Once again, they were all travelling in the pink and yellow vortex again.
"Equestria past: Appleloosa." The screen read before all six of them became engulfed by another white glow at the end.
When they exited the time hole, they found themselves in the middle of the desert.
"Great! Now where are we now?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Since were in a desert with nopony in sight, mah best guess is were probably in Appleloosa." Applejack answered.
"But it doesn't look anything like Appleloosa to me." Rarity said.
"Then we're probably in the past Appleloosa." Rainbow Dash realized.
"Looks like it, because ah don't think that place has been there before." Applejack said point to a large shell.
"Let's check it out!" Rainbow Dash suggested. The six of them walk a few minutes to the entrance of the Koopaseum and stepped on the switch to open the door. When they head inside, they stopped in their tracks.
"Oh no!" Applejack cried.
"Oh Horsefeathers!" Rainbow Dash said.
There was a weird language one of the shroobs spoke.
"RUUUUUNNNNNNN!" Rarity screamed at the top of her lungs as she, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, along with their past selves ran away as fast as they could from all 33 shroobs that were chasing them.
"Behind here!" Applejack tells them as they hid behind one of the walls. The whole shroob army went to the left to find those ponies.
"That was close." Rainbow Dash sighed in relief until her past self jumped off her back along with the other two fillies.
"NO! COME BACK!" Rarity cried out as she tried to catch them by blocking their path. "You fillies know that it's dangerous to-" Rarity paused as one of the shroobs spotted her and the fillies and pursued after them.
"Why me?" She shouted before running away.
"I'll go help her." Rainbow Dash insisted before flying off to help Rarity. The moment they left, a pink koopa shell comes out of the sand.
"Ha! You saps are all wet!" Applejack recognized that voice.
The shell drops down by Applejack and Kylie Koopa pops out. "Waltz into the dome's front door and you're sure to get spotted and carted away lickety-split!"
"Yeah well we should've known that before we got chased out." Applejack said.
"What? Remember me, huh?"
"Yup!"
"Seeing the Koopa Chronicle's reporter doll again has gotcha all goofy, doesn't it? That's right, Kylie Koopa's got your number!" Applejack was perplexed by this. Meanwhile, Rarity was still running in fear from the shroob with the fillies in front of her and Rainbow Dash pursuing them.
"No time to chat! I got a hunch this story's gonna be bigger than the Yoshi's Island hoo-ha! Here's the scoop: Princess Shroob's gonna be arriving here any minute now!
"Huh?" Applejack was confused.
"Yeah there's gonna be a big to-do celebrating the conquest of Equestria!"
The chase was still going on with Filly Applejack and Filly Rarity on her future self running from the Shroob's and Rainbow Dash with her past self on her back chasing the Shroob's.
"And that's just the fries, girls: here's the burger! Some other princess-type's coming too!"
Applejack's eyes widened in realization. "That must be Princess Celestia!"
"My sources indicate this other damsel is white, a pony, and she MAY be royalty of some sort!"
"No doubt that IS Princess Celestia!"
"What? Princess Celestia?" Kylie was now surprised. "The doll they're bringing here is Princess Celestia?"
"Yep!"
The chase is still going on with all three fillies on Rarity while she's still trying to run away from the shroob while Rainbow Dash is still behind them.
"Why am I doing the hard part?" Rarity complained.
"Princess Celestia came here in a time doohickey and got pinched by Princess Shroob?!"
Rarity is still running from the shroob, but the fillies are in the tower formation with Filly Rainbow Dash carrying the hammer. Rainbow Dash however, is still on their tail.
Kylie Koopa tries processing all this. "I gotta get this straight... You're snooping about trying to rescue the adult Princess Celestia?"
Applejack nodded in agreement.
"Sounds like balloon juice to me, pony...but what a scoop it'd be if you're on the level!"
Back with the chase, Rarity backs up until she bumps into something. She slowly turned around and found out she backed into the shroob and ran again.
"When will this end?" Rarity asked hoping it would be over.
"Alrighty then! You need to get into the dome, so you can nab the princess right?"
"Yep!" Applejack nodded.
"Well, word on the street is there's supposed to be a secret entrance around here..."
"A secret entrance?" Applejack asked.
"Word on the street ain't so specific, though, so I dunno about its whereabouts..."
The shroob and the fillies bumped into each other. Using the tower formation, Filly Rainbow swung her hammer and they sent that shroob flying. However, Rarity wasn't watching where she was backing up into and got sent flying too.
"You're not getting in through here, regardless, so you gotta find that secret entrance!" Kylie said.
"Ya got any idea where it is?" Applejack asked.
"Here's the only dirt I got: the entrance is somehow connected to four desert statues! Now knuckle down and find that entrance ya big lug! I've got some sleuthing of my own to take care of. Good luck whiskers!" Kylie spun off and left.
Meanwhile the three fillies and Rainbow Dash just came back to Applejack.
"Uh where's Rarity?" Applejack asked.
Rarity comes falling towards the group and landed on the ground in the dirt.
"Uh found her." Rainbow sheepishly said.
"Why me?" The unicorn mumbled. The three fillies bounced up and down cheering.
After a few minutes, they began trekking through Appleloosa desert finding the statues.
"What kind of statues are we supposed to find?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Beats me, but that Kylie girl told me there are four similar statues all around here." Applejack responded. "We just gotta keep an eye out for one."
"You mean like that one?" Rarity said pointing to a large statue shaped like a skeleton.
"Could be, but how does it work?"
"Hey guys, there's a sign over here!" Rainbow Dash called out to them.
"What does it say?" Rarity asked.
"It says: -The Mystery of Appleloosa Desert- by Unknown guy. Desert sentinels face each other, waiting to be linked up by beams of light. A pair of must stand by each statue to open its eyes. One pair jumps quickly in the ordained order... The second pair follows suit, also jumping in order. That's the legend. It appears to be a hint as to how these distant statues are to be connected. One would assume the statues looking up and looking down could be connected similarly..." Applejack read.
"I seriously don't know what any of this means." Rainbow Dash said still confused by this riddle.
"Maybe we need to find the other three and activate them too." Rarity said.
They kept on going through the desert looking for the other statues. They defeated any shrooba divers and pokies that they come across. A few minutes later, they found the second statue and continue on until they reach a cactus-like maze where a monty mole was waiting outside of it.
"Where you goin', girl?" Monty Mole asked. "You wanna move on, you gonna have to play a timed game!"
"Another one?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"You gotta hit the block that'll appear beyond that wall over there 'fore time runs out. You get it done, girl, and I'll let y'all pass as official desert perimeter runners!"
"Cool!" Rainbow Dash said. "Ready to go Applejack?"
"Ready." The cowgirl answered. "Rarity, you stay here with the fillies."
"Ok."
A timer appears with 18 seconds on the clock and the countdown begins.
"3...2...1...START!" The screen read. Both ponies got in their ball formation and rolled through the cactus maze. They rolled down, then left, down again, to the right, up the ramp, then up, and make it to the '!' block with 5 seconds left. Rainbow Dash hits the block and the gate in front of them opens up. As soon as it did, Monty Mole reappeared in front of them.
"You ponies are a sight!" Monty Mole told them. "No doubt about it, y'all are desert perimeter runners! Go on and pass! 'Bye y'all!" Then went back underground.
"Rarity the gate's open! Hurry up!" Rainbow Dash called out to her.
Hearing the play from Rainbow Dash, Rarity carried her past Wed and the other two walked in front of her. They go through the maze slowly and went in the same direction Applejack and Rainbow Dash rolled. All of them finally made it to the gate and the past Applejack and Rainbow Dash got back on their future selves and continued on.
They come into the next section and found the third dry bone statue. They try to steer clear from most of the enemies, and they only had to battle a few. They continue through to the next section and found the final statue after they found the final statue, they go into the next section. The fillies hop off their future selves while the trio head up the ramp and get in the twist tower formation. They spin right into the mini tornado and make it safely to the opposite side. When They did, they hit the pipe block and a pipe comes up as the fillies hop out of it. They find a nearby sign.
"Roll into the ball cannon to the right to be sent for a high-flyin' ride. YEE-HAW! Note: you gotta find the switch AND have something in the cannon to fire it." Applejack reads. "Ah got it, all three of us get into that cannon and we go to the other side.
"There's just one little detail, three switches are by each statue, and we need to get in the ball formation to pull this off, but it's only been us two." Rainbow Dash points out. "Not to mention Rarity doesn't know how to do it with us, and how do we get over there if there isn't a switch right there?"
"*sighs* Well alright, but I am getting a long shower after I do this." Rarity agreed.
"The switch must be down there." Applejack said pointing to a pipe. "Our past selves will activate from down there and we can get those statues up and runnin'."
The fillies jumped down the pipe and walked until they found a button and waited. The mane three went over to the cannon and went into their ball formation and rolled into the cannon while they were still in that formation. Down below, Filly Applejack hit the button with her hammer and their future selves got blasted to the other side. The three of them continue in their ball formation until they reached one of the desert statues and stand under one block each.
On the other hand, the fillies were out of the pipe and left the area to one of the desert statues and stand under one block each as well. They each hit a block and on the top screen, a blue star suddenly appears and a countdown from 10 begins from the bottom statue on the right. Applejack hits her block, then Rainbow Dash hits hers, and Rarity hits the third one. All the blocks were hit and the state's mouth opens up and shoots out a powerful laser beam.
"That is so cool!" Rainbow Dash said in amazement.
"Let's go to the next statue." Rarity said. They go back the previous direction and found the third statue they came across. They stand in position from the previous statue and wait for the fillies to get to the next statue.
The three of them go back the way they came and go to the Dry Bones statue and stand under the blocks beside it. The pattern repeats and all the blocks were hit and the blue star appears on the top screen again. The statue where their future selves are has another countdown from 9 and counts down. Once again, the pattern goes on again and the statue opens its mouth again which fired another powerful laser. On the top screen, all four lasers from each statue all fired at the block by the Koopaseum which melted the ice surrounding it. The fillies start heading toward the direction of the Koopaseum until they reach the entrance about a minute later. There was a pipe block nearby and Filly Rainbow Dash hits the block which sends out a pipe causing their future selves to jump out.
"Look! The ice surrounding the block has melted." Rarity said.
"That means if we hit it, the secret entrance will open up." Applejack said.
"Good thing too, because I do not want to deal with all those Shroobs again." Rainbow Dash said. She hits the block and a step appears on the side of the Koopaseum. They go up the step and they are on the level above the Koopaseum's entrance. They go inside the Koopaseum and there was a blue pipe in there. All six of them stand on the pipe and they head on down.
To be continued...
Sorry about the long hiatus, I was working on my other story ' The Amazing Crossover Race.' Also, I'm going to redo my other story 'Total Pony Cruise' and change some things.
Our heroes are finally inside the Koopaseum. What will happen next time? Will they find Princess Celestia and bring her back? How will they deal with all those Shroobs.
All these questions will be answered in the next chapter. So stay tuned and leave a comment if you want.