“Twilight my dear, you’re next!”

Fluttershy was increasingly happy as the time passed by. Not even an hour ago she was all alone, forced to face this danger by herself. Now here she was, running beside three of her best friends. She owed just about all of it to the strange gem that saved her from Feilbach back in Canterlot. Maybe she’d get the chance to thank it later.

She thought about the day’s events. She went from being a coward to being a heroine in a matter of hours. She’d come face to face with the evil multiple times and didn’t give in to its presence. She was proud of herself. With this pride, she threw open the door to Twilight’s home. The four ponies stepped in, wary of Twilight’s powerful magic.

“It’s nice to see you ponies are okay.” Twilight spoke to them from the second floor of the library she called home.

Fluttershy stepped in front of the others, “Twilight, come down here so we can get you back to normal.”

AJ laughed at how polite she made it sound. “Y’know Twilight, this can’t end well for ya. Ya oughta just let us do our thing.”

Rarity nodded in agreement, “No need for this to get violent is there?”

Twilight smiled politely and said, “Of course there isn’t. Why don’t you ponies just submit to Feilbach, and we can put all this behind us.” Using her magic, she slammed the door behind them.

Pinkie laughed, “Geez Twilight, are you trying to scare us to death?”

“Here’s the deal: If you can get near me with those gems of yours, then I’ll be more than happy to undergo whatever you’ve put those three through, okay?” Twilight closed her eyes, and used her magic to collapse the stairs that led up to the second floor.

Fluttershy smiled, “That’s a deal. But…you do realize I’m a Pegasus, right?”

Twilight smiled slyly, “Of course I do. But you don’t seem to realize that I have magic.” After she finished saying this, a magical barrier appeared around Fluttershy. “Those gems may keep you safe from the Shadows, but regular magic is a different story.” She giggled.

Fluttershy stood tall as she could and spoke gently, “Well, you’d think that, wouldn’t you? It makes sense to me, anyway. But uh, I think these gems have something to say about it.” The pouch at her side began shaking violently, and every few seconds the shape of one of the gems could be seen trying to rip out of it.

“You can’t be serious! But I tested this! That sapphire was powerless against my magic!” Twilight screamed.

“Really? Well, maybe these won’t hurt you, either.” Fluttershy fought the barrier enough to reach the clasp on the pouch, which she undid. A purple gem ripped right through Twilight’s barrier, and sped toward her at full speed.

Rarity sighed, “Time for more of this nonsense…”

Honestly, I shouldn’t have to explain what happened. They were in the void, and then the void came to life to look like the library. Twilight was standing in front of them, seemingly normal. This time was a little bit different, though.

Twilight took a few steps toward her friends, about to ask just what was going on. Out of nowhere, black smoke swirled in to existence behind her, a black hoof catching her on the shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.

“I have had enough of this nonsense!” An angry voice shouted, tossing Twilight against the wall. Feilbach formed where the cloud of smoke rested, looking angrier than ever before. “This rebellion must be quelled while still in its first stages… You have caused me more trouble than I anticipated, little pony!” With a blast of black smoke, all of the ponies were tossed against the walls of the library, aside from Fluttershy.

She stood her ground, not cowering down. “I’m doing what needs to be done! You have gone too far with this, Feilbach!” She stared him in the eyes, not backing down.

Feilbach sighed, “You have come a long way from the cowardly pony I met a few hours ago. But, it’s not really you, is it? It’s your friends. And those damned crystals…” He stared at the pouch on her side. A look of anger and irritation filled his face.

Fluttershy lowered her head. She spoke softly, “Of course it’s my friends. It’s always been my friends. Why else do you think I went to the castle? To save myself?” She looked back up at him, her expression still unfaltering.

Feilbach backed away, pondering his next move. “Do you still not hate me, Fluttershy? You still have no hatred towards the being that put you through this? I simply cannot understand your lack of hatred and anger. After all, they are the best emotions. Just ask my children.” A few balls of black smoke materialized in front of him.

“I can’t hate you. You want revenge for something that happened to you. You have your reasons, and I have mine. But that doesn’t matter anymore! It won’t be long, and you’ll be defeated. I have faith in that.” Fluttershy still stood her ground, even as the smoke surrounded her.

In a flash of rainbow-colored light, the smoke evaporated. From the open pouch a gemstone rose into the air. It was the same gem the filly in the cavern gave her. Upon seeing the gem, Feilbach’s expression changed to one of horror. His crimson eyes faded, only slightly, to reveal normal-looking eyes.

He screeched at her, “Where did you get that gemstone?!” Smoke poured from his mouth, engulfing the gem and carrying it back to him. “This was…This can’t be… It was Amber’s…” His mane stood up, the night-sky textures of Luna’s mane mesmerizing the other ponies.

Fluttershy took a few steps forward. “A filly gave it to me. At the bottom of the cavern where these gems came from.” She pointed at her pouch.

Feilbach looked at Fluttershy for a moment, and then turned his attention back towards the gem in his hoof. “This was Amber’s favorite gem. She brought me one of these a long time ago…before she died…” The silver orb materialized from his chest, and he held the gem up for it to see. “This is your gem, Amber… One of a kind, right?”

Suddenly, the orb shined silver, and everything in the room began being vacuumed into it. Feilbach let go of the gem, and it entered the orb in a flash of rainbow-colored light. Books, ladders, blankets, and ponies all went flying into the orb as if it were a black hole. The colors of the world around them faded, and all that was left was Feilbach and the orb.

“That gem was nothing but trouble, anyway. Getting rid of it only saved me…” Feilbach’s eyes returned to crimson, and his mane sat back down. In a cloud of smoke, he and the orb disappeared back to the real world.

Fluttershy got up from the ground, her flank sore from crashing into the wall of the library. She trotted over to her friend to examine her. While the other three ponies were recovering, Twilight was having a fit with the smoke leaving her body. Fluttershy checked her pouch to find that the purple gem was gone. Whatever that opal gem was, it did the purple gem’s job.

“Thanks everypony…” Twilight chuckled after she finished coughing up smoke.

Fluttershy nodded, “Not a problem. You are our friend, after all.”

Applejack agreed, “’Taint nothin’, Twi.”

“So, was that Feilbach?” Pinkie Pie interrupted the reunion with a sort-of important question.

“That’s something I would like to know as well. And why exactly was he talking to that orb?” Rarity added.

Fluttershy noticed the opal gem lying on the ground, so she picked it up as she explained everything she knew about the situation. She told them about how the orb sent her to watch the past; how the orb gave form to her nightmares; how she had been saved by a sapphire similar to these other gems; and how she had been given the opal from a filly that said she knew Feilbach. She also talked about each of the gems.

Twilight asked, still unsure of what exactly was going on, “So, all we have to do now is save Raindow Dash? But, what do we do then? How can we beat this thing?”

Fluttershy opened her pouch. “Well, we actually have three gems left, not counting the opal.” She picked them out of the bag with her hoof, and held them out for the others to see. The gems were blue, white, and black.

“Ahem…” Rarity cleared her throat, “The light-blue gem is an aquamarine. The white one is obviously some form of diamond, whereas the black one is a type of onyx.” The other ponies stared at her quizzically. “What? I do handle gems for a living, after all.” she sighed.

Fluttershy put the gems back in the pouch. “We have three gems. That’s three people. So far, all the gems have responded to the color of a pony’s coat. Orange reacted with Applejack, pink with Pinkie Pie, white with Rarity, and purple with Twilight. I figure the blue is for Rainbow Dash. But then who do the diamond and onyx go to?”

“We can worry about that later, Fluttershy. Before anything else we have to save Rainbow!” Twilight smiled, opening her door with her magic. “After you, Leader.”

Fluttershy blushed, “Who, me? I-I’m no leader!” She looked around to all her friends.

Applejack rolled her eyes, “O' course ya are! You just about saved all of us by your lonesome! Ya even stood hoof to hoof with that monster!”

Rarity smiled, placing a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder, “If you haven’t earned the title of leader, then by Celestia what does it take?”

Pinkie Pie laughed, “Of course you’re our leader! You have more practice resisting these things than all of us combined!”

Fluttershy looked at all of her friends, blush on her face and a smile growing. She helped them all, and there was only one left. She nodded her head, and took off running out the door. The other ponies followed close behind, smiles on their faces and faith in their leader. They knew it wouldn’t be long before this nightmare was over.

“Rainbow have faith, I’ll bet you we’re on our way!”

Next Chapter: Chapter 15: The Pain of Memories Estimated time remaining: 49 Minutes