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(9)
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Princess Celestia lounged on her throne, contentedly nestled within cushions of woven silk and gold, soft with tempered cloudstuff and pegasus down. A golden halo backlit her crown and regalia, highlighting her radiance for all of her court to bask in. The Eastern Throne was as lively and vibrant as it had always been, since time beyond pony-time. Or, to be exact, since she had commissioned it moved from the Halls of Origination to Equestria, eons ago, from its former location by Rajh's side.

Sweet Rajh. She still felt her connection to the Titanic Watcher of the Sun, even now, but ponykind could not remain forever buried beneath the sands of that blistering desert. The Curse of Flesh had seen to that, and as Celestia herself succumbed to the weaknesses of the curse, she had felt the affection the Ancient Watchers held for her and her kind begin to wane. It had been time to move on, despite Luna's protests and refusals to leave Isiset's side, and abandon the land of their birth. Poor Luna had rarely smiled since the day those great gates had closed, forever, all those thousands of years ago, barred against any return.

Celestia, on the other hoof... was content.

Ponies of all colors and races basked in the warmth and totality of her sun's magnificent glow, the blessed gift of an Ordered World. None had the faintest idea of where their ancestors had come from, so long ago. Equestria was their home: their safe, idyllic, peaceful home. Even the weather and the wildlife bowed to the designs of ponykind. It would soon be a paradise in every measure of the word; let the rest of the world look upon it with envy! She, Celestia, would have created a new order, Her Order, one worthy of the Titans themselves in miniature!

All would bear fruit in time. Meanwhile, her courtiers laughed and played and frolicked in her glow, in her gardens and in her court. Jesters strummed lyres and other instruments and nobles cavorted, whispering and giggling under the stern gazes of the Royal Guard. It was all a joyful buildup to the Hearing of Petitions. Celestia always set aside part of the glorious day to hear from her subjects. Most were merely content to be given entry and to praise her, but every so often there were requests and suggestions, all of which the Solar Throne gave careful consideration.

After all, while ever more of Equestria grew idyllic day by day, the border regions remained difficult to tame. Sadly, Luna had no interest in the creation of the New Order. Her own seat of power at Everfree had been left in a wild and untamed state, to better serve as testing and training grounds for her shadowy Night Guard. It was most unseemly, given the ancient and auspicious foundations of the place. There was no changing her younger sister's mind, however. Centuries of ambivalence had made her set in her ways; she hardly even responded to requests for her to even visit Canterlot for important festivals. Little Luna had become a recluse.

The Herald trotted forward, cleared his throat, and addressed the court, "All bow! The Light of the Day, the Bearer of the Sun, Her Majesty Princess Celestia, will now hear petitions from her most humble subjects!"

Raising herself up with elegance and poise, Celestia lifted a gold wreathed hoof.

"Come before me, my little ponies, and be heard," she spoke in a perfect voice that filled the hall with gentle, soothing tones of authority. Her court ponies were all bowing, heads low, and when they looked up at her, it was with love and adoration in their eyes. Celestia smiled, gracing them with the light of her pleasure.

"Princess," the Herald read from his itinerary in a booming voice. "It... it seems there has been a change? Ah. How strange." He quickly shook his head, dismissing the momentary confusion and impropriety. "Our first petition comes from... Everfree, your Majesty."

"Everfree," Celestia almost said it like a question. That wouldn't have done. Instead her tone indicating her mild displeasure. Then she 'hmm'ed at the slight possibility that it could be a servant of her sister, come to bear words of reconciliation and return.

"Let us begin then," she decreed.

The Herald nodded, and made the announcement. "From the Demesne of Everfree, and the Court of Lady Luna: The Element of Magic, the Magus Enigma, and his companion, the Lady Featherfrost!"

The announcement of the unexpected guests sent an almost inaudible ripple of concern among the court hanger's on and the noble ponies in attendance. They were all creatures of routine, and the vast majority of petitions were from the lower classes, as Nobles made their appeals in court under the guise of giving gifts. It had been ages since an emissary of Everfree appeared using their titles. Even Aged Nemo, the last Element of Magic, had clipped mention of any court or domain from his titled name, preferring the simple 'of Equestria.'

From the open doors of the Eastern Throne Room came a pair of ponies, one a unicorn and the other a pegasus. The former wore a plain traveling cloak of contrasting black and white. A foreign zebra fetish hung from his neck. He was a stallion in the prime of his life, with silver eyes and a matching mane, spiked backwards. This was Enigma. He had been to court before, and few were terribly shocked by his appearance now.

The other guest garnered more whispers. She was a light blue pegasus, almost grayish, with a mane of shocking ice-blue that curled up and then back, swept and shaped by the wind. She wore the form fitting guise of a Shadowbolt in stark black and indigo. Her golden eyes never strayed from the Throne of the Dawn to acknowledge the stares from the rest of the court. Her wings stretched lazily and folded up neatly to her sides.

"Your Majesty, Princess Celestia of the Eastern Throne," Enigma spoke first, bowing deeply. The pegasus followed a moment later.

Celestia gazed down at her guests. "It is always a pleasure to welcome home an Element of Harmony, Enigma. You put yourself on the top of my itinerary, I assume?"

"We all have pressing matters to attend to," he replied. "It seemed wise to not tarry."

"Your mentor would have waited his turn," she admonished.

"I am not Nemo, Your Majesty."

"No, you are not," Celestia agreed, letting a very mild trace of reproach into her tone. "What is your urgent business, Enigma?"

He took a deep breath, silver eyes hooded.

"The Element of Loyalty," he said. "I have Sunracer's Replacement."

Celestia's eye narrowed, her pink mane obscuring half her face. "Oh?"

"She stands before you," Enigma explained, and stepped back to incline his head towards the Shadowbolt by his side. "Featherfrost. I would present her as our last Element of Harmony."

"Majesty." The pegasus bowed, with courteous respect.

"We have not had an Element of Loyalty imbued since Sunracer's passing," Celestia reminded him. Reminded both of them. "Why do you need one now?"

"A war is waged within Uldum. An enemy rises that, if left unchecked, will undoubtedly threaten Equestria." Enigma's words send a shudder through the court. War was unheard of in Equestria, save for the troublemaking raids of the steppe nomads and the occasional uncouth dragon. "The Elements of Harmony must be assembled."

Celestia smirked. "Assembled... so that you may open forbidden places, closed to ponykind?"

Enigma's eyes widened just a bit; he was surprised she had figured it out.

"Yes, Majesty," he answered. "I do this at the request of Princess Luna, who even now fights to secure Uldum. However," he added, looking up. "I believe with all my being that Featherfrost is most worthy to carry the weight of the Element of Loyalty. Her devotion to her comrades and to Equestria is beyond questioning. In the years since being assigned my bodyguard, she has saved my life countless times."

"And you mine," Featherfrost spoke, giving him a thankful nod.

Celestia watched the two ponies carefully, and for some time, she said nothing. Enigma was the most powerful Element of Magic seen in generations, and Nemo had trained him in all the secrets of the Titans that survived from Before. He was not the hermetic that Nemo had been, but Celestia did believe he was loyal to the New Order and to Equestria. Featherfrost, on the other hoof, was a Shadowbolt, still dyed in Luna's powers and colors. That made Celestia slightly more wary. Much as she loved her somewhat withdrawn younger sister, she was not keen to let an Element of Harmony fall under the wing of her all-too independent Night Guard.

She stamped a golden hoof, hard, and a corona of light radiated from where she had struck the marble dais. A portal opened within that light, and from it Celestia withdrew a spherical stone bearing an ancient mark. It was the container for the Element of Loyalty, kept safe after Sunracer's death, twenty four years ago. Celestia nudged it and let it roll down the steps to come to a stop a yard or so away.

"Take it..." she said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Featherfrost began to trot forward -

"...If you can," Celestia finished, her eyes turning to the pair of pegasus Royal Guards to her left as her wings shot out, framing her in a menacing corona of light. "Guards. Subdue her."

With a snort, the two large pegasi jumped down, interposing themselves between the Shadowbolt and the Element of Loyalty. Their wings snapped out, feathers sharpened by magical light. Featherfrost stopped her approach, slowing and then standing still. Her golden eyes were half lidded, and her wings slowly extended.

She waited.

Finally, the two Guards, remembering their orders - 'Subdue her!' - shot forward in unison. They reared to tackle the Shadowbolt and crush her under their superior strength. Only once they were committed to the attack did Featherfrost tense and move, weaving between them like a streak of sky blue. The Guards landed, their faces and wings layered by ice. Snowflakes drifted along the path Featherfrost had taken, and the marble floor sported a zig-zag trail of frozen water, sticking up like a hundred tiny icicles.

Featherfrost stopped, one hoof on top of the spherical Element. The Royal Guards spun, shaking the snow off their wings, and tensed to give chase again. And again, the moment they committed to the charge, Featherfrost vanished, moving amid a swirl of snow. A second later and she was at Enigma's side, the Element of Loyalty held within her tail. Her wings shot out, releasing a small cloud of icy particles, and snapped back in.

Celestia's smile widened. "I see why she was chosen as your bodyguard, Enigma."

The Two Royal Guards growled, moving in to attack again.

"The test is over," the Sun Princess quickly informed them, in mid jump. "Return to my side, if you would?"

The pair stopped, wings struggling to halt their momentum. One was almost in reach of Featherfrost, hoof-blades extended. The Guards snorted and pulled back with military precision, returning to Celestia's left side. More than a few of the watching court ponies whispered amongst themselves at the displays they had seen.

"She is capable," Celestia continued. "As I expected."

"She had had ample opportunity and incentive to improve," Enigma explained with a dark chuckle. "Three times, she has guarded me on expeditions to the Western Sun Wall. There is no pony I would rather have by my side."

Featherfrost smiled at the praise, but kept silent.

"That is well and good, however, there is more to being an Element of Loyalty than strength or speed," the Princess reminded him. She turned her eye on the Shadowbolt. "You must swear fealty to me, as all the Elements of Loyalty have done."

"Majesty?" Featherfrost asked, and her eyes flitted to Enigma for confirmation. He remained silent. Frowning, the Pegasus of the Night Guard took an involuntary step back before bowing her head. "Princess Celestia... I have already given my vows to my Princess and Lady Luna, and to Equestria. I... I am forbidden."

"Sunrunner was one of my Wonderbolts," Celestia said, as if not hearing Featherfrost's words. "You will take her place."

For a moment, the Shadowbolt seemed confused and torn. No doubt Enigma had told her of the importance of gaining the final Element of Harmony. Yet she had given her vows already, and could not honorably take new ones. The icy pegasus frowned, clearing thinking of some kind of way to accomplish her mission without compromising her honor.

"This... this must be another test," she reasoned, nodded. "It must be. Princess, you must know I would not go back on my vow as a Lady of the Night Guard."

"This is no test," Celestia assured her in a cool, impassive tone. "You have the Element of Loyalty. Make your vow to me and I shall bind it to you."

Featherfrost's mouth moved, but no words came out.

Her tail slackened, and the Element of Loyalty fell to the floor.

"I - I can not," she asserted. "My loyalty is to Equestria, and to my brothers and sisters in the Night Guard. I shall take no other vows." She turned to her partner and lowered her head. "I am sorry, Enigma, I..."

"There is nothing to be sorry for," he stopped her.

"But we...?" Featherfrost gasped, as a jeweled collar appeared around her neck. A stylized version of her cutie mark, a snowflake trisected by radiating lines, was emblazed on the front.

"You have your Element of Loyalty now, Enigma," Celestia said, relaxing back on her throne. "And I believe you have chosen well. Is that all?"

The Element of Magic bowed slightly, in thanks, and Featherfrost did the same.

"There was one other matter," he said, without further hesitation. "Princess Luna has again requested assistance be dispatched to aid her in Uldum. As you are no doubt aware, the War of the Shifting Sands is being waged beyond the Sun Wall."

Celestia nodded. "So I have heard. Not too long ago, I spoke with the Great Bronze Drake, Anachronos. He considered our front in the war to be secondary to the defense of the Caverns of Time, and he also informed me that soon the other flights would mass and take the war to these 'Silithid.' All the dragon flights, save the Black, will descend and lay waste to the enemy. Our own priorities must be in the defense of Equestria, not Uldum. We are already pressed providing food and resettlement for displaced tribes in the west."

Seeing Enigma about to object, she held up a hoof for his silence.

"I am not mute to the pleas of my sister," she added. "I will go personally to Uldum. ...Soon. With a mighty host, and together she and I will bring order to the land as we have in the past. Tell Luna to be patient and not to take undue risks before I arrive."

The unicorn mage did not seem happy with this news, but agreed. "Very well, Princess. However, it may be too late to 'not take risks.' I pray you come as quickly as you can. Princess Luna needs your guidance and aid... more than you know, and more than she is willing to admit."

"Majesty," Featherfrost bowed again.

Enigma's body glowed, forming a sphere around himself and the Shadowbolt pegasus. Arcane text circled the pair, dancing along the floor. Then with a wink of magical power, they were gone. Celestia couldn't have known, then, just what her sister was already involved in, so far to the west. Or the lengths Luna was already prepared to take to secure victory.

Unlike her sister, Celestia knew why she was remembering these things; why she was having these visions of a time forgotten by ponykind. She woke up, having tangled her bedsheets around her sometime during the night. She had known these visions of the past would be returning to haunt her, but there had been little to do to prepare for it. Her demeanor was calm when awake, but clearly her body had not been as relaxed as it fought against what her mind knew came next.

The loss, the pain and... the betrayal.

"Luna..." she whispered, shaking her head sadly. There was no changing the past. What was done as done. What mattered was the future.

Working the kinks out of her legs, Celestia crooked her neck to the left and right to loosen up the muscles. She soon say, in a full length mirror, that she looked quite frazzled: the hairs on her coat were on end and her mane had gone from gently flowing aurora to tangled web of rainbow colored snakes. Using a bit of magic, she rang a bell and sat on a soft cushion before the mirror, her mind racing.

If everything was going to plan (and it usually did), then today was the day.

Two unicorn servants quickly entered her room to ready their Princess for her appearance at court. They combed her coat and used magic to smooth out her mane and tail - these days more arcane firmament than physical substance. None could touch the Royal Regalia, so it was saved for last. Soft towels wiped her face, and enchanted water cleaned her mouth. After only a few moments, she was the picture of royal dignity and grace that she had always presented, and that after a thousand years her ponies had come to expect. Anything other than perfection would throw the poor dears into a panic.

Properly prepared and adorned, Celestia thanked her servants - pretty little maids that they were - and exited her private chambers. As always, a pair of Royal Guards fell in step alongside her. It was early morning and much of the court would not make formal appearance until after the ceremony of the rising sun. Before then, she had a small window of opportunity to overlap her time with that of her precious younger sister.

She found Luna in the dining hall, alone save for three of her new Night Guards.

The one closest had to be Marrs Orange. Celestia didn't betray any shock or surprise at the sight of the Earth pony's transformation. She had always known what giving these recruits to Luna would entail. The new colors given him were similar to those of the Old Night Guard, but just different enough to be noticeable, especially the silver manes Luna had given them. Rather more alarming, Luna had changed their eyes in more than just color. Marrs and his compatriots had slit pupils - the alteration was very unponylike and rather intimidating.

After a brief and unnecessary introduction, Celestia sat at the opposite end of the table to silently eat with her closest of kin. Luna looked tired, but her poise wasn't as rigid as it often had been in the presence of her older sister. She ate without speaking and slowly drank her tea. This was her dinner as much as it was Celestia's breakfast.

Finally breaking the silence, Celestia asked, conversationally, "I see your new Guard are taking to their colors well."

Luna glanced up quickly, before her attention returned to her after-dinner sweets. Which she picked at, not particularly liking sweet foods. She cut a slice from an apple and nibbled it, indecisively.

"Time will tell," she eventually replied.

It was not exactly a great conversation starter.

Celestia smiled, and helped herself to a bit of fresh melon. "I see. You are quite right. Time will tell."

It was a very subtle bit of prodding, but she didn't want to force Luna to talk if she didn't want to.

It paid off, almost a minute later.

"I must admit I... I am... tired," Luna finally said, pushing back her plate and giving Celestia a suspicious look. "A mere twenty one Guards, and it took so much out of me."

"You'll get used to it again soon enough," the Sun Princess promised.

Luna's eyes tightened into a faint scowl. "Maybe, maybe not. This body... this shell your Elements of Harmony trapped me within... it doesn't even feel like me anymore. It is like the Curse of Flesh all over again!"

"Sister..."

Luna looked away, guiltily. "I'm sorry," she apologized, quickly. "I don't mean to sound... ungrateful. I could just have easily ended up banished again. This is the price I pay for my purification, isn't it? I just... feel weaker. I don't like feeling..." insignificant "...weak."

"As you grow into your form again, your powers will return in full," Celestia replied, genuinely concerned for her sister. "Believe me, they will. Neither of us are... quite what we used to be."

"It wasn't just the ritual or the guardponies," Luna hesitantly added, wavering for a few seconds on whether to continue. She was clearly loathe to say too much, but desperate to talk to someone.

Celestia asked. "You know you can tell me anything, Luna."

The troubled Moon Princess frowned briefly, intensely, at that, but gradually softened.

"I..." she began, afraid to say. "I had a dream. About him. About a thousand years ago. I went to Uldum." She hung her head, and her voice trembled. "I made that armor. I did... things."

"That was all in the past," Celestia assured her with a glowing smile. "No one blames you for what happened. We-"

"Of course no one blames me," Luna interrupted, betraying traces of anger. "You burned all the records. No one knows me at all anymore. No one knows what I did or what happened or why." She gritted her teeth to hold back tears but retained her composure as best she was able. "The two of you made me into an old mare's tale!"

Celestia couldn't help but return the frown, her composure slipping slightly.

"Luna..." she warned. "You have a whole new life ahead of you; you need to accept what happened and move on."

"I have moved on, big sister." The persian blue Princess pushed herself away from the table. "Marrs. Attend to me. It is time to retire for the day."

"My Lady," the Guard Captain bowed, falling in line and motioning to the servants to clean up.

"Luna." Celestia's voice was frosty, and every pony in the room froze.

All save one.

Luna herself tried not to look back, but when she did, it was with tears in her eyes. Still, she was stubborn, and refused to take back her words. The memories of a thousand years ago were still fresh, as were the wounds.

"I am sorry," Celestia told her, almost pleading. "When I told the Elements to Seal you, when I, when we..." For once, she found it hard to find the words, going with simply honesty. "We made a mistake. If I could do it all again... I would have told Enigma and the others to-"

At the sound of his name, Luna stiffened and turned away again.

"I don't want you to apologize," she said with a sniff. "And that pony is a thousand years in the grave. Besides, the Natural Order had to be maintained, didn't it? And you and I are both spares for the other, aren't we? It was my fault. I wavered. I fell. I brought it all on myself and I have to live with the consequences. Please... big sister... if you'll excuse me?"

Unhappily, Celestia tried again. "Luna..."

But it was obvious the conversation had already gone too downhill. Like quite a few others over the last year. On most things, the two sisters got along well: they had enjoyed long talks over shared meals or walks in the gardens, though Luna typically listened more than she spoke. Some topics, however, had become something of a taboo. It was obvious that the shadow of Nightmare Moon was still hanging over Luna. It had been forcibly expunged by the power of the Elements of Harmony a year ago, but it was an imposed peace. Deep down, there was still a war raging inside the Princess of the Moon. Luna alone could face her inner demons and overcome them. It could not be done for her.

"Tonight," Celestia said instead. "I have something planned for tonight. Rest lightly, because I may have cause to wake you."

Curiosity, ever Luna's Achilles heel, momentarily made her forget about herself.

"Tonight?" she asked, looking back with one eye wide, the other shut as she mentally went over any number of calendars and leap years. "There isn't anything special planned for tonight...?"

"Think of it as another surprise," Celestia promised, putting on what she hoped to be an infectious grin.

"If that is the case, why are you telling me ahead of time?" Luna wondered, already lost in her contemplation. "That defeats the purpose of a surprise... unless the surprise is that there's no surprise? Hmm..."

Already distracted by trying to figure what her sister was up to, Luna's mood had improved. Murmuring possibilities to herself, she began to trot away in much less of a rush. Marrs paused only a moment to bow respectfully to Celestia, and to give silent signals to the two Night Guards on watch. They fell in step with their Princess and commanding officer. Soon, Luna and her protectors were gone. Watching her go, Celestia sighed, relieved to have averted a total catastrophe.

Now, she just had to hope that everything was going as well in Everfree as it was in Canterl-

3. [Local Defense] Canterlot Merchant District is Under Attack!
3. [Local Defense] Canterlot Merchant District is Under Attack!
3. [Local Defense] Canterlot Merchant District is Under Attack!
3. [Local Defense] Canterlot Merchant District is Under Attack!
Iampony yells: Horde rogue in AH!
3. [Local Defense] Canterlot Merchant District is Under Attack!
Rolling Restarts: Hey, is that an undead? What's he doing h OMGWTFWHY?

Slowing putting down her tea cup, Celestia shook her head.

"Well, then. It seems today is off to a great start."

- - -

"I wish I could come with you guys," Spike said, gripping the strap that ran across his chest.

The Enchantment-only bag Rarity had made for him was large enough to be a backpack for the baby dragon, and she had studded it with jewels and imbued lacing the color of his scales. He'd already de-enchanted quite a few items for his friends, but it was clear he wanted to contribute in a more martial sense as well.

"I know you would, Spike," Twilight replied, leaning in to touch her cheek to his. "But its still too dangerous. You could get hurt, and if there were area of effect spells..."

"I'm still a dragon!" he insisted, frowning. "I can fight!"

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should," she replied. "Just hold down the fort for now, okay? If the worst happens, we'll need you to be our backup and to get word to the Princess."

"I - I don't like it, but alright, fine..." Spike relented, backing away. "But nothing bad better happen. I'll be waiting for you guys to get back."

"We'll be back before you know it," Twilight promised, raising her head and trotting over to where Applejack and Pinkie Pie stood, next to a large stone sticking out of the ground. "As soon as Rarity and Fluttershy are ready for their summon."

Rainbow Dash made a quick buzz and looped around to land on top of the stone. She was eager to get things going, and her wings flexed and stretched, mirroring her anxious and energetic nature.

"Come on, come on," she repeated, tapping the stone with a back hoof. "What are those two doing?"

"Yah know, Rainbow, it was just tha other day when we all had'ta wait for you and Pinkie Pie tah finish foaling around by tha mailbox."

"Very serious business!" Pinkie chimed in, nodding rapidly.

"Oh, really?" The farmer wasn't convinced.

"Where do'ya think all those cupcakes and sweets from last night came from?" Pinkie asked. "I'm bouncing them between myself and my alt to save bank space!"

"You can do that?!" Dash asked, and sucked in a breath. "That's brilliant!"

"What kind of mail even gets delivered out here, anyway?" Twilight wondered aloud. "And how?"

Dash snickered. "Oh, I've got a good idea how."

...

Meanwhile, somewhere over war torn Icecrown Citadel...

The Lich King frowned at the usual assortment of junk mail. How did this stuff even get here? And why did he still have a subscription to "Paladin Quarterly?" Not only wasn't Arthas working here anymore, or even alive, but that subscription should have been canceled years ago. Were they still billing him? Did the undead still somehow have credit?

He was tempted to just kill the mailmare, but always seemed to just miss her.

Huffing at the frigid glacial air, the Lord of the Dead noticed a wobbly gray shape flying away.

"Googly eyed pegasus loon!" he yelled, throwing the junk mail off the side of the Citadel. "The Lich King has no need for 'Bed, Bath and Beyond' coupons!"

...

"You probably shouldn't think too much about it," Pinkie Pie suggested, her back against the summon stone. "Or else you'll go a little crazy-wazy."

"Yeah, and we wouldn't want any crazy ponies around," Dash agreed, lying on top of the stone and hanging her head down directly over the pink pony.

Pinkie just munched on a leftover cupcake from last night.

"Anyway," Twilight began to say. "We should..."

'I'm, um... ready for my summon... please...' Fluttershy's voice was ghostly, transmitted via magic to the rest of her party.

"About time!" Applejack replied, pushing against the summon stone with her forelegs. "So how'daya fire this thing up, anyhoo?"

"Like this!" Pinkie slurped up the cupcake, and still chewing, spun around to face the summon stone. Holding out a hoof, she declared, "Fluttershy! Fluttershy!! Fluttershy!!!"

A glowing portal in space appeared from the surface of the stone.

"I see!" Twilight said, approaching the portal. "The spell requires the name of the summoned to be chanted three times in succession."

"Just like a horror movie!" Pinkie further explained.

"Pfeh!" Dash, still lounging on top of the stone, rolled her eyes. "You don't need to say anyone's name! Pinkie Pie's just pulling your tail!"

"Aww! Its no fun the normal way!"

Sighing, Twilight held out her right hoof, thinking Fluttershy's name instead of saying it.

A few second later, the magical portal widened, and the outline of the timid pegasus druid became clear. She quickly solidified and materialized, stepping out from the fading swirl of purple energy. She and Rarity had both hearthed back to Ponyville to check in on their homes, and in the former's case, to make sure Sweetie Belle hadn't gone on a cloth destroying adventure with her friends. Since the two mares were in Ponyville, they'd also been asked to run one or two quick errands.

Luckily there was a summon stone erected by the Royal Guard. With it, a party member could be pulled through the Twisting Nether from any point on the planet. It was potent static magic used to provide quick military reinforcement. Twilight had read about it, but the magic of how to create a summon stone was restricted to the Royal Guard. Apparently, many different military forces worldwide were inclined to set them up near areas of intense conflict to better bring in groups of mercenaries and other adventurers.

"I have the glyphs everypony wanted," Fluttershy said, pulling a few brown notes from her bag.

"Alright! Thanks, Fluttershy!" Dash hopped down and picked the note with her name on it. She then tossed her holy libram on the ground and started applying some dust of disappearance to it, rubbing her hoof in circles as if she were cleaning a dirty dress instead of a delicate piece of parchment.

"What'd you need anyway?" Twilight asked, taking her brown note and checking the glyphs within. She laid out her own spellbook with care, and carefully placed the inscriptions over the available slots.

"Ah, just some Prot stuff," Dash replied, and two golden lights sparkled from her holy text. "The divine protection glyph was the big one I wanted to try replacing." Job done, she stomped down on the book causing it to twirl through the air and unerringly back into her saddle bags. "What'd you get, Twilight?"

The unicorn triggered the apply effect, and the glyphs burned into her spellbook. "I've had to use polymorph a bunch of times already, and I heard there was a glyph that makes it harder to accidentally break. That and one to improve my arcane blasts."

"Sounds cool," the pegasus paladin agreed. "Crowd control's saved our flanks a bunch of times already."

'Is anyone listening? I do hope I'm not here talking to myself. I am ready for a summon!'

"Good timing, Rarity!" Twilight quickly put her spellbook away and held up a hoof to the summon stone. She thought about her fellow unicorn, picturing her in her mind, and thought her name three times for good measure. Rather than draw any magic from her, however, the summon stone possessed its own. It responded to her call, and the initial portal formed, purple haze slowly rotating around a bright white center.

Dash formed the second anchor for the summon.

"Ta da!" Rarity all but cantered out of the portal. "How do I look?"

It seemed that the well groomed priest had found the time to grab a quick bath and fix her mane to perfection. She had also thrown on a new purple shirt to match her new white vestments. Because, heaven help you if you fought life or death battles against hordes of evil ponies wearing a shirt that didn't match your chestpiece or boots. On the other hoof, she did look good.

"Y'all look great!" Applejack said, and joked, "Ah'm sure the cultists out there will be honored to have their mind flayed by such ah well dressed pony!"

"I brought some shirts for all of you as well!" Rarity pointedly accepted her friend's compliment, minus the sarcasm. "Twilight, you simply must try this one. Wearing a chestpiece without a shirt underneath is so... gauche! We aren't trolls or orcs, after all."

"We usually don't wear anything at all!" Pinkie pointed out, and tapped her chin quizzically. "But the last time I asked one of those human guys, hey, 'it must be hot with all that stuff on! Let's get naked!' He ran away. I wonder why?"

"Human types only get naked when they think they're going to spend all night wiping on trash," Dash explained with a sage-like expression. "I don't really know what that means, but it's what I heard."

"What is means, is that there is a whole new fashion industry out there, just waiting to be exploited!" Rarity informed her, and then, suddenly aware of what she had said, the unicorn blushed. "Exploited in a good way. I recently had a request made for something called lingerie..."

After quickly accepting Rarity's choices in shirts to fit under their new robes or barding, Twilight trotted ahead to redirect their attention to the fight ahead. She had a spring in her step, and despite only a couple hours of sleep, she felt invigorated and excited to get going. Magical energy all but crackled around her body. Her clothes were magic, her hooves and ankles decorated with enchanted shoes and bracelets, and a new magical hood covered her head. She felt like she could take on a half dozen Trixies and have room for an Ursa Minor!

It had to just be the adrenalin speaking, but maybe someday... someday soon!

"Okay, everypony," she said, raising her voice a bit. All her friends were standing in a row, ready to head out. "This is the last push. By tonight, the castle will be peaceful again, and Everfree will be back to... well, it'll be back to as normal as Everfree Forest usually gets."

"Let's go back over what we need to do," she continued. "First! We'll be heading through the Cloister area along with the Royal Guards. Try not to get too mixed up in the fighting. We'll be working with the pegasi to attack enemy casters. Once casters in an area are down, then we help with the melee fighting."

"Second! We keep an eye out for any of the ponies these cultists have coltnapped. Third. Everypony should also try and keep an eye out for this 'record of the first cutie marks' that the Cutie Mark Crusaders wanted."

"I still can't believe we're actually doing that," Dash groaned , hoof-palming.

"It doesn't hurt to try, and we did say we'd look," Twilight reminded her. "From the letter we found on Blood Diver... Highdiver, I mean... we should also be on the lookout for this Ambassador Mo'grog pony/person, and the one behind all this: High Priest Voidhorn. Who sounds like a unicorn. Everypony ready? Buffs look good. No one needs to AFK or Bio?"

The mane six all shook their heads.

"Then I'll talk to Captain Morning Star and start..." Twilight turned and was about to head over, when she came up short, nearly bumping into a pegasus who had crept up behind her. He wasn't a Royal Guard, that much was clear given his coloration and lack of armor, not to mention being normal sized. He shuffled back a step, bowing his head in apology.

"S-sorry," Ice Breaker said, moving aside. "Before you go, I just wanted to say good luck. We're all counting on you!"

Dash trotted up and smiled at him brightly. "Heheh! Don't sweat it! We got this in the bag! Now, if you want my autograph, that's two bits for..."

"Ah, come on ahlready!" Applejack butted into the paladin's rear, forcing her along.

"Nooo!" the would-be wonderbolt cried. "My adoring fans need me!"

"I love my fans, too!" Pinkie agreed, bouncing along. "Even though they are kind of pervy. Not as bad as Rarity's though!"

"Please, darling, they're called admirers, not fans... and what do you mean perverted?!"

Moments later, Twilight gave the word to Morning Star, and the ranks of Royal Guard started forward, stomping their hooves in unison. The Pegasi took to the air first, forming up into pairs. The unicorns warmed up their spells next. Like Morning Star himself, they specialized in defensive barrier shields. Each one could put up a dampening shield that reduced the damage taken by those nearby. The Earth ponies were the vanguard: the wedge that would push forward through the cultist infested castle Cloister.

"Gentlecolts!" Morning Star yelled. "You have your orders! We push forward to the Observatory. We leave not a single enemy behind us! Advance on my Mark!"

Unlike before, Applejack - who only had a defensive protection spec - stayed back. Everyone else except Fluttershy was going dps. for Twilight and Pinkie Pie, this was no different than normal, but Rarity cloaked herself in Shadowform, and Dash took out her Highdiver's Hoofblade to go Retribution. Pegasi circled overhead and, as one, swooped forward to begin the attack with an air-to-ground bombardment. Magical bolts shot up from the enemy occupied Cloister, as cultist mages sheltered behind pillars and fired up at the Royal flyers.

The Royal Guard pegasi were not weatherponies, but they were still pegasi. Dropping satchels from their underside, they climbed upwards in tight spirals, pulling together moisture to form stormclouds. The Cloister rocked with explosions as the dwarven and gnomish explosives detonated, shattering the makeshift defensive works put up by the entrenched cultists. While any resulting enemies caught in the blasts were a plus, the goal was simply to destroy any objections or earthworks.

Stormclouds brewed overhead.

"MARK! AD-VANCE!"

The Royal Guards moved forward in unison, maintaining formation around their protective unicorn mages. Just like when they formed the bridge to cross into the Courtyard, enemy unicorns quickly responded by throwing large stones and other projectiles. Some were as small as a toy ball, and others were large enough to crush a pony outright. They arced through the air in a steady streak, taking advantage of the abundance of fallen masonry and broken stone that littered the castle ruins.

The unicorn Guards did their jobs well, however. Twilight was sheltered under Morning Star's shield, in the center of the advancing wedge. A solid, transparent barrier repelled the projectiles. Behind them, a young colt with a sun-adorned flag draped over his side played a marching tune on a ceremonial horn.

Cultponies littered the ruined Cloister ahead, and Twilight could see where the explosives had hit, blasting apart fallen pillars and stones that had been intended as barricades. As the Guard formations approached, a cry went up from the cultists still hiding in the ruins. The words were alien and strange, in a tongue Twilight couldn't place. They almost hurt to hear.

"Ia! Ia!" A mare's voice cried, and a dark unicorn stepped atop a fallen pillar, strange black flames running up and down her sides. "Hear me, minions of the Twilight Cult! The hour of the Darkness Ascendant is at hoof! The Eye of the Master is upon you! Your Gods are watching you, my brothers and sisters! They hunger for flesh and blood and pain and death! Feed them! Gorge them! Destroy the unbelievers who would defile this sacred place!"

With a mad cry, a dozen ponies in purple robes leapt out of cover and surged forward. Morning Star barked an order over the din, and the Royal Guard formed a wall, their positioning tightening up to assure continued cover beneath their magical shields. It was a good thing, too, as cultist casters moved into position during the confusion, rearing up to pour fire and ice into the growing conflagration.

Thunder shook the sky above.

The Royal Guards in front were already caught in a ferocious melee. Now, it was up to the casters to decide the battle. Twilight identified and marked two targets, one with a skull the other with a star.

The skull was a "Twilight Firebreaker" - a unicorn in a red robe and an insane look in his eyes. Like all the cultists, his coat had been turned a strange, mottled and brackish black. His forearms were in the air, and fire was swirling protectively around him.

The star, her own polymorph target, was a "Twilight Frostcaller" - curiously, this pony did not appear to be a unicorn. She was a Pegasus, and yet the spell identified her as a caster. She was clearly not suicidal enough to take to the air with so many Royal Guards flying overhead, but as she lifted slightly off the ground, it was clear she intended to cast some sort of spell. Twilight didn't give her a chance. The second she came in range, she became a sheep.

Another Firebreaker appeared from the crowd, and a lance of energy came down from above.

Flamestrike!

The target was a rather conspicuous Pinkie Pie, thankfully sheltered behind one of the magic dampening shields. The burning lance from above still hit her, and she promptly started bouncing around.

"My hooves! My hooves!" She quickly stopped her comical bouncing, and summoned a bolt of lightning at the offending cultpony. "That was super hot, you big meanie!"

Everypony else was helping, focusing fire first on the skull marked Firebreaker and then on the second one. Twilight did the same, but as party leader, she also had to keep an eye out for new threats. It was not an easy job, even with the little cheat that was her Identify Spell. There were a lot of ponies fighting across the broken space of the Cloister.

The dark sky above cracked, and a lance of lightning came down, blasting cultists below.

"There!" Twilight saw a cast far to the left. It was hard to see what the cultpony was, but her spell had identified an incoming enemy spellcast. It had also marked the new threat as a "Twilight Earthcrusher." Honestly, where were these terms coming from?

Suddenly, without warning, a spike shot up from the ground beneath Dash's feet. The pegasus yelped and ended up tossed through the air, right out from the Guard magic shield she had been under, next to Fluttershy. The spear of stone had hit her hard, and knocked her right out of the protective field. Fluttershy was already casting a regrowth on the injured paladin, and after only a second or two of recovery, Dash zipped back in place.

"We need to take out those Earthcrushers first!" Twilight yelled, and put a skull up on the new enemy. Unfortunately, it was too far away for her to attack.

They were vulnerable on the left and right.

"Pinkie Pie! Rainbow! Switch places!"

"Okey Dokey Lokey, I'll be there in a jiffy!"

"You got it, Twi!"

The two swiftly moved out from under their shields to switch places, Pinkie transforming into a ghost wolf to get to safety a little faster. Debris continued to rain down from above, now complicated by Flamestrikes from Firebreakers. Once Pinkie got back in position, she dropped new totems, but was still close enough to help Rarity attack and interrupt the Earthcrusher. The new formation was better: with Pinkie and Fltutershy in the middle group, Rarity and Dash on the left, and herself and Applejack on the right. Two ranged would always be in range of a target on the left or right.

"Earthcrusher again!" Twilight announced, marking. It was on the right this time, and so she and Pinkie Pie focused fire on it. Those Earth Spears were definitely the worst spell of the lot. Not only was the damage caused by one apparently unaffected by the shields of the Royal Guards (since they only dampened incoming magic), but anyone hit would be vulnerable to the other spells and projectiles being thrown around.

More lightning came down from the pegasi above, splitting open an ancient marble pillar and causing the pieces to fall on top of a ranting cultist priest. It was organized chaos. The Royal Guards in melee pushed forward.

"This sucks!" Dash yelled, as she watched another Firebreaker fall. "The only ranged spell I have is Exorcism!"

"At least ya'll have that!" Applejack yelled back. "I should'a brought more apples ta buck! They'd be better'n nothin!"

A chill wind blew in, as another Frostcaller emerged, just as the sheep on the other one expired. Both pegasi started flapping their wings, summoning down a blizzard of frozen, sharpened ice. The ground became slick with water and, gruesomely, blood. Twilight tried not to think about that and continued marking and casting. A new polymorph turned one of the pegasi back into a sheep. It was hard to decide what was worse: the Flamestrikes or the Blizzards. Earthcrushers still took priority.

But there seemed to hardly be an end to them all.

Sticking close to Morning Star and under his magic dampening shield, Twilight winced at the fallen cultponies they were passing. The Royal Vanguard had crushed and then trampled them on the tireless march forward. Not a single one had broken ranks or formation, even when the cultists routed and fell back to another defensive point.

"Look at that! We got em!" Dash laughed, celebrating with a colorful backflip.

"Deir ponies are galloping from de battlefrield!" Pinkie Pie bounced up, hoof in the air, putting on her best (worst) Neighponese accent. "A Shamefur Dispray!"

"Ia! Ia!" the mare's voice from before cried. "Cowards! Cowards! The Master has no use for the weak of heart! She has no use for those who fear death! Suffer for your weakness and failure, that the rest of you may see what becomes of those who forget the Master's Will!"

A chorus of pony voices cried out in pain, becoming gargled, choked sounds.

"Fight! Fight for the Master!" the madpony commanded. "Take Strength in the deaths of the Weak!"

That... was probably the prompt for Round Two.

"We are almost through the Cloister!" Morning Star yelled, urging his colts forward in a less dramatic fashion. "Double Time!"

The formations of guards picked up the pace, breaking into a practiced, gallop. Twilight and the rest had to match pace, as the groups of ponies crested more destroyed obstacles, fallen pillars, and broken statues. The Cloister was rectangular, with an open area to the middle. The cultists had wisely avoided that, knowing the exposed area would leave them open to pegasus assaults from above.

Seeing the rear of the rectangular Cloister area, Twilight saw the last of the cultist horde whipping itself into a frenzy. Seeing the Royal Guard coming for them at a battle-gallop, they cried and rushed forward to meet their enemies head on. The two forces, once a disciplined wall, the other a maddened, zealous mob, crashed head on to the sound of steel and hooves and breaking bones.

By sheer weight of mass, some of the cultists broke through or even jumped over the Guards.

One in particular, a wide eyed mare frosting at the mouth, bounced from her landing and rushed towards Twilight. Her right off had been removed entirely and replaced with a jagged hook, crusty red from use... She raised the weapon high, to drive it into the heart of the robe-wearing mage.

Applejack intercepted her with her shield, slamming the cultist out of the air and into the ground.

"Woah nelly!" the Earth pony interrupted. "Ah don't take kindly ta being ignored!"

Dash, just as easily, had intercepted two of the other cultists, and seemed to be handling them fine. Twilight directed a few arcane bolts to assist her warrior friend, but kept her eyes peeled for any danger that warranted focus fire. She soon saw something of just that sort: it was another Twilight Firebreaker, but she seemed to be growing larger! Within seconds, she was twice the size of a normal pony!

The Identify spell flickered, changing the designation to 'Empowered Firebreaker."

The super sized cultpony roared, and her huge horn flared red. This time two pillars of flame came down on two separate targets. Recognizing the danger, Twilight marked her with a skull. She didn't even need to say anything; everypony knew what skull meant.

Unfortunately, whatever magic had been used to increase the size and power of the insane unicorn's magic had also made her tougher. A stream of arcane missiles blasted her face, causing her to cringe, but little more. Lighting and shadow added in, and the empowered unicorn ducked her head and howled in agony. A cast time measured in all of a second - too fast to easily interrupt - came and went, and then more flame pillars descended.

Before they could drop the Firebreaker, an Empowered Earthcrusher appeared. Her size massively increased, the type of pony that composed this caster variety became clear: she was an Earth Pony. The Pegasi were Frostcallers. The Unicorns were Firebreakers. It made sense... but how could Earth ponies use such powerful magic? Were they shamans like Pinkie Pie!?

She switched the skull to the Earthcrusher, even though the Firebreaker was already wounded. Nothing was more important than taking out the Earthcrusher. Twilight did not want to experience an empowered version of those stone spikes coming up from beneath her hooves!

Together, Twilight, Pinkie and Rarity hit her with everything they had -

And then the Earthcrusher reared up, her hooves angled down.

"Everypony move to the right!" Twilight ordered, quickly jumping to the side.

As the Earthcrusher came down, the Earth spikes came up. Serrated stone erupted from where Twilight had just been standing, and from beneath Fluttershy and Applejack as well. Captain Morning Star, still maintaining the magical shield that kept them from being killed by Blizzards or Flamestrikes, inched away from a spike that had nearly impaled him while targeting Applejack.

"Keep it up!" Twilight yelled. "Keep it up!"

Moments later, an Empowered Frostcaller appeared, also swelling to double the normal pony size. Just to see if she could, Twilight quickly switched targets and cast polymorph. The cast fizzled, repelled by the now too-powerful enemy. The enraged pegasus reared up and started flapping her wings, only to snarl and grimace as lightning from above caught her on the shoulder. Her eyes turned upwards towards the Royal pegasi, who had moved the stormcloud to bring down Celestia's wrath anew.

Even through the Guard shields, damage from the empowered Blizzards and Flamestrikes was starting to build up. Fluttershy flipped back a sheen of sweat and kept casting heals, keeping everyone above the point where even an Earth Spear could finish a pony off. Near death, the Empowered Earthcrusher still managed to rear up and get in one last attack.

"Left!" Twilight ordered, seeing the attack coming.

As one, all six Elements of Harmony moved, neatly side stepping the three Stone Spears, this time rising up beneath Rarity, Dash and Applejack again. Shrinking as she died, the Empowered Earthcrusher fell to the side, disappearing behind the wall of fighting cultists. Twilight swiftly moved the skull mark back to the wounded Firebreaker.

They methodically brought the empowered cultpony down and then turned on the remaining Frostcaller. The pegasus continued to desperately cast blizzards that would have torn apart and frozen most ponies... but that were sufficiently weakened by the Royal Guard shields that Fluttershy was easily able to heal through the damage done. She, too, shrunk down to normal size as she fell.

"I don't believe this! You idiots!" the chanting voice from before yelled, as soon as the Frostcaller went down. "When I told you to fight and die for the Cause, I didn't mean you should just die for the cause! The implication was that you win in the process! Obviously you lot just aren't fanatic enough! What we have here is a clear failure of fanaticism!"

In a flash of light, a robed form levitated in the air, out of range of spells.

"I am the Mouthpiece of the Master! Hear me, children! Your lives are forfeit, but you have bought enough time. Rest assured, my devout flock, that when the Darkness Swallows this World, I shall put in a good word for all you little ponies! And to the Elements of Harmony, I say this: a great reckoning is at hoof! I shall personally enjoy tearing the Elements from your tortured souls as a gift to the Master!"

The floating cultist laughed and promptly teleported away. As she did so, her minions still fighting the Royal Guards convulsed and cried. Purple lightning arced from body to body all along the line of desperate, fanatic cultponies. They jerked and smoked and finally fell, dead, struck down by the dark magic that then danced merrily through the air, snaking around the partly collapsed Castle Observatory.

The life energy then solidified into a magical energy shield.

"Company Halt!" Morning Star's voice rang out. "Secure the area!"

The Elements of Harmony, meanwhile, cautiously approached the purple energy field that now completely enclosed the Castle Observatory. Even the top was closed off.

"A force field, huh?" Pinkie was the first to speak up among them. "That's pretty neat! Maybe I can vibrate my way through it if I eat enough sugar and caffeine?"

"This is Pinkie Pie we're talking about," Dash agreed. "It might work."

"Nopony's vibrating through anything," Twilight stopped the two jokers. She trotted up close to the wall, getting a good look at the spellwork involved. "This is...wow... some pretty powerful magic. I don't think I could even teleport through it."

"If we can't fly in... and we can't use magic to get in..." Fluttershy asked. "What do we do?"

"Applejack, you mentioned seeing a door that led to a basement of cellar, right?" Twilight asked, and the apple farmer nodded.

"It was closed last time we were here," she said.

"We can't get in this way, but maybe we can go under the spell. Just like those Earth lances came up from under the guard's shields." Twilight turned away from the barrier to survey the now secure Cloister. the Royal Guard had command of basically the entire castle ruin... except the now warded Observatory.

"Pinkie," she said, not seeing anything obvious stick out. "Can you pick up any caves or tunnels below us?"

"Darn it, Twilight, I'm a shaman not a miner!" The pink pony objected. "Oh, wait, I am a miner. But I don't have a detect cave spell... that I know of... Oh, oh!" She picked out her Earth totem. "I know! Rocky! We can ask him!"

"Rocky?" Rarity inquired, raising a delicate eyebrow. "And who, may I ask, is this Rocky fellow?"

"Rocky is my Elemental Totem," Pinkie Pie explained, and planted the fetish into the ground nearby. It was a pretty crude looking thing, based around three rather familiar rocks, a party hat, and some wacky pink and blue streamers that fluttered directly upward. A metal and wood base and some rope held it all together.

"And what does Rocky do, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, leaning in to get a closer look.

They had all seen Pinkie Pie use her elemental totems, so everypony knew they worked. Somehow. This one just didn't seem to be doing anything obvious.

"Hey, I recognize those rocks!" Dash suddenly said, pointing at the totem. "They called me a chump!"

Seeing her friends stare at her askance, the chromatic pegasus shrunk back.

"It's a long story," she explained.

"Rocky here is a friend of mine." Pinkie Pie lovingly patted the strange totem. "And he was the first totem I made when I learned how to be a shaman! All the other elements were like, 'aw, ponies, eww, they're for little fillies!' I knew I could be a good friend to them, but none of them wanted to listen at first. They thought I was silly."

"You are kind of silly," Dash pointed out. Seeing her friends giving her the look again, she shrugged. "What? She is!"

"They thought I was silly in a bad way," the Earth pony continued, not particularly bothered by being called silly... the good kind of silly. "But Rocky remembered me from when I was little. He listened to me, and he accepted an invitation to my party. Of all my elemental friends, he's my best friend."

Pinkie Pie gently pushed Applejack back a step or two.

"Rocky?" She ducked down to be nose level with the totem. "I know I haven't asked you to come out before in front of other ponies, but my friends are all super cool ponies! You've been watching them, right? Will you come out and help us? Please? Pretty please with crystals and quartz sprinkles on top?"

Smiling brightly, the bubbly pony giggled and backed away. Her friends had formed a wide circle around her and the totem. For a few seconds, there was no response from the pile of rocks and wood and metal that was the Earth Totem. Then, with a surge of elemental magic, an avalanche of Earth shot upwards. Glowing bands encircled mace-like stone wrists, and a single large block of rock fused together into a massive barrel chest. Other curved stones formed shoulders and a small head, with a pair of glowing orange eyes. A tightly swirling storm of dust connected the arms with the body and the body with the ground.

The strange construct's head floated a bit from its body, darting from pony to pony, before settling down and facing Pinkie Pie. It held out a granite arm and open hand, and the pink pony laughed as she bounced up and into its grip. Hind legs in the Elemental's hand, and forelegs wrapped around the upper torso like she was giving it a hug, Pinkie Pie's grin widened as she looked down at her friends.

"This is Rocky!" she said. "Say 'Hi,' Rocky!"

The Elements made a sound like a pile of stones being rubbed together.

"Amazing," Rarity said, daring to get a bit closer.

"This is the first Earth Elemental I've ever seen!" Twilight was fascinated, studying it with wide eyes. "Pinkie Pie, I didn't know you could do this!"

"Are ya'll sure he's friendly?" Applejack asked, still wary. "He looks awful strong."

The elemental creature, larger than any pony, held out a 'hand.'

"Earth elementals have a preference for us Earth ponies," Pinkie told her. "Hop on! He's a big softie... actually, he's mostly rock, but he's a softie on the inside!"

Tentatively, her curiosity outweighing her caution, Applejack stepped up onto the Elemental's hand. It was able to support her pushing down on the hand without any difficulty at all, and a bit unsteadily, the apple farmer tried to mimic what Pinkie Pie was doing. Rocky lifted her slightly once her back hooves were in the palm of his left hand, letting her grab hold of his upper shoulder.

Fluttershy couldn't help but also carefully alight on his back. "Aww," she cooed. "You're just like a big friendly bear."

Rainbow Dash, however, snorted, putting on the guise of being unimpressed. "So Earth elementals like Earth ponies, huh? Should I make a joke about blockheads?"

Pinkie stuck out her tongue. "Gassy says he likes pegasus ponies, so I can make airhead jokes, too!"

"Or fart jokes."

"I already made those last chapter." Before anyone could digest that statement, Pinkie Pie tapped Rocky on the shoulder. "Rocky! Can you help us find a tunnel under the ground? One with ponies in it?"

The elemental rumbled an incomprehensible reply that only the shaman seemed to understand. He quickly started moving, still carrying Pinkie, Applejack and Fluttershy. The small orange eyes peered, unblinkingly, as the too-small rock head moved back and forth. It led them around the side of the Cloister in a slow, meandering circle. Dash took to the air to follow, leaving Rarity and Twilight to trot alongside the strange being.

"Pinkie Pie," Twilight asked, while she followed 'Rocky.' "Can you summon actual elementals with all your totems?"

The party pony shook her head. "Only Rocky will come out like this, and he says I'm a special case. Other shamans can convince their fire friend to come out, too, but Sparky says I'm too weak to meet face to face. He's kind of a grumpy grump. Gassy doesn't like leaving his totem and Splashy is friendly, but very shy. I think likes you, though, because you're a mage. If you were frost specced, then you'd be able to summon one of his friends some day!"

The unicorn mage remembered something she'd read before about that. "I had heard that the mages of Dalaran had some sort of pact with water Elementals..."

"Yep! Maybe if I get stronger, I'll be able to convince Gassy and Splashy to come out and party with Rocky and Sparky." Pinkie paused, as her elemental ride rumbled. "Oh you!" she playfully batted the rock-elemental on the shoulder. "He says he doesn't want to party with other elementals. Some kind of old grudge. Most elementals don't get along with their opposites."

"Opposites?"

"Fire and water and earth and wind," Pinkie explained. "I made a joke about that before, but a shaman really is kind of the 'heart' that keeps them working together. If I wasn't around, they'd probably start fighting."

Rocky rumbled, and stopped. He gestured down to a nearby cliffside. The castle Observatory ran up almost to the edge of the chasm that surrounded the complex. The very same one that had been bridged the day before. A rainbow blur dove past to investigate the cliffside.

"So is there some kinda...?" Applejack started to say, and eeped as her ride rolled right off the side of the cliff. Instead of falling down, however, Rocky stuck to the sheer side of the chasm. His grip on Pinkie Pie and Applejack tightened, to make sure they didn't fall. Dash and Fluttershy made due with flying. Not too far down, the Elemental stopped, head bobbing excitedly.

A set of rocks in the side of the cliff faintly glowed.

"Ah ha!" Dash grinned at the marked target. "This calls for a Rainbow Dash brand Dynamic Entry!"

The pegasus spun into a tight spiral, shot up, around, popped Divine Protection, and then blasted right into the glowing rocks! For once, instead of crashing and ending up pegasus pizza, she blasted right through the obstacle. The thin but well disguised layer of rock shattered. Rocky rolled in through the gap, dropped Pinkie and Applejack, and then rumbled back up topside to retrieve Twilight and Rarity.

Soon all six mares were within the freshly exposed cave.

Rocky trembled, his left arm starting to break apart.

"Oh dear, is he alright?" Rarity, being right next to the elemental looked concerned enough to try and cast a healing spell. Despite getting her a little dirty, he had been careful with the two unicorns, and hadn't even messed up Rarity's hair in carrying her down to the cave. She even seemed a little fond of the big stone creature.

"Rocky can't keep up his old form for very long, since he's also my totem," Pinkie replied, trotting up to her somewhat unorthodox companion. She hugged the elemental as it started to break apart. "Thank you for helping us, Rocky!"

"Yes, ah, thank you... Rocky..." Twilight politely said, smiling nervously.

A rocky hand patted her on the head, thankfully very gently. Taking that as a cue, all the others (except Dash) also expressed their thanks to the dispersing elemental. The pegasus just muttered something under her breath that was probably along the lines of 'see ya later'. Within the pile of rocks that fell, lifeless, to the floor of the cave, Pinkie retrieved her original totem.

"Thank you, too, Pinkie Pie," Twilight told her friend.

The pink pony giggled cheerily. "Always happy to help!"

"So this cave leads up to the bottom of the tower?" Rainbow Dash asked, eyeing the walls with suspicion. "I gotta say, tight little holes like this just aren't my thing."

"Oh! Oh! I could so make a joke about that!"

"Don't!" Everypony said at once.

"Even Fluttershy yelled at me!" Pinkie wailed. "I was just going to say-"

Said druid's eyes narrowed... dangerously.

"-to say that I forgot what I was going to say," Pinkie Pie laughed. "He he he! Scary."

"Come on," Twilight urged them forward, taking the lead. Her horn lit up to provide light. "We won't get anywhere by standing around."

"Sure thing, fearless leader," Dash followed close behind, and Applejack kept close, too. The tunnel was too narrow for them to trot three abreast. If something came at them in the darkness, Twilight would have to quickly shoot backwards to get behind the cover of her two armored friends.

Dash's quip did remind Twilight of something, however.

"You know, I'd forgotten before, but I wanted to ask something earlier," she said, leading the group around a slight curve in the cave wall. "I was thinking about starting a guild for all of us!"

She stopped there, just to sort of gauge the response. Not that Twilight expected them to cheer or anything... well, not much anyway. A few 'sounds fun' or 'I'm in' remarks would have been good enough. Instead, the only sound was a steady drip-drip from one of the cave walls. Twilight waited a bit more, and finally looked over her shoulder. Why was nopony saying anything?

"What?" she asked, finally.

Rainbow Dash was looking up at the ceiling and Applejack didn't seem to want to look her in the eye either. Fluttershy was being Fluttershy, and all but hiding behind her pink mane, and Pinkie Pie was just uncharacteristically silent. At least Rarity looked sufficiently bemused as she tried to come up with a ladylike and polite response.

"Um..." Fluttershy mewed.

"What?" Twilight asked again. "You guys... don't want to be in a guild with me?"

"No!" Dash replied first, but almost all of them had said it. The pegasus paladin, scratched her mane behind her head. "Twilight. It isn't that... I mean, for me, I just... I was kind of thinking I'd join a pvp guild. At least until I joined the Wonderbolts."

"Ah got mah farm ta look after. Plus, you know," Applejack tried to put it in business terms. "Wouldn't it be better ta join up with a big guild rather than start a new one from the ground up? They'd have all the resources and infrastructure and such in place already."

"I'm inclined to agree," Rarity said, sounding guilty. "I would love to join a guild with you, Twilight. Really, I would. But... should we really start a new one? Those things require quite a lot of gold to really get going."

"But - but even the Cutie Mark Crusaders have a guild!" Twilight objected. "If Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo can..."

"Those three have a very small guild," Rarity countered, sounding frustratingly reasonable. "Twilight, we could start a small guild like that, but why? Financing a good sized guild bank alone costs more than I've made in all my years at the Carousel Boutique."

"Rarity's right, sugarcube. It may not look it, but even some of the medium sized guilds got more gold in their coffers than all of us put together. The big ones could buy a whole buildin' in Manehattan," Applejack shook her head, not too enamored of anyone moving their headquarters to that snooty city. "That sorta war chest don't just spring up overnight."

"I don't care as long as we're all doing it together!" Pinkie Pie declared, "Who cares if we're just another poor, tiny little guild who has to pug to get instances cleared? I don't!" She thumped her chest proudly, took a deep breath, and did a good impression of Fluttershy as she fell to the ground and hid her head under her hooves. "No! I don't wanna pug! They'll eat a pony like me alive in LFG!"

Fluttershy just muttered something under her breath, but it seemed sort of in line with what Pinkie had just said. Given that Twilight had known her for more than a year, a rough translation could have been: 'Um, I'd just be happy being with my friends, you guys... but the idea of pugging with strangers is kind of scary. Maybe we should just join a big guild together, isn't that, you know... good?'

Something along those lines.

Twilight blinked a few times, waiting to see if there was any more to say or hear.

"I know guys in a couple good guilds," Dash added, upbeat. "Not just pvpers, either. The stallion you guys met before, Blacklight? He's in a guild called Killer Angels. Top rated guild. I also chatted with this other stallion, Crazy Eight, and he's in They Might Be Giants, and he had Tier 11 shoulders, too! And then there was this one colt, Flankspanker, and he was..."

She trailed off, once again noticing her friends staring at her, incredulous.

"What?" she asked, frowning. "What'd I say this time? Why're you guys staring at me like that?"

"You... seem to have spoken with a number of young bucks," Rarity politely observed.

"Guys just dig me and like to hang out, that's all!"

"Did you make friends with any mares in other guilds?" the fashionista then asked.

"As a matter of fact! ...no, not really." Dash narrowed her eyes. "What does that have to do with anything? So I hang out with a lot of colts! There's nothing strange about that!" To deflect attention, she quickly pointed at her fellow pegasus. "You wanna talk about being popular with the guys, Fluttershy here's the one with her own fan guild! She and Ditzy Doo, somehow."

"Oh. Them." Fluttershy murmured. "They're very... nice."

"And you know what 'nice' means when Fluttershy says it!"

"Quite," Rarity answered. "But I don't think any of us want to join some strange fan club."

"What we should do is join up with a top ranked Alliance guild!" Rainbow nodded to herself. "A guild that has both pvp and pve, and then we'll all be together, and we'll meet new ponies! And people! The best of both worlds!"

At this, the rest of the group - minus a silent Twilight - began to agree.

"If... that's what you guys want?" she finally asked.

"Trust me, Twilight, this is definitely the best option!" Dash assured her, looking and actually sounding pretty convincing. "I'll mail some of my friends, and we'll scout around a bit to see what good guilds are recruiting. By the time we hit 50 or 60, we'll be all set. And it'll be soooo cool being part of a top rated guild! Killer Angels is probably the best bet, cause I know a bunch of guys in it already. Oh! If we could get into BAMFs that'd be awesome! I have no idea what BAMF stands for, but those guys are gooood!"

Trying not to sound dejected, Twilight nodded. "I guess we can look into that later. Let's keep going."

After all. It wasn't like they'd said "no." Exactly. Just "no" to a new guild. They all still wanted to be together. There was really no reason to take the news poorly, was there? Twilight told herself 'of course not!' What did it really matter if they joined a big guild or started a small one, as long as they were all together?

Of course, Princess Celestia's letter had been... specific.

Twilight kept her thoughts to herself as the six mares ventured deeper into the darkness.

- - -
x
- - -

Should only need one or two here.

PUG – “pick up group” – also known as 'pugging' a 'pug' is a group of adventurers formed in an ad hoc manner, most of which don't know each other beforehand. Even if only one or two members of the group are strangers, then they make a group a 'pug.' Since a pug is formed from people who don't know each other, some pug groups can be rather unpleasant to be in, especially when the pug healer or tank is new/under-geared/doesn't know the fights or when the pug dps facerolls (pulling enemies or being a douche). However, everyone starts off a stranger, and how will you make friends in the game if you don't pug sometimes? A battleground raid (pvp) generally isn't considered a pug, since it is a given that you'll mostly be fighting with people you don't know.

LFG – "looking for group" - in-game, this used to be a chat channel used to form groups (pugs). Most recently, it has been turned into an automatic system. In-story this is the same thing: basically a network that connects mercenaries/adventurers to form short term groups, providing bonuses if they complete the dungeon (thus is a bit like a contractual job that hires the mercs and forces them to work together).

LFG often has the same problem that all pugs have: people can be rude or incompetent and make what should be an easy dungeon run into a headache. A fun loving pony like Pinkie Pie would probably make a few friends in LFG, but also annoy a lot of other people too, especially ones that just want to get the job done and leave. Ironically, Fluttershy (as per her background a few chaps back) is the only one to actually use LFG or PUG.