"What's the damage?" Adagio asked as she and a group of Lyricans assessed the damage caused by Sour Sweet's arrow that destroyed Ponyville and Canterlot. All that was left was a massive crater, with both of the castles in ruins after the void to the hunting grounds had vanished.

"It's not good, Adagio," one of the Lyricans told her, "Whatever those Malefics gave to Sour Sweet and her friends, they've made them far stronger than any human, pony, or even Malefic that we've ever seen before..."

"From that one arrow alone, not much remains of the two kingdoms," another Malefic added their voice. "All of the inhabitants of both Ponyville and Canterlot were erased entirely from that thunderous blast, and the buildings with it. This was all done to destroy everything that Twilight and the princesses held dear to them."

"Chance of restoration?" Aria asked.

"The probability that Ponyville and Canterlot will be restored during this war is approximately 0.000000001 percent," a third Lyrican said before walking over to the inhabitants from Equestria. "I'm so sorry for your losses, Equestrians. But we all promise you that once Cataclysm's head is on a platter, we will personally aid in repairing your destroyed kingdoms..."

"We're all sorry that this had to happen, everyone..." Adagio walked over and put her hands on Twilight and Sunset's shoulders. "We didn't think that the Malefics would have made them that strong..."

"Out of curiosity, Adagio," the first Lyrican raised a finger. "Who did this?"

"The Shadowbolts of Crystal Prep..." Sunset whispered before craning her head upwards. "Damn! I should have seen it from the get-go!"

"Care to explain for us, Sunset Shimmer?" Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow.

"When I was in the other world, when The Dazzlings were still growing up, I was still struggling to balance raising them, and focusing my time at CHS to the best of my abilities," Sunset explained, "During that time, me and my friends took part in a series of events known as the Friendship Games. It was there that we first encountered Sour Sweet and the other Shadowbolts that The Blasters spirited away to the darkness..."

"The Shadowbolts?" Luna's interest was now piqued. "Wasn't that what I tried to fool Rainbow Dash with during the time I spent as Nightmare Moon?"

"These are different Shadowbolts, Luna," Sunset continued, "They primed themselves on being the best at everything. No matter what sport, no matter was educational subject, no matter what, they always scored at the top and always won. And because of this, CHS racked up a losing streak pretty fast..."

"Show-offs..." Aria Blaze crossed her arms.

"Exactly," Sunset went on, "But it wasn't until the Friendship Games we were in that we saw just how seriously they took winning," she said, "There was a second Twilight there, and she had been put into negative territory in CPA; even blackmailed into unleashing the energy that she had stolen from us all. And the worst part of it is that she eventually ended up like me; a raging she-demon who wanted to conquer another world with their advanced power..."

"And how does this tie-in with Sour Sweet and the others?" Twilight asked.

"It doesn't..." Sunset gave her the answer, "Which is confusing, considering that The Blasters went after all six of them and not just the other Twilight..." she put a finger to her chin and scratched it. "Something's clearly wrong here..."

"Yes," Adagio showed off a picture of Sour Sweet with wings, a unicorn horn, pony ears, and an tail. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that those pony ears, horn, tail hair, and wings are exclusive to only you and your friends..."

It was then that Sunset gasped and recoiled with her pupils dilating. "She... She can Pony Up?!"

"Only those with the Magic of Friendship can Pony Up..." Adagio started putting the pieces together. "Because you girls were able to utilize that power to defeat it, it's no surprise that you can do it. But it is a shock that Sour Sweet can do it as well. There's no other logical explanation as to why this could happen unless..."

"Unless what, Dagi?" Sonata chirped.

This time, Adagio let out a gasp as she finally put the only plausible explanation out. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me..."

"What? What is it?!" Rainbow Dash asked frantically.

"Either I've gone completely insane, or those Shadowbolts are capable of using the Magic of Friendship as well..." Adagio said calmly as she could, "Twilight? What are the elements that can call the Magic of Friendship?"

"Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Loyalty, Generosity, and Magic. But I don't see why—" Twilight let out a gasp as well.

"The Truthsayer, the Hunter, the Freedom, the Tactician, The Hurricane, and the Prophet..." Adagio reminded herself as she brought up the six names on a projection created from the crystal column in the centre of the room. "Kindness, Loyalty, Honesty, Laughter, Generosity, and Magic..." she threw those names up as well. "They're connected in a way..."

"Sunset? Do you know the names of the Shadowbolts that The Blasters stole away?" Aria asked as Adagio began to shuffle the codenames and elements around on the screen.

"Sour Sweet, Indigo Zap, Sunny Flare, Lemon Zest, Sugarcoat, and Twilight Sparkle," Sunset quickly recited. "But they're just names, aren't they?"

"If they're using the Magic of Friendship, then they could very well be something made to counteract Princess Twilight and the Spirits of Harmony..." Adagio said as she once again fiddled with the words after seeing some incorrect matches. "Insurance for Cataclysm in case we pulled you all into this war..."

"But we only know of Sour Sweet and her power at the moment," Applejack said, flicking the edge of her hat up. "Who knows how powerful them there other Shadowbolts really are?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but we need to prepare for another onslaught..." Adagio said as she closed the screen by clapping her hands together. "Stardusts, we need to increase the sensitivity of the Darkhouse," she gave the orders to the three Lyricans. "We need to adjust it so that it can pick up any activity from the Shadowbolts or the other Signs of the End, so that we can track them and intercept their attacks better..."

"On it!" the three Lyricans ran off out of the war room.

"Darkhouse?" Cadence tilted her head.

"Most life-forms have lighthouses to sense ships at night, we have a Darkhouse that can sense Malefics, or any other threats to the worlds around us..." Adagio explained.

"But explanations aside, we need to prepare for another attack," Aria Blaze said as she led the girls out of the war room. "And we need to train you to become better fighters if you're going to stand a chance against Sour Sweet and the other Malefic Shadowbolts..."

"Train us how?" Fluttershy asked.

"We have to see The Laments down in the Barracks..." Adagio led the way. "Follow us, ladies..."

As Adagio walked off, Twilight, Sunset, The Rainbooms, and the three alicorn princesses followed closely behind. All of them had multiple thoughts running through their heads. All of them focused on what the Shadowbolts were planning, what their power could have been, and who would strike next and where.

The group eventually went down the gold-lined stairs to a secret basement with a massive door with sapphire and ruby knockers. Adagio and Aria used both of them to open the door wide for the group to walk through. Light poured through the open crack, revealing a sight that made Twilight, Sunset, and the princesses drop their jaws.

The room inside was a titanic training hall split into four corners. One one corner, Furens were learning how to maximise their swordplay against a multitude of different targets; ones that fought back, and ones that kept moving. Parallel to that corner, was a corner where Blissens were doing the same thing. On the other two corners, Furens and Blissens were using their power of song to do all kinds of things. There was also another door that led into another room, but The Laments stood in the way of that door.

"Your Highness!" Requiem knelt down alongside Andante and Bellicoso as Adagio, Aria, and Sonata entered the barracks.

"No need for that, Requiem," Adagio said, allowing the three of them to stand. "You are allowed to refer to us as Adagio, Aria, and Sonata if you so wish..."

"What brings you here to the Barracks?" Andante asked as he stood up straight.

"We need to train The Rainbooms and the alicorn princesses for the fights ahead..." Adagio Dazzle explained as she stepped aside to let Twilight and her friends step forward. "After the incident with Sour Sweet, it stands to reason that our friends will become liabilities unless they step up their game and embrace the art of Lyrican warfare..."

"But to teach these girls Lyrican arts will take arduous training, countless hours of perfection, and many, many sleepless nights to truly toughen them up and increase their ability to wield a sword and use Lyrican power..." Bellicoso explained to Adagio. "Are you really sure that they are all up for the challenge?"

"Well... I don't really know about that..." Fluttershy began to take a few steps backwards.

"Fluttershy, darling," Rarity put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "If we can't toughen up and fight the Malefics, they'll just keep destroying our worlds..."

"There'll be no more Equestria, no more friendships..." Rainbow Dash explained the severity of the situation. "No more animal critters..."

"No... more... animal... critters?" Fluttershy' eyes twitched as she picked up a sword. All of a sudden, a fire sparked within her and she stepped forward with a serious look on her face. "When do we start training, Laments?"

"If you want, we can begin now," Requiem offered. "But I must warn you, that with power comes—"

"Responsibility..." everyone deadpanned, silencing Andante.

"Fluttershy, since you are fired up the most, you will start us off with swordplay training," Andante led her towards the Blissen swordsmanship corner and handed her a plain sword. "Simply cut down everything that stands in your way, no matter where and when it stands."

"And if you feel like you cannot do it, we will be projecting images of your opponents brutalizing animals to help you get the feel for combat..." Bellicoso's Furen crystal shone brighter as it came towards a little hole in the wall behind Fluttershy. He put it in and said, "Begin..."

As light enveloped Fluttershy from the ground, she shielded her eyes as she could see the world around her change. She no longer stood in the Barracks, but now stood in a field of flowers with no trees, clouds, mountains, or any sign of civilization anywhere to be seen.

"One of the most important aspects of being a Lyrican Siren is to understand how your enemies work, and what is the best way to defeat them," Requiem's voice echoed across the skies. "In five seconds, you will see a Malefic attacking a group of badgers. Get ready to fight it for your animal friends..."

After five seconds passed, a Slicer began clawing and barely missing multiple badgers who were trying to run away from it. It roared with each swing, and made sure that there was no distance between itself and the prey it was chasing.

Fluttershy, seeing that one of the badgers had some of its fur get clipped off after one attack, charged in and impaled the Slicer before pulling the blade out and readying a combo. "You. Do. Not. Hurt. The. Critters!" she screamed as she cut the Slicer into fourteen pieces before kicking it all away into the wind.

After the Malefic had died, Fluttershy petted the badgers she had rescued. "There we go, little guys... I'm not going to let these meanies hurt you..."

"Not bad, but there are more Malefics coming," Requiem's voice returned as the badgers suddenly disappeared. "We'll be raising the difficulty and intensity as you go along, until you eventually return to one of the battlegrounds you and your team were previously at. Only this time, every animal will be attacked by all of the Malefics you have encountered..." the sound of whirring could be heard as the field eventually turned into a forest clearing with birds, deer, and bears running from Natures. "Take down those Natures before they hurt your critter friends..."

Nodding, Fluttershy allowed the critters to run past her before standing in the way of one of the angry Natures. She locked gazes with the Malefic and leapt over the lava it was spawning from its arms before stabbing in both eyes before pushing it over with a mighty shove. Before it could get up, she snapped the neck of the Malefic before cutting the head clean off with one strike.

"Sweet mother of me..." Celestia watched from the Barracks as Fluttershy attacked the Nature. "Does she always fight that way when animals are caught in the crossfire?"

"Well, not exactly fight, but she does get quite peeved when her furry friends are treated like dirt," Rarity explained. "To put it short, Fluttershy is a wolf in sheep's clothing; a wolf that only comes out when truly provoked by the enemy..."

"If she can take that fury out onto the battlefield, then she should stand a fair chance of fighting back against Sour Sweet and the others..." Adagio watched as Fluttershy broke the conductors on the head and charged up an electrical burst that stunned the Nature. The Lyrican then watched as Fluttershy yelled and kicked the second Nature over before she stomped on the chest of it and cut a massive hole in it. When Fluttershy pulled that piece of the Nature out and saw it die in agony, Adagio then said, "Just keep reminding her that animals are on the line when we get back into real combat..."

"You're doing good, Fluttershy," Requiem told her. "But now you're going to have to deal with Malefics that can fly..." the forest clearing suddenly turned into open skies where Fluttershy had to use her wings to stay aloft. "Seven Harpies are coming up next, and they all want to disrupt the migrations of butterflies, birds, and Breezies. You've just got to stop the Harpies, and then we can move on with a higher difficulty level..."

Fluttershy tightened the grip on her sword as winged Malefics with talon-like claws flew towards the animals in the distance. The feathers were pure black with knives attached to each of them, the bodies of the Harpies were lightly armoured and covered with war paint, and their teeth were elongated.

Malefic Air

HARPIES

"You hurt my friends, you meet your ends!" Fluttershy screamed as she shot through the air like a bullet towards the Harpies.

Meanwhile, in the Malefic World, The Blasters and Cataclysm were watching just how much destruction Sour Sweet's arrow had done to Equestria. Cataclysm smiled as he brushed his wings, while The Blasters had smug grins on their faces as they crossed their arms.

"Impressive..." Cataclysm cut off the projection and stood up to address Sour Sweet and the other masked Shadowbolts. "And just one giant archery arrow caused all of this destruction?"

"Yes," Sour Sweet nodded. "The Arrows of Doomsday always make their mark, and always score perfect hits," she smirked herself as she looked at the damage that had come from her shot. "What you have witnessed is the first step to the defeat of The Dazzlings' allies; The Rainbooms of Equestria."

"It would appear that Apocalypse, Armageddon, and Carnage have done well in choosing you six..." Cataclysm spoke peacefully as he walked down from his throne and put a hand on Sour Sweet's shoulder. "I am very proud of you for striking those fiends at the heart, Hunter..."

"Thank you, Overlord Cataclysm." Sour Sweet humbly accepted Cataclysm's praise.

"But the time for rest is not nigh, Shadowbolts," he said, showing a picture of an angry Adagio, Aria, and Sonata. "No doubt those Lyrican scumbags will retaliate from this assault on Equestria," he turned his head to one of the other Shadowbolts, whose face couldn't be distinguished in the shadows. "Tactician? Is the Solar Cannon ready yet?"

"Almost. We just need a few more days, then we can detain the beast that haunts us, and strike another powerful blow to those fiends..." the Tactician said as she stood up.

"And you are sure that they will not intervene with your round of death and destruction?" Cataclysm raised one of his brows.

"That is why I was dubbed the Tactician," she said, "I have already planned for every possible outcome on the assault of the Solar Cannon. I give them all these entry points, but each one of them will be their demise..."

"So either way, they're doomed no matter what path they take?" another Shadowbolt with a cocky voice asked from the shadows.

"That is correct, Hurricane," the Tactician said as she stood up. "For now, we need to buy some time," she then pointed to another Shadowbolt. "And that is why I nominate the Truthsayer to be the next Shadowbolt to cripple The Dazzlings and The Rainbooms..."

"The Truthsayer?" Cataclysm's brows both raised.

"Unlike Applejack, the Truthsayer isn't one to sugarcoat, or beat around the bush," Fortissimo explained. "So, we decided to capitalize on that and give her power unique to that talent."

"To me, the ultimate weapon is not the sword, nor the mind," the Truthsayer stepped closer to Cataclysm, revealing her face. With three silver ponytails and a blue face, it was revealed to be Sugarcoat. "For in truth, the deadliest weapon, is the persuasive tongue..."

Author's Notes:

Remember that if you liked this chapter, just leave me a comment and—

Luna: Little one? We've got Nighty...

Me: Whewe is he? *runs over to her*

Luna: Nightmare Moon is soaring over the Golden Ocean off of the coast of Japony. We can intercept her, and save your little brother...

Celestia: Then let's go get him, shall we?

Lauren: Yes. There's not a moment to waste...

Been a while since I've done one of these foal moments in my Author's Notes, hasn't it? Well, if you must know, me and Night--Mist are part of this foal-a-verse known as My Little Foals, Friendship is Padded. Alongside other characters who suffered Age-Regression, he also made me, himself, and five other people on FIMFiction his foals as well. All of which, I share good history with. But Night--Mist himself had to leave with the navy seven months ago, and has been absent for a long time since. But he promised that he would return before christmas, and that hopefully, he would be home to stay (Until called by the navy again...).

So here's to you, Nighty...