What used to to be Ponyville was now a smoking husk after Discord and Diamond Tiara finished tearing the place apart, revering them to a near neolithic state. Out of the ruins, small huts formed. The ponies quickly learned that anyone who dared try to salvage their former technology or magic would disappear, stopping the attempt.

Sweetie Belle's youthful body was put to work, cutting down trees with Scootaloo. While Sweetie Belle had become quiet and forlorn after the vicious attack on Ponyville that had taken her sister as well, Scootaloo still had an air of cockiness about her. Probably because she hadn't seen the attack first hand, being in Cloudsdale at the time.

"Sweetie, do you ever wonder about the rest of the world? I mean, why don't we just leave? It's not like there's guards or anything nearby" Scootaloo urged for the tenth time that day. Scootaloo was obssessed with leaving the village and doing exploring, much to Sweetie's annoyance. Sweetie hated being reminded of the days before, when ponies were free from the grip of Celestia and the Power Above. No body knew who the Power Above was, but it was generally accepted that the Power Above had been the one to flip Equestria on its head along with killing all the princesses save for Celestia. Celestia might as well be dead, at least the Celestia they knew. It was on her orders that their towns had been smashed and families, friends, lovers even, torn apart and placed into different locations. Sweetie had only been able to stay with Scootaloo by luck. When Cloudsdale was invaded, the soldiers assumed Scootaloo was from there and relocated her to Ponyville.

"Isn't that what your mom said?" Sweetie Belle spat, her horn sawing through the tree she was working on with a muffled crunch. Scootaloo's lavender eyes dropped and her ears drooped, the orange pegasus wincing in remembrance. Sweetie Belle gasped at her her mistake and ran over to her friend, hugging her tightly. "I-i'm sorry, I didn-"

"Nah, you're right. But maybe I can do better than them, boy, that would make them proud" Scootaloo chuckled, hiding her sadness behind a facade of bravado. Scootaloo's father had died 14 years ago around the time Scootaloo was born, her mother disappeared after going on a quest to try and regain contact with Apaloosa.

"Let's get this wood back to camp, otherwise, Mayor Mare will use us for the houses" Sweetie Belle smiled, almost feeling like it was old times once more. But it wasn't. Sweetie was now an accomplished spell caster with her green magic, Scootaloo could fly, and they both had Cutie Marks now. Sweetie's was a drill, rather unexpectedly. The pale unicorn drilled the cores of trees though, so in hindsight, it made sense. Scootaloo's was one everyone expected, her beloved scooter, one of the few things not destroyed in the ransacking. Babs and Applebloom were an unknown factor, the two hadn't seen them in 6 years.

"Tch....Sweetie Belle, if I did go on a quest, would you go with me?" Scootaloo asked hesitantly to her friend, dragging the wood with muscles developed from 6 years hauling wood. Sweetie Belle sighed, looking at the ground as if it were a piece of art. Scootaloo took the hint and shut up...for about 5 seconds. "Sweetie, look!" she cried, pointing at a cloud of smoke coming from Ponyville. Sweetie blanched, remembering exactly what had happened last time there was a smoke cloud.

"L-le-" she started before screaming and jumping back as a body landed in front of her. The body was broken and bent, but clearly a pony.

"Woah, who's this?" Scootaloo asked, trotting up, completely nonplussed by the situation. Whoever they used to be, they were a fighter, equipped with a huge long sword and a helmet to boot.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! WE HAVE TO GET BACK TO PONYVILLE AND HIDE!" Sweetie squealed, breathing quickly as adrenaline surged through her system, fight or flight responses kicking into overdrive. Scootaloo turned to see her friend's panic and  while she would have preferred to investigate further, Sweetie Belle's comfort came first. Scootaloo took the sword off of the body before following Sweetie Belle towards Ponyville.

The pair arrived quickly and leaped behind a hill for cover before peeking over and seeing that the place was a war zone. Ponies of all shapes and sizes brawling against...weird creatures. The creatures had no real similarities to each other, but they were clearly on the same team.

"Let's just wait and hide while they kill each other" Sweetie reasoned, popping her head back below the hill's peak. Scootaloo wasn't there anymore

"TAKE THIS, FREAKS!" Scootaloo yelled, to Sweetie Belle's horror, as the pegasus jumped into the fray, swinging her looted sword wildly and slashing into several of the monsters. This was happening all over Ponyville as the monsters were pushed back, clearly outmatched. Then the ground exploded, monsters and ponies flying about alike. Sweetie was too busy cowering to notice as out of the ground surged a monstrous bull dog made of stone, its grey hid flecked with blood. It let out a mighty bellow before noticing sparks nears its foot.

"Run, Scootaloo" Sweetie whispered, hoping that somehow, Scootaloo would get her thoughts. It obviously wasn't working since Scootaloo kept hacking on and on at the dog's leg.

"Eat this, and that, and this, and that...." Scootaloo laughed as she repeatedly slashed its leg with her sword, looking like a lizard trying to attack a dog. The dog snorted and raised its paw, about to smash the troublesome pegasus. In a brown flash, the dog let out a piercing howl of pain as its right hindleg was smashed to pieces, causing it to fall to its knees. "Who?" Scootaloo started before a powerful hoof grabbed her by the mid section and ran off with the pegasus slung across muscular shoulders.

A freckled face turned to see her passenger and grinned. The face was rounded with a red bang drooping across her green eyes and Scootaloo could have sworn she had seen her somewhere before

"Nice to see you again, Cutie Mark Crybaby" Next Chapter: Won the Battle... Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 19 Minutes