Her Majesty Queen Novo, matriarch of Seaquestria, mother of seaponies, ruler of the Celestial Sea, and the overseer of the pearl, was bored. Being bored was not normally allowed for a matriarch. Usually, there was some issue of taxes or filing or redistribution of resources. But with the lack of activity amongst Seaquestria, Queen Novo felt her influence dwindling. Apart from the expeditions to retrieve the darn thing, ever since the demon had ripped the precious artifact from her grip, Queen Novo felt herself slip into a downward spiral of helplessness.
What more could she have done to save her people? Star Swirl the Bearded had given her instructions as to how these final days would play out, but she wasn't emotionally ready to confront them yet. When the time came to reveal their origins, how tough it would be-!
And yet, it had to be done. Hiding behind an illusion for a thousand years was tough. It would be a weight lifted off her chest. And a chance to return to how seaponies were supposed to be.
And that pearl...oh, how she would miss the pearl! It was the sole reminder of Star Swirl the Bearded in her life, the one she still pined after during those late nights.
Her daughter appeared by her side. She ran her hoof down her own arm reassuringly, but nervously. “...Mom? Is something wrong?”
“What isn't wrong nowadays?” Novo ironically philosophized.
“Can I help?”
“Baby, it's cute that you're so helpful. But...not right now. Play with your shells or something.”
Skystar looked hurt. “Shelly and Shelldon aren't big talkers anymore. But...those ponies are pretty good friends, aren't they?”
“I suppose,” Novo conceded.
“Why are they so important?” Skystar wondered. “You said something about the Elements of Harmony and the Ten Souls when we first met them.”
“Skystar,” Novo tiredly began, “it's a pretty complicated thing. Eternal destinies and stuff. Don't worry about it.”
“Mom, they're my friends. They're important to me. And you sent them on that expedition almost immediately. Either you don't like them, or...they're vital to our survival.”
Novo looked her daughter in the eye. “You mean what you say, huh?”
“Please, mom.” Skystar's freckles spotted the space under her pleading eyes. “This is the first time I've had friends in such a long time!”
Novo made the decision in that instant. “Those friends of yours are the most important ponies in the world. They bear ten heavenly artifacts called the Elements of Harmony and used them to keep the world at bay for years now. They're only looking to complete their rock collection. That orange one that asked about where he could pee in the ocean already has one of the lost Elements.”
“Firestorm, mom. His name is Firestorm.”
“And right now, the dark warrior in the group seeks for an Element in the ruins of Mount Aris.”
“The mountain above us?”
“The mountain above us,” Novo confirmed.
“B-but...but, mom, is he dead? I don't want him to die! I just met him!”
“Honey, listen to me.” Novo lovingly cupped her despairing daughter under the chin. “The Unforgiven will return. And when he does, the whole truth will come out.”
From the hole in the center of the throne room, a red seapony in bone armor appeared. He saluted quickly to let her know he was there.
“Ah, Captain Sliphorn. What brings you here?”
“My queen, the expedition you sent out to recover the pearl...has returned.”
Queen Novo swam into the main cavern that was Seaquestria just as the first troops arrived from a side passage, swimming confidently back in on their exhausted poras. Among the first to appear was Captain Brine, and with her was Noble Blade, Firestorm, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. The rest of the girls appeared one by one, but what drew her immediate attention was Twilight Sparkle next to a triumphant Freedom Fighter on a spare mount, holding the priceless pearl under his arm like a basketball.
The troops were all singing some song Queen Novo had never heard of before. Freedom Fighter was leading them.
“There's a speck on the tail of the frog on the bump on the branch on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea! There's a speck on the tail of the frog on the bump on the branch on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea!” Freedom Fighter sang aloud.
The rest of the troops echoed along joyfully. “There's a speck! There's a speck! There's a speck on the tail of the frog on the bump on the branch on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea!”
“There's a fleck on the speck on the tail of the frog on the bump on the branch on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea!”
“There's a what?”
“...Like I said…” Freedom Fighter urged.
The group of emerging soldiers collectively shrugged. “...In the bottom of the sea! There's a fleck! There's a fleck! There's a fleck on the speck on the tail of the frog on the bump on the branch on the log in the hole-”
“Quiet!” Novo interrupted over the din.
“...in the bottom of the seeeea…” some few soldiers finished by themselves, quietly and reluctantly.
Brine saluted to Novo, and to Skystar and Sliphorn behind her. “My apologies, my queen. The soldiers are simply ecstatic, is all.”
“Seventy-five of you return from an expedition of a hundred,” Novo said. “Those losses are rough, aren't they?”
“But we got what we came for,” Twilight said with utter confidence. “And it's all thanks to him.” She clapped the dark warrior on the shoulder.
“Who was the one who retrieved it?”
Freedom Fighter raised his hoof. “That would be me.”
Novo swam over to his pora and beckoned him to come off. Freedom Fighter did so and sheepishly held out the priceless jewel to the queen.
“This is yours,” he offered.
Novo suddenly laughed. “If you knew what lay inside, Unforgiven, you would be much more interested.”
Freedom Fighter gazed into its depths like a crystal ball. “Inside? But it's a pearl.”
“That is not a true pearl,” Queen Novo revealed. It was surreal for her to say the words, even though she knew the truth. “Inside this artificial sphere, there lays something more valuable than any pearl.”
She could hear the soldiers gasping. Skystar was looking worried. Sliphorn was getting redder by the minute.
“My queen, what is the truth?” Brine demanded, looking more outraged than anything. “What is this pearl in reality?”
“An elaborate disguise that has kept us from our true potential for many, many years,” Queen Novo replied.
Gasps and mutters came from the soldiers. Skystar was locking her gaze on her mother, saying the most incredible things. Novo spun her hoof on the pearl, and up blew a dusty yellow image of old memories. A tall mountain covered on three sides by a stone eagle's wings sprung from the dust.
“A thousand years ago,” Novo said, a wistful memory resurfacing in her own mind, “we lived on the surface as creatures called hippogriffs.”
“What?” exploded an incredulous Sliphorn. “My queen-”
“Hush.”
Sliphorn hushed, though he looked livid.
“We lived, as I said, as hippogriffs on Mount Aris. Our culture was deep and complex, much more so than we have now. We lived in peace and prosperity. We also dug deep into the mountain for rare and precious natural resources.”
She spun the pearl again, and now appeared a bright, shining ball of light held in a beautiful pair of hands.
“But one day, a miner discovered a precious gem, far above the brightness and beauty of any other jewel. It was brought to the palace for investigation, and it was given as a gift to the ruling queen. That queen was me. For a time, I admired it as a jewel, and nothing else.
"Then, one day, a pony stepped into the palace. An outsider. From Equestria. His name was Star Swirl the Bearded. He said he was on official business for the princess of Equestria. As the Seer, he was investigating the locations of the many lost Elements of Harmony in the world that only he could divine the locations of. He claimed he saw one of the stones on Mount Aris, and wanted permission to see it. Now, we had no idea what an Element of Harmony was. But we allowed him to stay to let him know that we had nothing to offer him.
“Over the next few months, he searched and searched the entire city for what he wanted. But he had no luck. And I was... interested in him. At first, only on business terms. But as time passed, this mysterious stranger, hard as a rock, and elusive in his purpose, captivated my curiosity. Soon, he captivated my attention. And in time... he saw the same way towards me. He may not have acquired an Element of Harmony in that time…” Novo bowed her head humbly. “...but he captured my heart instead.”
“Oh!” Rarity let out a small choke. “Oh, that's so beautiful!” She put a hoof to her chest. “If only I could experience the same thing!”
Spike shot her an irritated glare.
Freedom Fighter gave Twilight a look. “Yeah. If only...”
“I, um, I guess…” Twilight mumbled, playing with her pora's reins.
“There came a time,” Novo said heavily, spinning the pearl once more, showing the next series of images, ”when we were so deep into our secret relationship that I decided to show him the one object that meant the most to me. I showed him the priceless jewel.
“And he almost fainted. He told me that jewel was the Element he had been looking for since first arriving here. I begged him not to leave with it. I pleaded for him to stay. But he would not relent. He said that another enemy called the Noxxa was also searching for any hint of the precious Elements, and if they were to learn I had an Element around my neck, they would invade Mount Aris and butcher me and my people.
“Finally, he came to a hard decision. He would leave the jewel with me, as both a reminder of his love for me and as a tool to help rebuild our culture someplace else. He advised moving my people underwater to protect them from the greed of potential invaders. The jewel had the power to do so because it was the Element of Sacrifice, and my sacrifice for my people would allow them to adapt.”
“Wait!” Freedom Fighter interrupted. He hefted the very, very important gem in his hooves. “This pearl is the Element I am meant to possess?”
“We have kept it hidden from the world for so long,” Novo said. Her expression was shameful. “And thanks to it, we were kept safe underwater. But we did so at the cost of our own potential. My own life was prolonged as a result of my ownership, but it also meant I had to see generation after generation of seaponies go their whole lives without knowing the truth.” Novo now addressed the conflicted troops assembled together, spreading out her arms. “You are a chosen generation, my children. You have been born in time for the truth to be unveiled. I... wanted to tell every subject before you of our potential. But I withheld it against the greater good, burning me up inside. And now that it's out, we need not disguise ourselves anymore. When this pearl is given to Freedom Fighter to use against the forces of darkness, we will change into the forms we were meant to have. I ask you, are you prepared to live as a higher being?”
Brine shook her head. “I'm sorry, this is really quick for me to process. So... this Star Swirl guy was your lover?”
Novo nodded.
“But when he found out you had an Element of Harmony, he told you to protect it.”
Novo nodded again.
“So you took the entire kingdom and changed us into seaponies?”
Once again, the queen nodded.
“Your intent in all this was to keep us safe?” Captain Sliphorn asked the queen.
“Everything I have ever done was in your best interest,” Novo said in the most placating tone she could manage.
“Well, it's not as though it worked very well,” Sliphorn commented. “That black mass that stole this all-important Element a month ago swept right through us!”
“Exactly!” Skystar added. “Which means that there's no point to us staying in the ocean anymore. Either way, there will be threats, but on land, we have allies. Here in the ocean, we have no one but ourselves.”
“Exactly!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Friendship is magiiiiic!”
Sliphorn snorted. “That is the corniest thing I have ever heard.”
“But it's true nonetheless!” Novo affirmed, giving her chief captain a glance. “No matter what, we will face challenges in our life that require the sacrifice of many. Retrieving the pearl required a fourth of our troops to give their life. But we can choose to face the challenges ourselves or have them come to us.”
Aquarius edged her way to the sight of Queen Novo. “My queen? May I say something?”
“Never be afraid to speak up, child,” Novo calmed her.
“Well... I don't want to run from these challenges anymore. I want to face them! If no one else wants to move back to the surface, you should know that I will!”
Murmurs of differing intent arose between everyone present. Some were moved by Aquarius's affirmation. Others were confused. Even a few were defiant. But most of them were simply humble.
“The only way to survive in this world is to fight for your survival,” Brine said to herself. “But my queen, is there any other way?”
“I’m sorry,” was all Novo said in reply.
Freedom Fighter was clutching the Element of Sacrifice hard between his hooves now. His wide scarlet eyes had widened to immense proportions as the weight of what he was about to do came down on him.
“Novo?” he hesitantly asked. “I'm not doing this.”
“But it must happen,” Novo said, stroking his arm encouragingly.
“I can't uproot an entire culture for the sake of an Element!” Freedom Fighter protested. “The exact same thing happened to me! I'm not Marshal Malice!”
“And you won't,” Novo said. “You would be restoring our culture to its proper place.”
Freedom Fighter was trembling, frightful. “No,” he said, and laughed for a brief instant. “No, this is another test. I know what I need to do. If I truly need to gain the Element of Sacrifice, I should sacrifice my chances of getting back to the surface. You can keep the pearl, and then the real Element will appear for my sake-”
“Freedom Fighter,” firmly interrupted Novo, and the dark warrior went quiet. “You have a noble mind, but you need to learn only one more thing about sacrifice. It isn't all about you. Sometimes, sacrifice is less about what you give up for others, and more of what others can sacrifice for you.”
Freedom Fighter gave a little jolt.
“You have given more than your fair share. It is time for the debt to be repaid and the scales to become balanced.” She caressed the pearl in his grip. “This is your gift. It is not ours to hold on to for any longer. With the power of this jewel, you can do many great and marvelous things. You can save Equestria with this power.”
“We can also be necklace buddies!” Firestorm sang, jangling the Element of Courage from his neck.
“Both are convincing arguments,” Freedom Fighter said, looking from Firestorm to Queen Novo again. His eyes were still forlorn. “But still… I don't want to be the one to do it. This is a choice your people must make.”
Queen Novo smiled. “A wise decision, Unforgiven.” Letting her gaze drift over the assembled soldiers, she noticed that the citizens of Seaquestria had also congregated to listen and observe, and more were arriving by the minute. Drawn by the pearl's call of beauty, it made it so that everyone who was listening had comprehended the message Novo had revealed.
“What say you?” Novo pleaded them all. “Will we live on the surface once more as in times of old?”
It took remarkable bravery for the first one to say yes. But one voice turned into two, then three. Then five, then seven, then ten. Other voices joined in. Living on the surface? It was madness! But still, they chanted: yes, yes! Give us a new life! No more surviving! Let us live instead! The overlapping chants rose, grew larger and larger with each new voice, until each of them was saying, yelling, screaming yes, yes, yes!
Did any of them have any doubts? Any private thoughts, any misgivings about Novo or her story? Did some of them still want to live beneath the cold, deep surface of the ocean? Of course they did. Novo knew them better than that. But what use was doubt? What mattered more than their conviction, their faith in the future, the power of the pearl itself? Its power was already made manifest. Why doubt its capability, or that things didn't work out according to how Novo said they did? And so, even though some didn't like the idea, they chanted along anyway, making that sacrifice for themselves. And that sacrifice was all for a stranger, all over an Element. Just like in Novo's time. Novo tried to block the offending thought from her mind.
The pearl was glowing a fierce gold from its center. The firelight pulsated and spread outward, filling Seaquestria with bright flashes of heavenly light. The flashes didn't hurt anyone's eyes; on the contrary, they made their bodies freer, feel elated beyond comparison. Those misgivings some of them had melted away. Peace was pumped into their minds, sedating their worries for the time being. Its divine power was overwhelming for some, and some seaponies broke into tears at the sheer awe of the Element of Sacrifice.
The pearl itself was trembling. A crack had appeared in the top thereof. It was like a bird egg about to hatch. But the treasure in this particular egg was less precious than the miracle of life. Life was sacrifice, of course, but it was also joy, and power, and love, and sadness. What did the Element of Sacrifice hold in comparison? But still, it trembled like it was about to burst, cracking and spidering all over the surface.
Then it erupted from the pearl, shattering the simple shell.
Each of the seaponies at that moment could only remember up to this part. Even Queen Novo, and Freedom Fighter, for that matter, could only explain the next few moments as a blur.
What happened was this: beams of swirling light shot out and struck each seapony in the chest, and they all dissolved into pure, featureless balls of energy. The Element of Sacrifice embedded itself into the ball of light that was once Freedom Fighter.
The balls of energy streaked like a flock of comets through the water into a side tunnel. This tunnel was blocked off with large rocks to prevent entry, but the balls of power shattered the boulders blocking it up. They continued, up and up through the tunnel, streaming ribbons of light behind them.
After only a brief moment, the balls of energy erupted from the surface of the water, throwing drops to every corner, and flew wildly in the air like embers from a dying fire before settling on the cracked stone floor. The balls of light then reorganized themselves into their proper shapes, and after a small power-down of glowing, the glow disappeared entirely, revealing each and every individual affected by the pearl.
They had come into a large, dank chamber, and in the center was a pool of water with a large, ornate pink flower. Runes covered the edges of the room, portraying the untranslated history of the civilization before them. A row of steps led up to the exit, which was also blocked off with boulders.
The Ten Souls, dripping wet, patted themselves down and made little gasping noises. They were not alone; each seapony had been transformed into the shape of a hippogriff, with claws on all four limbs for grasping and handling, and a multicolored, artistic blend of color was upon all of them. Silver and blue, gold and pink, green and violet, white and turquoise, scarlet and grey. Each hippogriff was different, yet beautiful in its own way.
Their reactions were awed. They were all admiring how they could walk on all fours, how they were affected by gravity, how they could flap up into the air for a brief moment before settling down. They also admired how their fingers curved as separate digits, how their bodies were feathered and ruffled, and how they felt weird when they were wet and not in the water. It inspired a question in their heads; was water wet? But it would be a debate for another time. Their new bodies, glorious to behold, occupied their thoughts.
“Look!” Freedom Fighter said with equal awe. “The Element!”
It was embedded into his left shoulder, burning through the armor he had on there and exposing the mechanical arm underneath. The Element was a glowing yellow color, smoking gently from the contact with his bodysuit. It was elliptical and oval in shape.
“That's sooo cool!” Pinkie Pie admired, her baby blue eyes wide and reflecting the color of the jewel.
“Come on, y'all!” Applejack urged, adjusting her soggy-wet hat atop her glistening, wet face. “Let's get to a-buckin’ these boulders outta the way!”
Twilight chimed her horn to life, and Rarity and Noble Blade did the same. The boulders blocking the passage out lifted out of the way and settled on the ground to the side.
Applejack looked unamused. “Or, y'know, we could jus’ do that,” she sullenly muttered.
“Don't worry about it,” Fluttershy assured her.
“Are we really going to see Mount Aris?” Aquarius asked in wonder, flicking her new tail aide to side. “Where our ancestors lived so long ago? Ooh, I can't wait!”
“Yeesh,” Coral admonished her, ruffling the top of her head. “Calm down, okay? It's just a city.”
“But it's an old city where we once lived so long ago! I wonder how well preserved everything is?”
“It's been a thousand years. The buildings are probably falling apart.”
“But we can rebuild,” Novo said, overhearing their conversation amidst the dozens of others going on in the chamber. “So long as the foundations remain intact, we can start anew no matter how dilapidated the ruins above us are.”
“Gosh, I just...can't hold back anymore,” Brine whispered, coming closer to Noble Blade, who was helping clear the passage of rocks. “Noble, isn't it amazing? I don't know if I can take it anymore. I'm a hippogriff. A few minutes ago, I was in the ocean as a fish! I feel so...so strange.”
“This probably wasn't what you were expecting when you woke up this morning,” Noble replied. “But really, who am I to say anything? I switched species twice in the space of twenty-four hours.”
Brine giggled. “You're really humble, you know that?”
Noble gave an uncomfortable glance at her and shifted to the side. “...Yes, I am...aren't I?”
“And self-effacing too!”
“I am truly the most humble pony on the face of the land,” Noble dryly said.
Brine laughed. “And you're funny too! I can see why Fluttershy fell for you.”
Noble just nodded. “Yep.” Trying to ignore her, he focused on getting more boulders out of the way. Upon seeing her flirting fail, Brine fell silent too. It was a painfully awkward moment.
Soon enough rocks had been moved to allow a clear passage through the rubble. The Ten Souls, Novo, and Skystar led the way, and behind them plodded the hippogriffs, still excited to experience the bodies of land animals.
The glowing yellow light from the Element of Sacrifice lit the way. Firestorm's Element of Courage shone brightly as well. The unicorns had lit their horns to add some more luster.
“I wonder…”
“Wonder what, Twilight?” Rarity asked.
“I wonder what kind of clue will direct us to the next Element,” Twilight said. “Which one will be next? Honor? Or Redemption?”
Noble Blade and Starlight Glimmer gave each other a nervous look. Which of them would be put through a trial next? And what would that trial be?
“Hey! Look up ahead!” Pinkie burbled. “I see sunlight!”
True to her word, a small glimmer of white shone up ahead through several cracks in a stone barricade. It occurred to some of the ponies that this was the first time they had seen sunlight in several days, ever since they had descended into the depths of Maretania an eternity ago.
As they got closer and closer, the white light became blinding, forcing each of them to squint. When they reached the rocky barricade, they all felt a breeze of cool air blow into their faces, filling their lungs with cool, clean oxygen.
For Twilight, it was a beautiful thing. Never had she valued the outside air more than at that moment. Nature was so...pure. So amazing to experience for the first time.
Applejack moved her way to the front by pushing Rarity and Rainbow Dash aside. She put her weight on her forelegs as she turned around, bent her hind legs, and delivered a solid buck to the center of the stone barricade.
Rocks and pebbles blew outward. The outside world rushed in as the blockade was lifted, and the blast of cool air almost blew them backward.
Applejack casually blew some dust off her hooves. “Y'alls had a chance ta do it. My turn.”
“Fair enough,” Rainbow Dash allowed.
Spike ran ahead of the group first to get some sense of what it was like outside. As the Ten Souls followed, they took a look around at the ruins of Mount Aris.
It was grey and foggy. On all sides were collapsed homes that looked like giant bird cages. There was no distinctive avenue at first, but the Ten Souls tentatively explored outwards.
A nagging feeling hit Twilight all of a sudden. It was a feeling of caution, and of a need to watch out for the imminent danger that was bound to appear.
“Guys,” she whispered to the group. “We should be careful. These ruins could be hiding anything.”
“Should we signal the hippogriffs to stay back for the moment?” Freedom Fighter asked.
“Good idea,” Starlight Glimmer agreed. “We don't want them to run into danger before we do.”
“I'll do it!” Rainbow volunteered, and sped in a colored blur back to the entrance to the catacombs.
The party of ponies and Queen Novo entered a main courtyard. It was in ruin and oblivion, blasted grey and withered away by the constant pounding of weather and exposure. Rotting grey-green vegetation covered everything. Rubble was strewn over the ground.
“Oh,” Queen Novo soberly let out. “Oh, this place! I used to play catch here with my dad…” Her eyes traveled to a cracked dry fountain. “And I used to play in that when it was hot. Oh-!” Her words faltered as she walked about as if she was on consecrated ground. She prodded at half-submerged objects stuck in the soil; a toy shovel, a model car, the severed head of a doll.
The Ten Souls allowed her this moment of peace and reflection, realizing just how much the hippogriffs had to have given up to live underwater. The hippogriff's sacrifices were many. What more would be taken away from them?
They each vowed silently in their heads to make sure their offerings were not in vain.
“Twilight! Twilight!”
“Spike?” the alicorn asked. The baby green dragon came sprinting out of the fog up ahead, terror written across his small features.
“Spikey-wikey!” Rarity cooed. “What on earth happened? You look like you've seen a-”
“Satyr!” he wheezed in fright.
Rarity frowned. “I was about to say ghost, but that might work too.”
“No! You don't understand! There's a-”
A deep cackle cut him off from up ahead. Chills ran down each of their spines as the evil laugh, underlying with mirth and menace, continued. The air became charged with electricity.
“Who's there?” demanded the returning Rainbow Dash, putting her dukes up as she screeched to a halt in the air. “Come on, put ‘em up!”
The laughter stopped, and was replaced by an old, deep voice. “My, my, my, what have we here? This wouldn't happen to be...Twilight Sparkle, now, would it?”
Twilight was instantly surrounded by each of her friends, each of them in a battle stance. “What do you want?” Firestorm asked the disembodied voice, flapping above Twilight's head and drawing his swords.
“Isn't it obvious?” asked the voice. Through the mist came the tall outline of a white satyr with turquoise eyes and a sneer on his lips. “I asked for Twilight, not you. Hand her over.”
Twilight's heart and head was pounding. Who was he? Was he another agent of Marshal Malice? And how did they find her?
The tall outline fully appeared through the fog at last. He was as tall as Discord was, but he was beastlike and strong-muscled, not fluid and chaotic like the immortal trickster. His aura was one of menace and great power. At his side was a golden sword in a black sheath.
“I think it's time for you to make your entrance now, don't you think, Tempest?” the tall creature asked casually.
Something black and green flew through the fog, aimed directly for Twilight.
Before the grenade impacted, someone jumped in front of the princess with her arms outstretched, screaming, “NO!” The ball of energy struck her and spread into a black crystal cover that spread throughout her body, freezing her in that instant.
Queen Novo's sculpture fell to earth with a hard thud, her face frozen in one of desperation.
Twilight gasped in horror at the sight. The queen did not move from her stone prison. Everypony looked up to see who had thrown the deadly grenade.
Atop a fallen marble block was a tall pony the color of fresh wine, in a black breastplate and shoes. Her white-scarred face was demeaningly calm and confident, and her broken horn sparked and sizzled.
Twilight pushed her friends aside to stare the unicorn down. Her mind was no longer confused or distressed. Instead, her mind was full of a resilient fury.
Twilight’s face broke into a hard scowl. “You...are going...to pay for that!”
The dark unicorn atop the block chuckled with a knowing smirk. Behind her emerged half a dozen minions resembling the white satyr. “I was hoping you would say that...princess.”
The tall satyr himself drew his golden sword, which began to spark like the unicorn's horn. The weather around them began to shift as a result of the power in the air. The fog around them quickly dissipated in swirls and spirals to reveal the open sky above them.
In the tall grey sky above Mount Aris was a fleet of circling airships. Armored, fast, and camouflaged, they bristled with harpoon weapons on all sides.
They were surrounded. No way out.
Caught.
And, like a bad bonus, amidst the airships buzzed the small dark insects that had destroyed Griffonstone and Maretania. Finally, an ivory dragon as big as a house flapped in the far distance, far away from the mountain.
Freedom Fighter knew who owned that dragon.
“Malice!” he spat in cold fury.
The ponies felt a tension coil within all of them, ready to strike. The time to fight was now. The time to liberate the hippogriffs was just beginning.
“Come to me, Twilight,” Tempest Shadow whispered malevolently. The six tall beastly creatures surrounded them all. “Your power will be my answer to the life I lost!”
With a swish of Tempest's hoof, the battle of Mount Aris began.