Everypony gathered in the ball room, waiting for Luna and Woodwind to return. They had been waiting for half the day, and still no sign of them. Pinkie Pie was trying to play with Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Twilight sat at a table talking amongst themselves, and Princess Celestia stood at the window, looking to the distant mountain top where the entrance to Tartarus was located.
Fluttershy sat in the garden just outside, watching her children play. She let out a heavy sigh, thinking of what could have happened to Woodwind. Did they capture him? Was he hurt?
Or killed?
She banished the last thought from her mind. How could Luna do this? She knew the dangers of Caltroth and Discord, and yet she and Woodwind went to fight them together?
Fluttershy felt sick to her stomach again, and tried to hold in it. This baby was going to change their already fragile family. And if something had happened to Woodwind, she would be left all alone with the foals.
She heard hoof steps behind her, expecting Twilight to be there, she let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't need to be lectured again. Please, I just want to be left alone."
The tall and elegant princess sat beside the bewildered Fluttershy. "Oh, Princess, I-i'm sorry for-"
Celestia cut her off. "It's ok. I came to see how you were doing."
"Fluttershy sighed. "Not so well. Why would Woodwind do this? He wouldn't just abandon his family like this. What came over him? To both of them?"
Celestia put a hoof on her shoulder. "I don't know, but if I know my sister, she thought she could handle them. Why she asked for Woodwind's help, i'll never know."
Fluttershy hung her head low, and Celestia, as if by magic, asked Fluttershy about her predicament. "How far along is your pregnancy?" She asked.
Fluttershy stutterd, not knowing what to say.
"I know you feel like you can't handle this, but a foal is a blessing. You should always trust the love you two feel for one another. That will get you through any situation you face."
Fluttershy smiled. "You really think so?" She asked. Celestia smiled.
"I know so." she said. "And you and the foals are more important to him that anything in all of Equestria."
Fluttershy smiled. Everything seemed much more clear now, and she knew she was ready. She looked down and smiled wider running her hoof in circular motions around her stomach. "Another foal." She said giggling.
The agents of chaos were hard at work, preparing the portal of Tartarus. Woodwind stood on the cliff, with an enchanted NightMare at his side. He looked to the small wooded area below.
His new powers needed testing.
He sent out a powerful blast and the forrest lit up in a ball of flame. Little creatures scattered in every direction trying to escape the blaze. This wasn't who Woodwind was, but he knew he had no choice. His old life had determined who he always was.
A monster.
NightMare let out a loud laugh. "Very good. I can see you handled your transition nicely." She said running her hoof across his back. "Any mare would be lucky to have someone with your power." she hissed
He just grunted, an angry look on his face. He already had a mare, somepony who loved him more than anyone ever could. But he couldn't face her now. He couldn't show her the monster he had become.
Discord came over after hearing the explosion. "Hmm, not bad. Could use more "oomph". But if you'll excuse me, I have some friends to visit." He said snapping his fingers, and vanished into thin air.
Woodwind took one last look back to Canterlot, and walked back to the portal in progress.
Celestia and Fluttershy watched has the forrest to the north had burst into flames, The fire spreading to the small village a couple miles away.
"It has begun." She said, as the girls came rushing out into the garden.
"What the hay was that?" Rainbow yelled, flying above the trees to get a better view.
"It was a magic blast!" Twilight said startled. "Could Discord or Caltroth have done this?" She asked Celestia.
"No, That is not Discords style and if Caltroth had done something like that, we would all be dead."
Rarity cocked her head, "But, it's just the two of them. Who else could have done that?"
"I don't know. But I know they didn't open the portal to Tartarus yet." Celestia said. Her eye suddenly widened. "Oh no.. Please no!"
The other ponies looked at her as she ran inside. They began to follow, but Discord appeared from no where and blocked the door. He plucked an apple from the tree and nodded to the girls.
"Ah, It's so wonderful to see you all again. Did you miss me as much as I missed you?" He asked them, taking a bite from the fruit.
Rainbow Dash charged for him, but AppleJack grabbed her tail. Discord let out a snort. "Now thats no way to treat a guest, is it, Rainbow Dash?"
"What the heck do you want?!" She yelled, struggling to break free of AppleJack's grip.
"Oh I just came to tell you your friends won't be coming home. They belong to us now." He said, throwing the apple back up into the tree. It re-attached itself to the branch, and reassembled itself. Fluttershy stepped forward, her children hiding behind the others. "W-what did you do to Woodwind?" She asked quietly. Discord came forward and wrapped his arm around her. The other ponies were on the brink of attacking, but kept their rage in check. "I showed him who he truly was, same with Luna. They had no problem accepting the power we offered them. He has been transformed into a new Alicorn of darkness! My greatest achievement!" He said, letting her go. "You can't expect to stop all four of us in time. So gather your Elements and head for the mountain to battle us all if you want. We eagerly await your arrival."
He bellowed one last laugh and vanished into the dusk.
Fluttershy began to weep, Squeak came over to comfort her, as did all the other ponies.
"Mommy? What happened to daddy?" Squeak asked. Fluttershy gave no reply.
"Fluttershy, it'll be ok. We'll save him and Luna. We won't let them down." Rainbow said, giving her a helping hoof up. Fluttershy wiped her face of tears and looked at them all. "Lets go. We have to save him!" She said bolting off to the Element vault.
Twilight smiled, watching her as she ran for the vault. She had changed so much since she met Woodwind. She was certainly braver than ever before, and she loved him too much to let her fears interfere with saving him.
They smiled and ran to catch the others.
Squeak sat their with her siblings, a guard coming over to bring them back to their room. But before he came over, three small butterflies landed on Squeaks lap. She didn't know why, but she somehow knew to take them. The guard scooped them up and walked inside. "Come on little ones. Time for bed." He said smiling.
Squeak knew she had to help the grown ups anyway she could. She was going to prove that she was a big brave pony.
"Just like daddy." she thought