Season 3 Wrap-up

by fic Write Off

Rating: teen
Tags: Random, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 19258

Writefriends from all over /fic/ gathered in a war of words on the weekend of Feb 17. These are the resulting stories.

Writefriends from all over /fic/ gathered in a war of words on the weekend of Feb 17. These are the resulting stories.

See http://writeoff.rogerdodger.me/event/14 for more information.

Published 2013-02-23 00:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-02-23 00:30:01 UTC

Four Horseshoes

He sent me a letter rather than ask me himself; he's no doubt planned some big surprise and fears he might give up the game should I see him eye to eye.

My dearest Valerian,

I would be ever so honored if you would join me for a picnic breakfast in the wood this morning next. And, if it be not too bold of me to ask, might you bring some cress and basil from your garden? I believe that fresh, they would complement most excellently the food I shall prepare.

Oh, please do not say 'no'!

With fondness,

Cast Iron

"With fondness," he says. To another mare, it might suggest love lacking, but I know my Cast Iron. He has modesty enough for three ponies. How perfect this shall be!

Somepony clears their throat and reminds me then that I have been standing with my front door open and poor Dark Roast has been waiting on me all this time with some expectation.

"My apologies, Dark Roast; is there something I might help you with?"

He draws a hoof through his shockingly unkempt brown mane.

"Yes, Miss Valerian," he says without looking upon me. "It's just that I wondered if you might have any sleep herbs available for me."

I need not look to my shelves to know the answer.

"Dark Roast, you know as well as I that they shan't be ready for another month at the very least!" I laugh to lighten the bad news; I know how he gets upon hearing my denials. He clears his throat and I can see his eyes searching across my doorstep.

"Yes, Miss, but I just thought perhaps you could provide some to me early. It's only that I've been having difficulty sleeping again, you see."

"Dark Roast, you know that asking prematurely is never the answer." I shake my head sadly. "My poor friend, I simply cannot let the herbs be used until they have achieved peak ripeness! To partake of them so soon would be to blunt their effect! I do have some dried—"

"Dried isn't strong enough!" he snaps, and I take a step back, buffeted by the vehemence of his words. He comports himself immediately, fixing me with a pleading look. "My apologies. I was only hoping that you might have enough fresh herbs for me, just for this evening."

I shake my head once more. "Dark Roast, I have pity for your situation, but I absolutely will not sell herbs that have not achieved perfection. To do so would be akin to practicing as a mountebank!" I step back toward him and give him a gentle nudge. "The moment they are ripe, I shall see that you have all you need. Until then, why not try some chamomile tea before bed? Or read one of Feather Pen's treatises on unicorn magic; they always put me right out!"

He does not find my joke amusing, nor share in my laughter. With a sigh, he mumbles something about having tried chamomile and turns to leave.

"And do try to freshen yourself up!" I call after him. "It will do you worlds of good to make yourself presentable! Fresh on the outside, fresh on the inside, is what my grandmother always said!"

If he has heard my advice, he does not indicate it. I can but hope he understands I am merely looking out for his well-being. Still, I call after him, not wishing for him to leave my doorstep in a foul mood.

"Thank you for the letter, Dark Roast! Have a nice day!"

He says nothing; I am beginning to catch some of his foulness. With a shake of my mane, I put the darkness from my thoughts. I have herbs to harvest in preparation for my anticipated breakfast meeting on the morrow!

"These woods are so lovely in the spring, wouldn't you say?"

Birds chirp and throw moving shadows amidst the wending shade of the trees. The sound of rushing water is muted here, but provides a pleasant proof against the quietude of the forest.

"Indeed," he says, and gives me a smile that warms me from poll to pastern. "I chose this spot so that I might view you framed against Winsome Falls." He places a hoof to his forehead in mock despair. "Alas! I cannot see them."

I turn, and look behind me. "But surely the Falls are right there, clear as the morning air?"

He laughs. It is rich and hearty, as he himself is. He is nearly twice the size of a normal pony, and so can add a depth and strength to his laughter that few can hope to match.

"I only meant, my dear, that your beauty has eclipsed that of the Falls."

I am taken with such a rush of heat that I find I must deploy my hoof-fan to cool myself lest I swoon.

"Cast Iron, you flatter me so!"

"It is an indulgence," he says, leaning close to me, "the pursuit of which I do not shy from. We have courted these many long months, and I feel I can no longer still my tongue." His teeth flash, and he moves as though with sudden fever, grasping my free hoof in his. "You are the most beautiful mare I have ever met, Valerian. The sight of you fills me with a lightness that I have never before experienced. If you deem me worthy, I would that you stay by my side for the rest of time."

His eyes, dark and rich, a brighter shade of blue than his midnight coat, stare into my very soul with a palpable fervor. I am fanning as fast as I can, but I fear it is not helping; I am to be overcome.

"Yes!" My voice is the merest squeak. "I do and I would, Cast Iron!"

"Then kiss me!"

"Yes!"

Our lips meet and I am indeed overcome by that very lightness which he has but spoken of. I had anticipated some excitement would happen this morning, but this? Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that he would render our love at last indelible! I am crushed by happiness, and wish only for it to crush me again.

I can hardly catch my breath to speak. "I love you, Cast Iron."

"I love you too, Valerian." He draws back and reaches into the basket in which he has brought our lovely breakfast. I had thought, upon seeing it, that it appeared rather laden for its simple carriage of plates and salads. Now, as he draws out a package wrapped in simple brown paper and tied with twine, I understand why I might have had such a thought.

"I crafted these for you, over the last fortnight, in the hope that I might present them to you upon this morn, as a testament to our love."

With great care, I unknot the twine, coiling it gently and laying it aside. Using measured movements, I unwrap each fold of the package, laying the paper flat. I am barely able to contain my excitement, but I must, lest I mar this wonderful if simple wrapping that my dear has taken such great pains to render unto me.

When, at last, I reach the prize at the end, I behold a set of four horseshoes.

"Cast Iron, they're lovely! But..." I hesitate, unsure if criticism would be welcome at this juncture. "They do not match." I can only hope that confusion is apparent upon my face, and that it blunts the sting of my disappointment.

He smiles and reaches over, spreading them out. "They match not each other, but we two. Won't you try them on, and I shall explain."

I nod and slip the first on my hoof. It is, I am pleased to see, a perfect fit. Truly, I would expect nothing less from him. As I don them, he recites, as though a poem.

"The first is spotless steel, a tribute to your perfect beauty.

"The second is wrought in red, to honor our love.

"The third shines with gold, a symbol of our future together.

"And the last—"

"Is rusted!"

Dismayed, I drop it, and it clinks to the ground. I can only think of how much effort was put into crafting these otherwise lovely shoes, and this one now ruined thanks to the throes of wind and weather. Oh, my poor Cast Iron!

But again, he merely laughs, taking the shoe up with his magic and fitting it to my right forehoof.

"The last has a spot of rust, to remind you of the flawed stallion who asks for your heart to be his."

"Flawed?" No such flaw exists within the heart of this noble stallion, this simple, marvelous blacksmith who has won forever my affection.

"You have no reason to bear shame, my dear, dear Cast Iron," I say, and touch his face. He smiles, and his eyes move to the ground. He speaks with a ponderous weight, as though he is far away from the me and the effort of speech requires great exertion.

"I have, in my life, crafted many an item that has been declared by many a pony to be of exquisite beauty or possessed of extraordinary talent. I have also learned, in my life, how pridefulness can ruin a pony, and thus I strive to be humble in all that I do." He lifts his eyes to mine. They burn with a righteous passion that I have never previously seen in him. "But for you, all sins are worth committing. I would do anything for you, Valerian. I will that we never part. My love shall stay with you always."

The fierceness of his words takes me aback, and I am struck dumb for a moment.

"Thoughtful, loving, dear, dear Cast Iron... " I inhale, feeling words slip from my grasp. "Let me save your humility, then, and not waste my breath on praise. I shall honor your love and your craft by wearing them always." My vision has gotten misty. "Not that I need such tokens to keep you close."

True to my word, I wear the shoes from dawn till dusk on each day that follows. They clink and jingle as I trot the stone paths through my herb garden. They shine in the noonday sun as I make my way through the shops of the town, planning our wedding. At night, they hang upon a pegboard at the head of my bed, which my darling Cast Iron has crafted for precisely this purpose.

Yet try as I might, I cannot fully appreciate this wondrous gift, for the presence of that single spot of rust. It is ever so small, when one looks at it, on the bottom of the shoe. In this position, it cannot try me bodily, yet it grates upon my mind like a squeaking hinge upon a gatepost.

As I walk the stores, browsing dresses and other finery, my shoes draw the attention of others on the town. They praise the clean steel of the first, the deep and emotional red of the second, the bright and shining gold of the third. Yet invariably, when they come upon the fourth, their reactions are the same.

"Oh my. That one seems by comparison so very... plain. And is that a spot of rust I see?"

Whereupon I must explain that the set was a gift from my beau, and as he is an artist, he possesses that singular vision that artists often do, and that his designs are not always apparent to the common pony. This satisfies many questioners. Those it does not satisfy, it offends, so that I need not bother with their company.

But this answer offers no assuagement for the guilt which I feel. Shame comes upon me through the judgment of other ponies upon the perceived imperfections of my gift. That shame is multiplied by my very act of being ashamed. That I am shamed by the horseshoe that represents my fiancée shames me further.

A fortnight after our engagement, I receive another letter from Cast Iron. It is much like the first, save that it is not Dark Roast who delivers it, but a stallion I have never met before. He explains that Dark Roast is ill and won't be delivering the evening post until at least a week hence, whereupon I resolve to visit him at his home and bring him some of my dried sleeping herbs. He claims they do not suffice when dried, but I would wager a healthy dose would be just what he requires to get some much-needed sleep.

First, however, I must attend to my fiancée's request: another picnic in the woods. Oh, surely he has devised some other grand method of showing his love! Be it steel or words, I care not, only that I can see him again and have his love lavished upon me.

Feeling weak at the knees, I spend the day tidying my cottage, for there is little else that can take my mind off a prospect so exciting other than imposing order upon the chaos of dust and grime which accumulates regardless of effort or desire. I clean well into the night, yet accomplish but a fraction of what I had wished to. I realize that I am, in some small way, preparing my home to become our home. Oh, I do hope that I shall have enough time to get everything set perfectly before our wedding!

In the morning, I wake, don my horseshoes, and trot to the forest with a clink and a jingle, stopping only to gather a few of my more fragrant herbs and place them in a bundle behind my ear. I spend perhaps more time than I ought to crafting the bouquet to look precisely like my cutie mark, but it is, I feel, time well spent if it means looking my best for Cast Iron.

The air is clean and pure, for there was a rain shower scheduled over the night. All the flowers are kissed with dew and sparkle in the sunlight. Even the cobbled streets seem brighter than usual, and I feel a lightness and a vigor in my step. I can only hope that Cast Iron feels the same.

I make my way into the wood, the thin trees dappling my pale coat with spots of shadow. The place where Cast Iron and I met last is but a short way up the path, yet I see no sign of him there. Thinking that perhaps he has chosen a spot with a better view of the Falls, I trot gaily onward, enjoying the foliage of the trees and their tiny pink and white flowers.

After ten minutes, I still have not spotted my love, and a slight touch of fear begins to crowd the happiness I have felt since waking.

"Cast Iron? Where have you gone? If you are playing a prank upon me, the jig is up and you may come out now!" I call his name again and again, and each time, I feel a weight sink further down my chest. My trot slows to a crawl.

Something moves in the trees. I turn to see what it is, but catch no more than a moving shape. If it is a pony, then he is much smaller and slighter than Cast Iron.

I am about to call his name once more when I again hear that crashing through the undergrowth. A heavy weight comes down atop me and I find myself pressed flat to the leaf litter and dirt of the forest path.

"Got you!"

I recognize the voice immediately. "Dark Roast? You're meant to be sick abed!"

"Silence, wretch!"

He pants like a mad timberwolf, his eyes afire. Again and again, he glances around as though expecting an attack from any and all sides.

"Dark Roast, please stop! You frighten me!"

"Do you have my herbs or not?" He snarls and bares his teeth at me. I feel I shall burst into weeping at any moment.

"I told you, they are not yet read—"

"I don't care!" He bends down, moving like a scorpion, and bites me upon the ear. The pain brings me to tears. "You give me excuses about ripeness and perfection, but all I want is a decent night's sleep!"

"Which you shan't get if the herbs are not at their peak!" I wipe at my eyes and sniffle. "Nor if you persist in this fiendish assault upon me!"

"Me, me, me." There is a hint of laughter in his voice. "That's all you ever talk about, Valerian. You need to have everything perfect because that's what you want, and a horse's apple to the next pony!" He draws his muzzle close to my ear; the bouquet has fallen upon the dirt beside me. "Well, I've had enough. I'm sick of not sleeping, sick of being unable to ply my trade because of insomnia, instead reduced to the groveling insipidness of a mailpony! Today, you'll see what your perfection costs you!"

He places a hoof to his mouth and lets forth an ear-splitting whistle. I can hear someponies moving from further up the path, approaching us, though I cannot see who they might be around Dark Roast. It seems as though two ponies are struggling with a third. After a moment, I realize that the third in this struggle is my dear Cast Iron.

"What is going on? Dark Roast, stop this!"

He slaps me across the mouth. Pain renews and brings with it a redness. "Shut up!"

Dragging my poor, sweet Cast Iron into sight are a pair of the roughest looking stallions I have ever laid eyes upon. Both are dirty and mussed of coat; one has a scar across his eye, that has turned it a putrid shade of yellow. They jab and prod at my love, but though they are each of them smaller than Cast Iron, they have hobbled him, and so he is able to render only a paltry resistance to their attacks.

"Gentlestallions," says Dark Roast, "I thank you for your patience."

"Can we do 'im now?" asks the one with the unmarred face. Dark Roast smiles, and it is the least mirthful smile I have ever seen in my short life.

"Should she not acquiesce to my demands, you are free to do with him as you wish. I want her to see what her vanity has wrought!"

Panicked, I try and fail to right myself. Dark Roast, in all his maddened rage, is too strong for me to fight.

"Please, don't hurt him!"

"Oh, we'll hurt him all right," says the stallion with the scar. His companion draws forth a blade from a sheath and my heart turns to ice.

"I don't understand!" I wail. "Who are these stallions, Cast Iron? Why would they wish you harm?"

"I told you once," Cast Iron says, voice quiet and countenance still despite his dire situation, "that I have learned a difficult lesson about pridefulness. It seems my past has caught up with me at last."

"That's right, mate!" says the stallion with the blade. "It's time to pay your dues."

"Only if she doesn't concede!" Dark Roast shouts. I realize, with horror, that though he has initiated this action, he has lost whatever control over these stallions he once possessed.

"Horseapples to you, mate!" says the scarred one. "Our employer's paid us far too much for us to be worryin' about your petty gripes."

"He'll still pay you handsomely for setting us on this catch," says the other, gripping Cast Iron's mane and pulling his head backward. "Once we've sent his head by post, of course."

The blade flashes in the dappled morning sun. I scream, thrash, and shout in desperation, "Please, somepony, help!"

Suddenly, the weight upon me lifts. Dark Roast is running. Cast Iron screams half of my name and then falls silent.

I cannot make sense of what I am seeing. Dark Roast shouts something and bucks the one holding the blade; but too late. Helpless, I catch a glimpse of Cast Iron's head, his body unattached, sailing through the trees and out towards Winsome Falls. It smiles at me, and then fades from sight.

The cry loosed from my throat feels as though it might tear me apart. Vaguely, I see Dark Roast beating the two stallions senseless.

"You idiots! How could you? Now she'll never give me what I want!"

"None of us is gettin' nothing if we don't find that head, mate!"

My eyes are water; my mouth is fire; my heart is ice. I look to the lifeless body of my love, lying profanely upon the ground, and all I can do is gasp the same words again and again: "Somepony... Anypony... Please, help..."

Something in the wind changes. There is a thunderstorm within me, and the forest crackles. I feel the trees stand up and whisper, Yes.

Cast Iron's body rises on unsteady hooves. Dark Roast notices instantly; his mane changes from deep brown to pure white in a heartbeat. With a strangled cry, he runs screaming into the forest, the path darkening around him. The two stallions exchange a frightened look. One tries to attack, but finds himself somehow stabbing the other through the heart. The stallion with the scar coughs red and tumbles to the forest floor, where the roots and stones rise up and then grind him into the earth.

The other backs against a tree as the living, moving, unyielding body of my Cast Iron stalks him. As the first hoof raises, I look away, but I can still hear the wet noises, the crack of bones breaking, as the one whose life he took wreaks terrible vengeance upon him. Soon, the stallion is consumed by the forest also, leaving only we two.

I look up. The body of Cast Iron moves toward me, as though nothing were wrong. It approaches me, and my heart seizes with fear. Where his head should be, there is but a blackness.

No head! He has no head! How can he be moving if he has no head?

Something that had kept me rooted to this spot breaks, and I am running as fast as I have ever run, back down the path the way I came to this cursed spot. Behind me there are hoofbeats, pounding faster and faster, driving me to desperate exertion. The air in my lungs burns, and I cannot see for the tears blinding my eyes.

With the mouth of the forest in view, I stumble. There is a clink and a jingle. I right myself quickly, and then I am out of the woods and running for home. From the edge of the trees comes a pained whinny, from a pony who has lost everything he once held dear.

I wake to sore eyes, a tired chest, and a clean house. I cannot help feeling that this house has somehow grown hollow. It is a most fervent wish that everything I have witnessed on this day be but a dream, a fiendish nightmare brought on by overexposure to bare moonlight. But I know that what I saw was real. My Cast Iron was killed, and then rose again to deliver vengeance upon his killers.

And now I am here, alone, without even the proper tokens to remember him by.

The horseshoes!

In my grief, I had not noticed those precious gifts disappear. I have but the one of spotless steel upon my hoof. Where could the others be?

Mania seizes me as if by hoof. I may have lost my love, but I shall not lose the greatest gift he gave to me. Quickly, like a mare possessed by lightning, I run to my bedstead, only to find the pegboard empty.

Of course; I was wearing them today. No doubt I just dropped them in my haste to leave the...

The forest. I can't go back there, not tonight, not after what I saw. I'll just look upon the path I took; surely I will find them with no trouble.

I retrace my steps to as near the forest as my quaking heart and trembling knees will allow me. Nowhere can I see the slightest hint of any horseshoe. Even the sight of the rusted one would fill my heart with much-needed joy.

I ask townsponies who are out; none has seen anything. A few comment on the awful noises they heard coming from the forest the night before last. Has it already been more than a day since that dreadful incident? My heart grows cold with shame and fear and I retreat to my home.

My home; of course! Perhaps I hadn't put the shoes on at all this morning! They must still be here, somewhere! I dash to my bedstead, but the pegboard is empty, nor do I see them beneath the bed. They are not in my bureau, nor in my closet. I flip the mattress over, tear off the sheets, rip the stuffing from my chair and smash the gas lamp.

Where could they be? I have to find them. I must, for he that made them for me is dead, dead, dead, and it is all my fault.

My fault.

It is all my fault. I did not love him enough. I was shamed by his final gift to me. I took him and his love for granted. I do not deserve horseshoes, or love, or friends, or gifts. I am not even worthy of life!

Yet as I stand among the ruins of my bedroom, the shards of the lamp glinting cruelly in the sun, I cannot bare the thought of taking my life. I have witnessed so many deaths today; mine will add nothing to the world. But I cannot simply continue on with my life as if nothing has happened.

Dazed, I stumble through my house, bumping into the shelf where I store my dried herbs. The jars clink together and the one on the end rattles to the floor, shattering. I pick up the lid, cutting my lip on a shard of glass, and read the label. This bottle held sleeping herbs, the same damnable sleeping herbs that started all of this!

I throw the lid across the room. I stomp with my shoed hoof the glass shards until they are but pearls of light against the wood floor. The herbs powder before me. My hoof lashes upward and strikes the shelf again; more jars come loose and smash onto the floor. I stomp and pound and jump and strike, and soon I am covered in herb dust and glass.

From outside my front door there comes a clink. I rush to the door, pry it open and curse its slowness blocking my path. There, upon the doorstep, is a single red horseshoe. The forest whispers to me.

The second is wrought in red, to honor our love.

Scarcely able to believe my fortune, I slip it on my back left. It fits perfectly.

Suddenly, I am overcome with a dreadful lethargy. My skin hurts. I am cold, and too hot, and I itch. The walls are close around me, and I feel it has gotten dark far too early in the day. I need the sun!

I rush out my back door into my herb garden. These plants are my only friends now; they wave softly in the wind and invite me into their midst. I see now the plumping leaves of the sleeping herbs. Their motion, guided by the hooves of the breeze, calms me and soothes my aching heart.

I am so very tired.

Without stopping to think, I reach down and bite the first leaf off the plant. The taste is grassy, with a hint of sage and a velvety texture that is most pleasing to the tongue. I take another, and another. Before long, I have eaten half of my crop, stems and all. Stumbling, I wander back into my house; I cannot make it further than the kitchen.

My lids grow heavy and I sleep.

I wake to stiff limbs, a deep hunger, and the scent of must and mildew. With much difficulty, I push myself from the floor. I am in the kitchen of my home. It has grown quite dusty somehow; I must do something about this.

Standing, stretching, I groan against the protestations of my limbs. As I move to fetch a broom, my hooves clink-clop, clink-clop across the floor.

My horseshoes! I must find them!

I open every drawer, search every cupboard, move every bit of furniture that is not bolted in place. The oven holds no answers, nor does the broom closet. None of my pots or pans contain that which I seek. Where could they be?

Frustrated, I slam my hooves against the table, cracking one of the legs. The chairs likewise turn to kindling as I vent my frustration upon them. I smash the broom and crack the floor tiles.

Then, from my front door, there comes again a soft clink. I rush to open it. I see the glint and hear the voice of the trees.

The third shines with gold, a symbol of our future together.

The horseshoe fits my back right perfectly.

I have just woken, yet I feel tired. I seem to recall having eaten much of my stock of sleep herbs once. Perhaps I should check on them.

I move to my herb garden, with a clink-clop-clink-clink, and find that somepony has let it grow over with weeds. The sleep herbs have grown back, at least, but I fear I shall never get this growth cleaned out in time to plant more. This simply will not do.

But the sleep herbs, they are lush and full, and they wave to me. Weeding can wait for another day; what I need now is sleep. I take the leaf of one in my mouth, chew, and swallow. The flavor is like cress, with a hint of lemon balm. I wander back into my home, reaching the living room, and fall into darkness.

I wake to an ache in my entire body, and the darkness of my home. Somepony has boarded the windows over while I was asleep; how rude of them!

It is quite difficult to stand; my limbs do not seem to want to move the way they should. My hips are heavy, my rear legs like lead, and it is with great trouble that I finally force myself upright.

Before me is a window, floor-length and narrow, and in the dimness, I can just make out somepony looking from it at me. Where is a match? I must have light, else how may I see?

There is an oil lamp on a table nearby; I light it, and gaze at the window, which is in truth a mirror.

Yet a mirror it cannot be. The pony who gazes back upon me is old, wrinkled, weathered and ravaged by time. Her coat has faded to a dingy grey, her mane to a flaxen white. Her jowls droop and her forehead sags with warts that sprout thick hairs. One of her eyes has closed halfway, and her teeth are misshapen and protruding. Furthermore, she wears but three horseshoes, when I have four.

My horseshoes! I look down, and see only three horseshoes upon my hooves. I must find the others, I must! They were given to me so long ago, and I need them!

I smash the chairs and unstuff the pillows. No drapes, besmirched and moth-eaten, escape my search. Loose floorboards are easily pried up, but still I find nothing!

Perhaps last is in the forest? Oh, but I couldn't go there; it's so dark and forbidding. Surely I would be lost, much the same as my poor horseshoe. As I stand at my door, peering through the boards nailed across it, the forest peers back at me.

I turn to look at my home. It is dark and dusty. Dirt smears the walls. Mushrooms grow in the corners. I can hear the sound of nesting animals in the eaves. There are no horseshoes here for me; the forest whispers again.

And the last—

I am overcome with tiredness, yet I am so close to having found all four!

With great effort, I break the boards binding my doorway. Something shatters behind me and soon the smell of burning wood follows me. But this does not trouble me, for my goal lies in the forest, I am certain of it.

Clink-clink-clop-clink.

There is nopony on the road as I travel to the wood. The trees seem to close in around me; I can feel them beckon me. This is the right way to go.

Clink-clink-clop-clink.

The path is overgrown, the way dark and murky. I cannot see the Falls from here. The trees are bigger than I remember, and they loom and lurk, suspicious in the darkness. My footing is hard to find, yet I must press on; I feel my goal is so close.

Clink-clink-clop-clink.

The path winds and bends, and I do not recognize where I am. All I have to do is find the reminder; the reminder of a brave, sweet stallion whose name I have forgotten. The reminder of why it is I have come to this forest and lost myself within it. Then I can go home and rest. That's why I want to find it; to remember. I have forgotten everything but that token, that tribute. Where is it?

Clink-clink-clop-clink.

Who has it?

Clink-clink-clop-clink.

Who's got my rusty horseshoe?

Clink-clink-clop-clink.

Do you?

An idea for S4E1-2...

“It’s not fair!” Blueblood whined.

It was the sixth day of his ‘Week of mourning’. An extended sulk-fest in his tower in Canterlot. After Twilight Sparkle had become Princess, he had become a total joke. A forgotten joke.

“I’ve lost everything since the Gala!” he sobbed. “Since her. Wait... Rarity... She’s HER friend. Twilight Sparkle, you’ve taken everything from me!”

As he threw around the knickknacks scattered around his room, and flopped unceremoniously in his bed, his servant Lemongrass opened the door at the foot of the stairs.

“Blueblood? Upper Crust and Jet Set have been asking if you’ll attend their soiree.”

“No. NO! I simply cannot be seen like this. Not today, not next week, not ever! My social life is ruined!”

“Blueblood?” She approached his bed. “You gotta get back out there some time. Come on, it’s not as bad as...”

“It’s even worse. I shan’t ever regain my prestige, my glamour. I’m nothing more than a clown.”

“No, no, come on, Blueblood, you’re still Canterlot’s most eligible...”

“And a bachelor I’ll stay. Rarity’s ‘expose’ has dragged my name in the mud her pink friend failed to cover me in, and now I shall never find amore. I may as well wander to the far corners of the world, and hope a dragon will eat me.”

“BLUEBLOOD! Don’t say that! You’ve still got lots of friends, and admirers! Why, I’ve gotten a gift just today from...”

“Pish-posh. A gift can’t lift my spirits!”

“Um... It’s from Pish Posh... from the Crystal Empire. A neckla...”

Blueblood knocked the amulet from Lemongrass’s hoof. It clattered into a shadowy corner. “I hate the Crystal Empire. First Cadance, now Twilight, always overshadowing me. LEAVE ME! Tell Jet Set and Upper Crust I’m sick! NOW GO AWAY!”

A shocked Lemongrass left.

Blueblood trotted over to his mirror. He looked in it. “All this crying is ruining my beautiful face. I can tell even Lemongrass finds me hideous!”

“Unwooooorthy....” A disembodied voice growled.

“What? Who’s there? Show yourself!” Blueblood cowered behind his dresser.

“DEGEEEEENERATE!” The voice howled again.

“HOW DARE YOU! I am Prince Blueblood, purest descendant of Royalty! Street urchin trickster! You dare mock me in my own tower! Show yourself this instant!”

“Miiiiiiirooooor.” The voice creaked. Blueblood turned around, and dropped his jaw in shock.

“Sombra? Impossible! Cadance... you were....”

“Shattered?” The image in the mirror asked.

“Er.... yes...”

“Amulet. Floor.”

“The gift? You?!”

“YEEEEEES!” The image smiled. “WEAR IT.” It commanded.

“No! You’re evil!”

“VENGEAANCE!” Sombra beckoned. Behind him, images of Twilight, and Cadance played out.

“Tempting, but...” Blueblood held the amulet in his hoof. “I think I’ll smash this.”

“Nooo!” Sombra pleaded. “Explain... give time....”. Blueblood raised his eyebrow.

“I... am your ancestor... just as Princess Platinum... I’m sure... they cut me from hiisssstory...”

“Pffft.” Blueblood dismissed him. “Another stain on my family name? Nice to know I have company. But if that’s all you’ve got, goodbye, grandpa.” Blueblood dropped the amulet.

“DEGENERATE!” Sombra howled.

“YOU ARE A SHADOW! A GHOST! I’m a clown, not a monster! You’re the degenerate!”

“DEGENERATE! You... have airs... but no POWER! UNWORTHY CHILD!”

“And if I stick with you, I’ll have power? ALL I WANT IS TO BE LOVED!” He raised his hoof.

“THE PEOPLE LOVE POWER.” Sombra put his hooves down. Blueblood stopped an inch from smashing the amulet.

“What sort of power?”

“The power... to CONQUER! To have Celestia... Twilight... CADANCE! All of them! Bow to you! To claim any you... fancy! Equestria... THE WORLD! All at your beck and call!”

“And all I have to do is put on this amulet?” Blueblood held it up to his throat. His face turned to shock, as it clasped itself around his neck. Sombra vanished from the mirror. A shadow in the room congealed into Sombra, before the terrified Blueblood.

“Let that be your first lesson.” Sombra gloated. “Why ask, when you can TAKE. Stop trembling, ‘Grandson’.” Sombra smiled with all his razored teeth, as he patted Blueblood on the back. “Just think of me as... an advisor. Only you can see me... for now. Now, where are your bookcases? Where are your messengers? I desire... news of the world!”

~Later~

Blueblood is sitting reading a newspaper at a large dining table. Lemongrass brings in lunch.

“Thank you, Lemongrass.”

“I’m just glad you’re out of your room.” She smiles. “Being cooped up in there was doing you no good. So, will you attend Upper Crust’s party?”

“I think not.” Said Sombra. “I will have to travel.”

“That’s sudden. Where to? Why?” Lemongrass began clearing some plates.

A panicked Blueblood squeaked out “I need some air.”

“I can certainly understand that. It’ll be good for you, take in the rest of the Kingdom.” She turned her back to him as she left the room. “I bet the news will forget all about your troubles by the time you’re done traveling!”

“What was that?” Blueblood asked the empty room.

“My apologies.” Said Sombra. “I spoke for you, with your own voice. But we will be traveling.”

“My own voice?” Blueblood shivered. “And where exactly will we be traveling?”

“Did you not read the news?” Sombra chided. “Or perhaps, you did not understand it. You did not see the articles we can turn to our advantage. TO THE LIBRARY! We have some preparations to make!”

“But where are we going?”

~A mountain peak~

A heavily clothed Blueblood, in a Sombra-like cloak, struggles up a trail. He pauses by a boulder to catch his breath.

“Why are you stopping?” Sombra demands.

“Because.” Blueblood replied “One more step, and my hooves will fall off.”

“You are too soft! Still! Even if you were of some use navigating this wretched mountain, you tire far too easily!”

“I don’t see you carrying all this heavy gear!”

“When I was your age, I wore a full suit of armor! That’s your whole problem! You have relied upon servants your entire life, you have no concept of the value of a day’s work! Nor of a soldier’s worth!”

“What kind of fool puts himself in danger needlessly?”

“The kind that isn’t a bowl of pudding! You don’t relish the little moments in life. Getting your kicks. Taking out your foes with your own hooves, the strength of your own magic. You have no confidence, this is why you are a failure.”

“Yo.” A rough female voice called out. “Crazypants. If you’re gonna keep talking to yourself, get off my mountain. SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO TAKE A NAP!”

Gilda Griffon flapped down from a ledge above, and stared down Blueblood, eye-to-eye. Blueblood shrank a little from the angered monster.
“NOW! The plan!” Whispered Sombra.

“Erm...” Blueblood began. “Actually, I’m here to talk to you.”

“Ha, ha.” She turned her back and walked away.. “Listen, I’m just gonna say this once: I’m THROUGH talking to ponies. Even crazy ones. So go away, and bug somebody else, otherwise, you’re gonna leave my mountain the fast way.”

“But... we have a common...”

“Blah, blah, not listening, go sell your crazy somewhere else.”

“We need her!” Sombra whispered to Blueblood. “Don’t let her fly away!”

“You’re right.” Blueblood stated. “I think I’ll go away. I’ll see if I can get a real flyer for this job.”

“Insulting me now? That’s just sad, dweeb. Pathetic.”

“Pathetic is hanging out on a mountain peak overlooking a pegasus you’re too scared to talk to for months.”

“Hey! I’m not scared of anything!”

“Looks that way from down here. Maybe the high altitude is cutting off air to your pea-brain.”

“You little worm! You can’t ‘see’ anything! SCRAM!”

“Make me!”

“Nah, it’s the mountain you gotta worry about.” She screamed in rage, and charged at him. At the last second, he flinches, and her talons strike a force bubble. She continues to yell at him.

“Ha! Ha-ha!” He opens his eyes. “I didn’t think it would work!” He begins to dance around in excitement. “It was a hard spell, but I did it!”

“Look again.” Said Sombra. Bluebloods shadow had turned into Sombra’s silhouette on the rocks, and was gripping the back half of Gilda’s shadow in an iron grip.

“Oh.” Blueblood said, flatly.

“Though it was a well-executed ward. Perhaps there’s hope for you yet, anyway, time for... a little persuasion.”

“SILENCE!” Sombra barked, through Blueblood’s mouth.

Gilda stopped struggling, and limply hung in air. “Go ahead! I don’t care anymore. I got nothing to look forward to.”

“Eh-hem. As I was so rudely interrupted from saying, Miss Griffon,” Blueblood interrupted himself. “You and I, we have a common enemy, I’m told. The new Princess, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Who?”

“Twilight Sparkle... hmm. I suppose you never met her. But you have met... a...” He gritted his teeth. “certain... pink... pony...” as he levitated out a picture of her.

“Pinkie Pie!” She spat out. “Is Twilight Spackle one of her little friends? ‘Cause if you’re throwing a Pinkie-stomping party? You came to the right mountain.”

“Enough of hiding!” Sombra’s shadow spoke. “We have need of you, true.” A shocked Gilda struggled with renewed energy. “But first, a few questions.”

“Dude, your shadow is talking!”

“It does that.”

“QUIET! I seek certain relics to match the might of the Alicorns. Tell me, little fledgeling, what you know of this one!” Daring Do and the Griffon’s Goblet was snatched from Blueblood’s pack by a shadowy hand.

“That... you’re a dweeb that takes books too seriously?”

“Seriously. This is common fiction!”

“NO! No! The books... it’s the most recent reference to... gaah! I am looking for something like this. The Chalice of Greyfeather! One of the ancient griffon kings, blessed with unyeilding vitality!”

“That was... a long time ago. All his stuff’s been gone for centuries, dude. Ask an archeologist. I’m just a flyer.” And she murmered “And not even the best...”

“GRAAAAH! This expedition has been fruitless!”

“We’ve gotten a new ally?”

“Fruitless! Her lone wingpower is useless against a foe like an Alicorn! We need relics of old, and potent magic!”

“Hey! She... told us something! Maybe she knows a griffon archeologist! Or at least she’s scary! At the very least... can you take me down off this cold mountain?”

Gilda rolled her eyes. “Ugh. If you can promise me a Pinkie Pie Pinata Party... maybe.”

~A Canterlot Street~

Blueblood dashes down the street. Everywhere. Ponies laughing. At him. He trips and lands in a puddle. He looks into his reflection. He is a clown.

“Noooo! Not again!” He cries out.

“Hmm.” Princess Luna remarks, from behind the crowd. “While the Prince has been perfectly safe on his journeys, the recurring dreams... methinks he is in trouble.”

“Perhaps,” Sombra remarked from the shadowy alleyway. “But not as much trouble as you.”

“SOMBRA!” Luna accused. “Wert thou not slain in the Crystal Empire?!”

“Somewhat.” He smiled fangs at her. “But I did not survive a millenium as a shadow merely to crumble from the Crystal Heart. I had... contingencies.”

“I must warn Celestia!”

“I doubt it.” The walls of the city rose, and twisted, becoming a maze. “If you recall, I am very good with illusions and dreams myself.”

An aura built around Luna. “The domain of dreams is mine now, Sombra! Slink away in defeat!”

“And the night too? If I recall, when we last fought, it took the Elements of Harmony for you and your accursed sister to best me! You control the moon.” He laughed. “I AM DARKNESS!”

They exchanged blasts of magical energy, writhing tentacles of darkness cut apart by lances of lunar light. Finally, Luna struck true, vaporizing Sombra. The walls of the City lowered a little. Luna took off into the sky.

To be met with derisive laughter.

“Tell me, Luna. Can you even touch the Elements anymore? Did they truly reform the Wicked Mare of Darkness?”

“Or did they merely imprison me for a time, foal?” Luna is tackled out of the sky by a familiar face... Nightmare Moon.

“Impossible!” Luna said, as she got up. “You are skilled at deception, Sombra.” She said. “But I am not. No longer. I WAS NIGHTMARE MOON. It is true.” The silver armor settled upon her. “And I accept no substitutes!” Her doppleganger shattered and dissipated. “However, I the elements truly reformed me. I am who I am now.” The armor of Nightmare Moon faded away into darkness.

“So much the pity. Truly, it would warm my heart to see you fight Celestia once again.” Sombra emerged from a corner of the maze-like city once again. “But instead, I suppose I must settle for trapping you in this labyrinth I have devised just for you. Have fun.” He dissolved away from her desperate tackle as the walls twisted once again.

“Nooo!” She shouted. “I must warn them all!” She began running down the empty, dark streets.

~A rock farm outside of Ponyville~

Gilda glides down from the nighttime sky. She drops a wriggling Blueblood on the ground from a few feet up. He rolls, and then returns to her, as she is stretching the joints of her upper body.

“How undignified!” Blueblood said. “Did you have to drop me like that! That was terrifying!”

“Yeah? Yes. Yes I did have to drop you, Prince Fatblood. Aaah! My shoulders! If you didn’t eat so many spinach puffs over the years, I could still feel my talons.” She rubbed her throbbing claws.

“Ooh! I am the fittest pony at court! This is all trained and sculpted muscle!”

“Sculpted out of what? Lead? You’re still too heavy for this!”

“Quiet! Blueblood! You have a pony to find... and Gilda! Recover, and stay out of trouble. I have matters of my own to attend to...”

“Yeah, Blueblood, go away, like the good dog you are.”

“Grrr! Why must you get on my nerves, Miss Griffon? Isn’t my life rough enough that you must kick me when I’m stuck in the mud?”

“Because... it’s funny? Stop being such a crybaby, and it’ll stop being funny. That... and I need a laugh after dealing with... HIM... you know... your shadow... he scares me.”

“I as well...” Blueblood muttered. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I believe we need a break from each other. Ta-ta, for now.”

“Later, dweeb, erm... good luck, dude.”

Blueblood pulled up his cloak, and walked toward the house. He knocked, and Clyde Pie opened a door a crack.

“So, are ya the fellow who’s gone and spooked my family with that monster of yours? What do you want?”

“Uh... hello. I am... a businessman... who wants to talk with... The Great and Powerful Trixie?”

“Really? What kind of business? You don’t look like a rock-buying type to me.”

“Ssshow business. Yes. I am a theater... carnival... owner?”

“Theater carnival? What?

“Er... The Carnival Theatre. Yes. At Neigh Orleans. I... it’s a performance during carnivale. Regardless, I am looking to talk to the magician here?”

“I suppose. She’s around back. And make sure that beast of yours don’t spook anypony else around here!”

Blueblood walked around the house, to a half-reconstructed wagon. He knocked on the door.

“It isn’t time for dinner yet! What do you want?” She said as she opened the upper door.

“Prince Blueblood?!” She gasped. “Just about the last pony I’d expect. Am I dreaming? Or is this a prank?”

“Uh... no prank.” He said. “Please let me in. I have a... business arrangement to talk to you about. In private.”

She led him in around a small table.

“So, just what is the young Prince of Equestria doing in a humble showmare’s wagon, pray tell? Or will we have to read all about it in the tabloids tommorow?”

“Nothing so... scandalous. Well... maybe. You see I’m looking for the Alicorn Am-”

“No. NO! Even if I knew where it was, that thing is too tempting, too powerful to trust in the hooves of anypony.”

“So... you don’t know where it is. A shame.”

“And what exactly were you planning on doing with it, oh ‘Clown Prince’ of Equestria? I have a feeling you don’t need it to build orphanages.”

“That’s none of your business!”

“It is very much my business. It’s revenge, isn’t it? You want to quiet down those reporters, silence your critics... from one vengeful pony to another, it isn’t worth it. Just give it up, it’ll be better.”

“Oh? You? Vengeful? What, some other two bit magician steal your parlor tricks? Who could you possibly need to have a vendetta against, plebian?”

“That’s... none of your business!”

“Since, you don’t know where the amulet is, this is all a waste of time. So entertain me! I’m making it my business!”

There was a knock at the door. “Hey... Trixie... Dad said... you have a ‘gentleman caller’?”

“Go away, Inkie! I do not have a ‘gentleman caller’. I am talking business! And he was about to leave!”

“Oh.” she whispered from behind the door.

“Is he cute?” came another whisper.

“Blinkie!”

As they trotted away hurriedly, an uncomfortable silence pervaded the room as Blueblood blushed a little.

“Anyway...” He began.

“You were leaving. The door’s that way.”

“You were going to tell me about when you had the Alicorn Amulet!”

“No I wasn’t. Now get out!”

“No. I didn’t come all this way for nothing! I need something, please!”

“Need? Why? Something’s not right here...”

“Please! Who did you use the amulet against? Who took it from you? Give me anything to work with!”

“Fine! I dueled Twilight Sparkle. She tricked me out of it. NOW GO!” She began tossing small objects at him.

He covered his face. “Wait! I’m getting my revenge on her for upstaging me! If we work together...”

“You can make the rest of Equestria turn on me? I don’t think so. GET OUT!”

“Ladies first.” Remarked Sombra. A shadowy claw grabbed Trixie by the cape and dangled her. A vortex of shadows and energy swirled open from the floor, pulling in loose papers and rubbish.

“Aaaaagh!” She screamed. “No! What’s happening!?”

“I simply can’t leave any loose ends.” Sombra stated. “The papers, and the Princesses cannot know Blueblood seeks the Amulet, or any of the pieces of power on my list. You must be silenced.”

“Wait! No no no no no! Somepony save me!”

“Sombra!” Blueblood shouted. “She can still be an ally! She used the Amulet against Twilight Sparkle in the past!”

“I’ve found, over the years, dear descendant, that ‘Allies’ are fickle, and treasonous things. It is better to do the job yourself!” Trixie sank further into the vortex.

She screamed. “I’ll keep my eyes on her! I swear!” He pleaded.

“Feh! Fine!” She tumbled to the floor, as the vortex closed. “See that you do. Celestia must keep the Amulet in her vaults, it will be tricky to acquire...”

“The perfect thing for a Trixie wizard, perhaps?”

“Perhaps...”

~A corrugated shack outside of Appleloosa~

The Flimflam brothers sit with torn clothes around a rough table. Flam’s stomach grumbles.

“I say, dear brother of mine, can I have a can of beans?”

“Not so.” his brother said, “That’s reserved for colts of means.”

“Then I’d do most any thing you could describe for a bit of pear.”

“There’s not a morsel of food for us to eat that can be found anywheeeeeere.”

“That was amusing, brother, but are we completely broke?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Time to sell the Squeezy for scrap?”

“Perhaps. Tommorow?”

“Why not today?” Blueblood asked. “A motivated buyer is interested in your devices...”

~Outside the shack~

A group of townsfolk has spontaneously assembled for a musical number. Blueblood is washed away on a tsunami of crowd.

“His money’s good as it can be!”

“It flows like water to the sea!”

“The Flimflam brothers, building coaches, so sturdeeeeey.”

“The plans look like they’re made for war,”

“But we don’t care what they are for,”

“For our morals run completely to the mercenareeeeey.”

~End Scene~

And this was an exploration, a jumping off point to the question: What could they do for season 4? This is one option. Establish a long-running nemesis, some thing that could challenge Princess Twilight Sparkle. Even better, face the Elements of Harmony with a warped mirror of themselves. This is a path the show could take. We shall see what they actually do...

In several months.

Fluttershy's House of Villains

Disaster was never more than an applebuck away in Ponyville—though at most times the village was quite nice and friendly. It was truly the worst, and best, of places. In fact, Ponyville had won the “nicest village of the year” award for more than twelve years running, enough times that for the last few years, all the other villages had decided to not even bother showing up. Despite its commendations, few dared to live there, as it was so dangerous. There were dragons and hydras living nearby, various nefarious villains that popped up almost bi-monthly to try and conquer it, and a group of six friends that almost all of the bad happenings in the town seem centered around.

Today, one of them came to another’s doorstep with news that was anything but friendly.

“Um, c-c-could you repeat that?” Fluttershy asked Twilight, hoping she’d misheard her.

“I said that Princess Celestia was so impressed by how you managed to change Discord, that she’s sending three more villains to receive your help.”

“Th-three?!” Fluttershy squeaked, covering her mouth.

Twilight nodded and smiled. “She didn’t give me any names, but she seemed confident that we would be able to handle them with the Elements of Harmony.”

“But last time she sent Discord here, I almost didn’t handle it, and Ponyville was nearly destroyed.” Fluttershy bit her lip and began pacing back and forth in her doorway, mumbling. “Oh dear, oh dear...”

Twilight couldn’t help the small giggle that came out at the expense of her friend’s anxiety. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy! I’m sure the Princess wouldn’t send us anyone we can’t handle.”

Fluttershy halted her pacing, looking at her friend with large, beady eyes. “Are you sure?”

Twilight nodded and gave her a smile. “Positive!”

Fluttershy stared down at the ground, twiddling her hooves. Eventually, she looked back up at Twilight and took a deep breath. “So, um, when will they be arriving?”

“Today!” Twilight answered cheerfully.

Fluttershy’s eyes shrank to dots. “I-I-I-I—” She fumbled with her words, her chest heaving in hyperventilation. “Today?” she managed weakly.

“Um, yeah...” Twilight rubbed the back of her head and blushed. “Sorry about the short notice. Sometimes when Spike receives a letter, he burps a bit of normal dragon breath right after.” Twilight’s mouth curved into a frown as she brought a hoof to her chin. “It’s actually been happening a lot. We’re thinking of switching to a more fire retardant paper, but then we don’t know how we’d send them in the first place...”

Fluttershy was standing frozen like a statue, her eyes glazed over and staring into the distance.

Noticing her, Twilight cleared her throat and returned to a smile. “Anyway! They should be by sometime later today. The other girls and I all have our elements—” Twilight lifted the Element of Magic so that it poked slightly out of her bag. “—and the Mayor has already been informed of their visit, so everything’s in order for when they arrive.” Twilight paused, waiting to see if her friend had anything to say.

“Oh...” was the only thing that came from her.

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy, you’ll do great!” Twilight said, trying to give her a confidence-boosting smile. From Fluttershy’s vacant expression, it wasn’t working. “Well... if that’s everything...”

“Um, well, actually, I—” Fluttershy cut off, biting her lip. She couldn’t think of any excuse to make Twilight stay, not without sounding weak and scared. She let out a sigh and hung her shoulders. “Yes, that’s everything.”

“I’ll stop by to check up on you after they arrive.”

Fluttershy sighed again. “Okay.”

“Great.” Twilight rummaged through her saddlebag, pulling out the Element of Kindness. “You’re probably going to need this. Well, not probably, but...” Twilight paused for a moment, thinking. “Yeah, probably.”

Fluttershy took the necklace with a grim expression and fastened it around her neck. It felt like she was putting on a noose.

“Good luck!” Twilight turned to leave. “I know if anypony will be able to help change the three that Celestia’s sending, it’ll be you!”

Fluttershy waved goodbye, swallowing a lump that had formed in her throat. “I hope so,” she said to herself, more than Twilight.

Once Twilight had set back off down the path away from her cottage, Fluttershy closed her door and turned back inside, falling down onto her rump. “Three?” she asked in disbelief, glancing around the interior of her cottage: it had barely fit one villain when Discord was staying there, she couldn’t imagine three.

She began to get to work, setting out extra placemats at the table.

Meanwhile en route to Ponyville, a carriage transporting three villains was being pulled by two of the royal kingdom’s dimmer light bulbs: one quite tall named Scout, and one quite short named Smart.

“Do you ever fink that maybe we gets sent on these delivery trips because the captain finks we’s inadequable?” Scout asked as they flew along. He was the tall one.

“It’s inadequate—and I told you to stop trying to ‘fink’. You’re terrible at it,” the shorter of the two replied, giving an aggravated sigh and putting his hoof to his forehead. He was the short one. “Why do I always get stuck with you? I never did anything to deserve this.”

“Well, there was that time you gave the captain spoiled milk wif his breakfast.”

Smart’s lip curled at the memory as he shuddered with irritation. “I had asked you to get sour cream, not sour cream.”

“What’sa difference?”

Smart clenched his eyes shut, resisting the urge to smack his partner while they were pulling a carriage. “Do you even remember what we’re doing right now?”

“Of course!”

“And do you remember the instructions I gave you?”

“Yep. ‘Put the villains in the carriage, take the villains to Ponyville, and then let the villains out of the carriage.’”

Smart counted how many directions Scout had recited. “Three instructions?”

“Yessir.”

“But there were four instructions,” Smart said, wrinkling his nose. “You missed the second step. The second step was lock the carriage door...”

As Smart trailed off, they shared a look, a pit forming in both their stomachs. Slowly, the two of them glanced back over their shoulders at the carriage. The doors were shut, and it didn’t seem like anyone had made a break for it.

Sweating bullets, Scout turned back to Smart. “Do ya fink they heard us talking?”

“Shh! Shut up!” Smart hissed. “You keep pulling the carriage, and I’ll swoop back around to check on the prisoners.”

Scout gave him a nod and began to pump his wings, readying to pull the carriage by himself.

Smart swung around to the back of the carriage. He flew just below the windows of it, biting his lip and checking to see that the doors were indeed unlocked. Slowly, whilst still trying to seem casual so as not to arouse suspicion should the prisoners still be there, he peeked in through the window.

Their passengers were gone.

White faced as a sheet, Smart returned to the front of the carriage, relieving the panting Scout.

“Well?” Scout asked between gulps of air. “Were they there?”

Smart swallowed the lump in his throat. “We’re going to be on stable duty for a very long time.” He pointed down. “Come on. We better find someplace to park this thing, so we can start looking for the prisoners.”

Scout’s ears flattened to his head as he followed Smart, his mouth forming a grim line. “So who was it we was transportin’ again?”

Down in the Everfree Forest, were three newly-freed villains, feeling quite at home in the dark forest. There was Queen Chrysalis, who had been jailed after her and her kingdom of changelings had attempting to conquer the Equestrian Kingdom and enslave its ponies; King Sombra, who had been jailed after attempting to violently take over the Crystal Kingdom and enslave its ponies; and Gilda, who had been charged with jaywalking and—later—for punching the guardpony who charged her in the nose.

“And why are we bringing you along, again?” Sombra asked, glancing over his shoulder at Gilda.

“Because if it weren’t for me, you two would have never broken out of those magic restricting bonds they put on you,” Gilda answered, holding up a sharp, gleaming talon.

“Aaarg!” Chrysalis shouted, stomping the ground. “Nothing! My hive is completely scattered! My whole kingdom gone!”

“Tch,” Sombra scoffed, watching Chrysalis with no small degree of disdain as she stomped about, cursing the ponies who led to her capture. He turned back to the forest, glaring daggers at an innocent bystanding tree. “The Crystal Heart was returned to the ponies of the Crystal Kingdom. I’m powerless to take it back now.”

“Ugh! It was all because of that purple one, Twilight Sparkle! She was the one who sniffed me out and freed the little Princess!” Chrysalis spat the name like it was acid.

“And her dragon who placed the Crystal Heart,” Sombra added.

“And that whole group of friends, being complete lamewads,” Gilda chimed in.

The three of them stopped and looked at one another.

“You know...” Chrysalis began with a serpentine hiss. “I wouldn’t mind getting revenge on that particular group of sniveling lovebags.”

A wicked smirk spread across Gilda’s beak. “I have a score to settle with the pink one and the blue one.”

Sombra licked his fangs. “I have always wanted to taste dragon.”

“So it’s settled then,” Chrysalis said, a smile like a snake making its way to her lips. “All we need to do is find where they are hiding.”

Gilda spread her wings, performing two powerful thrusts. “I can help you two with that,” she said, pointing a thumb to herself. “On one condition. You two leave the pink and blue one to me.”

Chrysalis and Sombra looked at each other for a moment. Seeing no harm in it, Sombra turned back to Gilda and offered her—somewhat begrudgingly—a hoof.

As Gilda shook it, Sombra began to let out an evil chuckle. Gilda and Chrysalis soon joined him, and together, their chuckling grew to a maniacal laughter that sent a chill down the spine of every vertebrate living in the Everfree.

Fluttershy sat at home, alone, in the dark. Beside her, a table set for four had been left unoccupied for some hours, its intended occupants having still not yet arrived even at such a late hour. Forcing herself to stay awake, Fluttershy glanced at the clock hanging from her wall. It read 11:59 p.m., but as she looked at it, the minute hand ticked to midnight, and the old wooden clock let out a deep gong.

A white puff of magic burst into her living room, forcing her to throw her hooves over her eyes. When she set them down, Twilight Sparkle stood in the middle of the room, already pacing back and forth.

“Do you know what time it is?” Twilight asked, squinting and keeping her nose to the floor as she paced.

Fluttershy double checked the clock to be sure. “Um... midnight?”

“Exactly.” Twilight stopped pacing and faced Fluttershy. “The letter I got from the Princess said they’d arrive—” Twilight cut off, looking at the clock. “—yesterday. And as of one minute ago, it is officially today.”

“Uh, okay?” Fluttershy said in a small voice.

“That means something must have gone wrong while they were being transported here,” Twilight said, nodding to herself in agreement.

Fluttershy watched her friend pace, her anxiety steadily growing. “S-so what do we do?”

Twilight opened her mouth to answer, only to freeze with it open, and then close it and bring a hoof to her chin. “That’s a good question. I already sent a letter to Princess Celestia, but without having any idea what happened to the transport, there isn’t anything to do but wait.”

Smart and Scout had been on stable duty once before, for a whole month. That was when they had been giving a school class the full tour of the castle, and upon reaching the trebuchet, accidentally set it off with one of the little ones inside. In Smart’s defense, the trebuchet mechanism was finicky at the best of times and, in all probability, should not have been left ready to fire when they were expecting civilian visitors.

After having to lead the snot-nosed gerbils around for half an hour though, there was hardly a sweeter sound than hearing one of them scream as he was launched by a trebuchet.

But back on the subject of stable duty. Most recruits were given stable duty once, six months into their training, as a breaking-in ritual. It was considered the worst of the worst of all the various mundane and boring jobs guardsponies wound up doing around the castle.

The job had you smelling manure, day-in, day-out, until the smell was so fixated up your nostrils, that you could no longer smell anything else. Then, the smell began to seep into your coat until you smelled of it, too. Any attempt to go outside during this time results in a public shaming, and you becoming the new butt end of every schoolcolt’s joke.

Smart was currently sitting with Scout outside Fluttershy’s cottage in a bush, weighing desertion as an option. His train of thought was interrupted when Scout nudged his shoulder.

“Are we going to go in and talk to them?” he whispered.

“What?” Smart hissed. “No! We can’t just go up to the Princess’ student and say that we lost them.”

Scout put a hoof to his chin, and furrowed his brows in thought. “We could say we were attacked?” he suggested after some time, but Smart quickly waved his hoof and scrumpled his nose.

“No, no, no. We don’t even look like we’ve been in a fight,” Smart said. But almost as soon as he finished, his eyes lit up with an idea. “I’ve got it!” he hissed.

Scout crouched down more to his height and turned an ear towards him.

“We’ll rough each other up a bit, and then tell them we were attacked!”

“Hey, that’s really smart! So how do we—” Scout was interrupted by Smart doing a quick ninety degree turn and bucking him in the side of the head. The force of the blow knocked him over into the bush. Smart had to hide a satisfied grin as Scout stood back up with scratches all over his side and twigs in his mane.

“Great, now do me,” Smart said, excitedly.

Fluttershy’s door burst open, two haggard looking guards tumbling in, the taller of the two nursing a sore jaw and the shorter of the two sporting a black eye and swollen lip.

“W-we were attacked! Th-the prisoners broke free!”

Twilight rushed over to the two of them, her horn glowing as she pulled them to their feet. “Quick! Tell me what happened!”

“There were, uh, two... three?” Smart glanced at Scout, receiving a nod. “Yes, three of them.”

Twilight had to refrain from rolling her eyes. “Yes, and where are they now?”

Smart scratched his chin. “Well, they escaped.”

Scout nodded along with Smart’s answer.

“And where are they now?” Twilight ground out.

“Oh! They, um... They... uh...” Smart glanced helplessly at Scout.

“They was there in the carriage before we went over the Everfree forest. I heards them conspickering.”

“Wait, you heard them conspiring and you didn’t tell me?” Smart asked, glaring at him.

Scout scratched his head cluelessly. “Well conspirering’s what prisoners do, don’t they?”

“Well, yes, but—”

“Excuse me, you two,” Twilight interrupted. “But why was the last time you saw them at the edge of the Everfree forest, if they attacked you two?”

“Well, ma’am, they got the jump on us. We never got a chance to see them coming,” Smart said. After a moment of silence, he nudged Scout’s ribs with his elbow.

“O-oh yeah! That they did!”

“You see, neither of us can really remember what happened.”

“But if you two were flying at the time they attacked, how did you—” Twilight stopped mid sentence, shaking her head. “Oh, nevermind. We need to be thinking about how to find them. Quick, Fluttershy, we need to go gather the girls. You go wake Rainbow Dash and Applejack, and I’ll get Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Spike.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy said, poking her hooves together. “But it’s really late and they’re probably sleeping, I wouldn’t want to disturb them.”

“Fluttershy,” Twilight said in a deadpan voice. “There are dangerous villains on the outskirts of Ponyville as we speak.”

“Well, I suppose I could try waking them gently,” Fluttershy said after a moment of reconsideration.

“Good, let’s go get them right away and meet at the edge of the forest.”

Fluttershy nodded and opened a window, flying out it to complete her assigned task. Twilight ran across the livingroom to the front door, kicking it open before turning back to the two guards. “You two stay right here, something smells fishy about your story,” she said, before kicking the door shut behind her.

Scout swallowed a knot caught in his throat as he turned to Smart. “Well, now whatta we do?”

Fluttershy flew up to Rainbow’s cloud home and flew in through her bedroom window, landing quietly on the soft, forgiving cloud. She spotted Rainbow Dash lying bed at the opposite end of the room, sprawled out on her bed and snoring thunderously.

Fluttershy gave Rainbow’s shoulder a soft poke with her nose. “Um, Rainbow? C-can you wake up, please?” she whispered.

Rainbow rolled her head over in Fluttershy’s direction and let out a loud yawn. Smacking her lips, she reached up and rubbed her eyes, sleepily opening them at Fluttershy.

Something not many ponies knew about Rainbow Dash, was that she was virtually night blind, so when she woke, what she saw was a dark figure of a pegasus with its wings spread, standing over her as she slept.

“Aaah!” Her eyes, suddenly wide awake, she fumbled backwards off her bed, pulling her bedsheets with her and wrapping them around her as though they were some kind of shield. “No! I’ll never join the Shadowbolts!”

“Rainbow, I—”

“Never!”

“Rainbow,” Fluttershy walked around the bed, poking her shaking friend with her nose. “It’s me.”

Rainbow suddenly stopped shaking. Slowly, she stood up, letting her bedsheets fall around her. She stretched her neck side to side with a forced nonchalance, flicking her ears. “Oh, uh, hey, Fluttershy... What’s up?”

Villains, except on rare occasions, were not known for their teamwork and group skills. To most of them, the concept of being equals with someone was an absurd and insulting concept at best. And so, the temporary camaraderie that the three had found, born from their mutual hate for Twilight and her friends, was beginning to quickly wear off.

“—And why should you of all persons be leader?” Sombra asked, a sneer plastered across his muzzle.

“Because if it weren’t for me, the two of you never would have gotten out of your magical bonds,” Gilda answered. “And, I’m the one who knows the town best, so it’s an obvious choice for who should be leader.

Chrysalis hissed, stepping towards Gilda aggressively. Her eyes and horn flickered with magic, but then dwindled to nothing. “If my magic weren’t still recovering...” she said, leaving the threat to hang in the air.

“But it is, so the two of you can’t just muscle your way into Ponyville,” Gilda replied, matching Chrysalis’ glare. “What we need is a plan.”

The two of them fell silent and looked at each other to see if the opposite party had a plan. When neither did, they turned to Sombra, who was standing apart from them and brooding, whilst staring off into the forest.

“No doubt they’ve noticed we’re missing by now, which means they’re looking for us, maybe right now, even.” A smirk of dragon-found-gold made its way across his lips. “That means the ball is in our court.”

Gilda crossed her arms, unimpressed. “And that means?”

Sombra remained silent. All he did was lift a hoof and point, in the direction he had been looking.

Gilda and Chrysalis flew over to where he stood, staring out in the direction he pointed. The gigantic mouth of a cavern sat ahead of them, leading under the cliff, deep into the dark. Crystals protruded from the cave walls like glimmering teeth, giving it the cave the appearance of a gigantic beast, mouth open and ready to swallow ponies whole.

Sombra’s eyes and horn flickered green with magic, but unlike Chrysalis he managed to make his magic hold, giving off a dim, green light. The crystals surrounding the cliff began to glow green with his magic, turning to a more sickly hue.

“We lure them in there?” Gilda asked, pointing a talon at the cave.

Sombra nodded. “All that’s left to do is bait the trap.”

As he finished those words, the cave’s crystals began to resonate a low hum and glow with newfound strength.

At half an hour past midnight, all four of the ponies Fluttershy and Twilight had been dragged out of bed and brought to the Everfree Forest’s edge. Most of them were still yawning from being woken up at such a Celestia forbidden hour, too.

“Now, you all know why you’ve been brought here—”

“No I don’t,” Rarity interrupted. “You knocked violently on my door at twelve in the morning, woke me up, and dragged me from bed before I could so much as take my curlers out.”

“Well, if she just told you that would ruin the surprise,” Pinkie said.

Twilight stamped her forehead. “No, there is no surprise.”

Pinkie’s ears flopped down in disappointment.

“Look, three villains that were being escorted by the Princess’ royal guard to Ponyville managed to break free, and are now somewhere in the Everfree Forest. I need your girls help to activate the Elements of Harmony, if we need them.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Rainbow Dash said, hovering in front of Twilight. “You mean you want us to go into the Everfree at night? You know that’s crazy, right?”

“Oh please, the six of us had no problem doing it before when Nightmare Moon showed up.”

“Uh, yeah, but that wasn’t the deep part of the Everfree. The deep part of the Everfree isn’t just what nightmares are made of, it’s what nightmares are afraid of.”

“Uh, sugarcube?” Applejack butted in, taking a step forward. “Rainbow Dash has a point. Now Ah’ve been livin’ here a might bit longer than you, and let me tell you: these woods aren’t nothin’ to take lightly, and there ain’t no one that they take kindly.”

“I, um, don’t think this may be such a good idea, Twilight,” Fluttershy chipped in.

“I’m a bit inclined to agree with them,” Spike said.

“If we don’t start looking for them now, it will only be that much harder when we—” A low, resonating hum reached Twilight’s ears, breaking her train of thought. The noise saturated the air, making it thick, and seemingly coming from all directions at once “Do you girls hear that?”

The five of them nodded, all swiveling their ears to try and pinpoint where the sound was coming from.

“Oh, hey! Look!” Pinkie shouted, pointing towards the Everfree. Deep in the heart of the Everfree forest, there was a bright green glow, stark against the night sky.

“That must be where they are!” Twilight shouted. “Come on, quick! Before the glow disappears!”

With that, Twilight sprinted into the trees, leaving the rest of them standing by the edge of the forest.

“So, uh...” Spike said, glancing around at them. “Should we follow her?”

Applejack tipped her hat down and let out a sigh as she walked into the trees. “After she ran off like that, I guess we have to.”

Spike hopped on Pinkie’s back and the five of them ran after Twilight, catching up and then continuing to stay close to her as she used a spell to light the forest around them.

As they went deeper and deeper into the forest though, the woods became darker and darker, even stifling the light from Twilight’s magic, so that it hardly managed to light the ground under all of them. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Sounds, from the animals and monsters living in the forest, began to come from all around them. Bright yellow and red eyes watched their every step from the darkness, and all six of them could feel the hunger of the beasts unseen around them.

“Oh I really, really regret wearing perfume to bed,” Rarity whimpered.

“Shh!” almost everyone at once replied.

Fluttershy moved over next to Twilight. “Um, do you know how much further it is?” she whispered as quietly as she could, which for Fluttershy, was quite low.

“It should be just up ahead. The glow wasn’t very far in,” Twilight said.

“It’s just that these animals don’t look very friendly, and I’m pretty sure they’re looking at us like food.”

Twilight glanced around, the light from her horn reflecting off several dozen eyes hiding in the dark. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“Eeek!” Rarity suddenly screamed. All six of them jumped, their hairs standing on end, as the spun around to see Rarity with her hoof deep in a puddle of mud. She saw them all looking at her and sheepishly smiled. “Sorry,” she whispered.”

Unfortunately, her scream triggered one of the waiting predators. Climbing nimbly down from from one of the trees, a large, black cat faced them down. Whatever the domestic house cat was to a panther, panthers were to this cat. Its fur bristled like quills, and its lips were pulled back, showing off a set of dripping fangs. For a moment, all any of them did was stare at it in horror.

“Run!” Twilight shouted.

They snapped out of their daze, turning and sprinting away from the large cat, sensibly trying to put as much distance between them and it as possible. They could hear the heavy thuds of it giving chase, but none of them dared to look back and see how close it was.

“Quick!” Rainbow Dash shouted, from the head of the group. “There’s a clearing up ahead!”

The five of them redoubled their efforts, forcing their legs to move faster than they were built to.

“It’s gaining on us!” Spike shouted from Pinkie’s back, his face pale as a ghost.

The five of them ran, trying not to think about the giant, hungry cat that was hot on their hooves.

Then, they broke into the clearing, and the radius of light from Twilight’s horn grew to fill the area, and they kept running, only stopping once they reached the center of the field.

Spike got off Pinkie Pie, as she and Fluttershy collapsed in a heap on top of each other, panting.

Applejack walked up to Fluttershy and gave her a queer look, having a slight chuckle at the worn-out pegasus. “Uh, Fluttershy? Heck, why didn’t you just fly?”

Fluttershy continued taking gulping breaths as she replied. “I’m not... very good at flying... around trees,” she answered.

“It’s not time to rest yet, girls,” Twilight said, intruding on their conversation. “That thing could still be out there.”

“Ooh! Ooh!” Pinkie said, waving her hoof out from under Fluttershy like a schoolfilly wanting to be picked. “There’s a cave full of crystals over there that we can hide in!”

From the edge of the clearing, there came a distinctly feline growl.

“Everypony, into the cave!” Rainbow shouted, whisking Pinkie and Fluttershy off the ground and speeding for the cavern’s entrance.

Spike hopped on Twilight’s back, and Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack all ran into the cave after Rainbow Dash, never once looking back as they ran into the dark.

Outside the cave, the large cat stepped out into the clearing, wearing a triumphant smirk. It became enveloped in a green flame. As quickly as it burst into flames, though, the fire extinguished, leaving a haughty and victorious Chrysalis in the cat’s place. She let out a mock growl, and covered her lips as a dark chuckle escaped them.

Her task done, she walked inside the cave to meet up with the others.

Pinkie Pie had grown up living on a small rock farm out in the near-deserted hills of Clopton. The thing most ponies think of when they hear the term “rock farm” is “really? that exists?”, but the second thing they think is “is it like mining?”

As most rock farmers could tell you, it was most definitely not like mining. In fact, the mere mention of mining to rock farmers will send even the nicest ones into a sudden, foul mood. See, rock farmers harbored such a grudge against miners, that they often told their kids horror stories about mines. Collapses, floods, gigantic carnivorous fruit bats, they told them anything, and as a result, most children of rock farmers grew up with a crippling fear of caves and tunnels.

And being a child of rock farmers, Pinkie Pie’s mouth had been open in a silent scream ever since they had first entered the cave.

“Uh, hey, Pinkie?” Dash asked, flying down and trotting alongside her. “Are you alright? You’ve had this look on your face for a couple minutes now...”

“Oh, yep!” she answered with a far-too-wide grin. “I’m perfectly terrific with being in this cave that could collapse at any given moment or any given noise!” Realization dawned on her of what she just said. She slapped a hoof over her mouth, before she could make any other sounds.

“What?” Dash asked with a small chuckle. “Oh, come on, Pinkie. You’d have to be some batty paranoid schizowhosit to think this old cave could collapse at any moment.”

“Bats!?” Pinkie Pie suddenly shot into the air. She then landed, running around like a chicken without a head, screaming. “Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaats!”

“Pinkie Pie!” the rest of them scolded.

Twilight surrounded Pinkie in magic, lifting her off the ground and zipping her mouth shut.

“We’re supposed to be quiet, we’re still looking for the escaped villains, and if they’re hiding in this cave, we don’t want to alert them that we’re here.”

Seeing Pinkie calm down noticeably, Twilight let out a sigh, and put her down, releasing her magic so she could talk again.

“Okay, Twilight,” she whispered, looking at the walls of the cave around her with paranoia. “But I really, really want to get out of here as soon as we can!”

“Duly noted.”

Just then, a great crystal landed, and split, the earth between them. Everyone stared at it in shock, for a moment, before craning their heads back to look up. The ceiling was beginning to let out a low rumble.

“Cave in!” Twilight shouted.

Crystals fell behind them, quickly blocking off the exit. With nowhere else to turn, the six of them began to run deeper into the cave, except Pinkie, who sat frozen, staring up at the ceiling with a mortified expression on her face.

“Pinkie!” Dash shouted, turning back around for her. She swooped in between her friend’s legs and picked her up, pumping her wings to catch up with the rest of the group. Staying close to the ceiling, she could see what crystals were falling up ahead, and with years of training, nimbly flew around them.

A large crystal become detached, right in the path of her friends. Her eyes widened and she yelled, “Twilight! Rarity! Lookout!”

Rarity and Twilight snapped their heads up to see a crystal falling directly on top of them. They leapt away from Fluttershy and Applejack, dodging the crystalline spike by hairs.

Two smaller tunnels led out from the main cavern, the way up to them split by shards of fallen crystal. “Fluttershy, you go with Applejack down that tunnel, we’ll meet up once the cave in stops!”

“O-okay!” Fluttershy shouted back to her, as the two of them took a turn left down their tunnel. A giant crystals fell in front of the entrance once they were through, sealing it off.

Up above, Rainbow Dash spotted another Crystal coming loose in front of the tunnel Twilight and Rarity were heading towards. “Twilight! Book it!”

Twilight and Rarity looked up, spotting the crystal begin to fall. As it fell, they ran at the tunnel and dove, getting inside just as the crystal shook the ground behind them and blocked off their exit.

Outside, Rainbow Dash was looking for another way to escape, seeing the only two available tunnels blocked off by giant slabs of crystal. It was dark, and without Twilight’s spell, she was blind as a bat.

Pinkie squeezed her neck, choking her slightly. “Look, Dash! A light!”

Dash spun to her side, spotting a crack in the cave wall a little ways below them that had light pouring out of it; it looked just big enough to fit through. “Hold on!” she told Pinkie, feeling the hooves around her neck tighten as she dove towards the exit.

She burst through the opening, hitting the ground in what could only be described as one of her better, or worse, crash landings.

The two of them tumbled head over hooves across the cavern floor, eventually coming to an abrupt stop with the cave wall.

Dash sat there for a while, with her rear legs in the air above her head, and her neck bent horribly against the ground, groaning in pain. Pinkie Pie was a short ways away, her eyes still spinning.

“Oooh...” Rainbow Dash moaned when she finally got up. “My everything hurts.”

“Yeah, that looked like a pretty rough landing. I thought you were a better flyer than that,” a familiar voice said, stepping out into the light.

“G-g-gilda?”

Fluttershy and Applejack stared at the blocked off exit, a frown marring both their faces.

“Well, Ah guess ain’t gettin’ out the way we came in,” Applejack said.

“Do you think the others made it out okay?” Fluttershy asked, shuffling her hooves together.

“Of course they did. Don’t you worry your pretty little head about them,” Applejack said with a smile that looked much more confident than she felt at that moment. Somepony had to be strong for the group, and considering the group was only the two of them, and Fluttershy was most certainly not going to fulfill that role, she’d have to. “What we need to be worrying about is getting ourselves out of this mess, before we go n’ start lookin’ for the others.”

“R-right.” Fluttershy nodded, giving her a weak smile. “Maybe we’ll even find them on the way out.”

“Now there’s some optimistic thinkin’ I’d like to hear,” Applejack said with a bigger smile than before. “Now come on, if we keep followin’ this tunnel, maybe it’ll hook up somewhere else, or even lead to an exit on the other side.”

“You can try,” a feminine voice hissed. Stepping into the dim light emitted by the crystals in the cave walls, a tall, lithe shape took form, its serpentine eyes flashing in the dark. “But you won’t make it very far.”

“Darling, maybe you should give up. That thing looks much heavier than the ursa minor—and it’s embedded in the ground.”

Twilight let her magic aura fade from around the crystal blocking the entrance of their tunnel. She sighed, letting her shoulders slump. “You’re right. I could try for a million years and this thing wouldn’t budge an inch.”

“There, there, dear. We’ll find another way out of this Celestia forsaken tunnel, and meet up with the others.”

“You’re right,” Twilight said, turning around. “We—”

She cut herself off once she noticed what Rarity was doing.

“Are you collecting gems?! At a time like this?!”

“Oh, well, I...” Rarity trailed off, staring at the floating bundle of gems she had collected, adding a freshly picked one to it. “I mean, I figured I might as well keep my hooves busy while I waited for you.”

Twilight shook her head, trying not to let her disappointment show too much. “Whatever,” she said, trotting past her. “We need to keep going down this tunnel. It might lead to an exit, or another chamber where we can meet up with the others.”

“Alright, dear, just one moment...” Rarity said, beginning to pluck an emerald from the wall.

“Now, Rarity.”

“Alright, alright,” she grumbled, letting the emerald go and following alongside Twilight. “A few seconds wouldn’t have hurt anybody.”

Spike looked at the pile of gems hungrily, licking his lips. “Hey, uh, Rarity, you don’t suppose I—” Rarity cut him off by offering him one of the sapphires she’d picked. “Aw, a sapphire? You shouldn’t have,” he said, taking it from her magical grip and dropping it down his throat, before swallowing. He lay down on Twilight’s back and let out a satisfied burp.

“Spike, that’s disgusting.”

The dragon gave her a half-hearted shrug, the contented smile never leaving his face.

It wasn’t very long that they were walking, before they came across a giant cavern. A chandelier made of crystals hung from the center of its roof, lit with an eerie green magic, similar to the one they had followed into the forest.

“I have been waiting for for you three,” a suave voice sang.

Twilight and Rarity glanced to their side, spotting a crystal staircase that traveled up roughly twenty steps to a throne made of gems. Sitting in the throne, was King Sombra.

“It was almost disappointingly easy to get you into this room. Did it even pass through your heads that this was a trap?”

Spike, Rarity, and Twilight tensed, crouching down and preparing to make a run for it if need be.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter anymore whether you realized it or not, what matters is that it worked.” Sombra rose from his throne, staring down at them. “Now then, which of you do I eat first?”

“Woah, it really is you!” Dash said with a laugh, trotting over to Gilda.

Pinkie Pie sat up, rubbing her head, and saw Dash walking over to her. “Um, Dashie...”

Rainbow Dash let out a laugh, looking at Gilda from head to toe. “I haven’t seen you since you crashed that party a couple years back.”

“Rainbow Dash...”

“So, listen, what’ve you been up to?”

“Rainbow Dash!”

“Huh?” Dash turned around to look at Pinkie. “What, Pinkie? I was in the middle of something.”

A clawed hand raised while Dash’s head was turned, its talons gleaming in the dark.

Pinkie’s eyes widened. “Dash, look out!”

Rainbow Dash spotted movement out of the corner of her eye and ducked, narrowly avoiding a razor sharp claw swipe that managed to take off a few hairs from mane.

Dash leapt away, landing at safe distance and spinning to face Gilda.

“Hey! What the heck, Gilda? That could’ve hit me!”

Gilda set her claw back on the ground and rolled her eyes. “Well, duh.”

“Jeez, you’re so much more of a jerk than I remember.”

“You’re so much more of a dweeb than I remember.”

“Jerk.”

“Dweeb.”

“Hey!” Pinkie cried, grabbing their attention. “I think surprises are super and everything, but what in Equestria are you doing here?”

Gilda sighed as Dash looked around. “You know,” Dash said. “She’s got a point. You weren’t exactly someone I expected to bump into out in the middle of the Everfree Forest.”

“And who were you expecting to bump into?” Gilda asked, tapping a talon against the cave floor.

“Well, we were looking for these three villains that were being sent to Ponyville for—” Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

Gilda pinched the bridge of her beak. “I can’t believe I cheated off your tests at flight school.” She spread her wings and crouched low to the ground, her tail swishing in the air behind her. “But enough catching up, let’s fight.”

“Let’s see how strong your friendship truly is,” Chrysalis hissed.

Before Applejack or Fluttershy could react, Chrysalis dove at Fluttershy, tackling her and tumbling into a dark corner of the tunnel with her.

Applejack whipped around. “Fluttershy!”

Two identical copies of Fluttershy sat, rubbing their heads. They both stood, mirroring each other’s actions perfectly.

“I think I’m alright,” the said at the same time. Their eyes both widened, and they both turned to face each other, throwing a hoof up to cover their mouth. “Eep!” they both squeeked.

Applejack looked back and forth between them, unable to tell a single difference that set them apart. “Ah... Well, Ah... Um, Fluttershy, is that you?” she asked.

“Oh, yes?” they both answered.

The one on the left turned to the one on the right and glared. “Stop imitating me! You’re not really me!”

“I’m not imitating anyone,” the second one replied. “You’re imitating me.”

The first sat down and folded her hooves in front of her chest. “You shouldn’t accuse ponies of things that aren’t true.”

“No, you shouldn’t accuse ponies of things that aren’t true.”

“I’m just not going to bother talking to you anymore.”

The second one folded her hooves in front of her chest, mirroring the first. “Hmph! How rude!” It turned to face Applejack, looking up at her with large, beady eyes. “Applejack, surely you know that I’m the real me.”

The first Fluttershy snapped out of its pout and flew over to her. “No, wait, Applejack! I’m the real me!”

Applejack looked between them, sweating bullets under her stetson. “Oh, boy, this is a doozy.”

The second Fluttershy flew over beside the first, landing in front of Applejack. “Ask me anything that only the real Fluttershy would know! She won’t be able to answer!”

“Uh, well, alright,” Applejack said. “What’s your bunny’s name?”

“Oh, why, it’s Angel!” the second Fluttershy answered.

“What? How did you know that?” The first Fluttershy demanded, getting in the second one’s face.

“Hey, hey!” Applejack interrupted, pointing to the first Fluttershy and glaring at her. “Alright you, who taught you to be too assertive?”

“Iron Will, but I quickly learned that was not the proper way to act,” the first Fluttershy answered, holding her nose up in the air.

Applejack looked between the two of them, scratching her head. “Well this is just downright weird...”

The first Fluttershy clasped her hooves together in front of Applejack. “I’m the real Fluttershy. You believe me, don’t you, Applejack?”

“Uh, well I—”

“What? How dare you stoop so low to trick my friends!”

Applejack held her hooves up. “Listen, girls, I—”

“They aren’t your friends, they’re my friends.”

“Are not!”

“Girls—”

“Are too!”

“Girls!” Applejack yelled, but it was too late. The two had jumped at each other, kicking and swinging their hooves. Applejack bit her lip as she watched them bite and pull each other’s hair, not knowing who to help.

“Rarity! Behind me!” Twilight shouted, erecting a magic barrier just as a green fireball struck it.

“So you have some magical talent after all. I guess the Princess didn’t pick you for nothing.” Sombra said, smirking down at them.

Twilight let her barrier drop, already panting at the effort it took just to block one spell from him. “Rarity.”

“Hmm, yes Twilight?”

“I’m going to try and make an opening. When I do, take Spike and run.”

“What? I am not just going to leave you here.”

Sombra fired a second fireball at them. Twilight barely raised a shield in time to block it. “I’ll catch up with you in a bit. Just do as I say!”

“Fine,” Rarity bit out, not liking the idea of leaving her friend behind one bit.

Sombra’s horn glowed as he prepared to let loose another fireball.

“Go, now!” Twilight shouted.

Rarity lifted Spike from Twilight’s back and placed him on her own, running towards another tunnel on the opposite side of the room.

Sombra turned, seeing her run. His mouth crawled up into a smirk as he turned his spell and aimed it at her. The explosive ball of green flame fired, sailing towards Rarity, who glanced at it nervously as it drew near.

Twilight’s eyes shut in concentration, her horn pulsing brightly. The fireball heading towards Rarity met a magic barrier, bursting on its surface a split second before it would have hit her. After that, Rarity made it into the tunnel, able to make a safe getaway.

“A barrier that completely stopped one of my spells at that distance? You aren’t just some normal unicorn pony afterall, I see.” Sombra narrowed his eyes, glowering at her. “But you helped the dragon get away, and that, I can’t forgive.”

Sombra shot another green fireball at her. She raised her shield to block, but this one was stronger than the others had been. It burst against the barrier, concaving it, and forming a tear in the center of the barrier. A lash of green flame struck out, hitting Twilight and leaving a burn mark that looped around her midsection. She cried out, hitting the floor. The smell of burnt hair and skin made its way to her nose.

“I wonder if you can stop this next one,” Sombra spat with malevolence.

Gilda’s beak drove deep into Dash’s shoulder, right near the base of her wing. The second the hit made contact, Dash knew it was bad. Somewhere amidst the pain, she recognized that she was falling out of the sky. Her whole wing was flared up with pain, and despite her commands to make it move, it trailed limply as she fell.

With her remaining good wing though, she managed to slow her fall, using her limp wing to glide down to the ground. She landed, limping on the hoof whose shoulder had been hit. Hobbling on three hooves, she turned to face Gilda.

“Dash! Are you alright?!” Pinkie asked, rushing over.

“Stay back, Pinkie!” Dash said, holding out her injured hoof with a noticeable flinch. “This is between me and Gilda. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Pinkie glanced between the two of them, biting her lip as her eyes began to water up. “Sorry, Dash!”

“Pinkie, what—?” Dash was cut off as Pinkie rushed past her, charging at Gilda. “No!”

Gilda smirked, seeing Pinkie run at her. She wasn’t made of the same stuff Dash and her were made of. As Pinkie tackled her, she rolled onto her back with the motion, sending Pinkie Flying over her with a hard kick to her stomach, launching her into the air.

“Pinkie!”

The two Fluttershy’s were both scratched and bleeding, Fluttershy wasn’t truly a fighter, but still, it hadn’t stopped her from trying to protect her friends.

Knowing that one of the two beaten up ponies was her friend, and not knowing which, formed a knot in Applejack’s stomach. “Pinkie Pie!”

Twilight weakly looked up at Sombra as he prepared to shoot another fireball at her. A tear rolled down her face, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to fulfill her promise to Rarity. Green flames began to take form in front of Sombra.

“Don’t touch my friend!” Rarity cried, charging back into the room. The gems she’d picked up were spread out, their tips pointing at Sombra. She let out a cry as she launched them like a rain of quills at the evil king.

Sombra closed his eyes and canceled his spell, forced to form a shield from the rain of needles. Meanwhile, Rarity helped her friend up, flinching as she saw the burn mark around her saddle.

“It’s okay, I’m fine,” Twilight said, seeing her concern.

At that moment, all six of their Elements of Harmony began to pulse.

Six ponies, one dragon, one griffon, one dark phantasmal pony king, and one shapeshifting pony queen, sat around Fluttershy’s cottage table, sipping tea.

Fluttershy cleared her throat and set her cup down. “Now, what do you have to say about running off and getting everyone hurt?”

Gilda, Chrysalis, and Sombra looked down at their teacups with shame. “We’re sorry,” they all mumbled.

“Well,” Twilight said. “I’m surprised at how quickly you turned them around! You really do seem to have a talent for this sort of stuff, Fluttershy.”

“Oh, well, everyone has a softer side, someponies just forget it along the way.”

“Yeah, but still,” Applejack said, drinking her tea and giving odd looks towards the three sitting on the opposite side of the table. “You gotta admit, seeing them just sitting down and drinking tea like this is strange.”

“Quite,” Rarity agreed.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Yeah, but it’s still a lot better than having them out trying to conquer the world and stuff.”

Twilight took a sip of her tea, before setting her cup and saucer down and looking around. “What happened to those two guards?”

“Fruit bats, the size of rinocerosuses. My uncle Shale says he once saw one when he was walking by the entrance of a mine

Ready or Not, Here I Come

Alicorns.

While our kind possesses many names, that is the most common amongst them. It is the label lesser breeds use to describe us, and one we have allowed to serve as our title so that they might be able to understand us in some small form. Yet little do they realize how small a description that truly is.

“Noble horn” indeed; only a small portion of our kind truly fit that moniker when “noble” can be such a confusingly broad term at times.

Oh, there is no doubt that we are quite majestic creatures, and rightfully deserving of our place as the rulers of this planet. Not even the dragons could ever imagine themselves, vain and silly creatures that they are, to be our betters.

And yet my thoughts of a new world somehow did not please my brothers or sisters. Like flies do both the Order and Celestia cling to this world, desperate to stop its eventual downfall. The Elementals saw nothing but their own domains being threatened by my plans, the selfish sloths, while the less said about Celestia and her ilk, the better.

Oh, Celestia. Even the Order could admit that you are falling into dangerous behaviors and habits, and yet I am the one who must be set beneath your muddy shoes. A “noble horn” who reduces herself to the common politics of the lower breeds. “Princess” you lets them call you, though none above your rule really exist to the mindless herd you have chosen to oversee.

How dare they allow me to fall before such a despicable mud-swimmer. You and your sister, the two of you competing for the attentions of insects like the mere children of the lessers and all the while not seeing the truth of what must be done.

“Insane” you all called my plans. “Evil and despicable” you assumed of my goals. The same thing you and the Order called both myself and my true siblings when we made a declaration of our intent at the Convene, and, somehow, the Order chose your side to listen to when a decision had to be made.

However, we serve a purpose as well, and even Knell could admit that I had a point, even though my side he could not take when the war began because of the restrictions of his duties. A pity. Of all the Order, he was my favorite besides Deceit.

The rest of you refused to listen to reason. However, when one is gifted with Sight, it must be used. I know Omega must someday be unleashed so that a new generation may be born, and yet the Order refused to admit that their time had passed. They refused to believe that a new world would have a place for our kind, nor that what I had to do was important enough to risk jeopardizing their assured rule in the present. They had grown arrogant and soft in the blink of an eye, giving in to the vices of complacency those such as yourself shoved down its throat.

Only my vision was clear, my ability to act unclouded by you and your sister’s honeyed words, Celestia. As bearer of the Sight, I alone must look to the future and remove myself from such ridiculous things as politics of the present. Which I gladly did, much to your apparent displeasure.

But it was destined that Omega be released from his long sleep and set upon the world once again. The present had to be erased, if the future that will someday be called the fifth age is to begin. So why did you have to make things difficult for me, Celestia?

Though, I will be the first to admit that the Shadow War was fun while it lasted. It was quite amusing to watch you and Luna try to stop us from finding Omega’s hiding place, al the while attempting to make sure your precious populace was kept from knowing the true extent of our influence.

So many matches between us, each with our toys and pawns to place upon the board of the world, and so very, very many different games to play with them all.

I really loved finding Sombra all those years ago; he was a stroke of genius. Him taking the Crystal Empire from play was one of the few times I think I truly felt giddy. Malice and Dread were even caught up in my excitement when we visited the empty hole Sombra had left behind, and I almost had to dance upon the empty ground. And, while he did not succeed quite as well on the second go, I did almost have you with that ridiculous trinket that you had one of your mages create during the war.

Do you remember it? The ridiculous little amulet which was supposed to boost your own soldiers? However, while it gave them the strength to fight me, it also drove them quite mad. Quite delightfully mad really, and I owe a great deal of the numbers in my forces to that one little incident at Moon River. So, your failure evident, you had them quickly destroyed, before they could swell my ranks any faster than they already had.

All except one, of course. I did not like the name it had been given, for it is but a mere mockery of our power. However, I will admit it was too good of a screw-up to let you dispose of entirely. Why, it was almost artistically despicable and—if I could not use it to seal your fate through ironic destruction—it was something I could use easily to reduce your own standing with the Order. Maybe even enough that they would finally see that I was in the right, and assist me in your removal.

While I did not expect it to be lost during Moon River all those years ago, and you kept me from finding a suitable host for its madness and corruption because of it, I was very pleased to feel that old, familiar thrum once again. The newest host might have been too weak, stupid and childish to have properly borne it to your decimation, but I imagine it taught you something about why you cannot keep me at bay forever; I do not need to walk the world to have an effect upon it.

After all, one merely needs look at how your own sister turned upon you, which was one of my most enjoyable sensations while I have been down here. The tearing of this world’s fabric—when Luna finally saw you for the hypocrite and hidden evil you were because of the horrors and necessities of the Shadow War—was almost delicious. Though I could not be there physically, the sensation of your two’s chaos was too delightful to miss. You defeating her was a disappointment the first time, but I should have expected no better from the moon, which is but a mere reflection of the sun. A pity, but in the end, it should have been expected. It was certainly a little more shocking the second time. I would have thought she would learn from a past mistake, but I suppose being defeated by children should be expected of your blood.

We both know you cannot completely eliminate the dark, neither in the world nor within her. You are simply too soft about trying to eradicate it to ever even come close to being somewhat effective. Just look at yourself, constantly fighting foes which you had supposedly defeated all so very long ago, all because you lacked the conviction to finish the job.

And while Discord’s turning was… admittedly unexpected—I am truly surprised at how you managed to bring such a creature to heel—I think, if anything, it should further warn the Order of how far you have fallen from our calling. You allied yourself with the very creature you were meant to overcome, and that my siblings and I had to replace when you somehow succeeded in doing so. As long as you continue to take no definitive actions, we will keep returning and you will have no one but yourself to blame in the end. One who does not make sure a foe is gone should not be surprised when they eventually return.

So, here I am, Celestia: trapped within my own temporary prison, much like Discord or Sombra or your own sister before me, and awaiting my chance upon the stage you have refused to wipe clean. A thousand years may have passed since last I took in the sun, or watched the evening stars, but I am quite excited at the thought of meeting you once again.

You and Luna may have won the Shadow War, but you cannot deny destiny forever. I will win, Omega will be awakened, and the world will tremble as it is remade in preparation for the fifth age. While it may be a millennium behind schedule, that is but a drop in the ocean for one of my–

Well, well how interesting. This is a strain upon the fabrics that I do not recognize yet. A new alicorn has been made? This I simply must see.

Oh give it up, Celestia; you cannot shield her from us. Though you may be strong, all the Order will know of her eventually and, though I am limited in where I may go for this brief moment of time, you certainly cannot keep her presence invisible upon the threads of the universe. We always know, Celestia, and myself especially, so stop delaying the inevitable.

Stubborn as always, I see. I would be disappointed if you had not made this a challenge. So let me see what it is you are…

What?! A child?! You have made some lesser’s child into one of us?! How dare you! The Order should see to it that you never raise the sun again, you senile, disgusting old bat!

When I’m free again, I will…

Oh no. Oh, no, you have not fooled me; I see what you are doing, you wickedly clever girl, you. However, your scheme uncovered, I must ask: do you really believe upsetting the balance like this will stop me? That it will somehow keep my return insignificant and doom me to failure like all the rest of your low-end rogues?

Arrogant foal, you have already forgotten what true balance is. You cannot think that simply adding some mere infant to your ranks of puppets would stop an encroaching, unshakable doom. No, for you see, then the world would fall from balance. And even the Order knows that an unbalanced world descends rapidly into a chaos and self-destruction from which there would be no true recovery. This, they would never allow.

You can never bring those of lesser nature into our fold, for we are older than they, possessing both the knowledge and wisdom of centuries. How can you presume to add to our ranks without permission from the Order? Why did you not call a Convene before making such a brash decision?

Because you knew they would say no, that is why. Not in a million years would they have allowed such madness, and you would have been placed down in the deepest confines of the earth alongside myself and my siblings—in utter disgrace—had you presumed to ridicule the Order with such a blatant insult to our kind.

Congratulations, Celestia. I hope this child’s short time as one of us shall be worth the indignation of the Order when you are finally found out. So let these children take their places upon your empty thrones and spew forth their deranged ramblings of your wisdom. You have not stopped me, Celestia, and I will not be denied forever.

My only regret is that I might yet be denied a part in stripping you not only of your title and rank, but those of your sister, your half-sister, and this new abomination you have foisted upon the balance of the world. Though, maybe—just maybe—she will be useful to me someday.

Tell this “Twilight Sparkle” that Nexus is looking forward to meeting her. Very, very soon.

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