Future lliances, and threats
The grounds in front of Canterlot Castle were eerily quiet. The streets were strewn with rubble and pockmarked with craters. The royal sisters gave silent thanks that the Guard and the citizens had heeded their warnings to stay out of the way. The fighting was over. It was now time to clean up.
The first order of business was treating the wounded. A green bubble outlined the stasis field that kept the defeated alicorns from causing or taking any more damage. Those outside the bubble were not so fortunate. The royal sisters had their magic blocked. Batmare would be sore for weeks. Canary had a necklace of bruises on top of her other injuries. Arrow, however, was the worst of the lot. The carpet of bruises that covered his body was the least of the injuries that he had sustained.
Sweetie Borg sighed as she turned off her scanner. "Dash, you're 100% healthy, even after that beating. It looks like most of us weren't that lucky. Princesses, I don't have any idea what's wrong with you, but the scanner says you're 100% healthy, too." Gesturing to the vigilantes, Sweetie continued. "The rest of us are going to need a doctor."
Celestia said, "Why, nephew? Why did you keep goading our parents?"
Arrow shrugged from underneath the ice packs on his head. "Someone had to keep them off-balance. Look at my teammates, though. Canary and Dash are crucial to Equestria. The others are children. I'm the expendable one."
"Stop talking like that," said Celestia. "I've forgiven you many times over. I need you. Equestria needs you."
"You would not believe how much your words mean to me." He grimaced as he tried to move. "I will need to take break for a while, though."
"My personal physician will take care of you. I insist."
Luna smiled. "Now that we've settled that, what are we to do about our parents? We can't just leave them here."
Celestia sighed. "I agree. They just don't fit here. We'll have to send them back to the Nowhere, where they came from."
"You can't just give up on them," said Batmare. "There has to be something we can do."
Celestia shook her head sadly. "They're not going to change their ways. This is what they know. This is what they want. How in harmony's name could they stay here?"
Marevel asked, "What is harmony?"
Luna replied, "You should know the answer to that. It's everything and everyone fitting in together. Equestria has no place for conquerors."
Batmare exclaimed, "That's it! Maybe there's a place that needs conquerors!"
"Not on this planet," replied Celestia.
Lantern replied, "I know some people who might have an answer. Can you keep them out of trouble?
Marevel and Sweetie Borg looked at each other before nodding to Lantern. The dragon created a warp gate with his ring and flew through. The gate collapsed as soon as he passed.
The Royal Guard had established a defensive perimeter around the princesses and their guests. Cloud cushions and blankets and been procured for the defeated alicorns, who showed no signs of waking soon. A putrid smell came from within the perimeter. As the Guard turned to investigate, they found themselves outside a dome that now encapsulated their rulers. To their horror, a pack of twelve monstrous Timberwolves was inside the dome, along with a dark brown alicorn stallion with mane, beard, and tail that seemed to be made of moss.
“Brother!” Luna gasped.
“Are you coming to kill us now that we're helpless?” asked Celestia.
The Forest Thing replied with a glare at his sisters. A pulse of light from his horn washed over his sisters. The pair blinked. The pins and needles sensation from their horns was gone. They could use their magic again.
Forest Thing said, "Satisfied?"
Narrowing her eyes, Celestia said, "We know you're not here out of the goodness of your heart."
"That is true. I wanted to make sure my plan to defeat our parents worked. I forced your heroes to learn to work as a team before our parents appeared; they didn't stand a chance against those two if they acted alone. I was going to finish the two off if they failed."
"Now what?" asked Celestia.
The generals opened their eyes slightly, watching as their son displayed a hoof-sized crystal. Forest Thing said, "It's time to put them back. They deserve the Nowhere."
"Do you really think they deserve that?" asked Batmare. "They're your parents; they love you every bit as much as they love your sisters."
"Why should I believe the words of a murderer?"
"If you will not listen to my knight," said Luna, "put yourself in their situation. What would you do if you thought you were wrongly imprisoned? What would you do to see the ones you love?"
“I am no pony’s pawn,” said Forest Thing coldly.
“You really need help even more than they do,” said Celestia with a frown.
"I don't need help from any pony," said Forest Thing. "Do this, and we'll never have to see each other again."
Shakily, the generals rose to their hooves. Sweetie Borg and Alicorn Marevel stood ready to respond at the slightest hint of an attack.
Dark Moon said, "So it has come to this? What is wrong with you, son? We gave you everything you deserved."
"You treated me like a tool, a toy. I will hate you for the rest of my days."
White Nightmare asked, "What about you, my daughters? Do you really want to send us away?"
Celestia shook her head. "We finally have a chance to be a family." She looked her parents in the eye. "But I'm responsible for Equestria. I cannot put my subjects at risk for the sake of my happiness, even if it means never seeing you again."
Dark Moon said, "We could have rebuilt our empire! The world would have been ours to rule with an iron hoof!"
Marevel asked, "Why?"
Dark Moon snorted, "You're too soft! Do you not know the joy of crushing an enemy? Do you not revel in the thrill of combat?"
Marevel asked, "And what happens when there are no more enemies?"
White Nightmare sneered. "There are always enemies. We want what is best for our families. We want what is best for ponykind."
Sweetie Borg said, "You didn't answer her question. Can't you see that your daughters already have everything you wanted for them? They rule the ponies. They stopped the wars. Their subjects respect them. All they want from you is to fit into the world they have made."
Coldly, White Nightmare said, "This is no world for us; our children obviously don't care about us."
"That's where you're wrong," said Celestia. "Times change. We have to change with them or be destroyed. Mother, Father, please, can't you live in peace with us?"
"Never!" said the generals.
Batmare asked, "Is that what you two really want? Do you really want to lose all of your children? Your daughters are trying to give you a chance!"
White Nightmare said, "We could never live like that."
Forest Thing snarled, "Enough! Let's lock them away for good!"
A warp gate opened outside the bubble. Two Green Lanterns flew out, one human and one draconic. The Guard stepped back at the shorter one's request, and the pair dispelled the bubble. The draconic Lantern pointed to the generals. "Those are the two I was talking about."
The taller Lantern said, "White Nightmare, Dark Moon, I am Hal Jordan." Pointing at the shorter Lantern, he continued, "My friend Spike told me what you've been doing, and the Green Lantern Corps stands ready to back his decision. Because you have proven yourselves to be a menace to this planet, I am authorized to transport you to Oa where you will serve a life sentence in a sciencell. At Spike's request, the Guardians of the Universe have agreed to an alternate sentence. There is a planet in my sector that has been locked in war for centuries; they are on the verge of fighting themselves and their planet into oblivion. Stopping them would require more resources than the Guardians are willing to commit. The right people should be able to stop the fighting and lead both sides to prosperity. It'll be hard. It'll be ugly. It'll be messy. What will it be? Do you want to spend the rest of your lives locked away, safe in a cell? Or do you want to risk life and limb in a war zone, on your own?"
White Nightmare and Dark Moon nodded.
Dark Moon said, "We live for combat; peace would be the death of us."
White Nightmare added, "Our children want to be rid of us."
Luna said, "If you could change your ways, you'd be welcomed to stay."
Celestia added, "Don't let this be goodbye." She levitated over a jewel from her peytral. Luna did the same. "With these, you will always be able to talk with us, and we will always be able to talk with you."
The generals looked at each other before reluctantly accepting the gifts. "Your softness will lead to your ruin. Mark our words, you'll be begging for our help when thing go wrong."
Jordan encapsulated the generals in a stasis pod. He turned to Dash. "Hey, Barry says 'hi'."
Dash raised an eyebrow. "What? You know Barry?"
“Are you kidding? We formed a team together. Here, he sent you this.” He gave Dash a picture of the founding Justice League members.
"Cool!" Dash smiled. "Can you give us a minute?"
Hal nodded. Dash returned with a befuddled Photo Finish, who took a picture of the Equestrian heroes. After whisking the photographer back, Dash gave Jordan a copy of the picture.
“Here, show him I have an awesome team as well!”
“I will! See you later!” With that, the human Green Lantern created a warp gate and flew through with the two lost generals.
Once the gate collapsed, Forest Thing turned his back on his sisters and the Equestrian Justice League.
"Where are you going, brother?" asked Celestia.
“Back to my forest. I've had more than enough of ponies for a lifetime.”
The white alicorn sighed, exasperated. “Do you realize you’re one of us, right?”
“Yes, but that’s why I identify myself as a ‘thing’ instead of a pony.” explained the forest alicorn. “Stay away of my forest, and I'll stay away from you. Period.”
“Wait!” called Batmare.
“What?” asked Forest Thing angrily.
She approached to the matriarch of the Tmberwolf pack and bowed to her.
“I’m terribly sorry for what I did. I never would have killed them if I had known they were someone's children.”
Forest Thing glared at her. He raised his hoof, but a soft howl from his adoptive mother prevented him from acting further.
“You’re lucky she accepted your apologies. If it was for me, I would kill you here and now, a life for a life. Now stay away from me, if you know what is good for you.”
As the forest alicorn began his teleport, Batmare said, "And I would have deserved it."
“Seriously, what’s wrong with him?” asked Marevel.
“Leave him.” Sweetie Borg shrugged. “You heard him. He won’t bother us if we don’t bother him.”
"I guess all that's left now is to clean up this mess," said Celestia.
The others agreed. It was finally over.
Everfree Forest, two hours later:
The crack of displaced air announced the arrival of two unicorns. Any serious scholar of Equestrian history would have been giddy in their presence; they were living legends, Star Swirl the Bearded and Stygian.
The pair appeared in a clearing. The younger unicorn said, "According to the dragon, this is the only place in the Everfree he hasn't visited that has residual ring energy."
Star Swirl snorted. "I doubt that dragon's magic is good for anything."
"Is not magic, though."
"Yeah, right."
Stygian sighed, and casted a scanning spell. Slowly, he turned in a circle. He turned back until he faced the direction that the signal was the strongest. Pointing at the mouth of a cave off in the distance, he said, "I guess it's over there."
Star Swirl followed as Stygian walked into the cave. The two gave a gasp at the pale husk of a dragon lying on the floor. Stygian placed an ear on the dragon's chest. Garble was alive, but barely.
As Stygian stood, he levitated a crystal over to Star Swirl. "Remind me why I can't be the one transferring some life force to him," said Stygian. "You don't have as much to spare."
"That's exactly the point. You have your whole life ahead of you; I'm nearing the end of mine. I've already had a full life. I have less to lose if something goes wrong."
"It's my spell. I should be the one taking the risk."
Shaking his head Star Swirl replied, "We already talked about this. Besides, you should have the honor of being the first caster.
Stygian acquiesced and began casting. With a soft glow, a trickle of life force went from Star Swirl, through the crystal, and into Garble. Slowly, color began to return to the dragon. Suddenly, there was a sharp crack. Stygian yelped as a massive stalactite parted his tail, breaking this concentration. A surge of energy flew from Stygian's horn, striking the crystal. Star Swirl screamed as his body faded away, seemingly drawn into the crystal. A massive burst of energy struck Garble.
Prying his tail free, Stygian vainly attempted to reverse the spell, but instead of drawing Star Swirl back, the crystal exploded.
Coughing, Stygian gasped, "Star Swirl!"
Garble stumbled to his feet. Turning to Stygian, he gasped, "Help me!"
Stygian froze in shock. The voice was his friend’s.
“Star Swirl?”
The dragon shook his head as he shouted. “GET OUT OF MY HEAD, YOU PONY!”
He extended his wings and flew away, generating a light show as he ascended.
On the floor, Stygian could only watch him leaving, voicing the first thing that came to his mind:
“Magic Storm.”
Streets of Trottenaghe:
Trixie felt neither great nor powerful. The show had to go on, regardless of how she felt. The roar of the crowds was still there as she went through her routine, but what joy there was to be had in performing was gone.
She felt hollow. A huge part of her life had been torn away. She still shivered when she thought about Starlight's funeral. It had been a closed casket affair, but she had peeked, despite the warnings. That image haunted her dreams. The worst part of all was that even if she had been there, she could have done nothing to help.
Starlight had been a villain who reformed, becoming a hero of Equestria. More importantly, she been a best friend to a vagabond showmare, to a unicorn who, before, had no friends. Trixie had changed her show to make sure that nopony forgot that. That's what friends did for each other.
Starlight had been one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria, rivalling even Twilight Sparkle, prior to Twilight's ascension. Still, that had not been enough to save her life. Trixie might not be as powerful, but she would be damned if she did not do everything she could to improve and expand her magic. To do any less would be to dishonor Starlight's memory.
Lounging inside her cart, Trixie looked at the photo that stood behind a lit votive candle. "I wish I could show you everything I've learned since you've left." More quietly, she said, "I wish you weren't taken away."
A gentle tapping drew her attention. Trixie said, "The Humble and Apologetic Trixie is in mourning. She apologizes for not coming to the door."
A thump came from her doorstep, followed by silence. This had been a new routine since the funeral. Somehow, somepony had gotten wind of her quest for self-improvement, and it seemed that at each stop, somepony would deliver a grimoire to her. She had given up on trying to identify the mystery benefactor, although she suspected that somepony purple had a hoof in this.
Opening the door, she found the expected paper-wrapped bundle on the doorstep. With her telekinesis, the brought it in and closed the door.
Unwrapping the package, Trixie found that it contained an ancient tome. Reverently, she began to read. She rubbed her eyes and read again before exclaiming, "What sort of nonsense is this? Magic by saying things backward."
Embarrassed, she looked around. Nopony had heard her outburst. She said, "What's the worst that could happen? A wen tiftuo rof exirt!"
Anxiously, she trotted over to her mirror. In place of her wizard's hat and cape, she now in a red and black harlequin's costume, complete with sleigh bells on the hat. The mare face-hooved and said, "A wen snaicigam tiftuo rof exirt." Looking again in the mirror, she found that the was now clad in a white ruffled shirt with a white bow tie and a sapphire blue vest. A black tailcoat, top hat and fishnet stockings completed her outfit.
"Unbelievable! What else can Trixie do?"
Looking about her cart, she found a promising target. "Mraw rennid."
A tower of fire erupted on the tiny table.
"Wait! Wait! Wait! ERIF FFO!"
The flames vanished, revealing that her hayburger and fries were now very well done.
A smile came to Trixie's lips. "Needs work, but I think I like this new kind of magic."
Temple in the middle of nowhere:
The adventurer wrinkled her nose as she stifled another sneeze. The books never mentioned the nasty parts about being an adventurer, like the choking dust that colored her hair, fur, and clothing a uniform shade of tan. Thankfully, there was sufficient ventilation to keep the torches that lined the hallway to the altar lit. With the torch she held under a wing, Daring Do lit the lamp near the doorway. In a chain reaction, the other lamps lit in sequence, illuminating the prize.
In the middle of the room was a pedestal. Resting on the top was a hoof-sized golden statue of an alicorn with what appeared to be a severe case of cutie pox.
Daring pulled a notebook from her pocket and rested on the floor. Opening it to a bookmarked page, she said, "This has got to be the strangest inscription: 'Cursed be she who spares these bones; blessed be she who shatters stones.' What in Tartarus does this have to do with the idol?"
The pegasus cocked her head as she examined the idol from all angles. "Let's see. If we assume it's solid gold . . ." Holding a small pouch open with one forehoof, she scooped sand into it with another. She hefted the bag in her mouth, eyeing the idol again. Frowning, she scooped a bit more sand into the bag and hefted it again. Gingerly, she held the bag in one forehoof and moved the other to snatch the idol. She stopped just before her hoof touched.
Dropping the bag, she said, "Aw, forget it!" From her pouch, she removed a foil tube and bit off its cap. Using her mouth, she squeezed its contents around the base of the pedestal. She repeated the process with a second tube. In a matter of seconds, the pastes combined, foaming to seal every crack before drying, hard as granite. Daring grabbed the idol and stuffed it into her bag. The pedestal wasn't going anywhere.
The pegasus turned to the sound of one person clapping. It was the centaur-cat Ahuizotl. Behind him, blocking the doorway, were his henchcats. Ahuizotl said, "Thank you for doing all the dirty work, Daring Do. I'll be taking the idol now."
The pegasus snorted, "Just like a stallion, always waiting for some mare to do the real work for him. What next? Are you going to promise to use protection?"
Ahuizotl gestured toward his henchcats. "These are all the protection I need."
A small white kitten stepped between the two antagonists, hissing and spitting at Daring.
The adventurer groaned. "It figures you'd need a little pussy."
"Come now. Hand it over, and I'll let you go in more or less one piece."
Daring beckoned him with a forehoof. "Come and get it."
Ahuizotl roared as he charged Daring. The mare somersaulted onto her back, under the charge and bucked up, hard. With a strangled scream, the Ahuizotl went flying, right onto the altar. The pedestal snapped off under the force of the blow as he slid down the altar, onto the floor.
"Huh," quipped Daring, "I thought cats were always supposed to land on their feet."
The henchcats surrounded Daring, ready to pounce. Suddenly, a howl came from the altar, along with a green glow that filled the room. The cats retreated with their tails between their legs.
Weakly, Ahuizotl said, "Come back, you cowards! Take me with you!" Turning his attention to the adventurer, he watched in horror as her eyes took on a green tinge. A wickedly sharp, unicorn's horn sprouted from her forehead as her clothing melted away. Now, all she wore was a tiara with a star-shaped design in front and a magenta gem necklace with a matching design as its pendant. Sheer menace radiated from her gaze and from the multitude of cutie marks that now covered her fur.
“Daring Do?” asked Ahuizotl.
The mare shook her head. “Daring Do? You must be confused, young one. I am the Sorceress . . . FREE AT LAST, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
Three weeks later, Manehattan:
In the wee hours of the morning, anypony would have been forgiven for thinking that this cheese factory was closed. No business would turn all the lights off at night, just to instill doubt in the minds of would-be burglars. Inside, however, a special transaction was taking place.
In a catwalk over the custom mixing vat, the factory's owner said, "I really wish you'd license that recipe to me, Cheese."
Equestria's second-leading party pony said, "No can do, Cheddam. My super-secret nacho sauce is one of the things that make my parties extra special."
Cheddam sighed. "My wife would kill me if she knew Cheese Sandwich's signature nacho sauce was made in my factory."
"Come on, I let you take home a few liters from each batch. I mean, I come the same time each month. Isn't that enough?"
A rough voice drew the pair's attention. "Hey, Swifty! I thought you said there'd be no witnesses to us blowing the wall to the bank!"
A large unicorn teleported onto the catwalk. "There won't be."
As the thug charged his horn, a bat-shaped figure dropped from the ceiling and landed onto the catwalk. A batarang struck his horn and detonated, rendering him unconscious.
The remaining thugs blasted away at the catwalk. Cheese Sandwich guided Cheddam as the two dodged the attacks as if they knew where each blast would hit. In the meantime, Batmare whittled away at the thugs with her batarangs. A simultaneous attack caught her blind side as she blocked from the other, bowling her into Cheese Sandwich and knocking him off the catwalk. He landed in the vat with a huge splash. A trail of bubbles marked his descent.
As batarangs subdued the remaining would-be robbers, Cheddam shouted, "Cheese! No!" He slammed on the emergency shutoff and drain button.
Batmare dove in after the hapless party pony, using her ascender rig to slow her descent. Reloading her ascender, she then attached the cable to the lip of vat and pulled the party pony out with her.
As the emergency shower washed away the sauce, the reason for the warning labels became obvious. The party pony's fur had somehow been bleached white, while his mane had changed from brown to a venomous green.
Batmare checked his vital signs. The stallion was alive, but just barely. The vigilante touched her earpiece and said, "Doc, get an ambulance to my location, now!"
In the hours before dawn, the dark knight spoke to the commissioner from the shadows. She said, "That should take care of those bank robbers. What about Cheese Sandwich?"
The commissioner replied, "We don't know. He broke out of the ambulance before it reached the hospital."
Meanwhile, in a side street between the factory and the hospital, a maniacal laugh filled the air as Cheese Sandwich saw his reflection in the grimy window. His face was forever frozen in a nightmarish grin. He said, "You ruined my life, Batsy. I think I'll return the favor." The laugh that followed promised madness and mayhem.