The Champions of Equestria

by Succaeros the Chronicler

Chapters

Prologue
A Royal Summons
The Misery of Despair
The Miseries of Despair pt II

Prologue

During the darkest night, when the sun celebration commencing

six ponies took up the mantle of champions

when their Beloved Princess Celestia entrusted them

with the legendary and fantastic Elements of Harmony.

What they did not know, was that the use of the Elements had awakened

far greater terrors than merely Discord and Nightmare Moon.

Ten years had passed since Discord was vanquished and Nightmare moon was converted. Ten years of relative peace, no enemies threatening the kingdoms, no disasters, no wars. Just peace. During those peaceful years, not much attention was paid to the six friends who had saved the land of Equestria. Nopony seemed to care about them.

Ten years later, three young mares were visiting a certain Zebra in the Everfree forest. Scootaloo, Sweetie Bell, and Applebloom were on their way to see Zecora, out of boredom. When they arrived, Zecora was outside with an unusual sight. A Zebra with a Unicorn horn, with a coat of midnight blue and stripes of cyan; stood laughing in a deep, rich voice.

"Ah! Now you see! I bring to you these fillies three. Your tales they seek, though they may not be for the weak. Let me introduce the man in my yard, he is my cousin; Succaeros the Bard."

I laughed again and spoke. "Such fanciful names. I am a hybrid, a Zebricorn, rare and fanciful creatures. We delight and specialize in telling tales, stories from old times. We are magic users, but our talents are more specialized towards the entertaining of ponies. Applebloom looked at the me and then glanced at her friends. He seemed alright to her, and she was quite interested to hear what kinds of stories he knew. "Well," Applebloom said, "What kind of stories do you tell"

I laughed. "I am a bard, one who specializes in the archaic, arcane, and unusual. I have stories on everything from the first day in Equestria, to something a little more familiar. I have quite a few tales on the endeavors of those six majestic friends, who vanquished the embodiment of chaos Discord and the fiend of the night, Nightmare Moon."

Scootaloo jumped up and said, with her usual look of obsession, "Do you have any tales of Rainbow Dash?"

I pondered her for a few moments. "I have many tales, tales of valor and of loss, tales of tragedy and tales of triumph. I think I know which you will be pining over. But wait, do I sense somepony coming?" He turned to look at the edge of the clearing, as Twilight Sparkle wandered into view, stopping dead at the sight of the Zebricorn.

"Uhh... Zecora, Who is this?" Twilight asked, confused. She had never read about or seen a zebricorn before, and was quite confused.

Zecora looked at Twilight, and riddled her an answer. "Twilight, you showed up at the perfect time! My cousin here was about to rhyme! He's a poet from a distant land, listen and learn from the tales at hand. If you stick around and listen well, you just might have tales of your own to tell. For you who are smart and bright, are featured in these tales tonight."

The three young ponies looked at Twilight with astonished looks. "What?" she responded, a slight grin on her face. "You didn't think I was a socially awkward egghead bookworm who never got out and had cool adventures, did you?" When she only got sheepish looks, she responded, "... Did you?"

I spoke up, "Twilight, you may know me by my royal name, The Ethereal Chronicler." I smiled at Twilight's sudden look of recognition. "I was the one entrusted with your adventures when you served as Royal Champions to Princess Celestia. This little one," I motioned to Scootaloo, "Was inquiring if I had any stories of a certain cyan pegasus. I was going to grace her with the Tale of the Woes of Strife. Is this acceptable?"

Twilight nodded, smiling at the memories I had just drummed up for her. I shook my head, then settled myself into my story-telling position.

"Alright, then. Let the story begin. This is the Tale of the Woes of Strife. It all began when the Six Companions were summoned by Princess Celestia to Canterlot on urgent business..."

A Royal Summons

Rainbow Dash stared at the scroll, perplexed. When Spike had come running out to find her with a cyan scroll tied with a rainbow ribbon, she knew something was up. The scroll held a royal summons, one which bid her to accompany the queen on a trip of utmost importance. Not know why the queen, a great and powerful alicorn sun-goddess, would ever need the help of one pegasus, she decided the best course of action was to go visit her friend Twilight Sparkle.

As she flew away, over the rooftops and through the beautiful blue expanse above, she couldn't help but feel a sense of dread at what the princess could want. And despite her best efforts, by the time she actually spotted the purple unicorn's library, she had thought of at least thirty different ways this visit to the princess could end badly.

"Twilight!," Rainbow called, "Hey! Twilight! You there? I'm coming in!" She made to push open the door, and was surprised to find it open. With a sense of trepidation, she nudged it open further and was dismayed to see somepony had ransacked the library, books all over the floor, tables overturned. She frantically rushed in, searching for any sign of the purple unicorn.

"Twilight!," she cried, searching for her friend through piles of books, "Twilight! Where are you?"

There was a muffled groan, and a pile of books shifted, magicked themselves, and stacked up into neat piles before settling back onto the floor. Twilight was revealed, looking a little disgruntled And tired.

"Hey Dash, what's up? Why the commotion?" The unicorn started to pick up her library, telekinetically pulling books into
stacks. She yanked a pile out from under Rainbow, causing her to fall. The letter tumbled out and skittered to a halt next to Twilight's hoof. Twilight noticed the letter, a look of shock crashing across her face. Everything in the room stopped moving.

"Rainbow... You've been summoned too I see..." She said, distantly. Rainbow nodded. A look of confusion started across her face, then she realized. "Wait, you've been summoned too? Oh, thank Celestia. I was afraid.... y'know what? Never mind. It's nothing." She looked relieved that at least one of her friends was going with her. "So... do you know why we were summoned?

Twilight shook her head. "I could tell from her writing though that something is fundamentally wrong. That's why I was perusing my library, trying to find anything that could be coming up to greet us. I found nothing, not a mention, not a whisper. That's what is worrying me." At that moment, There was a holler from outside, and Applejack walked in, followed by Fluttershy and Rarity. Rainbow Dash greeted her friends and turned back to Twilight, only to find a large pink face blocking her way.

"GAH! Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow Dash fell backwards, startled by the pony's sudden appearance. "I HATE it when you do that!"

"Aww, Dashie! Hate's such a strong word! You can do better than that!" Rainbow Dash blushed at the use of her pet name. Applejack chuckled and stepped up to Twilight. "Uh, Twi? We got a question fer yah. Show her, girls."

The four ponies reached into various pouches in the bags they were carrying and produced scrolls in every color. Everypony except Pinkie Pie, who reached into her poofy mane to extract her scroll. Only Pinkie Pie. The scrolls were all themed and detailed with each pony in mind. Applejack's was brown parchment paper tied with green and red ribbon. Fluttershy's was yellow paper tied with yellow and pink ribbon. Rarity's was white paper with an elegant violet ribbon, and Pinkie Pie's was, well... Pink. When Rainbow Dash and Twilight saw the scrolls, they in turn produced their own.

Applejack, of course, was the first to speak. "So what does this mean? It doesn't speak of any reason, and the wording made it seem rather ominous"

Twilight pondered for a few seconds, and simply shook her head. "It means we go to Canterlot and answer the royal summons. Whatever this is, I'm sure it can't be too bad. Not for the princess to handle, anyways.

(--------)

The train departed the station, leaving the six ponies standing alone. They wandered up the eerily deserted streets, until they were greeted by an escort of guards. The guards led them on, through a side gate into the castle. The followed twists and turns, until finally they were greeted in the throne room by the twin princesses, Luna and Celestia. The two sisters looking resplendent on their thrones, the six ponies approached and bowed, until Princess Celestia spoke.

"My faithful friends, I have summoned you for two reasons. We are threatened by a new danger. Some devil from the east is endangering all of the world. The Other Tribes, from Vaporia to Zebrica, have agreed that something needs to be done about this. The Ley Lines are growing faster than the Natural Ones can absorb them. The land is being consumed. We are losing a fight that has lasted thousands of years."

She looked down at the six mares, all of them with confused expressions on their faces. "I am asking you to take up a mantle that has not been sustained in five centuries. I need you to be Champions of Equestria. You six will travel to faraway lands and embark on great adventures. However, you will not be going together. Circumstances require you to travel in pairs. So I have need of Twilight and Rarity to travel to the land of Cervidas, where the Deer live. It is the center of Ley line transformation, the height of knowledge and magic. I need Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash to travel to the Cloud Kingdom of Haven. Applejack and Pinkie Pie, you will be adventuring to the city of Libraria, on the Isle of Mane."

"You will travel south, first and foremost, to the city of StableSide, on the north end of the ruins of Eternity's Bridge. Fro there, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy will depart for the City of Gallopfrey, Applejack and Pinkie Pie will take a vessel to the Isle of Mane, and Twilight and Rarity will have to find a way across the Bridge of Eternity. I have prepared gifts and guides for you until the town of StableSide. From there, you must make your own way. This here is the Zebricorn Moon Star, who will be your chronicler."

I approached the ponies, pulling down my midnight blue hood. "I am sure that I seem, very sinister and mean, but beneath this hide, there lies inside, a spark that will surely gleam."

Celestia looked at the six, and magicked over six orbs, gleaming and shimmering with the colors of the rainbow. They brightened, and manifested themselves into six gleaming cloaks the bore collars of sparkling golden necklaces. These cloaks floated down and affixed themselves to the ponies. The necklaces, which had become very familiar to the six ponies, bore gems cut in the shape of each pony's cutie mark. They were none other than the Elements of Harmony.

"I had them re-forged with a few extra pieces to create what you see. There is a certain magic that can be done with them now, whereas the wearer of one Element can detect the presence of another wearer. You can even communicate with them. You just have to believe in the power of friendship, and you will never be far away from each other. Also, they are not complete. If you seek out and collect certain articles, they will enhance the power of the elements. I fear you will need all the power you can get to defeat this new evil."

"I am sorry to have to send you off like this, but I must go myself and combat a new danger in the West. Luna is already in the north searching out new sources of strength there. There is to be a gathering of the Natural Ones in a few months, to try and sort out what to do. If you can, try and be there in exactly five months from now, at the Centennial Gathering. Now, you must go. Moon Star will explain anything he can to you once you get going.

"May the Light of the Day and the Dark of the Night keep you safe, girls." Celestia stood and approached the six mares, enveloping them in her wings. The hug did not last long, as Celestia folded her wings and spoke again. "As one last thing to do, I must bestow titles upon you, as you will be my representatives to the world."

She walked up to the six who bowed, and said, "I bestow upon thee, In the Name of Equestria, to be the Champions of Myself, Princess Celestia of the Day, and Princess Luna of the Night. You shall be the equivalent of Duchesses, being required to perform all the necessary actions of the Duchy. You will not be given land, per se, but you will be in charge of all of Equestria. You will be under no obligation to rule, that will still be my job. But for all intents and purposes, I have just divvied up equestria to you. Go now, and serve me and my sister well."

With a blinding flash of light, she was gone. The six trotted down to the station, minds reeling. The seventh stayed for a second, pondering. Then he merely nodded and cantered after them. This was going to be an interesting tale, he did not want to miss any of it.

South to Stableside

We seven travelers had decided the best course to take on our way to Stableside was an easterly train to Stalliongrad, a stern and industrial town with an ever-present pallor of industrial dusk. Then we would turn south and head down past Hoofington and on to Stableside. That was where we would go our separate ways. Twilight was dreading reaching that point, as were the rest of them. But the orders of the princess were clear: they have too much to do, and too little time to travel together. So instead Twilight spent the time riddling myself with questions, trying to gleam some form of information from me.

"So where exactly do you come from? What do you do? How do you know the princess? And I thought all zebras rhymed. Why don't you?"

"If rhyming and Answers you seek, be quiet and I will speak." I riddled her. "I am an emissary of the Zebricorn tribes, and as such, I have spent many seasons away from my home. I have not seen my children for a long while, and I have dropped the habit of speaking in rhyme. We are secluded tribes, unified in a monarchy yet separate as a whole. Our home is the Isle of Mane, my town the Village of Libraria. As for how I know the Ruler of the Day, that is knowledge for another time. I have much to teach you before you part ways, and time is fast growing short. Come, I have knew magics to teach the unicorns, and you all must learn to defend yourselves. I believe I spotted a boxcar farther back that will serve us well."

They followed the shrouded zebricorn farther back, entering the boxcar. There was barely enough room for six ponies to move around, let alone train. But the zebricorn was muttering under his breath, eyes closed and horn glowing with black-etched silver fire. There was a brilliant flash, and when it cleared they were standing an a spacious dojo, with training equipment and all the necessary equipment to prepare themselves. Succaeros stepped in the middle of the dojo, shedding his cloak and revealing his true form. He was tall for a zebra, with a long horn gracing a pointed face with cyan stripes. He truly looked like no zebra the girls had ever seen. He also revealed his cutie mark, a black sun outlined in white, with an upturned crescent moon gracing the center of the sun.

I narrowed my eyes and challenged the mares. "Now, if learning you seek, I must weed out the meek. Strike if you can, or you doom is at hand."

Applejack and Rainbow Dash stepped up first, circling the zebricorn. Rainbow attacked first, with a vicious flying kick followed by a sweep kick and a fore hoof uppercut, each strike compounded by her wings. Applejack dove in from the other side, attempting a tackle followed by a terrible buck to the midsection. Both attacks happened at once, but were opposing. I leaped out of the way of Rainbow's flurry and rolled out of the way of Applejack's tackle. The two collided and sat there, dazed.

"Good! Now focus you must, in each other you may trust. Work together and you will see, you all will achieve victory. Concentrate on your element as you stand, will your minds to merge if you can. Focus! Try and merge your minds together, to attack as a team. Fluttershy! Rarity! You are next! Test your fate, do not hesitate!"

Fluttershy trembled as she walked up to me. "I would p-prefer not t-to, I don't like fighting. That is, if that's okay with you." Rarity simply looked at me. "Fighting isn't really my style. A lady never gets into a conflict."

"Lady?" I asked quizzically. "All I see is two frightened mares, one who can't stand up for herself, and one who won't stand up for her friends. I'll leave it up to you to decide who is who."

Rarity reeled at the obvious insult to her. A look of rage crossed her face, but before she could do anything, Fluttershy raced in and aimed a vicious fore hoof at me, almost catching me by surprise. I leaped out of the way, surprised.

"WHO-DOESN'T-STAND-UP-FOR-HER-FRIENDS?" cried an infuriated Fluttershy. Before she could attack again, there was a crash against the outer door of the dojo, and seven creatures flew in. Two were pegasi, two unicorns, and two earth pony. The last enemy, however, was a red Alicorn. The Alicorn looked at the six mares, then noticed me.

"You!!" he shouted. "I thought I had destroyed you a long time ago! Bah, it does not matter anymore. Destroy them!"
He lowered his horn and pawed the ground, prepared to strike. "Girls!" I ordered, "Do not attack the Alicorn. He is mine. Be careful, and watch your backs."

I lowered my own horn, and shrank back against the shadows. There was a blaze of light and heat, and the Alicorn propelled himself forward towards me at breakneck speed. Trailing fire, he aimed a kick at me, wings outspread, only to find I had vanished into the shadows. I burst from the ground behind him, cyan stripes cracking with electricity. He leaped into the air, flying backwards until he could aim another strike at me.

All around me, the six were fighting. Rainbow and Fluttershy were making manic dives at the two pegasi, who were dodging and rolling around midair. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were back to back, parrying blows from both sides, and returning a few of their own. The two unicorns were battling Twilight and Rarity with magic, red and yellow beams crossing purple and blue waves of magic. However, they stopped fighting when our duel commenced, the two battling giants preventing them from attacking.

The Alicorn swooped down at a speed no regular pony could dodge; I slid sideways almost instantaneously, tendrils of shadow preceding me. He whirled around, creating a protective wall of fire around him. The fire coalesced into an orb, hurling itself at me, only to find it was an apparition, my true self tackling him from behind, having come from his own shadow.

"Enough!" he cried, "I have seen enough." He laughed as I let him up, the fire around him dying out. The six opponents leapt back, walking up to the Alicorn. "You have some new moves i've never seen before, eh, chronicler? That was impressive. You'll have to show me how you did those. I take it these were the six you mentioned in your note. Impressive for beginners." He turned to greet the six, all of whom were looking at the both of us with apprehension. "I am Tychius. I am the youngest of the Natural Ones, denizen of the Emberbrace Mountains. I command two of the four Elements of Nature, Fire and Air. My sister Alenius commands the other two, Earth and Water."

"Moon Star?" Applejack asked, "Would you kindly explain just what the hay is goin on? 'Cause we're all mighty appreciate it if yah did." The other mares nodded.

"I suppose you are due some explanation. Very well. Tychius and I have had a certain history with each other. In my comings and goings across the lands of this world, I have met many kinds of beings, friendly and not so. Tychius I met through a fluke, but we formed a bond of sorts. I rescued him and his sister from a prison of Discord's. We have been sparring partners, students, travelers, adventurers, and many other things besides that. In fact, we're in a competition to see who has the best fighting moves. You saw a few of mine in the battle. You witnessed some of Tychius's dancing. Which one was better?"

Rainbow dash perked up at 'competition'. She LIVED for competition. "I think they were all awesome! Can you show me how to do that? That would make me a shoe-in for the Wonderbolts for sure!"

I laughed. "While I can't speak for Tychius, I would be honored to show you what I know. Come, Tychius, Banish those pitiful shadows you created and show the girls how to fight like you did."

Tychius sighed. "They didn't fool you at all, did they? Very well, I came at your bidding. I will show you my moves." He motioned with his horn and the six opponents vanished into smoke.

Twilight and Rarity approached, looking intently at me. I smiled cordially as they drew near. "I've never seen anyone use magic of that level except the princess. That was no bard's magic." Twilight gave me a stern look. "That was no storyteller's magic. I want to know how you did that, and how you made this place. The amount of energy required to move us all to another location is astronomic. So how did you do it?"

I gave them a look. "Okay. I'll show you."

The train rolled on, taking us steadily and surely to our splitting point. The six dived into the lessons Tychius and I taught them, learning with amazing speed. When we reached Hoofington and prepared to switch cars and make for Stableside, our terminal destination. I taught the six all the moves and spells I knew. Tychius filled in the remaining sets of teachings, like focus and strength. When we neared the small town of Stableside, I brought out one final gift from the princess. They were six orbs of silver, on chains of silver. I presented the necklaces to the girls.

"These are a gift from Celestia, from me. I will not be able to accompany the other two pairs, I am only one Zebricorn. However, these I made for you. They will record everything you see, hear, say, and do. They cannot be lost, destroyed, or taken. There is a spell on there so that you forget you are wearing it, and nobody else can notice it."

"I will Accompany Applejack and Pinkie Pie for the first half of their journey, at which point I will be home. Now, The princess has instructed me to tell you exactly what you are doing. You will be looking for knowledge of the ley lines, how they grow, how they wane, what can stop them, and if there is, where is it. During the God-King's reign, several artifacts were created to absorb or control the Ley lines. You are to find and gain control of those artifacts.That is what you are tasked with."

(>>><<<)

We arrived in Stableside the next day. The plan was to stay with a friend of Tychius that owned a boat business there. The city of Stableside was a nice, quaint, sprawling village with tall whitewashed stone structures, large markets and a wonderful harbor side view of the sea. From the center of town, a straight road led from the path to the rest of Equestria to the famed bridge of Eternity's Crossing. This was the bridge Rarity and Twilight Sparkle needed to cross in order to get to Cervidas, but a calamity had sent the middle span cascading into the sea. As they approached the dwelling, Rainbow Dash could see a team of Pegasi flying around at incredible speed, trailing dark clouds. The line of clouds pointed straight into the market. Rainbow swore she would investigate once she got a chance. They entered and settled in, with Twilight and Rarity finding a spare room to practice magic. Applejack and Pinkie Pie agreed to go with Tychius to the market, and Rainbow Dash took off with Fluttershy in tow to investigate the flyers.

When Rainbow reached the end of the trail, she saw that it led into a large coliseum. When they entered, they could see pegasi training across the entire building. There was a cloud obstacle course, training area, and various practice equipment for sports. When Rainbow flew down to the ground floor to explore further, she was suddenly tackled by a mysterious force. The force, it turned out, was a rather noticeable pegasus with bright orange-and-yellow mane and amber fur.

Rainbow recoiled and gasped at the sight. For, standing right in front of her, was none other than Spitfire, the famous Wonderbolt! She laughed as they got to their hooves.

Rainbow stuttered as she go up, clearly overwhelmed by this sudden run-in with her hero. "Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh! I'm so so sorry! Spitfire! I'm so sorry!"

Spitfire laughed again, replying to Rainbow's shock and awe. "It's okay, it was an honest mistake. Hey, I know you. It's Rainbow Dash, right? You won the Best Young Flier's competition, saved our necks a couple times, and we hung out at the Gala. What brings you to our sunny harbor home?" The mention of Dash's previous exploits involving the Wonderbolts made her blush and grin. "We're here on royal business. Princess Celestia has given us all assignments, and that's all I know. You guys said this was your home? Why here?"

Spitfire raised her eyebrows at the cyan pegasus. "Royal business? I must say, I'm impressed. This is our winter home, for it's always sunny in Stableside. But more than that, this is where I grew up. My family raised me here, and when I got old enough I moved out. The weather here made it perfect for practice once I became a Wonderbolt."

Rainbow pelted Spitfire with questions while they walked around the facility, Fluttershy trailing along behind. When they had toured the entire facility, Spitfire walked them all the way back to the dwelling they were residing at. When Tychius and I came out to greet Rainbow and Fluttershy, Spitfire looked at Tychius with a mixture of surprise and apprehension.

"Tychius." She noted, giving him a stern look. "What has brought you to once again grace our small town?"

"I am here at another's request, this time. You have nothing to fear this time." He seemed abashed, something I had never seen before.

Spitfire finally noticed my presence, and looked at me curiously. "You seem strangely familiar to me, how do I know you?"

I laughed. "I am know by many, remembered by few. If truly you know me, let me introduce myself to you. I am Moon Star the Bard, hailing from many lands."

Spitfire gave me a tired look. "That rhyming tells me all I need to know. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, If you get a chance, drop by sometime. It's always a pleasure." She turned and walked off, leaving Dash in a state of euphoria.

"Guys?" Twilight said, beckoning. "I think it's time to come inside. We need to plan out what we need to do, and prepare ourselves. We don't have much time." Reluctantly we followed her inside, where we decided upon the best course of action from therein.

The Misery of Despair

As Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew on towards Gallopfrey, Rainbow was thinking. While she didn't appear to do this a lot, Rainbow wondered about anything and anypony that wandered into her train of thought. Right now it was Spitfire, who had exhibited some strange behavior last night. The mare had invited her back to her hometown, Stableside, to train with the Wonderbolts when they returned. That much wasn't too odd, she WAS Rainbow Dash, the self proclaimed Best Flyer in Equestria. It was when Spitfire saw Tychius, though, that she started to act strange. Rainbow could picture her face as she looked at Tychius, the condemning look, the loathing and apprehension. Whatever the problem was between those two, it was big. So when Dash approached him about the problem, he was surprised when he told her it wasn't his story to tell. And then there was her words to Succaeros, the creepy unicorn-zebra mutt. She'd never even HEARD of a zebricorn before. Actually, she hadn't heard about a lot of things before then. Ley lines, Natural Ones, Elements of Nature, The Miseries of Despair...

....What?

The Miseries of Despair. The thought had popped into her head, only it felt like somepony had put it there. Maybe it was the dreams? No, that couldn't be it. She'd never heard of dreams putting thoughts into somepony's head before. But then again... maybe they could?

Before Rainbow got too engrossed into her mental processes, Fluttershy squeaked and started to drop.

"Ughh.. Fluttershy, you've got to flap your wings less and spread the tips out more. This is distance flying, not a short jaunt through the countryside. Fly less and glide more. Otherwise you'll just tire yourself out." Rainbow flew underneath Fluttershy and caught her on her back. "Rest yourself for a while, I'll be okay." And she meant it too, Dash had found a nice air current that was heading towards their stopping point of Gallopfrey. Fluttershy slumped down on Rainbow's back, her wings aching with effort.

"I'm sorry, Rainbow. I know I'm weak. I'm just glad I have someone here to watch out for me. I-I don't think I could make it on my own." She panted. Rainbow grunted, the strain of carrying Fluttershy evident on her face. Even with the help of powerful updrafts, distance flying when carrying anything (or anypony, for that matter) was strenuous at best.

Far below them, the ocean glittered. Eternity's Crossing, so named for the massive expanse of water that separated the Middle Expanse from the Southern Continent, was home to the mythical Marelantis, home of super-advanced ponies with technology eons ahead of anything in the world. Their continent was swallowed up by the sea many centuries ago, during the beginning years of Celestia's and Luna's reign. Now, they've only faded into legend.

Rainbow Dash was mesmerized by the glittering sea far below, so much so she failed to notice that they were falling. The strain was too much for Rainbow to take, and she was descending fast. The air around them was getting colder, and the sun was fading into an inky blackness that seemed to stain everything it touched. The cold air around the pair sucked them downwards, caught in a powerful downdraft. But, for the first time, there was a small divot in the horizon. Merely a break in the uniform flatness, but it gave the duo hope. They were approaching Gallopfrey at last. Bolstered by this newfound hope, Rainbow gave a mighty upsurge with her wings, and dove. Fluttershy squeaked in alarm, but Rainbow ignored her.

"Just hold on Fluttershy, you're going to be okay!" Dash yelled. "I just need to angle my trajectory and get the maximum distance for my altitude. Just hold on tight and try and make yourself as streamlined as possible." Despite being a complete jock and putting up the appearance of ignorance, Rainbow Dash was quite the intellectual. She just had an AWFUL attention span.

She called upon every last ounce of strength she had and kicked with her hind legs, letting out a massive burst of speed with her down flap. The wind ripped by like a wailing banshee, howling and tearing at her wings viciously. A mach cone formed, rather unintentional, but acceptable nonetheless. She pressed against the sound barrier, and the cone spun and sputtered. Just.. A little.. More...

With a calamitous explosion, the mach cone that had formed around the two pegasi's intertwined forms shredded and burst outwards as the sound barrier collapsed. The light spectrum visibly bent, and the ensuing rainbow trail gave indication to the Sonic Rainboom that had been created. The distance seemed to collapse into mere seconds, and then they were approaching the land at breakneck speed. Rainbow waited, waiting for the land to appear underneath them, then unfurled her wings and braked, hard. She had judged the angle correctly, and they slowed down fast. Rainbow groaned in agony as the joints in her wings creaked and groaned. With a horrific pop, her joints dislocated, causing her wings to give out and sending the pegasus into a world of pain, as well as sending the pair cascading into the ground. There was a thunderous crash, and a cry of pain, and darkness reached up to claim the rainbow-maned pegasus and her pink-and-yellow companion.

(~M.O.D~)

"Alright, Cloud Eyes, you check the blue one. I'll take the yellow one." The voice was strong, commanding, and warm. It was female, and it was close.

"Alright, blue, wake up. Are you okay?" This voice was different, softer and more caring, "I need to know if there is anything wrong with you." A hoof brushed her wings, and Rainbow woke with a cry of pain. "Hey, Blinkstep, over here. I think this one's got a pair of dislocated wings."

"Alright, I'll see what I can do. You take the yellow one then."

Rainbow dash opened her eyes and saw Fluttershy and a dark gray pegasus with a mane just like her own, but pure white. She blinked, there was a small cracking noise, and suddenly the pegasus was standing directly over her. Dash looked up into cyan eyes, and wondered if they even made eyes that color. She felt a hoof massaging the part of her back between her wings, and the warm voice spoke again.

"This is going to hurt, but there is no other way about it. So, just, try not to bite my head off when I put your wings back into place. Okay?" Dash was suddenly aware of just how much pain she was in already, and her eyes watered as she nodded. The gray mare rolled Rainbow over onto her stomach and gingerly grabbed one of her wings. She twisted and yanked at the same time, eliciting both a scream of pain from Rainbow and a loud pop from her wing as it returned to its normal position. Repeating the same on the other side, she finally took out some bandages from her saddlebags and wrapped the cyan mare's wings to her body. "Does that feel better?" She asked, as she finished wrapping. When she didn't get an answer, she looked at the pegasus to see she had lapsed into unconsciousness again.

With a heavy sigh, she called to the baby-blue unicorn with her. "We need to get these two home. Bring them to my place, I'll watch over them until we can make sure nothing more serious is wrong." The unicorn nodded and lifted the yellow pegasus onto her back. Blinkstep did the same for the other one. She had a lot to contemplate as she returned to her home. How did the cyan pegasus create such a crater? How did she make a rainbow, or break the sound barrier. She would have to find out when the pegasus awoke.

As they trudged up the path, she felt something tickling her chin. She looked down to see part of the rainbow colored mane dangling over her shoulder. "I wonder if she dyes it..." She mused aloud. She twisted her head around to take a look into the mare's face, noticing for the first time how her mane always seemed to fall just so. She's actually kinda cute, in a tomcoltish kind of way. The cyan pegasus looked a lot like Blinkstep, the more she looked at her.

They arrived at her dwelling and brought the ponies inside, laying them to rest in the guest bedrooms. The guest room had two beds, as Blinkstep's friends or family were always dropping by to visit. When the guests were settled, and Could Eyes had returned to her own home, she climbed into her own bed and attempted to sleep. The only thing keeping her from the feature of her dreams were the ponderings and questions about the cyan pegasus and the mysterious circumstances with her injuries and arrival. Finally, once her mind accepted that answers would coming in the morning, she dropped off into sleep.

(~M.O.D~)

Author's Note: This is only part of the tale, for I will publish sections as I go along, then combine them all when I am done. So the next chapters posted will all be of the same story, but separated. I hope you enjoy this, I hope to get the next chapters up sooner rather than later.

~E.C.

The Miseries of Despair pt II

(~M.O.D~)

Morning came, bringing sunlight streaming in through the parted curtains. The sunbeam crept its way up the wall until it finally fell across a peacefully slumbering pony. The bright light disturbing her dreams, Rainbow Dash woke with a grumble and a rather futile effort to go back to sleep. She sat up, wincing at a twinge from her sore wings. After rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she took a look around and noticed something was off. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out what was missing. She took a look at the other bed, neatly made up and-

Wait a minute... Where's Fluttershy?

This disturbing revelation caused her to rush out of the room and into a cavernous area, a den of sorts. It was well furnished, and on one side was a kitchen area where the MIA pegasus sat, laughing and chatting with another mare. The mare was gray, dark gray with pure white hair. No, wait. Not pure white. There was the slightest hint of a cyan blue running down her mane. Her eyes were a deep cerulean blue, so colorful she could get lost in them. The pegasus looks over and smiled broadly.

"Hey lazy bones! Glad to see you up and moving around. How's the wing? I tried to mend it as best I could, you were pretty tore up out there." Her expression changed, becoming more somber. "I wasn't sure your wings would be okay after a crash like that. How'd you do that, anyhow? The entire crater was glowing with a rainbow of colors. And speaking of rainbows, there was a rainbow trailing into the distance from the crash." She looked at them quizzically. "What happened?"

Rainbow looked around sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof. "Right, the crash. To be honest, I don't remember much after that. A few images of you and the other mare. But the cause of the crash, well… I do know that. We were traveling, see, and we came all the way from Stableside. We're on our way to Gallopfrey, and Fluttershy here wasn't strong enough to make it all the way in one go. She hasn't had much training in distance flying, and I had to help her towards the end. And well, after that I got caught in a storm front and had to make an emergency landing. We were still out aways, so I had to go supersonic in order to make it. And braking from supersonic speeds nearly tore my wings off. They still hurt, so no flying for a bit."

She took a long breath, a moment to recollect her thoughts. "I -I guess I should introduce myself, shouldn't I? I'm Rainbow Dash. Fastest flyer in Equestria, keeper of the Element of Loyalty. Who are you?"

The gray mare was staring at her through her entire speech, those blue eyes staring her down. Rainbow shifted uneasily, waiting on her to speak.

"Name's Blinkstep. Call me Blink. I don't know where I come from, or anything about my past. I was raised by a man I hated, and used because of what I can do. I ran away, and no matter where I went, I was treated with hate. I was picked up by Cloud Eyes, my friend, and her family. They gave me this place, as a home. They treated me nicely, and cared for me like a daughter. I owe a lot to them." Blink didn't know why she was telling Rainbow all this, but she felt like she should trust this pony.

There was another few seconds of silence, in which Fluttershy was looking between the two mares and wondering what was wrong with her friend Dash.

"You said you were taken advantage of because of what you can do. What CAN you do that made people so eager to turn you away and hate you?"

Blink turned her face away, simply shaking her head. "It doesn't matter. I swore I wouldn't use my talent again." She spat the word out like it was a curse. "People didn't trust me because of it, and they turned me away. That alone is enough to make me hate it."

Blink winced, then turned around, her face sporting a mischievous grin. "But enough about me and my woes. You're my guests! Why don't I show you around? This island is just a barrier island. Wait until you see Gallopfrey. It's absolutely fantastic. It's an industrial town with a serious tie to the sky. You'll be able to go anywhere, just charter a transport. You'll see. Come on, let's go!" She leapt towards a lever on the wall, which revealed a portal in the roof. Blinkstep took off through the doorway, leaving Rainbow and Fluttershy to follow along behind. When they cleared the door, the slab dropped. When Rainbow looked back, she couldn't see anything. "Hey, Blink, wait a sec. Where's your house?"

Blink looked back, a look of slight confusion crossing her face. "What do you mean? It's right there! ...You can't see it, can you?" Rainbow and Fluttershy shook their heads. "Oh, I guess I just got used to it. When I first got here, I had to hide away from... some.. ponies. It doesn't matter who, they gave up eventually. But while they were hunting me, I found this cave on this island. It was dark and secluded, built into the side of the cliff face. Well, I hid out there for a while, hoping to wait them out. Turns out, they had brought some kind of special stone with them that created an explosion, because there was a freak accident and it blew up. The explosion drove my pursuers away, but it also created a hole in the roof of the cave. So, I got the idea to build my house there. Here, come on. I'll show you."

She sped off over the cliff, trailing the two mares. When they finally caught up to her, she was hovering next to the cliffs. She motioned for them to look, pointing to the wall in the cliffs. It was a mottled gray and black surface, carved smooth with openings for the windows. “There’s no doors into my house save for two. The one we exited through and a tunnel leading to the other side of the island. It’s the safest place for anyone to hide out. But enough of that. Come on, let’s go see Gallopfrey!”

The three pegasi took off, soaring above the peaceful island. It was generally flat, with the occasional hill or dale. There was a river flowing through the center of the island, originating in a calm lake and snaking easterly towards a lagoon. Blinkstep looked at the river, and then suddenly dove towards the lake, shouting for the pair to follow her. They flew just above the water for a ways, until Blink motioned for them to land. She approached a much smaller lake, which only had a small stream flowing out of it. It was barely deep enough to swim, but she dove in anyways.

“There’s a secret to this lake. The lake’s not very big, but the stream flows through a series of canyons and tunnels, ending in the lagoon separating this island and the main island. It’s really fun, and it’s the best way to travel to the coast. Care to try?” Her expression and mischievous smile practically goaded Rainbow into accepting. Fluttershy, not wanting to be left behind, merely squeaked and followed her to the start of the stream. Fluttershy approached the start of the stream, which dropped away on a steep slant flowing over algae-covered rock. She shivered in fright, and then gave a shriek as Dash gave her a nudge and she fell in, the swift current carrying her away.

“After you, Miss Rainbow,” Blink motioned, smiling slyly. Rainbow grinned, and shook her head. “Oh no,” Rainbow Dash replied. “After you, I insist.” She gave Blink a playful shove, and just before she fell in, Blink reached out and grabbed Rainbow, laughing at her amusingly shocked expression. The current being strong, it carried them over the steep drop, rocketing them down a curving slide of water and stone, which tossed them left and right. The stream continued, dodging around huge boulders, corkscrewing, going through massive canyons and down abyss-like tunnels. Every so often it would give another drop and enter a calm pool, which served as a quick respite for the laughing mares. Then the rest was over, and they descended yet again.

After what seemed like seconds, they emerged from the side of the cliff into dazzling sunlight. They flew out of a hole in the cliff face about ten feet above the water, landing with a huge splash. When they finally surfaced, they saw a cottage in the distance, and a baby-blue unicorn helping a bedraggled yellow Pegasus out of the lagoon. After a rather relaxed swim over to shore, Blinkstep emerged onto the bank, greeting the unicorn with a big hug.

“Hey Blink,” The unicorn noted. She spoke to the mare’s shoulder, and Rainbow realized the unicorn was blind. Her eyes were a light shade of gray, and she carried an unfocused look. She had a well-kept mane and a cutie mark featuring an orb with magic signs surrounding it. “I see you brought a friend.” She turned and addressed Rainbow, staring at her with that piercing, unfocused look. “I’m Cloud Eyes. Yes, I’m blind. Yes, I can still see. No, I am not a mind reader. How is your wing holding up?” Rainbow just stared, at a loss for words.

Blinkstep merely looked amused at the pegasus’s expression and explained, “Cloud Eyes was born blind, but she can still see things. Not in the way that you think. Rather, she feels the magical vibrations objects put off. She can sense them so well she can even tell color and small details, like the shape and colors of your cutie mark. She’s also the one that helped me to heal you after your…ahem… mishap.”

Rainbow shook her head, a little embarrassed. Cloud Eyes grinned, sensing her feelings. “How about we dry off, and then you can continue on your way? Gallopfrey’s just across the bay, in the next canyon. You really can’t miss it. I’ll go get your friend. She’s the one who told me where you were going.” This last remark was directed at Blinkstep’s raised eyebrow and Rainbow’s look of surprise. “Fluttershy is quite the charming mare. Nice and kind, but not too much of a pushover. She has a bit of a fiery side, that one.” She winked at Rainbow, grinning. “Oh, and Blink? That article you were waiting for is done. You can pick it up at any time.”

Blink nodded and entered the cottage. After the door had closed, Cloud eyes turned back to Rainbow and motioned her closer. “I want you to take Blink with you, wherever you’re going. She needs to experience the world, otherwise she’ll end up hating it. Just,” she said before Rainbow could interrupt, “Do it for me. I know she’s not your friend, but I think you could use her company as well. I would go with her and take her around the world, having adventures and such. But I would be a bad tour guide. Do it for her, do it for yourself, do it for me; I don’t care why you do it, just promise me you will.”

Rainbow shifted uncomfortably, weighing her options. “I’m sorry, I just can’t. It’s too much risk, and we have to move fast. It’ll be dangerous, and I just don’t want to have to watch over her.”

Cloud Eyes raised her eyebrows. “If you’re worried about danger and taking care of her, put those fears to rest. She’s easily the most reckless and headstrong one I’ve met, though my impressions of you make me wonder.” Rainbow gave a sheepish chuckle. “And she’s one of the fastest mares I know. She’s intuitive and knows the ways around here.”

Rainbow just sighed and shook her head. “I can’t take responsibility for another person on this trip. Even if she did come, we couldn’t tell her what we were after.”

~We don’t even know ourselves~ “It’s a mission of the highest confidentiality. I just can’t allow her to-“

Her refusal was cut off by the re-emergence of Blinkstep, now sporting a silvery breastplate and covered in a dark midnight cloak. The breastplate was etched with strange designs, in the center of which was a depression, like a place for an ornament. It had the rough shape of a phoenix with upraised wings. The rest of her was covered in various bits of metal, making her look like she were heading into battle. She even had a streamlined helmet, with a visor that covered her eyes when she was flying.

The overall affect was menacing.

She approached the group, nodding to Cloud Eyes. “Thanks for repairing it, it feels brand new!” She stroked the helmet affectionately. “Now then, shall we be off?”

The gathered up Fluttershy (amid much fright at Blink’s new getup) and bid farewell to Cloud Eyes, who looked up at them with a mixture of longing and sadness. As they approached the mainland, the sun was just getting high. Over hills and dells, ravines and flatlands they flew. And while it wasn’t truly that far, it was nearly sunset when they approached the cliffs overlooking Gallopfrey.

The three mares landed, eager to rest from the flight. They approached the edge of the cliff as the sun touched the horizon, bathing the world in a fiery glow.

“Behold,” Blink said with an audible smile in her voice. The Portal to the Sky, Gallopfrey!”

~(M.O.D)~