The sun had just barely begun to peek over the horizon as Sol, Twilight, Pinkie, Spike, and Rarity gathered by the Crystal Heart to see each other off. While Spike and Rarity were still a little groggy from waking up from their sleep for their early departure, Sol and Twilight were tired for the complete opposite reason.
Rather than getting any sleep the previous night, they had to instead pull an all-nighter trying to get the new amulets to function properly. Though they were able to get the teleportation runes down well enough and alter them to how they wanted, it was the vocal communication part that had taken up their night trying to figure out. Granted, the two did manage to finally figure it out in the end, but by the time they had finished carving the runes, the first rays of the sun's daylight were just starting to show over the horizon. But, while Twilight was no stranger to pulling a all-nighter like this, Sol was not used to it and found himself having to rely on Twilight to help keep him from falling over in exhaustion.
Looking around and seeing that everyone who was leaving was accounted for, Twilight levitated the amulets out of her saddlebag and passed them around to Spike, Rarity, and Pinkie.
"Okay, Pinkie, since you've never used one of the before, I'll go ahead and give you a quick tutorial of how to use-"
"It's okay, Twilight. I already know how to work them," Pinkie said with a smile as her mane lashed out and snagged the amulet from Twilight's telekinetic hold.
"But how?" Twilight questioned. "We never told you how to use one before."
Because I read the story like five times over. I've had plenty of time to do that while waiting for this moment. "Pinkie Sense."
"... okay?" Deciding to just go with it, Twilight distributed the remaining two amulets to Spike and Rarity. "In that case, that will make explaining things here that much quicker. Now, as you've probably noticed, these amulets are a little bigger than the ones you used last time. If you'll notice, the function and setting of the teleportation runes are the same as the last ones. Apart from the size of the amulets, the only other difference is the outer layer of runes, which is what will allow for us to communicate between each other. And it's really easy to use. Just put the amulet up to your ear and speak the name of whomever you're wanting to talk to. As for the one receiving the call, the amulet will light up with the cutie mark of whoever's calling, or in Spikes case, an image of his head similar to the one from when he was summoned by the Cutie Map. And lastly, in order to answer the call, you will have to speak the word 'answer' to the amulet and hold it to your ear."
"You mean we'll have to hold it against our ear the whole time we're talking?" Rarity asked.
"Yes, but it shouldn't be a problem for any of us. Spike's got his claws, we've got our magic, and Pinkie... well, we've seen what she can do with her mane, so she'll be fine."
"... hey, where is Pinkie anyway?" Spike wondered, looking around and noticing a lack of a pink pony. But while they didn't see Pinkie, Rarity's eyes did spot something that wasn't there before.
"Spike, dear, what is that you have in your claw?"
Looking down in his claw, Spike saw that he was somehow holding what appeared to be a letter with Pinkie's cutie mark stamped on the front of it.
"Looks like a letter from Pinkie," he replied, still confused on how Pinkie had managed to slip it in his claw without him or anypony noticing her do it.
Unfolding the letter, Spike held it open in his claws and read it for the others to hear.
Dear friends,
Things were starting to drag on, so I went on ahead to see Prince Rutherford and the yaks.
See you all at the big battle.
Love, Pinkie Pie.
"Guess that answers that," Spike muttered. "But as random as she can be at times, Pinkie does have a point. We should really get going."
"... yeah... I suppose you should." Twilight's eyes shifted with a clear look of worry between Rarity and Spike before she walked up to them and hugged them both with her forelegs, which they both eagerly reciprocated. "You two be careful out there, okay?"
"We will. Right, Rarity?"
"Of course we will, darling."
As the three had their moment, Sol, doing his best to stay awake to see his friends off, reached into his saddlebag. After a big of rummaging, he found what he was looking for and pulled out a sealed scroll.
"Before you go," Sol interrupted, "could you two do something for me?"
Breaking his hug from Rarity and Twilight, Spike walked over to meet Sol halfway.
"Sure. Whatcha need, Sol?"
Sol held out the scroll to Spike. "When you and Rarity get to the Dragon Lands, could you give this to Torch?"
Spike looked inquisitively at the scroll as he took it. "Sure, but what is it?"
"A letter."
"Well, obviously, but what's written inside it?"
Sol lit out a tired sigh. "Please, Spike, just give him this scroll."
"Alright, alright. I'll give it to him, and if we can't, then Ember probably could."
"That'll work fine, too. Just as long as he gets it in the end." With a tired smile, Sol lifted a fist up to Spike. "You two take care."
Seeing what Sol was after, Spike grinned and fist-bumped Sol. "You too, Sol. See you at the battle."
"No, actually, you won't."
"Huh? But-"
"I'll be fighting in a different area from where you will be, so if we do meet, it won't be until after we've beaten Tirek and Chrysalis, and retaken our home." Sol's tired frown formed into a small smirk. "And just in case you were thinking about sating your curiosity about that letter, I'll tell you now that you shouldn't bother trying reading it. I've written it in old draconic, and from my understandings, it's practically a dead language in this age, so the only ones who can actually read it are myself, mother, Aunt Luna, and Torch... and maybe Discord."
"... doesn't that seem like a bit much? I mean, some may even go as far to say that this could be borderline paranoid."
"Probably, but this is important, and I'd rather not take any chances. If Chrysalis' changelings somehow got ahold of it, then it could ruin everything."
Understanding where he was coming from, Spike nodded and went back to Rarity with scroll in claw.
"Alright. You ready?" Spike asked her.
"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess," Rarity said with a sigh. "Ooh. I wish I had my manecare kit with me. It's bad enough living down there without it, but the Dragon Lands have always been just dreadful for my mane."
"Don't worry, Rarity. Once this is all over and done with, I'll schedule an appointment at the Ponyville Spa."
Waving goodbye to Sol and Twilight one more time, Spike and Rarity took hold of their respective amulets and, hoof in claw, the two disappeared in a brief flash of light, leaving Sol and Twilight staring at the spot they had just left.
"I hope they'll be okay," Twilight said hopefully.
"They will," Sol assured. "After all, they'll have Ember and her dragons, and Thorax and his changelings to help keep an eye on them."
"You forgot Prince Rutherford and his yaks."
"I did?" Sol asked, rubbing his tired eyes. "Huh. I suppose I did. Though, to be fair, I've never met the yaks, so I'm unfamiliar with their prowess."
Wanting to get him back to bed before he fell asleep standing or collapsed, Twilight wrapped a wing over his back and began to help guide him back to the portal to the Underkingdom.
"In that case, let me assure you that while the yaks are stubborn and have a tendency to be destructive and smash a lot of things, they are also a resilient and trustworthy race. They will be a great ally to have at our side when we go to retake Equestria."
Up in the mountains, far to the north of the Crystal Empire, was Yakyakistan, the home village of the burly yaks. There, yaks spent their time growing their crops, listening to music in their music hut, gathering to tell stories around the firepit at the center of their village, or best of all, smashing. It was there in this village, that a lone brownish-orange yak, wearing a dark crown upon his head and gold rings on his horns and ears, sat on the throne in his hut with a bored look on his face. It wasn't that he found the music or smashing to have lost its novelty, it's just that he needed something a little different... but preferably something that still involved smashing.
"And I have just the thing for that!"
The yak's eyes, hidden beneath his long hair, widened in surprise at the voice. With a hoof, he moved aside the hairy curtain to see Pinkie standing before him in a baby-blue winter coat and hat.
"Ah, Pink Pony!" the prince joyfully bellowed. "It is good to see you again."
"It's great to see you too, Prince Rutherford," Pinkie returned with a smile, happy to see her yak friend after so long.
Rutherford stepped down from his throne. "So, what brings Pink Pony to Yakyakistan? If you here for Yikslurberfest, then you few months too early."
The joy of seeing her friend fell into an expression that was concerning to the prince.
"I know, but I'm not here for that," Pinkie began, her normally bubbly tone replaced with one of seriousness. "Did you hear about what happened to Equestria?"
"No. Yaks heard nothing. Why? Something happen?"
"A lot has happened, but to give you the abridged version, Equestria has been taken over by an evil centaur, and a nasty queen and her army, and everypony who could make it out is now living in a super secret kingdom hidden deep beneath Equestria that's connected to the Crystal Empire by a huge magical portal, and we need help to get it back."
Rutherford blinked at Pinkie. "... so Pink Pony's country has been taken over?"
"Yes."
"And she and other ponies now live underground?"
"Yes!"
"And Pink Pony needs yak's help to get her home back?"
"YES!"
Slowly, a smile formed on the princes' lips before he burst into laughter, which in turn caused Pinkie to stare at him incredulously for his reaction to her plea for help.
"This great news!"
Pinkie's eyes bulged as she incredulously shouted, "WHAT?!"
"Yak's bored and needed something to do. Helping Pink Pony take back home sounds like great fun for yaks."
Her posture relaxed a little, but she was still feeling a little on edge by his outburst.
"So does that mean you'll help us?"
"Yes. Yaks will help Pink Pony."
"Oh, thank Celestia," Pinkie sighed in relief.
"But first, yak have question."
"Huh?"
"Do yaks get to destroy?"
Slowly, Pinkie's lips curved upward in a smirk. "Yes you do."
"Haha!" Rutherford cheered, scooping Pinkie up in a quick hug.
"But only the bad guys," Pinkie warned. "You cannot destroy any building, if there are any."
"... Honorary Yak take fun out of smashing, but yak will follow Pink Pony's rules of engagement."
"Aww. Thank you, Prince Rutherford." Pinkie thanked, hugging him back. "Oh, and I'm supposed to tell you that everypony will be attacking in three days."
"Hmmm. Not much time for yaks to prepare, but yaks can manage. Yaks best at rushing."
"I know. Yaks best at everything."
"Exactly!" With a bark of laughter, Rutherford put Pinkie back down and began leading her out of the hut. "But now, you rests. Pink Pony must be tired from long travel, so Pink Pony will rest today. In meantime, yaks will prepare for war, then at dawn, we march to Shiny Pony City."
Meanwhile, far to the east of Equestria in the Dragon Lands, Ember was standing at the mouth of her cave having a growing debate with Torch. Apparently, news of Equestria's downfall had reached their ears hours before, and were now debating on how to go about it.
"But Equestria is our ally, and my mates' home," Ember argued, smoke starting to leak from her nostrils as her temper rose.
"I am fully aware of that, Ember," Torch rumbled. "The thought of my old friend's homeland falling to such a hostile takeover like that fills me with a ever-growing rage, so believe me when I say that I would like nothing more than to fly over there and lend him my aid."
"Then why shouldn't we go?! As the Dragon Lord, I could easily just order every dragon to Equestria right now and end it!"
"You could, but such a brash act could be seen by the other nations as a hostile attempt to take over Equestria's territories in the midst of its chaotic upheaval. If you truly want to help save Equestria and your mates, without running the risk of attracting negative attention from the other nations, then you will need to show restraint and tact in your actions. I know it is difficult, as it is not exactly within a dragon's nature to show such things, but you are not like other dragons. You are far wiser than I was at your age and have shown more intellect than most dragons before you, which is why I know you can do it."
Though grateful at her father's praise and encouraging words, Ember still found it difficult to keep her calm.
"I know that, dad, but the more we wait, the stronger of a hold these usurpers will have on Equestria, and the harder it will be for us to help them-"
As Ember continued to push her point across to Torch, a bright flash of light suddenly appeared next to Ember, temporarily blinding her and Torch. Startled by this abrupt interruption, the two sneered at the source of the light... that is, until the light faded away, revealing, much to Ember and Torch's relief, Spike and Rarity.
Overjoyed to see both of them safe, Ember wasted no time in charging at the pair and wrapping each of them in her arms as best she could. Spike and Rarity, having not expected such a quick welcome, were momentarily taken off-guard before they both hugged Ember back. Unfortunatly, when they released each other, Ember, with her jaw clenched and reddening eyes, unexpectedly slugged Spike in the arm.
"You idiot! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!"
"Ouch! Jeeze, Ember. What the heck was that for?" Spike asked, rubbing the spot on his arm that he was sure was gonna bruise.
"That was for making me worry, you boulderhead!" Ember took in a deep breath to help calm herself before turning to Rarity. "Okay, Rarity, so what's been going on?"
"Firstly, was striking our Spike really necessary, darling?" Rarity questioned.
"Look, we just heard about what happened to Equestria, and I've been having a stressful time lately wondering if Spike was alright or not. I needed to vent a little, so just let me have this. Besides, Spike's a tough guy, he can handle it."
Doesn't mean it still didn't hurt, Spike mentally grumbled.
Rarity frowned. "I understand your need to relieve your frustrations, but I would hope that taking it out on our Spike won't be a habit."
"That'll depend on if he makes me worry like that again." Ember let out a stressful sigh. "Alright, so just what happened to Equestria? I know that it's been taken over, but that's about it."
"I see. Well, best I can describe it is that Lord Tirek and Queen Chrysalis have made an alliance."
"But you've beaten them before, so why not now?"
"Because this time it was different," Spike chimed in. "Chrysalis had built up a surprisingly large number of her changelings, and had them infiltrate each of Equestria's major cities. When they made their move, we were caught off-guard, not just by their appearance, but also by their numbers. It was all coordinated perfectly, and though we did our best to fight them off, they still made quick work of our defenses."
Hearing their explanation, Torch stepped closer. "But that doesn't explain how Canterlot fell. I would assume that Sol would have been there to help in the defense of the city, so how did it fall?"
"That's the thing. Sol was there, but so were Tirek and Chrysalis, both disguised as ponies, as well as an army of Chrysalis' changelings. And thanks to Canterlot being on the side of the mountain, Sol couldn't fight them off without risking damage to the city's foundation. Same with Princess Celestia and Luna."
Torch hummed in understanding. "So they targeted Canterlot because it's not only the capital, but also because it forced Sol and the Princesses to hold back and give them the advantage."
"Pretty much, yeah."
"Well, if Equestria's fallen, then where have you two been hiding this whole time?" Ember wondered.
"Oh, you're gonna love this. Turns out that Sol has this super secret underground kingdom he built for emergencies just like this."
While attentive in this conversation, Torch found this piece of information to be particularly interesting.
"This place, was it something he made recently or back before he was sealed?"
"Sol said that he built it before then, but had it refurbished it after he had awoken."
Torch let out a low humph. So that's the "secret project" you told me you've been working on. Very clever, Sol.
"So that's where you've been?" Ember asked.
"Indeed," Rarity replied. "And not just us, but a number of Equestrians as well. When the invasion happened, there was an evacuation to the portals that led down to the Underkingdom. Sadly, only a fraction of Equestria's population made it, so we're trying to find friends and allies who will help us take our home back and free everypony who got captured before Tirek can drain them of their magic."
Spike nodded in agreement with Rarity. "Pinkie's already left for Yakyakistan to ask the yaks for help, we're here to ask you two and the other dragons, and I'll be leaving soon to ask Thorax and his changelings if they'll help."
"Well, if its our help you want, then you'll get it," Ember replied, attracting the attention of Torch.
"Ember."
"Dad, we were literally just talking about the risk of taking brash actions and attracting negative attention from the other nations. But with Spike and Rarity asking personally for our help, we won't need to worry about what the others think, especially if others will be helping retake Equestria too."
"And speaking of help," Spike began as he held up a scroll to Torch, "Sol wanted me to give this to you."
Torch gave a odd look at the parchment. "And how am I expected to read from something so tiny?"
"I don't know. He didn't mention anything about it... hold on a second."
Holding the amulet up to his ear, Spike spoke Sol's name and waited for a reply. After a few seconds of waiting, he got a response, but the voice wasn't who he expected it.
"Spike?"
"Twilight? What are you doing with Sol's amulet?"
"Sol's sleeping right now, so I'll be answering for him until he wakes up."
"Okay. Well, maybe you can help us then?"
"Of course. What can I do to help? Did you make it to the Dragon Lands? Is everything going alright?"
"Yes, and so far it is. From the sounds of things, Ember was already making plans to help fight off Chrysalis and Tirek."
"That's good to hear, but then what's the problem?"
"It's the scroll Sol sent with me. Apparently, it's too small for Torch to read."
"... have you even opened it yet?"
"Not yet. Why?"
"I figured Sol might've forgotten with how sleep-deprived he was, so I put an enlargement spell on the scroll. It should activate after it's opened."
Curious by this, Spike used his free claw to break the wax seal on the scroll and unfurl it. Like Twilight had said, once it had been opened, the scroll began to rapidly grow in size until it was several times larger than Spike was.
"... okay, never mind. Thanks, Twi."
"You're welcome, Spike. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"Nah. I think we're good here now."
"Okay. You and Rarity be safe now."
"We will. See ya, Twilight."
"Bye, Spike."
Holding the amulet away from his ear, Spike and the others watched as the glow emanating from it faded away.
"Clever," Torch commented, picking up the scroll right after and reading it to himself with a raised brow. "Hmm. I didn't think Sol would write this in old draconic."
"He said that he didn't want to risk anyone else to read it."
"Obviously." As Torch continued to read the letter, his eyes narrowed in a glare.
"Is everything alright, Dad?" Ember asked.
"Yes, Ember, everything is fine."
"Then what's up with that look?"
"... Sol is calling in a favor I owed him from long ago." Torch grunted and rolled the scroll back up. "I'm sorry, Ember, but I need to leave now."
"Wait. Right now?"
"Yes. If I'm going to fulfill Sol's request in time, I will need to leave now." Noting the disappointment on his daughter's face, Torch leaned down and nuzzled her. "You're a smart dragon, Ember. Be careful, be smart, and we will see each other again when this is over with." Torch stood back up and looked to Spike and Rarity. "Normally I would given you two a warmer welcome, but I must leave."
"Not to worry, Mister Torch," Rarity dismissed. "We both understand."
Spike nodded. "Yeah. And besides, I should get going too. I still need to talk with Thorax, and it's a long ways to the Changeling Kingdom."
Torched nodded and held out an open claw. "The Changeling Kingdom is far away from here, so I would suggest you come with me."
"With you?"
"Yes. The place where Sol wants me at will bring me somewhat close to it, so I can let you off as I pass by and let you travel the rest. It should save you plenty of time, and allow you to rest and prepare for the battle to come."
With a grin, Spike hopped up onto the palm of Torch's claw, who lifted Spike up to take a seat on his back. Once Spike found himself a spot and securing himself between his spines, Torch spread his mighty wings and took off to begin their preparations.