"Git in line, everyone!" Applejack shouted at her now marching army of Knights and Black Mages "One, two! One, two! We got a big day ahead of us, so let's go, go, go!!"

After the inspirational speech Applejack made earlier, the entire population of Apple court Knights and Black Mages prepared themselves for whatever their greatest adversary, Titan, had in store for them. The battle would be grueling, there was no doubt about that, but everyone would be going in blind in terms of Titan's defenses. A select few from each job class hopped onto three PS-1-Highwind class airships, large and bulky steel airships with three propellers on its back, two on top, and two large airbags on the side. They were slow, but they could take a beating.

After everything was set, Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack got on their own ship, the Nightgazer, now scrubbed clean of any unfinished lunches that may have made its way onto the hull. Rainbow immediately went for the wheel, making extra sure not to do what Twilight did previously.

"We're all set to go!" she grabbed the wheel and smiled "Just say the word and I'll take this baby outta here!"

"No time like the present, ah suppose" Applejack nodded "Take her outta here, Dash!"

"Aye-aye, captain!" Rainbow spun the wheel and pulled the lever, which in turn began raising the ship. Fluttershy had begun to become a little nervous after remembering last time, but Twilight simply hugged her friend, comforting her the rest of the way.

"I still cannot believe you all own an airship of your very own" Rarity said, extremely impressed "The model looks like it was made of older parts, yet the frames and hull look new. If I am to guess, I would have to say this ship could reach speeds of up to-"

"128 kph" Twilight smiled "In just a few seconds, believe it or not!"

"My oh my!" Rarity grinned "Such power! Such sleekness! Oh, this gives me too many ideas to fathom!"

As Rarity said this, she and the others noticed the other airships starting to rise into the air, following the odd-one-out. Rainbow Dash saw this as well and began turning the ship towards the general direction of the ruined mines, finally beginning the assault. Below the airships marched the army of Black Mages and Knights, ready to battle. Everything was planned accordingly.

Everyone just hoped nothing would go wrong.

(Music Stop)

Everything had gone dead silent the moment the army had arrived at the scene. The troops had stopped marching and the ships stayed stationary in the air. Patiently they waited for something, anything to happen.

"Nothing?" Rainbow groaned "But we brought the whole damn army!"

"Be patient, Rainbow Dash, darling" Rarity assured.

"I, um, have to agree with Rainbow Dash..." Fluttershy nodded "This does feel very, um... anticlimactic..."

"Titan has to be planning something..." Twilight presumed "An army of rock-men, or maybe Titan himself, I don't know!"

"Dwight-likes Sparkle!" shouted a familiar voice to any and all present at the area. Everyone turned towards the crumbled mine to see none other than Trixie, still wearing the same, albeit dirtier, robes from last time. She laughed and began floating towards the Nightgazer and proceeded to look straight at the heroes.

"That's Twilight, Trixie!" Twilight shouted "What are you even doing here? How are you still alive?!"

"Twilight, Twilight, Twilight..." Trixie shook her head with a grin "You underestimate Trixie's power!"

"I see we also underestimated your reluctance to give up that stupid speech pattern..." Rainbow muttered under her breath.

"Come again, Rainbow Crash?" Trixie wondered

"I said screw you!" Rainbow shouted at the narcissistic woman.

"Sure..."

"You never answered my question, Trixie" Twilight repeated herself "Why are you here and how did you survive?"

"Fool!" Trixie shouted "Have you forgotten Trixie's plan already?! She plans to use Titan's power to make her the most powerful Black Mage in the world!"

"Ah thought ya said it was ta become the greatest woman in the world" Applejack smirked.

"W-Well..." Trixie stuttered "Trixie has had a change of plans! After feeling Titan's power for the very first time, Trixie decided she wants to use its power to enhance her own! Of course, after Titan was finished with ruining the world and the sort. But that's not all! Trixie has discovered a way to not only take Titan's power, but the earth crystal's as well!"

Everyone gasped.

"Trixie, you can't!" Twilight urged

"If you did that, darling, the world would become uninhabitable for us all!" Rarity explained.

"That includes ya, moron!" Applejack shook her head in disapproval.

"Whatever" Trixie rolled her eyes "Trixie would just use her awesome power to shield herself. Then she not only would be the most powerful Black Mage in Equestria, but she would be the ONLY Black Mage in Equestria! AHAHAHAHA!!!"

No one said a word as they watched the crazy woman laugh in front of them. All of them were either confused, angry, shaking their head at Trixie's horrid, literally horrid plan, or all of the above.

"You do understand that plan is really dumb, right?" Twilight asked Trixie "If you're the last person on this planet, let alone the last Black Mage, that would not only make you just a normal human being, but extremely, extremely lonely."

"Trixie doesn't care" she rolled her eyes after she stopped laughing "Trixie just wants to be powerful, and Titan there will help her reach that goal! Trixie will be quite GREAT and quite POWERFUL!!!"

"Oh, Christ..." Rainbow sighed.

"Yer not gettin' away with this, Trixie!" Applejack shouted.

"You're right!" Trixie giggled "She already has! If you want to face Trixie, come into the mines! She and her new pet will be waiting ever so patiently! AHAHAHAHA!!!"

(Music Stop)

And with that, she flew off back to Titan to watch over it and prepare for her world domination. Or something, the team wasn't really paying that much attention to her rambling. All except for Applejack, of course. Pushing Rainbow out of the way, she took the wheel and began moving their airship towards the ruins of the Galloping Gorge Mines.

"Whoa! Applejack, hold up!" Rainbow rubbed her back whilst on the ground "You know what Trixie's trying to do! With a bonkers head like that, I doubt she'll be able to get passed step one."

"That's exactly what worries me, Dash" Applejack sighed "Any number of things could go wrong with her plan."

"Which means we have to stop her as soon as possible" Twilight nodded.

"Well, I, personally, am always up for a good smacking of disobedient brats" Rarity rather snobbishly spoke "Very well then. Let's us continue forth!"

"Oh, um..." Fluttershy realized she had to say something as well "...go team! Woo hoo!"

"Okay..." a smirk appeared on Rainbow's face "Well, what the hell are we waiting for? AJ, take her outta here!"

Applejack nodded and slowly took the ship down to the mine's crumbled ruins. After landing the ship and getting off, she motioned to the army to stand guard and wait for their return before joining her friends and looking up at the mine. A single crack was the only way into the cave. Taking a deep breath, they all entered the cave.

The entire mining platform was a complete wreck. Debris was flung everywhere across the cave, as well as just about every machine there was utterly broken. Twilight felt a disappointed sigh escape her mouth after seeing the fate of the practically ancient machines. A cold and ominous wind blew through the smaller cracks of the cavern, brushing past the heroes' hair and sending shivers down their spines. Nonetheless, they continued on. Though, Fluttershy had to be comforted the rest of the way.

"Oh my..." she shuddered "Everything has become so... dark..."

"Not as dark as Deep Cloudsdale, you gotta admit that" Rainbow chuckled "But you're right, it's getting pretty hard to see."

"Maybe some of the lights still work?" Twilight wondered, still clinging to the hope that maybe something survived.

"I don't think so, darling" Rarity shook her head "After a cave-in like that, it would be a miracle should even a lamp have been left alive. I'm sorry, darling. I know you enjoyed the things we had to offer."

"N-No, it's fine" Twilight sighed "They're just... y'know... priceless relics..." she slapped her face with her hands "Please, god, just one lightswitch to take home and analyze..."

"Now's not the time, Twi" Applejack reminded her "We have ta find and stop Trixie! Ah dun want her ta mess up anythin'."

"Well, more than it already is messed up" Rainbow added.

"But how are earth are we supposed to progress through the cavern, darling?" Rarity wondered, ignoring her friend "Most of the objects here were supposed to allow us to get around the mine, and as Twilight has shown us very clearly, pretty much all of it has been destroyed from the collapse."

"Well, um... Maybe some of it, um, survived?" Fluttershy supposed.

"Y-Yeah! Maybe some survived!" Twilight nodded, her eyes sparkling with excitement "Then, after we've used it, we can take it over to the airship and study it!"

"Well, I, um..." Fluttershy quietly spoke "I did say, um... maybe..."

"C'mon, let's have a look around!" Twilight rushed off deeper into the cave.

"Hold up, Twi! Wait for us!" Rainbow called out, racing after her.

"Come, ladies" Rarity nodded at her remaining friends "Let us move quickly yet quietly. Almost elegantly, if you will."

"Ah ain't got time ta walk all fancy like that" Applejack shook her head before running over at her other friends, hoping to rejoin them "Hey pardners! Wait up!"

"Oh my..." Fluttershy sighed "Well, you'll always have me, Rarity."

"Actually, darling, they're right" Rarity agreed "Time is of the essence! We must make haste if we are to stop Titan and Trixie. Come, Fluttershy, darling! Let us rejoin our friends!" she quickly walked over to the group, her high heels tapping themselves across the rock and causing an echo throughout the cavern.

"Oh... dear..." Fluttershy squeaked, noticing she was all alone now "W-Wait for me!!"

After Fluttershy rejoined everyone, they decided it was best if they formed teams to go and scout-out the area. They agreed to pair Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy together to search the left side of the platform, and Rarity, Twilight and Applejack together to search the right. This way, each team had some magic power and physical power should anything bad appear before them.

"See you in a bit then" Rainbow waved to her friends before leaving with Fluttershy "So, where first, Shy?"

"Oh, um..." Fluttershy looked around before noticing something off in the distance "W-What about that up there?"

"Hmm?" Rainbow looked where her friend was looking at "Oh, you mean that blue thing in the rubble?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Okay, lemme check it out" Rainbow extended her wings and flew up to retrieve the object "Heh... I just realize how piss-poor our team planning is. We're both Pegasai, right? Wouldn't it make sense to have put Applejack with you instead?"

"Y-Yes, but..." Fluttershy whimpered "Applejack sort of... um... scares me..."

"Haha!" Rainbow laughed "Yeah, I don't blame you. But you know she's just trying to help. She's great with a sword, and despite her sometimes being strict and to-the-point, I respect her."

"O-Oh..." Fluttershy shakily nodded "Well, um... do you, um... do you... like her?"

"Well, of course! She's my friend right?"

"N-No, that's not..." Fluttershy took a deep breath in and exhaled "...I-I m-mean... um... like her, like her."

"What are you saying?" Rainbow floated down to talk with her friend about what was on her mind.

"Well, y-you see, um..."

(Music Stop)

Before she could finish her sentence, a low growling noise was heard behind Rainbow Dash. She turned around to try and find what it was that made the sound, but she couldn't find it. Suddenly, it growled again, causing Fluttershy to shriek and wrap her body around her friend. Rainbow simply smiled and patted her head.

"Don't worry, Shy" she said "Whatever it is, it won't be able to hurt us. You wanna know why?"

Fluttershy merely whimpered in a questionable tone.

"Because you have me with you" Rainbow smiled and hugged her friend back "And so long as I'm here, nothing ever will be able to hurt you, okay?"

"Well, okay..." Fluttershy sighed "Um... Rainbow Dash...?"

"Yep?"

"Y-You know... We've been f-friends f-for a while, a-and... um... um... uhhh..." Fluttershy began to stutter.

"Hey, calm down there, Shy" Rainbow rubbed her friend's head "There's no need to, pun not intended, be shy about anything with me. C'mon, you can tell me anything!"

"Um... uh... W-Well..." Fluttershy finally just gave up "N-No, it's nothing..."

"Really? Because I thought-"

A rumbling was felt beneath the twos feet. They quickly separated from one-another and looked down in natural instinct to try and find the source of the rumbling. Obviously, they couldn't find it, but the noise and the rumbling got louder and louder, closer and closer. Finally, whatever it was making those sounds revealed itself.

Fluttershy then let out a scream of horror that echoed though the entire cave.

"Hey! Look! It still works!!" Twilight ecstatically bounced up and down, a huge smile plastered right on her face as she flicked on and off the rather old-looking lamp. Her friends let out an exhausted sigh; she was acting like a young girl who just got her hands on a brand-new doll.

The three had been searching around the area for anything useful to them in the way of items or ways down into the deeper part of the mine. There had been a few new monsters occupying the cavern since a few days ago, but nothing a little bit of thought and careful planning on Twilight's part couldn't handle. Of course, as Rarity and Applejack were quick to realize, Twilight wasn't always on par with careful planning.

"And, um, how much do you think that would sell for, darling?" Rarity nervously questioned.

"Sell? Oh no, no, no!" Twilight shook her head "I'm going to study how the heck these things worked!"

"Oh" Applejack deadpanned "Well, as much as ah love ya lookin' around and findin' stuff ya like, we should probably go and find a way inta where Trixie is."

"Right, of course" Twilight nodded "Well, there's gotta be a switch or a lever around here that still works. We could always try and find the mine cart that first brought us into the Magistone cave."

"I think that was the first thing to go, Twilight dear" Rarity remembered "Of course, with any cave-in with a magnitude such as that, there are bound to be a few new entrances here and there."

"Most of which ah would think would then be covered up again..." Applejack sighed.

"Now, now, Applejack" Rarity assured "There's bound to be at least one place worth searching. After all-"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!" a loud screech was heard echoing around the cavern.

"Fluttershy..." Twilight gasped.

The trio immediately stopped what they were doing and ran out to see whatever was the matter. When they got there, they saw Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash facing against a giant, blue scorpion-like monster with a translucent body and white dots all along its back, sides and insides. It had a green-tipped tail that appeared to be filled with deadly poison, along with piercing orange eyes that struck fear into its enemies.

"What on earth is that?!" Rarity nearly shrieked herself.

"I've read about that kind of monster!" Twilight remembered "That's a Scorpio, a distant relative to the Ursa Minor and Major, believe it or not. They're extremely rare, but very in-tune with the earth, as they can burrow through it with extreme ease, and even use it for combat purposes."

"That's fascinating, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash shouted sarcastically, fending off the creature with her spear "Now could you come down and help us?!"

"Oh, right, sorry!" Twilight apologized before leaping off the balcony she was on and onto the ground. She was soon followed by her team. They each pulled out their respective weapons and prepared to face the monster.

"Spike, get 'em!" Twilight shouted with her book in her hand as the little Bahamut crawling down and blasting some fire at the Scorpio "And just for good measure... Summon! Lv.2 Shiva!" she called out, summoning once again the icy woman that circled the monster before shattering into millions of sharp ice pieces, digging them into the monster's hide.

"Alright! Now to strike while it's distracted!" Rainbow smirked, jumping up into the air before plummeting down and impaling the Scorpio in the back. Unfortunately, that seemed to do little damage as it just shrugged the attack and Rainbow herself off.

"Fira!" Rarity shouted, raising her rod and casting the powerful fire spell on the creature. Once again, however, it seemed to do little damage to it.

"There's gotta be a way ta beat this thing!" Applejack stated "Maybe some white magic?"

"Or maybe the tail..." Fluttershy quietly suggested. Before anyone could respond, the Scorpio launched its tail tip at the team, impaling it into the ground and causing a pool of green to appear around the impact area. The attack also knocked them back into the rubble and rocks behind them.

"Ugh..." Rainbow shook her head free of fatigue "...wait! What about its tail?"

"Rainbow, th-that's what I just-" Fluttershy began before being interrupted by Applejack.

"Of course! That's gotta be its weakspot!"

"Oh..." Fluttershy sighed.

"Okay then!" Twilight nodded "Everyone aim for the tail!"

"Right!" the team nodded.

"Have summa this!" Applejack ran up to the Scorpio and leaped onto its back before striking it with her sword, leaving a large gash in the spike and causing the monster to cry in agony.

"This'll teach you not to mess with us!" Rainbow jumped up into the air and prepared to fall back down and let gravity do its thing. However, as she was still in the air, the Scorpio let out a mist from its mandibles, covering the rest of the team. Confused as to why they hadn't died right there and then, Rarity went to cast a Fira spell only to discover she couldn't speak.

"Aw, nuts..." Rainbow sighed before plummeting back down and stabbing the Scorpio's tail tip, leaving an even larger gash in it and causing it to nearly fall right off the tail segment "I leave you guys for two seconds and you get yourselves muted."

Applejack rolled her eyes as she continued to rush forward and attack the creature's weak point.

"Of course you're not affected that much, but we have, like, twelve mages on our team" Rainbow pointed out "Hey, um... Twilight? You remembered to buy echo herbs, right?"

Twilight nodded at her friend before pulling out some small red herbs and tossing one to each of her nearby muted friends while keeping one for herself. As soon as she and they chomped down on them, they let out vocal sighs of relief.

"Good heavens, that was horrid" Rarity gasped.

"Not the time, Rare" Twilight focused her friends on their target.

"Before you continue... Cure!" Fluttershy waved her staff and sent a holy light over each and every one of her friends. Rarity, feeling refreshed, pointed her rod right at the Scorpio's tail and smiled.

"You owe me a spell, darling" she charged up her rod "Fira!" she launched the fire right at her target, slicing it clean off and causing the monster to once again cry out in pain. This time, however, it fell to the ground and curled up into a ball, making a small screech that faded out the closer it got to death.

"Alright! Once again, Dash is victorious!" Rainbow bounced up and down ecstatically.

"Excuse me?" Twilight scoffed "What about us?"

"Oh, right" Rainbow rolled her eyes "I guess you guys helped too."

"Do try to be more considerate, darling" Rarity suggested "You never know when you might hurt someone's feelings."

(Music Stop)

Suddenly, Applejack came up to Twilight and tapped her foot repeatedly, apparently waiting for something. It took Twilight a moment before she finally realized she had forgotten to give Applejack her own echo herb.

"Sorry, AJ" Twilight chuckled, taking out another herb and giving it to her friend.

"Finally, ah can talk again!" Applejack stomped her foot and smiled after ingesting her medicine "But... We kinda wasted time fightin' that thin'. Who knows what Trixie could be doin' by this point?"

"Hey, guys? You might wanna come and check this out!" Rainbow called her friends over to the corpse of the Scorpio. As soon as everyone was present, they noticed that the creature had been fading away, as all constellation monsters do when they die. However, underneath the monster's fading body was a small hole that emitted the very same brilliant light that the Magistone gave off last time the mages felt it.

"It's small, but I think it leads to the center" Rainbow brought up "Looks like our little battle wasn't for nothing after all!"

"Oh my... That's certainly a deep hole..." Fluttershy pointed out "Will we, um... be able to, um... survive the fall?"

"It's a pretty narrow shaft, darling..." Rarity examined "I suggest we move in single-file. That way, we'll be able to climb down the rocks with relative ease. It's getting back up that worries me."

"We might not be able ta return after this" Applejack somberly spoke the truth "Is everyone here ready?"

"Sign me the hell up!"

"I'm prepared, darling."

"Um... yes..."

"Let's finish this!"

"Then in that case..." Applejack nodded and proceeded to slip her way down into the crack of the earth, deep into the heart of the mountain. Soon after, the others followed, with some slight prompting for Fluttershy, of course. Eventually, they had all made their way into the crack, making sure to leave for Rainbow Dash last for... certain and, dare one say, obvious reasons.

Author's Notes:

Believe it or not, this is actually a two-parter! I wanted to make it a long chapter to make up for the lack of updates (because school), but I knew that it would be better if I just made another chapter for simplicity.

Also because I like trolling you guys.

The battle with Titan fast approaches! I know I said that we'd fight Titan in this chapter, but... technically this is part one, so... Yeah, I upheld my promise. You just need to wait an extra day before you can find out the ending of this act!

Be sure to Like, Comment, Favorite and Follow, and until then, dream on everyone!