MLP: Dawn of the Rebellion [IC/Started/Not Accepting]

[Grunt Issun]

Honeypot instantly glared down at Dawn, once again miffed by her behavior. Her muscles tensed, "Why you little..." she muttered, and got ready to try and smack her again, but stopped herself. [i]'I forgave Sniffy, I'm not going to go slapping her friend... Yet' [/i]she told herself, breathing slowly. Forcing a smile, she chocked out, "Thank you, Dawn. That's very kind of you," she then turned, "Well, I'm going back to my room now. I'm exhausted after yelling at you two so much," she called. Suddenly, she realized something, "Actually, scratch that" she said, and trotted back over, pulling Sniffy aside. "Look, you seem to understand this, but I don't. Why is it that everypony is so... into Wonder?" she asked, in a hushed tone.

[DL]

Sniffy placed her hoof gently on her muzzle. "Umm...that's an interesting question. He isn't exactly, going out of his way to look for someone...and he certainly isn't like super duper amazing awesomely handsome....and he's a bit shy...I guess, he just has a charm to him?"

[i]Or maybe ponies find dragons sexy, and Wonder's dragon blood helps that? But in that case, why doesn't Dawn have ponies liking her all over? ....or right, she lived in her room, pretty much o3o right, right~ kay, lol[/i]


Meanwhile, Shadow Wing was in his room, pacing, and thinking about how the world could ever live without someone as bishonen as him.

[Grunt Issun]

Honeypot shook her head, disappointed, "Great. Thanks. That was totally the answer I was looking for" she grumbled, and sighed. She turned around and began to walk back to her room again, "Eh, I suppose it isn't really important" she muttered. After entering her room, Honeypot lied down on her bed, and closed her eyes, "My life is so weird" she realized.

The rest of the day passed by without incident. By the time night had arrived, Wonder had put the finishing touches on his painting, dried the ink with a spell, then rolled it up and put it in his satchel. He then trotted out of his room and over to Blazer's. He knocked lightly on the door, "Hey, Blazer? Are you awake?"

[CMRenji]

Blazer was lying on the floor, exhausted from training in her room all day.

"I... I think that's enough for today." She said as she got back on all fours.

She walked over to her bed and lied down. After a few minutes of resting, she heard Wonder knocking at her door.

"Oh, yeah. Just one sec." She got out of bed and went over to grab her brush. After fixing up her mane, she opened up the door. "Hey, Wonder. Been training all day to prepare for whatever we may have to face. But anyway, what's up?"

[Grunt Issun]

Wonder nodded slowly, "Good... That's... actually what I wanted to talk about" he said. Wonder entered her room, "Earlier today, when we ate... you talked about our future. When this was all over. Even earlier, Morning talked about the same thing... But... I'm worried, Blazer. Worried about what's to come," he admitted, "I didn't even realize until just recently... But, I don't know if we even stand a chance. It's just that, for all we're supposed to do, I don't know if we're strong enough to do it" he said. He sighed, and looked down to the floor, "I'm just worried that this could end very badly for all of us... It's not that I don't believe in your strength, or especially in Morning and Crescent's, i's just, I think we're outclassed. Especially me..."

[CMRenji]

Blazer took her hoof and lifted up Wonder's head.

"We've been preparing for this as much as we could hope to. We've come so far, and you know the lot of us are destined to fight. Doubts and worries will only hold you back, Wonder. Trust me, together we can overcome this! We can win!"

She got closer to Wonder. "And you must believe me when I say that you're much stronger than you may think. You've just got to control your true inner strength. I know you can do that."

[Grunt Issun]

Wonder's muscles clenched at Blazer's touch, but he quickly relaxed. He sighed, "I'm glad you know that, because I certainly don't" he muttered solemnly. He was tempted to look down at his hooves again, but managed to maintain eye contact with Blazer, "Anyway, I appreciate that you think we can win. Your confidence helps. Still, though, I'm worried. I'm worried for all of our safety" he sighed, "I'm sorry. I worry a lot. I don't mean to trouble you" he muttered. Then he remembered his gift, "Oh right! I almost forgot!" he exclaimed. He levitated the rolled up painting out of his bag, "I felt bad that I didn't have a way to repay you for your gift earlier, and I don't really have anything, so I had to paint something for you. It was a little bit rushed, but I hope you don't mind," he said, and unraveled the painting.

The painting beautifully depicted a clearing a green forest, with sun shining through an opening in the leaves. In the middle of the clearing stood two earth ponies, one male, one female. They both had cream colored coats, and manes that looked like flowing gold. They stood together, nuzzling each other, looking peaceful and happy being with one another. Wonder shuffled shyly, "I know we're not... y'know... But I thought it'd be appropriate for today..." he explained, slightly blushing.

[CMRenji]

Blazer looked at Wonder with a hint of sadness. "I know you worry, I understand. I do too. I worry a lot about you to be honest." Her sadness vanished as she grew a smile. "But I don't feel too worried now. I have great confidence that you'll show your true potential in the upcoming challenges, Wonder."

She watched as Wonder unraveled his painting. She grabbed one side with her hoof an looked at it. "Wonder, it's beautiful! It's just- so very-" She calmed herself a bit. "Thank you, Wonder. I love it."

She looked at it again for a second before rapping it up. "I'm gonna go put this in my satchel, and I'll hang it up when we get back-" She though for a moment, realizing she had nowhere to return. "I'll...- when I find a good place to hang it." She giggled a bit nervously before going over to her satchel.

[Grunt Issun]

Wonder's face lit up with joy upon hearing that Blazer loved his gift, "Thanks, I'm really glad you like it" he said, smiling widely. He closed his eyes for a moment, "And, thank you for believing in me, even when I don't. It means a lot to me, and... I'm going to try and draw out my true potential, since you think I can" he told her, opening his eyes again. He turned around, "Now, you should rest well. We're going to be setting out travelling for a few more days tomorrow, and you don't need to be tired for a days worth of walking, right?" he said, "Anyway, goodnight, Blazer" he finished, before exiting her room and going back to his own, then falling asleep.

The next day, at around nine in the morning, Wonder roused the gang, and brought them outside Canterlot. "Okay, everyone..." He began, and gulped, "Today is when we start the most important stretch of our journey. We have nowhere left to stop. From here, it's a straight shot to our final destination: Shadow Wing's castle. I know that you may be thinking that we could not possible know where that is, considering nopony but him and his soldiers would know, however... Sly has procured information, through his various... accomplices" Wonder explained

Sly stepped forward, "Shadow Wing's castle lies on a small island, just barely big enough to hold the thing itself, which is south east from here, roughly 107 degrees. Once we reach to coast, we'll take a ship that belongs to a guy I know, and set sail for the island. It's fairly close to the mainland, within a day's sailing, but the actual coast is quite a bit off. It'll take us three days at the least to get there, five days at the most. Once we get there, that'll be another story entirely"

Sly stepped back, and Wonder gathered attention again, "This is what our journey has been leading up too..." he muttered. He turned to the south-east, "Onwards!" he exclaimed, and began trotting.

[CMRenji]

"It's just perfect." She smiled back at him. "And thank you Wonder. I know you can."

She walked back to her bed. "Goodnight, Wonder." After he had left, Blazer jumped into bed. "Whew... today's been so nice." She thought of the painting, then hugged her pillow. Then she closed her eyes and went to sleep.

The next morning, Wonder woke everypony up and called them to go just outside of Canterlot. Blazer headed there along with everyone else and listened to Wonder as he spoke of what the group would do next.

"I'm ready. Shadow Wing will wish he'd never messed with us, or anypony else for that matter!" She said confidently as she trotted off with the others.

[DL]

Storm got ready. to leave. He left. Sniffy got ready to leave. She left. Dawn got ready to leave. She left. Shadow Wing was born bishonen. He stayed bishonen. They were all ready to leave at the same time. Simultaneously. Instantaneously. I rhymed. They still didn't go allllll the way there tho, because they had to wait for the others. However, they were ready, and that's what mattered.


Meanwhile, a random filler pony that was carrying a milkshake, dropped said milkshake, and sighed to himself. "Well, there goes my life's savings"

I just killed a cat.

[Grunt Issun]

With everypony gathered, the group began their final venture in the direction of Shadow Wing's castle. [i]'The journey was long,' [/i]thought Wonder, as they traveled,[i]'But it's nearing it's end, whatever end that may be. And when we face Shadow Wing... I will be ready' [/i]he assured himself.

The group marched forward for most of the day, stopping only to eat a quick lunch, and eventually reached an open clearing, in the middle of a forest. "Here's where we set up camp" Wonder said. He removed his parchment and paint, and conjured a set of nine tents. "There, I made enough tents for all of us this time, so we don't have to share. Nice, isn't it?" He explained, then trotted off into a random tent, and lied down, but didn't attempt to go to sleep. There was no way he would, not just yet.

[Dementuo]

Morning had already retreated to her own tent, remaining silent the whole way through so far. She herself had been dealing with her own inner conflicts during this time. As for Crescent, he was sulking around as usual, remaining his quiet, serious self. He was moving to his tent at this time, too.
However, he stopped. He felt a strange sensation crawl across his spine for a split second. He looked back slowly, scanning the surroundings of the clearing. For a moment, he was prepared to pass it off as nothing more than a bad premonition. This changed in an instant, though; a single, tiny snowflake had fallen onto the hair that covered the left side of his face. He immediately retracted at the familiar feeling of the cold snow, and jumped back a bit closer to the clearing's center. Crescent let out a surprisingly loud shout in alarm, and a large icicle burst from the ground where he once stood.

[Grunt Issun]

Wonder, hearing crescent shout out in alarm, quickly scrambled onto his hooves, and clumsily galloped out of his tent, and towards Crescent, then saw the icicle in the ground, "Crescent! What happened? What's that icicle thing? Are you alright? Where did that thing come from?" Wonder questioned him, looking back and forth between him and the icicle.

Honeypot began trotting back to her tent, but jumped when Crescent shouted to the side of her. She turned to see what he had reacted to. Upon seeing the icicle, she backed behind Storm, worried about what was to happen next.

Sly was just entering his tent when the icicle burst from the ground, "Damn it!" he muttered, angry, "Never a moment of rest around here!"

[CMRenji]

Blazer headed into her tent ready for a bit of sleep and maybe a bit of midnight training later. But she forgot all about that as Crescent shouted out.

"Huh?!" She dashed from her tent to where crescent was, noticing a huge icicle sticking from the ground as she stopped. "What's going on?!" She shouted. She looking around from tree to tree trying to find whoever, or whatever, did it.

She took just a few steps closer and looked over at Crescent. "Cresc, you alright?" She said, still scanning around.

[DL]

OMG They were surprised. Storm and Sniffy and Dawn were. They were so surprised that Dawn mentally wrote a Haiku so as to never forget this occasion.
An icicle thing
Popped out of the freaking ground
Wait what's a haiku?
And thus Dawn once again showed her natural talent for everything. But that was not the point. The point was, that they had just witnessed something not so usual. I twas so not usual that it was VERY unusual. An icicle popped out of the ground. Not having amazing poetry skills, Sniffy just sniffed and yelped.

"What the heck is THAT?"

"That's cool," Storm said.

Then a ba-dum tish happened.

Simultaneously, in his island, Shadow Wing admired his own good looks in his 5 hoofmirrors.

[Dementuo]

Crescent grabbed Wonder by the hoof, pulling him to the side. Everything then seemed to move in slow-motion, though it all happened in a matter of seconds. Another icicle began to protrude from the ground, directly underneath the two. As it rose up, Crescent had managed to pull both Wonder and himself out of the icicle's path just in time, being just a mere moment away from being skewered entirely. Once the imminent danger had been averted, Crescent immediately threw an arm into the air as he had done when they had first met, and his markings flared a deep blue again. A wave of black light flashed over the area, and the time around them stood still once more.
Crescent lowered his hoof as Morning rushed out, obviously unaffected by the timestop, to Crescent and Wonder's side.
"[i][color=#0000cd]It seems we have been found by an unpleasant enemy.[/color][/i]" Crescent remarked aloud to both Morning and Wonder, who had also remained unaffected by the timestop. "[i][color=#0000cd]This will not hold him, I am sure you have already assumed... The fight will begin soon. Keep to the side...[/color][/i]" He said quickly, stepping forward in front of the icicles.

Out from the midst of the trees and into the clearing, the same colt from before appeared. A dark aura surrounded him this time, radiating a feeling of malice. Aleph stepped forward to match Crescent, and stared him down with confidence. "[i][color=#ff0000]You understand, of course? If I let you continue this little quest, I won't be able to witness the world's rebuilding.[/color][/i]" He called out. Crescent continued to stare, his eyes unwavering.
"[i][color=#0000cd]Rebirth, you say? That is unlike you, Aleph. You once cherished this world. Did the tragedy your 'Master' brought us change your mind so much?[/color][/i]"
"[i][color=#ff0000]Come now, old friend, you know exactly why I did what I did. Could I really let such a twisted darkness exist, knowing what it would do?[/color][/i]"
"[i][color=#0000cd]So your plan is to destroy it, along with everything else?[/color][/i]"
"[i][color=#ff0000]Destroy? Hah, hardly! I'm going to [/color][/i][color=#ff0000]become[i] that dreadful thing, and give it a new mindset. Instead of its' darkness taking hold over our world, I'll have it reach instead for this one.[/i][/color]"
"[i][color=#0000cd]You'd let yourself succumb to such a fowl existence... Very well then.[/color][/i]"
A sword appeared in a flash of light, the handle gripped tightly in Crescent's mouth. The blade shone brilliantly in the air of the night.
Aleph matched Crescent's move, conjuring his own sword in the clasp of his mouth, though this one appeared out of the darkness, giving off the same evil aura.

[Grunt Issun]

Wonder looked around and noticed that time had frozen all around him, just like it had when Crescent first met them, saving them from some soldiers. Wonder's astonishment at the power though, soon vanished, when Aleph once again showed his face. On instinct, Wonder shifted his stance, and rose fire began brimming at his mouth, but he quickly returned to normal, heeding Crescent's advice"

Wonder glanced from Crescent to Aleph as they exchanged words, and then conjured swords from seemingly nowhere. Wonder turned to Morning, "Morning, what are they talking about?" he asked her. He opened his mouth to speak again, but he couldn't muster words, too nervous while watching the scene before him.

[Dementuo]

Before Morning could respond, the battle had already begun. Both Aleph and Crescent were swinging at each other violently, clashing blades with each stroke. Loud metallic clangs resounded throughout the air. Morning looked back at Wonder for only a few moments, sadness clear in her eyes. "[i]When this is over, I'll tell you everything...[/i]" She said quietly.

More large icicles began shooting out of the ground below and around Crescent, on Aleph's command. He avoided them quickly enough, though he did not emerge unscathed; Crescent could feel the chilling cold cutting across his body. He could see traces of his own blood leaving stains on the clear ice. All the while, however, Aleph was busy deflecting various bolts of electricity aimed at him, originating from Crescent's own powers.

Morning, lacking a weapon of her own, could only stand back beside Wonder and watch as her friends tried to kill one another. A tear rolled down the side of her face.

By now, Crescent and Aleph were coming closer to contact. They were now repelling each others' attacks of ice and electricity, steadily moving towards one another. Both were struggling to keep their swords up.
Within a single moment, however, the battle entered its climax. Crescent's own blade gave under the constant pressure of Aleph's ice crystals, and cracked in two. Aleph had thrown his own into the air after it had become too hot for him to hold. Both their attacks stopped. Crescent tossed his shattered sword aside, and both combatants turned their attention to the remaining blade high above them. Their actions were the same now. Both jumped for it, both reached out desperately for the sword, so that they might deliver the finishing blow. The two came closer and closer to it. Then, a quick flash of light.
Aleph had reclaimed it, holding it in his mouth once more, though by the blade.
Crescent had missed it, a large gash in his side.
The two fell to the ground, and only Aleph stood.

Morning felt almost petrified. She collapsed to her knees.
Her world had shattered around her.

[Grunt Issun]

Wonder watched in a mixture of awe and fear as the two fought. Each clash of their blades rung in Wonder's ears. Everything was happening quickly, Wonder could barely keep up with it as it was. Then, everything seemed to happen at once. All Wonder could process was Aleph's sword hanging in the air, and a moment later, Crescent falling to the ground. To his side, he saw Morning fall to her knees. He looked at Crescent, and stared in horror, realizing it was over. "C-Crescent!" Was all he managed to choke out. He could do nothing but stand where he was, trembling, too shocked by what he had just witnessed to know what to do.

[Dementuo]

Aleph lowered his blade. He was still tense from the fight, his coat speckled in Crescent's blood. He was laughing quietly to himself, elated by his victory.
"[i][color=#ff0000]How's that for 'Fate', huh, Cresc?! You said you wouldn't die so easily, that you'd be the one to finish off the damned snake![/color][/i]" Aleph was shouting to the sky, becoming oblivious to all around him. Morning had began limping towards her brother's body, tears streaming down her face.
She reached him faster than she realized, gazing despairingly at the mangled mess that was her brother. Aleph had almost cut him clean in half; if they had not been on dirt ground, there would be a pool of blood surrounding Crescent's body. His breathing was pained, almost inaudible and unnoticeable, and he could feel life slipping from him. The markings that adorned his fur were faint now, slowly flickering out. Morning spent the next few moments speechless.

Aleph was finished with his monologue, turning back to see the twin immortals. His face had become twisted and his expression changed from a previous anger now to an evil, almost insane smile. Aleph was laughing again.

Morning collapsed on top of Crescent's nearly-lifeless body. She began to lose feeling as well, though she knew she was very much alive. Her mind seemed to fade away. But now, Morning's own body markings appeared now, giving off their normal faint glow. They seemed to resonate with those of Crescent's, their colors seemingly blending into a deep, darkened purple, until they eventually shaded into black.
At that moment, the two twins' bodies seemed to give off a radiant, almost blinding light. They remained as a black outline in the bright flash, their shapes slowly dissolving into the whiteness. The light then ceased to shine out, but instead began to compress into a single form, before exploding forth again in a flash of black and white.

The world came back into view for Aleph after the startling flash of color, and before him was another. It was another mare, similar to Morning in appearance, though her body was marked with any shreds of black fur along the mostly-white coat. This mare, too, had a set of markings covering her, their faint glow flickering between dark and light. The mare opened her eyes now, staring at Aleph head-on, anger clear in her expression. Aleph was surprised, almost shocked, by the presence before him. The new mare radiated a fierce power. Then, she spoke.
"[color=#00ffff][i]...Fate, you say? Hmph, you think that you've bested 'Fate'. You think that you've the power to defy life. You think that you can rebuild this world...[/i][/color]"
A step forward, and the mare had already moved behind Aleph, a sword similar to Crescent's broken one now gripped firmly in her mouth. Aleph felt one of his limbs go numb. His eyes were wide, fear now plagued him. He turned back to his new opponent.
"[i][color=#ff0000]...What are you?[/color][/i]"
"[i][color=#00ffff]I am a light in darkness. I am darkness that consumes light. I had everything taken from me. Then, I took it all back... I am the force that will drive fate into line, cut through the shrouds of uncertainty, and unveil the truth of a life. I am Corona Eclipse... The end has come.[/color][/i]" The mare said. Aleph immediately responded by spinning on the spot and striking with his own blade, only to find it deflected by Corona's.
A second battle had begun. Corona stepped back, Aleph stepped forward. On his approach, he was repelled by a sudden wall of flames rising up from the ground, forcing him back. Corona then burst through the fires and swung at Aleph, who quickly stepped to the side to avoid it. However, Corona's sword began to emit an electrical discharge which sent jolts of it coursing through Aleph's nerves. He jerked back, staggering from the shock. He couldn't keep up with Corona's flurry of attacks, now getting hit square-on with each one. The onslaught continued, until Aleph was knocked to the ground. Corona stepped up above him, raising her sword to the sky now.
"[i][color=#00ffff]...Erase the shadows, and disappear from my sight.[/color][/i]" She said quietly, only Aleph hearing. He could barely feel himself, most of his body now numb from the excessive damage. High above the two now, what seemed to be the moon lit ablaze, casting rays of light into the clearing. It began to descend onto them, the orb of fire gathering speed and moving closer and closer with each passing second. Fear struck Aleph once more. He could see the outcome clearly.

The ball of flames came down onto the two, both of them disappearing in the midst of the bright, hot flames, fading into the haze. When it cleared, Aleph and Corona were gone. Morning had taken their place, halfway collapsed in the center of the clearing.

[Grunt Issun]

After shielding himself from the blinding light that Morning and Crescent had created, Wonder turned back to see the new figure standing where they once were, and once again, was frozen in awe at what he had just seen. He remained that way as this new figure, Corona, began to fight with Aleph, and knocked him down. As she raised her sword to the sky, Wonder's vision followed it, and he laid eyes on the massive ball of flames descending from the sky. His jaw involuntarily dropped as the fireball came closer and closer. When the orb struck the earth, Wonder attempted to shield himself from the flames, but didn't seem scorched. He turned back to the clearing, where he saw Morning.

"Morning!" Wonder shouted, and galloped forward quickly, attempting to support her, to keep her standing. "What happened there? Are you alright? That fireball didn't burn you, did it?"

[Dementuo]

Morning looked up at him, slowly, her face stricken with that same sadness from before. All she did was nod; it was all she could bring herself to do. She opened her mouth at first, trying to say something, though no words came to her. Finally, she grabbed Wonder and pulled him into embrace, clinging tightly to him with tears still rolling down her face. The world around them began turning again, the grey-scale tint that indicated time's halt faded, and everything was alive and moving again. Time resumed its normal flow, all traces of the previous battle now gone, consumed by the fire.

[CMRenji]

Blazer was still looking around, and she still saw nothing.

"What the hell could have-"

There was an instance of blinding light. Blazer looked over to see Morning and Wonder side by side, confused as to what had happened. "Wh- what the hell?" She walked over beside Wonder and Morning, her face noticeably upset looking. "Guys... what just happened?" She noticed Morning crying and her mood turned more worried. "And where's Crescent?" She asked.

Far away, sitting completely still and silent was War. He seemed to be meditating, eyes closed and body motionless. He slowly opened his eyes and looked far off to the north.

He focused his gaze, and slowly the land around him turned grey and all sounds turned to silence. [b]"Somepony's been messing with time it seems."[/b] He had managed to slip into the same temporal plane as Aleph, Cresc, Wonder, and Morning.

[b]"I can feel their battle. Every swing, every hit, every moment. I can see their blood."[/b] He licked his lips as a smile grew on his face. [b]"The anticipation's killing me. I can only imagine the blood to be spilled in the upcoming battle."[/b] His joy, and also his appetite, grew. He slipped back into the normal temporal plane as he shut his eyes again. [b]"Can't wait..."[/b]

[Grunt Issun]

Wonder closed his eyes, and continued to calmly hold onto Morning as she embraced him. He let go of her after a moment, and looked over to Blazer, who had approached them. He looked solemnly at the ground, "That Aleph guy appeared again" he explained, "Crescent stopped time, like he did when we first met, and they fought... He... They... " he continued, tears starting to well up in his own eyes, "He didn't make it" he finally choked out, "Crescent died, and so did Aleph..." he said, a few tears dropping from his eyes, splashing onto the ground below.

[i]'I saw two ponies die today' [/i]Wonder realized, [i]'This needs to stop. I don't want anymore death and tragedy and sadness. Everything needs to be set right' [/i]he told himself.