypony agreed, and they head out. There was a restaurant nearby, where they decided to stop in. The food was quite plain for the most part. Scroll ordered a potato and carrot dish, along with mug of cider, not wanting anything too extravagant. The food was rather bland, but the cider was...interesting. Twilight took a sip of hers, and seemed to have the same expression. Shock, then confusion. It wasn’t bad...just, off. Everyone had finished, and they paid and head off once more. The rest of the town was decidedly boring, but they had to make it seem like they were here for a reason. They checked out various shops, and found a few souvenirs of interest, but nothing too special. Night began to fall, and everypony seemed to be getting tired. Scroll felt himself drift off, well away from the palace. He managed to get back up afterwards, but was down for a few seconds.

“Are you okay?” asked Rarity.

“Yeah, fine.” said Scroll, not because he felt fine, but because he had no idea how to explain himself at the moment.

They walked into the palace, and Scroll immediately headed to his room, followed by Twilight heading to hers. Everypony else soon followed, and sleep took them. Scroll drifted off instantly after hitting the bed, not even all the way on it

He awoke, still very tired, to feel a sudden thump on the back of his head. Scroll opened his eyes as far as he could, which wasn’t even much of a squint. He could feel that he wasn’t touching the ground anymore.

“What...what’s going on?”

“Eh? He’s awake? That zebra must not have used enough. I told him, it takes a very specific dose!” he heard a male voice say.

“Dose?” Scroll asked.

Scroll felt himself slam into a hard stone floor, which woke him up further. still in a stupor, he could vaguely make out a couple of ponies standing above him as he lay on the floor.

“So, you like sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong, eh?” Scroll heard a male voice say.

“What’s going on?” Scroll said frightenedly.

“Oh, we knew you’d be coming here. You think you’re so clever, don’t you?”

Scroll felt a quick blast of pain across his face, from what he couldn’t tell.

“Let’s see what you got to tell Celestia now.”

He felt another sharp blast of pain, shocking his eyes open. A thin, lanky, unicorn, with a dark green mane, parted down the middle of his face stood before him. His body was a rather unattractive grey, with a slight tint of red. His mane and tail were both rather unkempt, and quite long.

“So, you three of you thought you could stop me? Be the heroes? Not a chance.”

“Three?” Scroll said.

He looked over, and saw an unconscious Twilight, next to a beaten up, knocked out Spike.

“That dragon gave me quite the scratch.” The unicorn said, gesturing to a large claw mark on his flank. “He was hard to take down, but the mare was no problem at all.”

He looked over at Twilight again, and his anger grew. He began to thrash about, but it was then he realized he was bound with rope.

“Go ahead! Flounder about all you like! Gives me something entertaining in this dead town.”

The Unicorn took a swig of cider, and grabbed a sharp knife from a table, holding it right up against Scroll’s throat. Scroll looked at the blade in horror.

“Hahaha..ahhh, I love doing that. But relax kid, I’m not gonna hurt you. I don’t want blood on my hooves, that’s what the blonde pretty stallion up above is for. Him and his armies might as well be mine. That idiot is so easy to manipulate. I’d say he’s like a dog, but dogs have to be trained before they’ll do tricks. All you gotta do with this idiot is tell him it’s for the good of Equestria. Being his advisor does have its perks, I suppose.”

He took another big swig.

“But how did Celestia know?”

“I misinformed the informant! Brilliant, huh? She’ll think that Blueblood caused this, and undoubtedly take control of the situation. “The Tyrannical Celestia declares war on her own country!” It’ll ring though headlines everywhere. The best part is, she has no proof! SHe’ll be chasing after a rumor, nothing more. Once her rule is brought into question, that’s when we strike. Her reign will end, and I shall control Equestria!”

“Why would you tell me all this?”

“Because there’s nothing you can do about it! That’s what makes your suffering all the better! I’ll just tell Blueblood that you decided to leave late last night. He won’t suspect a thing.”

“Why not kill me now? Why are you holding me down here?”

“Ugh, there you go again with that kill word. I don’t kill, it isn’t what I do. If I was gonna kill you, you’d already be dead. I’m up to taking someone’s sanity, their mind, but not their life.”

“Diadem?” a male voice called from above.

“It seems I am needed, but I’ll have plenty of fun with you soon.”

The stallion left through a wooden door, and headed up a flight of stairs. The blade was still left on the table, on the solution seemed obvious. But he was still quite groggy, and would have to do this perfectly. Time to see if Twilight’s training worked. He focused what energy he had on levitating the knife, and slowly held it to the ropes. He could barely keepIt straight, andthe knife got stuck several times, but eventually went though. He was bleeding a fair bit, but was free. He stood up, wincing in pain from the cuts. He shook Twilight and Spike, who slowly woke up.

“What’s going on?” said Twilight.

“I can explain once we’re out of here, but we need to go”

Both of them nodded, and he gave Twilight the blade, who cut both of their ropes. The three of them headed out slowly to wake Rainbow and Rarity.

“Let me sleep.” said Rainbow.

“No, we need to go. Now.” said Twilight.

Rainbow slowly got up.

“Rarity, wake up!”

Rarity got up, and headed with them. They all headed out to the main hall. Outside were Blueblood and Diadem. Diadem shot them a death glare, and Scroll shot him one back, but neither of them could act, and they both knew it.

“We’ll be taking our leave now.” said Twilight to Blueblood.

They quickly headed to the airship, and headed back on the way to Canterlot. Scroll told everypony what had gone down.

“What? We have to tell Celestia!” said Rainbow.

Twilight nodded. Scroll couldn’t help but feel that this was too easy. Leaving the blade was a mistake so glaringly obvious, it couldn’t have been accidental. He looked back to the face that Diadem shot him. It seemed...artificial. But he couldn’t think of a better thing to do but to tell Celestia. Everypony was stressed, the Whirlwind was silent. They waited until they reached Canterlot, and docked once more. They headed to the palace to inform Celestia.

“Princess! We know what is happening!” Twilight said.

Scroll recapped the events that had gone down, but Celestia seemed to be getting discouraged with every word.

“This is worse than I thought. There’s nothing I can do. If I act against him, his cause only gets stronger. But I cannot let this go unpunished. Give me some time to decide, I will tell you when I have decided the best course of action.”

Everypony agreed, and waited outside. Twilight nervously walked around for what seemed like an eternity. Spike burped up a small scrap of paper,signaling Celestia was ready. They entered, and Celestia looked quite grim about what she was going to say.

Chapter 4: Civil Unrest.

Celestia looked at them, with very serious and stern eyes.

“As I’m sure you could tell, he let you get away.” Celestia said. “He wanted you to come here. Now then, we are stuck in a rather bad situation. I don’t want a war on my hooves. Not now. The people are starting to lose faith in me, I can tell. But if we don’t challenge him, it will be a sign of weakness. The people will see that I’m powerless to stop him, and he might as well have won.”

“We could defeat Blueblood and his armies no problem!” said Rainbow.

“You’re right. I’m not disputing that. But it would cause casualties. Many more than acceptable. The people already think of me as unnecessary, outdated by technology. They’d be more than willing to be done with harmony if a war comes.”

She put her hoof to her head, seeming quite pained. Luna slowly approached her, entering from a corridor to her right. She lay her hoof on her sister’s shoulder.

“Sister, you know what must be done.This cannot go unchallenged.”

“...You’re right. If we don’t act, we might as well give up now. But if we’re going to do this, we have to be prepared. Twilight will you do this?”

“Yes, of course, Princess.”

“We may need the Elements of Harmony. Go gather your friends, and meet us back here.”

Twilight, Rainbow, Rarity, and Spike left, and headed back to the Whirlwind.

“Applejack is first. She’s still in Ponyville as far as I know.”

The ship flew gracefully through the clouds, cutting through the sky.

“Ponyville is close by, it shouldn’t take long.” said Rainbow.

Indeed, they could see the small town just off in the distance. The ride was rather quiet, they didn’t have far to go, and exchanged idle chatter. The ship landed outside the town, and everypony was somewhat excited to see their old homes. but they were here on business, not to visit. The town had hardly changed, just some minor changes, like new houses. The town seemed strangely empty as they walked through it. They head off towards Sweet Apple Acres, but saw a large group of rowdy young ponies gathered around the center of town. Five large stallions in white armor guarded a red mare speaking to the crowd.

“Citizens of Ponyville!” she said to the crowd. “Do you not tire of this tyrannical rule? Celestia is a villain, who must be stopped! Her harmony no longer rules us! Our savior, Prince Blueblood himself, will save us from this evil!

Twilight could feel the disharmony radiating from the crowd.

“Blueblood knows that harmony is no longer necessary! He shall liberate you from your imprisonment! Oh, sure, Celestia may make it seem like harmony is good for you. But it is a relic of the past, when magic was still relevant. But in this new era, she is an outdated, useless, and ineffective ruler!”

Twilight’s anger was growing from this speech, but she didn’t want to start a fight. The crowd was dis-harmonized enough already. Scroll could see the hatred in her eyes, and was feeling it himself too.

“Blueblood knows what the common pony wants. Celestia’s harmony is not what you need!”

The red mare began looking through the crowd.

“Some of you may think we are liars. Those of you brainwashed by Celestia, hear this! Celestia is the cause of the cold, harsh winters! If she really cared for her people, wouldn’t she use her control of the sun to keep the land warm? Instead, she and her noble lapdogs sit up in Canterlot and watch you freeze and starve! She is the reason Discord destroyed your towns! She could have had him killed, but she showed him mercy. Why? Because her harmony wouldn’t allow her to kill him, even though he deserved it! We’ve seen this happen with our allies to the north as well! The Crystal Empire was enslaved by Sombra, because Celestia let him live! Where do you think those damned changelings went off to? Blueblood would have dealt with them, but Celestia let them go! They are undoubtedly plotting against you now! If you still need proof, she is sisters with Nightmare Moon herself! Oh sure, she has her under control, for now! Who knows when Luna may snap again? We got lucky once, but I doubt she would be stopped again! Celestia couldn’t even keep control of her own country! She has her six lapdogs do it for her!:

“Ah, think you’d best shut your mouth.” said a southern voice.

The red mare began to look around through the crowd, and so were Twilight and the others. Applejack and Big Mac approached the crowd.

“Mac, I think we should knock some sense into em’, don’t you?” said Applejack.

“Eeyup.”

Applejack picked up several small stones from the ground, and bounced them on her hoof.

“I’d suggest you all get outta here, because I’m gonna start kickin’ flank, and I don’t want to hurt too many of you.” Applejack said with a slight grin.

“You’ve got no idea what you’re getting yourself into...:” said the red mare.

The white armored stallions charged them. Applejack just shook her head, threw the rocks into the air, and kicked them towards the armored stallions, the rocks cutting through the air. Two of them were hit, falling down from the impact. One of them lunged at Applejack, but was interrupted by a kick from Mac, collapsing on the ground. Twilight and the others turned to see what was happening, and ran towards the apples to help out. One of the soldiers managed to hit Applejack, but she barely even flinched.

“Ya’ll hit like fillies.” she said.

Scroll slammed into the soldier, but only managed to shake him a little.The crowd was riled up from this, and a small group of them charged the apples as well. Scroll saw he rocks Applejack had flung, and focused on them. They began to levitate, but this battle was wearing on his concentration. He threw them, not going nearly as far as he had hoped. They bounced right off of the soldier’s armor, causing him a little pain, but not much. One of the ponies in the crowd kicked Scroll down, and he was trampled by several others. Twilight had snapped, her rage easily visible. She started to focus her magic, but not on the rocks. She grabbed several of the ponies from the crowd, along with one of the guards, and levitated them high up. She then threw them down violently. Not hard enough to kill them, but hard enough to hurt them badly. Spike charged at the last guard, and raked his claws across him, breathing a stream of flame. The crowd scattered, terrified. The red mare left with them, blending into the crowd.

“You guys didn’t even leave me one of them.” said Rainbow disappointedly.

“What are y’all doing here?”

We came here looking for you, actually.” said Twilight.

“We need your help.” said Rarity.

“The princesses wanted us to find you.” said Spike.

“I can already guess what this is about. Celestia wants us to stop Blueblood?”

“How could you tell?” asked Rainbow.

“This isn’t the first time they’ve been spreading their propaganda ‘round here.”

“So will you help us?” Twilight asked.

“I...don’t think so, Twi.” she said.

“What?” she exclaimed.

“But we need your help!” Rainbow said.

“I can’t just leave my family here alone. They’ll come back, I know it.”

“Sis, I can-”

“I know you think so Mac, but...I just don’t feel right about it. I can’t leave you here. I can’t stand the thought of them getting ya’ll while I’m not there. I’m sure you feel the same way.”\

Mac let out a sigh, and nodded.

“I know Sis, I know.”

“Ya’ll should at least come down to the farm before you leave.”

The group followed her towards Sweet Apple Acres, which still hadn’t changed a bit. Granny Smith was sitting in a rocking chair on the porch, and looked as if she had nodded off a while ago.

“Wake up, Granny! We got visitors!”

She snapped awake.

“Eh? Oh, hello! Haven’t seen you all in a while!”

“It has been quite a while, hasn’t it?” said Twilight.

“And who are you?” she asked Scroll.

“My name’s Scroll Seeker, I’m Twilight's student.”

“Nice to meet ya” Applejack said. “Come on in.”

She opened the door, and hey all headed inside. The smell of a baking apple pie floated through the house.

“Caramel! We have visitors!”

Loud hoofsteps echoed through the house, as a light brown stallion came in.

“Oh, hello. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen any of you. You’re Applejack’s friends, right?”

Twilight nodded.

“It’s been so long, you haven’t heard the news, have you?” asked Applejack.

“What news?”

“Me and Caramel...are married!”

Twilight and the others were taken aback quite a bit.

“She finally settled down with the nice neighbor boy a year or so ago.” Granny Smith said.

“The second newest addition to the apple family!”

“Second?”

“Where is she?” Applejack asked.

“She was tired, I put her to bed.” Caramel said.

“Who’s she?”

“Oh, you haven’t met Honeycrisp yet! She’s just the cutest little thing. Follow me.”

They followed her into a bedroom, where a foal lay in a crib, sleeping.

“Wait, you have a...daughter?” Rarity asked in her quietest scream, as to not wake her.

“Isn’t she just the cutest?”

Honeycrisp lay in her crib, her light brown mane still quite short. She was an orange-ish color, similar to her mother, but a bit darker. They left the room, still confused about all of this.

“So wait, you got married?” Twilight asked.

“She sure did! Mac, you could learn a lesson from your sister.” Granny Smith said.

“Mac simply ignored her, he headed out to the fields.

“You didn’t invite me, either? You know I would have wanted to hear about this, remember what my brother did?” Twilight said.

“Ah’m sorry, but I haven’t been able to contact any of you. Y’all left ponyville for your own reasons, and I haven’t been able to find any of you.”

“I guess we’ve all been too caught up in the busyness of our own lives to stay together...” Rainbow said.

“I still have no idea where Pinkie and Fluttershy are, or what they’re doing.” Twilight said.

“Wait,” Rarity said. “You said Caramel is a new addition to the Apple family. So he took your last name?”

“Caramel Apple just seemed too good of a name to pass on.” Caramel said.

They spent some time reminiscing, but had to leave eventually.

“Are you sure you can’t come with us, Applejack?” Twilight asked.

“I can’t just leave my family.” she said.

“I think you should go.” Caramel said.

“What? But I can’t-”

“We can’t let this go unopposed. Me and Mac can protect the family, but you have the
whole world to protect.”

“...I guess you’re right. I’ll go with y’all.” Applejack said semi-regretfully.

“I’m glad you’re coming with us.” Twilight said.

:We’ll need your strength. You’re almost as strong as me!” Rainbow said. “Almost.”

“Where’s Applebloom?” Spike asked.

“Oh, she’s off with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, doing some ridiculousness, I’m sure.” Rarity said.

Twilight and the others said their goodbyes, and headed towards the ship once more.

Chapter 5: Deals with a changeling.

The decadence of Blueblood’s palace only extended as far as Blueblood went. As such, Diadem’s room was very cold and grey. Diadem sat in silence, flipping through some texts on his shelf.

“Diadem!” Blueblood yelled.

Diadem put the book down, and. slowly headed upstairs.He undoubtedly needed an answer to an obvious question.

“Yes, your highness?” Diadem asked wearily.

“I never heard from Aunt Celestia’s student and her friends, did you see them leave?”

“That dragon and the colt? I’m sure they left after realizing how boring this backwater town is. You really deserve a higher position, you know.”

“Their airship is gone, so I suppose they flew off.”

“Airship? One of them is a pilot?”

“That Rainbow mare, I believe.”

“There’s more of them?” Diadem thought. “This changes everything! Now I have to account for four of them!”

“Oh, right.” Diadem said. “Was that all?”

“No, I had something to ask of you.”

“Whatever do you need, your highness?”

He despised being so servile, but it was necessary.

“I will need your assistance in this...what did you call it again?”

“Our glorious overthrowing of the tyrannical rule of Celestia? Taking your rightful throne?”

‘Yes, that. You really think it’s possible? That we can do it? That she plans to have me stripped of rank?”

“She plans to make you a dirty commoner, rankless and powerless. She knows you are a threat. But we shall make a stand against her power.”

“But how?”

“Let me handle that my lord. I am your advisor after all. I already have agents in Ponyville and in Fillydelphia spreading the truth about Celestia’s tyranny.”

“And the masses actually believe me.” Diadem thought

“I trust you know what you are doing. Continue your good work.”

“Thank you my lord.”

Diadem took his leave, and headed back to his room.

______________________________________________________________________________

“So, who’s next?” Rainbow asked.

“I’d say we go for Fluttershy next.” Rarity responded.

“Sounds good.” Twilight responded.

“You sure seem to have lots of friends.” Scroll said.

“Just wait until you meet Pinkie.” Spike said.

Scroll had always been a bit of an introvert, not very social. But these ponies he could handle. They seemed much better than the ponies in Manehattan, not nearly as class obsessed or snobbish.

“Fluttershy’s house is nearby, it’s not far from Ponyville.” Rainbow said.

After a short flight, they arrived outside her home. It somehow seemed even smaller than before. But it was certainly cozy. Everypony exited the airship, and Rarity knocked on her door. No response. She tried again. No response.

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow yelled.

Still silent.

“She must be out.” Twilight said.

“Should we just come back later?” Spike asked.

“I’m sure she’ll be back soon.” Twilight said.

They began to turn back, when Scroll noticed an eye peeking through the window.

“Um, hello?” Scroll asked.

It came closer, and was revealed to also have a yellow face and pink mane. The door slowly opened.

` “Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked.

A hoof motioned them in, and they followed. The house was dark, the blinds closed and no light within. There were no animals bustling about, it was silent.

“Fluttershy, why are you hiding in here?” Rainbow asked.

“They can see in the windows, they’ll know I’m here.”

“Who?” Rarity asked.

Scroll felt something else brush against his face, a feathered beast. The animals started to make all sorts of noises, and a look of fear shot across Fluttershy’s face.

“They’re back!”

Everypony else looked around, but saw nothing through the windows.

“Fluttershy, are you okay?” Rarity asked.

“Y’all seem real shook up.” Applejack said. “Even more than usual.”

“I, I’m fine, really.” Fluttershy said.

“There’s nothing out there.” Rainbow said.

“Then it was one of you, wasn’t it? You’ve been gone for so long, why would you all be back now?”

“”It really is us, Fluttershy, and we need your help.”

“The only dangerous thing in here is leaving the lights off with these animals everywhere.” Rainbow said, as she was bumped into by some sort of bird.

“Where’s Pinkie? She should be with you. If you’re trying to impersonate my friends, you’ll have to try harder than that!”

“Fluttershy, I don’t know what else you need us to do to prove it’s really us, but we need your help.” Twilight said. “All of Equestria is counting on you.”

Twilight reached into her bag, and pulled a golden object from within.

“The elements?” Fluttershy said. “It really is you!”

“Of course! Don’t y’all recognize your own friends?” Applejack said.

Scroll felt something touch his hoof, but he couldn’t tell what. It was certainly furry.

“Applejack, what was going on down there?” Fluttershy asked.

“Just some rowdy idiots.” Applejack said. “But what are you doing holed up in here?”

“All of this excitement outside...it’s terrifying.” Fluttershy said.

“You could at least let some light in.” Twilight said.

Fluttershy slowly opened one of the blinds, letting in a small crack of light.

“There” Fluttershy said, before blocking the window once more. “So, what is everypony doing here?”

“We came for you, we need your help.” Twilight said.

“With what?”

“Blueblood is planning on overthrowing Celestia!” Rainbow blurted out. “We need to kick his flank and save Equestria!”

“Oh, my. I don’t know about this, that seems really dangerous, and-”

“Fluttershy, for some reason these ponies need your help.” Scroll said. “And you need to help them! It might be dangerous, but not nearly as dangerous as letting Blueblood overthrow Celestia and Luna!”

Everypony was a bit taken aback by Scroll’s sudden interruption, as he had stayed quiet for most of this recruiting.

“I got to see the evil in that stallion’s eyes myself. He has to be stopped.”

Spike nodded.

“That guy is tough, he didn’t go down even after I sunk my claws into him.”

“Spike, he drugged you, I don’t think it was a very fair fight.” Twilight said.

“What?” Fluttershy asked.

“Ah’ didn’t hear this, either.” Applejack said.

“His advisor, Diadem.” Scroll said. “He’s the real threat. Blueblood is just a dumb figurehead.”

“I’ll do it.” Fluttershy said. “If he wants to hurt my friends, he’ll have to deal with me, too.”

“Now, let’s go find Pinkie.” Twilight said.

“So, you mean this disguise won’t work?” said a pink mare, opening the door.

“Pinkie?” Spike asked.

“Not quite.” the pink mare said. Green flames enveloped her, and a changeling was revealed.

“Stand down, you clown.” A much deeper voice said.

“Who is that?” Fluttershy squeaked out.

“We mean you no ill, we bring a letter from our master’s quill.”

“That rhyme was terrible.” the changeling said.

The zebra let out a snort towards the changeling.

“Gather all the help you desire, you cannot stop this rebellious fire. All of your actions have been planned out, of that you should have no doubt. Even as we speak, armies are rallying around Blueblood, the leader they seek.”

“That’s it?” Rainbow said. “You just came here to talk down to us?”

“Our master can be a little...egotistic” the changeling said. “But we also brought a gift for you.”

The Zebra stared up at the sky, waiting for something.

“Where is that fool! I swear, he is as dumb as a mule!”

“Hey, watch it.” The changeling said. “I have several good friends who are mules!”

“We should really be going.” Twilight said.

“I’m sure your surprise was amazing and all, but you’re kind of our enemy.” said Scroll.

“You can’t just leave!” the changeling said. “We had this all planned out!”

“We’re kind of in a hurry, how long will this take?” said Rarity.

“He was supposed to be here already.” the changeling said.

A loud crash was heard, and a small airship landed roughly nearby. A look of shock shot across both the zebra and the changeling’s face.

“Uhm.... this is embarrassing.” the changeling said.

“Diadem is going to be furious if that crash was injurious.” said the zebra

“That’s barely even a word.” replied the changeling

“Don’t worry, I’m okay!” a male voice called from the wrecked ship.

“You aren’t the one we’re worried about!” the changeling yelled.

“We cannot lose this advantage! This was a necessary vantage!”

“I think it’s okay! I still hear it!”

“What is it?”Spike asked. “This is just getting ridiculous.”

“It was supposed to look a lot cooler.” the changeling said.

“I’m sure.” Rarity said.

“Yeah, it’s fine!” the voice yelled.

As it approached, it was revealed to be a rather odd looking earth pony. The three of them made a strange group. A trying too hard to be cool zebra, complete with cloak, a cheeky little changeling, and a bumbling yellow pony.He carried a sack with him, sealed tight.

“MPHMPHMPHMHHPM!: the being within the sack said.

“What is that?” Scroll said, shocked, and also intrigued.

“We have no idea. Diadem said to bring it here, and we don’t like to disagree with him.” the changeling said. “You can let it out now, just keep it bound.”

The earth pony opened the sack, and revealed a pink mare, with her hooves tied together, wiggling about, mouth taped shut.

“This yours?” the changeling asked. “She’s becoming a nuisance to have around.”

“Pinkie?” Twilight exclaimed.

“What did you do to her?” Fluttershy demanded to know.

“Relax, she’s fine. We didn’t do nothin’ outside of the normal kidnapping for ransom business, we aint’ that evil.” the changeling said.

As he spoke, Fluttershy jumped at him hooves prepared for impact with his face.

“I don’t think you want to do that.” the changeling said. “True, my face may be quit punchable, but think of this poor little Plinky, or whatever you called it. It’d be quite a shame if she were to get harmed, she looks pretty valuable.”

Fluttershy stopped, but was still quite enraged, and Applejack was pulling on her hooves with all her might, trying to bring her back. Fluttershy’s sudden stop sent them both flying backwards.

“Now then, I have a task that you need to do, and I really don't want this Ponky on my hooves anymore than I need. So what do you say we make a trade?”

“That depends on what you want us to do.” Twilight said.

“It’s a simple task, really. We just need you to attend some of our rallies. The one in ponyville is out, they saw what happened there. But we need you to go to them, and renounce your elements. Swear yourself to Blueblood. Do this, and you’ll get your precious pink thing back. Or, we could see how high she bounces after falling out of an airship.

“Uh, boss.” the earth pony interrupted.

“Oh, right. Well, I’m sure we can do something else threatening, so long as we don’t leave you in charge anymore.”

“Sorry.” the earth pony said slowly.

“You see, the people see you all as paragons of harmony. Even now, when harmony is weak, you are what holds the people’s faith.” the changeling said.

“When Equestria is at it’s worst, we shall swoop in headfirst! Be the heroes that the ponies need! Save them from Celestia’s greed!” The zebra added.

“So, will you do it?” the changeling said. “Or will your pink thing make a beautiful corpse? Well, I wouldn’t say beautiful. She’d make a cute corpse is more like it.”

Everypony looked at each other, with grim looks upon their faces. They each slowly and painfully nodded.

“We’ll do it.” they all said.

Pinkie’s yelling silenced, and a grin shot across the changeling’s face.

“Excellent.” the changeling said.

Author's Note

Sorry for the very long delay, an injury, lazyness, and testing kept me from writing. (Mostly the lazyness.)