Friends, Forgiveness, and Magic
The Bells of Tambelon
Fluttershy smiled at the new house. “Well Mr. Snow Claws, what do you think?”
A minotaur with unusually white claws scratched the side of his right horn. “Well, you and mister uh…Beaver have done a good job...”
“It’s Mr. Beaverton, actually,” Fluttershy corrected.
“Uh, right. It’s just, um…why is my house a beaver dam?”
Fluttershy winced. “I’m very sorry for the trouble Thorax caused you and I’m so sorry we couldn’t build you a proper house sooner. But King Gregory has us working on a priority list and unfortunately your house was farther away from the battle and therefore, um…lower on the list. B-but this is just a temporary fix! We’ll get your new house done as soon as we finish the other stuff on the list.” She gave him a sheepish grin. “A-and who knows? Maybe you’ll come to like it?”
Snow Claws sighed and shrugged. “I’ll give it a shot, but the sooner you can rebuild my house back up the better.” He ducked a bit to get his horns past the door and stepped inside his temporary home.
Fluttershy heard wings buzzing in the air and turned to see the Element of Love touch down. “Hey, don’t give me that look, I don’t know where Discord is either!” Chrysalis snapped at Mr. Beaverton as he glared at her. She walked up to Fluttershy and smiled at her. “Thanks for all your help on such short notice Fluttershy. Your animal friends are really helping my changelings cut this project in half.”
“Oh, it’s no problem. Still no word from Discord or Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked.
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Love knows what those two goofballs are up to these days.”
“Well that’s okay, it’s a beautiful day and I’m happy to lend a hoof. Thanks again for telling us about Tambelon so I could help out.”
Chrysalis shrugged. “Thank Princess Nightmare if you see here. Well, since you seem to be doing fine I’m gonna go back and make sure Thorax is behaving himself. Take care.”
“Hey, hold up Chrysie!” Sunset Shimmer shouted as she hurried over to them.
“Oh, good morning Sunset,” Fluttershy said, smiling cheerfully.
Sunset spared her a quick smile. “Hey Fluttershy. Listen, have either of you two seen Nightmare?”
“I think she was talking to King Gregory about dark rituals or something, you know how it is,” Chrysalis said, shrugging nonchalantly. She paused as she considered the two ponies before her. “Or maybe you don’t know. Sunset, you ever cast any-”
“Uh, story for another time,” Sunset said, shutting up her friend with a blush and a sheepish smile. “Anyway, I need someone with a little authority. Thorax’s brother…um, what's his name again?”
“Pharynx,” Chrysalis and Fluttershy answered.
“Right. So, he was supervising his brother like we asked him, everything’s going good, but then Merry Weather showed up and started bossing them around.”
“Ugh,” Chrysalis groaned. “When is Applejack going to fire that angry nag?”
“I dunno, but she’s screaming up a storm. Pharynx flew off to get help but I think he had the wrong idea.”
“What do you mean?” Chrysalis asked.
“Well I saw Gilda pass me by overhead and she didn’t look happy, so…”
“Oh dear. Merry Weather hates any creature that’s not a pony. And Gilda, bless her heart, she’s got a temper. The sound waves from those two shouting at each other would destroy Tambelon all over again!” Chrysalis sighed, slapping her hoof against her face.
“Um, are you sure Princess Nightmare would be able to help? I know she’s a pony…well, mostly, but Merry Weather doesn’t seem to like her much either,” Fluttershy pointed out. “The only pony she listens to is Applejack.”
“I heard Applejack is already on her way here, probably to help with the reconstruction too. No idea when she’ll arrive though, and I’d rather shut Merry Weather up now instead of later.”
“So, Nightmare is talking to the king, Discord is goofing around as always, and Applejack is out of reach for now. Hey what about Trixie? She can distract Merry Weather for a while.” Chrysalis suggested.
Sunset shook her head. “Tried asking her. She’s still entertaining the kids around here and I didn’t want to add another tantrum into the mix.”
Chrysalis smirked. “From the kids or Trixie?”
“Yes,” Sunset smirked right back.
“I guess it’s up to us then. Maybe while Gilda is arguing with Merry Weather I can sneak Thorax to a safe spot where he can keep helping.”
“Um, do you need me for anything or…” Fluttershy trailed off.
“Thanks Fluttershy, but we got it. Let us know if you see Applejack,” Sunset said.
The changeling queen and the unicorn waved goodbye to Fluttershy, before they took off through the city. As they passed the main plaza of Tambelon they overheard Trixie singing to all the younger creatures of the dark kingdom.
“Morning in Everfree
A city awakes
To the bells of Tambelon
The milkmaid delivers, the baker-mare bakes
To the bells of Tambelon!
To the big bell as loud as thunder
To the little bells as soft as a song
And some say the soul of the city’s
The toll of the bells...
The bells of Tambelon!”
“She’s really expanding on her performances, huh?” Sunset commented.
As Chrysalis nodded in agreement, their ears picked up another song drifting around the corner. Although this song sounded a lot…harsher. There was a very clipped, business tone to the mare’s voice that she heard. To be honest, it sounded more like barking than singing. Feeling both curious and concerned, the two friends finished their journey to the southeast corner of Tambelon.
“Come on changelings, work faster!” Merry Weather shouted, her iron boots stomping as she paced back and forth, her glare boring holes into a food storage warehouse and the two changelings working. “Raise this barn! Raise this barn! One, two, three, four!” She punctuated each number with a boot stomp.
A changeling with purple wings and a red fin, looked up from what he was doing and hissed at her. “Lady, I’m getting real tired of you barking at us!”
Thorax looked up from the broken wooden boards he was hammering nails into and sighed. “Take it easy Pharynx. I’m the one who broke all this stuff.”
“Yeah, you’re the one who broke this place apart. What did I do? I tried to stop my crazy brother from making a fool of himself just because he wasn’t over his ex-girlfriend! So why am I stuck trying to patch this dumb warehouse up?” Pharynx glared at Merry Weather.
Merry Weather rolled her eyes. “The guilty changeling may be responsible for this mess, but even I wouldn’t be so cruel as to task him with rebuilding all of Tambelon alone. Everypony and every creature is pitching in to help. And you were just standing around like a lazy bug!” She jabbed her hoof in Pharynx’s direction.
“I’m his supervisor! I was just doing my job!” Pharynx shouted at her.
“As if you could be trusted not to let your guilty brother escape!” Merry Weather hissed back.
“King Gregory trusts me! Where would Thorax even go if he escaped?”
“Well whatever your ram king thinks or not, I have been given a much more constructive job!” Merry Weather said, puffing her chest out with pride.
The two brothers finally noticed the unicorn and changeling queen eavesdropping on their argument. “Queen Chrysalis! And you, um, Knowledge Element!” Pharynx buzzed over to them with a grin.
“Um, I’m Sunset Shimmer,” the orange pony said.
“Sorry, I’m not great with remembering pony names. Still, I like you better than this nag already,” Pharynx said with a smile, pausing to shoot a glare at Merry Weather. “Sunset, can you supervise my brother for a minute? I wanna go have a talk with King Gregory about kicking this nutcase out.”
“What happened to asking Gilda for help?” Chrysalis asked.
“I'm here, and ready to kick some rear!” Gilda shouted, dropping down from the sky and landing on the ground.
Merry Weather sneered at her. “Oh just what we need, a brutish, jerk-faced griffon.”
“You’re the only jerk-face I see around here!” Gilda snapped at her.
Chrysalis snuck up to the changeling brothers and hissed. “Quick, while we distract her, you two disguise yourselves and-”
Merry Weather scoffed. “Oh no you don’t! They’re not going anywhere. The minute I take my eyes off any of you, you’ll cast some changeling spell. I know how your kind can twist the mind with dark thoughts.”
“Our kind?!” Chrysalis, Pharynx, and Thorax hissed in unison.
“Hey, I’m not done with you!” Gilda pulled on Merry Weather’s tail and yanked. Not too hard, but enough to seriously irritate Merry Weather if the vein bulging on her forehead was any indication.
“How dare you…” Merry Weather growled.
“Okay seriously, what is your problem with changelings and griffons?” Sunset asked.
Merry Weather spared a brief glare at her. “You wouldn’t understand, Sunset Shimmer. Out of all the creatures I have encountered in my life, ponies are the most peaceful, kind-hearted, and friendly species in the world. Every other creature I’ve met is either a brute or a bloodthirsty savage,” she snarled at Gilda.
“Oh, you’re asking for it now!” Gilda growled, curling her talons into fists.
“ENOUGH!” Six heads looked up as a cloud of darkness came swirling down to them. Princess Nightmare Moon stepped out of the cloud with a dizzy looking Applejack right behind her. “Girls, Thorax and Pharynx, we need you in the throne room right now. King Gregory just received some bad news. He told me we need to be prepared if his ancestor is behind this. Merry Weather, Discord popped by to fill me on what you've been doing to my friend's changelings. Applejack's here to have a word with you about that.”
"Thank goodness," Pharynx sighed. Nightmare's horn flashed with magic as she, Sunset, Chrysalis, Gilda, Thorax, and Pharynx teleported away, leaving only Applejack and Merry Weather behind.
“Whoa nelly. Being turned inta mist is an experience, lemme tell ya,” Applejack mumbled.
“Miss Applejack!” Merry Weather hurried over to steady her boss. “Oh, you silly pony. What were you thinking letting that Nightmare queen drag you around? Are you okay? Do you need some water?”
Applejack frowned and shrugged her off. “Ah ain’t the one who needs help here. Ah hear yer attitude’s gotten worse lately.”
Merry Weather’s ears folded back. “Miss Applejack, you don’t know these creatures like I do. If you only-”
“Merry Weather, yer fired,” Applejack declared.
“F…f-fired?” Merry Weather whimpered. “B-but why?”
“Don’t look at me like that!” Applejack snapped. “This has been a long time coming! Don’t you go getting all teary-eyed when you’ve been treating other creatures like garbage just because they ain’t ponies!”
“That's why you're firing me? After years of a perfect employee record? Miss Applejack, you know that other creatures can’t be trusted! You used to see the truth!” Merry Weather cried. “I thought you could understand…”
Applejack sighed. “Merry, Ah had magic mirror glass in mah eye. It might have shown me stuff but it made me sick in the head. The changelings in Everfree ain’t as bad as they got in Equestria. Shoot, even the changelings over there have reformed.” She shook her head. “You’ve been a right bigot for years now and if ya can’t learn to love and tolerate than Ah can’t tolerate yer attitude anymore. You’ve been a good employee but…it’s over. Goodbye.”
As Applejack turned away from the other pony and walked away, Merry Weather blurted out, “I have a crush on you!”
Applejack slowly spun around and raised an eyebrow. “Beg yer pardon?”
“I…I know I’ve been in a bad mood for a while, and I know I’ve been distracted, but I can’t stop thinking about you! Your beautiful golden mane and tail. Your gorgeous emerald eyes! Your confidence, your friendly attitude, your work ethic, your integrity, your honesty! You’re everything I could ever want in a partner and…and I know it’s not proper, and I know we’re both mares but I can’t help how I feel!” Merry Weather sunk to the ground and wrapped her hooves around Applejack’s front legs. “Please, I’m begging you Miss Applejack, give me a chance to make it up to you!”
“Well this is a surprise. You're saying you are in love with this mare?”
“Applejack, I adore you! I worship you!” Merry Weather gazed up with a hopeful smile and eyes shining with tears. Her smile quickly disappeared as she saw that Applejack’s eyes were glowing blue.
“Funny. I thought I was the only one you worshiped.”
“My…my queen.” Merry Weather tried to rise back up only to cringe as Applejack’s hoof pressed into her back, forcing her to remain on the ground. “W-why have you possessed Miss Applejack?”
“Merry Weather, are you implying that I can’t possess the body of any pony I please? Me, of all creatures?”
“M-my queen, that’s not…”
“Or is it that you protest against me possessing this particular pony? This dull as dirt farm girl who has made you so distracted and lovesick during our mission?”
Merry Weather whimpered. “My queen…”
“Were you actually serious when you said you loved this pony? Love is less controllable than friendship, my faithful servant. Or does our friendship mean nothing to you?”
Applejack sneered at the crying mare as the air around them began to feel warm.
“I’m disappointed in you Merry. I have nothing against two mares falling in love but I think you can understand that others would get very angry about it. Do you remember who those others are?”
Merry Weather’s jaw tightened. “I know who our enemy is.”
“So, it’s still our enemy? Am I still your queen? Are you still my faithful student?”
Merry bowed her head. “Yes, my queen. I am loyal to you and only you.”
“Good. Now to get to the matter of why we are here. I will arrange for Grogar to escape now.”
Merry Weather’s eyes widened. “My queen, what about the ritual? What about Doctor Do? The sacrifices? The Rainbow-”
“I have burned the loose threads. I am accelerating my plan. PRAY, that I don’t alter it any further.”
Merry flinched at the harsh tone but kept her head bowed. “Yes, my queen. Please, how can I serve you?”
“When Grogar awakens, he should be able to distract the Elements of Redemption for a moment. The kingdom will have taken precautions to ensure that Grogar cannot leave Tambelon. You will seek out your old enemy and destroy him and the Elements.”
Applejack stretched out her hoof and touched the heart-shaped necklace that Merry Weather always wore. Bright blue magic flowed from her hoof and into the necklace, causing a dark aura to form around it. Merry Weather stood up and grinned wickedly at the power she felt emanating from her accessory. “After all these years…”
“Not so fast, Merry Weather. You require your full strength to battle your enemies. But you must still be punished for your transgressions.”
With a growl, Applejack stabbed her hoof into Merry Weather’s left hoof then right hoof. Merry Weather cried out and stumbled away from the other mare, her hooves sparking as if they had been electrocuted.
“My…my queen, I…” Merry Weather’s eyes widened in fear as she held up her front hooves and spotted the glowing cracks that had formed in them. “My queen! What have you done to me?!”
“I think you know exactly what those cracks mean.”
“Please my queen, anything but this! Take my memories, take my emotions, take my soul! Do whatever you want to ensure I remain your loyal servant just…just anything but this!” Merry Weather cried as she felt those glowing eyes flash brighter.
“Fulfill your role. It is the only way I can grant you the happily ever after you so desperately seek. And take comfort, my faithful old friend. No matter what our enemies may do to us, our victory is inevitable.”
The glowing blue light vanished from Applejack’s eyes. Applejack rubbed her head and shook the cold out of her bones. “Merry? Ah asked ya to repeat yourself.”
But Merry Weather just closed her eyes regretfully turned away. “Goodbye Applejack.”
As Merry Weather galloped away from her, Applejack frowned. “Why don’t Ah remember the last few minutes? Something ain’t right here…”
Gilda’s beak dropped as she starred at the statue of Doctor Do. “How the heck did you not see this before?!”
The Elements of Redemption, the changeling brothers, and King Gregory stood within the highest room of the tallest tower in the Tambelon palace. This room was directly below the magical bell that kept Grogar restrained. In the middle of the room sat a dark blue skull with horns that was spreading ominous vibes through the room. Surrounding that skull there was a circle of petrified unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies. Each pony was facing the skull with various looks of fear frozen onto their faces. All except for Doctor Do, who looked more confused than anything else.
“The reason we didn’t see this before is because they weren’t here before!” King Gregory snapped. “I was in this room five minutes ago and it was empty! I have no idea what’s happening!”
Smog raised his claw in a placating gesture and gave the king a smile. “Don’t worry King Gregory, we’ve dealt with worse than this guy. I mean, me and Nightmare were joking about how the most impressive thing this old ram could do was summon cages.”
Gregory sighed. “While I appreciate your optimism, I can promise you that Grogar could do far worse than summon cages. Although that did seem to be his favourite spell for some reason…”
“So what’s the old lich king’s story?” Discord asked as he made a skull-shaped cloud dance around his claw. “Should I get Zecora’s flashback potion, or…”
“Don’t bother,” King Gregory snapped. “Grogar’s past is a complete mystery, but what everyone can agree on is that he was the most horrible ram in history.” He sighed and said, “I know you’re the Elements of Redemption, but on sometimes, the bad guy really doesn’t have a good reason to be evil.”
“An uncomplicated bad guy? Sweet. Then all we gotta do is ring the big bell up top, right?” Gilda said. “You’ve been ringing it everyday for years now and it’s got the job done so far.”
Gregory huffed. “We already rang the bell this morning, but this still happened!”
“Well go ring it again! I’ll fly up and do it right now!” Gilda flapped her wings and rose into the air. “Where’s the closest window?”
Before anyone could answer a bolt of blue light struck the top of the bell tower, completely vaporizing the ceiling.
“WHOA! What the heck was that?!” Sunset exclaimed.
“Don’t look at Trixie! None of her fireworks have done that much damage before!”
“Wasn’t me either,” Discord said with a shrug, still staring wide eyed at the missing ceiling. “Wow, it is just gone…”
Nightmare’s wings unfurled. “We’re under attack! There’s your answer for how these statues got here, Gregory. Gilda, follow me!”
“I’ve got your back, Nightmare!” Gilda shouted, zooming off into the sky. The two fliers circled the tower, scanning for any signs of one of Grogar’s minions.
“I can’t see anybody! Are they invisible or something?” Gilda called out to Nightmare.
Nightmare’s horn glowed as she cast a dark blue sphere of magic that expanded out from her body and pulsed as it hit Gilda, briefly turning her blue. “You’re the only body that spell’s picking up. Whoever just attacked us, they fled before we could even leave the room.”
“Guys! Something’s happening down here!” Sunset called up to them. Nightmare and Gilda quickly flew back down into the tower. The dark blue skull and the statues were vibrating while thick purple smoke was pouring out of the skull’s mouth.
“Nightmare, what do we do?!” Smog cried.
“What else?” Trixie smirked confidently as her horn glowed. “Light it up!”
Trixie, Chrysalis, Nightmare, Thorax, Pharynx, and Sunset all pelted the skull with beams of magic. Smog took a deep breath and spat a stream of fire at the dark object. The skull began to bounce and wobble in place. Tiny cracks started to form on it. However, it wasn’t enough to halt the transformation. Neck bones emerged out of the skull. A rib cage began to form out of the purple smoke.
“It’s not enough!” King Gregory cried, stomping his hoof in frustration. “And I can’t add my dark magic into the mix; it’ll just make him stronger!”
“I can look for a lightning cloud outside!” Gilda shouted her suggestion over the swirling mini-storm of magic. “Just give me like, two seconds!”
“Ladies, ladies! Allow me.” Discord clasped his paw and claw together, creating matter out of raw chaos magic, transforming and sculpting it like clay. Within seconds he had formed a metal moon-shaped sphere and pointed it at the skull with a mad grin. “Might want to step back everyone!”
Nightmare couldn’t help but ask, “Is that some kind of mini moon?”
“This is no moon, my dear.” A cone of green light formed at the front of the sphere “Here it comes!”
“However, before Discord could fire a weapon of such phenomenal power; such ultimate destruction that it would have obliterated Grogar’s regenerating skeleton and darkened soul, his weapon backfired on him. The emerald cone of destructive energy shifted to icy blue. The sphere began to change color rapidly, cycling through all the colors of the rainbow. The sphere flashed with blinding light, one could swear that a miniature sun had exploded in the room. The powerful spell caused Discord, the spirit of chaos, Gilda the Griffon, Smog the dragon, and Chrysalis, the queen of changelings to vanish. Whilst the other heroes of this story pondered to where their friends might have disappeared to, the four powerful individuals were transported to...somewhere else.”
“Wait, what?! Where’d they go?!” Trixie exclaimed as four of her friends disappeared.
“Was that supposed to happen?” King Gregory asked, nervously still eyeing the regenerating skeleton.
“They took Chrysalis!” Thorax cried. “We need to find her!” And without another word he buzzed his wings and rocketed out of the hole in the ceiling.
“Thorax! What about…darn it, he’s right!” Pharynx stomped his hoof in frustration before he buzzed his wings too. “Sorry but we gotta go!”
“Hey come back here! Do you want this freaky skeleton king coming back?!” Trixie shouted at the two retreating brothers.
“Find our other friends while you’re it!” Nightmare shouted at them before she pushed her magic harder against the skull. “Come on you stupid fossil, go back to sleep!”
“Girls, we’re running out of time!” King Gregory shouted, beginning to back away from the skeleton as the room turned darker.
“You...are out...of time.”
In a burst of dark magic, the room became pitch black. Even with the sun shining through the windows and the hole, not a single source of light could be found. Even with her enhanced night vision, Nightmare Moon could see nothing beyond her own hoof in front of her face.
“I...LIVE!”
Just as suddenly as it had left, light returned to the room. The remaining three Element bearers and King Gregory stared at where the skeleton used to be. It was easy to see the family resemblance between King Gregory and the aged dark blue ram that stood before them. The two rams were nearly identical, except that Grogar had bushy white eyebrows and a white beard. The collar that he wore around his neck was studded with spikes jutting outwards and the bell that hung from his collar was made of pure gold in contrast to Gregory’s silver bell.
Grogar shot them all a nasty grin as his red eyes glowed brighter. “After years of imprisonment I am once again free to smite the world as I did in days long past.” His gaze drifted to Gregory and he smirked. “Offspring.”
“Don’t make me sick. You’re no family of mine, monster,” King Gregory snarled.
“Descendant then. I am disappointed that you do not wish to join me. But that disappointment is overshadowed by the MISERY that surrounds me!” Grogar snarled before he turned and pointed at the two unicorns and alicorn. “Ponies?! Again?!”
“Ugh, didn't they have mouthwash in ye olden times? Your breath stinks like the dead,” Trixie complained. “Speaking of, what powers does this guy have again? Trixie wants to defeat this fossil quickly so that we can start searching for our friends.”
“Powers, you ask? Tremble puny ponies before my power!” Grogar roared. His horns glowed with dark magic that he fired at the three ponies. Nightmare, Sunset, and Trixie all charged their horns to conjure a shield, but they were all caught by surprise when the spell took affect around them. A tight steel cage formed around the ponies, trapping them inside.
“As I was saying before I was so RUDELY interrupted, why must I be plagued by these sun-shiny, pretty, prancing ponies?! I demand slaves of a higher caliber! Most importantly, I demand slaves with HANDS!”
King Gregory had enough of his ancestor’s ranting and charged at his kingdom’s greatest enemy, literally butting heads and locking horns with him. Their dark magic caused their horns to twist and spark but Grogar was still too lost in his own ravings.
“Don’t tell me that the Troggles are the only species that could provide me with what I want. Decades must have passed, CENTURIES must have passed. I do not know how long I was imprisoned, but something must have changed! Where are the creatures with HANDS?!”
“You just missed them. Smog, Discord, Gilda, and even Chrysalis all had claws, talons, and/or shapeshifting powers. Guess that means whoever just kidnapped them isn't working for you,” Sunset said.
Grogar glanced back at them. “What are you – GAARGH!” he growled as he was pushed away from Gregory and up against a wall by three powerful beams of magic.
“Cages? Are you serious?” Trixie laughed. “What a joke! You’re dealing with the Great and Powerful Trixie! Master magician and escape artist, you dolt! Even without the assistance of Nightmare Moon or Sunset Shimmer, Trixie could have escaped from that easily.”
“Trixie, stay focused,” Nightmare warned her.
“But cages?! Trixie could have escaped with her hooves tied behind her back! All four! Blindfolded!”
“INSOLENT, WEAKLING, PONIES! I'LL KILL YOU FOR HARMING ME!” Grogar roared as he fired blasts of magic at them. Trixie dodged out of the way, Sunset and Gregory conjured up shield spells, and Nightmare flapped her wings and hovered into the air. Nightmare Moon flew over his head and fired another blast of magic, pushing Grogar into the floor so hard it crumbled beneath his hooves and sent him down two floors.
“GRAAGH!”
Nightmare’s eyes widened. “By the night, Trixie is right!” Her fanged-mouth stretched into an eager grin. “We’re going to destroy him!”
Even Sunset got a wicked grin on her face. “Gilda’s going to be so jealous she missed this!”
The three ponies jumped down the hole in the ground, eager to return Grogar to his skeletal state with far more brutal methods than his previous banishment. King Gregory hesitantly poked his head over the hole and called down, “I’ll just take the stairs and meet up with you, shall I?“ He rang the bell on his neck, causing a dark blue crystal to appear before him. “There's something I need to take care of...“
Grogar roared as he spotted the ponies again and charged at them. He headbutted a stone column causing it to crumble, but the pebbles bouncing off his head didn’t even phase him. Just as it didn’t phase Nightmare when she turned into mist again, causing the ram to pass right through her.
“GRAAGH!” Grogar roared as he missed his enemy only to roar again as three more beams of magic struck him, knocking him off his hooves and causing his body to bounce along the floor like a pebble over water.
“This is so much fun!” Trixie cheered as they advanced on Grogar. “Trixie doesn’t understand how anyone could find this ram scary.”
“Scary?” Grogar growled. “Perhaps you ponies HAVE gotten stronger over the years. Perhaps I should show you just how SCARY I can be…”
The glow in Grogar’s eyes lit up like an explosion as his gaze fell on them. Nightmare’s, Sunset’s, and Trixie’s eyes all turned red as a horrifying vision consumed them.
“G-guys? W-what’s happening?” Trixie asked as chains burst out of the floor and wrapped around her body. “Girls?!”
“W-what’s that noise? Mom?!” Nightmare cried out as she heard a voice screaming for help.
“OUCH! Girls! Where are…G-GAAH!” Sunset cried as she felt leathery, orange and black wings burst out from her back. Her hooves morphed into claws as her mane and tail burst into flames. “STAY BACK! I can’t control it! NO!”
“Come on now, my ‘lovely assistant’!” Trixie cringed as a shadowy doppelganger of herself growled down at her. “All you have to do is escape from the fire! But you can’t even escape a water tank, can you? You’re Weak and Useless, Trixie!”
“Nightmare! Help me!” Nightmare ran towards her mother as she witnessed Duchess Luna burning in a blaze. “The sun! It’s k-killing me!”
“Girls! I can’t stop it! I-I’m sorry!” Sunset sobbed as she collapsed into a fetal position, watching the flames leaping off her body burn all of Everfree down.
Meanwhile in the real world, Grogar grinned evilly down at the three ponies imprisoned by visions of their greatest fears.
“Grogar! Enough of this!” Grogar growled in annoyance as he heard his descendant King Gregory climbing down the flights of stairs and catching up with them. The king of Tambelon leapt down the last couple of stairs and scrapped his hoof against the floor in challenge as his horns glowed with power. “You will not hurt my citizens or my friends any longer!”
Grogar smirked. “And how do you plan to stop me, puny little descendant? I am GROGAR! The king of Tambelon! The MASTER of fear!” His red eyes glowed brighter as he focused his fearful curse on Gregory.
King Gregory braced himself and shivered as he felt the curse wash over him. He hesitantly opened his eyes to see…that nothing had changed.
“What? WHAT?! Why are you not COWERING before my power?!” Grogar roared.
Seeing an opportunity to plant the seeds of doubt and insecurity in his ancestor, Gregory smirked at him. “Perhaps your fear curse only works on ponies? Which is going to make reconquering Tambelon quite a challenge for you, since most of our citizens are not ponies.”
“No...no, you’re trying to trick me,” Grogar growled. “You’re only resisting my dark magic because you’ve stolen some of it for yourself. No matter. Once I bend Tambelon to my will once more, I shall harvest my dark power from your very bones.”
His horns glowed as he fired a blast of magic at Gregory, sealing him inside an iron cage. Gregory’s eyes narrowed as he rammed his horns against the cage. “This won’t hold me forever!” His horns glowed with dark magic as he began to headbutt the iron bars over and over.
“I grow tired of these interruptions. You will not delay me from reclaiming my kingdom any longer,” Grogar growled. With a burst of magic, he teleported out of the castle and right in the middle of the town square.
“Creatures of Tambelon! Tremble before Grogar!” he roared triumphantly. His grin widened as he caught sight of the creatures screaming, running in circles, and gaping at him with fear. Plenty of cows, sheep, donkeys, and yaks. But what really caught his attention were the griffons, minotaurs, and dragons. “Yes. Claws and hands. You will make FINE servants in – GRAAH!”
Grogar roared in rage as he felt a curled fist collide with his face and send him tumbling a good ten feet into the side of a wall. Grogar picked himself up and glared at the minotaur who punched him. Snow Claws stared at his own fist as if he couldn't believe he'd just done that.
“Snowy! What are you doing?! We need to get outta here!” a young donkey wearing a headband and earrings cried as she tugged against Snow Claws legs.
“Everyone! Did you see that?! I hurt Grogar! We can beat him!” Snow Claws called out to the citizens of Tambelon who hadn’t fled yet.
“Hey wait guys, he serious?” a dragoness asked her friends. The other dragons shrugged before they shot wicked grins at Grogar. “Well what are we waiting for? Let’s roast this ram!” the dragoness pumped the air with her claws before she divebombed Grogar and spat a fireball at him.
“GRAH! Foolish pests! Disobedient slaves!” Grogar’s horns flashed as he shook the fire off him. His red eyes glowed as more creatures found their courage and began to rush him. He created a magical shield around him and growled as he saw fists, feet, hooves, fireballs, and blasts of magic slam against his shield.
“Does no one fear me anymore?! FINE! Then I shall teach you the meaning of FEAR!” His red eyes flashed again as he spread his fear curse, like fog over the entire kingdom of Tambelon. His evil grin returned as he sensed the ponies within the kingdom succumb to their horrifying visions. But his grin faded as he noted that all the non-pony creatures merely fought back shivers as the spell barely affected them.
“Hey, hey! Fall Harvest! Talk to me buddy!” Grogar glanced at one group of creatures, a minotaur, dragoness, and a unicorn stallion. The stallion was shivering and sweating at the same time, desperately trying to fight off the horrors that Grogar was unleashing within his mind. But the stallion’s friends were comforting him rather than cowering before Grogar’s curse.
“S-snakes! Everywhere! Get them away!” Fall Harvest cried.
The minotaur and dragoness set their friend down before they turned to Grogar with clenched claws and bared teeth. “You let our friends go right now!”
“Bah, I say! BAH!” Grogar roared. With a flash of dark power, he teleported away from the angry crowd of creatures and onto the very top of a tall tower on the right wing of his castle. “How long have I been cursed?! How many centuries have passed for these creatures to become so strong?! For my magic to degrade so much?!” He grumbled to himself as he fired a beam of magic from the top of the tower all the way to the ground below.
“No matter. If these creatures will not succumb to my fear curse, I have OTHER methods of getting them to fall in line. Come forth my Troggle army! I command you! RISE!”
The stone walkways of Tambelon began to crumble and quake. A skeletal fist burst out of the ground. A few feet away another skeletal fist clutching a rusty spear poked out of the stones. Within less than a minute, a small army of bipedal skeletal monstrosities with sharp tusks and big, helmet-wearing heads had formed. Many citizens panicked and fled as these savage skeletons grinned at them, their eye sockets glowing with a dark purple light.
The undead Troggles began to chase after the fleeing creatures, shooting magic out of their spears that trapped the citizens within cages. But the citizens of Tambelon were proving to be much more resourceful than their ancestors. If they couldn’t dodge or roll away from a cage-blast curse, they would commence pounding away at their cages with all of their strength. Over half of the people who were captured were able to break free and try to help their friends and family who were stuck in more durable cages.
The more battle-ready citizens of Tambelon still hadn’t lost their will to fight either. Many eager minotaurs, griffons, and dragons were taking every opportunity to live out every video gamer's dream come true. Dragons spat fireballs at the skeleton army and slapped their spears away with their tails. Minotaurs punched and kicked the Troggles, reducing their bones to dust. Griffons flew overhead and divebombed the undead army, causing bones to pop off and skid across the walkways as the Troggles exploded from the force of the impact.
Grogar grumbled some more as he watched this unfold. “Every dark curse, every spell, every trick I can produce, my enemies are prepared for. Conquering Tambelon is going to be much harder than I thought.” An evil grin spread on his face as he turned his head and gazed at the castle of Tambelon. “But it won’t matter. The bell of Tambelon is gone! Without this weakness, I cannot be cursed, killed, or restrained. Even if these creatures pummel away at my defenses, I can heal from any defeat they inflict on me. But they can’t. Even if it takes me a hundred years of war, I shall reclaim my destiny!”
“Bwa, ha, hah!” Grogar cackled. He reared up and raised his front hooves over his head, as lightning crackled over the sky. “Nopony can stop the mighty GROGAR!”
“You know, I never understood what all the hype was about with you.”
Grogar turned his head to see a pony standing behind him on the roof. “Who dares to – GRAAH!”
Grogar roared as the pony blasted him off the roof and sent him screaming downwards. He landed against the hard, unforgiving stone walkway with a crunch. He groaned as his bones popped back into place as he stood up.
“Stop that!” he roared at the universe. “Stop blasting me and defying me and…and…GRAGH!”
The pony leapt off the roof and let gravity take her down to Grogar’s level, only for her to stop in midair right before her hooves could reach the ground. She hovered for a few seconds before she touched down. “Really, this shouldn’t be surprising. You were a pathetic villain even back in the old days. Summoning cages as your main dark power? Defeated by a ringing church bell and a song? You may have picked up some new tricks since then, but monster armies and fear spells? Nothing new to the people of Everfree.”
Grogar grumbled and glared at the pony. “If my enemies can adapt, then so shall I.” He smirked at the young mare. “And what about you, little pony? My fear spell can still imprison your soul within your own mind. What makes you think you stand a chance against me?”
Merry Weather ran her hoof over the glowing amulet she wore around her neck. “Trixie isn’t the only pony with tricks up her sleeve.”
Meanwhile in the Crystal Empire, Duchess Luna frantically pounded on the door to King Sombra’s bedroom. “Sombra! I need to talk with you!”
Duchess Luna stepped back as the door opened, but she was surprised to see that is was not Sombra who opened the door but Lord Tirek. “Duchess Luna. I’m sorry that our discussion went on for longer than we intended. Please come in. Is your sister with you?”
“I am now,” Duchess Celestia said as she hurried down the hallway and followed her sister and Tirek into the king’s bedroom. “Sister, have you sensed-”
“I have, sister,” Luna interrupted her. “Moony is in danger. She cried out for me and I must answer her pleas, but I do not know where she is! Something is preventing me from teleporting to her side!”
“I’m afraid that’s our doing,” Lord Tirek said. He held up his hand before Duchess Luna could snap at him. “But we intend to send you to her aid right away. There are just a few short matters that we must discuss before you can save her.”
Luna stomped her hoof against the bedroom’s carpet, cracking the crystal floor beneath it. “No, Tirek! You will take me to my daughter now or so help me-”
“A mother’s love and her magical prowess is a deadly combination, Lord Tirek,” King Sombra said as he walked away from his balcony and joined his friends. “I suggest we keep this as brief as we can.”
“Very well, Sombra,” Lord Tirek agreed. “The short version then. When we fought Grogar last time his body was destroyed, and his skull was the only part left of him. We locked the skull in a box and kept it hidden until someone or something stole the box. Now Grogar has been revived and his attacking the people of Tambelon.”
King Sombra’s horn lit up as he levitated a dark blue crystal up to their view. “King Gregory, Tirek, and I installed a protection spell over the kingdom of Tambelon. When one of us sends magical signal to this crystal, a shield forms around Tambelon. No creature who possesses immortality can get in or out of Tambelon. It was meant to contain Grogar so that we could form a plan to defeat him before his tyranny could spread outside Tambelon.”
“So, any mortal ponies and creatures can flee the kingdom,” Duchess Celestia said. “But my niece and my sister are both immortal.”
“Exactly. But I’m going to tweak the spell a bit to allow the two of you to teleport into Tambelon and help Princess Nightmare and her friends,” King Sombra.
“Well cast your spell already! Moony needs me!” Duchess Luna cried impatiently.
“Someone stole Grogar’s skull, so it is likely that he won’t be your only enemy there,” Lord Tirek warned them.
Luna stomped her hoof again. “Bring them on!”
Without another word, King Sombra fired a beam of magic that struck the dark crystal. The crystal made a little ping sound, before he nodded to the alicorn sisters. Luna and Celestia instantly took their cue and vanished in twin flashes of light.
“Moony?! Nightmare Moon!” the sisters called out as they appeared in Tambelon’s castle. “Where are you?”
“Over here.” The sisters blinked in surprise as they turned around to see Princess Nightmare and King Gregory kneeling beside Sunset and Trixie.
“Moony!” Luna cried as she rushed towards her daughter. “It’s okay sweetheart, I’m here!”
Nightmare smiled up at her mother, even as she kept her horn focused on the still whimpering Sunset. “I love you too Loony.”
“What happened?” Celestia asked.
“Grogar caught us by surprise with a fear spell. I saw you burn...burning alive, Loony,” Nightmare whispered, fighting back a shiver. She sighed and her confident smirk returned. “But I am Nightmare Moon. Nobody knows nightmares and dreams better than me.”
“My stupid great-grandfather imprisoned me in a cage,” King Gregory informed the sisters. “I was stuck banging my horns against the bars for several minutes – that felt more like hours – before I finally broke myself out. I was going to break the illusions placed in their minds, but Princess Nightmare beat me to it. You should be proud of your daughter’s willpower, Duchess Luna.”
“Now we’re working on saving…wait, there we go!”
Nightmare and Gregory stood up with smiles on their faces as Sunset and Trixie stopped shuddering with fear and bolted up.
“What happened?” Sunset asked, her face twisted with rage.
“Fear spell. Gregory, how does it look out there?” Nightmare asked.
Gregory’s horns lit up as he pulled back the curtain on a nearby window. Sunset looked out the widow and sighed. “Skeleton army. That’s just great.”
“Great indeed. The Enraged and Apoplectic Trixie has some anger issues she needs to work out.”
A wicked grin spread across Nightmare’s face. “I think we all do.” Her wings opened wide as her horn crackled with lightning. “Friends, family…let us show these fossils what a true nightmare looks like…”
“Why does the world TORMENT me so?! How are you ALL so strong?! You're supposed to be WEAKLINGS!” Grogar screamed angrily.
Merry Weather smirked as Grogar fired another curse at her, only for his magic to bounce off the blue and black shield surrounding her. The shield faded for one second as Merry held up her glowing hoof and blew on it, sending a spiraling beam of blue magic flying towards Grogar. “The world has grown up, Grogar. You haven’t. You may have been a threat to us thousands of years ago, but now you’re nothing but an old fossil. And the rest of the world will know it by the time I’m done with you.”
Merry Weather reared up on her hind legs and conjured two blue fireballs in her front hooves. She flung the fireballs at Grogar and grinned viciously as the necromancer screamed in rage yet again. As Grogar was knocked off his hooves for what felt like the hundredth time to him, Merry Weather calmly walked over to him and glared down at him with amused contempt. “Had enough?”
Grogar coughed a few raspy clouds of dust, his gaze trained on the ground as he growled. “Countless centuries I was imprisoned. A fractured skull was the only thing that remained of my glorious being. Cautionary bedtime stories for little fillies were all that remained of my legacy. When my skull was retrieved, I had thought I had servants. I thought that stories of my greatness had been passed down to worthy and loyal disciples. I remember a creature who hid from the world in a cloak. I could not see her face. But now, I hear your voice.”
He raised his head and glared at Merry Weather. “You were the one in the cloak. You brought before me, the Doctor Do. The pony without fear. You brought the other ponies too...”
Merry Weather’s face twisted with rage. “I did no such thing! Doctor Do was a necessary sacrifice to fulfill my queen’s wishes. Besides that, she had lost her ability to feel fear. If I thought she was suffering, I would have broken her free from your control! As for the other ponies, that was all the stupid changeling's doing.”
“Yes…yes, you are right. It was the shape-shifting insect who brought the other ponies before me. The ponies who cowered with fear as they turned to statues. But you still played a small part in my resurrection. So why do you defy me now?”
Grogar’s voice had turned softer. Merry Weather took notice of this and raised a glowing hoof. “I don’t know what you’re playing at, but I won’t be manipulated by you.”
“No. Someone else holds your leash. Who is it?” Merry Weather didn’t answer him, which only caused Grogar to chuckle. “It doesn’t matter. Luck is obviously not on my side today. On the day I had hoped to crush the ponies beneath my hooves, I awaken to find the world has grown too strong for me. I am surrounded by defiance and disobedience, but this too can be cured. If the world so desperately wants me to fade back into the shadows, I shall do so…”
Grogar raised his hoof and shook the bell attached to his collar. The kingdom of Tambelon shook with tremendous force, as if every building had been hit by the world’s strongest earthquake.
“BUT I SHALL TAKE MY KINGDOM WITH ME!”
“What are you doing, you idiot?!” Merry Weather screeched.
“I shall cast my kingdom into a realm of eternal darkness!” Grogar gloated. “You creatures may fight me as long as you please! A year, a decade, a century! You will do so in a realm more cursed than Tartarus! You will never feel the light or warmth of the sun! You shall never feel joy or love! Your wounds shall never heal and your unborn children shall never live!”
“I’m not pregnant,” Merry Weather pointed out. “Or did you mean mares in general…”
“Don’t interrupt me!” Grogar roared, annoyed beyond reason at somepony cutting off his evil monologuing. “Mock me all you want! Fight me to your last breath! I can never die and you disrespectful creatures shall never live happily! And when your will to resist me is gone, I shall return to finish what I started!”
As the kingdom of Tambelon crumbled into truly irreparable ruin, as the citizens fled from the skeletal Troggles, and as a portal to the dark realm opened above the city, Grogar laughed triumphantly. “AND THE WORLD SHALL TREMBLE BEFORE THE POWER OF GROGAR!”
Merry Weather grit her teeth and grabbed the amulet hanging around her neck. “I have a power of my own!” She closed her eyes and shook the amulet as hard as she could. Bands of black and blue magic spiraled out of her amulet and wrapped around the kingdom, the growing portal, and the undead Troggles. With a blinding flash of light, Grogar screamed in agony as his fur and flesh was peeled off his bones. The undead ram groaned as his skeletal body tumbled onto the ground.
Another shockwave of magic spread throughout Tambelon, and Grogar's evil was undone in the blink of an eye. The Troggle skeletons were buried back underground. The portal to Grogar’s cursed realm vanished. Even the ruined buildings looked a little sturdier, a little newer. The kingdom of Tambelon was no longer doomed.
“Alright you old fossil! Ready for round two?!” Trixie shouted as she came charging towards them.
“No need for that Trixie. He’s not going anywhere,” Merry said.
"Wait, did we miss out on a villain defeat? DANG IT!" Trixie threw up her hooves in frustration.
“What’s going on?” “Who is that?” “Did she do all that? Did she beat Grogar?” “The skeletons and cages are gone. Even my house is fixed. Was that her?”
A huge crowd had begun to fill in around Merry Weather as the donkeys, sheep, cows, dragons, minotaurs, griffons, and other citizens of Tambelon came out of hiding to see the defeated Grogar for themselves. Nightmare, Sunset, Celestia, Luna, and Gregory all caught up with Trixie as they took in the sight of the defeated necromancer.
“Hey, she did it! Grogar’s out for the count!” a middle-aged donkey cheered. The gathered citizens all leapt with joy, sang their praises for Merry, high-fived or high-hooved their friends, hugged and congratulated their loved ones, and shouted suggestions for Grogar’s punishment.
“Woo hoo!” Fluttershy quietly cheered from within the crowd, wanting to celebrate while not drawing too much attention to herself.
“Ha, ha! Outstanding job, lassie!” A red-headed, bipedal cat-like creature cheered as he gave Merry a friendly slap on the back.
Merry hissed and backed away from the cat person. “Don’t touch me!”
“Uh, sorry there, lass. Didn’t mean to startle you.”
Merry ignored the other cheering creatures and turned to the elder alicorns. “Celestia, Luna. Has anypony seen Miss Applejack?”
“I’m afraid not, Merry Weather,” Celestia sighed. “Discord, Smog, Gilda, Chrysalis, Thorax, and Pharynx are unaccounted for too.”
“Don’t worry, though. We’ll find our friends and anyone else who’s missing soon,” Sunset said with a comforting smile.
“We must congratulate you on your success, Merry Weather,” Celestia said.
Merry Weather blushed and smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. “I just did what any good pony would have done, your-”
“Merry Weather, you’re injured!” Luna exclaimed, concern filling her eyes. “What has the vile ram done to your legs?”
Merry Weather pulled back her right front leg to see a glowing crack spreading down from her hoof. Glancing about her body, she spotted similar cracks along her other legs. “It…it’s nothing! I have uh, eczema! My hooves get hurt during bad weather, you see…”
“Merry Weather? Heh. Aha, ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha! Bwa, ha, GRAH HAH HA HA!”
The citizens of Tambelon all stopped cheering as they heard Grogar laughing madly. Already the undead ram king was regenerating his lost skin and fur. Merry glared at the evil ram. “What are you laughing at?!”
“It all makes sense now! I KNEW my kingdom was still inhabited by FOOLS!” Grogar grinned as he shakily rose back on his hooves. “Has nobody figured out your dirty secret?!”
Merry Weather grit her teeth. “Grogar…”
“That’s enough from you, vile corrupter!” Luna shouted.
Grogar's evil grin grew. “Don’t tell me you haven’t figured it out! Merry Weather…”
Merry tensed. “Don’t you say it…”
“M. W…”
“I’m warning you!”
“MEGAN WILLIAMS!”
Grogar’s horn glowed with power as he blasted the cracks growing on Merry’s legs. She screamed out in pain as the cracks rapidly spread to every inch of her being before her body shattered as if it was made of glass.
Shakily standing up in her iron boots, the gathered creatures saw the human Megan for the first time. Light pink skin instead of a peach-pink coat of fur. A pink bow in her long blonde hair but no tail in sight. A blue cloak with a pink heart on the chest was wrapped around her.
“My old foe,” Grogar cackled. “The human who stopped me from conquering Ponyland. This explains so much…”
“No…no…” Megan whispered as she stared at her fingers, slowly clenching them into fists.
“I assume you were able to battle me with that silly Rainbow of Light,” Grogar mused.
“Not even close, you fossil,” Megan growled as she pulled on the amulet around her neck. Black and blue magic circled around the amulet, transforming it into an ominous dark bag.
“The Rainbow of Darkness?!” Grogar exclaimed. “HOW? Your heart isn’t dark enough to wield that!”
“Sure it is. After all…I’m only human,” Megan growled as she pointed the Rainbow of Darkness at Grogar. A dark beam of magic flew out of the bag and struck Grogar’s chest. Within seconds, Grogar’s screams of pain were cut off as his whole body rapidly transformed into stone.
The crowd got so quiet, Fluttershy’s hushed voice was much clearer to make out. “So…is there a garden we can plant his statue, or…or what?”
Megan clenched the Rainbow of Darkness tighter. The crowd gasped as a shockwave of magic shot out of the bag like a cannon and struck the necromancer again, reducing his statue into hundreds of unrecognizable pebbles.
“Good riddance,” Megan growled as she let go of the bag.
“What did you just do?!” a shocked Nightmare asked.
“He may not have been the most powerful villain, but if you knew even half of the evil that despicable monster had done…”
“The very foundation of our kingdom is built on redemption!” the furious Luna shouted. “My daughter and I strive to create on world of friendship and forgiveness! If we kill our enemies, we’re no better than they are!”
“He already broke out of prison, and he’d never be our friend!” Megan snapped back. “I know him better than anypony!”
“No one will shed a tear for my great-grandfather.” King Gregory spoke softly, though every creature could still make out what he was saying. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you just killed another sentient being. And the only other person who ever committed murder in Tambelon is the very being you just destroyed.”
Megan’s gaze softened. “You’re right.” She raised her own hand and glared at it with disgust. “I’m human for less than a minute, and already I’m hurting ponies.” She faced Nightmare, Sunset, and Trixie. “This is why I never trusted your changeling or griffon friends.” She spread her hands out, gesturing at the wide swath of destruction that Grogar’s war had unleashed. “This is what happens when other creatures try to mingle with my ponies. Nothing but violence and sorrow...”
Celestia frowned at Megan. “This is neither the time nor the place to debate over your hatred of non-pony races.”
“Whatever that cursed relic of yours is, you clearly can’t control such dark magic,” King Gregory said. “Princess Nightmare, I’d like you and your friends to relieve Miss Williams of that bag and escort her somewhere we can keep on eye on her.”
“You don’t understand,” Megan mumbled to herself. “…I can make you understand.”
Sunset’s eyes widened. “She’s doing something! Zap her!”
But before anyone could fire off a spell, Megan had torn the bag open, unleashing the full power of the Rainbow of Darkness. A tsunami of black and blue magic came pouring out of the bag, drowning the town square and every creature it under a flood of dark magic.
“Ugh…I’m gonna puke,” Trixie moaned. “No, wait…oh stars, it tastes like I’ve been brushing my teeth with smoke and mud!”
Sunset blearily blinked her eyes several times. “Okay, I think I can see colours again. Everyone okay?”
“Well I’ve got a splitting headache that I plan on sharing with that stupid human,” Nightmare groaned. “Loony? Aunt Celestia?”
“We’re okay, Nightmare,” Celestia said as she helped her sister up. “But it doesn’t look the same can be said for Tambelon.”
They followed Celestia’s gaze to where Megan had been standing. But the crowd of Tambelon citizens that were previously gathered around them had disappeared. What they saw instead sent shivers down their spines.
“Hello new friends!” A smiling unicorn filly with a dark blue coat of fur and crimson eyes, beamed at them. “Do you want to braid each other’s tails? I’ve got matching bows for all new ponies!”
Sunset’s jaw dropped as she examined the blue filly from head to hooves. Particularly the tiny golden bell ringing daintily on her collar and the red ribbons in her gray mane. “No way…King Gregory?!”
The filly scrunched her muzzle in confusion. “King Gregory? No thanks, I don’t want to play an icky king. I wanna play as Princess Giggle Wiggle!”
“What fresh curse is this?” Nightmare asked as she watched a bizarrely coloured crowd of little fillies dancing and playing with each other.
“Not a curse, my little ponies,” Megan said as she brushed her fingers down a giggling filly’s mane. “A blessing from my queen. Everything is as it should be now. And what’s your name, little one?”
“I’m Special Snowflake!” The snow-white earth pony answered, beaming up at the human brushing her mane and tail.
“Mr. Snow Claws? Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear…” Fluttershy mumbled as she ducked behind the crowd of dancing fillies, and out of Megan’s sight.
Several of the ponies bounced up to Megan, cheerfully asking her, “Will you be my friend?” “Will you be our mommy?”
“Of course, I will!” Megan said with a wide smile. She hugged three giggling fillies together and sang. “My little pony, my little pony...you’ll always be in my heart…”
Nightmare bared her fangs at Megan. “You foolish little girl…that’s what this whole thing was about? So you could transform all the citizens of Tambelon into fillies? Brainwashed, subservient, fillies?!”
“Out of the frying pan and into the fire,” Trixie grumbled.
Megan sighed as she put the transformed fillies down. “You couldn’t understand my queen’s true plan. What you’re seeing is just my reward for being a devoted servant.”
“That delusional pride of yours will be your undoing…” Nightmare growled as she took a step forward.
“Easy there, Nightmare,” Sunset held her back with a raised hoof. “We still have our minds intact. That must mean you want something special from us, doesn’t it?” she asked Megan.
Megan traced her fingers along the bag attached to her necklace. “The Rainbow of Darkness can alter the body and mind of any creature I command it to touch. That’s why all the brutish beasts of Tambelon are now sweet, friendship-loving little ponies. But since you five are already ponies, it couldn’t change you. I have to alter the body AND mind at the same time, you see.”
“Enough of your xenophobia!” Nightmare growled, stomping her hoof as storm clouds began to form in the sky. “Change them back!”
Megan glared at her as the little fillies around her started whimpering at the flash of lightning. “You better put a stop to those storm clouds, young lady. Some of these ponies are afraid of thunder.”
“Because you made them!” Nightmare exclaimed, pointing at a red pegasus filly that used to be a tough-as-nails dragoness.
“I can still control your minds by changing you into dragons…” Megan threatened as she grabbed the bag again. Her anger faded however, as she looked down at the concerned fillies around her and the pebbles left over from Grogar’s statue. “But I don’t want to,” sighed, letting go of the bag.
“Instead, I propose a trade.” Megan snapped her fingers and in a flash of blue light, a small group of new fillies appeared and joined the crowd. “Hello, my little ponies. Why don’t you introduce yourselves to our new friends?”
“Hi there!” An oddly unicorn filly with a wild gray mane came bouncing towards them. “I’m Dizzy Daisy! What’s your name?”
Nightmare’s eyes widened. “Discord?”
“Your name’s Discord? That’s a funny name for a pony!” the transformed draconequus giggled.
“I’m Gilded Rosie!” a brown furred pegasus cheered, buzzing her wings as she hovered excitedly above them.
“Um, hi,” a pale green unicorn murmured as she shyly peaked out from her long green mane. “I’m Crystal Lily. Oh, and these are my two baby sisters Tilly and Philly.” She smiled and pointed to the twin green unicorn sisters. The two tiny fillies chirped like a pair of baby birds.
Nightmare’s grimace twisted even further in revulsion. “Do I even want to know what you’ve done to Smog?”
Megan blinked in confusion. “Who?”
“Nobody! He’s nobody!” Sunset lied with a sheepish smile.
Megan smiled again. “Well, I believe that accounts for all your formerly beast-like friends. As you can see, their memories and personalities have been drastically altered.” She raised her hand in a friendly gesture. “However, if you surrender Everfree to me, I can restore most of their identities. They’ll still be ponies of course, but they’ll remember being your friends.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” Nightmare growled. “I take that ridiculous dark rainbow of yours and undo your curse. Then I turn you into a more appropriate creature. Like a cockroach!”
Megan tut-tutted in disappointment. “What did I expect from somepony named Nightmare Moon? Princess or not, hero or not, you’re too dark for my little ponies. You barely count as a pony at all…”
“That’s quite enough!” Celestia shouted. Her horn lit up with power and Megan’s eyes widened as she felt a pull on the bag tied to her necklace. She quickly grabbed it with one hand, keeping it close to her.
“Duchess Celestia, what are you doing?! My queen told me about what my Rainbow of Light did to you!”
“I would rather risk corrupting myself again than allow your evil to continue!” Celestia declared.
“How is this evil?!” Megan demanded as she grabbed the rainbow with both hands. “Ponies are the only people who can be trusted! I brought friendship back to Tambelon! I’ve protected friendship and harmony since before you were born!”
“This is not what friendship or harmony looks like!” Luna shouted as she grabbed the rainbow with her magic too. “By forcing us creatures apart you’ll only doom the world to a cold, unfeeling-”
“You don’t know what cold or unfeeling is! I wasted years of my life as a disgusting human! I won’t let anyone else experience the horrors I saw on Earth!” Megan growled as the Rainbow of Darkness pulsed with power. “Maybe not dragons, but perhaps some cute little breezies…”
“Wait!” Nightmare cried as she stepped between her family and Megan. “What was that deal you were offering? My friends’ freedom in exchange for something?”
Megan smiled with some surprise as she felt the alicorns’ magic let go of her bag. “I’m impressed. Perhaps I was wrong about you Nightie.”
“You don't get to call me that. But yes…” Nightmare smirked at her. “I’m willing to agree to a trade. My friends…in exchange for your crush.”
Nightmare shifted into a cloud of mist and flew off down Tambelon’s streets. Before Megan could ask the ponies where she had gone, Nightmare returned. As she shifted back into pony form, she gently dropped Applejack from her cloud.
“Miss Applejack?!” Megan cried.
“What in tarnation is going on?! Nightmare, there was this army of boney looking critters and now everyone’s turning into ponies! And…what in the hay is a human doing here?”
Megan cringed as Applejack stared at her. She quickly covered her head with the hood of her cloak. “Don’t look at me!”
“Applejack, meet Merry Weather’s true form,” Trixie said, shooting a smirk at Megan.
Applejack blinked in surprise. “That can’t be right…Merry's a mare. How'd...”
“Apparently she hates being a human so much she turned herself into a pony. I’m curious why she hasn’t done that again actually…” Sunset mused.
Megan uncovered her head and looked at the Rainbow of Darkness with a hopeful smile. But a glowing blue crack on her hand flashed warningly before disappearing. She sighed. “Do as your Lady has ordered, Merry.” She turned to Applejack and held out her hand. “Applejack, come with me.”
Applejack looked around at all the little fillies giving her big smiles and shuddered. “No. This ain’t right, Merry Weather.”
“Applejack…please…I love you…” Megan begged as she got on her knees.
“This ain't what love looks like! Yer creeping me out, Merry!” Applejack exclaimed, backing away from her.
“If I could have your attention again, Miss Williams,” Nightmare said as she placed her wing on Applejack’s back. “Restore the minds and bodies of our friends and the people of Tambelon. Set them free…” She flashed her fangs at Megan. “Or you’ll never see Applejack again.”
Megan’s face twisted with rage, she sprung back on her feet as her hands glowed with dark magic. “Nightmare Moon, I’m warning you…”
But Nightmare didn’t let her finish. Transforming into a huge, swirling cloud of mist, she scooped up Applejack, Luna, Celestia, Sunset and Trixie in her magic and flew away over the crowd of fillies.
“Stop them!” Megan screamed, pointing in the direction the mist flew off to as she ordered her enslaved ponies.
“Yay! Hide and go seek tag!” the happy fillies cheered. “I’m gonna wink my way over to them!” One unicorn filly declared before she teleported away.
“Bring them to the cathedral when you find them,” Megan ordered. “Don’t let them escape!” As the crowd of ponies went chasing after Nightmare and her friends, Megan snapped her fingers and teleported away.
The cloud of mist flew faster and faster, nearing the city limits of Tambelon. But just as they were crossing the border, a wall of magic sprung up and knocked Nightmare out of the sky. She was forced back into her alicorn body and sent stumbling along the ground as she dropped her friends and family.
“Ow, ow, ow!” they all cried as they hit the hard ground. Trixie was the first to leap up and scream insults at the forcefield. “Ponyfeathers! Fish paste! Rotten apples! Feathered ram on a monkey sandwich! Dumb wall!”
Sunset hurried over to her friend and placed her front hooves on the showmare gently. “Whoa, whoa Trixie! Breathe!”
“Sorry…sorry…” Trixie sighed as she took a few calming breaths. “Lost my mind for a second there. It’s just been one of those days…”
“I don’t approve of the vocabulary you choose, but I agree. This day has been difficult,” Celestia sighed.
“Creative insults, at least,” Luna said. She tapped the magic barrier and frowned. “Us alicorns may be trapped in here but if you brave mares can get a message to King Sombra, he can lower the barrier.”
“An’ while we're galloping all the way to the Crystal Empire, what are y’all gonna do trapped here?” Applejack asked.
“We’ll stop Miss Williams from leaving Tambelon and brainwashing anybody else,” Nightmare declared firmly.
“Ah can’t ask y’all ta do that by yerselves, princesses or not,” Applejack argued. “Merry Weather or Megan Williams, Ah just fired the girl. Ah can’t help but feel at least partly responsible for the rampage she’s a-wrecking.”
“We'll just be hiding somewhere until you get back. I don't like this plan either but I also don’t want to find out too late about any extra surprises the Rainbow of Darkness might have. Without Discord, we can’t just have him snap his fingers and summon the Elements of Redemption onto our necks. We need you to go to the Crystal Empire’s vault and retrieve them.” Nightmare groaned. "If Smog was here, I could get him to send a letter, but since he's-”
Trixie beamed as she looked over Nightmare's shoulder. "Oh Trixie could kiss that drake! Finally, some good luck!"
“Nightmare? There you guys are!” The group turned around to see Fluttershy flying towards them and Smog huffing and puffing as he ran towards them.
“Smog! You’re okay!” Nightmare rushed over to him and scooped up her best friend in a tight hug, while Applejack hugged Fluttershy.
“But we saw you vanish with the others! How did you escape?” Trixie exclaimed.
“I'll tell you this much, Merry has only gotten crazier since I first met her,” Smog said. “I couldn’t stop her from changing our friends but for some reason she let me go with just a colour change.” He pointed to his scales, which had turned from red and yellow to green and purple.
“It seems like she’s still confusing you for the great dragon Spike,” Trixie said.
“Well tell her I’m flattered, but still creeped out,” Smog sighed. “After she let me go with a cryptic warning, I snuck away from the creepy fillies our friends turned into and tried looking for you. Fluttershy was trying to escape too when we bumped into each other and she brought me up to speed on Grogar kicking the bucket and Merry being Megan. We hurried out to the edge of Tambelon, since I knew you’d try to let Sombra know what’s happening AND I knew the shield was still up.”
Smog took a quick breath after his recap and held up a pen and piece of paper he’d been carrying in his claw. “Flutters and I’ve written down everything we remember. Add anything you can think of, then I’ll hop over the shield and send it. Quickly please, before some other ancient evil wakes up.”
Nightmare grabbed the pen from him and quickly completed the summary of what had happened in her letter to the king. “The way our luck is going today, you might have just jinxed us.”
Smog facepalmed. “Dang it, you’re right.” Once Nightmare had finished the letter, he quickly jumped through the shield and with a flash of fire, sent the message straight to the Crystal Empire.
King Sombra frowned at the letter that had appeared to him in a puff of smoke. “If it’s not one thing it’s another,” he grumbled. He left the letter on the floor and walked towards the crystal controlling Tambelon’s shield.
Lord Tirek reached down to pick up the letter and read it. “Megan Williams? Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in years…”
“I'll bring down the barrier and send the Elements of Redemption to Princess Nightmare. And if Megan has any tricks up her sleeve, I know I can rely on your expertise to help us stop her.” King Sombra sighed. “That’s not what truly concerns me.”
“Something concerns you more than Grogar? More than a human leading a brainwashed filly army?” Tirek asked. He looked at the letter again and nodded in understanding. “Ah, I see. This mysterious queen that Miss Williams keeps mentioning.”
“I hate not knowing who my enemy is.” King Sombra dragged his hoof down his face. “Just who are we dealing with this time?”
In the kingdom of Tambelon, only one building could hope to compete for the castle’s title of ‘Building with the Largest Bell’. Megan Williams sat, kneeling in front of the fireplace in the main hall of the Tambelon cathedral.
Her hood was lowered, her head was bowed, her eyes were shining with tears, and her hands were clasped in prayer.
“I confess to my queen almighty. To the creators of all things. To the blessed alicorns. To the holy ponies, to all the saints.”
She looked up at the white flag she had hung above the fireplace and sang:
“My high queen, my Lady
You know I am a righteous mare
Of my friendships I am justly proud.”
She stood up and walked closer to the fire.
“My high queen, my Lady
You know I’m so much purer than
The human, vulgar, weak, aggressive crowds.”
She held up her fists in disgust.
“Then tell me, my Lady
Why I see fingers dancing here?
And why her emerald eyes still scorch my soul?”
She gazed into the fire as an image of Applejack emerged, smiling at her and biting into a juicy apple.
“I feel her, I see her!
The sun caught in her golden mane
Is blazing in me out of my control!”
She turned away from the fire and clutched her chest.
“Like fire! Dark fire!
This fire in my heart
This burning desire
Is tearing me A…PART!”
She gasped as she felt a gigantic shadow fall over her. She turned around and got on her knees, begging to the giant creature.
“It’s not my fault!
I’m not to blame
It is my humanity that infects my brain!”
Please, it’s not my fault!
If in your plan
You made a pony so much better than a man!”
She stood back up and held her hands high in reverence.
“Protect me, my Lady
Don’t let my anger distract my goal
Don’t let my weakness destroy my pony soul!”
She clenched her fists and hissed.
“Destroy the non-believers
And let them taste the fires of Tartarus!
And let Applejack be mine and mine alone!”
Megan stopped singing as Crystal Lily ran up to her. “Mommy, mommy! We can’t find them anywhere!”
“They’ve left Tambelon?! But how, I…” She paused and smiled at the former changeling’s concern. “Oh, it’s okay sweetie. Mommy isn’t mad at you. Just get back out there and keep looking, honey.”
Crystal Lily gave Megan a quick hug before she skipped off to follow her orders. Megan stood back up and sighed. “I have seen the Lady’s plan and it is good. I can’t let anything slow us down.” She turned to the fire once more and sang:
“Dark fire, night fire
Now Nightmare, it’s your turn
Choose me or your pyre
Be mine or you will burn!”
She cast a blue fireball into the fireplace and watched the sparks clash against each other. She turned once more to the white flag and the symbol that was stitched onto it: An inkwell with a quill.
“Faust have mercy on them. Faust have mercy on us all…”
To be continued...