Chapter 3 A Perfect Plan
"How did you escape?" Celestia demanded.
"Isn't it obvious? I just missed you all with such passion that not even stone could hold me back," Discord answered.
"Don't play games with us Discord; tell her the truth," Twilight demanded.
"Oh Twilight Sparkle why so serious? You're even less fun than she is," Discord replied, ignoring the demand.
"Quit joking around and answer me!" Twilight pressed. The draconequus laughed in response.
"Are you sure you want the truth, sometimes it can cause more damage than a web of lies. How does the saying go? When all the truth does is make your heart ache, sometimes a lie is easier to take. Isn't that right Applejack?" he questioned.
"No, Ah learned my lesson. A hard truth is better than a soft lie," Applejack responded. A disappointed grunt echoed throughout the castle.
"Come on out and stop hiding like a coward!" Rainbow challenged.
"Well if it isn't Rainbow Ditch. I've heard Cloudsdale is absolutely awesome this time of year. Have you been there lately? Maybe you should take a trip?" he asked.
"I'll send you to Cloudsdale if you don't tell us how you escaped," Rainbow threatened. She stood up on her back legs and began to swing her front hooves erratically.
"Oh there's no need for that. I will gladly come out and tell you. After all, who am I to challenge the authority of the great Rainbow Dash?" Discord laughed.
Rainbow's shadow began to move. It came out of the ground and stood up on its back legs. It also began to morph. A beige dear antler protruded from behind its left ear, and a blue goat horn emerged from behind the right. While the shadow's right wing retained its feathery quality and took Rainbow's cyan color, the left wing decomposed into a dark purple bat-wing.
The left front leg mutated into a large lion's paw; while the right leg shriveled into a chicken's leg. The back legs each morphed into a brown goat's and a green lizard's respectively. The shadow's tail obtained the scaly-texture of a snake's and a dark red color.
The final transformation was that of the head and face. A small white goatee formed at the base of the chin and the shadow's eye brows became white and bushy. The neck and face elongated, and a large fang jutted out from the mouth. The last thing to change was the shadow's eyes. Once they had gained a sickly yellow sclera and incarnadine pupils the shadow's transformation into Discord had completed. The draconequus examined himself gleefully.
"Rarity you're the expert on beauty so what do you think? Handsome as ever?" he asked.
"Handsome? I think tacky is the better word. None of your pieces go together and you look more like a villain from a cartoon my sister would watch than a threatening spirit," she insulted. Discord angrily crossed his arms and looked away.
"You've obviously lost your keen eye, but what was I to expect from somepony who mistook a boulder for a diamond. How is Tom by the way?" he added deviously. Now it was Rarity who turned away in disdain.
"Violently decomposing at the Pie Family Rock Quarry," she answered flatly.
"So cruel, I like that in a mare," Discord replied as he suggestively licked his lips. Rarity let out a shrill squeak and her body convulsed. Discord only laughed.
"Oh, I really have missed you all. Did you miss them too?" he asked to nopony in particular.
At least that's what it seemed like until his shadow began to waver. A dark alicorn mare arose from the shadow and smirked at the seven ponies in front of her.
"I've missed all my subjects, especially the ones responsible for my defeat. I've waited so long to see them again, which is why I couldn't resist having a little fun with them. By adding the occasional plural into my speech I was able to plant the idea that I was Princess Luna into their heads. What foals they are," Nightmare Moon hissed.
Now it all made sense. Nightmare Moon was a separate entity from Luna and Luna's petrification had all been part of their plan. Twilight, her friends, and even Princess Celestia had played right into Discord's hooves… paws… whatever! They really had been complete foals. The only questions remaining was how did turning Luna to stone resurrect Discord, and how did Nightmare come overcome her destruction?
"Don't hurt yourself thinking Twilight Sparkle. We'll gladly explain how we were able to make our comeback. Do you remember the changeling invasion?" he asked.
"How do you know about them?" Celestia questioned.
"Haven't you learnt by now Celestia that I know everything?" Discord chuckled. "As it turns out, that was not the first time they invaded Equestria. Centuries ago, before even you were born, they escaped form Tartarus and tried to claim this land as their own. Obviously, I couldn't let my home be devoured by insects; so I cast them back into Tartarus and sent Cerberus to protect the gate. Due to being lapidified, twice, my spell lost its power and they were able escape once Cerberus had neglected his duties."
"Now, their second invasion isn't important but you remember that silly ability of theirs? They feed off the love of others and change into their loved ones? I tried feeding off love once and it tasted like diabetes. Absolutely disgusting! But although I found their food source nauseating, their shape shifting ability intrigued me.
"What if I could make a creature that could possess an object, either biological or inanimate, and when it left the object be able to take its form and be able to use all its abilities. I went mad with joy and got to work instantly. When I was finished I was very pleased with my creation. You know it well Celestia, as do you Twilight Sparkle. It has a very… lunar essence to it; if you know what I mean." Discord paused to laugh while Nightmare Moon continued his story.
"After my birth, my creator instructed me to unleash chaos upon Equestria. I did that by taking the forms of many different creatures, and every day was a nightmare for my poor subjects. I loved it. Equestria was perfect until the Sun and Moon decided to rebel. They found those trinkets you cleave to and used them to seal my master into stone. I was furious with them, but I knew challenging them directly would only lead to my own demise.
"Whilst I plotted my revenge I had a revelation. If harmony had defeated Discord then disharmony should bring him back. Of course, no small act of disharmony would suffice. It had to be an abominable action, and who better to commit it than the sisters I desired vengeance upon? My plan was simple; I would take control of the younger sister and use her body to create an eternal night. The eldest would disapprove and would take diplomatic action, and when that failed it would come down to a battle. The two sisters dueling with each other; what could be more disharmonious than that?
"Possessing Luna was easier than taking candy from a foal. The bitterness and envy were already present so I met little resistance. As I predicted 'Tia came to negotiate with me, and when that failed she resorted to violence. Unfortunately, I failed to accurately predict the results of the duel. Instead of releasing my master, I was sealed inside the moon for a millennium with Luna. My only entertainment was convincing Luna that I was her true self and she was inherently evil. As time went on she actually began to believe my lies. Priceless," the Wicked Mare of Darkness hissed.
"But if you didn't escape when I banished Nightmare Moon then how did you escape this time?" Celestia demanded.
"Because that time you were not directly engaging your sister. Luna was under the influence of Nightmare Moon and was a legitimate threat to you. You protected your subjects by fighting her and your actions were justified. However, lapidifying your sister was not, and that is why I'm here now," Discord explained.
"But how is Nightmare Moon alive? I saw the Elements of Harmony destroy her," Twilight questioned.
"The Elements never destroyed me. They only exorcised me from Luna. To prevent actual destruction I fled to Froggy Bottom Bog. There I rested and my strength slowly returned. I waited till I was at full power to strike back," the dark alicorn finished.
"Ah don' think it matters how ya'll are back. Ah reckon since we've got our Elements here we can just defeat ya'll again," Applejack claimed.
"AJ's right! Who in the hay cares how they got out? We can just take them down again!" Dash agreed. The Element of Loyalty around her neck began to glow and it was quickly joined by Honesty, Generosity, Laughter and Kindness. Magic wasn't as gung ho. Like her mentor, Twilight had been played like a chess piece. Even if they did defeat Discord and Nightmare Moon what would stop them from returning a third time? Disharmony wasn't something that could be destroyed. Was their battle just a vicious cycle that would carry on until Twilight had passed on?
Unlike Twilight, Discord didn't hesitate to act. The draconequus snapped his hooves… paws… whatever! And Princess Celestia disappeared in a flash of light.
"Princess!" Twilight yelled.
"What did you do to her?" Rainbow demanded.
"Don't worry your Princess is quite safe. I'm just borrowing her as collateral," Discord assured.
"What do you need collateral for?" Fluttershy asked nervously.
"I need it for my game of course! It's a rather fun one," he answered.
"Ooh another game! What's this one gonna be? I'm still hoping for pin the tail on the pony!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Sorry to disappoint you Pinkie Pie; but I enjoy games that are a bit more practical, like hide-and-seek," Discord answered.
Nightmare Moon rolled her icy eyes. Clearly she didn't reciprocate her creator's love of games. Twilight empathized. She didn't want to play any game Discord had come up with, even one as seemingly innocent as hide-and-seek.
"What would we be lookin' for?" Applejack asked.
"Your Elements of Harmony," he replied.
"Forget it, there's no way we're giving them to you!" Dash countered.
"Then good luck finding your Princess," Discord retorted. That shut Rainbow up. She began to kick angrily at the ground and she looked over at Twilight.
"What do you think boss?" she asked.
Twilight began to reflect on her earlier thoughts. Being used as Discord's pawn had hurt her ability to think and she feared her battle with him would be everlasting. That was not the case. Disharmony might be eternal but that didn't mean she would succumb to its influence. Nor would Princess Celestia. Saving her was the priority and Twilight would be willing to play along with Discord to save her.
"I think I want to know what the rules are," the unicorn replied. A large smile formed on Discord's lips.
"The rules are quite simple. You give me the Elements and I hide them around Equestria while you give me a head start. Once I'm done hiding them you look for them, no time limit or anything. If you manage to find all six of them I will gladly give you back your Princess," he explained.
"Are you sure we can trust him Twilight?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight shared her friend's misgivings. They were dealing with the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony and a shape shifter with an arsenal of abilities. Twilight could only think of one way to control the game; she had to make her own rules.
"No, which is why I'll only agree to play his game if he agrees to some conditions," Twilight replied.
"Name them," Discord allowed.
"Master, you're going to let this insolent unicorn bargain with you?" Nightmare Moon questioned incredulously.
"Of course I am. I love a good game and Twilight Sparkle might present me with an interesting twist. Now name them," he answered.
"First, Princess Celestia is not to be harmed," Twilight proposed.
"Done. I never planned on harming little 'Tia anyway," he agreed.
"And while the game is ongoing you are not allowed to distort the world as you did last time or hypnotize anypony in Equestria," she finished.
"Oh come on! You're asking me for way too much on that one. I can hold off on the hypnotism, but no distortions? No chocolate rain, that's just ludicrous! Back me up on this Pinkie Pie. You know you enjoyed what I did with Equestria," Discord begged. Pinkie Pie nodded in agreement.
"I definitely did! Those cotton candy clouds were genius and I went banana-splits over the chocolate rain! Please Twilight just let him have his chocolate rain," Pinkie begged. Twilight shook her head.
"No. I won't let Equestria succumb to that," Twilight refused.
"Then I don't agree to your conditions," Discord said.
"Then we won't play your game," Twilight snapped.
"Then you've lost your Princess," Discord countered. The two glared into the other's eyes with undisguised animosity. Finally Nightmare Moon intervened.
"Might I suggest a compromise? Master is allowed to spread all the chaos he wants, but only in one location. He will not hypnotize any of the residents there and will give them fair warning about what is to come. Anypony who remains will be subjected to his power. The rest of Equestria will be safe from his direct rule," she suggested.
"It sounds fair," Twilight whispered. The idea was fair, but she still didn't like it. She didn't want to give Discord an inch. But did she have a choice? It was the only way to save Princess Celestia without completely ruining Equestria.
"I agree with Twilight Sparkle, fair is fair. You give me the Elements of Harmony and I won't harm Celestia nor will I terrorize all of Equestria. Do we have a deal?" Discord asked. Twilight nodded and used her magic to levitate her Element towards Discord.
"Ah don't like this, but Ah trust you Twi'," Applejack said as she placed her Element at Discord's feet. Her other friend's followed suit with Rainbow Dash being the last. She hesitated before finally discarding her Element, only doing so at Twilight's encouraging nod. Nightmare Moon took her mist form and ensnared the Elements of Harmony inside a dark cloud.
"You know what to do," Discord whispered to her, his voice turning deadly serious. His eyes became rock hard and his voice became layered with evil. Twilight could feel the hairs on the back of her neck prickling. That was truly the scariest sound she had ever heard.
"Yes, my Master," the mist hissed and slipped off into the night.
"Excuse me Discord, but how long is your head start going to be? I'm just aching to hurry this whole affair up so I can return home and take a long relaxing bath," Rarity asked.
"Oh trust me Rarity, you don't want to return to Ponyville anytime soon," Discord advised.
"And why would that be?" she asked.
"Because, Ponyville will once again the Chaos Capital of the World," he answered.
"No! You ca—" Twilight was interrupted when Discord turned to face her.
His eyes had turned into multi-colored swirls and were impossible to look away from. He was hypnotizing them. That cheating bastard! The last sound Twilight heard before passing out, was Discord's triumphant laughter.
Beams of sunlight assaulted Twilight Sparkle's eyelids and forced her to awaken. A blissful smile decorated her face and she felt lightheaded. It had been years since she had slept like that. For once no nightmares disturbed her sleep. Instead, she dreamt about having a picnic with her friends and mentor on a bright sunny day.
Then reality hit her. Twilight remembered what had caused her to sleep like that. Discord! Since she had woken up she assumed his head start was over, but how long had she been out? And where were her friends? She frantically looked around and identified the five sleeping bodies of her friends. She inspected them and discovered they were all okay. They hadn't turned grey, so Discord hadn't corrupted them. Maybe he had played fair and had just used his powers to summon the deep sleep.
"Wake up everypony!" she called. Her friends began to stir around her.
"I haven't slept like that in ages. It was wonderful," Rarity claimed.
"I know what you mean Rarity. Angel usually wakes me up to give him a midnight snack and I can't deny him that. I haven't had a good night sleep in years. It's so nice to not be bothered," Fluttershy agreed. Pinkie Pie began to crack her neck in various positions.
"And now that we've woken up we can play hide-and-seek!" she squealed with her head being upside down.
"Yeah! Let's go save the Princess and fight Discord!" Dash cried.
"An' how do you reckon we'll find 'em?" Applejack asked her. Rainbow began to massage her chin in thought.
"Twilight, do you know a spell that can help us track them?" she asked. The unicorn shook her head.
"I don't. But I do know that this job is too large to handle by ourselves. Discord didn't say we couldn't have other ponies help out. We have plenty of friends in Ponyville," she answered.
"But that's where Discord said he'd rule," Applejack reminded. Twilight had forgotten about that. Discord said he would warn the inhabitants before unleashing his power, but how long would it be before he terrorized them. She had friends there; her pet Owlowicious was there. And Spike! Twilight wasn't a religious mare, but she whispered a silent prayer to whatever was listening that the baby dragon was safe.
"What about a spell that can un-stone a pony?" Pinkie asked.
"Un-stone? Do you mean reanimate? Why would you ask that?" Twilight asked. Pinkie's reply was to point at the sad statue that was formerly Princess Luna. Twilight had forgotten about what happened to Luna and was overcome with a sense of guilt. Her friends had accused the Princess of evil while she had just sat back and watched. Rescuing the Princess from her current state would be no easy task; but Twilight owed it to her to try.
"As it turns out, I made an effort to learn such a spell after my unfortunate encounter with a cockatrice. The spell is powerful, but I don't know if I have enough power to override Princess Celestia's magic alone. Rarity, I'm going to need your help with this," Twilight answered.
"I'd gladly offer my assistance Twilight but I'm not familiar with the spell," Rarity remarked.
"That won't be a problem. All you need to do is focus on Princess Luna in her normal state and fire a beam of magic at her body. Star Swirl the Bearded swore it saved him during a bout with a cockatrice in his autobiography," Twilight explained.
"Very well then, shall we lock hooves to conjoin our power?" Rarity asked, offering a hoof.
Twilight hesitated. Locking hooves with another pony was a sign of intimate affection, the kind she didn't feel for any of her friends. When she was a filly and didn't know any better she had often performed such a gesture with Spike. She had received ridicule from many of her peers due to her actions. She could still remember the children taunting: "Spilight Spikle, Spilight Spikle." It wasn't the meanest thing they could have come up with but the annoyance of it had impacted the young unicorn. She had developed an aversion to intimate affection at a tender age and had never bothered to fix the damage.
"Something wrong?" Rarity asked concerned. Twilight frantically shook her head, removing her childhood insecurities from her mind. Luna's revival took precedence over the awkward feeling in her gut.
"Nope, nothing. Completely fine," she denied. She quickly grabbed her friend's hoof and squeezed it tightly. Rarity winced and lightly bit her lip, but did squeeze back gently.
"Remember, visualize Luna as she normally is and fire away," Twilight reminded. Rarity nodded and closed her eyes. A blue light enveloped her horn and a blue beam burst from it towards the Princess. Twilight closed her eyes as well and imagined Princess Luna as the powerful alicorn she was on Nightmare Night. She fired her own blast of light at the petrified princes and let the spell begin.
"What in tarnation? The stone is startin' to melt away!" Applejack exclaimed.
"It's working, keep it up!" Pinkie encouraged. Twilight opened her right eye and discovered that both the earth ponies were right. Luna's horn had returned to normal and her face was starting to regain its color. It was working a lot quicker than she had anticipated.
"We're actually doing it!" Rarity gasped. Twilight nodded and closed her eye. She intensified her focus and amplified the power of her magic. In just a few minutes a horrible deed would be undone and Twilight's conscience would be clear.
"You need to put more power into it Rarity. Twilight's doin' most of the work for you," Applejack chided. Rarity snorted, in the most lady-like manner possible, but Twilight could feel her friend increasing her power output. She opened her eye again to check up on their progress. Luna's head was slumped over, but free. Her wings were limp, but they were flesh and bone instead of stone. The majority of her body had recovered as well. Her watery eyes were barely open and stared blankly at the two unicorns.
"Twilight Sparkle?" she susurrated. Twilight nodded.
"Don't worry Luna, we'll get you out of here," she promised. "Give it all you've got Rarity!" The white unicorn responded by strengthening her grip on Twilight's hoof. Their streams of magic crossed and created an undulating beam of light that enveloped the bottom half of Luna's body. Sweat began to pour from Rarity's body and Twilight could feel her own forehead dampen. She could hear Rarity panting beside her and saw her friend's legs buckle beneath her. Rarity wouldn't last much longer, but luckily the process was nearly complete. Only Luna's hooves remained and then they would be… done!
Twilight dropped her friend's hoof as soon as Luna's were released from stone and was able to maintain her balance; although she did feel dizzy. Rarity wasn't so lucky. She dropped to the floor and gasped deeply. She was barely able to support herself and Applejack rushed to her side.
"Tell me Applejack; is that enough power for you?" Rarity asked in a surprisingly light-hearted tone. Applejack slipped her shoulder under the unicorn and allowed Rarity to rest upon her.
"Yeah, ya'll are not bad for a fancy unicorn," she chuckled. Rarity tried to smile but only ended up coughing.
"Pardon my uncouth demeanor Princess, but I'm not used to performing such high level magic," she apologized. Twilight couldn't help but roll her eyes. Even though she was barely conscious, Rarity still focused on how she presented herself. Princess Luna didn't acknowledge her. Her attention was focused on glaring at Twilight.
"Where hath thou been all this time?" she demanded.
"We've been here the whole time. After you were turned to stone Discord returned an—"
"We knoweth what happened! We witnessed Discord's return through our stony gaze. What we wish to discovereth is where thou hast been all this time?" she interrupted.
"We've been here, just like Twilight said. Discord made us sleep so he could set up our game of hide-and-seek. Do you want to play with us Luna? You totally should. It would be fun!" Pinkie answered.
"Thou hast been sleeping?" Luna asked dumbfounded. After a few seconds a small grin appeared on her face and she reared back and began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Rainbow Dash demanded. Luna turned to look at the pegasus and her eyes narrowed into tiny slits.
"Thou hath the gall to acuseth us of evil and now shall receive the same fate we did upon our return to Equestria. Irony hath always been a cruel mistress," she answered.
The same fate she had received? What in the hoof did that mean?
"What fate is that?" Fluttershy asked.
"Thou shalt know it soon enough," Luna replied briskly. Her wings began to flap and she gently ascended into the air.
"Enjoyeth thy game Twilight Sparkle, thou doth deserve every second of it for what thy allowed to happen to us," Luna spat. She clapped her front hooves together and disappeared in a flash of blue light.
"Someone's bitter," Dash muttered.
Twilight was truly at a loss; she had used a lot of magic, one of her friends was barely conscious, Luna had abandoned her, and now she had more questions than answers. Luna acted as if it had been years since her petrification when it had only been hours… hadn't it? And what did she mean by the same fate? Twilight began to dread what awaited her outside of the ancient castle.
"Should we go find Zecora? Maybe she could help us find the Elements," Fluttershy suggested. Zecora, of course! She had guided them during their hunt for Nightmare Moon so she should be able to help them win their game.
"That's a great idea Fluttershy. I know Zecora will help us out," Twilight affirmed.
"Since we'll be going through the cellar, do you want me to carry you again Rarity?" Rainbow offered. Rarity gently shook her head.
"Thank you Rainbow Dash, but I shan't require your services. I may detest gaiting through the cellar and forest, but I do have my dignity to uphold. I must admit, being gallantly briskest into battle on the back of a pegasus had always been a childhood fantasy of mine; but I will not be carried about like a damsel!" Rarity refused.
She broke away from Applejack and proudly stood on her own four hooves… for about two seconds. Her legs crumbled under her and Applejack quickly wrapped her hooves around Rarity's waist and prevented her from falling over.
"On second thought, maybe being carried isn't such a bad idea," she agreed, her face turning a light shade of pink.
"Don't worry Rarity, Ah gotcha ya'll," Applejack assured. She gave the unicorn a friendly wink and then flipped Rarity onto her back.
"Hold on tight, cuz it's gonna be a bumpy ride," Applejack warned. Rarity wrapped her front hooves around the earth pony's neck, as Applejack reared up on her hind legs and let out her battle cry: "Yeeehaw!" Applejack sprinted towards the secret passageway and her friends followed her.
As they made their way through the cellar, Twilight couldn't help but notice that it was much cleaner than it had been earlier. How was that possible? The castle's owner had been incapable of cleaning and Twilight had found no indication of there being any servants or guards. The hairs on the back of her neck had begun to prickle again. Was it possible that somepony else had taken over in Luna's absence? How long had that absence been, and who had taken over? Twilight hoped that Zecora could provide her with the answers to those questions.
Once Twilight and her friends had exited the cellar she finally understood Luna's cryptic warning. When the Princess had returned to Equestria she had received a culture shock. Time had gone by without her and she had trouble adjusting to the new world. Twilight didn't know how much time had passed, but she knew it couldn't have been only a few hours.
Her first indicators were the plants in the castle's main room. Before Discord's revival, the plants had been well groomed. They were more like tapestry than wild vegetation. That had changed. The walls were now sheets of dying ivy and the few bushes that grew were dehydrated and withered.
The second indicator was the chandelier. While it still hung, the designs of Twilight's and her friend's cutie marks had been replaced. Fluttershy's butterflies were removed in favor of a pair of cockatrice eyes, the three diamonds that had represented Rarity were snubbed in favor of a cat o' nine tails and each tail resembling the claws of a Diamond Dog and the trio of red apples was replaced by a duo of incomplete apples that Twilight remembered being on the flanks of Flim and Flam.
Pinkie Pie's balloons were erased and a griffon's tail had taken their place, the star that represented Twilight was deleted and Trixie's wand and pixie dust cutie mark was in its stead, the final replacement was Rainbow Dash's tri-colored lightning bolt being snubbed in favor of the hat Rarity had designed to be worn as part of the Mare-do Well disguise.
Twilight wasn't sure what that symbolized, and the Mare-do Well hat made absolutely no sense to her, but her intuition told her it couldn't be good. Her friends didn't seem to notice the change in setting and they all sprinted out into the lush trees and foliage that was the Everfree Forest. As she ran out of the castle, Twilight cocked her head around to notice one final change.
The emblem that had formerly been Princess Luna's cutie mark was now a glowing pair of ruby eyes. Twilight felt as if she were being petrified as the cockatrice eyes glared down at her. She tore her eyes away from the glare and took off after her friends, hoping to reach Zecora as fast as possible.
Unfortunately, her search for Zecora and the answers she held would have to be postponed. A loud squawk pierced the air and the six friends quickly huddled together.
"Fluttershy, do you know what in tarnation made that noise?" Applejack asked
"A bird," Fluttershy answered. Twilight sighed. Fluttershy wasn't trying to be smart; she was legitimately answering a question. But the answer she gave came off that way and Twilight had to resist the urge to make a rude comment.
"Well duh it's a bird Fluttershy; there aren't any other creatures who squawk." Rainbow Dash clearly didn't bother resisting the urge.
"I'm sorry I can't give a more useful answer, but I can't identify what kind of bird it is by just one squawk. Please don't be mad," Fluttershy whispered. Rainbow lightly wrapped a hoof around her friend's neck.
"Of course I'm not mad. I'm just a little scared right now. I don't like this place any more than you do and I want to get out of here as fast as possible," she assured.
Twilight couldn't help but feel proud of her friend. Rainbow rarely, if ever, admitted to being scared of anything. It was obvious to Twilight she only said that because she was kind enough to sacrifice her ego to make Fluttershy feel better. Dash really did have a good heart underneath that tough exterior.
But then Twilight saw her friend's face. Rainbow Dash had hung her head and her ears dropped. A melancholic frown replaced her usual grin, and her eyes lost their arrogant sparkle. Now they only possessed a forlorn twinkle. Rainbow Dash truly was afraid and now Twilight was too.
Rarity's loud screech didn't help. Dash and Twilight both jumped and Fluttershy fainted again. Pinkie Pie had fallen over laughing.
"Oh Rarity, you're so silly. Did you get dust on yourself again or maybe some dirt?" she asked through her laughter.
"Dirt? That's quite a bold name to call somepony you've never met before," a gruff male voice replied flatly. Pinkie stopped laughing and rolled off of her back and stood in-between Rainbow and Twilight.
Twilight looked over at Rarity. Her friend's eyes were brimming with terror and her lips wouldn't stop quivering. A snow-white hoof was holding a large knife to the unicorn's throat and another hoof was holding one to Applejack's.
"Now just who do ya'll think you are?" Applejack demanded. The pony holding the knives grunted.
"Maybe you're too much of a backwoods hick to know this, but usually it's the pony with the knife who asks the questions while the one with the knife to their throat shuts up," he retorted.
"HICK? How dare ya'll call me that?" Applejack yelled. "Why Ah outta—" The earth pony was interrupted by the knife being pressed closer to her throat and gently pricking the skin.
"Now what did I say about shutting up?" the voice growled.
"Low life coward," Applejack, quite literally, spat. A gruff, but genuine, laugh erupted from behind Applejack.
"Low life coward, eh? Trust me sister, I've been called much worse by mares much prettier. I think scum bag mud sucker was my favorite. What was yours Rum?"
Twilight felt something cold press against her back. She turned her head around and saw two things. The first was a light grey pegasus stallion standing behind her on his back legs. The cutie mark on his flank was a tornado with a pair of wings. His mane and tail were spiked backwards and were smoky-grey apart from an ashy streak. Unlike the mane and tail, his eyes were uniform in their color. They were the same shade of violet as Twilight's. The eyes stared at Twilight with regret and lost innocence. Somehow, they comforted her.
The other thing she saw didn't. In one of the stallion's front hooves was an object made of clouds. The hoof was holding a rectangular grip that was connected to a long cylindrical barrel. The barrel was the cold thing pressed against Twilight's back. She didn't know what the object was or what it was capable of, but guessed that it was some type of weapon.
"I'm still a sucker for jokes about your appearance. Pirate jokes just never get old," Rum laughed. The pony holding the knives let out an irritable grunt but said nothing.
"What is that?" Twilight asked the pegasus.
"A pirate? They're ponies who pillage and plunder and—"
"I know what a pirate is! I'm asking about that thing you're pressing against my back!" Twilight snapped.
"Sorry," Rum mumbled and lowered his gaze. "This is a drizzler."
"And what's a drizzler?" Dash questioned.
"You don't know what a drizzler is? But you're a pegasus! Have you been sleeping under a rock for the last seven years?" Rum exclaimed.
Seven years? Was that how long Discord had put them to sleep? That would explain the ivy, the chandelier and new technology; but that was ridiculous. How could Twilight and her friends have slept for seven years? That just wasn't possible… was it?
"So what does a drizzler do? Is it like a sprinkler, because I love sprinklers! I've used them in parties before and they're always a blast!" Pinkie said.
"Well, it does shoot water," the pegasus answered nervously.
"Ooh, can you shoot me with it? Please, please, please? I'm pretty thirsty and I could use some water," Pinkie begged.
"Uh…" Rum took a step backwards, raised the drizzler into the air and pointed it at the nearest tree. "Trust me you do not want to drink this water." He squeezed the drizzler's handle and a rain drop burst from it and hit the tree branch. The branch shattered at the impact and broke in two. Pinkie's eyes popped wide open.
"Never mind, I don't want any water now," she stated.
Twilight sighed, half in awe and half in relief. That weapon was definitely powerful, but now that it wasn't pressed against her back she could think clearly. The two stallions had used the element of surprise so they were most likely outnumbered. Rarity wasn't in fighting condition and Fluttershy was still under her fainting spell, but the numbers would still be on her side if it came to a fight. But due to her enemies having weapons fighting with them wouldn't be ideal. She and her friends were still alive so that also meant their attackers had no intention of killing them. That meant they must be trying to steal from them.
"We don't have any money so there's no point in robbing us," Twilight claimed.
"Oh believe me Twilight Sparkle, if that is who you truly are, we have no intention of stealing from you," the stallion with the knives guaranteed.
"Then what do you—" Twilight stopped talking and began to ponder something new.
"How do you know my name? And what do you mean if that's who I truly am?" she asked.
"You'll find out soon enough," the stallion with the knives answered.
He twirled the knife at Applejack's throat so that the blade was no longer facing her skin and he shoved the blunt end into the earth pony's neck. A choking noise escaped from Applejack's throat as she fell to the ground unconscious; and Rarity followed soon after. Now that her view wasn't obstructed, Twilight had a better view of the stallion with the knives.
In the dark forest light, she could see that the stallion was a small white earth pony. Oddly, there were also beige patches on his body; most notably on his right eye. She couldn't discern what his eye color was but she could tell that it was dark. The stallion wore a bright red bandanna on his head with a large golden L, U and X on the front. For some reason he also had a patch over his left eye. Rum was right; the earth pony did look like a pirate.
"Hey, how dare you hurt my friends!" Rainbow yelled.
"And what are you going to do about it?" the earth pony asked. Before Rainbow Dash could reply, the pegasus stallion smashed the butt of his weapon into her back. Dash landed on her chest hard, but was still conscious.
"Dashie!" Pinkie shrieked. Rum quickly turned his drizzler on Pinkie and stepped on Dash's back to prevent her from getting up.
"I'll shoot if I have to," he threatened. Pinkie slowly lowered herself onto the ground and began to tear up.
"Please don't hurt me," she whimpered. Rum's eyes softened and he looked down at the ground.
"I'm so sorry," the pegasus whispered.
"I'm not," Twilight growled. Rum turned around and was blasted in the chest by a ball of magenta energy. As he fell to the ground, he lost control of his drizzler. Twilight caught it with her levitation spell and pointed it at the earth pony.
"Back away from my friends or I'll shoot," she warned.
"Try it unicorn. It won't work, and even if it could I wouldn't comply with your demand. You see, I'm not scared of unicorns. As far as I'm concerned they're a bunch of entitled snobs. Sure, not all of them act like it, some of them are even pretty decent; but they're all lazy. They don't have to work the way earth ponies and pegasi do. Magic—" The earth pony paused to spit after saying the word:
"Is a disgrace to hard work. Unicorns are weak and worthless worms and I wish they would all wriggle beneath my hooves. Oh, and while I've been ranting about your race my friend was able to sneak up on you and he will proceed to knock you unconscious. Sayonara sweet cheeks." The earth pony finished his monologue by blowing Twilight a mock kiss.
A sharp claw tapped the unicorn on the shoulder. As Twilight reluctantly turned around she looked upon the form of a teenage dragon. The dragon was a couple heads larger than she was, but was still smaller than the ones she encountered during the Dragon Migration. The dragon's body scales were purple, but the ones on his underbelly were a light green. The spines that ran down his back were green as well, albeit a darker one, as were his eyes.
To Twilight, it looked as if emeralds had been plucked from the ground and placed into the dragon's eye sockets. They were entrancing and the unicorn couldn't keep her eyes off of them. Although she had never seen eyes as beautiful as these, she couldn't help but think that they were familiar to her as well. Wait, a purple dragon with green spines and eyes? Suddenly it all made sense and Twilight had a very good idea about who she was looking at.
"Spike?" she asked, hoping for confirmation.
"I'm potentially very sorry about this," the dragon said. He contracted his claw into a fist and punched Twilight square in the face, instantly knocking her unconscious.
