All the villains gasped before the presence of the General of Death. For them it was inconceivable the idea of a General of Order even thinking about joining the Chaos side.
"Unbelievable..." Grogar said. “How did you manage to bring her to our side?”
"As if I would betray my master and voluntarily join a bunch of rotten..." Gentle Light started.
"Shut up, Gentle Light" the General of Chaos ordered.
She, surprisingly, complied to his order and General of Chaos said to her:
"Now, you have a new master, a master that we share."
Then he turned to the rest of the villains and told them:
"The truth is that Gentle Light is not on our team, at least by her decision. Our master was able to cast a spell that bond her to his will and, by extension, to mine."
"You've got to be kidding" Icy said.
"Show them" the General ordered to Gentle Light.
She then extended her front hooves and silver lines appeared around them, like handcuffs. After a few seconds, they disappeared from sight.
"Wow, this is amazing!" Stormy exclaimed. "I can't believe that we've got in our side death itself."
"I'm not death” Gentle Light contradicted. "I just work with it."
"Anyway, we have now the Lord of Order’s best pupil under our command, and finally we will make you pay for everything you did to our master, since you ruined the plans he had to Coltypt" the General said.
Remembering the way she had taken the lives of every firstborn of Coltypt who had parents alive and whose houses were not marked, Gentle Light gave a slight chuckle and then said:
"And that was not my best achievement" the General of Death replied. "I'm not like the other Generals. Unlike most of them, I take my job very seriously. What happened in Coltypt, I just followed my master's orders. In addition that the Lord of Chaos left us no other choice. Both I and the Lord of Order don’t like to play with life and death.
"Unfortunately for you, Gentle Light, the Lord of Chaos likes doing it" General of Chaos said to her. "And guess what, that's exactly what we will force you to do. Why don't you show to your new colleagues a piece of what you have been working since you started working for our master?"
Gentle Light looked to the General of Chaos with a fulminant look, but, with no other option, she carried her horn with magic. Suddenly, four wooden coffins erupted from the ground vertically and then their respective covers simply fell, allowing everyone to see what was inside that was something that left them stunned.
In each one was a villain who was supposed to be dead. Pandora, Rothbart, King Sombra and even a gargoyle with grayish scarlet fur with a mane of a darker shade and grayish raspberry wings were both with closed eyes and looking pale.
"I can't believe..." Grogar said.
"Impossible…" Adagio said.
"Surreal…" Chrisalis said.
"Simply… Wow!" Ulysses exclaimed.
"And I thought I'd seen everything" Dragon King said.
"Why the long faces?" Stormy asked to the other villains.
"Who are those guys?" Darcy asked.
"Only you to ask something like that" Featherwing said. "These are villains who have lost their lives. I assume that you should remember Pandora and Rothbart."
Watching closely, Icy said:
"Oh, yeah, I remember seeing them in Tartarus."
"Although she betrayed, we can't deny that Pandora was actually one of the best villains" Chrisalis said. "Thanks to her, I recovered my dear mutants eggs."
"And Rothbart could be weird, but it was he who freed me from my cell in Griffonstone" Ulysses said. "It's a shame that he was defeated by that Nine-Tails’ little brat."
"And King Sombra’s reputation will continue to exist while the Light Kingdom and the Crystal Empire still stand" Adagio said. "I just don't recognize that gargoyle."
"I do" Grogar said. "His name is Scorpan. He used to serve the Lord of Chaos, but he betrayed him and was killed by his own brother, another servant of our master. But how is this possible? How can they be here?"
"Through the Reincarnation Curse" the General of Chaos explained. "What you are seeing are our former fellow villains reincarnated in new bodies. With this curse, we can summon the souls of the dead and place them in living vessels who takes the form, mind, power and abilities of the reincarnated ones. In addition, the user of the curse is able to control the reincarnations completely, as if they were puppets."
Most of the villains seemed impressed, although Adagio and Grogar were a bit reticent.
"How dare you to use a creation of mine as a toy?" Gentle Light asked to the General. "Do you have any idea what forces you're dealing with?"
"Of course I know" he replied. "And I also know that this is just a small sample of the collection that you gathered for me. With an army of reincarnated immortal warriors, that cannot be destroyed, under my power, the victory of Chaos is almost assured. And the first thing I’ll do with this army will be finally capturing the last two jinchuriki."
And he started laughing evily.
After the meeting, Grogar approached the General and asked him:
"Do you think it is wise to use the power of Death in this way? After all, we're talking about the General that, after Heartbeat, is the most powerful and dangerous of them all. We don't know what are the setbacks of this Reincarnation Curse and, despite being under our control, Gentle Light can find some wiggle room to act. Besides, we already know the amount of warriors the enemy has and their fighting tactics and we have a much more superior army composed by clones of the Petal Sprout, Changelings, dark ponies and dragons, beyond all villains that are on our side. Is it really necessary for you to play with a force as powerful as Death?"
"I understand your concern, Grogar, but I promise you have nothing to worry about" the General replied. "I have Gentle Light completely submissive to me and, in a short time, I’ll have the secrets about her curse in my power. But for now, I have other matters to worry about like how to increase the power of our army as much as possible until the beginning of the war. My concerns are the clones of Petal Sprout. They may not be strong enough, so I have to find something that will give them a boost of power."
"And where are you going to get something like that?" Grogar asked.
"Don't worry, I know exactly where" the General replied.
With the outbreak of the great war approaching, all the kingdoms began to mobilize. The Alliance had created its own headquarters in Thicket, near the border between the Enchanted Forest and the Pony World with a lake nearby. Warriors started came from the two realms. Meanwhile, all non-combatants had already been evacuated to the places previously designated. Due to her pregnancy, Cadance remained in the Crystal Empire, while Kyrippos remained in Maretonia due to not being a fighter, having, however, sent his guards to fight.
In the room where the regents were meeting, they received the news from Twilight about the incident with Kelp.
“Now that the enemy has intel about us, we must reformulate our tactics” Godot said.
“You’re right, Godot, but since they know that our alliance is aware of the leak, they’ll cautiously watch the situation” Hard Stone replied. “That makes easy for us to set traps.”
“But what about the island?” Twilight asked. “Even with all of its defenses, we cannot affort to let our guard down.”
“Twilight Sparkle is right” Luna said. “They want the jinchuriki and they will come looking for them.”
“The island possesses a cloaking spell that prevent it from being located, even underwater” King Aspen said. “It won’t be easy for them to find it.”
“If they do go searching, the enemy will probably send a reconnaissance team” Mystic Heart said. “I honestly doubt they’ll going to try any large-scale tactical offensive maneuvers at the moment.”
“The island may be cloaked and underwater, but we cannot forget who we are dealing with” Strongpaw said. “They were once able to get in my oasis, even with it protected from any evil intruder. I agree with Princess Twilight about not let our guard down.”
“We, dragons, are excellent trackers” Spike said. “The Dragon King may send some to the searching party.”
“And we cannot forget about the changelings” Ingrid said. “They can sense love in the same way a leech can sense blood.”
“But they can also send some other villains with tracking skills” Gael added.
“Either way, we must send reinforcements” Celestia said. “But it will be meaningless if they see our forces moving. The reasonable act would be sending a small team that doesn’t call suspition.”
“Why don’t I go?” Hard Stone asked.
“King Hard Stone…” Mystic Heart said.
“I see…” Aspen said, thinking. “I have no objections.”
“But I could go” Spike said. “I would be fast and…”
“This youngsters really underestimate the elders” Hard Stone said. “Listen, young dragon, just like you, I can also fly, but I have far more experience and, most certainly, more capabilities in dealing with any situation.”
“He’s right, Spike” Celestia said. “And besides, if you go and you end up facing dragons, they could take that opportunity to end you and, without you, the dragons on our side may consider change sides.”
“I guess, you’re right” Spike said, disappointed.
Strongpaw turned to Hard Stone and asked:
“Can you really do this?”
“Don’t worry, Chief Strongpaw” the old king replied. “I am Hard Stone, the fearful king of Stonult. There is anything that can…”
And he get up in a way that caused his bad back to cause him pain again and he screamed:
“Ah, my back!”
“I think it is for the best if I go” Strongpaw said. “My sand can get me there quickly.”
“No, foul, I’d already said I’ll go!” Hard Stone said, before another pain at his back striking again.
Gentle Light appeared in Thicket in a quiet place near the great lake and then she summoned two coffins that, when opened, revealed Rothbart and Pandora. With a gesture, they opened their eyes, with them recovering a living look and revealing that their sclera was black. They both got out of their coffins that then disappeared. They then looked around, looking confused.
“Wait, where am I?” Pandora asked, noticing Rothbart. “Rothbart? What are you doing here?”
“I can ask the same question to you” Rothbart replied. “I thought you were dead. I thought I was dead.”
“You’re both dead, so stop doing such a fuzz” Gentle Light said, approaching.
Seeing her, they both put themselves in a defensive position.
“Wait, I know you” Rothbart said. “You’re the General of Death. You were the one that summoned us from the grave?”
“Yes, but because I was forced to” she replied. “Your master bond me to his will and now I must obey his command, as well his new acolyte’s, the General of Chaos. And he made me summon you so you could go capture the two remaining jinchuriki.”
“No” Pandora said. “I’ve already severed my ties to the Lord of Chaos. I’ll not serve him again.”
“Unfortunately, you don’t have any choice” Gentle Light told her. “With this curse, I control you and, by extension, so do the General of Chaos.”
That answer wasn’t really appreciated by Pandora and then Rothbart said:
“It seems it’s like the old times, Pandora. You and me as a team again. And you’ll see that I got new tricks since your demise.”
Going to his saddlebags to take some clay, he molded a bird that then he enlarged, riding it then. Pandora sighed and, without any alternative, she also rode the bird that then took flight.
King Hard Stone arrived to the edge of the great lake along with Stone Quake and Quartz Blitz and said to them:
“From here on, it’s all water” Hard Stone said. “So we’ll have to fly now.”
Hearing that, Stone Quake became very excited and said:
“Yeah! I’ll get to fly again! I’m so excited!”
“Settle down, Stone Quake, we can be going straight to a battle for all we know” Quartz Blitz scolded.
The king touched his bodyguard and, after using his earth-based magic to low his gravity, Stone Quake rose in the air, all excited.
“I told you to settle down!” Quartz Blitz exclaimed to him. “You’re so embarrassing.”
However, for more she tried to remain cool and matured, Quartz Blitz couldn’t help but find that fun.
“You’re up next, Quartz Blitz” Hard Stone said to his granddaughter, preparing to low her gravity as well.
That made her blush a little and then she replied with an awkward smile:
“All right, I guess I have to.”
While they were flying, Pandora asked to Rothbart:
“So, I am curious, how did the great Rothbart found his end?”
“Do you really think I’m going to tell you?” Rothbart asked. “You’ll probably gonna mock me.”
“And what make you believe that?” Pandora asked.
“The fact that now you’re all good and penitent and that you always tried to find a reason to mock me” Rothbart said.
“You know, the only thing I have to do is ask to Gentle Light and I’m sure she will gladly tell me how you died and I’m mock either way” Pandora said.
Rothbart sighed and then said:
“Your dear alicorn prince friend defeated me and then the General of Peace made the final blow.”
“Wait, you’re saying that Star Knight defeated you?” Pandora asked. “Wow, he must be very strong now. I’m happy for him. And I can’t believe that you actually lost to a kid.”
“He’s a teenager now and he is the jinchuriki of Nine-Tails” Rothbart replied.
“Yeah, but he is still a kid compared to you” Pandora said in a mocking way, giving then a few chuckles.
Rothbart just rolled his eyes.
After they flew for a moment, they arrived to the place where the island should be, only to find out it was not there.
“According with the information we have, the island should be here” Pandora said. “They must have moved it or hid it elsewhere.”
It was at that moment that Hard Stone appeared suddenly, punching Pandora right at the chest, penetrating inside, and then pushing her along with him.
“A very good punch for someone of your age” Pandora said. “I can’t believe that I was brought back just to be ambushed by the great king of Stonult. What an honor.”
“I was testing you out” Hard Stone replied. “And judging for your response, you’re nothing but a clone.”
Watching her, Hard Stone recognized her as being Pandora. But, according to the information he got, she died after being reformed by Prince Star Knight. He then turned his eyes to Rothbart, who had the clay bird hoovering, while watching him.
“And I can see that you’re not alone” Hard Stone said. “You and Rothbart decided to get the team back, hein? And with the fakes made of clay.”
And so the Pandora that Hard Stone had punched turned into clay.
“Hey there, Hard Stone, long time no see” Rothbart said to the king, while starting to turn into clay while heading to him.
He was able to hold on Hard Stone, while the real Pandora and Rothbart were at some distance, watching on their bird. There, Rothbart activated the explosive clay, what made it explode, along with Hard Stone.
The Wild Isle was now underwater, with Star and the others inside an underground chamber. Golden Paladin was able to convince Star in going there in order to continue his training with swords. Having created steel blades for both him and Star, they started sparring.
“I can see that you have been training, young prince” Golden Paladin told him.
“Well, when you have a father that is a warrior and a teacher that is the General of Peace, I kind of don’t have any choice but keep any skills I have sharp.”
Blackthorn was glad to see that Golden Paladin was able to distract Prince Star Knight and keeping him from knowing what they were doing. But it was then that he sensed something or someone trying to find them.
Up there, Pandora was able to detect the island. Although she didn’t want to tell, the curse made her do it.
“I found it” she said.
“Good, then do your thing, while I handle our friends here” Rothbart told her.
He was referring to Hard Stone, who had Stone Quake and Quartz Blitz by his sides, while smoke of the explosion was still in the air. The truth was that the Hard Stone that blew up was a stone clone, whose debris fell in the lake.
“You took me a little by surprise, because I heard that both you and Pandora were all already dead, Rothbart” Hard Stone said. “I wasn’t expecting to see your clay clones.”
“And it seems we were both thinking in the same thinking, having in count that you used one of your stone clones, Hard Stone” Rothbart said. “But I have to say it is good to see you again. I believe our last meeting wasn’t very friendly.”
“You tried to blow up my kingdom with one of your explosions” Hard Stone said. “I believe something like that is not friendly at all.”
“What can I say, I was trying to perfect my explosive nature” Rothbart said. “Do you know how hard it is to control a combined nature when you don’t have affinity to the natures that composes it? Mainly this one that combines earth and light. My affinity is with darkness, so you can understand the difficulty, even when it was a gift from the Lord of Chaos. Also I need to see if I could create a better explosion when combining it with dark magic so I could capture One-Tail. You should feel honored because I choose your kingdom to be my test subject.”
“I can’t believe that he is actually alive” Quartz Blitz said. “Apparently, the General of Peace is not very good in making sure the enemy is dead.”
“Watch your mouth, girl, you’re talking about a loyal servant of the Lord of Order” Hard Stone said. “Besides, he did kill Rothbart. The ones that are in front of us are not really alive. I recognize those eyes, because I already heard about it. You two are reincarnations created by the Reincarnation Curse, aren’t you? Even in death, we don’t get rid of villains like you. But now you won’t escape, now that I’m here.”
“You really believe you’re stalling us here, don’t you?” Pandora asked. “I hate to tell you, but our superiors knew you would come up with an ambush. There is a reason why I came along with Rothbart.”
“What do you mean by that?” Hard Stone asked, not liking the way the things were going.
“I mean you should stop me before I reveal the island where you’re keeping Star!” Pandora exclaimed, while accessing to her magic.
And then Pandora was able to pass through the protection spells that surrounded the island and it started to oscillate. That started to be seen in the air, as the water at the area where the island started to become agitated.
“Sorry, but we need to go over there” Rothbart said, turning then to Pandora. “And you keep pulling the island.”
“Yes, I know” Pandora said. “I already have somepony to tell me what to do, I don’t need another.”
And the clay bird to the place where the island were. Seeing that, Hard Stone quickly realized what happened and then said:
“No, they already found them? After them!”
“Yes!” Stone Quake and Quartz Blitz said.
And the three of them followed the two reincarnated ponies.
Meanwhile, Pandora continued to try to bring the island to the surface. This act started to make the interior to shake immensely.
“What’s going on?” Star asked, while he and the others tried to remain balanced.
The island then immerged on the surface and Pandora and Rothbart saw it.
“It’s done” Pandora said.
“Good, now we can capture those jinchuriki, including that nasty little prince” Rothbart said. “But first, we need to prevent that island from sinking. It’s time for a great explosion.”
Using is clay, Rothbart created a jellyfish-liked clay figure, throwing them to the water, while Pandora continued to hold the island. It attached itself to the base of the island and then Rothbart detonated, making an explosion that, combined with Pandora’s magic, was able to turn the island upside down.
Inside it, the ones who were inside the island started to feel to the ceiling. Star was able to hold in the air, but the others didn’t have wings like him, so Golden Paladin had to create steel chains to secure their fall. Star landed besides Golden Paladin and asked him:
“But what’s going?”
“I don’t know, but it really seems that the sky and the ground can really trade places” Hawthorn said, while getting up.
Golden Paladin approached Blackthorn who told him:
“Something is really going on out there, but we must keep Prince Star Knight and Lord Hawthorn in here.”
“Yes, I know that” Golden Paladin said.
Outside, the clay bird approached the base of the island and Pandora jumped and landed on it.
“Pandora, go look for the Eight and Nine-Tails” Rothbart said. “I’ll deal with the other three here.”
“I hate when you give me orders, but it seems that is also the will of the ones who control us” Pandora replied. “I don’t have any other choice but to obey.”
Hard Stone and his two bodyguards arrived and Rothbart turned to them.
“Rothbart, you shall feel my wrath!” Hard Stone exclaimed to the reincarnated villain.
“Oh great, looks like the geezer snapped” Rothbart said.
“You do remember this, don’t you?” Hard Stone said, preparing to use his particle nature, creating a cone.
Seeing that, Rothbart became a little nervous. He knew how Hard Stone’s particle nature was very dangerous and how it became stronger with each three-dimensional object he created. He rapidly took fight with his clay bird and Pandora advanced to get away and to do her mission.
“You’re not getting away!” Hard Stone exclaimed to Rothbart, starting to aim to him.
But before he could do his spell, he was grabbed by Stone Quake, what made him release the spell.
“What do you think you are doing, Stone Quake?!” Hard Stone asked.
“If you release that here, you’ll destroy the island” Stone Quake said.
Seeing that he was right, the king said:
“Damn, what a mess… Due to its base I forgot it was an island.”
Noticing them distracted, Rothbart started to approach, while creating another clay figure in the shape of a small long-necked bird. He threw it against them and the figure got bigger in size, while flying to its targets. The two of them saw the bird approaching and then Rothbart detonated and it exploded. Seeing the explosion, Quartz Blitz exclaimed:
“Old geezer!”
Rothbart smiled, while seeing smokescreen around the explosion, but when the smoke cleared, he saw that a stone golem created by Stone Quake had protected him and Hard Stone from the explosion.
“I see, so that oversized pony protected his dear king, hein?” Rothbart said. “How annoying.”
Watching Rothbart flying over the island, Hard Stone realized he had to get him away from the island. And so he start to get away with Stone Quake, while making Rothbart follow him. However, Quartz Blitz, noticing Pandora, said:
“Oh, I can’t let her do her thing.”
Pandora stopped to use her astral projection spell and was able to detect Star Knight.
“I see, so you’re inside the island” Pandora said. “I’m sorry I have to do this, Star, mainly after what you did for me, but I don’t have any option. But how will I get inside.”
Golden Paladin was wondering what was happening outside when Star Knight approached him and asked:
“Golden, what’s going on?” Star asked. “How can the island be upside down?”
“We know, probably it’s nothing” Golden Paladin said, trying to remain cool.
“Something tells me it’s not” Star said. “I think it is for the best if I go get a quick look outside.”
“No, you can’t!” Golden Paladin said, quickly thinking in some excuse. “I still want to check on your abilities with the sword.”
“Come on, Golden, I think I already show you that I’m not rusty” Star said. “It almost looks like you’re hiding something.”
“I can assure I’m not hiding anything” Golden Paladin said. “But why don’t you keep practicing and I’ll go outside to see if everything is alright?”
“Yes, and I’ll go along him, so you don’t have to worry about anything” Blackthorn said.
And the two then headed to the exit with Star looking a little suspicious.
Outside, Quartz Blitz headed as fast as she could against Pandora and then, focusing her magic, she united her earth and fire nature to create lava energy and said:
“Quicklime Spell!”
And she fired from her horn a large quantity of quicklime against Pandora in various shots, with the little unicorn always dodging with teleportation spells. After that, Pandora turned and saw Golden Paladin and Blackthorn appearing. Seeing Pandora, Golden Paladin became shocked and he said:
“No, it’s not possible… Pandora?! How can you be alive?”
“I have asked that question as well, but it seems they still want me here, even when I don’t want to” she replied.
It was at that moment that Golden Paladin noticed her eyes.
“Your eyes…” he said. “No, it can’t be…”
“What is it, Golden?” Blackthorn asked.
“She’s a reincarnation” Golden Paladin said. “But there is only one pony capable of executing the Reincarnation Curse. Don’t tell me she…”
“Don’t overthink too much, Golden” Pandora said. “After all, I’m just a puppet of a puppet.”
Listening her saying that made Golden Paladin realize what was really happening and that was even worse.
“You don’t have to intervene” Quartz Blitz said to the two new-arrivals. “I can deal with her just fine.”
She then looked and noticed that Pandora was close to her quicklime and that made her smile.
“I know you” Golden Paladin said. “You’re King Hard Stone’s granddaughter.”
“There’s no time to talk” Quartz Blitz said. “I’m gonna push her to you. Get her!”
And then she casted from her horn a jet of water that hit the quicklime, spreading it, while Pandora tried to teleport to dodge. When she reappeared, she did on the quicklime.
“She missed” Blackthorn said.
“No, she didn’t” Golden Paladin said. “I have to say, she’s really smart. Just don’t step on that water.”
Pandora, looking to her hooves, also realized what Quartz Blitz did and said:
“I get it.”
“You see, now you can’t move at all” Quartz Blitz said to Pandora. “My Quicklime Spell is just like quick-acting cement. The water spreads it, making it cause a reaction that makes it harder than cement.”
Pandora tried to get out, but she couldn’t. Quartz Blitz fired more quicklime, hitting Pandora’s body.
“And that’s for insurance” Quartz Blitz told to her, while the quicklime quickly solidified.
At the air, Rothbart and Hard Stone made a battle of tackling. During it, Rothbart said to the king:
“I have to say, you’re not bad for someone that already passed his prime, old geezer.”
“Watch out who you call old geezer, your bastard” Hard Stone said, while flying besides Rothbart. “Don’t forget you’re much older than me.”
“Shut up!” Rothbart exclaimed, not having liked Hard Stone’s insult.
Stone Quake was flying behind, trying to keep up with those two, but he couldn’t.
“I can’t believe how fast they are” he said. “I can’t even keep up.”
Now that Pandora was trapped, Blackthorn said:
“Now we can finally get information about the enemy.”
“No, we can’t do that” Golden Paladin said.
“What do you mean?” Blackthorn asked.
“What I mean is that she’s just a puppet” Golden Paladin replied. “That’s what reincarnated beings do: they just follow orders, even if they don’t want to. She doesn’t know what plans the General of Chaos has. So, the only thing we can do is prevent them from using her again. And since reincarnated beings have immortal bodies, there is only one way to stop her.”
Using his magic, he made a golden chain appear from the ground and completed:
“I’ll have to seal her.”
“Yes, please, seal me, Golden” Pandora begged. “Do it now.”
It was then that she started feeling Gentle Light ordering her to break free and avoid being sealed. She tried to resist, but her control was too strong.
Golden Paladin launched the chain, but when it was close to Pandora, she used her magic that created a blast that released her from the quicklime and then used self-levitation to dodge the golden chain.
“Damn!” both Golden Paladin and Quartz Blitz exclaimed at the same time.
The both of them tried to get Pandora with their quicklime and golden chain, but she, although didn’t want to, defended herself from them by using dodging, teleportation and magic shields.
In the air, Hard Stone and Rothbart were so far from the ground that the king though it was now safe for him to use his particle nature. He then prepare to use it, conjuring the cone he had previously made.
“Prepare, yourself, now you’re going to die permanently, Rothbart!”
“We are about to find out what is stronger: your particle nature or my explosive nature” Rothbart said, preparing to use more explosive clay.
But, at that moment, his coffin appeared around him.
“What is this?” Hard Stone asked, got by surprise.
“Oh, come on not now!” Rothbart exclaimed.
And his coffin closed and disappeared.
“Damn…” Hard Stone said.
Pandora’s coffin also appeared and she said:
“Sorry, but I think it’s my time.”
And her coffin also closed and disappeared.
“I was so close in sealing her…” Golden Paladin said, not believing what happened.
Hard Stone appeared.
“Finally you’re here, old geezer” Quartz Blitz said to her grandfather. “But it was a little late.”
“I don’t know if you noticed but I was having a very hard battle” Hard Stone replied her.
“And let me guess, it was against a reincarnation” Golden Paladin said.
“Indeed, General of Peace, it was Rothbart” Hard Stone replied. “I almost got that bastard and made him pay for everything he did to my kingdom.”
“I see, so Rothbart was also reincarnated” Golden Paladin said.
“Unfortunately, he got a way somehow” Hard Stone said.
“She must have called them back after sensing me trying to seal Pandora” Golden Paladin realized.
“What do you mean by that?” Hard Stone asked him.
“That I know what is happening with this reincarnated beings” Golden Paladin said. “I need to get to Princess Twilight and the rest of the regents. It’s urgent. The problem is I’m too tired because of all the sealing spells and tried to use.”
“Don’t worry with that” Hard Stone said. “I’ll take you there. In fact, I’ll take all the island. Now the enemy knows its location and its defenses, we must get the safety of the jinchuriki.”
Golden Paladin nodded with his head, agreeing with him.
At the villains’ hideout, Gentle Light appeared before the General of Chaos with a pale yellow light.
“I can see that you returned empty-hoofed” the General observed.
“There was a complication” Gentle Light replied.
“What kind of complication?”
“Golden Paladin. He was there and he tried seal Pandora. King Hard Stone was also there and he caused a lot of trouble to Rothbart. I had to call them back.”
“I see…” the General of Chaos said. “And I also see that you managed to tell Golden Paladin that you are a slave of mine, didn’t you?”
Gentle Light didn’t try to deny, as it was impossible for her to do so with him controlling her. But then the General said:
“But it doesn’t matter. After all, they cannot do anything about it. For them to release you, they have to approach you and I won’t let that happen. And about the jinchuriki… Well, we’ll have other opportunities to get them during the war. And after all, that’s the main reason why had ask for your… collaboration. Now you can go.”
“Yes… master” Gentle Light muttered between her teeth.
And she disappeared with her light. After that, Grogar appeared and told the General:
“I still think it is a bad idea to enslave the General of Death. You just saw that she was able to tell her brother about her being enslaved by us.”
“Yes, I know that Gentle Light is very sneaky, but I have her under control” the General of Chaos. “It was a matter of time until they realized what happened to her. But we need the Reincarnation Curse to our army and only she can perform it in the most effective way. But now it’s not time to think about that. I still need to deal with the problem we have with the clones of Petal Sprout.”
And he started to head towards the exit.
“Where do you go?” Grogar asked.
“To visit an old friend of ours” he replied.
At Discord’s personal realm, he was in his chaotic living room while holding a cassette tape.
“Oh, I can’t believe I just have the remix of Golden Paladin saying I did a good job” he said. “Now I just have to find the perfect way to show it to everypony. Maybe I could make play in all the radio stations. No, it’s a little cliché. I am Discord, the most awesome and amazing being that exists. I can’t fell for clichés.”
It was then that someone knocked to his door.
“That’s odd” he said. “Normally, I don’t get any visits.”
He then opened the door while saying:
“If it is any encyclopedia-seller, you must know that I have a big armory of chaotic magic and I am not afraid of using it to make you go away.”
It was then that he noticed who his visitor was and he exclaimed:
“You!”
And the General of Chaos was standing before him, saying then:
“Hello, Discord. We have some much to discuss.”