The Unicorns' Might

by ponyguy123

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Discord, Princess Celestia, Main 6, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Luna, Fluttershy
Length: 5865

When a problem with the Elements of Harmony cause all of the unicorns in Equestria mysteriously fall under an odd trance, somepony has to find out why.

One day, the Elements of Harmony mysteriously explode, causing all of the unicorns in Equestria fall under a trance which makes them leave to an unknown location. Celestia must know what's happening, so she sends Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie Pie on a journey to find answers and save the unicorns.
However, when they all get caught, Equestria falls into one pegasus' hooves...

Published 2013-03-10 03:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-03-12 11:25:30 UTC

Chapter I

"Are you sure about this, sugarcube?" Applejack asked worriedly.

"Yeah, why not?" Scootaloo said, who was standing at the top of a steep hill, holding her scooter.

"Ah dunno, doesn't this seem a might dangerous?"

"Ha! Danger is my middle name."

"Yeah, go Scootaloo!" cheered Applebloom, who was standing beside Sweetie Belle.

"But, where is she gonna land?" Sweetie whispered to Applebloom.

"Ah dunno," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "But Ah'm sure she's got some sort of idea."

She put her helmet on and strapped it down. She got onto her scooter, put her hoof onto the ground and gave it a little push. She rolled toward the hill and soon found herself flying down the hill toward a small ramp at the bottom.

She launched off the ramp and flew through the air. She did a front-flip, but then started to get a bit worried. She didn't have anywhere to land; she hadn't really thought about it.

She screamed as she fell to the ground, releasing her grip on the scooter. Applejack looked down over at her, already feeling guilty for letting her do it in the first place.

"Oh no!" Applebloom said as she watched her friend fall.

Suddenly, Applejack saw something approaching Scootaloo. She wasn't sure what it was, it was just a multi-coloured blur. She looked carefully and she soon realised it was Rainbow Dash, flying to her rescue.

Rainbow Dash grabbed Scootaloo out of the air, inches away from the ground. They crashed into the dirt, Rainbow Dash holding her in her forelegs, and rolled a few feet.

Scootaloo shook her head, before realising the mare who had saved her.

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo said as she gave her a tight hug. "You saved me!"

"Hey, no sweat, kid." Rainbow Dash said, brushing the dirt out of her mane. "What the heck were you doing anyway?"

"I was riding my scooter down that hill." She pointed towards the steep hill that she had rode down, the other three still standing at the top, watching them.

"That was kind of dangerous... Why were you doing it?"

"I'm still trying to earn my cutie mark," she said as she looked at her flank, but was disappointed to find that her plan didn't work. "Besides, Applejack said I could."

Rainbow Dash looked up at AJ, disapprovingly. "Well, don't do it again." she said, tousling her mane.

"But what about my scooter?" Scootaloo said, picking up what was left of it.

"Rainbow Dash!" called a voice. "I'm so glad I found you!"

Rainbow Dash looked behind her, and saw Twilight Sparkle galloping toward her.

"Twilight? What's wrong?" she asked.

"Have you seen Applejack?"

Rainbow Dash pointed up the hill at her.

"Well, this morning, I was in my library, reading a book." she said, talking at a million miles an hour. "Anyway, I got this letter from Princess Celestia. We have to go right away!"

"Wait, wait. I'm still confused."

She passed Rainbow Dash a short letter and began browsing through it.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

Something strange is happening to the Elements of Harmony, and I need you and your friends here right away.

I apologise for giving you such short notice, but this is of utmost importance. Please come to Canterlot as soon as possible.

Your teacher and mentor,

Princess Celestia

"Oh no, we have to get there now!" Rainbow Dash said. "Quick, let's get to the train station."

"No, the next train to Canterlot won't be back for an hour." Twilight said.

"Then how do we get there? We can't walk, it's too far."

Twilight suddenly had an idea. "Rainbow Dash, can I ask you a favour?"

Rainbow Dash flew as fast as she could towards Canterlot, holding a rope in her teeth. Her other five friends, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, all sat in the hot air balloon that she was towing.

She landed in Canterlot, and pulled the balloon to the ground and her friends hopped out.

"Quick! To the castle!" Twilight yelled.

"Yep," Rainbow Dash panted as she tried to catch her breath. "Just give me a sec."

They all galloped into the castle, and into the room where the Elements were kept. Inside, they saw Princess Celestia with the elements.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight said, giving her a hug. "What's the matter?"

"I'm glad you could come on such short notice." the princess said. "There is something wrong with the Elements of Harmony."

"What's wrong?"

"They appear to be under some type of enchantment."

Twilight looked at the elements, which were in their box, and instantly became worried. Each element was grey, and they were all radiating a strange green glow.

"What's happened to them?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I don't know," Princess Celestia said. "and I am unable to fix them."

"Then why did you summon us?"

"As you know, I am no longer connected to the elements, you six are."

"What do you need us to do?" Twilight asked.

"I need you to-"

The princess was cut off as the Elements of Harmony began to glow and shimmer the same light green. They levitated into the air and arranged into a formation.

"What's happening?" asked Rainbow Dash. "What is it?"

"Something terrible." the princess replied.

The green light began to get brighter and brighter, until the light was too blinding to look at directly. Large gusts of wind blew around the room, and the elements began to glow red.

"Everypony," Princess Celestia said as the redness got darker and darker. "Get down!"

Everypony dived to the floor as the glowing mass in the centre of the room exploded, sending a shockwave ricocheting around the room, shattering all of the stained glass windows. The glass fell to the floor, crashing against the hard tiles.

"Is everypony alright?" Princess Celestia said as she got off the floor.

"I'm fine." Rainbow Dash said.

"Yeah, me too." Applejack said as she stood back up.

"What was that?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"I don't know, but whatever it was," She walked over to a shattered window and looked outside. "it wasn't good."

The other four walked over to the princess and also looked out the window across Canterlot. Everypony was in a state of panic. Every window in sight had been shattered, and several ponies were screaming.

"Uhh, girls?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"What?" Rainbow Dash said, still looking out the window.

"What's wrong with Rarity and Twilight?"

"What do you mean?" Rainbow Dash said, turning around and looking at the two unicorns. "Oh no!"

Twilight and Rarity's eyes were glowing a faint green colour, and they were both staring blankly. Pinkie Pie waved her hoof in Rarity's face, yet she didn't respond.

"Oh no!" Princess Celestia said as she turned and looked back out the window. "It's not just them!"

The four returned to the shattered windows and took another look at Canterlot. Other ponies were also frozen, staring blankly into space.

"Guards!" the princess called, yet no guards entered the room. "Guards!" she called out once again.

She stuck her head out the door and looked at the two guards who were standing by the door. Their eyes were glowing also.

"My royal guards aren't responding either."

"Can we help?"Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yes. Fly into Canterlot, find out how many ponies are tranced."

"Can do!" she saluted, flying through the window. "I'll be back in a moment."

"I'm back." Rainbow Dash said, panting.

"And what did you find?" Celestia asked.

"It seems that it's only affecting the unicorns. But not only that, but it's affecting every unicorn."

"Every unicorn?"

Princess Celestia was worried. If every unicorn in Canterlot was under someone's control, then they would have endless power.

"I have to find out what's happening!" she said.

"What do we do with Twilight an' Rarity?" Applejack asked.

"Just leave them, but don't touch them! We don't know what could happen."

Suddenly, the two unicorns' horns began to glow the same green colour as their eyes. Celestia returned to the window, and watched as every unicorns' horn glowed.

"What's happening?" Fluttershy asked.

"I don't know, but it can't be good."

Twilight and Rarity stood still, their eyes and horns glowing intensely. They didn't move. Their chests didn't even move, as they weren't even breathing.

Celestia studied them closely, observing them from different angles. She then found herself face to face with Twilight, their muzzles an inch apart. She wasn't sure what was wrong, but she was desperate to know.

She stared into her green eyes, which seemed to just look straight through her.

Suddenly, Twilight blinked, but just once. The Princess was confused. Twilight blinked again, and so did Rarity.

They both turned their heads toward the door and began walking towards it, acting as if they were sleepwalking.

When they reached the door, Twilight pushed it open and they both walked out.

The five ponies were confused. They looked out the window and saw that every other unicorn was doing just the same thing.

They headed out the door and Rainbow Dash flew towards Twilight and Rarity. She went to stop them, but the princess stopped her.

"Rainbow Dash, stop!" she called out.

"Why not?"

"I don't know what it could do. It could kill you!"

Rainbow Dash landed beside her other friends and continued to follow the two unicorns outside.

Princess Celestia headed out onto the large balcony at the top of the castle.

"Everypony, please calm down!" she said to all of the ponies in Canterlot. "You mustn't touch the unicorns! Let them follow their path!"

She looked over at Ponyville, and saw something quite daunting. She could see large herds of unicorns leaving the town, all heading in a single direction.

Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy all followed Twilight and Rarity outside. They looked up at Celestia.

"Go. Follow the unicorns, and find out what's happening!" she said to them.

"We'll do our best!" Applejack said, assuringly.

The four ponies followed the large groups of unicorns who were roaming Equestria. They weren't sure where they were going, and they weren't even sure if they were going anywhere in particular, but these doubts were quickly removed as they approached a large castle.

"What's that?" Pinkie Pie asked the others.

"I don't know, but we have to find out." Rainbow Dash said.

They followed the masses of unicorns that flooded into the castle doors. They went inside, and tried to blend into the crowd. When they were inside, they noticed that the unicorns had stopped marching forward and instead, were now filing into the large area.

When the last group entered, the doors shut, and the unicorns continued staring blankly into space. Rainbow Dash and Applejack exchanged looks of worry and concern.

Their silent looks were interrupted by an loud, echoing voice, booming around the room.

"Welcome, unicorns." the mysterious voice said, even though Rainbow Dash was fairly sure they couldn't actually hear them. "I'm glad you could make it here."

Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash, and then at Twilight and Rarity.

"Before we begin," said the voice. "could you please bring the intruders to me?"

All of the unicorns turned and looked at the other four.

"Oh no." Fluttershy whimpered as the unicorns crowded around them.

One of the Canterlot royal guards approached them and cast a spell.

"You will sleep now." he said, dazed.

Rainbow Dash blinked a few times, before she and her friends closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter II (Gore)

Rainbow Dash had a splitting headache. She lay asleep on the hard floor of her cage as her head thumped. She groaned as she woke up and rubbed her eyes, which were quite sore. She got up and stretched her neck, which caused her to hit her head on the roof. That made her head hurt even more.

Rainbow Dash looked around at her small cage, and remembered what had happened. She looked at the three cages beside her own, which enclosed Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, all snoozing away.

"Girls!" she said, attempting to wake them up. "Girls, get up!"

The three ponies awoke from their sleep and looked around.

"Oh no, we're stuck!" Applejack said in a panic.

"Look, calm down." Rainbow Dash said, calmingly. "We'll get out of this."

"Oh you will, will you? Are you sure about that?"

The four ponies looked around. They couldn't see the one talking, but they could identify it as the voice from before.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Rainbow Dash demanded.

"Oh, silly ponies." the voice laughed. "If you think you're going to ruin my plan again, then you've got another thing coming."

"Again? What do you mean? Who are you?" she yelled.

"Oh, poor Rainbow Dash. So naive."

"How do you know my name?!"

"Oh, we've met before."

Rainbow Dash knew they had met before, their voice sounded so familiar, and not just from before.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Fine, I'll show you. It's not like I've got a world to dominate."

They heard a clicking sound, and they found themselves teleported outside of the cages.

There was another click, and then a large being stood on a stone podium at the end of the room.

"It's me!" the creature laughed, who they quickly identified.

"No!" Applejack yelled. "It can't be you!"

"Discord!" Rainbow Dash said angrily.

"Yes, yes. It's me, I'm back!"

"But... why?" Fluttershy asked, sadly. "I made you better, you're not evil anymore."

"Says who?" Discord laughed.

"But you were reformed!"

"So what you're saying is, I have to be good, just because you said so?"

"Umm... Yes?"

"Uh, no." Discord said, shaking his head. "That's not how it works."

"How did you make the Elements of Harmony hypnotise the unicorns?!" Rainbow Dash asked, still raging with fury at Discord's betrayal.

"Simple, really." Discord said. "Living in the palace for a while gave me time to study up on the elements, and now I have the power to use my magic to manipulate them!"

"But why?" Fluttershy asked. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because, Fluttershy," he said, teleporting down to her and running a claw along her chin. "now that I have control of every unicorn in Equestria, there is nopony to stop me from taking over. I have infinite power!"

He laughed as he teleported back to his position on the podium.

Rainbow Dash flew up to Discord, but he snapped his fingers, causing her wings to snap shut. She crashed into the ground and slid on her face.

"Oh, Rainbow Dash, such a fierce temper. Let's test your skills, shall we?"

"What did you do to my wings?" she asked angrily.

"Oh, ignore that. I can't have you cheating." Discord said.

"Cheating at what?"

"Twilight!" Discord yelled out. "Get in here!"

The four ponies looked over at the doorway as their purple friend entered the room, here eyes still glowing the odd green colour.

"Discord, what are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asked as Twilight walked towards her.

"I'm showing you the power of my magic, when it's not being used for chaos, but for pure evil!" he laughed. "But don't worry, it's generally the same thing."

"Twilight, what are you doing?" Rainbow Dash said worriedly as she approached her.

"Go ahead, Rainbow Dash, defend yourself." Discord said.

"I'd never hurt her, even if she is under your control!"

"Well you might want to think twice about that, because either way, one of you is going to get hurt."

Rainbow Dash tried to hit Twilight, but she couldn't do it.

"I can't!" she admitted. "I won't hurt my friend!"

"Really? Well then..." Discord said with a mischievous grin. "Twilight, show her what you've got."

Twilight picked Rainbow Dash up with her magic and looked into her eyes. She smiled slightly, and hurled her into one of the walls with great force. Her face broke as it collided with the stone wall. She fell to the ground, quivering with pain as blood gushed from her nose. She screamed as her broken nose pressed against the floor. Her friends were shocked at Discord's sudden act of violence.

"Discord, you're insane!" Applejack yelled. "Stop!"

"Really? Insane? I hadn't noticed."

"How about now? Come on, just a punch." Discord taunted, leaning down toward Rainbow Dash.

"I... can't." she whimpered as she laid on the floor, trying to hold back her screams of pain.

"No?" Discord asked. "Even if she's trying to kill you?"

Rainbow Dash didn't reply.

"Well then, you asked for it."

Twilight picked her up again and raised her up to the ceiling, before slamming her against the ground again. Applejack swore she heard the snapping of Rainbow Dash's leg.

"I'll give you one last chance, Rainbow Dash. Punch her in the face, and I'll stop torturing you."

Rainbow Dash lay on the floor, not responding. She breathed heavily as her saliva drooled out of her blood-stained mouth.

"Fine." Discord said, disappointedly. "Have it your way."

"Discord, don't do this!" Applejack pleaded.

"Why should I? This is the most fun I've had in ages!"

Discord grinned his evil smile.

"Prepare yourself, Rainbow Dash, for the most pain you will ever experience." He nodded at Twilight.

Twilight once again picked her up, but instead of smashing her against a wall, she just held her.

Her horn began to glow a dark red colour, also changing the colour of the aura which surrounded her quivering victim.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash began screaming horribly as Twilight cast her spell. Her horrifying shrieks of pain echoed around the room.

Her friends tried to look away as Rainbow Dash writhed in pain, trying to escape Twilight's torturous hold.

To her, it felt like she had been set on fire, and was being slowly and painfully torn apart.

"That's enough." Discord said, dismissing Twilight's horrible tortures.

Twilight dropped her to the floor as she gasped for breath, trying to hold on to the consciousness in her head that remained. Discord snapped his fingers again, causing them to return to their cells.

"See? Unicorns can be monsters if treated right." Discord said, chuckling. "Being evil is a lot easier than being chaotic."

"You okay, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, although she already knew the answer.

Rainbow Dash lifted up her bruised face and looked at her. "Yep, I'm fine." she said, trying to get her friends to stop worrying about her. In actual fact, she was having trouble not blacking out.

"How could you?!" yelled Fluttershy, attempting to stand up for her friend.

"Fluttershy?" he said, looking at her enraged face.

"What kind of monster are you?"

"Oh my, that's intimidating." he said sarcastically. "What do you mean? Look at her, she's glowing with health."

"How dare you try to force Rainbow Dash to hurt a friend!"

"Well, if you think you could do a better job..."

He teleported her outside of her cage, in front of Twilight.

"Ah! No!" she cried when she saw Twilight. "Take me back!"

"I can't." Discord said, shrugging his shoulders. "It's your fight."

Fluttershy ducked down and covered her head with her forelegs nervously. Twilight walked over to her a gave her a slight kick.

"Get up!" she demanded.

Fluttershy rolled over and looked at her as she quivered in fear.

"I said GET UP!" she yelled, giving her a large kick in the stomach.

That didn't move her either, it mostly made her more scared.

"Twilight... Stop, please." she cried as she stared into her green eyes. "This isn't you."

"I must do what Discord tells me to."

Twilight stepped closer to her and placed a hoof onto her neck, choking her. Fluttershy grabbed her leg, and attempted to push it off, but Twilight was too strong.

"Twi- Twilight," she coughed as she pressed her hoof against her neck. "Get off..."

"Fluttershy, you know she will only respond to me." Discord said, admiring the timid mare's pain.

Twilight placed another hoof onto one of her wings, twisting it the wrong way. She stopped when it was on the brink of snapping.

"Oh, Fluttershy." Discord said, flying down to her. "Weak, manipulatable Fluttershy. What are we going to do with you?"

"Discord, stop! You're not evil anymore!" she pleaded under Twilight's hoof. "You're reformed."

"You really don't get it, do you?" he said sternly. "I'm not changing and you can't make me. You never could."

"But... I showed you the importance of friendship! I thought that was what you-"

"I don't need friends," he snapped. "Not when I have all of Equestria to rule!"

He leaned down, right up to her face and grinned wickedly.

"Twilight," he said. "Snap it."

"No!!" screamed Rainbow Dash. "Discord, stop!"

Twilight pushed her hoof a little further, causing the bone in Fluttershy's wing to snap. After she heard the sharp cracking sound of the bone, Twilight pulled her hoof away from her wing, leaving it slightly attached to her body.

Fluttershy's screams were the most ear-piercing, shrill sound that Rainbow Dash had ever heard. It was torture just listening to it, more so than the pain of her broken leg.

"Deal with Fluttershy." Discord said to Twilight.

She nodded, understandingly, and pointed her horn at Fluttershy. It began to glow as a bright beam shot out of it and blasted into her, sending her flying at the wall behind her. The only problem was, there was no wall behind her, but instead, a window. Fluttershy crashed through the glass and attempted to fly, however her broken wing wasn't helping.

"Twilight, you idiot!" yelled Discord. "I meant put her back in her cell, not kill her!"

"Oh, oops." Twilight said, acting like it didn't matter that she had just murdered somepony. "Sorry."

"Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter that much. One less problem, right?"

Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie watched in horror as their friend flew through the glass. Through the hole, they could see that it was nighttime, and they were quite high up, which was bad news; Fluttershy could never survive a fall from that height.

Fluttershy fell. She couldn't stop herself. She helplessly tried flapping her wing, but it didn't do anything without the other one.

She stopped trying, and just accepted her fate. As she fell, her life flashed before her eyes, before she blacked out.

Chapter III (Preface)

Fluttershy walked through her house late at night, wondering what had happened before, when she fell out of the window. It was near midnight.

Was it a dream? she thought to herself. Or did I really die?

She was certain it she didn't actually die, otherwise she couldn't have asked herself that question. She believed it was a dream, as her wing was fine.

She hadn't even left the house since she had woken up, so she didn't know if her friends were okay, or if the unicorns were back.

Her pondering thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

Who would be here at this time? she thought.

She opened the door, and was suprised. Princess Luna was the last pony she would have suspected to be at her cottage.

"Princess Luna, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Hello Fluttershy." the princess said. "I am here because it is my duty."

"Duty?"

Fluttershy was confused, but soon figured out what was happening.

"As the princess of the night, I feel it is my duty to-"

"Oh, yes, I see. This is a dream."

"Indeed," the princess said. "and my sister told me to come into your dream and assist you in the defeating of Discord."

"Princess Celestia knows it was him?"

"Please, walk with me." Luna said as she left.

Fluttershy followed her and walked alongside her.

"My sister is quite aware of what Discord is doing, and what he has done."

"You mean what he did to Rainbow Dash and I?"

"Yes, and what is happening to your friends at the current time."

"My friends, what's he doing to them!?"

"Torturous things. He is planning to use the combined power of all the unicorns to rule Equestria."

"What happened? Why didn't I die when Twilight shot me out the window?" Futtershy asked, still curious as to how she had lived.

"Princess Celestia saved you. You are sleeping in the castle as we speak."

They continued to walk through the barren streets on Ponyville, which were stripped of all ponies.

"Where is everypony?" Fluttershy asked.

"Here, there is nopony else but us."

Fluttershy was worried. Every moment she spent in the dream was another moment that Discord was doing something terrible.

"How does Princess Celestia expect us to stop Discord? He has every unicorn in Equestria under his power, we can't even attack. They're our friends, we can't intentionally hurt them."

"My sister believes that you will do the right thing."

"But we can't stop them. We can't use the Elements of Harmony against them, we're missing generosity and magic."

"Yes, and she knows this, but she knows you will do the right thing."

"Just tell me, what do we need to do?"

Instead of answering, the princess took ahold of Fluttershy's hoof.

"Let me show you what will happen if Discord is to win."

Her eyes began to glow a bright white as the world around them fell apart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fluttershy found herself and the princess in a different dream, but she could tell it was Ponyville. She looked around at the empty streets which were just as lifeless as her original dream.

"Fluttershy, this is the future in which Discord has won."

"But, what happened to everyone?"

The princess shook her head, sadly.

"I know this may be difficult for you to comprehend," Princess Luna said. "but if Discord wins, each of the four species of pony; Earth, Pegasus, Unicorn and Alicorn alike, will go extinct, leaving Discord to rule over a loveless world for all eternity."

"Extinct?!" Fluttershy gasped. "He can't do that!"

"And that is why you mustn't let him win. Do whatever you must, just don't allow him to get the better of you."

Fluttershy was still unsure. "I can't defeat him, he's too powerful."

"You must. All of Equestria is in your hooves."

"But, why me?"

"Because it is your duty."

"My duty..." Fluttershy nodded worriedly, but understandingly. "I'll try my best."

"You must do more than your best, if you are to have any hope of defeating such a powerful enemy."

"Okay. I'll try."

"Thank you, I will see you soon."

Princess Luna walked away.

"Wait a minute, what do you mean by soon?"

"This dream is ending," Luna said, turing her head back around. "and your mission is beginning. Once you awaken, you are to return to the castle and face Discord, once and for all."

"So, I just do what my instinct tells me?"

"Yes, I believe in you to make the right decision. You mustn't fail us, otherwise you are also failing all of Equestria."

Author's Note

The main reason I wrote this scene was becasue I've always wanted to write a scene in which one of the mane characters is given some sort of important advice from Luna in a dream.

P.S Remember, this chapter is just a preface, leading up to the next chapter.

Chapter 3.5 (CANCELLED)

I apologise for the inconvenience, but this story has been cancelled. I have many reasons, the most of which just mean the same thing: I don't have a good ending. That's it. But please, enjoy the part of the chapter that I did complete, and try and make up your own ending in your head.

Fluttershy jerked herself up as she awoke, but yelped as her broken wing hit against her elbow.

She looked around, remembering that Luna had informed her that she was sleeping in the castle.

She looked at her wing, which was bandaged up.

She turned her attention to the bed which she was sleeping in, it was quite large. The blanket was just as large as the bed, with Princess Celestia's cutie mark on it, so she figured it was her bed.

She returned her attention to her wing and began softly massaging it to try and soothe her damaged feathers.

"Good, you are awake."

Fluttershy stopped rubbing her wing and looked toward the doorway. Princess Celestia was walking in, approaching Fluttershy in the bed.

"Hello, princess." she said.

"Good morning. How are you today?" Celestia replied.

"My wing hurts a lot. How long have I been in here?"

"Since last night."

Fluttershy laid back down onto the plump pillow behind her. She knew what Luna had told her, and what she had to do.

"Did you receive my message from Luna?" the princess asked, walking over to beside the bed.

"Yes, but I can't defeat Discord." Fluttershy said as she lifted her head back up. "You know I can't."

"Fluttershy, you must remove your doubt. You will never be able to accomplish your goal if you don't believe in yourself."

"But it's impossi-"

Celestia placed a hoof over her mouth, stopping her from talking.

"Fluttershy," she said. "I believe that you will do what's right."

She removed her hoof from her mouth and placed it back on the floor.

"Can I count on you?" the princess asked.

Fluttershy was silent for a moment, before she responded. "Yes, I'll try my hardest."

"Good. I know you will make the right choice."

"Right choice at what?"

"A most horrible choice."

"What? What will I have to do?"

"I cannot tell you, you must find out in time."

Despite what Fluttershy had said, she still knew there was no way she could do this.

"Princess Celestia, thanks for trusting me, but I don't think I'm the right pony for the job." she said.

"Fluttershy, I will assist you in defeating Discord, but only when you need it."

"You will? Thank you."

"The doctor had examined your wing while you were asleep. It should be healed in a few months, but even then, it won't be as strong as it was." Celestia said.

"A few months? Shouldn't it only take a few weeks?"

"Yes, but without our unicorns we don't have the magic to make a full recovery."

"Couldn't you do it?" Fluttershy asked hopefully.

"No, I can't. I am not educated in the fields of medicine."

Fluttershy pondered on the thought of her decision which she was apparently going to have to make.

"Could you tell me anything about my decision?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy, but I mustn't." Princess Celestia said. "However I may give you some advice."

"Yes, anything."

"Don't you dare put my life before anypony else's."

Fluttershy knocked on the large wooden door of Discord dark castle, nervous as anything. The door opened, though not very wide, and saw Minuette.

"Fluttershy," she said with a mischievous grin. "you are a fool to have come back. Discord has been waiting your return."

"I'm here to stop him." she said confidently, although inside, she wanted to run away and hide.

"You can't defeat him. He will destroy you and your friends."

"Princess Celestia said I had to, and that it was my duty."

"Well then, go ahead. I won't stop you."

Minuette's horn began to glow, as she teleported Fluttershy away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fluttershy fell to the floor as she arrived in the room. She looked up and saw Rainbow Dash, sadly moping in her cell.

"Psst, Rainbow Dash." she whispered.

Rainbow Dash turned around to see her friend lying beside her prison.

"Fluttershy, you're alive!" she said as a smile grew across her face, but quickly dropped. "What are you doing here?!"

"Where are the other two?"

"They were tortured, so horribly. They're in the hall with the unicorns now."

Rainbow Dash thought Futtershy was stupid for coming back.

"Why are you here?"

"I came to stop Discord."

"No, you can't! Get out, before he knows you're here!"

"Fluttershy!"

They both looked behind them and saw Discord, laughing insanely.

"Discord!" Fluttershy growled.

"You were a fool to come back!"

"I had to, I can't let you take over Equestria!"

Discord sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Do we need to go through this again?" he said

He called out towards the door. "One of you unicorns, get in here!"

"Yes, Discord?" Lyra Heartstrings said, poking her head through the doorway.

"You, whatever your name is, teach Fluttershy a lesson."

Lyra nodded, and walked into the room. She approached Fluttershy, and her horn began glowing it's amber glow. It blasted into Fluttershy, sending her flying backwards and landing against the wall and to her surprise, it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. It still hurt though, as her wing was being hit against the wall.

She tried to stand back up, but struggled as her legs began to cramp.

She soon found herself being lifted off the ground, but not by Lyra's magic. Rather, she found Discord's sharp claws wrapped around her neck, pinning her against the wall.

"Well well well, looks like your plan failed." he said, tightening his grip.

Fluttershy tried to remove his claws, but was unable to. Her body dangled helplessly as Discord held her. The pain she was experiencing was unbearable as her wing scraped against the stone wall.

"And now, my poor Fluttershy," he said with an evil grin. "You shall die!" Those words echoed through her head, as well as Rainbow Dash's.

"No!" yelled a voice from behind them.

Discord turned around, but was smashed across the room by Celestia's magic. Fluttershy yelped as she fell to the ground,

"How did you get in here?" he said angrily.

"I teleported, how else?" she said.

"You're no fun, you know that?"

Discord pointed at Lyra.

"Stop her!" he demanded.

"Is this a joke?" Princess Celestia said as Lyra's weak spells repelled off her.

"Oh, no joke here."

"Then how do you expect a simple unicorn to stop me?"

"She may be no use, but what are you against the power of every unicorn in Equestria?"

As he said that, the rest of the unicorns began swarming through the doors and circling the princess.

"What are you doing, Discord?" the princess asked as more and more ponies walked in.

"I'm simply using using the combined power of the untempered magic of the unicorns against you so I can finally rule Equestria in peace."

"You can't do that, their combined power is too unstable! It would destroy us all!"

"Yes, all of us except for one." he said. "Lucky for me, I'll be safe."

Futtershy backed away from the crowd of unicorns, not wanting to watch what was going to happen.

"Go ahead, teleport away." Discord taunted. "Abandon your ponies."

"I would never do that, you know I wouldn't!"

"Well let's see about that. Unicorns, attack!"

All of the unicorns began casting a spell, which gathered into a large ball of light in the centre of the room.

Princess Celestia looked over at Rainbow Dash sternly, and then at Fluttershy. She nodded, very slighlty, but enough for her to notice.

The unicorns fired their spell at Celestia causing her fall to the ground.