Twilight gasped. This was much, much worse than she thought. Much worse than anything Discord had done. All the ponies were forced to work. Already so weak, the long hours of labor were making them so exhausted they could barely lift their hooves. Even young fillies were working, most of them quietly sobbing in pain and helplessness. Twilight wasn't just upset, she was disgusted. How could it be possible for anyone to be so evil? Lime was even more heartless then she had imagined. She looked at what the ponies were doing. "They're making weapons" said Cordellia quietly. Twilight felt like she was going to break. Was this what her friends were going through? "I know how to heal these ponies" she said quickly. "We have to help them!"

Cordellia shook her head. "We must find your friends first" she said firmly. "Lime can't know yet that someone knows the cure. It will be bad for everyone. Once we defeat him, we can cure every pony."

Twilight sighed. She looked at the poor ponies around her. "Don't worry" she told them comfortingly. "We'll save you soon"

'Hopefully' she added in her head.

"Where do you think you friends are?" asked Cordellia

Like it was answering, one of the elements floated out of the box and started glowing. It was Fluttershy's. "I think it's leading the way" said Twilight. Sure enough, it floated in front of them, beckoning them with its blinking lights. They followed it, running to keep up with its urgent pace. They had reached the Everfree forest when it went back in the box. "What?" said Twilight .They couldn't see anyone. "Girls?" she asked cautiously. Suddenly Fluttershy popped out of the thick bushes, carrying a large heap of wood on her back. "Twilight?" she said in a weak voice, trying to crawl over to them. "Fluttershy!" Twilight used her magic to remove her heavy load. "I'm so glad to see you! Where are the others? What are you doing here?"

In the same hoarse voice, she said "I don't know where they are. I'm here along with some other ponies to fetch wood for Lime. I don't know what he wants with it though" Twilight knew what the wood was for, but there was no point in upsetting Fluttershy by telling her.

"We need to find the others and use the elements of harmony. But first, let's get you fixed up." She checked her notes for the spell. Taking a deep breath, she chanted "Hibiscus alzoroy, balikus snare, addrenodenine elaikasiris!" A thin ribbon-like purple stream came from the tip of her horn. It wrapped itself around Fluttershy, and then seeped into her skin. She already looked much stronger. "Twilight, you did it!" she said in her normal voice.

Twilight was thrilled. "Now let's find the others!" she replied. "Oh, and this is Cordellia Blossom. She's been helping me."

"Um...nice to meet you" whispered Fluttershy. Suddenly, three other elements started glowing and floating away. "Rarity's ,Rainbow's and Pinkie's. Maybe they're together" They followed the shining elements for a long time, till they reached a small little town. The elements went back in the box again. There was a big group of ponies, building a large structure. Twilight didn't know what it was, but it looked scary. They tried to find their two friends in the crowd to no avail, till they spotted a distinctive rainbow-colored tail. They ran over to it. Sure enough, it was Rainbow-Dash, looking very sleepy. "Rainbow!" Fluttershy exclaimed happily.

"Fluttershy?" said Rainbow, sounding confused. "What are you doing here? Wait...you're cured?"

Twilight quickly inquired "Do you know where the others are?"

Rainbow answered "Well, Pinkie and Rarity are over there" pointing at them.

Twilight quickly grabbed the three of them and went behind a group of trees to do the spell without attracting attention. By simply adding "Trioscus" at the end of the spell, she cured all three at once. Fluttershy quickly explained "We need to find the others to use the elements of harmony, and this is Cordellia Blossom, a new friend."

"Now just Apple-Jack!" said Pinkie.

"What about Spike?" asked Twilight worriedly.

Rainbow answered "I saw him go with Apple-Jack. They're probably still together."

Cordellia, frowning a bit said "Why isn't her element glowing? We need to find her fast."

They waited for a bit, till Twilight suggested "Maybe she's here too?" They started searching around, but couldn't find her.

"Let's check sweet apple acres" said Rarity. "She might be there"

Twilight doubted this, but went along. "I wonder what Lime is doing now" she wondered aloud.

Fluttershy answered "Just enjoying himself. He doesn't need to do anything else. He was breaking into restaurants and eating their food, going to luxury hotels for free...he can do anything he wants."

"Not for long" said Twilight. They soon reached the apple farm. Surprisingly, Apple-Jack was there, along with her family and a few other ponies. She was bucking apples, like she did every day, but she looked tired and miserable. Twilight saw with relief that Spike was also there, packing apples into crates. He was the first to notice them. "Twilight!" he said in a tired but happy voice. He ran over to her.

"Spike!" said Twilight " I'm so glad you're here! You don't look too ill. What happened?"

Spike answered proudly "I'm a dragon. It doesn't affect me as much as it does to ponies. I'd still like to be cured though"

Twilight healed him, and then Apple-Jack, who was really excited to see them again. "Are you sure you can't help my family yet?" she asked sadly. "At least little Bloom or Granny, please Twilight?"

Twilight replied "I will soon AJ. Now, we can use the elements and defeat Lime! And this mess will all be over."

Cordellia handed them the elements. "I've always wanted to see this for real!" she said excitedly.

They put on their necklaces, and Twilight wore her crown. The elements started glowing again, and began pulling them in another direction. "I think they're leading us to Lime!" said Rainbow. Spike and Cordellia followed them. They traveled for a long time, till they reached another town. There was another crowd of ponies building more strange stuff. The elements forced them to push their way to the crowd, and then stopped in the middle of the ponies. They couldn't see Lime anywhere. Then Pinkie said "Hey, there's Honey and Butter! HONEY! BUTTER!"

Honey, who looked like she was had been crying, turned to them. "Butter, it's them!" she said to her brother. They both walked over to them. Twilight explained everything that had happened.

Butter said "Lime's not here. What were the elements leading you to then?"

"To you two of course!" said Rainbow.

"But why?" asked Rarity.

Twilight answered "Maybe we need you two to help us defeat Lime. It would make sense; you helped us for a long time in this mission."

"You better heal them then" said Cordellia. Twilight did so, and then the elements started to lead them away again.

"It must be Lime next" said Rainbow happily. "You better get ready, Lime! We're coming for you!"