By Readthestory

Chapter 3: Nightmares of Two Different Kinds

The sun beat down on Sweet Apple Acres, illuminating the incredible sight of the Equestrian Army. Silently they stood, nearly 5,000 Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth Ponies, shoulder to shoulder. It was eerily quiet in the ranks as the amassed soldiers and militiaponies waited for a sign. High above the fields, Cloudsdale hovered, slowly makings it way towards the sky above Ponyville- to act as a buffer against any Griffons who might try to enter the town from above.

In the sky, the Royal Guards hovered in close formation, encircling the seventy or so Wonderbolts. Alongside the trained warriors were hundreds of other Pegasi, volunteers and drafted soldiers alike from Cloudsdale. Below them, the bulk of the army- Earth Ponies- waited in similar discipline. Among them were assault weapons- catapults and ballistae primed to fire. Slightly above them on a hill were the Unicorn sorcerers and magicians, who would fight from afar while aiding their fellow Ponies. And finally, at the head of the line, stood Celestia and Luna, motionless and composed.

Applejack impatiently ground her hoof into the dirt near the front line, waiting impatiently for the battle ahead. Despite her protests, the Generals and other military heads- even Princess Celestia- had seen fit to divide herself and her friends amongst the crowd. She one again tap her necklace within the Element of Honesty- useless on its own. She just hoped it wouldn't be needed.

Applejack could just make out Twilight near the Princesses, her horn glowing slightly with anticipation. Rainbow Dash was somewhere above her head, being the vice-captain of the Wonderbolts and all. Rarity was nowhere to be seen, perhaps working on that secret project Zecora had hinted at. As for Pinkie and Fluttershy, they had hung back in Everfree, working on some kind of trap.

"You made sure that Apple Bloom and her friends were with the Cakes, right?" AJ asked Big Macintosh for the thousandth time.

"Eeyup."

"OK then…"

The sun had just started to descend from its zenith when a black wall of clouds flashed into being over the distant mountains. The militiaponies collectively gasped, nervously prancing.

"Keep calm, everypony!" Celestia shouted. "We will stop them here. Keep to your formations and follow your leaders. We will make them pay for the slaughter at Fillydelphia! Do not give them an inch of ground, do not let them even set foot in Ponyville! Fight for your homes, and for Equestria!"

"FOR EQUESTRIA!" the army echoed.

The Princesses took the sky, and a moment later, all hell broke loose. Thousands upon Thousands of Griffons poured from the cloud wall, advancing as a single many headed beast. The armies advanced towards one another, and just as Celestia was about to take her first victim, time seemed to freeze.

Applejack was blown backwards onto the ground with a cry, along with the entire column. Above, the Pegasi were buffeted by the air, spiraling backwards through the sky. An invisible wall of force divided the two armies, who were unable to do any more except glare at each other in hatred.

Only the Princesses were unaffected, hovering next to the barrier with narrowed eyes. In an instant, a circle of clouds enveloped the Alicorns, nearly concealing them from sight.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight cried, trying in vain to reach her.

And then Applejack heard it… a dark and ancient voice which hissed words that seemed to pierce her very mind with their intensity. Words full of malice and sarcasm.

"Luna… Celestia… I've missed you…"

Applejack shot up in her bed, screaming and kicking out with her hooves. Her body glistened with a cold sweat and her heart was racing at a mile a minute. She covered her ears with her hooves, holding back sobs.

The old nightmare again… if only it wasn't real.

/**/

The Griffon shot towards her, its talons outstretched, its eyes filled with malice, it was only an inch away and…

"Ow! Applejack! That hurt!" Pinkie Pie squealed, rubbing her nose with her hooves.

"Oh, jeez, Pinkie! I'm sorry… I…" Applejack said, distracted.

AJ concluded that she must have kicked out in her sleep and landed a blow on Pinkie Pie.

"What are you even doing in here, Pinkie?" Applejack asked, trying to repress the memory of the bloodthirsty Griffon.

"I'm getting you silly! I was sampling the chocolate and the cupcakes and other goodies that the Cakes made and then they told me 'Pinkie why don't you go show Applejack around' and I was like 'Oki-doki-loki!' so now I'm here!" she said, without skipping a beat.

"Um…"

"C'mon let's go!" she said, grabbing one of Applejack's hooves and pulling her from the room.

They were standing on a narrow rock path- one of many which clung to the walls of Earthaven. Along the path were several cave entrances- homes for the Ponies as AJ initially expected. Each cave contained one resident, one bedroom and a bathroom (including running water, which perplexed her). While not completely rustic, the cave homes allowed for very little luxury besides a vase of flowers from the giant meadow on the cavern floor.

"Should I get my brother too?" Applejack asked her friend, tilting her head towards the neighboring cave where he was sleeping.

"No, let him sleep. I want you all to myself!" the party Pony answered in that cute but creepy way of speaking she was known by.

"Well uh… alright. Lead on then…"

Without moving, Pinkie Pie pointed a hoof at the miniature sun on the roof.

"Loony did that, with her magic. She says it's not too hard, like raising the moon but smaller and more contained. And over there…" she pointed to the waterfalls. "She does that too! Even easier, since…something about being in charge of the moon means… power over tides, I wasn't really paying attention."

Applejack was once again struck by the power of the Alicorn magic. It was truly unbelievable what they could do. Of course, it did answer the question of how the caves had running water.

"C'mon Applejack!" Pinkie squeaked, and began hopping away.

Slightly annoyed, but unable to keep the smile from spreading across her face, the cowpony followed her friend.

"Pinkie… Rainbow Dash wasn't really clear on this but… where are the others? Where are…" she didn't need to finish. Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle. She was almost afraid to know the answer.

For one of the few times since she had ever met Pinkie, the Pony's face dropped in sadness, even her hair looked less poufy.

"They took them…" she whispered. "No one knows…."

Applejack's heart dropped in her chest. Everypony knew how much harder life was for enslaved Pegasi- and no one even knew what horrors they enacted on the Unicorns. They might even be…

No. she thought stubbornly. I refuse to believe they're dead. Not until I'm sure.

"Rarity… gone. Fluttershy…gone." She muttered. "And Twilight…"

To her surprise, Pinkie shot back up, her expression slightly happier.

"No, silly. Twilight is here!" She said.

"What? But why didn't… why didn't she…" AJ sputtered.

"I… I'll let you see for yourself." Pinkie replied.

Something in her tone of voice made AJ fear the worst. If it took Griffon enslavement to keep her group of friends apart, what would it take to keep Twilight Sparkle from even greeting her at the door?

/**/

Rainbow Dash was flying in an endless loop through the meadow. Around the crooked tree, over the sheep pen, dodging the waterfall, making a beeline back. The pattern was something she had started doing from almost the moment she arrived in Earthaven. It was in equal parts a way to relax her mind, to think clearly, and to confront her worries… and though she would never admit it- fears.

Rescued Applejack. Good.

Safe place for everypony. Good.

Tempest still sitting on the throne. Bad.

Couldn't save Rarity. Bad.

Couldn't save Tank. Bad.

Around the crooked tree…

Can't find Fluttershy. Bad.

Cloudsdale totally destroyed. Bad.

Twilight still won't…

The cyan Pegasus forced herself to stop for a moment, containing the depressing thoughts before they all came down on her. She wouldn't lose control. Not again.

The sound of a tree being bucked… it brought back happy memories. Rainbow Dash flew off in the direction of the sound to find Applejack and Pinkie Pie standing in a small apple orchard, where the farm Pony was kicking apple trees. They hadn't noticed her yet. Her eyes narrowed, and on impulse she decided to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"You were right, Pinkie Pie!" Applejack chuckled, catching apples in a nearby bucket. "This does make me feel better. In the camp all they told us to do was dig, dig, dig, dig, like that would solve their draught problems. Damn Griffons."

She gave the tree a slightly more violent kick, causing another flurry of apples to fall.

"Yeah, and now that you and Big Mac are back, we don't have to make Apple Bloom and those carrot farmers do all the apple picking work!" squeaked Pinkie. "But I still have a lot of things to show you before the party, so we have to…"

"Party?" Rainbow Dash crashed out of her perch in the tree, unable to contain herself anymore.

"Dashie! You're just in time to-"

"Shut up, Pinkie! Shut your mouth for five seconds!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "All you care about is your bucking parties! We're fighting a WAR here! Thousands of Ponies are dead, our own friends are missing, maybe gone, and… and…!"

Pinkie's face was filled with hurt, while Applejack's was growing angry.

"Look missy, you don't get to act like-" she began.

The Pegasus ground her teeth and took off, unable to look at them anymore. They didn't understand… nopony understood. They should be up there, fighting for their land and instead they choose to hide underground like a bunch of stinking dogs… literally.

She decided to make a journey to the Earthaven hospital, sure that the sight of the wounded would strengthen her fading resolve. Pinkie Pie's hurt face wasn't easy to get out of the mind. Soaring over the Unicorns and Diamond Dogs digging at the far end of the cavern, she took the system of twists and turns on the way to the hospital.

Upon arrival, the place was packed- as usual. The hospital had a large cave entrance, with a hospital lobby built directly on the inside. It was one of the few rooms in Earthaven that didn't look distinctly… cave like. It had been meticulously dug out into a box shape and tiled with a comforting blue. The lobby contained a lot of room but there were always Ponies sitting around in it, waiting for their turn. They were the luckier ones- the ones who could live with their injuries while waiting in a line.

"Um… Rainbow Dash?" she was caught off guard by a small mare who had tapped her on the back.

"Huh?" She turned around. "Hey… you look familiar. Yeah, you're the one who used to bully Scoo-" she stopped abruptly.

It was indeed Diamond Tiara, and she was walking with a fake back leg. Dash immediately felt guilty for starting off with a mean comment.

"Yeah… Scootaloo. Um… I heard the mission went well and… you saved Apple Bloom's family, right?"

She was caught off guard by the question. "Well, yeah…"

"Oh! Um… yeah, thanks." Diamond Tiara quickly slunk away.

What was that all about?

She had to wait for about an hour before the injured Ponies had all been treated, and visitors were allowed in. Dash trotted up to the desk.

"Here to see Miss Sparkle again?" Nurse Redheart asked, barely looking up from her chair.

"Yeah."

"Go on, you know the room."

Rainbow Dash quickly navigated the Hospital hallways, pausing only to wave at Derpy, who was recovering from a bad case of Poison Joke in a large foamy tub. She also nearly collided with Berry Punch as she returned from a visit of her own. Finally she reached Twilight's door, and knocked on it with one hoof.

There was no answer, as usual. The Pegasus took a deep breath before she opened the door and stepped inside.

"Twi… you awake?" she asked tentatively. "It's me again."

They were in a rather sumptuous room, quite unordinary in the middle of a hospital. There were shelves of Twilight's books stacked against the wall, and a soft carpet on the floor. On the opposite side of the room was a large bed with drapes and a canvas, and a large bulge was visible underneath the covers. Dash's eyes wandered, as they always did, to the framed photograph on the night table of Spike and Twilight on Nightmare Night five years ago. It was too painful to look at for too long.

The purple Unicorn stuck her head out from underneath the covers, and spotted Rainbow Dash with barely a flicker of recognition. Her mane was a mess.

"Twilight, we rescued Applejack today! Isn't that great?"

For a moment, the corners of the Unicorn's mouth twinged upwards, only for her to return to her gloomy stare. But for Rainbow that was like a grin from ear to ear.

"See? Twilight, I told you. I'll fix everything… Everything will go back to normal someday." She lied.

For the next thirty minutes RD described the rescue mission with as much positive emphasis as possible, by the time it was over it sounded like something out of Daring Doo. She didn't mention Spike. That would only upset her.

A doctor Pony poked his head in the door, and quietly signaled that visiting hours were over.

"Ok…" she said, turning back to Twilight one last time. "I need you to get better… we all do."

Twilight Sparkle closed her eyes, one tear sliding down her cheek. Dash couldn't stand there for one second longer. She turned and ran, fighting back sobs as she passed by the sign of the Ward she was in, not reading it.

Psychiatric Ward- Clinical Depression

/**/

As Rainbow Dash flew back to the main cavern in Earthaven, she was struck by a strange noise. It was the sound of pleasant music playing- the kind Rarity would have liked. Fancy shmancy stuff. Not just one player either, a whole quartet.

What in Celestia…? she thought.

She tracked the sound of music to a side passage, ducking and weaving around a lot rock debris. Clearly this was not a very travelled path. Finally she arrived in front of a gigantic stone door, much like the one at the entrance to Earthaven. Two Royal Guards stood before it, and raised their wings at the sight of her.

"Halt! This is an unauthorized area. Go back to the main Hall." The one on the right intoned.

After a moment of hesitation, Rainbow Dash spoke up.

"I'm General Rainbow Dash, second in command of the air infantry. Open the door!" she said with as much authority as she could muster.

The Guards narrowed their eyes, and the one on the left pulled out a scroll from the side of his armor, and began to read down a list. Finally, he nodded.

"Yes, she matches the description, let's get this open…"

The two Guards spun around and heaved open the door to reveal an amazing sight. It was a large botanical garden, complete with hummingbirds, butterflies, and a cool babbling brook running alongside the outer edge. In the center of the garden was a courtyard with a large stone block sitting in the middle. The quartet she heard earlier was playing in the courtyard- a peaceful song. To her astonishment, a second miniature sun, significantly smaller than the first, hung on the ceiling high above.

"Be careful…" warned the first Guard, and the door slammed shut behind her.

What does he mean by that? This place is… amazing.

Still, the warning left her with an ominous feeling. The serenity of the garden contrasted with it in a way that made the whole place seem eerie. She had the sudden urge to turn around and leave.

Oh… what am I afraid of?! There's nothing going on in here. Those Ponies over there are fine…

Rainbow Dash cautiously approached the stone slab, her eyes shifting from side to side in case of any danger. The quartet kept playing their song; if they were aware of her presence, they certainly didn't react to it at all. She finally made it to the very edge of the slab. It was covered in weird writing… and unless her eyes were deceiving her the type was glowing softly. Curious, she stuck a hoof out to touch it.

"No!" shouted one of the band members, dropping her instrument with an unpleasant crash. "Are you insane?"

"What? What are you talking about?" the Pegasus replied, alarmed now.

"What do you mean? … you really don't know?"

The other band members kept on playing, completely unperturbed by the drama going on near them.

The cello player, for she was a cello player, trotted over and stood next to Dash, and leaned in close. Upon close examination, Rainbow Dash identified her as Octavia, the mare who used to play at classy parties.

"Inside that stone slab…" she whispered softly. "Is the statue of Discord."

/**/

A/N: DUN DUN DUN! Bet you weren't expecting that… or maybe you were whatever.

This chapter was actually like a lot longer before the editing process, but I thought here would be a good place to leave you with a nice little cliffhanger. On a positive note, all the things that I wrote after this are in the next chapter already so my next update should be here sooner… if I don't intentionally keep you waiting. Mu-ha-ha!

Again, thanks for all the kind reviews, they're what drives me to keep writing. If your wondering why it took me so long to update this, I have a lot going on in my life that I'd rather not get into personally.

Next Time: Why is Rainbow Dash so angry at Pinkie? What caused Twilight Sparkle to get like that? Why did this fic just take a sad turn- I don't know! Wasn't originally intended! But, answer to all these questions and more, next time.

-Readthestory

PS: Brother ordered a horse meat sandwich at a foreign restaurant the other day. Needless to say I was horrified. Next Chapter: A Whole Lot of Darkness Estimated time remaining: 15 Minutes