Magazine Doublereport, or Magi, as she preferred to be called, could boast of many qualities that set her above other ponies: a good fortune, a sharp business sense, and an extremely loving girlfriend. Magi truly believed she was an incredibly lucky pegasus when she left Manehattan that morning, convinced she would be even luckier by nightfall.
However, that confidence began to crumble as the afternoon progressed, facing a series of misfortunes she hadn't anticipated at all.
First, the delicious high-quality coffee she had brought from Manehattan was ruined when a pink pony bumped into her while boarding the train at noon. Even though it was clearly an accident, Magi felt it should have served as a warning, a sign of what was to come.
Second, during her mission, her attempt to sow discord among Princess Twilight's friends—using Rainbow Dash as a tool—ended in complete failure. She had expected more from them, but the irrational thing they called "friendship" nearly made her sick. The fanatical bond between those mares was far stronger than she had calculated.
Third, the train she was on was attacked by an unknown enemy and ended up hijacked. Although, to be honest with herself, she could have never foreseen something like that (a lie). These problems, in theory, were the princess's and her entourage's concerns. Magi had the option to retreat and let things take their natural course...
But she didn't.
She had a gut feeling and decided to stay. Magi trusted an inner voice that guided her when making decisions. It could be her subconscious or even her cutie mark acting as a compass. The source didn't matter as much as the fact that this voice had always led her to make the right choices. That inner voice had never failed her.
Until now.
Magi stared at the mirror, watching the desperation reflected on her face. Now she cursed the once-reliable inner voice that had always guided her. But that voice had no intention of staying silent.
"You made a mistake, and now you're a loser like them… accept reality," her mocking reflection spoke.
"I DID NOT MAKE A MISTAKE! I'LL GET OUT OF HERE LIKE I ALWAYS DO! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Magi snapped, glaring at her own reflection.
"Sure, sure. And tell me, what's your plan now? You saved the princess's friends, and now they're at your mercy, just as you intended. Do you really think they'll believe you when you tell them all those magical artifacts and gadgets you're carrying are just for self-defense?" her reflection sneered, pointing at the three stone orbs floating around her, the communicator in her ear, and the other technological accessories she wore.
"They're desperate. They need me. They'll believe what I tell them… I just have to convince them to work together. That'll be enough."
"Oh, of course… then you'll defeat the villains and be named Equestria's savior. Magi, the super-friend! Ha, ha, ha," her reflection mocked with scorn.
"Shut up!" Magi snapped, her voice echoing in the small room.
"You know, you should just give all this up and accept that we have no salvation… at least that way, we could return to the family in peace…"
"SHUT UP!" Magi screamed in desperation, slamming her hoof against the bathroom mirror.
The shards of glass clattered to the floor. A sweating Magi collapsed onto the ground, lying still as she stared at the ceiling. She wasn't thinking about anything… except for one thing.
Focusing, she commanded the three magical orbs floating around her to spin, forming a circular screen.
The screen was blank.
Magi quickly dismissed the spell, feeling frustration build up in her chest. She curled up even tighter, trying to push away the loneliness surrounding her.
"Why is there no future?" she whispered softly, almost sobbing. Her plans and hopes had been shattered like never before in her life…
[-]
The landscape where the railway from Ponyville to Canterlot once stretched was now submerged beneath a vast lake that covered the lower part of the prairie.
A fierce wave of enchanted water had surged through the area, uprooting trees, shattering rocks, and crushing the train that lay in its path. The wave had swept everything away, leaving the train's wreckage scattered like floating leaves adrift or sunken deep within the lake's depths.
Standing on the only rock that jutted out amidst the flooded land, Mannah observed the destruction he had caused with one of his most powerful elemental magic attacks.
"Perhaps I overdid it a little," he thought, as he perceived no signs of life in the water. He was supposed to capture the ponies, but given the state of the terrain, it was highly likely they had been eliminated...
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Badwhiz, who seemed impressed—though it was hard to tell since much of his body was composed of indistinct shadows.
"Uhmm," the sub-leader of the Knights of Order cleared his throat. "This is but a small glimpse of my immense power. MAY THE ENEMIES OF CUNABULA REPENT THEIR FOOLISHNESS!" he declared proudly, raising his upper limbs toward the sky. However, he wobbled slightly, still unaccustomed to his new pony body.
"Hooo," Badwhiz responded, tapping his hooves against the rock.
To Mannah, these gestures were quite amusing. His species had no hooves nor so few limbs. In general, quadrupedal creatures weren't to his liking. Nevertheless, the attention he received from this young pony intrigued him—it was almost amusing.
"Now that I think about it… I never saw Danu react that way, despite his race being related to ponies," Mannah mused, quickly dismissing the thought. It was naïve of him. Danu was an exception among his kind. If he had to compare ponies to leoponies, the most reasonable reference would be someone with more common sense—like Dana, the king's favored sister.
At that moment, a mental message reached him: Balor had awakened.
"Squire Badwhiz," Mannah called.
"Present, my Lord," Badwhiz responded at once, ready to receive orders.
"I no longer require your escort. Our enemies have been swept away by my tide. However, the princess still fights in the hills. Go and assist the pawn under our control so that he may subdue the princess without delay," Mannah commanded without turning around.
"It shall be done," Badwhiz replied swiftly, bowing his head. But just before taking off, something held him back—something that also caught Mannah's attention.
"What is it?" Mannah said in an authoritative tone.
"Forgive me, Grand Sub-Leader Mannah, but… what do you intend to do with the Cocatriz Titanicus?" Badwhiz asked, keeping his gaze low.
Not far from them, the immense body of the Cocatriz Titanicus floated upon the water. Something physically impossible for a creature of such size and weight, suggesting some unique trait of its species.
"Uhmm," Mannah murmured, contemplating. He could rescue the boy's pet and use it against the princess, but that might seem like an undeserved reward. Besides, Badwhiz had yet to prove himself useful in the slightest. He had been brought along as a disposable pawn in case the ponies attacked during the spell's channeling—which hadn't happened—and the boy had simply been a spectator.
"It has served its purpose. And you have yet to fulfill yours. Ceridwen will take care of the rest. Is that clear, Squire Badwhiz?" Mannah said, his tone allowing no objections.
"Yes, Grand Sub-Leader Mannah," Badwhiz responded swiftly. In the blink of an eye, with a beat of his dark wings, he soared into the sky, heading toward the hills.
[-]
Meanwhile, in the medical car...
"Wait a minute, Pinkie... are you saying that Magi stayed on the train, hiding in one of the bathrooms this whole time?" Applejack asked, incredulous, still lying on the medical bed.
"Yes, that's what she told us," Rarity confirmed.
"She mentioned that she was really worried about us after Vanilla kicked her out of the car. She said she had a bad feeling and decided to stay," Fluttershy added.
Applejack scratched her head; something about that story didn't quite fit—or rather, none of it did. She remembered Twilight mentioning that the Great Barrier had expelled anyone who could help them, but had she only meant animals? The farmer shook her head; she still felt a little too dizzy to think clearly.
"Applejack, darling, how are you feeling?" Rarity asked.
"Uh… a lot better. Mmm..." Applejack flexed her forelegs and then got out of bed without trouble. "And where's Magi?"
"She went to the bathroom... said she needed to prepare properly," Pinkie Pie replied, munching on a bag of Yumi cookies.
Just then, the bathroom door opened, and Magi stepped out.
But she was not the same cheerful Magi who had saved them using one of her emergency capsules and later treated them so they could recover. The Magi that now stood before them had a cold, dark look in her eyes. She was equipped with all sorts of magical artifacts and tools. She looked less like a friend ready to help and more like someone prepared to enter battle.
These were her true colors.
Sensing danger, Applejack immediately stepped in front of her friends. "Who are you?"
The air grew tense between the group of friends and the red-haired pegasus.
Magi sighed.
"I've introduced myself before... Look, we don't have time for this. We need to work together," Magi said, emotionless.
"Oh, really? And how do we know you're not on Vanilla's side?" Applejack questioned.
"Vanilla? You mean one of the guys who attacked you? Or the kid he has as a servant?"
"Uhmm?" Applejack had no response; her mind froze as she tried to process the question. Magi seemed to smirk slightly. She realized that despite Applejack's determined stance, she was still disoriented and weakened.
"I can help you, but we're running out of time. Just... I need you to trust me, please," Magi continued, almost pleading, though it was clear she was struggling to say it.
Applejack looked at her friends, who seemed just as worried and exhausted as she was. Should she trust this pony, who looked so threatening and radiated such an untrustworthy aura?
What would Twilight do?
She couldn't think about it too much. Finally, after a long pause, she spoke.
"Alright," Applejack said.
Behind her, the rest of the ponies seemed to regain a bit of hope at that moment.
"Perfect, then let's not waste any time," Magi replied with sincere relief—so much so that her colors seemed to return to her face, making her look less menacing. "You mentioned Vanilla earlier. Well, I don't know her. But I do know these guys."
Before she finished speaking, one of the orbs floating around Magi drifted away and positioned itself on the ceiling. Then, a light shone from the orb, projecting a holographic image in the middle of the car.
Applejack and the other ponies approached the hologram, and soon, they recognized the figures displayed.
"The Knights of Order?!" Applejack exclaimed in shock.
"Yeah, them. They're responsible for this disaster, and they're here to finish the job. And on top of that, they have local support..." Magi said, switching the hologram's image to show Badwhiz.
"But that's impossible! They're locked up in Tartarus!" Rarity cried out in distress.
"Well, they're not. Your princess seems to have made a terrible mistake underestimating them," Magi stated, shooting an irritated look at the ponies.
Now, the concern among them was palpable. Feeling defeated, Applejack took off her hat, grasping the gravity of the situation. Twilight had already confided in her about the immense danger she felt in keeping that group of individuals imprisoned. Applejack had advised her to put more effort into finding Cunábula and trying to mend relations with that kingdom, but it was clear now that her advice had been useless.
She and her friends weren't just at the mercy of a single villain, but of six—each one as dangerous as King Sombra. And there was even one more they knew nothing about.
Applejack put her hat back on. Now, she had a clearer idea of what they were up against. That gave her a tiny bit of reassurance.
But before moving forward, there was still one question that needed to be answered.
"Why didn't you leave?" Applejack asked Magi loudly, silencing the murmurs of her friends.
A look of anguish crossed Magi's face.
"I... I didn't know how bad things really were. I thought I'd stay and learn more about you. You always win... I never imagined things would turn out like this," Magi finished, looking down in defeat.
Applejack had a good sense for detecting honesty in others. And right now, Magi was finally being completely sincere. She also noticed that Magi's eyelids were swollen—proof of the distress and sorrow she was feeling.
"Well... right now, we need all the hooves we can get to get out of this mess," Applejack said with resignation. She had countless questions—like how Magi knew so much or why she wanted to learn about them—but seeking answers to those wouldn't get them anywhere and would probably make things worse.
So there was only one important question left to ask.
"Do you have a plan?"
Magi's eyes gleamed for a moment. It was evident to everyone that she had one.
"Yes, yes, I have one... well, it's not really a plan, more like a guess... a theory..." Magi began trotting in place, clearly anxious. "I kept thinking and thinking... about what that kid said about handing over the Elements of Harmony. So I wondered why they cared so much. I've heard that you had them in the past and that they were powerful tools for defeating the enemies that attacked Equestria, but then you said you lost them and now whatever remains of their magic exists within each of you and all that... so I thought, what's the problem?"
All the ponies seemed very confused by Magi's words, especially Applejack.
"What's the problem?" Rarity repeated.
"Yes, yes, that's it! What's the problem? If the magic of the Elements only persists within you, then sooner or later, it will disappear. After all, we're not eternal. Well... maybe the princess is, but we're not. Our time will come eventually, and when that happens, the element each of you represents will be lost as well. So why are the Knights of Order doing this? Are they just trying to prevent you from using them? If that's the case, all they'd need to do is eliminate one of you or capture one of you, and then you wouldn't be able to restore the full power of the Elements of Harmony, right? Or... would you?" Magi asked suddenly, her expression reflecting the anxious hope of finding answers from them.
"Well... uh..." The ponies were disoriented. They didn't have a quick answer. Twilight was the one who understood those magical concepts best. Though Magi's question was valid, it felt somewhat forced. To begin with, they didn't know where she was going with these questions.
They had never really delved too deeply into these topics. Twilight, in some experiments, had tried activating the Elements' magic with just three of them, but the results had been quite disappointing. The magic worked, but it wasn't powerful enough and left them very exhausted. Together, they were much stronger, without a doubt. However, the idea of recovering the magic of one of them if something happened... was that really something Twilight hadn't foreseen? And if she had, how would she have done it?
The group of friends sank into deep reflection under the wavering shadows inside the medical car. Then, a spark of light shone between them. Or rather, a pink spark of light.
"That's it! The crystals! The crystals!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed excitedly, as if a light bulb had turned on in her head. "Twilight could place part of our magic inside a crystal and form a set with each of us! And not only that! Anyone could use it since we're part of the set! We could store it and give it to another pony so they could learn to use it in the future! That way, the magic wouldn't be lost! It's brilliant!"
A fire seemed to ignite in Magi's eyes, as if all her hopes had finally been realized. That was exactly what she wanted to hear.
"Wonderful! The princess must have given you something like that, right? Because such a powerful object must have enough strength to defeat the Knights of Order at this moment," Magi exclaimed with a joyous whinny.
Pinkie Pie and her friends froze. All the unfounded hope they had felt from Pinkie's excitement vanished completely. Looking at each other, Applejack finally responded, "Sorry, Twilight didn't give us anything like that..."
"How unfortunate..." Magi said, utterly crestfallen.
Applejack raised an eyebrow. Was Magi... faking it?
"Wait!" Fluttershy suddenly shouted, catching everyone's attention. "Ahh... uhm... sorry, I should have said this earlier, but Twilight gave me this just before leaving the infirmary. I think it's exactly what we need right now, isn't it?"
From Fluttershy's mane emerged a rosary of six stones. Three of them were white, while the other three had shades of purple, yellow, and blue. The glow emanating from these gems was almost identical to what the original Elements of Harmony had once had.
"These gems are... beautiful!" Rarity exclaimed, her eyes shining intensely, just like all the other ponies present.
Encouraged once again by this miraculous opportunity, the friends rejoiced. They finally had something they could use to defend themselves.
"Mmm... wait, shouldn't three of them be the same color?" Magi pointed out, eyeing the white gems with curiosity.
"No... Twilight told me they needed to be completed with the magic of Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. I didn't quite understand what she meant at the time... she just asked me to carry it, in case something happened to her," Fluttershy said, clearly saddened.
All the ponies sorrowfully remembered the sudden attack by Rainbow Dash, the loss of Twilight, and the chaos that followed.
Then, Applejack noticed the obvious.
"Wait... we're still on the train?! They'll come for us any moment now! We have to get out of here, now!" Applejack exclaimed in alarm.
But Magi simply laughed as she watched the ponies panic.
"Huh?" They all looked at each other, confused.
"Please, don't be alarmed. We're completely safe. Rather, you need to complete those crystals as soon as possible. Only then will we have a chance to get out of here and save your princess and your other friend," Magi said as she moved away to look out the window.
Applejack couldn't refuse that plan... but really, were these crystals their best resource for defeating the Knights of Order? Why hadn't Twilight mentioned something like this before the battle against the Cocatriz Titanicus?
With distrust, Applejack watched Magi from behind, while the suspicious pegasus, with a dark smile, gazed absentmindedly out the window.
[-]
"Where are they?" Ceridwen thought with growing frustration as she checked the remains of the train for the third time.
She had taken over from Mannah in the mission to capture Princess Twilight and her friends. Although the sub-leader of the Knights of Order had promised to handle all the work, in the end, he ended up delegating the task to her. It didn't surprise her at all; considering the disaster caused by his grand elemental water attack, searching through the rubble he himself had created was something a politician like him would never do.
"Politicians and their promises..." she thought as she lifted one of the flooded train cars with her magic. "If only they had sent me alongside Balor and Taranis... everything would have turned out differently."
That trio of Knights had carried out numerous operations beyond the known world, most of them successful. Espionage, sabotage, artifact recovery, kingdom manipulation... the list was long. Ceridwen took pride in her impeccable record. She was known and respected throughout the Cavalry Brotherhood of Cunabula.
From the start, she had doubted the mission's development.
The participation of all six Knights of Order was not a common occurrence. Morrigan always remained close to the temple, while Mannah spent more time in the council offices than on the battlefield. Even Danu, with his close relationship with the king, rarely visited the regular troops.
None of them truly understood what a battlefield was like, how a war was fought... or worse, how to find peace.
Cunabula had remained hidden in the shadows of the world for too long, and now it had violently emerged into it.
Ceridwen had suggested a more cautious approach in the first attack on Equestria. She proposed sending three members of the Knights of her choosing to carry out an initial espionage and sabotage mission in that kingdom.
But she was not heard. After the disaster in Ornitia, Danu declared that such methods were ineffective and would only give the ponies time to prepare. He argued that everything had to be resolved with a decisive frontal attack. Mannah and Morrigan supported this idea, and with the backing of the Council and the King, Ceridwen simply had to lower her head and allow Danu's leadership to prevail.
Had it been a mistake not to challenge him? No, Ceridwen had always considered herself a servant. Receiving orders and executing them in the name of Cunabula was her life's purpose. Even so, she couldn't help but think that everything would have turned out better if the high command's judgment had been more... balanced.
"SPLOOOFFFFFFFFF" echoed through the artificial lake created by Mannah's magic. Ceridwen had carelessly dropped the shattered train car. There was no sign of the ponies.
The reflection of the orange armor adorning Badwhiz's body shone clearly in the rippling waters. This body was now being used by Ceridwen.
"I see..." she thought coldly as she contemplated her own reflection in the water.
Not far away, small birds with striking red and black feathers watched her attentively.
[-]
It was a tough battle, the hardest of her life.
Blow after blow, her opponent retreated further and further. Rainbow Dash noticed. She wouldn't let him catch his breath or give him a chance to think.
Her friends had fallen; it was her duty to avenge them.
She was the last one standing. The fate of Equestria rested in her hooves.
Vanilla, cowardly protected by his magical bubble, withstood the constant attacks she delivered. But that wouldn't last forever. This wasn't the first time she faced a mage convinced that his defenses were impenetrable and that his opponent would surrender from exhaustion.
Guys like that didn't know Rainbow Dash. All of them ended up learning a hard lesson, and Vanilla was learning it too. It showed on his face—he was getting tired.
Driving him through the sky, Dash continued slamming him against rocks, hills, and trees.
It didn't matter where. She would keep attacking until that shield fell.
Finally, a breach and an explosion of light.
But Rainbow didn't flinch. It was a pathetic trick to scare her. She charged straight in, trapping her enemy in midair. Before he could react, she swiftly slid to his back and grabbed him by the front legs, immobilizing him. Fast and furious, she ascended into the sky and then, like a comet, plummeted with him toward the earth, spinning wildly to prevent him from concentrating.
Incapacitated by the incredible attack, Vanilla offered no resistance. His end had come. A violent explosion shook a small forest.
Once the dust settled, Vanilla lay defeated on the ground, in the middle of a crater. At the last second, Rainbow Dash had released her opponent's body, allowing him to crash into the ground.
Victory and arrogance reflected in Rainbow Dash's flight as she positioned herself over her opponent, placing a hoof on the head of the vanquished villain.
It was over, and once again, Equestria was safe.
Soon, the great magical barrier began to dissolve, and from all directions, Dash's friends and acquaintances arrived.
"You're amazing, Dash! You did it!" exclaimed the Wonderbolts.
"It was nothing," Dash replied nonchalantly.
"You are an extraordinary pegasus. It is a great honor to be in your presence," said Princess Celestia, bowing her head, accompanied by the other princesses.
"Please, you all have wings too, don't you?"
"Indeed! This pegasus is INCREDIBLE! Someone should rename Equestria and call it Dashiland," exclaimed Discord, dressed in an enormous and pompous Rainbow Dash outfit.
"Hey! And what are you doing here?"
Then, all the ponies and creatures present fell silent. A dark figure advanced among them. The enormous horns he bore spoke of his identity. Grogar, the father of monsters, slowly moved forward until he stood before Rainbow Dash and knelt before her.
"You are the most amazing pony in the world," said the dark ram in his deep and unmistakable voice.
"Yeah, sure... WHERE'S MY CROWD?!" exclaimed the pegasus, raising a hoof and looking at everyone around her.
Multicolored explosions and sparkling lights, a rain of ovations surrounded her, intense as the roar of a hundred stadiums, all shouting her name, making her tremble and filling her with a feeling of total fulfillment.
Rainbow Dash was Rainbow Dash, the greatest hero that had ever existed or would ever exist.
Then, real rain fell on her face, soaking her and silencing all those fantasies.
Rainbow Dash looked around again. The world was no longer colorful or bright. Now it was gray and dusty. Under her hooves was not Vanilla's body, but Twilight's.
The pegasus was speechless for a few seconds, staring at the scene in disbelief. Then, memories of her fight with Badwhiz hit her—how she was defeated, and then... how she attacked Vanilla. No... how she attacked Twilight.
"Is this a dream? It's a dream, right?" she told herself incredulously, biting her hoof. She felt pain but didn't wake up. She was no longer in a dream.
This was reality—or rather, a nightmare.
With tears in her eyes, Rainbow Dash quickly grabbed Twilight's body and began shaking her, hoping for a reaction... but nothing happened.
"WAKE UP, TWILIGHT! PLEASE, WAKE UP! TELL ME THIS IS A DREAM!"
But there was no response. There was no life in that battered and broken body.
Dash began to cry, real tears falling to the ground, born from the terrible tragedy she had committed.
"WHY? WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? I DON'T UNDERSTAND, WHY? WHY?!" she sobbed, cradling her fallen friend's body.
"Rainbow, I'm fine... don't cry," said Twilight's voice.
"HOW CAN YOU EXPECT ME NOT TO CRY AFTER I... HUH...?" Rainbow jumped back, immediately letting go of the false Twilight she had been holding.
There, standing, shaken and battered, was Twilight, still alive, with a tired smile.
Rainbow Dash's mind went blank. Everything seemed too unreal to react. Before she could open her mouth, Twilight began to speak.
"You're a huge fan of Daring Do stories. You hate eating pies. You had a secret date with Soarin last spring, and when you were little, you loved wearing white dresses and having your parents call you 'Rainbow Princess,' even when you said you hated it," Twilight said, almost breathless.
Rainbow Dash had heard enough. Whether this was reality or not no longer mattered to her. She didn't care about the Twilight doll lying on the ground either. The only thing she was sure about was what she was going to do next.
"TWILIGHT!" Rainbow screamed, hugging her friend tightly with tears of joy.
Twilight, for her part, accepted the gesture with a grimace—she was still sore from the blows she had received earlier. They weren't serious injuries, but she felt exhausted.
"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" Rainbow asked frantically.
"Don't worry, Rainbow. Just give me a moment to breathe."
Then, a dark meteor crashed not far from them. From the dust emerged a familiar figure. Shrouded in shadows, it was Badwhiz, who had finally caught up to them, ready to end this battle.
"PLEASE, GIVE ME A BREAK!" Twilight complained in frustration beside Dash, just as a black lightning bolt shot toward them.