Celestia VS Lunaby Pinkamena666ChaptersDiscord's ReturnThe CMC Meet DiscordShopping DisasterThe Train StationThe Fiery Serpent-TrainLuna And DiscordSisterly QuarrelWhen Darkness FallsAftermathBon-Bon's BonbonsLater That NightThe Morning AfterConquering FillydelphiaThe Shadow Bolts VS The WonderboltsTrottinghamDarkness RisingDerpy's Big MomentDerpy's TrainingSaboteur"You're their leader now..."Rally The TroopsField TripLuna, The Terror Of The NightRise To PowerDiscord's ReturnApplejack kicked a ball to her dog, Winona. Winona bunted the ball back to Applejack. Twilight was laying on a blanket in the grass. Her pet owl, Owlowiscious, circled above her head. Rainbow Dash flew around in the sky with her propeller-equipped pet turtle, Tank. Fluttershy sat with Twilight with her pet bunny, Angel, along with Rarity, her pet cat Opalescence, and Pinkie and her toothless pet alligator, Gummy. It was just a normal day in Equestria when one of trees nearby bent over 180-degrees. "What the..." said Twilight, noticing it. "What's wrong with the tree?" Just then all the grass around them sunk into the ground, leaving only dirt. "What's happening?" asked Rarity. "This is just terrible! Dirt everywhere!" "What happened to all the grass?" asked Fluttershy. "Oh, no." said Twilight. "Tell me it isn't--" "Isn't who?" asked a familiar voice. The ponies looked around but couldn't see anyone. "That voice." said Rarity. "It sounds so familiar." "Indeed it should." said the voice. "For we met only a few months ago when you defeated me." "Discord!" said Twilight. "Show yourself!" "Oh, why spoil the fun right away?" asked the voice. "I have so much planned for Equestria. And I think I'll start with the princesses." "You leave them alone!" yelled Twilight. "Why would I do that?" asked Discord. "Chaos is so much fun." "Your idea of fun, maybe." said Twilight. "I don't know, Twilight." said Pinkie Pie. "That chocolate rain was delicious." "Oh, Pinkie Pie." said Discord. "You were always my favorite one." "Listen, Discord!" yelled Twilight. "No matter what you do, we'll just stop you all over again! You even turned us on each other and we STILL beat you!" "Now, there's a point." said Discord. "But what if it only took two to corrupt?" "Two?" asked Twilight. "Out of six?" "I'm not talking about you, Twilight Sparkle. I'm talking about Celestia." Twilight and the others gasped in shock. "You wouldn't!" yelled Applejack. "Turning the princesses against each other would d--" "Destroy Equestria." Discord finished. "Eternal chaos." He let out a booming laugh. "We won't let you." said Rainbow Dash. "Oh, just try and stop me." said the voice. "I can be there in two seconds." "And so can we." said Twilight. She closed her eyes and concentrated her magic to perform the teleportation spell. But nothing happened. She opened her eyes. "What's going on?" she asked. "Uh, Twilight?" said Applejack. "Your horn?" "What about it?" she asked feeling her head. She let out a gasp. "My horn!" Discord laughed again. "Don't you remember the rules of last time? No magic." "That's cheating!" yelled Rarity. "What can I say?" said the voice. "I'm Discord. I AM chaos." The tree that had bent over returned upright and all the grass grew back. "He's gone." said Rarity. "And I think I know where he's headed." said Twilight. "Let's move, girls!" They all took off running towards Ponyville. The CMC Meet DiscordApple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all gathered at Cutie Mark Crusaders HQ; a tree house that Applejack let them have. They all gathered around their meeting table. "Cutie Mark Crusaders meeting is a go!" yelled Sweetie Belle. "This day's topic: Finding our Cutie Mark." "Isn't that our topic all the time?" asked Scootaloo. "Whatever." said Sweetie Belle. "So what ya'll wanna do today?" asked Apple Bloom. "Let's see..." said Sweetie Belle. "I know our special talent isn't in cooking, bowling, singing, comedy..." "Uh, Sweetie Belle?" asked Scootaloo. But Sweetie Belle continued. "hoof gliding, tap-dancing, making clothes, speed, riding a scooter..." "Sweetie Belle." said Scootaloo more loudly. "Yeah?" she asked. "Not helping." said Scootaloo. "Sorry." Apple Bloom sighed. "We need to think of something." she said. "I don't wanna be a blank flank forever." "Neither of us do." said Sweetie Belle. "That's right." said Scootaloo. "We just can't find anything we're good at." "There has to be something." said Apple Bloom. "There just has to be!" She let her head fall on the table. "It's hopeless!" she yelled, mumbled. "It's not hopeless." said Sweetie Belle, trying to soothe her friend. "We just have to work harder." Just then their tree house disappeared, leaving them in mid-air. "Well, this is weird." said Scootaloo. They screamed as gravity kicked in. They fell to the ground with a thud. Scootaloo stood up and shook her head. "Hey!" yelled Sweetie Belle. "Where's our headquarters?" They then heard a booming laughter. "Hello, girls." Discord's voice echoed. "Who's there?" asked Scootaloo. "I just wanted to thank you personally for setting me free the first time." "Wait a minute." said Apple Bloom. "Discord?" "That's right." said the voice. "And we... set you free the first time?" asked Scootaloo. "Precisely." "So, who set you free this time if it wasn't us?" asked Apple Bloom. "I believe it was two of your classmates. That pink filly and the gray filly that always hang out together." "Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon." said Sweetie Belle. "Figures." "Wait a minute." said Scootaloo. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS CHAOS STOPPERS!" "YEAH!" all three yelled at once. "Well, isn't that cute?" said Discord. "Look, Discord." said Sweetie Belle. "Could you at least give us our tree house back?" "I don't see why not." said the voice as their tree house magically reappeared. "It's not like it's going to last much longer anyway. Ta-ta." "Hey, wait!" yelled Sweetie Belle. No answer. "He's gone." said Scootaloo. "We need to warn the Princess!" yelled Apple Bloom. Shopping DisasterCherilee stopped in front of a fruit stand. It was run by Granny Smith. "Well, howdy there, Miss Cherilee." she said. "Hey, Granny Smith. Where's Applejack?" "Oh, she's off in them fields playin' with her friends." "That's nice." said Cherilee. She looked down at the apples. One of the moved. "Uh, Granny Smith?" "Yes, Miss Cherilee?" "One of the apples moved." "Well, that's just crazy talk." said Granny Smith. Just then all of the apples shot out of the barrels and spun around in the air. All of the ponies walking by stopped and watched. "Hey, look at those apples!" yelled Derpy. "They're dancing!" One of the apples flew towards her but she dodged it. "Hey!" yelled Derpy, looking back. "Watch it!" Then one hit her in the back of the head. "Somepony stop these crazy things!" yelled Cherilee, ducking under a nearby cart. Just then Twilight and her friends appeared. "We're too late." said Twilight. "We have to hurry." "Granny Smith!" yelled Applejack. "What's going on with the... Oh." she said, remembering. "Right." "Discord's been here." said Rainbow Dash. "He's getting closer to the castle. "He sure is taking is sweet time." said Rarity. "That's because he knows it's going to take us a while." said Twilight. Then an apple hit her on the head. "OW!" she yelled. "RUN!" She and the others took off through the town. Food from all the shopping carts either exploded as the ran past or shot up into the sky. "This is crazy!" yelled Cherilee. "What's going--" asked Lyra, stepping out of a nearby building. She was interrupted when an apple exploded in her face. "Not cool, man." she said. "Not cool." "I have an idea!" yelled Derpy. She took off full speed towards the floating apples. One shot away from the group and Derpy followed it. "I got you now." she said. The apple shot up and Derpy slammed into a store sign. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo arrived back in Ponyville to see chaos everywhere. "We need to hurry." said Apple Bloom. "He's already been here." "Apple Bloom?" asked Cherilee. "Girls? What are you doing?" "We need to warn the princesses." said Sweetie Belle. "Good idea." said Cherilee. "I'm coming with you." The four of them headed towards the train station. "I'm coming, too." said Lyra, following them. Derpy sat up and shook her head. "Me, too." The Train StationThe group arrived at the train station. The train wasn't there but Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon was. "Diamond Tiara?" asked Apple Bloom. "Silver Spoon? What are you two doing here?" "In case you haven't noticed," said Diamond Tiara. "the town has, like, gone crazy." "We came her to catch a train to Canterlot but it hasn't arrived yet." said Silver Spoon. "Wait." said Twilight. "The train hasn't arrived yet?" "How long have you two been waiting?" asked Cherilee. "Ugh." groaned Diamond Tiara. "Like, a half hour." "Something's not right here." said Scootaloo. "No." said Apple Bloom sarcastically. "Really?" "Hey, Twi..." Sweetie Belle started. "...light. Where's your horn?" "I don't even want to talk about it." said Twilight. "Hey, look." said Derpy. "I think I see something." "What is it?" asked Lyra. "I don't know." said Derpy. "But it's definitely something." "Can you at least describe it?" asked Lyra, getting annoyed. "It's big." "That's it." said Rainbow Dash, taking off from the ground. She hovered next to Derpy. "It's the train!" "Yay!" shouted the group. "Like, about time." said Diamond Tiara. "And it's on fire!" shouted Derpy. "Whoo!" The group quieted. "What?" asked Twilight. "Come on, Derpy." said Rainbow Dash, taking another look down the tracks. "The train's not-- OH MY GOSH! IT'S ON FIRE!" "WHAT?!" yelled Twilight. Everyone looked down the tracks. The train was rapidly approaching. It looked like a large fireball. The conductor jumped out and rolled along the ground. The train sped towards the train station. "Shouldn't we, like, move?" asked Diamond Tiara. "Moving sounds like a great idea." said Silver Spoon. They all backed away from the station. When the train arrived at the station, it suddenly stopped and the front cars arched upwards. The train horn blared. It looked like a fiery serpent. The back cars of the train slid sideways off the track and coil around behind the group, blocking their escape. "Are you serious?" asked Twilight. "We have to get passed a flaming serpent-train?!" "That's correct, Twilight Sparkle." Discord's voice boomed. "A little birdy told me about your encounter with an Ursa Minor." "What?" asked Twilight. "How'd you know about that?" "I know everything." said Discord. "So, let's put your skills to the test." "You took my horn." "That's a point. Very well. You may have your magic back minus any transportation skills." There was a flash of light as Twilight's horn reappeared on her head. "Aw, yeah." said Twilight. "It is on!" The Fiery Serpent-TrainThe front of the train reared back and the horn blew. "You sure you got this?" Rainbow Dash asked Twilight. "Oh, sure." answered Twilight nervously. "It's just a fiery train, right?" "Yeah." said Rainbow Dash hesitantly. The others backed as far away as they could. "You go, Twilight!" yelled Derpy, hovering above the ground. The front of the train immediately pointed at her. The windows glared bright red and the train horn blew again. Lyra reached up and pulled Derpy down to the ground. "Now's not the time." said Lyra. She and Derpy joined the group, leaving Twilight to face this monstrosity. The train aimed the front grill at Twilight and launched a fireball. Twilight jumped to the side as the fireball struck the ground. "Whoa!" she yelled. "Careful, Twilight!" yelled Cherilee. Twilight fired a magic bolt at the train. It had no effect. "Don't give up!" yelled Apple Bloom. "This is, like, not going to end well." said Diamond Tiara. "Got that right." Silver Spoon agreed. Twilight launched a couple more bolts before the train spewed out another fireball. She dodged this one, too. "What can I do?" asked Twilight. "Think." The train raised the front engine up high, getting ready to slam the ground. Twilight saw this and jumped out of the way as the train smacked the ground. It caused a shock wave that made Twilight stumble and roll across the ground. "Come on, Twilight!" yelled Spike. "Get up!" "Spike?" asked Twilight. "Spike?" Applejack also asked. "What are you doing here?" "All the books at the Library came to life and chased me out. I came here to catch a train to Canterlot." "Yeah." said Fluttershy. "You and everypony else." Twilight rolled out of the way of another fireball. The serpent-train reared back and slammed the ground, sending Twilight crashing through a nearby building. "Twilight!" yelled Spike. The door to the building opened and Twilight stepped out, wobbling. "Oh." Twilight groaned. "That one hurt." The serpent-train slithered forward. The other ponies all backed away as the flaming train slithered passed them. "Watch out, Twilight!" yelled Spike. "It's coming for you!" "Aw, that's just lovely." said Twilight sarcastically. "Think, girl. Think." She looked back at Ponyville and spotted the water tower. "That's it!" she yelled happily. She looked back and saw that the train had spewed another fireball. She jumped out of the way as the fireball decimated the building. She then took off full speed towards the water tower. The train slithered after her, the horn blaring. Twilight kept on running as fast as she could. There was about a mile between her and the tower. The train launched another fireball. This one was larger than the others. Twilight spun around and used her magic to create a shield. The force from the impact shattered the shield and sent Twilight tumbling across the ground. She skidded to a stop, kicking up dust. "Get up!" yelled Rainbow Dash. "You can do it!" yelled Sweetie Belle. Twilight slowly looked up, her whole body aching. Discord's laugh echoed throughout the sky. "Looks like you've failed, Twilight Sparkle." his voice echoed. "Not... yet." said Twilight, softly. She used her magic to raise the water tower and began moving it closer. The train's horn blared as it shot fire into the sky. "I guess the fun's over." said Discord. "I was hoping you'd last longer, Twilight Sparkle. I can't deny my new pet the satisfaction of finishing you, so..." The train blared its horn again. "Good bye." The train arched backwards, ready to flatten Twilight. The water tower was close enough now. Using all her might, Twilight threw it at the train. Upon impact it broke, sending the water pouring out all over the train. The fire began to disappear as the water snuffed out the train's engine. It let out one more roar before collapsing to the ground. "Yay, Twilight!" yelled Spike. "You did it!" "Very good, Twilight Sparkle." said Discord. "You continue to impress me." Twilight's horn disappeared again. The others rushed over to help her. "That was super cool." said Derpy. "Do it again." "Sorry Derpy." said Twilight, still lying on the ground. "I hope I'll never have to deal with something like that again." Twilight slowly stood up. Rarity stood next to her to make sure she didn't fall over. "You good?" asked Rarity. "Yeah." said Twilight. "I'm great. Now... it looks like we have to walk to Canterlot." "Then let's go." said Applejack. "Ugh." groaned Diamond Tiara. "Walk? To Canterlot?" "Oh, it's not that bad." Apple Bloom said smugly as she walked passed her. Luna And DiscordLuna paced back and forth in her room at Canterlot Castle. The walls had a dark purple wallpaper with little moons and stars. Her bed's covers were also a dark purple. All in all, it looked like night even in the day. There was a knock at the door. "Yes?" she asked. "It's me." Celestia's voice answered. "Come in." said Luna. Celestia opened the large double-door and enter Luna's room. "I assume you've heard about the chaos in Ponyville?" "What do you think's causing it?" asked Luna. "Not what. Who." "You mean..." Luna began. "Yes. Discord's back." said Celestia. "Again." "What do you propose we do?" asked Luna. "We need to combine our powers and defeat him." "Just like old times, huh?" "Yes, little sister." Celestia chuckled. "Just like old times." She left the room. Luna started to follow but stopped when the doors slammed shut. "Big sister!" Luna yelled, banging on the door. "Luna!" Celestia ran back to the door and tried to open it. Luna pounded frantically on the door. "Luna." said a voice. Luna stopped banging and scanned the room for any signs of life. "Oh, Luna." the voice said again. "Over here." Luna looked at the stained-glass window in her room. It depicted Ponyville at the bottom with the moon shining bright at the top. Just then a clawed hand came out from behind the moon and a form lifted itself up. "Discord." said Luna spitefully. Discord sat on the moon and stared back at Luna. "We meet again, dear Luna." said Discord. "What do you want?" asked Luna cautiously. "I want to help you." said Discord. "How could you possibly help me?" "I know that deep down you hate your sister." "THAT'S A LIE!" yelled Luna. "Is it?" asked Discord. "It's happened to you once before. Remember?" "I remember." "So, it's not a lie." Discord continued. "You don't like the fact that everypony sleeps during the night. With my help, you will be able to achieve eternal night." "I'm not the same as I was before." said Luna. "I've changed." "You're a lot less fun." said Discord, jumping off the moon. The rug on the floor sparkled as Discord's face appeared on it. "But I can fix that." "Just go." said Luna. "My sister and I will defeat you again." "Oh, Luna." said Discord. "You're not seeing the big picture. Celestia doesn't love you." "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" yelled Luna. "Don't listen to him, little sister!" Celestia yelled through the door. "If it wasn't for you, she would have to raise the moon." Discord continued. "She needs you so she can relax during the night." "Stop talking." said Luna. "Right now!" "Tell me, Luna. How did it feel when your sister banished you inside the moon?" Luna's eyes grew wide as she remembered. "How much love did your sister show you then?" Luna fell to the floor, clutching her head. Dark energy circled around her. "If I were you, I'd show Celestia who really should be in charge." He paused. "You." A dark energy blast erupted from Luna, blowing up her room and sending the debris crashing down the side of the mountain. The doors flew off their hinges. Celestia ducked as they shot over her head. "Oh, no." she said. "Luna." Luna stepped out of her room, dark energy trailing behind her. "Hey, sis." she said. "Want to play?" Sisterly QuarrelLuna and Celestia were both pretty high up now. Celestia had almost caught up. Luna whipped around and fired a beam of dark energy from her horn. Celestia rolled to the side and dodged the attack. The two sisters continued firing at each other, lighting up the sky. From down below it looked like a massive thunder storm. Luna shot passed her sister and kicked her in the side. Celestia flapped her wings repeatedly to keep her balance. She dove as Luna shot passed again. She spun around and fired a beam of light energy at Luna. The beam shot passed her head. Luna spun around and fired a beam of dark energy. Celestia did the same but with light energy. The two collided, causing a flash. The two beams struggled to overcome each other. Luna concentrated her energy, making her beam start to over come Celestia's. Celestia struggled against Luna's power. "Give up, sister!" yelled Luna. "We always knew I was the most powerful!" Celestia flicked her head to the side, causing both beams to strike the ground below. Twilight and her friends reached the castle gates and turned around. The sky flashed repeatedly as the two sisters fought. "How could this have happened?" asked Twilight. "I'll tell you how." said Rainbow Dash. "Discord. He finally found a way to ensure absolute chaos." "We've lost." said Twilight, hanging her head. "I've failed you, Princess." "Now, what kind of talk is that?" asked Applejack. "It sounds like you're giving up." "We can't give up." said Apple Bloom. "We just can't." Applejack looked at her sister and smiled. "I won't give up." said Derpy. "Me, neither." said Lyra. Applejack turned back to Twilight. "Ya see, Twilight? We're all right here with you." "What's our first move?" asked Rarity. Twilight thought about it for a minute. "If we're gonna save the princesses, we're gonna need to defeat Discord again." "So that means..." Rarity started. "The Elements Of Harmony!" yelled Pinkie Pie. "Well, where are they?" asked Fluttershy. Twilight turned back to the castle. "They're in there." she said. The group looked down the courtyard at the castle. Lightning and energy blasts repeatedly struck the ground. Luna fired another bolt. Celestia dodged it and launched a beam of light energy. Luna spun out of the way and circled around her sister like a hawk does to its prey. Celestia fired another beam. This one also missed. "Come on, sis!" yelled Luna. "We both know I'm the fastest!" She zipped passed Celestia twice, kicking her in the head both times. "That's it." said Celestia. "This ens NOW!" She fired a bolt of light energy at Luna. Luna also launched a dark energy bolt. The two collided and exploded. The light blinded Luna, giving Celestia an opening. She flew though the blinding light and grabbed Luna. She then took off straight for the ground. "LET ME GO!" yelled Luna. "ONLY IF YOU STOP THIS!" "NEVER!" "THAN YOU LEAVE ME NO CHOICE!" Twilight looked up and saw the two sisters spiraling towards the ground. "Pull up." urged Twilight. "Pull up." Celestia closed her eyes as they impacted the ground. The shock wave knocked Twilight and the others on their sides. The whole front half of the castle crumbled and fell to the ground. Everything went silent. Who won? When Darkness Falls"What happened?" asked Rainbow Dash. Twilight took off towards the castle. "Twilight!" yelled Spike. "Where you going?" But Twilight didn't stop. She just kept running. When she arrived at the courtyard she stopped. There was smoke everywhere making it impossible to see. The smoke eventually began to clear, revealing the two prinesses. They lay still on the ground. At first Twilight thought they were dead, then she saw Celestia's hoof move. Celestia raised her head to look at Luna. "Sister." she said softly. Luna didn't move. "Princess?" asked Twilight. Celestia turned her head to look at her. "Twilight?" Twilight knelt next to Celestia and helped her up. Twilight noticed Luna's hoof budge. "Come on, Princess." urged Twilight. "We have to go." "I can't leave her." said Celestia weakly. "We'll find a way to save her." said Twilight. "But we won't be able to if she kills us." Celestia took one final look at her sister before following Twilight. Luna looked up slowly just as Celestia faded from view. "It's not over yet." she said as she stood up. She held out her wings to maintain balance. She then shot a beam of dark energy into the sky. Twilight, Celestia, and the others all looked up. Clouds started to swirl around the area where the beam met the sky. Lightning struck the ground as the sky turned a dark red. The broken pieces of Canterlot Castle began to swirl around in a tornado, returning to their original spot. When the wind cleared, the castle was put back together. Then all of a sudden spikes started to jut out of the stones. The towers grew a bit taller and gargoyles formed on their roofs. The pretty stone of Canterlot Castle turned to a blackish color. The entrance to the castle went from a large double-door to a large drop-down steel gate. Luna let out an evil laugh that echoed throughout the courtyard. "BEHOLD!" she yelled. "GAZE UPON MY WORK, YE PONIES... AND DESPAIR!" Twilight and the others looked hopelessly at each other. "What are we going to do?" asked Rarity. "I'm not sure." said Twilight. "But we're definitely NOT gonna give up." "Are you sure?" asked Diamond Tiara. "I mean, it looks kind, like, dangerous." "Not scared, are ya?" asked Apple Bloom. "Scared?" asked Diamond Tiara. "Puh-lease." "Yeah." said Silver Spoon. "As if." "So how do you plan on getting the Elements Of Harmony, now?" asked Lyra. "No clue." said Twilight. "But I'll do whatever it takes." There was a booming sound in the sky, causing everyone to look up. A huge army of black ponies, unicorns, and pegasuses dropped down from the sky. They were each covered in a dark mist. "Well, that doesn't look good." said Derpy. "It's her Shadow Force." said Celestia. "Shadow Force?" asked Twilight. "Yes. When she was Nightmare Moon, she talked about summoning a whole army of them. I always hoped she wouldn't." "Are they tough?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Very." "Oh, great." "Well, girls..." said Twilight. "we're gonna have to retreat to form a plan." "I like that idea." said Fluttershy. The group took one last look at the castle before heading off. AftermathThe group arrived back in Ponyville. The fire from the train was starting to spread. Pinkie stood in front of Sugarcube Corner. It was ablaze, causing Pinkie to have to shield her eyes. The roof caved in and crumbled. Pinkie sat down and started to cry. Rainbow Dash stood next to her. "I'm sorry, Pinkie." she said sympathetically. "It was my home." cried Pinkie. "Where will I go?" Twilight and Spike stood in front of the Library. "Our home." she said. "All those books. It's all gone." Fluttershy ran to her home and stood at what was left of the bridge. Her home was on fire, too. The forest around her home had burnt down. All that was left was dirt, ash, and rubble. "No." she cried softly. "It's all... GONE!" She knelt down and cried. Lyra saw her as she was walking by. "Fluttershy?" asked Lyra. She knelt down next to Fluttershy. "You okay?" she asked, sympathetically. "All the animals..." said Fluttershy. "Where will they go?" Lyra put put a hoof around Fluttershy and held her close. "We'll get through this." she said. "We just have to be strong." Fluttershy cried and Lyra cried with her. Derpy slowly flew through the streets of Ponyville, looking around at all the damage. She then stopped and sat down. Rarity came over to check on her. "Derpy?" she asked. Derpy sniffed and wiped a tear away. "Yeah?" "How you feeling?" "Not good." said Derpy. "Not good at all." "Just hang in there." said Rarity. "We'll do all right." "I never imagined this would happen." said Derpy, wiping away another tear. "It's just so hard." Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon stood in front of their school. Cherilee, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo joined them. "This is terrible." said Cherilee. "I've never seen so much destruction." said Silver Spoon. "This is, like, unbearable." said Diamond Tiara. A tear formed in her eye. "I just want it to be, like... OVER!" "It's okay, Diamond Tiara." said Sweetie Belle. "If we work together, we can overcome anything." "Why are you being nice to me?" "Because it looks like you could use a friend right now." Diamond Tiara gave Apple Bloom a thankful smile. Applejack stood at the edge of Ponyville, looking down the path that led to Sweet Apple Acres. She could see the barns burning in the distance. Celestia stood in the center of town and looked around. Twilight stood next to her. "Can you fix this. Princess?" she asked. "I'm afraid not, Twilight." said Celestia. "I'll need to combine my powers with that of my sister's but..." She hung her head and sighed. "But that's not going to happen now." "Don't worry, Princess. We'll stop Discord and save Luna." "I appreciate your optimism," said Celestia. "but it's not as easy as that." "What do you mean?" asked Twilight. "We've defeated her before." "But you've never fought her at her full strength before." said Celestia. "And we can't even get inside the castle to get the Elements Of Harmony." "So, what should we do?" "We'll move to another town and set up a base. Let the others know." "You got it, Princess." said Twilight, heading off to spread the news. Celestia looked up at the castle. Dark clouds hung in the sky and thunder boomed overhead. "I will save you, sister. I give you my word." Bon-Bon's BonbonsThe group finally arrived in Manehattan. A few of them, along with Twilight, collapsed to the ground, out of breath. A pony came over to greet them. The pony was tan with a pink mane. Her cutie mark was three gumdrops. "Are you girls, okay?" she asked. "Not really." said Twilight. Just then the pony noticed Celestia and bowed. "Princess." she said. "And what's your name?" Celestia asked. "I'm Gumdrop." said the pony. "It's nice to meet you." "It's nice to meet you, too." said Celestia. "Is there a hotel here?" asked Twilight. "Of course." said Gumdrop. "Hey, girls." said another pony as she came to join the conversation. She was carrying saddle bags filled with candy. "Bon-Bon?" asked Twilight. "What are you doing here?" "I came here to visit a friend." said Bon-Bon. "Hey. Want a bonbon?" "Excuse me?" asked Twilight. "Bonbon." said Bon-Bon. "Candy. Want one?" "Uhh..." said Twilight. "Maybe more than one bonbon?" asked Bon-Bon. "Want some bonbons?" "Bon-Bon..." said Twilight, standing up. She took a deep breath. "We don't want your bonbons, Bon-Bon." "Why? Something wrong?" "I don't think you wanna hear it." said Applejack. "No, I do." said Bon-Bon. Twilight looked at Celestia. The princess sighed and knelt down in front of Bon-Bon so they could be at eye level. "Bon-Bon..." said Celestia, softly. "The thing is..." She stopped to sigh. The smile on Bon-Bon's face faded. "What's going on?" "Ponyville's gone." Celestia finished. "What?" asked Bon-Bon. "I don't..." She dropped the saddle bag and knelt down. "Ponyville was my home." "It was home to all of us." said Twilight. "Well... what happened." asked Bon-Bon. "Discord returned and corrupted my sister." Celestia explained. "Hey, look," said Gumdrop. "I know the owner of the hotel here. I'll talk her into letting you stay for free." "Thank you." said Celestia, standing up. "Don't mention it." replied Gumdrop. The group followed Gumdrop to the hotel. Bon-Bon didn't move. She stuck her head into her saddle bag and started to eat some of the candy. Rainbow Dash stopped and turned around. "Bon-Bon?" she asked. "What are you doing?" "I eat when I'm nervous." Bon-Bon replied with a mouth full of chocolate. "You go. I'll catch up." "All right." said Dash. She turned and rejoined the others. Bon-Bon just kept eating chocolate. Later That NightTwilight awoke. The sound of crackling flames ringing in her ears. She got out of bed and left her room. She looked down both ends of the hall. There was no one. She walked to the end of the hall and headed down to the first floor. The lounge room was lit with only a couple table lamps. She entered the lounge, passing a mirror on the wall. She stopped when something caught her eye. She stood in front of the mirror and gasped. Her horn was back. She smiled and headed further into the lounge. She then slumped down in an arm chair and sighed. "Twilight?" asked a voice. Twilight looked over and saw a familiar face. "Trixie?" asked Twilight. Trixie took a couple steps forward. "What are you doing here?" "I don't want to talk about it." said Twilight. Trixie sat down an the chair across from Twilight. "Something bad happened, didn't it?" asked Trixie. "Trixie..." Twilight started. "I..." She paused. "Hang on. What are you doing here?" "Me? Well..." "Yeah." said Twilight, leaning forward a bit. "Last time I saw you, you were running for the hills. Now... you're here." "Well..." said Trixie. "You see... I-it's... It's a long story." "I have time." said Twilight. "Sort of." "Well..." Trixie took a deep breath. "After my fallout in Ponyville I returned home. Here. Before I knew it, my fans dropped by, like, 80%. My pay rate dropped and I lost my house. Now I make just enough to get by living here." "Wow." said Twilight, sympathetically. "That's terrible. I guess having bad things happen to us is one thing we have in common." "Why? What happened to you?" "One of our old enemies returned and corrupted Princess Luna. This resulted in Ponyville burning to the ground. Now we're on the run from Luna's dark forces." "That. Is. Insane." "Wanna help?" asked Twilight. "We sure could use you." "Well, I... have been practicing my magic." "So, it's settled, then?" "I guess so." "Great." said Twilight. "I'm off to bed. See you tomorrow." Just then the front door opened. "I am so... full." said Bon-Bon. "Bon-Bon?" asked Twilight, meeting her at the front door. "It's really late." "Well, I ate a lot, all right? I'm really depressed. I just found out my home burnt down." "How 'bout I show you to your room?" offered Twilight. "Sounds great." said Bon-Bon, stumbling and hitting the wall. "Why don't I help you?" "That sounds great, too." The Morning AfterTwilight entered the lounge the next morning to find Bon-Bon standing in front of the fireplace. She looked a little depressed so Twilight went over to make sure she was okay. "Bon-Bon?" asked Twilight. "Doing any better?" "I don't know, Twilight." said Bon-Bon. "I'm not sure if I'll ever get over it. Ponyville was the only home I ever knew. And now it's gone." "We're all here for you. You know that, right?" "Yeah." said Bon-Bon. "Thanks." "We're up early." said Trixie, entering the lounge. "What's going on?" "Trixie?" asked Bon-Bon. "You're here?" "Uh... yeah. You saw me last night." "I don't really remember last night." said Bon-Bon. Just then they heard a thud outside. Twilight went to the window and looked out. She immediately ducked under the window. "Get down." she whispered. "Now." Bon-Bon and Trixie dropped to the floor. "Why are we ducking?" asked Bon-Bon. "And why are we whispering." "It's the Shadow Force." whispered Twilight. "They work for Luna. They can't know we're here." "What's going on, girls?" asked Derpy, standing at the top of the stairs, rubbing her eyes. "Derpy!" whispered Twilight. "What?" asked Derpy. She took a step forward and tumbled down the stairs. Twilight peeked outside. One of the shadow unicorns approached the front door of the hotel. "If we're quiet, maybe they'll go away." whispered Twilight. "What's going--" Derpy started. Trixie used her magic to pull Derpy over to her. She then put a hoof over Derpy's mouth. "Shh." she whispered. The shadow unicorn used his magic to blow up the door. "RUN!" yelled Twilight. She used her magic to throw a chair at the window, shattering it. She and the others then jumped out. They now stood in the streets of Manehattan. The shadow unicorns turned away from the hotel to look at Twilight. "Well, well, well." said one of the unicorns. "What have we here?" "It looks like our prey is giving up." said another. "We'll never give up!" yelled Twilight. "How heroic." said the third unicorn. "I'll show you heroic." said Trixie. She fired a bolt at the three shadow unicorns. They jumped out of the way as the bolt struck the ground. "ATTACK!" yelled Twilight. One of the upstairs windows of the hotel opened. "What's all the commotion?" asked Rarity. She let out a long gasp before disappearing back inside. Twilight lunged at one of the unicorns, tripping him. He countered with a kick to Twilight's back. She fell to the ground as the unicorn stood up. Trixie tackled her opponent to the ground. The shadow unicorn fired multiple bolts but couldn't hit Trixie. Derpy and Bon-Bon cowered against the side of the hotel as the third unicorn approached them. "I don't believe my luck." said the unicorn. "My easiest prey ever." "This is bad." said Bon-Bon. "This is really, really bad." "We can't give up!" yelled Derpy, getting up. "I won't give up." "How brave." said the unicorn. "This one's ready to die." "CHARGE!" Derpy yelled as she flew full speed into the unicorn. She tackled the shadow unicorn to the ground and started whaling on him. Go, Derpy!" yelled Bon-Bon. "Get off of me!" yelled the unicorn, flipping over. Derpy rolled across the ground. The unicorn raised Derpy with his magic and threw her into Bon-Bon. The two collided and collapsed to the floor. Bon-Bon!" yelled Twilight, dodging an attack. "Derpy!" She stepped to the side to avoid a dark energy bolt. "How do we beat them?" asked Trixie. "I don't know." said Twilight. A dark energy bolt struck her, sending her slamming into the side of the hotel. "Twilight!" yelled Trixie. Trixie was also struck by a dark energy bolt. She hit the side of the hotel and collapsed to the ground. "It's over." said Twilight. "We've lost." The shadow unicorns gathered around the fallen and built up energy in their horns. "I have to admit, I'm surprised." said one of the unicorns. "You put up a better fight than I thought you would. Too bad it has to end." Twilight closed her eyes, awaiting the final blow. Just then Princess Celestia dropped down between the unicorns and the others. "This ends now!" yelled Celestia. She fired a beam of light energy that blinded the unicorns. Celestia kept up the attack. Twilight opened her eyes and watched as the shadow unicorns let out a yell as they burst into smoke and faded away. Celestia stopped her attack and turned to Twilight. "Are you all right?" she asked. "Yeah." said Twilight. "What was that?" "The only way to defeat them is with light." Celestia explained. "I'll teach you and the other unicorn's the Light spell. I think you girls are ready." "Thanks, Princess." said Twilight. Conquering FillydelphiaLuna stood in the center of Fillydelphia, watching as her Shadow Force rounded up all the ponies, unicorns, and pegasuses into a group. They were then brought to the center of town. Luna stood in front of them. "Listen up!" yelled Luna. "I will give you two choices! The first choice... you join my Shadow Force army and help me rule Equestria my way. The second choice... you may refuse. However, refusing will ensure you a place in the dungeons of my castle. You shall remain there until you change your mind... or die of starvation. What's your decision?" "I refuse!" yelled a voice. "Me, too!" yelled another. Luna's eyes narrowed. "Who said that?" "We did!" yelled one of the voices. The group parted, revealing two unicorns. One was yellow with a blue mane. Her cutie mark was a blue t-shirt. The other was blue with a yellow mane. Her cutie mark was a fern leaf. "And who are you two?" asked Luna, approaching them. "I'm Macy." said the yellow unicorn, sounding brave. "And I'm Fern." said the other, sounding not as brave. "And why do you refuse?" asked Luna. "I'm offering you a chance to be free." "Free?" asked Macy. "That's not freedom! It's slavery with benefits!" Luna laughed. "Slavery with benefits, huh?" She laughed again. "That's a good one." She began to talk normal again. "I'll have to remember that one." "Look, Princess..." said Fern. "Before, I would've followed you anywhere. Now..." she paused. "You're evil... and I'll never work for you!" "You two are pretty brave." said Luna. "Talking to me like that. It's commendable. I could really use warriors like you two. Too bad you have to spend eternity in the dungeons." She motioned to a couple Shadow Guards. "Take them away." The guards moved into the group and held Fern and Macy with magic. They then carried them away kicking and screaming. "Anypony else feels the same way?" No one said a thing. "Good." said Luna. She charged up dark energy in her horn. Upon releasing it, the dark energy formed a bubble around the group. When the bubble dissipated, all the townsfolk were a darker shade of their former self. Each had a gaseous dark energy cloud emitting from them. Their eyes were also glowing bright red. Luna smiled as she heard a unicorn land behind her. She turned around and saw a member of her scouting party. "Princess Luna." he said. "I've got some bad news." "What is it?" asked Luna. "The unit you sent to defeat the escapees have failed." "What?!" yelled Luna, her eyes turning completely white. "They were defeated by your sister and a few of her friends." Luna let out a massive yell, dark energy shooting out from her body. When she calmed down a bit, she stormed passed the scout. "Must I do everything myself?" she asked, evaporating into a gas cloud and floating away. The Shadow Bolts VS The WonderboltsTwilight, Rarity and Trixie gathered in front of the hotel. "What's going on?" asked Rarity. "Princess Celestia is gonna show us how to use Light attacks." sad Twilight. Celestia emerged from the hotel. "Ready, my little ponies?" she asked. "You bet, Princess." said Twilight enthusiastically. "All right, then." said Celestia. "Let's get started. First, you--" "Well, well, well." said a voice. Twilight and the others turned around to see a trio of costumed pegasuses landed in front of them. They slightly resembled the Wonderbolts but had darker costumes. "You again?" asked Twilight. "You know them?" asked Trixie. "We saw them the night we went looking for the Elements Of Harmony for the first time. They tried to get Rainbow Dash to abandon us." "I'm pleased you remember us." said one of the pegasuses. "You can call us The Shadow Bolts." "The Shadow Bolts?" asked Rainbow Dash, sticking her head out from one of the hotel windows. She flew out and landed next to Trixie. "You three again?" "So, I hear you're trying to save Equestria from the Princess Of The Night." said one of the Shadow Bolts. "The Shadow Bolts?" asked a yellow pegasus, landing next to the Shadow Bolts. "What are you? Impostors?" "Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!" yelled Rainbow Dash excitedly. "And who are you?" asked the leader of the Shadow Bolts. "I'm Spitfire of The Wonderbolts. You?" "I'm Thunderbolt." said the leader. "And this is Storm Cloud and Raven." Spitfire put a hoof to her lips and whistled as loud as she could. Two other pegasuses appeared and landed next to Spitfire. "And this is Soarin and Fleetfoot." said Spitfire. "Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!" Rainbow Dash repeated. "Look, I don't know who you think you are," said Spitfire, getting all up in Thunderbolt's face. "but we were doing this way before you were." "Oh, Spitfire." said Thunderbolt. "It's not about the occupation." "What do you mean?" asked Spitfire. "We don't care who you are or what you do." said Thunderbolt. "We just want the Princess." Spitfire took a step back as Soarin and Fleetfoot stood next to her. "I'm afraid we can't let you do that." said Spitfire. "Well, you're not the opponents we were looking for," said Thunderbolt. "but you'll do." Storm Cloud tackled Fleetfoot to the ground. Raven rammed into Soarin, who kicked Raven to the side. The two leaders faced each other as the others engaged in conflict. Raven dodged a kick from Soarin and countered with a headbutt, knocking him over. Fleetfoot rolled over, winding up on top of Storm Cloud. She then punched him in the face a couple times before Storm Cloud kicked her off. Fleetfoot tumbled across the ground and looked up as Storm Cloud rammed into her. Thunderbolt and Spitfire circled each other. "You may be good at flying, Spitfire," Thunderbolt taunted. "but the Shadow Bolts are the best fighters." "Then let's see what you got." Spitfire said, lunging at Thunderbolt. She stepped aside as Spitfire shot passed. She then kicked Spitfire in the back. She fell to the ground with a thud. "Don't you Wonderbolts know any other attack?" Thunderbolt laughed. "We're not unicorns, you know?" said Spitfire, getting up. "Our attack range is limited." "All right. You know what?" asked Thunderbolt. "I think I'll give you a fighting chance." She took off into the sky. "Come and face me!" she yelled back. "Bad move." said Spitfire, taking off after Thunderbolt. Soarin tried to ram Raven but missed. Raven then kicked Soarin in the legs, forcing him to kneel. She then stood in front of him and kicked him in the head, knocking him out. "That's one down." said Raven. She looked over at Storm Cloud. He kicked Fleetfoot in the stomach when she tried to pounce on him. She let out a grunt of pain as Storm Cloud's hoof collided with her stomach. She fell to the ground, moaning. She looked up as Storm Cloud kicked her in the face, knocking her out. "Two down." said Storm Cloud. "One more left." Both he and Raven looked up at Thunderbolt. Spitfire flew around Thunderbolt in circles. She then broke from her path and shot passed Thunderbolt, kicking her in the face. She then went back to flying in circles around Thunderbolt. What's the matter?" asked Spitfire. "Too fast for you?" "Oh, you wish." said Thunderbolt. She carefully watched Spitfire as she circled. Just then she shot forward, ramming into Spitfire at full speed. Thunderbolt hovered and watched as Spitfire fell from the sky. She hit the ground and tumbled a bit before skidding to a stop. Thunderbolt then landed in front of her. "You know, Spitfire. t's been fun... but it's time to end this." She placed her hoof on Spitfire's head. Thunderbolt then raised her hoof, getting ready for the final blow. "I've had enough of this." said Celestia. She concentrated hard as a blinding light shown from her horn. Thunderbolt stumbled back and shielded her eyes. The other two did the same. "CURSE YOU, CELESTIA!" yelled Thunderbolt. She and the other two Shadow Bolts took off back towards the castle. Celestia went over to Spitfire. "I'm sorry, Princess." said Spitfire. "I've failed you." "Oh, Spitfire. You didn't fail me. You did your best, and that's all that matters." "Thanks, Princess." "Besides," said Celestia. "I did't expect you would defeat my sister." "That was Luna?" asked Twilight. "Yes, Twilight." answered Celestia. "It's one of her powers. She can change her form into anything she wants. It appears the Shadow Bolts are one of her forms." "Will you help us learn how to defeat her?" asked Trixie. "Of course." said Celestia. "Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!" yelled Rainbow Dash excitedly. "What up with you?" asked Bon-Bon. "I get to hang with the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "Sounds like fun..." said Spitfire. "But we need to rest first." "Of course." said Rainbow Dash. "Need help to a room?" "That'd be nice." said Spitfire. TrottinghamTrixie built up Light in her horn but it soon faded. "Keep trying." said Celestia. "You'll get it." She walked over to Twilight "Twilight Sparkle. May I speak with you?" "Of course." said Twilight. "What is it?" "I need you to take some of your friends over to Trottingham and see if anypony will help us." "You got it, Princess." said Twilight, trotting off. A couple minutes later, Twilight, Spike, Lyra, and Bon-Bon appeared in Trottingham. "Magic makes traveling easier." said Twilight. "Where should we start?" asked Spike. "Let's try in that building right there." said Lyra, pointing to a large building nearby. They entered the building and looked around. They saw a bunch of unicorns painting on easels set up all around the room. They walked around, looking at all of the finished pictures hanging on the walls. "These are good." said Twilight." "Really good." "You like them?" asked a voice. Twilight and the others turned and saw a red pony with a yellow mane. "Yeah, they're great." said Twilight. "Who are you?" "I'm Strawberry." said the Unicorn. "My friend's one of the painters. Want to meet her?" "Sure." said Twilight. "This way." Twilight and the others followed Strawberry through the aisle in between a line of painters. They then stopped next to one. "Hey, Strawberry." said the painter, noticing them approaching. "Who are your friends?" "I'm Twilight. This is Spike, Lyra, and Bon-Bon." "Hi. I'm May." said the unicorn. "So you painted some of the pictures on the walls?" asked Lyra. "You bet." said May. "I had some help from Dawn with a few of them." "Dawn?" asked Bon-Bon. "Who's that?" "That's me." said the unicorn on the other side of May. Dawn was blue with a pink mane. "I don't believe I've ever seen you four in town before." "We're been sent by the Princess." said Twilight. "Really?" asked May. "What for?" "Have you heard what happened in Canterlot?" asked Bon-Bon. "No. what?" asked Dawn. The Shadow Bolts landed in the courtyard of what used to be Canterlot Castle. They then evaporated into a cloud, merged into one cloud, and then formed Luna. "Unbelievable." said Luna. "I'm guessing something went wrong." said Discord, appearing next to her. "Those Wonderbolts appeared." said Luna. "I defeated them, but before I could finish them my sister blinded me with Light." "I hate Light." said Discord. "It's too cheerful." Luna looked over at the Canterlot Sculpture Garden. "Discord. If those ponies manage to make it here, there's something I want you to do." "That's terrible." said Dawn. "Well, if the Princess is looking for help, I'll be more than happy to." said May. "Count me in, too." said Dawn. "Great." said Twilight. "I'll tell the Princess. "Hold on a second." said Dawn. She did a couple more brush strokes and then set the brush down. "Done." "Done." May also said, setting down her brush. "Now, let's go." said Dawn. "Where you girls going?" asked Strawberry. "We're gonn help the Princess save Equestria." said May. "Whoo-hoo!" "Can I come?" asked Strawberry. "Don't see why not." said Twilight. "Ready?" "Oh, yeah." said Dawn. Twilight smiled. "Fantastic." Darkness RisingA shadow unicorn knocked a pony to the ground, right in front of Luna. Luna and her Shadow Force had just conquered Hoofington. "This one's been causing trouble." said the unicorn. The pony cowered and whimpered as Luna knelt down. "Why do you refuse to work, little pony?" asked Luna. "You have it much easier than those in Fillydelphia." "I'm s-sorry." said the pony, sounding extremely frightened. "What's your name?" Luna asked. "V-Violet." said the pony. She was purple with a magenta colored mane. "Please don't hurt me." "Hurt you?" asked Luna. "I'm not gonna hurt you." "You're n-not?" asked Violet. "Of course not. If I did that you wouldn't be able to work." Luna narrowed her eyes. "You ARE going to work, right?" Violet nodded. "Good girl." Luna stood up as Violet slowly walked away. She then looked up at the sky. The dark clouds had spread from Canterlot. They now covered almost half of Equestria, which included the towns of Fillydelphia, Ponyville, and now Hoofington. The other half of Equestria was covered in sunlight. Towns on the Light side included Trottingham, Manehattan, and Appleloosa. "Very impressive, Luna." said Discord, appearing from her shadow. "I love what you've done with the place." Luna smiled. "Behold, Discord. My Darkness is spreading like wildfire. It will soon take control over all of Equestria and my dreams of eternal darkness can finally be fulfilled." "Well, Luna," said Discord. "that's--" "And the only ones that can stop me are still out there!" yelled Luna angrily. She turned to a group of nearby shadow pegasuses and unicorns. "SOMEPONY FIND THEM!" The group quickly turned to look at her. "FIND MY SISTER AND HER FRIENDS AND STOP THEM!" The pegasuses quickly took to the sky. "WHATEVER IT TAKES! DON'T LET THEM GAIN AN ADVANTAGE!" "Luna..." said Discord. "you're really going to let them defeat Celestia?" "Oh, there's no way they'll defeat my sister." said Luna. "I'm just hoping they'll put an end to Twilight and her friends. Celestia's mine." Derpy's Big MomentDerpy sat outside of the hotel, watching the storm clouds in the distance. Lyra approached from behind. "Derpy?" she asked. "They're getting closer." said Derpy. "We'll be okay." said Lyra. "Will we?" asked Derpy. "Derpy..." said Lyra. "This is a side of you I haven't seen." "I may be weird but I'm not stupid." said Derpy. "I know what's coming. I just don't know if I'm ready for it." "Oh, Derpy." said Lyra. "You will." "Will I?" asked Derpy, a tear falling from her eye. "I'm cross-eyed, Lyra. I've gotten used to it, but it still makes me clumsy. And with my learning disability, everypony thinks I'm an airhead." She hung her head as another tear fell from her eye. "I'm worthless." Lyra put an "arm" around Derpy and gave her a hug. "I don't think you're worthless." she said. "Thanks, Lyra." said Derpy, smiling. "That means a lot." Later that day, Derpy sat in the lounge of the hotel, staring out the broken window. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were playing outside. Twilight was inside. Reading, of course. The others were off on errands. Just then three shadow pegasuses landed with a loud thud. Apple Bloom and the other fillies stopped playing and stared in fear. Derpy jumped up and Twilight set her book down and ran to the window. "Not more of them." said Twilight. She leaped out of the window and charged at the group. They took to the sky as Twilight ran passed them. One of them landed behind her and shot her with a dark energy blast. "Twilight!" yelled Scootaloo. "Oh, no." whimpered Derpy. The three pegasuses gathered around Twilight. "Well, that was easy." said one of them. "Let's take her back to the Princess." said another. "Hold it right there!" The group of shadow pegasuses turned towards the hotel. A gray pegasus stood in front of the hotel. "And what do you want?" asked one of them. "You will NOT hurt my friends!" Derpy yelled. "And what are you gonna do?" one of them asked. "You're cross-eyed. I bet you can't even see properly." Derpy's eyes narrowed and she let out a massive yell. She then took off at the pegasuses. They again took to the sky. Derpy took off, too. All four were now in the air. One of the shadow pegasuses lunged itself at Derpy. Derpy shot to the side, letting the attacker pass. "You got me mad." said Derpy. "Not good." "Ooh, I'm so scared." said one of the enemies. "She's mad." The others laughed. "You're laughing at me?" asked Derpy. Her eyes narrowed. "Big mistake." Storm clouds started to swirl above her head. "Uh..." said one of the pegasuses. "What's going on?" "You see..." said Derpy. "Because you're not a real pegasus, you can't control the weather. Like me." A bolt of lightning struck the three shadow pegasuses. And another. And another. After a few more bolts. The pegasuses let out a yell as they evaporated into little dust particles. The clouds dissipated as Derpy let out a sigh and gently lowered herself back down to the ground. Twilight was watching her. "Derpy..." she said. "That was amazing." "Thanks, Twilight." said Derpy, collapsing to the ground, inhaling deeply. "That took a lot out of me." She tried to keep her eyes open but couldn't. Derpy then proceeded to pass out. Derpy's TrainingDerpy opened her eyes. She was back in the hotel. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What happened?" "You saved us." said a voice. Derpy looked over and saw Sweetie Belle standing with Rarity. "It was nothing." said Derpy, groggily. "Nothing?" asked Rarity. "You saved my sister and her friends. You're a hero." "A... hero?" Derpy asked. Celestia entered the room and stood beside Derpy's bed. Derpy looked up at her as she knelt down. Rarity and Sweetie Belle left the room. "That was a very brave thing you did today." she said kindly. "You've really shown you have what it takes to be fighting alongside us when the time comes." Derpy's eyes lit up. She was living her dream of being noticed and appreciated. It's all she ever wanted. For once she wasn't a klutz. "However..." Celestia continued. Derpy left the realm of her imagination and returned her focus to the princess. "you used your powers in anger. We can't have that happening every time." "That wasn't the only reason, princess." said Derpy quickly. "I did it because they were also threatening my friends." Celestia smiled. "Still... we should help you improve your ability so you'll be able to use it in battle." Derpy gave her a smile. Twilight and Trixie stood outside the hotel and watched Celestia train Derpy. "All right, Derpy." said Celestia. "Every pegasus has the power to control the weather and move the clouds. In order to use this as a weapon, you must concentrate hard." Derpy closed her eyes and dark clouds started to form above her head. They didn't last long, however. They soon dissipated. "Concentrate harder." Celestia urged. Derpy closed her eyes and concentrated. Rainbow Dash exited the hotel and stood next to Twilight. "What's going on?" she asked. "Celestia's training Derpy." Twilight responded. Derpy closed her eyes tightly and grunted with effort. She let out along groan as clouds swirled above her head. The soon puffed away into nothing. Celestia let out a sigh and approached Derpy. "What's wrong?" she asked. "You did so good earlier." "That's because I had something I was fighting for." Derpy answered. A light bulb went off inside Celestia's head. "I got it." she said. "Derpy. When you're concentrating, think of the moment when those fillies were in danger." Derpy closed her eyes and thought. "Think about your friends!" Celestia yelled over the rushing wind. She took a couple steps back as storm clouds swirled overhead. "Think about how you must succeed or your friends will fall!" Derpy let out a long grunt as thunder boomed in the sky. Luna stood at the steps of her castle and observed the storm clouds in the distance. She narrowed her eyes, having an idea what was going on. "Concentrate, Derpy!" yelled Twilight. "You can do it!" Derpy let out a yell as lightning shot down from the sky, striking the ground near Celestia's hooves. She quickly backed away. Twilight, Trixie, and Rainbow Dash darted back inside the hotel. Luna continued to stare with narrowed eyes at what was transpiring over in Manehattan. A shadow pony walked up and stood next to her. "Something wrong, your Highness?" she asked. "Those aren't my storm clouds." said Luna, turning and walking away. The shadow pony continued to watch the storm. "Looks like I'll have to take matters into my own hooves once again." Luna said, heading into Canterlot. Derpy sat in the streets of Manehattan, exhausted. Celestia and the other three approached her. The ground all around her had been fried with lightning. "Uh, Derpy?" asked Trixie. "Yeah?" "Your tail's on fire." Derpy looked behind her and saw a tiny flame on her tail. A storm cloud formed above her tail and rain started to fall from it. The fore was extinguished and the cloud evaporated. "You did it." said Celestia. "Did what?" asked Derpy, getting up on all fours. "You have unlocked your powers." "Me next." Rainbow Dash said loudly. Celestia smiled. "Guess I should teach all the pegasi this ability." Rainbow Dash grinned with excitement. "Now be careful, Derpy." said Trixie. "Don't go setting buildings on fire." "Huh?" Derpy asked, almost insulted. "She's right, Derpy." said Twilight. "you have to be careful now." "I'm always careful." said Derpy, walking away. Rainbow Dash and Twilight shot each other a look. Derpy? Careful? Yeah, right. This was gonna be an adventure of a lifetime. Saboteur"Applejack?" Applejack took a step back and looked inside the lounge. Princess Celestia was standing in front of the fireplace. Applejack entered and walked towards her. "Yes, Princess?" "I have a mission for you." "Really?" asked Applejack. "Ah've been wantin' to do somethin' 'round here." Celestia smiled. "Well, now's your chance. I need you to go to Appleoosa. I hear you have a relative there and we need all the help we can get." "Braeburn?" Applejack asked. "I'm sure he'll be glad to help." "Wonderful." said Celestia. "Go speak with Twilight. She's waiting for your reply." "She already knows?" "I told her earlier." Applejack turned and started to walk away. "You can count on me princess," Celestia smiled and returned her attention to the fireplace. "I know I can." Derpy returned to her room and let out a sigh. She collapsed on her bed and stared at the ceiling. "Derpy..." sang a mysterious voice. The pegasus looked around. "Hello?" "Derpy... Come play with us..." Derpy got off her bed and stood still. "Wh-Who's there?" she asked. Her gaze soon fell upon the closet. Its door was slightly ajar. "Come, Derpy... Let's play..." Derpy cautiously approached the closet. "Twilight?" she asked. "I-Is this some kind of j-joke?" She stopped in front of the door. "Wanna have some fun?" the voice asked. "F-fun?" asked Derpy. Applejack got her saddlebag on and turned to Twilight. "Ready?" she asked. "Ready." answered the unicorn. Celestia left the hotel and trotted up to the two mares. "Be back soon, girls." said the princess, looking towards the dark city of Canterlot. "My sister's shadows are spreading even faster and I can barely hold them back. We are going to have to go to war soon and If we cannot rally more fighters, I fear we may lose." "I promise you, princess." said Applejack. "We won't let that happen." Celestia smiled. "I hope not. I love Equestria... and my sister. I don't want harm done to either." "Neither do we." said Twilight. "We'll be back before you know it." "Please hurry." Twilight nodded and she teleported herself and Applejack to Appleoosa. Celestia took one more look at Canterlot before heading back inside. The princess returned to the lounge area. She saw Derpy standing there, looking at her. There was a tray with a drink on it, sitting on the sofa. "Hey, princess." she said cheerfully. "I made you something." "You did?" asked Celestia. "That's very kind of you." "Go ahead. Try it." The princess smiled and trotted over to it. The liquid had a dark color and was semi-transparent. Celestia levitated the glass and took a sip. Derpy watched and smiled. Celestia set the glass down when she was finished. "That was delicious." she said. "Thank you." "You're welcome." said Derpy. Celestia's smile soon faded. She grabbed her forehead. "Wh-What's going on?" she asked groggily. "Something wrong, princess?" asked Derpy. Celestia leaned against an armchair. Derpy left the Lounge and headed up the stairs, passing Trixie. The unircorn watched Derpy head down the hall and then turned her gaze to the Lounge. Celestia stumbled through the doorway and collapsed. "PRINCESS!" yelled Trixie. She ran down the stairs as Rarity and Fluttershy ran through the front door. "What's happened?" asked Rarity frantically. Trixie knelt beside the princess. "It... It was Derpy." Celestia let out a groan as Fluttershy looked at Trixie. "Derpy? You sure?" she asked. Trixie took a second to think. "Y-Yeah." Derpy returned to her room and headed to the closet. She opened it and looked inside. Derpy was tied up on the floor. The imposter Derpy grinned. "Thanks for playing. I had fun." She untied Derpy and then took off out the window. "Wh-what was that?" whimpered Derpy. "You're their leader now..."Derpy ran downstairs. "Somepony help!" she yelled. "Somep..." She stopped when she saw the others staring at her. "What?" She looked down and saw Celestia on the floor. "What happened?" Rainbow Dash trotted up to her angrily, causing Derpy to back up into the wall. She let out a grunt as Dash stopped in front of her and held her against the wall. "WHAT'D YOU DO?!" yelled the cyan pegasus "I-I didn't do anything!" cried the cross-eyed mare. "I saw you leave the Lounge just before the princess collapsed," said Trixie, taking a step forward with a disappointed look on her face. "I-I didn't do it," said Derpy. "I was locked in a closet by somepony who looked exactly like me!" The others looked at each other. "Why would I wanna hurt the princess?!" Dash eyed her and sighed, letting her go. "Okay, Derp. Did you at least see where the other you went?" "O-Out the window..." Rarity thought for a second. "All right. So somepony used a mimic spell, but... it had be a unicorn... or else how could they have flown... Perhaps a flight spell with a mimic spell?" "Also a spell to poison the drink..." said Dash, spotting the glass on the floor. "because... I don't think this hotel carries poison." "Three overlapping spells?" asked Trixie. "Meant to only take out the princess?" Fluttershy gasped. "You don't think..." "She poisoned her own sister," said Dash, walking up the glass and kicking it across the floor. Derpy approached the castle courtyard and burst into black smoke. The smoke reformed into Luna as she landed, taking a a few steps forward before looking over her shoulder. "Now, that you are no longer a problem..." she said as if expecting Celestia to hear. One of Luna's pegasus guards trotted up to her. "What are your orders, then, mistress?" Luna eyed him. "Gather every guard. Have them meet here. The time has come." The guard nodded and turned away, off to follow his orders. Luna looked back in the direction form where she came. Twilight sat next to the bed in one of the larger rooms. Celestia lay on the bed, weak from the drink. "You're not gonna... die... are you?" asked the unicorn, tears in her eyes. "No, dear Twilight," answered the princess. "I'm just weak. Did you carry out the task?" Twilight nodded. "The Appaloosians are in a hotel down the street." "Good work, Twilight. I knew you and Applejack would be successful." Twilight closed her eyes. "If only I'd been here, maybe I could've--" "It was not your fault," Celestia interrupted. "You have done nothing but the right thing throughout this crisis and I thank you. Your bravery is what we need right now." She paused. "You need to lead them into battle." Twilight gasped and opened her eyes. "Wh-What?" "All the towns that have not been corrupted are here in this town... awaiting a leader to help them win back their beloved country." She placed a hoof on the unicorn's shoulder. "Is that you?" Twilight stared for a moment, not believing what she was being asked. "Th-This is a big responsibility." "The biggest." The unicorn thought for a second or two before answering. "I-I'll do it." Celestia smiled. "Thank you, Twilight. And be sure to teach all unicorn's that light spell I taught you. " Twilight nodded. "I will." Celestia slowly closed her eyes. "Now, fulfill your mission, Twilight..." Twilight rubbed the princess' side. "Sleep well..." She hesitated before standing and leaving the room slowly closing the door. "What happened?" asked Trixie. The purple unicorn hesitated before looking at her. "I-I have an army to lead." Trixie went wide-eyed. "What?" "She made me the leader. I have to lead us into battle." Trixie slowly smiled and put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Well... Trixie's with you to the end, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight chuckled slightly as Trixie used her old way of speaking again. The blue unicorn let out a giggle of her own. "Thanks, Trix," said Twilight, before heading outside to begin her mission. Rally The TroopsAfter about two hours, Twilight had managed to teach the unicorns the light spell Celestia had taught her. She then trotted up onto the hotel's porch and faced the crowd. They all turned to face her, too, listening intently. "All right... Um... I'm not sure how to say this without causing worry, so... I'll just say it like it is..." she announced as all the ponies seemed to lean in. "Celestia's been poisoned!" This caused tons of murmors and conversations throughout the crowd. "She's doing just fine!" Twi called, making everyone stop and look at her again. "She just needs rest, but that leaves us without a leader! However, the princess corrected this problem... and put me in charge! And, I'm supposed to lead all of you in a fight against Princess Luna and her minions to save all of Equestria! This will be the toughest fight I, or any of you, have had to face! Now, I know I'm nowhere near as powerful... as skilled... as clever as the princess... and will not hold it against you should you choose to back down! Your life is yours and yours alone and no pony can say otherwise!" The group broke out into soft murmors again before her friends stepped out of the crowd. "We're with ya, Twilight," said Applejack, naking the unicorn smile. "And so are we..." said Bon-Bon, as her, Lyra, and Derpy stepped up. "And us," said Vinyl, stepping up with Octavia. "And, don't forget about us," said Diamond Tiara as she and Silver Spoon stepped up. Trixie stepped up beside Twilight and put a hoof on her shoulder. "We're all with ya, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight smiled back. "Thanks, Trix." "So, what's the plan?!" called Braeburn. Twi looked at him. "The plan is simple surrounded by complexity!" she announced so all could hear. "My friends and I need to get inside the castle to retrieve the Elements! They worked against Nightmare Moon and discord before, so they should work now! However, I doubt Luna will make it that easy! But, no matter the cost, we six must make it inside the castle!" The group all nodded as Twi smiled wider, feeling comfortable in her new post. "Now, let's all take a brief break and gather our strength! It's a ways to Ponyville, and even further to Canterlot!" The ponies all broke up and began chatting amongst themselves as Twilight stepped off the porch. "Derpy?" she asked as the grey mare turned to face her. "Yes, Twilight?" "Are you ready for this?" she asked. The cross-eyed mare smiled. "If those shadow ponies come back, I'll zap 'em all over again." Twi giggled. "Good girl. Just be careful, okay?" Derpy nodded as Twilight patted her shoulder. "Now, go on, Derp. Rest up." "You got it, boss," she said with a smile, turning and trotting away. Rarity then trotted up to Twi with a smile. "That was a very well-done speech, Twilight." "Thanks, Rarity," said Twi with a giggle. "You girls ready?" she asked, seeing the other four behind her. Rarity nodded. "We're all ready." Twilight smiled and looked towards Canterlot. "Good... 'Cause this is one fight that no pony ever planned for... I just hope we pull it off..." Pinks smiled. "Of course we will!" she cheered. "It's what we do." "She's right," said Fluttershy in her gentle voice. Twi smiled and nodded. "Come on..." she said, trotting away. "Let's rest. We got big journey ahead of us..." she said, as the others followed. The girls all found a nice spot to relax while they all prepared themselves for the danger ahead. It was gonna take all they had if they ever hoped to restore Equestria to its natural state... Field TripIt was a bright and sunny day. The perfect day for a class field trip. And that's exactly what the Cutie Mark Crusaders' class did. Their teacher, Cherilee, took them to the sculpture garden in Canterlot. "Welcome, my little ponies, to the Canterlot Sculpture Gardens." said Cherilee. "We've already, like, been here." said Diamond Tiara. "True." said Cherilee. "But for a different reason. Does anyone remember all that chaos a few months back?" "You mean the time when my sister helped save Ponyville from Discord?" asked Apple Bloom cheerfully. "Ooh. Ooh." said Sweetie Belle, also cheerfully. "Mine, too." Silver Spoon scoffed. "Big deal." "That's right." said Cherilee. "Discord returned and brought chaos with him. Due to the braveness and courage of a few of our own, Ponyville, and the rest of Equestria, was saved." "Awesome!" shouted Scootaloo. "Now let's move on." said Cherilee. The class followed her to the next location. Except for Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. "What's so scary about Discord anyways?" asked Silver Spoon. "He's, like, so weird looking." said Diamond Tiara. "He looks funny." "Oh, look. I'm Discord." said Silver Spoon mockingly. "I think I'm bad but I'm just a dork." Diamond Tiara laughed. "Maybe they should call me--" She tripped and smacked her face against the statue's foot. "Are you, like, okay?" asked Diamond Tiara. "I'm good." said Silver Spoon, standing up and rubbing her nose. A crack formed on the statue's foot. "Uh, oh." said Diamond Tiara. "We probably should, like, get out of here." "Good idea." said Silver Spoon. The two rejoined their class just as they were leaving. "Any questions about today's trip?" asked Cherilee. "You know," Apple Bloom said to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. "as cool as it was to see my sister save Equestria, I just hope Discord doesn't come back." "Got that right." said Scootaloo. "I mean, chocolate rain is nice but chaos is just too... chaotic." "If Discord does come back, we'll stop him." said Sweetie Belle. "Right, girls?" "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS CHAOS STOPPERS!" the three yelled. "I have a question, Miss Cherilee." said Silver Spoon. "Yes?" asked Cherilee. "What set Discord free last time?" "No pony knows." said Cherilee. "It's said that if something chaotic happens, no matter how small, the seal can be broken." "Really?" asked Diamond Tiara. "Though the smaller the chaos, the longer it could take for the seal to break." "How interesting." said Silver Spoon. "It's nice to see you two getting into the spirit of things." said Cherilee. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon shot each other a look. Luna, The Terror Of The NightTwilight and the others stood at the edge of Canterlot. They were all out of breath from walking the whole way. "Like, finally." said Diamond Tiara. "Now on to Canterlot Castle." said Twilight. Just then a piece of the castle exploded. The debris crashed down the side of the mountain. "We're too late!" yelled Apple Bloom. "Come on!" yelled Twilight, taking off towards the castle. "You go!" yelled Sweetie Belle sitting down. "I'll wait here!" "Luna!" yelled Celestia. "Stop this!" Luna stood over Celestia, her wings unfolded. Her eyes glowed white and dark energy circled around her. "No." said Luna. "I don't think I will." "What?" "Still trying to control me?" she asked. "You really don't care about me." "Luna." Celestia said, shocked that her sister would say something like that. "You're my sister. I love you." "Right." said Luna sarcastically. "That's why you imprisoned me in the moon for a thousand years!" She sent out a burst of dark energy that sent Celestia tumbling down the hallway. Luna walked towards her as she got back up. "I had to." said Celestia. "You were out of control!" Luna launched a dark beam from her horn. Celestia countered by launching a light beam from her horn. The two collided, sending both sisters flying backwards. Celestia tumbled down the hall as Luna flew the door to her non-existing room. She flapped her wings and hovered in mid-air. She looked towards the front of the castle and saw a group of ponies. "Twilight Sparkle." she said to herself. Twilight and the others reached the steps that led to the castle as Luna landed at the top. The impact of her landing caused the cement to crack. "Princess?" asked Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle. Celestia's favorite." She started walking down the stairs. "And her friends." The entire group backed away, except for Derpy. She just cowered and didn't move. "Derpy." Lyra whispered. "Get back." "Derpy Hooves." said Luna, stopping in front of her. "So small." She used her magic and lifted Derpy off the ground. "So fragile." Celestia fell from the sky and tackled Luna. Derpy fell to the ground and joined her friends. "RUN!" yelled Celestia. Luna blasted Celestia with a dark blast, sending her flying upwards. Luna got up, unfolded her wings, and took to the skies after Celestia. Rise To PowerLuna stood out on the balcony outside her room, watching her Shadow Force invade Canterlot. Any pony who hadn't already left was being forced to leave. Those who refused were to be thrown into the dungeons of the castle. Discord floated down in front of Luna. "What do you want?" asked Luna. "Just to congratulate you on a job well done." said Discord. "I can see I made the right decision." Luna narrowed her eyes. She then used her magic to grab Discord and slam him onto the floor of her room. She then held him down. "Listen, Discord. I don't work for you. GOT IT?! You work for me" "Why... can't I move?" "Because I'm more powerful than you." said Luna. "THAT'S why." "Ah. I see." "Next time, don't create chaos you can't control." "Look, Luna..." said Discord. "As long as there gets to be chaos, I don't mind who's in charge." Luna released Discord and he got up. "Oh, there'll be chaos." Luna said with a smile. "LOTS of chaos." "So, what's the plan?" asked Discord. "What are you talking about?" asked Luna. "Well, we can't let those ponies get inside the castle." "Not that they have chance, but why?" "Because if they get their hoofs on the Elements Of Harmony, you're finished." Luna grinned. "You underestimate me, Discord. Because you unlocked my full power, the Elements will have no effect on me this time." "Maybe so." said Discord, lying down in mid-air. "But if they use them against me, you may lose all your power." "What?!" yelled Luna. "How?" "We're linked, you and I." said Discord. "But the strength of the connection is unsure. You may be fine if I'm defeated... but why take the risk?" "I don't believe this." said Luna, leaving her room. She walked down the hall and turned a corner. She then headed down a flight of stairs and ended up in the throne room. "Where are you going?" asked Discord, following her. "You'll see." said Luna, stepping outside. One of the shadow unicorns walked up to her. "Orders, your Highness?' he asked. "I want you to take a Shadow Force group made up of pegasuses and track down my sister and her friends. "Right away." said the shadow pony. He turned and headed down the stairs. "No pony escapes me." said Luna. "No pony."
Discord's ReturnApplejack kicked a ball to her dog, Winona. Winona bunted the ball back to Applejack. Twilight was laying on a blanket in the grass. Her pet owl, Owlowiscious, circled above her head. Rainbow Dash flew around in the sky with her propeller-equipped pet turtle, Tank. Fluttershy sat with Twilight with her pet bunny, Angel, along with Rarity, her pet cat Opalescence, and Pinkie and her toothless pet alligator, Gummy. It was just a normal day in Equestria when one of trees nearby bent over 180-degrees. "What the..." said Twilight, noticing it. "What's wrong with the tree?" Just then all the grass around them sunk into the ground, leaving only dirt. "What's happening?" asked Rarity. "This is just terrible! Dirt everywhere!" "What happened to all the grass?" asked Fluttershy. "Oh, no." said Twilight. "Tell me it isn't--" "Isn't who?" asked a familiar voice. The ponies looked around but couldn't see anyone. "That voice." said Rarity. "It sounds so familiar." "Indeed it should." said the voice. "For we met only a few months ago when you defeated me." "Discord!" said Twilight. "Show yourself!" "Oh, why spoil the fun right away?" asked the voice. "I have so much planned for Equestria. And I think I'll start with the princesses." "You leave them alone!" yelled Twilight. "Why would I do that?" asked Discord. "Chaos is so much fun." "Your idea of fun, maybe." said Twilight. "I don't know, Twilight." said Pinkie Pie. "That chocolate rain was delicious." "Oh, Pinkie Pie." said Discord. "You were always my favorite one." "Listen, Discord!" yelled Twilight. "No matter what you do, we'll just stop you all over again! You even turned us on each other and we STILL beat you!" "Now, there's a point." said Discord. "But what if it only took two to corrupt?" "Two?" asked Twilight. "Out of six?" "I'm not talking about you, Twilight Sparkle. I'm talking about Celestia." Twilight and the others gasped in shock. "You wouldn't!" yelled Applejack. "Turning the princesses against each other would d--" "Destroy Equestria." Discord finished. "Eternal chaos." He let out a booming laugh. "We won't let you." said Rainbow Dash. "Oh, just try and stop me." said the voice. "I can be there in two seconds." "And so can we." said Twilight. She closed her eyes and concentrated her magic to perform the teleportation spell. But nothing happened. She opened her eyes. "What's going on?" she asked. "Uh, Twilight?" said Applejack. "Your horn?" "What about it?" she asked feeling her head. She let out a gasp. "My horn!" Discord laughed again. "Don't you remember the rules of last time? No magic." "That's cheating!" yelled Rarity. "What can I say?" said the voice. "I'm Discord. I AM chaos." The tree that had bent over returned upright and all the grass grew back. "He's gone." said Rarity. "And I think I know where he's headed." said Twilight. "Let's move, girls!" They all took off running towards Ponyville.
The CMC Meet DiscordApple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all gathered at Cutie Mark Crusaders HQ; a tree house that Applejack let them have. They all gathered around their meeting table. "Cutie Mark Crusaders meeting is a go!" yelled Sweetie Belle. "This day's topic: Finding our Cutie Mark." "Isn't that our topic all the time?" asked Scootaloo. "Whatever." said Sweetie Belle. "So what ya'll wanna do today?" asked Apple Bloom. "Let's see..." said Sweetie Belle. "I know our special talent isn't in cooking, bowling, singing, comedy..." "Uh, Sweetie Belle?" asked Scootaloo. But Sweetie Belle continued. "hoof gliding, tap-dancing, making clothes, speed, riding a scooter..." "Sweetie Belle." said Scootaloo more loudly. "Yeah?" she asked. "Not helping." said Scootaloo. "Sorry." Apple Bloom sighed. "We need to think of something." she said. "I don't wanna be a blank flank forever." "Neither of us do." said Sweetie Belle. "That's right." said Scootaloo. "We just can't find anything we're good at." "There has to be something." said Apple Bloom. "There just has to be!" She let her head fall on the table. "It's hopeless!" she yelled, mumbled. "It's not hopeless." said Sweetie Belle, trying to soothe her friend. "We just have to work harder." Just then their tree house disappeared, leaving them in mid-air. "Well, this is weird." said Scootaloo. They screamed as gravity kicked in. They fell to the ground with a thud. Scootaloo stood up and shook her head. "Hey!" yelled Sweetie Belle. "Where's our headquarters?" They then heard a booming laughter. "Hello, girls." Discord's voice echoed. "Who's there?" asked Scootaloo. "I just wanted to thank you personally for setting me free the first time." "Wait a minute." said Apple Bloom. "Discord?" "That's right." said the voice. "And we... set you free the first time?" asked Scootaloo. "Precisely." "So, who set you free this time if it wasn't us?" asked Apple Bloom. "I believe it was two of your classmates. That pink filly and the gray filly that always hang out together." "Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon." said Sweetie Belle. "Figures." "Wait a minute." said Scootaloo. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS CHAOS STOPPERS!" "YEAH!" all three yelled at once. "Well, isn't that cute?" said Discord. "Look, Discord." said Sweetie Belle. "Could you at least give us our tree house back?" "I don't see why not." said the voice as their tree house magically reappeared. "It's not like it's going to last much longer anyway. Ta-ta." "Hey, wait!" yelled Sweetie Belle. No answer. "He's gone." said Scootaloo. "We need to warn the Princess!" yelled Apple Bloom.
Shopping DisasterCherilee stopped in front of a fruit stand. It was run by Granny Smith. "Well, howdy there, Miss Cherilee." she said. "Hey, Granny Smith. Where's Applejack?" "Oh, she's off in them fields playin' with her friends." "That's nice." said Cherilee. She looked down at the apples. One of the moved. "Uh, Granny Smith?" "Yes, Miss Cherilee?" "One of the apples moved." "Well, that's just crazy talk." said Granny Smith. Just then all of the apples shot out of the barrels and spun around in the air. All of the ponies walking by stopped and watched. "Hey, look at those apples!" yelled Derpy. "They're dancing!" One of the apples flew towards her but she dodged it. "Hey!" yelled Derpy, looking back. "Watch it!" Then one hit her in the back of the head. "Somepony stop these crazy things!" yelled Cherilee, ducking under a nearby cart. Just then Twilight and her friends appeared. "We're too late." said Twilight. "We have to hurry." "Granny Smith!" yelled Applejack. "What's going on with the... Oh." she said, remembering. "Right." "Discord's been here." said Rainbow Dash. "He's getting closer to the castle. "He sure is taking is sweet time." said Rarity. "That's because he knows it's going to take us a while." said Twilight. Then an apple hit her on the head. "OW!" she yelled. "RUN!" She and the others took off through the town. Food from all the shopping carts either exploded as the ran past or shot up into the sky. "This is crazy!" yelled Cherilee. "What's going--" asked Lyra, stepping out of a nearby building. She was interrupted when an apple exploded in her face. "Not cool, man." she said. "Not cool." "I have an idea!" yelled Derpy. She took off full speed towards the floating apples. One shot away from the group and Derpy followed it. "I got you now." she said. The apple shot up and Derpy slammed into a store sign. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo arrived back in Ponyville to see chaos everywhere. "We need to hurry." said Apple Bloom. "He's already been here." "Apple Bloom?" asked Cherilee. "Girls? What are you doing?" "We need to warn the princesses." said Sweetie Belle. "Good idea." said Cherilee. "I'm coming with you." The four of them headed towards the train station. "I'm coming, too." said Lyra, following them. Derpy sat up and shook her head. "Me, too."
The Train StationThe group arrived at the train station. The train wasn't there but Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon was. "Diamond Tiara?" asked Apple Bloom. "Silver Spoon? What are you two doing here?" "In case you haven't noticed," said Diamond Tiara. "the town has, like, gone crazy." "We came her to catch a train to Canterlot but it hasn't arrived yet." said Silver Spoon. "Wait." said Twilight. "The train hasn't arrived yet?" "How long have you two been waiting?" asked Cherilee. "Ugh." groaned Diamond Tiara. "Like, a half hour." "Something's not right here." said Scootaloo. "No." said Apple Bloom sarcastically. "Really?" "Hey, Twi..." Sweetie Belle started. "...light. Where's your horn?" "I don't even want to talk about it." said Twilight. "Hey, look." said Derpy. "I think I see something." "What is it?" asked Lyra. "I don't know." said Derpy. "But it's definitely something." "Can you at least describe it?" asked Lyra, getting annoyed. "It's big." "That's it." said Rainbow Dash, taking off from the ground. She hovered next to Derpy. "It's the train!" "Yay!" shouted the group. "Like, about time." said Diamond Tiara. "And it's on fire!" shouted Derpy. "Whoo!" The group quieted. "What?" asked Twilight. "Come on, Derpy." said Rainbow Dash, taking another look down the tracks. "The train's not-- OH MY GOSH! IT'S ON FIRE!" "WHAT?!" yelled Twilight. Everyone looked down the tracks. The train was rapidly approaching. It looked like a large fireball. The conductor jumped out and rolled along the ground. The train sped towards the train station. "Shouldn't we, like, move?" asked Diamond Tiara. "Moving sounds like a great idea." said Silver Spoon. They all backed away from the station. When the train arrived at the station, it suddenly stopped and the front cars arched upwards. The train horn blared. It looked like a fiery serpent. The back cars of the train slid sideways off the track and coil around behind the group, blocking their escape. "Are you serious?" asked Twilight. "We have to get passed a flaming serpent-train?!" "That's correct, Twilight Sparkle." Discord's voice boomed. "A little birdy told me about your encounter with an Ursa Minor." "What?" asked Twilight. "How'd you know about that?" "I know everything." said Discord. "So, let's put your skills to the test." "You took my horn." "That's a point. Very well. You may have your magic back minus any transportation skills." There was a flash of light as Twilight's horn reappeared on her head. "Aw, yeah." said Twilight. "It is on!"
The Fiery Serpent-TrainThe front of the train reared back and the horn blew. "You sure you got this?" Rainbow Dash asked Twilight. "Oh, sure." answered Twilight nervously. "It's just a fiery train, right?" "Yeah." said Rainbow Dash hesitantly. The others backed as far away as they could. "You go, Twilight!" yelled Derpy, hovering above the ground. The front of the train immediately pointed at her. The windows glared bright red and the train horn blew again. Lyra reached up and pulled Derpy down to the ground. "Now's not the time." said Lyra. She and Derpy joined the group, leaving Twilight to face this monstrosity. The train aimed the front grill at Twilight and launched a fireball. Twilight jumped to the side as the fireball struck the ground. "Whoa!" she yelled. "Careful, Twilight!" yelled Cherilee. Twilight fired a magic bolt at the train. It had no effect. "Don't give up!" yelled Apple Bloom. "This is, like, not going to end well." said Diamond Tiara. "Got that right." Silver Spoon agreed. Twilight launched a couple more bolts before the train spewed out another fireball. She dodged this one, too. "What can I do?" asked Twilight. "Think." The train raised the front engine up high, getting ready to slam the ground. Twilight saw this and jumped out of the way as the train smacked the ground. It caused a shock wave that made Twilight stumble and roll across the ground. "Come on, Twilight!" yelled Spike. "Get up!" "Spike?" asked Twilight. "Spike?" Applejack also asked. "What are you doing here?" "All the books at the Library came to life and chased me out. I came here to catch a train to Canterlot." "Yeah." said Fluttershy. "You and everypony else." Twilight rolled out of the way of another fireball. The serpent-train reared back and slammed the ground, sending Twilight crashing through a nearby building. "Twilight!" yelled Spike. The door to the building opened and Twilight stepped out, wobbling. "Oh." Twilight groaned. "That one hurt." The serpent-train slithered forward. The other ponies all backed away as the flaming train slithered passed them. "Watch out, Twilight!" yelled Spike. "It's coming for you!" "Aw, that's just lovely." said Twilight sarcastically. "Think, girl. Think." She looked back at Ponyville and spotted the water tower. "That's it!" she yelled happily. She looked back and saw that the train had spewed another fireball. She jumped out of the way as the fireball decimated the building. She then took off full speed towards the water tower. The train slithered after her, the horn blaring. Twilight kept on running as fast as she could. There was about a mile between her and the tower. The train launched another fireball. This one was larger than the others. Twilight spun around and used her magic to create a shield. The force from the impact shattered the shield and sent Twilight tumbling across the ground. She skidded to a stop, kicking up dust. "Get up!" yelled Rainbow Dash. "You can do it!" yelled Sweetie Belle. Twilight slowly looked up, her whole body aching. Discord's laugh echoed throughout the sky. "Looks like you've failed, Twilight Sparkle." his voice echoed. "Not... yet." said Twilight, softly. She used her magic to raise the water tower and began moving it closer. The train's horn blared as it shot fire into the sky. "I guess the fun's over." said Discord. "I was hoping you'd last longer, Twilight Sparkle. I can't deny my new pet the satisfaction of finishing you, so..." The train blared its horn again. "Good bye." The train arched backwards, ready to flatten Twilight. The water tower was close enough now. Using all her might, Twilight threw it at the train. Upon impact it broke, sending the water pouring out all over the train. The fire began to disappear as the water snuffed out the train's engine. It let out one more roar before collapsing to the ground. "Yay, Twilight!" yelled Spike. "You did it!" "Very good, Twilight Sparkle." said Discord. "You continue to impress me." Twilight's horn disappeared again. The others rushed over to help her. "That was super cool." said Derpy. "Do it again." "Sorry Derpy." said Twilight, still lying on the ground. "I hope I'll never have to deal with something like that again." Twilight slowly stood up. Rarity stood next to her to make sure she didn't fall over. "You good?" asked Rarity. "Yeah." said Twilight. "I'm great. Now... it looks like we have to walk to Canterlot." "Then let's go." said Applejack. "Ugh." groaned Diamond Tiara. "Walk? To Canterlot?" "Oh, it's not that bad." Apple Bloom said smugly as she walked passed her.
Luna And DiscordLuna paced back and forth in her room at Canterlot Castle. The walls had a dark purple wallpaper with little moons and stars. Her bed's covers were also a dark purple. All in all, it looked like night even in the day. There was a knock at the door. "Yes?" she asked. "It's me." Celestia's voice answered. "Come in." said Luna. Celestia opened the large double-door and enter Luna's room. "I assume you've heard about the chaos in Ponyville?" "What do you think's causing it?" asked Luna. "Not what. Who." "You mean..." Luna began. "Yes. Discord's back." said Celestia. "Again." "What do you propose we do?" asked Luna. "We need to combine our powers and defeat him." "Just like old times, huh?" "Yes, little sister." Celestia chuckled. "Just like old times." She left the room. Luna started to follow but stopped when the doors slammed shut. "Big sister!" Luna yelled, banging on the door. "Luna!" Celestia ran back to the door and tried to open it. Luna pounded frantically on the door. "Luna." said a voice. Luna stopped banging and scanned the room for any signs of life. "Oh, Luna." the voice said again. "Over here." Luna looked at the stained-glass window in her room. It depicted Ponyville at the bottom with the moon shining bright at the top. Just then a clawed hand came out from behind the moon and a form lifted itself up. "Discord." said Luna spitefully. Discord sat on the moon and stared back at Luna. "We meet again, dear Luna." said Discord. "What do you want?" asked Luna cautiously. "I want to help you." said Discord. "How could you possibly help me?" "I know that deep down you hate your sister." "THAT'S A LIE!" yelled Luna. "Is it?" asked Discord. "It's happened to you once before. Remember?" "I remember." "So, it's not a lie." Discord continued. "You don't like the fact that everypony sleeps during the night. With my help, you will be able to achieve eternal night." "I'm not the same as I was before." said Luna. "I've changed." "You're a lot less fun." said Discord, jumping off the moon. The rug on the floor sparkled as Discord's face appeared on it. "But I can fix that." "Just go." said Luna. "My sister and I will defeat you again." "Oh, Luna." said Discord. "You're not seeing the big picture. Celestia doesn't love you." "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" yelled Luna. "Don't listen to him, little sister!" Celestia yelled through the door. "If it wasn't for you, she would have to raise the moon." Discord continued. "She needs you so she can relax during the night." "Stop talking." said Luna. "Right now!" "Tell me, Luna. How did it feel when your sister banished you inside the moon?" Luna's eyes grew wide as she remembered. "How much love did your sister show you then?" Luna fell to the floor, clutching her head. Dark energy circled around her. "If I were you, I'd show Celestia who really should be in charge." He paused. "You." A dark energy blast erupted from Luna, blowing up her room and sending the debris crashing down the side of the mountain. The doors flew off their hinges. Celestia ducked as they shot over her head. "Oh, no." she said. "Luna." Luna stepped out of her room, dark energy trailing behind her. "Hey, sis." she said. "Want to play?"
Sisterly QuarrelLuna and Celestia were both pretty high up now. Celestia had almost caught up. Luna whipped around and fired a beam of dark energy from her horn. Celestia rolled to the side and dodged the attack. The two sisters continued firing at each other, lighting up the sky. From down below it looked like a massive thunder storm. Luna shot passed her sister and kicked her in the side. Celestia flapped her wings repeatedly to keep her balance. She dove as Luna shot passed again. She spun around and fired a beam of light energy at Luna. The beam shot passed her head. Luna spun around and fired a beam of dark energy. Celestia did the same but with light energy. The two collided, causing a flash. The two beams struggled to overcome each other. Luna concentrated her energy, making her beam start to over come Celestia's. Celestia struggled against Luna's power. "Give up, sister!" yelled Luna. "We always knew I was the most powerful!" Celestia flicked her head to the side, causing both beams to strike the ground below. Twilight and her friends reached the castle gates and turned around. The sky flashed repeatedly as the two sisters fought. "How could this have happened?" asked Twilight. "I'll tell you how." said Rainbow Dash. "Discord. He finally found a way to ensure absolute chaos." "We've lost." said Twilight, hanging her head. "I've failed you, Princess." "Now, what kind of talk is that?" asked Applejack. "It sounds like you're giving up." "We can't give up." said Apple Bloom. "We just can't." Applejack looked at her sister and smiled. "I won't give up." said Derpy. "Me, neither." said Lyra. Applejack turned back to Twilight. "Ya see, Twilight? We're all right here with you." "What's our first move?" asked Rarity. Twilight thought about it for a minute. "If we're gonna save the princesses, we're gonna need to defeat Discord again." "So that means..." Rarity started. "The Elements Of Harmony!" yelled Pinkie Pie. "Well, where are they?" asked Fluttershy. Twilight turned back to the castle. "They're in there." she said. The group looked down the courtyard at the castle. Lightning and energy blasts repeatedly struck the ground. Luna fired another bolt. Celestia dodged it and launched a beam of light energy. Luna spun out of the way and circled around her sister like a hawk does to its prey. Celestia fired another beam. This one also missed. "Come on, sis!" yelled Luna. "We both know I'm the fastest!" She zipped passed Celestia twice, kicking her in the head both times. "That's it." said Celestia. "This ens NOW!" She fired a bolt of light energy at Luna. Luna also launched a dark energy bolt. The two collided and exploded. The light blinded Luna, giving Celestia an opening. She flew though the blinding light and grabbed Luna. She then took off straight for the ground. "LET ME GO!" yelled Luna. "ONLY IF YOU STOP THIS!" "NEVER!" "THAN YOU LEAVE ME NO CHOICE!" Twilight looked up and saw the two sisters spiraling towards the ground. "Pull up." urged Twilight. "Pull up." Celestia closed her eyes as they impacted the ground. The shock wave knocked Twilight and the others on their sides. The whole front half of the castle crumbled and fell to the ground. Everything went silent. Who won?
When Darkness Falls"What happened?" asked Rainbow Dash. Twilight took off towards the castle. "Twilight!" yelled Spike. "Where you going?" But Twilight didn't stop. She just kept running. When she arrived at the courtyard she stopped. There was smoke everywhere making it impossible to see. The smoke eventually began to clear, revealing the two prinesses. They lay still on the ground. At first Twilight thought they were dead, then she saw Celestia's hoof move. Celestia raised her head to look at Luna. "Sister." she said softly. Luna didn't move. "Princess?" asked Twilight. Celestia turned her head to look at her. "Twilight?" Twilight knelt next to Celestia and helped her up. Twilight noticed Luna's hoof budge. "Come on, Princess." urged Twilight. "We have to go." "I can't leave her." said Celestia weakly. "We'll find a way to save her." said Twilight. "But we won't be able to if she kills us." Celestia took one final look at her sister before following Twilight. Luna looked up slowly just as Celestia faded from view. "It's not over yet." she said as she stood up. She held out her wings to maintain balance. She then shot a beam of dark energy into the sky. Twilight, Celestia, and the others all looked up. Clouds started to swirl around the area where the beam met the sky. Lightning struck the ground as the sky turned a dark red. The broken pieces of Canterlot Castle began to swirl around in a tornado, returning to their original spot. When the wind cleared, the castle was put back together. Then all of a sudden spikes started to jut out of the stones. The towers grew a bit taller and gargoyles formed on their roofs. The pretty stone of Canterlot Castle turned to a blackish color. The entrance to the castle went from a large double-door to a large drop-down steel gate. Luna let out an evil laugh that echoed throughout the courtyard. "BEHOLD!" she yelled. "GAZE UPON MY WORK, YE PONIES... AND DESPAIR!" Twilight and the others looked hopelessly at each other. "What are we going to do?" asked Rarity. "I'm not sure." said Twilight. "But we're definitely NOT gonna give up." "Are you sure?" asked Diamond Tiara. "I mean, it looks kind, like, dangerous." "Not scared, are ya?" asked Apple Bloom. "Scared?" asked Diamond Tiara. "Puh-lease." "Yeah." said Silver Spoon. "As if." "So how do you plan on getting the Elements Of Harmony, now?" asked Lyra. "No clue." said Twilight. "But I'll do whatever it takes." There was a booming sound in the sky, causing everyone to look up. A huge army of black ponies, unicorns, and pegasuses dropped down from the sky. They were each covered in a dark mist. "Well, that doesn't look good." said Derpy. "It's her Shadow Force." said Celestia. "Shadow Force?" asked Twilight. "Yes. When she was Nightmare Moon, she talked about summoning a whole army of them. I always hoped she wouldn't." "Are they tough?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Very." "Oh, great." "Well, girls..." said Twilight. "we're gonna have to retreat to form a plan." "I like that idea." said Fluttershy. The group took one last look at the castle before heading off.
AftermathThe group arrived back in Ponyville. The fire from the train was starting to spread. Pinkie stood in front of Sugarcube Corner. It was ablaze, causing Pinkie to have to shield her eyes. The roof caved in and crumbled. Pinkie sat down and started to cry. Rainbow Dash stood next to her. "I'm sorry, Pinkie." she said sympathetically. "It was my home." cried Pinkie. "Where will I go?" Twilight and Spike stood in front of the Library. "Our home." she said. "All those books. It's all gone." Fluttershy ran to her home and stood at what was left of the bridge. Her home was on fire, too. The forest around her home had burnt down. All that was left was dirt, ash, and rubble. "No." she cried softly. "It's all... GONE!" She knelt down and cried. Lyra saw her as she was walking by. "Fluttershy?" asked Lyra. She knelt down next to Fluttershy. "You okay?" she asked, sympathetically. "All the animals..." said Fluttershy. "Where will they go?" Lyra put put a hoof around Fluttershy and held her close. "We'll get through this." she said. "We just have to be strong." Fluttershy cried and Lyra cried with her. Derpy slowly flew through the streets of Ponyville, looking around at all the damage. She then stopped and sat down. Rarity came over to check on her. "Derpy?" she asked. Derpy sniffed and wiped a tear away. "Yeah?" "How you feeling?" "Not good." said Derpy. "Not good at all." "Just hang in there." said Rarity. "We'll do all right." "I never imagined this would happen." said Derpy, wiping away another tear. "It's just so hard." Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon stood in front of their school. Cherilee, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo joined them. "This is terrible." said Cherilee. "I've never seen so much destruction." said Silver Spoon. "This is, like, unbearable." said Diamond Tiara. A tear formed in her eye. "I just want it to be, like... OVER!" "It's okay, Diamond Tiara." said Sweetie Belle. "If we work together, we can overcome anything." "Why are you being nice to me?" "Because it looks like you could use a friend right now." Diamond Tiara gave Apple Bloom a thankful smile. Applejack stood at the edge of Ponyville, looking down the path that led to Sweet Apple Acres. She could see the barns burning in the distance. Celestia stood in the center of town and looked around. Twilight stood next to her. "Can you fix this. Princess?" she asked. "I'm afraid not, Twilight." said Celestia. "I'll need to combine my powers with that of my sister's but..." She hung her head and sighed. "But that's not going to happen now." "Don't worry, Princess. We'll stop Discord and save Luna." "I appreciate your optimism," said Celestia. "but it's not as easy as that." "What do you mean?" asked Twilight. "We've defeated her before." "But you've never fought her at her full strength before." said Celestia. "And we can't even get inside the castle to get the Elements Of Harmony." "So, what should we do?" "We'll move to another town and set up a base. Let the others know." "You got it, Princess." said Twilight, heading off to spread the news. Celestia looked up at the castle. Dark clouds hung in the sky and thunder boomed overhead. "I will save you, sister. I give you my word."
Bon-Bon's BonbonsThe group finally arrived in Manehattan. A few of them, along with Twilight, collapsed to the ground, out of breath. A pony came over to greet them. The pony was tan with a pink mane. Her cutie mark was three gumdrops. "Are you girls, okay?" she asked. "Not really." said Twilight. Just then the pony noticed Celestia and bowed. "Princess." she said. "And what's your name?" Celestia asked. "I'm Gumdrop." said the pony. "It's nice to meet you." "It's nice to meet you, too." said Celestia. "Is there a hotel here?" asked Twilight. "Of course." said Gumdrop. "Hey, girls." said another pony as she came to join the conversation. She was carrying saddle bags filled with candy. "Bon-Bon?" asked Twilight. "What are you doing here?" "I came here to visit a friend." said Bon-Bon. "Hey. Want a bonbon?" "Excuse me?" asked Twilight. "Bonbon." said Bon-Bon. "Candy. Want one?" "Uhh..." said Twilight. "Maybe more than one bonbon?" asked Bon-Bon. "Want some bonbons?" "Bon-Bon..." said Twilight, standing up. She took a deep breath. "We don't want your bonbons, Bon-Bon." "Why? Something wrong?" "I don't think you wanna hear it." said Applejack. "No, I do." said Bon-Bon. Twilight looked at Celestia. The princess sighed and knelt down in front of Bon-Bon so they could be at eye level. "Bon-Bon..." said Celestia, softly. "The thing is..." She stopped to sigh. The smile on Bon-Bon's face faded. "What's going on?" "Ponyville's gone." Celestia finished. "What?" asked Bon-Bon. "I don't..." She dropped the saddle bag and knelt down. "Ponyville was my home." "It was home to all of us." said Twilight. "Well... what happened." asked Bon-Bon. "Discord returned and corrupted my sister." Celestia explained. "Hey, look," said Gumdrop. "I know the owner of the hotel here. I'll talk her into letting you stay for free." "Thank you." said Celestia, standing up. "Don't mention it." replied Gumdrop. The group followed Gumdrop to the hotel. Bon-Bon didn't move. She stuck her head into her saddle bag and started to eat some of the candy. Rainbow Dash stopped and turned around. "Bon-Bon?" she asked. "What are you doing?" "I eat when I'm nervous." Bon-Bon replied with a mouth full of chocolate. "You go. I'll catch up." "All right." said Dash. She turned and rejoined the others. Bon-Bon just kept eating chocolate.
Later That NightTwilight awoke. The sound of crackling flames ringing in her ears. She got out of bed and left her room. She looked down both ends of the hall. There was no one. She walked to the end of the hall and headed down to the first floor. The lounge room was lit with only a couple table lamps. She entered the lounge, passing a mirror on the wall. She stopped when something caught her eye. She stood in front of the mirror and gasped. Her horn was back. She smiled and headed further into the lounge. She then slumped down in an arm chair and sighed. "Twilight?" asked a voice. Twilight looked over and saw a familiar face. "Trixie?" asked Twilight. Trixie took a couple steps forward. "What are you doing here?" "I don't want to talk about it." said Twilight. Trixie sat down an the chair across from Twilight. "Something bad happened, didn't it?" asked Trixie. "Trixie..." Twilight started. "I..." She paused. "Hang on. What are you doing here?" "Me? Well..." "Yeah." said Twilight, leaning forward a bit. "Last time I saw you, you were running for the hills. Now... you're here." "Well..." said Trixie. "You see... I-it's... It's a long story." "I have time." said Twilight. "Sort of." "Well..." Trixie took a deep breath. "After my fallout in Ponyville I returned home. Here. Before I knew it, my fans dropped by, like, 80%. My pay rate dropped and I lost my house. Now I make just enough to get by living here." "Wow." said Twilight, sympathetically. "That's terrible. I guess having bad things happen to us is one thing we have in common." "Why? What happened to you?" "One of our old enemies returned and corrupted Princess Luna. This resulted in Ponyville burning to the ground. Now we're on the run from Luna's dark forces." "That. Is. Insane." "Wanna help?" asked Twilight. "We sure could use you." "Well, I... have been practicing my magic." "So, it's settled, then?" "I guess so." "Great." said Twilight. "I'm off to bed. See you tomorrow." Just then the front door opened. "I am so... full." said Bon-Bon. "Bon-Bon?" asked Twilight, meeting her at the front door. "It's really late." "Well, I ate a lot, all right? I'm really depressed. I just found out my home burnt down." "How 'bout I show you to your room?" offered Twilight. "Sounds great." said Bon-Bon, stumbling and hitting the wall. "Why don't I help you?" "That sounds great, too."
The Morning AfterTwilight entered the lounge the next morning to find Bon-Bon standing in front of the fireplace. She looked a little depressed so Twilight went over to make sure she was okay. "Bon-Bon?" asked Twilight. "Doing any better?" "I don't know, Twilight." said Bon-Bon. "I'm not sure if I'll ever get over it. Ponyville was the only home I ever knew. And now it's gone." "We're all here for you. You know that, right?" "Yeah." said Bon-Bon. "Thanks." "We're up early." said Trixie, entering the lounge. "What's going on?" "Trixie?" asked Bon-Bon. "You're here?" "Uh... yeah. You saw me last night." "I don't really remember last night." said Bon-Bon. Just then they heard a thud outside. Twilight went to the window and looked out. She immediately ducked under the window. "Get down." she whispered. "Now." Bon-Bon and Trixie dropped to the floor. "Why are we ducking?" asked Bon-Bon. "And why are we whispering." "It's the Shadow Force." whispered Twilight. "They work for Luna. They can't know we're here." "What's going on, girls?" asked Derpy, standing at the top of the stairs, rubbing her eyes. "Derpy!" whispered Twilight. "What?" asked Derpy. She took a step forward and tumbled down the stairs. Twilight peeked outside. One of the shadow unicorns approached the front door of the hotel. "If we're quiet, maybe they'll go away." whispered Twilight. "What's going--" Derpy started. Trixie used her magic to pull Derpy over to her. She then put a hoof over Derpy's mouth. "Shh." she whispered. The shadow unicorn used his magic to blow up the door. "RUN!" yelled Twilight. She used her magic to throw a chair at the window, shattering it. She and the others then jumped out. They now stood in the streets of Manehattan. The shadow unicorns turned away from the hotel to look at Twilight. "Well, well, well." said one of the unicorns. "What have we here?" "It looks like our prey is giving up." said another. "We'll never give up!" yelled Twilight. "How heroic." said the third unicorn. "I'll show you heroic." said Trixie. She fired a bolt at the three shadow unicorns. They jumped out of the way as the bolt struck the ground. "ATTACK!" yelled Twilight. One of the upstairs windows of the hotel opened. "What's all the commotion?" asked Rarity. She let out a long gasp before disappearing back inside. Twilight lunged at one of the unicorns, tripping him. He countered with a kick to Twilight's back. She fell to the ground as the unicorn stood up. Trixie tackled her opponent to the ground. The shadow unicorn fired multiple bolts but couldn't hit Trixie. Derpy and Bon-Bon cowered against the side of the hotel as the third unicorn approached them. "I don't believe my luck." said the unicorn. "My easiest prey ever." "This is bad." said Bon-Bon. "This is really, really bad." "We can't give up!" yelled Derpy, getting up. "I won't give up." "How brave." said the unicorn. "This one's ready to die." "CHARGE!" Derpy yelled as she flew full speed into the unicorn. She tackled the shadow unicorn to the ground and started whaling on him. Go, Derpy!" yelled Bon-Bon. "Get off of me!" yelled the unicorn, flipping over. Derpy rolled across the ground. The unicorn raised Derpy with his magic and threw her into Bon-Bon. The two collided and collapsed to the floor. Bon-Bon!" yelled Twilight, dodging an attack. "Derpy!" She stepped to the side to avoid a dark energy bolt. "How do we beat them?" asked Trixie. "I don't know." said Twilight. A dark energy bolt struck her, sending her slamming into the side of the hotel. "Twilight!" yelled Trixie. Trixie was also struck by a dark energy bolt. She hit the side of the hotel and collapsed to the ground. "It's over." said Twilight. "We've lost." The shadow unicorns gathered around the fallen and built up energy in their horns. "I have to admit, I'm surprised." said one of the unicorns. "You put up a better fight than I thought you would. Too bad it has to end." Twilight closed her eyes, awaiting the final blow. Just then Princess Celestia dropped down between the unicorns and the others. "This ends now!" yelled Celestia. She fired a beam of light energy that blinded the unicorns. Celestia kept up the attack. Twilight opened her eyes and watched as the shadow unicorns let out a yell as they burst into smoke and faded away. Celestia stopped her attack and turned to Twilight. "Are you all right?" she asked. "Yeah." said Twilight. "What was that?" "The only way to defeat them is with light." Celestia explained. "I'll teach you and the other unicorn's the Light spell. I think you girls are ready." "Thanks, Princess." said Twilight.
Conquering FillydelphiaLuna stood in the center of Fillydelphia, watching as her Shadow Force rounded up all the ponies, unicorns, and pegasuses into a group. They were then brought to the center of town. Luna stood in front of them. "Listen up!" yelled Luna. "I will give you two choices! The first choice... you join my Shadow Force army and help me rule Equestria my way. The second choice... you may refuse. However, refusing will ensure you a place in the dungeons of my castle. You shall remain there until you change your mind... or die of starvation. What's your decision?" "I refuse!" yelled a voice. "Me, too!" yelled another. Luna's eyes narrowed. "Who said that?" "We did!" yelled one of the voices. The group parted, revealing two unicorns. One was yellow with a blue mane. Her cutie mark was a blue t-shirt. The other was blue with a yellow mane. Her cutie mark was a fern leaf. "And who are you two?" asked Luna, approaching them. "I'm Macy." said the yellow unicorn, sounding brave. "And I'm Fern." said the other, sounding not as brave. "And why do you refuse?" asked Luna. "I'm offering you a chance to be free." "Free?" asked Macy. "That's not freedom! It's slavery with benefits!" Luna laughed. "Slavery with benefits, huh?" She laughed again. "That's a good one." She began to talk normal again. "I'll have to remember that one." "Look, Princess..." said Fern. "Before, I would've followed you anywhere. Now..." she paused. "You're evil... and I'll never work for you!" "You two are pretty brave." said Luna. "Talking to me like that. It's commendable. I could really use warriors like you two. Too bad you have to spend eternity in the dungeons." She motioned to a couple Shadow Guards. "Take them away." The guards moved into the group and held Fern and Macy with magic. They then carried them away kicking and screaming. "Anypony else feels the same way?" No one said a thing. "Good." said Luna. She charged up dark energy in her horn. Upon releasing it, the dark energy formed a bubble around the group. When the bubble dissipated, all the townsfolk were a darker shade of their former self. Each had a gaseous dark energy cloud emitting from them. Their eyes were also glowing bright red. Luna smiled as she heard a unicorn land behind her. She turned around and saw a member of her scouting party. "Princess Luna." he said. "I've got some bad news." "What is it?" asked Luna. "The unit you sent to defeat the escapees have failed." "What?!" yelled Luna, her eyes turning completely white. "They were defeated by your sister and a few of her friends." Luna let out a massive yell, dark energy shooting out from her body. When she calmed down a bit, she stormed passed the scout. "Must I do everything myself?" she asked, evaporating into a gas cloud and floating away.
The Shadow Bolts VS The WonderboltsTwilight, Rarity and Trixie gathered in front of the hotel. "What's going on?" asked Rarity. "Princess Celestia is gonna show us how to use Light attacks." sad Twilight. Celestia emerged from the hotel. "Ready, my little ponies?" she asked. "You bet, Princess." said Twilight enthusiastically. "All right, then." said Celestia. "Let's get started. First, you--" "Well, well, well." said a voice. Twilight and the others turned around to see a trio of costumed pegasuses landed in front of them. They slightly resembled the Wonderbolts but had darker costumes. "You again?" asked Twilight. "You know them?" asked Trixie. "We saw them the night we went looking for the Elements Of Harmony for the first time. They tried to get Rainbow Dash to abandon us." "I'm pleased you remember us." said one of the pegasuses. "You can call us The Shadow Bolts." "The Shadow Bolts?" asked Rainbow Dash, sticking her head out from one of the hotel windows. She flew out and landed next to Trixie. "You three again?" "So, I hear you're trying to save Equestria from the Princess Of The Night." said one of the Shadow Bolts. "The Shadow Bolts?" asked a yellow pegasus, landing next to the Shadow Bolts. "What are you? Impostors?" "Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!" yelled Rainbow Dash excitedly. "And who are you?" asked the leader of the Shadow Bolts. "I'm Spitfire of The Wonderbolts. You?" "I'm Thunderbolt." said the leader. "And this is Storm Cloud and Raven." Spitfire put a hoof to her lips and whistled as loud as she could. Two other pegasuses appeared and landed next to Spitfire. "And this is Soarin and Fleetfoot." said Spitfire. "Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!" Rainbow Dash repeated. "Look, I don't know who you think you are," said Spitfire, getting all up in Thunderbolt's face. "but we were doing this way before you were." "Oh, Spitfire." said Thunderbolt. "It's not about the occupation." "What do you mean?" asked Spitfire. "We don't care who you are or what you do." said Thunderbolt. "We just want the Princess." Spitfire took a step back as Soarin and Fleetfoot stood next to her. "I'm afraid we can't let you do that." said Spitfire. "Well, you're not the opponents we were looking for," said Thunderbolt. "but you'll do." Storm Cloud tackled Fleetfoot to the ground. Raven rammed into Soarin, who kicked Raven to the side. The two leaders faced each other as the others engaged in conflict. Raven dodged a kick from Soarin and countered with a headbutt, knocking him over. Fleetfoot rolled over, winding up on top of Storm Cloud. She then punched him in the face a couple times before Storm Cloud kicked her off. Fleetfoot tumbled across the ground and looked up as Storm Cloud rammed into her. Thunderbolt and Spitfire circled each other. "You may be good at flying, Spitfire," Thunderbolt taunted. "but the Shadow Bolts are the best fighters." "Then let's see what you got." Spitfire said, lunging at Thunderbolt. She stepped aside as Spitfire shot passed. She then kicked Spitfire in the back. She fell to the ground with a thud. "Don't you Wonderbolts know any other attack?" Thunderbolt laughed. "We're not unicorns, you know?" said Spitfire, getting up. "Our attack range is limited." "All right. You know what?" asked Thunderbolt. "I think I'll give you a fighting chance." She took off into the sky. "Come and face me!" she yelled back. "Bad move." said Spitfire, taking off after Thunderbolt. Soarin tried to ram Raven but missed. Raven then kicked Soarin in the legs, forcing him to kneel. She then stood in front of him and kicked him in the head, knocking him out. "That's one down." said Raven. She looked over at Storm Cloud. He kicked Fleetfoot in the stomach when she tried to pounce on him. She let out a grunt of pain as Storm Cloud's hoof collided with her stomach. She fell to the ground, moaning. She looked up as Storm Cloud kicked her in the face, knocking her out. "Two down." said Storm Cloud. "One more left." Both he and Raven looked up at Thunderbolt. Spitfire flew around Thunderbolt in circles. She then broke from her path and shot passed Thunderbolt, kicking her in the face. She then went back to flying in circles around Thunderbolt. What's the matter?" asked Spitfire. "Too fast for you?" "Oh, you wish." said Thunderbolt. She carefully watched Spitfire as she circled. Just then she shot forward, ramming into Spitfire at full speed. Thunderbolt hovered and watched as Spitfire fell from the sky. She hit the ground and tumbled a bit before skidding to a stop. Thunderbolt then landed in front of her. "You know, Spitfire. t's been fun... but it's time to end this." She placed her hoof on Spitfire's head. Thunderbolt then raised her hoof, getting ready for the final blow. "I've had enough of this." said Celestia. She concentrated hard as a blinding light shown from her horn. Thunderbolt stumbled back and shielded her eyes. The other two did the same. "CURSE YOU, CELESTIA!" yelled Thunderbolt. She and the other two Shadow Bolts took off back towards the castle. Celestia went over to Spitfire. "I'm sorry, Princess." said Spitfire. "I've failed you." "Oh, Spitfire. You didn't fail me. You did your best, and that's all that matters." "Thanks, Princess." "Besides," said Celestia. "I did't expect you would defeat my sister." "That was Luna?" asked Twilight. "Yes, Twilight." answered Celestia. "It's one of her powers. She can change her form into anything she wants. It appears the Shadow Bolts are one of her forms." "Will you help us learn how to defeat her?" asked Trixie. "Of course." said Celestia. "Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!" yelled Rainbow Dash excitedly. "What up with you?" asked Bon-Bon. "I get to hang with the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "Sounds like fun..." said Spitfire. "But we need to rest first." "Of course." said Rainbow Dash. "Need help to a room?" "That'd be nice." said Spitfire.
TrottinghamTrixie built up Light in her horn but it soon faded. "Keep trying." said Celestia. "You'll get it." She walked over to Twilight "Twilight Sparkle. May I speak with you?" "Of course." said Twilight. "What is it?" "I need you to take some of your friends over to Trottingham and see if anypony will help us." "You got it, Princess." said Twilight, trotting off. A couple minutes later, Twilight, Spike, Lyra, and Bon-Bon appeared in Trottingham. "Magic makes traveling easier." said Twilight. "Where should we start?" asked Spike. "Let's try in that building right there." said Lyra, pointing to a large building nearby. They entered the building and looked around. They saw a bunch of unicorns painting on easels set up all around the room. They walked around, looking at all of the finished pictures hanging on the walls. "These are good." said Twilight." "Really good." "You like them?" asked a voice. Twilight and the others turned and saw a red pony with a yellow mane. "Yeah, they're great." said Twilight. "Who are you?" "I'm Strawberry." said the Unicorn. "My friend's one of the painters. Want to meet her?" "Sure." said Twilight. "This way." Twilight and the others followed Strawberry through the aisle in between a line of painters. They then stopped next to one. "Hey, Strawberry." said the painter, noticing them approaching. "Who are your friends?" "I'm Twilight. This is Spike, Lyra, and Bon-Bon." "Hi. I'm May." said the unicorn. "So you painted some of the pictures on the walls?" asked Lyra. "You bet." said May. "I had some help from Dawn with a few of them." "Dawn?" asked Bon-Bon. "Who's that?" "That's me." said the unicorn on the other side of May. Dawn was blue with a pink mane. "I don't believe I've ever seen you four in town before." "We're been sent by the Princess." said Twilight. "Really?" asked May. "What for?" "Have you heard what happened in Canterlot?" asked Bon-Bon. "No. what?" asked Dawn. The Shadow Bolts landed in the courtyard of what used to be Canterlot Castle. They then evaporated into a cloud, merged into one cloud, and then formed Luna. "Unbelievable." said Luna. "I'm guessing something went wrong." said Discord, appearing next to her. "Those Wonderbolts appeared." said Luna. "I defeated them, but before I could finish them my sister blinded me with Light." "I hate Light." said Discord. "It's too cheerful." Luna looked over at the Canterlot Sculpture Garden. "Discord. If those ponies manage to make it here, there's something I want you to do." "That's terrible." said Dawn. "Well, if the Princess is looking for help, I'll be more than happy to." said May. "Count me in, too." said Dawn. "Great." said Twilight. "I'll tell the Princess. "Hold on a second." said Dawn. She did a couple more brush strokes and then set the brush down. "Done." "Done." May also said, setting down her brush. "Now, let's go." said Dawn. "Where you girls going?" asked Strawberry. "We're gonn help the Princess save Equestria." said May. "Whoo-hoo!" "Can I come?" asked Strawberry. "Don't see why not." said Twilight. "Ready?" "Oh, yeah." said Dawn. Twilight smiled. "Fantastic."
Darkness RisingA shadow unicorn knocked a pony to the ground, right in front of Luna. Luna and her Shadow Force had just conquered Hoofington. "This one's been causing trouble." said the unicorn. The pony cowered and whimpered as Luna knelt down. "Why do you refuse to work, little pony?" asked Luna. "You have it much easier than those in Fillydelphia." "I'm s-sorry." said the pony, sounding extremely frightened. "What's your name?" Luna asked. "V-Violet." said the pony. She was purple with a magenta colored mane. "Please don't hurt me." "Hurt you?" asked Luna. "I'm not gonna hurt you." "You're n-not?" asked Violet. "Of course not. If I did that you wouldn't be able to work." Luna narrowed her eyes. "You ARE going to work, right?" Violet nodded. "Good girl." Luna stood up as Violet slowly walked away. She then looked up at the sky. The dark clouds had spread from Canterlot. They now covered almost half of Equestria, which included the towns of Fillydelphia, Ponyville, and now Hoofington. The other half of Equestria was covered in sunlight. Towns on the Light side included Trottingham, Manehattan, and Appleloosa. "Very impressive, Luna." said Discord, appearing from her shadow. "I love what you've done with the place." Luna smiled. "Behold, Discord. My Darkness is spreading like wildfire. It will soon take control over all of Equestria and my dreams of eternal darkness can finally be fulfilled." "Well, Luna," said Discord. "that's--" "And the only ones that can stop me are still out there!" yelled Luna angrily. She turned to a group of nearby shadow pegasuses and unicorns. "SOMEPONY FIND THEM!" The group quickly turned to look at her. "FIND MY SISTER AND HER FRIENDS AND STOP THEM!" The pegasuses quickly took to the sky. "WHATEVER IT TAKES! DON'T LET THEM GAIN AN ADVANTAGE!" "Luna..." said Discord. "you're really going to let them defeat Celestia?" "Oh, there's no way they'll defeat my sister." said Luna. "I'm just hoping they'll put an end to Twilight and her friends. Celestia's mine."
Derpy's Big MomentDerpy sat outside of the hotel, watching the storm clouds in the distance. Lyra approached from behind. "Derpy?" she asked. "They're getting closer." said Derpy. "We'll be okay." said Lyra. "Will we?" asked Derpy. "Derpy..." said Lyra. "This is a side of you I haven't seen." "I may be weird but I'm not stupid." said Derpy. "I know what's coming. I just don't know if I'm ready for it." "Oh, Derpy." said Lyra. "You will." "Will I?" asked Derpy, a tear falling from her eye. "I'm cross-eyed, Lyra. I've gotten used to it, but it still makes me clumsy. And with my learning disability, everypony thinks I'm an airhead." She hung her head as another tear fell from her eye. "I'm worthless." Lyra put an "arm" around Derpy and gave her a hug. "I don't think you're worthless." she said. "Thanks, Lyra." said Derpy, smiling. "That means a lot." Later that day, Derpy sat in the lounge of the hotel, staring out the broken window. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were playing outside. Twilight was inside. Reading, of course. The others were off on errands. Just then three shadow pegasuses landed with a loud thud. Apple Bloom and the other fillies stopped playing and stared in fear. Derpy jumped up and Twilight set her book down and ran to the window. "Not more of them." said Twilight. She leaped out of the window and charged at the group. They took to the sky as Twilight ran passed them. One of them landed behind her and shot her with a dark energy blast. "Twilight!" yelled Scootaloo. "Oh, no." whimpered Derpy. The three pegasuses gathered around Twilight. "Well, that was easy." said one of them. "Let's take her back to the Princess." said another. "Hold it right there!" The group of shadow pegasuses turned towards the hotel. A gray pegasus stood in front of the hotel. "And what do you want?" asked one of them. "You will NOT hurt my friends!" Derpy yelled. "And what are you gonna do?" one of them asked. "You're cross-eyed. I bet you can't even see properly." Derpy's eyes narrowed and she let out a massive yell. She then took off at the pegasuses. They again took to the sky. Derpy took off, too. All four were now in the air. One of the shadow pegasuses lunged itself at Derpy. Derpy shot to the side, letting the attacker pass. "You got me mad." said Derpy. "Not good." "Ooh, I'm so scared." said one of the enemies. "She's mad." The others laughed. "You're laughing at me?" asked Derpy. Her eyes narrowed. "Big mistake." Storm clouds started to swirl above her head. "Uh..." said one of the pegasuses. "What's going on?" "You see..." said Derpy. "Because you're not a real pegasus, you can't control the weather. Like me." A bolt of lightning struck the three shadow pegasuses. And another. And another. After a few more bolts. The pegasuses let out a yell as they evaporated into little dust particles. The clouds dissipated as Derpy let out a sigh and gently lowered herself back down to the ground. Twilight was watching her. "Derpy..." she said. "That was amazing." "Thanks, Twilight." said Derpy, collapsing to the ground, inhaling deeply. "That took a lot out of me." She tried to keep her eyes open but couldn't. Derpy then proceeded to pass out.
Derpy's TrainingDerpy opened her eyes. She was back in the hotel. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What happened?" "You saved us." said a voice. Derpy looked over and saw Sweetie Belle standing with Rarity. "It was nothing." said Derpy, groggily. "Nothing?" asked Rarity. "You saved my sister and her friends. You're a hero." "A... hero?" Derpy asked. Celestia entered the room and stood beside Derpy's bed. Derpy looked up at her as she knelt down. Rarity and Sweetie Belle left the room. "That was a very brave thing you did today." she said kindly. "You've really shown you have what it takes to be fighting alongside us when the time comes." Derpy's eyes lit up. She was living her dream of being noticed and appreciated. It's all she ever wanted. For once she wasn't a klutz. "However..." Celestia continued. Derpy left the realm of her imagination and returned her focus to the princess. "you used your powers in anger. We can't have that happening every time." "That wasn't the only reason, princess." said Derpy quickly. "I did it because they were also threatening my friends." Celestia smiled. "Still... we should help you improve your ability so you'll be able to use it in battle." Derpy gave her a smile. Twilight and Trixie stood outside the hotel and watched Celestia train Derpy. "All right, Derpy." said Celestia. "Every pegasus has the power to control the weather and move the clouds. In order to use this as a weapon, you must concentrate hard." Derpy closed her eyes and dark clouds started to form above her head. They didn't last long, however. They soon dissipated. "Concentrate harder." Celestia urged. Derpy closed her eyes and concentrated. Rainbow Dash exited the hotel and stood next to Twilight. "What's going on?" she asked. "Celestia's training Derpy." Twilight responded. Derpy closed her eyes tightly and grunted with effort. She let out along groan as clouds swirled above her head. The soon puffed away into nothing. Celestia let out a sigh and approached Derpy. "What's wrong?" she asked. "You did so good earlier." "That's because I had something I was fighting for." Derpy answered. A light bulb went off inside Celestia's head. "I got it." she said. "Derpy. When you're concentrating, think of the moment when those fillies were in danger." Derpy closed her eyes and thought. "Think about your friends!" Celestia yelled over the rushing wind. She took a couple steps back as storm clouds swirled overhead. "Think about how you must succeed or your friends will fall!" Derpy let out a long grunt as thunder boomed in the sky. Luna stood at the steps of her castle and observed the storm clouds in the distance. She narrowed her eyes, having an idea what was going on. "Concentrate, Derpy!" yelled Twilight. "You can do it!" Derpy let out a yell as lightning shot down from the sky, striking the ground near Celestia's hooves. She quickly backed away. Twilight, Trixie, and Rainbow Dash darted back inside the hotel. Luna continued to stare with narrowed eyes at what was transpiring over in Manehattan. A shadow pony walked up and stood next to her. "Something wrong, your Highness?" she asked. "Those aren't my storm clouds." said Luna, turning and walking away. The shadow pony continued to watch the storm. "Looks like I'll have to take matters into my own hooves once again." Luna said, heading into Canterlot. Derpy sat in the streets of Manehattan, exhausted. Celestia and the other three approached her. The ground all around her had been fried with lightning. "Uh, Derpy?" asked Trixie. "Yeah?" "Your tail's on fire." Derpy looked behind her and saw a tiny flame on her tail. A storm cloud formed above her tail and rain started to fall from it. The fore was extinguished and the cloud evaporated. "You did it." said Celestia. "Did what?" asked Derpy, getting up on all fours. "You have unlocked your powers." "Me next." Rainbow Dash said loudly. Celestia smiled. "Guess I should teach all the pegasi this ability." Rainbow Dash grinned with excitement. "Now be careful, Derpy." said Trixie. "Don't go setting buildings on fire." "Huh?" Derpy asked, almost insulted. "She's right, Derpy." said Twilight. "you have to be careful now." "I'm always careful." said Derpy, walking away. Rainbow Dash and Twilight shot each other a look. Derpy? Careful? Yeah, right. This was gonna be an adventure of a lifetime.
Saboteur"Applejack?" Applejack took a step back and looked inside the lounge. Princess Celestia was standing in front of the fireplace. Applejack entered and walked towards her. "Yes, Princess?" "I have a mission for you." "Really?" asked Applejack. "Ah've been wantin' to do somethin' 'round here." Celestia smiled. "Well, now's your chance. I need you to go to Appleoosa. I hear you have a relative there and we need all the help we can get." "Braeburn?" Applejack asked. "I'm sure he'll be glad to help." "Wonderful." said Celestia. "Go speak with Twilight. She's waiting for your reply." "She already knows?" "I told her earlier." Applejack turned and started to walk away. "You can count on me princess," Celestia smiled and returned her attention to the fireplace. "I know I can." Derpy returned to her room and let out a sigh. She collapsed on her bed and stared at the ceiling. "Derpy..." sang a mysterious voice. The pegasus looked around. "Hello?" "Derpy... Come play with us..." Derpy got off her bed and stood still. "Wh-Who's there?" she asked. Her gaze soon fell upon the closet. Its door was slightly ajar. "Come, Derpy... Let's play..." Derpy cautiously approached the closet. "Twilight?" she asked. "I-Is this some kind of j-joke?" She stopped in front of the door. "Wanna have some fun?" the voice asked. "F-fun?" asked Derpy. Applejack got her saddlebag on and turned to Twilight. "Ready?" she asked. "Ready." answered the unicorn. Celestia left the hotel and trotted up to the two mares. "Be back soon, girls." said the princess, looking towards the dark city of Canterlot. "My sister's shadows are spreading even faster and I can barely hold them back. We are going to have to go to war soon and If we cannot rally more fighters, I fear we may lose." "I promise you, princess." said Applejack. "We won't let that happen." Celestia smiled. "I hope not. I love Equestria... and my sister. I don't want harm done to either." "Neither do we." said Twilight. "We'll be back before you know it." "Please hurry." Twilight nodded and she teleported herself and Applejack to Appleoosa. Celestia took one more look at Canterlot before heading back inside. The princess returned to the lounge area. She saw Derpy standing there, looking at her. There was a tray with a drink on it, sitting on the sofa. "Hey, princess." she said cheerfully. "I made you something." "You did?" asked Celestia. "That's very kind of you." "Go ahead. Try it." The princess smiled and trotted over to it. The liquid had a dark color and was semi-transparent. Celestia levitated the glass and took a sip. Derpy watched and smiled. Celestia set the glass down when she was finished. "That was delicious." she said. "Thank you." "You're welcome." said Derpy. Celestia's smile soon faded. She grabbed her forehead. "Wh-What's going on?" she asked groggily. "Something wrong, princess?" asked Derpy. Celestia leaned against an armchair. Derpy left the Lounge and headed up the stairs, passing Trixie. The unircorn watched Derpy head down the hall and then turned her gaze to the Lounge. Celestia stumbled through the doorway and collapsed. "PRINCESS!" yelled Trixie. She ran down the stairs as Rarity and Fluttershy ran through the front door. "What's happened?" asked Rarity frantically. Trixie knelt beside the princess. "It... It was Derpy." Celestia let out a groan as Fluttershy looked at Trixie. "Derpy? You sure?" she asked. Trixie took a second to think. "Y-Yeah." Derpy returned to her room and headed to the closet. She opened it and looked inside. Derpy was tied up on the floor. The imposter Derpy grinned. "Thanks for playing. I had fun." She untied Derpy and then took off out the window. "Wh-what was that?" whimpered Derpy.
"You're their leader now..."Derpy ran downstairs. "Somepony help!" she yelled. "Somep..." She stopped when she saw the others staring at her. "What?" She looked down and saw Celestia on the floor. "What happened?" Rainbow Dash trotted up to her angrily, causing Derpy to back up into the wall. She let out a grunt as Dash stopped in front of her and held her against the wall. "WHAT'D YOU DO?!" yelled the cyan pegasus "I-I didn't do anything!" cried the cross-eyed mare. "I saw you leave the Lounge just before the princess collapsed," said Trixie, taking a step forward with a disappointed look on her face. "I-I didn't do it," said Derpy. "I was locked in a closet by somepony who looked exactly like me!" The others looked at each other. "Why would I wanna hurt the princess?!" Dash eyed her and sighed, letting her go. "Okay, Derp. Did you at least see where the other you went?" "O-Out the window..." Rarity thought for a second. "All right. So somepony used a mimic spell, but... it had be a unicorn... or else how could they have flown... Perhaps a flight spell with a mimic spell?" "Also a spell to poison the drink..." said Dash, spotting the glass on the floor. "because... I don't think this hotel carries poison." "Three overlapping spells?" asked Trixie. "Meant to only take out the princess?" Fluttershy gasped. "You don't think..." "She poisoned her own sister," said Dash, walking up the glass and kicking it across the floor. Derpy approached the castle courtyard and burst into black smoke. The smoke reformed into Luna as she landed, taking a a few steps forward before looking over her shoulder. "Now, that you are no longer a problem..." she said as if expecting Celestia to hear. One of Luna's pegasus guards trotted up to her. "What are your orders, then, mistress?" Luna eyed him. "Gather every guard. Have them meet here. The time has come." The guard nodded and turned away, off to follow his orders. Luna looked back in the direction form where she came. Twilight sat next to the bed in one of the larger rooms. Celestia lay on the bed, weak from the drink. "You're not gonna... die... are you?" asked the unicorn, tears in her eyes. "No, dear Twilight," answered the princess. "I'm just weak. Did you carry out the task?" Twilight nodded. "The Appaloosians are in a hotel down the street." "Good work, Twilight. I knew you and Applejack would be successful." Twilight closed her eyes. "If only I'd been here, maybe I could've--" "It was not your fault," Celestia interrupted. "You have done nothing but the right thing throughout this crisis and I thank you. Your bravery is what we need right now." She paused. "You need to lead them into battle." Twilight gasped and opened her eyes. "Wh-What?" "All the towns that have not been corrupted are here in this town... awaiting a leader to help them win back their beloved country." She placed a hoof on the unicorn's shoulder. "Is that you?" Twilight stared for a moment, not believing what she was being asked. "Th-This is a big responsibility." "The biggest." The unicorn thought for a second or two before answering. "I-I'll do it." Celestia smiled. "Thank you, Twilight. And be sure to teach all unicorn's that light spell I taught you. " Twilight nodded. "I will." Celestia slowly closed her eyes. "Now, fulfill your mission, Twilight..." Twilight rubbed the princess' side. "Sleep well..." She hesitated before standing and leaving the room slowly closing the door. "What happened?" asked Trixie. The purple unicorn hesitated before looking at her. "I-I have an army to lead." Trixie went wide-eyed. "What?" "She made me the leader. I have to lead us into battle." Trixie slowly smiled and put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Well... Trixie's with you to the end, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight chuckled slightly as Trixie used her old way of speaking again. The blue unicorn let out a giggle of her own. "Thanks, Trix," said Twilight, before heading outside to begin her mission.
Rally The TroopsAfter about two hours, Twilight had managed to teach the unicorns the light spell Celestia had taught her. She then trotted up onto the hotel's porch and faced the crowd. They all turned to face her, too, listening intently. "All right... Um... I'm not sure how to say this without causing worry, so... I'll just say it like it is..." she announced as all the ponies seemed to lean in. "Celestia's been poisoned!" This caused tons of murmors and conversations throughout the crowd. "She's doing just fine!" Twi called, making everyone stop and look at her again. "She just needs rest, but that leaves us without a leader! However, the princess corrected this problem... and put me in charge! And, I'm supposed to lead all of you in a fight against Princess Luna and her minions to save all of Equestria! This will be the toughest fight I, or any of you, have had to face! Now, I know I'm nowhere near as powerful... as skilled... as clever as the princess... and will not hold it against you should you choose to back down! Your life is yours and yours alone and no pony can say otherwise!" The group broke out into soft murmors again before her friends stepped out of the crowd. "We're with ya, Twilight," said Applejack, naking the unicorn smile. "And so are we..." said Bon-Bon, as her, Lyra, and Derpy stepped up. "And us," said Vinyl, stepping up with Octavia. "And, don't forget about us," said Diamond Tiara as she and Silver Spoon stepped up. Trixie stepped up beside Twilight and put a hoof on her shoulder. "We're all with ya, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight smiled back. "Thanks, Trix." "So, what's the plan?!" called Braeburn. Twi looked at him. "The plan is simple surrounded by complexity!" she announced so all could hear. "My friends and I need to get inside the castle to retrieve the Elements! They worked against Nightmare Moon and discord before, so they should work now! However, I doubt Luna will make it that easy! But, no matter the cost, we six must make it inside the castle!" The group all nodded as Twi smiled wider, feeling comfortable in her new post. "Now, let's all take a brief break and gather our strength! It's a ways to Ponyville, and even further to Canterlot!" The ponies all broke up and began chatting amongst themselves as Twilight stepped off the porch. "Derpy?" she asked as the grey mare turned to face her. "Yes, Twilight?" "Are you ready for this?" she asked. The cross-eyed mare smiled. "If those shadow ponies come back, I'll zap 'em all over again." Twi giggled. "Good girl. Just be careful, okay?" Derpy nodded as Twilight patted her shoulder. "Now, go on, Derp. Rest up." "You got it, boss," she said with a smile, turning and trotting away. Rarity then trotted up to Twi with a smile. "That was a very well-done speech, Twilight." "Thanks, Rarity," said Twi with a giggle. "You girls ready?" she asked, seeing the other four behind her. Rarity nodded. "We're all ready." Twilight smiled and looked towards Canterlot. "Good... 'Cause this is one fight that no pony ever planned for... I just hope we pull it off..." Pinks smiled. "Of course we will!" she cheered. "It's what we do." "She's right," said Fluttershy in her gentle voice. Twi smiled and nodded. "Come on..." she said, trotting away. "Let's rest. We got big journey ahead of us..." she said, as the others followed. The girls all found a nice spot to relax while they all prepared themselves for the danger ahead. It was gonna take all they had if they ever hoped to restore Equestria to its natural state...
Field TripIt was a bright and sunny day. The perfect day for a class field trip. And that's exactly what the Cutie Mark Crusaders' class did. Their teacher, Cherilee, took them to the sculpture garden in Canterlot. "Welcome, my little ponies, to the Canterlot Sculpture Gardens." said Cherilee. "We've already, like, been here." said Diamond Tiara. "True." said Cherilee. "But for a different reason. Does anyone remember all that chaos a few months back?" "You mean the time when my sister helped save Ponyville from Discord?" asked Apple Bloom cheerfully. "Ooh. Ooh." said Sweetie Belle, also cheerfully. "Mine, too." Silver Spoon scoffed. "Big deal." "That's right." said Cherilee. "Discord returned and brought chaos with him. Due to the braveness and courage of a few of our own, Ponyville, and the rest of Equestria, was saved." "Awesome!" shouted Scootaloo. "Now let's move on." said Cherilee. The class followed her to the next location. Except for Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. "What's so scary about Discord anyways?" asked Silver Spoon. "He's, like, so weird looking." said Diamond Tiara. "He looks funny." "Oh, look. I'm Discord." said Silver Spoon mockingly. "I think I'm bad but I'm just a dork." Diamond Tiara laughed. "Maybe they should call me--" She tripped and smacked her face against the statue's foot. "Are you, like, okay?" asked Diamond Tiara. "I'm good." said Silver Spoon, standing up and rubbing her nose. A crack formed on the statue's foot. "Uh, oh." said Diamond Tiara. "We probably should, like, get out of here." "Good idea." said Silver Spoon. The two rejoined their class just as they were leaving. "Any questions about today's trip?" asked Cherilee. "You know," Apple Bloom said to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. "as cool as it was to see my sister save Equestria, I just hope Discord doesn't come back." "Got that right." said Scootaloo. "I mean, chocolate rain is nice but chaos is just too... chaotic." "If Discord does come back, we'll stop him." said Sweetie Belle. "Right, girls?" "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS CHAOS STOPPERS!" the three yelled. "I have a question, Miss Cherilee." said Silver Spoon. "Yes?" asked Cherilee. "What set Discord free last time?" "No pony knows." said Cherilee. "It's said that if something chaotic happens, no matter how small, the seal can be broken." "Really?" asked Diamond Tiara. "Though the smaller the chaos, the longer it could take for the seal to break." "How interesting." said Silver Spoon. "It's nice to see you two getting into the spirit of things." said Cherilee. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon shot each other a look.
Luna, The Terror Of The NightTwilight and the others stood at the edge of Canterlot. They were all out of breath from walking the whole way. "Like, finally." said Diamond Tiara. "Now on to Canterlot Castle." said Twilight. Just then a piece of the castle exploded. The debris crashed down the side of the mountain. "We're too late!" yelled Apple Bloom. "Come on!" yelled Twilight, taking off towards the castle. "You go!" yelled Sweetie Belle sitting down. "I'll wait here!" "Luna!" yelled Celestia. "Stop this!" Luna stood over Celestia, her wings unfolded. Her eyes glowed white and dark energy circled around her. "No." said Luna. "I don't think I will." "What?" "Still trying to control me?" she asked. "You really don't care about me." "Luna." Celestia said, shocked that her sister would say something like that. "You're my sister. I love you." "Right." said Luna sarcastically. "That's why you imprisoned me in the moon for a thousand years!" She sent out a burst of dark energy that sent Celestia tumbling down the hallway. Luna walked towards her as she got back up. "I had to." said Celestia. "You were out of control!" Luna launched a dark beam from her horn. Celestia countered by launching a light beam from her horn. The two collided, sending both sisters flying backwards. Celestia tumbled down the hall as Luna flew the door to her non-existing room. She flapped her wings and hovered in mid-air. She looked towards the front of the castle and saw a group of ponies. "Twilight Sparkle." she said to herself. Twilight and the others reached the steps that led to the castle as Luna landed at the top. The impact of her landing caused the cement to crack. "Princess?" asked Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle. Celestia's favorite." She started walking down the stairs. "And her friends." The entire group backed away, except for Derpy. She just cowered and didn't move. "Derpy." Lyra whispered. "Get back." "Derpy Hooves." said Luna, stopping in front of her. "So small." She used her magic and lifted Derpy off the ground. "So fragile." Celestia fell from the sky and tackled Luna. Derpy fell to the ground and joined her friends. "RUN!" yelled Celestia. Luna blasted Celestia with a dark blast, sending her flying upwards. Luna got up, unfolded her wings, and took to the skies after Celestia.
Rise To PowerLuna stood out on the balcony outside her room, watching her Shadow Force invade Canterlot. Any pony who hadn't already left was being forced to leave. Those who refused were to be thrown into the dungeons of the castle. Discord floated down in front of Luna. "What do you want?" asked Luna. "Just to congratulate you on a job well done." said Discord. "I can see I made the right decision." Luna narrowed her eyes. She then used her magic to grab Discord and slam him onto the floor of her room. She then held him down. "Listen, Discord. I don't work for you. GOT IT?! You work for me" "Why... can't I move?" "Because I'm more powerful than you." said Luna. "THAT'S why." "Ah. I see." "Next time, don't create chaos you can't control." "Look, Luna..." said Discord. "As long as there gets to be chaos, I don't mind who's in charge." Luna released Discord and he got up. "Oh, there'll be chaos." Luna said with a smile. "LOTS of chaos." "So, what's the plan?" asked Discord. "What are you talking about?" asked Luna. "Well, we can't let those ponies get inside the castle." "Not that they have chance, but why?" "Because if they get their hoofs on the Elements Of Harmony, you're finished." Luna grinned. "You underestimate me, Discord. Because you unlocked my full power, the Elements will have no effect on me this time." "Maybe so." said Discord, lying down in mid-air. "But if they use them against me, you may lose all your power." "What?!" yelled Luna. "How?" "We're linked, you and I." said Discord. "But the strength of the connection is unsure. You may be fine if I'm defeated... but why take the risk?" "I don't believe this." said Luna, leaving her room. She walked down the hall and turned a corner. She then headed down a flight of stairs and ended up in the throne room. "Where are you going?" asked Discord, following her. "You'll see." said Luna, stepping outside. One of the shadow unicorns walked up to her. "Orders, your Highness?' he asked. "I want you to take a Shadow Force group made up of pegasuses and track down my sister and her friends. "Right away." said the shadow pony. He turned and headed down the stairs. "No pony escapes me." said Luna. "No pony."
