Hylian in Equestria

by pushi2009

The four Links go to Equestria each for their own reasons. However, one of their reasons is much, much darker than the others... (sequel to 'Pony in Hyrule'

CHAPTER 1 WELCOME TO PONYVILLE

Fluttershy, Applejack, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie all materialised out of thin air. The were in the centre of Ponyville. They all had tears in their eyes. "It's a shame we had to leave so soon." Twilight said. "Yeah, but we could just pretend that never happened, right?" Applejack said. "Oh my goodness! Where have you four been!" It was Rarity. She saw that they had been crying. "Oh, is everything alright, dears?" She said. "Yes, we're fine!" Said Twilight. "You're back!" Rainbow Dash came soaring down from the sky. "And just in time to see me crush everypony in the Violet Season race!" She said. "But where have you been, anyway?" She said.

They told them everything. The Hylians, their adventures, how Fluttershy had been almost eaten by a pack of huge monsters. "That sounds sooo cool!" Rainbow Dash said. "Hardly, dear. I've already been in close proximity to a monstrosity and do not wish to repeat the experience." Rarity said. She hated getting dirty. "Girls, if I tell you a secret, can you not tell anypony?" Twilight said, lowering her voice. "Of course not!" They all said at once. "I-I kind of fancied one of them." She said. "And who might that 'ave been, sugarcube?" Applejack said. "Green" she whispered. "Can you not tell anypony this but, ah kinda liked that Blue." Applejack said. "Well, Red made cupcakes very well with me..." Pinkie Pie said. They all looked at Fluttershy. "Erm, well I guess I do fancy him and I did sleep with Vio last night..." Her voice trailed off. "Looks like they got some admirers!" Rainbow Dash said. "I'm too cool for that kind of stuff." She said. "Anyway, the race starts at 1:00 later! You guys have to watch me smash! I'm doing the sign ups!"

P.O.V:Vio

"Mission suc-freaking-cess, baby!" Shouted a dark blue stallion. I looked at my hands. My fingers were gone. Instead, there was a flat surface. "Hahaha! I'm a damn pony! I feel great! It's wonderful!" But then I felt something else. Something attached to my side. I moved them and I went up. "I've got wings!" I flew around on them. I was very good at measuring speed and I found I could fly up to Mach 9 with ease, before breaking the sound barrier. I was a light brown all over apart from my mane and tail, they were yellow and brown. I laughed when I saw the mark on my flank. Fluttershy told me they were called cutie marks and ponies got them when they were young and it usually shows their special talent. Mine was a Küber Armour Piercing Model 40. But I knew what my mission was. If I succeeded, then millions of innocent lives would be saved. Jackson said at least 6 million lives. Two stallions, a red one and a green on woke up. We all had fun getting used to their new bodies and powers. Blue was an earth pony, Red was an earth pony, Green was a unicorn and I was a pegasus. "So, what do do now?" Green said. "Haven't got any money, so where do we live?" He said. "There's a village over there!" Blue said. "Let's check it out!"

We all walked to the village. Apart from me and Green. I flew and was over there in ten seconds flat. Green just teleported. "Ugh, it sucks being an earth pony..." Blue said grumpily as he walked alongside Red towards the village. "Yeah, but Applejack told me that earth ponies have super strength! Watch!" Red bucked down an entire tree. "Whoopsies!" He said, walking away from the fallen tree. "Well if that's only your strength, then who knows how powerful I am! No offence, Red." Blue said. "None taken!" Red smiled widely and made a squeaky noise. "How do you do that noise?" Blue asked. "What, this?" Red did it again. "Yeah!" Blue said. "I don't know! I can just do it!" Red said. "You took your time." I said with a grin. "We need money though, and we don't have any!" Green said. Something caught my eye and I turned my head to face it. It was board showing a race that was taking place here in Ponyville at 1:00. A flying race. Sign ups were today closing at 12:00. "Guys look! A race! This afternoon!" I said. "Don't be stupid, Vio you can't even fly." Blue said, yawning. "Oh yeah?" I said and I zoomed into the sky. I went up vertically. This felt great! The wind was pushing so hard against theme. When I got to a high enough altitude I sped down to the ground. A cone forming in front of me. And then... A huge boom echoed through the sky. Rainbows came of of me in all directions. But I was going faster! Boom! More rainbows. Boom! Even more rainbows. Boom! Boom! Boom! BOOOOM! The last Sonic Rainboom I did happened as I stopped instantly as I almost touched the ground. I closed my eyes and inhaled through my nostrils. I exhaled through my mouth and opened my eyes. "Yes, Blue, I just broke the universal record by quadruple my first ever time flying, CLEARLY I can't fly!" I turned around to get a good look at the board. As I walked I almost tripped over a little filly, one of her hooves on a stationary scooter. She was orange with purple hair and eyes. She was gawping at me, her mouth wide open. "Errm, can I help you with something?" I said to her. She just stayed there staring. I walked round her and looked at the board. Violet Season race was the name if the race. "Sign ups at Cloud House." I said. "Okay. Hey guys, just going to sign up for the race thingy then I'll be back, okay!" I shouted back at them. They weren't paying attention. They were trying to get the filly to stop staring at me.

I reached 'Cloud House' in a great mood. I was so happy that I could see Fluttershy again. A mare sat at a desk with sheets of paper. "Sign ups for the Violet Season race, the name's Vio." I said. She wrote it down on a piece of paper. "Wait a second..." I said to her, noticing features the Fluttershy mentioned. "You're Rainbow Dash aren't you?" I said. "What?! How did you know that?!" She asked, amazed. "Fluttershy told me!" I said, a huge grin on my face. "Wait, so you're the Vio? The one who used to be a Hylian?" She said. "Yep! Green, Red and Blue are back there trying to get a little filly to stop staring at me!" I said. "It was you! You did those Sonic Chainbooms!" She said. "Oh, so that's what there're called!" I said. Rainbow Dash looked around to make sure nopony else was around. "Fluttershy said you were very kind to her." Rainbow Dash whispered to me. "Well, that very nice of her!" I said. "Did you really sleep with her last night?" She asked me. "Well yes, but it was on the sofa!" I said somewhat defensively. "Well then, I'll see you later, Rainbow Dash! At the start line?" I called out. "I'll meet you at the finish!" She shouted back.

"Twilight said she lived in a treehouse!" I said to myself. "Aha! This must be it!" I ran up to door but I am in too much of a good mood that instead of knocking, I shouted at the door: "Knock, knock, knock!" A small purple dragon opened the door. "You can just knock normally you know." The dragon said. "Ja, ja! Could you tell me vhich house ist Fluttershy's?" I said in a fake accent. "It's the one with a river, a tiny bridge and it looks like a small tree." He said before slamming the door in my face. As I approach the house which fits the baby dragon's description, I can hear thuds and bumps coming from behind a clump of bushes. I looked around and saw a horrible sight. My good mood vanished instantly. Three stallions, kicking, punching and standing on a single yellow mare that looked horribly like... Yes. It was. I snuck up behind them and bashed two of their heads together, rendering them both unconscious. I bucked the third bastard in the face, he whacks agains a tree and his eyes close. "Like ripping the arms off a huge pig-like creature and beating it to death with them! How long were they doing it for!" I asked Fluttershy. "I-I don't know, a while though." She said. I extended my hoof and she took it. "Thank you so much. It hurts a lot." She said. "You should go to Twilight's house, she can do wonderful healing spells. Even save one of my greatest friends from the brink of death." I said. I think I have given her too many hints now. Time to tell her. "Hey! Do you like my cutie mark?" I said to her as she started to limp off towards Twilight's house. "Küber Armour Piercing Model 40..." She said. "Wait, KÜBER ARMOUR PIERCING MODEL 40!? VIO?! Is it really you?" She shouted. "Calm down! It is me. Blue, Green and Red are somewhere, don't know where though." I said. She hugged me really tightly. "I can't believe you came here! Why did you go through?" She said. I didn't want to tell her the real reason quite yet so I said: "Well, I wasn't very happy in Hyrule. It isn't a very nice place compared to here. Thieves were everywhere! So that's why I came here!" I said. "But, where will you stay?" She said. I'm pretty sure she sounded hopeful when she said that and her eyebrows raised slightly. "Well, that's the problem I none of us have anywhere to stay!" I said. "Well, you should stay at my house! And don't say no! You have to! You saved my life twice, and let me stay at your house! So that's why you will stay at mine!" She said. "Alright, but what about the others?" I said. "I've got a pretty good idea..." Fluttershy said.

CHAPTER 2 DEATH RACE

We met up with the others and walked to Sugarcube Corner. "I think that me, Red and Pinkie Pie should go in." Twilight said. We waited outside while they asked if Red could stay there. We met Rarity and talked about clothes. "Oh, that mane of yours is sooo untidy! You have to comb that soon!" Rarity said to me. "Well it does look nice!" I said. "I like it like this." I said, touching my mane. "Hey, what time is it?" Applejack said. "10:30." I said. "Two and a half hours then!" Fluttershy said. They walked back out. "They said I could!" Said Red, bouncing up and down like Pinkie Pie. "Nice!" I said. "So, ah hope Granny Smith says yes." Applejack said to Blue. "So do I!" Blue said. "Ahm sure she will though, our house has so many spare rooms!"

We walked over to Sweet Apple Acres. It was about a five minute walk from the edge of town. We walked up to the front door and Applejack knocked. "Oh, hello, Applejack!" Said a light green pony from the doorway. She looked very old. "Heya Granny, could you umm, let my friend stay here? He's got nowhere else to go!" Applejack said. "Well okay, I guess I'll let your coltfriend stay." She said. "He's not my coltfriend!" Said Applejack defensively. "That's what they all say!" Granny Smith said. "We got a spare room next to Applejack's!" She said. "Thank you ma'am." Blue said. "Oh there's no need to thank me, dear. We've got too many rooms in this old house!" She said. "Well I'd better go back and carry on making apple pie with Applebloom. See you ponies later!" She said, closing the door. "So we've got two hours until the race! How about we show you four around Ponyville!" Twilight said. We all said yes. "Hey Fluttershy?" I asked her. "Can I have a word? In private?" I said. "Oh, okay. Where do you want to go?" She said. "Just behind here's fine." I said, gesturing towards the barn. We walked round and I faced her, a serious look on my face. "Fluttershy, who were those three stallions I saw earlier?" I said seriously. She looked at the ground and spoke. "They always bullied me when I was at flight school, ten years ago. They took advantage of the fact that I was weak. They always hurt me and I guess they came back for more." She said. 'Rotten cocksuckers' I thought. "Rainbow Dash stuck up for me though. They never hurt me when we were together but still called us both names." She said. "Fluttershy, I promise that will never happen again." I said. "Thanks Vio." She said.

We walked round Ponyville, Twilight pointing out certain places. "And this is my house!" Twilight said as she pointed to her house. "This is where you'll be staying, Green." She said. "I should introduce you all to Spike actually..." She said, opening the door. "Spiiiiikkeeee!" She called into the house. "Come and meet my new friends!" She shouted. The purple baby dragon I had seen earlier walked down a set of stairs. "Ugh, more mares probably." He said with a under his breath. "Spike, this is Green, Blue, Red and Vio. Green will be staying with us for a 'very long time'." She said. "Boys, this is Spike. He lives here and helps me out sometimes with cleaning up the library." She said. "Hello." Spike said. He sounded tired and his eyes were slightly bloodshot. "Twilight, I'm gonna go to bed I'll see you ponies later." With that he walked over to a tiny, baby dragon sized bed, went in it and started snoring almost instantly. "I don't know what's gotten into him, he's been so anti social lately! Oh, well." She said. "Ah, it's 12 o clock now." Said Rarity. "We can go see Rainbow Dash." She said. But before we could do anything else a rainbow coloured blur shot past us, blowing their manes around. "Already here!" Said Rainbow Dash. "I'm gonna crush you, Vio." Rainbow Dash said smugly. "I'm the fastest flyer in all of Equestria!"

"Was the fastest flyer in Equestria you mean?" I said, a grin on my face. "Don't push it, Vio!" She said.

"Welcome, mares and gentlecolts to the thirty first annual Violet Season race!" The mayor shouted through a megaphone. "The race will be a loop round Canterlot, over the tip of Cloudsdale and hovering above the Everfree forest and back here! Let's meet the contestants!" She shouted. "Ooh, I'm really nervous!" Rainbow Dash said to me. "Relax, it's only a friendly race!" I said back. "Friendly? Friendly?! This is the second most important race in Ponyville! I've never done it before! I was like this when I took part in the Equestria 500!" The contestants were called up one by one. To my surprise there were only seven contestants, including me and Rainbow Dash. "Number one, Soarin!" The mayor said. Soarin flew up and did a few mid-air twirls. The large crow tapped their hooves on the ground and cheered. "Soarin?" Rainbow Dash said. "He's a Wonderbolt!" She said. Soarin flew down and took his place on the start line. The mayor introduced four other ponies and then it was Rainbow Dash's turn. "And last but not least, Rainbow Dash! Who performed Equestria's first sonic Rainboom!" The crowd went wild as she took her place at line six. "Wait a moment." Mayor mare said. "There's one more!" She said. "Introducing, Vio!" I flew out. I wanted to make MY own impressions on the crowd. There was a very faint sound of clapping. I took my place next to Rainbow Dash. "We, errm are also all greatly honoured that Princess Celestia will be flying along our contestants today!" The crowd cheered and clapped. It was only then that I noticed her stood next to the pole on my far left. I looked at her and we made eye contact. The look she gave me was so piercing that I shuddered and looked away, like she knew it was me. I ignored her and looked forward. You don't scare me. A few minutes later a grey mare with eyes that seemed to be able to move independently stood next to me. She was holding a black and white checked flag. "Three..." I bent my back legs. "Two..." I pushed my fore hooves hard on the ground. "One..." I raised my back. "Go!" She swung the flag down and we sped off.

Rainbow Dash was in the lead, Soarin not far behind her. I urged forward and surpassed them both. This was easy! This was great! Celestia was flying gracefully along side the other contestants. Why would she come here? I thought. Unless...she knew... I was knocked out of my thoughts when aN orange mare flew past me. I looked back and flew quickly forward. I was now going at Mach 8. A cone was forming around me and I knew what was going to happen. I stuck out my front hoof and urged forward. I was going to break the sound barrier. I was shot forward, a huge bolt of speed. I felt an energy consume me and I was going faster and faster. Through my blurred vision I could just make out a large town ahead of me. But I was going too fast to slow down. I was going to crash into a building! I forced my body to move and it did. I spun round the town and followed some arrows engraved on a cliff top and got back on track. "Whew!" I said. "That was too close." I looked behind me. I couldn't see the others, but I did see Celestia, about twenty meters behind me. Her again? Why is she following me? I sped faster in a straight line, but she just seemed to equal my speed. I decided just to ignore her and carry on. I sped ave Clousdale and back down to earth. Or whatever this planet was anyway. I flew over the Everfree forest and to my surprise, I saw Rainw Dash right next to me! She just smiled and overtook me. I was aut to ost forward when I felt a terrible pain in my wings. I crashed to the ground in a clearing. I heard some nasty cracks and more pain filled my dy. It felt like burning daggers shoved into my kneecaps. I gasped in pain and lay there, on the forest floor. My vision was going blurry. My rear legs were badly broken and my wings were aswell. I crawled forward, not knowing where I was going to go. The pain was too much and I passed out.

CHAPTER 3 HI SHADOW

I heard whispers inside my head. My vision was completely black. It was only then that a realised I had my eyes closed. I felt like my senses were coming back to me. The whispers were becoming louder. I realised I was lying in a bed. So comfortable. The pain was lesser now, but still hurt a lot. The whispers became voices and I heard a familiar one. "N-nurse, when is he going to wake up?" I heard Fluttershy say. "Well, I can't guarantee that he will." I heard a female voice say. "Oh no!" I heard her reply. "Don't worry, there's a very low chance that he's... you know." The nurse replied, but I could tell she was lying. I heard a door open and close. I felt my lips move and I tried to speak, but I couldn't! I tried again. Still no sound came out. I opened my eyes and the blinding hospital lights shone on my face. I closed them quickly and spoke again. This time some words came out. "Urrg. What happened?" I said. "Vio! You're alive!" I opened my eyes and saw Fluttershy. She hugged me tightly and spoke. "I thought you were dead." She said, letting go. "How did I get here?" I asked. "A friend of mine, Zecora found you in the Everfree forest. She took you back here." She said. I nodded and remembered the race. Dammit, I thought. "How did it happen?" She said. "What happen?" I said. "Your broken bones!" She said, taking a small step closer. Then I remembered. Celestia. She did this. You can't kill me. That was why she was there. She did know. I knew she was close to Celestia, so I couldn't tell her the truth. "Well, I err sprained my wing and I crashed onto the forest floor! It was so painful." I said. "I know. It hurt so much when I broke my wing, but that was just one bone!" She said. "Where are the others?" I said. "There're at the award ceremony. Rainbow Dash won." She said. "Oh, right." I said. "I don't think they knew." Fluttershy said, noticing my tone. "It's fine." I said. "Mr. Vio?" The nurse said, walking back in. "You have a visitor." She said. "Who?" I said, curiously. A night black unicorn stallion walked in. He was black all over, but his hair was a dark shade of violet. It looked just like mine. In fact, he looked just like me! Apart from the eyes and cutie mark. He didn't have a cutie mark though. He looked quite intimidating. Fluttershy backed away, an expression of horror on her face but he ignored her, his eyes on me. "Long time no see, huh Vio?" Said shadow black stallion. His voice was like a growl, and his eyes were slightly slit. I had a very good idea who it was. "Who are you?" I said. "Why ask if you already know?" He said, a slight grin on his face. "So how did you get here?" I said. "Came through a portal." He said. "I know. Where was it?" I said. "In some insane guy's house." He said. Steiner, I thought. "Why did you come here?" I asked. "Sick of being a shadow, I guess. I read a book which mentioned something about a place called Equestria. It sounded great so I looked into it." He said. "Remember, you're normal now. You feel emotions, you eat, you drink, you sleep. And not immortal." I said to him. He sighed. "I know. But where do I stay?" He said. "Well, maybe some of my friends could let you stay..." I said. "Hang on, how good is your magic?" I said. "It's great! I can do all sorts of stuff with this horn!" He said. "Can you do healing?" I asked hopefully. "Ha! Easy!" He said. "Could you heal my legs then?" I said. "Easy!" He said. I was enveloped in a black aurora. He was concentrating very hard. It felt so relaxing. He collapsed, panting. "Whew!" He said, getting back up. I leapt out of bed. "Ahh, feels so good!" I said. "Thanks a lot, dude." I said. "No problem." He said. He turned to face Fluttershy, who was still quivering in the corner in fear. "Sorry if I scared you. My name's Shadow."

After telling the hospital what had happened, we walked out. "We need to introduce you to our friends!" I said. Right then a pink blur came shooting towards Shadow. It knocked him over and he was face to face with Pinkie Pie. "Hai! I'm Pinkie Pie, welcome to Ponyville! Now I'm going to do a huge party to introduce my new friend to Ponyville!" She shouted. "Wait, you're my friend?" Shadow said, surprised. "Of course I am, silly!" She said, bouncing off him. "Oh, Vio! There you are! You weren't at the award ceremony!" She said, noticing me. "Yeah, I kinda sprained my wing and crashed into the Everfree forest. Shadow here healed me up in no time, though." I said. "Where are the others?" I asked. "They're on their way now!" She said. Sure enough, several figures were dashing towards them. They stopped and Blue spoke. "Vio? Where the hell have you been?" He said. "Hurt my wing and broke my legs. That enough?" I said. "And who might this handsome stallion be then?" Rarity said, looking at Shadow. "My name's Shadow!" He said, swishing his mane. "Pleasure to meet you, my name's Rarity." She said. "You are very beautiful, Rarity." Shadow said. I looked away to hide my laughter.

It was getting late so we each headed to our respective houses. Rarity had insisted that Shadow stayed at her place. "Well, today was pretty crazy." I said to Fluttershy as we walked together to her house. "It's not usually like that. I guess you were just unlucky today." She said. She opened the door and walked in. "Wow! This is an amazing house!" I said in awe, looking around. "Its not much, Rainbow Dash lives in a cloud house!" She said. I noticed a small white rabbit asleep on a sofa. She walked over to him and woke him up. "Angel, it's dinner time!" She said to the rabbit. He sat up and bounced over to a bowl. She pulled a carrot out of a cupboard and put it in his bowl. He scowled at her and pulled a cookbook out of the same cupboard. "Oh, Angel I'm very sorry, but I can't cook anything for you right now. I just don't have enough time! It's getting really late!" She said. The rabbit just shook his head and pointed to the book. "Please Angel? For momma?" She said. Angel just shook his head again. "Fluttershy, you can't just let him push you around like this! He's a rabbit!" I said. She nodded and turned back to him. "Are you going to eat this carrot or not?" She said. Once again he shook his head and pointed at the book. "Fine." She said. Fluttershy moved closer and stared at the bunny. The stare was so piercing that the rabbit picked up the carrot and began to eat it. "How do you do that?" I asked, amazed. "It's called the stare. It let's me control animals. I don't like to use it though..." She said. We ate our food and I found I liked it. It was a daisy sandwich. I hadn't just changed form. I was a pony! Biologically I was now a pony. "Well, we should get to bed." Fluttershy said. "Yeah, I'm really tired!" I replied. We walked up some stairs and onto the first floor. "Oh, the spare room's over there." She said, pointing to a door. "If you need anything, just get me." She said. "Thanks Fluttershy." I said. "Good night Vio." She said as she closed her door. "Good night." I said back. I climbed into bed and rolled over. I rolled over again and what I saw made my stomach churn. The door was open. A pegasus pony with a large black cloak and hood stood above me. Holding a knife. I couldn't see his face. He noticed I was awake and darted. "Oh no you don't!" I said as I jumped out of bed and chased him. He ran down the stairs and out the front door. He spread his wings and flew away. I knew my wings were weak, but I was still going to try. I flew through the air, gaining on him. He did a sharp 180 degrees turn and headed for the forest. I flew faster and faster, eventually grabbing his tail and pulling him to the ground. We crashed in a clearing. A pool of blood was visible in the moonlight. I got up and grabbed the pony, knocking the knife out of his hoof. I pinned him against a tree. I pulled his hood of and I was shocked. It wasn't a he. It was... "Rainbow Dash?!" I said in surprise. Using my surprise, she bucked me hard in the face. "Ow! What are yo-" She hit me hard in the face. She walked over to the knife and picked it up. I coughed blood onto the floor. She held the knife to my throat. "Rainbow Dash?" I said. "I'm gonna kill you." I said. I jumped up onto my hind legs and kicked her. She went flying back. She hovered up into the air and spoke. "Well, well, well." She said. "You're hard to kill!" She said. What was I going to do? I had an idea. She had dropped the knife when I kicked her. I ran over to it and picked it up. "What are you going to with that?" She said, laughing. I aimed hard. I had done it before, but not as a pony. I locked on to her wing and threw. The knife went whirling through the air. It impaled her wing and she dropped to the ground. But her blood was different. It was green blood! She did something very strange. She morphed into me. I was stood, staring at myself. Then it morphed into some kind of bug thing. It had wings and one of them had a knife stuck in it. This was a monster. I had to kill it. I ran at it and punched. It dodged and hit my back. It pulled the knife out of it's wing. It swung, but I just managed to grab it's arm and shove it out the way of my neck. The knife instead struck my side, and I felt my blood on the floor. I sprung back up and whacked its hoof/hand and caught the knife. I took this opportunity and impaled the knife into it's throat. It choked and fell back. "Whew! What the fuck was that thing?" I said to myself. I picked it up and rolled it into a ditch. I hovered above the forest and headed back towards Ponyville. I walked back into Fluttershy's cottage, up the stairs and back into bed. I fell asleep instantly.

CHAPTER 4 DEMON BUNNY

I felt myself awake but didn't open my eyes. The sun was shining on my face. I smiled as I remembered my dream. I just lay there in the sun, my eyes closed, a huge grin plastered across my face. I heard the door creak open and I opened my eyes slightly. My legs were aching horribly. "Oh, hello Vio. I just came to wake you up." Fluttershy said. "Good morning." I said, getting out of bed and stretching. I could hardly walk. "Sleep well?" I asked. "Yes." She said. We walked down the stairs. "What do you want for breakfast?" She said, opening a cupboard and getting two plates out. "Oh, I don't mind." I said. "Fluttershy, do you know anything about monsters?" I asked. "Well, there aren't many monsters around here, but they are common in the Everfree forest." She replied. "Well do you know any shape-shifting monsters with green blood?" I said. "Yes! Changelings! They feed off love and they can transform into anypony." She said. So that's what that thing was, I thought. "We haven't seen Changelings in ages, though." She said. We ate breakfast and cleaned up. "Fluttershy, do you know where I can get a job around here?" I said. "Well, it depends what kind of work you like." She replied. I thought for a moment about what I was good at. "Is there some kind of job office around here?" I asked. "Well, there is an office that provides ponies with jobs. it's just near Twilight's house." She said.

Fluttershy had gone out to do her part time job. I stayed because I could hardly walk because of my achey legs. She had asked me to feed her rabbit. I walked over to a cupboard and pulled a carrot out. "Here you go, Angel." I said, giving it to him.

Ten minutes later...

"For the love of Din, just eat the bloody carrot!" I yelled for about the tenth time. This time the rabbit actually picked up the carrot. "Finally!" I said. "After ten minutes of- ARRGGG!" I shouted. The rabbit had threw the carrot like a spear and it went in my left eye. It hurt like hell. "Why you little..." I said, pulling the carrot out. He tried to run but I was too quick. I stomped my hoof on his tiny tail, causing him to wriggle and squirm. "Alright, furball. You are going to eat this carrot and you will be grateful. You got that?" I said angrily to the bunny. "I said, you got that?!" I said, my voice raised slightly. The rabbit nodded and I let go. He grabbed the carrot and bounced away. My legs felt walkable now, so I decided to head out. I walked into Ponyville.

There were stalls set up everywhere. Up in the sky I saw Rainbow Dash, kicking clouds. My eye was bleeding and was quite painful. "Ugh, that little bastard." I muttered to myself, wiping some more blood away with my hoof. As I walked through the town, everybody (everypony) turned around and looked at me. I tried to ignore them, but it was difficult. I entered a building which was the job office. A tired looking mare sat at a counter. She looked up when I came in. "Can I help you sir?" She said. "Yes! I'm looking for job." I said. "Feel free to browse the list." She said, handing me a leaflet. I sat down on a chair and began to read. Builder, no. Vet, no. Gardener? Hell no. Temporary teacher? K. I closed the leaflet and walked back up to the counter. "I'll do this!" I said, putting a hoof on 'temporary teacher'. "Could I ask why it is temporary?" I said to the mare. "The regular teacher is going on a holiday and needs somepony to fill in for her." She said.

I walked out of the office in a good mood. "Nice! I've got a job!" I said. "Temporary job you mean." Came a voice from behind me. I turned around and saw Rainbow Dash. "Ah it's nice to see you when you're not trying to kill me." I said. "What?!" She said. "Oh, nothing." I said. "So you're filling in for Cheerlee, huh?" She said. "Yeah! I'm surprised I didn't need qualifications or a brith certificate to do it!" I said. "You need qualifications in your world?" She said, amazed. "Yeah, I guess it's different here." I said. "Well, catch you later, I've got to do my job! And by the way, I think you should get that eye checked out." She said and she flew up and started to destroy more clouds. "I just wonder what job to get after she comes back." I said to myself, wiping more blood out of my eye. Taking her advice, I flew over to the hospital and walked in. I walked over to reception. "Um, hi. I've heard that my eye is looking slightly... bad?" I said to the stallion at the desk. He gasped when he saw my eye. "Yes, I think you should see a nurse about that." He said. "Through there and first door on your right." He said. I nodded and walked into the corridor. Door lined the walls and the passage turned at the end. I opened the door on my right and saw a familiar mare. "Fluttershy?" I said. She jumped and turned around. "Oh, hello Vio. Are you ok-." Her voice died. "Oh, Vio!" She said, coming close and wiping even more blood away from my cheek. "How did it happen!" She said, getting some bandages out of a cupboard. "Your little furball." I said. "Oh, I'm so sorry about Angel. He won't go unpunished." She said, wrapping a bandage around my head. "Shoved that carrot in my eye. Hurt like...poo. Thanks for patching me up Fluttershy. I'll see you later." I said. "Oh, I've just finished actually." She said. "Do you want to get some lunch?" She said. "Sure, that sounds great!" I said. We walked back to her house and sat down to eat. After we had finished I had the urge to go somewhere. "Fluttershy, do you know where I can drop the rain?" I said. She looked at me, puzzled. "Where's the toilet." I said.

After I had finished a what I needed to do, I looked at myself in a mirror. I fiddled around with my mane. What does it actually look like, I thought. I lifted my bandage up and saw my eye. "It'll heal, hopefully." I said. It looked more painful than it actually was. I opened the door and walked back downstairs. "So, what do you want to do, Vio?" She said. "Well, maybe we could meet up with some of our friends!" I said. "That's a great idea!" Fluttershy said.

We hung out with our friends for a while. Rarity showed us round her shop, Shadow often complimenting her work. The dresses were very nice. We said goodbye and walked back to our houses. "Well, hopefully tomorrow I won't get an almost fatal injury!" I joked as we opened to door to Fluttershy's cottage. "Well, what do you want for dinner?" She asked. "Oh yes, I just remembered." She said, turning to face Angel. "Now then mister. I'm not happy with you." Fluttershy said to the bunny. "That is not how you treat guests!" She said. The rabbit nodded and ran off. "Sorry about that. Does it still hurt?" She said, turning back. "Well, it's fine now..." I lied. She raised her eyebrows. "Okay! It really hurts!" I said, looking away. "Vio, you've been through so much these last few days. But you're tough." She said. "Thanks Fluttershy." I said. We sat down and ate. "But, I have a question for you." I said. "Why are you scared of Shadow?" I asked. "Well, I don't really want to talk about it, but I-." I cut across her. "No. You don't have to tell me." I said. "No! I need to tell somepony." She said. "You see, I ran away from my parents. I was born in a place far away from here. A place where pegasi were considered superior to the other races. My father was always abusive towards me. It was horrible. I cried myself to sleep most nights. My mother comforted me. But when I was eight, my mother passed away and my father was more horrible than ever before. A few months later, my older brother went missing. He was a unicorn, so my father treated him even worse than me. But he was tough. You remind me of him, Vio. My father didn't bother to send anypony to look for him. My family was quite rich. So a few years later I came here. And the reason I was scared by Shadow is because he...because he...he looks identical to my father." She finished. "Fluttershy, I'm-I'm so sorry." I said. I had no idea her past was like this. She had such a sad childhood. "No *sniff* I needed to tell somepony. I hadn't even told Rainbow Dash, and I *sniff* knew her since flight school." She said, starting to tear up. "Don't cry," I said, putting my arm around her. "I'm just scared of what would happen if my father found me." She said. "L-let's just got to bed now, yeah?" I said. She nodded and I followed her upstairs. As I opened the door to the spare bedroom, I heard her voice coming from the other doorway. "Wait, Vio!" She said. I turned around and faced her. "Yes?" I said. "It's pretty cold tonight so maybe you could...s-sleep with me?" She said, wiping a tear away and looking away. "Eh, what?!" I said, surprised, thinking I had misheard. "Oh, it's fine if you don't want to..." she said, sounding hurt. "Wait! If your cold then I will!" I said, not sure where this was going. "Thank you." She said, climbing into her bed. I laid down next to her and she snuggled into my shoulder. "Vio, you're so warm." She said, moving more if her body to touch mine. "Can we cuddle?" She said, looking into my eyes. "S-sure." I said. She wrapped her arms around my middle and nuzzled my neck. It was there that I fell asleep that night.

CHAPTER 5 PRECIOUS CARGO

P.O.V: Vio

My eyes snapped open. I had a terrible pain in my left arm. But that was the least of my problems. I was lying in the middle of a thick, long concrete path. The sky was slightly orange and hundreds of huge black birds were swarming the sky. The path run through a huge city with large buildings. Sounds like the tapping of a drum were heard very frequently. "Where the hell am I?" I said. To myself. My sword and bow were still on me so I had them. Some buildings were burning and there was a huge one that had fallen over. I got up and pulled out my sword. My left arm was badly broken so I had to use my right hand. I walked towards the sounds and I saw some men. They were taking cover behind some kind of short wall. Their uniforms were quite strange. In their hands they held some kind of weapon. I looked closer and saw more men at the other side of the path. They wore different uniforms. Theirs was a dark orange and black. They had the same kind of weapons and appeared to be using the weapons on the men closer to me. One of the men saw me. "Dammit!" I said, hiding behind a desk in the building. "There's a civilian over there!" One of them yelled. "I'll get him!" Another man shouted. He ran towards me. "Kid, we need to get you out of here!" He said to me. "Too right you do!" I said. "Where am I?" I said. "Huh?" The man said. "Just, where the hell am I?" I asked. "You're in Hyrule city and we're in the middle of a war right now!" He said. "Hyrule city? When? What year?!" I shouted, starting to panic. "2025." He said. "Oh god." I said, slumping against a desk. "We need to get you out of here kid." The man said. He put his index and middle finger to a spot above his ear and spoke. "Kraken, this is Jackson. I've found a civilian and he is injured and confused, what should I do?" 'Jackson' said. "Look dude, I need to get back to my time, because I'm on a quest to save Hyrule with my three identical clones, so if you can take me back to the year 1025 I would be very grateful." I said. "Wait, that sword..." Jackson said, bending down to inspect it.. "Yeah what about it?" I said, standing up. "You're Vio!" He said, bowing. "How do you know that?" I said, shocked. "You're one of the four heroes that saved Hyrule a thousand years ago!" He said. "That...that doesn't matter right now! What matters is getting me back there!" I said. "What is going on right now anyway?" I asked. "I'm in the Hyrule army. We are part of a global conflict against an army of mercenaries led by one, Princess Celestia. The mercs are being used by Celestia for global domination and terrorism. The catch about Celestia is the fact that she's a horse. With wings. And a horn." Jackson finished. "That's bullshite." I said, amazed at how original this story was. "No, no! I'm being serious! Her mercs have killed millions of innocent people around the world! She's from a different dimension called Equestria!" He said. Right then, he was tackled by one of the men in the orange and black suits. The man pulled out a knife, but Jackson blocked and knocked it out his hand. I struck the man on his back and he fell off. Jackson pulled out his sidearm and shot the merc in the forehead. He fell backwards and landed on the floor. "You okay?" I said, offering my hand. "Yeah, thanks for saving my ass." He said. "No problem." I said. "We need to get you out of here, Vio. Back at the base there may be a way to get you back." He said. "Jackson? Jackson?!" A voice said from Jackson's head. "I hear you, Kraken. The boy I found is one if the four heroes from 1025. He has the same clothes and the sword." He said. "It's Vio isn't it?" He asked me. I nodded. "Well I'll be damned. Is he okay?" 'Kraken' replied. "No, his left arm is broken. Still saved my ass from a merc though." He said. "Well, I'll send an evac team to your location immediately. Kraken out." The voice vanished as if it was never there. "Vio, wait here, I've got to rejoin the rest of our squad." Jackson said. "Take this in case some mercs come. They aren't to friendly to civilians." He said, handing me a pistol and a few mags. "How does it work?" I said, inspecting it. "You aim and then pull the trigger. If it doesn't work then you need to reload. You flick this button, and the mag comes out at the bottom of the handle. Then you put on of these full mags into the bottom, but make sure you put it in the right way. An evac team is on its way." He said. I held the gun in my hand. It was surprisingly light. I heard a noise coming from a door in front of me. I held the gun in my right hand as my left was broken. "Who's there?" I said. There was no answer. I walked slowly over and opened the door slowly, my gun raised. A boy's voice was coming from behind some boxes. It sounded about the same age as me. "P-please don't hurt me anymore." The voice said. It sounded tearful and hurt. "I'm not going to hurt you you. Are you okay?" I said, peering round the boxes. The gun dropped out my hand and fell on the floor with a clatter. A small grey pony was laying on the ground, his legs bleeding, a bullet hole in one. I bent down to inspect closer. "Are you going to k-kill me?" The pony said. "No. Who did this to you?" I asked him. "They looked like you but they were in orange and black clothes." He said. "Where are you from?" I said. "Equestria. I just want to go home!" The pony wailed. "Look, I can get you back I think. Just come with me." I said, offering my arm. He didn't take it. I withdrew it and picked up the gun. "Can you stand?" I asked him. "I think so." He said, his legs wobbling. "By the way, I'm Vio." I said. "My name's...Night Sky." He said. "Back at some base there could be a way to send you back." I said. Night stood up. His legs were wobbly but he stood. A door behind me burst open. I turned around to see a merc. His most of his face was covered by a balaclava. His gun was long and looked like it was intended for long range. I aimed and pulled the trigger. The bullets flew out at 957 RPM. Not that I was aware that was the firing speed. I connected most shots, but he shot his sniper rifle. If he had a clearer shot, the bullet would have got my head and I'd be dead right there. Instead, the bullet hit my shoulder and I spun over, my face hitting the ground. I passed out in pain.

P.O.V: Jackson

"Dammit!" I said, slamming my fist on a desk. "Please wake up!" I said. Vio opened his eyes slightly. "What? Where am I? Wait...my arm? It's...still there?" He said in utmost confusion. Vio was in a bed, surrounded by lots of army members. They were cheering and waving. "Why are they all cheering at me?" Vio asked me. "Because you helped save Hyrule!" I replied, grinning at his confusion. "But I haven't saved it yet!" He shouted back. "This is the future! You're dead and you've already saved this place!" I replied. "But now a crazy horse has taken over!" I shouted back. After a while of handshakes and autographs, the soldiers went back to their training. "So this is Celestia?" Vio said, looking at the photo. He had recovered quickly and was soon out of bed. "Yep." I said. "Wait, did you find a pony where I was?" I asked. "Yes, we did!" I said. "What did you do with him?" I said, hoping he was alright. "We sent him back to Equestria, we have a portal there. In fact, this place used to be a lab run by a man named Edward Steiner. He was around in your time. Maybe you could find him when we send you back!" I said. "Can I quickly ask you something?" He said to me. I nodded and he held up his left arm. "It's still here. I thought it was shot off when that guy hit me." He said. "Well, you see, it's a prototype." I said, looking away. "A prototype what?! What have you done?!" He said, panicking. "Let me show you." I said. I pinned his arm down on the desk and pulled out my knife. "What are you-" I stabbed the knife into his arm and cut around the circumference. Instinctively, he screamed, but stopped as he realised there was no pain. "Wait, it doesn't hurt!" He said. I slid the knife down his forearm and peeled back the skin. "There you go. That's what we did." I said, putting the knife back. He stared at his new arm, transfixed. "What is this?" He said. "You could have just told me!"

"Heh, you wouldn't have believed me."

CHAPTER 6 SURPRISE

P.O.V: Vio

I felt warm, lying in a comfortable bed. Fluttershy was cuddled up beside me. She was still asleep. My eye was throbbing painfully, and I remembered what that demon bunny did. Hope this heals soon, I thought. I decided to lay there just a little longer. Fluttershy stirred and spoke. "Good morning." She said. "Sleep well?" I asked. "Oh yes, I slept great." She said. "Well, I should get up." I said, making to get out. "Hang on! Just a little longer... if that's okay with you..." Fluttershy said. We cuddled for a little longer, and we eventually got out. "Well, what do you want to do today?" Fluttershy asked me as we prepared breakfast. "I don't really mind." I said. After we finished breakfast, we looked around Ponyville for a while. "Oh, hi Red!" I called as I saw him wondering around. "Hey Vio!" He said, running over to me. "Have you seen Pinkie anywhere?" He said. "No, I haven't seen Applejack anywhere either." Said Blue from behind me. "Huh. Have you seen them anywhere Fluttershy? Fluttershy?" She had gone. Where is she? She was right there a moment ago. "This sure is strange." I said. "I sure do hope they're okay."

We met up with Shadow and Green, and they couldn't find Twilight or Rarity anywhere. We searched for a few hours, but just as we were about to give up, Rainbow Dash, approached us. "So you're looking for your friends?" She said. "Yes! Have you seen them anywhere?" Shadow said. "Well, I'm pretty sure I saw them over at Sweet Apple Acres a few minutes ago..." With that, she sped off towards the place. We walked to Sweet Apple Acres, wondering what they would be doing there. We walked over to the barn and pushed the door open. What we saw, surprised us quite a bit. Confetti fell from the ceiling, and the six mares yelled "Surprise!" When we walked in the door. "This is your welcome to Ponyville party!" Shouted Pinkie Pie, bouncing up to us.

"Wow, that was some party." I said to Fluttershy as we walked home. "I suppose it was a good party." She said. We reached the house and opened the door. "Well, I'm going straight to bed." I said. "Are you going to sleep with me again? Well, if you want to of course." She said. "Sure." I replied. We climbed in to bed and got comfortable. "Vio?" She said. "Back at the party... I'm just glad you were my first kiss." She said. "Yeah. I'm glad too."

Well, today is the day I start my temporary job. I walked over to the schoolhouse. The playground was empty, but lots of noise was coming from the building itself. I walked into the building, and inside it was very noisy. Cheerliee had left notes on what to teach the class. I cleared my throat to quieten the ponies, but nothing happened. "Okay class, settle down." I said loudly. They turned and saw me, and their voices died down. I recognised one of the fillies as the pony that was amazed by my mad flyin skillz. Some of them looked scared, probably because of the bandage around my eye. "Hi." I said. (This is really awkward...). "My name is Vio, and I'm going to be your teacher for a week." I said. None of the ponies moved or did anything. "So I guess I should start getting to know you all. We're going to go round the room and your gonna tell me your name, right?" I said. They did nothing. After we had finished the names, I picked up the note Cheerilee had left for me. She said to cover each of the topics each day. "Alright, class, today we will be learning about..." They'd much rather learn more interesting things than maths. "Hyrule!" I said, tossing the note aside. A yawn was heard from around the right side of the classroom. "What is a Hyrule?" Said a pinkish pony with silver hair and a diamond tiara on her head. "Hyrule is a place, far, far away from here. It is a land of magic, and monsters. They roam the plains, looking for any unsuspecting travellers to attack."

"So what is so important about this Hyrule place anyway?" Said the same filly. "Well, the main thing is that, instead of ponies, there are creatures known as Hylians, that inhabit the land. These Hylians are like apes. But they are taller, thinner, and less hairy. The Hylians are just like ponies, except they look different." I said. All the ponies had their full attention on me. "Their currency is called: Rupees. A green Rupee is worth one, a blue is worth five, a red is worth twenty, and purple ones are worth fifty. So if I had three green Rupees and two blue rupees, how many would I have in total?" I said. I had to fit maths in somewhere. "Five?" Said a light blue unicorn colt from the back of the room. "No." I said. "Ooh! Ooh! You would have thirteen!" Said Applebloom. "Correct answer!" I said. I sketched a basic drawing of a Rupee on the blackboard. "This, is a Hylian." I said, drawing what I used to look like. "Why is it wearing clothes?" Asked Sweetiebelle. "Errm, Hylians always wear clothes." I said. "Always? But why?" She said. "Well, Hylians consider it rude to not wear clothes. They only take off clothes on two occasions. When they need to wash and..." I said. "But Hyrule isn't like Equestria. There is always a war going on there. Hylians vs monsters. It's been like that for centuries." I said. "Have you ever been to Hyrule?" Applebloom asked. "...no, but I'm fascinated by it. It's a strange place, Hyrule." Not as strange as this place, I thought.

I continued to talk about Hyrule for a few hours before it was hometime. "Hey, Mr. Vio?" Said Applebloom, as they were standing up behind their desks to leave. "Yes Applebloom?" I said. "Aren't you Fluttershy's coltfriend?" She said. Well, this is awkward. "Well, yes I am." I had forgotten she was at the party, but I thought me and Fluttershy were somewhere private. The room was very silent. "Well, you can go home now." I said. To my relief, the ponies ran towards the exit, and the crowd started to funnel out the single door. I sighed and sat down to relax as the last of the ponies made their way outside. But then, I saw one of the ponies, and I felt like time had stopped dead in its tracks. I'm surprised I didn't notice him before, when I read he said his name out loud. "You!" I called to him. He realised that he was the last one left and he stopped. "C-come here." I said. He turned around and began to walk slowly towards me, a look of terror on his face. "I'm not in trouble, am I s-sir?" He said. "Night Sky? You're Night Sky aren't you?" I said. "Yes sir." He said. ""B-but it was seven years! Seven years!" I said. Did that mean that the portal rewinded time? But it couldn't. Then how? "Did something happen to you?" I said. "N-no sir." He replied, looking scared. "Do you remember? The Hylians!" I stood up and pointed to the sketch of myself. "T-that's the Hylian that saved me. Sir. You seem to know a lot about them." He said. "Yes. Because, I was once a Hylian. It was me who met you in that room full of boxes. But, let me ask you a question. When did it happen?" I said, my hopes rising. "About two weeks ago, sir." He said. Well I'll be damned. "You can go now, Night." I said. "Okay, sir. And thanks for helping me two weeks ago. I guess..." He walked out and I sat back down. This was a lot of information, and I needed quality time to digest it.

I arrived at Fluttershy's at about 15:45. When I walked in the door, I noticed a large cuboid cardboard box, leaning against the wall. "Oh, hi Vio. How did your day go?" She asked. "Oh, it was alright. I taught them about Hylians." I said. "Did you? Were they interested?" She said. "Yeah! I talked about them for the whole day! They were gripped!" I said. "So what have you been up to today?" I asked. "Oh, the usual, just feeding my animals and such." She said. "Oh yeah, Vio? You got a parcel today." She said. "Oh?. Who from?" I asked. "Well, I'm not too sure. He was a hooded stallion, I couldn't see his face and he gave me this." She said, pointing to the large box. "Vio? Do you want to go on a picnic?" Fluttershy asked. "A picnic? Sure, who with?" I said, surprised. "Oh, just me and you. If that's okay with you." She said.

CHAPTER 7 HEARTBROKEN

"Hey! Can I have another coffee over here?" I mustered the will to call out to the mare. "Are you just gonna sit here and drink coffee all night?" She said. "At least it'll keep me awake." I muttered under my breath. A hoof smacked another cup of coffee on the bar in front of me. It was a small place, and I was the only pony there, apart from the waitress. I felt betrayed about what had happened. It only happen a few hours ago, but I felt like it was much longer. The doors to the cafe swung open, and Twilight wandered in. Her mane was untidy, and she looked tired. She took a seat next to me and called for a coffee. She had the same expression as me on her face, sad and depressed. I don't think she even noticed me. Her mouth was hanging slightly open. "Hey." I said. She just stared into her cup of coffee. "I expected to see you in here." She said, her eyes fixed on the cup. "Yeah, well this is the best place to go after what happened." I said. She snorted and took a sip of her drink. "Well, I know what you mean." She said. "Only lasted four weeks. Four fff-... damn weeks." Twilight said, a note of anger in her usually calm voice. "I feel the same Twilight. That party four weeks ago? Man, right then I felt like the luckiest stallion alive." I said. "I know, Vio. I felt like that too." She said. The doors directly behind us burst open. In walked three stallions. One was orange, one was dark brown, and one was grey. They were all pegasi. The waitress froze and backed away into the corner. I turned around to see them. "Hey Vio, how's you're marefriend doing, hahahar!" Laughed the one in the middle, the orange one. "She's not my marefriend anymore." I said, trying to remain calm. "Ooh, did she leave you for Rainbow Crash? Harharhar! Yeah, pussy!" Said the grey one. "Sh-shut up!" I said, my voice rising. "Yeah, or one of your dumb friends!" The brown one said. "You SHUT UP!" Yelled Twilight. She walked over to him and stood right in front of him. "Make me." He said, grinning. SMACK! Twilight whacked him across the face with her hoof. You go Twilight! I thought. "Owwww!" He moaned, a red mark forming on his cheek where she had hit him. "G-get her!" He said, putting his hoof to his cheek and taking a step back. The other stallions assumed fighting stances and slowly walked towards Twilight. I slid off my chair and stood by her side. "We'll take one each." She muttered to me. I nodded and prepared for a fight.

"Wow Twilight." I said, panting. "I didn't know you could fight like that!" I said. "Heh, neither did I." She said. The three unconscious stallions lay on the floor. "You're bleeding." She said. I wiped the blood on my left arm. "*sigh* I don't feel good." Twilight said. "You should sit down." I suggested. "Not like that, I feel bad. I've just never actually hurt anypony before." She said. "Hey Twilight, don't feel bad. You did good. You showed those guys not to mess with us." I said. "I suppose you're right." She said. She walked over to the bar, finished her coffee and slid a few bits onto the counter. I did the same and we headed out. "So I guess you'll be staying at my place?" She said. "Well, I've got nowhere to go, but I couldn't..." I said. "No, Vio, stay at my place. It's been a hard day for both of us, and I think you should stay at mine." Twilight said. "Alright then." I said.

"Verdammt, Vio! Vhat have you done?" The thing said. "Look, I know what I have to do, but I'm an actual person! Or pony." I said. "I know, but you can't get too close to zee Elements of Harmony! Especially Twilight!" He said. "No! If that means Twilight will hate me forever, then I won't do it!" I said. I was certain that I would do it, however. "But zhat vas zee reason you came here! To save all zhoes innocent lives! Your just being selfish! I vould sacrifice myself for six million lives!" He said. "I guess your right." I sighed. "Zee Grand Galloping Gala is being held next veek in Celestia's castle. She vill send invitations to zee Elements of Harmony and zee four Links. And Shadow. You should do it zhen. But be on your guard, Vio. Shining Armour is the commander of zee castle guard. Taking him out vill make escaping much, much easier. But zee problem is, he is Twilight's brother. Vell, I'll see you later. Oh and one thing. Get her before she gets you."

The next day I moved my shit into Twilight's house. I didn't see Green or Fluttershy at all that day. The brief conversation with my friend last night was still in my mind. He was right. If I didn't do it he would be angry. But there was plenty of time to do it. But I didn't want to get too close to the Elements of Harmony. "Hey, Vio wake up!" Twilight voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "You've been really distant today. Are you still upset about Fluttershy?" She said. "No. She's not worth my thoughts anymore." I said. I was in the library, studying with Twilight. It was quite late, around 10 o clock. Twilight was writing a friendship letter to Celestia and I was reading. "Who's the letter to?" I asked. "Princess Celestia!" Twilight replied. "What." I said, freezing. "Oh, I have to write weekly letters to her about what I learned about friendship. She's my mentor, you see." She said. "Right." I said. "Well, I've finished. Spiikkkeeeee!" Twilight called. A few moments later, Spike came wondering onto the room. His eyes were slit and he looked tired. "Can you send this letter to the Princess, Spike?" Twilight said, wrapping the scroll in a red band. She passed the scroll to the sleepy dragon. He put it in front of his mouth and blew out fire. The scroll was gone. "Thanks Spike. I'm gonna get some sleep now. Are you coming Vio?" She said. "I'm gonna stay here for a while," I decided. "Alright then. Good night Vio." She said. "Night Twilight." I said.

P.O.V: Twilight

'Dear Princess Celestia. Today, I learned that even if one of you greatest friends messes up, you should always forgive them, even if it is something very bad. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.' I thought the letter over in my head. It didn't seem as detailed as my other letters, however the subject was a lie. I couldn't forgive Fluttershy or Green, but one day, I might. As I lay in my bed, the sleep came over me and I drifted off into a deep sleep.

I stood in the middle of the large room, the music playing. I was chatting happily to Applejack who was sipping wine. I didn't drink myself. "Ah, isn't this just great!" I said, admiring the decorations. "Yeah, they sure did put lot of effort into making this place look nice!" She said. "Have you seen Vio anywhere?" I asked. I hadn't seen him since we got in. I was so exited to be going to the Grand Galloping Gala that I almost forgot about him. "Are y'all still angry at Green and Fluttershy? I mean, he was cheating behind your back for three weeks." She said. I sighed. "Well, I still can't believe she did that but I suppose I'm not as angry as I was that night in the coffee shop." I said. Blue came and offered to dance with Applejack, so I went to talk with the Princess. "Twilight!" She said happily when she noticed me. "It's so great to see you!" She said. "Oh, of course, Princess. It's so nice to see you too!" I said. "Um, Princess have you seen a brown pegasus with a blonde mane around here?" I asked, hopeful that she knew where Vio was. She froze and looked straight at me. "No, Twilight, I'm afraid I haven't. Erm, do you want me to send a search party to look for him?" She said, briefly touching her ear. "Oh, yes please, Princess, that would be gr-." I heard something whistling through the air. I stared, and when the image formed in my brain, I screamed. Everypony looked my way, and when they saw it, they started to scream too. Vio was behind me. He was panting and had his left fore hoof extended. His left eye was no longer blue. It had turned a light shade of purple. Celestia was pinned to the wall by a large axe stuck in her head, blood and brain spilling over the floor.

CHAPTER 8 POSSESSION

P.O.V: Vio

"Vio how could you?!" Twilight screamed, making me wake up instantly. "Twilight? Are you alright?" I said. She became aware of what had happened and fell back onto her bed. "Oh, Vio. I'm so sorry I woke you." She said to me from up the stairs. I was sleeping on the couch. "It was just a bad dream." She said. Spike was luckily still asleep. "I'm really sorry I woke you up, Vio." She said. "That's alright, Twilight." I said. "Do you mind telling me what it was about? It's just, you seemed angry at me in it." I said. I didn't mean it in a mean way, I just needed to 'check' something. "Well, basically, you murdered Princess Celestia at the Grand Galloping Gala." She said. "Dude, did you do that on purpose?" I said angrily. It wasn't Twilight I blamed for waking me up. It was him. "Hahaha! Vell It was just a little joke, ja?" He said. "That was a great dream I was having!" I snapped. "Yes, I vas enjoying it to, but it vas hilarious! Do you know vhat day it is tommorow?" He said. "No I don't." I said, rolling over. "April zhe first!" He yelled happily. "So?" I said. "Every year on April zhe first people or ponies play pranks on each other for fun, ja?" He said. "You still did that because of my dream though." I said. "Vell, I did!" He said. "Well, that is weird." I said. "Oh yeah! It just reminded me! The Grand Galloping Gala is on next week! Maybe we'll be invited! I mean, you met Princess Celestia last week and she really liked you! That would be great if we were invited!" She said. "I'm sure we will Twilight." I said. That night would probably be the last time that I saw all my friends. "Look, Vio I know you're upset about not seeing your friends again, but I know somezhing zhat vill give you a hand." He said. "Yeah? And what that?" I said grumpily. "An unexpected visitor vill be arriving in zhe morning..." He said. "Who? I said. "You vill see..." He said, fading away.

"Hey! Green!" I called, running over to him. He was with Fluttershy, but for some reason she was looking sad. Green however, was looking completely normal. "Oh." He said turning around. "What the hell do you want?" He said. I noticed that his irises were tinted slightly green. "Well, about the other day-" Green cut across me. "Heh, Twilight? I never cared about that stupid bitch anyway." Green said. This was strange. Why was Green being a total dick? "What the hell is your problem?" I said. But right then I saw something. A streak of pain soared through my left forearm and my vision was obscured by the laughing face of Princess Celestia. "Arrrggg!" I screamed, collapsing on the ground. My arm had given way. "Oh, Vio! Are you alright?" I heard Fluttershy say as my vision slowly faded back. She tried go come over but Green forcefully pushed her back. "Shut your goddamn mouth, whore!" Green yelled, perhaps a little louder that he should have, as some ponies were turning around. Fluttershy stepped back and started to cry. "You made her cry you heartless bastard!" I said. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you being a colossal dick?" I said. "Ed, why is he doing this? It not right!" I asked Steiner. "Vell last veek he vas being a total dick, vasn't he? But you only saw him for a few moments, not enough for us to get a good idea of his behavior, ja? So zhink, Vio. Vhen did he start acting like zhis?" He asked me. I thought for a moment, and then it hit me. "Mein gott." I said out loud. "Yeah? And what the hell are you gonna do about it?" He said. "You'll see." I said walking away.

"Thank you so much for this." I said, examining the bottle. "Oh, it's no problem." Said Zecora. "I owe you a lot. First you save my life, and now you get me this. If there's anything I can do, feel free to ask." I said. I walked back into Ponyville and soon spotted Green. He was still with Fluttershy. I opened the bottle and snuck up behind him. I poured the blue liquid down his mouth and he stumbled backwards. "What the- who?" He stood still and blinked slowly. His eyes returned to normal and his mouth shut. "Urrrg, what happened?" Green said rubbing his head. "Fluttershy? Y-you're eye!" He said, rushing over to her and checking her black eye. She looked shocked.

P.O.V: Green

After a scolding from an angry Twilight, I found myself in the library with Vio, Blue, Red and Shadow. Vio was reading a book, it was very dusty. "So, uhhh, what happened to me?" I said. "You were put under a curse." Vio said, still engulfed in that book. "A curse? But-who?" I said. "I don't know." He said. "I'm just really sorry about everything. I mean, Fluttershy and all..."

"It's fine, it wasn't your fault." He said, turning another page. "So, why are we're all here?" Said Shadow. "Oh yes," said Vio, putting the book down on a table. "What about it?" Said Blue. "Well, this book holds many dark and ancient secrets." Vio said. "Ooh! Maybe we get to go on an adventure!" Shouted Red. "I mean, that weird cloaked guy didn't bring us our stuff for nothing!" He said. That was true, now that I thought about it. I had never thought who that stallion actually was. He can't have been normal. He gave us our tunics and four swords! But he had given Shadow something else. He had given him a different sword. It's blade was a light blue, and the handle was made out of solid gold. The guard was made of solid glass, and a large emerald was encrusted on the hilt. It was of unknown origin but Twilight suspected it was forged in Hyrule. "So, what is that book about?" I said. "Well, it tells of four ancient weapons, created by... somepony. These weapons were supposedly lost in another dimension, Equestria. It says only the one with the power to split themselves into four would be able to find and wield the Staffs of the Ancients." Vio finished. "And what makes you believe that old book?" Blue said skeptically. "This book was written in Hyrule, Blue! Hyrule!" He said. "And how do you know that?" I asked. "Look who it was written by!" Vio whispered, his hoof on the front cover. "Edward Steiner? Oh that nutter? He's bloody crazy!" Blue said. "He studied Equestria enough to make a freaking portal to the place! Don't you think he knows more that he's writing about the staffs? Blue, if we get the staffs, we will be so powerful, no one can stop us! We will be able to kill-." His voice stopped suddenly. "Kill who, Vio?" Red asked. "N-nopony." He said.

CHAPTER 9 SILLY STEINER

P.O.V: Shadow

I woke suddenly in bed. Rarity was gone, and the covers showed no indication that she had been there. The walls, floor and ceiling were a dull metallic grey and there was a cloaked figure of a man stood in the corner of the room. I sat bolt upright and stared at him. "Shadow." He said in a ghostly whisper. "Who are you?" I said. "I am The Doctor. Do you know why I am here?" 'The Doctor' said. "No," I replied. "You used to hate the Links. They were your greatest enemy. You tried many ways to kill them. But then, one of them became your friend. Vio. Ha!" The figure laughed. "Vio was always different. He always thought ahead. He was never wrong. But he was never as intelligent as me. I spent long years digging deep, literally for those crystals. And who happens to find them? The four swords. No one understands the power! The staffs will rule the world, their bearers indestructible! And that is what I offer you, Shadow. Kill the four swords, and I will grant you power beyond your imagination." The Doctor said, his silhouette becoming more clearer and lighter. I hesitated for a moment before replying. "I'd rather die than hurt them!" I shouted. "Help me! You must get me out of here! Zhere is a vay! You must find zhe staffs! Only I can help you defeat-" The Doctor was shouting for help, but then then his body contorted and he vanished.

P.O.V: ?

Clunk, cling! The huge chamber door opened slowly. The phonograph on the out of place table was still playing the record. I knew this was the right ones! I just knew it! The door opened and I stepped inside. I saw what I was looking for. Four giant statues stood side by side against the walls. I looked up into the huge replica of the Link's faces and smiled. But my prize was not the statues. I looked at their feet and saw them. Four pedestals, one by each statue stood lined up. The one on the far left was yellow, the next blue, then purple then red. But what the pedestals held what what I truly sought. But they weren't there. "Arrrrrggggg!" I screamed in fury. "Zhey are gone! Nein! Nein, nein, nein!" I rushed over to the pedestals and looked in and behind them. "Oh scheiße, scheiße! Das ist nicht gut! If zhey are not here zhen vhere are zhey? Zhink, zhink..."

P.O.V: Princess Celestia

"You!" Vio said as he opened the door. "Hello, Vio. May I come in?" I said. "Yes." He said through gritted teeth. I stepped inside and closed the door. "I only wish to speak with you." I said. "Go on." He said. "I was cursed." I said. "What happened at the gala... I'm so sorry. But it wasn't my fault! I was put under a spell! Please, you must forgive me." I said. "Something happened and the curse weakened. I was able to break it from there but I fear it may be back." I said. "Who cursed you." Vio asked. "He only expressed himself as 'The Doctor'. He has the power to take full control of anypony. You must be careful! Mr. Shadow informed me by post about a dream he had the other night. He told me of a cloaked figure called 'The Doctor'. It is my theory that the doctor is trying to manipulate Shadow. He told me that the figure offered him power beyond his imagination. In exchange for your, and the other Links' blood." I finished. Vio turned his back and looked out a window. "You know, I wouldn't believe you if you hadn't taught Twilight all about magic. I still don't know if I trust you, but this is the only explanation for your behaviour. I came here to kill you, princess. To stop the war from happening in the first place. I could have been so easy."

"What war do you speak of?" I said, astounded. "In 2025 you will send mercenaries to invade Hyrule. They will kill over 6 million innocent people." He said. "I-what-how?" I spluttered. "Trust me. I know this." Vio said. "But how do we stop this war?" I asked. "There is a good way. And an easy way. The good way would be to kill The Doctor. The easy way... Well... That would be to kill you." He said.

P.O.V: ?

I padded across the piles of rubble looking around. It was hard to see through all the dust but I made out something glowing in the distance. I rushed over to it, only to find it was a buzzing light bulb. Frustrated, I stopped on it, smashing it into a thousand pieces. "Help! *cough* please! Somepony, help!" A female voice was calling out from a pile of crumbling brick a few metres away. I walked over to it and saw a pink hoof sticking out of the ground. I grabbed it and pulled. A pony came out of the ground coughing and covered in dust. She had a purple mane which was tied back. She wore a light blue scarf around her neck and her cutie mark was three buttons. "Oh my gosh, thank you so much for rescuing me, this is a disaster! I've never seen an earthquake like this in ever. My name's Suri Polom-," her voice turned to a gurgling choke as I slid the blade into her throat. She wobbled for a moment then fell on her side, blood pouring like a river from her neck. I withdrew the knife and pulled back my hood to look into the sky. 'It must be here. If it isn't... Well, the real doctor is going to wish he was never born." I cast my arm into the sky and twisted my hoof. The space twisted to my will and a huge orange barrier of light arced over the city and surrounded it in a shield.

P.O.V: Third person

'Earthquakes in Manehattan' was the headline of Equestria Daily. 'Yesterday an extremely large earthquake occurred in Manehattan. Scientists were baffled by the earthquake, as experts say it was impossible. Over 688,000 ponies lost their lives, including many famous figures.' Princess Celestia placed down the newspaper and looked up at the four stallions sat before her. "So you all know why you are here don't you?" She said. "No." Said Blue. The princess cleared her throat and continued. "I have sensed the return of an ancient evil. As you know, the Elements of Harmony have gone missing. Along with their holders." She said. "I have located a facility underneath Manehattan. I believe that this is the hideout of the evil. I think that the evil caused the earthquakes there." She said. "So we just rush in and flush out the monsters?" Red asked. "I'm afraid it's not that easy. The base is protected by a large barrier. No alicorn magic could break it. The only thing that can break it is... Well, the upgraded staffs of the ancients." She said. "Don't lie, Celestia. The staffs have been lost for centuries. The only evidence of their existence is an old book written by an insane nutjob. And what is this talk about upgrading them?" Vio said, tilting his head. "The staffs exist, Vio. The only way to upgrade them is to acquire the Elements of Harmony. They are placed in temples scattered across Equestria. Please, you must upgrade the staffs. You must save Equestria from the evil." She finished. "Well, we're experts at saving the world aren't we?" Said Green. "Hang on a second..." Red said. "The packages! The packages!" He burst out. "What packages?" Vio said, but Green had realised too. "Of course! Remember? We got packages which contained our swords and tunics!" Everypony else was exited, but Vio was thinking. None of this made sense. It was like a book with the most ridiculous storyline ever. Somepony knew that the Links had come to Equestria's. Somepony had their swords and tunics. And most surprising of all... The book. Edward Steiner wrote it. How did it get to Equestria? And now the princess says that the staffs exist. This is too much! "So, when do we set off?" Said Green. "Well, sooner would be good before the evil attacks." The princess said. "I know of something that will help you in your quest."

CHAPTER 10 ALLY FOR AN ALLY

Clunk, cling! The giant door opened slowly. Four pedestals sat at the foot of four giant statues. The Links' stomachs turned as they saw the faces of the statues. It was them. Vio walked forward and touched the things in the pedestals. Everyone looked surprised, but Vio looked completely dumbstruck. "This... This can't be!" Vio said. "They will help you. Upgrade them, destroy the evil, save Equestria. It is the only way. Find the Elements of Harmony. I have your things." Celestia said. She pulled a bag with her own hooves from next to a statue. She opened it and inside was our tunics and swords. The Links opened their mouths to speak but suddenly, a figure jumped out of nowhere and landed right behind them. They turned around and saw... A human. He had a huge scar down his right eye and his hair was short and dark. He wore a dark cloak. "Oh no!" Said Celestia, backing away. "It's the doctor! He is the evil!" She shouted. "So your the evil, huh?" Said Blue, standing up to him. The doctor was stood still, looking at the staffs in the pedestals. "Well, we're just gonna kill you now and save a quest!" He said. "You can't kill me. Beware the doc. Don't try to upgrade the staffs. Don't waste your time. And trust me. You don't have a lot left."

P.O.V: ?

I stumbled across the path, my heavy saddlebags weighing me down. I saw a large pond in the distance and headed towards it. I lay down, staring into the water, starting to cry. I seemed to see my past self wearing the hat and cloak, but it faded away. A tear dropped into the water and it rippled all the way. I pulled the saddlebag of my back and decided to sleep here. I opened the bag and pulled out a handheld mirror. I looked at myself, noticing my untidy mane. I sighed and put it back. I crossed my hooves and rested my face on them. Slowly I drifted off to sleep. But I woke as suddenly as I fell asleep. "Hello." Said a calm voice. "Who are you?" He asked. "I- what- you? What business do you have with the great and powerful... The great and powerful..." I collapsed into tears. "Hey, what's the matter?" Red said. "Please, leave me be!" I said, burying my face in the ground. "I can help you!" He said. I took a deep breath and started to speak. I couldn't help myself. "All I wanted was to be recognised! They made fun of me for my lack of magical ability! I trained for years and years then came to Ponyville! Now I'm humiliated and laughed at wherever I go! I've said I'm sorry! I never meant any of it! I used to be great and powerful! But now I'm just... Trixie." I cried. He was a red pony wearing a red tunic with a sword with a red ball on the pommel. Red red red. There was a long silence but Red finally broke it. "So errm, what are you going to do now?" He asked. I looked into the water. "I don't know. The whole world hates me. I've got nowhere to go and nopony to go to. All I want to do is start again but, that's not what Equestria wants." I sighed. "My name is Red. It's Trixie, right?" He said. "Yeah."

"Well, if you want, you could travel with us! Me and my friends are on a quest to save Hyrule- I mean Equestria from evil. Monsters have been appearing everywhere and we need to upgrade the staffs to break the seal to save the Elements of Harmony from the doctor but to do that we need to find the Elements of Harmony!" He said. "Right..." I said not sure about this. "So! Do you want to help us! The others are back at the tent." Red said. "Well, sure, Trixie has nothing better to do." I said. I reached into my bag and pulled out my cape and hat. I put them on and held my head up high. "Trixie always wishes to look good in front of new ponies. I'm sorry you had to see me in such a state."

I followed Red for a while. "So, what were you doing outside?" I asked. "I was searching for the forest temple. It's supposed to be around here. I think it has Fluttershy's element in it." Red said. We walked for a while and finally reached two tents. Green sat on a tree stump, examining his sword. Vio was reading a book and Green was inside the tent. "Hi guys!" Red said excitedly. "Hey Red. Found the temple?" Vio asked, not looking up. "No, but I found a new friend! Everypony, this is Trixie!" He said. Vio looked up from the book and rubbed his eyes. His eyebrows raised and put the book down. He got up and walked over to me. "My name is Vio." He said, looking at me. "My name's Trixie." I said. "Trixie will be joining us on our quest to save Equestria." He said.

After an introduction to Blue and Green, we had lunch: boiled forest mushrooms. They tasted disgusting but I was glad I had found my first friends. I told them all about the Ursa Minor incident and the magic duel. "So I've been wondering around for ages, looking for a job. It been hard. You didn't know about everything. Are you from around here?" I asked. I caught them glance at each other before Green replied. "No. We come from... Equestria!" He said. "Okayyyy..." I said, a bit confused. "Y-you know..." I said, glancing slightly at Green. "You are kinda cute..." She said to him. I both looked away from him- we were both very red in the face.

Somewhere else...

Clunk! Clunk! Clunk! "Come on! Let us out!" Shouted Rainbow Dash, slamming herself into the bars. "There's no way out!" Said Shadow after patrolling the cell. "Zhat is true. For you." Came a voice from behind them all. They turned around slowly. "Where did you come from?" Said Twilight. It was a human. He wore a black cape and robes, with leather trousers. He had a thick scar down his right eye. He was holding something long in his hands. "Who are you?" Said Spike when the person had not yet responded. "What are you?" The human fiddled with the thing in his hands, pulling a kind of lever up and down to make it do a kind of clunking sound. "What is that?" Asked Shadow. "You all seem fond of asking questions." He said. "Zhis is a shtaff. I created zhis vone. Not zee ozhers. I also created anozher. But it vas shtolen from me. And I'm here to get it back." He said.

: Someone else

"So the great and powerful Trixie had joined the Links. This will be so much fun!" I said happily to myself. "She is a good fighter, her magic is strong. And I think I sense something between her and Vio... Deepest hatred! Aha ha ha ha har! They hate each other! It's like when I was eleven again! Ha ha ha! I don't know how long they can stand each other for! Oh, this is gonna be hilarious."

P.O.V: Red

"I don't get why Vio doesn't like Trixie." Blue said, in a huddle with me and Green. "She's smoking hot." He said. "I don't think it's about her looks, she's better than Rarity, but then again, that's not saying much." Green said, and everyone(pony whatever) laughed. "I think we need to make them like each other. We can't have two ponies not liking each other, we're a team, aren't we!" I said. "Yeah, but it's Vio who hates Trixie, she doesn't mind him." He said. "Maybe we could get them to fight Bokoblins together?" Suggested Green. "Yeah, she sure can fight." Blue said. "Whatever we do, it needs to be quick, Vio's growing apart from us." Green said. I suddenly looked up and gasped. "I've got it!" I said.

At supper, we sat on grass eating some cooked fish. After we ate I glanced at Green and he nodded. "So! I think we should play a game." I said. Vio looked up from the book he had just picked up and raised his eyebrows. "Who wants to play truth or dare!" I said. Blue, Green, Trixie and me raised their hands. Vio did not. He shut the book and stood up. "Well, I'm going to get some sleep, goodnight." He said, walking off to the tent. I had a plan for this. "No! You have to stay here and play!" Blue called. "I think I'm fine-"

"I'll tell everypony about your nrop." I interrupted. That did the trick. He turned slowly to look at me. "You wouldn't." He said. "Not if you play." I said with a slight grin. He walked back and sat down slowly next to Blue, his eyes fixed on me. "So who wants to go first?" I asked. Green slowly raised his hoof. Vio was thinking this was stupid. You can't play truth or dare with one girl, he was thinking. But also that is was stupid anyway. "Truth or dare... Vio?!" He said. Vio saw this coming. "Truth," he sighed. "Have you ever kissed somepony?" Green said. Vio gritted his teeth and replied. "Yes." He said. "Oh, how interesting!" Trixie said. "What was her name?" Trixie asked, leaning forward. "None of your business, is it?" Vio snapped back. "Sorry, I was just curious who." She said, leaning back and looking sad. Blue was glaring at him. "You could be nicer to her, you know." Blue said. "Well, that question is personal. It's none of her business, or yours!" He said. "It's just a game!" I said. "It's supposed to be fun!" Vio stood up. "You don't take this seriously, do you? Only we can stop the evil. Only we can upgrade the staffs. And you think there's time to play games and joke around? This is serious!" Vio said. Blue stood up too. "There's no harm in playing games! All we wanted was to get you to like her! Why are you so serious?" He shouted. "Because, this isn't a holiday or, or a trip! We are saving Equestria! There's no time for fun and games!" Vio shouted back. "Well, why don't you have some fun for once, bookworm!" Blue yelled. Both ponies were extremely pissed off, but Vio was angrier. Vio opened his mouth to argue back, but Trixie spoke up. "Please, everypony! Stop arguing! Can't we just all be friends here?" She said. "And you can shut up too, you crazy witch!" Vio yelled. That did the trick for Blue. He swung his fist, wait, hoof at Vio. It hit him hard on the head and he staggered backwards. He tried to retaliate, but Green stood up and pushed him backwards. "Drop it, Vio." Green said. Vio had finally cracked. Only I knew it was a matter of time before he left us. I could sense it. But less than a week... "Fine! Fine! I'm sick of you lot, always joking and playing, not taking anything seriously. I'm done! I'm done with it all!" Vio shouted. He stamped over to the tent, picked up his scabbard and started to walk away into the darkness. "No! Vio come back!" I yelled, getting up and running after him. As quick as lightning, he drew his sword and pointed it directly at my throat, making me stop dead in my tracks. "Don't follow me. She can have my staff." He sheathed his sword and spread his wings. He flew into the night, leaving me heartbroken, and the others grim.

CHAPTER 11 FALL OF CANTERLOT

P.O.V: Shining Armour

"Keep pushing!" I yelled to my group, pushing the door as hard as I could. Bam! Bam! The monsters were going to break through, I knew it. But we had to keep pushing. Bam! Bam! Crash! The door splintered and a few spears came shooting through the hole. "Fall back, fall back!" I commanded my units, and they ran from the door and drew their own spears. Smash! The door thundered down and a hoard of bokoblins (think Twilight Princess style ones) flooded through the castle main entrance. They were all sizes and some wielded brooms. The majority held machetes however. We charged and clashed against the hoard. "They just keep on coming!" I yelled, sinking my spear into a monster's jaw. "There's too many! We must fall back!" Shouted Flash Sentry. "Get the princesses out!" I shouted to him. "But commander..."

"Do it! Go! Now!" I yelled. Flash ran fast. I turned to face the hoard. I raised my spear and trust it into a bokoblin. It fell backwards. I swung it at another who had its weapon raised, ready to kill. The spear hit it in the face and it flew through the air and collided into the wall. We were slowly being pushed backwards. A bokoblin leaped onto Wight Knight. He tried to kick him off but the bokoblin stayed on and raised his machete. I rushed over and charged it, spear pointing straight at it. It smashed against the wall and crumpled on the floor.

P.O.V: Blue

"Fucking bookworm!" I said, punching a tree and almost uprooting it in my rage. "I never fucking trusted him! Well he can go, I don't care!" I sat down, breathing heavily. Red was tearful. "I'm-I'm sure he'll come back." Trixie said to me. "If he does he'll wish he hadn't." I said.

The next morning.

"Take a look." Green said, gesturing to the huge open door. It was built into the cliff side, surrounded by trees. It was covered in vines and leaves. It lead to a tunnel, much smaller than the door. "The forest temple?" Red said, sounding exited. "Yep." Green said proudly. "But... Someone's been here! Look!" Red pointed to a few dead Bokoblins. I bent down to look at them. "A sword wound... Looks fresh." I drew my sword and compared the thickness to the slash on the torso of the corpse. I snorted. I didn't think it would be him. "So... Are we going in?" Trixie asked. I stood up. "Course we are! Let's kick some ass!" I said. "Yeah!" Said Red and Green and we walked in.

"Shit!" I said. "Someone's taken it!" The huge purple chest was empty. The giant plant lay down, a huge gash on it's stalk. "Someone's killed it!" Green said. "Look at this!" Trixie called. At the side of the room a barred iron door lay open, a key in it's lock. Four severed chains lay crumpled on the ground and dangling from the ceiling. "Somepony was locked up in here!"

A day before...

P.O.V: ?

"My lord... I believe that it will be more effective to transfer the prisoners to their respective temples." I said, leaning on the throne. My master twirled a large knife in his hand. He thought for a moment and then spoke. "And what makes you say that?" He said in his high voice.

P.O.V: Green

"Well, doesn't look like we'll be finding the element anytime soon." I said as we walked out of the tunnel and into the daylight. "Somepony must have got to it before us. It couldn't have been the doctor. The princess told us he was the one who put them there in the first place." Red said. "Well, let's go to the other temples then."

P.O.V: Vio

I looked at the element in my hooves. It was pink, and in the shape of a butterfly. It was just like Fluttershy's cutie mark. I placed it carefully back into the case. I wasn't regretting my decision to walk away from the others. Yet. I sighed and lay down. Fluttershy was sleeping peacefully. I was happy I had rescued her from that temple. But we still had to find the other elements. I assumed that they would be trapped in the other temples. The doctor was strange, however. The princess said he could control anypony. That was her excuse for being evil. But if that was the case, how come he hadn't controlled any of us yet? It was strange, definitely. I closed my eyes and drifted into sleep.

Years before...

"Ugh... Where am I?" I said. I was lying on the ground, my sword lay a few feet away. I tried to remember. The last thing I remembered was crashing straight into a rock on a canoe. I sat up and grabbed my sword. I was lying on a thick path. A forest surrounded it. "Well, may as well find the others. As much as they annoy me." I said. I walked along the path for about ten minutes before I reached a small village. It was turning night now. "Well I need somewhere to stay..." I knocked on a door but the person refused me. Every person turned me down and I reached the final house. "Well, if this person won't let me stay I'll just sleep on the ground. Ha!" I laughed unpleasantly. The house was right next to a forge, a grindstone and workbench near it. A smelter lay behind it and I assumed this was a blacksmith's house. I knocked on the door. It was covered in cobwebs and a piece of wood lay indented in it. I noticed something odd, however. On the edge of it, a number said: 24. This was strange as all the other houses had no number and there were less than 24 houses in the village. The wood slid to the left and an eye poked through. "Who is zhere?" The voice whispered. "I'm looking for a place to stay. I'm on a quest to save Hyrule, see." I said. "Ja, ja! Come in!" The man fiddled with the doorknob and opened the door. He wore a tight coat, light brown. He was quite young, maybe in his early 20s. "Come in zhen!" He said. I walked in and he quickly shut the door, locking it with a click. "Thanks a lot. The name's Vio." I said. "Steiner. Edward Steiner." He said.

CHAPTER 12 THE THREE LEGGED MARE

P.O.V: Green

"Man, I'm hungry." I said. "I hope we get somewhere soon." I said. We were all very very tired and our brains felt like mush. "Well, there is a small town coming up." Trixie said. "I came across it while I was wandering. But... I would stay away from it if I were you." She said. "Why?" Red said. "Well... It's a lot different than any other town, well the ponies are at least. It's- it's a bit... Dangerous." She said.

"Dangerous? Pfft!" Blue said. "We can handle ANYTHING!" He said. "Well, I hope so, I passed through there and was keen to get out as soon as possible."

Twenty minutes later...

"Castown, huh?" I said, leaning forward to look at the vine-covered sign.

We walked into a bar in town. It was quite noisy and busy. Trixie was right about this being a dangerous town. Cloaked figures sat in the corners, knifes glinting from under them. Ponies sat at round tables, piles of bits next to them, cards in their hooves and cigarettes in their mouths. Brawny stallions sat, drinking huge, frothy glasses of beer. "Well, errm... Why did you want to come here again?" Red said, slowly turning to me. "Well, just a nice little drink you know! Heh, heh." I said. "I'm not going in there." Blue said. "Neither am I." Red said. "Mmm, I don't like the look of HIM." Trixie said, pointing at a drunk stallion sat at the bar. "Well you guys just wait out here. I'll be out soon." I walked in at sat at the bar next the the drunk pony. "Hey, umm, do you know anything about the Vault of Glass?" I asked him. "Dhe volt uf gass ers umpussible to enter wivout de stiffs. You put de stiffs in de pedestuls in de deepest pert. Den dey get upgaded." He drawled. "Righhttttt." I said, not understanding a single word he said. The barpony walked over. He was fully cloaked and was cleaning a cup with a dirty cloth. "Oh, err, a beer please!" I said quickly. He reached into a shelf under the counter and pulled out a glass full of yellowy-orangey liquid. "6 bits." He grunted. His voice was a deep growl. "Sure thing buddy." I said and I pulled the gold out and slid it towards him. He scooped them up and placed them in a drawer. "Hey, listen." I said, leaning closer to him. "Do you know anything about the Vault of Glass?" I asked. He stopped cleaning the cup and slowly put it down. "The Vault of Glass? Ha! No such thing. It's fake. Stories told to frighten foals into behaving. Only a fool would believe in it's existence." He snorted. "It does exist!" Said the drunk pony. I red about it once. Only dose with de power to split intoo for wood be able to harness de power ov de upgaded staffs. Just sit here and listen to the ravings of a madman." He said. Once again I understood not a single word of this, however, a few words were comprehendible. "You're drunk." I pointed out. "The ability to split oneself into four? Preposterous!" Said the barpony. The stallion took another drink of beer and then realised his glass was empty. "Another one!" He yelled so loudly that some ponies turned to look at him. "No. I think you've had enough to drink for tonight. That's you're 7th glass!" He said. "Go on, get out." He said. The stallion mumbled but got off his seat and toppled over. He staggered back up and shambled slowly towards the door. "I best get going too. Thanks for the, err, advice! Well hope to see you around!" I said, quickly finishing the glass and standing up. "Good day, well it's more of a night, sir." I walked outside, the barpony astounded by how friendly I was. I was not surprised to not see the others anywhere. They must have gone to the spot we had arranged. The air was cool and quiet compared to inside the tavern. The drunk pony lumbered across, singing groggily and incomprehensibly. My brain felt like mush so it was nothing to what he was feeling like, I thoughts. I ignored him and walked out of the town to where we had set up camp. Sure enough, everyone was there and all asleep. I got into my tent with Trixie. We had three tents, Blue and Red slept alone, but I didn't mind sharing with Trixie. And she didn't either. She was quite warm after all. It was colder away from the heat of the main town. I lied down and thought about what the barman and drunk had said. The drunk pony said it had existed, but the barpony said it was fake. The other pony was very drunk though, and seven pints in one night was a lot to drink. But still, something about the drunk made what he said believable, even real. He had not said: only those with the power to split into four would be able to harness the power of the upgraded staffs? Wasn't that my, Blue's, Red's, Trixie's and, well, Vio's goal? To upgrade the staffs? To break the barrier protecting the evil's stronghold? To destroy the darkness that threatens Equestria within? Yes. I thought. Yes it was.

"So, let's see the map." Red asked me. I held it up and showed it to him. We had marked it with the places of the temples and also the hideout of the doctor. "We're nearly at the temple of water, near Vanhoover. Just past these mountains." I said. We walked through the pass, across the mountain. The sun was blinding and boiling hot. "Ugh, it's sooo warm!" Moaned Blue. "Can't we stop for a break or something?" He said. "That seems like a good idea." I said. "There looks like a little cave up there. We can eat in the shade." I said. We reached the cave and sat at the entrance. It was cool in it, there seemed to be a draft coming from behind us, but when I illuminated the back with my magic, but it was just a plain wall. We continued and we neared the end of the trail. Dark clouds covered up the sun and the sky became greyer. In fact, everything seemed darker. "Hmm, that's strange." Said Trixie. "The pegasi don't usually make weather like this, I've never seen it before." She said. "The pegasi? Make weather?" Blue asked incredulously. "What?! Are you a pony or not?" Trixie laughed. "Oh, err, yeah!" Blue said quickly. "Ah, there's Vanhoover!" Red said, pointing in the distance to a large city. "The water temple will be there. Where do you think it will be though?" I asked. "Hmm, I'm not sure. The map is marked right on the city. I'm guessing it will be on the coast though." Red said.

CHAPTER 13 AWAKENING

P.O.V: The Doctor

"No! No, no no!" My master was very angry. "You must find them at once! I am not happy with you!" He shouted. "Send a detachment to find the element immediately!" He said. "As you wish, my lord." I said. "Once she is captured all Elements of Harmony are to be returned to here and locked back in the dungeon." He said. "And the actual crystals?" I asked. "They shall stay. We shall have a chance to lure the heroes in if we leave the elements as bait. Now go." He said.

P.O.V: Trixie

"Just down this hill and through those trees and we'll be there." I said. We had almost reached Vanhoover and the sky seemed lighter now. We walked down the hill and had just entered the small woods when we heard something. A cough. It was wheezy and the pony who was emitting it was clearly ill or in pain. I looked at Green and he looked back. "What was that?" Red said. A series of coughs and splutters, sounding even more sicker than the first. "Hello?! Is anypony there?!" Blue called. "H-help!" Cried a croaky voice from behind some bushes. We walked over and peered round. A horrible sight met our eyes. A pony lay on the floor, covered in a pool of blood, a singed hole in his kneecaps, and coughing blood of his mouth. A scabbard was holstered on him. A pile of purple clothes sat neatly folded next to a log. Something lay in his left hoof, it was pink and small. A large knife sat at his side. I turned away and was sick on the ground. Green walked over to him, a horrified expression on his face. The pony turned his head and looked straight at him. "N-no. Can't be." He croaked then he fainted.

A few hours later...

"Ughhh..." The stallion slowly opened his eyes. He was lying in a bed, a regular beeping sound coming from something next to him. We had taken him to the Vanhoover hospital. Me and Green did what we could to stop the bleeding, but our healing magic was not very powerful. A thick hole straight through the leg is nothing to joke about. I'm surprised it did not have to be amputated. We were told he would also be able to walk again, which was a miracle. The doctor had told us it was caused by heat, but what could be so hot it could melt skin and bone in an instant? "We still hate you, by the way, Vio." Blue said. "I'm-I'm so sorry." Vio said. "About everything. Trixie. I-I never meant any of it. I just wanted things to be back to normal. Before you." He said. I looked at the ground. "Vio, it's fine." I said. He looked up. "R-really?" He said. "Yeah. I'm just glad you're okay." I said. "So errm, Vio! What happened?" Green asked. "Well, that's the strange part." He said, sitting up. "You see, I went to the temple." Vio said. "What?!" We all said, surprised. "Yeah. I killed that monster plant. I took the element."

"Yeah, we figured that much." Blue said. "Fluttershy was locked up, but I rescued her." He said. "We traveled towards here, Vanhoover. Hang on, how long have I been out for?" He asked. "Only a few hours. The doctor said it was a miracle you could walk again... And keep your leg." I said. He sat back in relief. "So anyway," he continued. "We had just woken up this morning and were getting ready to move when... When we saw smoke on the path. It was grey and it was more of a small cloud. But it was unnatural. There was a kind of glowing blue orb in the centre. It got bigger and bigger and then..." Vio paused and gulped. "It vanished to be replaced by... Red lights. I think there was four... No, five. They were bright and shone through the smoke. The smoke slowly dissipated and I saw them. Those... Things. I think they were robots, guys." Vio said. "Robots, Vio?" Green said. "Yes. The red lights were their eyes. They were humanoid, but one was bigger than the rest. They had guns. But they shot red beams. They had a white crystal where their stomachs should be. The small ones grabbed Fluttershy and they vanished with her. The big one shot me. It hurt a lot. The beam was so hot my skin was burning. I fell to the ground and it came towards me. It raised it's huge arm to crush me, but it stopped. The eye whirred, and then it too vanished, leaving white glitter in it's wake." He finished. "Wow." Red said, astounded. "Excuse me, but what are robots and guns?" I asked. "It's tricky to explain." Vio said. "We'll tell you at some point." He said. "Hang on..." Blue said. "If those robots were sent to capture Fluttershy, what about her element?" He said. "Ah, well, the robots took the element aswell," Vio said. "But how come it's right here?" I asked, pointing to the table next to his bed. To our surprise, Vio had started to grin. "Why are you smiling?" Green asked, suspiciously. "Well, it was a fake!" Vio laughed. "It's not very convincing, but the robots took it!" He said. "But Vio, what if they come back? What if they try to stop us? I'm guessing they were sent by the doctor. But it's still odd... I thought robots weren't around until a thousand years in the future! How come they are around here?" Red asked. "Yeah, that is a bit strange," Vio said, sitting up a bit straighter. "But it was weird how the big one was about to kill me, and then it just stopped, like it had been told not to. Robots are supposed to have a mind of their own, especially ones tasked with important jobs like this. It was if they were all being controlled, probably by the doctor." He finished. A real doctor came in carrying a bunch of papers by magic. "I'm sorry, but visiting time's over." She said. "This stallion needs rest. I'm afraid he'll have to stay overnight. He'll be fine in the morning. Goodness me, it's like he's a different species his tissue regrew so fast!" She said absentmindedly, dumping the papers in a drawer and heading towards the door. "Well, what are you all waiting for? Out!" She snapped. "See you tomorrow," Green said. We walked out and down the corridor towards the exit. We walked outside and we saw Vanhoover in full. We had been so worried about getting Vio to the hospital that we had not focused on anything else but now, we could see great skyscrapers. Huge building sat next to one another, a giant wide road connected the city. Ponies were walking up and down the pavement, and carriages were carrying them to their destinations. "Well, this place looks pretty big. Why don't we take a look around before heading to the temple?" Red said. We all nodded in unison.

P.O.V: Third Person

They had set up camp on the beach. It was packed when they arrived but soon the crowds disappeared. If you were wondering how they were carrying around all their stuff like their tents and sleeping bag and the staffs, of course, Trixie knew a complicated and unique spell witch allowed her to store things in a kind of multidimensional rift, allowing her to pull things out with a bit of magic. She claimed an old friend had taught her to perform it. No one questioned this ability or her friend. It was starting to get dark now. They had all been looking around Vanhoover. When it started to get dark, Green and Trixie headed to the beach. For some strange reason, Red had insisted on taking an extremely thick and large log with them. It was kind of for sitting on. Green helped Trixie pull the log out if the small portal. Looking through, there seemed to be a kind of tunnel of light. She summoned the log, and it came whizzing towards them. "I'll need help pulling this out." She said. He focused and the log became enveloped in a green aura. That turned more olive as Trixie cast her magic too. The log fell onto the sand with a thud and the hole closed, leaving them panting. The sun was going down, the light was rippling on the water. Everything was calm and quiet. They sat down, both very tired. They stared at the sun for a minutes then Trixie spoke. "Green, can I ask you a question? It's-it's a bit personal, so I'll understand if you don't want to answer it." She said. Her voice seemed different. Not her usual, proud and tone, but a calm and quiet one. She sounded almost like Fluttershy. He turned to face her. "Sure Trixie, what is it?" He asked. "Well... Before you set out on this journey to save Equestria, did you... You know..." She said, but her voice faded away. "No." He said, looking puzzled. "Well... Kind of... Go out with anypony?" She turned away. "Well, I kind of dated Twilight Sparkle, but that was interfered with. Kind of made me come to my senses, she was a bit crazy." He said. "Right..." She said. They sat there for a few moments more, gazing into the sun. Their eyes started to slowly close and they fell asleep. Red and Blue came walking across the back, laughing and talking, but they stopped as the saw the silhouettes of 2 ponies, one's head rested on the other's shoulder, as not to wake them.

CHAPTER 14 AQUEOUS, UNDERWATER ABOMINATON

P.O.V: Green

"Ugh, we can't find it anywhere!" We had been asking around for the 'water temple' but no one knew anything about it. "It has to be here," Vio said. He had been released from the hospital now. We turned a corner round a skyscraper. We walked down the street but we heard a voice from a dark alley to our left. "Come here." It said. The voice was very deep and slightly croaky. We turned to see the outline of a pony, completely covered in a black cloak. "Great here we go..." Vio muttered. As we approached him we saw his eyes were an orangey yellow. That was all we could see because his face seemed to fade into blackness. We then noticed with a twinge of horror, that hundreds of tiny tentacles were protruding from the darkness of his face. This wes definitely NOT a pony, but he was shaped like one. "Um, hi?" I said cautiously. "You seek the temple of water." He said. "Err yes. How did you know?" I asked. "It is not I who receives the secrets of the heroes. It it the nine." He said. "Okayyyyy... So umm, what do you want?" I asked. "The Doctor has tightened security on the temples. They are invisible to the naked eye. Take this." He said, pulling a light blue crystal out of his cloak. He handed it to me. It was quite light. "This is the Director of Glass. It will guide you to temples and grant you access. Now, go the shore and save this land from darkness. Farewell, heroes." He said, and he vanished into thin air. "Hey! Wait! Come back!" I called. But he was gone. I looked down at the crystal in my hoof. Then, it suddenly flew up. It spin around, like it was looking for something. Then it zoomed out the alley and down the street. We ran after it, dodging the ponies that were walking up and down the pavement. We followed it all the way to the beach that was packed it eventually stopped, about halfway along it. We reached it, panting heavily. It turned towards the sea and spun, faster and faster. Then, something amazing happened. The sea floor rumbled and a bridge rose from it. Water spilled from it and back to the sea. We stared in awe as a huge castle rose at the end of the bridge. We turned around and no one on the beach seemed to notice a thing. Perhaps only we could see it. "Well. Here's the water temple." Blue said. "So, heh, are we going in?" Red said. "Yep." I said.

P.O.V: ?

"Get off me!" I said as I was dragged along the ground by two huge creatures. They stopped at a door and it opened slowly. My mouth hung open in amazement. The room was enormous. No, it couldn't have been a room. It was too massive and there was no ceiling. Twirling shards of something circled around an amazingly crafted throne, made completely out of what seemed to be glass. Someone was sat on it. "So." The man said with a calm voice. "He you are. Fancy seeing you here, princess." He said. "Who are you?" I asked. "Don't you remember me? Or... Don't you recognise me? It's been, what, seven years?" He leaned back on his seat. He wore long, dark green robes and he had a long, thin sword on his back. His hood covered his head. "Who are you? Where am I? What do you want from me?" I asked. He laughed quietly and pulled the hood up to reveal his face. He had short black hair and blue eyes. "No... It can't be..." He grinned. "Yes. It's me."

P.O.V: Trixie

"Well, this looks like the room the element will be kept in." I said. The door was massive and a huge lock lay on it. "You got that key?" Vio asked Green. "Yeah, it's right here," I said, pulling a giant key from my belt. I levitated it into the lock and turned it. The door fell open and we walked in. A huge lake sat in the centre of the room. We stood on a platform and the room appeared to be empty. "Where's the element?" Blue asked. "I don't know!" Red said. I walked over to the edge of the platform and looked down. The lake was quite still. Suddenly, the water began to bubble. I took a step back. "Um... Guys? Something's going on here!" I called. The others were on their way but suddenly, something huge erupted from the water. "Trixie!" Green yelled. I spun around and a huge mouth was shrieking at me. It was ginormous and was lined with razor sharp teeth, about a foot long. As quick as lightning, a tentacle whipped out from its side and grabbed me. "Eek!" I squealed. It held me above its head and roared at the others. "Don't worry, I'm coming for you Trixie!" Green shouted. "No, Green, I've got this! Just don't let it kill you!" I shouted back. As they were dodging the tentacles, I was trying to perform a spell. I focused really hard and finally I managed to pull it off. Flaming daggers materialised in front of me. I glanced at the monster and it shrieked in pain as Vio severed one of its tentacles. I concentrated and the daggers flew at the tentacle gripping me. It dropped me and in a panicked move, I grabbed onto a spine on its back. I saw a single red eye, staring up at me. "Green! Sword!" I screamed. "Right!" He said and he tossed it to me. I caught it by the handle and took aim at the eye. Tentacles tried to hit me off but they missed. I brought the sword down into the eye. The creature screamed in pain and thrashed around. I clung on, stabbing the eye again and again, blue blood pouring out of it. The monster eventually seemed to run out of life and it collapsed on the platform with one final howl. I jumped off it and handed Green back his sword. We all sat down, panting. "Wow. Well done Trixie." He said. "Nice thinking." Then, the monster stirred. We sat up; they were pointing their swords at it. But all it did was spit out something red, small and lightning shaped. My heard skipped with excitement. "The element!" I said. "We got it!" Vio said happily. "This calls for celebration!" Red said, bouncing up and down. "Come on guys, let's get out of here." And we left the dead animal and the temple.

P.O.V: Third Person

When they walked out the front doors and back across the bridge, the temple sank back into the water. The beach was still busy. They headed into town and stayed there for a long time. They went to a pub and had some drinks. They sat at the bar and had a few drinks. Blue was the first to be drunk. His voice was a slur wen he spoke. "Gimme another one!" He muttered. The barpony slid another drink towards him. "Well, maybe we should head back now." Vio said. "It's getting dark." Blue put the cup down with a thunk. "Oh, come on Vio! We just got another element!" He said. Vio thought for a moment. "No, I'm going to bed. I'll see you guys in the morning." He said and he walked out. "I think I'll go too, I'm really tired." Red said. "Wait, Red! Help me!" Blue slurred. He put his arm round his neck and they walked out. It was just Green and Trixie now. "Are you going to bed?" He asked her. "Depends if you are." She said. "Are you?"

"No." Green said. "It's been a tiring day. I still feel pretty awake though." She said. "That was some quick thinking back in the temple." She blushed. "Oh, it was nothing really... I know how serious this actually is but... I've kind of enjoyed this, you know?" She said.

Meanwhile, somewhere deep underground

"So, you have what I want?" A high, cold voice asked. "Of course, Gannondorf. I have the pony." He said. Two robots materialised beside where the man sat at his glass throne, holding a trembling, terrified Fluttershy. A third man stood behind Gannondorf, who stood before the man sat on the throne. "This is good, master." He whispered to Gannondorf. "They have the element of kindness." The robots threw Fluttershy down some steps at the feet of Gannondorf. A smile started to stretch across his face as he looked down at the helpless pony. The man at the throne looked at him, as if expecting him to say something. Gannondorf said nothing, however, and with a swish of his hand, Fluttershy was gone. "Now I believe you have something for me, in return." The man said. "Hand over the staffs." He commanded. Gannondorf nodded to the man behind him and two staffs appeared in his hands. He handed them to his master and he tossed them the man on the throne. He caught one in each hand and examined them. "The staff of light and the staff of darkness..." He murmured. "Very good." He said. "Now go."

CHAPTER 15 INVISIBLE BLADES

P.O.V: ?

"Do you zhink vee can shtop zem?" I asked, looking at Shining Armour. "No." He replied. "We can, however aid the heroes in their quest to stop evil from rising." He said. "How? How can vee help zem?" I asked eagerly. "Princess Celestia... Before she was taken had told me to pass information to somepony called 'Green'. It was about stopping the evil." He said. "Vhat vas zhis information?!" I demanded, shaking Shining Armour violently. "She said... The vault lies to the west of the galloping gorge, in the Ishtar Forest." He said plainly. I froze as this information flooded into my brain. "Zee... zee vault? She can't possibly mean zee... Oh my god..." I said. "What is it?" Shining asked. "Vee have to find zee Links now. I must speak vis zhem!"

P.O.V: Third Person

They set off from Vanhoover the following day towards the east. "The next temple is in the frozen north, the ice temple." Red said. Green and Trixie walked at the front of the group, walking rather closer to each other than on the previous day, leaving Blue, Vio and Red walking in a line, trailing behind them. Her foreleg suddenly collapsed. "You Okay?" Green asked, helping her up. "Yeah." She said. "Just aches a bit..." She said somewhat slyly. "Oh, right..." Green said, looking away and blushing. "You don't have to feel embarrassed or guilty, Green- about last night..." She said. "Let's just keep walking, okay?" Green said, looking determinedly forward. Trixie looked down and there was a very awkward silence for a long time.

They eventually reached a forest. The trees seemed green and more jungle like than any other forest. There was a path and they walked along it for a while. They eventually reached a giant clearing. "Whoa." Blue said. There was a large area, they could see a path in front of them but to there left was something amazing. There was a giant circular door stuck into the mountainside. A path led up to it and another cliff was to its right. "Let's check it out!" Red said and he ran off towards the path. We followed and a the foot of it, they saw a kind of bronze circle dug into the floor. "That's weird." Green said. Red had already run up the slope towards the giant door. "Hey look!" He called down to them as they walked up the slope. "Another plate! And another over there!" He pointed to the cliff to the right of the door. "Look at this!" Trixie said, rushing over to the foot of the door. A long slab of rock lay at the base of it. There were six indents in it. One shaped like a butterfly, one like a lightning bolt, one like a diamond, one like an apple, one like three balloons, and one like a star. In no particular order. "Guys!" Trixie called, excitement trembling in her voice. "Come look at this!" Everyone came over to look at it. Well, almost everyone. "This must be where the elements go!" Green said. He took a step back. "This is the Vault of Glass!" He said. "Um, Vio? Are you okay?" Blue asked. Vio was staring up at the door, transfixed. Whispers came out of the door and flooded his ears. The powers of time; past, future and present. Then, he remembered. He was laying on the cold, hard ground, blood pouring out his chest. Everyone was dead. Steiner's life had been sucked out of him, he lay twisted on a pile of ashes, which five minutes ago had been his good friend Aphix. A voice whispered in Vio's ear. "You are forever lost in the dark corners of time." Vio's vision began to become staticky, then became black.

P.O.V: Vio

"Ugh... What happened?" I muttered. "There you are. How come you always end up unconscious, eh?" Blue said. "I don't know." I said. I opened my eyes and saw I was lying in a tent. "We set up camp outside the 'Vault of Glass' as Green calls it." He said. "Yeah... The vault." I said absentmindedly. "What happened to you back there? You were just staring at the door, then you fell on the ground and fainted." Blue said. "Oh err, it was just a bit hot and I guess I kind of fainted, heh heh." I lied. "Okay..." Blue said, but he sounded suspicious.

P.O.V: Blue

We continued Northeast towards the frozen north. The ice temple was supposed to be located there. It started to get cold as we headed north. We had just crossed the border into the frozen north. We were fine until a snowstorm came. We had almost reached the crystal empire when a giant storm struck us. The snow pushed hard against us as we struggled forward I could barely see a few feet in front of me. I looked around and with I pang of horror I saw that I was alone. Everyone else had gone. I pushed forward but the cold was too much. I fell to the ground, my vision went blurry. All I saw was a figure trotting towards me before I went black.

"Unngggg." I moaned. I was lying in a bed, probably a hospital one. Something warm was on my neck. "It's okay now." I heard a familiar voice say. "Is that really you?" I asked. "Yeah. It's me." She replied. I opened my eyes and saw the outline of a pony, sat near me, her hoof on my neck. It was impossible to tell who it was but I knew who it was. "How did you escape?" I asked. I could sense her grin. "I broke out my cage. Those monsters didn't stand a chance. I made my way out of the dungeon place and came out just southeast of Apple Loosa. I made my way there and met up with a few relatives. Then I headed up here." She said. "What were you doing in the Crystal Empire?" I asked. "I was looking for my friends and I thought I'd start here."
"So have you seen everypony else?" I said. "Yeah, I've seen Red. He said that the rest of them were checking out the city." Applejack said. "He's just outside." We opened the door and Red was outside. "Blue! You're okay!" Red said, hugging me. "Hey! I'm fine!" I said trying to push him away. "Let's go find the others!" He said. We exited the hospital (again) and looked around. The huge crystal palace towered in the centre of the city. "Wow..." I said. "That's amazing!" I gaped. At the other end of the street we saw everyone else. "There they are!" Red said, running towards them. "Guys, we've got a new friend! Applejack!" Red said. "Applejack?!" They all said together. "Hi y'all!" Applejack said, a smile on her face... But it dropped slowly when she saw Trixie. Her eyes narrowed and she twisted her hat. "What's she doin' here?" Applejack said. "She's a friend." Green said, defending her before things got nasty. "Blue, you know she's evil." Applejack murmured to me. "Applejack, she's not. We wouldn't even have made it this far without her." I said. She looked back at Trixie. "All right then." Applejack said. Trixie looked ashamed and looked down.

Applejack still wasn't on the best terms with Trixie even when we were setting up the tents, just on the outskirts of the crystal empire. For some reason only Red, Vio and the gods of Equestria knew, Red and Vio seemed slightly grumpy, a contrast especially against Red's usual cheery mood. "So we go to the frozen north and find the ice temple, right?" Green said. "I'm sure that Director of Glass thingy will still work." He said. "Yeah." Red said "We'll go in the morning I suppose." He said. I was sleeping with Applejack now. The tent seemed a lot warmer now that Applejack was here with me. We got in our sleeping bag and Applejack faced me. "Blue, I need to talk." She said. "It's about... Her." She said and I knew she meant Trixie. "What about her?" I asked. "Are you sure you can trust her after all she's done?" She said. "Yes! She's helped!" I said. "Okay. Alright then." She said.

We headed northwest the next morning, following the Director of Glass. Luckily, the snowstorm had died down by then. It eventually reached the mountain side, then it turned to us. It began to spin again. The ice mountain cracked down the middle, revealing a small dark tunnel. "Isn't as grand as the water temple, eh?" I said. We walked down it.

CHAPTER 16 THE ICE TEMPLE

P.O.V: Applejack

We walked down the tunnel for about 5 minutes before we saw light. "Light?" I said. "Why would there be light?" I asked. "I dunno." Green said. We walked into it and we gasped. We stood in a giant cylinder shaped room, the walls and ceiling made completely of ice. "Wow..." I said. We were stood on a bridge and below us was a seemingly bottomless pit. "Let's make sure we don't slip." Vio said. A door stood at the end of the bridge. Above it was a kind of metal grill. We edged slowly towards across the bridge, careful not to fall. We were almost at the end when we heard a cracking from above us. We looked up and saw large cracks on the ceiling. We had a second to react before a huge creature came falling down and blocked our path. We stared transfixed into it's single red eye. "Oh no." Vio said. It charged at us. "Go back, go back!" He yelled. We ran away from the thing but it was too late. It slammed the bridge and it cracked right in two. Me and Blue slipped and fell. We grabbed onto an ice ledge. Everyone else had got into the tunnel. The monster had fallen into the pit and had probably died. We reached up but the ice broke and we fell. "Oh we're gonna die." Blue said, staring up as we fell, gathering speed. "Don't be stupid we're not gonna-." CRACK!

"Urrgg..." I felt movement beside me. "Blue?" I said. "I'm fine." He muttered. But we were not fine for long. A sound of creaking metal. A large steel body stood slowly up. "Oh great." Blue said. The thing held it's fist up to smash him but- Splat! The robot twitched underneath a huge ice block. "Nice." I said. "I'm amazed we survived." I said. "Yeah well, how do we get back up?" Blue said. But our question was almost immediately answered. We heard a voice from above us. "Ugh, it's all wet!" Came a voice. "Red!" Blue said happily. He came sliding down a rope towards us. "You're alive!" He grinned. "Yeah, thanks for coming for us." I said. "I thought we were done for." As we climbed back up the rope I wondered what that creature that had attacked us was and how we were gonna get to the other side of the bridge. "How did you get the rope?" I asked Red. "Oh, Trixie luckily had one on her and summoned it out her portal thingy. It's very complex magic, I don't think even Twilight could!" He said. We reached the top and met a very happy group of ponies. "Nice! You're alive!" Green said. "Is the thing dead?" Vio asked. "I think so." Blue said. "A huge chunk of ice fell on it." Vio smiled slightly. "Good." He said. "Any ideas on how to get across?" I said, looking across at the door on the other side of the pit. "I could fly." Vio suggested. "See if there's anything to use inside." He said.

We sat at the cave entrance for not very long before Vio pushed the door open, panting slightly. "I got something!" He called. He held up his hoof to show a kind of claw attached to it. "What the bloody hell's that thing?" Blue asked. "I dunno but you can get across with it. See that grill up there?" He said, pointing to the grill above his head. "Just aim and fire at it and you'll go flying across! Here, catch!" And he threw the thing over the Green who caught it rather clumsily. Green shot at the grill and he flew across the pit. We eventually all made it through the door and into the ice temple. Who knew what evil awaited us in there.

P.O.V: ?

"Come on! Keep fire on those Oracles!" I yelled, as another on imploded. "What does it look like I'm doing!" Aphix shouted back and to be fair, the barrel of his gun was red. "Ugh, I can't see shit!" I said, straining to see through to blackness that crowded my vision. Another piano note played. "Hurry up Vio there's another Oracle!" I shouted. "Okay, I'm coming! Keep your hair on!" I heard footsteps and a second later my vision was fine. Vio held a sheild that had cleansed us. "Kill that Oracle!" He commanded. We shot at the Oracles and it was destroyed. "Is that it?" Aphix asked. "I think so." Vio replied. "The gate! No!" The portal that stood opposite us suddenly closed. "No... We're dead..." I whispered. A voice said to me. "You are forever lost in the dark corners of time."

P.O.V: Green

"Woah. This place is dark." I said. "I can't see a thing!" Applejack said. "This has to be the place where the element is. We've explored everywhere else." We split up and felt the walls for another path or tunnel. It was pitch black so I couldn't see a thing. Suddenly I felt something strange. It wasn't ice like the rest of the cavern. It felt almost like a wall of large rocks. I pushed on it but nothing happened. "Hey guys!" I turned and called. "I've found a pile of rocks over here! Maybe you can help push it!" I called. I heard hoof steps coming towards me. "Uhhh, Green?" I heard Trixie say. "I don't think that's a wall..." She said. "Huh?" I said, surprised. "Of course it is! What else could it-. Ohhhhh." I said slowly as I turned to the 'wall'. I was staring into a gigantic orange eye, about half as tall as me. Weirdly, torches lit around the cavern, illuminating it completely. I saw it was no wall of rocks. It was scales. A huge roar almost burst my eardrums. Two thuds. They were each of the dragon's feet standing up after a nice long sleep. "Oh shit." I said. The dragon looked down at me. I stared up at it. It opened its mouth to kill when I reacted. I bounced back out of the way just as the dragon brought its mouth down on the ground. I ran back to where the others were gathered. "How the hay do we kill this thing!" Applejack said. "Maybe we don't have to kill it." Trixie suggested. "If only Fluttershy was here. She'd know." Vio said longingly. Red made a strange involuntary move. He raised his hoof, as if to hit Vio and opened his mouth. He put his hoof down and closed his mouth a second later. Only I noticed. The dragon was slowly walking towards us, making the ground tremble. "Well what do we do?" Blue said. "We can't kill it. It's huge!" He said. The dragon must have been at least fifty feet long. "Well, think logically. This dragon has been living here for a long time, so its weakness must be fire!" Vio said. "Okay them, you're the smart one." I said. The dragon opened its mouth once again, but me and Trixie aimed our horns and shot fire into its open mouth. The dragon screamed in pain. It recoiled violently, thrashing around before it collapsed on the ground. "Is it dead?" I panted. Trixie nodded. I looked to where I first saw the dragon. A glowing purple chest lay on the ground. "The element!" I said excitedly, rushing over to it. I opened the chest and a purple diamond shaped crystal lay on its base. "Rarity's." I said, picking it up. "We got it!" Applejack said happily. "Yeah! We should totally go back go the crystal empire." Blue said. I turned and looked around at my friends. I couldn't see Vio. "Vio? Where are you?" I called out. I saw him next to the dead dragon, staring into its face. He placed a hoof on its eyelids and slid them shut. A tear dropped from his face and onto the cavern floor. "Vio? What's the matter?" I said going up to him. "I-I loved dragons. It's such a waste just to see it die like that." He said. "Well, Vio the fire idea was yours." I said. "I know but, I didn't want it to die." He said. Then suddenly, miraculously, the dragon's eye slowly opened. Vio looked up, astounded. "It's alive! It's alive!" He shouted. "Vio, get away from that thing!" I snapped. "Let's just go!" Blue said. "We've got the element and if Vio wants this thing alive then fine!" He said. I dragged Vio to the exit- he was still so happy about the creature being alive.

CHAPTER 17 A SOMBRE NOTE

P.O.V: ?

I knew I would rise again. My power last time was a mere shadow of my full capabilities. My master has resurrected me. I shall get revenge on those ponies who banished me. I sense the dwindling life of one of my masters greatest assets nearby. Deep below the frozen north my essence is trapped within a crystal. My eyes snap open. I am floating inside it in an underground cavern. My master stands before me. He purrs in triumph. "My old friend. You have disappointed me twice now." He growls. "My minions have slaved to bring you back once. They have been powered by darkness, hence the reason we speak now." He says. "But you are stronger now. You will be crowned king of crystals and we will take over Equestria. You have been dead for only a short time. My wakers have restored you to you're physical form. Your shadow was dead but your life force remained." He says. I grin. Smash! I break out my cage. My master is pleased. "You will attack the empire at dawn. Good luck." He says and he vanishes into thin air.

The next morning at the crystal empire...

I watched, a sense of greed in my eyes as I looked at the city. Everypony would have no idea what was about to happen I had waited over a thousand years for my body to be restored. And now it had happened. My goal was to destroy the crystal heart. With absence of the Elements of Harmony my path was clear. I would enslave the crystal ponies and my master would honour me beyond my wildest dreams. I turned to a shadow and flew across the clouds, making the sky darken. Ponies looked up curiously and I sent a roar down to them. Applejack stared up. "No... It can't be..." She said. I flew down and smashed a window in the tower, returning to my physical form. Guards blocked my path. I summoned a spear of darkness and quickly destroyed them. I was almost at the top floor when a blinding light shined in my face. I hissed. As the light cleared I was a large, white alicorn, with a flowing mane. "You?" I hissed. "I won't allow you to do this." Celestia said. "Just try to stop me!" And I lunged at her at breakneck speed. She was too fast. She summoned her own spear of light and tried to hit me. I parried and we started to fight. She was quick and skilled, predicting every move I made. She ducked another swipe. I had had enough now. I shot a void energy ball from my horn at her and she fell back onto the ground. I rounded on her, triumph I'm my face. "I've got you now, princess." I said. "After a thousand years I have you." I raised my spear to kill her. "No... Somb..." She whisped, tears in her eyes. I stopped. "What did you call me?" I growled. "Don't you remember?" She said. "Us." She said. "That monster. It turned you like this. You used to be kind and benevolent. Do you remember... Me?" Celestia said. "We were so happy. Then you went to kill that creature and you turned. Sombra... My prince. Come back to me. To us." She said. The curse of my master was broken by a single act of compassion, of love. A kiss.

P.O.V: Vio

"What the hell was that?" I said. Everyone seemed to be screaming and running. "Guys, we've got to go!" Applejack said, grabbing Blue's hoof and dragging him away. We followed. "What is it?" Green asked. "It's king Sombra!" She shouted. "He's back! We have to run!" She said and we followed her. A blinding light came from the tower behind us. We stopped and turned. "Citizens of the crystal empire. Fear not, as king Sombra has become good again! He has been placed under a curse for over 1 thousand years!" A magically magnified voice said. "Is that Celestia?" I said surprised. "I think so." Red said, still staring at the tower. "Sombra is good again? What does she mean by 'again'?" Trixie said. The skies brightened and the ponies calmed down. We went to the tower to meet king Sombra and catch up with the princesses. They told us that Canterlot had fell and they were evacuated through a secret tunnel under the castle. They were interested to know everything they had learnt while searching for the elements. I told them about the robot creatures that had attacked me and Fluttershy and how they took her but not me. We told them about the Vault of Glass. Green said that we needed the elements to open the vault and inside there we could upgrade the staffs. The princesses told us they would be staying in the crystal empire and they would send troops to hunt out monsters. "Hey, Vio? Can I have a quick word?" Princess Luna said after they had finished explaining. "Erm, yeah! Of course!" I said, following her into a side room which turned out to be a bedroom. She locked the door with her magic and sat down on the bed. She levitated a bottle of wine and poured some in two bottles. She hovered one over to me and I took it. "Thanks, princess. So, what did you want to say, princess?" I asked. "Fuck me." She said plainly. I had surely misheard. "Excuse me?" I said. "I want you to fuck me." She said again. "Err, princess... You know I've got a marefriend." I said. She smiled. "I know, but..." She said. "But what?!" I said still completely shocked. "I like you." She said. "I always did." She said.

"Alright, guys?" I said, walking over to Red, Blue and Green who were sat at a table, a map on it. "You're in a good mood. Surprisingly." Green said. "Why's that then?" Red said. "Ha! I'm not telling you!" I said. "Let me guess, you fucked Luna?" Blue joked. My face fell. "How did you know? Were you watching? Please tell me you weren't!" I panicked. But they were too busy laughing to respond. "So anyway." Green said after he had finished laughing. "Now that Vio's lost his virginity, we were just planning were to go next." He said. "We should go east, to Manehattan. It's here on the map." He said. "The wind temple." He said. "So where are Applejack and Trixie then?" I asked. "They're looking around the town together. Looks like they are finally friends." Red said. "That took long enough." I said. "It is very interesting what Sombra said about this evil. It's so complicated. Now it's not just the Doctor but this Crota we have to deal with! I said. ""And those robot things." Blue said. "Yes! How can we destroy all of them before one of them takes over Equestria." I said. "Okay, calm down. Shining Armour and Princess Cadence are here aswell. Celestia says she is doing everything she can to hunt down Crota." Green said. "Well, we should focus on getting the Elements of Harmony first. If we do that we can not only upgrade the staffs but also destroy Crota after we set the ponies free!" He said. "Yes. You're right. When do we depart?" I asked. "We think tomorrow."

CHAPTER 18 THE CITY IN THE SKY

P.O.V: ?

"You don't understand their power. If we do not act, the Awoken will seize this world!" I said. "Now slow down there." Applejack said. "Start from the beginning." The heroes had just departed the crystal empire and were on their way to Manehattan. They had stumbled across a cave in the mountainside in which I lived. I gulped. "The Awoken are a species that existed eons before the dawn of ponamity. Since now they have lived far away, in places outside of space and time. Thousands of Awoken units are controlled by one Axis Mind. If that Axis Mind is destroyed, then their programming will fall." I finished. "But, how do we kill these things? What do they even look like?" Applejack asked. My eyes flicked between face to face. "You have all experienced the power of the Awoken. Vio here more so." I said. "How do you know my name?" Vio said. "Wait a minute..." He said, a dreamy expression coming across his face. "The Awoken... There not... Robots are they?" He said, looking at me. I grinned. "Robots? Why, of course they are. Good luck, heroes." I said as I began to fade away into darkness. "Wait!" Vio called. "Come back! I've still got so many questions!" He called, his hoof outstretched. But it was too late. I could not like linger long in this world.

P.O.V: Trixie

"Y'all are not gonna believe how amazing Manehattan is!" Applejack said, bouncing around us. "It's just over this hill! The view is wonderful from here!" She said. As we neared the foot of the hill behind which Manehattan lay, just out of sight. Light brown smoke to hovered over us, seeming to come from Manehattan. We ignored it and dashed up the hill. Vio flew up and gasped, his mouth wide open as he saw the city. Applejack smiled. "Is it really that impressive? Well, maybe it's changed since I last came." She said. She ran up and reached the brow of the hill. Her smile drooped slowly. "Oooh. That is certainly not good." She said. "What is it?" I asked, rushing up to stand by her. My smile too dropped as I saw the scene in front of me. The smoke appeared to be coming from the space above Manehattan. It was not tall buildings and lovely views. Piles upon piles of rubble lay upon the landscape. "The base of the evil..." Vio said, his muzzle still hanging open. A giant orange cover lay over Manehattan. "The sheild we must break..." Green said, standing beside him after he lander. "B-but, how can four measly little staffs break a ginormous thing like that?" I stammered. "No idea." Vio said. "But what matters now is finding that temple. The Elements of Harmony cannot be near a source of great evil, so the temple can't be inside the sheild." He said. "We'll check the cliffs." He said. "Green, Trixie, use that director thingy."

P.O.V: Steiner

"Vait! Vait!" I ran as fast as I could towards where the six ponies were, stood around a hole in the ground. They all looked at me in surprise. "Who are you?" A blue unicorn asked, stepping forward. "It's Steiner. Edward Steiner." I panted. All the ponies didn't seem to know who I was apart from Vio. "Steiner? What the hell are you doing here?" He asked. "I came to varn you. Zee Vault of Glass... You have no idea of zee power zat lurks zhere!" I said. "What? What do you mean? How do you know about the Vault?" Vio asked. I froze as I caught signals on my device. "Oh no. You have to go." I said. "Why? Where?" Vio asked. "Jump down zee hole. It leads to zee temple. Go! Zee Awoken are coming for you! Jump!" I shouted. One by one the ponies jumped down the hole. I turned and summoned an arc sword with my horn to face the Awoken as they materialised in front of me.

P.O.V: Vio

We fell fast and getting faster. At first I thought we had made a mistake but when specks of light formed around us we knew otherwise. Just as I wondered how long it would actually take us to reach the bottom and what would happen when we did. I saw a light blue flash before my eyes instantly closed when I hit the 'ground'.

"Hey there Vi." A calm, familiar voice said to me. I was lying in what seemed to be a hot tub. The warm water was relaxing and calming. Everything was completely dark. I felt something weighing down on my legs in a comfortable way. "Mmmm..." I moaned. "Is the you, Fluttershy?" I said smiling. "Yes it is." She said. "Hey, Vio." She said. "Yes my little pony?" I replied. "You know this is only a dream right?" The fake voice in my head said. "Wait, what?!" I said and I snapped open my eyes and shut them again almost instantly. "Ugh, so bright!" I muttered. "Ah, good, you're awake." I heard Trixie's voice say. "Where the heck are we?" I asked. "Well, genius, I suggest you open your eyes and see for yourself!" I heard Blue say. I opened my eyes again and was able to keep them open slightly longer this time. "What the hell..." I said as I stared up into what appeared to be the sky. We were on a stone floating island with a pool of warm water on it which I lay in. Bridges connected it to other buildings and islands. "A city in the sky..." I said, amazed at what I was seeing. "But how?" I said. "How did we get here?" I said. "No idea. Some kind of teleport." Green said. A sudden blast of wind blew over us, making Red fall into the water with a splash. "We better watch our step." I said, getting out the pool and shaking the water out my mane and wings. "Well, let's get going." Red said grumpily, climbing out the pool.

P.O.V: Red

We were sprinting as fast as we could across a crumbly bridge. It wasn't actually crumbling but Trixie hated hights and the winds were strong enough to blow us off and send us plummeting downwards towards earth. I tailed behind everyone else. We were almost at the pool of water island, having got the big key when a huge shriek came from behind us. I turned to see an enormous bird, flying from over a building towards us. It's wingspan must have been at least 20 meters. It seemed too be made of a black metal as its skin glinted in the sunlight. It opened its mouth to roar again and there was a bright orange glow inside it. It swooped down and cracked the bridge with its giant talons, cutting me off from the others. The bird flew off back into the distance. I peered over where the bridge was broken. "Damn! Stupid bird!" I said. The gap was far too wide for me to jump. Vio flew over to where I stood. "Perhaps I can... Hang on." He said and he grabbed me and pulled upwards but he stopped when I looked at him in a 'you should stop that now before I hurt you' look. "Oh, heh heh. Sorry." He said. Trixie's eyes suddenly lit up as if a light bulb had turned on inside her head. "I've got it!" She said, running back towards the pool. She used her magic to summon her outside-of-space-and-time storage vault. "Green, Blue!" She called. "Gonna need some help with this!" She said. They trotted over and a moment later they came back, dragging the huge log that I had been so eager to keep with us along the ground. Trixie and Green levitated it and placed it, making a not so solid bridge across to me. "Come on Red!" Applejack called. I stared reluctantly at the log and placed my hooves on it, making sure to maintain my balance. About halfway across I felt the wind start to build up. "Oh no. Hurry up Red!" Vio said. I sped up slightly. The wind blasted suddenly. "Jump!" He said. I leaped as far as I could just as the log rolled off and fell into the sodom below. I actually landed quite well on the other side of the bridge. "Nice!" Green said. "Let's get going. We don't want that bird coming back." And we set off towards the element chamber.

As we slid open the giant gold doors the skies turned grey. Rain started to fall. Behind the doors was a huge circle platform, suspended above the sky. Four gigantic, thick pillars were placed regularly at each side of the circle. In the centre of the platform was a large purple chest. "The element!" Blue said and he ran towards it but he turned around when the gigantic bird flew back and landed with a thud on the chest, crushing it. I saw the tiny blue crystal bounce out if it and I ran towards it. The bird shrieked and smashed me hard in the face with its beak. "Red!" Green called. I flew back but Trixie managed to catch me with her magic before I hit the ground. The bird roared agin. "How do we kill it?" Vio said. "No idea, it's huge!" Blue replied. Crack! Lightning struck right next to us. The bird turned around, pointed its beak into the sky and spread its wings wide. More lightning cracked around it. When it turned we saw a glowing spot just above its tail. "I've got it!" Vio said. "Trixie, Green. Do you have any attacking spells?" He asked. "Err, yeah, there's the flaming dagger one." Trixie said. "Yeah! I've got a... Umm lightning spell?" Green said, his eyebrows raised. "Good. When the bird turns, attack its spot, okay?!" Vio said, spreading his wings. "You're not going to..." I said. "I've got no choice." He replied and he sped off the ground. "Hey! Bird-face! Over here!" He called. The bird turned and shrieked at him. It flapped after him and he flew. Vio flew as fast as he could and the but the bird was only slightly slower than him. He looped round and flew back over us. Trixie and Green readied their horns. Green shot a lightning bolt out of his horn. The bird screamed and froze. The electricity seemed to have paralysed the bird and it crashed to the ground, twitching slightly. "Whoa." Vio said, touching down beside it. "Is it dead? Well, that seemed pretty easy." He said. I managed to stand up and limped over to the Element of Harmony I had previously attempted to collect. I picked it up in my hooves. The rain had stopped now but the skies were still black. "Pinkie's element." I sighed. "Damn I miss her." I said, staring into the dark sky. "Well, we've got the element but there's still a problem. How the hell do we get back to the ground!" Vio said, reaching his forearms into the sky as if inviting it. "Ah, yes. That is a problem isn't it." Applejack said. Vio patrolled around the platform, thinking hard. "Do you know where we even are?" Green asked. "In the sky." Blue replied. "No, I mean where are we above." He said. "No idea." Blue said. Suddenly, the bird's bright green eye snapped open. "Oh shit." Vio said. "Green, use your magic again!" He called as the bird slowly stared to climb to its feet. Green willed his magic to work, but all that came out of his horn was a tiny blue spark. "Ruuuunn!" I screamed and we all sprinted towards the door. We ran as fast as we could across the stone bridge. The bird was too fast for us, however. It landed with a thud on the stone in front us us, making it crack and we all skidded to a halt. The bird shrieked once again and raised its razor sharp talons. Trixie, who was in front, stared into its eyes and stepped slowly back. "No!" Green shouted and he shot a spell at the bird- a blue beam of light. For a split second it seemed like it had done nothing, and Green too recoiled when he realised he had used a spell that Twilight had taught him which decreased one's intelligence temporarily. "Ohhh." He said. Just when we thought we were screwed a bright, white light broke through the dark clouds. We all turned towards it. What appeared to be a giant- and I mean giant white bird. Its wingspan was surely 200 meters. The sky almost instantaneously turned white, making the creature hard to distinguish. All I remember is seeing that gargantuan bird swoop down on the bridge before my eyes closed and I drifted into a sleep.

CHAPTER 19 THE MOUTH OF MADNESS- FORT RAKAT GAHDI

P.O.V: Vio

"Arrrg! Let me go you son of a bitch!" I said, struggling with the stallion that had grabbed me from behind. After that huge white bird appeared, we passed out and later awoke back on the ground. It was night. Soon after that we were ambushed by a bunch of thugs. Everyone else apart from Blue had been knocked out. As I struggled to escape his grasp, another pony came from in front and knocked me out in 1 clean hit.

When I awoke, I felt myself being knocked about slightly. I opened my eyes. We were sat on a trailer, drawn by 4 stallions. Our arms, legs and in my case wings, were tied to the edges of the trailer. Green's and Trixie's horn had a white bandage wrapped around them, rendering them useless. "What? What about our swords?" I said. A harsh, cold voice responded from beside me. I hadn't noticed the earth pony sat to my left. He was not tied down and held a sharp, grey knife in his hooves. He was evidently one of the thugs who had captured us. "Aye. Fine swords they are. I'm sure they will fetch a pretty price." He grinned evilly. "Where are we going?" Green asked. He smiled even wider. "The Mouth of Madness." He said. "Oh, please, enlighten us." Applejack said quite harshly. But the stallion just grinned. "You'll see." He said. We sat in silence as the cart traveled across plains and forests. The cart eventually passed over to a dryer, hotter area after about six hours of travelling. "This is near Apple Loosa." Applejack said eventually. "Loads of my relatives live there." She said. I thought hard about how we could escape this extremely sticky situation. The sun slowly rose over the horizon and we saw a huge, thick puff of smoke, issuing from it. As we drew nearer to it, Applejack's face drew slowly more frightened, until we saw a wooden sign that read: 'Welcome to Apple Loosa THE MOUTH OF MADNESS.' "Oh no." She said. She looked towards where Apple Loosa used too be. A giant hole in the ground. Wooden buildings sat at the top. There were spirals leading down. Hundreds of ponies, mares, foals, stallions were pulling heavy metal carts full of gold, iron and even diamonds up the the top and depositing them into minecarts. Tunnels led off the spiral slope and in the centre of that pit there was a pool of lava. That was the source of the smoke.

All six of us were lined up. The stallion that had guarded us passed us each a heavy, metal pickaxe. "Simple work. You must mine gold. Put it in the minecarts and they get carried upwards. You work for 19 hours. You got that?" He said. We were forced down the slope and into a tunnel near the bottom. We passed countless, faceless ponies on our way down and I wondered how a quiet remote town like Apple Loosa could be transformed into this hellhole. The mine was hot and after a few minutes of work we grew tired. Blue, Red and Applejack- being earth ponies- carried on for longer, smashing the rock time and time again. "Damn those bastards!" Applejack swore through gritted teeth, pounding the rock hard. "They create this giant hole in my town and force my relatives to work there! I can't wait to get my hooves on the son of a bitch who owns this place." She said. I swung my pick down, chipping away more rock. Then I saw something peculiar. A glowing green light emanated from inside the stone. I chipped away the rock around it to reveal it was a shining emerald, about the half the size of a toaster. Something appeared to be stuck inside it. Almost immediately, guards rushed over to me. A rough looking earth pony ripped the emerald from the ground and examined it in his hooves, a slight smile on his face. He looked at me. Everyone else in the mine stopped working and turned to look at us. "Come with me." He said and two guards grabbed me from behind and forced me to follow him up the slope and towards the houses at the top of the hole. The whole place was surrounded by a thick barbed wire wall, about 20 feet tall- no way of escape there. They forced me to a wooden shack that I guessed used to be the sheriff's house. The stallion walked in and beckoned me to follow. At a desk sat a unicorn. She was a pale pink and her cutie mark was what appeared to be a tapestry of some kind. She had a short, bright pink ponytail and black hair lined each side. With a turn of my stomach I saw our four swords hanging from a rack on the wall. "Mistress Yuma." The stallion said bowing. "This pegasus here has found an extremely rare jewel. I believe that if we can find a buyer this could sell for over a million bits!" He said. 'Well, what are the odds' I thought. The pony- apparently named 'Yuma' leaned forward to inspect me closer. I stared right at her. "Is that so?" She said and her voice was sly and evil. "Well in that case... You can rest early today. Go straight to your cell and rest. You've got a long day's work ahead of you. 'Whipee.' I thought gloomily as I was forced back down the slope and through a different tunnel. Barred doors lined the sides of the tunnel, each with a sizeable room behind them. They were empty apart from the odd filly or colt staring through the bars. I was directed to a the cell right at the end of the tunnel and forced in. I guessed the cells would be packed when everyone was resting. 'Why would anypony do this?' I thought as I lay on the cold, hard, jaggedly rock, staring through the bars. Then I remembered something and my eyes widened instantly. "Oh crap." I said, bolting upright. "The jewel!" I panicked. I patted myself everywhere, but it was fruitless. They had taken it. I lay down on the floor. After our, err, meeting, Luna had given me a blood-red diamond. She said to hold in and say 'Burn Sol' three times and she would come with soldiers to my aid. "Damn it!" I said, kicking myself mentally. I lay back and closed my eyes, trying to get some sleep.

P.O.V: Me (third person)

The other five ponies were forced along the tunnel towards their cell when it was time for them to rest. Vio was asleep, snoring against the floor. Our cell was considerably less crowded than the others. The heroes- defeated at last walked gloomily into the cell, their heads looking at the floor and completely exhausted. Applejack stopped abruptly at the door of the cell. "Move!" The guard said. Applejack had frozen, her eyes twitching and her teeth clenched angrily. She then bucked hard, smashing the guard in the face and sending him back and smashing him into the wall. She turned to them, smiling. "Well? What are y'all waiting for? Let's get out of this place!" She said. She grabbed the keys holstered to the stallion and rushed to the other cells, unlocking them. Surprisingly, the prison section of this gulag was unguarded apart from the guard Applejack had knocked out. That was because- unbeknownst to them- Mistress Yuma was not to be messed with and nobody would dare upset her- and an attack on a guard had not happened in the short time this place had been operating. What seemed like thousands of ponies rushed from their cells and up the sloped. Guards ran to attack but were outnumbered by the angry mob of ponies. "We need to get to the treasure room!" Vio shouted over the sounds of hooves trampling the ground. "We need our swords and there's something there that took from me!" They ran after the angry hoard of ponies. Suddenly- the unicorn that Vio had met last night jumped forward, blocking the ponies progress up. She raised her horn and let out a wave of red light towards them. She clenched her eyelids and screamed in concentration. Lightning struck from nowhere and hit her horn. The ponies stared in awe. She thrashed around but still retaining her spell. "No!" Vio shouted. "Close your eyes!" He yelled, but unfortunately, only his five friends could hear him. They shut their eyes, doing as he said. The sound of screaming and lightning stopped and Vio's eyes peeked open the mob of ponies had disappeared and Yuma lay, exhausted on the ground. We heard the angry roars of ponies back down in the cells. 'How does that work? A mass teleport spell?' I thought. Two guards picked her up and dragged her into her office. Guards sprung out in front of us, raising their knifes. Applejack pawed the ground ferociously with her back hooves like a bull preparing to charge. She ran at them, head bowed and they raised their knives to strike. She kicked them hard and they fell back, unconscious. We ran towards the building with Yuma inside but before we could all get there a forcefield materialised suddenly, trapping Blue inside. "Damn it!" Applejack said. "We'll wait here! We want her alive if you can, Blue!" She said. "Good luck." She said.

P.O.V: Blue

I nodded and turned to the door of the house. I gulped and turned the knob of the door. Yuma seemed to have recovered. She sat at her desk, the two guards by her side. "Kill him!" She ordered. The stallions jumped forward and swung at me. I blocked, grabbed the knife out his hoof and smashed his face with the handle. She second one charged and with one clean swipe I cut his throat. He fell to the ground, his hooves on his throat. I aimed the knife at Yuma. "It's over, you. Time to free everypony from this place." I said. She smiled and slowly slid off her seat. She slowly walked round the desk towards me. I kept my knife pointed at her the whole time. "Well. That's a shame isn't it?" She said looking gloomy. I lowered my knife slightly. "What is?" I asked. "Well, I was going to ask you to help me lead this place, but since you want me dead..." She said, her tone changing to one almost pouty. I lowered the knife completely. "What do you mean?" I asked. Her horn glowed pink. I was enveloped in a pink aura. Instead of attacking, I dropped the knife. A grin spread slowly across my muzzle. I felt warm and comfortable, and I heard Yuma's voice reverberate inside my skull. "Kill the 5 ponies outside." She said. "Do not let them survive. Take your sword." She hissed. She handed me my sword from the rack on the wall. "Of course, mistress Yuma." I said. She sat back at her desk, a look of satisfaction on her face as I turned to exit the building after she had disabled the forcefield.

P.O.V: Vio

"I hope he's okay in there." Applejack said, kicking the forcefield as hard as she could but to no avail. I looked around at the buildings. One seemed to draw my attention. It was completely metal- a contrast to the wooden buildings around it. The door was covered in chains and padlocks, making it obvious that this was the treasure room. I examined the locks. There were at least 5 of them. "Hey! Trixie!" I called out. She trotted over. "What is it, Vio?" She asked. "Do you know any spells to open locks?" I asked. "Well I do, but I doubt it would work. These seem really high security. But I guess I'll try." She said. Trixie aimed her horn at the locks and they both started to glow. We were both surprised when we heard a click and then the sound of crashing metal. The locks fell to the floor with a thud. "Wow." Said Trixie, astonished. "I didn't think that would work!" She said. I ripped away the chains and with an enormous effort, managed to heave open the giant metal door. I stared in amazement. Gold. Piles of it. Gems- rubies, sapphires, emeralds- even a few diamonds lay mixed in with the mountains of gold. "Oh my god..." I whispered. The treasure seemed to glow majestically. I shook my head. Treasure didn't matter right now. I looked around. Cases lined the walls. I saw the diamond that Luna had gave me inside a case. I also saw the emerald I had found earlier in a case too. I grabbed a sharp sapphire from the mounds of gold and smashed to case with it. I heard the clinking of coins coming from behind me. "So much treasure..." Trixie said. I picked up the red diamond and held it in my hooves. "Okay. Here goes. Burn Sol. Burn Sol. Burn Sol." I said. The diamond gave a small hum and glowed a brighter shade of red for a second. "Yes!" I said. Then, I heard a voice come from outside. "Blue! Do you... Blue?" I heard Applejack say. I rushed outside. Blue was walking out the door, his sword in his hooves and he was staring at Applejack evilly, with a pinkish-reddy glint in his eyes. He charged at her, his sword raised. Applejack jumped out of the way at the last second, the blade only slicing a small hash into her side. "Ouch! Blue, what the hay are y'all doing?" She called. Blue didn't respond, instead, he raised his sword again. "I don't think so!" Green said, levitating the sword out of his hooves just before he swung at Applejack again, making it look like he was slapping the air. Just then, there was a flash of light. We were all stunned for a second but when I recovered I saw what had happened. Princess Luna stood accompanied by a couple of guards, looking as grand as ever. She calmly shot a pink ray of light at Blue and he calmed down. "A charm." The princess said. "So why have you called me here, Vio?" She addressed me. "Princess, this place needs to be shut down! This is where a quiet, peaceful town once lay, and look at it now! A wretched gulag! Hundreds of-." Luna quieted me. "I understand, Vio. We will begin turning this place back to Apple Loosa immediately. I just don't know what could have caused that huge hole down there though." She pondered. "And let's not forget her!" Blue said, pointing to the building where Yuma was. "She's the leader." He said. "Guards! Search that building and bring anypony you find out here!" Luna commanded. 2 guards nodded and entered to building. I saw that Luna's guards appeared more well armoured and prepared that the regular guards you see around Canterlot and definitely a whole lot more badass. A second later the came back out, restraining a frantically squirming Yuma. "Oh. You." Luna's gaze was piercing she stared down at the unicorn. "You know her?" I asked incredulously. "No," Luna replied, "but she has been wanted for pony trafficking and slave keeping for over 3 years." She said. Yuma looked furious. "Still, we've got her now. Guards! Free all prisoners and I will return to the crystal empire to tell my sister of the news."

The prison was liberated and construction began on Apple Loosa again immediately. Applejack was pleased to meet some of her relatives that she had not met in the mines. Yuma was escorted to the crystal empire where she was locked up in a high security cell. The excavated treasure on the other hand, was used to fund the army that got to work on patrolling Equestria and wiping out monsters. New weapons and more troops.

CHAPTER 20 THE BADLANDS

P.O.V: Princess Cadence

"Shining!" I said as I rushed over to hug my husband. "Oh it is so lovely to see you! When Canterlot fell- oh I was so worried!" I hugged him tightly. I saw that a shady looking brown stallion accompanied him, scars all over his face. "Ahh, who's this?" I asked, pulling away from Shining Armour. Shining opened his mouth to speak but the pony held up a hoof. "My name is Doctor Edward Steiner. You can call me The Doctor." His voice was a deep growl. "Not zee evil one!" He added as I opened my mouth. "He is a mere copy of me. We are very much alike, however he is bad and I am good. Created in the depths of the Eternal Schism he was. Never visited there since. Must take the Links there when he is defeated." He said, gazing up at the ceiling. "Okayyy. Well, doctor Steiner is here to help us with the battle against the darkness. He knows a lot about these creatures that have taken over Canterlot and invaded Equestria." Shining said.

P.O.V: Green

"So!" I said, sitting down inside Yuma's office with Vio and Red. "Where's the next element?" I asked. "Southeast." Vio replied. "The fire temple." He added. "Nice!" I responded. "It's gonna be hot there so we need to bring some water." Vio said.

We set off towards the Badlands later the following day. It was dry and red and hot. We saw no vegetation for miles around. We walked in the boiling heat for what seemed like hours. "Ugh... I'm so thirsty..." I groaned. "I'll use that director thingy." I said. Trixie used her remaining energy to open the portal and I pulled the director out. Once again it spun and sped off in the direction we were walking. It seemed to notice we were tired and couldn't walk fast so it slowed down to our pace. After what felt like eons of walking we finally reached a stone pattern carved into the mountainside. We rushed inside the tunnel surrounded by the stone. It was cool, dark and damp inside it and we relaxed for a while before moving onwards. We saw light and we trotted over to it. The heat hit me hard in the face and I recoiled. "Man!" I said. "It sure is hot in here!" There was a bridge leading to a door. Under it was lava. It poured from the mouths of skulls on the walls. We walked over the bridge and opened the door.

P.O.V: ?

I sat, alone in the dark cell. The walls were made of a kind of jaggedly black metal. I heard footsteps echo down the hallway. I looked up, my long blonde hair almost completely obscuring my vision. The footsteps stopped and I saw a man standing there. I stared at him, my eyes narrowed. "What do you want?" I said. He smiled. His blue eyes seemed to shine brightly. "Well, you see princess, you know where the Links are, don't you?" He said. I flinched. "The Links? I don't. Why should I? I've been locked up in here for a good few months now. How could I?" I said. He stood back up. "Ah. Yes. I suppose that is a point." I snorted.

P.O.V: Vio

This was the hottest room of them all and I supposed the last. The lave boiled up around the platform that we stood on. We saw the familiar chest which contained the element. "Applejack." Blue prompted. "It's your element." He said. She walked over and lifted the lid up. The orange apple seemed to illuminate her face. She scooped it up in her hooves. I waited, expecting some giant fire dragon to leap out the lava and attack us but nothing happened. "Really?" I said. "No giant monster we have to fight? What the hell, Pushi!" I snapped. "Um, Vio are y'all alright?" Applejack said concerned. "Don't worry about him, he's just being Vio." Green said. "Well, what matters is that we've got the element!" Trixie said. "Just one more left!" She said, bouncing up and down with excitement. We exited the fire temple, I felt a little disgruntled at the fact of not having to face a huge monster. "So where too next?" Red said, bouncing over to Green who was staring at the map, his brows furrowed. "Well, you see, that's the problem. The sixth element isn't marked here." He said. "What?!" Red said, peering over to look at the map. "Well that doesn't matter does it! Use your 'Director of Glass', I'm sure that'll work!" I said. Green didn't quite catch the sarcasm in my tone. "Yeah! Great idea!" He said. He pulled out the director and outstretched his hooves. It didn't move. "Well, come on then, work!" He said, shaking it up and down. There was a flash of light and we were knocked back. We saw Princess Luna standing there again. "Princess?" I said surprised. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "My little ponies." She said. "I understand you have retrieved five of the six elements. I have located the sixth. It lies within mine and my sister's old castle, inside the Everfree forest. Journey there and find the final element. Good luck." She said and she spread her wings and sped off into the sky. "Looks like we're going back north then." Blue said.

CHAPTER 21 THE CASTLE OF THE TWO PRINCESSES

It was turning night by the time we had reached the old castle. The entrance loomed above us. It was cracked and crumbling. I had an ominous feeling, like I was being watched. "Errm." I said, staring up at the doorway. "Who's going first?" I said. "I will!" Applejack said. "I've been here before it really isn't that scary you know, heh, heh." She said, gulping, her eyes not concealing that she was scared by the place. "Well, let's just go in together! If we stick together nothing can harm us!" Trixie said and she trotted through the doorway to the castle, us tailing behind. We were in a high walled room- the roof had crumbled off. A cracked throne sat at the back against the wall and two long tapestries, one orange, one blue draped the wall behind it. Hang on... I thought, looking around. I've been here before! In my dream back in Hyrule! I shook my head. No. That was just a dream. I thought. "Alright! We'll split up and search for the element!" Vio- with Red, Blue with Applejack and I'll be with Trixie. Blue didn't seem happy about this. "Who put you in charge! I say we stick together, for safety." He said. Green looked around. "Sorry Green, but I'm afraid I have to agree with Blue. Safety in numbers and all." Trixie said, walking over to him. "Alright, but we need to be quick! I really don't like the look of this place." Green said and he walked over to join us.

We looked around the castle for what seemed like ages, but there was no sign of Twilight's element anywhere. "Are you sure Luna was right?" Green asked after our second sweep of the ground floor. "I can't see fuck all elements here." He said when Trixie and Applejack were out of earshot. "Of course, Green. Why would she lie to us?" I responded. "But you do have a point. Unless..." I shook my head again. No... That was impossible. I thought. Once again, we searched the castle but to no avail. "Ugh! Where is the stupid thing!" Red said angrily. He bucked a nearby bookshelf in anger and it fell forwards, making him jump out of the way. I blinked, unable to believe what I was seeing. A tunnel was behind it, leading through the wall. "No way..." I said, amazed. "Well?" I said, turning to my friends. "What are we waiting for?" And we climbed into the tunnel and walked down it.

It was dark so Trixie and Green took the lead, illuminating the way forwards with their horns. We eventually came to a room. We couldn't see five feet in front of us so the unicorns brightened their light. The room was a cuboid shape. The walls were flat and made of a dull, grey stone. A chest sat at the end of the room. I walked over and opened the lid. The purple, 6-pointed star lay at the bottom of the chest. I smiled. I picked it up and looked at it. It felt cold in my hooves. "We've got them all." I said blankly, staring at the element in my hooves. "I know." Green said. There was silence under the old castle for a few moments before someone broke it. "So, uh, what now?" Applejack asked. "Now?" I responded, turning around. "Now, we go to the Vault of Glass."

P.O.V: Green

After more days of walking we reached the vault again. It was exactly like how we had seen it weeks before, old and moss covered. We approached the enormous, circular metal door. Some kind of invisible force seemed to course through the ruins and seeped out the gaps in the door, penetrating my very mind. I stumbled back, seeing something in my head. I closed my eyes but I could still see the image. It was me, and- Trixie. We were together, stood beside each other under an arch of flowers. I was wearing a smart black suit and she wore a beautiful white dress. "Green!" The words seemed to alter volume. I was pulled out if the vision with a hard slap from Blue. "What's the matter with you!" He said, helping me to my hooves. "Nothing!" I said, glancing at Trixie who was looking worried. "Just saw something." I said quietly. "That's weird." She said. "First Vio passes out here and you almost did. What did you see?" She asked. I felt myself go red. "Errm, well, I think it might have been the future." I replied. "But what was it?" She pressed on. "I, uhh, saw us in Canterlot and we were, umm, partying!" I wildly invented. Trixie nodded. "So!" Vio said, looking at the slab which the elements were meant to be placed in. We each carried one element with us and we pulled ours out. I pulled out Fluttershy's. One by one, we placed the elements in their respective holes. After Green inserted Twilight's, the last one, we stood back and waited for the door to open. It didn't. After about 10 seconds of waiting in silence we heard an odd noise coming from behind us. I would say it's impossible to explain, sorry. We whirled around and to our surprise we saw the outline of a spire, made out of what looked like white light. I would go as far as to say it was glowing glass. The sides began to be filled in with more light. Lines criss-crossed around the sides of the outline. Then, a metal spire began to materialise slowly from the base. It climbed slowly upwards and we just watched in amazement. The metal was like nothing we had seen before. It was completely black and was jagged. It stopped going up and a beam of light shot from the top of it towards the centre of the door. The door slid inwards with a few clunks then swung slowly backwards. A sloped tunnel led downwards into the earth. I looked at the others. "The Vault of Glass then, eh?" Vio said. "Shall we proceed?" I asked. "Obviously." Blue replied and I followed him down the tunnel. None of us were prepared for what we were about to face.

CHAPTER 22 THE VAULT OF GLASS

P.O.V: Vio

We walked down the tunnel for about a minute before we emerged and we gasped. We were in an enormous cavern. I looked up. I couldn't see the ceiling. I looked down, over the edge of the platform, I couldn't see the floor. I looked forward and around. The only wall I could see was the one the stone platform we were stood on was attached to. We turned left to see stairs spiralling around the wall. We walked down them until we reached a ledge. I looked over it to see a large, flat, rectangular floating island made of the same metal as the spire outside. We saw another wall opposite us in which another circular door was embedded. I focused my vision and managed to make out four podiums surrounding the island, two either side of the door and two on the sides of the island. That must be where the staffs go in to be upgraded! "How do we get down?" Green asked. "I could fly and Green and Trixie could teleport." I replied. "But Blue, Green and Applejack. Hmm." I said, scratching my mane. "Well." Said an unnaturally deep voice from behind us. We whirled around to see a pony stood there. He was covered in a long black cloak. All we could see was two glowing orange eyes behind the countless tentacles that came from the blackness of his face. "You again?" Green said, walking over to the creature. "The nine have commanded that I appear here. I have something for you." He pulled out what appeared to be a red, circle base with four claws pointing up on each of the sides. They were holding up something odd. It looked like a tear in the in the space-time continuum. Looking through the distorted air, everything through it was in black and white. The thing gave it to him. "What is it?" He said, staring at the object in his hooves. "A reverse rip." He said. "Send out a disruptive wave and it will refresh this plane of existence and back again." He said. "But, be warned. It will only work once. It has enough power for a change in existence twice, so use it only when in need." He said. The creature began to walk back up the stairs. "Wait!" Green said. "What do you mean, change in existence? What do you mean, refresh the plane of existence?" He turned back to us. "Help me!" He said. But when he turned back, the thing was gone. He sighed and looked back at the thing in his hooves. "Well, at least I know how to send out a disruptive wave." He said. "Errm, who the hay was that?" Applejack asked. "I don't know." Green replied. "We met him before, in Vanhoover." He said. "He gave us that thing that lets us find the temples." I looked back over the edge at the floating island. I didn't want to slip and fall into the seemingly endless abyss below us, but I had my wings. "So, how do we get down?" I said, continuing the conversation. As if in answer, cracks ran along the side of our platform. "Uh, oh." I said. The cracks completed and the platform fell downwards. "Arrgg!" I called. Then suddenly, we lay on the ground. Trixie was panting heavily. She had used a teleportation spell the transport us to the floating island. I climbed to my hooves. Green helped Trixie to hers. "Good work, Trixie. You saved us." He said. "Never done a teleportation spell before." She panted. I approached one of the podiums. I saw thay were different colours. From right to left, they were orange, blue, purple and red. The podiums were the exact right size for the staffs to be placed into.

When Trixie had regained her strength, she summoned her portal and we took the staffs out. "That reminds me. We still haven't used these things yet." Blue said, examining the wind staff with admiration. I felt the cold metal of the lightning staff on my hooves. I stared at it, amazed. "So much power in this one thing." I muttered. "Well?" Red said, looking at his fire staff and grinning. "We need to get these things upgraded. There was a sense of triumph in the air as one by one, we placed the staffs in the podiums. "How long do you think they will take?" I asked as I stepped away to look at the four staffs. We waited for something to happen. What did happen was not what we expected. A sound, like fast tap dancing came from behind us. We saw the air distorted above the abyss in front of us. It was a much larger version of the tear that the creature gave to Green. A distorted screech came from the tear. A gigantic black bird swooped out of the tear and landed with a crash on the floating platform, the tear closing behind it. "Oh, it's you again." I said. It was the bird from the city in the sky. I roared and I felt heat radiate from the orange glow inside it's mouth. It swiped it's giant talons and I quickly leaped backwards. "Green, Trixie! Lightning!" I shouted as the bird spread its wings and began to circle the platform. They readied their magic and blue bolts of electricity shot from their horns and hit the bird on its chest. The bird struggled to stay airborne as the electricity spread throughout its body. It's wings jerked heavily, but it managed to force the electricity out and sped towards our platform. It readied its talons and we leaped out of the way as the sharp claws grazed 6 thick lines in the stone. "Okay." I said. "So lightning doesn't work now." I said. "Any other ideas?" I asked. "What about ice?" Applejack suggested. "Fluttershy says that birds need to be kept warm at winter or their wings freeze and they can't fly." She said. I flinched slightly at the mention of Fluttershy. "Good idea!" Trixie said. "I know a a spell that sends a spread out freeze agent, it's frozen everything I've tried it on! Green?" She said. Green raised his eyebrows, wondering what she had used it on. "Yeah!" He said. "Freeze... Agents! Yeah!" He said, a weak grin on his face and his eyes darting everywhere. The bird swooped round for another charge and Trixie aimed her horn it it. The sound of crashing ice reverberated loudly and penetrated our ears. A whitey blue wave of stuff shot from her horn and it hit the bird. Ice crystals spread throughout its body its wings were coated in ice and it looked at each of them, shocked. It lifted from its suspended state- or should I say fell. It plummeted downwards, flailing its wings madly. I ran to the edge of the platform to see the bird fall. It vanished from sight in the abyss and a second later, a huge yellow explosion came from the darkness below. The light from the explosion shot upwards, making me jump back. The ball of light split into four and shot towards the staffs, enveloping them in light. The light disappeared and we gazed in awe at the staffs. Huge blades were erected at the head of the staff and a sharp spear was connected to the base."So, they're upgraded now?" Blue asked. I grinned at the staffs. "Yeah." I replied. "They sure are." I said. I trotted over to the lightning staff and reached out to pick it up but then I heard a voice in my head. "Hello? Hellooo?" The voice said. I didn't recognise it. It was quite jovial and friendly sounding. Whoever it was had a strong, stereotypical British accent and sounded as if he was talking through a radio. "So, my little ponies." The man in my head said. A quick glance at the others showed that I was not the only one hearing him. "Your journey is nearing it's end, isn't it? Just got to go to Manehattan now, don't you? Ha ha! You probably don't know who I am. Of course, nobody does. Well, here in Equestria it's nopony isn't it? But anyway, down to business. Vio, I speak directly to you know. There's been a lot of unexplainable things happening lately. Like, how did that book about the staffs get to Equestria? And how lucky you were that your old friend Edward just HAPPENED to have a portal to Equestria! See, just call me Regale. That's not my proper name of course. Well, I like to call myself a god. I'll talk to you when you defeat the Doctor. Oh yeah, and one more thing- you might find yourself returning to this place. The Vault of Glass houses many more secrets than these upgrade pedestals. I'll raise this platform up so you can escape this place. Well, goodbye my little ponies! And good luck!"

CHAPTER 23 THE BEGINNING OF THE END

"Manehattan." I said as I gazed at the diamond shaped shield that encased the broken city. "We're coming for you, Doctor." I said. We approached the shield, our staffs ready. "Time to use these beasts!" Blue said, the ice staff gripped tightly in his hooves. I held the lightning staff. Green had the wind and Red had the fire. "Okay," Green said. "We fire in 3... 2... 1!" I pulled the trigger and the lightning shot out the end. The power of the lightning staff was unbelievable. It shook uncontrollably as the constant stream of electricity intensified. A freezing cold came from Blue's staff, while a burning hot came from Red's. The wind pierced my skin sharply from Green's staff. Crash! The shield broke. I let go of the trigger and dropped the staff to the ground. "Whew!" I said, picking it up. "We did it!" Red said. "Now we just need to find the actual entrance." Trixie said, trotting over to us. "God, how could anypony have the power to do this?" Applejack said, looking around. Suddenly, a hole opened up in the ground in front of us. The earth just seemed to slide inwards, revealing a vertical tunnel with a ladder on the side. I looked down to see a grey floor. "Well, not the most grand of entrances." I said.

I hopped off the ladder we seemed to be in a bunker underground. The walls were a plain, grey metal, so was the floor, and so was the ceiling. A corridor stretched to our left leading to a wooden door. "Let's go." I said. We walked for 5 seconds before the door burst open and six Bokoblins, armed with their machetes and screaming their horrible sound. "Allow me." Blue said, stepping forward. He twirled the ice staff swaggily in his hooves before firing a burst of ice at the creatures, freezing them dead in their tracks, their mouths wide open and arms raised. Then they toppled backwards on the the floor and smashing into a thousand pieces. "Sick lads." Blue said. "Alright. Let's move on." I said, stepping through the door. The next room was circular with pillars supporting the roof. Three corridors ran from the four 'corners' of the room. Directly ahead of us was some steps leading up to a grand looking, golden rimmed door. I gasped as I heard something from the corridor on the left. I dashed towards hallway. "Vio? What are y'all doing?" Applejack asked. The noise stopped. On the right of the corridor was bars, behind which were... "Fluttershy!" I cried out, running over to the bars. I saw whom I had not seen for what seemed like years. "V-Vio..." She whispered, leaning against the bars to look into my eyes. "Y-you c-came." She said, tears in her eyes. Behind her, scattered around the cell, were the sleeping bodies of five ponies. Shadow and Rarity were sleeping, their arms round each other's necks while Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie were curled up on their own against the wall. "Look, Fluttershy. We're going to get you out of here, okay." I said. "Everypony else is here too. Green, Red, Blue, Applejack, even Trixie!" I said. That did remind me of a question I had for Applejack that I should have asked at the crystal empire. How did she escape the Doctor? I heard hoof steps behind me and I turned to see my friends. "I got this!" Red said. He placed his staff between the bars and with strength that he surely didn't possess before, pulled the bars apart. Suddenly, Fluttershy's eyes closed and slumped back to the floor. "Fluttershy?" I said, worried. "Are you okay?" But a voice from behind answered that question. "Not so fast, heroes." A man said. We whirled around to see the man. He had a scar down his right eye. He wore a dark cloak and his hair was short and dark and he had a nasty grin on his face. "Wha- what is that thing? Is it the Doctor?" Trixie asked. We still hadn't told Trixie about our origins. "We've got you now, doctor!" I shouted, raising my staff. "You can't run anymore." The Doctor's grin widened. "Well." He growled. "You win. You saved Equestria from me! What do you want, a medal?" He said. I lowered my staff. "You- you give up?" I said surprised. The Doctor just smiled. "Yes! Just kill me now!" He said. He stretched out his arms. My eyes narrowed. "Just remember one thing. Green. I'm talking to you now. Remember your life back in Hyrule? Do you feel like something- or someone is missing from your life?" He said. Green stared. Trixie looked at him oddly. "Do you feel like... You abandoned someone, Green?" The Doctor said, his grin getting wider and wider. "Sh- shut up! I- I didn't abandon her! We-we were never going to find her!" Green said angrily. "Oh but you could have. She is alive and- well, I guess I wouldn't say she is well." The Doctor said. "No!" Green shouted. There was a gust of wind and the Doctor lay, 10 meters away on the floor. Green lowered his wind staff. "Crota! He lives beneath the frozen mountains of the North! My true master, Gannondorf is alive! And Sol. The lord of time, the master of space. He has your precious Zelda in the Vault of Glass! Equestria is never safe!"

CHAPTER 24 HELLO, I''M THE THIRD

The Doctor's last words stick with me still. I am at Canterlot. The thing that bugs me most is the thing he said about Gannondorf. How could he be here? Only a week has passed since the Doctor died. I nuzzled into Fluttershy's cheek as we sat, looking into the star-ridden sky. The music in the hall below us seemed to be drowned out as we fell into a deep sleep. The Doctor said about there being more evil in Equestria, but... That can wait, right? Now, I have more delicate business to attend to...

A few hours before

P.O.V: Green

We stood outside Canterlot castle. It felt odd to have saved the world twice. There was going to be a huge party in the castle to celebrate. The Elements of Harmony were already inside. It was odd what happened after the Doctor dropped dead after his last words. The floor started to cave in. We thought we were dead, but we saw that enormous white bird again. It flew towards us and once again, we passed out. When we awoke, we were here, in Canterlot. Apparently, they had walked up the castle. Only me, Vio, Blue , Red and Trixie were trudging up the slope towards the gates. For some reason, Trixie trailed a few meters behind us, hear head pointed at the ground. I stopped. "Trixie? What's the matter?" I said, turning around and walking to her. She looked up. Her face was ridden with tears. This made me so sad. I hated seeing her upset. "Hey! Trixie? What's is it?" I asked, wiping the tears off her face. "I-I'm sorry, Green. But I-I have to go." She sniffed. "Go? Go where? Trixie! You can't leave! We've been through so much! Why would you want to go?" I asked. "You've seen the way the locals look at me. They hate me. And if they see you with me, they'll hate you too! That's why." Trixie turned around. She started to walk slowly away, back down the slope. "No! Trixie! Please! I.. I love you!" I shouted. Trixie stopped. "You love me?" She said surprised. "Trixie, of course I do! Think what we've been through! I don't want you to leave. I never will!" Trixie turned around. "Oh, Green! I-I love you too!" She pulled me into a kiss. I was shocked at first but soon fell into it. We broke apart and I was happy to see that Trixie had stopped crying and had a huge grin on her face. "You know... Did I ever mention that you were kinda cute? Well, come on then!" She said, grabbing my by the hoof and pulling me towards the castle. Blue rolled his eyes and tutted. "Those two..." He muttered. *camera pans upwards towards castle, stays there for a few seconds then roll credits*

HYLIAN IN EQUESTRIA

THE END