My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Friendship Warriors
A/N: Hey, MLP fans, so here is the final chapter of this story and I will be posting the first chapter of the next story tomorrow since I have a morning shift at the movie theater on Thursday. And for those of you eagerly waiting for the rest of chapter 8 for the AU version of The Last Roundup, I should have it up either sometime today or tomorrow.
Read, review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from My Little Pony: Magic is Friendship. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.
CHAPTER FOUR: THE TRUTH COMES OUT
Over the next few days, the Mane Seven kept tabs on Epic Clash while they gave Sarah her space, deciding that it would be best to let her come to them with the truth instead of trying to force it out of her. Keeping tabs on the dark blue unicorn wasn't hard since it seemed like he was out to alienate every pony in Ponyville, even the fillies and foals.
"Don't you dare talk to my sister like that!" Rarity shrieked when she caught Epic Clash bullying Sweetie Belle at Sugarcube Corner, where they were meeting up with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, and she stalked toward him, her eyes flashing with anger.
"And what are you doing to do about it?" the dark blue unicorn challenged, sneering at her. "Tie ribbons in my mane?"
Rarity glared hotly at him and opened her mouth when she was joined by her friends, and the horns of Sunrise Blossom and Twilight Sparkle were glowing with their magic. "No, but we will show you what we can do against those who try to hurt the ponies we care about," she snapped. "Now, leave."
Epic Clash eyed the seven ponies, smirked, and then he trotted out of the shop, making a point to knock over a display of cupcakes before leaving.
While Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy went to clean up the mess and Rarity attended to her sister, Applejack turned to the twins and Rainbow Dash, having had enough.
"I know we all agreed to give Sarah her space and to come to us when she was ready," she said, "but this is going too far."
"You're absolutely right, Applejack," Twilight Sparkle agreed. "The only way we're going to find out why Epic Clash is in town and what it has to do with Sarah, is to talk to her as soon as possible."
"Might as well do it now," Rainbow Dash suggested, and her friend agreed. It was time to confront their friend and learn the truth.
Returning to the library, the seven ponies went to the door to their friend's room, Sunrise Blossom magically picked the lock, and they entered, startling the red unicorn, who'd been pacing and wearing her fez.
"What the-? Why are you barging into my room?!" Sarah demanded angrily, magically tossing her fez aside while glaring at them. "I'm in the middle of writing my next book!"
"Sarah, we've been very patient by waiting for you to tell us the truth when you felt ready," said Twilight Sparkle in a calm voice while fixing her friend with a stern look. "But that unicorn who arrived a few days ago, he has been harassing nearly every pony in town, and we just stopped him verbally attacking Sweetie Belle," she informed her friend. "Please, tell us why he's here and why you really moved to Ponyville."
Sarah glared at her friends for a few seconds, but then she sighed and turned away, her ears drooping. "He's name is Epic Clash and he was my editor at Dark Moon Publishing until a few months ago," she explained. "He's also the real reason why I moved away from Las Pegasus, not just the all-night parties, and why I switched over to Rainbow Pegasus Publishing." She sniffed and turned to face her friends. "When I first started out writing books and getting them published, I had the freedom to do what I wanted, and then one day, Epic Clash called me into his office and informed me that he was going to stop publishing the series I had going so far. When I asked him why, he told me that he wanted to have me write what he believed ponies should be reading, and he expected me to do everything his way."
"So, that's why you switched publishing companies?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Sarah nodded. "Yes, and when Epic Clash learned that I had found a lawyer to help me end my contract with Dark Moon Publishing and make the switch to Rainbow Pegasus Publishing in Manehatten, he was furious," she continued. "He started threatening both me and my family until my brothers gained up on him, and he stopped after they threw him into a dumpster. Even though he'd stopped, I feared that he would try to go after my family again, so that's when I started looking for a new place to live while protecting my family."
"And why you moved to Ponyville," Applejack guessed and her friend nodded. "Why didn't you tell us this sooner? We'd understand and we would've helped keep him off your back if and when he showed up."
Sarah sighed. "I wished that I had," she confessed. "But I didn't want to weigh you down with my problems."
"Hey, we've dealt with worse," Rainbow Dash reminded her. "If we can stop Nightmare Moon, Discord, and even Shadow Star unleashing The Flower of Enteral Rest, then we can deal with this jerk."
"You're right, Rainbow," Sarah agreed. "Until those letters started coming in the mail, I thought I'd seen the last of Epic Clash, but now that he's in Ponyville, I guess I'll have to face him head on."
"And you won't be facing him alone," Sunrise Blossom promised as they did a group hug. "That's the reason why the magic of friendship works so well, we deal with these problems together and not alone."
Realizing that her friends were right, Sarah smiled, and they came up with a plan of how to deal with Epic Clash.
Meanwhile in town, Epic Clash was dining at one of the café's, making rude remarks about the food and service when he saw Granny Smith going by with her saddlebags, and he saw an opportunity to have some fun at the old pony's expense. Leaving a lousy tip on the table, he started toward Granny Smith when his way was blocked by Sarah.
"Ah, so you've finally decided to face me," Epic Clash sneered at the red unicorn. "Have you come to your senses?" he inquired.
"If you mean, will I be returning to Las Pegasus with you and write whatever you want me to write?" Sarah asked, and he nodded. "In that case, no I will not be going back with you, and I'm going to continue writing what I want to write."
The dark blue unicorn shook his head, tsking. "Shame, I guess I will have to stick around until you come to your senses," he remarked and turned to go, only to find his way blocked by the Mane Seven. "Oh, you seven again."
"Yes, us," Twilight Sparkle agreed. "And we know why you're bullying everypony, including the fillies and foals. You're hoping to force Sarah to do what you want. Well, just like she said, Sarah isn't going anywhere with you, and if anypony is going to leave, Ponyville, it's going to be you."
Epic Clash scowled, dark red sparks popping out of his horn. "And what makes you think you can get me to leave?" he demanded.
Just then there was a trumpeting sound and the ponies that stopped to watch the confrontation, gasped when a familiar chariot flew through the air and landed not far from the group. Princess Celestia exited the chariot and the gathered ponies bowed as she approached the Mane Seven, Sarah, and Epic Clash, who looked like he'd been hit in the face with a stinging spell.
"P-P-Princess Celestia," he stammered. "I – I-"
"Epic Clash," Princess Celestia interrupted, fixing him with a royal stern look. "I received word from my students and their friends about how you've been bullying my subjects, and I seemed to recall a discussion we had a few years back. Do you?" she inquired.
Epic Clash swallowed and nodded, not trusting himself to talk.
"Good," said the Princess. "Now, I believe that the next train for Las Pegasus will be leaving shortly. I expect you to be on it."
Meekly nodding, Epic Clash hurried off to catch the train. The moment that he was gone, the ponies all cheered, and they had a party on the spot.
A week after the face-off against Epic Clash, Sarah was happy to see that the letters weren't coming anymore, and the day for the release of the first of many Friendship Warriors books was getting closer. Looking forward to the book release, the red unicorn hired Pinkie Pie and the Cakes to do a launch party, and she made sure that every pony in Ponyville were invited.
When the day of the book launch party arrived, the ponies all gathered for the party at town hall, and they were pleasantly surprised when Sarah showed up, magically carrying a large cache of boxes with her.
"I have great news, everypony!" she announced, setting the boxes on the floor. "Not only has my new book been released today, but I have here a copy of the book for every pony in Ponyville!"
The ponies all cheered and the books were passed out among them, and Sarah even made a point to sign their copies.
"This was a wonderful surprise, Sarah," Fluttershy complimented. "You really didn't have to give everypony a copy of your new book."
"I know," Sarah agreed. "But after what the town went through when Epic Clash was here, I thought it was only decent to make up for my not telling the truth by giving everypony a copy of The Friendship Warriors first book."
"Sounds like a good friendship lesson you could share with Princess Celestia," Twilight Sparkle suggested.
"Yeah, I think I'll do it after the party," Sarah agreed, and she went back to enjoying the party with her friends.
A/N: And that's a wrap! See you all tomorrow for the start of the next story. Bye for now! R&R everyone!