It had taken it only a few minutes for the army to discover the team on the other side of the gorge. Truly not much had happened after that. All that really happened was a short reunion between Rarity and Starswirl after a while away from each other. Afterwards, the Apple Kingdom officially decreed that the Black Mages could stay in their land for as long as they wanted. After this, the team finally said their goodbyes and took off in their airship back towards Ponyville to meet up with Luna and perhaps even Celestia.

"It's a nice breeze today!" Twilight stated while controlling the airship, before looking at Applejack and Rarity with a smirk on her face "You're welcome."

"Fer what?" Applejack wondered.

"Hahaha! I get it!" Rainbow laughed before heading down into the lower deck.

"Was that was a joke?" Rarity wondered "Was it an inside joke, darlings, or something that flew right over my head?"

"Oh, you two weren't here when we, um, revived the wind crystal" Fluttershy remembered "Um... basically, um..."

"That's all you need to say, Fluttershy" Twilight assured "But don't feel sad about that. Here, wanna take control of her for a bit? Don't worry about crashing her; I have her on cruise control."

"O-Okay... um... s-sure..." Fluttershy slowly grabbed the wheel with her hands and shook a bit before letting out a sigh and smiling a bit "M-Maybe this isn't as bad as I though... Y-Yeah! This is... pretty fun!"

"See? What did I say?" Twilight grinned "Now, you think you got it?"

"Y-Yes" Fluttershy nodded as confidently as she could.

"Then I'm going to take my hands off the wheel now..." Twilight slowly did so and smiled once she saw how natural Fluttershy was at flying the ship "Hey, good job! It's just a few more miles now, but if you ever feel anxious about this, just tell me and I'll take over."

"N-No thank you..." Fluttershy politely shook her head "I'm g-good for now."

"Well, okay then."

"Yo guys! Check this out!" Rainbow emerged from the lower decks carrying something in her hands.

"Oh my! What is it, darling?" Rarity wondered.

"This is a jukebox" Rainbow placed it on the ground with a huff "I found it in Luna's room next to all her boy band stuff."

"Sorry, what?" Twilight couldn't stop herself from snickering at that last part.

"Rainbow Dash, ya shouldn't go inta other people's rooms without their permission" Applejack scolded "Ya might find somethin' they wanted ta keep a secret from people."

"Relax, AJ" Rainbow assured with a cocky smile "This thing comes with some sick beats on it! Would you rather sit around on an airship doing nothing or would you rather listen to some music?"

"...fine" Applejack rolled her eyes "But we gotta choose somethin' that ah like in return."

"Seems like a fair trade" Rainbow nodded, pulling out some record tapes "I found these three in her room as well. Take your pick, just don't choose-"

"Posey: Greatest Aria" Applejack smiled, knowing exactly how to push her friend's buttons.

"I told you not to choose that!" Rainbow shouted.

"No, ya never finished yer sentence" Applejack spoke only the truth.

"You... You..." Rainbow Dash wanted to curse at her, but couldn't help but respect her low-handed excuse "...you clever bitch. No wonder I looked up to you! Alright, we'll play your stupid soundtrack. Couldn't be that bad, right?"

"W-Wait!" Fluttershy stepped out, forcing Twilight to quickly take the wheel again "M-Maybe we should play something else!"

"Sorry, Shy" Rainbow shrugged "A deal's a deal."

"N-No, please, let's just talk this out!" Fluttershy urged.

"Are you alright, darling?" Rarity wondered "You seem on edge today? Is everything okay?"

"Maybe she just doesn't like the music?" Rainbow supposed "Well, if it makes you feel any better, Fluttershy, I don't really want to listen to this either. So let's go into this together."

"No stop!" Fluttershy never stuttered when she shouted that one final plea. But it was too late. Rainbow Dash had already put in the tape and pressed the play button. The team prepared themselves to listen to Posey's supposedly beautiful singing voice.

(Music Stop)

Don't continue the story until you've heard this song! Seriously, it's important!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhewKT59mL8

"..."

Everyone stood silent as the song came and went. Some shocked, most surprised, but all confused. The voice that sang to them on the jukebox was rightfully beautiful, and every note that came out of Posey's voice hit just the right tone. It was perfection, even to the originally skeptical Rainbow Dash. But that's not what the team was so confused about.

Posey's voice sounded exactly like Fluttershy's.

They all looked toward their shy friend with looks of wonder and confusion on their faces. Fluttershy had begun to cry, though the team didn't quite know why. Finally, after a good two minutes of absolute quiet, Rarity spoke up, still a little stunned.

"F-Fluttershy, darling..." she said "Was that... you?"

"I... I..." Fluttershy tried to find words to say, but none came out. She only continued to sob.

"Oh nuts..." Applejack sighed "Look, ifin ya want ta talk about it, we-"

"NO!!" Fluttershy snapped, taking everyone by surprise from her sudden outburst "N-No... that's not... I didn't mean..." she shook her head and rushed down into the lower decks. A door slam was heard not a few second later.

"Hey! Fluttershy, wait!" Rainbow Dash ran after her. Looking around the narrow hallway, she listened in on where her friend might be hiding herself. Once she picked up her crying in the far left room, she knocked on the door in hopes she might answer.

"G-Go away!" Fluttershy urged from behind the door "J-Just... go..."

"Fluttershy, really, if you need to say something, you can tell me" Rainbow sighed "Remember what I told you back at the mines? How you could tell me anything that was on your mind? I'm here if you need someone to talk to, okay?"

"..."

"Shy..."

"...okay, come in..." Fluttershy agreed. With that, Rainbow slowly opened the door and saw her friend on one of the cabin beds. The sheets had been messed up, implying she had a small fit a few moments earlier. Her face was wet and her eyes were slightly red, showing how upset she was by all this.

"Now... Do you wanna start, or should I?" Rainbow wondered.

"Y-You c-can..." Fluttershy sobbed a bit.

"Alright, I'll take it slowly, okay?" Rainbow asked, to which Fluttershy nodded "Let's start with the obvious question... Fluttershy, why did you run away?"

"I... I-I was scared..." she admitted "I was s-scared you all w-would have thought of me as... a liar..."

"A liar?" Rainbow's eyebrow rose "What did you lie about?"

"M-My entire life..." Fluttershy sniffed "I... I lied about everything to you! My home, my profession, even my name was nothing more than just a ruse! I l-lied... I failed..."

"Fluttershy..." Rainbow sighed "...I forgive you."

"W-What?"

"For real" Rainbow nodded with a smile "Shy, listen... Any normal person would be fuming at you that you actually lied to them about your entire life. Lucky for you, this entire ship is filled with misfits. You're our friend, Fluttershy, and I know that something as pathetically small as this would never ruin that fact. Ever. Besides, I'm sure you had you're reasons, right?"

"...r-right..." Fluttershy nodded.

"Yeah, see? There you go" Rainbow chuckled a bit "Now for the big question... Fluttershy, who are you? Really?"

"I..." she hesitated for a moment before letting out a long sigh "...m-my name is-"

(Music Stop)

Suddenly, a loud bang was heard on the airship's flight deck. It sounded as if someone, or something, had landed right on top of it. Without question, Rainbow nodded to her friend as a sign of thanks and rushed upstairs to see what all the commotion was about.

Around the entire deck laid her friends collapsed on their sides and chests, all seemingly wounded. It didn't take her long to find out who the culprit was. Standing right at the end of the airship was a man with light gray skin, long white hair and red eyes. He wore a white shirt and black pants, along with an untied long, long-sleeved black jacket that had a gold rim all around it. Around his waist was a brown belt with a gold buckle and around his neck was a red handkerchief. He had a smug smile on his face.

"And so number five approaches, it would seem" the man chuckled "I highly doubt you'll prove that much of a threat against me anyway, so what does it matter if there happen to be more than four here."

"Who the hell are you?!" Rainbow shouted, pulling out her spear.

"Now, now, dear, no need for hostilities" the man spoke in a calm voice "Your friends are unharmed. I simply... decommissioned them for a moment or two. Now if you'll excuse me, I must collect what's mine."

"Collect what's..." Rainbow put two and two together, raising her spear more "Hey, no one takes Fluttershy on my watch! You're gonna have to fight me for her!"

"Who the devil is Fluttershy? Or... Is that what she calls herself now?" the man wondered "No matter, I haven't time for this. I am on a very, very tight schedule right now, and fighting you would simply waste precious time."

"Wanna try?"

"No, I would rather not" the man pulled out a sword, spun it around a bit and cast something on Rainbow, freezing her in place "Apologies, dear. I couldn't have you in the way. Not when I was just about to collect my greatest treasure of all time. But... oh? Your ship does appear to be falling from the sky. How unfortunate."

"Y-Y-You..." Rainbow managed to get out from her frozen state.

"Aww, poor thing" the man pretended to care "Don't worry; I've frozen all of your friends. You won't die from the crash, if that's what you're so worked up about. Now... Go to sleep, my child..." he placed a finger on her body and tipped her on her belly, knocking her out. The last thing she remembered was the scream for help let out by Fluttershy.

(Music Stop)

A few hours had passed since the man appeared. Since then, the airship had all but crashed in a rather pleasant forest with a running stream, dense trees and birds chirping throughout the area. Twilight was the first to awaken, slowly flickering her eyes open. While staying on her belly, her eyes scanned the area. Eventually, she groaned and got back up on her feet, curiously looking everywhere she could.

"Where...?" she muttered "Where am I? Girls, where are you?! Spike?! Anyone?!"

"Kaw!" a familiar noise was made behind Twilight. She quickly turned around and saw her pet Bahamut was sitting ever so patiently by her side, waiting for her to come to.

"Spike..." she sighed with a smile "...thanks, little guy. Now, c'mon; we have to find the others."

"Kaw!" Spike cawed again, walking away from his owner. He nodded at her as if to urge her to follow her. Twilight, of course, followed him deeper into the forest where she might find the rest of her friends. Low and behold, the rest of her team were all passed out next to, to Twilight's utter horror, the wreckage of the Nightgazer.

"NOOOOOO!!" Twilight cried out "Oh my god... Luna's going to kill me!"

"Ugh... What... happened?" Rainbow slowly shook her head free of fatigue, lazily hanging from a tree "I remember... some guy and then... nothing... Wait! AHH!! Get me down from here!"

"Hang on" Twilight used her magic to levitate Rainbow off the rather weak branch.

"Oh dear..." Rarity groaned, rolling on her back on the ground "I can't seem to remember much myself, darling."

"What the heck hap- Sweet jumpin' cowfish!" Applejack noticed the crashed airship behind her "Did we do that?"

"No... It had to have been that guy that appeared with us" Twilight remembered "But why? What did he want from us? Was he some sort of pirate?"

"Wait a minute... Where's Fluttershy?" Applejack wondered.

"You don't think...?" Rarity nervously suggested.

"Th-That asshole!" Rainbow stomped her foot "He took Fluttershy away! When I find him, I swear to god I'm going to snap his neck, twist it back, snap it again, and then throw him into a vat of boiling hot acid!"

"I-I think that's a bit much, darling..." Rarity pointed out.

"We can focus on killing him later, Rainbow" Twilight told her friend "Right now, we need to find a way out of this forest. If we can find a nearby town, we can stock up on items. Lord knows how many we'll need now that the White Mage of the team is gone."

"Well, let's git movin' then" Applejack nodded as she began to leave, but looking back at the wreckage behind her "Um, Twi? What 'bout that? Are we just gonna leave it here?"

"As much as I hate to say it..." Twilight sighed "We'll have to leave it here until further notice..."

"Luna's gonna kill you" Rainbow chanted.

"Shut up, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight angrily shouted, causing everyone to laugh.

"So, where shall we begin searching, darling?" Rarity wondered.

"...w-well, um" Twilight was still a little angry "We should probably find out where we are first. If we can pinpoint our location, we'll be able to head in the direction of the closest town. Rainbow Dash, can you fly up and search the area for any landmarks?"

"Sure thing!" Rainbow nodded before spreading her wings and bolting up quickly into the air. She looked around for any sort of landmarks near their location, but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary, besides a normal-looking mountain behind her and a large waterfall a few miles north. She did however see a large clearing not far from them that seemed to be emitting smoke. She wasn't sure what it was, but at least it was something.

"Ya see anything?" Applejack called up.

"Nothing really that interesting!" Rainbow shouted back down "But there is this forest clearing making some smoke about a kilometer away! I say we check there first!"

"Anything else, darling?" Rarity wondered.

"Well, there's a huge waterfall northbound, but I don't-"

"Wait... A waterfall?" Twilight questioned "Rainbow, come back down! I know where we are!"

"You do?" Rainbow gently landed back on the ground.

"This forest is called Hollow Shades" Twilight explained "That smokey clearing you saw might be the town of the same name, and that waterfall you saw is known as Neighagra Falls, the place where the water crystal lies in peace. Don't tell me you didn't learn about this is school!"

"Twilight. Girl. Cloudsdale. Remember?" Rainbow deadpanned.

"R-Right, sorry..." Twilight sighed.

"So we walk towards Hollow Shades then?" Rarity questioned "I suppose from there we'll be able to plan out where on earth Fluttershy was taken."

"Also git some potions..." Applejack looked through her item bag "Looks like most of our stuff was broken in the crash."

"Shit..." Rainbow spoke under her breath.

"We'll just have to be careful about what we fight in this place, especially since I read that this place has poisonous monsters in it" Twilight reminded her team "Speaking of, how much stuff actually DID survive?"

"Ten potions, seven antidotes, a stick and about 7000 bits" Applejack disappointingly checked "Hold on... No, make that nine potions. Twi, this ain't gonna git us through that forest if yer right about all thems poisonous monsters!"

"...yeah, we're screwed" Twilight sighed.

"Or are you?!" spoke a rather upbeat female voice somewhere around.

"Who's there!" Rainbow was quick to pull out her spear "Show yourself!"

"Heehee! Relax, you big dummy!" the voice giggle gleefully "I'm just here to help you find your way."

"Help us?" Twilight questioned "Well, could you at least show yourself before we allow you to help us?"

"But I thought I was already here" the voice appeared behind them, causing them all to scream for a moment and look back to see who the owner of the voice was.

Her skin was a pink shade and her hair was very bright and bold pink, not to mention it was also very fluffy and bouncy. She wore a purple archer's cap with a yellow feather strapped onto it, as well as a purple vest that ended at her waist with several points, and puffy green sleeves ending with yarn-sewn red and white stripes. On her legs, she wore skin-tight green leggings with thin purple stripes going down them, and on her feet were velvet leather boots that went up to her knees. Her eyes were bright blue and curiously looking at the team as if the woman had the mindset of a young child.

"Goodness, darling, how on earth did you appear behind us without any form of movement?" Rarity wondered.

"I dunno! But what I do know is that you guys need some help from little old me!" the woman joyfully cheered.

"You're awfully happy..." Rainbow, not seeing any real threat from her, put away her spear "But if you're really here to help us, thanks; we could use all the help we can get."

"If I'm not sounding presumptuous, do you mind if I ask how you'll be able to help us?" Twilight wondered.

"Well duh!" the woman made a silly face "Did you think I'd show up and say I'd help you guys without proving I could do something worthwhile? Haha! Let me show you what I got!" she put out her hand over her mouth and shouted "HEY MONSTER GUYS!!! COME OUT AND PLAY WITH US!!!"

"What the hell are you-"

"Shusssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." the woman placed a finger on Rainbow's lips and smeared them around a bit, much to the latter's confusion "Lemme show you..."

As expected by the woman, a plant-like monster appeared before the team. They all pulled out their respective weapons, but the woman was quick to stop them.

"Relax, everyone, I got this" the woman assured, keeping her focus on the monster and pulling out what appeared to be a blue ukulele with a sharp golden blade on the side "Lalala... Hmmhmmhmm..." she began strumming the ukulele, creating an interesting and lovely tune that put the monster to sleep, but not the people behind her.

"Okay, so ya can play music" Applejack said "Anythin' else?"

"Well of course, silly!" the woman rolled her eyes "Actually, I have WAY more tunes I can play for your every need! I can put enemies to sleep, as shown here, but I can also confuse them, turn them into stone or even damage them, which I think is super, duper cool! Don't you think? Oh, of course you do!"

"What I think is that you talk too much" Rainbow blatantly stated, earning a small slap at the back of the head from Rarity "What? Well she does!"

"That all fine and good, but can you heal us with one of your melodies?" Twilight wondered.

"You bet your cupcakes I can!" the woman ecstatically smiled, playing her instrument again. Once she was done with her tune, a soft light enveloped the team and healed their wounds from the crash.

"Ahhh..." Applejack let out a sigh of relief "That back pain has been killin' me ferever!"

"Wait, wait, there's more! I can also do this!" the woman continued before flipping her ukulele, grabbing it by the handle and striking the plant monster's stem with the sharp golden part, instantly killing it "I can hold my own in a fight too! Please, hold your applause..."

"That's great!" Twilight approved, bringing out her hand as a sign of friendship "Welcome to the team, um... Sorry, what was your name? You kinda never said it."

"Pie" the woman smiled as she shook Twilight's hand quickly and energetically "Pinkie Pie, the best Bard and party planner in the whole entire world! Well, next to my husband anyway. Actually, I think we're both kinda the same in terms of that! Have you ever met him? Oh, you'll love him! Well, not as much as I do anyway. He does parties all over the world with me! Oh, and my kids as well, but they're just junior party planners right now. But they're MY junior party planners, so I take them with me anyway! They're just so cute! They..."

"Oh boy... Something tells me this is going to be a long trip..." Twilight spoke nervously as Pinkie continued talking about her family to seemingly no end.

Author's Notes:

Act 3 begins! You're welcome!

So, starting off with a bang, we already got a kidnapping and a new character! Sounds good to me, and I hope it sounds good to you as well. Just to let you know that if anything seems too sudden when I'm writing Pinkie Pie, just remember she's Pinkie Pie. You shouldn't question it.

Please do alert me of spelling mistakes, however.

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